So which abominations were Daniel or Jesus speaking about regarding the end of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? I don't know of any specific raising of a false idol in the actual holy place of the temple by the Romans. There is an assertion that the Romans set up one of their banners with the Roman eagle, but I don't know where or when. If it was in the temple area, that would have to have taken place after the Romans entered and took over the temple area. That would have been too late to act as a warning.
Some abominable things did occur in the area of the temple, but more often they were committed by the Jews themselves, for they held the temple mount like a last-stand fortress. Specifically, based on Josephus' Histories, the Zealots who seemed to desire death more than anything at this point in Israel's history, held the City after taking it from those who had been in charge before the final end of the City. They were not just fighting the Romans; they were killing mercilessly their own people. Why? They weren't zealous enough. Everything was needed for "the cause."
Was the abomination causing desolation the murder of their fellow Israelites? Was it their shedding of blood in the temple? Or was it the greatest sin of history? The unjust execution of the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel? Matthew 23:34-5.
In His scourging rebuke of the Pharisees and scribes just before giving the prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus' focus was upon Himself.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Matthew 23:27-39.
That seems unfair - to punish them for the sins of others who killed prophets before these scribes and Pharisees even existed. It only makes sense in a covenantal way - they're the heirs of those killers - and if Christ sums up all those prophets from the past. Notice the emphasis - Christ and their rejection of Him is the key to their receipt of the greatest judgment of history. And their reception of Him would be their blessing. The rejection of Christ was the greatest sin of history; therefore, they deserved the greatest judgment of history - "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:21.
It's only fair if Jesus Christ sums up all that has come before - all the prophets, all the law, all the grace and promises, all the revelation of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If He does sum up it all and even surpasses them all, then to reject Him is to reject all of God's word; it's to reject all His goodness and truth. It is to commit the greatest sin in history.
By Jesus' time, Jerusalem was the "holy city," and the temple alone was not the only "holy place." During the siege by the Romans, there were abominations occurring in the City of Jerusalem without a doubt. And, of course, the kangaroo trial of Jesus Christ and His crucifixion were abominations.
Luke's recitation of the message is a little different.
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:20-24.
So instead of looking for an abomination in the holy place, they were to look for armies surrounding Jerusalem. This was fulfilled when the Edomite army surrounded Jerusalem. They worked their deprivations, perhaps committing abominations in the "holy city," then they left. And there occurred a gap of time before the Roman army appeared. It was a window of opportunity to leave the City of Jerusalem.
The idea of a gentile army surrounding the holy city might fit both the Matthew version and the Luke version if the marauding Edomites entered "the holy city."
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
"Left Behind" - The Discrediting of a Theological System
There was a series of books published in the "Left Behind" series. At least two movies have now been made based on those books. They are the source of ridicule from the unbelieving world, and the authors of the ideas presented in those books and movies think the unbelievers are proving the point of their stories. What if their ideas are simply unbiblical and foolish? What does that do for the reputation of the Christian faith, when unbelievers think such ideas are what all Christians believe? What if the theology of those stories is a recent invention that perverts the words of Jesus and the prophets? Thankfully, such theologies typically die over time, but the damage done during that time can be great.
The movies do two bad things. They teach unbelievers that Christians have the most ridiculous theology of the "end" that ever was devised. Even if they were stupid enough to get scared by the movies, being scared that you'll be left behind in a world of Tribulation is not the way one recruits the best new believers.
It teaches Christians that the "end is near;" therefore, there's really no reason to engage the culture and build long-term for the future. An organization named "The Long Now" are building a 10,000 year clock to remind people of the importance of long term thinking. It's located next to the border between Texas and New Mexico. I heard a representative of the organization explain what triggered the idea for the clock. He had heard about a huge beam having rotted in a building in New College, Oxford University, England. It was a 50 foot long beam of critical importance to the structure, both aesthetic and structure.
The New College administration wondered where they would find a 50 foot long solid beam in modern England. They went to discuss the problem with the Forester for Oxford University, who was quite calm when he heard of the problem. He said, "Oh, that's an easy fix." The New College administration people asked how that could be, and he answered, "The folks who founded New College 900 years ago planted a forest for the very purpose of replacing the beams of the New College buildings." That's long term thinking. Such thinking does not happen in the people devoted to the theology of "Left Behind." It's a miracle if they think about the next day, much less nine hundred years forward.
But what does God want. If His kingdom is forever, and He is building it for its great climax, when all enemies are put under His Son's feet, the last enemy being death, then we've got a good way to go before "the end." And if the tree of the kingdom grows over time, resulting in it becoming the largest tree in the garden, when will that be? If you're thinking this generation, you're not thinking big enough. We're just at the beginning of the advancement of Christ's kingdom. It's a little sprout of a tree, not an oak.
The movies do two bad things. They teach unbelievers that Christians have the most ridiculous theology of the "end" that ever was devised. Even if they were stupid enough to get scared by the movies, being scared that you'll be left behind in a world of Tribulation is not the way one recruits the best new believers.
It teaches Christians that the "end is near;" therefore, there's really no reason to engage the culture and build long-term for the future. An organization named "The Long Now" are building a 10,000 year clock to remind people of the importance of long term thinking. It's located next to the border between Texas and New Mexico. I heard a representative of the organization explain what triggered the idea for the clock. He had heard about a huge beam having rotted in a building in New College, Oxford University, England. It was a 50 foot long beam of critical importance to the structure, both aesthetic and structure.
The New College administration wondered where they would find a 50 foot long solid beam in modern England. They went to discuss the problem with the Forester for Oxford University, who was quite calm when he heard of the problem. He said, "Oh, that's an easy fix." The New College administration people asked how that could be, and he answered, "The folks who founded New College 900 years ago planted a forest for the very purpose of replacing the beams of the New College buildings." That's long term thinking. Such thinking does not happen in the people devoted to the theology of "Left Behind." It's a miracle if they think about the next day, much less nine hundred years forward.
But what does God want. If His kingdom is forever, and He is building it for its great climax, when all enemies are put under His Son's feet, the last enemy being death, then we've got a good way to go before "the end." And if the tree of the kingdom grows over time, resulting in it becoming the largest tree in the garden, when will that be? If you're thinking this generation, you're not thinking big enough. We're just at the beginning of the advancement of Christ's kingdom. It's a little sprout of a tree, not an oak.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
The Abominations Resulting in Desolation - Matthew 24 Part 9
"And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 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. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Daniel 9:22-7.
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes." Matthew 24:15-18.
I said in an earlier post that we'd come back to this passage. Notice the post's title is based on Daniel's wording not Christ's, although they are both clearly referring to the same event. Notice that in the same Daniel passage we have timing verses, timing about the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem. Interesting that Daniel should put them together.
The word "abomination" is used to describe idols (Deut. 7:25; 12:31; 13:14; 29:17), unclean foods prohibited by the Lord to the Israelites (Lev. 11), perverse sexual practices (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Deut. 22:5; I Ki. 11:5), perversion of marriage (Deut. 24:4), fraudulent business practices (Prov. 11:1), injustice in the legal system (Prov. 17:15), lawlessness (Prov. 28:9), and honoring the things of man above the things of God (Lu. 16:15).
Jesus Christ and Daniel are clearly talking about the same event, but Daniel's use of the words indicates that the desolation is a consequence of the abominations. They are not merged into one title as to what's happening during the event, as if the abomination equates to desolation. There's probably some overlap, but someone is participating in abominations, and those abominations result in desolation. It's not solely about some individual political figure who is desolate and an abomination, even if there did exist such a figure at that time. In other words, neither Jesus nor Daniel is applying this appellation solely to a human political figure in the past or the future who is abominable.
