THE REALITY OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

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A persecution

The persecution of Christians is often a topic many prefer to avoid but it is a reality. Throughout the New Testament, we read that the world hates Christians and that they will be persecuted. Here are a few of the verses:

  • Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
  • Mark 10:29-30, “Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”
  • Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”
  • John 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
  • Acts 14:22, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
  • Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”
  • Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
  • 2 Corinthians 12:10, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
  • 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

In an article called “The Promise of Persecution,” Greg Laurie mentioned that the period in church history from A.D. 100 to A.D. 314 was known as the Martyr Period, when literally thousands of Christians sealed their fate with their blood for their believes. According to secular historians, there have been 10 great persecutions against the church. These were all major attempts to wipe out Christianity from the face of the earth, starting with the wicked Caesar Nero and ending with Diocletian. Believers were fed alive to wild animals. They were taken to Roman arenas for sport. They were torn apart, tortured, and burned at the stake.

But persecution is not a thing of the past. As a matter of fact, as we approach the soon return of Christ, the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world is reaching “genocidal” levels, according to a new report commissioned by the British government in December 2018. In terms of an interim report issued by an Independent Review set up at the request of the UK foreign secretary, are overwhelmingly the most targeted religious group in the world, and “acts of violence and other intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread.” In some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN. Christianity is now facing “the possibility of being wiped out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. As an example, in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today. In Syria the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000. The report notes that violent persecution exists “in many forms,” and can include both state and non-state actors. In an article published by CBS News on 3 May 2019, 80 percent of religious believers who are being persecuted around the world are Christians.

Even in the western world we see how the removal of crosses and the destruction of Church buildings and other Church symbols are on the increase. The 116th class of US Congress is one of the most diverse to serve the United States and the Bible is no longer the only religious book in use to swear in officials – the Quran now enjoys equal status. FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor asserted in an op-ed written for the Tribune News Service that the officially sanctioned National Day of Prayer — observed on May 2 this year — “goes against the spirit of the secular Constitution.” Prayers and Biblical teachings have basically been removed from all schools and universities. Christian businesses are often being forced to provide services that go against their religion, like baking wedding cakes for homosexual couples, while some churches are summoned to marry such couples. We also see attacks and discrimination increasing against Christians on social media. These are but only a few examples.

The Easter Sunday massacres in Sri Lanka (the third Easter in a row that has been targeted by radical Islamists) during which 359 Christians died, should still be fresh in our minds. These horrendous murders made the press for a day or two, while the world generally cared more about the fire in the famous Catholic Notre Dame cathedral than it does about those people who have their bodies blown to bits in architecturally less significant places of worship. Terrible massacres on Christians in Africa hardly enjoyed any news coverage, while the entire world mourned when 50 Muslims were gunned down in New Zealand in March 2019.

BUT WHY ARE CHRISTIANS BEING PERSECUTED?

In John 15:18 Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” As Christians, we are not like the world—vain, earthly, sensual, and given to pleasure, wealth, and ambition— and the world therefore opposes and hates us. Christian morals also stand in the way of globalism, socialism and for the Antichrist to be revealed.

Jesus also said, ” ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Peter says of Jesus, “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). In Matthew 5:10-12 we also read, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The persecution of Christians allows them to share in a unique fellowship with the Lord. Paul serves as an excellent example. James argues that trials test the Christian’s faith, develop endurance in his life, and help develop maturity (James 1:2–4). It strengthens the character of believers and enables them to better value the support of true brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Hardship can stimulate the Lord’s people toward a greater resolve to love and comfort one another and lift one another to the throne of grace in prayer.

Even in the face of Christian persecution, we can press on and during such times, we are in constant communication with God through prayers.

Also, instead of growing weaker during these times of persecution, the body of Christ (real believers) actually grows stronger. Persecution separates the real from the false. If you are a true follower of Jesus, then you won’t back down if persecution comes your way. If God allows persecution in your life, then He will give you the strength to face it.

