Epilogue

Esther 10:

1. And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea

2. And all the acts his power and his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced (made him great – margin) him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

3. For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of all his seed

Mordecai is now the preeminent Jew, reigning in the Media and Persia vast kingdom. The bible describes him as great besides the king Ahasuerus or Xerxes. In fact, the king’s kingdom thrives more because of the wisdom and judgement of Mordecai. There is no repetition of the law that compelled all men to bow for him as in the case of Haman the son of Hammadaatha.

This is quite prophetic. It speaks of the the future before the final ending of history. First, there’ll be the resurrection of the dead or what is called the first resurrection, which is the returning to life of the dead. And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgement was given to them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God…. and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).

The transformation has a process to it. Resurrection is in two part. There’s resurrection to glory and there’s resurrection to condemnation. The two don’t happen at the same time. First to take place is the metamorphosis of the saints of God dead or alive. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…(1Thessalonians 4:16-17). Thereafter, the resurrected ones will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead will not yet be resurrected while this event is going on. Behold I show a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). This is the same process as the first fruit, the Lord Jesus Christ, the first to rise from the dead: the dead believers and those alive will also experience resurrection, a metamorphosis that has done away with corruptible (‘decayable’) body. If this happened to the Lord Jesus who’s is the firstfruit, it must surely happen to the believers in Him. The firstfruit is already in and therefore the other fruits are coming. Of this resurrection, the bible says, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But everyman in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then come the end when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:22-24). The resurrected and transformed believers resurrect to rule and reign with him. Then thereafter, the second resurrection which is of those that don’t participate in the first. It’s called actually the second death. The gist is that a Mordecai this time called Jesus Christ who’s our kinsman-redeemer will return with His children and reign in the kingdom given to Him by His Father.

The trumpet is already sounding! This trumpet sounding is the revelation messages pointing the believers and all to the Lord Jesus Christ as all in all of Life. After the cessation of this blowing – messages – then the coming and the parousia.

Of course, there’ll be the feast given by the Lamb, that is Jesus Christ. The book of Esther is a book speaking so much of feasts. The object of the feast is Christ Himself. You see, we’ll just begin to – and this is our feasting-  know Him more. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off (the land of far distances – margin). You see, when you think you have known all that is to be known of the Lord or you’ve reached the end of your knowledge of the Land, you suddenly discover that there is more of His beauty to pursue and feast upon; there’s an endless wonder of land to conquer. The beauty is endless; the savourable feast has no end – all through eternity! This is an awesome revelation to ponder upon; this a vast hope, the pleasant endlessness that cannot yet be contemplated by any mortal!

 

We come to the last chapter of the book today. Yet, much remained unsaid and many topics and doctrines are not touched. Well, we shall see what the Lord will have us do next.

We did attempt to copy much of the biblical texts so that the reader may follow without the distraction of reading in some other books. We think it’ll be more convenient for the reader to read the passages and the meditations together. God’s grace continue be yours. Thanks so much for following to the end.

Thank you Lord