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The Victorius Proclamation and the Triumphal Procession followed our Lord's Resurrection

Since we are in the Easter Season that started with the vernal equinox on March 20 that was followed by the new moon on March 26, for the past several weeks we have been studying the Jewish Calendar and Holy Days that are Regulated by the Moon and Stars that are used to determine the time of our Lord's crucifixion, burial, and his resurrection that we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday that is aka Easter.



We have seen that the Spring Feasts that relate to the First Advent of TLJC are:



Passover (Pesach): Nisan 14, This year is on Wednesday (April 8, 2009) (the crucifixion of TLJC)



Unleavened Bread: Nisan 15. This year is on Thursday (April 9, 2009)



First Fruits: Nisan 18. This year is on Sunday (April 12, 2009) (the celebration of the resurrection of TLJC)



Pentecost (Shabuoth): Sivan 6, This year on Sunday (May 31, 2009) (The Holy Spirit was sent, beginning the Church age)



Picking up where we left off last time where we left off last time where we were discussing the Roman triumphal procession was lead by the triumphant general from the Field of Mars to the Gate of Triumph where he was met by the Senators and magistrates of the city who welcomed him in the name of SPQR or, the Senate and the People of Rome.



As the Procession moved through the Gate of Triumph it was led by the Senators, magistrates, and counsels followed by bands who played martial music. The streets of Rome, decorated with garlands and banners, were lined with people shouting, Io Triumphe!: Hail, God of Triumph! Then followed a long train of carriages on which were displayed various works of art captured from the enemy's museums and cultural centers.



Behind these came wagons carrying the plunder of victory and cages that displayed the animals of the region just conquered. A flute band came next followed by a herd of white bulls which were to be sacrificed to the gods of the Pantheon and behind them the priests armed with their sacrificial knives.



Next came the captured leaders of the enemy's government and army. In 46 b.c., Julius Caesar defeated Gallic Chief Vercingetorix of the Arverni in the Battle of Alesia in Celtic Gaul. Following his return to Rome Caesar exhibited Vercingetorix in his Triumphal Procession along with his family and those who served under him.



Behind the captured leaders came displays of enemy arms, captured standards, weapons, statues, and, finally, the enemy's POWs bound in chains.

The lectors of the general came next in single file and then the general himself. He stood erect in his chariot holding in his left hand a golden and ivory scepter crested with an eagle. This was called in the Latin a "sceptrum". In his right hand the general carried a laurel wreath. He wore a purple toga embroidered with gold.



Standing behind him on the chariot was one of his slaves who held above his head a crown, or corona, inlaid with jewels. As the people cheered the slave was constantly repeating into the general's ear the phrase, sic transit gloria mundi, the glory of this world passes away.



Following the general's chariot was his family, his staff, senior officers, and the soldiers just decorated. Bringing up the rear was the infantry who sang songs as they marched in order.



On reaching the Capitoline Temple the general bowed to the statue of Jupiter, he touched its knee with the sceptre, gave a prayer of thanksgiving for the victory, and then laid the laurel wreath on the statue's lap. A certain number of the POWs were then sacrificed to Jupiter. The rest of the captured enemy, from the leader on down to the lowliest private, were taken to the Mamertine Dungeon and brutally slaughtered.



The Triumphal Procession took at least day and sometimes went on for a couple of days. At its conclusion there was a public banquet that lasted for six to eight hours. During this banquet the general was given a House of Triumph in whose entryway was placed his statue. He was given a large sum of money and a lifetime pension.



Elements of the Roman Triumphal Procession are used as illustrations in several New Testament passages including the one we are about to note where we see the Lord's ascension illustrated by the Triumphal Procession. The context also reveals the Lord's descent into Hades to visit pre-resurrection saints and a certain group of angelic prisoners.



Eph 4:8; begins with an inferential conjunction:" dio" This refers to something that is self-evident or obvious. It can be translated "for this reason," or "therefore."



Next comes the third person singular, present active indicative of the verb "lego" that means "to communicate"; the third person refers to a quote about to be stated from the Old Testament.



"Therefore, it (the Old Testament) says, … (the Gnomic present tense expresses a state or condition that perpetually exists and is a universal truth from the Old Testament, a quote from Psa 68:18.



