Whereas "Good Friday" is a day for which it is especially needful to be particularly mindful of the extraordinary agony of the Cross, the kingdom principle of "seedtime and harvest" insists that even for the Cross that "Those who sow in tears, SHALL REAP IN JOY" - PSALM 126:5. With little more than only one week having passed since the deep sadness of Good Friday, the "entire fullness" that is the Cross insists that it is also necessary to apprehend that, on the other hand, "Resurrection Sunday" represents the even fuller joy of "new life", which is the astonishing joy of "new birth" that every mother and father can eagerly attest to (resurrection life). Together, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday form "a complete work" by a complete God.

     With this in mind, whilst "Good Friday" is a day that strikes a painfully rueful cord in many a soul integrally bound to a sound conscience, "Resurrection Sunday" reminds the hearts of man that more than representing DEATH, the icon of the Cross represents the promise of LIFE so much more than it does that of death. For the duality of the kingdom principle applies that unless a seed first "falls to the ground and perishes", it won't subsequently "produce the newness of life" (JOHN 12:24). Which is similarly emblematic of the two-sided duality of the two blocks of wood intimately woven together as one Cross. As such, whilst "death" is strongly associated with "the tragedy" of the Cross, the Cross is ultimately more a "victory salute" to a "celebration of life" than it is a prevailing picture of death. And not just any life, but a resoundingly abundant life at that. "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" - JOHN 10:10. Hence why the Cross as an icon stands empty, without Christ still nailed to it. For just as for us all now too through Christ, He is no longer nailed to side of the Cross that is death, but He is forever liberated through the resounding victory of life over death, of light over darkness.

     Those depictions of the Cross that show an image of Jesus still hanging on the Cross speak of an incomplete story. In fact, in the way of kingdom physics, it is upon "exiting" one door that we then "enter" through another door. For whenever God closes one door, He always opens another. And the Cross is likewise no different. By first closing the door on "the TOMB", the Cross then subsequently opens the door to "the WOMB", being that place of abundance where one is wholly and intimately connected to the umbilical of all that is life, so that instead of death, we may have life, and just as for a child in the womb, we may have that life in abundance. In this way, the "life" aspect of the Cross completely supersedes and overshadows its representation of "death", and without minimising the death aspect in any way at all, or the huge cost of it, this effectively makes the Cross poignantly much more about life than it is about death. Through overcoming "the sting in the tail" of this life, a complete God lovingly produces a complete work in man so that he may once again be thoroughly complete through life "in abundance" (eternal life).

     Having said that, it is commonly recorded "by historians" that all but one of the original twelve disciples were martyred in this life. And the pressing question that looms out of this knowledge is that if "martyrdom" was the order of the day for the original disciples, it strikes one as curious as to how all the disciples managed to remain "safe" from physical death (albeit not from dying to themselves) whilst they remained under the personal tutorship of the Son of man, but yet upon the subsequent ascension of the Son of God into heaven, how they were suddenly then all but one martyred? The first point being why none of the disciples were martyred "prior" to His death and resurrection? And one view is that it is almost as if Jesus has to be first since He is in all things "our living example". And the second point being that of why were they all consistently martyred?

     Whilst it is "historians" who all seem to account for the extensive martyrdom of the apostles, barring that of John, who was needless to say, still subject to a full-blown attempt at martyrdom by being placed in boiling oil and somehow surviving - a miracle that in no doubt occurred to ensure he was able to pen the astonishing book of Revelation - if one includes Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and James the son of Zebedee, who was executed by Herod about 44 AD, the "New Testament" only tells of such a fate for two of the apostles. In ACTS 12:2, it tells us specifically that Herod Agrippa had James, the brother of John, summarily executed.

