The Progressive Nature of Healing in Scripture:

A laymans short analysis By F. A. Heckman Scripture text Luke 7:22 ( NAS ) And He answered and said to them, go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Prolog Some time ago, I began thinking again about healing in the Scripture and healing today. I began to gather my thoughts about the progressive nature of healing in the Scripture, and began to look up references. At this time, it seemed increasingly important to look more carefully at the evidence for the progressive revelation of God in Scripture. Along with this was the progressive way in which God dealt with people. Therefore, it seemed imperative that I review these two factors as the bedrock companions for the accompanying theme of progressive healing. The progressive revelation of God in Scripture One school of thought in evangelical theology is that God progressively reveals himself in Scripture. They also say that Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is all about Jesus: concealed in the Old, revealed in the New (Col. 1:25-27). It is essential, at this time, to state that God never changes; He changes only his way of dealing with and relating to mankind. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally co-existent and the attributes of the Godhead are immutable. Here is how I see the progressive revelation unfold in Scripture. As we proceed, we shall see that Gods revelation of himself to man and his ways of dealing with man are inextricably intertwined. First, we will look at how Gods names in the O. T. Reveal his nature. As the Israelites encountered various difficulties and challenges, God intervened in ways characterized by the name He used at a particular time. Some of these names are conveniently listed on the web page of churchline.com; these are given below. JehovahJireh God Provides (Gen. 22:14) Jehovah-Repueka God Heals (Ex. 15:26) Jehovah-Nissi God My Banner (Ex. 17:15) Jehovah-Mekaddishken The Lord Who Sanctifies You (Lev. 20:7-8) God Sanctifies (Ex. 31:12; Lev.20:8) Jehovah-Shalom Gods Peace (Ju. 6:24) Jehovah-Zebaoth God of Hosts (1 Sam. 1:3) Jehovah-Zidkenu God our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6, 33:16) Jehovah-Shammah God is There (Ez. 48:35) 1

Jehovah-Elyon God Most High (Psalm 7:10, (Psalms 7:17, 47:12, 97:9) Jehovah-Roi God My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)

Note that the above names and references are in approximate chronological order. Also, note that each name reveals another aspect of Gods nature and character, thus supporting the concept of progressive revelation. The messianic prophesy and coming of Jesus As we press on with this concept, we see that the messianic prophets foretell the greatest revelation of all, the coming of Christ (Is. 7:14, Mic. 5:2), God incarnate. During his time on earth, people could see, hear and touch him. As He told Phillip, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father (Jn. 14: 6-9). The prophets also foretold his suffering and death (Is., 53, Zec. 12:10) as He himself also did (Lu.9:22, 22:14-15). In Pauls letter to the Colossians 1:19, 29, we read that all the fullness of the deity dwells in him in bodily form. During his earthly ministry, He chose a few men to implement his plan to build his church (Mt. 16:18). These disciples sat under his teaching for three years, being prepared for the great task which lay ahead of them (Heb. 1:1-4). Note that these men will not build the church, but Christs alter ego, the coming Holy Spirit, will build it. Also, during his earthly ministry, He prepared these men for his departure by promising to send them another counselor like himself, the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:15-18, 26; 15:26; 16:7). The coming of the Holy Spirit The next step in the progressive revelation was the fulfillment of Christs promise, the actual coming of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Although He was always present and active in the affairs of man (Gen. 1:2, 6:8, 41:38; Ex. 31:1-5; 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Chr. 24:20 and is. 11:2), He came, as promised by Jesus (Lu.3:16; Jn. 1:33), in a special way and in power at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Two momentous events occurred here, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church, both as promised by Christ. On the day of Pentecost, we believe there were about 120 believers (Acts 1:15) gathered in that meeting room. This number swelled (Acts 2:6) when the people nearby heard the sound of the 120 speaking in tongues; perhaps they also heard the sound of the violent wind which came from heaven (Acts 2:2). It is important to note here that previously, Jesus had chosen 12 men from among his disciples to be named Apostles (Lu.6:13). When the Holy Spirit came on these 12 Apostles, they became empowered Apostles, or the Lords specially commissioned messengers. It should be noted that the writers of the gospels frequently use the terms disciples and Apostles somewhat interchangeably. As seen above, this is probably because Jesus chose the 12 Apostles from among the many disciples. Later, Paul was added to the apostolic list (1 Cor.15:8-10). During the lifetime of the Apostles, the so-called Apostolic Age, other devout men took up the work of spreading the gospel. Men 2

like Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Titus and Apolos made important contributions, but were very rarely called Apostles (c.f., Acts 14:14; Rom.16:7). Most of us in the Evangelical tradition, believe that the title of Apostle has been reserved almost exclusively for those who knew the Lord Jesus personally when He walked the earth, with the execution of Paul (1 Cor.15:7-10). Further confirmation of this belief is found in Rev. 21:14, where John tells us that the 12 foundations of the wall (of the new Jerusalem) carry the names of the 12 Apostles. In the age to come, it will be very interesting to find out exactly which 12 names we will see there Matthias (Acts 1: 23, 26), Paul (1 Cor.15:8) or others (Acts 14:14, Rom. 16:7). We believe that the Apostolic Age came to an end with the death of John near the end of the first century A. D. The church was born at the beginning of the Apostolic Age (at Pentecost) and the Church Age will continue until the Lord raptures the church (1 Thess. 4:13-18). We have said earlier that Gods progressive revelation of himself and his progressive dealings with mankind are intertwined. I can think of no better illustration of this than when God simultaneously revealed himself as the Holy Spirit and gave birth to the church. As said earlier, this happened at Pentecost. As the book of Acts reports, the Holy Spirit inspired, empowered, anointed and supervised the Apostles and others as they spread the Gospel all around the Mediterranean basin. During the first century A.D., the church, the body of Christ (Col. 1:15-20), grew by leaps and bounds. Also at this time, the churches began to gather the writings of the Apostles and others. They and their successors compiled them, along with the Old Testament writings, as Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:15-16). The gathering and Canonization of the Scripture In the early centuries of the Church Age, the church fathers called a number of councils to establish doctrinal principles and to settle the biblical Canon. These early councils assigned to the Canon, essentially the same books as are in our present Bible, plus the 7 books of the Apocrypha. Also, text was added to Esther and other books. At the time of the reformation, the books of the Apocrypha and the added text were removed from the Canon, giving us the word as we have it today. Therefore, we in the latter Church Age are a greatly blessed generation, having the complete written Word of God in our own language, having the Holy Spirit as our Guide and Teacher (Jn. 14:16-18, 26-27) and having Jesus, our Great High Priest as our Intercessor with the Father (Heb. 4:13-16; 1 Tim. 2:5-6). It is in this complete Word that God reveals Himself progressively and it is where He reveals His plan of progressive dealings with mankind. It is up to us to read about these marvelous things for ourselves. Gods ways of dealing with mankind: Promises, covenants, dispensations (including) grace In large measure, these approaches spell out how God has dealt progressively, now deals and will deal with mankind. The word promise appears in Scripture some 48 times while covenant appears some 295 times. Dispensation appears only in the KJV and there only 4 times. Promises were made by God and are recorded in Scripture. Similarly, the covenants were 3

handed down by God and are recorded, mostly in the O.T. Scriptures. The concept of dispensations is a product of early and mid 19th century theological thinking in Britain and Ireland. The dispensations which these men saw in the Scripture provide a convenient way of defining periods in biblical history in which God dealt with mankind in a certain way. Promises Biblical scholars tell us that there are more than 1000 promises from God to mankind, given in Scripture. Some of these have already been mentioned above and a few more follow. Promises of blessings to believers include: promise of the Kingdom-James 2:5; promise of eternal life-1 Tim. 4:8, and, a promise of Christs coming-2 Pet. 2:9. All promises from God are binding on him, because He as committed himself to them. As we will see, some promises are in the form of a covenant. Also, many promises are already fulfilled. Covenants1 Certain types of covenants are agreements between essentially equal parties. However, the type of covenant we are considering here is the kind where God offers a man, or mankind, a kind of gracious contract in which He is the very senior partner (and benefactor, and in which He commits himself to its terms. Some of these covenants are given below, with references and a brief discussion. In these covenants God always kept his end of the bargain, but man nearly always failed. These covenants were made directly to the Israelites (or pre-Israelites, i.e. Adam and eve; Noah) however, some of them apply to the Gentiles who were grafted in to Israel through Abrahams non-Israelite offspring, i.e., Ishmael and Esau. Please note that the authorities do not always agree on the listing of the covenants. With that in mind, the covenants are given below. The Edenic (Adamic) Covenant (Gen. 2:15-17) In this instance, God placed Adam in the garden on a kind of probationary status. All that was required of Adam was obedience and caring for the garden (Gen. 2:15-17) and God would give him an idyllic life. As we all know, he and Eve disobeyed (Gen. 3:1-7) and were expelled from the garden, with penalties (Gen. 3:16-24). The Noaic Covenant (Gen. 9:8-17) After Noah and his family and all the animals emerged from the ark, God covenanted with them never again to destroy the whole earth by flood. As a sign of this covenant, He placed the rainbow in the clouds to remind him of his promise. The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15) The Abrahamic covenant was given to Abram, before the Lord renamed him, Abraham. God promised Abram many descendants and bequeathed him the territory from the river of Egypt (the wadi el arish, just to the east of the Sinai Peninsula) to the great Euphrates River. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

In later chapters, God renames him Abraham, father of many, and expands upon his covenant by saying that kings and many nations will come from him. Many parts of these prophecies have already been fulfilled. However, note that Israel has yet to occupy all of the promised territory. God confirmed his covenant with Abram, soon to be Abraham, and added to it the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17:1-14). Circumcision was to be a sign of the everlasting covenant, which was to be passed along to all succeeding generations. The Abrahamic covenant was reconfirmed and passed on to Isaac, Abrahams son (gen26:1-4) and later to Jacob, renamed Israel (Gen. 28:10-14). Last of all, it was confirmed to Ephraim (Gen. 48:8-27). The Mosaic covenant (Ex. 20) The Mosaic covenant begins at exodus, chapter 20, with God giving Moses the Ten Commandments. Much of Exodus, Leviticus and the other books of the Pentateuch, are devoted to giving the very detailed Mosaic Law. This law prescribed how the Israelites were to live and worship. Since nobody could keep either the letter or the spirit of the law, God commanded that the Israelites make animal sacrifices and other offerings to atone for their sins and guilt. Although these blood sacrifices had to be made over and over, they pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice when the Lord Jesus would shed his blood, once for all, for many. The Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7:9-17) In the Davidic covenant, God promised David that He would establish his throne forever. This covenant also held the clear promise that the Messiah would be the final ruler from Davids line. For this reason, Jesus was called son of David. He also promised to make Davids name great and confirmed his earlier covenant with Abraham that the Israelites would have their own country. This covenant promise was, of course, fulfilled for Abraham when Israel first became a nation under a series of Kings. It was fulfilled for David in 1948 when Israels nationhood resumed. The messianic covenant (Is. 53, Mic.5:2) The O. T. Contains many messianic prophesies, some about the first coming of Christ (Is. 53) and others about the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18), and still others about the second coming (Zech. 14). The latter is a partial picture of the millennial reign of the Lord. These covenants, except for the rapture are given directly to the Hebrews, and indirectly to the grafted in Gentiles. The new covenant (Lu.22:15-20; 1 Cor.11:15-20) This new covenant in Jesus blood commands us to commemorate his last supper. Although this covenant was originally given to the twelve Jewish Apostles (Lu.22:15-20), the Apostle Paul gave it to Jews and Greeks in Corinth (1 Cor.11:15-20). This new covenant completely sets aside and supersedes the old Mosaic covenant in which the blood of bulls and goats atoned for Israels sins. These early blood sacrifices were looking forward to the day of Christs perfect sacrifice when He shed his precious blood on the cross, once for all. 5

Dispensations2 3 For the purposes of this study, we will define a dispensation as a period in biblical history when God dealt with mankind in a certain way. Dispensationalist theologians look at the covenants and dispensations as Gods dealings with Israel, his chosen people, with the Church Age as a parenthetical period between the O. T. and the restoration of Israel. An opposing theology, supersessionism (also called replacement theology) argues that the church has been established for the salvation of the Jews first, and then for the Gentiles. Since the writer has no seminary education, he will leave the resolution of these views to the theologians. However, the dispensations are useful in tracking the successive time periods in biblical history. For this purpose, the seven dispensations, with defining Scriptures, are listed below. Innocence (Gen. 1:1-3:7) Eden to the fall Conscience (Gen. 3:8-8:22) Eden to Noah Government (Gen. 9:8-11:32 Noah to Abraham Patriarchal rule (Gen. 12:1-Ex. 19:25) Abraham to Moses Mosaic Law (Ex. 20:1-17-acts 2:4) Moses to Christ Grace (Acts 2:-Rev. 3:22) Church Age to rapture Millennial reign (Rev. 20:1-15) Thus, without going into endless detail, one can see that as God progressively revealed himself, He also progressively changed the way He dealt with mankind. The Progressive Nature Of Healing In Scripture Introduction With all of the preceding material as necessary background, we are now ready to proceed with the main theme of this study When a loved one lies ill, or when we ourselves are ailing, healing becomes a very high priority in our lives. There are many Scripture references concerning healing and related topics. I will list many of these references in the appendix and will discuss many of them below. The major premise of this study is: all healing is from God. Divine healing is of two distinct types, direct intervention and indirect intervention when God uses people or angels as his instruments. We will look at examples of healing in both old and New Testaments. We will also consider the several aspects of healing. We will also look at the age-old question of why some are healed and some are not. I dont believe we will answer it to anyones complete satisfaction, but it is my intention to shed light on this very important question. Finally, I will put forth a hypothesis proposing the progression of healing from the Old Testament through today.