More likely, the two prophets are speaking about a time when abominations multiply in all aspects of the time to which they are referring, and that abominable behavior by multitudes of people results in a desolating judgment. Where does judgment begin? In the house of God. See I Peter 4:17. And throughout the bible, judgment began with His people - the Jewish people. They represented Him on earth, and when they did well, things went very well for them, but when they did not, things went very badly.
So how do the abominations stand in the holy place? We know this event can't be future. I've already shown how ridiculous that theory is. And the "holy place" which was the Jewish temple standing at that time will never be rebuilt. God will not allow it. See Hebrews 9:6-10. But we still need to know what Jesus meant. He told us what this prophecy for our benefit. No scripture is without effect. John 10:35.
Remember that we must interpret scripture using scripture. Daniel's words and particularly Jesus' echo the words of Moses. "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you." Leviticus 18:26-8.
It's not just the use of the word abomination that is striking; it's the fact that their abominations would result in the spewing out of the Israelites, just as they would later be spewed out in 70 AD. Leviticus 18:24-8; Matthew 24:3 (the end of the world for the Jews of that time).
Another strikingly similar passage is Ezekiel 9:4-7: "And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city." Ezekiel 9:4-7. See also Ezekiel 5:1-12.
Not only is this passage reminiscent of Matthew 24, but it also reminds the reader of the marks of the book of Revelation, where people are marked based on their allegiance either to the Lord or a beast.
[Cont'd next post.]
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes." Matthew 24:15-18.
I said in an earlier post that we'd come back to this passage. Notice the post's title is based on Daniel's wording not Christ's, although they are both clearly referring to the same event. Notice that in the same Daniel passage we have timing verses, timing about the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem. Interesting that Daniel should put them together.
The word "abomination" is used to describe idols (Deut. 7:25; 12:31; 13:14; 29:17), unclean foods prohibited by the Lord to the Israelites (Lev. 11), perverse sexual practices (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Deut. 22:5; I Ki. 11:5), perversion of marriage (Deut. 24:4), fraudulent business practices (Prov. 11:1), injustice in the legal system (Prov. 17:15), lawlessness (Prov. 28:9), and honoring the things of man above the things of God (Lu. 16:15).
Jesus Christ and Daniel are clearly talking about the same event, but Daniel's use of the words indicates that the desolation is a consequence of the abominations. They are not merged into one title as to what's happening during the event, as if the abomination equates to desolation. There's probably some overlap, but someone is participating in abominations, and those abominations result in desolation. It's not solely about some individual political figure who is desolate and an abomination, even if there did exist such a figure at that time. In other words, neither Jesus nor Daniel is applying this appellation solely to a human political figure in the past or the future who is abominable.
More likely, the two prophets are speaking about a time when abominations multiply in all aspects of the time to which they are referring, and that abominable behavior by multitudes of people results in a desolating judgment. Where does judgment begin? In the house of God. See I Peter 4:17. And throughout the bible, judgment began with His people - the Jewish people. They represented Him on earth, and when they did well, things went very well for them, but when they did not, things went very badly.
So how do the abominations stand in the holy place? We know this event can't be future. I've already shown how ridiculous that theory is. And the "holy place" which was the Jewish temple standing at that time will never be rebuilt. God will not allow it. See Hebrews 9:6-10. But we still need to know what Jesus meant. He told us what this prophecy for our benefit. No scripture is without effect. John 10:35.
Remember that we must interpret scripture using scripture. Daniel's words and particularly Jesus' echo the words of Moses. "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you." Leviticus 18:26-8.
It's not just the use of the word abomination that is striking; it's the fact that their abominations would result in the spewing out of the Israelites, just as they would later be spewed out in 70 AD. Leviticus 18:24-8; Matthew 24:3 (the end of the world for the Jews of that time).
Another strikingly similar passage is Ezekiel 9:4-7: "And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city." Ezekiel 9:4-7. See also Ezekiel 5:1-12.
Not only is this passage reminiscent of Matthew 24, but it also reminds the reader of the marks of the book of Revelation, where people are marked based on their allegiance either to the Lord or a beast.
[Cont'd next post.]
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Matthew 24 Part 8
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:30-1.
So, what is that sign? Could it mean the sign that the Son of man is in heaven and not a vision of Him coming from heaven? The sign that the Son of man is in heaven refers to Jesus's statement to His accusers in Matthew 26:64: "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." In other words, Jesus knew that after He was executed, resurrected and ascended to heaven, He would have all power in heaven and on earth to destroy His enemies and His church's enemies.
The Greek word for earth can be translated "land," as in the land of Israel. See, for example, the words of Matthew 2:6: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda." It is used that way in the New Testament 42 times. Where else do you find tribes in the bible? The twelve tribes of Israel might ring a bell. Did the tribes of the land of Israel mourn? You betcha! Their land, their government, their temple, their way of life was being taken away from them, and for those who had not accepted Christ and His Kingdom in place of the Old, it was unendurable.
If the leaders who conspired to put Jesus to death were to see the Son of man "sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," how would that happen? Would the Lord keep them alive for thousands of years? They wouldn't need to actually see Him in heaven. Wouldn't they simply need to see the effects of His rulership? How would Christ's rulership in the most powerful position in the universe be evidenced? Perhaps in His defending His people? Would He come with the clouds of heaven as the avenging God of the Old Covenant standing for His truth and His saints?
He would destroy those who fought to keep the old, dying covenant alive, and He would stand on behalf of those who gave their lives for the gospel. It happened. In 70 AD, those who fought for the old covenant gave their lives, and the physical temple was destroyed. And the church of the new covenant grew, and those who died were replaced by more and more until the church took over the society. And the old Roman Empire, which had died in heart, had nowhere to turn but the church for a reason to continue. The church didn't win by military might, even though Constantine won great battles; it won by overwhelming the society with a new way of life and faith and truth long before Constantine took to the battlefield. Christ had won long before that. The bankrupt Roman society had nowhere else to turn but the church, which was building the hospitals, adopting the orphans, and providing a new way of faith for all who believed.
So, if Christ fought for His saints to the point of utterly annihilating them in 70 AD, will He fight for them now? Is He still on the most powerful throne in the universe? Does He still uphold the Word of the living God, His Father? If we stand for His word, will He stand with us? Then why do you think that compromise is what will keep us going? You give up His word, like a fearful noble give up land or accepts payments from the King trying to take over their lands. You're living for yourself, not the King who rightfully owns everything, and whose word should rule all of life.
If we stand for Christ now in the areas that have been taken over by the enemy, like the political realm, we might lose personally, but we will win eternally and in time on earth. He who rides the white horse will come to our aid and either convert our enemies to light, life and truth or destroy them with the sword coming out of His mouth. Revelation 19:11-21. In this way, we continue to show the "sign of the son of man in heaven." Why? Because we show He still reigns with total power to confirm His Father's word.
So, what is that sign? Could it mean the sign that the Son of man is in heaven and not a vision of Him coming from heaven? The sign that the Son of man is in heaven refers to Jesus's statement to His accusers in Matthew 26:64: "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." In other words, Jesus knew that after He was executed, resurrected and ascended to heaven, He would have all power in heaven and on earth to destroy His enemies and His church's enemies.
The Greek word for earth can be translated "land," as in the land of Israel. See, for example, the words of Matthew 2:6: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda." It is used that way in the New Testament 42 times. Where else do you find tribes in the bible? The twelve tribes of Israel might ring a bell. Did the tribes of the land of Israel mourn? You betcha! Their land, their government, their temple, their way of life was being taken away from them, and for those who had not accepted Christ and His Kingdom in place of the Old, it was unendurable.
