In This Issue

• "EYEWITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY"
• GLEANINGS FROM A WALK ON A COUNTRY ROAD
• UPDATE ON THE JAMES OSSUARY
• MORE INFORMATION...

"EYEWITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY"

The Bible says, "Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah' -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant" (Mark 9:2-10).

This passage records one of the most interesting and unusual events in the Scriptures. It is also recorded in Matthew 17:1-9 and Luke 9:28-36. Almost 40 years later, Simon Peter briefly mentions this incident in his second letter: "We... were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18).

Although Jesus previously had told the apostles of His upcoming death, they had not yet accepted it as a reality. Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah spoke about Jesus' decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). As they descended the mountain, Jesus commanded the apostles not to tell anyone what they had seen until after His resurrection. They left the mountain "questioning what the rising from the dead meant." They just could not bring themselves to believe that Jesus would soon be crucified, even though the Old Testament prophets had foretold it, Moses, who had been dead for centuries, knew about it, and Elijah, who had not died, but had ascended to heaven bodily, understood.

This passage always reminds me of Jesus' words to Martha in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Moses had died, yet he lived. Elijah believed and never died. Many Christians throughout the centuries have fallen asleep in Jesus. Some will be alive on earth when Christ returns. All will maintain their own identity and personality, even as Moses and Elijah did throughout the centuries.

--Clarence R. Johnson

GLEANINGS FROM A WALK ON A COUNTRY ROAD

While staying with the Thompsons up in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, recently, after my morning Bible studies, I would often then walk about 5 miles down a country road, where I could also spend that time in prayer, in praise, and in meditation upon God and spiritual things. Though this is good for the body and the mind, it is even more beneficial for one's spiritual soul.

God's handiwork is often a delight to me, a reminder of the reality of His existence, and physical blessings to be thankful for. To see the rolling and elongated hills, where cows grazed on their grassy slopes; to behold the immense sky with its varietal shapes of clouds drifting by and the v-shaped patterns of geese, honking their way across the blue; to hear and watch the gurgling brook; to see the wind making the grass undulate like swift, endless waves of the sea; and to observe the towering clumps of woodlands in the distance and those that were near and overshadowing the road and forming "tunnels" for the pedestrian or those in vehicles to pass under, all evoked thoughts of God, the Creator. For how can we not think of the Lord when we see His various wonders abounding everywhere? (cf. Rom. 1:19,20.)

God's reality is no less real than that of His creation. And actually, His existence is even "more real," in the sense that He never changes nor wears out as creation does. Therefore, compared to the "durability" of God, creation itself seems to be (in a manner of speaking) gauzy, shadowy, so temporal, a fading reality that will vanish with the wearing down of time. But God, and His spiritual realm of heaven, will never become even one second older, nor diminish in quality to the slightest degree. Instead, God and heaven are eternally "new." The radiance of heaven will never wane. Its brilliance will never become dulled. There will be no rusting, no tarnishing, no decaying, nor no perishing in that perfect place called heaven where nothing grows old, wears away, nor weakens. Corresponding to this, the Hebrew writer states in Hebrews 1:10-12: "And, 'Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end.'" And as he says elsewhere, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

God's "years" do not come to an end; but ours do -- the physical part of us, that is. It is a "going the way of all the earth," as David (1 Kings 2:2), as well as Joshua (Josh. 23:14), refers to it.

As I continued on my morning walk, taking in the sights, I soon entered a small cemetery at the corner of Faggs Manor Road and 926, with an interest in finding its oldest grave. Thinking that the first person interred in that burial ground had probably wanted to be laid to rest under a large, shady tree, I walked to what appeared to be just that: the oldest tree in the cemetery. Though there were many tombstones that had been so weathered with the corroding years of time that their inscriptions were no longer legible or only partly so, I found one rather large slab that was clearly readable. It lay flat and long, covering the grave site; rather than being an upright headstone. Its inscription said:

"Here lyeth the body of
Jane the relict [widow] of
James Creswell who departed
this life the 17 of August, 1749.
Aged about 85 years."

That means that this woman was born around 1664. Below this inscription, it then read as follows:

"Death thou hast conquer'd me.
I by thy dart am slain.
But Christ hath conquer'd thee
And I shall rise again."

How true that is. Because Jesus died, was buried, and arose from the grave, we, too, can have hope in a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35). One for which we will be changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet...." When "the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-53). And it makes no difference in what year we have been laid to rest. The important thing, however, is that we are ready to meet God so that it will be a "better" resurrection. For all shall be raised from the dead and exist forever; but only those who belong to the Lord will receive, as Clarence Johnson refers to it, "the quality life." This is what Jesus came to give, as He Himself states in John 10:10, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." And the Lord also states of this great universal resurrection in John 5:28,29, in which to those who are the saved it will be a "resurrection of life"; but to those who are the lost, it will be a "resurrection of judgment."

Christ conquered death by His own death and resurrection (Heb. 2:14,15). Going along with this, Paul states to the Corinthians: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:20-22). Jesus truly is "the resurrection and the life" (Jn. 11:25); and He continues in this verse by saying, "he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies."

The inscription on the tombstone also reminded me of the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Yes, the Christian knows that not even death can separate him or her from the love of God (cf. Rom. 8:35-39). Therefore, the child of God need "...not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul..." (Matt. 10:28); for they cannot separate one from God's goodness and care. Ultimately, the faithful Christian will triumph even in death and arrive in a place more blissful than ever could be imagined.

Christ can take the "sting" out of death. For in Jesus, death leads to Paradise and heaven, rather than to Tartarus and hell. But whether we die with that "sting" or not is a choice that only the individual can make. God has shown His desire toward the salvation of all by giving His Son Jesus to die for every sinner (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:9,10; Rom. 5:6-10), but we must avail ourselves of the power in Christ's atonement by humbly submitting to the gospel plan of salvation (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38; Rom. 6:3,4; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10).

Yes, it was a good walk I had that morning; and as I spoke to God through prayer, He also "spoke" to me in these various ways: through His creation and through His words of truth that are found in the Scriptures and can instill within each of us the faith we need, along with hope, comfort, and numerous other spiritual blessings. Let us, therefore, take the time to listen to God and to lovingly respond to His gracious call, so that our walk may always be with Him in our hearts, having His word to lead our way, and our final destination being in heaven itself. 

--Tom Edwards, Gospel Observer, 11/9/2003

UPDATE ON THE JAMES OSSUARY

Several months ago we reported the discovery of a burial box that seemed to have once held the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. The box was obviously old enough to be authentic. It had an inscription: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."

The Israel Antiquities Authority has more recently examined that box and declared the box to be authentic, but they have concluded that the inscription was added to the box at some more recent time.

On the other hand, Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and Ben Witherington, a professor of Asbury Seminary, have reached a different conclusion, still insisting that the inscription is also authentic. The whole truth about "James' ossuary" may never be known, but our faith does not rest upon such material "evidence." "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

--Clarence R. Johnson

MORE INFORMATION...