Healing Chart
6

O.T. Healings: Dates B.C.

Person Abims women Sarah Rebecah Rachel Miriam Israelites Hannah Zeraphath boy Shunamites woman Shunamites son Naaman Unnamed man Hezekiah Illness Barren Barren Barren Barren Leprosy Bites Barren Death Barren Dead Leprosy Dead Bad boil Date 2070? 2068 2008 1915 1440 1435 1073 858 850 845 843 838? 710 Human healer Abraham Abraham Isaac Rachel Moses Moses Hannah Elijah Elisha Elisha Elisha Elisha Isaiah Device Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer+ Look up Prayer+ Prayer+ Spoke Prayer+ Jordan On bones Prayer+ Reference Gen. 20:7, 17-19 Gen. 21:1-8 Gen. 25:21 Gen. 30:22 Nu. 12:1-16 Nu. 21:4-9 1 Sam. 1:20 1 Ki. 17:17-22 2 Ki. 4:16-17 2 Ki. 4:32-37 2 Ki. 5:1-27 2 Ki. 13:20-21 2 Ki. 20:5-7

Jesus' general healing references Raised the dead Jn.11:38-44 Healed the sick Mt.8:5-13 Cured blind & lame Mt. 21:1 Myriad of others Mt. 11:5 N.T. Healings: Dates A.D. Person Unnamed man A wonan Gen. Men People Lazarus 2 men Man Bartimaeus A man A man Person Daughter Servant Officials son P. Mom-in-law Illness Blind Bleeding Various Various Dead Blind Blind Blind Dropsy Paralysis Illness Evil spirit Paralysis Very sick Fever Date 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 31 31 30 Human healer Jesus Device Poultice Reference Jn. 9:1-12 Mt. 12:20-22 Mt. 14:34-36 Lu.6:17-19 Jn. 11:39-44 Mt. 9:27-36 Mk. 6:22-35 Mk. 10:46-52 Lu.14:1-4 Lu.5:17-26 Reference Mt. 15:21-28 Mt. 8:5-13 Jn. 4:46-53 Lu.4:38-39

Jesus Coat hem Jesus Coat hem Jesus They touched Jesus Prayed, called Jesus Faith & touch Spit, touch 2x Jesus Jesus Spoke, faith Jesus Took hold Jesus Spoke, faith Long distance healings Date Human Device healer 30 Jesus Faith, spoken 30 Jesus Faith, spoken 30 Jesus Faith, spoken 30 Jesus Touch 7

A man Aeneas Tabitha Paul (saul) A man Some people Eutychus Publius father

Crippled Paralysis Dead Blindness Crippled Evil spirits Dead Fever

34 40 32 37 48 51 52 61

Pet. & Jn. Other Apostles Peter Peter Ananias Paul Paul Paul Paul

Spoke, helped Even Peters shadow Spoke, , rose Prayed, rose Hands on Spoke healing Pauls handkerchief On body, alive Pray, hands

Acts 3:1-8 Acts 5:12-16 Acts 9:32-35 Acts 9:36-42 Acts 9:17-18 Acts 14:6-10 Acts 19:12 Acts 20:7-11 Acts 28:7-9

Old Testament healings Rev. 23-8-07 Hand-off philosophy I believe it is important at this phase of the study to inject parenthetically a discussion of the concept of spiritual transfers of power and authority. As we shall see throughout this study, power and authority have been transferred by certain parties to various recipients. I have called these events Hand-offs. I have identified four types of Hand-offs and have cited seven occasions when they have taken place. Each of the Hand-offs has involved, directly or indirectly, one or two persons of the holy Trinity. No matter how hard we try to explain or understand the mystery of the Trinity, it remains just that. We know that all three persons of the Trinity are of the same essence, but with different personalities and functions. Sometimes, they appear to be interchangeable. For example, on the one hand, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with the Apostles and the church forever (Jn. 14:16). On the other hand, Jesus said, in the great commission, that He would be with them to the end of the (church) age (Mt. 28:16-20). However, despite its shortcomings, the analogy of ice, water and steam serves to illustrate the nature of the Trinity. While they are of the same essence, (di-hydrogen oxide, water), the three phases, solid, liquid and vapor have different characteristics. They too are interchangeable, depending on ambient temperature and pressure. To state the obvious, we would not choose steam to cool our fevered brow, nor would we try to quench our thirst with a steam jet, neither would we try to drive a turbine with ice crystals. Now, lets return to the main theme. I have called these transfer events Hand-offs because they remind me of what takes place in the game of American football. To initiate a play, the center passes the ball to the quarterback, the on-field director of the teams offense. Then, the quarterback hands the ball, by a move called the Hand-off, to a running back or a fullback. This literal Hand-off of the ball is indeed transferring power and responsibility to another, for the good of the team. In like manner, he may pass the ball to one of several down-field receivers who are responsible for further progress toward the goal.

Similarly, spiritual power and authority are sometimes handed off in Scripture. These Hand-offs constitute part of the progressive way in which God deals with his people, including spiritual means for healing. The first type of Hand-off we see in Scripture is that of God transferring power and responsibility to Abraham, the prophet, (Hand-off 1, Type 1, God to prophet) (Gen. 20:6, 17-18). Whenever a Hand-off is made to man, his power is only conditional, requiring him or her to be in Gods will through prayer or other means. Another O.T. Hand-off took place when Elijah placed his mantle on Elisha (Hand-off 2, Type 4, human to human) (1 Ki. 19:19), thus symbolically passing on his power and authority. Another type of Hand-off is from one person of the Godhead to another. There are two examples of this in Scripture. The first of this one is the Hand-off of power and authority from God the Father to God the Son (Hand-off 3, Type 2 intra deity). The Father sent Jesus into the world to save and redeem fallen and lost mankind. This took place at the time of Jesus baptism, which marked the beginning of his earthly ministry (Mt. 3:13-17, Mk. 1:9-11, Lu.3:21-23 & Jn. 1:26-33). The second intra deity Hand-off was Jesus handing earthly affairs to the Holy Spirit (Hand-off 4, Type 2 intra deity). This Hand-off was promised by Jesus in the gospel of John (14:16-18 & 15:26 & 16:7). The promise was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 1:1-8 & 2:1-4). At this same time, a third type of Hand-off took place; the Apostles called by Jesus were handed-off to the Holy Spirit (Hand-off 5, Type 3 Third Party). Also, at Pentecost, another Hand-off took place; the Holy Spirit handed off power, wisdom and authority to the Apostles (Hand-off 6, Type 1God to prophet). Now the Apostles, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit went on to do great things in the early Church Age. The final Hand-off to be considered here (Hand-off 7, Type 4 human to human) took place at the time of the Jerusalem council when power and authority passed from the Apostles to the elders of the church. I believe this is the only time in the N.T. that power was passed from human to human ( Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23 & 16:4). A similar event occurred in the O.T. when Elijah cast his mantle on Elisha (1 Kings 19:19). The Hand-off events cited above and their types are summarized below. Hand-off 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hand-off summary Description Type God to Abraham Type 1 Elijahs mantle to Elisha Type 4 God to Jesus Type 2 Jesus to Holy Spirit Type 2 Jesus: Apostles to Holy Spirit Type 3 Holy Spirit to Apostles Type 1 Apostles to Elders Type 4 Description God to human (prophet) Human to human Intra deity Intra deity Third party God to human (Apostles) Human to human

One may say at this point, that other Hand-offs are seen in Scripture. For example, Paul, in his mentoring capacity, handed off pastoral responsibilities to Timothy and Titus in their respective pastoral epistles. However, I dont see these mentoring Hand-offs rising to the same level of importance as do those listed above. 9

Now, let us return to the study, hopefully with minimal disruption of the proper flow of events. As we begin looking at Old Testament healings, we must keep in mind that a number of these were healings of infertility. In O. T. times, much more than today, it was a deep disgrace for a woman to be childless. Therefore, it was very important that childless women be healed. In keeping with this thought, the first-mentioned O.T. Healing was that of Abimilechs wifes barren state (Gen. 20:7, 17-18). Incidentally, the other women in his household were healed as well. Note that Abraham, as a prophet (first mention of prophet in Scripture), prayed for the healing. In this case, God told Abimalech in a dream that Abraham would pray for the healing of the womens infertility. At this time God transferred healing power and authority to Abraham (Handoff 1, Type 1). Here we see prayer, the first great pathway to healing given by God. Prayer for healing is still a mainstay in the believers arsenal. Although there are several healings reported in the O.T.; we will look at just a few of them here. Shortly after the encounter with Abimalech, the promised healing of Sarahs barrenness took place. (Gen. 17-18:15 and 21:1-8) In these passages, Abraham was about a hundred years old and Sarah was 90. Also in these passages, God promised Abraham a son. When the time was right, God appeared to Abraham in a theophany (three men or angels) saying that in one year, Sarah would bear him a son. The visitation of three men in this theophany may foreshadow the doctrine of the holy Trinity. Although both Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea, God did bring it to pass, as He promised. It is interesting to note that no form of the word heal appears in these passages; nevertheless, the Lord sovereignly opened Sarahs womb. As will be seen, the same pattern occurs later with other women. Before we leave Abraham and Sarah, we should note that no prayer for healing is mentioned in these passages. This is somewhat surprising as Abraham was a Godly man. As we recall, at Gods prompting (Gen. 20:7), Abraham prayed for the healing of Abimalechs household. However, earlier, Abraham had built altars and had called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:7). Also, he had explained to the Lord his childless condition (Gen. 15:1-6). For some reason, these conversations are not called prayer, and he did not actually ask for Sarahs womb to be opened. As we saw above with Sarah and as we will see with Rachel, the accounts of their barrenness are fairly extensive and well known to Sunday school children. The story of Eliezer, Abrahams chief servants faithfulness in looking for Rebecah and bringing her back to Canaan for Isaac, is a much loved Bible story. As an interesting aside, did you know that a nose ring was among the valuables that Eliezer brought as gifts to Rebecah and her family (Gen. 24:47-49)? However, the Romantic story of Isaac and Rebecah (Gen. 24;1-67) soon hit a snag, when it became known that Rebecah was barren. The account of prayer opening her womb is a marvel of brevity, taking but one verse in the telling (Gen. 25:21)! Here again, prayer alone did the job. It is worth a moment to say that in modern times we know that a couples infertility can be caused by either husband or wife. However, the Scripture states clearly that in Sarahs case, and as with 10

