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If you can allow yourself to go to a place you may have never been before, then let your mind take a real look behind the human veil of the modern, Christianized version of the cross of Messiah, and consider it through the eyes of someone who was contemporary with Jesus of Nazareth. Look at the natural human response of a person contemporary with Jesus being told that "God" had come down and lived among them, and had died on a cross as an atonement for them.
In those days, the cross was not a wonderful spiritual emblem. It was intensely repulsive and inglorious. It was not a noble, exalted end for anyone, in any way. Telling such a thing to a person who saw crosses every day, and gross criminals hanging on them to die as just compensation for their offenses, would elicit a response of utter incredulity. "Are you trying to tell me that a man walking around here was God? You say that "God" did WHAT????!!!! Hung on a cross????!!!! Whatever for? What was He trying to prove by that?"
It was hundreds of years before that unrecognized act of God was included as a part of "acceptable" Christianity, yet this act of God, Himself, in the literal, physical event of Messiah's crucifixion on the cross, marked and established forever the founding of the kingdom of God on the earth.
The cross of Jesus Christ was not about something a man did, it was about something that God did in human flesh. It was God, hanging on Calvary's cross in a naked human body, reconciling the world unto Himself. It was God, laying down willingly to be nailed onto His cross, fully given over to carry out His divine covenant to us. It was God, hanging on a real literal cross, not a "spiritual" one. It was God Who was shedding real blood, and it was divine blood, too, for the blood of a human could never have been an atonement for anything. The cross of Christ was a specific, divine act at the climax of the life of God in the man Jesus of Nazareth. It was God, being revealed as He has always been, totally open and vulnerable, naked, and given over to us. It was God, doing what was required to save those who would receive His divine act as a living and functioning experience within themselves.
At the time that God fulfilled His divine act, everyone but the centurion and the believing thief saw the event through natural human eyes. These two witnesses of God's act were given of the Father, testifying that it was God's Son Who was on the cross, and that He had the ability to save. Everyone else who saw the event, saw it through human eyes. Some souls experienced human pity for this kind man who was being tortured and killed. Others experienced total hopeless despair. It appeared that the life and death of Jesus wasn't as the Jews had anticipated for their Messiah. It was not according to their "prophetic" expectations. Still others felt elation, that finally this man, who claimed that He was God, was going to be out of their life and conscience. Yet this literal, physical event, this almost totally unrecognized act of God, nonetheless marked the founding of the kingdom of God in the earth.
Shortly following Christ's conception in Mary, and prior to His birth, the Spirit of inspiration came upon Zechariah. He prophesied that this baby would be the Author of our salvation. "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to His people! And He has raised up a Horn of salvation, a mighty and valiant Helper, the Author of salvation for us in the house of David His servant." Luke 1:68,69 Amplified.
Following Jesus' life and death, He was recognized and acknowledged as the Author of salvation.
And the eunuch exclaimed, See, here is water! What is to hinder my being baptized? And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts 8:36,7 Amplified.
And Paul went down to Derbe and also to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. She had become convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and the Author of eternal salvation, and yielded obedience to Him. Acts 16:1 Amplified.
Jesus earned the right, and became equipped, to be the Author of our salvation by the experiences His Father ordained for Him to pass through. " In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up definite, special petitions and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was always able to save Him...Although He was a Son, He learned active, special, obedience through what He suffered. And, His completed experience making Him perfectly equipped, He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him." Heb. 5:8,9 Amplified.
Jesus took His "active, special, obedience" clear to its completion. He "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:8. His death on the cross was the event that sealed His Authorship of our salvation, yet that was only the first phase of Messiah's work. The Scriptures state that Christ is not only an Author but a Finisher as well. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." "Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith, giving the first incentive for our belief...is also its Finisher, bringing it to maturity and perfection." Heb. 12:2 KJV, Amplified.
There are numerous references in Scripture to Christ's finishing of the salvation which He founded at His first coming. It is stated in different ways and figures of speech, but it is clear that the founding of the kingdom of God, when Messiah came the first time, was not the end of the salvation promised, it was simply the first essential part. Scripture refers to Messiah's maturing and perfecting work as "final salvation," and tells us specifically when His finishing work will occur:
Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin, nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him. Heb. 9:28 Amplified.
The phrase, "to-bring-to-full-salvation," is specifically speaking of Christ's work as Finisher of our salvation: a bringing of us, by His personal presence, to the maturity and perfection of His own experience.
His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints, His consecrated people, ...Christ's body; that it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God, that we might arrive at the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection, the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him. Eph. 4:12,13 Amplified.
God said, I will dwell in and with and among them, and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. So, come out from among unbelievers, and separate, sever yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not any unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor, and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. THEREFORE, SINCE these great promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring our consecration to completeness in the reverential fear of God. 2 Cor. 6:16-18;7:1.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, do not offend or vex or sadden Him, by Whom you were sealed, marked, branded as God's own, secured for the day of redemption of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin. Eph. 4:30 Amplified.
