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An Epic Drama

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I have hope that ties in with Moses when he was leading the Israelites in the wilderness.  When serpents bit some of the Israelites in the wilderness, if any person who was bitten looked at a serpent made of bronze that Moses had lifted up on a pole, that person would be saved from the physical death that the serpentsʼ bites would cause.  Similarly, I am hopeful that if a person believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Savior Who did nothing wrong and Who was punished for all of the wrongdoings of all other humans, that the person so believing will have eternal life.  It is my hope that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Christ, Who, having always existed as God the Son, took on the form of a real human being via the birth from Mary and without a human father, and I hope that just as the ancient Israelites, who were unable to save themselves from the results of the serpentsʼ bites, could be saved from the results of those bites by looking up to the bronze serpent, so too can people be eternally saved by believing that Jesus is the Savior, thereby looking up to Him on the cross.  Maybe I am a fool to be pitied, but I sincerely believe that the words attributed to Jesus in John 3:14–16, in which Numbers 21:8–9 is referenced, are indeed true and that Jesus is the Messiah Who came as the Suffering Servant as mentioned in Isaiah 53, ultimately suffering the judgment for everyoneʼs sins, thereby providing the means of salvation through faith in Him as the Savior.  

The helplessness of the Israelites with regard to the venom of the serpents could call attention to Genesis 3:14–15, which references the serpent in the Garden of Eden and involves a prophecy about the Savior being judged for the sins of humanity and about the Savior defeating Satan.  Regarding the content of Genesis 3, the contrast between the man-made garments consisting of fig leaves that are referenced in Genesis 3:7 and the garments consisting of animal skin that are referenced in Genesis 3:21 calls attention to the helplessness of people to provide eternal life for themselves.  In that regard, the reference to garments of skin in Genesis 3:21 calls attention to the fact that the Savior would later be judged for the sake of the rest of humanity, which is analogous to an animal or animals dying so that the garments of skin could be provided.  The fact that the man-made garments consisting of fig leaves were inadequate in contrast with the garments consisting of animal skin indicates that the means of obtaining eternal life has zero dependence on the works of the person being saved.  Because God the Father resurrected Jesus after Jesus was sacrificed by suffering judgment for the rest of humanity and because the animal or animals that died for the garments of skin in Genesis 3:21 and the animals that died in the other animal sacrifices that foreshadowed the judgment of Jesus involved those animals being sacrificed as teaching illustrations for the sake of humanity, I am hopeful that God the Fatherʼs plan involves the resurrection of those sacrificed animals.  I am hopeful that God the Fatherʼs plan involves the resurrection of all other animals as well.  

Regarding animals going to Heaven, I am hopeful that because God the Father graciously sent God the Son to be born as the Lord Jesus Christ and because God the Father judged Jesus for the sins of humanity so that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Savior Who was judged for the sins of humanity will have eternal life, as per John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8–9 (“…for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” and “…for by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any man should boast”), that God the Father is and will continue to be gracious towards animals.  My hope regarding the graciousness of God the Father towards animals is bolstered by God the Fatherʼs graciousness when a person who has believed in Jesus as the Savior then later sins and and after sinning, confesses/acknowledges to God the Father all of that personʼs known unconfessed post-salvation sins because the content of 1 John1:9 indicates that God the Father then forgives those known confessed post-salvation sins and also the unknown post-salvation sins of that person (“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”).  

I understand that some people believe that there will be no Messiah and that others believe that the Messiah will be someone else who will conquer without having suffered.  I find comfort from the belief that looking to Jesus as the Savior has correspondence to the Israelites looking to the brass serpent, and I hope that others can find comfort from this as well.  I am also hopeful that He will one day return to the earth in glory, in order to deliver the Israelites from destruction by their numerous foes, whether that return will be soon or not so soon.  Below is a summary involving that return and related matters; the summary includes verse citations.  