Rachel and Hannah, the infertility is the womens. This is, of course, borne out by the fact that the husbands had children by other women. Now, let us consider the case of Rachel, Jacobs beloved wife (Gen. 30:1-2 and 22-24). As you may recall, Jacob worked 14 years for her hand in marriage. However, God had made her barren for a while, causing her deep distress. In due course, God healed her, giving her a son, Joseph. Unlike Sarah before her, she prayed to the Lord for relief from her childless disgrace (Gen. 30:22). Now lets review what has happened thus far in biblical history. God has issued three covenants, the Edenic, the Noaic and the Abrahamic. There have been four dispensations as listed below. Innocence: to the fall Conscience: the fall to Noah Government: Noah to Abraham (patriarchal rule: Abraham to Moses. During this era, God spoke to mankind directly, in visions and dreams and by theophanies. The healings during this period were accomplished as described below. 1. Abimalechs household was healed of infertility by Gods answer to Abrahams prayer. 2. Abraham told God repeatedly that he had no heir, which was a form of prayer. In the theophany (when the three men visited), Abraham was told when his son of promise would be born. 3. Rachels disgrace of barrenness was healed by Gods sovereign touch. Note that no human touch, or medication was required, neither was there any action required by the healed person. The next healing, the amazing mass healing of thousands of Israelites, took place some 455 years later. The Israelites grumbled against Moses and the Lord, complaining about their food and lack of water and their harsh life in the desert (Nu. 21:4-9). So the Lord sent fiery snakes among them and thousands died. Soon, the people ran to Moses, repenting of their sin and begging him to pray to the Lord for their relief. This time, the Lord told Moses to make a bronze replica of a snake and put it up on a pole. Moses did so, and all who looked up to the snake were healed. (In the narrative as given here, the Lord said those who looked would live). As one will recall, many Israelites had already died from snake bites. Th is a very important passage of Scripture for several reasons. First, it clearly foreshadows the Lords sacrificial and atoning death on the cross (Jn. 3: 14). Second, it shows again that prayer is a very powerful means of healing. Third, it clearly illustrates that actions (disobedience) have consequences (in this case, suffering and death). Finally, it illustrates that repentance is the starting point on the path to reconciliation with God. It is very interesting to note that a stylized representation of the brazen serpent on a pole is still a symbol of healing. After some 3400 years, this symbol has taken several forms. The Aesculapius is depicted as one snake wrapped around the pole while the Caduceus is shown as two snakes wrapped around a wing-tipped staff. The names of these symbols come from GrecoRoman mythology.4 11

Greek mythology began to take shape around 900 B.C.5 The mass healing of the Israelites in the desert, by looking at the snake on the pole, took place around 1440 B.C. Thus some 550 years elapsed between the mass healing and the beginnings of Greek mythology. In due course, word about the Israelites and their God got around in the ancient Mediterranean world. The Phoenicians, neighbors of the Israelites, were an early seafaring people (Ps. 107:23). They had established colonies and trading partners all around the Mediterranean basin, reaching as far west as modern Spain. Some biblical scholars believe that Tarshish was a Phoenician colony on the Atlantic coast of Spain. Some authorities believe the men of Tarshish designed and built sturdy seagoing ships, which were copied by others (1 Ki. 10:22, 22:22:48). The ships of Tarshish are mentioned more than a dozen times in the O.T., as you may recall, Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish when he tried to flee from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3). It is possible, even likely, that the Phoenicians6 and other seafaring peoples carried word of the awe-inspiring healing power of Moses snake to the Greek world. As time passed, the snake-ona-pole became a symbol of healing in Greek mythology, hence the medical symbols Asclepius (Latin: Aesculapius) and the Caduceus as they are used today. Another symbol, the dollar sign, may be related to Moses serpent. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century a German coin was in circulation called a thaler which was later anglicized to dollar.7 In one version of this coin a serpent was attached to the cross on one side, and on the other side, the coin bore the inscription NU 21 which is an abbreviation of Numbers 21. This is the scripture reference of the account of the brazen serpent of Moses. The S shape in the symbol relates to the serpent, and the vertical line, relates to the pole. As for the Israelites, they carried the brass (or bronze) snake with them for some 700 years. Near the end of that time, it became an object of worship and was finally destroyed by Hezekiah (2 Ki. 18:1-4). The name given to the snake by Hezekiah was Nehushtan8. Some secular sources have given it the status of an ancient deity, relating it to the serpent in the garden. However, the reference above is the only time Nehushtan is mentioned in Scripture. The next healing to be considered in the Mosaic era is that of his sister Miriam. The occasion was her disobedience as recorded in Nu.12:1-16. Miriam and Aaron spoke out against Moses, because he had married a Cushite woman. Scripture does not give any details about this woman, there being no record of Moses marrying any woman other than Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian (Ex.2:21). This action, on the part of Aaron and Miriam, angered the Lord, so He brought leprosy on Miriam. Strangely, Aaron was not punished at this time, perhaps because he respectfully begged Moses to pray for her healing. Thus, Moses did pray for her to be healed (Nu.12:13). She was confined (quarantined) outside the camp for 7 days. After this, God said she could return to the camp, obviously healed. In these healings in Moses time, prayer was the catalyst. However, in both healings, God required some further action. In the former case, the Lord required two actions. First, Moses had to make a brass or bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Second, the Israelites had to look up at 12

it. In the latter case, Miriam had to be placed outside the camp for 7 days as part of her cleansing ritual. At this time, let us recall that in the earlier healings of Abimalechs household, Sarah and Rachel, only prayer was required. In the later cases, prayer and human action were required, thus demonstrating the progressive nature of healing. Does this mean that as time passed, prayer was insufficient? Of course not, as we will see, prayer is a most powerful approach to divine healing, often the only one needed. I believe that God began to get mankind involved, little by little, in the healing process, looking forward to the apostolic and Church Ages. At Pentecost, power and authority for healing and other matters were passed on to the Apostles, and later to the elders. The next healing we will look at is that of Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. 1). Hannah and her husband Elkanah were from the half-tribe of Ephraim, living in Ramathaim. They lived near the end of the time of the judges. Like a number of women before her, Hannah was barren, but Peninnah, Elkanahs other wife bore him many children. Year after year, Peninnah taunted Hannah, making her life miserable. All those years, Hannah prayed to the Lord to give her a son, thus ending her misery and disgrace. As she wept and prayed, she made a vow to the Lord, promising to dedicate the boy to the Lord all his days. In due course, Hannah bore Elkanah a son, whom she named Samuel. Samuel was born around 1070 B.C. Hannah kept her word; she brought Samuel as a newly-weaned boy to the temple, where he served before the Lord. God also graciously kept Hannahs womb open, giving her 3 more sons and two daughters (1 Sam. 2:21), thus honoring the priest Elis blessing (1 Sam. 2:20). The city of Shiloh was the capital of Canaan in Ephraim, where Elkanah went annually to sacrifice and worship. It was the place where the tabernacle was, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and it was where the young Samuel served before the Lord. It remained the center of worship until King David made Jerusalem the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. The healing of Hannah was the occasion for a new facet in the progressive nature of healing. Here Hannah not only prays fervently, but makes a vow to dedicate a son to the Lords service. However, I dont believe that the vow is what moved the Lord to give her a son; I believe He had predetermined that this devout couples son should be the first in the line of great prophets. Thus, the standard remedy for healing was applied. Also, God saw that Hannahs heart was right in making a vow to give the fruit of the prayer to the Lords service. Now, let us leap ahead some 200 years to about 830 B.C., to the time of the great prophet Elijah. We first meet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1, where he begins his prophesy before Ahab, King of Israel. Soon after this, the Lord sent him to Zerephah near Sidon. As you may recall, King Ahab angered the Lord by marrying Jezebel, an evil Sidonian princess (1 Kings 116:31), who led Israel into Baal worship. After a sojourn in the Kerith ravine, where he was fed by ravens, the Lord sent Elijah to Zerephath of Sidon, where He had appointed a widow to feed him. Elijah met the widow at the city gate 13

where he asked her for a drink of water and a little bread. As it happened, the widow needed a miracle to extend her meager supply of flour and oil, which the Lord graciously performed. Some time later, the widows son became sick and died. Elijah took the boy to his upper room, placed him on the bed, cried out (prayed) to the Lord, asking why tragedy had been brought upon the widow. Then, he stretched himself out on the lad three times and cried out to the Lord for the boy to live. The Lord heard his cry and restored the childs life. When Elijah returned the boy alive to his mother, she said now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth. (1 Kings 17:7-24) In this account of the healing of the boy, not much detail is given. When Elijah hears of the boys death, he cries out (prays fervently) to the Lord, asking for an explanation. Then he stretches out upon the lads body three times. Now, he prays again for the boys life, and the Lord revived the child. I believe this is the first recorded O.T. case of a person being raised from the dead, but not the last, as we shall soon see. Before the time of Elijah (about 850 B.C.), an additional covenant, the Davidic covenant, was given (about 980 B.C.). Also, one should keep in mind that the Israelites were still living under the dispensation of the Mosaic Law. At the time the Mosaic Law was given (about 1445 B.C.), the Aaronic priesthood was established. At this time, it is important to make two points. First, as mentioned above, the coming of Samuel ushered in the period in which God dealt with his people through the unbroken line of prophets from Samuel to Malachi. Second, some of the healings found with the Logos Bible search software refer to the healing of the Israelite nation. Furthermore, some healings would be found using other key words such as cure, remedy, etc. All this to say that some important examples of O.T. healing may very well have been missed in this way. Two important examples of the progressive nature of healing appear in the book of 2 Kings, under the ministry of Elisha the prophet, a disciple of Elijah. About this time (1 Kings 19:19), Elijah cast his mantle onto Elisha, thus conferring his power and authority (Hand-off 2, Type 4). The first example in the book of 2 Kings is recorded in 2 Kings 4:8-37, the account of Elishas interaction with the Shunamite family. Our story begins with Elisha being invited to dinner at a Shunamite house. The family was kind to Elisha, having built him a room on their roof of their house, where he could stay when he came to Shunam. In response to her kindness, he asked what he could do for her. Elishas servant, Gehazi, told him that the woman was barren and her husband was old. So he told the woman that she would have a son in about a year, and so it happened. This is the first healing in connection with the Shunamite family. This healing is noteworthy because it marks a great step forward in Gods plan for healing. Authority and power were transferred to the prophet. He simply told the woman she would have a son; neither prayer nor any other action was required. This foreshadowed the time when Jesus gave the Apostles similar power and authority. The second healing in connection with the Shunamite family (2 Kings 4:18-37) occurred some years later when Elisha restored life to their young son. This healing is a very interesting one in that the Lord introduced some new components into the healing process. In this account, the 14

young son is stricken with a terrible headache and dies a few hours later. His mother lays him on Elishas bed and goes to Elisha for help. The first attempt to raise the boy to life involved the use of Elishas staff (29-31). Gehazi was told to go and lay it on the boys face. Just a quick note here concerning the importance of the Israelite leaders staffs throughout their history. Moses used (Ex. 4:2) and misused (Nu. 20:1-13) his staff. Other leaders parted waters and did other signs and wonders with their staffs. However, I believe this is the first time a staff was used to attempt healing, i.e., raising from the dead. When Gehazi laid the staff on the lads face, curiously, this tactic did not awaken the boy. So Gehazi reported this to Elisha, who was on his way to the Shunamite house. When he got there, he went into the room, shut the door and prayed to the Lord. Although the words of his prayer are not recorded, note that he applied prayer, the long-established, standard approach to healing. After praying, he stretched out upon the lifeless lad, as the Scripture says, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes and hands to hands (verse 340). Was this the first recorded application of mouth to mouth resuscitation at this time, the boys body grew warm. Then Elisha walked back and forth in the room before repeating the action. After this, the boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes, indicating he was restored to life. This is a very interesting account of a healing by an Old Testament prophet with some puzzling aspects. The character and rather odd behavior of the woman and the prophet himself are two of these aspects. However, most puzzling of all is why some of the healing tactics didnt work the first time. Perhaps the Lord wanted to impress upon the prophets mind that raising a dead boy to life is no trivial matter. By way of contrast (Acts 20:8-10), when the young man Eutychus fell to his death (from the third floor), Paul threw himself on him and he was made alive without further action. Undoubtedly, the Lord acted differently here because the time, place and setting were so different from the Shunamite situation. Now a brief summary of the Shunamite family case is in order: First, in healing the womans infertility, Elisha spoke the promise of a future birth. Nothing else was done and prayer was not mentioned, perhaps because the man of God should be prayed up at all times. Second, when the lad was raised to life, action of two types was required of the prophet. At the time of Elijah and Elisha in Israelite history, the lime of prophets was given healing power and authority, hence the next step in the progressive nature of healing. The next account of healing during Elishas time was that of Naaman, the leprous Aramean general. Also, the reverse healing of Gehazi, Elishas servant, took place at this time (2 Kings 5:1-27). We read in this account that Naaman was a very successful general, highly regarded man. During an Aramean raid, a young Israelite girl was captured. At some point, she became a servant to Naamans wife. In due course, she told her mistress that a propjet (Elisha) in Israel could heal her husband. 15

