Daily Lesson for Wednesday 28th of February 2024

The portrayal of God as the Messiah’s Father points to the coronation of the king when the king was adopted into God’s covenant (Psalms 2:7, Psalms 89:26-28). Psalms 2:1-12:7 foresees Christ’s resurrection and exaltation as the dawn of the new everlasting covenant and Christ’s royal priesthood (Acts 13:33-39, Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 5:5).

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

The Messiah sits at God’s right hand as Someone who has unprecedented honor and authority (Psalms 110:1; Acts 7:55-56). “Moreover, the interplay between the Lord and the ‘anointed’ (Messiah) even suggests an intention to identify this Davidic Messiah with the Lord Himself. . . . If the one who sits at the right is the Lord, then, the Lord is the Messiah, since the latter is also seen at the right [see Psalms 110:1, 5]._”—Jacques Doukhan, _On the Way to Emmaus (Clarksville, MD: Lederer Books, 2012), pages 26, 27.

In the end, Christ will have absolute victory over His enemies. To make the enemies a “footstool” is an image that reflects the custom of the ancient Near Eastern kings to place their feet on the necks of their defeated enemies to demonstrate total dominance over them. Yet, Christ’s rod here is not a tool of terror (Psalms 2:9, Psalms 110:2).

The rod (“staff”) was originally held by tribal leaders as the symbol of the tribe (Numbers 17:2-10). Christ’s rod comes from Zion because He represents the people of Zion. His rod is a symbol of divine judgment, which ends the rule of evil and depicts Christ’s unrivaled reign (Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5). Even the wicked kings are given a chance to repent and submit to the Messiah (Psalms 2:10-12).

One graphic depiction of Christ’s ultimate victory is found in the pre-Advent scene in Daniel 7:1-28, which shows that, after judgment is given “ ‘in favor of the saints of the Most High’ ” (Daniel 7:22, NKJV), His kingdom is established, and “ ‘His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom’ ” (Daniel 7:27, NKJV). Because of the Cross, the promise of the kingdom is assured.

A blessing is promised to all who trust in the King, and the people rejoice in the Messiah’s sovereign and righteous reign (Psalms 2:12, Psalms 89:15-17).

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For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Colossians 1:19-20 NLT

Why did God need to make peace with heaven? This verse right here may help us understand just how real the war in heaven was. Even after Lucifer was cast out, those who remained may have still had their doubts. Did God really love them, or did Lucifer have some good points about God just being a tyrant?

Photograph by William Earnhardt

On earth Eve was convinced God did not care for her, and she needed to eat the fruit and disobey, if she really wanted to be happy.

While all this was going on, is it possible some of the remaining angels in heaven still had some questions? Have you ever been loyal to a boss not because you thought he was fair, but because you did not see any way out? So out of fear, you remained loyal to him, still wishing you weren’t in that situation? If so, what did it take for you to reconcile the situation so you could have peace at work and not just conformity?

When the Son of God died on the cross, He was not just atoning for Eve taking a piece of fruit she was told not to. Eve’s disobedience was a symptom of her doubts. The Cross of Christ did not just take care of the symptoms of sin. The Cross took care of sin itself! The Cross removed all doubt about God’s love. All questions in heaven and earth are answered at the cross! There can be conformity while rebellion is still in the heart. The cross goes way beyond bringing us into conformity and outward obedience. The cross replaces our thoughts of rebellion with peaceful thoughts towards God.

That which alone can effectually restrain from sin in this world of darkness, will prevent sin in heaven. The significance of the death of Christ will be seen by saints and angels. Fallen men could not have a home in the paradise of God without the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Shall we not then exalt the cross of Christ? The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan. Angelic perfection failed in heaven. Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss. All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God.-Ellen White, Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889

Some have the idea that once we get to heaven, God will flip a little switch in the back of our heads that makes us stop sinning. After all, we will be in heaven and so we automatically won’t sin, right?

Wait. Where did sin begin? Heaven!

The reason why humans and angels will not sin, is the same reason why God reconciled both heaven and earth to Himself. The cross of Jesus. The cross cures the root cause of sin which is doubting God’s love. The reason there will be no sin in heaven is not due to a mechanical correction that the flip of a switch will fix. The reason there will be no sin in heaven will be because the cross will cure humans and angels alike from ever doubting God’s love, and thinking we need anything God has not given us. There will be no reason to rebel.

Rules without relationship cause rebellion. The love of Christ on the cross removes our fear of God, so we are not afraid to have an intimate relationship with Him. With our relationship cured, we will have no reason to rebel. We won’t be conformists. We will be free-thinking moral agents who are at peace with God because God is love.

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