2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Manna . . what is it?
In chapter 16 of the book of Exodus the Israelites are working their way across the desert in their excape from Egyptian slavery:
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat" (Exodus 16:11-15)
In the original Hebrew of the Old Testament they asked, "מן", or "mon", a term they brought from Egypt. "What is it?" they literally asked. They didn't understand what the Manna was, but they were thankful that God had provided this "bread from heaven". Early each morning they would rise before the sun came up to gather the heavenly provision. A bowl of Manna was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a memorial to God's provision, along with Moses' tables of stone and Aaron's rod that had budded.
When the holy angel Gabriel is sent to Mary to explain her coming pregnancy he explains:
"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:30-35 KJV).
Did you see it? The angel called Jesus a holy "thing", as in "what is it?" Jesus was a man, but not just a man. He was a true homo sapien male, a son of Adam, made of a woman (Galatians 4:4), but had no human father. He was in his day, and still in some circles today called "the bastard son of a Roman soldier". You can imagine what his mother was called. It took God appearing in a dream to convince Joseph to marry her. This made Jesus' siblings half-siblings. His half-brothers did not believe in him until later (John 7:5). He called himself "son of man" frequently, not only identifying himself with the archetypal figure in Daniel 7:13 who is brought near the Ancient of Days (God the Father) and given global dominion, but as representative man, the second Adam, the heavenly, life-giving spirit that transforms the believer not only inwardly, but outwardly at His second coming. Jesus represented Adam in his death. As the First Adam grasped for the Ring of Power, Christ the Second Adam refuses it in laying his life down. And because he represents us, we died in his death . . and raise in his life! His death on the cross not only paid the due penalty for Adam's sin, reversing the curse for all who believe, but is the progenitor of a new race, a heavenly race of immortal, glorified sons of Adam (you and I) which will live eternally in paradise in the soon-coming kingdom given him by his Father.
The Jews insisted Jesus prove himself by performing a miracle. "What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee" What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat".
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:30-35).
Manna. What is it? I don't really know. It's bread from heaven man, it tastes really good and keeps you alive!
"Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up (literally "stand him up") at the last day" ( John 6:49-54).
Manna. What is it? It's wonderful man.