One thing having led to another, Naaman came to Elishas house, expecting the prophet to come out, call upon the Lord and wave his hands over the leprous spot, thus healing him. However, Elisha did not come out, but sent a messenger to tell Naaman to dip 7 times in the Jordan river. Naamans preconceived expectations were not met, so he went away very angry and humiliated because Elisha didnt come out and he balked at the prospect of dipping in the humble, muddy Jordan. However, as every Sunday school child knows, he finally decided to obey the Lord and do what he required, thus receiving the promised healing There are two additions to Gods plan for healing in this account; first, He required action on the part of the infirm person and, second, He required obedience from the infirm person. Also, hidden in the text are the unspoken factors of faith (that healing would actually come) and humility (to stifle pride and dip in the insignificant, muddy Jordan). There are several other interesting aspects of this account that are worth mentioning: First, curiously, Elisha does not call upon the Lord in prayer, perhaps because he is prayed up or, perhaps his faith assured him of his authority to speak for God. Second, Naaman became a believer in the God of Israel, requesting Israelite soil on which to build his altar to the Lord. He also asked in advance for the Lords forgiveness for when the King of Aram would lean on his arm in the temple of the god Rimmon, and bow before him. He did this because of his vow to worship only the Lord, the God of Israel. This reminds me of a similar incident in my own life, which took place in 1968. At this time, a dear Japanese friend took me inside the great Buddha at Kamakura and asked me to bow with him before the small statue of Buddha in side. In order not to hurt my friends feelings, I did bow physically to Buddha, but not spiritually. We could not finish this account in the life of Elisha without telling about the fate of his servant, Gehazi. After Elisha had refused to accept any gift from Naaman, Gehazi ran after the general, asking him for silver and clothing, which was gladly given. Upon his return to Elisha, the prophet called down the curse of Naamans leprosy to be upon Gehazi and his family forever. This reverse healing was Gehazis swift and severe punishment for his disobedience and duplicity. This type of Old Testament justice is not often seen in the New Testament (Acts 5:1-11 and Acts 12:19-24). There is one more example of raising from the dead which resulted from Elishas ministry (2 Kings 13:20-21). Some time after Elishas death, some men were carrying a man to his burial place when they spied a bend of Moabite raiders approaching. They hastily threw the man into Elishas sepulcher as they were passing. When the mans body touched Elishas bones, he came to life and stood on his feet. This is an astounding account because it was quite accidental on the part of the men carrying the dead man. No prayer, no faith, no intentional action whatever was taken by anybody, least of all, the dead Elisha. It would appear that the Lords love and respect for Elisha carried on into the grave! The last O.T. Healing to be considered is that of Hezekiah, King of Judah. Hezekiah was a good and Godly King, walking blamelessly before the Lord for most of his reign. However, after the 16

Lord delivered him and Judah from the power of Sennacharib, King of Assyria, his heart became proud and he fell ill. He repented of his pride and prayed tearfully to the Lord for healing. The Lord heard his prayer and prescribed a poultice of figs to be applied to the boil (2 Kings 20: 5-7). When this was done, he recovered, and more than that, the Lord granted him 15 more years of life. This life extension was confirmed to Hezekiah by the Lord making the sun go backwards ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz (2 Kings 20:8-11). Although Hezekiah was healed physically, his mental faculties must have been greatly impaired (Alzheimers?) because he foolishly showed the Babylonian emissaries all the treasures of Judah that were eventually carried off to Babylon. Now, concerning Hezekiahs healing, the apparent agent of healing was the poultice of figs. The application of the poultice, a type of medication, marks a new step in the progressive nature of healing. As said in the beginning of this study, all healing is from God, regardless of whatever other device the Lord may call into play. Thus, obedience to Gods command (in this case, through the prophet Isaiah), is the key factor. However, this fact does not detract from the usefulness of the other agents. This same philosophy of healing is carried forward into the New Testament where Jesus made a kind of poultice of saliva and clay which He applied to a blind mans eyes, thus giving him sight (John 9:1-12). This reference gives us a convenient transition from O.T. Healings to some N.T. Examples of healing and healing authority and power. ==================================== New Testament healings & cleansings After about a 700 year hiatus since Hezekiahs time, the long-promised Messiah came to earth, beginning his world-changing ministry in Bethlehems manger. Although the exact date of his birth is unknown, many scholars place it around 4-2 B.C. If that is correct and allowing for errors in calculating dates, his ministry would have begun around 28 A.D. Thus, about that time, He chose his disciples, 12 of whom He named Apostles (Lu. 6:13). The term Apostle is not used in the O.T. Where the writers used the term prophet(s), who performed nearly the sane tasks as the N.T. Apostles. We said earlier that the function of the prophet was to speak to the people for God. The term Apostle means special messenger. Quite obviously, both prophets and Apostles were to bring Gods message to the people of their time. Both were anointed with Godly power and authority to heal and to perform signs, wonders and miracles in accomplishing their tasks. However, in saying this, we dont want to convey the idea that prophets do not function in N.T. Times and in the Church Age. On the contrary, John the Baptist was called a prophet (Mt. 11:711; Lu. 7:26). There are other references to prophets and prophetesses in the N.T., namely (Acts 13:1, 15:32, Lu.2:36 and Acts 21:8-9). Also, a prophet named Agabus predicted trouble for Paul (Acts 13:20). Also, Paul tells us that prophesy is one of the gifts of the spirit (Rom. 12:5-6; 1 Cor.12:7-9). Also, in Eph. 4:11-13, Paul repeats the fact that prophesy is a spiritual gift for the Church Age. Pursuing this line of thought one step farther, Jesus was called, and called himself 17

a prophet (Mt. 13:53-58; 21:11; mark 6:15). In the Ephesians passage above, Paul also mentions the gift of Apostleship. However, the preponderance of evidence makes it doubtful that this gift should continue past the Apostolic Age, on into the Church Age. ================================== Some 400-450 years after the prophet Malachis book of prophesy ended the Old Testament era, Jesus began his earthly ministry, as recorded principally in the four gospels. This earthly ministry clearly began right after Jesus was baptized by John. As Jesus came up out of the water, God the Father anointed Him with all of the power and authority of the Godhead (Mk. 1:9) (Hand-off 3, Type 2). Jesus was unique in all of history in that He was truly God and truly man (Mt.13:53-58; 28:16-20; Col. 1:18-20, 2:9; Titus 2:13-14). He brought to earth something entirely new, the embodiment of the full power and authority of the Godhead, the power to perform all kinds of miracles and the power to speak the word of healing or to heal by touch, or in other ways. There is even the account of the woman who touched the hem of his garment and was healed (Mt. 13:20-22; Mk.5:24-34). Similarly, the men of Gennesaret brought their sick to him so they could touch his cloak and be healed (Mt. 14: 34-36). Also, Lukes gospel reports that many people touched him, and his power healed them all (Lu. 6:17-19). Thus, when Jesus walked this earth, He had no healing failures! According to Gods plan, Jesus earthly ministry lasted only three years, just about long enough to confer upon the eleven the equivalent of the B.A. in Apostleship. However, their doctorate did not come until Pentecost, when they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, accompanied by the promised power (Acts 1:4-5,8) to witness, preach and heal. During his earthly ministry, Jesus raised the dead (John 11:38-44), healed the sick (Mt. 8:5-13, 14-15), cured the blind and the lame (Mt. 21:14), cast out demons (Mt. 8:16) and performed a myriad of other healings and miracles, as reported in Matthews gospel (11:5). Now, here is a quick statistical analysis of the references to healing in the New Testament (if I have counted correctly!). The words looked for are: heal, healed, healer, healings, cure, cured, restored, cleansed, etc. There are 96 references altogether, 67 of which are in the gospels and 11 are found in Acts. These do not include words such as see, hear, walk, raised and other words used to indicate healing. The gospel of Luke, the beloved physician (Col.4:14), gives 27 references to healing, while Acts, written by Luke, gives 11. Thus, 38 of the 96 N.T. References are given by Luke, about 40%. This should not be surprising, as Luke was deeply impressed by the supernatural healings performed by the Lord and later by his Apostles. The nature of the N.T. Healings differs from that of the O.T. in several ways. First, the sheer number of reported healings is much greater. Second, the time in which the N.T. Healings took place is much shorter. The N.T. Healings took place in a mere 65 years (approximately) while the O.T. Healings occurred over about 1.5 millennia (Abraham and abimilech-2090 B.C. To the close of the O.T. Period 450-400 B.C.) Third, some new healings were reported; the lame walked, the blind were healed the mute spoke and evil spirits were driven out. Of course, some of the O.T. Healings were repeated; lepers were cleansed, the barren conceived and the dead were raised. These new kinds of healing, by the Lord, testify to the progressive nature of healing. The dead raised

18

Now, lets look at the different methods Jesus used in healing. When Lazarus was raised from the dead (Jn. 11:39-44), He first prayed for the benefit of the bystanders, then called Lazarus to come out. Note that He used prayer, the oldest (ca. 2090 B.C.) path to healing, as was practiced by Abraham in healing Abimalechs household (Gen. 20:1-17) The blind healed Next, we will look at some examples of how Jesus healed the blind. The first is the case of the two blind men who called upon him as the son of David for healing (Mt. 9:27-36). Jesus asked them for a declaration of faith, then He touched their eyes, restoring their sight. The stated restoration indicates that they were not blind from birth. In Bethsaida, Jesus healed another blind man by spitting on his eyes and touching them (Mk. 8:22-25). However, when Jesus asked him what he saw, he said people look like trees walking around, so Jesus touched his eyes again and he saw clearly. This is a curious incident, perhaps indicating that one should be persistent in seeking healing. Near Jericho another blind man, Bartimaeus was persistent in calling out repeatedly to Jesus for healing; Jesus spoke healing to him because of his faith. One final example of Jesus power to heal blindness occurred near Jerusalem (Jn. 9:1-11 and following). Jesus was walking along and saw a man blind from birth. In this case, there is no record of the man calling out or in any way initiating contact or dialog with Jesus. Rather, Jesus begins the contact. This healing has several interesting facets. First Jesus made mud with his spittle; second, He placed it on the mans eyes. Third, He told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The third step required obedience on the mans part to complete the healing. The making of the spittle mud reminds us of Hezekiahs healing fig poultice (2 Kings 20:7). It also repeats the condoning of the use of medications. Washing in Siloam reminds us of Naamans washing in the Jordan (2 Kings 5: 13-15). This requirement confirms the need to obey. Before we leave the subject of blindness, it is interesting to note that the O.T. Records no example of an individual being healed of blindness. There are however, a few general references to blindness being healed, especially as regards future healing, figurative and literal, in prophesy (Is. 29:18, 35:5, 42:7, 16-19, 43:8, 56:10, 59:10 and Jer. 31:8)., Dropsy healed Now turning our attention to other healings, let us consider the case of the man healed of dropsy, which is mentioned only once in Scripture (lu.14:1-4). Dropsy is a disease in which excessive fluid is retained in body tissues and cavities, i.e. severe edema. This healing took place at a Pharisees house on the Sabbath. Jesus took hold of the man and healed him, then sent him away. Taking hold is a much more vigorous approach than mere touching. Why Jesus chose this method is not explained; perhaps as the prelude to helping him to his feet. Paralysis (palsy) healed The next healing to be considered is that of the paralytic. It is interesting to note that the word paralytic in the NAS is usually translated palsy in the KJV. Also, this disease is not mentioned, per se, in the O.T. The slightly different versions of this healing are given in the three synoptic 19

gospels as follows: Mt. 9:1-8, Mk. 2:1-12 and Lu.5:17-26. In this incident, a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus by 4 friends. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, friend, your sins are forgiven, take up your mat and go home. The man was healed and did so, praising God as he went. In Luke, the account is prefaced by saying that the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. In this instance, forgiveness of sins and healing were spoken and faith on the part of the man and his friends initiated Jesus healing compassion. There is no mention of any other contact between Jesus and the men. The four men were determined to overcome all obstacles in getting their friend to Jesus. They apparently were prepared with ropes and whatever other equipment may have been required to complete their mission. Did you ever wonder if these same men repaired the roof after it was over? Also, did you wonder why Jesus sent the healed man home, rather than have him stay and listen? Long distance healings We will look at two such cases. The first is the case of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed by an evil spirit (Mt. 15:21-28). Since the woman, probably a Phoenician, was not an Israelite, Jesus first told her He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The disciples wanted to send her away. However, this woman of great faith and with much love, persisted in importuning Jesus. The result, of course, was that the daughter, some distance away, was healed that moment by the spoken word. Thus, although Jesus was sent specifically to the Israelites, all who believe by faith are eligible for salvation and ministry. Another example of long-distance healing is found in Mt. 8:5-13. Here, the centurion comes to Jesus on behalf of a favorite servant who lies at home, suffering and paralyzed. When Jesus offers to come and heal him, the centurion says that he (the centurion) is not worthy to have the Lord come under his roof. The centurion, showing great faith, asks Jesus just to say the word and the servant will be healed. At the very moment Jesus spoke the word, the servant was healed. Thus we have another example of: 1. A non Jew being granted a request for healing; 2. Great faith was shown and 3. Jesus healed at a distance with no physical contact. A third long-distance healing took place in Cana of Galilee, as reported in Jn. 4:46-53. A royal official came to Jesus saying that his son lay sick unto death in Capernaum, perhaps some 35 miles away. He begged Jesus to come and heal the boy, but Jesus declined, saying you may go (home), your son will live The official took Jesus at his word and left. While still on his way, his servants met him saying that the boy was alive. The servants told him that the fever left the boy at the seventh hour, which was the exact hour Jesus told him that the boy would live. These examples of long-distance healing certainly constitute progress in healing. I was unable to find a similar healing in the o. T. As you will recall, when Elisha tried to raise the Shunamites son from a distance, it didnt work (2 Kings 4:8-37. Elisha had to go to the boy and physically stretch himself out on the boys body. Hs did this twice in order to revive the boy. 20

