Part X2.1 - My Beloved Son..

My Beloved Son-Listen To Him! The Word of the Kingdom is the message of the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love. This message only comes into sharp focus when we see God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the One who died for our sins, was buried, was raised from the dead and appeared to many, and who is coming back to take the scepter of the Kingdom of Heaven to reign over this earth. Before we continue with other aspects of the Kingdom, it is vital that we build upon this foundation which is truly none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).

If we do not build on this foundation, then whatever truth we glean from the Word of God will be built on sand, and it will not stand in the trials and temptations of life or in the fire of judgment (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). The foundation must be seen as clearly as possible and kept ever in sight; otherwise as we proceed to see the Kingdom, we might be tempted to take our eyes off the foundation. We will lose sight of the King. The Scriptures proclaim that Christ is central, supreme and preeminent in all things. In this chapter, it will be shown that the Lord Jesus is the Son of Man;the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Messiah;the Rock;the King. All of these offices held by the Lord Jesus express aspects of His preeminence. Today, this truth is not apparent in an unrighteous world in rebellion against God, but it will be manifested fully in the coming Kingdom Age. God’s Son will have the place of preeminence in the age to come; and today God declares: "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" To be a disciple of the Kingdom we must have a listening ear. Listening to the Son today is vital to every Christian who desires to enter the Kingdom in the day that is coming, the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8; Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16; Hebrews 10:25). To be a son in the coming Kingdom we must listen to the Son in this day.

God Has Spoken The subject of the book of Hebrews is the world or the age to come, the Kingdom Age (Hebrews 2:5). However, the writer of this letter made it abundantly clear right from the start that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the center of this age to come. In fact, without Christ there is no future Kingdom to discuss or to understand. Apart from Christ we have no future, no hope. Thank God; our God has spoken and He has spoken of one thing, His Son.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in {His} Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Throughout the era of the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophets in many portions and in many ways. They spoke of what was to come; but no one person saw the complete picture, no one man touched upon all that was on God’s heart. The Spirit only revealed bits and pieces of what was to come. In many respects, much of it was in mystery. The prophets spoke of Messiah, the King to come, but it was still an incomplete understanding of what was God’s full purpose and plan. It took the Son Himself to humble Himself and take on the form of man for God to reveal all that was hidden in His heart. God spoke all that was in His heart and He spoke it in His Son.

Actually, the original Greek text does not have the word His; it is simply stated that God spoke in Son. In other words, God has spoken in the Person of Son. In times past, the prophets were the mouth of God and He spoke through them, although they were vessels of many weaknesses. But in these last days, God came to this earth in the Person of Son and He spoke. Every word that proceeded from the mouth of Christ was of God for He is the exact representation of God, for all the fulness of Deity dwells in Him in bodily form (Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9). If we see the Son, we see God and His glory. The Son was (is) all God and all man, and unlike the prophets of old, no weakness was (is) found in Him (Hebrews 4:15).

If we hear the Son, we hear God. He upholds all things [or holds all things together (Colossians 1:17)] by the word of His power. His word is God’s Word and it cannot be broken. When He speaks, it is the truth. His word stands and by it all things hold together.

God’s voice boomed throughout creation when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and when He was transfigured on the holy mountain; and it will boom once again when His Son sits upon His own throne.

"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

"Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee" And again, "I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me" (Hebrews 1:5) "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" (Matthew 17:5)

"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions." (Hebrews 1:8-9)

God the Father has declared the summation of His purpose and plan-My Son. His Son is God the Son and He shall receive a Kingdom and His throne will last forever and ever. There shall be no end to the increase of His government (Isaiah 9:6-7).

God has spoken, and He says, "Listen to My Son!" This is more than hearing words; it is hearing words and understanding them. Listening is comprehending what is said and applying it in such a way that it is fruitful in one’s life. It can be stated very emphatically that if we do not listen to Him, then we will miss His Kingdom. It is that simple. God spoke these words from heaven at the time of the Lord’s transfiguration and the manifestation of the Kingdom of Glory. However, this tremendous event was at the conclusion of a period of time in which the Lord had been speaking to His disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom and revealing for the first time the new nation that was about to be birthed, the Church.

