Nine Days in Heaven: A True Story (19 page)
Jesus answered him, “That is why I came—to seek and to save what was lost.”
10
Then Justice said to Mercy again, “Where is your ransom?”
“The ransom is Jesus,” she responded, “‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”
11
Jesus spoke again, “This is why I came into the world.”
12
“Yes,” said an angel, “and by the wounds You received from the lash, the sinner is healed.”
13
“But has He won the conflict?” Relentlessly Justice turned to Mercy and said, “You are pleading the cause of the sinner and have proposed this Jesus as a ransom. Well, understand this: until this ‘Redeemer’ has fought and won against sin and death, He cannot rescue this fallen man. Do you still want the man’s salvation?”
“Yes,” answered Mercy. “That is why I am intervening.”
Support From
the Word of God
1.
This is typical of opening words of prayer: praise to God for His greatness before making the request. Similar passages are as follows:
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.”
—H
EBREWS
1:8
How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.
—D
ANIEL
4:3
His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
—D
ANIEL
4:34
Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.
—D
ANIEL
7:27
Your word, O L
ORD
, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
—P
SALM
119:89
2.
“…
ransom for the sinner
,” or someone who will pay the required price to rescue him.
3.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
4.
“
A bruised reed…a smoldering wick…
” This Old Testament prophecy (Isa. 42:1–4) concerns the coming Messiah—Jesus. It simply says the Messiah will mend broken lives, not destroy them.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.
—M
ATTHEW
12:20–21
5.
Jesus suffering “outside the city gate” signified the removal of sin from the city.
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
—H
EBREWS
13:12
6.
“When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37).
7.
“Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God’” (Heb. 10:7).
8.
The Gospel of John reads:
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
—J
OHN
7:37
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
—J
OHN
14:6
9.
“
This is Jesus. He is the Son of David…the bright Morning Star, and the Sun of Righteousness.
” “Son of David” was one of the Old Testament titles of the coming Messiah—meaning a descendant of David:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the L
ORD
Almighty
will accomplish this.
—I
SAIAH
9:6–7
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.
—M
ATTHEW
1:1
“Sun of Righteousness” is a prophetic name concerning the Messiah:
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
—M
ALACHI
4:2
The apostle John talks about Jesus being the “bright Morning Star”:
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.
—R
EVELATION
22:16
10.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
11.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).
12.
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).
13.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
T
HE SCENE SHIFTED TO ANOTHER LOCATION
. P
LEASE UNDERSTAND
that I have found it extremely difficult to describe the following events. My words are totally inadequate.
I saw Jesus seated with a group of His friends around a table. One of them was leaning devotedly against Him and listening to Him. Their eyes were fixed on Him and filled with sorrow as He said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me.”
1
Then He took some bread, blessed it, and broke it into pieces. He gave it to them and said, “Take and eat; this is My body. It is going to be broken for you.”
2
Then He took the cup of wine, gave thanks to God, and passed it to them, saying, “Drink this, for it represents the blood of the new covenant between God and mankind. My blood will be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. And I tell you, I will not drink this again until that day when I will drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
3
The solemn mood was broken by the thunderous voice of a mighty angel. “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man who betrays Him! It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
4
With “woe to that man” came a heavy response. “For it would have been good for him not to have been born. Woe, woe, woe to that man.” Many millions echoed the cry, and the elements shook.
The little group stood up from the table, sang a solemn hymn, and departed. When they left, I saw one of them slip away, silently and unnoticed by the others. As he went, his steps became urgent, and his face revealed an inner turmoil that burned with the consuming fires of hatred. I wondered about this. I could not understand what caused such a great change in him so quickly. Only moments before he had been seated with his friends, all of whom were grieving because of what Jesus had just said about His betrayal and afraid that He would leave them.
Jesus was the one they looked to for advice and safety. They had depended on Him and hoped in Him. Now He had told them He was leaving, and when He said one of them would betray Him, they were a picture of misery. I heard them ask with deep anxiety, “Lord, is it me? Lord, is it me?”
5
…
AND PERFECT WRETCHEDNESS POSSESSED
THEM WHEN HE DECLARED THAT ONE
OF THEM SHOULD BETRAY HIM
.
He had spoken at length about His coming departure.
“In a little while you will see Me no more, but later on you will see Me again.
6
I know this causes you grief. But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit of God, will not be able to come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
7
I won’t leave you alone like orphans.
8
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and also trust in Me. There are many rooms in My Father’s house. If this were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. Then I will come back and take you to be with Me, so that you too may be in the same place where I am.
9
“Before long, the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me again. Because I will live again, you will also live again.
10
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world laughs, but your grief will turn to joy.
11
Right now is your time of grief, but when l see you again, you will rejoice, and no one will be able to take away your joy.
12
“Up until now I have been speaking in pictures and metaphors, but the time will come when I will no longer use this kind of language—I will tell you plainly about My Father.”
13
The little group believed these encouraging words as He foretold His departure, but they were still devastated by the thought of His leaving. They loved Him—and He deserved that love. His words were full of goodness, and His actions showed such heavenly love and fatherly care that I wondered what could possibly induce any of them to betray Him.