The word fever is mentioned 12 times in the NAS, 4 of which occur in the O.T. Most of the N.T. References tell how Jesus healed Peters mother-in-law (Mt. 8:14-15, Mk. 1:30-31 and Lu.4:3839). These accounts tell us essentially the same things. First, Peter was definitely married. Second, marks gospel tells us that Peters brother, Andrew, lived in the same house. Third, James and John accompanied the group who went to Peters house. Finally, and most importantly, Jesus touched her (hand) and she was healed immediately, He helped her up and at once, she began to wait on the guests. It is interesting that the people present told Jesus about her, or asked on her behalf, that He would heal her. There is no mention of prayer to the Father. Perhaps this is so for two reasons, Jesus had the full power and authority of the Godhead and those present were close friends who knew his power. Now, we conclude this study of healing progress introduced by Jesus during his earthly ministry in the words of the Apostle John. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (Jn. 20:30-31). Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (Jn. 21:26) The apostolic and Church Ages The Lord prepared the disciples and Apostles for the end of his earthly ministry in a number of ways. First, He told them that, when He went away, He would send them another counselor, the Holy Spirit to be with them forever (Hand-off 4, Type 2) (Jn. 15:26, Jn. 16:7). Second, He told them that whoever believed in him would do his works, and even greater (Jn. 14:12). The believers, of course, included the disciples and Apostles. I believe that promise also applies to the entire Church Age. However, belief in and commitment to the Lord seem to fall short in the latter Church Age. Finally, the Lord told them that the promised Holy Spirit would soon come upon them in power, to enable them and to guide them to do great things, (Acts 1:1-8) including miraculous healing. This passage promised them not only power, but baptism in the Holy Spirit (Mt. 3:11, Mk. 1:9, Lu.3:16, Jn. 1:33 & Acts 1:5). This would all take place about ten days later. It is very important to understand the momentous and progressive nature of the Hand-off of the Apostles from Jesus to his alter ego, the Holy Spirit (Hand-off 5, Type 3) (Acts 1:1-8, Acts 2:1-4). The healing power and authority and the church-building power of the Godhead now proceeded from the Holy Spirit to these men (Hand-off 6, Type 1)! Although the healings they would perform would be much like the healings Jesus performed, they would now be doing the healings in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. As explained earlier, the church was born at Pentecost, thus beginning the Church Age. The Apostolic Age began at the same time and continued to about the end of the first century A.D. By all accounts, this time period was the most exiting and vigorous time recorded in Scripture. During this relatively short time, the Apostles and their coworkers spread the gospel over the 21

entire Mediterranean world. Tens of thousands of Jews and Gentiles were brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord through their tireless and highly dedicated labors. Soon after Pentecost, Peter and John were able to demonstrate the healing power given to them then. One day, as they were going into the temple at the time of prayer, they healed a crippled beggar in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-8). When the Jewish leaders and the people saw this, they were quite amazed that these Galilean fishermen had been given such miraculous powers. Note that prayer and faith are not mentioned. The common people rejoiced and praised God, but the leaders began to be jealous of the Apostles. The people were accustomed to seeing Jesus do these things, but seeing ordinary men doing this was a new thing in their time. Some time later, Peter was in Lydda, about 15 miles S.E. of Joppa, when he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for 8 years (Acts 9:32-35). Peter simply said to him, Aenaes, Jesus Christ heals you, get up and take care of your mat. As in the previous case of the temple cripple, neither prayer nor faith is mentioned, but we know that Peter invoked Jesus name. We know nothing else about this healing, except that people in the region turned to the Lord, which is possibly the main reason for it. About that time, a disciple from Joppa named Tabitha became sick and died. The saints sent to Peter in Lydda, urging him to come at once (Acts 9:36-42). When he arrived he found the widows weeping over Tabitha, showing Peter the garments she had made for them. In this case, we know that Tabitha was a devout woman, who was dedicated to the Lord and to good works. Peter sent them all out of the room, got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward her and said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes and sat up. Then he helped her up, called the others and presented her to them alive. In this case, Peter prayed on his knees, then performed the ultimate healing. As in the other healings, this mighty act of God through Peter turned many to the Lord. Earlier, in Acts 5:12-16, we learned that the other Apostles were healing the sick, in fact, this passage states that they healed them all. This complete healing power must surely have reminded them of a certain pre-Pentecost healing failure (Mk. 9:14-29). During this part of the Apostolic Age, even Peters shadow had healing power (verse 15). As with the healings described above, more people believed and were added to the church body. Now let us consider certain aspects of the life of the Apostle Paul. If we look at Paul through the eyes of a modern professional personnel recruiter, he would have by far the best credentials of any of the Apostles. By his own testimony, we know that he was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28) in Tarsus, an important Roman city, but educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel (Acts 21:39-22:8). He lived as a Pharisee (Acts 26:5), and thus was both literate and learned in the Scriptures. Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). Just 3 or 4 days later, the Lord sent Ananias to Paul to heal his blindness. At this time, He told Ananias that Paul was His chosen instrument to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15) and that he, Paul, must suffer many things for Jesus name (Acts 9:16). Paul claimed his Apostleship on the basis of having met the Lord on the Damascus 22

road (1 Cor.15:3-9). He did indeed appear before the Gentiles and their Kings (Acts 25:23-25). He also suffered many things for the Lord during his life of ministry (2 Cor.11:21-33).

Pauls conversion experience on the Damascus road has a number of interesting aspects. First, the nature of the call itself was spectacular. Second, Pauls companions seem to have had no serious affects. However, Paul, having been struck down by the blinding encounter may have had some lingering affects. Later in life, Paul spoke of his thorn in the flesh, having asked God three times to remove it (2 Cor.12:7-10). This is a very interesting exception to Gods method of healing by prayer. Apparently, Paul needed to have a deep personal experience with Gods grace. An important sidelight to this incident is that neither the healing skill of Doctor. Luke nor the gift of healing came into play here. Some Bible scholars believe Pauls thorn was a problem with his vision. This view comes about because of hints given at the close of some of his letters. For example, in Gal. 6:11, he refers to the large letters with which he wrote. In Rom. 16:22, the scribe, Tertius, whom Paul employed, penned a personal note finally, in 2 Thess. He says that his personal handwriting, (using large letters?) Is the guarantee of the authenticity of his letters. We have already seen that Ananias was sent to cause Paul to see again. Observe the careful choice of words here, Lukes words say see again (Acts 9:18), as opposed to being healed ((completely?), thus indicating the lingering vision problem. In other words, although Paul could see again, he may have had reduced visual acuity. Now, looking at some of the other details of that (partial?) Healing, we find the following. First, Ananias was very cautious about going to see Paul, knowing the damage and heartache already inflicted by him on the young church. However, because Ananias trusted God, he was able to overcome his reservations and visit Paul. Upon entering Judas house, he placed his hands on Paul, restoring his sight. At this time, Ananias also said that he, Paul, would be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17-18). Since Scripture does not record the moment when Paul received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and since I believe it is quite safe to assume that he, of all people, was so baptized. I believe this was that moment. The record goes on to say that Paul received water baptism. In the original telling of the conversion, Luke says that a light flashed around Paul and his companions (Acts 9:3). In a later reiteration of that experience, Paul called the light bright (Acts 22:6). He also used the words see again. In Acts 26:13, he described the light from heaven as brighter than the sun, but did not mention being blinded by it. Thus ends the scriptural case for vision problems being Pauls thorn in the flesh

23

Later in his ministry, Paul told Timothy in a letter that God lives in unapproachable light, which no man has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:16). However, as we have seen, Pauls glimpse of that light left a lasting impression on him. Now lets look at some of the healings performed by Paul. We do this, not because anything startlingly new took place, but to show that as an Apostle, Paul had the power and authority to heal, as did Peter and the other Apostles. Shortly before the council at Jerusalem, about 48 A.D., Paul and Barnabas went to the small Lycaonian city of Lystra to preach the gospel. While he was there, Paul noticed a man listening to the gospel, who was lame from birth, having never walked. He looked at the man intently, and when he saw that he had faith to be healed (the gift of discernment), he simply told him stand up on your feet. The man not only stood, but jumped to his feet and began to walk, for the first time in his life! (Acts 14:6-10).prayer. Later on in this narrative (Acts 14:19-23), Paul and Barnabas traveled back to Lystra, also to Iconium and Antioch to strengthen the churches and to encourage the brothers there. A subtle but important feature of these visits was to appoint elders in each church, in preparation for the body of elders future role in church leadership and government. The narrative says that the new elders were committed to their work by prayer and fasting. As the reader will recall, at the Jerusalem council, (perhaps only a matter of weeks or months in the future), a very important Hand-off was to take place. This Hand-off passed church leadership from an Apostle (per church) to a body of elders for each church. One of the important functions of the elders was to be instruments of healing in the Church Age (James 5:13-15). Pauls next healing took place some years later at Troas (Acts 20:7-12). The occasion was the breaking of bread on the first day of the week. The brothers met in a third story room with many lamps. Paul spoke to them far into the night, because he intended to leave the next day. A young man named Eutychus took a seat in a window. During Pauls lengthy discourse, Eutychus fell into a deep sleep. At this point, one cant help but wonder how many others were falling asleep. Soon, Eutychus fell to the ground and was killed. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him, restoring his life. Pauls action on this occasion was quite reminiscent of the actions of Elijah (1 Ki. 17:1722) and Elisha (2 Ki. 4:32-37) some 900 years before him. In Pauls case, however, prayer is not mentioned. Perhaps he prayed hurriedly on the way down to raise Eutychus. An interesting sidelight here is the fact that Scripture is completely silent about what Eutychus may have experienced during the time his soul and spirit were separated from his body. Likewise, the word is silent about Lazarus, the best known example of one raised from the dead by Jesus (jhn.11:1-12:17). Incidentally, every Sunday school kid knows that the shortest verse in the Bible (35. Jesus wept) occurs in this passage. If the
24

Lord wanted us to know what happens to mans consciousness, soul and spirit during separation from the body, surely he would have told us in this long passage. Numerous other accounts of people raised from the dead fail to give any clue to this mystery. This also applies to the countless others raised from the dead, including the holy people who were raised at the moment Jesus died on the cross. (Mt. 28:51-54). However, Paul makes it quite clear (2 Cor.5:1-10; Philip. 1:18-26) that if we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord, thus apparently ruling out soul sleep, as theorized by some. Some modern saints, and others, speak of a near death or out of body experience. These times occur after life-threatening illnesses or accidents. Folks say they experience great peace and joy and they often see a bright figure beckoning them at the end of a dark tunnel. They often rise above their still bodies and observe the proceedings as a third party. What are we to make of these accounts? As an experienced physical scientist, I would recommend meticulously compiling a data base of these experiences so that they may be systematically analyzed to see whether the Lord is telling us something, and if so, what? The last of Pauls specific healings recorded for us is found in Acts 28:7-10. After the shipwreck, Paul and his shipmates came ashore on the island of Malta. They were warmly and hospitably received, having seen Paul miraculously survive a snakebite. Publius, the chief official of the island entertained the ships company on his estate for three days. Did you ever wonder what kind of entertainment was offered to the guests? Lavish food and drink, of course, an exchange of storytelling, including news from the outside world, Pauls spreading of the gospel? Dancing girls? Suffice it to say, whatever the entertainment was, it was about the best the Roman world of the day could offer. All that aside, what Paul did for the Maltese far outweighed their gift of hospitality, namely, his gift of multiple healings. First, Paul healed Publius father of fever and dysentery by praying and laying on his hands. Again, the very first healing method recorded in Scripture was used, as well as the popular laying on of hands. Then, Paul healed the rest of the islands sick. We have no idea what the population of Malta was at hat time, but Paul certainly carried out a very impressive one-man (and one almighty God) healing clinic! The final healing method used by the Lord through Paul was the use of handkerchiefs and aprons touched to Paul, which were taken to the sick to heal them (Acts 19:8-12). The word says that the people were healed and evil spirits left them because of these cloth items. There have been modern televangelists who have distributed prayer cloths for a donation to their ministry. However, at this writing, I have not carefully analyzed body of data on the modern results.