Beginning in Matthew 16:13 and ending with Matthew 17:9, the mystery of the Kingdom is unveiled. From the beginning to the end of this section, the coming Kingdom of our Lord is in view. It is both an exhortation to disciples of Christ as well as a prophetic word to he who has an ear to hear. The exhortation to Christians will be taken up in various ways in subsequent chapters. What must be seen at this point is Christ.

Starting with Matthew 16:13, we find reference to the Lord’s coming dominion over the earth; and ending with Matthew 17:9, we find the Lord coming down from the mountain, having been transfigured as a manifestation of the coming Kingdom of Glory. The transfiguration was the conclusion of an eight-day period (Luke 9:28) in which the Lord revealed to His disciples the full gospel of grace and glory. For two days, He explained it to them; and then six days later, on the seventh day, His Kingdom of Glory was manifested. It was at this point that the Father declared: "This is My Son; listen to Him!" Why was this so important? First, God has only one King. The fact that Moses and Elijah stood on the mountain with the Lord had significance, but they were not to be the focus. Second, God has spoken in His Son. We don’t need to chase after the words of man; we need to listen to what the Son says and come into the full, mature knowledge of the truth which is in Christ. Third, Jesus had spoken to His disciples for two days and they had not fully grasped what was said. They needed to hear Him (and so do we).

Now, what had Jesus spoken to them? The Son Of Man

Jesus had just warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 16:6; Matthew 16:12). The leaven was the doctrine of these religious leaders that kept the people from entering into the Kingdom. They were blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14). The people were blind because their leaders, who also were blind, were not teaching the proper message of the Kingdom. This also caused confusion amongst the people so that there was much questioning as to who Jesus was. In this context, Jesus asked His disciples the question: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13). In using the title the Son of Man, the Lord was pointing to something very specific; and it was very significant because it laid down the foundation of what Jesus was going to teach His disciples over the next two days. After six days from when He finished His teaching, on the seventh day, He literally manifested to the eyes of His three closest disciples the very foundation that He laid with the title the Son of Man-His coming Kingdom of Glory. In other words, what He spoke He revealed.

According to the prophet Daniel, the Son of Man is directly linked with the Lord’s coming dominion over the earth.

"I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and {men of every} language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14{ea}) This title is used eighty times in the four gospels and four additional times in the remainder of the New Testament (Acts 7:56; Hebrews 2:5-9; Revelation 1:13; Revelation 14:14). The meaning of things in the Bible is generally revealed by the principle of "first mention." In other words, the first place something is mentioned in the Bible will reveal a basic understanding of God’s meaning. The son of man first appears in Psalms 8:1-9 and later is quoted in Hebrews 2:1-18. In both, reference is made to the world to come, which is the Kingdom Age, when the Lord Jesus will ascend the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven and sit on the throne of David. Interestingly, David first presents the phrase the son of man.

What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? (Psalms 8:4) For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him?" (Hebrews 2:5-6) A careful reading of Psalms 8:1-9, specifically the first and the last verses, reveals that at the center of David’s heart was the Lord, and His name and glory filling the earth.

O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who set Your glory above the heavens! … O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! (Psalms 8:1; Psalms 8:9NKJ) This proclamation is in reference to the coming day of His glory when the Lord Jesus returns to this earth in the glory of His Father. In that day, heaven and earth will be filled with His glory and His name will be above every name. The verses in between this proclamation speak of the son of man being crowned with glory and honor. The writer to the Hebrews took up Palm 8 in reference to the coming Kingdom when many sons will be brought unto glory. We do not see this crowning yet; but we do see Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. He is the Son of Man who will one day have many companions who will reign with Him over this earth as sons of God. In the New Testament, we find the title first mentioned in Matthew: And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air {have} nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). At first glance, it might appear that the verse in Matthew 8:1-34 has nothing to do with His Kingdom, but there is great significance to the Son of Man not having a place to lay His head. This is easily shown with the last mention of the Son of Man in the New Testament, where the Son of Man has a golden crown on His head: And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud {was} one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand (Revelation 14:14).