If the leaders who conspired to put Jesus to death were to see the Son of man "sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," how would that happen? Would the Lord keep them alive for thousands of years? They wouldn't need to actually see Him in heaven. Wouldn't they simply need to see the effects of His rulership? How would Christ's rulership in the most powerful position in the universe be evidenced? Perhaps in His defending His people? Would He come with the clouds of heaven as the avenging God of the Old Covenant standing for His truth and His saints?
He would destroy those who fought to keep the old, dying covenant alive, and He would stand on behalf of those who gave their lives for the gospel. It happened. In 70 AD, those who fought for the old covenant gave their lives, and the physical temple was destroyed. And the church of the new covenant grew, and those who died were replaced by more and more until the church took over the society. And the old Roman Empire, which had died in heart, had nowhere to turn but the church for a reason to continue. The church didn't win by military might, even though Constantine won great battles; it won by overwhelming the society with a new way of life and faith and truth long before Constantine took to the battlefield. Christ had won long before that. The bankrupt Roman society had nowhere else to turn but the church, which was building the hospitals, adopting the orphans, and providing a new way of faith for all who believed.
So, if Christ fought for His saints to the point of utterly annihilating them in 70 AD, will He fight for them now? Is He still on the most powerful throne in the universe? Does He still uphold the Word of the living God, His Father? If we stand for His word, will He stand with us? Then why do you think that compromise is what will keep us going? You give up His word, like a fearful noble give up land or accepts payments from the King trying to take over their lands. You're living for yourself, not the King who rightfully owns everything, and whose word should rule all of life.
If we stand for Christ now in the areas that have been taken over by the enemy, like the political realm, we might lose personally, but we will win eternally and in time on earth. He who rides the white horse will come to our aid and either convert our enemies to light, life and truth or destroy them with the sword coming out of His mouth. Revelation 19:11-21. In this way, we continue to show the "sign of the son of man in heaven." Why? Because we show He still reigns with total power to confirm His Father's word.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Matthew 24 Part 7
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:30-1.
"Now, we have him," the end-of-the-world pursuers say. How can he explain this portion. Clearly, Jesus returns physically at the end of time, according to this passage. But this entire passage is bookended by timing verses. The first, of course, is when Jesus' disciples ask him when the temple will be destroyed, and He answers very clearly and explains the signs of an event we already have the historic record of its occurrence. Then he follows with a specific timing statement for those who didn't have that history . . . yet. "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:34-5.
Before the generation to whom He was speaking passed, the events He spoke of were to occur. It doesn't get any plainer. But do we accept the plain statements of Jesus? No. We have to complicate it and find a way around His words. We are so intent upon believing that He was referring to our time that we ignore the literal meaning of His plain statements. We make literal His symbolic statements, and we make symbolic His literal statements. We are stiff-necked!
Matthew 24:32-3 states: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." That's the passage we use to get around Jesus' clear words. Obviously, the events He spoke of were a sign just as the leaves on a tree indicate the coming of spring and summer. It doesn't mean the fig tree is Israel. But what would be so strange about Jesus using the fig tree to symbolize Israel, seeing that Jesus is talking about the end of Old Covenant Israel?
Take for example the following lunacy "NOW THE END BEGINS:"
"So Jesus was saying that when you see ISRAEL re-blooming, whenever that would take place, that that generation would be the one that would be on the earth and living when the Last Days would occur. So if Israel was destroyed in 70 AD, and it was, when did it "bloom" again? May 14, 1948 is the date that history records that fact occuring[sp]. The generation that witnessed that, the WWII generation, still have not, for all intents and purposes, passed off the scene. They are still alive and with us today, and we are the people that Jesus said would be alive on the earth when the Last Days would happen.
"That time is right now. Let it sink in for a moment, I will say it again.
"The time of the "last days" that Jesus refered [sp] to, is not "in the future" and it's not "coming soon". It is here right now. For the past 6 decades, all the major players have been taking the stage and playing the parts that God said they would." http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/pages/the_fig_tree_prophecy.htm, accessed on 11 March 2014.
So, "NOW THE END BEGINS," how long is a generation? 65 years or more? This was Hal Lindsey's theory in the seventies, when only 30 years had gone by. Jesus indicated the blooming would mean the end was "near, even at the door." Why do we keep having trouble with the meaning of the word "near?" You could repeat the message a million times, used by thousands of end-timers from Hal Lindsey to "NOW THE END BEGINS" trying to apply to our day Jesus' clear message to His apostles' generation that the end would come in their time.
Jesus didn't make it complicated. Before the generation of the apostles was over, the end would come, preceded by the events He spoke about and which we continue to think haven't happened yet. But what is this "sign of the Son of man in heaven?"
"Now, we have him," the end-of-the-world pursuers say. How can he explain this portion. Clearly, Jesus returns physically at the end of time, according to this passage. But this entire passage is bookended by timing verses. The first, of course, is when Jesus' disciples ask him when the temple will be destroyed, and He answers very clearly and explains the signs of an event we already have the historic record of its occurrence. Then he follows with a specific timing statement for those who didn't have that history . . . yet. "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:34-5.
Before the generation to whom He was speaking passed, the events He spoke of were to occur. It doesn't get any plainer. But do we accept the plain statements of Jesus? No. We have to complicate it and find a way around His words. We are so intent upon believing that He was referring to our time that we ignore the literal meaning of His plain statements. We make literal His symbolic statements, and we make symbolic His literal statements. We are stiff-necked!
Matthew 24:32-3 states: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." That's the passage we use to get around Jesus' clear words. Obviously, the events He spoke of were a sign just as the leaves on a tree indicate the coming of spring and summer. It doesn't mean the fig tree is Israel. But what would be so strange about Jesus using the fig tree to symbolize Israel, seeing that Jesus is talking about the end of Old Covenant Israel?
Take for example the following lunacy "NOW THE END BEGINS:"
"So Jesus was saying that when you see ISRAEL re-blooming, whenever that would take place, that that generation would be the one that would be on the earth and living when the Last Days would occur. So if Israel was destroyed in 70 AD, and it was, when did it "bloom" again? May 14, 1948 is the date that history records that fact occuring[sp]. The generation that witnessed that, the WWII generation, still have not, for all intents and purposes, passed off the scene. They are still alive and with us today, and we are the people that Jesus said would be alive on the earth when the Last Days would happen.
"That time is right now. Let it sink in for a moment, I will say it again.
"The time of the "last days" that Jesus refered [sp] to, is not "in the future" and it's not "coming soon". It is here right now. For the past 6 decades, all the major players have been taking the stage and playing the parts that God said they would." http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/pages/the_fig_tree_prophecy.htm, accessed on 11 March 2014.
So, "NOW THE END BEGINS," how long is a generation? 65 years or more? This was Hal Lindsey's theory in the seventies, when only 30 years had gone by. Jesus indicated the blooming would mean the end was "near, even at the door." Why do we keep having trouble with the meaning of the word "near?" You could repeat the message a million times, used by thousands of end-timers from Hal Lindsey to "NOW THE END BEGINS" trying to apply to our day Jesus' clear message to His apostles' generation that the end would come in their time.
Jesus didn't make it complicated. Before the generation of the apostles was over, the end would come, preceded by the events He spoke about and which we continue to think haven't happened yet. But what is this "sign of the Son of man in heaven?"
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Apocalypse
The Greek word translated as The Revelation in Revelation 1:1 is apocalypse.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: . . . ."
The Greek word, apokalypsis, means:
1. laying bare, making naked
2. a disclosure of truth, instruction
1. concerning things before unknown
2. used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all
3. manifestation, appearance
From Blue Letter Bible, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, at http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G602&t=KJV, accessed on March 1, 2014.
