“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, 'In just a little while he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, 'But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.'” (Hebrews 10:36-38)
The Covenant With Noah
Genesis 6:9-13,
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on the earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”
Genesis 8:20-22,
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the bests of the earth and all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting, I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by human beings shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made humankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Genesis 9:8 -17,
“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 'I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you -the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you -every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.' and God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'”
The Covenant With Abraham
Genesis 15:3-12,
“Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 'As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.'
Then God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.”
The Covenant with Abraham was also established with Isaac and Jacob. Leviticus 26:40-42 says,
Genesis 17:19,
Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Covenant Established with Jacob
Genesis 28:12-15,
And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
The Covenant With Moses
Exodus 34:10-11,27-28,
“Then the Lord said: 'I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.... Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.' Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant -the Ten Commandments.'”
Hebrews 9:19-20,
"When Moses had p;roclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."
Covenant with David
2 Samuel 7:11-16,
The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'”
Psalm 89:3-4,
“You said, 'I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your life forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'”
Jesus the Mediator of The New and Better Covenant
Hebrews 8:6-13,
“But in fact the ministry Jesus had received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
The Day Approaching
Hebrews 10:19-25
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,having our hearts sprinkled to cleans us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
2 Peter 3:8-14,
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done it it will be lade bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming [Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come]. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.”
Revelation 3:11-12,
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Those who are victorious I will make pillars in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”
Throughout history, one thing is very evident - God moving to restore us to the intimate relationship He once held with us in the Garden of Eden before the fall. God has been making a way for us. He will not be delayed in His return and eventual union with us as bridegroom with His beloved bride.
As noted in Genesis 9, the Noahic Covenant is with all flesh and for all time. All humanity partakes in the blessings and promises of God through Noah. It is a covenant of grace (versus faith) given freely to humanity. Jesus says in Matthew 5:45, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
The Covenant with Abraham and his seed (not all flesh) is a covenant of faith. Romans 4:13 says, "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith."
And when Moses came, he did not replace the Abrahamic Covenant. In Exodus 4:24-26 it says, “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,' she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said 'bridegroom of blood,' referring to circumcision.)”
Instead, the covenant with Abraham and with Moses became obsolete through the coming of Jesus, promised through David's line, when the laws were put in our minds and written on our hearts. The covenant with Jesus says in Matthew 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” And Hebrews 8:13 says about the new covenant, “By calling this covenant 'new', he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Hebrews 7:18 notes, "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And Hebrews 8:7 says, "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.'" The fault was found not with God or with His promises, but in our ability to keep them, drawing near to God.
2 Samuel 14:14, ""For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from him."
Heirs of Promise by Faith
Hebrews 12:14 says, "without holiness no one will see the Lord." God has been restoring what was lost in the fall – intimacy with Him. Jesus, our forerunner, has entered into the Holy of Holies on our behalf, as high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20). Where previously, only a high priest could enter in to the inner sanctuary of the Lord and only once a year, and never without blood (Hebrews 9:7), we have been given free access to the Father through Jesus. And Hebrews 6:19 assures us that our hope is firm and secure, an anchor for the soul.
Ephesians 1:11-14 says, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -to the praise of his glory.”
And Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:22, "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
And what is to come? Hebrews 9:28 says, "he [Christ] will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary notes, "unto salvation-to bring in completed salvation; redeeming then the body which is as yet subject to the bondage of corruption."
Through water and blood, we are being cleansed and purified and made ready for His coming. Peter says, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleans us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
So what is our part? As Hebrews 11 notes, we enter into the promises of God, as our forefathers did, through faith. Hebrews 6:11-12 says, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Faith and patience is not meant to be a white knuckle, teeth gritting, endurance through trials and difficulties while we await the return of Jesus and the fulfilment of all things. Paul prays for the church in Colossians 1:11-12, “We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul- not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory strength God gives. It is the strength that endures the endurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful He has for us!”
Someone once noted (Mother Teresa I think), that it is not the length of a person's life that truly matters but what people do with it that counts. The tragedy is not that all do not live long lives, but that too many fail to live their lives purposefully. Some people fail to ever really live. They live fully for themselves and end their lives bitter and resentful, seeing the gift of their long life as a curse. Others, live a very short life, but so come alive in Christ, that they influence and make a difference in the lives of many around them.
Each of us can choose, not how much time we have, the generation we live in, or the circumstances we are given, but what we do with our time on this earth. Enoch lived a fairly short life compared to his ancestors. He lived 365 years when his father had lived 962 years. Enoch, lived in a time when the earth was corrupt and on the verge of destruction. Yet, Enoch chose to spend his time on earth, faithfully, in a close relationship with God, until God took him away (Genesis 5:24).
Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Jude 14-15 says about Enoch, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: 'See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Susan Sievers once wrote, “Enoch is a roadmap from time to eternity for every believer. He is a sign to this generation.... Some of God's signposts and maps are in a body. He lived on the horizon of the coming of the Lord. The earth was corrupt and the people were running out of time and space to repent. Enoch was a sign: God has made a way of escape.... a faith escape.” [1]
“People get ready, Jesus is coming” sings in the background.
