Author Archives: Delight in Truth

Mar 29 2013

Theology 101: Did Christ Descend Into Hell Prior to Resurrection?

There is a heretical view of Christ’s atonement that encapsulates a theory commonly referred to as Ransom Theology or Ransom Theory, which states that Christ paid a ransom to Satan in His death in order to buy the rights to save humanity which has fallen captive to Satan.

Throughout the ages, this view became increasingly recognized as heretical as it is readily apparent that Satan is himself a rebel who cannot hold any claim on humanity, and therefore God does not owe him anything but eternal punishment.

The problem is that certain peripheral aspects of Ransom to Satan Theory have persisted to this day in some denominations.

Some hold that after His death on the cross, Jesus descended into hell to proclaim victory (possibly evangelize) to those who perished in ancient times, based on 1 Pet 3:18-20

“18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah…”

This view is not acceptable for the following reasons:

1. Christ’s work of redemption was finished on the cross for EVERYONE to see: God the Father, angels, heavenly creatures, humans, demons, and Satan.  In John 19:30, Jesus proclaims in the final seconds of His life: “IT IS FINISHED.” There is no other work to be done for proclamation of victory or redemption.  Heaven and hell were witnesses.  There is no need for Christ to descent into hell for any proclamation or evangelism.

2. When Jesus died on the cross, He went straight to the Father.  Again, in the final seconds of His agony, Luke presents the following:  “Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:46).

3. A descend by Christ into hell opens the door to heresy.  Proclamation of victory or evangelism in hell presents similar ideas to purgatory and possibility salvation of unrepented sinners after death.  This is against sound Christian doctrine which views death as a final decisive event with respect to outcome of salvation or damnation.

So what did Peter mean when he said that Christ went to proclaim to the “spirits in prison?”

A close examination of 1 Peter 3 shows that the context of this affirmation is linked to the preaching of Noah in the pre-flood era.

Here is the ESV commentary explanation:

a. Peter calls Noah a “herald of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5 ), where “herald” represents Greek kēryx, “preacher,” which corresponds to the noun kēryssō, “proclaim,” in 1 Pet. 3:19

b. Peter says the “Spirit of Christ” was speaking through the OT prophets ( 1:11 ); thus Christ could have been speaking through Noah as an OT prophet.

c. The context indicates that Christ was preaching through Noah, who was in a persecuted minority, and God saved Noah, which is similar to the situation in Peter’s time: Christ is now preaching the gospel through Peter and his readers (v. 15 ) to a persecuted minority, and God will save them.

Christ finished His work on the cross and did not need to descend into hell for any further work.

He said it “IT IS FINISHED.”

And it was finished.

Mar 28 2013

Father, the Hour Has Come…

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

In the moments and minutes before His arrest, Jesus delivers one of the most amazing passages found on the pages of Scripture.

The glory of God is evident as central in this prayer.

But also central is the subject of Christ’s sacrifice: God’s children.

Because of this prayer the love of God is in us, and Christ is in us via His Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper tonight, let us not forget that Christ lifted us up in prayer in the last hours of His life.

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Mar 27 2013

Will You Attend an Easter Service?

That was the question that Life Way Research asked 1,060 adults in a recent survey.

The results are perplexing because only about half of professing Christians said yes.

The Resurrection Day celebration is the greatest event in the Christian calendar (no, Christmas is not the biggest Christian holiday), and these results are  a sign of the lukewarm state of the church in this country.

Only 57% of Catholics, 58% of Protestants and 45% of non-denominational Christians said YES, they plan on attending church on Easter.

Where is the joy? Where is the anticipation of celebration? Where is the anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead?

Awaken us Lord, from this terrible slumber!

Survey: One in Five Americans Undecided About Easter Church AttendanceSurvey: One in Five Americans Undecided About Easter Church Attendance

Mar 26 2013

Medical Perspective on Christ’s Death

It is commonly taught that the victim of crucifixion would die from asphyxiation.  Many of those crucified would live three or more days before their neck muscles would no longer be able to support the 12 lbs (5.5 kg) weight of their head.  Airway obstruction subsequently would set in and the victim would suffocate to death.

Such a patho-physiologic event is sometimes ascribed to the death of Jesus.

However, biblical narrative and medical correlation would indicate that Jesus’s cause of death was multifactorial, and that He died suddenly from an acute internal event and not suffocation.