Rouse to reality. For final deliverance is nearer to us now than when we first believed, adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah. Rom. 13:11 Amplified.
"Final deliverance" in the Scripture passages above is defined as "Messianic salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven, in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God." Strong's Concordance.
Messiah is not only referred to as Author, and then Finisher, of our salvation, but as Founder, and Consummator. The definition of the word gospel in the New Testament states, "The glad tidings of the kingdom of God...of Jesus the Messiah, the founder of this kingdom...as having suffered death on the cross to procure eternal salvation for the men in the kingdom of God, but as restored to life and exalted to the right hand of God in heaven, thence to return in majesty to consummate the kingdom of God. Strong's Concordance.
The following Scriptures state that Messiah returns as Founder AND Consummator of our salvation, to complete and mature our personal experiencing of His very own life, and, that this was the plan of the Father from the very beginning:
May blessing be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah,... In Him [His Authoring and Founding of the Kingdom of God] we have redemption, deliverance and salvation through His blood...which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding, practical insight and prudence, making known to us the mystery, secret, of His will, of His plan, of His purpose. And it is this: In accordance with His good pleasure, His merciful intention, which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ [the Finisher and Consummator of the Kingdom of God] ...In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings, Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in and adhered to and relied on Him, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit. That Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance, the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage, in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring complete possession of it, to the praise of His glory. Eph. 1:3-14 Amplified.
You who are being guarded, garrisoned by God's power through your faith, till you fully inherit that final salvation that is ready to be revealed for you in the last time...when Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One is revealed...At the same time you receive the consummation of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The prophets, who prophesied of the grace, divine blessing, which was intended for you, searched and inquired earnestly about this salvation. They sought to find out to whom or when this was to come which the Spirit of Christ working within them was indicating...It was then disclosed to them that the services they were rendering were not meant for themselves and their period of time, but for you...Into these things the very angels long to look! 1 Pet. 1:5-12 Amplified.
And someone asked Him, Lord, will only a few be saved, rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, and made partakers of the salvation by Christ? And He said to them, Strive to enter by the narrow door, force yourselves through it, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. Luke 13:23,24 Amplified.
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain [the Authoring and Founding (early), and the Finishing and Consummating (latter rain) of your faith]. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. James 5:7 Amplified.
Like newborn babies you should crave, thirst for, earnestly desire the pure, unadulterated spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto completed salvation. 1 Pet. 2:2 Amplified.
The final book of the Bible is an unfolding, through a variety of symbols and living parables, of the mysteries of Messiah's return. This is where Messiah's finishing work and the consummation of His salvation is portrayed in vivid detail. The purpose of the book of Revelation is stated in its first three verses, for it is a clear Revelation of all that was previously foretold and looked forward to.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, His unveiling of the divine mysteries [in His own person, while dwelling among us (21:3)]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel, messenger, to His bond servant John, who has testified to and vouched for all that he saw in his visions, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed, to be envied...are those who hear and who keep themselves true to the things which are written in it, heeding them and laying them to heart, for the time for them to be fulfilled is near [and now is here!]. Rev. 1:1-3 Amplified.
The Revelation reveals that Jesus' faith has come again, the second time. "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12. The same faith that the Father gave His Son, has appeared now in His people, His bride, those who are of Him. Human faith has been consumed in the full experiencing of the "faith of the Son of God." The Revelation also discloses that this divine faith has not only been Authored in His people, but it has been Finished in them as well; for the testimony is given that Messianic salvation has been brought to the full maturity of Messiah's own experience, Messiah's "full salvation." This is true "final deliverance," and it is in The Revelation that the finishing of the Kingdom of God in the earth is revealed as being experienced here, and now.
Then I heard a strong, loud voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come, the salvation and the kingdom, the dominion, the reign of our God, and the power, the sovereignty, the authority of His Christ, the Messiah. Rev. 12:10 Amplified.
In loud voice they cried, saying, Our salvation is due to our God, Who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, to Them we owe our deliverance! Rev. 7:10 Amplified.
This word here translated "deliverance" is defined as "Messianic salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven, in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God." Strongs
It is in The Revelation that New Jerusalem is clearly defined and seen after Christ's visible return, revealing the perfected Messianic kingdom.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband; Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. Rev. 21:2 Amplified.
This Scripture verse itself, and the following definition for New Jerusalem, reveals when this city comes down from God, and what this city actually is: "'Jerusalem that is above', that is existing in heaven, according to the pattern of which the earthly Jerusalem was supposed to be built. Metaphorically, 'the City of God founded by Christ,' now wearing the form of the church, but after Christ's return to put on the form of the perfected Messianic kingdom." Strongs
