The Prophetic Word- Days 65 Thru 70: No More Tears

The Prophetic Word

Day 65: Someday all tears will be wiped away.

In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on the following scriptures:

“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.”

Psalms 56:3-4, 7-9, 13 NLT

“Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 59:15-18 NLT

“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”

Isaiah 53:3-5 NLT

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.””

Revelation 21:4-5 NLT

Sin brought sorrow to man and to Heaven. God saw our tears and sent His son to become one of us. The result of Heaven hearing the tears of this Man, is the ultimate remedy for all sorrow and tears. And, we will begin our investigation into this tomorrow.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 66: Sin brought death.

“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.””

Genesis 2:15-17 NLT

““You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

Genesis 3:4-7 NLT

Death brings so much sorrow, so much pain, but how did it come to this? Why do we have to die? Let’s start at the beginning.

Man was made in the image of God. We were made to live forever!

“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.”

Genesis 1:26-27, 31 NLT

But man broke covenant with God.

“But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.”

Hosea 6:7 AMP

Now, Although we don’t generally reference original sin as being the breaking of a covenant, God speaking through Hosea makes it clear that that is exactly what happened. Indeed, any relationship with God is based on a covenant (God willing, we will pursue the topic of God’s covenants next week).

So, God made us virtuous; but we ruined it all by sinning against Him.

“Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].””

Ecclesiastes 7:29 AMP

As a result, the penalty of death was applied to all men.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.”

Romans 5:12 AMP

We earned death through sin!

“For the wages of sin is death…”

Romans 6:23a AMP

Although God could have knocked man into oblivion at that point in time, He didn’t. And it wasn’t just that once that God chose to withhold destruction. Indeed, the Old Testament testifies repeatedly of God’s mercy toward His people.

“But He, the source of compassion and lovingkindness, forgave their wickedness and did not destroy them; Many times He restrained His anger And did not stir up all His wrath. For He [graciously] remembered that they were mere [human] flesh, A wind that goes and does not return.”

Psalms 78:38-39 AMP

Yes, He was preserving us for the time when He would bring a remedy for the sentence of death!

Our opening scriptures give us a glimpse into the tragic moment when everything changed for man, the moment when an eternal God-like being was reduced to a mere flesh man in whom the doomsday clock had begun to tick.

As we move forward, we will come to another point when everything was again changed. But that’s for another day.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 67: God sees our tears.

“You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.”

Psalms 56:8-9 NKJV

When thinking about our tears of sorrow, three songs come to my mind: “The Tears of a Clown,” “He Washed My Eyes with Tears,” and “Tears are a Language God Understands.”

We will employ these songs to reveal 3 truths about our tears.

The first song, “Tears of a Clown,” (a secular song) references the reality that sometimes our tears are not seen by anybody. Indeed, sorrow and brokenness can feel very lonely: “Now there’re some sad things known to man; but ain't too much sadder than, the tears of a clown when there's no one around.”

The second song, “He Washed my Eyes with Tears,” references the fact that tears can be used by the Lord to cleanse us and bring us to understanding: “He washed my eyes with tears that I might see. The broken heart I had was good for me. He tore it all apart and looked inside.

He found it full of fear, and

foolish pride. He swept away the things that made me blind. And then I saw the clouds were silver lined. And now I understand 'twas best for me. He washed my eyes with tears that I might see.”

The third song, “Tears are a Language God Understands,” references the fact that God does care about, and responds, to our tears: “God sees the tears of a brokenhearted soul. He sees your tears and hears them when they fall. God weeps along with man and takes him by the hand. Tears are a language God understands.”

Let’s put these three thoughts together:

First, tears are often unseen, a fact Jeremiah the prophet knew all too well:

“But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.”

Jeremiah 13:17 NKJV

Secondly, God can use tears to answer our need. Hezekiah found this to be true:

““Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.””

II Kings 20:5-6 NKJV

Finally, the Lord shares our sorrow. Certainly, Jesus lived this truth:

“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:3-5 NKJV

In our opening scripture we see that David—in the presence of his enemy—cries out to God, knowing that the Lord will hear his plea, remember his tears, and bring deliverance.

Friend, please know that God sees your hidden sorrow and tears. And, He can use those tears for your good. Indeed, He shares your tears!

Tomorrow we will look further into this “Man of sorrows.”

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 68: Jesus wept.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV

Did you know that the shortest verse in the KJV (as well as many other translations) of the Bible is John 11:35?

The context of this verse is the death of Lazarus and the sorrow of those who loved him.

“When Jesus saw her [Mary, Lazarus’ sister] sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.”

John 11:33-35 AMP

There it is: “Jesus wept.”

Do you have any idea how powerful of a statement is made in those two words? The One sent from Heaven is so moved by man’s sorrow concerning death, He is reduced to tears!

Indeed, this is one of the three times we find the New Testament referencing Jesus crying.

Of course, Jesus turned mourning into rejoicing when He raised Lazarus from the dead. However, as wonderful as that was, the remedy for the sorrow of death would be accomplished at another time.

Another account of Jesus crying involves the fact that Jerusalem would be destroyed because Jesus had not been recognized as being sent from God.

