Compassed About Me

Priceless...

Two heavy timbers: 12 denarii
4 Iron Spikes: 1 denarii


The Victory Jesus won on the Cross: Priceless.

Prayer Optional?

This verse has been making the rounds lately as a 'prayer' for the President:

Psa 109:8  May his days be few!

    May another take his job!

Not only is this kind of thing un-American [there's an election every 4 years...exercise your right to vote and learn how to be mature when your side loses] but it is incredibly un-Christian.  To whit:

Mat 5:43 Love for Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor'52 and 'hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and53 pray for those who persecute you,
Mat 5:45 so that you may be like54 your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors55 do the same, don't they?
Mat 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don't they?
Mat 5:48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.56

Rom 13:1 Submission to Civil Government

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment,1 and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
Rom 13:2 So the person who resists such authority2 resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment
Rom 13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation,
Rom 13:4 for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.
Rom 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities3 but also because of your conscience.4

Rom 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities5 are God's servants devoted to governing.6

Rom 13:7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Believe me, I think my fellow citizens who voted for Obama made a colossal mistake, but the [mis]use of this verse could not be more antithetical to what Jesus teaches us.  

Chris

Overcome...

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son...to overcome it.

Chris

7 Words to Peace

I heard this at church this morning from Len Sweet:

Php 4:6  Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Php 4:7  And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds5 in Christ Jesus.

Anxious, nothing
Prayer, everything
Thanksgiving, anything

Peace

Repeat as necessary.

Chris

Dispensational Interpretive Problems...

This is something I posted on a message board recently concerning Dispensationalism:

I will apologize in advance for offending anyone. 

Here is a typical and I would say fairly common outline Dispensationalists say they adhere to.

Rule of Interpretation of the Scripture:

1 ) Take the Bible literally where it is at all possible; if symbolic, figurative, or typical language is used, then look for the literal truth it intends to convey.

2 ) Interpret what is implied by what is specifically taught in Scripture.

3 ) Interpret the Scriptures in it's historical context.

4 ) Check your findings by comparing it to Commentators of the Scriptures in the Old Testement Hebrew and New Testament Greek.

Not a bad list, really. It does lack any mention of interpreting Scripture by using Scripture, although point 2 does sort of allude to it. It also make no mention of the value of word study, i.e. looking up a word [the Greek word in the NT or the Hebrew word in the OT] and finding out EVERYWHERE it occurs in either testament as a means of finding out the range of the meaning of the word by seeing how it is used in various contexts. This is, to my mind, the single most important interpretive tool and should be used FIRST.

On a related note, I also see that there is no mention of CONTEXT at all. Here's how context is supposed to work:

A word is checked in the context of how it is used in the rest of a testament.

The meaning of a verse is determined by assembling words together.

The verse is then looked at in the context of the immediate passage.

The passage is looked at in the context of the immediate chapter.

The chapter is looked at in the context of the current book.

The book is looked at in the context of the Testament.

The Testament is looked at in terms of the Bible.

As you can see, by the time you get to the last phase, you have covered context very well, from both ends, and should have come to a conclusion that is correct.

Be that as it may, what is wrong with the Rules above?

Well, aside from the shortcomings I pointed out, not much.
The problem, as you might expect, is in the APPLICATION of the rules. Or should I say the MIS-Application?

Here are the problems:

1 ) Take the Bible literally where it is at all possible; if symbolic, figurative, or typical language is used, then look for the literal truth it intends to convey.

Dispy's NEVER pay attention to anything after the semicolon. It's LITERAL, LITERAL, LITERAL. Even in a book like Revelation, which is FULL of symbols and is in fact a series of VISIONS, this rule is rigidly followed. Everything in the book happens in order like reading the morning paper. There's no attention paid to genre [what kind of writing it is].

There's no wonder pretrib premillenialism is so convoluted and hard to reconcile.


2 ) Interpret what is implied by what is specifically taught in Scripture.