Thus, we see that in the first and last mentions of the Son of Man, there is reference to Christ’s head. When He came here the first time, He came to a world that was not His realm. He said, "My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36). Yet, He is the One who is to inherit the nations and possess the earth (Psalms 2:8). At the end of His earthly life, He wore a crown of thorns, thrust upon His head; and then He was crucified. However, His day is coming when He will wear a golden crown, which signifies divine, kingly power. Gold means deity. The Son of Man will wear many diadems, which means that He will be the ruler of the nations. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be the King of the holy nation of the called-out ones in heaven. He will be the King of the nation of Israel upon the earth. He will be the ruler over all the nations of the earth. Thus, wherever this title, the Son of Man, appears in the Scriptures, it refers to His coming dominion over the earth. The Christ, The Son Of The Living God When the Lord Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" He established that the subject of His question dealt with His future reign as King. By revelation, Peter answered the Lord’s question: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus proclaimed that this was by revelation from the Father: "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). What an amazing statement! Jesus was authenticating to Peter and the others that this answer was not of man but from heaven itself. His heavenly Father had spoken by revealing this truth to Peter. The revelation of the Christ is a clear reference to Messiah, the King of the Jews, who one day will sit upon the throne of David during the Messianic Era, the millennial Kingdom. Messiah also speaks of Jesus’ lineage. He came from the line of Abraham and the seed of David, and as such He presented Himself to the nation of Israel as their Messiah. The Lord was acknowledging Israel as His people. According to Matthew 12:1-50, the leaders of Israel rejected their Messiah, even blaspheming the Holy Spirit. He came to offer them the Kingdom; but because of their rejection of the offer, He later announced that the Kingdom was to be taken from them and given to a new nation that was about to come on the scene (Matthew 21:43). The Rock was about to become a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense to Israel (1 Peter 2:8). As translated from the Hebrew, the Christ means "Anointed One." In the Old Testament, the prophets, the priests and the kings were anointed. As such, this answer of Peter’s had far more meaning than Peter probably realized. Jesus was the Prophet who died for our sins (Luke 13:33). He is the High Priest who lives to intercede for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25-27). He is the future King who shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15).

Although Jesus holds all these offices, Peter only saw the future King since the disciples had yet to understand that their Messiah had to die on the cross (Luke 18:34). Later, Peter was severely rebuked by the Lord for his failure to fully understand his own answer (Matthew 16:23).

Further, the Anointed One is the Son of God, which has a two-fold meaning. First, the revelation from the Father declared that the Son of Man and the Son of God are one and the same. The Son of Man reveals His coming rule and the Son of God reveals that He is God. He is both God and Man. He did not shed His Deity at birth, and He did not shed His humanity at the cross. Some people taught (and continue to teach) that the Lord Jesus was not truly man, that He merely posed as a man. This is not true. He is all God, the Son of God, and He is all Man, the second Man.

Second, the Son of God speaks of sonship; and sonship speaks of rulership. He is God’s first-born Son, the first to be born of the new race (Colossians 1:18), the one new man. According to Jewish tradition, the rights of first-born sons included becoming ruler of the household under the father and for the father, being priest of the family and receiving a double portion of the father’s estate. The firstborn was in line to receive the inheritance of the father. Jesus received all of these rights as the Son. So in these few words in Peter’s response, we discover that Jesus is the Anointed One, the coming Messiah who will inherit this earth as the firstborn of the Father. As the Son of the living God, He will reign for the Father over the Kingdom of Heaven.

