by Tim Green
blood began to flow from his head, down his cheeks and into his beard. Little did they understand that crowning the Son of God with a crown of thorns was the fulfilment of prophesy. Thorns were symbolic of the curse that had entered the Garden of Eden and Jesus was reversing the curse as he wore the crown of thorns upon his head. The King of heaven was crowned with thorns in order to reverse the curse upon the earth.
The Roman commander took Jesus to the courtroom where Pontius Pilate was sitting on the judgement seat. He was waiting for Jesus to return from his flogging to judge him before the people. He wanted this matter resolved as soon as possible. Two soldiers took Jesus out onto the balcony. The crowd erupted and began to shout and mock when they saw Him appear. “He is not our King!” they shouted in anger, “we have no king but Caesar.” Barabbas was brought out bound by the soldiers and stood opposite Jesus on the balcony. Pilate lifted up his hands and the crowd became silent. Pontius Pilate announced to the people, “Today I will release one prisoner to you in honour of your Passover!” the crowed were ecstatic with the news of Pilate’s generous offer of amnesty. “We have two prisoners,” continued Pilate, “Jesus of Nazareth who claims to be the King of the Jews and Barabbas, a murderer and enemy of Rome. Who do you choose to be released to you today?” The crowd chanted together as if it were the chorus of a song, “Give us Barabbas! We want Barabbas.” They chanted again and again until they entered into a hypnotic frenzy.
“What shall I do with Jesus of Nazareth, who claims to be the King of the Jews?” asked Pontius Pilate now fearful of an uprising. The hypnotic crowd replied in a loud continuous chant, “Crucify him!” the chant grew louder and louder. It filled the streets of Jerusalem as it echoed from the courtroom. It blasted its way into the throne room of Almighty God where we were all gathered together in silence. The seraphim shook and covered themselves more tightly with their wings. I would have comforted them but I was under instruction.
Pontius Pilate washed his hands in front of all the people and said to them, “I’m washing my hands before you as I don’t want this innocent man’s blood on my hands.” The hysterical crowd embraced the consequences of their actions and declared, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” They began to chant uncontrollably once again, “Crucify him!” Gabriel and I were shocked to the core of our heavenly heart of hearts. It was this same crowed that had hailed him a King as he had rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey just days before. We both knew that Satan, that ancient crafty serpent was behind the crowd, cheering and driving them on. Pilate signed in the judge’s book with his signet ring concluding the events.
The soldiers then led Jesus away to be crucified as Gabriel and I watched intently.
We angels curiously continued to stir our spirits to remember the words spoken by the ancient prophets that were recorded in the eternal books of heaven. Our challenge was to correspond every unfolding event on the earth taking place before our eyes with a type, shadow and a prophesy from the past. The seraphim discerned the change in the atmosphere of the throne room and stood on the tips of their toes. They looked at Michael and me as we were their seniors as the Lords Archangels. We far out ranked them in the chain of angelic command and therefore they gave us preference. Now they were looking to us for comfort and strength. Their many eyes from all over their bodies were fixed upon us. They needed leadership at this time and we were going to give it to them. In spite of the events upon the earth they all sensed the confidence that emanated from us. We had stumbled across knowing the end from the beginning.
“Get up, pick up your cross and carry it,” yelled an angry soldier. “Carry it your Majesty” mocked another sarcastically while bowing his head before the King of the Jews. Jesus stumbled beneath the heavy weight of the solid crossbeam of the wooden cross. He had no more strength left in him after the cruel floggings and the harsh beatings. Another soldier bent over putting his face only inches away from Jesus’ face and shouted, “Get up, pick up your cross. Pick it up.” Jesus had no more strength left in him to feel threatened by the soldier’s commands. Jesus slowly staggered back onto his feet and walked with difficulty through the courtyard gate and into the street. His body was stronger than most as he was a carpenter by trade and knew the physical demands that it took to lumber timber.