25

Although Paul was primarily a messenger of the gospel, his letters laid a firm foundation for Christian theology. He was also a healer (Acts 14:8-10; 28:7-9). He also introduced the concept of spiritual gifts (of the Holy Spirit) to the saints in Rome (Rom.12:4-8), to the Corinthians (Cor.12), to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:11-13) also, in 1 Cor.12:31, Paul tells us to desire the greater gifts and our other gifts as well (1 Tim. 4:14). In 1 Cor.12:9, 28 and 30, Paul specifically mentions the gift of healing. This spiritual gift has been given to certain saints down through the second millennia of the Church Age and is thus one of the primary means for healing. As we have seen, Paul and the other Apostles had this gift in abundance. In 1 Cor.12:31, Paul tells us but eagerly desire the greater gifts. At this point, I believe it is worth stating the obvious, since these are gifts, one cannot learn or acquire them in any other way. As one might imagine, the spiritual gifts have been misused and abused over the centuries, especially the gift of tongues. Also, many saints have failed to use them, having taken them with them to the grave. In 1 Cor. 14, Paul gives guidelines for the proper use of tongues and prophesy in the worship service so that worship may proceed in an orderly manner. Now I would like to give the background and setting for the next great Hand-off described in Acts, which took place at around the time of the Jerusalem council, (Acts 15) (Hand-off 7, Type 4). First, according to the Ryrie study Bible and other sources, the events recorded in Acts cover a period of about 30 years, perhaps from about 28 A.D. to around 60 A.D. Most authors agree that the date of writing was immediately after Pauls 2-year confinement in Rome (Acts 28:30). This is so because of the abrupt ending of Acts. Although not specifically stated, the events described in this book appear to be in chronological order, with no big gaps between chapters. If this assumption is correct, then the Jerusalem council should have taken place about 43 A.D. However, some authorities (Ryrie study Bible) date the council as late as 49 A.D. Elders of the church, which are quite different from the elders of Israel (Acts 4:8, 23 and 6:12), are not mentioned before Acts 11:20, which might have been about 40 A.D. On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every church (Acts 14:23). Paul also instructed Titus to appoint elders in every city on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). Although elders were appointed by the saints, Paul told the Ephesus elders that they had been made overseers by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28). The terms elder and overseer are used interchangeably (Titus 1:6-7). Now, lest one may think that elders are just an unofficial group of older men, Paul makes quite clear that the elders are an official body, called the presbytery in the KJV and the NAS (1 Tim. 4:14). This nomenclature used by Paul, tells us unequivocally that there must be a plurality of elders to act as a presbytery (called a body of elders in the NIV). The passages in Acts 20:28 and 2 Pet. 5:1-4 assign elder-overseers the task of shepherding the flock (church body) under the supervision of the chief shepherd the Lord Jesus. These passages clearly give the body of elders the spiritual leaders and the governing authority in the church. Now that the official status of the body of elders has been established, we are ready to look at the Jerusalem council. The stated reason for holding the council was to decide, once and for all, 26

what part of the law of Moses the new Gentile believers would be required to keep. After much prayer and debate, the Apostles and Elders Decided that the following requirements be adhered to: the Gentiles should refrain from eating the meat of strangled animals and meat offered to idols and they should refrain from sexual immorality and from blood. (Acts 15:19-20). The phrase Apostles and elders is used six times in Acts 15 and 16 (Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, and 16:4). Thus it appears that the Holy Spirit, in his infinite wisdom, foresaw the imminent close of the Apostolic Age, and handed off or transitioned from church leadership by individual Apostles to leadership by the Body of Elders. This hand-off is confirmed by the fact that Apostles are not mentioned after Act 16:4, but elders are mentioned later in Acts (also overseers) three times. The concept of transitional or dual leadership at this stage of the Church Age is confirmed by the fact that the Apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5:1) and the Apostle John (2 Jn. 1; 3 Jn. 1) both called themselves elders. Tradition says that Peter lived until about 62 A.D. while John may have lived until about 95 A.D. Thus they, and some other Apostles, lived on 20 years or more after the Jerusalem council. Although this form of church leadership, or government, is followed in many contemporary evangelical churches, it has been lost in the liturgical churches and some others. For example, typical Baptist polity vests church leadership in boards of deacons. I have long been puzzled, trying to understand how this unscriptural state of affairs could have come about in a body of believers, who an otherwise adhere strong to scriptural teachings. I can only speculate that early Baptist church fathers strongly overreacted to the stiff hierarchical government by the bishops of their liturgical church contemporaries. Now for the next step in the progressive nature of healing, let us turn to James 5:14-15. In this passage, James tells the sick person to call for the elders of the church to pray over him and to anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. He goes on to say that the prayer offered in faith will heal the sick person (see James 5:16). Thus, the elders are required to do several things to accomplish healing. First they must have faith. Second, they must pray over him (or her) and third, they must anoint with oil. This is one of the Lords principal pathways to healing in the Church Age. This commandment is faithfully obeyed in many churches today. The last scriptural means for healing is by the God-given skill of the physicians and their knowledge of the medicines of the day. This two-pronged team of physicians and the pharmaceutical industry comprise a very powerful, though costly, approach to modern healing. The term physician or physicians is mentioned some 11 times in Scripture, beginning in Gen. 50:2, although these physicians doubled as embalmers. Scripture doesnt tell us anything about their skill as physicians, but the vast number of well preserved mummies that survivor to today is eloquent testimony to their skill as embalmers. King Asa, in his later years, was not faithful to the Lord, having relied on the King of Aram for military help and on the physicians for healing (2 Chron. 16:7-13). Physicians were not always well thought of in Scripture (Mark 5:24-29; (the physicians here are called doctors, NIV.). Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul called St. Luke the beloved physician (Col. 4:14). Apparently, Paul thought a great deal of Luke, as he took him with him on many of his travels (2 Tim. 4:11; 27

Philemon 24). Also, in writing the Acts, Luke frequently uses we in his descriptions of the events in which he shared (Acts 16:10-17). We have no record of Lukes medical skills or whether he had the gift of healing, or whether he ministered medically to Paul or his other traveling companions. However, since he is called the beloved physician, it seems logical to assume that he did treat the traveling missionaries. Be that as it may, it is certain that Paul placed a high value on his love and companionship. It is almost certain that Luke was quite familiar with the writings of Hippocrates and the other Greek and Roman works on the medical arts. The Scripture mentions the term medicine per se only twice (Prov. 17:22; Ez. 14:12, KJV), but mentions such medical standbys as poultice (2 Kings 20:7, NIV) and balm, which is mentioned 5 times in the O.T. Balm, especially that from Gilead (Jer. 46:11, 51:8), was valued as a pain reliever. Also, salve is mentioned (Rev. 3:18), along with ointment, which appears 25 times in the KJV. However, in Scripture, unlike in modern times, ointment is used ceremonially (Ex.30:25) or esthetically (Prov. 27:9; Jn. 11:2) and is a product of the perfumer rather than the pharmacist. Thus, the medical approach to healing completes the scriptural array of means for healing and it also brings us up to today. The wrap-up At this time, I must repeat the basic tenet of this study all healing is from God. The progressive nature of healing is inextricably intertwined with the progressive revelation of God to his people and the progressive nature of his dealings with mankind. In the O.T., God revealed different aspects of his nature to the Israelites. O.T. Prophets foretold the coming Messiah, who appeared in Bethlehems manger, after long years of waiting. This was the greatest step forward in progressive revelation, finally allowing mankind to see God in the flesh. Then, at Pentecost, the second great revelation came when the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles and disciples and he is with us and in us today. Accompanying progressive revelation was Gods progressive way of dealing with mankind. In the beginning, he dealt individually, sometimes face to face, with people. Then, the Lord entered into a number of covenants with the Hebrews. Biblical scholars saw several dispensations in biblical history which were given in the main body of this study. The Mosaic covenant led to the Mosaic Law, under which the Mosaic dispensation held sway until Jesus ushered in the dispensation of grace. Under the Mosaic Law, the Aaronic priesthood was established to be mediators between God and man, speaking to God for the people. The established the office of prophet to speak to the people for God --- thus saith the Lord. Abraham was the first man to be called a prophet, but the great line of prophets began with Samuel. Then came Jesus, prophet, priest and King, followed by the Holy Spirit. After Pentecost, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Apostles, disciples and elders carried on their work of leading the people. The first healing in Scripture came about through the prayer of Abraham, the prophet. Other O.T. Healings of sterility came about through prayer. At this time in history, the Lord gave authority and power to the prophets to perform miracles and to heal. The prophet Elijah performed such miracles and raised a dead boy to life, through prayer. 28

His understudy Elisha healed leprous general Naaman, without touching him or speaking directly to him. However, Naaman first had to obey by humble himself and do what the Lord (through Elishas servant) told him to do. Elisha also raised a dead boy to life. In addition to this act of Elisha, when a dead man was hastily thrown in Elishas grave, on his bones, the man came to life. In reply to King Hezekiahs prayer, the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to instruct the Kings attendants to apply a poultice of figs to heal a life-threatening boil. In New Testament times, the Lord Jesus, with power and authority from his Father, healed countless people of their dread diseases and demon possession. The Lord handed off his authority and power, through the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, to the Apostles. Also, at Pentecost, the spiritual gift of healing was given to the Apostles and other believers. As the Apostolic Age was drawing to a close, the Holy Spirit handed off from the Apostles to the elders, the power to heal. The Lord prescribed the procedure by which the plurality of elders is to effect healing. The last pathway to healing comes through the progeny of the beloved physician Luke. The modern medical profession, riding the crest of a century of sound research and practical application, now has marvelous tools for healing. A vast array of medications and surgical procedures has given modern man a long lifespan and a God quality of life. In summary, we in the 21st century are the blessed beneficiaries of at least four God-given pathways to healing: prayer, the gift of healing, prayer and anointing by the elders and the physicians. Epilog Early in this study, I promised to give my view on why relatively few people are healed and most are not, by spiritual means today. I also said that I didnt think many people would be satisfied with this view. Be that as it may, here goes! During the Apostolic Age, Peter, John, Paul and the others were completely dedicated to their calling (Acts 3:1, 6:1-2; 1 Cor.2:2). Paul suffered many things on his missionary journeys for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor.11:22-33). The Apostles and the brothers suffered persecution and martyrdom for their great faith (Acts 7:57-8:2). Thus it is clear that the people in the 1st century church were, for the most part, single mindedly dedicated to the Lord and the gospel Now lets look at some of the prophesies about the latter times. When the Lord addresses the church in Philadelphia (which may typify the evangelical church today), he commended them but said they had little power (Rev. 3:8) in Lukes gospel, the Lord wonders if he will find faith on the earth when he returns (Lu.18:8). In 2 Tim. 3, Paul writes about the terrible times to come, including the prophesy that some will have a form of Godliness, but will deny its power (verse 5). We see many aspects of these prophecies manifested in our day. The evangelical church has remained true to the teachings in Gods word. However, in our busy lives, earning a living, raising our kids, keeping up with the Jonses and the like, it seems that few of us have the singleminded devotion that the Apostles had. We may try to excuse ourselves by saying that we are far removed from Jesus time on earth and that the Apostles knew the Lord personally and thus had first-hand knowledge of his power. However, I dont think that will work because Gods power does not fade with time. Nevertheless, 29

we dont see very many healings or other miracles in our churches. We still pray for healings as the Lord told us to, but when the healings dont come, our faith is eroded. The things going on in our culture, taking God out of public life, moral decay, peer pressure and the like cant help but influence us and our kids. Also, we tend to consult human experts, doctors of all kinds, before first taking it to the Lord (King Asas sin, 2 Chron. 16:12). Thus our diminished faith and the fact that we allow ourselves to be distracted from single-minded devotion to the Lord all contribute to so few healings today. Now a quick word about my view on why sickness occurs in the first place, thus the need for healing. I believe sickness, injury, pain and the like are unspoken results of the fall in the garden, precursors to the promised death (Gen. 2:18). If Adam and Eve had obeyed God, one can safely assume that they wouldve continued to live the idyllic life God had planned for them, free of sickness and pain. However, when man disobeyed, God pronounced the set of punishments on Adam and eve, but they did not die immediately. Because God loved them, he provided means (work for Adam, childbirth pain for eve) for them to carry out their first commandment, - be fruitful and reproduce (Gen. 1:27-28). Since those punishments, including sickness, were given to our first parents, they have come down to us. God loves us (Jn. 3:16) so he has given us these great paths to healing. However, we must remember that there will be that one last illness or accident from which we will not be healed, and that will be the portal to eternal life with God. In support of the major premise of this paper, I will cite Ex. 15:26, in which the Lord says ---for I am the Lord who heals you. This was a general healing promise for the future for all Israelites, not immediately exercised.