I Will Build My Church

Having established that He is the Son of Man and the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus proceeded to mention for the first time the Church that was about to be born through Calvary.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)

Matthew’s gospel places the emphasis on Jesus as King. Of significance is the fact that only Matthew records any mention of the Church by the Lord. This reveals something of great importance to us because it intimately links the Kingdom and the Church. The rock is Christ Himself. He is the Rock! Israel stumbled over this Rock, but a new nation was about to come forth through the cross that is to be built upon the solid Rock of Christ. Israel as a whole nation was offered the Kingdom. But the new nation is to be "called out" from amongst the Jews and the Gentiles and is offered the opportunity to come into the Reign of the Heavens. The Son of Man; the Christ, the Son of the living God; the Rock will build His Church. In other words, He pointed to the near future when the Father would give Him a "called-out" people, the Church.

"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." () As shown in the previous chapter, all that have died since Adam have been placed in the grave and none can escape the grip of death for they are confined by the gates of Hades. These gates are a reference to the hold that death has on man.

Praise God; the Lord Jesus was declaring that death would no longer have dominion over man. The Rock upon which the Church is built is the Resurrection and the Life. It is this life that will overpower the gates of Hades and free His people from death. As Paul later wrote: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Christ is the first fruits from the dead. He is the Resurrection and the Life, and He will raise all those who are His at His coming (Luke 20:35-36; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). The victory is our Lord Jesus Christ. The gates of Hades that confine man will no longer prevail. The Keys Of The Kingdom The Lord then gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter and the other apostles who would become part of the foundation of the Church that is built upon the Rock.

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

Many people teach that the keys were for Peter to preach the gospel of eternal life to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. However, the gospel of grace is not in view; the Kingdom of Heaven is in view, and this refers to the saved. It seems more plausible that this was something specific to the apostles, as written by John.

"If you forgive the sins of any, {their sins} have been forgiven them; if you retain the {sins} of any, they have been retained." (John 20:23) The Church is being offered the privilege of coming into the Reign of the Heavens; however, not all Christians will reign with Christ. In their day, the apostles had authority to turn sinning Christians over to Satan that they would be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus. Paul dealt with the Corinthians in this manner because they were not properly dealing with the leaven in the local church (1 Corinthians 5:1-7). Today, the local church must deal with the leaven within her midst through binding and loosing (Matthew 18:15-19). Why is this so important? Because it deals with the salvation of the soul and the entrance into the coming Kingdom! Church discipline of a sinning Christian is to prevent others from going the same way and to lead the sinner to repentance (James 5:20; 2 Peter 3:9; Jude 1:22-23) that his soul would be saved in the Kingdom Age. Any believer who leads a life of habitual sin without true repentance (turning from the sinful life-style) is in grave danger of being disqualified from reigning in the Kingdom (Hebrews 10:26-31; Hebrews 12:15-17). It is for the sake of inheriting the Kingdom that sin must be dealt with in the believer. Thank God; there is a way through and that is through the blood of Christ.

He Began To Show His Disciples

Next, the Lord began to unfold the events of Calvary-that He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, be killed and be raised on the third day. From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid {it,} Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s." (Matthew 16:21-23) This was a shock to the disciples who were expecting a triumphant King to take the throne in their day. Peter, who had received that great revelation from the Father about the Son of God, had subsequently listened to the voice of Satan, not the voice of the Lord; and he rebuked the Lord for saying He was going to the cross. This led to one of the sternest rebukes from the Lord recorded in the New Testament.

If Peter had listened to the words of his Lord, he would have heard all that he needed to hear in order to understand what was to come. However, the concept that the Lord was laying down was so new to the disciples that they could not fully grasp it. How could their Lord be the King and yet die? Consequently, Peter missed the most important part of what the Lord spoke-"raised up on the third day." It was as if Peter, and most assuredly the other disciples, never heard these words. The Lord was declaring a truth that the world had never known-out of death comes life. In fact, without death, there would be no life. John recorded similar words from the Lord. And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:23-24) The grain of wheat must die to bear fruit. Jesus was revealing that the way to glory only comes through death. On the third day, life would spring forth from the grave. This life would not be an ordinary life. It would be an indestructible, eternal life; a life that man had never possessed but which was about to be given through the one Man who would die for the sin of the world. Only through this life is the glory of the Kingdom possible.

