Posted on 04/16/2020 1:15:27 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Q: Why did Jesus stay around for 40 days after He came back from the grave, instead of going immediately into heaven? This came up in our Bible class the other day and no one seemed to have an answer.
A: One reason Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days after His resurrection instead of ascending immediately into heaven was to demonstrate to His followers that He truly was alive.
After all, they knew the Roman authorities had put Jesus to death, and that His body had been taken down from the cross and sealed in a tomb. And when that happened, they were filled with despair and fear; many even went into hiding. They had believed Jesus was the promised Messiah – and now their hopes were shattered. They had forgotten His promise that He would return from the grave, and they felt they had no future.
But when Jesus appeared among them after the resurrection, their lives were changed. The greatest miracle in all history had just taken place: Jesus Christ was alive! During those 40 days, He appeared to various groups of disciples, proving beyond doubt to them that he had been raised from the dead by the power of God. Over two decades later, the Apostle Paul wrote that “he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living” (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Another reason, however, why Jesus stayed on earth then was to teach His disciples, and prepare them for the task of telling the world about Christ. Is your faith in the risen Christ, and are you seeking to share His message of salvation with others?
(Excerpt) Read more at billygraham.org ...
Where did you come up with the idea that the number four is connected with trial testing? I'm wondering (not accusing) because I have never, ever heard that. It certainly wasn't part of my Statistics 1 class.
HIGH FIVE to you.
Of course, your call sign is Seven_0 so if seems as if you are a numbers person.
bump for later
The number 40 is used over 150 times in the bible. As you point out, it is like the Hillbilly nuimber elventy-eleven, merely meaning “very long”. But the people who take the old testament literally think it is an accurate measure of time. Who is to say, but I believe as you do that it is not meant to be literal but simply to mean “a long time or a very long time.
The number 7 is used over 700 times.
The number 12 is used almost 200 times.
The number 10 is used about 250 times
They weren’t very creative with their numbers. They uses a few over and over again and everybody understood exactly what those numbers represented. They were never meant to be mathematically correct or historically accurate.
There have been a few folks who have written on the subject. My favorite is E W Bullinger = Number In Scripture
https://www.levendwater.org/books/numbers/number_in_scripture_bullinger.pdf
See the sections on 4 and 40.
To recruit Paul....
Thanks
Chuck Missler’s Cosmic Codes also has interesting links.
Three days was an actual count. But think of the different references to 40 days and 40 years in The Bible.
The number forty to the Jews is a number that, when used in terms of time, represents a period of probation, trial, and chastisement (not to be confused with judgment which is represented by the number 9). As the product of 5 and 8, it also signifies grace (5) ending in revival or a new beginning (8).
The number 40 appears dozens of times across the Old and New Testaments.
1. Moses, Elijah and Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days each
2. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years
3. Ezekiel laid on his right side for 40 days to “bear the iniquity” of Judea’s sins
4. Three kings reigned for 40 years each: Saul, David and Solomon
5. Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days before David defeated him
6. God destroyed every living thing on Earth by flooding it for 40 days
There are a lot of things that each inspired Gospel writer omits, leaves out or fails to mention that the other Gospel writers do put in. That doesn’t mean it is not true.
Sorry.
1 Cor 14:10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.The numbers 4, 40, and 400 show up often and you will see the pattern after a while. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years. Christ was tempted in the wilderness 40 days and there are many more examples. The number seven is more conspicuous. Though it is not as common as the lower numbers, it is used consistently all through scripture. It always finishes the series (week) And 8 starts the new week.
No problem, but I cannot easily answer it. You would likely need to ask a scholar-Rabbi to explain Jewish numerology of this kind.
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Yes, God is the author but He HAD to use fallible human beings and they AIN'T perfect in any way.
St. Peter DENIED Jesus three times. But he had FAITH IN his Lord.
Judas, also chosen by Jesus as His Apostle, had not the faith that Peter had and we know his ending.
God also created Lucifer, KNOWING that Lucifer would turn into Satan.
Who are we to try and figure out God's plans?
Prov 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Its not just “many number forties” - That completely misses the divine perfection of the Word.
Read Part 1 at the link I provided, as Bullinger does far better explaining the why, and answering your question. Here is an excerpt.
There can be neither works nor words without number. We can understand how man can act and speak without design or significance, but we cannot imagine that the great and infinite Creator and Redeemer could either work or speak without both His words and His works being absolutely perfect in every particular.
“As for God His WAY is perfect” (Psa 18:30). “The Law of the LORD is perfect” (Psa 19:7). They are both perfect in power, perfect in holiness and righteousness, perfect in design, perfect in execution, perfect in their object and end, and, may we not say, perfect in number.
“The LORD is righteous in all His ways: and holy in all His works” (Psa 145:17). All His works were (and are) done, and all His words were spoken and written, in the right way, at the right time, in the right order, and in the right number. “He telleth the number of the stars” (Psa 147:4). He “bringeth out their host by number” (Isa 40:26). “He weigheth the waters by measure” (Job 28:25).
...
As He is perfect, so His works and His words also must be perfect. And when we see number used not by chance, but by design; not at haphazard, but with significance; then we see not merely so many works and words, but the Living God working and speaking.
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Another relevant Scripture:
Isaiah 46:9-10 (AMP)
9 [Earnestly] remember the former things, [which I did] of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose,
Christ recruited Paul from Heaven, Acts 9. After the stoning of Stephen, Acts 8. Stephen saw Christ STANDING by the right hand of God, not sitting.
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