But first let us review some of Christ’s stresses and injuries that set up his unusually quick death on the cross.

1. Less than 18 hours before his death, the physician and evangelist Luke tells us that Jesus was in extreme physical and psychological anguish: “being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44)  Luke may be referring to the phenomenon of hemohydrosis where sweat glands may bleed under extreme stress, just like in the case of coagulation disorders.  This may be indicative of the extreme level of stress the Savior was under as He was approaching the time of God’s wrath being poured on Him.

2. Jesus probably walked 2-3 miles between various places (trials and questioning) in the 12 hours prior to crucifixion, likely without hydration.

3. Jesus received blows to the face and His body as part of being mocked (Luke 22:63-65).

4. Friday morning before being delivered to be crucified, Jesus was severely flogged (John 19:1). This was a Roman judicial penalty where the victim was beat with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal.  As the blows landed on Jesus’s back and thighs, the whip ripped into skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle, tearing blood vessels and nerves in the process.  This particular event weakened the Savior tremendously due to blood loss and severe pain.  Exposing His tissues on a cold early morning also initiated hypothermia which led to coagulation defects and further loss of blood.

5. The severe beating and blood loss likely led to orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure when standing) as Jesus was unable to carry the crossbar of the cross (75-100 lbs) and was forced to walk or perhaps drag Himself on Via Dolorosa.

6. At this point, even before crucifixion, Jesus was in critical medical condition.  An older man with medical issues would have died by now.  Even by modern medical standards, a 33-year-old healthy man would likely have to be taken to the operating room for wound debriment, tissue reconstruction, fluid resuscitation, warming, and blood transfusion.  All this followed by a long recovery in the intensive care unit with possible complications of infection and kidney failure.

Up to this point Jesus suffered severe trauma and was in dire need of resuscitation.  In this critical state He is delivered up for crucifixion.

It was the custom for nails to be driven in the hands (wrists) and legs of the victim during crucifixion which compounded blood loss.  In the case of Jesus, the hemorrhage became critical as His wounded back was pressing and rubbing against the tree.  As a trauma victim who sustained significant hemorrhage, Jesus became very thirsty and cried: “I thirst.”  They offered Him an analgesic consisting of wine and myrrh, but He refused.

This brings us to the climatic event.  What exactly caused Jesus’s death?

Biblical narrative demonstrates that Jesus had a sudden death, and not a prolonged period of suffocation as was the case in most crucifixions.  All four Gospels present Jesus as crying out with a loud voice (in the case of John, He says: “It is finished”) and immediately dies.  This is unlikely to be a death from asphyxiation.

There is no evidence in the narrative of the Gospels that in the short time Jesus was on the cross (less than 6 hours) He was suffocating.  On the contrary, despite His weakened state, we see Him conversing with various people while on the cross.  This is strong evidence that He was able to maintain a patent airway up until His last breath!

It is more likely that Jesus died of a sudden internal catastrophe. The highest ranking possibility is a lethal arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) potentially caused by electrolyte disturbances from severe dehydration and hemorrhage.

Others have postulated a tension hemothorax (accumulation of blood around one lung) which led to an acute drop in blood pressure and immediate death.  This diagnosis may be supported by the blood that flowed from the Savior’s side after His spearing.  Red blood flowed from His side (settled red cells), followed by serum (clear fluid that may look like water) which is found at the top of any settled blood sample that does not circulate.

Other possibilities include a trauma-induced tear in one of the atria of the heart leading to cardiac tamponade (blood around the heart), or perhaps a sudden pneumothorax (dropped lung).

All of the above descriptions would correlate well with the Gospel accounts of a sudden death after what appeared to be a loud statement by Jesus.  A prolonged dying process by suffocation can thus almost be ruled out.

Whatever the exact pathologic event was that caused the Savior to give His last breath, one thing remains certain.

He died with certainty.

And this is important because His death made His resurrection a truly miraculous event, the greatest event in the history of the universe to date!

For a JAMA article on the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus, click here

Mar 25 2013

Was Jesus Too Harsh in Cursing the Fig Tree?

As we progress through Passion Week, I cannot help but to ask this question about the events which took place on Passion Monday.

Jesus was returning to Jerusalem the day after His triumphal entry, and the Bible tells us that he went to look for fruit in a fig tree but He found none.

“When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”” Mark 11:13-14

At first glance one may be shocked at the fact that Jesus was looking for figs when it was not the season for figs as Mark states.  Do we have an illogical God? Why would Jesus look for fruit in this fig tree before its season?

