The Reformed Olive Press

                                                    NIMROD Nimrod was most likely the youngest of his family. It is believed that Ham stole Noah’s garment of authority (the covering of the Ark-Genesis 8:13 and gave it to Canaan in Genesis 9:18-29. Because Ham tried to usurp Noah’s authority, he prophetically declared that the tribes of Shem and Japheth would have dominion over Ham’s descendants, specifically Canaan. Once his garment was returned from Ham, it appears that Noah handed down the garment to Shem-an early priesthood role. But because the garment was stolen and possibly given to Canaan, it is appears that some of the tribes considered Canaan as a rejected king. Knowing that the Shemites and Japhethites were to be considered authority figures over Canaan, Nimrod fought against Noah’s proph...

 

Jesus and the High Priest- A Tale of Two Goats Here is one of the most challenging questions I have been exploring lately: If Christ's sacrifice was near or on Passover, how does it bring a complete atonement? Wasn't that the purpose of the Day of Atonement (DOA)? A Passover sacrifice was a type of peace offering, but at the same time it was a propitiation (removal of God's wrath) like how the Hebrews were "passed over" in Egypt" Just like how the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, Christ had to enter into the Holy of Holies of Heaven to complete the ritual (Hebrews 9:8-12,24-28). He never entered one on Earth. The DOA had two goats, but was considered one sacrifice. So is it farfetched or even heretical to say that Christ brought His blood into the Holy of Holies to purify the Heavenly Temple like how the High Priest in Leviticus 16 purified the Tabernacle/Temple (Hebrews 9:21-23)? Two parts one sacrifice. This would be the expiation (the removal of sin...

The Glorious Ones One of the most interesting biblical mysteries is the Body of Moses and the glorious ones. At one point, I believed that the glorious ones were the apostles and the Body of Moses was talking about his physical body. However, recently, I’ve took another look at the text and came to a different interpretation. It’s easy to come to the conclusion that the glorified ones are Moses and/or the apostles. Moses had close fellowship with God on Mt Sinai. This resulted in his face glowing in 2 Corinthians 3:12. Similarly, the Apostles witnessed Christ’s transfiguration in Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2-3, and Luke 9:28-36. It wouldn’t be farfetched if they had the same outcome as Moses. However, based on the context, it wouldn’t fit correctly to read Moses or the Apostles into the text of 2 Peter and Jude. If one interprets authority as church authority and the glorious ones as Moses/Apostles, it sounds redundant. Furthermore, it doesn’t fit the context of 2 Peter 2:11 and Jude 1:9...

The Curse of Cain and Its Connection to the Nephilim: The Offspring of the Tribes of Seth and Cain *In a prior post, I discussed how the Nephilim are not the Sons of God as angelic beings.*   In this current post, I will discuss how the Nephilim are the offspring of the Sethites and Cainites. In addition, I will provide an explanation on the “Mark of Cain” as well as how the Nephilim survived the flood. Genesis 6:1-4 English Standard Version 6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward , when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. 5 The Lord saw that the ...

                                                                             The Whereabouts of Elijah Similar to Enoch, according to Church tradition, Elijah was transferred to Heaven without dying. He is taken into the sky by a Chariot of Fire. This is s omething Christ was unable to do himself- bypass physical death. This is problematic when comparing Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:13 (see also Proverbs 30:4, Deuteronomy 30:12 and Romans 10:7). Christ stated that He is the only one who has descended and ascended into Heaven, not Enoch. To read this passage carefully, and to avoid our own biases, we look at its parallel verse in Proverbs 30:4. It appears that Christ has personally bestowed this title upon himself. Contrary to popular opinion, ...

  The Translation of Enoch One of the most mysterious characters in the Bible is Enoch. Little is written about him. There are exactly three passages in reference to his unique character: Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 1:14. Many have proposed that Enoch was raptured into Heaven, avoiding the Flood Judgment, and most of all death itself. Something Christ himself couldn’t do. This is problematic when comparing Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:13 (see also Proverbs 30:4, Deuteronomy 30:12 and Romans 10:7). Christ stated that He is the ONLY one who has descended and ascended into Heaven, not Enoch. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that Enoch was either transported, martyred (specifically by Lamech) or died in his sleep. Below, I will provide various proofs for support. **************************************************************************** The Phrases “They Are No More”;“Never See Death”; “To Be Taken” Matthew 2:16-18 (Jeremiah 31:15) English Stan...