Many people believe that Jesus' death on the cross was predestined by God. They believe it was God's will that Jesus be persecuted, spat upon, whipped, suffer pain from thorns which tore his body, and finally be tortured on the cross.

Theologians say it was God's predestined will. They quote:

Luke 9:30-31 "And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."

Moses, Elijah and Jesus were responsible for the completion of God's providence for the restoration of all humankind. Moses failed to fulfill God's will and Elijah's mission was nullified (to be explained in Part II.) Since their missions were related to Jesus, the failure of their missions had directly affected Jesus' mission. This is why Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus to discuss what must take place. Jesus knew that because of the faithlessness of mankind, he must die on the cross.

Because of these circumstances, unfortunately, the prophecy of the suffering Lord in Isaiah, Chapter fifty-three, was being fulfilled:

Isaiah 53:3-5 "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (4) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God. (5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: . ."

because of rejection and disbelief.

After the transfiguration, Jesus spoke and taught the disciples in a completely different way. Jesus' plan had been changed according to:

Matt. 16:21-23 "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, 'Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.' But he turned, and said unto Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou are an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.'"

Peter could not understand the change in Jesus' teaching. Previously, Jesus taught only of the power and might of the Kingdom which was at hand. The disciples asked to sit beside Him and rule with Him. They expected Jesus to restore Israel as a mighty nation. Jesus' disciples were shocked at the thought of Jesus' death and the failure of the Kingdom centering in the Jewish people. When Jesus began to speak of death this was entirely the opposite of His first teaching. Jesus then said unto His disciples in:

Matt. 16:24 "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Until this time, Jesus had never taught them of suffering or dying. He had never told them they would have to take up His cross and suffer. Jesus had never told the disciples they must take a bitter cup until He knew, because of the religious leaders, that there was no hope of fulfillment. He knew the religious leaders had already set the trap and the time of His death was near. There was no other way by now. Jesus knew the price His followers must pay as a condition if He were executed: it would be persecution and suffering for His followers. What a shock to His Disciples when they learned that He, too, must suffer.

Jesus knew it was too late. Even though the hope for complete salvation was lost, Jesus knew He must, at any cost, even death, fulfill salvation spiritually. When Jesus said, "I must be killed and raised again" He was referring to the death of His physical body and the victory by the Spirit which brought spiritual salvation to mankind through the resurrection, and established Paradise -- the hope of all followers of Christ. If Jesus denied the cross, there would be no spiritual salvation, no Paradise, and Jesus' entire ministry would be nullified. His Spirit must be resurrected or the spirit of Christians cannot go to Him. On this foundation, the Second Coming will complete the ministry of the Christ.

Jesus' prayers in Gethsemane show even more clearly that Jesus knew His death on the cross was not God's will.

Mark 14:33-42 "And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And he saith unto them, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here and watch.' And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. (36) And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.'" . . .

Jesus pleaded with the Father to perform a great miracle and deliver Him from death at the hands of those sinners who came to crucify Him. Jesus did not want to lose His physical body before fulfilling God's desire for His life while on earth.

Why was Jesus in agony if this was His Heavenly Mission; if this was God's Divine Will? Why would His soul be troubled if this was the fulfillment of the glory He was to accomplish? If the crucifixion was God's command, how could Jesus plead with God to change His plan? Why did Jesus say, "All things are possible unto you, Father save me?" On the cross Jesus said, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Why? Jesus knew it was not God's Will that He die on the cross. He knew He should establish the Kingdom before His death.

In John 19:30 Jesus said, "It is finished." This meant His physical life was finished on earth, and spiritual salvation was accomplished. It means He did the best He could. He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit, yet Jesus asked God to forgive the Jewish people for this wicked thing which they had done. Jesus was not satisfied. Jesus was sorrowful. He said that they better weep for themselves and their children. In Paradise, Jesus became the intercessor for humankind to God.

It was the Jewish religious leaders who planned and brought about the crucifixion of the Messiah, the anointed Christ. They prevented the fulfillment of God's will through Christ two thousand years ago. In the 23rd chapter of Matthew we read about Jesus' lament over Jerusalem. They have been a wandering people; persecuted, despised, rejected, and killed. If Jesus death wore God's Will, why did God punish the Jewish people?

Jesus' body was given to Satan by death and crucifixion. To God's eye Jesus' body represented the body of all mankind.

The First Adam failed to become a perfect man on earth in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was the Second Adam and restored the lost position of First Adam. Jesus is the first perfect man. Jesus, as the Second Adam, should restore the dominion and Lordship lost by First Adam. Since the physical body of First Adam was conquered by Satan, the Second Adam, Jesus, must conquer Satan while living on earth in His physical body.

Jesus' spirit and body belonged to God, while all other mankind, together, belonged to Satan. This is why we call Jesus the Savior of all mankind. To God's eye, Jesus represented all mankind and came to restore all mankind.