Sometimes we whine about how hard it is to be a Christian, even when experiencing the smallest bit of tests, trials and tribulations in our lives. Maybe we need to stop for a moment and consider our experience in comparison to that of Christians in countries such as India and in the Middle East.

 

We should prepare ourselves as I do believe that persecution will intensify as we get closer to the Lord’s return.

 

 

 

THE “GOOD NEWS” FOR ISRAEL – EZEKIEL THE PROPHET

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As watchmen, we are lately so entangled in Ezekiel 38 and 39 (the Gog and Magog war), that we almost forget about the good news relating to the physical and spiritual restoration that was prophesied for Israel.

When studying Ezekiel chapters 34 to 37, there should be no doubt that these prophecies must and will have a literal fulfillment. To allegorize these chapters to support Replacement / Fulfillment theology is not only dishonoring holy Scripture but also making God a liar.

RESTORATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL (EZEKIEL 34:10-36:15)

PHYSICAL RESTORATION

God promised to rescue the Jews in Israel’s future restoration (v. 10). He declared that He Himself would search for His sheep and rescue them from where they had been scattered (vv. 11–12). God promised, “I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land” (v. 13). This prediction of the future regathering of Israel from all over the world is still in progress and will be fulfilled when the coming millennial kingdom begins.

God will especially care for those who are weak or injured and who had been trampled by the stronger sheep and will bring them to rich pastures. He will shepherd them and will serve as a judge “between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (vv. 14-20).

Central to God’s plan of restoration for Israel will be the resurrection of David as a true shepherd who will serve as a prince under Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (vv. 23–24). This places the fulfillment at the second coming when Old Testament saints will be resurrected (Dan. 12:1–3).

God also promised that this would be a time of peace when the wild beasts will not afflict them, when they will receive showers to water the land, and trees will bear their fruit (Ezek. 34:25–27).

God also promised to keep them in safety, no longer allowing the nations to plunder them, and would deliver them from famine (vv. 28–29). As a result of God’s work in restoration of Israel, “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God,’ declares the Sovereign LORD” (vv. 30–31). This will be fulfilled in the millennium (Jer. 23:5–8).

Ezekiel 36:8–36 continues to describe the blessings. She will be restored like a tree producing branches and fruit (v. 8). God will increase the number of the house of Israel, and her cities will once again be inhabited and her ruins rebuilt (v. 10). Even animals will be more plentiful and the land will become fruitful (v. 11). God not only promised that the children of Israel would walk on her ancient land and possess it but also that nothing would deprive them of their children (v. 12), referring to the fact that Israel would be permanently established in her land when her final restoration takes place (Amos 9:15). God declared that never again will the children of Israel be destroyed and suffer taunts from the nations (Ezek. 36:13–15).

THE SCATTERING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

God reminded the children of Israel, however, of their wickedness and how they were judged and dispersed among the nations because they had sinned against Him (vv. 16–18). God declared that the Israelites would be “scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions” (v. 19).

THE SPIRITUAL CLEANSING OF ISRAEL

God would not restore Israel because she deserved it, but because of His desire to show her His righteousness and His holiness (vv. 22–23). In her restoration God would cleanse her and give her His Holy Spirit: “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (vv. 24–27). The Holy Spirit will indwell them in that day, in contrast to the Mosaic dispensation when only a few were indwelt.

In that day when the Israelites again live in their Promised Land, they will belong to God, and God will be their God (v. 28). God will make their grain plentiful and they will no longer have famine (vv. 29–30). When God will prosper them in their day of the restoration, they will think back to their wickedness and know that God has shown them His grace.

The land is described as resettled, rebuilt, no longer desolate but like the garden of Eden (vv. 33–35). This will be a testimony to the nations that God has restored Israel (v. 36). Most important, Israel will know that the Lord is her God and that He has restored her.

