Introduction: Just as first impressions are lasting ones, so too are last words most impressionable. Timothy understood this when his father in the faith, apostle Paul wrote his last letter to him (2 TIMOTHY).
These are among the last words that our LORD would speak with His disciples prior to the Cross and His death. Yet unlike Paul, the apostles didn’t hear the last from Him! As the saying goes, “You just can’t keep a good man down!” Only in this case, we’re talking about the ONLY Good Man ever to be born (MATT 19:17)!
At this point in the chapter, the apostles are baffled by the LORD’s statement, “One of you will betray Me.” That must have really rocked their world! Imagine how they all must have looked at one another, completely mystified! I can picture Judas however, averting any eye contact with the others…
JOHN 13:23-27
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."
The seating arrangement for dining in those days was according to Greek culture that the Romans adopted. Tables were horseshoe-shaped with ninety degree angles at each corner. Couches would be set along the outside edge so that people would recline as they ate their food. This is why John could lay his head on our LORD’s chest because he was laying on the next couch over.
Peter was probably laying on a couch across the way and called out to John to make this inquiry, and the youngest of the apostles did. The LORD didn’t answer with a name, He simply passed a piece of sopped bread to Judas Iscariot. So, the only people in the know would be John and any who might have caught was the LORD said to him (in my mind, I see the LORD whispering this in the youngest of apostles’ ear – my opinion).
Judas received the bread, ate it, and it was then that this conniver was literally possessed by Satan – not one of his fallen angels or demons, but he himself entered Judas. This leader of the Kingdom of darkness, this fallen cherub may have thought, “If you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself!”
It would seem then that people can be possessed by fallen angels or by demons. Some ask, what’s the difference; aren’t those just synonyms? There are many that believe so, and maybe they’re right. Going on this rabbit trail now…
I think that demons are those creatures who fervently seek embodiment in human beings. We don’t see angels (by name) of the fallen sort possessing people other than this specific instance with Satan. So, if demons aren’t fallen angels, then what are they?Was Judas a hapless victim of prophecy? Was it the fact that he was labeled “the son of perdition” because he had no choice but to betray Jesus due to the Word of GOD that said he would?
I believe that demons (“unclean spirits” – unclean in the Levitical sense, exhibiting something impure, something foul of a physical nature) are the spirits of the giants of GENESIS 6, and others as depicted in the Old Testament. After their bodies (half angelic/half human) perished, I believe their spirits endured on the Earth and have in a sense, become Satan’s foot soldiers in his spiritual armies of darkness as laid out in EPHESIANS 6.
While this is speculative, I think it bears significant merit and deserves consideration. For more on this, check out Dr. Chuck Missler’s treatment in the following short video. For more in-depth treatment of this bizarre subject, here is a list of several videos you can select from for your consideration.
Many object to the idea of angels (“ministering spirits” HEB 1:7,14) being able to reproduce with humans and will cite the passage:
MATTHEW 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels of God in heaven.
“…they neither marry nor are given in marriage…” refers to humanity in the resurrection. But pay close attention to what’s being said here.
The LORD is saying that humans in the resurrection won’t marry just as angels don’t marry – each other. Angels seen everywhere in Scripture are always in the masculine. There are no female angels, otherwise there could be some little, chubby baby angels flying around in heaven like we see in Renaissance art!
But we know angels can take on corporeal form; two angels came down with Christ (in a Christophany) and were fed by Abraham (GEN 18). Those same two angels met with Abraham’s nephew Lot, and the men of Sodom didn’t see some wispy, ghostly spirits floating around town. They were seen as men – men that they wanted to pervert by having sexual intercourse with them!
Humans can procreate with humans (up to the point of the resurrection); angels can’t procreate with angels. And there is no record of some female angel procreating with human males. But “the daughters of Adam” were taken by “the sons of God” [bene ha Elohim, a term used in the Old Testament used exclusively for angelic spirits] “…they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose”.
As far as the nitty-gritty details of “angelic sperm” being able to fertilize a human female’s egg – that is admittedly a perplexity. Yet though I can’t understand the dynamics of such a bizarre procreative act, the Scriptures seem to indicate that this is what actually happened.
The resulting hybrid were these “nephilim” from the Hebrew word nephal or “fallen ones”. Moving on then…
What is often misunderstood is that GOD’s foreknowledge (that enables His predictive ability) somehow means He sets in stone what will transpire. However, prediction is not causative but simply correlates with predetermination. GOD simply knows the future; He knows our personal life: past, present and future (PSALM 139:1-4), just as He is completely familiar with every decision, every practice, every path that Judas Iscariot chose, and Peter as well for that matter (He predicted Peter would deny Him, not once or twice but three times!). While Peter flatly denied it, we know what happened (MATT 26:34-35, 74-75). But GOD didn’t force Peter to deny Him, He simply knew in advance what the apostle would decide to do.