This one is more subtle, but every bit as dangerous. The most glaring example is the whole idea of the Millennial Kingdom. There is, quite simply, no NT warrant to conclude there is a Millennial kingdom. It's all out of the OT. In other words, while there may be a reason to conclude there will be a Millennial Kingdom in the OT there is NO MENTION of it at all in the NT. Jesus is asked about the end of the age, does He mention the MK? No. Paul talks about the rapture, twice , does he mention it? No. How about Luke, Peter, James, Jude? Not a peep. It is only by applying a wooden, literal interpretation of Rev 20:1-6 that Dispys have any leg to stand on. Of course, they don't see the parallel structure of Revelation in general or that of Rev 19 and 20 in particular. They also don't see that the first resurrection is a spiritual one, although it is clear that the same writer, John, talked about it clearly in His gospel. And don't get me started about their view of the Second Coming. You know, Jesus comes back and....

Doesn't save everyone.
Let's unsaved people inhabit His kingdom.
Doesn't completely defeat evil.
Lets Satan come back, rally the whole world against Him, so that He has to clean up a big mess AGAIN.

Like Jesus needs 2 tries to get things right.

3 resurrections, 2 Second Comings, 2 judgements and a partridge in a pear tree. Sorry, it's hard to hide my incredulousness.

3 ) Interpret the Scriptures in it's historical context.

This one's easy: They don't. The fact of the matter is, this letter was written to the CHURCHES BACK THEN! You wouldn't know that from any dispy interpretation. To them it's all about some relatively small group of people at the end of the age...who, according to them, aren't even going to be a part of the CHURCH.

My incredulosity increases by the minute.

4 ) Check your findings by comparing it to Commentators of the Scriptures in the Old Testement Hebrew and New Testament Greek.

Read that backwards for how it really works. Read the commentators, only dispy ones, and then justify them.

That one is rather obvious.

Well, that's enough for now. I feel a lot better now having gotten that off my chest.

Chris

Because...

Just because you don't understand it doesn't give you the right to question it because God never makes mistakes.

It's all about GRACE. God owes man nothing and if He chooses to bestow His Grace on man, then: how, when, where, and why: are completely at His discretion.


Rom 12:1 Consecration of the Believer's Life

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God2 — which is your reasonable service.


THEREFORE is a big word, isn't it? When Paul says 'therefore' he is really saying that all those things he just got through talking about are not just theological abstracts.

Not at all.

They are the basis for something practical.  But first...

I would say that Paul is not simply drawing a conclusion from 11:36 or 11:33-36 nor from chapter 11 but rather the first 11 chapters of the letter!

BECAUSE God has consigned all to disobedience to have mercy on all...

BECAUSE God grafts and cuts out branches from His Root as He has seen fit to do...

BECAUSE God has reserved for Himself a remnant...

BECAUSE God has not cast off the Jews...

BECAUSE everyone, even the stubborn Jews, who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved...

BECAUSE the Righteousness that comes from God is better than the righteousness the Jews [and man] seeks to make...

BECAUSE the Jews are responsible for their own situation...

BECAUSE in order to save the Gentiles God has made the Jews vessels of wrath and they therefore rejected Christ...

BECAUSE the Potter has the right to make objects as He sees fit...

BECAUSE Mose was chosen and Pharoah hardened...

BECAUSE Jacob was chosen over Esau...

BECAUSE Isaac was chosen over Ishmael...

BECAUSE being a part of True Israel is not conditioned on one's physical descent but of God's mercy

BECAUSE Paul is heartbroken over the Jews rejection of Christ...

BECAUSE Nothing can separate us from the Love of God...

BECAUSE those He predestines He calls and those He calls He justifies and those He justifies He glorifies...

BECAUSE we have hope through the life of the Spirit....

BECAUSE we are adopted Sons of God...

BECAUSE there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God2 — which is your reasonable service.


Well, I think you get the picture...I only went back to Romans 8, but the chain reaches all the way back to 1:1.

Chris

The Creator

God chose Jacob over Esau despite the fact that Esau should have gotten the blessing AND despite the fact that God didn't wait to see if Jacob was good enough to get the blessing nor did He wait to see if Esau deserved His condemnation. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

Why?

