Luke

Notes from Dr. Chuck Missler's commentary on the Book of Luke


The miracle of healing occurred more often and more consistently prior to Jesus' death on the cross. One possible reason is because the gift of healing given to the disciples was prove that they were God's people.


Upon Jesus' death on the cross, thus fulfilling OT prophecies, the need for these miracles was diminished. This is not to say that God no longer heals. But rather, The disciples of today no longer need to depend on the power of healing to prove that Jesus is our savior.


When Adam and Eve first ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge and immediately covered themselves with leaves, that was the world's first act of religion. Religion is man's attempt to reconcile with God by himself. This is not possible for we are sinners and can never make ourselves perfect.


Luke 16:19-30
Concept of Hell found in the Bible:


* Sheol (Hebrew):
- a place for disembodied spirits
- can be regarded as synonym for Hades
- inhabitants of Sheol are the congregation of the dead (Proverbs 21), the abode of the souls of the wicked (Numbers 16), also the location of the good in the OT (Psalm 16)
- described as the deep and the dark in the Book of Job
- the dead go DOWN to it
- connotatively translated as grave, but that's not technically correct--grave is a physical thing and can be owned; Sheol is none of those characters, hence is not to be equated with a grave


* Hades (Greek):
- has two compartments
- paradise and tartarus (really, really dark place)
- the abode of the unsaved dead prior to the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20)
- a prison with gates and bars and locks (Matthew 16, Revelation 1)
- the righteous and the wicked are sent there but are kept in separate compartments; the blessed dead are sent to the paradise portion of Hades, aka Abraham's Bosom (Luke 23)
- though Hades is also located downward, we see from the story of the rich man and Lazarus that the rich man looked UP to see Abraham's Bosom, suggesting the two compartments have a hierarchal difference; there is an impassable gulf between the two compartments


* Gehenna (Greek):
- was a city dump
- became an idiom for a lake that burns with fire and brimstone
- Hades will later be dumped into it
- Gehanna is therefore forever, whereas Hades is temporary


* Tartarus (Greek):
- the deepest abyss of Hades
- a place of incarceration for angels of sins (2 Peter 2:4) 


* Abusso:
- beast of Revelation comes out of here
- where Satan will be bound for 1000 years
- where demon Locust emerge in Revelation 9


A few things Luke teaches us about one's existence in Hell:
- The rich man was fully conscious; there is no soul sleep in Hell
- The rich man could speak
- The rich man had memory
- The rich man was in eternal pain
- The rich man expressed desires
- The rich man's eternal destiny was irrevocably fixed AND HE KNEW IT. Once he was there, there was no second chance. He knew it was over. He knew what he was experiencing was fair and just. He knew what his brothers needed to do to avoid his fate. He knew they needed to repent! He prayed that somebody tells then!
- Essentially, the rich man had a tremendous amount of awareness. He's not yet in Hell in the sense of Gehenna, but he is in Hell in the sense of Hades.


Insights? For me, it means there is no turning a blind eye to Hell.


People might be flippant and say they'd rather be in Hell to escape all the rules of God. Well, really? The rich man may have had a great life on earth, but when his physical body ran its course, he ended up in Hell because he chose to go without God. From Luke's documentation, it does not sound like the rich man enjoys Hell much. He was in eternal suffering, and more importantly, he KNEW his fate was fair and just. He also KNEW it was too late for him; his fate had been sealed. Furthermore, he KNEW the only way to escape this fate is repentance. He is filled with so much regret and pain, he wished someone could warn his brothers so that they can avoid his fate. This does not sound like someone who was happy with his decision to reject God.


Also, to those who think of God only in terms of never-ending rules, I'll just briefly offer the perspective that perhaps it is the lack of understanding of love that leads to viewing God only in terms of rules. Think about it this way: When a man loves a woman, he is only focused on doing the right things to make her happy. There are no rules. Only when he starts to tire of her does he then think of hustling home to eat dinner together, waking up early to help with chores, skipping a night out with the boys for a romantic evening out with his gal, etc. as "restrictions" or "rules"!


Jesus told us that our number one duty is to love our God. When we learn to truly love God, we don't see rules; we see just God.


Luke 17
This passage describes an intimate prayer between Jesus and God


Luke 22
These 3 Spring feasts speak of Jesus' first coming:
* Feast of Passover
* Feast of First Fruits (morning after Shabbat)--Jesus was raised on thus day; He's our first fruit!
* Feast of Unleavened Bread


The day of Pentecost (middle feast) occurs during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is the day when the Church was born.


The 3 Fall feasts thus speak of Jesus' second coming.
* Feast of Trumpets
* Feast of Yom Kippur
* Feast of Tabernacles




Exodus 6:6-7, 1 Corinthians 10
These verses describes the meaning of the 4 cups of Passover. God said...
* I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians = cup of the bringing out
* I will free you from being slaves to them = cup of delivery
* I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment = cup of redemption or blessing
* This is what we use for communion I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God = cup of taking out 


Jesus has never touched the last cup. Jesus drank only from the first 3 cups. He is waiting to drink from the last cup when we are all with Him (Luke 23).


Each Gospel links the Crucifixion with a different offering, as described in Leviticus 1-5
* Matthew: trespass offering, speaks of Christ dying to pay for the sins actually committed against God and man
* Mark: sin offering, speaks of Christ dying for what we are, not only for what we've done
* John: burnt offering, speaks of Christ dying to glorify God, as Abraham told Isaac that God will provide Himself the lamb
* Luke: peace offering, speaks of Christ bringing peace between God and man by shedding His blood on the cross


7 cries from the Cross:
1. Father forgive them for they know not what they do
2. Today thou shall be with me in paradise
3. Woman behold your son: Jesus telling John to treat Mary as His mother (2 John is a letter to Mary)
4. My God My God why hast thou forsaken me: the only time in eternity that Jesus did not call God "my Father"--why? Because Jesus took on the sins of the world
5. I thirst
6. It is finished!
7. Father, into your hands I command my spirit: Temple curtain is torn from top to bottom; Roman soldiers admitted that surely He was the Son of God


Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus and documented in the Gospels:
1. The triumphant entry (Luke 19)
2. Betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver
3. Like a smitten shepherd, His sheep would be scattered
4. He'd be given vinegar and gull to drink
5. They would cast lots for His garments
6. His side would be pierced
7. Not a bone will be broken (Exodus 12, Numbers 9, Psalms 34)
8. Would die amongst the malefactors
9. Dying words foretold (Psalm 22, 31)
10. He would be buried by a rich man
11. He would rise from the dead the 3rd day
12. Resurrection would be followed by the destruction of Jerusalem