Better All the Way

“A temple is to be built”

I hear some say,

“But the Muslim sacred dome

Is standing in its way.”

 

That dome must be moved

Can’t be there still,

The temple will be there

Believe me it will.

 

It will be the signal

Of Israel’s Messiah’s coming

For which devout Jews

Are currently looking.

 

Sacrifices must restart

So, the temple is a must,

Dispensationalists believe it

And do make a fuss.

 

Israel will be in charge

As nations go up to her,

This will follow the tribulation

To which the Bible refer.

 

Thus, a new temple

And animal sacrifice

Though this in the first place

Did not quite suffice.

 

There’s no temple need

Or for animal sacrifice,

Jesus’ once for all atonement

More than sufficed.

 

 

Why return, I ask,

To the beggarly elements

After the veil in the temple

Was permanently rent?

 

Showcasing for all

A much better way,

Jesus’ once for all sacrifice

Speaks to a better day.

 

A better High Priest

Than any before him,

The only High Priest ever

That can forgive sin.

 

Jesus is our temple

And our sacrifice,

He is also our High Priest

That gave his life.

 

This is borne out

In the book of Hebrews,

Go there I recommend

For a better view.

 

Better than the angels

And of better things,

We are so wonderfully blessed

We’ve a right to sing.

 

A better blessing

And a better hope,

Jesus is a better testament

Please take note.

 

 

A better covenant

Built on better promises,

The heavenly things themselves

With better sacrifices.

 

A better country

With a better resurrection

God providing a better thing

To bring us salvation.

 

Jesus is the mediator

Of this better covenant

That speaks of better things

For the elect remnant.

 

 

Better all the way:

From the Old to the New,

For the Jew and the Gentile:

For me and for you.

 

Better here and now

And still better to come,

Heirs to the kingdom of God

Through Jesus, His Son.

 

 

 

Christ the new temple,

Believers his lively stones,

Built up in Jesus the Christ

As the Spirit tones.

 

Go to Hebrews now

To study the word better

And see how Jesus shines

In this descriptive letter.

 

To God be the glory

And praise to the Son,

Honour to the Holy Spirit:

Three yet one.

 

Stewart Russell © July 12, 2024

 

Its Radical Nearness

 

 

Jesus is coming soon!

It is nearer than we think!

It is so near, some even say

“In just another blink!”

 

This was noised abroad

Way back in the 1^st Century

And some of the things Jesus said

Suggested that eventuality.

 

It was not Jesus alone

But some of the apostles too,

Peter, James and John

Were of a similar view.

 

Hebrews 1:1-2

 

Paul was of the same mind

And the writer to the Hebrews,

Not near as in 2000 years

But a lesser distant view.

 

 

Jesus said “this generation”

And even some standing still

Would not taste of death

Till all these things be fulfilled.

 

Were anyone of them

Still in in our company today,

Methuselah could not be the oldest-

Oh no, my friend, no way!

 

Jesus’ response to his disciples

Indicated radical nearness

And the queries they asked of him

Were of an urgent request.

 

Hence Jesus responded in kind

And they clearly understood,

It shocked the daylights out of them

Right where the temple stood.

 

The temple was their life

And Jerusalem was their city

Yet Jesus said when these things occur

From the city they should flee.

 

Flee to the mountains he said

For these be the days of vengeance,

What is written was fulfilled

It is all in the past tense.

 

This was counterproductive,

It should be the other way around

But Jesus was warning them

The temple would be torn down.

 

 

In a city refuge is found

But surely not at this time,

They must depart their cherished city

If safety was on their mind.

 

Jerusalem would be breached

It would be judgment time

And not one stone upon another

Of the temple they would find.

 

Their house would be desolate

As Jesus had foretold,

The end of the old Jewish covenant

Seemed a heavy load.

 

This was the great tribulation

About which the apostle John had warned,

As chronicled in Revelation,

This was the impending storm.

 

He used words like near

At the door and also at hand,

Jesus would be coming quickly

According to the Divine plan.

 

But this radical nearness

Does not apply to us

Two thousand years hence

Since the advent of Jesus.

 

In James chapter 5 and verse 8

There is more,

The coming of the Lord drew near!

