Make straight the way for him to come.

Make straight the way for him to come.

 

Mark 1:1-76『The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out to him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about him. loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey』

The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, appears in the writings of Isaiah.

『I send my messenger before thy face』My messenger means John the Baptist. This John the Baptist is Elijah, as seen in Malachi (Chapter 4, Verse 5). 『Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:』 The great and dreadful day of the LORD is mentioned in more detail in Joel 2:31-32.『 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.』

The prophet Joel talks about appearing on that great and fearful day in Joel 2:28-30. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.』

Peter, a disciple of Jesus, received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and began speaking to people based on what Joel had said. (Acts 2:16) In Acts 2:5, “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.”

On the day of Pentecost, devout Jews from foreign lands came to Jerusalem and heard the disciples speaking in different languages. As they were talking to each other in amazement and wonder, Peter quoted Joel's words to them. Peter further comments on what the prophet Joel said in Joel 2:20. 『The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come』

These words are similar to the content of Matthew 24:29. 『Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:』 Regarding this, church people speak of the great tribulation that will occur during the end times, when Jesus returns to the air. Additionally, in Matthew 24:30, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.” With power and great glory.』With these words, people are saying that Jesus will return in the air on the last day.

However, these words do not refer to the second coming of Jesus on earth at the end of time, but to the second coming of Christ entering the temple built by the power of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. Through the prophet Joel, Jehovah said that he would pour out my spirit (Holy Spirit) on my servants.

The servants of Jehovah, on whom the Holy Spirit will be poured out in the future, are saints who believe in union with Christ through death on the cross. For believers who believe in present resurrection, their old self (old temple) is destroyed and a new temple is built in their hearts.

The collapse of the old temple is expressed in the Gospel of Matthew as the power of heaven shaking. In fact, the Jerusalem Temple (Old Temple) collapsed in A.D. 70. And the Bible says that people see Christ coming in the clouds with power and glory, “the sight of Christ entering the hearts of the saints.” This is the second coming of Christ in the hearts of believers. The second coming of Christ is for those who believe in present resurrection.

『Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.』 His paths are the path of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist, born into the world through the spirit of Elijah, straightens the path of Jesus Christ. In the meantime, the prophets had been preaching the coming of Jesus Christ in various twists and turns, but now John the Baptist is going to preach the message in a straightforward manner.

It means that Heaven (He Basileia ton Uranon) has come near. What is the relationship between Elijah and heaven (heaven in the heart: resurrection)? It is the resurrection faith. Instead of seeing his death, Elijah ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot. This means ascending to heaven with a body of eternal life, similar to Jesus dying and Christ being resurrected and ascending to heaven. So ultimately, the kingdom of heaven preached by John the Baptist is resurrection and the kingdom of God in the heart.

『John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 』

The prerequisite for resurrection is union with death on the cross. The Bible connects this to baptism. In Romans 6:3, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” John the Baptist only spoke of water baptism. Water baptism means death to sin. However, Jesus also received baptism from John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:13-15, “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.” But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comet thou to me? And Jesus answered unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.』

Jesus being baptized means dying with the body of sin to atone for all sinners in the world. At this time, the body of sin is the first man, Adam (the old man), and the last man, Adam (Jesus), redeems (through death on the cross) all who are in the first man. In Matthew 3:11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance.” but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:』

Baptism by fire represents the death of the old self (physical soul). The soul is like clothes. Burning the old soul with the fire of the Holy Spirit. This symbolizes judgment. This is the judgment (second death) that appeared in Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, those who have been burned by the fire of the Holy Spirit are considered by God to be condemned to the second death.

Water baptism is death to sin, and fire baptism is death to the soul (old self). The combination of these two results in the death of Jesus on the cross. Being united with Jesus' death on the cross means dying to sin and dying to the soul. And Christ is resurrected as a new person (new soul: spiritual body), and those who are united with Jesus on the cross are resurrected by God with Christ. In other words, God gives believers a new body. Therefore, the saints' old self dies and they take on the body of a new self (resurrection: clothes of Christ). Romans 6:5 『For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:』

『John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about him. loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey.』These words are an image of the Israelites leaving Egypt. The camel symbolizes the law. Israel, Pharaoh's slave, is the image of a person under the law. And before the Exodus, the tenth and final plague, the death of the eldest son (death of the lamb), appears. So, the people smeared the lamb's blood on the doorposts and lintels, and quickly ate the lamb's meat. They wore leather belts around their waists and prepared for the Exodus.

Grasshoppers symbolize judgment. The death of the eldest son symbolizes that everyone, whether Egyptian or Israelite, is dead. However, eating the meat of a lamb (baptism of fire) means that the Israelites died along with their old self, the eldest son (the first Adam), and became new people. The Red Sea split, and everyone who entered it drowned. (Water baptism) Everyone died, whether they were Egyptians or Israelites. This death is death by drowning for sin. However, the Israelites who escaped the Red Sea also died to sin (death on the cross), but became alive to righteousness (resurrection) by the grace of God.

Wild blue symbolizes Canaan. Canaan is the promised land flowing with milk and honey. Just as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, new people and children born in the wilderness enter the Promised Land with Joshua (Jesus) and Caleb (the Gentile). Canaan symbolizes resurrection. Entering Canaan from the wilderness means that “those who died on the cross with Jesus were resurrected with Christ.”

The gospel of Christ means “present death on the cross” and “present resurrection.” The gospel is good news. The present resurrection is truly good news. However, today there are not many people who accept the present resurrection. Because they look with physical eyes.