This entire chapter requires a future millennial kingdom after the second coming of Christ for its complete and literal fulfillment (Jer. 23:5–8). Just as the prophecies of judgment were literally fulfilled in connection with Israel and the nations, so her future restoration will be literally fulfilled and she will experience the marvelous grace of God.

DIVISION OF THE DRY BONES: THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL (EZEKIEL 37:1-14)

In Ezekiel 37:1–10, the prophet was given a vision of a valley filled with dry bones. The Lord asked him the question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (v. 3). Ezekiel was cautious in replying, indicating that only the Lord would know (v. 3).

Ezekiel then was instructed to prophesy that these dry bones would come to life, that the bones would come together, that flesh would cover them, and finally that they would have the breath of life much like Adam (Gen. 2:7).

Then God spoke to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live’” (Ezek. 37:9). When Ezekiel obeyed the Lord and prophesied, “breath entered [the bones]; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army” (v. 10).

In Ezekiel 37:11–14, the Lord now interpreted the vision for him. He was informed that the bones represented Israel. Her hopeless, dried condition illustrated her hopelessness of ever being restored. In response to this, God promised to bring her back from death and to the land of Israel. God would put His Holy Spirit in her, and she would be settled in her own land.

The Lord said, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it,’ declares the LORD” (vv. 11–14).

In biblical interpretation today, many affirm that Israel will never be restored. They share the hopelessness that gripped the Israelites as they were scattered from their land to Assyria and Babylon. Contradicting this hopeless situation, God promised to restore Israel and in the strongest possible terms indicated that He would bring new life to her, and she would be restored as a nation, that she would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and she would settle in her own land in safety.

The prediction that she would be brought up from the grave is partly symbolic in that the nation seemed to be dead and will be restored to physical life. But it is also to be considered literally, because according to Daniel 12:1–3, at the close of the great tribulation when Christ returns in His second coming, there will be a resurrection of Old Testament saints. Both figuratively and literally Israel will be restored and given new life.

Those who have died and who were saved will be resurrected to share in the millennial kingdom as resurrected saints. The promise that His Holy Spirit would be in Israel goes beyond her experience under the Law, when the Holy Spirit was with her but not necessarily in her (John 14:17).

SIGN OF THE TWO STICKS – A SINGLE NATION AGAIN (EZEKIEL 37:15-28)

Ezekiel 37:15–17. Ezekiel was commanded, “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Ephraim’s stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand” (vv. 16–17).

The situation being addressed was that of the divided kingdom. After Solomon, the ten tribes following Jeroboam became the kingdom of Israel; the two remaining tribes in Jerusalem, Judah and Benjamin, became the kingdom of Judah. The ten tribes were carried off to Assyria in 722 BC, and the two remaining tribes were carried off by Babylon between 605 and 586 BC. The situation where these two kingdoms were divided will end, and as this and other prophecies predict, the two kingdoms will become one nation (cf. Jer. 3:18; 23:5–6; 30:3; Hosea 1:11; Amos 9:11). No fulfillment has ever been recorded in history, and the future regathering of Israel will occur in the millennium.

Ezekiel 37:18–23. Ezekiel was instructed to answer the questions of those who asked the meaning of the two sticks, and he was to tell them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join them to Judah’s stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand” (v. 19).

God then further interpreted this, saying, “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms” (vv. 21–22). God promised He would keep Israel from defiling herself as she has done in the past, and He declared, “I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (v. 23). This will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom.

Ezekiel 37:24–25. As predicted in 34:23–24, so here again the prophecy was given, “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I give my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever” (37:24–25).

Though some have attempted to take this prophecy in less than its literal meaning, the clear statement is that David, who is now dead and whose body is in his tomb in Jerusalem (Acts 2:29), will be resurrected. This will occur at the second coming (Dan. 12:1–3), indicating plainly that the restoration of Israel will be subsequent to, not before, the second coming. This requires Christ’s coming before the millennium or in fulfillment of the premillennial promises. The promise that David would be her prince forever must be interpreted as being fulfilled in the thousand-year reign. Actually, the word forever is a translation of an expression “to the ages,” which may be interpreted as forever or until eternity begins.