     So the question remains still one of why then were they all martyred? What is the common denominator? One clue resides within the specifics of their common calling. Whilst all who live and walk in "the way and the truth and the life" of the love of Jesus are called "disciples", what is it that sets these original twelve "disciples" apart from the rest of us as fully commissioned disciples of the twin mandates of love? Firstly, whilst they are all disciples, they are also all referred to as "the apostles". An apostle is "a messenger and ambassador. Someone who champions a critical reform movement, belief or cause". A disciple, on the other hand, is "a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or any other wise person. Someone who accepts and helps in spreading the teachings of another", being in this case, Jesus Christ. An apostle is "sent to deliver or spread those teachings to others. The word "apostle" has two meanings, the larger meaning of "a messenger" and the narrow meaning to denote "the twelve people directly linked to Jesus Christ"". From this, we can say that all of the apostles were disciples, but all disciples are similarly not apostles. While a disciple is a student, one who learns from a teacher, an apostle is sent to deliver those teachings to others. Jesus chose twelve "disciples". And this inner community of men came to be known as the twelve "apostles" who were entrusted with the commission to spread the message of Jesus throughout the world (critical mass) so that eventually there would be "many disciples" (desired result).

     So, to fine tune the question once more, could it be more to do with them being "apostles" rather than them being "disciples" that they all then somehow ended up being martyred? And if so, why would those who, as apostles, "are sent" to spread the good news all also happen to be subject to an end state of martyrdom? Is it possible that it was instead due to the "possibly perilous conditions" of the locations they were sent to as messengers of the Good News, rather than because of the common denominator that they were "all sent"? On this point, historians once more conclude that the apostles all carved out "unique mission fields" for taking the message of salvation to them. In other words, they did not all convene in "the same perilous location". Instead, they went "far and wide" as heralds of the message of the risen Christ. Which, as the foundational pillars for the kingdom of God being preached in all the world, was deliberate by God's design, and essential for MATTHEW 24:14 to ultimately be fulfilled "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." In order for the good news message to spread to every corner of the world, it was vital that the necessary foundations to the Cornerstone of God's household be thus set in stone. "Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens of the saints and members of God's household, BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION Of THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, WITH CHRIST JESUS HIMSELF AS THE CORNERSTONE" - EPHESIANS 2:19-20.

     So then, if it was not their "discipleship", and it was not their "mission field location", or their "apostleship", what else could the reason for their martyrdom be? When it comes to the "function and form" of the role of "apostle" bestowed upon the first disciples, "form and function" are two extremely important building blocks. Function relates to the "verb" class of the role, whilst form relates to the "noun" class of the role. According to the original Greek meaning of the term, "apostle" means one who has been "sent forth". That is the "form". And their "function" is to be "messengers". By process of elimination, since we already know that it is not due to them being sent (form), we arrive finally at "their message" (function) being the common denominator behind their being martyred. And specifically, whilst the good news message embraces the three things of "His life, His death and His resurrection", being that complete work by a complete God, what ultimately led to their being martyred was "the message" aspect of Resurrection Sunday. It was the "offence" of this final piece of the three-way complete work that stirred popular offence. It is the offence of the Resurrection. It was their preaching of a Jesus "resurrected" that offended the Jewish nation. This is what ultimately lead to the apostles being martyred. And the obvious question is why? Because by robbing "the life" that comes from resurrection power from the complete work of "the way, the truth and the life", the way and the truth alone become an incomplete work. But not only does the work become incomplete, in robbing "the life", what else is ultimately robbed is also "the hope and the future" that both JEREMIAH 29:11 and JOHN 3:16 make specific provision for. And in robbing one of a hope and a future (critical mass), the very substance of that which is hoped for, being faith, is likewise also stolen (desired result).

     Effectively, the Jewish communities were not as offended by the "two blocks" of wood as they were by the "empty tomb". They were not offended by "Good Friday" as much as they were by "Resurrection Sunday". In fact, they were "delighted" in Good Friday, for they were the lynch mob that pushed for Good Friday in the first place as a way to once again smooth the now disturbed waters that the feet of Jesus had walked out on the Sea of Galilee of every Sadducee belief structure. The largest stumbling block was, in fact, "a tomb that became a womb", represented by a boulder, a boulder being rolled away from standing in the way of believing upon and preaching the "resurrection of the Christ." For if we look to the precise pre-requisites of ROMANS 10:9, it says, "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, you will be saved."