So, when we read in Revelation about Jesus Christ riding on a white horse and destroying His enemies, it is a revealing, an unveiling of who He is, not a revealing of what will happen in the future. Do you really think He sits in the most powerful position in the universe, that of God Almighty, and does nothing to advance His kingdom? At least, you have to believe that God the Father cares enough about the sacrifice of His Son that He advances His cause.
To think otherwise is to be like the people Jesus spoke to about His Father working. They appeared to think that upon finishing the sixth day of creation, God just sat down to rest for all eternity. But that was a complete misconception, according to Jesus. "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." John 5:17.
Therefore, your cause that you are called to work for His kingdom, He will work to uphold it, even if that means gathering the armies of heaven together as a conquering commander and going to war against your enemies.
The verb form of the word, apokalyptÅ, is translated "reveal" 26 times in the New Testament. The revelation of who Jesus Christ really is, the conquering King of this earth and the entire universe, is revealed in the New Testament, the hearts and minds of believers by the Holy Spirit, and in history before the watching eyes of unbelievers, who see the crucified one destroy the idols they have exalted and avenge His saints, whom they have persecuted.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: . . . ."
The Greek word, apokalypsis, means:
1. laying bare, making naked
2. a disclosure of truth, instruction
1. concerning things before unknown
2. used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all
3. manifestation, appearance
From Blue Letter Bible, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, at http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G602&t=KJV, accessed on March 1, 2014.
So, when we read in Revelation about Jesus Christ riding on a white horse and destroying His enemies, it is a revealing, an unveiling of who He is, not a revealing of what will happen in the future. Do you really think He sits in the most powerful position in the universe, that of God Almighty, and does nothing to advance His kingdom? At least, you have to believe that God the Father cares enough about the sacrifice of His Son that He advances His cause.
To think otherwise is to be like the people Jesus spoke to about His Father working. They appeared to think that upon finishing the sixth day of creation, God just sat down to rest for all eternity. But that was a complete misconception, according to Jesus. "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." John 5:17.
Therefore, your cause that you are called to work for His kingdom, He will work to uphold it, even if that means gathering the armies of heaven together as a conquering commander and going to war against your enemies.
The verb form of the word, apokalyptÅ, is translated "reveal" 26 times in the New Testament. The revelation of who Jesus Christ really is, the conquering King of this earth and the entire universe, is revealed in the New Testament, the hearts and minds of believers by the Holy Spirit, and in history before the watching eyes of unbelievers, who see the crucified one destroy the idols they have exalted and avenge His saints, whom they have persecuted.
Matthew 24 Part 6
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Matthew 24:29. Here is what Luke says in Luke 21:25: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring."
Again, the bible itself explains the bible. "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Genesis 37:9. Joseph's dream was immediately understood by his brothers, his father, and his mother. Genesis 37:10. He would rule over them. Why would they immediately understand that as the meaning, unless they already understood the heavenly bodies to stand for the family of Jacob? Didn't God show Abraham the heavenly bodies and say, "And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.”? Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.' ” Genesis 15:5.
Isaiah 13:10 is part of a prophesy against Babylon by Isaiah concerning punishment upon it for its evil. "For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light." The judgment involves the falling of Babylon's rulers, and Isaiah states it as Babylon is rising to power, not when it's falling. The rest of the world is included in the judgment: "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger." Isaiah 13:3. The context of the entire book of Isaiah is the coming judgment upon Israel, Jacob's descendants.
When Israel is judged, the entire earth and heavens are shaken. "Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders." Isaiah 24:23. "The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth." Isaiah 24:19-21. The host of heaven, by the way, means the stars and heavenly bodies in the sky. No prince, no matter how high or how great, will be punished.
This passage is not talking about the final end of the world; the context, which is essential to understanding a passage, makes it clear that Isaiah is referring to coming judgment on the nations of Isaiah's day and not long after. These descriptions of disaster in the heavens could refer to actual physical phenomena of the time, but it also refers to the falling of governing powers, both Jewish and Gentile. See also Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15, passages referring to judgment by God on nations during the Old Covenant period, not at the end of all time.
Notice that Jesus is still speaking of the time of the destruction of the temple, which occurred in 70 A.D. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" is when the powers of the heavens are shaken. And He indeed shook them. The heavenly bodies, leadership of the Jewish nation, were shaken to the point of being totally unrecoverable. They were murdered and assassinated by the Zealots, who thought them too weak before the Romans. And those totally committed Zealots who took over in Jerusalem just before the Romans began their siege, were destroyed in a bloodbath in that City that is difficult to describe in its horror and savagery. See Josephus' "Wars of the Jews." Throughout the Old Covenant, God used Gentile armies to discipline His own people. When faithful and obedient, He gave them victory. By instigating and being complicit in crucifying the Son of God and persecuting His Church, they were not faithful and obedient.
"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." Luke 21:22. Remember Jesus' words to the scribes and pharisees just before his discussion with the disciples:
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." Matthew 23:33-36.
Why would all righteous blood come upon that generation; it doesn't seem fair. It is fair when you consider who was the final prophet they killed - Jesus Christ. He was the penultimate, the final, the comprehensive statement of all God had ever said in the past. He was the exemplar of all that was good and loving and merciful and just about God. Yet they killed Him. Therefore, that sin wraps up all the sins of history into the worst, the one deserving the greatest punishment in history.
By the way, the destruction of Jerusalem was not the only upheaval of political leadership going on in the first century, but there's not time in this one post to go into it all. I can say that the upheavals even affected the internal politics of the emperors and other leadership of the Roman Empire. It was a time in which wars upset the Pax Romana, that unusual period of history when there was relative peace throughout the Empire. But the sins of the Jews had come to their head. They suffered the most, and the Old Covenant had to be finalized so no one could be confused. Let's not add confusion to the matter, Christians, by misunderstanding what is happening in the first century.
So, when Jesus says that "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" in Matthew 24:29, He means it. And it doesn't take long for those who persecuted the Son to see Him coming in vengeance. He will take vengeance on His enemies today.
Again, the bible itself explains the bible. "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Genesis 37:9. Joseph's dream was immediately understood by his brothers, his father, and his mother. Genesis 37:10. He would rule over them. Why would they immediately understand that as the meaning, unless they already understood the heavenly bodies to stand for the family of Jacob? Didn't God show Abraham the heavenly bodies and say, "And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.”? Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.' ” Genesis 15:5.
Isaiah 13:10 is part of a prophesy against Babylon by Isaiah concerning punishment upon it for its evil. "For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light." The judgment involves the falling of Babylon's rulers, and Isaiah states it as Babylon is rising to power, not when it's falling. The rest of the world is included in the judgment: "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger." Isaiah 13:3. The context of the entire book of Isaiah is the coming judgment upon Israel, Jacob's descendants.
When Israel is judged, the entire earth and heavens are shaken. "Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders." Isaiah 24:23. "The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth." Isaiah 24:19-21. The host of heaven, by the way, means the stars and heavenly bodies in the sky. No prince, no matter how high or how great, will be punished.
This passage is not talking about the final end of the world; the context, which is essential to understanding a passage, makes it clear that Isaiah is referring to coming judgment on the nations of Isaiah's day and not long after. These descriptions of disaster in the heavens could refer to actual physical phenomena of the time, but it also refers to the falling of governing powers, both Jewish and Gentile. See also Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15, passages referring to judgment by God on nations during the Old Covenant period, not at the end of all time.