The passage was written by David and is one of the 16 Messianic Psalms. In this one David presents the Messiah in a Triumphal Procession following the defeat of his enemies.



All the Psalms were originally set to music, this one apparently was composed for a Triumphal Procession. It includes prayers in verses 1-3 and verses 28-31, praise in verses 4-6, 19-20, and 32-35, thanksgiving in verses 7-10 and verses 15-18, and oracles in verses 11-14 and 21-23.



Its theme is the march of Messiah to victory from the establishment of His kingdom in the past and looks forward to the defeat of all opposition in the future.



Verse 18 depicts the Messiah as having successfully defeated His enemies, making them His captives, and receiving tribute from the conquered nation.



The Conquering Messiah chooses Jerusalem for the establishment of His eternal headquarters.



This is the verse that is quoted by Paul in Eph 4:8; Psa 68:18; You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts because of men.



The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to alter the quote for the New Testament. David was not aware of the Church Age and there were things that occurred as a result the ascension and session of Messiah that were not revealed to Old Testament writers.



In Paul's version the final reference is to the conveyance of spiritual gifts. The first sentence is quoted in its original context because it makes reference to the Lord's Triumphal Procession into heaven followed by the souls and human spirits of those who had been detained in Paradise.



"Ascension" is the translation of the aorist active participle of the verb " anabaino":



he constantive aorist indicates a momentary action; the ascension occurred in a matter of seconds.



The active voice indicates that TLJC produces the action of the ascension when He ascended" v. 8 Therefore, it says, "When He ascended into heaven"



The ascension is a doctrine of Christology that refers to the transfer of our Lord's true humanity from time into eternity in his resurrection body.



The duration of the ascension would be measured in human terms as probably a few seconds. Upon his arrival in heaven the Lord was instantly glorified when the ascended Shekinah Glory was seated at the right hand of the throne of God



This end result is called the session, and refers to the glorification of our Lord at the right hand of the Father. Deity does not sit. Thus, the session relates only to the resurrected humanity of Jesus.



Following the resurrection, the Lord remained on earth for forty days before the ascension during which we are able to learn a number of the characteristics of the resurrection body.



The resurrected body of Christ was able to move through the stone wall of Joseph's tomb. The stone was removed from the tomb's opening not to let Christ out but to reveal to those outside that He was gone.



When He joined the apostles at the Upper Room he did not open the door, he just walked through it.



John 20:19; - When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."



The ascension demonstrated the resurrection body's capability for vertical movement plus the capacity for unlimited speed.



The sequence of events that took place over a 44-day period beginning with the physical death of our Lord and ending with His session at the right hand of the Father.



His human spirit was dismissed to the Father (Luke 23:46);



His soul was transferred to the Paradise compartment of Hades (Luke 23:43);



His body was buried in Joseph's tomb (Luke 23:53)



An earthquake tombs were opened in and around Jerusalem Matt 27:51-52);



He organized the ascension of Old Testament saints in Paradise (Eph 4:8-10);



His trichotomous separation lasted for three days and three nights (Matt 12:38-40; and Jonah 1:17); after which



His human spirit was returned to His body by the omnipotence of the Father Rom 6:4; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1Thes 1:10; 1Pet 1:21)



His soul was returned to His body by the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit (Rom1:4;Rom 8:11; 1Pet 3:18;



He was raised from the dead in resurrection body on First Fruits Matt 28:1, Matt 28:5-6);



those whose corpses were in the opened tombs were resuscitated and they spoke about the upcoming transfer of their souls and spirits from Paradise to heaven (Matt 27:53);



He delivered a victorious proclamation to the demons in Tartarus (1Pet 3:19; 2Pet 2:4;);



The Lord appeared in a series of ten post-resurrection Christophanies during the next 40 days:



Mary Magdalene (John 2:11-18),

the other women (Matt 28:9-10),

two disciples on Emmaus road (Luke 24:13-32),

Peter (Luke 24:33-35),

the apostles minus Thomas (John 20:19-23)

the apostles including Thomas (John 20:26-31),

seven disciples (John 21:1-25),

the apostles plus 500 (Matthew 28:16-20),

His half-brother, James (1Cor 15:7), and

the apostles at the ascension (Acts 1:3-9);



He ascended from the Mount of Olives taking the souls and human spirits from Paradise into heaven in a Triumphal Procession (Acts 1:9; Eph 4:8-10); and



He was seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb 12:2).