You'll see....


Rom 9:15 For he says to Moses: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."29

The idea is simple: God, as CREATOR, has the absolute right to do what He desires with His CREATION.

This is not to say that God would do something sinful, since He always acts in accord with His perfect character.

The situation is this: ALL men are sinners and deserving of Hell. It's as simple as that. IF God desires to extend mercy and grace to some then that is His perogative and we are in no position to question that.

Chris

Unfair?

Paul's gives these two examples to show His freedom in choosing whomever He wants for salvation.

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

Here is the plain answer to everyone who thinks it is 'unfair' of God to choose as He does.

God chose Abraham out of the mass of humanity to be the forerunner of His people. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

God chose Isaac over Ishmael to carry on Abraham's seed. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

God chose Jacob over Esau despite the fact that Esau should have gotten the blessing AND despite the fact that God didn't wait to see if Jacob was good enough to get the blessing nor did He wait to see if Esau deserved His condemnation. Was that unfair?

Absolutely not!

Why?

You'll see....

Chris

Two Examples Are Better Than One...

Just in case some might not get the point, Paul moves next to the birth of Jacob and Esau, in order to show that God does not choose whom to save simply by lineage, but by His will alone.

Rom 9:10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,22 our ancestor Isaac —
Rom 9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election23 would stand, not by works but by24 his calling)25 —
Rom 9:12 26 it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger,"27
Rom 9:13 just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."28

Although it is clear that God chose Isaac over Ishmael because only Isaac was the child of the PROMISE, Paul presents another case of God's choosing. Why does he do this?

Well, the short answer is: It's a good example, but the real answer: it answers the doubter's questions concerning Isaac. After all, while it is true that God chose Isaac, those who want to mitigate this truth can always cloud the issue by saying that, of COURSE God chose Isaac over Ishmael because Isaac is a LEGITIMATE son and Ishmael is not. Therefore, having only one TRUE son, there is really no choice to be made at all.

The example of Jacob and Esau takes care of this argument, being that they are twins, and also advances it another step when God chooses Jacob over Esau despite the fact that, according to the flesh, Esau should be the one receiving His blessing. One thing overlooked by many people here is that this blessing is, in and of itself, an example of God's sovereignty, since He is the one who decides, according to the example of Isaac, who is born and in what order. THIS fact alone shows that God chooses based on His foreknowledge and not based on anything good or bad found in a child or children. However, in order that it should be shown that God can bestow His mercy on ANYONE He chooses, without regard to their status in the FLESH, He chose Jacob. God therefore set the precedent that He is FREE to choose whomever He wants.

The only remaining question is: For What?

Some people believe this choice is just for temporal blessings, but this interpretation completely ignores the context established at the beginning of the chapter, where Paul speaks of the Israelites being accursed, cut off from Christ. This 'choosing' is a SALVATION issue, plain and simple.

Therefore, when Paul says of God, "Jacob I loved but Esau I hated" the meaning is clear. Jacob has been chosen for salvation, while Esau is not, based on nothing more than God's will.

God's will chose Isaac. God's will chose Jacob.

Paul's gives these two examples to show His freedom in choosing whomever He wants for salvation.

Chris

Children of Promise

It was ALWAYS this way

From the day God chose Abraham.

Rom 9:7 nor are all the children Abraham's true descendants; rather "through Isaac will your descendants be counted."16
Rom 9:8 This means17 it is not the children of the flesh18 who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.
Rom 9:9 For this is what the promise declared:19 "About a year from now 20 I will return and Sarah will have a son."21

Paul echoes Romans 7 here in speaking of the 'children of the flesh' and 'children of the promise', or, really, 'children of the Spirit'. That is to say, children born FROM ABOVE, as Jesus told Nicodemus.