Living purposefully is not about getting all the actions right, but living by faith and patience, even in difficult trials. We throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And we run with perseverance, the race that was marked out for us, fixing our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith. Who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame (Hebrews 12:1-2). We deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
Too often I have tried to enter into the fullness of Christ by working hard and striving. Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-15, “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him....And let your living spill over into thanksgiving... Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in – insiders – not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone though for you, destroying the power of sin.”
Lord, I planned to write how I could live a more purposeful life in these last days. How I could better order my steps according to Your word and be more faithful. I do not want to be a servant that is found sleeping. And instead, You show me that You are the one making the way. I do not need to work hard to get it all right, instead I need to enter into your promises by faith and patience. You made the way of escape. I long to be faithful, help me to fix my eyes on you and fully live, by faith.
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
(Hebrews 13:20-21, MSG)
The Day Approaches (an old hymn) -
The day approaches; Jesus soon is coming.
Redeem the time; it must not slip away.
Lord, make us ready for the cry: "Behold Him!"
By using every moment of each day.
When Jesus comes, will we go in to meet Him?
When Jesus comes, will we from self have ceased?
He's coming soon to take the wise ones with Him.
Oh, let us not be left outside the feast.
Lord, help us to redeem these golden moments;
Our vessels fill with ointment from above;
Help us amen each trial and tribulation;
Increase in us; make us abound in love.
He's coming soon—these moments are so precious.
The oil is here—Oh, let us buy the more.
Amen the trials and welcome tribulations—
The kingdom's ours through these afflictions sore.
Lord, ever turn us from our soulish pleasures
To gaze upon Thy tender, loving face.
Oh, keep us running forth to meet the Bridegroom
And patiently attending to the race.
When Jesus comes, will we be in His presence?
When Jesus comes, will we His face behold?
Oh, let us not return to sloth and folly,
But jealously His loving presence hold.
As His dear Bride, let us go forth to meet Him,
Our lamps well-trimmed, our fires burning bright,
Our vessels filled, our eyes set on His glory,
To be with Him completely satisfied.
Yes, satisfied—Christ and His Bride together.
Yes, satisfied—throughout eternity.
Oh, what a rest, what joy, what love, what favor
To be His Bride when He comes to His feast!
1. Sievers, Susan. The Enoch Generation. Knowing God Ministries. 2002.
The Covenant With Noah
Genesis 6:9-13,
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on the earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”
Genesis 8:20-22,
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
'As long as the earth endures,Genesis 9:1-7,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.'”
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the bests of the earth and all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting, I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by human beings shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made humankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Genesis 9:8 -17,
“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 'I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you -the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you -every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.' and God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'”
The Covenant With Abraham
Genesis 15:3-12,
“Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 'As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.'
Then God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.”
The Covenant with Abraham was also established with Isaac and Jacob. Leviticus 26:40-42 says,
“If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.”Covenant Established with Isaac
Genesis 17:19,
Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Covenant Established with Jacob
Genesis 28:12-15,
And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
The Covenant With Moses
Exodus 34:10-11,27-28,
“Then the Lord said: 'I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.... Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.' Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant -the Ten Commandments.'”
Hebrews 9:19-20,
"When Moses had p;roclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."
Covenant with David
2 Samuel 7:11-16,
The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'”
Psalm 89:3-4,
“You said, 'I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your life forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'”
Jesus the Mediator of The New and Better Covenant
Hebrews 8:6-13,
“But in fact the ministry Jesus had received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
'The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.Hebrews 10:14-18,
This is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbors, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'”
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
The Day Approaching
Hebrews 10:19-25
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,having our hearts sprinkled to cleans us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
2 Peter 3:8-14,
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done it it will be lade bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming [Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come]. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.”
Revelation 3:11-12,
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Those who are victorious I will make pillars in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”
Throughout history, one thing is very evident - God moving to restore us to the intimate relationship He once held with us in the Garden of Eden before the fall. God has been making a way for us. He will not be delayed in His return and eventual union with us as bridegroom with His beloved bride.
As noted in Genesis 9, the Noahic Covenant is with all flesh and for all time. All humanity partakes in the blessings and promises of God through Noah. It is a covenant of grace (versus faith) given freely to humanity. Jesus says in Matthew 5:45, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
The Covenant with Abraham and his seed (not all flesh) is a covenant of faith. Romans 4:13 says, "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith."
And when Moses came, he did not replace the Abrahamic Covenant. In Exodus 4:24-26 it says, “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,' she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said 'bridegroom of blood,' referring to circumcision.)”
Instead, the covenant with Abraham and with Moses became obsolete through the coming of Jesus, promised through David's line, when the laws were put in our minds and written on our hearts. The covenant with Jesus says in Matthew 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” And Hebrews 8:13 says about the new covenant, “By calling this covenant 'new', he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Hebrews 7:18 notes, "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And Hebrews 8:7 says, "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.'" The fault was found not with God or with His promises, but in our ability to keep them, drawing near to God.