The historical account of the ascension is recorded in:

Acts 1:9; Jesus was lifted up before the apostles' very eyes, and a cloud hid Him out of their sight.

Acts 1:10; And as they were gazing intently up in the sky as He was departing, behold two angels in white apparel stood beside them;

v. 11 and they said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."



In verse 11 we find the aorist passive participle of the verb: "analambano" "to take up"



The culminate aorist tense connotes the attainment of the end of a process and describes the ascension as a completed act.



the Passive voice shows that Jesus Christ receives the action of the verb, the ascension occurrs by means of divine omnipotence.



The Participle states that he: "has been taken up from you into heaven."



This is very instructive because from it we learn that the Lord's ascension into heaven was complete by the time the angel spoke to the apostles. The eleven were standing staring up into the sky and the Lord, along with all the Old Testament saints, was already in heaven.



This is the background for the statement in Ephesians 4:8.



Our modified expanded translation as far as we have gone is:

Eph 4:8; - Therefore, it says, "When Jesus ascended into heaven …" The Lord produces some action at the ascension.



It is described by what comes next in the verse, the aorist active indicative of the verb: "aichmaloteuo" that literally means a" Prisoner of war; The word came to mean, "to lead captive."



Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. 1. Page 195 states the following:



In both the Old and New Testaments the "prisoner of war" is a person who stands in special need of God's help having been swallowed up by a terrible enemy.



The thought of imprisonment in war is carried over into the inner moral and religious struggle of man. Paul shows a partiality for military images and applies it in different ways to express the subjection of spirits to Christ (Eph.4:8).



The reason these Old Testament believers were detained in the Paradise compartment of Hades was because they were once held captive by their OSN. During physical life they believed in the saving work of the coming Messiah but because their sins would not actually be judged in Messiah until the Incarnation, they could not be transferred to heaven at their physical death.



Consequently, they were in a sense held captive until after the judgment of the cross. Once their sins were judged in Christ then the righteousness of God that was imputed to them as a result of their faith qualified them to be moved from Paradise to heaven at the ascension of the Lord.



Thus, these saints were made captive by God in Paradise because their sins could not be forgiven until they were judged. Nevertheless, their faith in Christ preserved their souls in Paradise until the events on the cross became an historical reality.



Eph 4:8; Therefore, it says, "When Jesus ascended into heaven He led captives (aorist active indicative of: "aichmaloteuo") in a Triumphal Procession"



The Constantive aorist: views the action in its entirety but with no reference to its beginning, end, or progress. It is simply states the fact that at the ascension of Christ, Old Testament saints that were held captive also ascended along with Him in a Triumphal Procession into heaven.



The active voice indicates that Jesus Christ produces the action at the ascension.

The Declarative indicative mood shows that this is a statement of historical and biblical fact.



There is a passage of Scripture that enables us to see that this transfer occurred as described in Acts 1:9.



Matt 27:50; Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and yielded up His human spirit.

v. 51 - And behold the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks were split,



The torn veil mentioned here is the huge curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple. It was made of fine twisted linen. It was one piece and had no seams and 30 feet wide, 30 feet high, and 18 inches thick. This piece of material was torn from top to bottom, an act that no man could have accomplished.



The Holy of Holies is a type for the throne room of God in heaven.



The High Priest was only allowed to enter this once a year on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, he was allowed to go beyond the veil twice with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, once for himself and once for the people of Israel.



With this single exception anyone who went behind this veil was immediately struck dead on the spot.



According to the writer of Hebrews, this veil was a type for the body of Christ:



Heb 10:19; Therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus (spiritual death on the cross when He was judged for our sins),

v. 20 - by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.