If Anyone Desires To Come After Me As presented in chapter 10, Jesus then proceeded to lay down the principle of entering His Kingdom in order to reign with Him. However, we must be abundantly clear that these verses refer to disciples, saved ones. It is error to assign these verses to the lost. A disciple is one who is saved. If we do not rightly divide the word of truth, we will be led into all sorts of error.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)

Jesus revealed that the way into His Kingdom was the same way that He was about to go to receive the Kingdom. As He laid down His soul, so must every child of God who desires to enter His Kingdom in the day that is coming. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." If we desire to come after Him into His Kingdom, we must deny our soul-life (self-life); take up our cross (die to all our own self-centered desires) and follow Him (a Christ-centered life), doing the will of God, even if it leads to literal death as a martyr. The soul must be denied today to be gained (saved) in the Kingdom. This is the way into His Kingdom. For The Son Of Man Is Going To Come Now, we come to the climax of all that Jesus was teaching His disciples. For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds." (Matthew 16:27) Do you grasp the significance of these words? The Son of Man is going to come! It is an absolute statement of truth that cannot be broken. He is going to come. Jesus Himself proclaimed His return. He is going to return with His reward. He will recompense every man according to his deeds. His coming will be in glory, the glory of His Father. At this point, Jesus made the most amazing statement.

"Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:28)

Unfortunately, some people today teach that this means that His Kingdom came and remained right at that moment, but this is not at all what the Scriptures reveal. What Jesus did say was that some of His disciples were about to witness a foretaste of His Kingdom. [Also, this is a type of Christians who will not taste death because they will be alive and remain when the Lord comes to remove His people from this earth (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).] Six days after He made this statement, the Lord took three of the disciples up to a high mountain. Matthew records the details. And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" And when the disciples heard {this,} they fell on their faces and were much afraid. And Jesus came to {them} and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. (Matthew 17:1-8) On the mountain, it was so difficult for the disciples to grasp what was transpiring right before their eyes. The appearance of Jesus changed. It was not as if a light shined upon Him. This light came forth from within the Lord Himself. Here was proof that He is God. The glory that is His alone had been hidden from the eyes of man, but on this mountain His glory broke through for these three disciples to behold. It was a foretaste of the Kingdom of Glory. When he saw the glorified Lord standing with Moses and Elijah, Peter was so surprised by the sight that he did not know what to do, so he told the Lord that he would build a tabernacle for them. Peter didn’t even realize what he was saying (Luke 9:33). For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified (Mark 9:6).

Peter, James and John were in great danger of taking this glorious sight and bringing it down to their level and making it an earthly thing. "It is a good thing for us to be here." No, it was not good for them if they remained there; it was a foretaste of that which is to come, but Jesus had to face the cross first. Jesus, Moses and Elijah were discussing the departure that Jesus was about to accomplish; death on a cruel cross would release Jesus from this earth (Luke 9:31). At this point, a bright cloud overshadowed them and God spoke: "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!" The three disciples were so struck with awe that they fell on their faces. It took the touch of Jesus to bring relief to them. When they opened their eyes, Jesus was found alone (Luke 9:36). God’s Son is the only King; and God will not share His glory with anyone but His Son, not even Moses and Elijah. He alone was the One they were to see and the One they were to hear. It was as if God was saying: "You are not seeing who My Son is and you are not listening to Him. My Son is the One you are to see. As great as Moses and Elijah were in My purpose and plan, don’t look to them; don’t seek their voices. They have already spoken and they spoke of My Son. Listen to Him! See Him!"

