The Christ in Prophecy Journal

A Garden Tomb Sermon: A Rhema Moment

The Sign Says

This past week Christendom worldwide was celebrating what is usually referred to as Easter. I don’t like that word Easter. I don’t like it because it has pagan roots, and it’s not a biblical term. I refer to Easter Sunday as Resurrection Day. It is a day dedicated to celebrating one of the greatest miracles in history — the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The Resurrection was the focus of the Apostle’s teaching and preaching in the First Century, and that’s because the Resurrection validated Jesus as who He said He was, namely, God in the flesh.

David Reagan: The #Resurrection validated #Jesus as who He said He was, namely, God in the flesh. #Easter Click To Tweet

I have had the blessing of going to the Holy Land more than 45 times, and my favorite place in all that land is the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. It is a beautiful, quiet and meditative place. The Garden Tomb is a very, very beautiful and spiritually impressive site. It’s located on the north side of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Garden Tomb may not be the exact location of the tomb of Jesus, but the site meets all the qualifications. It is a First Century rich man’s tomb with a rolling stone. It is located inside a magnificent garden. A place of execution is located nearby called Skull Hill.

On the modern-day door to the tomb is a sign that says: “He is not here for He is risen.” Another sign close by reads: “Jesus Christ declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead.” That is a quote from Romans 1:4.

A Rhema Moment

I was reading through the New Testament many years ago. I got to Hebrews 1 and was looking forward to reading it because it is one of my favorite Scriptures in all of the Bible. It talks about the superiority of Jesus above the angels, Moses, and everyone else.

I love how Hebrews 1 ends in verse 14 where it says that there are ministering angels who are ministering to those who are in the process of being saved. I myself have depended on those angels many times. I ask the Lord to post one at my house every time I leave on a trip to watch over my family. I ask Him to surround my airplane, especially when we are flying over an ocean. So, if you’ve never used the ministry of angels, I suggest you start doing so.

Hebrews 1:1 is not a full sentence. Look at what it says, “God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.” As I started to read on to verse 2 the Holy Spirit said, “Stop!”

I don’t know if you’ve had those experiences. I’m sure you’ve had if you read the Scriptures. Often it is called Rhema. Rhema is where the Holy Spirit speaks to you from the Scriptures to give you a special message. You might read a verse 101 times and it never say anything to you, but the 102nd time it will jump off the page, grab you by the throat, and shake you until your teeth rattle because you have a need in your life that never was there before that Scripture was going to speak to you. That’s what happened that day.

So, I said, “Well, Lord, that’s not even a full sentence.” He said, “Read it again.” So, I read it again: “God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.”

I got to thinking about that. I thought I’d go over to the Old Testament and take a look and see what were the various ways that God spoke through the prophets. It didn’t take me long to make a list of them, and I’m sure you could, too.

In the second part of this Garden Tomb sermon, I’ll describe the writing and oral prophets.

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Dr. David Reagan

Dr. David Reagan is the Founder and Evangelist Emeritus of Lamb & Lion Ministries. He is a life-long Bible student, teacher, and preacher and he led over 45 pilgrimages to Israel. Dr. Reagan was the host of the radio then television program Christ in Prophecy for nearly 40 years.

4 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Your article was great, but you did not go far enough. Not only did Jesus paid for our sins, God also forgave all sin at the cross. “Religion” makes a terrible mistake teaching us Pew-Sitters that Jesus only paid for our sins, and we must do things to get forgiven of our sins. Say a salvation prayer. Confess to receive forgiveness and restore righteousness. Forgive others to be forgiven. “Religion” and those works never allow for assurance. A Catholic man told me that the concept of Grace would never work as a religion because, “…with Grace, there is nothing to sell.” What did he mean by “sell?” Making merchandise of Pew-Sitters.

    Being forgiven two-thousand years ago is truly Good News. Being forgiven when I perform some rite or ritual is Bad News.

  • Dr Reagan; God bless you and your Godly wisdom. I have a specific question regarding the statement Jesus made to Mary – after His resurrection – not to touch Him. (Only found in John) I have been told that He needed to deliver Himself (Or His life blood) to the Father’s throne (Mercy seat?); just as the chief priests in the OT needed to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. ………..Do you accept this? Thank you for your ministry!

    • The Bible indicates that after the death of Jesus on the Cross, He descended into Hades and declared to all the spirits there His triumph over Satan (1 Peter 3:18-19; 4:6). The Bible also indicates that after His resurrection, when He ascended into Heaven, Jesus took Paradise with Him, transferring the spirits of dead saints from Hades to Heaven (Ephesians 4:8-9 and 2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The spirits of dead saints are thereafter pictured as being in Heaven before the throne of God (See Revelation 6:9 and 7:9).

      Some theologians believe Jesus went to Heaven during the days before Christ’s resurrection (Luke 24:1-51; Mark 16:9-19). A lesser view is that Jesus returned from the Father a week later to visit Thomas (John 20:26). We know Jesus definitely returned to Heaven forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:2-3,9).

      Once Jesus was freed of His earthly body into His resurrected body, He once again shared in the Father’s omnipresence, so He could be anywhere at anytime. And so, I believe the Bible teaches that Jesus returned to the Father with Paradise after His crucifixion and resurrection and just after seeing Mary Magdalene. He then made frequent trips back and forth from Heaven before His last ascension before the Apostles.

  • Paul says in 1 Corinthians and in Galatians that those who continue in sin will (1) not inherit the kingdom of God, and (2) receive in themselves the just punishment for their sins. Paul uses the Israelites in the wilderness as an example to us not to tempt Christ.

    I wish Paul understood that Jesus is the TRUE snake on a pole, the TRUE manna from heaven, and the TRUE concubine (reverse concubine actually) of the Levite God.

    Jesus said that HUMAN POWER IS OF NO USE AT ALL for Salvation purposes. This is something the unmerciful servant Jesus told about did not understand, but only wanted more time to clean up his act and rid his life of sin, and demand others do the same and repay for their wrongs to him. Jesus will cast such people into debtor’s prison until their sin debt is paid in full. For them, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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