The typology of the veil and antitype of our Lord's body is explained in Unger's Bible Dictionary on Page 1066:



The veil was a type of Christ's human body. Accordingly, it was supernaturally torn in two when Christ died granting instant access to God to everyone who approaches on the ground of faith in him. The unobstructed way to God was now open.



An interesting dichotomy regarding the veil is pointed out in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. 3. Page 630:



In Heb 10:20; this veil through which Christ has passed, and through which we pass with Him, is identified with His flesh. The difficult symbolism of this passage suggests that the earthly existence of Jesus has a twofold sense.



On the one hand, His flesh is the veil between the holy of holies and the congregation, but on the other it is the only possible way into the holy of holies.



This is obviously what the Lord referred to when He addressed Thomas in the Upper Room in John 14:6; Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through Me."



Because the veil was torn and the way to heaven is now open to all through faith, then the saints in Paradise are now free to enter into the heavenly Holy of Holies as a part of the Lord's Triumphal Procession.



Matt 27:52; And the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

v. 53 - and coming out of their tombs after the resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.



These "saints who had fallen asleep" were among those whose souls and human spirits resided in Paradise. Following the resurrection of the Lord, these selected individuals were resuscitated and took the message of their transfer to the people of Jerusalem.



These individuals were handpicked by Jesus Christ during the three days in Paradise. He informed them they would be briefly resuscitated following His resurrection. The Lord then instructed them to use the time between the resurrection and the ascension to inform those in Jerusalem about the transfer of souls from Paradise to heaven and that following the ascension those who believe in Him will have instant access to heaven when they died physically.



These believers were to function in much the same way that Lazarus did before Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. The news that Lazarus had been resuscitated resulted in many Jews being saved:



John 12:10; The chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also;

v. 11 - because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus.



There will also be a duel resuscitation in the future that will result in many in Jerusalem, and around the world, being saved. The ministry of Moses and Elijah at the midpoint of the Tribulation is described in:



Rev 11:3; "I (Jesus Christ) will grant authority to My two witnesses and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (3½ years)."

v. 7 - And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss (Apollyon) will make war with them and overcome them and kill them.



In each of these three cases the "rising up" is resuscitation, not resurrection.



After the ministry of each was completed, the individuals again died physically. Their bodies returned to the grave while their souls and human spirits departed.



In the case of Lazarus, he eventually died and his soul and human spirit went to heaven.



In the case of those who were resuscitated following the resurrection of Jesus, they, too, eventually died and their souls and human spirits followed the Lord into heaven at the ascension.



In the case of Moses and Elijah, following their murder by Apollyon, their souls and human spirits returned to heaven from which they had come.



When resuscitation occurs the grave has to be opened in order for the human body to exit.



John 11:38; Jesus therefore, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb (of Lazarus). Now it was a cave and a stone was lying against it.

v. 39 - Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."



Martha is a believer and she understands the resurrection of all believers. But she did not understand that the Lord intended to resuscitate Lazarus as she and Mary had requested.



Note that the rationale for her unbelief was that Lazarus had been dead for four days and because of this she assumed that if the grave was opened it would stink because of his decomposition.



John 11:40; Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

v. 43 - And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."

v. 44 - He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go."



In all three examples of resuscitations, the result was the evangelization of many Jews.



John 11:45; Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what Jesus had done, believed in Him.



Matt 27:54; Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"



Rev 11:3; "I (Jesus Christ) will grant authority to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (3½ years)."



In the case of a resurrection, it is not necessary to open the grave. Jesus walked through the stone wall of Joseph's tomb. But in the case of resuscitation, the tomb must be opened to allow the revived individual to exit in his normal human body.



From these passages we have been able to determine that the "captives" in Ephesians 4 were held in Paradise until the ascension of Jesus Christ.



At the ascension these captives are said to have been led out from a state of captivity, that is described by the cognate accusative direct object from the Greek noun: "aichmalosia" that means "a state of captivity"



Paul, in his use of the metaphor of a Triumphal Procession, presents the verbal picture of Old Testament saints following the ascending Lord into the third heaven.



Eph 4:8 - He (Jesus Christ, after His resurrection and during His ascension) led a host of captives (Old Testament saints who died prior to the resurrection) in a Triumphal Procession from a state of captivity (the Paradise compartment of Hades). And He gave spiritual gifts to men.