Notice that Jesus is still speaking of the time of the destruction of the temple, which occurred in 70 A.D. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" is when the powers of the heavens are shaken. And He indeed shook them. The heavenly bodies, leadership of the Jewish nation, were shaken to the point of being totally unrecoverable. They were murdered and assassinated by the Zealots, who thought them too weak before the Romans. And those totally committed Zealots who took over in Jerusalem just before the Romans began their siege, were destroyed in a bloodbath in that City that is difficult to describe in its horror and savagery. See Josephus' "Wars of the Jews." Throughout the Old Covenant, God used Gentile armies to discipline His own people. When faithful and obedient, He gave them victory. By instigating and being complicit in crucifying the Son of God and persecuting His Church, they were not faithful and obedient.
"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." Luke 21:22. Remember Jesus' words to the scribes and pharisees just before his discussion with the disciples:
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." Matthew 23:33-36.
Why would all righteous blood come upon that generation; it doesn't seem fair. It is fair when you consider who was the final prophet they killed - Jesus Christ. He was the penultimate, the final, the comprehensive statement of all God had ever said in the past. He was the exemplar of all that was good and loving and merciful and just about God. Yet they killed Him. Therefore, that sin wraps up all the sins of history into the worst, the one deserving the greatest punishment in history.
By the way, the destruction of Jerusalem was not the only upheaval of political leadership going on in the first century, but there's not time in this one post to go into it all. I can say that the upheavals even affected the internal politics of the emperors and other leadership of the Roman Empire. It was a time in which wars upset the Pax Romana, that unusual period of history when there was relative peace throughout the Empire. But the sins of the Jews had come to their head. They suffered the most, and the Old Covenant had to be finalized so no one could be confused. Let's not add confusion to the matter, Christians, by misunderstanding what is happening in the first century.
So, when Jesus says that "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" in Matthew 24:29, He means it. And it doesn't take long for those who persecuted the Son to see Him coming in vengeance. He will take vengeance on His enemies today.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Jesus makes clear when so when will we listen to Him? Matthew 24 Part 5
"And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24:2.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matthew 24:34.
Like bookends, Jesus explains perfectly when His coming occurred. Yes, occurred - past tense. Particularly when we have the benefit of historical hindsight, our refusal to listen to Him now is even more unforgiveable. Jesus told His disciples that not one stone of the temple would stand upon another, then the disciples asked Him when that event would happen, then Jesus told them. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. I hate to tell you this, but you have missed the Great Tribulation.
Then in verse 34, Jesus says that all the things He said would happen would come to pass before the generation he was speaking to passed away. Yet, interpreters still try to explain away the meaning of the word "generation," sometimes in the most absurd ways. They still let their own desire and bias overrule the common sense meaning of Jesus' words. So, when will these things be?
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 24:29-51.
This passage will require several posts to explicate.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matthew 24:34.
Like bookends, Jesus explains perfectly when His coming occurred. Yes, occurred - past tense. Particularly when we have the benefit of historical hindsight, our refusal to listen to Him now is even more unforgiveable. Jesus told His disciples that not one stone of the temple would stand upon another, then the disciples asked Him when that event would happen, then Jesus told them. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. I hate to tell you this, but you have missed the Great Tribulation.
Then in verse 34, Jesus says that all the things He said would happen would come to pass before the generation he was speaking to passed away. Yet, interpreters still try to explain away the meaning of the word "generation," sometimes in the most absurd ways. They still let their own desire and bias overrule the common sense meaning of Jesus' words. So, when will these things be?
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 24:29-51.
This passage will require several posts to explicate.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Deception about the End - Matthew 24 Part 4
"Don't be deceived." Vss 23-28 tell you that if someone says that Christ's final return in person has happened, don't listen. His return will not be in secret or like that of a normal person; His final return will be so incontrovertible that no one will be able to miss it. Notice that the deceivers are wrong on at least two critical points: One, they're wrong on the timing (there's that word again). They're too early! The deceivers are those who claim He's walking around on earth as a regular person when He's really in heaven sitting at the right hand of the Father.
Two, they're wrong on the manner of the final return. It will be like lightning traveling across the sky - fast, bright and blinding, not secret nor easy to miss. The entire idea of predicting His final return is fool-laden, for it shall need no introduction nor explanation to keep His people from missing it. The bottom line: You don't need any preliminary events to tell you when it will happen. It will be undeniable.
Where is the carcase? The Greek word for carcase is ptoma, and it means a fall into sin and death. The air creatures, translated in the King James version as "eagles," are what gather around this fall. The English Standard Version translates verse 28 this way: "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." There are numerous ways to interpret this interesting verse about the eagles gathering around a carcase, but what does it mean? Particularly in light of the context - how not to be deceived about Christ presence on earth.
Let the bible interpret itself. Jesus didn't hang around carcases, except to raise them from the dead. He told one man to "let the dead bury the dead." Matthew 8:22. He was life, and following Him was all that mattered. The Hebrew bible (Old Testament) states that a carcase is unclean and to be avoided, if possible. Therefore, the carcase can't be where we'll find Jesus. Those who pretend to be Him or pretend to know He's walking the earth live in death; avoid them!
There is a specific carcase about which Jesus is referring in this passage, and avoiding that carcase is a major part of Jesus' warning to His disciples. Do you have it figured out yet? Who or what is that carcase in the first century? Matthew 23, which is a discussion directly before, perhaps only minutes before, the Chapter 24 discourse. In fact, because the Chapter 23 discourse probably inspired the disciples' comments about the beautiful buildings at the beginning of Chapter 24, I'll assert that the Chapter 24 discourse is a continuation of the Chapter 23 discourse, only for a different audience. Chapter 23 is a prophetic rebuke for the evil, and Chapter 24 is a prophetic warning and advice for the faithful.
It seems to be the verses directly after Jesus' warning about not being deceived that get people off track. The main reasons for this mis-targeting are 1) the desire to be at the end instead of live responsibly and advance His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, 2) the failure to use the bible to interpret the bible, and 3) the failure to follow Jesus' own words about His final return and the way to not be deceived. Thus, most interpreters are irresponsible, and they promote irresponsibility. Most people use the newspaper to interpret Jesus' words. This method of interpretation will always lead you astray. Also, most people think His words refer to future events, thereby ignoring Jesus' words in yet another way.
Two, they're wrong on the manner of the final return. It will be like lightning traveling across the sky - fast, bright and blinding, not secret nor easy to miss. The entire idea of predicting His final return is fool-laden, for it shall need no introduction nor explanation to keep His people from missing it. The bottom line: You don't need any preliminary events to tell you when it will happen. It will be undeniable.
Where is the carcase? The Greek word for carcase is ptoma, and it means a fall into sin and death. The air creatures, translated in the King James version as "eagles," are what gather around this fall. The English Standard Version translates verse 28 this way: "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." There are numerous ways to interpret this interesting verse about the eagles gathering around a carcase, but what does it mean? Particularly in light of the context - how not to be deceived about Christ presence on earth.
Let the bible interpret itself. Jesus didn't hang around carcases, except to raise them from the dead. He told one man to "let the dead bury the dead." Matthew 8:22. He was life, and following Him was all that mattered. The Hebrew bible (Old Testament) states that a carcase is unclean and to be avoided, if possible. Therefore, the carcase can't be where we'll find Jesus. Those who pretend to be Him or pretend to know He's walking the earth live in death; avoid them!
There is a specific carcase about which Jesus is referring in this passage, and avoiding that carcase is a major part of Jesus' warning to His disciples. Do you have it figured out yet? Who or what is that carcase in the first century? Matthew 23, which is a discussion directly before, perhaps only minutes before, the Chapter 24 discourse. In fact, because the Chapter 23 discourse probably inspired the disciples' comments about the beautiful buildings at the beginning of Chapter 24, I'll assert that the Chapter 24 discourse is a continuation of the Chapter 23 discourse, only for a different audience. Chapter 23 is a prophetic rebuke for the evil, and Chapter 24 is a prophetic warning and advice for the faithful.
