The Captain

Joshua 5:13-15  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?  (14)  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?  (15)  And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

In today’s Scripture, we see a beautiful depiction of Christ taking on human form in order to communicate to His servant, revealing His desire to connect with humanity. This extraordinary event highlights His personification of divine grace and understanding in a form that we can recognize and relate to. He goes by the name “captain of the host of the LORD,” which signifies His authority and leadership in the spiritual realm, guiding and protecting His people with unwavering strength. So what in the world is a Christophany?

A Christophany is a visible or otherwise perceptible manifestation of Jesus Christ, typically in a non-physical form, before his incarnation as described in the Gospels. It often refers to appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament, particularly those attributed to the “Angel of the Lord”

These moments are pivotal, as they reveal the depth of His commitment to humanity and that continuous thread of His presence throughout biblical history. Some say that this was not a Christophany but an angel of the Lord. This cannot be an angel because Joshua knelt and worshiped this peson. When men knelt down to worship an angel in the Scriptures, the angel was quick to correct, as we see below:

Revelation 22:8-9  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.  (9)  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Jesus Christ is God’s spoken and visible word to man. We serve a God that loves His creation and wishes to comfort, teach and guide!

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1 John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Revelation 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

God loves His creation so much!! He knew that man needed to “see” God in a tangible way to encourage an understanding and connection with Him. The Bible says that no man can see God and live. (see Exodus 33:20-23) Yet, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, God made a way through His Son, Jesus Christ, who embodies the image of the invisible God. Christ came in bodily form at different times in the Scriptures, displaying God’s love and grace so that His will would be accomplished on Earth. Through Jesus, we see the heart of the Father revealed — His compassion, His mercy, and His desire for a relationship. We not only see the Lord’s character and promises through the Scriptures, but also through the transforming work of His Holy Spirit in our lives, guiding us, comforting us, and enabling us to reveal His goodness in our daily interactions with others. When we embrace these truths, we deepen our faith and understanding of God’s everlasting love for us.

Christ will come again in the same likeness that Joshua saw. He will come as Captain and Conqueror of the enemy.

Revelation 19:11-16  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  (12)  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.  (13)  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  (14)  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  (15)  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  (16)  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Every knee will bow to this King! Has your heart bowed to Jesus Christ? Many know OF Jesus; many use His name in every day conversations; but they do not know Jesus Christ. They don’t even realize they need a Saviour from their sins. It is this that differentiates between the two. The knowledge of Christ must travel from the brain to the heart. Eighteen inches is the distance between you going to Heaven or going to Hell. You will have to bow to Jesus some day, Reader. Wouldn’t you rather bow to Him as your Saviour rather than your Judge?

Isaiah 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Romans 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Philippians 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

If you have not met the Lord Jesus Christ and bowed your heart’s “knee” to Him in this lifetime, you will have to spend eternity without Him in the Lake of Fire! It is better to bow the knee to Him now and let Him be the Captain of your life. If you want to know how to be saved, follow this link and it will guide you through the Scriptures.

Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus – Day 27

Photography by Bob Sabo

Prophecy of Messiah:

Job 19:23-27  Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!  (24)  That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!  (25)  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:  (26)  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:  (27)  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Good morning, reader! Have you ever wondered which book of the Bible is the oldest or which one is the newest? Or who was the person who lived the longest? What I love the most is that I can always seem to find answers to my questions in my Bible. It is the book of knowledge and wisdom according to Proverbs 2:6, amen? God wrote the book through His Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:20-21) and therefore He provides us with both knowledge and wisdom when we read His Word.

Job is said to be the oldest book. Job doesn’t mention Moses and the Law so he probably lived during the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Furthermore, Job offered sanctified his children and offered a burnt offering for all of them. Only the priests did this so Job must have existed prior to the Law.

Just think of this for a moment, Job says how he wished that his words were written and printed in a book! Well they were! More than that, he wanted them written with an iron pen and lead in the ROCK for ever. Jesus is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13) – the Father in Heaven sent His Son to be the Father’s words in the flesh. Jesus is the spoken Word of God (John 1:1, John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3) and His Holy Spirit penned it on paper through His prophets and Apostles. (John 14:26, 2Peter 1:20-21)

Even at this early time in history, Job knew that he would see his Redeemer and that he would partake in the resurrection of life!

Prophecy of Messiah Fulfilled:

John 5:24-29  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  (25)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.  (26)  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;  (27)  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.  (28)  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  (29)  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Doesn’t this give you goosebumps? It sure does for me! These words were recorded for us in the Scriptures so we would be excited about the upcoming resurrection of life for all believers! Unfortunately, there will also be another resurrection: not unto life but unto death! I can’t imagine someone not caring about what happens to them after they die. If they only knew the pain and suffering that awaits them. If you knew that your house would catch on fire during the night on a specific day, wouldn’t you make sure that your smoke detectors were functioning and batteries were new? Of course you would. It’s no different with where you will spend eternity! We have the Bible, which is our smoke detector (no pun intended). In it are the words of eternal life for all who will believe in Jesus Christ, our Saviour! You can find out what that will be like by just reading the Scriptures! All the answers are there!

Do you know Him personally or do you only know of Him? I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!