     Which comes to man's own persecution when spreading the good news message. This is also the reason why we are persecuted for the Good News. For we preach "the whole" of the good news of Jesus, not just parts, being the good news that Jesus came to give us life and to give it more abundantly, which is the often forgotten piece of the narrative of "the ascension." He came to give us life by first rolling away the bolder to the tomb (resurrection - come alive to the Holy Spirit) and to give it to us more abundantly (ascension - to come into the Presence of God), which represents man's return to his right of passage to "the Garden of Eden" Presence of God once more (womb). Which is why Jesus said, "I am "the resurrection" AND "the life". Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live’” - JOHN 11:25. The Rise of One man entirely reverses the effects of the Fall by one man. The work of the Cross is to defeat EVERY by-product of sin entering the world, which includes producing the rise of man back to the place from which he once fell, which is into the face-to-face "presence" of the Father, where we may all once again freely walk and talk in the "abundance" of uninterrupted right relationship that His constant presence brings.

     The "offence of the Resurrection" is why even now, two thousand years later, that same offence has grown to encompass every radical religious and militant non-believer who targets "the infidels" for brutal martyrdom who believe upon the name above all names of Jesus. And it speaks to the groundswell of persecution by our communities and our schools and our workplaces and often those closest to us with words of derision and scorn and persecution. For the enemy prowls like a lion seeking to kill, steal and destroy the substance of that which is hoped for! For the twin treasure of Resurrection Sunday is why David said "Do not cast me from your presence OR take your Holy Spirit from me." - PSALM 51:11. "The Presence" is the "abundant life" and "the Holy Spirit" is "the life" where our spirit come alive to the Spirit of God and to the conscience of God. But of this persecution, God tells us through the duality of the story in ACTS 28:3, which begins with Paul first being bitten by a poisonous viper in the hand (where "the hand" specifically represents that part by which we carry out the love mandate of "community with man"), that we are to not receive the poison of the viper of persecution and snubbing (death), but instead, just like Paul two verses later (another duality) in ACTS 28:5, we are to simply shake the snake off into the fire of the love of MATTHEW 22:37-39, and suffer no ill effects (life).

     If one were to stop and ponder for just a moment the scriptural reference of the verse of PSALM "51:11", it is not by coincidence that "5" represents the covering of God's grace. And nor is it a coincidence that the ensuing "1:11" represents the answer to Jesus' petition unto the Father "that all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." - JOHN 17:21. For it is by God's grace alone that man may, firstly, be one with the Father just as Jesus is one with the Father (communion with the Father), and that man may, secondly, be one with his neighbour (community with man). Which, at their very heart, speaks to the prevailing principle of "connection". Just as Jesus was "connected" to the Cross, the Cross "connects" us to both God (vertical) and to our neighbour (horizontal), hence two blocks of wood, one vertical (God), one horizontal (man). Which is the very essence of MATTHEW 6:33. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (connection with God), and all these things shall be added unto you (connection with man)." Where the "6:33" represents the "6" for "man", and for the number of "imperfection in man's work", subsequently being made complete by the "33" being the complete work of the "life, death and resurrection" by a complete God, the "Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." Which also speaks to the counterfeit of the "Beast, the False Prophet and the Antichrist" and the associated "mark of the beast", 666. 666 is the counterfeit of 6:33, where 6 is man NOT being made complete by an incomplete work (6) by an incomplete man (6) who is not God (beast, false prophet and antichrist).

     When it comes to the complete work of the Cross by a complete God, which is "Good Friday" paired and balanced with "Resurrection Sunday", it is then that we come to understand that they co-exist as two sides of the same coin: "Tails", you lose (the "sting of death"); "Heads", you win (the joy of resurrection life). But for those who reject the knowledge of "Resurrection Sunday", they reject the side of the coin of "Heads, you win." Instead, they find themselves presenting "the ferryman" with "the incomplete" legal tender of a coin that now has two sides being both "tails". Expecting that with that fake coin that the ferryman will be able to ferry them from the "land of exile" across the chasm of the river Jordan to the "Promised Land", they instead, find that the valueless coin ensures that the ferryman cannot carry out a complete work, but instead, has no other choice but to leave such as those on the bank of the river where they may recline in their own leisure to look over to the other side of the Promised Land for as long as their hearts may so desire, much like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in LUKE 16. "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you A GREAT CHASM "has been fixed", so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us" (the river Jordan) - LUKE 16:19-26.