It seems to be the verses directly after Jesus' warning about not being deceived that get people off track. The main reasons for this mis-targeting are 1) the desire to be at the end instead of live responsibly and advance His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, 2) the failure to use the bible to interpret the bible, and 3) the failure to follow Jesus' own words about His final return and the way to not be deceived. Thus, most interpreters are irresponsible, and they promote irresponsibility. Most people use the newspaper to interpret Jesus' words. This method of interpretation will always lead you astray. Also, most people think His words refer to future events, thereby ignoring Jesus' words in yet another way.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Matthew 24 Part 3 - It was right in front of us all along
It does not take complex degrees from seminary or understanding of the Greek to figure out the meaning of Matthew 24. Just read it for what Jesus intended. He's the Christ, and He's a prophet, the final prophet, but not the only one. He speaks like the prophets of old, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Ever read them? They use colorful, picturesque language to make their point as powerfully, as poignantly, as effectively as possible. Do you think God has no emotion? He created us with emotions. His prophets' language expresses emotion and great meaning.
Those who hypocritically call for interpreting all of the bible literally (no one, not even the literalists, interpret all the bible literally) does not bring out the truth; it would hide t. Symbolism is meaningful because the words mean what they say and more. If you take the symbolic word literally, you haven't enhanced the meaning, you've taken away meaning.
So, the prophets speak emotionally because God cares, and they speak symbolically because their words have greater meaning than just what the words would say alone. They spoke truly because they had an important warning for people, so the message was practical. Jesus spoke that way too.
Take the following passage as an example of just taking His words as intended.
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:15-22.
Ignoring until a future blog post "the abomination of desolation," a symbolic phrase used by another prophet, Daniel, notice that Jesus wants the listener to understand. In other words, something esoteric and difficult to decipher is not about to be pronounced. Nor is it something to happen centuries later; it is a warning for the people of His day. I'm going to quote the advice he gives one sentence at a time, then I'll ask questions. You tell me what makes sense. By the way, notice that the advice is based on, yep, timing - "When ye see."
1st quote: "Let them in Judaea flee into the mountains." What good is fleeing into the mountains if the passage is about Jesus returning to earth to end history? If it's about some anti-Christ political/religious leader taking over the world, against whom Christians should stand up as a witness to the truth and the true King, Jesus Christ, why would Jesus advise to flee cowardly?
2nd quote: "Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house." Oh yeah, that's really sensible advice. I'll just jump off my roof when Jesus or the anti-Christ comes. Tell me when coming off your roof in a hurry ever makes sense except in 1st-century Israel.
3d quote: "But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day." I understand that winter can be a bad time for fleeing at any time in history, but I'm not sure why the sabbath day would make a difference today. Can someone explain that timing issue and its relevance to our day or later?
4th quote: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Do you still not see it? It's been there all along - ". . . nor ever shall be." So, are you sorry that you have missed the Great Tribulation? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you have.
5th quote: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Tell me, end-of-the-worlders, if the end of the world is the event being referred to by Christ, why in the name of total fiery destruction would flesh need to be saved and the days shortened if the world is about to be burned up with fire? Even if you believe in some extra-biblical, post-apocalypse, bureaucratic government, ruled by Jesus and His post-resurrection saints, then you still can't explain why there would be any need to shorten the days of destruction for the sake of the elect, who would be resurrected from the dead anyway in order to rule after the destruction of anti-Christ?
Thus, even if you just read Jesus' words with some good, ole common sense, you have to know that there's something wrong with the futuristic view of Matthew 24. You should at least ask some questions. But that's not all.
Those who hypocritically call for interpreting all of the bible literally (no one, not even the literalists, interpret all the bible literally) does not bring out the truth; it would hide t. Symbolism is meaningful because the words mean what they say and more. If you take the symbolic word literally, you haven't enhanced the meaning, you've taken away meaning.
So, the prophets speak emotionally because God cares, and they speak symbolically because their words have greater meaning than just what the words would say alone. They spoke truly because they had an important warning for people, so the message was practical. Jesus spoke that way too.
Take the following passage as an example of just taking His words as intended.
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:15-22.
Ignoring until a future blog post "the abomination of desolation," a symbolic phrase used by another prophet, Daniel, notice that Jesus wants the listener to understand. In other words, something esoteric and difficult to decipher is not about to be pronounced. Nor is it something to happen centuries later; it is a warning for the people of His day. I'm going to quote the advice he gives one sentence at a time, then I'll ask questions. You tell me what makes sense. By the way, notice that the advice is based on, yep, timing - "When ye see."
1st quote: "Let them in Judaea flee into the mountains." What good is fleeing into the mountains if the passage is about Jesus returning to earth to end history? If it's about some anti-Christ political/religious leader taking over the world, against whom Christians should stand up as a witness to the truth and the true King, Jesus Christ, why would Jesus advise to flee cowardly?
2nd quote: "Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house." Oh yeah, that's really sensible advice. I'll just jump off my roof when Jesus or the anti-Christ comes. Tell me when coming off your roof in a hurry ever makes sense except in 1st-century Israel.
3d quote: "But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day." I understand that winter can be a bad time for fleeing at any time in history, but I'm not sure why the sabbath day would make a difference today. Can someone explain that timing issue and its relevance to our day or later?
4th quote: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Do you still not see it? It's been there all along - ". . . nor ever shall be." So, are you sorry that you have missed the Great Tribulation? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you have.
5th quote: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Tell me, end-of-the-worlders, if the end of the world is the event being referred to by Christ, why in the name of total fiery destruction would flesh need to be saved and the days shortened if the world is about to be burned up with fire? Even if you believe in some extra-biblical, post-apocalypse, bureaucratic government, ruled by Jesus and His post-resurrection saints, then you still can't explain why there would be any need to shorten the days of destruction for the sake of the elect, who would be resurrected from the dead anyway in order to rule after the destruction of anti-Christ?
Thus, even if you just read Jesus' words with some good, ole common sense, you have to know that there's something wrong with the futuristic view of Matthew 24. You should at least ask some questions. But that's not all.
Matthew 24 Part 2
Most people reading the bible do not know how to interpret prophetic language. Instead of using the bible to interpret the bible, they use the newspaper or the most simplistic method. Here's an example from Matthew 24. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14.
Have you ever really thought through that one? Let's look at it from the typical "the end is near and it's hopefully getting nearer" perspective.
First, does that mean every person has to hear the gospel accurately and fully preached? What if they read it on the internet? What if they hear a street preacher but leave before the final clear message is stated? At what point do you know that every last individual has heard the preaching of the good news so that you will know the end is at hand, or more at hand? That's why He told us, right? So we'd know when the end is to occur - the one we're also not supposed to know when it will occur. Compare Matthew 24:3 and Acts 1:6-7.
Second, Jesus said in Matthew 28, just before His ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, the most powerful throne in the universe, that the disciples were to preach the gospel of the kingdom, teaching them to obey all that He had commanded. What's the point of obeying all that He had commanded if the end of the world happens just as the last person hears the gospel preached? How does God's original plan for planet earth get fulfilled, if it's destroyed upon that last successful preaching of the gospel, contrary to Genesis 9:11 and 15 by the way? Why would God destroy His earth now that the gospel has been proclaimed fully? What about the leaven of the kingdom that acts over time? What about the seed that Jesus said becomes the greatest tree in the garden?