The angry crowd waited outside the gate in the street for him to appear. They spat on him and mocked him as he staggered on by. Some even ran out, breaking through the soldiers guard and punched him with their fists. Some of the people in the crowd ran out and slapped Jesus in the face, while others pulled out his beard. The soldiers then had to form a human wall of protection around Him. The blood flowed from the body of Jesus like drops of rain falling from the sky during a thunder storm. He slowly walked through the streets of Jerusalem so that His blood could stain its ancient foundations speaking redemption. Jesus fell to his knees under the weight of the heavy cross. He was out of breath and out of strength. He fell on his face and the brutal cross fell on top of him with all its might. He held onto the cross tightly, welcoming its pain and enduring its shame. I longed with all my heart to be there with him to help him carry the cross.
“Get up! Carry your cross. Get up,” yelled the heartless soldier once again. Jesus could no longer bear the weight of the burden of the cross. So the Roman soldiers pulled an unwilling man out of the crowd. His name was Simon of Cyrene and he was simply minding his own business as he journeyed on by though Jerusalem. The soldier instructed him to help carry the cross as if he had read my heart and known my thoughts from afar. With his one arm wrapped tightly around Jesus and with his other arm he steadied the cross of death upon his shoulders. So Simon of Cyrene embraced the heavy bloody cross and slowly carried it to the top of Mount Calvary.
I looked at Michael and he looked at me and I quietly whispered, “I remember.” God the Father knew that our hearts had been flooded with understanding and revelation, so he allowed us to whisper. “Whisper quietly!” he said. Michael and I didn’t want to spoil the greatest event in the history of the world. “What do you remember,” asked Michael quietly. “The promise of the seed of the woman,” I replied. Michaels spiritual understanding exploded and his heart burnt within him. The word of the Lord had suddenly been branded upon his heart. “Calvary means place of the skull and the seed of the woman will crush the serpents head,” whispered Michael with excitement.
As they reached the top of the mountain, called the place of the skull the soldiers pushed Simon of Cyrene away. The cross of death landed flat on the ground creating an indent in its barren soil on top of the lonely mountain. Simon had been covered with the blood of Jesus from head to toe. Physically he was extremely exhausted from haling the heavy cross and embracing Jesus as he staggered up the mountain side. But his spirit man had strangely been rejuvenated and spiritually he felt alive as if he had been born again. He turned after being pushed away by the soldiers to run back to embrace the Jesus once again. He had experienced first hand that the blood of Jesus was the only remedy for washing away his sins. And his sins were many so he wanted to embrace every drop of blood. The Roman soldiers pushed him away again and threatened to thrust him through with a spear if he persisted with his endeavours.
The unforgiving soldiers took the Son of God by his arms and aligned him upon the crooked cross of death. The nails pierced through the hands of Jesus into the wood of the cross, fusing him and the cross together in unity as one. The pain was too much for him to bear. He gave out such a loud cry that it could be heard throughout the city of Jerusalem. It echoed throughout the throne of God Almighty and into eternity. When I close my eyes I can still hear the echoes of his cries today. Allow me to pause and ponder for a moment as I close my eyes and remember the holy things of Almighty God. We angels knew that it wasn’t the nails that united him to the cross but it was his unconditional love for mankind that held him there. For the joy that was set before him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame while enduring the pain. He willing opened his hands and welc
omed the piercing nails. The Son of God had something to give away upon that cross so he willingly opened his hands to freely gave his life away.
Then they lifted him up upon the cross of death and it thundered into place as it aliened with its corresponding beam. The heavens and the earth shook simultaneously. The earth shook because of the landing of the cross in its place at the exact centre of the earth causing a sudden earth quake. The heavens shook because the feet of Jesus stood upon the head of that ancient serpent dragon crushing his skull. Jesus willingly hung upon the cross suspended in mid air so that his feet could tread upon the head of the prince and power of the air that is the devil. Jesus would push himself up with his feet so that he could breath. As he did the wood of the cross began to bruise his heel. The promised prophesy concerning the seed of the woman given to Adam in the secret Garden of Eden was finally fulfilled. Satan bruised the heel of Jesus but by doing so he had his head crushed in the process.