The answer lies in some simple facts about the fig tree and its season of fruit.

1. The season for collecting figs began right after Passover, so they were just about to enter the season.  For that reason alone figs should have been present on the tree.

2. The fig tree produces its fruit before its leaves.  The fact that the tree was full of leaves indicates that fruit should have been present.

3. A clue is given in Mark 11:13 that attests to the expectation of the presence of fruit: “And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.” The sign was the fact that the tree was in leaf.  The expectation is that the fruit must be present, hence the logical action to look for figs.

Everything that Jesus said and did had deep meaning, and such was the case with the cursing of the fig tree.

First, there is symbolic meaning here about those who appear to have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, but they do not.  The result of hypocrisy is the presence of leaves not fruit.  Leaves are merely the advertisement for fruit in the case of the fig tree.  This must be a stern warning to all believers that if we have the Holy Spirit in us, we must also have the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit to bless others with it.

Second, the fig tree is a metaphor for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  The cursing of the fig tree may very well represent the judgement of God upon Israel for their fruitless faith or lack of faith. Israel was an idolatrous nation which repeatedly rejected God despite miraculous interventions by God on their behalf.  Even their godliness in the time preceding the coming of Christ was an empty exercise in ritualism and legalism.

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce fruit at the appropriate time.

But in the new covenant He sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us… and if He lives in us we must produce fruit, because He will return one day and He will seek the fruit of His work.

And that glorious work we celebrate this Passion Week.

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Mar 23 2013

Farewell, Rob Bell

Following the release of Rob Bell’s book “Love Wins” back in 2011, pastor and theologian John Piper apparently foresaw the spiritual downward spiral that the popular pastor was about to undertake.

At the time, to the surprise of some, Piper tweeted this phrase: “Farewell, Rob Bell.”

Two years later we realize that perhaps Piper prophesied, or at least made a very well-educated guess with respect to Bell’s future.

Bell made the talk show rounds denying all accusations of universalism (the doctrine claiming that all people will eventually end up in heaven), despite the questions and statements he made in his book.  But everything he has done since then shows that he believes in this false doctrine.

What happened to Bell in these past two years is a sad testimony to his fall.  He went from the pinnacle, that is the TIME magazine cover proclaiming him one of the most popular pastors in America, to loosing his Mars Hill pastorship (he claims he left at his own initiative) and toward failed attempts at putting together a TV show in Los Angeles.

But more sad is the fact that his true colors, perhaps rainbow colors, became evident this week.  He now fully affirms the love between homosexual couples and supports gay marriage.

Said Bell: “Yes, I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it’s a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are.”

Taken in the context of “other ways of knowing God” described in his YouTube ad for his brand new book, we now have a totally different gospel, and likely a totally different religion than Christianity.

Rob Bell had time to repent and come to the cross and affirm Christ as the only possible means to the Father and to eternal life.  He chose instead to spiral further into heresy.  I still hope he comes to the cross and receives Jesus as Lord of his life, and recognizes Jesus as the only Mediator between man and God.

Until then… Farewell, Rob Bell…

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Mar 22 2013

The Still Wind of the Spirit: Update From Narcis Popovici

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Narcis and his wife have moved to a very hostile environment to extend the Kingdom of God in that place.  Keeping names and places censored for their safety, here is an update from them:

Life and Family
How quickly time flies, springtime is already upon us!  We are excited about this spring for several reasons; it will be our first spring spent here, my wife and I will be celebrating our 11 year anniversary, and mostly because we expect great things in and from God in this season of blossom and life.  Since our last update, we as a family along with the rest of the team were able to take a road trip to a city nestled in the mountains in the direction of Turkey.  We had a wonderful time there with some friends and the family.  We were able to bring the kids to visit a UN Syrian-refugee camp that hosts almost 70,000 mostly Syrian Kurds that have fled as a result of the now 2 year war there.  The people were very open and welcoming to the family and team as a whole, and we are praying about how we can bring both the message of LIFE and relief to those precious people on an ongoing level.  As a family, we are consistently being reminded by the Lord that to become a habitation and revelation of the Glory of Christ must remain one of our chief aims, not just as individuals but as a family unit.  As in any culture, and especially within this one, there is a deep need to reveal the incarnate Lord through family.  “Visitation” (which is necessary) focuses on the immediate need only.  “Habitation” is an aim at becoming something, namely; a resting place for the One whom often finds no place to rest His head.