The judge stood at the door! 

 

1 Peter 4:7

 

Peter said to watch and pray

The end of all things was at hand

The apostle Paul in Romans 13:12

Saw it as God’s unfolding plan.

 

Little children, it is the last time

This according to 1^st John 2:18,

The “many antichrists” was the sign

And were already on the scene.

 

 

 

The things spoken of in Revelation

Were to shortly come to pass,

Not the future in the 21^st Century

But the 1st Century that is passed.

 

Revelation 1:3

 

Blessed is he that readeth,

and they that hear the words of this prophecy,

and keep those things which are written therein:

for the time is at hand.

 

Paul presented a history lesson

In 1^st Corinthians 10

Showing that idolatrous fornication

Was Israel’s problem.

 

After all of God’s mercies

And all His benefits to them,

They made and worshipped a golden calf

Despite being His children.

 

Twenty-three thousand fell

In one single day,

So, in chapter 10 and verse 11

Here is what Paul had to say.

 

Now all these things

happened unto them for ensamples:

and they are written for our admonition,

upon whom the ends of the world are come.

 

The ends of their world had come

As they soon came to recognize,

Certainly, to John and the apostles

It would come as no surprise.

 

It was radically near

As all the prophecies declared

And the fact they all came to pass

To me is biblically clear.

 

Stewart Russell © November 12, 2021

 

It's Revelation

 

 

 

I thought it was Hebrews

But not so anymore,

Those who think it is Hebrews

That’s traditional folklore.

 

What is it he talking about?

I thought you’d never ask,

Let me share the facts with you;

That’s not a difficult task.

 

I always used to contend

Hebrews was the Old Testament

Just like Isaiah, in my view,

Reads like the New Testament.

 

Regarding OT references

I thought Hebrews was the book

But three books score higher

When I took a closer look.

 

 

For Hebrews it was 42

While Matthew’s 45 was 3 more,

Romans’ 58 was a surprise to me

Being the highest score.

 

That was according to a study

That included ten books,

It appeared to me there and then

Revelation was overlooked.

 

So, I probed a little deeper

And discovered a little more,

Revelation topped the list

With a whopping 184.

 

A third study revealed

There were actually 278

And that this was out of 404 verses

Signified something great.

 

Of the 184 OT references

Isaiah accounts for 49,

Daniel accounts for 34

And 31 puts Ezekiel next in line.

 

 

Revelation was a letter

About what was soon to take place,

It was written to seven churches

And this can be easily traced.

 

These churches were located

On a circuitous route

And from Ephesus to Laodicea

Numbered seven in the group.

 

The churches were to prepare:

The wrong they must put right

For to neglect the instruction given

Would add to their plight.

 

That Revelation is mostly past

I am now particularly sure

And given its many OT references

I am convinced even more.

 

Stewart Russell © August 9, 2021

 

Infinitely Better

 

 

News! News! Wonderful News!

Check your daily tabloid:

The book of Hebrews;

So much greater and infinitely better

You will get so much more

Than your just dues.

 

Conceptualized by God

And implemented by Christ,

Executed by the Holy Spirit

Christ’s efficacious sacrifice.

 

Read it in Hebrews

This wonderful news,

Internalize it personalize it

And Jesus Christ choose.

 

Nothing better you will ever experience

However long your earthly existence.

 

And talking about better

Let’s focus right there,

For it is infinitely better

The covenant that appears.

 

Hebrews 1:4

 

Better than the angels

Speaking of Jesus Christ

That came down from heaven

And his life sacrificed.

 

Hebrews 6:9; Hebrews 7:7

 

Now it’s better things of us

Accompanying our salvation

As the less is blessed of the better

And without contradiction.

 

 

Hebrews 7:19

 

We have a better hope

By which we draw nigh to God,

This is exciting news

That should be spread abroad.

 

 

Hebrews 7:22; Hebrews 8:6

 

All because of Jesus

Our surety of a better testament,

A more excellent ministry

Through a much better covenant.

 

Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 9:23

 

Established on better promises

On account of a better sacrifice,

Satisfying both earth and heaven

All because of Jesus Christ.