This is what Isaac was, for his birth was supernatural in that both Abraham and Sarah were of a very advance age and could no longer NATURALLY conceive children. In fact, if you remember, Sarah LAUGHED when she heard the news! Abraham, of course, had faith in God:

Heb 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,12 he received the ability to procreate,13 because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.
Heb 11:12 So in fact children14 were fathered by one man — and this one as good as dead — like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand 15 on the seashore.16

...but here's the point:

God's promise to Abraham was not contingent upon Abraham doing a thing. In fact, God didn't even ask, did He? He simply stated that Isaac would be born.

Now, we all know what happened previously when Abraham tried to MAKE God's plan happen, don't we? He failed and only fathered a child of the flesh, Ishmael, who had no spiritual inheritance.

Therefore, this time, Abraham simply believed God and a year later the prophecy came to pass.

Isaac was born because of the will of God. Paul uses his birth as an illustration of divine sovereignty. Even when it appears there is no hope of a birth: God can and does choose to intervene and cause one to happen.

Just in case some might not get the point, Paul moves next to the birth of Jacob and Esau, in order to show that God does not choose whom to save simply by lineage, but by His will alone.

Chris

True Israel...

This is very serious, for if we even consider the 'righeousness of God', even for a moment, then we must conclude that unless there is a VERY GOOD reason God has abandoned His people, then we would be forced to conclude that He is not trustworthy and therefore a God not worth following.

Fortunately, Paul provides this VERY GOOD reason in the next verse:

Rom 9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,15

I'm tired tonight so I will just draw two conclusions from this verse:

First, there are TWO Israels...

One is Jewish and IN Christ

The other is Jewish and CUT OFF from Christ

Second... despite all of the talk of Israel being a CHOSEN PEOPLE...

It was ALWAYS this way

From the day God chose Abraham.

Chris

The Amplification of Justification...

The Amplification of Justification

The Amplification of Justification...this is the heading the NET Bible assigns to this passage.

I like it. 

But that's not the point I want to make. 

The question before us is simple but the answer can be elusive:

How is it that we are all sinners? 

Paul, very painstakingly, tells us why:

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people13 because14 all sinned —
Rom 5:13 for before the law was given,15 sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin16 when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type17 of the coming one) transgressed.18
Rom 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression.19 For if the many died through the transgression of the one man,20 how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!
Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned.21 For judgment, resulting from the one transgression,22 led to condemnation, but23 the gracious gift from the many failures24 led to justification.
Rom 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man,25 death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:18 Consequently,26 just as condemnation27 for all people28 came29 through one transgression,30 so too through the one righteous act31 came righteousness leading to life32 for all people.
Rom 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man33 many34 were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man35 many36 will be made righteous.
Rom 5:20 Now the law came in37 so that the transgression38 may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,
Rom 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul, here in one of the high points of his letter to the Romans, gives us the answer.

FIVE times.

To recap:

Sin entered the world through one man.
Many died through the transgressions of one man.
Judgment, resulting from one transgression, led to condemnation.
By the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one.
Condemnation for all people came through one transgression.
Through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners.

Seems pretty darn clear to me. I find Paul's clarity refreshing. 

Here, though, is the point:

By establishing the principle that sin to me by the one man, Paul establishes that RIGHTEOUSNESS can come to me by one man.

Praise God!

Chris

What About the Israelites?

To get some context for Romans 9 we must first look at this verse from Romans 1:

Rom 1:16 The Power of the Gospel

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.34

One of the main [unspoken] questions Paul is answering in Romans 9 is this:

Is Romans 1:16 true? Has the Gospel, God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, come to the Jews?

Obviously, it has come to the Gentiles, Paul is a witness to that. He is the Apostle who has been God's instrument in making that happen.

But what about the Jews?

Paul opens Romans 9 this way:

Rom 9:1 Israel's Rejection Considered

1 I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me2 in the Holy Spirit —
Rom 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.3
Rom 9:3 For I could wish4 that I myself were accursed — cut off from Christ — for the sake of my people,5 my fellow countrymen,6
Rom 9:4 who are Israelites...

I'm sure what Paul is saying is clear to most everyone, but let's go ahead and be clear:

Paul is IN Christ,

the Jews are accursed, cut off from Christ.

