–Revelation 21:4 (HCSB)
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I apologize right from the beginning for a longer devotion, but I want to look this morning at another one of those mysterious Scriptures.  Dr. Bernard Rossier states, “Theologically, this is probably the most difficult pass in Ephesians to interpret.”  That being said, let’s take a look and see if we cannot glean a few things.

          8 — Therefore He says:  “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”
          9 — (Now this, “He ascended”–what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
        10 — He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)  (NKJV)

     One of the many views as to the interpretation of these verses is that Christ, as the conqueror, was leading those He conquered.  In ancient times it was customary to take foes conquered and make a public display of them while at the same time throwing gifts to the people.  He would ride in a chariot leading the conquered foes as captives.  (Lloyd-Jones)  There is much to discuss in this concept, but the short of it is that it would mean Jesus would be leading death, hell, and the grave.
     A second, major view is that Jesus “freed the multitudes of captives” (Rossier).  In this we have to be careful of not expounding, as some have, a “second chance theology” or an idea that there is salvation after death.  Jesus did not go and evangelize those in Hell (Gehenna).  This being said, the descent of Jesus was to Sheol, the place of the dead (Hades in the Greek).  We know that Jesus died, therefore we conclude that He went to Sheol.  This is not hell (Gehenna) the place of eternal punishment.

          “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”  –Psalm 16:10(NKJV)
          “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”  –Acts 2:27 (NKJV)

     To understand this better we need to look at Luke 16:19-26.  The rich man died and went to Hades (Sheol) as did the beggar Lazarus.  We see the rich man “tormented in this flame (16:24); while Lazarus was “carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom (16:22) which is often referred to as “Paradise.”  Recall also, the words Jesus spoke to the thief hanging on the cross next to Him, “…Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43, NKJV).  Somehow, some way–part of the mystery–there was a division in Hades (Sheol).  There was a place of comfort, and a place of torment.  There seems to be communication, both verbally and visually, between the souls that inhabit the two.  Abraham, though, informed the rich man, “…there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”  (16:26, NKJV)  
     Who were these captives then?  One writer said it was those “who awaited Jesus’ (the Messiah) sacrifice now would have access to heaven.”  Rossier states, “At that time the Lord apparently transferred paradise, or Abraham’s bosom, into heaven itself, so this accounts for the freeing of multitudes of captives.”  This is the promise believed by Old Testament saints, and possibly others.
     Imagine the scene.  Jesus walking through the corridors into the great hall of the dead, stopping first to see His friend, Abraham, who declares, “You were the ram–the sacrifice.”  Turning, He sees Moses, perhaps winking at Him, “remember the I AM of the bush that burned, now you can see me face-to-face.”  Abel, Noah, Daniel, and a host of others gather around.  Jesus puts His hand on the shoulder of Jonah, “now you understand the ordeal of the great fish.”  Looking at the crowd, seemingly able to see all of them at once, Jesus declares, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:18, NKJV)  And I will note that here Hades is more literally rendered, the “unseen realm.”
     David, somehow reaches the forefront and bows before the Lord and proclaims, “you are my Shepherd, and my throne is Yours.”  Others, possibly Naaman, Darius, Xerxes who would have been influenced by Esther, and Nebuchadnezzar to whom Jesus says, “remember the fourth Man in the furnace.”  Go ahead, add others to the scenario, make it real in your mind what might have taken place.
     WOW!  What a scene that must have been!  Jesus–the promise given, now fulfilled.  He grabs Abraham by the arm, waves at the others, “Come on, let’s go to the city made by My Father.”  In closing this somewhat speculative and lengthy devotion, let me point out perhaps another mystery that took place.  “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-52, NKJV).

                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Far Canyon)

       “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

                    –2 Corinthians 8:9 (NKJV)
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Several weeks ago I discussed the concept of God’s omniscience–all-knowing.  God knows everything; everything past, present, and future; every thing that is or could be.  But knowing all, does that mean experiencing all?  Now, I don’t pretend to begin to know and understand the mysteries of God and the supernatural, but let’s look at a couple of things.
     Death, for example, that arch-enemy of man that came from the Fall.  Death, that mysterious departure from life into eternity.  Death was not created, but is the natural result of sin.  “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).  In James we read, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (1:15, NKJV).
     Death is the opposite of life, therefore how can God know death?  One thing to remember, even though death is the opposite of life, it never denotes nonexistence (Vine).  On the scene:  Jesus, the God-man.  Fully God, fully man; it was Jesus who understood death.  It was Jesus who defeated death for Paul wrote, “O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NKJV).  
     Death–defeated by Jesus Christ, and thus when we come to the end of life and face that mystery, and to us it is still a mystery, we can face it with hope and trust.  “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11, NKJV)  Death no longer is that enemy to be fear; it was defeated by Jesus Christ.
     Sin, God doesn’t know sin.  He is not the author or creator of sin for He will not, cannot, do anything contrary to His holy character.  James tells us that “God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one” (1:13, NKJV)  Light cannot produce darkness.  Sin was found in Lucifer, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:15, NKJV).  The conclusion I draw, feeble it may be, is that it is free-will that brought and continues to bring about sin.  Of course today, man is born with the sin nature thanks to Adam.  
     Sin, God does not know sin–on the scene, Jesus, the God-man.  Isaiah prophesied this about the Messiah from chapter 53:

          3 — He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
          4 — Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
          5 — But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His striped we are healed.
          6 — All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  (NKJV)

God’s justice and holiness demanded that sin, in all of its form, be punished.  Judgment must come.  Jesus took His wrath on the cross and bore the sins of the world.  Paul writes, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).  As Jesus hung on the cross the guilt of all was placed upon Him.  It forced the Father to send His wrath; it caused the Father to turn His back on His “only begotten Son.”  God knows sin, because Jesus became sin.
     I don’t know the deep things of God; I do know, however, that I have a free-will, the ability to sin or the choice to believe in Jesus and His supreme sacrifice.  The punishment for sin was dealt with at the cross.  Take advantage of that if you have not already done so.  Paul proclaims, “…Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2, NKJV)  Not tomorrow, for you might not see tomorrow’s sunrise, but today, now.  

                    –B.N. Rundell  (Black Hawk)

       “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

                    –Ecclesiastes 12:14(NKJV)
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“Yay, Amos!”  “Preach it!”  “Tell ’em like it is!”  “Sic ’em, Lord!”  Yells the crowd as Amos begins to preach and proclaim the message of the Lord.  There are two phrases that are in each pronunciation, and today we’ll look at Amos 1:3-10, three of the prophecies to other nations.
     The first phrase:  “For three transgressions…and for four.”  Lloyd Ogilvie says, “this phrase communicates the divine patience for repeated crimes that are piled on the judgment scale and then one that overloads and tips the scale making God’s punishing intervention unavoidable.”  God is patient, but there comes a time when it is time for judgment.  Over and over He has allowed evil, crime, wickedness but now, there is the proclamation of doom.  The term “transgressions” emphasizes a turning away or breaking away from God’s holy standards of righteousness and morality; it depicts ungodliness in its worst forms.  How much more ungodliness will He allow America as we continue to turn away from His holy standards?
     The second:  “I will not turn away its punishment.”  This is a declaration of judgment which is irrevocable.  “Turn away” affirms that God will not reverse or withdraw His divine verdict.  This judgment is for crimes committed and the Lord finally says, “Enough is enough!”.  Is the time coming, or has it already come when the Lord has declared that He will not revoke His coming judgment?
     Our attention goes first to Damascus.  Damascus, the world’s oldest inhabited city in the capital of Syria.  The transgression that tipped the scales to bring judgment:  “they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.”  This was an inhumane practice of riding over conquered prisoners, as well as those slain in battle, with sharp-bladed iron threshing machines.  Imagine the screams of the captives as they lay there and the blades used to thresh the grain now cut them apart.  Listen, we must remember, that nations, as with people, are not immune to God’s judgment.  “His eye is not only on the sparrow, but also on the deeds of sin, whether done openly or in secret.” (Gary G. Cohen)
     Judgment and punishment will come, says Amos.  The royal household would be destroyed and its reign terminated; its citizens would be taken from their homes and placed in exile (a common practice of the Assyrians).  In fact, it is the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III who will bring this destruction upon Syria and Damascus.  “Fire” does not necessarily mean literal fire from heaven, but represents the holiness and judgment of God.  The writer of Hebrews declares, “For our God is a consuming fire” (12:29, NKJV).
     Our attention now goes to Gaza (Philistines) and Tyre (Phoenicians).  Gaza, a familiar name that is in the news today.  There is much history surrounding Gaza; powerful, destroyed, rebuilt, however, judgment is on the way.  The Philistines will perish, there will not even be a remnant remaining.  Ironically, when Alexander the Great captures Gaza in 332 B.C., 30,000 inhabitants were sold as slaves.  Tyre would be destroyed by fire.  Their evil, their crime was the slave trade, or as we would call it today, “human trafficking.”  The Philistines would raid a village and all inhabitants would be taken into captivity to be sold.  Tyre was especially known for its trade in slaves.  These people “were used as things, objects of trade with blatant inhumanity” (Ogilvie).  God is always concerned with human rights and the dignity of man.  Note to whom they were sold–Edom–keep that in mind.
     The people of Israel were piously pleased with Amos’ pronouncements.  They were smiling and rejoicing over the prophecies against their enemies.  Pause:  slicing up captives–think of the millions of innocents, the unborn, who are sliced up in the womb due to selfishness, wantonness, and greed.  Pause:  human trafficking was the second most profitable illegal industry in the United States in 2021, bringing in $150 billion.  The number of victims is estimated at fifty million in 2021.  Has the Lord given an irrevocable edict against the United States?