Third, did Jesus mean the entire earth, or did He mean the known world of His time? "A few years before the destruction of Jerusalem, Paul wrote to Christians in Colossae of 'the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing' (Col. 1:5-6), and exhorted them not to depart 'from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven' (Col. 1:23). To the church at Rome, Paul announced that 'your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world' (Rom. 1:8), for the voice of gospel preachers 'has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world' (Rom. 10:18). According to the infallible Word of God, the gospel was indeed preached to the whole world, well before Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. This crucial sign of the end was fulfilled, as Jesus had said." Chilton, "Paradise Restored," p. 91, published by Dominion Press, Tyler, TX, in 1985 and reprinted in 1985, 1987, and 1994.
Fourth,if, as Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' prophesy has already been fulfilled, then what was He referring to? I'm pretending for the moment that Jesus did not tell us at the beginning of Matthew 24 exactly what event He was talking about - the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. I can't say it any better than David Chilton said it in "Paradise Restored."
Why do the end-timers contend that we take literally the words in Matthew 24 and Revelation but do not take literally the words of Paul, an inspired writer of God? Perhaps, it wouldn't fit into their preconceived theology of the end, their eschatology? Who then is twisting God's word? Those who interpret literally what is intended to be interpreted in the bible's illustrative language and in context. Or those who Christ to return in their own generation. Is the latter faithful to what Christ was telling us? Is it faithful to the bible?
I say it is unfaithful to the text and intent of what Christ wanted. He wanted us to build - "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Matthew 6:33. No matter how bad it gets, we do not yearn for Christ's coming, except as it relates to His delivering us from evil and assisting in establishing His kingdom, honoring His Father, and keeping faithful with the original intent of the Genesis plan, which will frustrate the plan of the serpent. Do you want the world to end with Satan's choice of king of kings and lord of lords in charge? Really? Is that God's plan for planet earth? That the defeated one be alive and well when Christ returns? Is that what Christ died for, rose again for, and ascended to the most powerful position in the universe for? I don't think so.
Have you ever really thought through that one? Let's look at it from the typical "the end is near and it's hopefully getting nearer" perspective.
First, does that mean every person has to hear the gospel accurately and fully preached? What if they read it on the internet? What if they hear a street preacher but leave before the final clear message is stated? At what point do you know that every last individual has heard the preaching of the good news so that you will know the end is at hand, or more at hand? That's why He told us, right? So we'd know when the end is to occur - the one we're also not supposed to know when it will occur. Compare Matthew 24:3 and Acts 1:6-7.
Second, Jesus said in Matthew 28, just before His ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, the most powerful throne in the universe, that the disciples were to preach the gospel of the kingdom, teaching them to obey all that He had commanded. What's the point of obeying all that He had commanded if the end of the world happens just as the last person hears the gospel preached? How does God's original plan for planet earth get fulfilled, if it's destroyed upon that last successful preaching of the gospel, contrary to Genesis 9:11 and 15 by the way? Why would God destroy His earth now that the gospel has been proclaimed fully? What about the leaven of the kingdom that acts over time? What about the seed that Jesus said becomes the greatest tree in the garden?
Third, did Jesus mean the entire earth, or did He mean the known world of His time? "A few years before the destruction of Jerusalem, Paul wrote to Christians in Colossae of 'the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing' (Col. 1:5-6), and exhorted them not to depart 'from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven' (Col. 1:23). To the church at Rome, Paul announced that 'your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world' (Rom. 1:8), for the voice of gospel preachers 'has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world' (Rom. 10:18). According to the infallible Word of God, the gospel was indeed preached to the whole world, well before Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. This crucial sign of the end was fulfilled, as Jesus had said." Chilton, "Paradise Restored," p. 91, published by Dominion Press, Tyler, TX, in 1985 and reprinted in 1985, 1987, and 1994.
Fourth,if, as Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' prophesy has already been fulfilled, then what was He referring to? I'm pretending for the moment that Jesus did not tell us at the beginning of Matthew 24 exactly what event He was talking about - the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. I can't say it any better than David Chilton said it in "Paradise Restored."
Why do the end-timers contend that we take literally the words in Matthew 24 and Revelation but do not take literally the words of Paul, an inspired writer of God? Perhaps, it wouldn't fit into their preconceived theology of the end, their eschatology? Who then is twisting God's word? Those who interpret literally what is intended to be interpreted in the bible's illustrative language and in context. Or those who Christ to return in their own generation. Is the latter faithful to what Christ was telling us? Is it faithful to the bible?
I say it is unfaithful to the text and intent of what Christ wanted. He wanted us to build - "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Matthew 6:33. No matter how bad it gets, we do not yearn for Christ's coming, except as it relates to His delivering us from evil and assisting in establishing His kingdom, honoring His Father, and keeping faithful with the original intent of the Genesis plan, which will frustrate the plan of the serpent. Do you want the world to end with Satan's choice of king of kings and lord of lords in charge? Really? Is that God's plan for planet earth? That the defeated one be alive and well when Christ returns? Is that what Christ died for, rose again for, and ascended to the most powerful position in the universe for? I don't think so.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Stephen, Herod, and II Thessalonians
"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." II Thessalonians 1:3-10.
The suffering of those Christians from persecution in the first century and through all of history demonstrates the justice of the just God, who will recompense those who attack His people. When? To read this passage as it is almost always read is to assume that one day when Christ returns physically to end the world, then the recompense will occur. But that is not the scripture. Notice that Paul does not say that Jesus will return to earth from heaven; he says "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven." Replace the word "from" with the word "in," and it becomes very clear. ("The KJV translates Strong's G575 in the following manner: from (393x), of (129x), out of (48x), for (10x), off (10x), by (9x), at (9x), in (6x), since (with G3739) (5x), on (5x), not tr. (16x), misc. (31x).")
The revelation of Christ sitting at the right hand of God as the just Judge, recompensing the wicked NOW, not some day in the future, was the comfort and rest for those Christians suffering two thousand years ago. It's hard to imagine that the idea of Christ returning millennia after their unjust deaths would be much comfort to them. The passage clearly says that He will take vengeance on their persecutors, not the persecutors of another generation of Christians.
Stephen and Herod are the perfect demonstrations of this principle. After Stephen's accusation of the Sanhedrin, the statement that finally drove them to destroy Stephen was this: "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." Acts 7:56-8. Stephen revealed Christ "in heaven" standing at the right hand of God Almighty. These were the same people who persecuted and crucified Christ. They would face just recompense in the appropriate time - in the first century, not centuries later.
In Chapter 12 of Acts, Herod executes James, the brother of John, then discovering that his death pleased the Jewish authorities, he put Peter in prison with the same intent of killing him. After prayer by the Church, Peter was miraculously released from Herod's prison. Directly after this event, Herod traveled to Caesarea, and when the people of Tyre and Sidon proclaimed him a god, "immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." Acts 12:23.
Christ, the just executor of the wicked exercised His authority from heaven and sitting at the right hand of God, justly put Herod to death. Yes, there is perfect and final justice upon Christ's second coming. That does not mean that Christ cannot exercise His authority in the present even before He returns. Then there shall be eternal vengeance "away from the presence of the Lord" and He "shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." II Thessalonians 1:10. That event does not limit His ability to give His saints rest from persecution by destroying their enemies, and that ability would apply in our day also.
The suffering of those Christians from persecution in the first century and through all of history demonstrates the justice of the just God, who will recompense those who attack His people. When? To read this passage as it is almost always read is to assume that one day when Christ returns physically to end the world, then the recompense will occur. But that is not the scripture. Notice that Paul does not say that Jesus will return to earth from heaven; he says "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven." Replace the word "from" with the word "in," and it becomes very clear. ("The KJV translates Strong's G575 in the following manner: from (393x), of (129x), out of (48x), for (10x), off (10x), by (9x), at (9x), in (6x), since (with G3739) (5x), on (5x), not tr. (16x), misc. (31x).")