Why was it so important to listen to Jesus? God was directing His command to the disciples because their view of things was earthly. For those two days, Jesus had explained everything to them but they had to come into a revelation of it; and now they were eyewitnesses of all that the Lord had taught them. It was like they were being shown a movie of what was to come and they did not understand the great significance of what their eyes were seeing. They were missing the story line. What they saw was the summation of His teaching-He is the Son of Man; He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; He is the Rock and He will build His Church that will be part of His coming Kingdom; He had to suffer death on a cross to depart this world and atone for the sins of the world; He is coming back and His Kingdom is the Kingdom of Glory. In these few days, Jesus had unfolded the full extent of the Word of the Kingdom; He even manifested it and the Father put His stamp of approval on it by declaring: "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" The Prophetic Word

Peter never forgot what he saw on that high mountain. At the end of his life, he wrote his second letter to those of like precious faith and he recounted the transfiguration to them. He was determined to be diligent to remind them so that they would remember after his decease. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"-and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And {so} we have the prophetic word {made} more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is {a matter} of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:16-21)

It is obvious that Peter previously had explained to them the Lord’s coming. He had made known the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said that he and the other two disciples were eyewitnesses of His majesty. The Majestic Glory, the Father Himself had declared that Christ is the beloved Son. They heard the voice from heaven; it was no voice of man on earth, and they could testify that it was true. God Himself authenticated the truth about His Son. Now notice that Peter took this eyewitness account and declared that the prophetic Word is right; it is true. The Holy Spirit moved men of old to prophesy of what Peter, James and John saw. It was a confirmation to them of the prophetic Word; it was made more sure, and we must pay attention to the Word. We must heed the Word, for it is a lamp that shines in a dark world. It is a beacon that shines in the dark night. As a lamp shines in the darkness, we see Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, piercing the darkness as He comes to this earth to usher in the dawn of the new day. Only the prophetic Word will reveal the truth to us and lead us in the days of darkness. It is to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalms 119:105) until the new day comes, the Kingdom Age, when the Son of Man comes in His glory.

What is the prophetic Word? We have touched upon this more than once; however, it is so important that it is vital that this point be emphasized once again. When John the apostle saw the Revelation through angels, all he could do was fall down as dead. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10) The angel told John the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. But what is this spirit? If we know what the testimony of Jesus is, then we will know what is the spirit of prophecy. So what is the testimony? Jesus made the good confession before Pilate as the cross was set before Him.

Pilate therefore said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say {correctly} that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37)

Jesus’ testimony is, "I am a King!" What does the prophetic Word reveal? Jesus is God’s King and He is coming to take the scepter of His Kingdom. What is the spirit of prophecy? It is all that deals with the King and His Kingdom.

Supreme And Preeminent The prophetic Scriptures speak of God’s Son. As the Son of Man; the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Rock;the King, He will head up all things in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:10). He is to have first place in all things. He is to have the supremacy in all things. He is to be preeminent in all things. Consider the way three translations of the Bible proclaim Christ in the same verse.

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18NAS {ea}) And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might havethe supremacy. (Colossians 1:18NIV {ea}) And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18NKJ {ea}) This is God’s heart for His Son. He is to have first place in everything. He is the first Man to overcome death and be resurrected from the dead with an indestructible, eternal life. This places Him at the Head of a new race of people, the one new man in Christ, the Body of Christ, the Church. As first in all things, He is supreme and He is preeminent. Our Lord Jesus is not to be merely dominant in heaven and earth; He is to be preeminent. Dominant means that He is numbered along with many other things that have importance, but preeminent means that there is no one else in view but Him. Nothing compares with Him; nothing can compete with Him; nothing can shine brighter than Him; nothing has greater importance than Him; nothing is higher than Him; nothing is more supreme than Him. He is all, and He is in all. This is the meaning of preeminent. Not only is He preeminent, but He is central. Everything centers upon the One who created all things and who holds all things together. He upholds all things by the word of His power. Remove Christ from this universe and all of creation will cease to exist. Our very existence is in Him. He is the Life! There is no life beyond Him. When He speaks, the Father speaks of the Centrality and Preeminence of His beloved Son: Listen to Him! What does the Son say?

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds." (Matthew 16:27) Let us listen to the beloved Son while it is still today! He is going to come!