30

Historical Context for Healings

Timeline B.C. 2390 2075 2070? 2068 2008 1915 1445 1440 1435 1410 1400?-1043? 1076 1065 1059 1043 1004 858 852-795 850 31 Davidic David anointed Israel King Elijah begins prophesy Elishas prophesy begins Shunamite woman, Infertility, Elisha Prayer and boy covered Zeraphath Boy raised to life, Elijah Prayer, body covered by Elijah Joshua Judges Hannah infertility Samuel born Samuel begins to minister Saul anointed first King of Israel Prayer by self Samuel dedicated Covenant Edenic Noaic Abrahamic Patriarchal Dispensation Innocence Conscience Government Abraham Abraham Mosaic Mosaic law Miriams leprosy, Moses Mass healing of snake bites Prayer, out of camp seven days Look up to brass serpent Abimalechs house, infertility Sarahs infertility Rebecahs infertility Rachels infertility Prayer Prayer by husband Prayer by husband Isaac Prayer by self Historical Reference Healing (Event, Era or Persons) Comments

Historical Context for Healings

Timeline B.C. 845 845 792 739-695 710 450 B.C. -2 A.D. 6-4 BC 29-33 33 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 31 31 33 Naaman Covenant Dispensation Historical Reference Healing (Event, Era or Persons) Shunamite boy, raised, Elisha Leprosy healed Dead man raised Comments Spoke Naaman dips in Jordan Thrown onto Elishas bones Hezekiah given poultice

Intertestam ental period

Isaiah Hezekiah Boil healed Intertestamental period Jesus born Jesus earthly ministry Fall 29 Spring 33 New covenant Blind man Woman General men People Lazarus Two men Man Man Paralyzed Daughter Officers son Peters mother-in-law Man Man New Covenant 32 Blindness, Jesus Bleeding, Jesus Various ailments, Jesus Various ailments, Jesus Raised, Jesus Blindness, Jesus Blindness, Jesus Healed, Jesus Evil spirit, Jesus Very sick Jesus Fever, Jesus Blindness, Jesus Dropsy, Jesus

New covenant

Poultice Touched hem Touched cloak They touched Prayed and called Faith and touch Spit, touch twice Spoke, faith Faith, spoke Faith, spoke Touch Spoke, faith Took hold

New Covenant

Historical Context for Healings

Timeline B.C. 33-95 33- rapture 34 36 40 35 37 48 51 52 61 Covenant Dispensation Historical Reference Healing (Event, Era or Persons) Apostolic Age Church Age Man Some people Aeneas Tabitha Paul (Saul) Man Some people Eutycus Publius father Cripple, Peter Various, Peter Paralysis, Peter Dead, Peter Blind, Ananias Crippled, Paul Evil spirits Dead, Paul Fever, Paul Spoke, helped His shadow fell Spoke, rose Prayed, rose Prayed, hands on Spoke healing Pauls handkerchief On body, raised Prayed, hands on Comments

Apostolic Age Church Age

33

Bible Time Line:

O.T. Dates B.C., most N.T. Dates A.D. The authorities who have done the research on biblical timelines all agree on one point, biblical chronology is, at best, an inexact science. They also agree that the farther back one goes, the more uncertain dating becomes. Thus, all dates given are subject to uncertainty of a greater or lesser extent. All these difficulties granted, I thought it very useful to have a generally accepted timeline on which to base the flow of events in this study. In composing the following timeline, I have relied most heavily on the Ryrie Study Bible and a Bible timeline found on the internet 9 1011. Also, I have (frequently) consulted the Zondervan Bible Dictionary. There was substantial agreement among these sources, while other sources taken from the internet did not agree as well with these three. This is not to say that these three are right to the exclusion of all others12 13 14 15 16. I have added certain events, not listed in the internet outline, but given in Scripture and have inserted some dates by deduction. I began this timeline with Abraham and Sarah because I found no healings mentioned before their time. Judahs Kings are in red, Israels Kings in blue and the Old Testament line of prophets are in green. Some important dates and events are in italics. A second timeline, giving the reigns of the Kings is in parentheses.

Date 2167 2157 2100 2092 2067 2030 2027 2008 2007 2000 1992 1947 1915 1900 1877 1860 1805 18001600 17921750

Person or Event Abraham born Sarah born Abram called, leaves Haran @ 75 Isaac born: Abraham 100, Sarah 90 Sarah dies @ 127 Isaac, @40, marries Rebecca Isaac prays for children Jacob and Esau born Abraham dies @ 175 Isaac dies @ 180 Joseph born 430 yr. Sojourn in Egypt begins Jacob dies @ 167 in Egypt Joseph dies @110 in Egypt Hammurabi Babylon King (First Dynasty)

Reference

Gen. 12:4 Gen. 21:1-3 Gen. 23:1 Gen. 25:20 Gen. 25:21 Gen. 25:24 Gen. 25:7 Gen. 35:27-28 Gen. 30:24 Gen. 46:1-7 Gen. 49:33 Gen. 50:22-26

34

1527 1500 14531435 1447 1407 1407 14001000 1400?1043? 1290 1100 1076 1065 1069 1043 10301029 1011 1011 1011-09 1004 1000 972 971 967 967-935 956 931 (928807) 931 926 916? 913 911 910 909 900 890 886 885 885

Moses born in Egypt Ashur-Rabi 1 Assyria King The Exodus begins Moses dies @ 120 Conquest of Canaan begins Period of judges Shalmaneser I Assyria King Hannah barren, prays for a son Samuel born and dedicated Samuel begins to minister Saul anointed first King of Israel Shalmaneser II? Assyria King David King of Judah in Hebron Saul dies in battle Ish-bosheth King in Israel David King of all Israel King David dies @ 70 Solomon becomes King Solomon begins building Tiglath-Pilgeser II Assyria King Shishak , pharaoh in Egypt Rehoboam (928-911) Judah King (928-807) Jeroboam, King of Israel Shishak takes Judah treasure Ben-Hadad I, Aram King Abijam (911-908) Judah King Asa (908-867) Judah King (907-896) Nadab, King of Israel (906-883) Baasha, King of Israel Ben-Hadad I, still Aram King? Elah (883-882) Zimri, (882) King of Israel Omri (882-871) King of Israel

Ex. 2:1-10

Ex. 12:33-50 Deut. 34:4-8 Josh. 1:1-9, Josh. 2:1ff Ju. 1:1-21:25

1 Sam. 1:9-17 1 Sam. 1:20-27 1 Sam 2:11 1 Sam. 10:1 2 Sam. 2:3-7, 11 1 Sam. 31:46 2 Sam. 2:8-10 2 Sam. 5:1-5 1 Kings 2:10 1 Kings 1:38-40 1 Kings 6:1 1 Kings 11:40 1 Kings 11:43 1 Kings 12:20 1 Kings. 14:25; 2 Chr. 12:2 1 Kings. 15:18 1 Kings 14:31 1 Kings 15:8-9 1 Kings 15:25 1 Kings 15:27, 31 1 Kings 20:1-2885 1 Kings 16: 1 Kings 16:8, 9-11 1 Kings 16:16

35

884 880-842 873 870 859 824 858 853 853 852 852 841 841 841 841-805 840 835 814 801 800 798 795 783-773 783 782 767 764 755 753 752-3 752 750-695 745 742 740 739 739 736 735 732 727-722 722-705 722-710 722

Ashurbanipal iii, King of Assyria Hadadezer Aram Damascus King Ahab (871-8851) King of Israel Jehoshaphat (867-851) Judah King Shalmaneser III, King of Assyria Elijah begins prophesy Ahaziah (851-850) Israel King Jehoram (851-843) Judah King Joram (850-842) Israel King Elisha begins prophesy Jehu (842-814) Israel King Ahaziah (843-842) Judah King Athaliah (842-836) seizes j. Throne Hazael King of Aram Joel prophesies Joash (836-799) Judah King Jehoahaz (814-800) Israel King Ben-Hadad ii, Aram King Jehoash (800-785) Israel King Amaziah (799-786) Judah King Shalmaneser IV, Assyria King Jonah ministry (prophesy) begins Jeroboam II (785-749) Israel King Uzziah (Azariah) (786-758) Judah King Amos prophesy begins Hosea prophesy begins Zechariah (749) Israel King Shallum (748) Israel King Menahem (748-737) Israel King Isaiahs prophetic period Tiglath-Pileser III, Assyria King Pekahiah (737-735) Israel King Pekah (735-731) Israel King Uzziah dies, Isaiah begins prophesy Jotham (758-42) Judah King Micah begins prophesy Ahaz (742-726) Judah King Hoshea (731-722) Israel King Shalmaneser V, Assyria King Sargon II, Assyrian King Medroch-Baladan Babylon, Assyria King Israel falls, deported to Assyria 36

1 Kings 11:23 1 Kings 16:29 1 King. 15:24, 2 Chr. 17:1 1 Ki. 17:1 1 Ki. 22:40, 51 1 Ki. 22:50 2 Ki. 1:17 1 Ki. 19:16 1 Ki. 19:16 2 Ki. 8:25 2 Ki. 11:1-3 1 Ki. 19:15 Joel 1:1 2 Chr. 24:1 2 Ki: 10:35 2 Ki. 13:10 2 Ki. 14:1 2 Ki. 14:25, Jonah 1:13 2 Ki. 15:16 2 Ki. 14:21, 2 Chr. 26:1 Amos 1:1 Hosea 1:1 2 Ki. 15:8 2 Ki. 15:10 2 Ki. 15:14 2 Ki. 15:29 2 Ki. 15:22 2 Ki. 15:25 Isaiah 1:1; 6:1 2 Ki. 15:7 Jer.26:18, Mic. 1:1 2 Ki. 15:39 2 Ki. 15:30 2 Ki. 17:3, 2 Ki.18:9 Isaiah 20:1 Isaiah 39:1 2 Ki. 17:56

720? 715 705-681 701 700 685 681-669 669 660 648 642 640 634 627 626 622 619 612 609-595 609 609 605 605 605 605 600 597 597 593 589-570 586 586 586 563 561-560 553 550-530 550 550 539 539 538 536 530-521 521

Tirhakah Egypt Pharaoh Hezekiah (726-607) Judah King Sennacherib, Assyria King Judah invaded by Assyria Manasseh (697-642) Judah King Esrahaddon, Assyria King Ashurbanipal, Assyrian King Zoroaster born Nahum prophesies fall of Nineveh Amon (642-640) Judah King Josiah (640-609) Judah King Zephaniah prophesy begins Jeremiah prophesy begins Nabopolaser, Babylon King Revival in Judah Habakkuk prophesy begins Nineveh of Assyria falls to Babylon Neco II, Egypt pharaoh Jehoahaz (609-608) Judah King Jehoiakim (708-697) Judah King Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon King Neco defeated by Nebuchadnezzar Babylon invades Judah Daniel begins prophesy Jehoiachin (597)Judah King Zedekiah (597-587) Judah King Ezekiel prophesy begins Hophra Egypt Pharaoh Jerusalem falls, temple burned Jews deported to Babylon Gedaliah, Jerusalem governor Buddhism founded Evil Merodach Babylon King, Frees Jehoiachin Belshazzar, Babylon regent Cyrus, Persian King Artemis temple @ Ephesus Confucius begins to teach Babylon falls to Medes & Persians Darius the Mede, King in Persia Zerubbabel party to Palestine Jerusalem temple started Cambyses Persian King Smerdis Persian King 37

