"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken; according to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire anymore, that I die not.
And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him." Deuteronomy 18:15-19

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." II Peter 3:8

"He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

Greetings, dearly beloved! This is a new day, and what a day it can be for you, if you will only hear the Word of Christ our Lord and faithfully follow in the glory of that beautiful light which He is!

I can think of no name which is more beautiful than that of Jesus. To so many people it is only another name; yet that is the trouble with Christendom: the names in the Bible to them are but Bible names, and have no meaning. But I keep reminding you: every Bible name has a specific meaning; neither can we understand the Bible and its wonderful message for us, unless we understand the meaning of the names used. It is the same as reading a story or an article – unless you understand the words used, you fail to get the thought that the writer tried to convey.

We must bear in mind that God is behind the Bible; God is not just another stupid man, who is trying to write something while watching a TV show. God set the stage; carefully did He choose His characters, and the dramas were planned to the utmost detail, while the characters used in these dramas of life were given names to convey a portion of the intended message. Today, with so many people on earth, we have such an abundance of names and most of them mean nothing to us. Therefore, we are prone to think of Bible names in the same manner: merely the name of the person involved. Not knowing the meaning of the names used, and caring even less, our theologians and spiritual luminaries have failed dismally to give us the message which God intended for our good.

The name "Jesus" is a hybrid out of the Greek, with a touch of Latin, being their equivalent for the shortened form of Jesus' original name, which was "Yahoshua." The first part thereof was the Hebrew name for their God, while the shua ending means "preserver" or "savior." That is why we find the inspired Paul and the Apostles of the Lord, so often writing about "believing in the Name of Jesus." It is not the Name itself that has any magic, so to speak, but rather believing in that truth that the very God-Spirit had come into human flesh for the sole purpose of preserving, or bringing salvation to, His people and the entire world.

So soon as we come into the absolute realization that Jesus was not merely a clever man of His day, nor that He was an inspired man of His day, neither that He was merely born of the Virgin Mary who had conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, but that He was in truth and reality the very God-Spirit from out of the heavenly glory, Who had come to earth to incarnate in human form in order to bring about an absolute redemption for humankind, then is it possible for us to wake up to the seriousness of His every word and expression. That is why the great Prophet and deliverer, Moses, told the people of his day that God would, in course of time, raise up another Prophet unto them, even like unto himself; and that the people Israel would be required to hear and believe every word spoken by that promised Deliverer, or be cut off (Deut. 18:15,18-19). That expression, being "cut off," referred to death.

It is not for you or me to speak of either the earthly or spiritual fate which overtook the people of His day as individuals who rejected the Lord Jesus, but we do know by the verdict of history what happened to the nation of the Jews who did reject their Messiah. God gave them about an even 40 years from the time that John the Baptist came preaching repentance, declaring to them that the Kingdom of God was at hand through the Messiah of God, Who was to immediately follow him. Therefore, as we look at the verdict of history, it should help us to realize the awesomeness of the words of Moses wherein he said that whosoever would not hear that Prophet would be cut off (Deut. 18:18-19). Moses did not confine that to an individual, neither to a nation: his words were all-inclusive. So, since the people of Moses' day walked 40 years in the wilderness to be tested before the children could enter the Land of Promise, so we see according to the pattern God set, that after He sent unto Israel the forerunner – that is, John the Baptist, who heralded the immediate approach of Israel's Messiah – God gave to His people only 40 years to prove them, as to whether or not they would accept their Lord and Deliverer. He was rejected. Yet God extended His grace toward the people, giving them a chance unto repentance. But after they failed to repent within 40 years, He "cut them off." The legions of Rome under Prince Titus invaded Palestine, and on the Passover day in 70 A.D. laid siege to Jerusalem, which a few months later was utterly destroyed – fulfilling the words of the Lord that not one stone of the Temple would be left on top of the other (Matt. 24:2).

My dearly beloved, it is not a little thing to reject the very Son of God, Who came out from Heaven's very glory in order to redeem His people, that whosoever will may accept Him. If you doubt that personally, or are not too sure of the matter, then look at the verdict of history as to what befell the Jewish nation by the time that an even 40 years had passed into history from their rejection of both the heralding message and their wonder-working Redeemer. As an absolute maximum, you personally will not have more than 40 years to go from that time when you first were given to understand clearly about the atoning work wrought for man on Calvary, until your doom is sealed, unless you have accepted that glorious Atonement. What a marvelous, beautiful and joy-filling name is "Jesus"!