The revelation of Christ sitting at the right hand of God as the just Judge, recompensing the wicked NOW, not some day in the future, was the comfort and rest for those Christians suffering two thousand years ago. It's hard to imagine that the idea of Christ returning millennia after their unjust deaths would be much comfort to them. The passage clearly says that He will take vengeance on their persecutors, not the persecutors of another generation of Christians.
Stephen and Herod are the perfect demonstrations of this principle. After Stephen's accusation of the Sanhedrin, the statement that finally drove them to destroy Stephen was this: "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." Acts 7:56-8. Stephen revealed Christ "in heaven" standing at the right hand of God Almighty. These were the same people who persecuted and crucified Christ. They would face just recompense in the appropriate time - in the first century, not centuries later.
In Chapter 12 of Acts, Herod executes James, the brother of John, then discovering that his death pleased the Jewish authorities, he put Peter in prison with the same intent of killing him. After prayer by the Church, Peter was miraculously released from Herod's prison. Directly after this event, Herod traveled to Caesarea, and when the people of Tyre and Sidon proclaimed him a god, "immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." Acts 12:23.
Christ, the just executor of the wicked exercised His authority from heaven and sitting at the right hand of God, justly put Herod to death. Yes, there is perfect and final justice upon Christ's second coming. That does not mean that Christ cannot exercise His authority in the present even before He returns. Then there shall be eternal vengeance "away from the presence of the Lord" and He "shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." II Thessalonians 1:10. That event does not limit His ability to give His saints rest from persecution by destroying their enemies, and that ability would apply in our day also.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
The Book of Esther Played Out in Acts
In Acts 4, Peter continues the accusation that Jesus began. He accused the Sanhedrin and the High Priest of killing the "Blessed One." Their message of comfort changed once the leadership began their attempt to stop the message. It turned to accusation. It was either Christ or the establishment. The apostles and other of Christ's followers, like Stephen, clearly thought Christ would be victorious over the establishment of that day. The establishment thought they would survive somehow within the Roman system or escape it in the future somehow. Christ and His apostles focused on God and his judgment of who should succeed and prosper into future generations; the establishment relied upon political power, negotiation, gamesmanship, waiting the Romans out, as they had waited out the other empires that had taken Israel captive. In that waiting, however, the establishment ignored Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the other visions Daniel saw. See 10th post, "Daniel - The Key Timing Prophecy."
Acts 5 is full of the blessing of God upon the Apostles, showing that history was with them. Key events: Miraculous judgment upon Ananias and Saphira in the new church like the judgment upon Achan and his family in the church of Israel in Joshua 7 upon first entering Canaan, multitudes of sick healed, miraculous signs, persecution by the Sanhedrin, miraculous release by God's hand from prison, and intercession by the most honorable of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, in the Apostles' favor. Every aspect of life was working in the Apostles' favor, whether the miraculous, the political, their liberty to preach, the preservation of the holiness of the early Church - everything was working in their favor, and everything was working against the establishment. It was the inverse of the story in the book of Esther about Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Everything Haman did to try to destroy and frustrate the Jews was turned around by the providence of God to frustrate and destroy him.
What was ironic and what demonstrated the blindness of the Jewish establishment was the fact that the possbility that they could be playing the part of Haman. They had no conception of that possibility, verifying John the Baptist's warning:
"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." Matthew 3:7-10.
They did not heed John the Baptist's words, even though he was a prophet, and so they reaped what he promised - blindness and God's judgment. Soon after Acts 5, the establishment, which can neither win legitimately nor resist the power of the new Church, turns to what they used against Christ - false accusation and murder. That strategy arose not from deliberation - Gamaliel had ended that as a wise strategy; no, it arose out of the passion of a moment - Stephen's faithful indictment citing the Hebrew Covenant and law of Moses and the prophets, which exposed the hellish hearts and motives of the establishment. Most importantly, it exposed the establishment's failure to abide by the very scriptures they contended they lived by and by which they accused the Apostles and Stephen.
But, like Pharoah, they had been raised up for this very purpose - to have power temporarily and then be cast down, demonstrating the truth and the glory of God. "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." Exodus 9:16. To the establishment, this verse could only apply to Gentiles, even though God's testimony through Daniel lead to the salvation of a Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar. It was a mysterious thing - that the people of God could be NOT the people of God; it was mysterious to Daniel. Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1-4, 8-13. With Christ's coming, mountains would be leveled, valleys raised, the crooked made straight, and the hearts of many would be revealed. Luke 2:34-5. It was a mystery to John the Apostle. Revelation 17.
Again, timing was critical. The establishment didn't understand the times, even though Daniel had laid them out. They didn't understand that they could not wait this one out. God had changed things, established His Son as the new Moses, the new Adam, for a new people, a new Church. The old would be swept away, and all those who held onto that old would be swept away with it. And the establishment, those who had persecuted and rejected the Stone, Christ, would see it with their own eyes in their own lifetimes.
Acts 5 is full of the blessing of God upon the Apostles, showing that history was with them. Key events: Miraculous judgment upon Ananias and Saphira in the new church like the judgment upon Achan and his family in the church of Israel in Joshua 7 upon first entering Canaan, multitudes of sick healed, miraculous signs, persecution by the Sanhedrin, miraculous release by God's hand from prison, and intercession by the most honorable of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, in the Apostles' favor. Every aspect of life was working in the Apostles' favor, whether the miraculous, the political, their liberty to preach, the preservation of the holiness of the early Church - everything was working in their favor, and everything was working against the establishment. It was the inverse of the story in the book of Esther about Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Everything Haman did to try to destroy and frustrate the Jews was turned around by the providence of God to frustrate and destroy him.
What was ironic and what demonstrated the blindness of the Jewish establishment was the fact that the possbility that they could be playing the part of Haman. They had no conception of that possibility, verifying John the Baptist's warning:
"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." Matthew 3:7-10.
They did not heed John the Baptist's words, even though he was a prophet, and so they reaped what he promised - blindness and God's judgment. Soon after Acts 5, the establishment, which can neither win legitimately nor resist the power of the new Church, turns to what they used against Christ - false accusation and murder. That strategy arose not from deliberation - Gamaliel had ended that as a wise strategy; no, it arose out of the passion of a moment - Stephen's faithful indictment citing the Hebrew Covenant and law of Moses and the prophets, which exposed the hellish hearts and motives of the establishment. Most importantly, it exposed the establishment's failure to abide by the very scriptures they contended they lived by and by which they accused the Apostles and Stephen.
But, like Pharoah, they had been raised up for this very purpose - to have power temporarily and then be cast down, demonstrating the truth and the glory of God. "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." Exodus 9:16. To the establishment, this verse could only apply to Gentiles, even though God's testimony through Daniel lead to the salvation of a Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar. It was a mysterious thing - that the people of God could be NOT the people of God; it was mysterious to Daniel. Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1-4, 8-13. With Christ's coming, mountains would be leveled, valleys raised, the crooked made straight, and the hearts of many would be revealed. Luke 2:34-5. It was a mystery to John the Apostle. Revelation 17.
Again, timing was critical. The establishment didn't understand the times, even though Daniel had laid them out. They didn't understand that they could not wait this one out. God had changed things, established His Son as the new Moses, the new Adam, for a new people, a new Church. The old would be swept away, and all those who held onto that old would be swept away with it. And the establishment, those who had persecuted and rejected the Stone, Christ, would see it with their own eyes in their own lifetimes.
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