2419AFC051024 – Believe it or else, too ← 😊 PODCAST LINK
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Mark 16:6-16 – 9 Now after he [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
Ephesians 1:17-19 – 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened (↔ Music Link), you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Acts 1:10-11 – (NIV)[1] 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. I must compliment you on your excellent memory if today’s title sounds familiar. That same title appeared in a post on May 28, 2021. There may be some similarities, but overall the content is different. Readers who have been reading these posts since 2021 may remember that The Ascension is, for me, the most reassuring passage in Scripture. Why? Because it states unequivocally that Jesus is coming back in the same way he was seen going back up into Heaven. There are many other things in Scripture associated with that event, but for me and my heart they are all secondary to the assurance that he’s going to be coming back. Many in the Early Church believed that his return was even imminent – surely occurring in their lifetimes. Throughout the ensuing centuries, many “Prophets” have assured us that Jesus will arrive on a specific date.
We know better – or at least we should! “It is not for you to know the hour or the seasons …” I’m OK with that because the hour and the seasons are also secondary for me and my heart. He told us he would come back. The “men in White” told us he had been raised and will be coming back. The Church Fathers have told us he’s coming back. That’s enough evidence to convince me; but then, I have 2000+ years of history, teaching, theology, and F.A.I.T.H. under my belt. The Apostles and Disciples present with Jesus at the instant of his Ascension had only about 40 days to get used to the idea that he was leaving now and would be back “later.” To paraphrase a phrase, “We’ve been waiting over two-thousand years. What’s another couple of weeks, or centuries for that matter?” Since we don’t (can’t) know, there exists no reason whatsoever to give up Hope or be discouraged because today is not the day (or is it? Time will tell!) We all know that verse about “a day is a thousand years in God’s sight,” (See 2 Peter 3:8) so for God it could be tomorrow or the day after. I may or may not be a corporeal being when it happens. NO BIGGIE! I’ve already got a good head-start at Everlasting Life. Some of the people I know would be surprised at that. A subset of those would be convinced I was off my rocker and a smaller group would think I was just bragging – or totally ignorant. It does not matter to me. It does, however, matter to God.
It matters because if I fail to believe what God and his messengers (Prophets, Angels, Apostles, and other similarly-qualified persons), then it’s like calling God a liar. Everybody knows that’s a bad idea! Recall the words of Gabriel to Mary: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (See Luke 1:37) Mary believed that, and so she said “Yes.” I b
elieve it, and I, too, say “Yes nothing is impossible with God.” Again, I reiterate that we have had a lot more time to think about this than the Apostles and Disciples did. We have evidence of this just up the page from our Key Verses in Acts of the Apostles at Acts 1:6 – 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus was so patient with them! He knew what would happen when the Holy Spirit came to them at Pentecost. They were still stuck in the Davidic image of the Messiah as a military leader that would liberate Israel from their oppressors – at the time, Rome. Jesus had told them multiple times that he would suffer greatly at the hands of their leaders, would die, and be raised up on the third day. They believed he was the Messiah, that he was the Son of God, but could not grasp the Truth of his Prophecy of death and Resurrection. We read in Matthew’s account of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:17 – 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
Even the presence of two Men in White could not convince those who doubted. Their motto would be something like, “I did see it, but I just can’t believe it.” This reminds me of a passage in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 11:31 –
31 If the righteous are repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the sinner! This was quoted by The Apostle Peter in
1 Peter 4:18 – 18 And
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?” When I first studied the Ascension back in the mid-50’s, I was using the King James Version. In that translation, the statement is “This same Jesus.” In the translation I usually use, the word “same” is not present. That’s why I put the NIV quote in this post. When I’m serving as a Lector and read that verse, I emphasize the word THIS instead of the name of Jesus – most readers will say, “This Jesus.” It comes out as “T H I S … Jesus” so that the word “same” is replaced by a brief silence, and that emphasizes the demonstrative article “this.” The absolutely undeniable FACT that it will be this, and only this, Jesus is a difference we must be aware of in our F.A.I.T.H. one might say, “Well, isn’t that kind of silly being that specific? I mean, who else would it be?” After the first 2000 years of study, I agree; but back then, “some doubted.” The Greek word – οὗτος – used in this passage is very specific and means this one, the one visibly present here, the one just named and none other than this one. There’s not another one, there’s no way it could be someone else. It will be precisely, exactly, permanently that same guy you just saw take off into the clouds. It is HE who will return to you. (See 1917AFC042619 – THIS is important for more about οὗτος (oútos) {hoo-tohs or oo-tohs} as it appears in verse 11 (↔ Click Link)
At this point I invite you to find and read 2021AFC052220 – What is doubt? Now, of course, all of us know what doubt is. I could even say, “I doubt very, very few people are 
uncertain about doubt.” But before that, I want to recall some “tough-guy talk.” We’re familiar with the phrase, “Believe it or not” from the long-running newspaper funnies feature Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Here’s one example. “Believe it or else” is a take-off on that catch phrase. The tough talk was a comeback, “Or else what?” The first place in Scripture that we find the answer “or else this!” is in Deuteronomy 1:32 during the Desert Wanderings. Spies had been sent up into Canaan to assess the threat of the nations they would face. In the verses before this one, most of the spies spread doubt and fear saying that the inhabitants are fierce giants. Only Joshua and Caleb believe Israel can prevail. Despite all that God had done for them to bring them out of Egypt and to protect them, they did not trust God to help them prevail against that threat. The “or else” turned out to be forty years of wandering, a whole generation dying out, and, eventually they still had to fight those people. When the Apostles who had not seen Jesus heard the accounts of those who had, they did not believe it despite all the miraculous things Jesus had already done in their presence.
Again, Jesus was patient with them, but throughout his ministry, he did not chase after those who would not believe. He allowed them to choose between belief and unbelief. For those who chose belief, they experienced the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who chose unbelief did not experience that. These are the same consequences we can earn for the same choices – believe it or else. Belief, F.A.I.T.H., is rewarded with an eternity in the presence of God. Unbelief, F.E.A.R., is rewarded with an eternity outside the presence of God. Believe it or else, or believe it or not. And, of course, it’s in the APP.
Sorry for being late with this. SOMEthing got hold of me Wednesday afternoon and I had zero energy for about 48 hours and slept for about 40 of those.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
[1] Passages marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
