Numbers matter. This is something the Lord has laid on my heart over the past few months. Now, I am not placing a greater weight upon the numbers of Scripture than the Scriptures themselves; but rather stating a truth. The God of the Universe as revealed to us in Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures has placed within the Scriptures beautiful insights into the extent of His sovereignty. It exists outside of time and space and throughout all His creation. Remember that "History" is "His-story". The numbers of Scripture do not tell their own story but rather emphasize the true Love and splendor of the Gospel. They can reveal to us deeper truths regarding the intricate details of his sovereign design and the majestic grandeur of His creation at large. Luke 11:10 states that "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened." This is a truth that, Praise the Lord, I have been blessed to see firsthand beginning with a revelation regarding John 21.
In John 21, it begins by stating, "After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples BY THE SEA OF TIBERIAS, and He revealed himself in this way." Jesus revealed himself "physically" by the Sea of Tiberias" to his disciples meaning that He actually stood upon the shore with them. In a spiritual way, Jesus revealed himself to me "by the Sea of Tiberias." This is how He revealed himself to me:
About a month back I was reading this passage and I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, "read more about the Sea of Tiberias". Like most of us, I ignored this initial probing from the Spirit and continued reading. This passage goes onto explain how Simon Peter and some of the disciples had been fishing in the Sea of Tiberias and were not having much success but Jesus appeared to them and told them to cast their nets on the "right side" of the boat. Then in John 21:11 it states, "So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of 153 of them. And although there were many, the net was not torn." After reading this I felt the Spirit say to me, "Why not 150, a nice round number, or maybe 160, but why exactly 153?" It was at this point the Spirit reminded me of what it had spoken earlier regarding my need to read more about the Sea of Tiberias, a sea in Israel. So I got on Wikipedia and looked up the Sea of Tiberias. Interestingly enough I saw information that some might write off as coincidence but others, those born of the Spirit, would find to be most divine.
Remember, we were reading John 21, in which Simon Peter and the disciples meet Jesus, post crucifixion, on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias. On the shore, he reveals himself to them "in this way By the Sea of Tiberias", at which time they catch 153 fish.
Now the bible itself, as many know has 66 books between the new and old testaments. The Sea of Tiberias is exactly 166km squared in area! In addition, it is exaxctly 21km in length (John 21) and 53km in circumfrence (153 fish). So just as John 21:1 states that, "After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias," so once again, did Jesus reveal himself to me, one of his disciples, By the Sea of Tiberias!! Only Jesus, being God in the flesh, physically revealed himself to His disciples in the first century, as a type and a shadow of how he would, one day 2000 years in the future, to me one of His disciples, in a "spiritual way" by the Sea of Tiberias. Praise His Holy Name!
The number 153 is a very special number and I will write a blog soon that goes into more detail regarding this number. In addition, it was in John 21:11 where the 153 fish were caught where the number 21 is the "I am that I am" from Exodus 3:14. For this is the name God gave to all generations so that when Jesus appeared on Earth the people would know that He was God. The name "I am that I am" has a numerical value of 21 based on the Hebrew values given to letters. In addition the 153 were caught and written of in verse 11 where throughout Scripture the number 11 symbolizes a "witness of truth." Lastly, as we know Jesus was circumsized on the 8th day and in the Greek, the name Jesus has a value of 888. Did I mention that the depth of the Sea of Tiberias, also known as the "Sea of Galilee is exactly 8 miles wide. God is truly divine!
This passage gave me a fire to truly search out the Scriptures. I have been blessed to eb shown many hidden insights into the true name of God (nature, character, and authority), that will be written upon our foreheads. Those of us who do not profess to be simply "Christians" but those who are truly pursuing "Christ in you, the hope of glory". My hope is that through this blog I can share with you many of the additional insights that Jesus, our glorious Lord has revealed unto all of us in the Scriptures. Just another tidbit that i will write about in more detail soon is that Jesus, who was circumsized on the 8th day, where 8 symbolizes a "new birth" has a numerical value of 888 in the Greek (original language of the New Testament) as I previously stated, is not a coincedence.
The Scriptures state that "the heavens declare Gods glory" and Nasa states that there are 88 constellations in the "heavens." In another instance where the Scriptures continually state that "iron sharpens iron" we find that the core of our planet is made up of 88.8% iron!
