The Bible Explained, part 25B/40: Monotheism, Jews, and Christians: Life of Jesus

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THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

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Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

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Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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Life of Jesus

If Jesus was indeed God in human flesh, then he is
the most important character in the Bible, since
God alone holds the one and only key to life
eternal, which is the ultimate goal of all his
followers. What was the purpose of Jesus's life,
death, and resurrection? In order to answer these
questions, we must go back to the beginning.

In the beginning, God created all things, including
the earth, its creatures, and the first man and
woman (Adam and Eve). All things were created
perfect -- that is, they were not subject to decay
(ageing) and death. God put Adam in charge of the
earth and commanded him not to eat a certain fruit,
lest he should grow old and die; Adam chose to
disobey God by eating the fruit, and consequently
all of creation fell into a state of decay -- and
Adam grew old and died some 930 years later. Before
he died, Adam -- and his wife Eve -- produced many
children, however, they all inherited their
father's fallen/sinful/imperfect nature. Before God
created man, he knew he would disobey him and die,
so God had a plan to redeem man from death. How?
Legally: "You shall give life for life." [Exodus
21:23] Although God is all-powerful and can
therefore do anything, he must always act in
accordance with his law. Why? I'll explain that
later.

Redemption Requirements: Adam was created perfect;
Adam sinned; Adam died: "The soul who sins shall
die." [Ezekiel 18:4] In order to redeem Adam from
death, the price of death must be paid -- life for
life; perfect life for perfect life: "You shall
give life for life." [Exodus 21:23] Adam was
perfect when he sinned, so perfect life must be
given in order to redeem him. Problem: when Adam
sinned, all of creation fell into a state of
imperfection, so where can God find a perfect man
to redeem Adam? Obviously, God must look outside of
his creation. But the only thing outside God's
creation is God himself. Therefore, if God is to
redeem Adam from death, God himself must come in
the flesh of a man, live a sinless life, and then
lay down his life as payment for Adam's sin.

The Redeemer: About 4000 years after the creation
of Adam, God came in the flesh of a man: Jesus of
Nazareth -- the Passover lamb of God: "The next day
John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!'" [John 1:29]

Understanding Passover: In Exodus 12, we see that
one of God's holy days is called 'Passover' -- in
which a man kills a spotless lamb and applies its
blood to the doorframe of his home so that the
death angel will see the blood and not enter into
his house to kill him; if no blood is seen, the
death angel will enter in and kill the occupants.
Thus, the blood of the lamb protects one from
death. Jesus was born as God's Passover lamb for
all mankind, however, the lamb must be 'without
blemish' (perfect) in order for it to be accepted
by God: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male
of the first year." [Exodus 12:5]

A Lamb Without Blemish: If Jesus had been conceived
from the seed of Adam the sinner, he would have
been imperfect and, therefore, an unworthy
sacrifice for Adam's sin. Scripture tells us Adam
was not the father of Jesus but God was: "Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His
mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they
came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Spirit." [Matthew 1:18] Thus, the Passover Lamb was
born perfect, since he was conceived by the seed of
God -- not by the seed of sinful man. In other
words, Jesus was conceived 'without blemish' (sin);
but would he remain sinless all his life?

The Lamb Tested: In a bid to preserve his own life,
God's adversary -- Satan the devil -- tried to
destroy God's plan of salvation by tempting Jesus
to sin against God, which would blemish the
Passover lamb, causing God to reject it as an
appropriate payment for Adam's sin. Satan tempted
Jesus with desire, vanity, and power (see Matthew
4:1-11), however, he failed to provoke him to sin
against God; he then used various religious and
political figures to tempt him again, however,
Jesus kept his temper and remained sinless: "For we
do not have a High Priest (Jesus) who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin."
[Hebrews 4:15]

The Lamb's Mission: In addition to paying the price
for Adam's sin, the Lamb had to fulfill certain
prophecies: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me
(Jesus), because He has anointed Me to preach the
gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD." [Luke 4:18-19] Jesus
chose twelve men to be his aides (disciples),
knowing that one of them would betray him: "Jesus
answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve,
and one of you is a devil?'" [John 6:70]

The Lamb Betrayed: As Jesus went about teaching the
word of God and healing the sick and lame, huge
crowds of people followed him, arousing jealousy
and envy among some of the religious leaders who,
therefore, sought to destroy him, lest they should
lose their power and prestige among the people. One
of Jesus's disciples was named Judas Iscariot, who
chose to betray Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces
of silver: "And the chief priests and the scribes
sought how they might kill Him (Jesus), for they
feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas,
surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the
twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the
chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him
to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him
money." [Luke 22:2-5] "Then Judas, having received
a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief
priests and Pharisees, came there (where Jesus was)
with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Then the
detachment of troops and the captain and the
officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him."
[John 18:3,12] "Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing
that He had been condemned, was remorseful and
brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the
chief priests and elders, saying, 'I have sinned by
betraying innocent blood.' And they said, 'What is
that to us? You see to it!' Then he threw down the
pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and
went and hanged himself." [Matthew 27:3-5]

Judgement of the Lamb: The chief priests brought
Jesus before the political authority -- Pontius
Pilate the governor of Judea -- for judgement;
however, Pilate found no fault in him: "So Pilate
said to the chief priests and the crowd, 'I find no
fault in this Man.'" [Luke 23:4] Therefore, Pilate
wanted to release Jesus, however, the religious
leaders stirred up the crowd to call for his death;
when Pilate saw that the crowd was about to riot,
he conceded to their demand -- and handed Jesus
over to be crucified.

