“Eli Eli Lama Sabachthanni”. Translated “My God My God, why have you forsaken me?

These were the last words from the incarnate Christ as His carnal body went limp at the cross, a spear struck in His side, with water and blood running out on the ground, effectually cleansing the whole earth, He is then proclaimed dead. So the last thing He said was, God oh God, why have you forsaken me? Because that is what  Eli Eli Lama Sabachthanni” means.

So we must ask ourselves, do we know what Christ really experienced? The answer is He experienced total darkness of the absolute absence of God the Father and all His goodness, to experience the opposite of unfathomably, excruciating pain. However, He experienced that NOT for Himself but for us, so that we wouldn’t have to. He took our death unto Himself. Meaning at our moment of darkness in the hour of our death of entering the unknown, we don’t have to ask the Father, Lama Sabachthani, or why have you forsaken me, of being as far away from God as spiritually possible because Christ took that on for us. And not only did he take on for us a certain death of eternal darkness, but He saved us from all the ill effects and consequences of the pain and agony of death itself so that we wouldn’t have to be afraid of death. The death and certain condemnation we each deserve, He took that for us. For this reason “to as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become His children, even those who simply believe in His name. And that is how He did it.

He completely neutralized the ill effects and consequences of the fall of Adam and Eve that effectually made us all dead. When they ate the forbidden fruit they died the death of certain separation from God that was passed on to all of humanity, except for Christ because He may have been born by a human women, but not in the fashion of Adam. He had a different liniage, bloodline and outcome. A sinless one. However he selected to die the death of sinners which Adam and Eve bequeathed to us, to wipe the slate clean for anyone and everyone who would believe in Christ to receive the pardon. This is us being rescued from an Adamic given way of thinking to be associated with the new of being “in Christ” in contrast with being opened and exposed in association with Adam. This is what “being saved” is all about. It is a reversal of the curse given to us from Eden. The curse of death in exchange for the gift of life., To all who would excersize their personal sovereignty and ability to say yes to the gospel and not let go.

And the first testimony of this in the New Testament liniage was Stephen who was stoned to death publicly by the Jewish leaders and He did NOT  say “Eli Eli, Lama Sabachthani, or why have you forsaken me”. Scripture says “⁵⁵ But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Christ standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶ and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man STANDING at the right hand of God!” This is a far cry from being forsaken. And this all happened unbenounced to the persecutors.

In truth Christ is seated in complete victory waiting for His enemies to become His footstool, However like in Stephens case, He does stand up to receive His Elect, of those who take Him at His word against all proof otherwise. Meaning us who believe that death has been paved over so as to never taunt nor threaten us ever again. Bring it on because our glory can only become more evident and shine brighter and brighter as was Stephens.

And don’t forget Romans 8?

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him (and because of Him) also freely give us all (of Gods) things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against Gods elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (Because of this impenetrable barriers) ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, NOTHING shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen! And so be it!

That’s the blessedness of the Cross and is also what gives us permission and power to move past the fear of death, the consternation and the pains associated with it. Without Christ’s propitiation we could not experience unfettered, un-interupted eternal life now in our lifetime without death bothering us, but we can. Anyone still holding on to “the fear of death” doesn’t understand the Love God  has for us and has not received this provision supplied to us by us putting our faith as spelled out in the gospel. Meaning, the Christ of the cross, which is our proof that what we say is true because that death couldn’t overcome Him, and He packaged that and inherited it to us to become overcomers too..

If there was any death or dying that has not been paid for, Jesus Christ would still be on the cross. Or He would have to send another form of saving but that is blasphemy because then Christs first attempt would be partial and considered a failure. But we testify that it is not, because we possess now the gift of life He gave us as proof. If you believe in Christ and don’t have this kind of assurance, it is because you only believe in part, but not all of the gospel.

That is because you have to receive the promises of eternal life be faith, by BLIND faith. That is what faith is. That one must first believe that God exists and that He rewards those that diligently seek Him” and take Him at His written word. “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. God is His Word and that is it. This is abiding “in Christ” is abiding in Word. This is appropriating His promises. And when necessary for you? Now you know how to do it. You are taught what to say to the obstacles you encounter. They are put there for your exercise.

The writer of Hebrews put it like this “¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, in order that through death He would destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and to release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” To not fear death in it’s various stages again.

It is that “fear is death because fear involves torment”. And that too was expired at the cross. That is why Christ said numerous times, do not fear but believe. Believing requires trust.