Ezekiel 37:26–28. As Jeremiah stated, God predicted here a covenant of peace with Israel that will be “an everlasting covenant” (v. 26). Though announced in the Old Testament, it will replace the Mosaic covenant and will have its primary fulfillment for Israel at the time of the second coming when Israel is restored nationally and spiritually.

Scholars have puzzled over the precise meaning of the new covenant, earlier announced by Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31–34). Probably the simplest explanation is that in dying on the cross, God made possible a covenant of grace for those who would trust the Lord. This covenant of grace is the basis for the salvation of every individual, from the time of Adam to the last person who is saved. It is preeminently illustrated in the present age when God saves the church by grace and the Lord’s Supper commemorates the new covenant. The new covenant as applied here to Israel primarily has a prophetic meaning, which is indicated here as being fulfilled in the peace, righteousness, and restoration that will characterize the millennial kingdom.

At the time of the fulfillment of this covenant, the number of Israelites in the land will increase greatly, especially during the millennial kingdom. A preliminary prophecy that God will provide a sanctuary (Ezek. 37:28) referred to a millennial temple that is described later in Ezekiel (40–48).

God promised to be with Israel and dwell among her in the millennial kingdom (v. 27). This will also be true in the new earth in eternity. The restoration of Israel will be a sign to the world so that the nations will know that it will be accomplished by the holy Lord, who is able to cleanse Israel and make her holy.

(Source: John F. Walvoord – Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times)

 

OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY – CREATION AND THE FALL

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There are four main historical facts to keep in mind:

  • The creation of all things by the word of God’s power. The first verse in the book of Genesis simply states the general fact, that “In the beginning” — whenever that may have been — “God created the heaven and the earth.”
  • The descent of all men from our common parents, Adam and Eve. “He has made of one blood all nations, for to dwell on the face of the earth.”
  • Our connection with Adam as the head of the human race, through which all mankind were involved in his sin and fall;
  • That One descended from Adam, yet without his sin, by suffering freeD us from the consequences of the fall, and as the second Adam became the Author of eternal salvation to all who trust in Him.
  • To these four vital truths there might be added, as a fifth, the institution of one day in seven to be a day of holy rest unto God.

God “created all things by Jesus Christ;” (Ephesians 3:9) and “all things were created by Him, and for Him,” (Colossians 1:16) and “of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.” (Romans 11:36. See also 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:2; John 1:3). This gives not only unity to all creation, but places it in living connection with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The seventh day, God rested and called it the Sabbath. It is upon the original institution of the Sabbath as a day of holy rest that our observance of the Lord’s day is finally based, the change in the precise day — from the seventh to the first of the week — having been occasioned by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which not only the first, but also the new creation was finally completed. (See Isaiah 65:17)

Of all His works God only “created man in His own image: in the image of God created He him.” God “put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it,” and gave him a companion in Eve, whom Adam recognized as bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh. He also laid in Paradise the foundation of civil society by the institution of marriage and of the family. (Comp. Mark 10:6, 9)

But evil was already in this world, for Satan and his angels had rebelled against God. We are told that “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” had been placed “in the midst of the garden,” and of the fruit of this tree God forbade Adam to eat, or face death. On the other hand, there was also “the tree of life” in the garden, probably as symbol and pledge of a higher life, which we should have inherited if our first parents had continued obedient to God.

The serpent approached Eve, denied the threatening of God, and deceived her as to the real consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. This, followed by the enticement of her own senses, led Eve first to eat, and then to induce her husband to do likewise.

Their eyes were indeed opened, as the serpent had promised, “to know good and evil;” but only in their own guilty knowledge of sin, which immediately prompted the wish to hide themselves from the presence of God.

