The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. Amen. What was life like for the apostles in the early days after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven? After the miracle of speaking in tongues at Pentecost, the apostles continued to boldly witness to Jesus Christ. In Acts 3, Peter and John meet a crippled beggar at the gate of the Temple—and having no money to offer him, they instead heal him in the name of Jesus Christ, to the amazement of all who were present. It opened a door for many to hear, listen to God’s Word, and believe. Today’s passage tells us the number of believers quickly grew to about 5,000 men, plus women and children. But along with the phenomenal number of followers turning to Jesus Christ, and awakening of faith by the Holy Spirit, there was also intense opposition. And the most forceful opposition came from the religious leaders themselves. The captain of the Temple, the commander of the Temple pol...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! The apostle John speaks a message to you, over nearly 2,000 years of history. A message that is intended to bring you fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. A message that brings you fellowship with the apostles and the early Christians, down through 20 centuries of history to us today. And long before that, Abraham and all the saints who believe in the One True God. This message that brings us fellowship with God and with one another is also a message that is aimed at bringing us joy that is complete. What’s John’s authority to speak this message? He and the other apostles speak to us as eyewitnesses; who were there in the flesh, seeing, hearing, even touching the very Word of Life, Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. In concrete, tangible ways, they lived, walked, ate and drank with our Lord Jesus Christ, before and after His resurrection. So he writes not from hearsay, but what he and the others saw with their very eye...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! You may or may not know that the Scriptures link up two very important events in salvation history—the Exodus, which happened about 1,400 years before Jesus’ birth, and then Jesus’ own death, burial, and resurrection. A second exodus. There are all sorts of parallels between the two events. Moses was raised up by God to rescue the Israelites, just as Jesus, greater than Moses, was raised up by God to rescue all humanity, Jews and Gentiles. The first exodus was from a physical slavery to the Pharoah in Egypt. The second exodus is from our spiritual slavery to the power of sin, death, and the devil. Scripture describes the Israelites being led across the Red Sea as being “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea”, just as it speaks of us as being baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. God accomplished a great deliverance for His people, when they were trapped and seemingly helpless, walled in by the Red Sea. If you know the...