This bothers Paul to such an extent that he says he could wish that their places were reversed!

[As an aside, there was another man who felt this way, but unlike Paul, he didn't just wish it, he did something about it.

His name is Jesus.]

So, what Paul is saying is that, at least to an overwhelming extent, because he refers to them as a group, that the Gospel has NOT come to the Israelites and therefore it would appear the Gospel is powerless.

And one more thing, and it's big:

Romans 9:4 ...To them belong7 the adoption as sons,8 the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,9 and the promises. Rom 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs,10 and from them,11 by human descent,12 came the Christ,13 who is God over all, blessed forever!14 Amen.

God appears to have turned His back on His supposedly 'chosen people'!

God appears to have renounced His promises.

This is very serious, for if we even consider the 'righeousness of God', even for a moment, then we must conclude that unless there is a VERY GOOD reason God has abandoned His people, then we would be forced to conclude that He is not trustworthy and therefore a God not worth following.

Chris

Independence Day!

The Declaration of Independence

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

Preamble to the Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

I don't have anything to add to these words, other than to ask you:

Do you understand what they mean?  Really?  Are you INDEPENDENT?

If so, given the state of our nation today...

What are you going to do about it?

Chris

Of Aliens and Global Warming...

If you are someone, like me, who thinks the Global Warming Emperor has no clothes, then you will appreciate this article by Michael Crichton. 

I call it:  Here's What Happens When Scientists Do Politics.

Chris

Revelation: The Final Judgment...

As I suggested in the last post, there is a structure to Revelation that makes it possible to discern some order out of the apparent chaos. 

The following are passages from Revelation that are scenes at or just prior to the final judgment:

Rev 6:12  Then47 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge48 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair,49 and the full moon became blood red;50
Rev 6:13  and the stars in the sky51 fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping52 its unripe figs53 when shaken by a fierce54 wind.
Rev 6:14  The sky55 was split apart56 like a scroll being rolled up,57 and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Rev 6:15  Then58 the kings of the earth, the59 very important people, the generals,60 the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave61 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
Rev 6:16  They62 said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,63
Rev 6:17  because the great day of their64 wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?"65

The text plainly says that the day of the wrath of God and the Lamb has come. 

Rev 11:9  For three and a half days those from every24 people, tribe,25 nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.26
Rev 11:10  And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Rev 11:11  But27 after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized28 those who were watching them.
Rev 11:12  Then29 they30 heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: "Come up here!" So the two prophets31 went up to heaven in a cloud while32 their enemies stared at them.
Rev 11:13  Just then33 a major earthquake took place and a tenth of the city collapsed; seven thousand people34 were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14  The second woe has come and gone;35 the third is coming quickly.

Notice the earthquake scene is repeated, but just for Jerusalem.  The two witnesses will prophesy for 3 1/2 years and then will be killed.  Their return to heaven is indicative of the Rapture, which takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation.

Rev 14:18  Another53 angel, who was in charge of54 the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel55 who had the sharp sickle, "Use56 your sharp sickle and gather57 the clusters of grapes58 off the vine of the earth,59 because its grapes60 are now ripe."61
Rev 14:19  So62 the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard63 of the earth and tossed them into the great64 winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  Then65 the winepress was stomped66 outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses' bridles67 for a distance of almost two hundred miles.68

You will see the commonality of the description when we look at Rev 16 and 19 regarding the wine/winepress. 

Rev 16:16  Now51 the spirits52 gathered the kings and their armies53 to the place that is called Armageddon54 in Hebrew.
Rev 16:17  Finally55 the seventh angel56 poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: "It is done!"
Rev 16:18  Then57 there were flashes of lightning, roaring,58 and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake — an earthquake unequaled since humanity59 has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake.
Rev 16:19  The60 great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations61 collapsed.62 So63 Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup64 filled with the wine made of God's furious wrath.65
Rev 16:20  Every66 island fled away67 and no mountains could be found.68
Rev 16:21  And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds69 each, fell from heaven70 on people,71 but they72 blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it73 was so horrendous.74

The first, but not the last, mention of the battle of Armageddon.  Also, a repetition of the description of the earthquake that not only caused a tenth of the city to collapse but also now is revealed to have split it into 3 parts.  Also a mention of the wine again.