The Lamb Sacrificed: "And when they had come to the
place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and
the criminals, one on the right hand and the other
on the left. Then one of the criminals who were
hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If you are the
Christ, save Yourself and us.' But the other,
answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even
fear God, seeing you are under the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive
the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done
nothing wrong.' Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' And
Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today
you will be with Me in Paradise.'" [Luke 23:33,39-
43]

The Two Criminals: Every word, deed, and
circumstance in the life of Jesus was precisely
calculated to enlighten man. Here is the message of
the Two Criminals: We are all criminals, since we
are all sinners (lawbreakers); we are either on the
left side of God or the right side of God, and we
respond to God in the manner of one of the two
criminals. The first criminal blasphemed God and,
therefore, lost his eternal soul; the second
criminal confessed his sins and asked Jesus for
entry into his kingdom and, therefore, gained life
eternal in the presence of God.

The Lamb Resurrected: So Jesus died and spent three
days and three nights in the death state: "For as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
[Matthew 12:40] After this, Jesus was resurrected
from the death state and lived again: "But the
angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be
afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He
said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.'"
[Matthew 28:5]

Satan Conquered: Through his resurrection, Jesus
conquered the god of death -- Satan the devil:
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of
flesh and blood, He (Jesus) Himself likewise shared
in the same, that through death He might destroy
him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
and release those who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage." [Hebrews
2:14-15] Thus, Jesus gained authority over death -- to raise the dead; and he will raise the dead on
two separate occasions: at the beginning of the
Millennium, he will raise the saints to rule with
him during said Millennium; at the end of the
Millennium, he will raise the rest of the dead for
judgement -- to determine who is worthy of life
eternal and who is worthy of death eternal.

Ascension to Heaven: After his resurrection, Jesus
spent forty days on the earth, interacting with his
disciples; then he gathered them together on the
Mount of Olives and commanded them to spread the
gospel (good news of the kingdom of God) to the
ends of the earth; he then ascended into heaven in
their sight; then two angels appeared to his
disciples and promised them that Jesus would come
again -- the so-called Second Coming. Why did Jesus
leave the earth? Jesus left because he has
appointed a certain time for man to rule the earth
and also to prepare a place for his followers: "In
My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also." [John 14:2-3]

The Second Coming: Acts 1:9-11 tells us that Jesus
ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives and
will return to the Mount of Olives. However, Jesus
warned his followers that many false messiahs will
come before him. So, how do we recognize the true
Messiah? When the true Messiah comes, he will set
his feet on the Mount of Olives, which will split
in two halves from east to west; one half will move
towards the north, and the other will move towards
the south, creating a large valley: "Then the LORD
will go forth and fight against those nations, as
He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His
feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces
Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives
shall be split in two, from east to west, making a
very large valley; half of the mountain shall move
toward the north and half of it toward the south."
[Zechariah 14:3-4] Therefore, while the Mount of
Olives is not split as described above, you can be
certain that the true Messiah is not on the earth.
When Jesus comes again, he will establish his
kingdom in Jerusalem and rule the earth for one
thousand years -- the Millennium.

Death Defied: Why did Jesus rise from the dead? In
order to answer this question, we must look at
God's law regarding life and death: "The soul who
sins shall die." [Ezekiel 18:20] Conversely, 'The
soul who does not sin shall not die.' What is sin?
"Sin is lawlessness." [1 John 3:4] John 1:1 and
1:14 tells us that Jesus was the Word/Law of God in
flesh. As there is no sin in the law of God, it was
impossible for Jesus to sin, since he was the Law
in flesh. Since Jesus did not sin, death did not
have the authority to hold him, so he rose from the
grave. Why, then, did he spend three days and three
nights in the tomb?

Life During Death: Did Jesus actually die? Yes and
no: his flesh body was in the death state for three
days and three nights, however, his spirit was
never in the death state. While his body was dead,
his spirit preached the gospel to the spirits of
the dead: "For Christ also suffered once for sins,
the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to
God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive
by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to
the spirits in prison, who formerly were
disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being
prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls,
were saved through water." [1 Peter 3:18-20] Thus,
when Jesus died, he went (in the spirit) to preach
his message to the imprisoned spirits of the dead.
As you can see, though Jesus was dead in the flesh,
he was still alive in the spirit.