If your Bible is convenient, I am going to quote shortly from Luke 13, commencing at verse 31. According to our best chronologers, the time that Jesus spoke these words was in the winter previous to Calvary. In other words, perhaps about 5 months previous to His Cross. Now let me quote Luke 13:31 to the end of the chapter:
"The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto Him, Get Thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill Thee. And He said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the Prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord."

That Herod of whom the Pharisees and Jesus spoke was the ruling power in the land at the time. The name means "herolike." It was then, and has been ever since, that the "hero" spirit is perpetually seeking to murder the Spirit of Christ. The hero is great in worldly achievement, while the Christ said that He was meek and lowly in heart: the two are opposites. If you seek to be a disciple of Jesus, beware lest your ego ever gets inflated to herolike proportions. Jesus labeled Herod a "fox." That animal referred to in the Bible has holes and dens underground, and its life is a short one. Similarly with the herolike egos of this world – they must shun the full brightness of the daylight, and their life is usually very short.

Now hear the words of the Lord: "I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." To make that even clearer He said, "I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following." Many years ago I heard out of the pulpit how this third day in which He was to be perfected, referred to the third day, or that of His resurrection. However, if you will give careful thought to His statement, you will see that there cannot be the least possible connection between those two thoughts. For, when about five months previous to Calvary the Lord said that He had to walk on that day, and on the following day, and also on the third day, then we are not justified to say that the work He did during the next four to six months was represented by only two days, while the day of His resurrection was the third day – such drivel makes no sense whatever.

Jesus as the very God-Spirit spoke from the consciousness of very God. And the Word of God tells us very clearly that 1,000 years with man is but as a day with God (II Pet. 3:8; Ps. 90:4). This is the only and proper way in which His words could be understood. Looked at that way, they immediately make sense and show us of things to come. For, Jesus commenced to walk in about 1 A.D., and that first day extended until approximately 1,000 A.D. The second day, which He referred to as "tomorrow," would cover the next 1,000 years, or unto the close of this century, while the third day of which He spoke on which He also had to walk, casting out devils and doing cures, referred to the period of around 2,000 A.D. to approximately 3,000 A.D. Clearly did the Christ say to His disciples that He would not leave them (Jn. 14:18), but that He would be with them even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). In other words, He cast out devils and did cures during the days of His flesh, and in Spirit has walked with Christendom down through these "two days," while now the third day is going to see His perfection. Of course, Christians cannot think of the Lord as not being perfect in the days of His flesh, but what our Lord here referred to was that the manifestation of His power was to become so great and universal during that 3rd 1,000-year period, that in the sight of man it would be considered as perfection!

In verse 34 you will see how He lamented over Jerusalem, which killed the Prophets and stoned them that were sent unto it. Then burst from His lips an expression of that great love He had for those whom He had come to redeem, that even like unto a hen He had yearned to gather the brood under the wings of everlasting love; but observe His grief-filled words, "...but ye would not."

That is the glorious and wonderful message I have for you this day, even the fullness of the Yahoshua message: that the God-Spirit came into human flesh for the absolute and total redemption of the entire human society. But Gentile society, like the Jewish society of His day, has failed to accept Him in His fullness. Gentile society has eaten the tareseed planted by Lucifer in the dark of night (Matt. 13:25); we have become sick and blind and are now on the verge of international suicide. But the blessed Son of God yearned, and still yearns, to take us under the wings of His everlasting love, to fully shelter, nourish and bring us up into the full stature of the Parent.

Why did our Lord use a hen and her brood to symbolize His thoughts? In Scripture, birds are symbolic of spirits. The barnyard hen is basically a land bird, but still capable of taking to the air. I have personally seen that a hundred times and more, so I know they are able to fly. That was the thought He tried to bring out: that although we are human beings dwelling on earth, if we will receive His love, then when we have grown up into His stature we will be able to take to the air.

I care not what your situation is today, or what your griefs or multiplied troubles may be: if you will only hear the Voice of Jesus, and accept that atoning work in its absolute perfection (it was, and forever more shall be perfect), then can you this day start laughing and shouting and singing at the top of your voice, because the eternal present with Christ our Lord shall for you grow brighter moment by moment!