Isaiah 37:9 2 Ki; 16:20 2 Ki. 18:13 2 Ki. 18:13 2 Ki. 20:21-21:1 2 Ki. 19:37 Nahum 3:7 2 Ki. 21:18-19 2 Ki. 21:24 Zeph. 1:1 Jer. 1:1, 2 Chr. 35:25 2 Ki. 22:11 ff Hab. 1:1 2 Ki. 23:29, 2 Chr. 35:20 2 Ki. 23:31 2 Ki. 23:34 Jer. 21:1-2 2 Ki. 24:7 2 Ki. 24:1 Ez. 14:14, Dan. 1:6 2 Ki. 24:8 2 Ki. 24:17. Ez. 1:3 Jer. 44:30 2 Ki. 25:8-10 2 Ki. 25:11,21 2 Ki. 25:22 Jer. 52:31-34 Dan. 5:1 2 Chr. 36:22-23 2 Chr. 36:20 Ezr. 4:5, 24 Ezr. 2:1-2, 3:2 Ezr. 3:7-10

521-486 520 520 521 520 516 509 500 486-465 484 480 479 478 478 473 469 464 458 450 BC 2 AD 445 444 444 443 443 435 400 356-323 323-281 311-281 300 285-246 281-261 261-246 246-225 246-221 225-222 222-187 221-205 205-181

Darius I Hystapses Persian King Zechariah begins prophesy Haggai begins prophesy Temple construction halted Temple construction resumes Jerusalem temple completed Roman republic founded Xerxes (Artaxerxes), Persian King Herodotus, the historian born Greeks defeat Xerxes @ salamis Greeks defeat Xerxes at Thermopylae Esther queen in Persia Esther saves Persian empire Jews Feast of Purim started Socrates born Artaxerxes Longimanus Persian King Ezra takes small party to Palestine Intertestamental period Nehemiah party to Palestine Artaxerxes; decree to rebuild walls Nehemiah party to Jerusalem Ezra & Nehemiah read word to Jews Beginning of Midrash Malachi begins prophesy Alexander III (the Great) Ptolemy I Soer Egypt King Seleucus I Nicator Syria King Ptolemy II Philodelphus Egypt King Ptolemy II Daughter Bernice Marries Antiochus II Antiochus I Sioter Syria King Antiochus II Theos Syria King Seleucus II Callinicus Syria King Ptolemy III Euergetes Egypt King Seleucus III Karaunos Syria King Antiochus III The Great Syria King Ptolemy IV Philopator Egypt King Ptolemy V Epiphanes Egypt King Antiochus III Daughter Marries Ptolemy V 38

Zech. 1:1 Hag. 1:1-12 Ezr 4:18-24 Ezr. 6:1-12 Ezr. 6:13-19 Ezr. 7:1, Neh. 1 :1

Est. 2:15-18 Est. 8:7-9:10 Est. 9:18-28

Neh. 2:1-8, Dan. 9:24-25 Neh. 2:9 Neh. 8:1-6 Mal. 1:1 Dan. 8:5-8, 11:3-5 Dan. 11:5 (Dakes p. 869) Dan. 11:5 (Dakes p. 869) Dan 11:6 Dan 11:6 (Dakes P 869) Dan 11:6 (Dakes P869) Dan 11:7-8 (Dakes P 869) Dan 11:11,13, 15-20 Dan 11:11 Dan 11:13, 15-20 Dan 11:17

196 192-189 187-175 181-146 175-164 167 164 164-162 161-150 152-146116 150-145 147 146-116 145-138 145-140 140-138 138-129 129-125 129-123 125 125 125125121 121-96 113-95 107-88 96-95 95-83 95-92 95-87 95-83 87-84 83-82 83-69 69 64 65-54 63 59-54 43 43-4 43 31

Rosetta Stone Created To Honor Ptolemy V Roman War Against Seleucid Empire (Syria) Seleucus IV Philopator Syria King Ptolemy VII Philometor Egypt King Antiochus IV Epiphanes Syria King* Mattathias, Jewish Priest, Starts Revolt Against Seleucids Judas Maccabeus Defeats Seleucids, Restores Temple Antiochus V Eupator Syria King Demeritus I Soter Syria King Ptolemy VI Euergetes Egypt King Alexander I Balas Syria King Judea Gains Independence Ptolemy VII Euergetes Egypt King Demeritus II Nicator Syria King Antiochus VI Dionysius Syria King Diodotus Tryphon Syria King Antiochus VII Sidetes Syria King Demeritus II Nicator Syria King Alexander II Zahinas Syria King Cleopatra Thea Syria Queen Seleucus V Syria King Cleopatra Thea & Antiochus Viii Grapus Syria Antiochus Grapus Syria King Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Syria King Ptolemy X Egypt King Seleucus VI Epiphanes Nicator Syria King Antiochus X Eusebes Philopator Syria King Antiochus XI Epiphanes Philadelphus Syria King Demeritus III Eucaerus Philopator Syria King Phillip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionicus Syria King Roman Civil War, Sulla Becomes Dictator Tigran68-64 Antiochus Es II The Great Of Armenia Syria King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Syria King Phillip II Philoromaeus Syria King Roman Troops Under Pompeius Occupy Judea First Roman Triumvirate- Julius Caesar, Pompey & Crassus (Herod) Antipater Dies Herod, The Great King Of Judea+ Second Triuvirate-Octavian, Antony & Lepidus Battle Of Actium, Octavian Defeats Antony & Cleopatra 39

Dan 11:30? Dan 11:20 Dan 8:9-14, 21-35

Mt. 2:1-222

31 30 6-4 6-4 6-4 4 4 B.C.6 A.D. 3 **

BC-14 AD, Augustus Roman Emperor Antony & Cleopatra Suicide, Egypt Becomes Roman Province The birth of Jesus The flight to Egypt Slaughter of the innocents Herod the Great dies Herod Archelaus Tetrarch in Judea+ Joseph, Mary & Jesus to Nazareth A.D. Dates Commence

Lu. 2:1 Lu.2:4-7 Mt. 2:13-15 Mt. 2 :16-18 Mt. 2:19 Mt. 2:22 Mt. 2:1-23

6 39 6 14-37 26 26-36 26-30 27 29 30 30-95 30rapture 30 30 31 32 33 34 37-41 40 41-54 41-44 42 44 44? 44 46 47-48 40-50 48-49 49 49 50

Herod Antipas Tetrarch in Judea + Jesus @ 12 in the temple in Jerusalem Tiberius roman emperor Jesus teaches (fall 26- spring 30) Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea Jesus earthly ministry fall 26 spring 3John the Baptist begins ministry John the Baptist beheaded New Covenant Apostolic Age Church Age Jesus crucifixion & resurrection Feast of full Pentecost, church born First board of deacons formed Stephen becomes first martyr Pentecost Saul (Paul) converted near Damascus Gaius Cornelius converted, Gentiles added Claudius Roman Emperor Herod Agrippa I King in Judea Antioch, new church activity center Herod Agrippa I dies Herod Agrippa II King in Judea James beheaded, Peter imprisoned Paul visits Sergius Paulus James letter written Matthews gospel written Pauls first missionary journey Galatian letter written The Jerusalem Council Roman Jews expelled 40

Mt. 14:1-6, Mk. 6:14-22 Lu.2:41-51 Lu. 3:1-2

Lu 2: 2 ff Mk 6:19-29

Lu.23:33-24:8 Acts 2:1-39 Acts 6:1-6 Acts 6:8-8:1 Acts 2:1-41 Acts 9:1-22 Acts 10:23-48 Acts 11:28, 18:2-42 Acts 12:1-23 Acts 11:19-30 Act 12:18-23 Act 25:1326:32 Acts 12:1-3 Acts 13:6-12 Ja. 1:1 ff Mt. 1:1 ff Acts 13:1-15:2 Gal. 1:1 ff Acts 15:1-35 Acts 18:2

50-60 50-54 52 52-60 58 54-58 54-68 59 60 60-62 60 62 62 62-63 63 63 64-67 65-66 67-69 68 68 68-69 69 69-79 81-96 90-95 95 95 96-98 98-117 **

Christian writings gathered Pauls second missionary journey Gallio refuses to hear Pauls case Felix, Antonius Procurator Judea+ Felix Antonius tries Paul Pauls third missionary journey Nero Roman Emperor Paul imprisoned at Caesarea Festus & Agrippa II try Paul Portius Festus Procurator Judea+ Paul tried by Agrippa II Paul sails for Rome via Malta Paul imprisoned at Rome Lukes gospel & Acts written End of Acts Marks gospel written 1 & 2 Peter letters written Paul under house arrest in Rome writes Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians & Philippians Peter crucified upside down (tradition) Iulius Vindex Roman Emperor L. Clodius Macer Roman Emperor Paul martyred at Rome (tradition) Galba and Nymphidius Sabinus Roman Emperors Otho & Vitellius Roman Emperors Vespasian Roman Emperor Domitian & (89) L. Antonius Saturninus Roman Emperors 1,2 &3 Jn. & Revelation written John martyred (tradition) Apostolic Age ends, Church Age continues Nerva Roman Emperor Trajan Roman Emperor

Acts 15:40-18:22 Acts 18:12-17 Acts 23:24-24:27 Acts 23:24- 24:27 Acts 18:23-21:26 Acts 34:23-34 Acts 24:27 26:32 Acts 24:27-26:32 Acts 25:13-26:32 Acts Lu.1: & Acts 1:1 Acts 28:34 Mt. 1:1 ff 1 Pet. & 2 Pet. Acts 28:30-31

1, 2 & 3 Jn. & Rev.

LUKES ALTERNATIVE TIMELINE

Luke 3:1 All dates A.D. unless otherwise noted. Table entries without specific dates are rulers who are in power at the time of the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. 37 B.C.-4 A.D. Herod tetrarch of Galilee (King of Judea) Lu. 3:1 http://www.roman14 Tiberius becomes emperor Britain.org/people/tiberius.htm 26-36 29 Pontius Pilate governor of Judea 15th year of Tiberius, John begins his ministry Phillip tetrarch of Itruria and Traconitis Lu. 3:1 Lu. 3:1 Lu. 3:1

41

Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene Lu. 3:1 High priesthood of Annas and Caiphas Lu. 3:1 th Jesus baptized by John at about 30 years in about the 15 Lu. 3:23 year of Tiberius reign/Jesus ministry begins. According to this timeline, Tiberius became emperor in 14 A.D. This would mean that Jesus began his ministry in 28-29 A.D. and, according to Lu. 3:23, Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry. Thus it would appear that Jesus was born in about 2-1 B.C., neglecting the uncertainty of the changeover of B.C. to A.D.

42

Bibliographic Information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Assyria September 4, 2007 March 31, 2007 Timeline Jewish Virtual Library, The Jewish Virtual Library, The

http://www.bible-history.com/rome/RomeTimeline__Biblical_History.htm Biblical History

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Kings.html June 6, 2007

Kings of Israel
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Judah.html June 6, 2007

Kings of Judah
http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm February 29, 2008

The Imperial Index

Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. The Ryrie Study Bible, New American Standard Version. Chicago: Moody Press, 1978. Tenney, Merrill C., Barabas, Steven, eds. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.

43

44

1 2

www.patriarchywebsite.com/bib-patriarchy/jr-part2-covenants-of-the-hebrews.htm 10/6/2006 , Anna Li, Israel CS Lim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism 10/5/2006 3 http://www.endtimes.org/dispens.html 10/5/2006 4 http://www.seiyaku.com/customs/crosses/serpent.html 9/30/2006 5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#Archaeological_sources 12/26/2007 6 http://i-cias.com/e.o/phoenicia.htm 9/23/2006 7 http://www.seiyaku.com/cusotms/crosses/serpent.html 3/21/2007 8 http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/nechushstan.html 9/30/2006 9 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Kings.html 6/6/2007 10 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Judah.html 3/21/2007 11 http://www.bible-history.com/rome/RomeTimeline__Biblical_History.htm 3/21/2007 12 http://www.bcbsr/survey/sgospl.html 5/30/2009 13 http://www.konig.org/timeline.htm 3/21/2007 14 http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CNC610CHRONO.htm 3/26/2007 15 http://www.drury.edu/ess/values/christianscriptures.html 3/22/2007 16 http://www.matthewmcgee.org/ottimlin.html 3/21/2007