In the day he sinned man died in body, soul, and spirit. As Adam was the head of his race who represented the whole, the consequences of his disobedience have extended to us all; and as “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,” so “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Even “creation itself,” which had been placed under his dominion, was made through his fall “subject to vanity,” and came under the curse, as God said to Adam: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”

God however, in His infinite mercy, did not leave man to perish in his sin. He was indeed driven forth from Paradise but before that, God had pronounced the curse upon his tempter, Satan, and had given man the precious promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent. Our blessed Savior, “born of a woman,” would redeem us from the power of sin and of death, through His own obedience, death, and resurrection.

Therefore, when our first parents left the garden of Eden, it was not without hope, nor into outer darkness. They carried with them the promise of a Redeemer and the assurance of the final defeat of the great enemy.

In Adam all have sinned and fallen. But, on the other hand, it also determines our spiritual relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the second Adam. For “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” and “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

(Source: Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament)

JOHN’S VISION OF THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN

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church in heaven

REVELATION 4:1–11.

This chapter follows the messages to the seven churches and is introduced by the important phrase “AFTER THIS.” Most of the struggles of scholars attempting to interpret the book of Revelation stem from a failure to understand that the book of Revelation is a book of prophecy and that prophecy has a chronological order. This becomes the key to unlocking the book of Revelation.

In Revelation 1:9–20, John was instructed, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later” (v. 19). Simplistic as this statement is, it provides an inspired outline of the book of Revelation.

  • “What was” — it refers to the experience of John seeing Jesus in His glory in chapter 1;
  • “What is now” – it refers to the messages to the seven churches, that represent the churches in this present age;
  • “What will take place later” – it refers to that which is future.

Confusion in the interpretation of Revelation stems almost entirely from the failure to observe this divine outline. The opening of chapter 4 with the phrase “AFTER THIS,” referring to the churches, should make clear that as from chapter 4 onwards, the book of Revelation is dealing with future events.

Apart from these indications in the text of the chronological outline, a number of important arguments support this concept, which is so essential in understanding this book. One of the most convincing arguments that the future is discussed as from chapter 4, is the fact that the events described, either in symbolic or other ways, find no literal fulfillment in the history of the church. The historical school of interpretation, which regards the book of Revelation as being fulfilled in history, has been unable to provide any consensus on its interpretation and offers only confusion.

If the events described have any literal fulfillment, they, accordingly, must be fulfilled at some future time. This is in harmony with the concept that the book is prophetic rather than history or simply descriptive of the moral conflict that exists in the world. This also explains why, apart from the futuristic prophetic view, there has been no coherent, or majority interpretation. Each of the major views—allegorical, preterist, and historical—when applied to this book yield entirely different answers according to the person doing the study. Only the futurist view provides any reasonable coherence between what the book states and what the fulfillment of its prophecy would indicate. Though there are some instances where interpretation is not entirely clear, other events stand out as being specific future events and provide enough guidance so that the book of Revelation becomes a majestic unfolding of the future with the revelation of Christ at the second coming as its main theme.

One of the important conclusions in prophecy is the concept that the church composed of the saved of the present age will be in heaven while the great events of the tribulation and of the end time take place. This is exactly what is described in Revelation 4–5. The church in heaven is in contrast to the great time of trouble that will take place on the earth prior to the second coming of Christ. Accordingly, though the specific prophecies regarding the church are not the main topic of these two chapters, the vision of heaven plays off when the saints and angels and the sovereign God on His throne form an intelligent background for other events that will take place both in heaven and on earth.

John stated at the opening of Revelation 4: “AFTER THIS I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (v. 1).

Actually, John was on the Isle of Patmos where he had been exiled, and the revelation was given to him at this location. In this instance, however, he stated, “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” (v. 2). It may be debated whether John was physically caught up to heaven or whether simply in his vision he is caught up in heaven. In either case, he saw the scene as he would if he had been present. The voice that provided the invitation, according to John, was the same voice he had heard in 1:10 where he was instructed to write the message to the seven churches (v. 11).