Life within the Vine
This last month has been a busy one!  Besides the family/ministry trip, we were able to be a part of a campaign that used media over the country to promote relational forgiveness, and offered followup to any interested.  Literally, thousands phoned or emailed in wanting to know more about where this “power to forgive” came from.  Relationship problems become a great platform for the gospel, since the creature’s relationship with God and subsequently his neighbor are some of the prime effects of sin.  Some were not interested once they found out which angle we were coming from, yet many from all over the country wanted to know more.  We were able to follow-up with a couple of these, who to our excitement had recently gotten born again!  F… and I were also able to take a trip to the capital.  There we connected with Andrew White, the Vicar of …  He has been in the capital ministering and working towards Middle East reconciliation since 1998. It was a wonderful trip filled with ministry, fellowship and the opportunity to see one of the richest cities in Biblical history.  More importantly, we were able to connect with brother Andrew on other levels as well.  After about a year of communicating with brother Andrew and prayer, both he and us felt it right to partner together towards our establishing the base here in our city, The Mesopotamian School of Ministry, and House of Prayer.  We believe that it will serve as a regional hub for the glory of God, a place of prayer and presence as well as training and the raising up of Christ filled leaders.  We are hoping to establish a stationary school as well as hopes of doing abbreviated mobile schools in the region, especially for those who cannot easily relocate for differing reasons.  Please let us know if when you pray, you hear the Lord calling you to partner with us in this divine endeavor!

Prayer and Thanks
We are so grateful for you all!  Your prayers and support are creating a platform for the glory of God in this region and the generations to come!  I can sincerely say your co-laboring in the gospel has made it possible for us to live in the “still wind of the Spirit”.  “Wind”, because the Spirit is always blowing where He wills, looking to save, heal, empower, and advance the Kingdom of His Son.  And “still” because in this “Wind”, the gravitational pull is always centered upon the worship of the Triune-God.  The place of the single eye towards love and trust in the One whom we exist for.  So, again…a big Thank you to our friends and family in Chicago, the faithful Romanians all over the West-Coast and all of our other brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Florida, D.C. Texas, and around the world who have invested in God’s Glory in the Middle East.  We love and appreciate you!
With love

Mar 21 2013

Jesus Died Just Like a Lamb – Guest Post, Tibi Fodor

Delight in Truth friend and follower Tibi Fodor recounts a heartbreaking experience after witnessing the slaughter of a lamb as a child, and contrasts it with the slaughter of a pig.  Tibi equates the submission of the lamb to its demise in the way the Lamb of God submitted to the crushing will of the Father:

The living word of God, both in the Old and New Testament, calls the Son of God, Jesus Christ, a lamb (John 1:29, John 1:36) and also compares Him to a sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:7).

As a young kid I witnessed the slaughter of pigs and a lamb – the latter of which I don’t want to see again.

As was often the custom in Romania in the rural countryside, in the cold winter days prior to Christmas, farmers would slaughter the farm-grown pigs in preparation for the holidays. And if the family needed an expert, my dad was the man. The general population did not have guns in communist Romania, so the goal was to slaughter the pig in a way that would cause the animal to die quickly: a knife with a long, well-sharpened blade, a well-aimed and decisive cut would do the job.

Nobody enjoyed the slaughter of the pig, but it was quite something to watch, and with a one-eyed and somewhat hesitant look, I peeked at the event when I was about 6 years old. The pig, I was told, was well over 120 kilograms (about 250 pounds). Once lured by my grandma to the slaughtering place (she had fed the pig daily and, sadly, the animal seemed to “trust” her), my dad and his brothers quickly pinned the pig down on its side with their cumulative body weight. The screams of the fighting animal quickly became choked by brightly colored red blood; white snow became a puddle of red and the pig slowly but surely seemed to give its last breath.

The pig had the strength to “fight” and “will” to resist until its last breath, but the slaughter of a lamb is not anything like the slaughter of a pig – or any other animal. It’s something I don’t want to see again.

The white and curly lamb was held not by many, but only by my dad. It didn’t have to be lured, but followed faithfully to its place of slaughter. There were no animal screams when the cut was made, but only an eerie silence. The lamb never fought, never resisted. What was once a pure, milky-white coat was now tainted with red.

