Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, spent forty days on earth. During this time, Jesus appeared visible in a different form to more than five hundred believers. Paul was the very last who heard the voice of Jesus, but he did not see Him. Jesus was no longer visible to the human eyes! Nevertheless, Jesus was present in the Spirit. Luke, a Gentile, had a profound understanding how Jesus, the Son of God, was disclosing Himself and continued His work among his converts. While Peter slept, he had a similar vision because he had to be ordered to go to Cornelius. Paul, himself, confessed that he did not know the human Christ (II Corinthians 5:16). Paul is important to our faith because the Gospels were yet to be compiled. It is doubtful that the Gospels were available before Paul and Peter were martyred. That makes Luke and John very valuable. Unfortunately, even Luke was not able to finish Acts and he also may have died with Paul.

In contrast to the stipulations to Adam and Noah, Abram’s was the most demanding; yet, Abraham was to make the greatest sacrifice. God demanded that Abram share his son Isaac with God. In Isaac God would begin to built a nation that would represent Yahweh on earth. Isaac lived up to the expectation and trusted in God. He married at the age of forty. His wife Rebekah was barren for twenty years. During this time, Isaac did not turn to other women to secure an heir like his father Abraham did. Isaac prayed and trusted God who answered by speaking to Rebekah:

The Jewish captives will learn to become priestly in Babylon and learn to trust in God away from home. The seventy years in captivity proved that Israel could live without the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and without the endless sacrifices that most people could not afford. Mary and Joseph had to bring “a pair of turtledoves, or two pigeons” to the priest for giving birth to Jesus (Luke 2:24). This was not in the Ten Commandments, but it was a health code favoring the need for a priest.

The Jewish captives will learn to become priestly in Babylon and learn to trust in God away from home. The seventy years in captivity proved that Israel could live without the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and without the endless sacrifices that most people could not afford. Mary and Joseph had to bring “a pair of turtledoves, or two pigeons” to the priest for giving birth to Jesus (Luke 2:24). This was not in the Ten Commandments, but it was a health code favoring the need for a priest.

The Lamb of God was born into the world that had no cradle for a bed, no home where to lay down his head, and no grave to be buried in. Yet, no one has brought man closer to God than the solitary Man from Nazareth in Galilee. And Jesus keeps doing it through the "Network of His Holy Spirit" who resides in his followers.

The “Priestly Kingdom” was the restoration of the Levitical Theocracy. The leaders of the system were Moses and Aaron. Both were of the tribe of Levi. Their ancestor was not highly regarded by his father Jacob for shaming his name, when they killed all the people of prince Shechem who wanted to marry their sister Dinah (Genesis 34:25-31). In his last will, Jacob held forth little hope for Simon and his brother Levi the sons of Leah and Jacob:

A “Covenant” is an agreement between two parties and a pledge by the recipients to abide by the agreement. That is not the case in the Bible. God, the Creator, who employs man to manage God’s affairs on earth, set up the “Covenant" with conditions via an oath or a promise. Then, God leaves it up to man to adhere or to reject the "Covenant." By the time of Moses, these conditions were set in the “Ten Commandments,” which throughout history, with adaptations and with additions and with subtractions, have been the foundation of all civilizations. By the time of Jesus, traditions had replaced the “Ten Commandments.” And therefore, Jesus insisted on restoring the "Ten Commandments" (Matthew 5:17-20). Essentially, the "Ten Commandments" are what God has willed for mankind on earth.

The prophet Elijah had an enormous impact on Hebrew thinking in his time and in the future. In fact, his entire period was dominated by “The spirit of Elijah,” rather than by the “Spirit of the Lord.” The Spirit of the Lord was merely the vehicle that moved Elijah out of reach for Ahab and Jezebel (I Kings 18:12; II Kings 2:16). The deplorable conditions and the needs energized the human spirit to confront Baalism very successfully. Elijah’s boldness led Elisha to ask for a double portion of his master’s spirit and so did others. Elisha’s students, bonded together into groups of fifties, gave the Baal prophets some of their own medicine. They repaid violence with violence. They had the new pretenders for the throne on their side, as well as Jehu; the replacement for Ahab’s family, was their main executioner.

David was greatly beloved by the historian, who very skilfully made his transgression appear small. He made this comparison between David and Solomon’s grandson Abijam:

The enhancing of a man’s spirit by the Spirit of God was especially visibly demonstrated in the life of Elisha. The work this prophet did pointed to a source that was more than human. It reminds us of Nicodemus addressing Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Jesus, Himself, passed on His Spirit to his disciples, “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'” (John 20:22). His Spirit had to do with dealing with difficulties and handicaps, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). This was the kind of power Elisha received from Elijah. And believers also can receive this power from Jesus, their Christ.