An Epic Drama

I am hopeful that, after Jesus of Nazareth made possible the free gift of eternal life for those who believe that Jesus is the One perfect human being Who was punished for all other humansʼ sins (John 3:14–16:  “As Moses lifted up the serpent [the serpent made of bronze described in Numbers 21:8–9] in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life, for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”; Ephesians 2:8–9: “…for by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any man should boast”), Jesus was declared the Victor in the longstanding conflict with the fallen angels (1 Peter 3:18–20; Genesis 6:1–5).  I am also hopeful that the layout of the Tabernacle in a cross-like pattern is more than a mere coincidence.  In addition, I am hopeful that, for those who have believed in Jesus as the Savior, whenever such a person commits a sin after having believed in Him, that if that believer confesses to God the Father any such known, post-salvation sin, that that known sin and any unknown sins will be forgiven, that the believerʼs fellowship with the Holy Trinity will be restored, and that the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit will be restored as well (1 John 1:9:  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”; James 4:5–8; Ephesians 4:30; Ephesians 5:18; Philippians 3:13–14).  (Some resources that Iʼm accustomed to referencing include the Youngʼs Literal Translation [YLT] version [BLBClassic.org/Bible.cfm?t=YLT] [particularly for Old Testament verses due to the quite literal translation of verb tenses], the New American Standard Bible 1995 and 2020 versions [NASB 1995 and NASB 2020] [BLBClassic.org/Bible.cfm?t=NASB95 and BLBClassic.org/Bible.cfm?t=NASB20] [both particularly for the modern English vocabulary], interlinear layouts [BlueLetterBible.org/nasb95/gen/1/1/t_concif_1002] [particularly for verb tenses], and the New English Translation Bible [NET Bible] [NET.Bible.org] [particularly for some of the footnotes and Constableʼs Notes and also for the maps at Classic.NET.Bible.org/map.php].)  

Regarding the aforementioned angelic conflict, I have the expectation that the archenemy of Jesus has been permitted to continue to play that foeʼs villainous role thus far throughout the drama of human history (Genesis 3:14–15; Job 1:6–12; Job 2:1–7; Zechariah 3:1; Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13; John 13:2–4; 2 Corinthians 4:3–4).  With regard to how much time that foe will have—and regardless of the age of the earth—might there be 6,000 years of metaphorical labor for humanity, later followed by 1,000 years of rest (in which the foe will be absent from the face of the earth), corresponding to six days of labor followed by a Sabbath day of rest under the Mosaic Law (Exodus 20:9–10; Deuteronomy 5:13–14; 2 Peter 3:3–8; Revelation 20:1–3) and six years for working the land followed by a Sabbath year for that land under the Mosaic Law (Exodus 23:10–11; Leviticus 25:3–4)?  I am hopeful that Jesus will one day return to vanquish that foe and his followers, and it would also be interesting if such vanquishing will occur after 6,000 years of laborious history of Adam and Eve and their descendants since the time of the Fall of those first two human beings.  Whenever the return of Jesus as the victorious Messiah will occur, I have the expectation that it will result in the deliverance of the faithful remnant of Israel when circumstances will look quite bleak, much like the climax of an epic drama.  