“But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.””

Luke 19:41-42, 44 NLT

Now, make no mistake, Jesus wasn’t crying from the personal hurt of being rejected, He was crying because of the suffering and death that would result from their blindness.

Obviously, these first two accounts of Jesus crying are directly connected to His sorrow over man’s condition. But, what about the third account? Is it also connected to man’s condition?

Let’s look at it:

“While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.”

Hebrews 5:7 NLT

This reference by the writer of Hebrews seems to clearly point to the agony of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane just before His betrayal.

Now, is His crying here related to Him feeling sorry for Himself for what He was about to have to endure?

Before deciding that, let’s look at another scripture:

““The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.””

John 10:17-18 NLT

You see, Jesus willingly suffered. He was doing this for us; and, the tears He cried were the tears God would see and answer.

Although Jesus would indeed suffer and die, He was able to take His life back up again, becoming the Resurrection and the Life for us!

In our opening scripture we see the writer of Hebrews explaining that we have—in Jesus Christ—a High Priest who is able to sympathize with us. Yes, He cried those tears for us! The Fall of man was so egregious that it demanded our death. The remedy for that penalty demanded nothing short of a perfect sacrifice. So, Jesus became that perfect sacrifice.

Yes, Jesus wept. God saw His tears. He heard His cry. And, a remedy was created for death!

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 69: He exposed Himself to death that we might live.

“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

Isaiah 53:10-12 NLT

Jesus made a very telling remark to the women who were weeping for Him as He was being led to the place of His crucifixion:

“A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

Luke 23:27-28 NLT

Jesus was doing what He was sent to do; it was a mission of mercy and the carrying out of it was His joy.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].”

Hebrews 12:1-2 AMP

On the other hand, Jerusalem would still face judgment and a terrible time of persecution was at hand.

“For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’”

Luke 23:29-30 NLT

As we saw yesterday Jesus wept because of the destruction Jerusalem would needlessly face. He took no pleasure in their demise; indeed, He had come from Heaven to prevent it.

Yes, a tragedy remained for Jerusalem and its people. Sadly, the destruction of the Jews would be repeated over and over again. Even into modern times, we have seen terrible violence against the Jews. But praise God, the Lord is not finished with delivering them.

Our opening scripture offers a prophetic preview of what the Lord did—not just for the Jews—for all of those who call on His name. Yes, in order for us to have life, He exposed Himself to death and was victorious over it.

Sadly, not all turn to Him. So, a tragedy remains for those who will not be identified with the Lord and His provision that overcomes our death penalty.

Tomorrow we will look at the time when tears will cease for all who have run into the Ark of our salvation. Praise God! The tears associated with what was once our awful plight, have a remedy!

Peace to you!

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 70: There will be no more tears when death is swallowed up in victory.

“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"”

1 Corinthians 15:53-55 ESV

Over these last few days we have been discussing something that came out of what the Spirit spoke to me as I was seeking what I needed to present to the people last Sunday. I heard in my spirit this direction: “Tell them about the time the angels cried.”

Now, when hearing this, nothing immediately came to my mind. I know the Bible speaks of Heaven rejoicing, but I never thought of Heaven crying or mourning.

Now, I know that there will be a time during the final judgments when Heaven will be silent for 30 minutes from the impact of what is going on.

Still, I knew there was something I was missing, so I continued to ask the Spirit of the Lord to direct me to what He wanted me to see. What was so severe that the angels would cry? [Please understand, I am not necessarily visualizing the angelic host with tears running down their faces; I have no idea how that would look, but I do know what the Spirit spoke to me.]

Of course, my mind naturally went to the crucifixion; it was such a terrible thing for the perfect Lamb of God to so greatly suffer. But, this wasn’t it. As we have discussed, the Lord does not seek sympathy.

Then, the event the Lord was referencing, that which led the Heavenly host to cry, to mourn, came into focus: It was the Fall of man and the resulting death sentence.

You see, we are God’s workmanship, something He pronounced to be good! We were created to rule and reign over the Earth and to live forever. But—in one moment—everything changed as the clock of mortality began to tick in every human being.

On Day 67 we looked at a portion from Psalm 56 where David asked the Lord to remember his tears, to put them in a “bottle.” And, asking the Lord to remember his tears, is asking for relief from the same.

Indeed, later in that psalm we see confirmed the fact that the Lord did hear, and did remember his tears.

“For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?”

Psalms 56:13 NKJV

In this verse, the Psalmist may have been referencing that the Lord delivered him from being killed, and from the current sorrow he was experiencing. But, David would go on to cry again, and he would eventually die.

But, this passage, these words have proven to be prophetic. It also talks of a time when death will be dealt with completely, and tears will be wiped away forever!

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Revelation 21:2-7 ESV

What a blessed hope we have for the wonderful day when there will be no more sorrow, pain, or death. But remember, before that happens, the Lord Himself will come and fight his enemies, putting an end to all evil.

“Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 59:15-18 NLT

In our opening scripture we see the blessed promise all believers are given. Truly, there will be no more fear of death. Praise God—through Jesus Christ—death’s power has been revoked!

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Psalm 30:5 ESV

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!