The Day
Religion Died
"It
is Finished!"
What was finished?
What were the meaning of the words
Jesus cried aloud from the Cross?
Was it more than an agonizing cry of a dying man?
It was, in fact, to announce to all
of the earth and the heavens that he had accomplished his earthly mission.
At this watershed moment, the Lord became "The Seed"
who, was planted to bring forth a mighty harvest.
What Was Finished?
What
was finished? A life of alienation from God.
What
Was Finished?
A
Life Without Access to Intimacy in God's
What
Was Finished?
No
person could call God Father.
What
Was Finished?
The
Requirement of Keeping Religious Laws,
What
Was Finished?
The
Old Covenant Priesthood
What
was finished?
A life of alienation from God.
Before
Jesus said, "It is finished, " There was no real intimacy possible between
God and humanity . The life that was given upon the cross that day opened
the door of relationship to every man, woman and child upon the face
of the earth. The sayings of the angels in the fields near Bethlehem
had come to pass, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
and good will (blessings) extended toward all men of faith." (paraphrased,
Luke 2:14) If you would like to do some interesting research in the
Bible look up any references which refer to "justification." Justification
refers to the idea of God Almighty seeing us believers as being made
perfect by substituting Jesus Christ's goodness (or right standing)
for our own. One scripture to point out this application of access to
God is the first verse of Romans chapter 5, "Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."
What was Finished?
A
Life Without Access to Intimacy in God's Presence.
When Jesus cried out, "It is
finished," the veil of the temple was rent in two. The veil was
a fabric curtain of great size and weight which separated the Holy Place
from the place called the Holy of Holies, it was only within the Holy
of Holies where God would manifest physically after the priests had
sufficiently prepared with cleansing and with blood sacrifices. God
Almighty prior to this time manifested physically in one place
for a certain covenant people, the Jews. He was their God and
the Gentiles were until that time, excluded from fellowship and from
covenant. This is a scriptural reality that contradicts the beliefs
of a Universalist or Deist who maintains that God is and is the same
in any religion.
What
was finished? Until this moment,
No
person could call God "Father."
After
Jesus' sacrificial death, he was seen by Mary of Magdalla just before
he was to ascend to the throne, (John 20:17) Jesus spoke to Mary saying,
"Don't touch me yet, for I have not yet ascended, but go to my
brothers and tell them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father,
unto my God and their God." (paraphrased.)
Do
not assume in reading that the word "brothers" applied to the Lord's
friends and disciples before he made a way for them to become
true adopted "sons of God." Jesus spoke with such an emphasis that when
Mary was to annunciate his message, it made it very clear that there
was to be a brand new kind of relationship which was to known among
the disciples or believers. That we could be considered family to Jesus
Christ and to his Father. Christ was now our brother. God was now our
Father. Now we could actually pray the prayer which Jesus taught them,
saying, "Our Father, in heaven - -." Jesus is called, "- - the first
born of many brethren," in Romans 8, verse 29.
What
was Finished?
The
Requirement of Keeping Religious Laws,
Rituals, and Ordinances
Righteousness
was associated with keeping the law in the old covenant which Moses
brought to the house of Israel. The Ten Commandments were the principal
framework for righteous living, but you will note with any casual reading
of the Book of Leviticus that the laws were extensive, detailed, and
covered exhaustively matters of practice for every day life ranging
from food to social practices. There were covenant blessings resulting
from keeping the Laws of Moses, but there were also curses associated
with failure to keep the law even in the most minute detail. (Refer
to Deuteronomy chapter 28.) Jesus, one man, fulfilled the law. It was
as though we were given permission to borrow the test paper of a brilliant
classmate who scored a perfect 100 on an achievement test and we were
given the legal right to use his score. Where does scripture verify
this statement? Read the third chapter of Galatians, especially verse
13 and 16. This chapter is foundational reading for to understand God's
provision for receiving His acceptance through another's merit. It establishes
the nature of God's blessings as a free gift rather than a reward for
personal effort. Read it again and again and compare it to any church
taught doctrines which would place us in bondage to any works oriented
performance!
What
was finished? The Old Covenant Priesthood
When
Jesus declared, "It is finished." It also brought an end to the necessity
of having a class of persons whose job it was to communicate with God
on our behalf. The Levites were the tribe of Israel whose soul purpose
it was to minister to the Lord, to prepare sacrifices, to make atonements
for sin, to declare the people free and absolved from sin, to talk to
God, to hear and teach His Word. If you were a Levite you were automatically
a priest, not a priest plus another profession. You were supplied with
provision from the "tithes" of the people. They supported the work of
God by providing by the tithe of food and produce to feed the Levites
supply the temple. The priests talked with God on behalf of the people
of covenant. The priests were those who were trained to know the Word
of God and study the texts of Holy Law.
When
Jesus cried, "It is finished." it would come to pass that, " - the
old things would pass away and all things became new," The old priest
hood would pass away and a new priesthood would come. Jesus himself
would become the high priest over a new covenant, a better covenant.
It was to be an eternal, never perishing priesthood. He would sit at
the right hand of the Glory of God, "ever making intercession"
on the part of His children in the earth. He was appointed heir and
ruler over all things. This appointed heir and king and high priest
has all things at his command and all things under his feet. At the
utterance of his name ever spiritual and physical knee will have to
bow. (God is Great.)
The
people who could not know God were joined into the vine of Israel. The
people who could never enter within the veil of the Holiest Place could
enter in freely, being justified and purged from an evil conscience
by the blood of the Lamb. (Read Hebrews 10:2, Hebrews 10:22)
What
had happened? We (any and all believers) became priests unto our God.
We could enter in. We could minister to Him. We could offer up sacrifices
of praise. We could hear His voice. We could proclaim the Words that
He would speak to us. We could speak on His behalf. We could be an oracle
of God. We were given authority to use His name, the Name Jesus which
commands the Spiritual Power and authority over every name and condition.
We could study His Word we could hear His voice speaking in the Scriptures,
we could know the Wisdom of God.
We became Kings and Priests unto
our God. We received the "Spirit of Truth who could lead us into
all truth and we needed no man to teach us" about God. All of us
could be Taught by God. (Read John 6:45 and Hebrews 8:10, 11)
This is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel in those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them
in their hearts, and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me
a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, saying know
the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest."
  
1995 = 2006
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The Trouble with Religion
Attributes of Religion
2attrib.html
The Clergy Laity Doctrine
Denominational Empires
2"It is finished" What was finished?
Religion Essays Indexed
Behaviors of the Pharisees
Religion, Jeremiah's Stale Cisterns
Religion, God in a Box
Religion: A dividing force
Religious, emulated behaviors
Religion's Focus on Performance
Looking at Externals
Terms that have become Religious
Vines, True Vines and Others
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