Rev 19:11  The Son of God Goes to War

    Then26 I saw heaven opened and here came27 a white horse! The28 one riding it was called "Faithful" and "True," and with justice29 he judges and goes to war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes are like a fiery30 flame and there are many diadem crowns31 on his head. He has32 a name written33 that no one knows except himself.
Rev 19:13  He is dressed in clothing dipped34 in blood, and he is called35 the Word of God.
Rev 19:14  The36 armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen,37 were following him on white horses.
Rev 19:15  From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations.38 He 39 will rule 40 them with an iron rod, 41 and he stomps the winepress42 of the furious43 wrath of God, the All-Powerful.44
Rev 19:16  He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: "King of kings and Lord of lords."
Rev 19:17  Then45 I saw one angel standing in46 the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky:47
    "Come, gather around for the great banquet48 of God,
Rev 19:18  to eat49 your fill50 of the flesh of kings,
    the flesh of generals,51
    the flesh of powerful people,
    the flesh of horses and those who ride them,
    and the flesh of all people, both free and slave,52
    and small and great!"
Rev 19:19  Then53 I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army.
Rev 19:20  Now54 the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf55 — signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.56
Rev 19:21  The57 others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged58 themselves with their flesh.

A repetition of the wine/ winepress/ God's wrath motif.  More detail about the  Battle of Armageddon, namely that Jesus leads His armies, and the fate of the Beast and False Prophet.

Rev 20:7  Satan's Final Defeat

    Now15 when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison
Rev 20:8  and will go out to deceive16 the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,17 to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.18
Rev 20:9  They19 went up20 on the broad plain of the earth21 and encircled22 the camp23 of the saints and the beloved city, but24 fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.25
Rev 20:10  And the devil who deceived26 them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur,27 where the beast and the false prophet are28 too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

Another brief description of the Battle of Armageddon and the fate of Satan, which occurs directly after the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Rev 20:11  The Great White Throne

    Then29 I saw a large30 white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven31 fled32 from his presence, and no place was found for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then33 books were opened, and another book was opened — the book of life.34 So35 the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.36
Rev 20:13  The37 sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death38 and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
Rev 20:14  Then39 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death — the lake of fire.
Rev 20:15  If40 anyone's name41 was not found written in the book of life, that person42 was thrown into the lake of fire.

A new vision of the FINAL Judgment of the wicked. 

cf Matt 25:46  And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Notice that in each successive vision, more details are introduced and the time the events move forward.  In other words, we go from the bare beginning of God and the Lamb's wrath in Rev 6, all the way to the end of the final judgment in Rev 20.

Chris

The Revelation of Jesus Christ...

I've been studying Revelation for some time now and figured that, hey, everyone else has their hat in the ring, so why not toss in my $.02. 

One viewpoint that gets very short shrift, for a variety of misconceptions, is Amillennialism. 

The short version:

There is no so-called 1000 year reign of Christ on earth that is markedly Jewish in character, with a mixture of Jew and Gentile, Resurrected and Non-Resurrected people all living together in perfect peace and harmony...

Until Satan gets one last crack at taking over the world....

No.  The 1000 years spoken of in Rev 20:1-6 is a SYMBOLIC [not a shocker since Revelation is symbol-laden] span of time that refers to the time between Jesus' ascension and His Parousia [LOVE that word!].

There will be an earthly kingdom, however....

It's called the New Heaven and the New Earth and in it ALL of the Old Testament prophecies that point towards and earthly kingdom are fulfilled then.  The most notable of these being the promise God made to Abraham concerning a parcel of land...

Yes, it all works, exegetically speaking, quite well.

The best part of this view is that it flows directly from the literary structure of Revelation. 