Because John’s experience is similar to what will happen at the rapture when the church is caught up to heaven, some have equated the two events, but actually, John was not raptured, and his natural body was probably still on the Isle of Patmos. Accordingly, it is better to regard this as a special situation. It may be going on beyond the intent of this passage to hint that the rapture is going to take place in the period following the church age, but from the context in which the event is placed in the book of Revelation, it is reasonable to conclude that the rapture has taken place and that what John is seeing is a setting for events in heaven that will take place in heaven and on earth in the period after the rapture.

The word church, prominent in chapters 2–3, does not re-occur until 22:16, though the bride mentioned in 19:7, no doubt, is a reference to the church. The total absence of any reference to the church or any synonym of the church in chapters 4–18 is highly significant because ordinarily the church would be in the center of the activities. Rather, Jews and Gentiles are spoken of separately as individuals who are saved or unsaved.

John’s first experience upon arrival in heaven was to behold “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” (4:2). He described the personage on the throne in these words: “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne” (v. 3). The personage on the throne is said to resemble in His glory the jasper and the carnelian stones. The jasper, described in 21:11, is a clear stone in contrast to the jasper stone known on earth as an opaque stone. Accordingly, some have concluded that it may be a diamond in appearance. The carnelian stone is red in color like a ruby.

Though the colors of the stone, enhanced by the rainbow, resembling an emerald, which is green in color, provide the glorious appearance, the significance of these stones may be derived from their use in Israel. On the breastplate of the priest there were twelve stones, each representing a tribe of Israel. The high priest represented all twelve tribes before God when he performed his priestly functions. The jasper and the carnelian stones were the first and last of the twelve stones (cf. Ex. 28:17–21). Further, the jasper represented the tribe of Reuben, the first tribe, and the carnelian stone represented Benjamin, the youngest tribe. Mention of these two stones, accordingly, was intended to include all the twelve tribes of Israel.

Further, the names of Reuben and Benjamin have significance because Reuben has the meaning of “behold the son,” and Benjamin means “son of my right hand.” Christ, of course, fulfills both of these functions, and He is the first-begotten Son. Like Benjamin, He is “the Son of My right hand,” also speaking of Christ in His relationship to God the Father. Taking all these things into consideration, it would seem best to interpret this passage as a description of God the Father sitting on a throne. This is also supported by the fact that Christ is pictured in a different way in this passage as separate from the One on the throne, though actually He occupies the throne with the Father also. The main purpose of this vision, however, was to show the glory of God.

As John surveyed the scene in heaven, he also saw twenty-four other thrones and recorded, “Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads” (Rev. 4:4). They are obviously a representative group. In Israel, for instance, the many priests were divided into twenty-four groups, and one priest would represent each of the twenty-four.

The question has been raised, however, as to whether these twenty-four elders represent all the saints, both Old and New Testament, or only the church of the present age, or perhaps they are angelic figures. These and other interpretations have been advanced by scholars.

They were described as having white robes, speaking of righteousness in the presence of God, and wearing crowns of gold, which were not the crown of a ruler (Gr., diadem), but rather the crown of a victor (Gr., stephanos), crowns awarded victors in the race. The implication is that these have already been rewarded as symbolized in the throne.

In reconstructing the events of the end time, if the church is raptured before the end-time events and is judged at the judgment seat of Christ, it would provide a plausible explanation that these twenty-four elders are representatives of the church.

John was then made aware of ominous sounds indicating divine judgment: “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder” (4:5). The setting in heaven foreshadows the judgments to come on the earth. A similar experience of thunders, lightnings, and trumpets was experienced in the giving of the Mosaic law in Exodus 19:16. The scene in heaven that he saw was, of course, the forerunner of the terrible judgments to be inflicted on the earth in the period that followed.

