Two Adams: An Amazing Story (Part II)

A prophetic verse concerning Jesus Christ is recorded in Psalm 40:7: “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,”.  On every page of God’s volume of the book, the Holy Bible, sometimes covertly and sometimes overtly, you’ll find Jesus Christ.  From the first page where God writes about the first day of creation and commands, “Let there be light”—though the physical sun was not created until the fourth day—to the last verse of God’s volume where we read Revelation 22:21: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen,” you’ll find Jesus Christ.  Imagine, in eternity, we’ll have no need for the physical sun.  Revelation 22:5:

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

The Bible is like an owner’s manual for this life: how we got here, what we are to do while here, and where we are going.  Our history is penned, our future is reliably predicted, and every inch of the way, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, presides.  Truly, the volume of the Book testifies of this King of kings. 

In the volume of the Book, we’ll find this concerning Jesus Christ. Acts 4:11-12:

11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Have you been saved?  Have you been born again—literally born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God?  Will today be the day you interact in the volume of the book?  Will today mark your brand-new beginning, free of all sin, shame, and life’s bondages?  Make your move while you still have time.  Click onto "Further with Jesus" for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT. 

GOD SAID, Genesis 5:1-2:

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

GOD SAID, Romans 5:18-19:

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19 For as by one man''s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

GOD SAID, I Corinthians 15:45-47:

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

MAN SAID: There never was an only begotten Son of God, virgin-born, who came to save the world.  He did not preach the Gospel of salvation, hang on a cross on Golgotha’s hill, or resurrect from the dead—absolutely not!

Now THE RECORD: This is Part II of the series dealing with the first and last Adams.  All matters of life and death—even eternal life—are dictated by either Adam One or the last Adam, Jesus Christ.  Feature One addressed the First Adam—the father of all humanity—who was created by God on day six of the creation week just over 6,000 years ago.  There was most literally such a man.  Science says yes, history says yes, and the God of the Bible declares it so.  Obviously, all the writers of the Bible would have understood that Adam was the first man.  Jesus Christ firmly certified him.  On GodSaidManSaid, you will find additional information regarding Adam should you desire to seek more.   

When Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, eternal life was lost and eternal damnation was gained.  God commanded Mr. and Mrs. Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  He warned that if they disobeyed, they would die the very day they did so.  Adam and Eve ate and died that very day—not the physical death, which occurred hundreds of years later, but they died the second death, the spiritual death that lasts for all eternity.   Concerning the second death, Jesus says in Revelation 2:11:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Because Adam and Eve were spiritually dead, all of their children were spiritually stillborn.  Speaking of this issue, Ephesians 2:1 reads:

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 

Not only were we spiritually stillborn, but we were taken by Satan at his will (II Timothy 2:26). 

Satan becomes the god—little g-o-d—of this world.  II Corinthians 4:3-4:

3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Satan gained this status when the once-immortal Adam, who had been given dominion over all the earth, chose to throw in his lot with the devil.  Thus, Satan says to Jesus in Luke 4:6:

And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

In the Garden of Eden, the world and all its creation was thrown into a desperate fallen state that will only worsen and finally arrive at the impending judgment of God’s Great White Throne.  But God planned a masterful way of escape that met and satisfied all spiritual laws in play.  That masterful plan is discovered in the last Adam, Jesus Christ the Righteous. 

Was there in fact a Last Adam?  Was there a Jesus Christ as portrayed in the Bible?  GodSaidManSaid has published numerous features regarding the historicity of this King of Glory.  The answer to the questions posed is YES! —beyond any reasonable doubt.  A few excerpts concerning this Christ follow:

Author R.O. Muncaster penned the following in his book, Examine the Evidence: 

The Babylonian Talmud consists of 63 books of legal, ethical, spiritual, theological, ritual, and historical insight.  Written and edited over many centuries, the part of the Talmud of most interest regarding Jesus is that portion that was written during the Tannaitic Period, from AD 70 to 200.  A particularly significant text is in Sanhedrin 43a:

On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu [Jesus—one version of this text actually says “Yeshu the Nazarene”].  And an announcer went out in front of him for forty days, saying: “He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead in his behalf.”  But not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover. 

This passage is important in that it was written by Jews that not only denied Jesus, but were actively proselytizing against Christians.  Courts of law have long maintained that some of the most powerful testimony is corroborative testimony from hostile witnesses (in this case, Jews testifying about Jesus).  What can be deduced from the Talmud’s words is:

1. That Jesus existed;

2. That Jesus was crucified (“hanged”) on the eve of Passover;

3. That He performed miracles (the Jews referred to this as sorcery);

4. That He led many people away from legalistic Jewish teaching (as indicated in the New Testament in Matthew 15:3-9); and

5. That the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. 

In summary, the evidence of Jesus written in the Talmud, by the very Jews who despised Him, is strong testimony of His existence and acts.  It is very significant that it is in total agreement with the account of Jesus in the New Testament, including references to miracles, to the crucifixion, and to other details.  [End of quote]

Grant Jeffrey, in his book The Signature of God, wrote the following concerning famed ancient historian Flavius Josephus:

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, a contemporary of the apostle Paul, recorded the following:

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.  He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him: for he appeared to them alive again the third day: as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.  And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day. 

