From John 12:1, we learn that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover. Bethany was the home village of a very infamous family whom Jesus had befriended. It was the home of Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and Simon the Leper. Little is known of the other village mentioned by Matthew, Mark, and
Luke as being on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, Bethany was situated on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives about two miles from Jerusalem. It seems that Jesus arrived in Bethany late on the day we call Friday and spent the Sabbath in the home of His friends. During the week now about to begin, Jesus spent the nights in Bethany. Jesus entry into Jerusalem is recorded by all four gospels, but only Matthew, Mark, and Luke give details of His preparation for this fantastic event. Jesus reached Bethany six days before the Passover. He had an appointment with God!!
On Sunday, as is generally understood, He made His so called triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Monday He cleansed the temple; on Tuesday His call came, the hour had come!!. John 12:23 This was the week of weeks, the week man was going to kill his God! It was also the week of the greatest story that would ever be told. 2 Corinthians 4:7 The same week pictured in Revelation 16:16-21, “when men gathered together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.” Armageddon in Hebrew is composed of two words; har which means a mountain or hill and mcgiddow (spelled migiddio), to gnash with mob violence. It was the day man in mob violence rose up against his God!! This mountain was first introduced to us as Mt. Moriah, where Abraham was going to offer Isaac whom God refused, showing us the picture of Christ as a ram caught in a thicket (wearing a crown of thorns). Genesis 22: 13
Chapter 12 of Revelation tells of the battle fought at the birth of Jesus. This was not His earthly birth, This was the birth that gave Him life from the dead. He became the firstborn from the dead, Colossians 1:18, from this birth Christ is caught up to God and to His throne to rule all nations with the rod of iron. Revelation 12:5 Paul relates “that the resurrection of Christ was the time Christ was begotten of God” and confirms it with a prophecy from David. Acts 13:27 Christ could now enter Hades and take away the keys of hell and death from Satan, bind Satan (the strong man, Matthew 12:29) so He could take those who were His (called captivity captive, Ephesians 4:4) and give “gifts to men” (baptize the apostles in the Holy Spirit-Acts 1:4-8). He had to complete the victory against Satan, destroy his power over death (Hebrews 2:14) so His statement to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “the gates of hell shall not prevail (separate) against it (the Church of Christ)” would be factual!! Christ bruised the head of the devil, He did not destroy him, what He destroyed was the power of death Satan had held because man had sinned and no sacrifice had ever been offered that would allow God to overlook sin, just roll it ahead. Satan was cast out to the earth in this war “going about seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 When Christ hanged upon the cross, He became our “antihistemi”-stand-in. “The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell upon Me.” Romans 15:3, Psalms 69:9. The greatest of all days had come, “the day of The Lord” Acts 2:20 THIS is/was the “day that the Lord had made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The conquest of this day gave Christ the greatest power in heaven and on earth, it secured the greatest salvation, and brought to our planet the commander of the ARMY of the great Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, that began the invasion of the Church of Christ!! With the Holy Spirit came the Church of Christ, readily identifiable by their number (Revelation 7:4), their names written on their foreheads (according to the promise given to the Church of Christ at Philadelphia (Revelation 3:12), and the accompaniment of harpers playing their harps (praying their prayers, Revelation 5:8-9) We do not need to be told the meaning of the new song, for we have heard it twice before, once sung by the heavenly angels to celebrate the victory of the Lamb, and once sung by the conquerors themselves in the proleptic vision in which they appeared with the palms of victory that could-not yet to be sung.Revelation 7:9 The song, no man could learn except the redeemed. (We will study more on this, later,)
During His ministry Jesus avoided Jerusalem, now He “set His face toward Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51 It was time for Him to die!! He had come to purchase the “pearl of great price.” Matthew 13:46