Jesus' body was the temple, or main body, while believers were the branch temples. Jesus said in John 14:20 "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." Jesus is the main body while believers are grafted to the body of Christ as members of His body. Scripture references which show Jesus and His followers as one body are:

John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches." . . .

Romans 11:16 "If the root be holy, so are the branches."

If the root, which is Christ, must surrender His fleshly body to Satan, so then, automatically, must the branches surrender their fleshly bodies to Satan.

Romans 11:17-18 "But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you." (R.S.V.)

We are as wild olives grafted unto the olive tree. Jesus, as the olive tree, is the life giver to the followers who are wild olives grafted to the tree. If there is no root, no tree, there can be no reproduction, no fruit. There can be no seed or olives produced. Followers of Jesus now receive adoption as the fruit of the spirit only. As adopted children our spirits unite with the spirit of Christ, while the physical life is still a struggle in this sinful world which is under Satan's control and power.

Jesus' body was taken by Satan and killed on the cross. The body of mankind also belongs to Satan. The followers were claimed along with His body at the death of Jesus Christ. For example, if the leader of a country surrenders his life and country to another power, this foreign power will control the entire body of the people in the country. Through the sacrifice of their leader, they we automatically taken by and controlled by this foreign power. Their bodies belong to this foreign power even though their minds and spirits hate being controlled by another power. They have no choice but to struggle for freedom to escape the domination of this foreign power.

We, too, are dominated by a foreign power called Satan. This invisible power controls all mankind in body (physical world) while the spirit of believers belong to Christ, the Savior. The fleshly, sinful man is saved by grace only. Because of the crucifixion, physical redemption was lost and the Earthly Kingdom could not be fulfilled. Physical salvation was postponed until the Second Coming.

After His resurrection, Jesus spent a forty-day period before ascension. Why was this necessary? This set up the foundation for spiritual salvation. It set up a foundation on earth for the continuation of His work through His disciples and His followers. On this foundation, His followers are resurrected to be with Him in Paradise in the spirit-world.

Jesus spent three days in hell, in the spirit-world. Jesus, as the Second Adam, is responsible for the souls of all humankind, both the living and the dead. He is responsible for all spirits in the spirit-world from the beginning of the Old Testament Age.

Acts 1:3 states, "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

After the resurrection, Jesus said the Kingdom is yet to come. Jesus appeared in spirit to set up the foundation to complete the physical restoration which would be fulfilled at the time of the Second Coming.

In this diagram we will summarize the spiritual salvation wrought by Jesus:

Because His earthly ministry was over, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to the earth to minister unto mankind; to work with the disciples and apostles so that all mankind might receive spiritual salvation. From that time forth, all followers must pass through the Holy Spirit to be received by Christ.

1. Scriptures on His Kingdom

If Christ had not been betrayed by Judas Iscariot and rejected by His own people, these scriptures would have been fulfilled:

Luke 1:32, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

David's throne was upon the earth. Jesus was to rule and reign on the earth. He was to be King of Kings on an Earthly Throne.

Mark 15:2 "And Pilate asked him, Art thou King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, 'Thou sayest it.'"

Mark 14:61-2 11 "Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, 'Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' (62) And Jesus said, 'I am.'"

God sent Jesus for that purpose. To be King of Kings on the earth.

Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

He has no government, there is no peace, He could not establish the Kingdom, and there is no justice in the world. Man has never received His council, and does not receive His might. This was not fulfilled while Jesus was on the earth.

The role of the Messiah is prophesied in:

Isaiah 11:2 "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

His Earthly Kingdom is spoken of in:

Isaiah 60:11-12 "Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. (12) For the nation and kings that will not serve thee shall perish, yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."

The Christ was to be king of the Hebrew nation first; then, all the Gentile nations were to be blessed and they, too, would recognize Him as their king. Day and night on the earth, men living an this earth, not in the spirit-world, or in the clouds, an today's Christians have been led to believe -- would continuously contribute the combined wealth of all the nations.

Think how glorious it will be when we see the fulfillment of:

Isaiah 11:9 "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

There is two-fold prophecy an the Messiah in the Old Testament. One is prophecy on Lord of Glory as King of Kings, in case of Israel's belief of Him; the other is prophecy on Lord of Suffering and Dying, in case of rejection. God cannot trust fallen mankind. At any time they may betray God and their Messiah. Unfortunately, the latter prophecy is fulfilled in the case of Jesus Christ, First Advent of Christ.

Chart # 3

Let us look at God's divine plan, or predestination, and the responsibility of mankind in the fulfillment of the work of God. God predestines, or plans, for a certain work to be accomplished. Therefore, God ordains or sets up a plan. Then through the co-operation of men, who are chosen on earth, the Will of God must be completed.