 

Hebrews 10:34

 

Knowing that for us there is

A better and enduring substance,

Incorruptible and undefile

Which is our heavenly inheritance.

 

Hebrews 11:16

 

There is for us a better country

And we know it is heavenly

Where God is not ashamed to be our God

And He has prepared for us a city.

 

Hebrews 11:35; Hebrews 11:40; Hebrews 12:24

 

The promise of a better resurrection

The provision of a better thing,

Far better things than that of Abel

Concerning the blood of sprinkling.

 

Infinitely better in so many ways

This book of Hebrews describes

The covenant between God and us

And glory to Christ ascribes.

 

Christ died to save his people

Christ lives to make it possible

Christ’s return is inevitable

And his judgment is unavoidable.

 

Infinitely better God assures

Infinitely better His grace affords,

Through His mercy we are restored

By faith accept Christ, nothing more.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2018

 

The Sabbath and Salvation

 

 

 

Keep the Sabbath we are told

But what are we to keep?

After God created the world

Did he go off to sleep?

 

Well the Bible said he rested

But what does that really mean?

He rested from His work

That’s how to me it seems.

 

God blessed the seventh day

And set it apart

As a memorial I am told

Commemorating the start.

 

The seventh day is mentioned

Twice in the beginning

And in both of these cases

God had ceased his working.

 

He never worked after this

Having completed his work

His final creative act being

When he made man from the dirt.

 

Man was placed in a garden

And given one command

But of this he made a mess

And God instituted His plan.

 

The seventh day rolled over

Into every following day

Until Adam and Eve decided

They would contravene God’s way.

 

Before he had sinned

He had perfect rest

But he lost that and more

When he failed the given test.

 

The first covenant was in Eden,

The second was with Noah,

The third was with Abraham

And on they go.

 

The third was at Mount Sinai

As told in the book of Exodus

Where God gave the Decalogue

But not on Mount Olympus.

 

Go to the book of Exodus

Chapter 12 and verse 15

There you’ll find the seventh day

But it’s a very different scene.

 

The focus is on the Jews

Regarding what God required,

By this time they have left Egypt

And quite a lot has transpired.

 

God prepared the Israelites

To enter the promise land,

This was the land he had given

To their patriarch Abraham.

 

He gave them instructions

Regarding the seventh day

And he strictly admonished them

To walk in His determined way.

 

Notice the next point

That I want you to capture,

In chapter 16 verse 23

The Sabbath becomes the central matter.

 

Remember the Sabbath day

To keep it holy,

This purpose we find

In verse 8 of chapter 20.

 

However, for the first time

Just two verses thereafter

The seventh day is the Sabbath,

You’ll find it in this chapter.

 

Four covenants thus far

And each with its own theme,

Each one depicting different eras

And a changing of the scene.

 

Innocence marked the first of these,

The rainbow was the next,

Circumcision figured in the third

But the fourth was more complex.

 

So from the Adamic to the Noahic,

From the Noahic to Abrahamic,

Then after the exodus

God introduces the Sinaitic.

 

The Sabbath had its own laws

And there were many

And for each one that was breached

There was a penalty.

 

There were ceremonies too

That had to be observed,

They were to be strictly kept

By every woman, man, boy and girl.

 

Physical rest from labour

The Sabbath was mainly about rest

But like every law instituted

It was an obedience test.

 

It was a covenantal sign

A sign of sanctification too,

A reminder of the rescue from Egypt

And all God brought them through.

 

From Genesis to Exodus

And throughout the Old Testament

There were commands of different sorts

And a total of four covenants.

 

From the Old to the New

That’s our next move

Let’s see how the law shapes up

And what is there to prove.

 

 

 

Now we have Jesus

The mediator of the new covenant,

Read about it in Hebrews

It is described as more excellent.

 

The new covenant is better

As indicated thirteen times,

Read it in the book of Hebrews

Let it sink in your mind.

 

Today some push the Sabbath

To make it stand on its own

But that was never the intention,

In the Bible such is not shown.

 

It was the central theme

Of the Ten Commandments

And it pointed to the creation

As in the old covenant.

 

But there’s been a change

That to us should be obvious,

Now there is a new covenant

And the central theme is Jesus.