2 TIMOTHY 1:8
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, [that is, eternity]
ROMANS 8:28-30
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
EPHESIANS 1:3-6
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
When did the LORD call and predestine you? At the beginning: before creation ever happened. On what basis? His foreknowledge – He knew ahead of time what choice we would make in time. Outside of time (being eternal) He made His choice; within the confines of time, we made ours.
GOD only exploited that which He knew in advance for His own purpose, using Judas as the means to deliver His Son to crucifixion. Judas is just as responsible for his own actions as any of us who have no prophecies written about us.
I’ve often used this example to help explain this whole business about predestination and free will:
Let’s say you’re watching a live football game; you observe all the players in each quarter, witness every touchdown and interception, etc. And you discover who makes the winning touchdown.
The next day you invite a friend over to watch the same game (obviously recorded) and you make a bet with them, “predicting” who would make the winning touchdown. They agree with the bet and by the end of the game, you’ve won some cash.
Because you knew in advance what each player would do, did your knowledge influence the actions of the two teams? No, those team members had free will to do exactly what they themselves chose to do – but you knew what they would do in advance of the recorded game and used that knowledge for your own purposes.
JOHN 13:28-30
28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy those things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. 30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
The fact that no one suspected Judas of any foul play says to me that this man played his part so well that he didn’t arouse any suspicion (and here’s a thought: Had Judas Iscariot not been able to function in the Spirit as the other apostles did, that would have been a dead giveaway as to who the betrayer would be! Instead, each of them was questioning themselves, “LORD, is it I?”). This does NOT suggest that because the Holy Spirit came upon Judas that he was saved, but having the office of an apostle, by grace the Spirit may well have used Judas as He did all of the others.
The Holy Spirit inspired John to take note that “And it was night.” I don’t think he was only speaking of nighttime – but the fact that the powers of darkness were in full operation, just as the LORD had indicated (LUKE 22:52-53). Darkness in the spiritual sense means disorder and deception and both were at their apex in the next couple of days.
We know that Satan understands the Scriptures frontwards and backwards, including all of the Messianic prophecies, and how He would die, and why. And yet Satan orchestrated this entire affair, using Judas as his instrument.
Was he blinded by GOD, and not permitted to discern that the crucifixion of Christ was a GOD-ordained plan? Or was he hoping to make the fear and trepidation of the impending torture (most especially the separation from the Father!) so terrifying that He would back out of the mission?
There is no way we can appreciate what it means for a complete and total separation of Christ, GOD the Son, from GOD the Father – how could this triune Being even know separation? I can’t pretend or presume to even touch this subject to any appreciable degree, but I will say this much:
For all of eternity GOD was in complete and perfect harmony and unity in the Three Persons of the Trinity. The sublime, transcendent love and joy they’ve expressed in all the fulness of their beings is quite literally unimaginable.
Then in the pocket of time, culminating the six hours of excruciation on the Cross, Christ called out – “My GOD, My GOD, why have You forsaken Me?” This was the first time Christ ever referred to the Father, not as “Father” but as “GOD”. Why is that? He couldn’t refer to Him as Father at this point, because as our sin-bearing substitute He had no right to do so.
Having all the sins of the world laid upon Him, the Father could not have any connection to the Son. Jesus, the Christ, the sinless LAMB of GOD Who came to die for the sins of the world at this point on the Cross was utterly alone, severed from fellowship with the Father because of sin (ISA 59:2; ROM 6:23a) – more alone and lonely in His insurmountable sufferings than any human being could imagine. But this is what the LORD was facing while in the Garden of Gethsemane:
In His humanity, this part of the temptation was the most fierce, and it seems that He came right to the edge of it:
MATTHEW 26:39
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me…
[and who knows how long a time passed between the former statement, and what followed after? Mere seconds, minutes, an hour? However, our salvation was assured with the one word “nevertheless”…]
nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."
This petition is the only prayer that the LORD prayed that the Father did NOT answer, and the reason being is there is no other way for our salvation to be obtained. It was this way through Christ, or no way:
JOHN 14:6No so-called holy man, no religion or ritual, no willing sacrifice of animal or man could bring us salvation; no morality or system of works is enough. In order for a race that’s corrupted through and through with a sin nature to be accepted by GOD, they would have to be made holy, just as GOD is holy. There can be no distinction between His and ours: a flawless, perfect, pure holiness free of any trace of defilement in thought, word and deed.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If one were to obey the Commandments of GOD perfectly in thought and deed, every day and night and in every moment without fail, then we would be acceptable to GOD – that would be “another way” other than through Christ.
