The tomb is empty! Christ has Risen!
Today Christians celebrate His Resurrection, the day on which Jesus Christ rose from the dead in complete Biblical fulfillment of all His prophecies. He died for all of mankind and took our sins upon Himself personally to adjudicate our sins. Only through His sacrifice can we be absolved from our sins forever! I can think of no other day in history more meaningful to all of humanity in order for us to enjoy eternity with Jesus in Heaven, IF we wish. Of course, we must first accept His sacrifice in the same way that a condemned prisoner must accept the pardon of a governor for his sins in order to be let out of jail. If the pardon is not accepted by the guilty, the pardon is meaningless to the rejecter and he remains in jail.
I find it intriguing while the Bible is considered to be approximately 1/3 prophetic with hundreds of prophecies already fulfilled and many more being witnessed coming to fruition today regarding the events of the Last Days, did you know the very first prophecy in the Bible concerns Jesus’s return and triumph over Satan? As God said in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed (Jesus); it shall bruise they head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Here God showed that Satan would always be at odds with mankind and while Jesus would have His heel bruised by Satan, Jesus would bruise his head, a far more damaging event.
What is amazing is that the learned Jews of the days who were expecting Yeshua’s appearance (their messiah) to end their subordination by the Romans, they DID NOT recognize Christ even though He had fulfilled ALL prophecies regarding his ultimate appearance. Instead, they demanded proof of His divinity.
“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the SIGNS OF THE TIMES? (capitals mine).”
Matthew 16:2-3
When Christ was tempted by BOTH the Pharisees AND the Sadducees (the two competing leading political and religious leaders during Christ’s time on earth) to show them a physical sign “…from heaven” validating His claims, He rebuffed them as hypocrites because they of all people should have been very familiar with the numerous prophecies regarding His Coming. While they could project the weather for the day based on the color of the sky, they could not discern the fulfillment of what was foretold to happen when Christ came to earth the FIRST time.
“And this know, if the goodman of his house had known what hour the thief should come, he would have watched, and not suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Luke 12:39-40
“And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?”
Luke 12:54-56
As we celebrate His Resurrection and anxiously await His soon triumphant return to earth and His 1,000 year millennium rule, let us keep in mind that it is only our faith in Him that will allow our ultimate redemption. God requires a sacrifice for our sins which Jesus fulfilled 100% on Good Friday BUT we must accept with faith His sacrifice and believe He is who the Bible says He is to make it meaningful. When various people were questioning who Jesus was, He asked His disciples who they thought He was. Simon said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). To which Jesus responded, “Blessed are thou Simon son of Jonah, for THIS (capitals mine) was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) Perhaps even more exciting are Jesus’s words to (doubting) Thomas when he looked at the puncture wounds in Jesus’s hands after He rose, “Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).
To me there is nothing more comforting than to know Jesus died for our sins and if we accept His sacrifice we will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. This is the GREATEST day in the history of man! I hope you feel the same and continue to “…comfort one another with these words.”
Have a very Happy Resurrection Day!
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