Josephus was a Pharisee and a Jewish priest living in Jerusalem.  Born in AD 37, he witnessed firsthand the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  He fought as a general of the Jewish rebel forces in Galilee in the war against Rome.  Josephus was captured by the Romans at the fall of the city of Jotapata and befriended the Roman general Vespasian.  As a historian, with access to both Roman and Jewish governmental records, he described the events in Israel during the turbulent decades of the first century. 

In AD 94, Josephus published in Rome his definitive study of the history of the Jewish people, titled Antiquities of the Jews.  One of the most fascinating passages in this history concerns the events in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As expected, numerous liberal scholars have declared that Josephus’s reference to Jesus Christ and another reference to James and John the Baptist must be interpolations or forgeries added later by unnamed Christian editors.  An assertion of forgery requires significant proof, but none of the scholars can produce an ancient copy of Antiquities of the Jews that does not contain the quoted passage on Jesus.  Philip Schaff has declared that all ancient copies of Josephus’s book, including the early Slavic [Russian] and Arabic-language versions, do in fact contain the disputed passage about the life of Jesus Christ. 

Every copy of Antiquities of the Jews from the fourth and fifth centuries AD, in several different languages, contains these passages.  If the events recorded in the Gospels actually occurred, it is only natural that Josephus would mention them in his narrative.  In fact, it would be astonishing if Josephus had failed to mention anything about the ministry and resurrection of Jesus. 

Biblical scholar Craig Blomberg wrote that “many recent studies of Josephus, however, agree that much of the passage closely resembles Josephus’s style of writing elsewhere… [M]ost of the passage seems to be authentic and is certainly the most important ancient non-Christian testimony to the life of Jesus which has been preserved.”  Blomberg concluded with this statement: “The Gospels may therefore be trusted as historically reliable.”  [End of quote]

The academic skeptics consistently struggle against the truth.  But, Jesus Christ surely was and Jesus Christ surely is, and Jesus Christ will surely return again—just like He said. 

Why does the blood of Jesus Christ wash our sins away?  Why does God require blood for atonement?  Why did Jesus give His flesh for the life of the world?  Why are the devils terrified by the blood of Jesus?  This life-changing mystery is uncovered in what is arguably the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job.  In this book, an argument arises between God and Satan. The legal parameters of what would have to happen to wrench free the sons of Adam from the double-dead bondage of the enemy of our souls is laid out in plain sight.  The argument takes place on two different occasions when the non-human sons of God come before Him to give account of their activities.  The first debate occurs in Job 1:6-11:

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

After destroying all that Job has, including Job’s ten children—all in one day—Satan believes that Job will curse God to His face. Instead, Job 1:20-22 reads:

20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother''s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

After this obvious defeat, Satan regroups to challenge God a second time.  Job 2:1-5:

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job’s trial in the second argument goes on for what appears to be months. 

Satan’s challenge was that no man could live up to God’s standards; his argument was confirmed by the Scriptures.  Romans 3:10-12:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Satan was constantly accusing the brethren before God.  He was demonstrating that no one was righteous.  It is noteworthy that Satan knew Job but had not challenged his credentials.  Of the Devil, Revelation 12:10 reads:

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Satan lays out his legal challenge in Job as follows:

1. The man would have to be sinless;

2. The man must be motivated to serve God because of his love for God and not just for what God could provide to him;

3. Even in the most severe times of life when situations go drastically wrong, the man would not charge God foolishly; and

4. In the midst of life’s trials—even when life itself was in the balance and even when it appeared that God had deserted him—the man would not curse God to His face. 

Satan lays out a standard that he thinks is impossible to attain, and in a way, appears to be attempting to justify his own failure to live up to God’s standards.  Satan’s challenge stands for thousands of years until the arrival of the Last Adam.  Next week, God willing, we will have the conclusion of the matter: why the devils are terrified by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

GOD SAID, Genesis 5:1-2:

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

GOD SAID, Romans 5:18-19:

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19 For as by one man''s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

GOD SAID, I Corinthians 15:45-47:

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

MAN SAID: There never was a virgin-born, only begotten Son of God who came to save the world.  He did not preach the Gospel of salvation, hang on a cross on Golgotha’s hill, and of course, did not resurrect from the dead—absolutely not!

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Jeffrey, G., The Signature of God, Waterbrook Press, 2010

Muncaster, R., Examine the Evidence, Harvest House Publishers, 2004

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