John also recorded, “Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5). Mention of these seven spirits is found earlier in 1:4 and 3:1. Though no explanation is given, it is probably best to consider this a representation of the Holy Spirit in a sevenfold way rather than consider them relating to seven angels, which would be an alternate explanation.

The Holy Spirit, not ordinarily visible, on certain occasions has assumed physical form as here, and in the case of the Holy Spirit descending as a dove on Christ at His baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was seen as “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). In this scene from heaven not only God the Father was revealed on the throne and Christ in the next chapter as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5) but the Holy Spirit as well, all three persons of the Trinity being present. The term of “seven” in relation to the lamps and the spirits of God is in keeping with the concept that the number seven indicates perfection, and is in keeping also with the seven qualities or attributes of the Holy Spirit revealed in Isaiah 11:2–3.

John recorded, “Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal” (Rev. 4:6). Though the expression is not interpreted here, there seems to be a relationship to the laver or a bronze basin filled with water in the tabernacle in the Old Testament and the “Sea” in the temple (1 Kings 7:23–25), both of them being washstands designed to provide the priest with water for cleansing. Together they represent the sanctifying power of the Word of God symbolized by the water.

John also recorded, “In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings” (Rev. 4:6–8). There is considerable diversity among interpreters concerning what the four living creatures represent. Probably the best interpretation is that they are physical embodiments of the attributes of God, as the seven lamps represent the Holy Spirit (v. 5). They are compared to a lion, ox, man, and flying eagle. Some relate this to the four Gospels: Matthew represented the lion or the king; Mark, the ox or servant; Luke, man in his humanity; and John, the flying eagle representing the deity of Christ. Still others compare them to angels and find support in the fact they had six wings. Their ministry was to worship God, and John recorded, “Day and night they never stopped saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come’” (v. 8).

Their worship of God also is a call to the twenty-four elders to worship. “Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever” (vv. 9–10). The twenty-four elders also give their praise to the Lord, “They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’” (vv. 10–11).

Though the entire content of chapter 4 is what John saw in heaven, it also is a revelation of the glory and honor given to God in the future and therefore has a prophetic base. Most important, it emphasizes what events will occur in heaven while end-time events take place on earth.

In Revelation 5:1–10, attention is focused on the fact that Jesus Christ is in heaven and worthy to take the seven-sealed scroll. A separate article will still be posted on this chapter.

(Source: John F. Walvoord –  Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times (p. 525-530)).

WHO IS YOUR GOD?

HEAVENLY REMNANT MINISTRIES1 Comment

DOES GOD EXIST?

We often speak or hear about “GOD”, but do we understand who our God really is? Many religions describe a being referred to as “God.” Do we know what makes the God of the Bible unique from other gods? Understanding who God is, is of utmost importance because a false idea about God is idolatry.

Voltaire (real name François-Marie Arouet) (1694 – 1778) was a French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment. His intelligence, wit and style made him one of France’s greatest writers and philosophers, despite the controversy he attracted. Voltaire once said: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him”.

Too many like Voltaire says God was invented by man. An open-minded individual however would look at both the reasonable and scientific explanations about who God is, why a Creator do exist and the logic behind such a reasoning. Also, why God cannot be just the fabrication of man’s imagination or that religion is just a one-sided effort by man to try to fill a certain psychological need. It is the rare person who has never wondered about the existence of God. Our minds are such that we wonder. Is there something, or someone, who is beyond what we can see with our eyes and who is bigger than the physical universe we are a part of? To be GOD, such a being would have to be peerless, incomparable, unique and unmatched. Is our God such a person?

The fact of God’s existence is actually so obvious, both through creation and through man’s conscience, that the Bible calls the atheist a “fool” (Psalm 14:1). Accordingly, the Bible never attempts to prove the existence of God; rather, it assumes His existence from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1). He has revealed to humanity the essential things we need to know about Him. The Bible reveals the nature, character, and work of God. It also reveals His purpose for our lives, what He expects of us, and what He has determined about our future.