The soldier who crucified Jesus to the cross threw down the hammer. He picked up his coat and walked back down the hill to Jerusalem. “I can’t watch this man die,” he said, “I have crucified many people before, but not like this man. There is something different about this man whom they call Jesus of Nazareth. He is no ordinary man.” Jesus cried out unto his Father in heaven in a loud voice, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” These words that Jesus had spoken keep ringing in my ears and in the ears of the soldiers that had crucified him. As the soldier who drove the nails made his way back to Jerusalem he couldn’t get the words of Jesus out of his head, they kept ringing in his ears echoing “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“I feel different about this crucifixion today,” as he said under his breath not allowing anyone to hear, “I have crucified hundreds of men before and I’ve felt no remorse, no sorrow, no shame and no guilt at all. There is something different about today. There’s something different about this Jesus of Nazareth. What have I done? I have nailed God’s only begotten Son to the cross. What have I done? My heart keeps pounding in my chest. My soul is down cast and filled with a sick sorrow. I can barely hold back my tears.
The sound of his voice and his forgiving words keep torturing my soul. I must gather myself together; after all I am a Soldier of Rome. I am a citizen of the greatest and most powerful nation on the earth.” He was trying to be brave as a fierce hardened Roman soldier could be but his conscience got the better of him as the Holy Spirit of God breathed upon him with conviction causing him to confess, “My God, what have I done? Forgive me; I did not know what I was doing!” He ran back to his quarters as fast as his feet could carry him. The promises of the Lamb of God that was promised to Abraham had taken its toll on him.
What Abraham was asked to do to his only begotten son whom he loved, the Father of heaven did to his only begotten son whom he also loved. God had provided for himself a mature Lamb that he sacrificed upon the very same Mountain where Abraham had attempted to sacrifice his only son. The ram in the thicket caught by his horns was the mature Lamb of God whose blood was more than enough to wash away the sins of the world. Isaac carried the wood for fire upon his shoulders while Jesus carried the cross of death. Abraham built an altar unto the Lord while the Romans had built a gallows upon mount Calvary. Abraham had arranged the wood for the fire in its place while Jesus was placed upon the cross by the driving of the nails through his hands. God had kept his promise and provided for himself a Lamb without spot or blemish.
The earth shook when the cross of death landed in its place, crushing Satan’s skull. The sky was filled with dark black clouds as Jesus hung upon the cruel cross. He was taking upon himself the sin of the world. Two thieves were crucified with him and they hung on either side of him. That foul ancient serpent dragon, the devil had entered the heart of the one thief. He started to shout insults at Jesus, “You call yourself a saviour, if you are the Son of God then save yourself from the cross.” Satan had not changed his tactics since the dawn of time when he was created in the beginning. He was using those same old devices that he used in the secret Garden of Eden. He always questions who you are and he gets you to question and rethink what God has said.
The other thief quickly spoke out in Christ’s defence, “Be quiet. We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man is innocent.” Then he turned his head and looked at the marred face of Jesus. He looked deeply into his forgiving saviours eyes and asked, “Remember me when you enter into your kingdom?” He wanted God to forgive him for all the sins that he had committed. Jesus looked into his eyes and into his heart of hearts and replied, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Pilate had a sign made and he instructed it to be hung above the head of Jesus on the cross. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The high priest was outraged and demanded that they take it down. But the soldiers refused as they were under instruction, just like we angels were. Those were the orders given to them by Pontius Pilate and they whole heartedly followed them. They knew the harsh consequences of insubordination by disobeying their King in Rome, death by crucifixion. The longer Jesus hung upon the cross, the darker the sky became over Jerusalem. Thunder, lightening and heavy rain filled the earthly skies. It reminded me of the time when Moses climbed up that sacred Mountain in the wilderness to meet with God face to face.
