“…Like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand…”
According to His own design for earth, God revealed His salvation for mankind at a time of His choosing – within His designated timing of things.
It has been that way since before the creation of the world – and will be that way for all eternity to come: God is in control. He is, we are not. God is all powerful, and we are but mere puny human mud men and women in the Potter’s Hand (Isaiah 64:8; Romans 9:21; Revelation 2:27; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9; Jeremiah 18:1-6).
Isaiah records the truth (Isaiah 37:26). As with all events that He chooses to control, God says:
“I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass….”
God is in control of the events of my life, and yours. He is personally involved — just as He was actively timing events and shaping history in the “ancient times”, the days of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaiah – Amoz – Hezekiah – Sennacherib King of Assyria… and the birth of our Savior.
“Have you not heard” and understood this great truth?
Isaiah 37:26
“Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times
I planned it.
Now I have brought it to pass….
See this fascinating Bible Timeline at BibleHub… Complete Biblical Timeline. God is just as concerned with each of us today, as He was in ancient times as He guided and protected His peoples, recorded in the Old Testament.
Yet not one of them
has [ever]
been forgotten
in the presence of God.
Salvation was a mystery
Down through the ages, salvation by God was a mystery – until the Messiah was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:23-25; Luke 1:34-35), and laid in a manger in the city of David, under a star “in the north”, just as predicted in the Old Testament by prophets of old.
God came to earth as a man – right on time.
Matthew 13:17
I assure you and most solemnly say to you, many prophets and righteous men [who were honorable and in right standing with God] longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Judaic religious system had been directed by God (in the Old Testament) to continually sacrifice unblemished lambs and other spotless sacrificial animals — for their many sins — looking forward to the coming of the Perfect Lamb of God.
It was a mystery: How was this going to be fulfilled, they wondered. They did not understand the mystery – that a little baby would be born – and, mystery solved. (Matthew 13:17) And then they rejected God’s mystery! Jesus was God’s answer to our sin problem. So the Jews, to this day, do not believe God’s answer to the mystery.
“…many pastors outright teach false doctrines like this from the pulpit, that “Jesus isn’t God“. Unbelievable! Why worship Jesus, if He is a mere puny man? His death on the cross would then mean nothing.” –Biblical Commentary About Daily News (1)
The timing of God finally arrived, in His time, and God entered earth’s history (as predicted, but not understood):
- the human baby who was also God – come down to earth in the flesh.
- He was born of the lineage of King David,
- It was a divine birth, not natural born but by a virgin – who gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.
The Mystery of Salvation: (Verses are all in one link)
God’s plan of the ages was moved further along by this great event: The Wonder of the Birth of God — The Birth of the Messiah, Jesus. Although the Jews rejected their Messiah then, there will be a great enlightenment in the End Times where many Jews will finally understand and turn to Jesus. (Romans 11:25)
And so, Jesus lived 33 years, perfectly, without sin – and gave Himself as a living, unblemished sacrifice for us on the cross. Going to earth, living on earth, and doing His ministry on earth — Jesus was both fully God and fully man. What He did was, He…
“emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. 8 After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man….” – Verses 7-8 of Philippians 2:5-11
The Bible teaches us that the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, came to earth 100% God Almighty. He humbly, and wholly, took up the form of a human as 100% God and 100% man. I guess that made Him the first 200 percenter! And He remained a 200 percenter, both God and man.
And He arose 200% both, and slowly rose back up into Heaven above — 200% both, and will be coming back again unexpectedly – you guessed it, 200% both man and God. Jesus never “un-deified himself”! He manned up! Actually it would be better said, since, as God He is greater than a puny human man: Jesus manned-down!
– Source: Biblical Commentary About Daily News (1)
The biggest event since Creation (to that day), was God coming to earth. God made a new covenant with His people, and dramatically told His disciples that Gentiles also can be grafted into into the cultivated olive tree – to also be saved for eternity as a result of His sacrifice: His death on the cross and triumphant resurrection three days later. (Ephesians 3:9)
Colossians 1:26 26 that is, [a]the mystery which was hidden [from angels and mankind] for ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His saints (God’s people).
- BibleGateway Footnotes: a. Colossians 1:26 I.e. that believing Gentiles would be united with believing Jews into one body of believers.
Colossians 1:27 God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.
This mystery is:
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
– Colossians 1:27 NASB
Same verse – but in the Amplified:
“Christ in and among you,
the hope and guarantee
of [realizing the] glory.”
– Colossians 1:27
Amplified Bible
Jesus Christ is our hope. He is our guarantee of the glory to come.
The Mystery of Lawlessness
In like manner, as it was with the mystery birth of our Savior, Jesus the Messiah, we are now seeing what many “longed to see” about the End Times, another mystery – the mystery of lawlessness that we see so clearly now. We are now in “Birth Pangs” times, and then – the End
We are now in “Birth Pangs” times, and then – the End
First, Apostasy, then Antichrist, then the Rapture
and then investigate further here,
About the End Times, a series of connected articles.
There will be violent earthquakes,
and in various places
famines and
[deadly and devastating] pestilences
(plagues, epidemics);
and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.
– Luke 21:11
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