Jesus as the Firstborn

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

The writer of Hebrews points his readers to “the assembly of the firstborn” (12:23). The word “firstborn” (Greek: prototokos) is used in a variety of ways in Scripture. Usually, “firstborn” means the first male child born into a family, but the word can be used in other ways. It may denote rank, position, or prominence. King David, for example, who is the last in his family’s birth order, is called “firstborn, greatest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27).

The same is true for the nation of Israel. The Israelites are not the first people group to populate a region of the earth. Even so, the Lord commands Moses to tell Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22). That is, God established the Israelites as a special people for whom the Promised Land is prepared.

When it comes to Jesus, the Greek word prototokos never is used to describe his origin, as if he’s a created being; after all, he’s the uncreated creator of all (John 1:1-3). Nor is “firstborn” used to depict Jesus in purely human terms, for he has no earthly father. In every case, the New Testament writers depict Jesus as first in rank, position, or prominence. We see this every time in Scripture he’s declared to be the firstborn. 

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Our Marriage to Christ

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

Heaven is not our final home; it’s the intermediate state between physical death and future glorification, which is pictured in the third and final act of ancient Jewish wedding ceremonies.

Nissuin

We’ve examined the shiddukhin, or marriage contract, and the erusin, or engagement. Now, we come to the nissuin, or marriage. This Hebrew word is derived from naso, which means to lift up. At this time, there’s great fanfare as the groom fetches his bride and escorts her to his father’s house. The couple again enters the huppah, recites a blessing over a cup of wine – a symbol of joy – and finalizes their vows. 

At last, after a year of separation, the husband and wife enter the bridal chamber and consummate their marriage. A friend of the groom waits outside until he’s informed that the new couple has engaged in marital relations for the first time. The friend announces this to the guests and, with resounding joy, the marriage feast begins. Often, the celebration lasts for days, as we see in the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performs his first miracle (John 2:1-11).

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Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:22-24).

On February 16, 1832, Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claimed the Lord gave him a series of visions revealing that the “many mansions” to which Jesus refers in John 14:2 – “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (KJV) – are divided into three general categories: the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms.

More than a decade later, Smith revealed additional detail: “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees.” In other words, in the celestial, or highest, kingdom, faithful Mormons may aspire to one of three levels of glory. 

From these visions, the LDS Church draws its doctrine of the “Church of the Firstborn.” The highest level of the celestial kingdom is reserved for those who “gain exaltation,” or godhood, by keeping all the commandments of the Lord. As Joseph Fielding Smith, sixth president of the church and nephew of its founder, wrote, “There will be many who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who shall never become members of the Church of the Firstborn.”

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The Parable of the Ten Virgins

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the previous post, we looked at the contract that plays a vital role in a Jewish wedding. Now, we see how Jesus illustrates the erusin in his parable of the ten virgins.

In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to this special time at the end of erusin, when the groom comes for his bride (Matt. 25:1-13). It’s a riveting story, which begins with ten virgins (or bridesmaids, likely twelve to sixteen years of age) taking their lamps and going out to meet the groom.

By most accounts, these lamps resemble torches, with oil-soaked cloth on the end of poles. Jars of olive oil are carried along as well, with bridesmaids dipping the fabric end of the poles in oil before lighting them. Five of the bridesmaids take extra oil along with their lamps, since the typical oil lamp would burn for only about fifteen minutes without additional fuel. So, the bridesmaids bring their lamps, but only half of them are adequately prepared.

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Rejoice in the Lord Always

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 14: Coworkers in the Book of Life: Philippians 4:3.

In the previous post, we began to explore Paul’s reference to the book of life in Philippians 4:3. Here, we complete our study of this passage.

The book of life

In Philippians 4:3, Paul declares that Euodia, Syntyche, Clement, and the rest of Paul’s coworkers have their names written in the book of life. This is cause for great rejoicing – a jubilation that transcends the challenges facing believers in Philippi. “Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul urges them. “I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). 

Assurance of our salvation produces an inward peace that projects an outward confidence. Reminding the Philippians of their security in Christ, Paul encourages them to live out their faith. “Let your graciousness be known to everyone,” he writes. “The Lord is near” (4:5). 

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