And the glorious result of this for us is that “we see Jesus, who was made ^[f]a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, for Him, by the grace of God, to taste death for everyone.” And “¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many offspring to glory (way past the threats of pain, suffering and dying), to make the captain of their salvation perfect through (His) sufferings”. This is in reference to the cross where He tasted and fully experienced not just death for us, but took on the death for each one of us. John 3.16-17

If this concept escapes you, it’s because you may not have enough stock in the eternal. “Faith is the evidence of things hoped for the substance of the things not seen, for by this the elders obtained from God”. If you’re able to put your faith in the invisible, you would be able to see Christ at the cross on your behalf taken on the ill effects and the consequences of death as having happened to us as well. Didn’t we vow at our baptism, to be buried in the likeness of His death, to be raised in newness of life’s? That death is behind you. Death has no hold on you. Believe it!

And again ‘if anyone is in Christ they are newly created, old things having passed away and all things became new and all things new are from God”. So you can let go. And since we are declared new by the same one who said let there be light, how close do you think death can get to you if you are sanctified in Christ with the Holy Spirit brooding over you as if you were chicks. It’s really not up to you.

Then we have a Shadrack Meshach and Abednego. These three were thrown into a burning fire seven times hotter than ever burned before and the people who observed saw four men dancing in there and one looked like the son of god. They were dancing celebrating that moment because for them as it is for us the fear of death should be completely absolved. Patient and death should have no bear on us at all because the outward man may wince and cry however the inward one that was renewed day by day through revelation, one after another is not the recipient of that.

And that is the point for us. At that moment of absolute fear, darkness and death we know these have no hold on us because our old man was hung out with Christ at the cross by faith as we vowed at baptism to give us the new life then. The one after death. But because you have not experienced dying yet, you think you still will. But if that is the case, the work of the cross is cheapened and death still haunts you. This can only happen through the doorway in the spirit of your mind. Death is just the final layer of putting off the skin you inhabit but you never die. We go through our renewal inside here by faith.

A promise in scripture says that “We have put off the body of the sins of the flesh” not being the flesh body itself but a passed on collection of a body of old beliefs of doubts, fears and misconceptions. Meaning our new body is a new body of beliefs and principles in the spirit of our mind, because that is all we get to keep of this carnal experience we call life because “flesh and blood does NOT inherit the Kingdom of God”. Only the re-Spirited mind of faith does. This is where you find God.

:Warning: If you are given into the  powers and providers of this age with their promises, provisions and coverages to provide and take care of you, you are likely outside the covering of God and unable to grasp any of what we say. Your heart and mind are likely covered over with a doubt and/or self righteous anger which is similar to those who despised Stephen.

We are also told that “if we judge ourselves we shall not be judged” this is how we’ve escaped the pending doom. And “it is time for judgement to begin with the house God” to see where our allegiances are. This age or the age to come. You will be tested on this from time to time. So if you feel stripped or lost, you’ve likely just passed something through the other side. These are your birthing pains, but with proper recognition you can have joy. As Christ said “the joy I give you, no one can take from you because it is out of reach of their carnal abilities.

And Peter said “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing has happened to you. But rejoice to the extent that as you participated in the sufferings, you also participate in the glory”, indicating a one to one correlation and a trade in old for new. We do this one revelation at a time with the goal of this kind of perfection NOT of the flesh, but perfect in understanding. As we read from Romans 12.2 be ye transfigured by the renewing of your mind”. So you know where the transformation happens, in the spirit of your mind.

We have a curious verse from Isaiah who said “how can you say to my soul, to flee like a bird to your mountain?” Just like we’ve been explaining.

And again from Isaiah 57.1

The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from ^[a]evil.
²  They shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

And 26.20 “Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
²¹ For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her ^[l]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.”

And you may ask where is your chamber? It is in your re-newed mind of faith, because God does not dwell in things made by man and “the earth and all its works will be burned for the eternal to remain”. So you can understand that, being renewed in the spirit of your mind is where your new creation is anyway because that’s all you get to keep.

It is not as though it is new for God because everything God has is forever new. So it is just new for you because you may have just discovered it and received it. That everyone who is born of the spirit moves by the spirit, and is renewed to the spirit. We are those “who HAVE put off the body of the sins of the flesh” which is a body of doubts and fears, but NOT the flesh itself because even Christ in the flesh WAS “the fullness of the Godhead body” for us to be complete in Him who is head over all powers and principalities. And even as God said when He looked at the first man “it is good!” That was at the last day, the  final act and the crowning Jewell of creation, on His own image made He man in His likeness”. So the flesh itself is not the enemy of God, but the fearful and the selfish ways of thinking are.

We say this to make another point, that even one once of eternity is of more value than all of creation that is carnally assimilated, because after it burns you get to keep that ounce of eternity that wasn’t created. And each ones work shall be judged by what matter of work it is. A carnal work and various types of physical preservation reaps zero rewards. Not that life isn’t prescious, but the old self is not. That is why Paul said he counted it all as dung and filthy rags that he may attain the righteousness of Christ” and we just explained to you your right doing. “In your patience possess ye your soul.”

 The Kingdom of God is emphatically “at hand”. Amen!