God accomplishes approximately ninety five percent (95%) of the work which must be done. The responsibility of man is approximately five percent (5%). Even though man fails to accomplish his part, God's will never changes. God continues His plan and chooses another person to fulfill that work which is incomplete. God has used this method continuously to accomplish His will on earth. When man fulfills his 5%, God's work is fulfilled and completed. Then God counts the completed work as man's accomplishment.

We can see how God's will has been delayed and, postponed because of man. For example, God created Adam with all the necessary elements to become a perfect man. This is God's responsible 95%. Adam should have followed the command of God. By faith and obedience, Adam could have then received God's blessing. This was Adam's 5% responsibility. Adam failed to accomplish his responsibility.

God chose another man, Noah, a man of great faith. For the work with Noah's family, God gave His blessing, protection and guidance. This was God's 95%. The final work in Noah's family must be fulfilled by Ham, the second son. The 5% which Ham failed to accomplish again delayed God's plan.

Thus, God's 95% predestination, God's plan was transferred to Abraham. Through the failure of Abraham's offering, man's responsibility was again unfulfilled.

Four hundred years later, God transferred His plan to Moses. Moses failed to completely fulfill God's will and was denied the right to enter the promised land, again leaving God's work unfinished. In every case, man had failed his 5% responsibility, thereby postponing God's plan.

God knows the heart of man changes from day to day. Man has never been completely obedient to God's will. Through disbelief and lack of faith, man fails God. God will continue His work and win fulfill His ideal plan by transferring His work from one man to another until men have fully accomplished God's Original plan on earth. God's ultimate plan never changes in spite of the failure of man.

Lack of faith and disbelief made the Second Coming necessary, and He shall come, but who will believe the Lord at the time of the Second Coming? How many will follow? How many will fulfill their 5% human responsibility by faith and obedience to God?

Just as in the days of the First Advent of Christ, the Second Coming Ministry win be unexpected and in a different way from man's expectation. Who will believe in the Kingdom which God win establish? Will there be any faith found? May God help the Christian followers to fulfill their 5% responsibility on earth by faith in the coming Christ.

1. There was a definite purpose in the mission of Jesus Christ and a definite necessity for the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus Christ's mission 2,000 years ago was not completed. But this anointed man of God gave mankind spiritual salvation and set up the foundation on which man may today be restored to God in an Earthly Kingdom. Salvation is Restoration. The kingdom will be restored at the time of the Second Coming. The scriptures plainly state that God has a plan to restore man and all things. See Acts 3:21, Matt. 17:11, Rom. 8:19, and Rom. 8:21. But man must have a Savior. Jesus saved our spirit and we now wait for the redemption of our bodies.

2. If man had not fallen, Adam and Eve would have been the first perfect parents. There would have been no need for prayer for we would have had direct communication with God the Father, and we would not have need of a Savior.

3. It was God's Will that Israel should believe and accept Jesus. Israel was the chosen nation. God sent four major prophets and twelve minor prophets before John the Baptist. John the Baptist lived a life of faith in the wilderness and was considered a sacred prophet. The Jewish people regarded Jesus as unrighteous in many respects. John the Baptist's mission was a most blessed one. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he recognized Him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit he gave public witness of Jesus Christ. But because of his failure in serving and following Jesus after his public witness he failed the Messiah whom he came to serve and attend on. He failed to prepare the way of the Lord. Because of John the Baptist's failure, Jesus had to witness for himself.

4. Among His disciples, Jesus also found a betrayer, Judas Iscariot. If God had planned that Jesus Christ die on the cross, Judas Iscariot's role would have been blessed. But Judas Iscariot is a most despised and wicked man. Jesus Christ knew that it was not God's Will that He die. But He also knew that He must die to fulfill spiritual salvation. Physical salvation will come at the time of the Second Coming.

5. When Jesus learned of His coming death He taught His disciples that they too must suffer. The disciples were shocked to hear Jesus talk of His death, because they had expected Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel and had asked to rule with him. The greatest tragedy, however, lies with the Jewish people. Because of their rejection of Christ they lost the promise of being God's chosen people. This promise was given to the Gentiles, who are spiritual Israel. If Jesus Christ had not been persecuted and killed on the cross, He would have remained on earth to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in an Earthly Kingdom. His death delayed this promise, but at the Second Coming this promise will be fulfilled.

6. There is two-fold prophecy of the Messiah in the Old Testament. One is prophecy on Lord of Glory and King of Kings, in case of Israel's belief of Him; the other is prophecy on Lord of Suffering and Dying, in case of rejection. God cannot trust fallen mankind. At any time they may betray God and their Messiah. Unfortunately, the latter prophecy is fulfilled in the case of Jesus Christ, First Advent of Christ. When man believes and follows God, the blessings are great. When man rejects and disbelieves, he suffers, and God suffers. God fulfills 95% of the responsibility. Until man fulfills his 5% he will live in this Earthly Hell. Disbelief and lack of faith made the Second Coming necessary and Christ shall come unexpectedly and in a different way. Will any have fulfilled their part of the responsibility? Will any be ready?

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