Preserved for Resurrection: It is a known fact that
the human body undergoes rapid decomposition
immediately following death. With this in mind, how
did the spirit of Jesus return to his three-day-old
dead body and yet appear as he was before his
death? The body of Jesus was preserved by an act of
God: "You will not allow Your Holy One to see
(undergo) corruption." [Psalm 16:10, Acts 13:35]
"...he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the
resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not
left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption
(decay)." [Acts 2:31] "But He whom God raised up
saw no corruption (underwent no decay)." [Acts
13:37] Thus, the flesh body of Jesus (while dead)
was preserved by an act of God. In summary, Jesus
was never (totally) dead, since death has no power
over the sinless; the flesh body of Jesus was,
however, in a state of "suspended animation" for
three days (while in the tomb); while in the tomb,
his spirit went to preach to the spirits (of the
dead) in the prison of the spirits, but his spirit
was never a prisoner therein. Furthermore, Jesus,
being sinless, is not subject to the Day of
Judgement, since that Day applies only to those who
have committed sin.

Who Killed Jesus: Here is God's law regarding
death: "The soul who sins shall die." [Ezekiel
18:4] Since Jesus was the Ten Commandments in
flesh, and since there is no sin in the Ten
Commandments, it was impossible for Jesus to sin.
If Jesus did not sin, then he was not worthy of
death. Thus, no one killed Jesus, but he chose to
sacrifice himself in order to reconcile man to God:
"Therefore My Father loves Me (Jesus), because I
lay down My life that I may take it again. No one
takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I
have power to lay it down, and I have power to take
it again. This command I have received from My
Father." [John 10:17-18] Remember that Jesus was
the Word (Ten Commandments) of God in flesh; and
the Ten Commandments was the barrier which
separated man from God. God reconciled man to
himself through the sacrifice of his Word. Note
that this sacrifice does not invalidate the Ten
Commandments, but simply covers the sins which a
man committed before turning to God in repentance:
When a man chooses to serve God, his sins are
forgiven and he is obligated to keep the Ten
Commandments from the time of his decision to the
point of his death.

Mankind Absolved: When Jesus was arrested and
brought before Pilate for judgement, Pilate found
no fault in him and, therefore, sought to release
him, not wanting the blood of an innocent man on
his hands; however, there was a gathering of Jews
who insisted that Jesus be crucified, saying: "His
blood be on us and on our children." [Matthew
27:25] Because of this saying, it has been
suggested that the Jews are forever guilty of the
blood of Jesus. Is this true? Is it possible for a
man to bestow sin upon his children? Of course not.
According to God, each man must bear his own sin:
"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not
bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear
the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon himself." [Ezekiel
18:20] "Fathers shall not be put to death for their
children, nor shall children be put to death for
their fathers; a person shall be put to death for
his own sin." [Deuteronomy 24:16] As you can see,
fathers cannot cast their sins upon their children.
Furthermore, Jesus absolved mankind of his death,
saying: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they do." [Luke 23:34] As an aside, it is an
absurd notion to suggest that man can kill God.

Bloody Theatre: In the final analysis, this entire
bloody drama was orchestrated by God, that the path
to life eternal may be opened to man: "For truly
against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles
and the people of Israel, were gathered together to
do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined
before to be done." [Acts 4:27-28]

Why Death: Why did man have to die? And why did God
have to die to redeem man from death? Man had to
die in order that God may lift him higher -- to
become equal to him. I explain this elsewhere in
this document. Remember that God is creating man in
his image -- and the death of the flesh is part of
that process.

God and Law: If you carefully read the account of
the arrest, mock trial, scourging, and crucifixion
of Jesus, you may be wondering about the reason for
this shameful, bloody exhibition. After all, if God
is all-powerful, why did he not simply restore
everything to their initial perfect state after
Adam sinned -- instead of going through this bloody
drama of giving life for life? Because God must
always act in accordance with his laws. Why? Truth
is the only absolute -- the only thing which has
always been, will always be, and never changes.
Everything that exists must ultimately be founded
on the absolute; since truth is the only absolute,
it is therefore the foundation of all things. All
laws are based on truth; God is truth: therefore,
all laws come from God. Truth and justice are one.
Giving life for life is just (truth); anything else
is unjust (untruth). Therefore, if God should ever
act unjustly, he would cease being truth -- and
everything would collapse (having lost their
foundation) and go out of existence forever,
including God. In summary, God cannot act contrary
to his nature, since truth cannot contradict itself
or deny itself.

History or Metaphor: Some believe the story of Adam
and Eve to be metaphorical, not literal history. If
Adam was not a real man and the father of sin, then
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus served
no purpose, since Jesus came to pay the price for
Adam's sin in order to acquire authority over death
-- to raise the dead. If Adam was not a real man
created by God, then Jesus did not pay the price
for his sin, did not conquer death, did not gain
authority over death -- and no one will ever rise
from the grave; we will all remain dead forever.
Furthermore, if Adam was not a real man created by
God, then God has no legitimate authority over him
-- and whatever God does on Adam's behalf is null
and void. In summary, if Adam was not created by
God as a literal man -- and the father of sin -- then the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
served no purpose; and no one will ever rise from
the death state.

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The above book is available for purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com

Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061

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The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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