No believer's soul and human spirit could reside in heaven until the sins of the world were judged in Christ.



Before this judgment became an historical reality the souls and human spirits of Old Testament saints had to reside in a place outside of heaven.



Using the computer analogy of the Divine Decree that we have previously used, their sins were placed in the PROM chip of the computer of divine decrees awaiting their judgment in time.



At the cross these sins were imputed to Jesus Christ and judged.



During the Old Testament dispensations, the souls of all believers were saved but their sins could not be forgiven because they had not been judged yet.



Once their sins were judged on the cross then their previous faith in Messiah was applied to their sins, now judged, and their sins were then forgiven.

Once forgiven, these believers qualified to go to heaven.

This transfer occurred in simultaneously with the ascension of Jesus Christ as described in our passages in Acts 1:9 when compared with Eph 4:8.



Following the Lord's resurrection, He also kept another appointment in Hades.



In his resurrection body, He entered into the compartment of Tartarus in order to provide an historical update on the angelic conflict, proclaim His strategic victory on the cross, and issue a victorious proclamation to the imprisoned demons.



This occurred following His resurrection sometime during the early morning hours of Nisan 18, a.d. 29.



2Pet 2:4; For if God did not spare the Bene ha Elohim when they procreated with human women during the antediluvian civilization, and he did not, but sequestered them in Tartarus and chained them by means of darkness, by which they are kept under detention for judgment.



These angels were unaware of all that has transpired since their detention began prior to the universal flood of Genesis 6. The Lord, in order to be fair to these angels, will go down to Tartarus and issue to them a proclamation that details the events that transpired following their detention, details His ultimate victory on the cross, and informs them of how their efforts to prevent His arrival into human history failed.



The passage that informs us that this proclamation takes place is found in 1Peter 3:18-22; where we have the details of His victory over sin by means of His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross.



1Peter 3:18; Because Christ also died once for our sins, the righteous One as a substitute for the unrighteous ones " huper"plus the genitive plural of advantage from "adikos", that He might bring us to God having been put to death in the flesh but made alive by the agency of the Holy Spirit.



It is important to remember that our sins were imputed to our Lord's body. Deity cannot sin. It was His humanity that had to be demonstrated impeccable. It was His body that was offered as the target for the imputation of the sins of the human race.



This is why Satan's entire kosmic strategy was designed to keep the "Seed of the woman" from ever appearing "in the flesh."



We learn that in the trichotomous reunion of the Lord's soul and human spirit with His resurrection body, the Holy Spirit was the agent responsible for the transfer of the Lord's soul from Hades to the tomb.



Following the resurrection, the Holy Spirit accompanied the Lord in hypostatic union on a visit back to Hades and to the Tartarus compartment in particular:



1Pet 3:19; By means of the Holy Spirit, He [ Jesus Christ ] went and made a proclamation to the spirits [ Bene ha Elohim ] in prison [ Tartarus ],

v. 20 who [ the Bene ha Elohim ] once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah [ the final 120 years of the antediluvian civilization ], during the time the Ark was being constructed in which a few, that is, eight souls were brought to safety through water.



The Ark is a type for Jesus Christ who delivers believers of the Church Age who are "in Him." The souls of Noah and his family were "saved" or "delivered" by means of the Ark. The souls of believers are saved or delivered by the "body of Christ."



This is the doctrine of the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" which places us into "union with Jesus Christ." At salvation we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into our Lord's spiritual death, physical death, and burial which breaks the power of the sinful nature in our lives. This category of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is called "retroactive positional truth."



At the same time believers are identified with Christ in his resurrection, ascension, and session. This places them in union with Him and because of this all believers share all His attributes including eternal life which guarantees their eternal security. This aspect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is called "current positional truth."



Since we are "in Christ" we have divine protection, divine assurance, and divine provision throughout time and eternity. The baptism of the Holy Spirit places us into union with Christ who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.



Positional Truth is how God sets the believer into a position to receive the resources necessary to live the spiritual life while they are witnesses for TLJC in the enemy territory of Satan's kosmos while simultaneously not being part of it.


 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 4/15/2009