God is in control and if you place your faith in Jesus and walk in the manner of the early church believers; He will reveal unto you deep insights and wisdom that will result in tremendous affection for Him. May all glory, honor, and praise be given unto His holy name. In nothing else can I boast but in the sovereign Lord who; found me, called me, and saved me from myself.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
True Testimony
After 22 years as a non believer, the Lord did a miracle. I became a ferocious and passionate follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was after years of arguing with Christians as to why there "could not possibly be a God" and "persecuting" anyone who believed differently than I did. I still to this day live in "awe struck wonder" of not what God has done; but of who He is.
I did not deserve the grace that I was freely shown. But God offered it to me anyway. I guess that's what makes it grace... It was "unmerited favor", that was "by no work of my own" that I came to know the Love of Christ. Why did it take so long? Well I too asked God this question and though it took quite some time; I did receive a response. God explained to me that, I had to first chase after "worldly things" (money, popularity, girls, drugs, alcohol, etc) before I would understand my need for a savior. He also showed me that my belief that there was no God was largely based on the bitterness I had toward "religion" and the church I saw in the 76% of America who "claim to be" Christians.
God did an amazing thing in opening up to me the Scriptures and showing me that "looking for God" in the faces and in the actions of "man" and the "church" would not lead me to Him. It would only become a reinforcement of the Truth that God loves us despite our destruction and misrepresenting of His Bride. When i think about the selfishness I once lived in and place it along side of Jesus and who He is, I am forever humbled. I can remember days that I wouldnt have given someone who judged me or wronged me in any way a ride to the bus stop if they needed it; but Christ knew the wickedness of the Church in His day, just as we still see in ours, but He went willingly to the cross anyway... This is who God is...
To bring this short testimony to a conclusion I must say that my experiences have done nothing but show me how despereately sick my heart is and that it is wicked beyond all measure, but God loved me enough to send me His son to die upon the cross to cover these iniquities. I was an alcoholic and a drug addict and in an instant, the Lord took away these desires and replaced them with a passion for the Word that I still cannot explain to this day... In conclusion, I just want to say that God desires a personal relationship with you; not for you to be conformed to a pattern of religion that will destroy any opportunity for a heart to be transformed..but instead for you to know him deeply and intimately; I pray for all of those who have yet to see God in the light that was shown to us in the early church days called the Way. These were Christs true disciples.. But although we are in the "last days" there is still time for us to be saved... Just look to Christ and He will rescue you....
I did not deserve the grace that I was freely shown. But God offered it to me anyway. I guess that's what makes it grace... It was "unmerited favor", that was "by no work of my own" that I came to know the Love of Christ. Why did it take so long? Well I too asked God this question and though it took quite some time; I did receive a response. God explained to me that, I had to first chase after "worldly things" (money, popularity, girls, drugs, alcohol, etc) before I would understand my need for a savior. He also showed me that my belief that there was no God was largely based on the bitterness I had toward "religion" and the church I saw in the 76% of America who "claim to be" Christians.
God did an amazing thing in opening up to me the Scriptures and showing me that "looking for God" in the faces and in the actions of "man" and the "church" would not lead me to Him. It would only become a reinforcement of the Truth that God loves us despite our destruction and misrepresenting of His Bride. When i think about the selfishness I once lived in and place it along side of Jesus and who He is, I am forever humbled. I can remember days that I wouldnt have given someone who judged me or wronged me in any way a ride to the bus stop if they needed it; but Christ knew the wickedness of the Church in His day, just as we still see in ours, but He went willingly to the cross anyway... This is who God is...
To bring this short testimony to a conclusion I must say that my experiences have done nothing but show me how despereately sick my heart is and that it is wicked beyond all measure, but God loved me enough to send me His son to die upon the cross to cover these iniquities. I was an alcoholic and a drug addict and in an instant, the Lord took away these desires and replaced them with a passion for the Word that I still cannot explain to this day... In conclusion, I just want to say that God desires a personal relationship with you; not for you to be conformed to a pattern of religion that will destroy any opportunity for a heart to be transformed..but instead for you to know him deeply and intimately; I pray for all of those who have yet to see God in the light that was shown to us in the early church days called the Way. These were Christs true disciples.. But although we are in the "last days" there is still time for us to be saved... Just look to Christ and He will rescue you....
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