Like Elijah the prophet Jesus left his mantle lying on the ground in the dust while he was suspended in the air upon the cross. Two Roman soldiers held His garment tightly, one on either side, ready to rip it in half. His garment was magnificent. It was made from a single piece of fabric and was seamless and it represented the oneness and unity of his future bride, the church. We angels know that there is only one Spirit, one body and one God and Father of us all.
“No, don’t rip it,” protested one of the soldiers, “It is a fine and expensive garment and I would like to have it.” He had made his intentions clear that he wanted to be clothed with the very same mantle of Jesus. I, Gabriel the archangel of Jesus watched with great interest. I had seen mantles been exchange my whole life between men over the centuries. It was ordained by the Lord God to exchange garments when a covenant was entered into. It was protocol for covenant cutters to exchange their mantles when sacred covenants were cut and vows were exchanged. Jesus was divinely exchanging his sinless mantle in exchange for the whole world’s sinful mantle upon Mount Calvary. Filthy rages were being exchanged for robes of righteousness.
The Blood of the Cross. #26
His blood began to flow. It flowed down the heavy wooden cross and onto the dusty ground. As his pure undefiled drops of blood soaked into the earth’s soil from which the man Adam was created, so it began its never ending redemptive work. The blood of God returned to the ground from which he had created his first son Adam. His holy blood began to shatter the curse that had been carried in the soil of the ground since the day when Adam had disobediently sinned and fallen from grace. The blood had a vendetta against the dust of the ground. The life of the blood had to destroy the curse of death that the ground held tightly in its grip.
Jesus cried out in a loud agonizing voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?” that is to say, “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?” God the Father turned his glowing face away from His only begotten Son and closed his eyes. We angels all stood huddled together in a holy hush with our eyes fixed upon the cross of death. Our hearts were tired and emotionally exhausted. The Father had forsaken and abandoned his only begotten son. Some of those standing near the cross of death thought that Jesus was calling for Elijah the prophet. But we angelic hosts knew that He was calling His Father in heaven. They took a sponge and filled it with vinegar. They placed it upon a hyssop reed and held it to his mouth for him to drink. But he turned his weary head away and refused to drink it. Others stood by to see if Elijah the prophet would come down in a fiery angelic chariot and save him from the death of the cross.
Jesus cried out once again in a loud voice, “It is finish
ed,” and then breathed out his final powerful breath of life. It was a breath of life that would shape the future of his beautiful bride. The law of the breath of life in Christ Jesus would set her free from the law of sin and death. His final breath of life would set his bride free from the law of sin and death that had corrupted the secret garden of God.
Jesus exhaled his final breath and would never have to inhale as the Son of Man again. The Son of Man was dead. The last Adam, Jesus Christ stood lifeless upon the cross of death exempt of the breath of life. His hands had been pierced and his heels were bruised. The self existent God had exhaled for the last time as a man. Suddenly the veil in the Temple, hiding the glowing Glory of God Almighty was rent in two from top to bottom. The image woven upon the veil of Michael and I was rent from top to bottom straight through the middle. We were eternally separated from being the guardians of God’s glowing glory in the earthly temple made from earthly stone.
The glory of God, the blue flame that once burnt upon the mercy seat between the images of Michael of I, exploded in a violent blast as it escaped to its rightful place. It returned home, before the throne of God where Michael and I were standing. Suddenly it dawned upon me that the God of Glory was going to clothe mankind once again with the glowing flame of his glory. Christ Jesus would form himself in them, the hope of Glory so that they might become partakers of his divine nature once again, like Adam in the secret garden of God. They would be clothed with Jesus Christ and with the power of the Holy Spirit.
They would have the refined golden treasure of His glowing glory dwelling in the earthen vessel of their human bodies. The Holy Spirit of God becoming their refiner and purifier as they continually were being filled with his consuming fire. Fresh blood began to ooze out of the Altar that stood before the throne of God in heaven where we angels were standing. The blood of Jesus had made its way through the earthly realm and into the invisible realm of heaven.