2 Samuel 14:14, ""For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from him."
Heirs of Promise by Faith
Hebrews 12:14 says, "without holiness no one will see the Lord." God has been restoring what was lost in the fall – intimacy with Him. Jesus, our forerunner, has entered into the Holy of Holies on our behalf, as high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20). Where previously, only a high priest could enter in to the inner sanctuary of the Lord and only once a year, and never without blood (Hebrews 9:7), we have been given free access to the Father through Jesus. And Hebrews 6:19 assures us that our hope is firm and secure, an anchor for the soul.
Ephesians 1:11-14 says, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -to the praise of his glory.”
And Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:22, "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
And what is to come? Hebrews 9:28 says, "he [Christ] will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary notes, "unto salvation-to bring in completed salvation; redeeming then the body which is as yet subject to the bondage of corruption."
Through water and blood, we are being cleansed and purified and made ready for His coming. Peter says, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleans us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
So what is our part? As Hebrews 11 notes, we enter into the promises of God, as our forefathers did, through faith. Hebrews 6:11-12 says, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Faith and patience is not meant to be a white knuckle, teeth gritting, endurance through trials and difficulties while we await the return of Jesus and the fulfilment of all things. Paul prays for the church in Colossians 1:11-12, “We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul- not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory strength God gives. It is the strength that endures the endurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful He has for us!”
Someone once noted (Mother Teresa I think), that it is not the length of a person's life that truly matters but what people do with it that counts. The tragedy is not that all do not live long lives, but that too many fail to live their lives purposefully. Some people fail to ever really live. They live fully for themselves and end their lives bitter and resentful, seeing the gift of their long life as a curse. Others, live a very short life, but so come alive in Christ, that they influence and make a difference in the lives of many around them.
Each of us can choose, not how much time we have, the generation we live in, or the circumstances we are given, but what we do with our time on this earth. Enoch lived a fairly short life compared to his ancestors. He lived 365 years when his father had lived 962 years. Enoch, lived in a time when the earth was corrupt and on the verge of destruction. Yet, Enoch chose to spend his time on earth, faithfully, in a close relationship with God, until God took him away (Genesis 5:24).
Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Jude 14-15 says about Enoch, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: 'See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Susan Sievers once wrote, “Enoch is a roadmap from time to eternity for every believer. He is a sign to this generation.... Some of God's signposts and maps are in a body. He lived on the horizon of the coming of the Lord. The earth was corrupt and the people were running out of time and space to repent. Enoch was a sign: God has made a way of escape.... a faith escape.” [1]
“People get ready, Jesus is coming” sings in the background.
Living purposefully is not about getting all the actions right, but living by faith and patience, even in difficult trials. We throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And we run with perseverance, the race that was marked out for us, fixing our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith. Who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame (Hebrews 12:1-2). We deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
Too often I have tried to enter into the fullness of Christ by working hard and striving. Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-15, “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him....And let your living spill over into thanksgiving... Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in – insiders – not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone though for you, destroying the power of sin.”
Lord, I planned to write how I could live a more purposeful life in these last days. How I could better order my steps according to Your word and be more faithful. I do not want to be a servant that is found sleeping. And instead, You show me that You are the one making the way. I do not need to work hard to get it all right, instead I need to enter into your promises by faith and patience. You made the way of escape. I long to be faithful, help me to fix my eyes on you and fully live, by faith.
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
(Hebrews 13:20-21, MSG)
The Day Approaches (an old hymn) -
The day approaches; Jesus soon is coming.
Redeem the time; it must not slip away.
Lord, make us ready for the cry: "Behold Him!"
By using every moment of each day.
When Jesus comes, will we go in to meet Him?
When Jesus comes, will we from self have ceased?
He's coming soon to take the wise ones with Him.
Oh, let us not be left outside the feast.
Lord, help us to redeem these golden moments;
Our vessels fill with ointment from above;
Help us amen each trial and tribulation;
Increase in us; make us abound in love.
He's coming soon—these moments are so precious.
The oil is here—Oh, let us buy the more.
Amen the trials and welcome tribulations—
The kingdom's ours through these afflictions sore.
Lord, ever turn us from our soulish pleasures
To gaze upon Thy tender, loving face.
Oh, keep us running forth to meet the Bridegroom
And patiently attending to the race.
When Jesus comes, will we be in His presence?
When Jesus comes, will we His face behold?
Oh, let us not return to sloth and folly,
But jealously His loving presence hold.
As His dear Bride, let us go forth to meet Him,
Our lamps well-trimmed, our fires burning bright,
Our vessels filled, our eyes set on His glory,
To be with Him completely satisfied.
Yes, satisfied—Christ and His Bride together.
Yes, satisfied—throughout eternity.
Oh, what a rest, what joy, what love, what favor
To be His Bride when He comes to His feast!
1. Sievers, Susan. The Enoch Generation. Knowing God Ministries. 2002.
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