The lamb had peacefully surrendered to the slaughter. While holding the lifeless, limp body, my dad said he does not want to do this again – and as far as I know, that was the only time he had slaughtered a lamb.

What a difference between the sacrifices of these two farm animals!

Our savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had surrendered his life to the will of God and to the agonizing death of the crucifixion just like a lamb!

If the sight of the slaughter of an innocent lamb kindles emotions of sorrow, how much more must my heart ache for the suffering of my Christ? Jesus was without blame, without sin, yet he was chosen to die for my sins before the creation of the world.

If I am to follow my Christ, the Son of God, I must be like a lamb and surrender not to the will of mankind, but to the will of my heavenly Father, my God – just as the Lamb of God had done.

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Mar 20 2013

Atheism as the Wisdom of the World

The late William Provine, a biologist at Cornell University, made the following statement about evolutionary theory:

“Let me summarize my theory on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear.

There are no gods, there are no purposes, there are no goal directed purposes of any kind.

There’s no life after death.

When I die, I’m absolutely certain that I’ll be dead.

That’s the end of me.

There’s no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and there’s no free will for human beings either.” (1)

It is mind-numbing to see the level of truth suppression in these statements made by what society considers a brilliant man.  I sat through an eight year college and medical education and took some of the same courses as this biologist, yet I hold to a different standard, an absolute standard for the purpose of life, ethics, and morality.

I cannot even begin to categorize the philosophical belief expressed in this quote.  Blind fatalism may apply, but that would imply fate as a driving factor.  Even atheists may want to depart from Provine’s position of no “meaning in life.”

So depressing to apply such philosophy to one’s life… No goal directed purpose to anything…

But more importantly, such godless worldview is contradictory in its premises.

If there is no foundation for ethics and therefore no absolute morality, then moral relativism is the moral law of the land.  Everyone sets up their own system of right and wrong with respect to morality.  That implies free will in action, the volition and ability to do what everyone feels good and right for themselves.

That would appear to make sense in a land without ethics.  But… Provine says that there is no free will for human beings, contradicting his previous statements…

Provine is correct in one sense.  There is no absolute free will because human beings do not posses the ability (without divine redemption) to lead a sinless life even if we want to.  We are chained to this fallen creation until the finalization of our redemption (Rom 8:20-21).

Delight in Truth readers, with respect to Dr Provine, we are dealing with a case of 1 Corinthians 1 wisdom of the world gone bad.  Paul tells us that the wisdom of the world cannot be applied in knowing God ( 1 Cor 1:21).  He will not reveal Himself via the wisdom of the world, but by the Word of God through the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit.

That is the folly of the cross! The world considers it foolishness… the whole idea of absolute morality, total depravity, and the need for our sins to be imputed onto Christ crucified in order that we may attain righteousness.

When the sinner realizes this, they will never be the same again.

(1) quote from Rodi – Agnus Dei

Mar 19 2013

The Importance of Jesus’s Predictions

› He foresaw that his death would be by crucifixion (John 3:14, 12:32).

› He predicted that the disciples would find a unridden colt when they entered the town (Luke 19:30).

› When the disciples entered Jerusalem that last Thursday, he predicted they would meet a man with the water pitcher who would have a room for them to
meet in (Luke 22:10).

› After three years of waiting, he knew the exact hour of his departure out of the world (John 13:1).

› Jesus knew that he would be betrayed, and who would betray him, and when it would happen (John 6:64, 13:1; Matthew 26:2, 21).

› He knew and predicted the fact and the time of Peter’s three denials (Matthew 26:34).

› Jesus predicted that the disciples would all fall away and be scattered (Matthew 26:31; John 16:32; Zechariah 13:7).

› Jesus prophesied that he would be “lifted up from the earth” (John 12:32). That is, he would not be stoned but crucified—not by Jews but by Romans.

So the decisions of Pilate and the Jews of how to dispose of him were a fulfillment of his prediction.  He makes all these predictions, according to John 13:19, so that we would believe he is God, that what he says about himself is true.

In other words, Jesus is saying, “If you are struggling to believe that I am the promised Messiah, that I am the one who was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1), that I am the divine Son of God, who can forgive all your sins and give you eternal life and guide you on the path to heaven, then I want to help you believe. And one of the ways I am going to help you have well grounded faith is by telling you what is going to happen to me before it happens, so that when it happens, you will have good reason to believe in me.”

from Love to the Uttermost by John Piper