Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. There are some scriptures
which men made wise by the Spirit of God tread lightly upon, confessing
that they know nothing as they ought to know. The meaning of
some scriptures is not so clearly revealed as are others, yet we
must look at them, seeking greater light and desiring to speak truth
alone. Thus we can merely state our
opinion about them desiring to glorify Christ. The man who is
convinced that his opinion is always correct is either a fool
or unlearned in the limitations of even spiritually minded men.
The Lord said in Mark 9, 1, Verily I say unto you that there be
some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death
till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. I have
no certain understanding of this passage, yet I think that I do
have some understanding of it, which I hope to share in a manner
which would encompass the essence of truth as it is in Jesus, even
if I miss the exact import of this passage in every detail.
The Lord could have been speaking of an event in the future. Yet
it would appear that it could not be beyond the lifetime of
those to whom he was speaking. Some have surmised that he is
speaking of the coming of his kingdom at the end of the age,
when he returns with a shout and the voice of the archangel.
But such seems unlikely, since he did say that this event would
occur while some of them were still alive. Others have thought
that he has reference to the coming destruction of Jerusalem
around the year 70 AD. In order to hold such a view,
one has to adopt the theory of what has been called Preterism.
Preterism contends that all prophecies have had their fulfillment at
that time, including the return of Christ to the earth. Then
there are those who believe that he has reference to the day of
his ascension back to the right hand of the Father, which was
witnessed by them as the heavens opened and he was received into
the glory which he had with the Father from the beginning. This
was indeed a momentous and glorious event which surely shaped their
concept of the extent of the reign of his kingdom. Yet I do
not believe this is the event which was referenced by the Lord,
due in large part to his statement that some of them would see this
event. It would appear that all of them
were present when he ascended. So we are left to consider what
event did he have reference to. When we look at the scriptures
which are considered prophetic, we can be certain that they have
their fulfillment in Christ, since the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy. All of the creation shall worship
at his footstool, because he is the creator of all things
which he made for that very purpose. He would reveal his glory to
a people which he created for that very reason, who would delight
not simply in his creation of them, but in their redemption,
which is clearly made manifest in the unfolding of his kingdom
in the earth. He had reference to this fact
when he said upon this rock, I will build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The opening up of
the understanding of his disciples was an ongoing work of his ministry.
One can only guess at their wonderment each time he performed some act
which caused them to say, what manner of man is this? Usually
the Lord brings home truth to our hearts, not in the initial
word which he gives us, but later, as he is pleased to open our
minds and causes us to see what should have been apparent to
us from the start, like the men on the road to Emmaus. So it
would appear to me that the event which he has reference to here
in Mark 9.1 is the event which occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration. We can tell the limited knowledge
that the disciples had of who he is and the place which he
occupies in the kingdom of God by the fact of Peter's desire
to build three tabernacles of equal import for Elijah, Moses,
and the Lord. Now to be sure, I expect that
Peter was overwhelmed at this vision and probably spoke without
thinking too deeply. Yet his line of thought is in
keeping with his Jewish heritage and tradition. How startling
it was to hear that voice from heaven thundering out, this is
my beloved son, hear him, as Moses and Elijah faded from view. If this is not a revelation of
the kingdom of God coming with power, I am not able to imagine
what would be. Yet that revelation was not immediate
to Peter, but was cemented in his mind on the day of Pentecost
when he declared, Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ. This is the message of his kingdom,
which has no end. Do you see Christ seated on the
everlasting throne of his kingdom in glory? For a free CD containing
15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at
windstream.net