     For those who do not believe upon the complete work of the Cross, being both the death (Good Friday) AND the life (Resurrection Sunday), the first judgement of life or death of sin on the Cross, being one of "tails, you lose", is followed by the second judgment on the other side of the coin (of "tails, you lose" again). The second judgment of the second "sting in the tail of death" is that of unbelievers who will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (REVELATION 20:11-15). This judgment does not determine salvation, for the first judgment deals with this, being that part of the judgment that pertains to "communion with the Father" (MATTHEW 22:37). Everyone at the Great White Throne is an unbeliever who has rejected Christ in life and as such is, therefore, already doomed to the exile of the lake of fire. Of this second judgment, REVELATION 20:12 says that unbelievers will be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to THEIR WORKS.” In other words, the second judgment pertains to "community with man" (MATTHEW 22:39). For those who have rejected Christ as Lord (community with man) and Saviour (communion with the Father) will be judged based on their works alone, and because the Bible tells us that “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (GALATIANS 2:16), they will be condemned. Our works determine our seedtime and harvest productivity when it comes to the "community of man". But unless that "community unto man" is first preceded by "communion with the Father", so that we can first fill our love tanks with legitimate love (seedtime), and then pour our love tank in "community with man" (harvest), God considers the righteousness of all these works as "filthy rags" (ISAIAH 64:6). For in bypassing "communion with the Father", we have bypassed and cut corners with first step of the love mandate, which is to first fill our love tank through communion with the Father before we then pour out that live tank through community with man. And as such, by bypassing God, our works are instead birthed out of our own flesh as opposed to out of the Spirit. As such, we pass the cup we offer unto our neighbour from the wellspring of our own endeavour instead, a wellspring that is not cleaved to the vine, and as a currency, it remains illegitimate. The flesh produces dead works (separated from the river of life). The Spirit produces good works (fruit), being the produce of the Tree of Life. Dead works are produced by flesh. Fruit are not produced by anything of the flesh. The principle of fruit bearing is the principle of life. Fruit cannot be made. It grows. And it grows only if we first spend time in communion with the vine.

     And for those who fail in any way to love their neighbour as themselves, their plight becomes like that of the rich man and Lazarus. For the heart of God encourages us to simply "give to those who ask" (MATTHEW 5:42). In this mandate of love, the LORD's motive is that we ensure that those who are in need are not only loved in the manner becoming of MATTHEW 22:39, but that in our giving, we also keep alive both "their hope and their future" (JEREMIAH 29:11), because in our giving, they begin to believe that God "has a plan for them, a plan to prosper them". For when we don't give to those who ask, we slowly kill their hope and their future, for they eventually begin to believe that God DOESN'T have a plan for them, a plan to PROSPER them. So regardless of the inclination of some to use "discernment" to assess whether the person is a junkie, or an alcoholic, regardless of how people may "wrap their need", their need remains a need nonetheless. And God simply says, give to those who ask. He doesn't say give to those who ask as long as they are not substance abusers or substance dependent. He wants to break that dependence, which is nothing but a thinly veiled disguise for dulling the dependence on an unfulfilled love of one's neighbour. Only when we look with the eyes of the new heart and the new spirit He gives us through EZEKIEL 36:26, will we see passed "the wrapping" to the need with the eyes of the Fathers heart. And only then will those dependent on substance abuse to shield the pain of not being able to hope in and trust love, then begin to also see the Father's heart where love never fails (1 CORINTHIANS 13:8).

     On the other hand, for believers of the complete work of the Cross, the first judgment of life or death for sin on the Cross is paid for in full by Christ, and the second judgement "of heads, you win" is where believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (ROMANS 14:10-12). This second judgment is not a determination of life and death, but is the occasion set aside for the weighing of the scales of the good works of those whose lives where purchased at the ransom of the life of Christ (1 TIMOTHY 2:6). This will determine the storehouse that is the inheritance that the riches believers have stored up in heaven through their service of love unto the "community of man".

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen" - 1 TIMOTHY 1:17.

God's richest blessings, Wayne Biehn