Nwsltr-041110-The Sixth Hour
by the Watchman
Dana G Smith
Words: 2032
Keywords: sixth hour, crucifixion, Jesus Christ, Yeshua, Son of God, light, darkness, Satan, evil

‘Amidst the hour of Darkness, A great light has shined. A light into the hearts of men amidst the darkness of the age and rebellion of men’ Yea, the Sixth hour is come, but it will be full of God’s light and power! For he is LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS!

Accounts of the Crucifixion:
Mark 15:33 Matthew 27:44 Luke 23:44 John19:25

Mark 15:33  ¶And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35  And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
36  And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39  And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
40  There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

The Sun was darkened on that day! From those who witnessed this, it was a sudden darkness that enveloped the whole of the land. Indeed, Luke writes that the ‘sun was darkened’ in chapter 23 and verse 45. Amos also prophesies of a day like this, when he says pointedly “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day-Amos 8:9″.

This leads off a startling array of events. The veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom as the earth shook and did quake, with rocks breaking and tearing away from the earth. In the midst of this, graves opened up. Here we have to take note that indeed ‘the bodies of those who slept arose and came out of the graves’, but says Matthew this occurred ‘after his resurrection and these saints went into the holy city and appeared unto many’!

It is in these last hours on earth, hung between heaven and hell that Christ the Passover Lamb, being crucified was making a new and better way through the ‘blood of the covenant’. He was crucified in the third hour or 9 am. On the Sixth hour or 12 O’clock, the darkness appeared. Sometime after the ninth hour or three PM, he died.  Matthew Henry takes note here of an important prophecy from Daniel. He writes “It was at that time of the day, that the angel Gabriel delivered to Daniel that glorious prediction of the Messiah, Dan. 9:26″. [Matthew Henry commentary].

Daniel 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

It is in these dark hours that every demon in hell was rejoicing along with the religious Jews who wanted him to be put to death. In this, the scripture says “he came unto his own, and his own received him not-John 1:11″.

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

When all his enemies were ecstatic over his predicament, what they did not know was it had been all prophesied. He had not lost, but had won! He fulfilled the ‘law and the prophets’ and through this he made a way for all men to come to the Father through his sacrifice. At the time when the greed of men, sin of men, hatred of men, and lusts of men were under the grip of Satan and his demonic hordes, Christ died for all men that they would be free. When all became darkened, when all seemed to be lost, when there was no hope, then at last, a final sigh, with the words, “it is finished.” Hanging there, limply, on the cross, he was dead. The final party was just getting going. This was his going away party held by the demonic hordes in Satan’s honor, for they now knew he had lost and was dead, or so they thought. Little would they of known his resurrection would be forthcoming on ‘first fruits’.

At a time when the religious masters in Israel along with the gentile Roman guards were happy it was over with, the power of what had just occurred escaped them all. The power of the cross, the strength of deliverance in his blood that was shed.  As we see this scene let us notice that the supernatural occurrences we mention before that followed his crucifixion made an impression on the Gentile Roman Captain and his guards who were standing by the cross where Jesus had died.

Scripture records the centurion watching Jesus, seeing the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying “Truly this was the Son of God.”  Mark records it saying “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Luke, however records t his “certainly this was a righteous man.” Why did Luke say this instead of the ‘Son of God’?  Both Matthew and Mark record the centurion saying this was the “Son of God.”  Luke says “this was a righteous man” because the ‘Paschal Lamb’, had to be a perfect, unblemished, sacrificed. In short, Luke was testifying in the Spirit of God to all who reads this that the one who died on the cross that day was the ‘sinless, blameless, unblemished, perfect, righteous Lamb of God.’ Here we see that he was both God and Man, but also he was the “Passover lamb”, that had to be a perfect and blemish free sacrifice.  Only with this would the ‘blood of the lamb’ be accepted in this sacrifice.

It is here we see that this sacrifice of the Son of God touched the heart of the Gentile Centurion. While the hardened Jewish hearts did not receive the ‘Paschal Lamb sacrifice’, the Gentile’s did indeed see he was the ‘Son of God’. It was here, at this point the gospel began reaching out to Gentiles in all nations from the “love of the Father and the Son”. It is here the “times of the Gentiles” begin in earnest. A time when the grafting in of the Gentiles into the branch of Israel and being blessed with the ‘blessing’s of Abraham’ by faith while on the other hand the natural branches were blinded and rejected the very gift the Father had offered to the world in the death of his Son on the Cross.

It is in this Sixth hour that we see the gift of God given in fullest measure by the pouring out of blood. It is in this Sixth hour we see that before life can begin, death must occur. It is in the Sixth hour we see that in what appears as defeat, we find ultimate victory. It is in the Sixth hour we find untold darkness. In this darkness, we find life and light in the ‘Passover lamb’. It is in the Sixth hour that we understand what Christ meant when he said, “if you love your life you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake and the gospels you will find it.” That is what Christ did for the Father, he lost his life so that that the world of sinners may find theirs.  In the Sixth hour we see the rejoicing of darkness, the spread of evil, and the death of all men. It is this Sixth hour that relates to what is coming upon the world. A time of penetrating darkness is upon the earth and will get worse. The evil hordes of Satan are gathering for their time to deceive the nations. It is an evil time, a time when they will mock our God, our Savior, and seek to kill all who follow him. But in the midst of this darkness, when evil thinks they will have free total uninhibited rule, they are wrong!

For as in the Sixth hour where we find the Son of God on the cross, in this Sixth hour coming, the Son of God is now ‘coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He is in charge, amidst the darkness of the Sixth hour, Gods light will shine through and along with it, his hand of miracles signs and wonders. The sixth hour precludes the time of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to the Father. The Sixth hour that is coming will introduce the coming of the Son of David, the Son of Joseph, the Son of God, to take the Throne of David. It precludes the light of Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. It is also the time when God will fully, finally, and completely bring his people into unity, power, and fellowship with Him.

The Sixth hour both at the time of the ‘Passover lamb’ on the cross and that time approaching when darkness will be upon the earth is a time of ultimate rebellion against God and his Son Jesus Christ. It is a time when evil seems to triumph and darkness spreads. Darkness here is the opposite to the truth of Light found in Gods word. The whole of the earth will experience this Sixth hour, a time when God is putting forth his hand to bring his plan of redemption to a final conclusion. It is a time when Satan and hell, demon and evil doer alike think they have won, but in fact, it is not known to them until the very end, that they have LOST! Finally, completely, and forever, the hour of darkness will be removed along with all those who love darkness. It is then that this scripture in its context found in John 3:16-21 will be fulfilled in its entirety.

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Matt 27:54  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God

Mark 15:39  And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Luke 23:47  Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.