If there will one day be the sudden disappearance, as if into thin air, of many people who profess to be Christians (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11)—whether the mass disappearance gets explained away as abduction or annihilation or something else and whether it occurs during the Feast of Trumpets / Yom Teruah / Rosh Hashanah or some other time—and if such an event will be followed by a man who, just as the ancient ruler Cyrus defeated ancient Babylon (Isaiah 45 and Isaiah 47), defeats a group of powerful corrupt people who will be similar to ancient Babylon and who will have had influence over rulers and business people and who will have been associated with that man (Revelation 17 and Revelation 18), and if that man will have been in a position of power and then out of a position of power and then back in a position of power again (Revelation 17:8), and if that man will seem like a hero (Revelation 6:2), and if people will perceive him as being so powerful that no one will be able to successfully wage war against him (Revelation 13:4), and if that man demands to be worshipped (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14), and if a man working on behalf of that man demands the requirement of some form of identification associated with the first man in order to participate in commerce (Revelation 13), I hope that people remaining on the earth then will come to find comfort from believing that Jesus is the Savior (the Koine Greek word ἀποστασία [pronounced ah-pah-stah-SEE-ah and transliterated as apostasia] in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 could be translated as “departure” and could therefore refer to the content of 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 because there is no preposition and noun indicating from something after apostasia and because apostasia is derived from a verb that can be translated “depart”:  ἀφίστημι [pronounced ah-FEE-stay-mee and transliterated as aphistēmi]).  I am hopeful that Jesus will then return seven years after such a mass disappearance, coming via the sky, thereby distinguishing Him from numerous people falsely claiming to be Him before His arrival (Matthew 24:3–5; Matthew 24:23–27; Mark 13:3–6; Mark 13:21–22).  I have the expectation that His return to deliver the faithful remnant of Israel will be preceded by darkening of the sun and moon and also by objects that look like stars falling from heaven and that His return itself will involve Him in the sky with clouds and Him landing on the Mount of Olives, which will split (Acts 1:9–11; Matthew 24:29–30; Matthew 26:64; Mark 13:21–27; Mark 14:62; Luke 21:25–27; Joel 3:15; Zechariah 14:3–4).  Also, in what I have the expectation that will be a live drama of epic proportions (like a sword-and-sandals or medieval-era film, albeit in a future setting) featuring a Principal Who has suffered and Who later achieves victory on behalf of His oppressed people (Isaiah 49:1–11; Isaiah 49:22–26; Daniel 7:13–14; Daniel 9:24–26; Hebrews 2:7–9; Revelation 12:5; Revelation 19:11–13) and featuring a phoney queen—the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18–19; Jeremiah 44:15–30)—who has been known by various names throughout history (Ecclesiastes 1:9; BLBClassic.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=ET0000344,IT0007200), and also featuring—the identities of many of which will remain unknown until the performance starts even if a person might be able to guess some of them—various persons in supporting roles (Daniel 9:20–23; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:15–22; Mark 13:14–20; Revelation 7:1–8; Revelation 7:9–17; Revelation 11:3–13; Revelation 12:6–7; Revelation 12:14; Revelation 12:16; Revelation 14:6–7; Revelation 15); a collection of villains, including human villains and also fallen angels, the latter of whom are con artists who pretend to be good angels and also act like the human villains in Scooby-Doo cartoons by pretending to be ghosts, types of extraterrestrial visitors other than the fallen-angel manipulative narcissists that they really are, good spirits, and gods (Ezekiel 38:14–18; Daniel 7:24–26; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:36–45 [I am unable determine whether Daniel 11:36–39 refers to a ruler of Israel or to the king of the West]; Matthew 24:3–5; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 24:15; Matthew 24:23–27; Mark 13:14; Mark 13:21–23; 2 Corinthians 11:14–15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Revelation 9:1–18; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 12:3–4; Revelation 12:8–9; Revelation 12:12–13; Revelation 12:15; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1–8; Revelation 13:11–13 [maybe a visionary technologist—in other words, a man who some people think has great ideas about what can be done regarding the future of mankind]; Revelation 13:14 [maybe a comeback from a metaphorical wounding by a metaphorical sword that represents judicial punishment as per a lexicon entry under the Strongʼs Definition heading for the Koine Greek word μάχαιρα—pronounced MAH-khigh-rah and transliterated as machaira—at BLBClassic.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3162&t=NASB95]; Revelation 13:15; Revelation 16:12–14; Revelation 17:3–5; Revelation 17:9–13; Revelation 17:18; Revelation 18:8–11; Revelation 18:15–19); and hosts upon hosts of extras (Zechariah 12:1–9; Zechariah 14:5; Revelation 19:14–21), many of whom will play the parts of schnooks who get tricked (Matthew 24:5; Matthew 24:11; Mark 13:6; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 13:14; Revelation 18:23 [a link to the lexicon entry for the Koine Greek word φαρμακείᾳ—pronounced far-mah-KAY-ah and transliterated as pharmakeia—which is the last word in the verse, is BLBClassic.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5331&t=NASB95]) and who—in contrast to what Joshua and his house did—put their trust in and thereby serve as devoted followers of and thus worship one or more choices amongst multiple choices of 'elohiym [el-oh-HEEM] [false gods, angels, or human rulers or judges who are mightier than an average human] (Joshua 24:15) and who trust in mankind and thereby make flesh their strength (Jeremiah 17:5), I have the expectation that Jesus will return as the King, the Conquering Messiah Who will deliver the faithful remnant of Israel and establish His kingdom.  I am hopeful that He will then reign for 1,000 years before his archenemy will make one last futile attempt to defeat Him, resulting in another battle in which Jesus Christ will be victorious (Revelation 20:1–10).  I have the expectation that such events would compose an epic drama indeed!  

Itʼs worthwhile to refrain from receiving the mark referenced in Revelation 13:11–18 and to instead receive eternal life for free by believing that Jesus is the Savior.  Also, being alert for who might play each role and for deceptions has been useful for me.  In that regard, below is a mindset color code involving states of awareness.  

I must refrain from being in Condition White, and I can be in Condition Yellow or Orange.  I am unable to be in Condition Red about who might play each role because they will be completely identified after the disappearance.