 

The rainbow was once the sign

And then it was circumcision,

The fourth commandment followed

But Jesus bought salvation.

 

Where once it was the law

It now is the Christ,

He fulfilled the law

Through his willing sacrifice.

 

Fast forward from the law

Where the letter was the issue,

Now focus on the spirit

This is now what holds true.

 

I mean the spirit of love

Not the letter of the law,

It was the obsession with the letter

And therein was the flaw.

 

Go to the book of Hebrews

And see how better there relates,

The new covenant in Jesus

Offers a much better state.

 

A better revelation of truth

That gives a better hope,

Has a better guarantee in Christ

What wondrous scope!

 

The old was written in ink

On tablets of stone,

The new is written with the Spirit

In hearts for which Christ atoned.

 

The old was inadequate

Since the letter kills,

The new is more than adequate

Through the life the Spirit wills.

 

In the old there was bondage

In the new there is none,

We now have glorious liberty

Through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

 

We welcome the transition

From the Old to the New,

Let all men be liars

And let God be true.

 

 

 

Jesus is the way

And he is the truth,

Jesus is the life

And to this he gave full proof.

 

He is the Good Shepherd

And he is the Light

He was the only one in the Bible

To restore men’s sight.

 

He is the I AM

The first and the last

And only what’s done through him

Will truly last.

 

He is the bread of life

He is our resurrection

And with his precious blood

He bought our redemption.

 

So why focus on the Sabbath

When there is a new command?

“Love as I have loved you,”

Jesus personifies this plan.

 

The initiate was circumcised

Under the old covenant

And he was to remember the Sabbath

Throughout the Old Testament.

 

The Sabbath could not save

Neither could its keeping,

Salvation came by Jesus Christ

Who after the lost came seeking.

 

The Jews came out of bondage

Where they were in Egypt land,

The passage through the Red Sea

Was their baptismal plan.

 

To the promise land they journeyed

Just two out of Egypt made it

Not because they broke the Sabbath

But unbelief was their habit.

 

The Sabbath could not save them

Even if they had truly kept it,

At every obstacle they faced

They displayed an unbelieving spirit.

 

As a result of unbelief

All but two would perish

And even the prophet Moses

Could only view the land he cherished.

 

The Jews’ deliverance was physical

But our deliverance is spiritual,

Their deliverance was temporal

But our deliverance is eternal.

 

To a country we also journey,

We are just pilgrims on this earth,

We are led by the Holy Spirit

Having experienced the new birth.

 

 

 

Jesus is our Saviour

Not the Sabbath as some opine

And daily as we walk with him

He is transforming our mind.

 

We came to him by faith

On account of hearing his word

And we trust him for our salvation

Even though some find that absurd.

 

As initiates in the new covenant

We were baptized into Christ

And the bread and wine we eat

Reminds us of his sacrifice.

 

The Sabbath was not meant to save us

It was just a shadow or type,

Its focus was to point to Jesus

The one whom John said is the Light.

 

The Sabbath points to creation

In particular to the seventh day

When God rested from His work

And everything was made.

 

But there is a new creation

Because Jesus came down from above

And the sign of that creation

Is the demonstration of love.

 

That love has been shed abroad

In the hearts of those that believe,

It’s in your heart too

If Jesus you’ve received.

 

Now we live a new law,

It is called the law of love,

It shows no contempt for a neighbour

And is regulated from above.

 

Love God with all your heart

And your neighbour as yourself,

On these hang the law and the prophets

And the way to spiritual health.

 

A rest remains for the believer

A rest that Israel never had,

Through unbelief they forfeited theirs,

For them this was really sad.

 

But the good news is God’s offer

Of rest to those who believe,

That true rest is found in Jesus

When God’s salvation they receive.

 

This is not a seventh day’s rest

As was required of the Jews,

This is God’s eternal rest

As detailed in the book of Hebrews.

 

Just like God ceased from His work

One day we too will cease,

It may be at the return of Jesus

Or at the end of our life lease.

 

The dead in Christ will rise first

Then they that are alive and remain

And eternal rest will be ours

Throughout Christ’s eternal reign.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2018