Day 132: God, Face-to-Face 2

May 12

Today's Connected Readings: 

• Matthew 17:1-13 [2 Peter 1:12-18], Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36 
• Acts 9:1-19, 21:37-22:20, 26:1-23
• Revelation 1:9-20 [Daniel 7:9]; 2:18, 4:1-11 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to the Canon Connected, where we read the connections, see the connections, and study the connections of the Bible. It is my honor to have you for day number 132 of the Canon Connected. And right now we're on a very uh brief, just two-part series. And I say brief because we've studied a lot of themes that enter interconnected over many days and sometimes weeks at a time. But this is just a two-parter, and uh it's not connected truly to this the women that we talked about, the biblical, the strong biblical women before, and then af after today, starting tomorrow, we're gonna do a several days on loving your enemies and forgiving uh people. A very strong, you know, dominant biblical theme. But today and yesterday are on seeing God face to face. And this could have gone a number of places, as I said yesterday, but I just chose to put it here. I'm assuming God has something for you today, whenever you read it on this topic. And so we looked at a lot of Old Testament passages yesterday of people who encountered God, and in some cases, at least one of them with Samson's parents, and you know, I I don't know about about a Jacob. That's an even harder one because it does I think Jacob really saw God. Maybe Samson's parents just saw an angel. I don't know. But generally speaking, though, and I would include Samson's parents in there because of the similarities to Genesis 32, the connections. Um, people in the Old Testament saw God at times. They saw him. That's the that's the that's what the language says. And I don't claim to understand that since God is invisible and God doesn't have a body and we worship him in spirit and in truth. It's one of those things that definitely seems contradictory. I don't believe it is. I just believe God is too expansive and too complex for our human minds to fully comprehend. But today we're going to transition to the New Testament, and there is plenty of overlap, as I said a couple of times yesterday, with Jesus in the transfiguration recorded in three of the gospels, and how we see him in heaven. And also, I didn't even mention this yesterday. Today's included Paul encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus and how he talked about, you know, that numerous times when he was on trial and he had a chance to speak before, you know, political and governmental leaders of his day. But let's first look at, because again, there is some overlap to Jesus, what we see from Jesus here, definitely to Revelation later in the readings today, but also I think some to what we saw yesterday. I think this is all connected. Again, this used to be one reading yesterday and today's. So after six days, the Matthew account says, Jesus took within Peter and James and John his brother, the three that got to experience things that the others didn't, including Jarius' daughter being raised from the dead, and led and the garden of Gethsemane, and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And now here's what's very important. All right, for the connections. And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here, if you wish. But I'll make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And one of the other gospels says Peter didn't know what to say, so he just kept talking. This is a side note, it has nothing to do with seeing God face to face. But does anybody that's listening to this know anybody that whenever there's silence, they have to fill it, you know, even if it's an awkward comment or a you know a nonsensical comment. They just they have to keep talking. Sounds like Peter to me, definitely in this story. And so, um, but the other two gospels, you know, give um give varying details on that. But the second Peter, you know, one is where Peter gives his commentary on this. He says, For we did not follow cleverly devised myths in verse 16. We made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. And in case it's confusing what he's talking about, verse 17, for when we received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory, direct quote from the three passages on the transfiguration. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. So they saw his majesty, not just his majesty as a human who was a carpenter and then a uh nomadic preacher for three years, but they saw the transfigured Jesus, the one I think, the way he looks now, as he will come back on a horse, you know, in white and like lightning to conquer death and hell and and the grave forever. And so Peter gave his commentary on that. And then Paul. So this is again something, because how does Paul see Jesus? Okay, now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, still, you know, persecuting Christians at this point, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. So this is over. This is again who who God Jesus slash Jesus is, okay? Light, okay, bright light, and a lot of times lightning, fire. And it could have been that. Maybe maybe they just describe it with different words and it's the same phenomenon. I don't know. But we know it was so bright that Paul just fell to his feet. And this is a common response to people encountering God the Father, encountering Jesus in the Bible. They fall on their face, they fall like a dead man, was Ezekiel, we saw. And he said, Who are you, Lord? Um and uh he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, no doubt who he saw. Um, but he encountered God face to face. He saw him. And then we we we incl we included Acts 21, Acts 22, and Acts 26, because these are Paul telling about it. And he gives again varying details