The premise is simple enough:  Every 3 chapters or so, there is an account of what looks and feels like the end of the world.  And, sure enough, that's exactly what it is!  And guess what, every time these accounts come up, it's not an account of a different event, it's the SAME event told from a slightly different viewpoint!  Therefore, we and conclude that the events that lead up to these scenes of finality must run alongside each other, in parallel.  I'll get into details later, but for now, here's a chart:

I don't usually do charts and graphs....

But this one is simple and it gets the point across.

It is from William Hendriksen's More Than Conquerors, if you would like to find a copy and read it.  I recommend it highly. 



I'm not goint to critique it for now, because it has some small problems, but let's just take a look at it.

First of all, don't let the relatively large spaces between the Second Coming, Final Judgment, and NH/NE fool you.  According to Amillennialism, these events happen one right after the other, maybe within days, it's kind of hard to tell.

So, the chart is easy enough to read, we see the 7 divisions of Revelation, laid out by which chapters are in which division, and we see that they more or less PARALLEL each other, each section ending just a little bit later than the one before. 

For now, that's really the main thing I want you to see.  Take a look at the chart, break out your Bible, and see for yourself.  As you look you'll probably notice two things:

1.  This chart make a LOT of sense.
2.  Everything doesn't exactly fit along the chapter divisions suggested. 


That's ok, they don't have to in order for this interpretational framework to make sense.

Happy reading, and more importantly, blessed learning!

Chris

E-Sword...

I really can't say enough good things about this software, or the man who wrote it.

First of all, it's GOOD.  Don't believe me?  Go the homepage and then click on the 'downloads' link at the top of the page.  There is a veritable treasure-house full of public domain Bibles and study tools.

But, to me, that's not the best part.  The best part is it's FREE. 

Well, no, that's not quite right. 

The best part is that it's free for the RIGHT REASON.  Just read the info on the homepage.

In a day and age when the Church has in so many ways become Church, INC., there are those people who still get it.

Rick Meyers is one of those people.

So, go to the page, download the program, and get ready to learn about God. 

And, oh yes, when you see the value of this program, send Rick a few bucks. 

Just because he's not asking for money doesn't mean he hasn't earned it.

Chris

At the 'Y'

Today was a GOOD day at the 'Y':

30 minutes

3.05 Miles! [A new personal best]

480 calories burned.

Chris

Memorial Day...

The poet Stephen Crane wrote this in 1899:

War is Kind

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky

And the affrighted steed ran on alone,

Do not weep.

War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,

Little souls who thirst for fight,

These men were born to drill and die.

The unexplained glory flies above them,

Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom --

A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.

Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,

Raged at his breast, gulped and died,

Do not weep.

War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,

Eagle with crest of red and gold,

These men were born to drill and die.

Point for them the virtue of slaughter,

Make plain to them the excellence of killing

And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button

On the bright splendid shroud of your son,

Do not weep.

War is kind.

I first read this poem in 2005, I think, and it's impression upon me has been lasting.  As I put myself into Crane's shoes, those battles that he witnessed in the latter part of the 19th century  where the utter disregard for men led to wasteful killing fields for no apparent purpose other than to satisfy the ruling class' lust for political power, I can see why he wrote War is Kind. 

Our country has seen it's share of wars and although as I consider them I think we, most of the time at least, went to war for noble purposes, it doesn't change the fact that, as Crane so aptly illustrates in the contrast between the visual imagery of the war machine versus its effects on the folks back home, war is very costly.  It is costly because it, by NECESSITY, dehumanizes the soldiers that participate in it, and it leaves in it's wake shattered families and communities. 

I think these truths leads me to two conclusions:

1.  That, knowing the cost, I think should be very careful in determining when to send our young men and women off to war, and

2.  That the fact that we HAVE HAD and still DO HAVE young men and women fighting wars, on our behalf by the way, brings me to a place of considering what they have fought and are fighting for and therefore coming to some conclusions about what that should mean to me and how that should affect my life.

To remember the fallen and the injured and to let that play a major role in shaping how I live as an American citizen, to honor them by honoring the things they fight for:

That is a REAL Memorial Day.

Chris