That “other way” is more impossible for people with a sin nature to obey than for a cat to fly, a bird to purr, a dog to meow and a fish to growl. Each acts according to its nature, and so do sinful human beings.
What we need is a new nature of holiness, procured from someone who already has holiness, but they would also have to accept the total debt of humanity’s sin upon themselves – who would agree to such a trade off??
That would be the LORD Jesus Christ! Check out ISAIAH 53, the greatest of Messianic prophecies concerning our redemption! Hundreds of years before crucifixion was known as a punitive action, it was described by David – along with so many facts of Calvary – as if from an eyewitness point of view in PSALM 23.
JOHN 13:31-33
31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself and glorify Him immediately. 33 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.
Judas Iscariot has now left the Upper Room – now the LORD is among His true disciples and He opens up with more revelation.
The LORD speaks of His upcoming “glorification”, that is, giving great reverence, honor, exaltation in worship, and this is EXACTLY what we will witness when GOD’s saints are gathered all together in heaven, and our LORD JESUS is seated on the Throne of GOD, receiving all glory and honor!
REVELATION 5:9Think of the enormous mercies and grace demonstrated in the following verses:
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
JOHN 3:16-17"If God is glorified in Him…” The glory of the Father is revealed in that He willingly offered up His only Begotten Son for the sins of the world (JOHN 3:16).
16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
ROMANS 5:6-8
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
“…God will also glorify Him [Christ Jesus] in Himself…” The glory of the Son is revealed in that He willingly became the sacrificial LAMB of GOD for all of our sins (ROM 5:6)!
JOHN 13:34-35
34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
This commandment is new in the sense that the LORD raised the bar on the quality of love we are to render one to another: “…as I have loved you…”. It’s implicitly as impossible for us to love one another as Jesus loves us, as it is for anyone of us to enter into heaven based on our own morality and merit. We need Jesus for both!
As the Spirit of GOD dwells in us, and we yield to Him, allowing Him to etch the character of Christ into our minds (ROM 12:1-2), and we die to self (our selfish desires, goals, and sinful attitudes) we can truly love as Christ loves.
Paul is the quintessential example of this in the singular statement: he was willing (If it was even possible) to give up his own salvation if it meant the salvation of his Jewish brethren!
ROMANS 9:1-3It's not our theological integrity, our doctrinal accuracy, our zeal in ministry, but simply this Christ-quality of love that the world will know that we belong to GOD.
1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh…”
Even the calloused, jaded pagan Romans remarked about the church: “Behold, how these Christians love one another…”
This is in contrast to the knock-down, drag-out inroads turmoil and strife we see among Christians who will quarrel over doctrinal fine points – discussion on correct doctrine is indeed important, but not at the expense of verbal hostilities, accusations, and sacrificing the witness of loving one another – our brethren, our neighbors, strangers, and even our enemies.
JOHN 13:36-38
36 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." 37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake." 38 Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
Note the earnestness of Peter, the fervency in his words, “Why can’t I follow You NOW?” The apostle was one hundred percent sincere, I believe when he said that he would lay his life down for his LORD. Yet, he only had his own human love, human resolve, human determination to back that claim.
As you and I both know, sadly, tragically, it wasn’t enough. The LORD knew what was in Peter, just as He knows what’s in the hearts of all humanity:
JOHN 2:23-25Nevertheless, even in this devastating failure on the part of Peter, post-resurrection, the LORD lovingly, gently restores Peter to ministry, commissioning him to firstly “…feed my lambs…” and then to “…feed my sheep” (JOHN 21:15-17).
23Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
LUKE 22:54-62When Peter realized what he had said, and he heard the rooster crow, I’m pretty sure he must have felt a chill go up his spine. Then when the LORD turned, and looked at Peter – what sort of look did He give the apostle?
54 Having arrested Him [Christ], they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him." 57 But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him." 58 And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" 59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean." 60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Did He roll His eyes and shake His head, or snort with disgust and disappointment, or did He have a “I told you so” expression on His face? I think it was a look of sadness and compassion, which must have cut deeper than any other expression Christ could have given him.
The LORD wasn’t at all surprised, but Peter was utterly astonished at his own words and weakness, and must have thought, “I’m done! That’s it for me! No going back from this one!” Yet the LORD restored Him, as He restores any of us who make such a terrible blunder and find our lives, our ministry, our witness destroyed (and there is the smug expression of Satan as he brushes his hands together, walking away and murmuring, “Job done!”).
The LORD is a RESTORER for us, He is YHWH-Rapha, the GOD Who heals!
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