there, but it's the same, same basic story. He saw Jesus and he fell on his face. And then Revelation. Oh wow, Revelation. This definitely ties up some of the things we've seen today with some of the things we've seen yesterday, um, as far as what what's going on in heaven right now. And so, what did what did John see according to chapter one? It says, Um, and in the midst of the lampstands, verse 13, one like a son of man. And now, some of you that that automatically like bells go off in your head because that's the title of Jesus. We are going to do a connection to this, and then Daniel 7, and and Jesus calling himself Son of Man on a connected reading on Jesus in December. We do have a part of Daniel 7 today, but it's not the Son of Man part, but that is going to be a big deal. This, all of this connection, there's just so many connections. Some days it's just like a wildfire of connections, and I don't have the ability to contain it sometimes. But that comes later if you're like, why didn't you make a connection to Son of Man? Because we're talking just about the appearance of Jesus. Okay, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool like snow, his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined like a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. Does this sound familiar? Does it sound like some of the things we read yesterday? And does not sound like again the Jesus of the transfiguration? And I did include Daniel 7.9, Daniel 7, 13 and 14 are going to be included with this passage again later in the year. But the ancient of days, which can only be a God figure, this is God, okay, took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the head of his head like pure wool, and the throne was fiery flames. It's like verbatim. What John saw, he's not he's not directly quoting Daniel. I mean, he's he's he's writing out what he saw by the inspiration of God. But in another sense, it is like he's quoting from Daniel. This is almost the exact same thing. And then a couple more passages in Revelation to tie it into a bow. Again, Revelation 2.18, and the angel of the church of Thyatire to the angel of the church in Thyatire write. The words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Notice it was Son of Man in Revelation 1, Son of God and Revelation 2. That's both two of Jesus' titles. Son of God, Son of Man, fully God, fully man. Um But the encounter that John has of seeing Jesus in heaven is is what we're is what we're you know putting in our in our in our in our view today. Um and then of course Revelation 4. Um it's very very similar. Again, it it from the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass, like crystal around the throne, on each side of the throne are four living creatures full of eyes in front and by behind. And it says, And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings full of eyes, and all around within, and all day and night they never cease to say, and this connects to Isaiah 6 yesterday. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Whenever the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, and the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. Um and so this is again another another picture of of seeing God, of seeing Jesus um in the throne room. And it has again some overlap between what we saw from the prophets yesterday and and the description of of of that throne. So God face to face, God the Father, God the Son, um many, many connections, and it truly is amazing how you know God just repeatedly revealed himself because he's never been a God who's truly been hidden. He feels hidden sometimes to us. We definitely see with eyes of faith, but this this encourages me that uh it is eyes of faith, but it's very you know grounded in a reality. I truly believe all this stuff is history, it's it's factual, but it's it's truth because this is who God is, and he does reveal himself however he wants to whoever he wants. And for us, he's revealed himself through 66 books and almost 32,000 verses, and that is enough for me right now. I believe I'm gonna experience this one day. Absolutely. And I don't know, you know, to quote mercy me if I'm gonna, you know, stand or fall on my face or dance or be still or speak or not speak. I don't know. I just know I'm gonna see the Father and I'm gonna see the Son one day, just like these men did. And I I cannot wait. I hope this gets you ready for heaven. I hope this gives you a spiritual charge to say, I'm gonna keep going because I'm one day closer to seeing Jesus. I'm one day closer to experiencing what John and what you know um what Peter and what what Paul and what you know Daniel and Ezekiel and Isaiah and and Jacob and Samson's parents all experienced seeing God face to face. So tomorrow we're gonna be going to be a very difficult topic, but not difficult to me like some of the Ten Commandments. It's not gonna be R rated or NC NC17 rated. That's why some of those were hard, especially adultery. But it's hard because it's hard to forgive people. It's hard to love your enemies. And we talk about it in Christianity all the time, but I think it's a lot easier to talk about than to actually do it. But we're gonna see a mountain of scriptures that connect that. I hope help us, you know, that God guiding us into all truth, and that He will, the Holy Spirit will just speak through these next four days on this topic, and that it'll be very encouraging but life-changing, and that we will find it, you know, you know, easier because it's spirit-led to do what the human mind has a hard time processing, and the human heart has a hard time processing, loving enemies and forgiving those who've wronged you in the worst ways. So come back and be with us tomorrow as we continue to read the connections, see the connections, and study the connections. Thank you.