CREATOR, SUSTAINER AND RULER

God is the self-existent One, having no need of being created, since He has existed forever and is the cause of all things, including the dimension of time, to which He is not subject. Likewise, God is not subject to the physical creation, but is spiritual in nature, residing in the spiritual dimensions of heaven.

Theism is the belief in the existence of a god or gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe. God did not only create the universe and then left it to its own fate. God’s power over the physical creation is absolute, such that He can manipulate matter, energy, space, and time at will. For this reason, God is said to be all powerful—able to accomplish any possible task He wills to do.

WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE?

Since human beings are created in the image of God, most artist’s renditions picture God as looking like a human male. Although the Bible uses the personal pronoun “He” to describe God, it never says God looks like a human male.

God is a spirit (John 4:24), without physical form (i.e., not composed of ordinary matter) and His appearance is not like anything we can describe. Exodus 33:20 tells us, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” As sinful human beings, we are incapable of seeing God in all His glory. His appearance is utterly unimaginable and too glorious to be safely perceived by sinful man.

God does however give glimpses of what He looks like to teach us truths about Himself, but not necessarily so that we can have an image of Him in our minds. Two passages that powerfully describe God’s amazing appearance are Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 1:14-16.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 declares, “Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.” Revelation 1:14-16 proclaims, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”

These passages represent Ezekiel’s and John’s best attempts at describing the appearance of God. They had to use symbolic language to describe that for which human language has no words; i.e., “what appeared like,” “like the appearance,” “he looked like,” etc.

There are also descriptions of God that describe Him with wings and feathers (Psalm 91:2-4). Although God’s primary nature is spiritual, He is nevertheless able to take on physical form in order to interact with human beings on Earth. In fact, the Bible says that God took on human form, coming to earth as Jesus of Nazareth.

The Bible says that believers who die will go to heaven and “see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2), because they will be like Him, possessing “spiritual bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:44). Sin will be no more, and we will be able to perceive God in all His glory.

WHERE IS GOD?

The Bible says that God cannot be contained within the universe (1 Kings 8:27). In addition, it says that God fills both heaven and earth (Jeremiah 23:24), which is a Hebrew idiom to describe the entire universe. So, God is both transcendent and immanent simultaneously. God’s normal abode is in heaven, which is not located within the physical universe. According to the Bible heaven seems to operate under different physical laws, with the laws of thermodynamics seeming to be absent. So, the question “Where is God?” is not one that can easily be answered with the limited knowledge we possess. All we really know is that God exists everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12).

HIS CHARACTER

Along with being all powerful, and able to be present at all places at all times (omnipresent), God is also all knowing (Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:28) — having knowledge of all things that are possible to be known, including the entire history of the universe—past, present, and future. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

God is sovereign. Nothing in the universe occurs without God’s permission. God has the power and knowledge to prevent anything He chooses to prevent, so anything that does happen must, at the very least, be “allowed” by God. Even Satan cannot succeed in any of his plans, if not allowed by God. God will never create evil, but often allows Satan to go forth, and then turns it around and uses it as part of our sanctification process. Tests, trials and tribulations also reminds us of our dependence on God.

God is infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), incomparable (2 Samuel 7:22), and has all power and authority (Ephesians 1; Revelation 19:6). God is absolutely holy — without any moral or character defect. In fact, the Bible says that God is incapable of doing any evil, despite being all powerful. God is unchangeable (Malachi 3:6). In other words, He does not change any of His attributes or character at any time. Despite humanity’s tendency to change its definition of morality, God’s moral character does not evolve with the times, but remains constant.

God is also just (Acts 17:31), loving (Ephesians 2:4-5), truthful (John 14:6), and holy (1 John 1:5). He shows compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), mercy (Romans 9:15), and grace (Romans 5:17). God also judges sin (Psalm 5:5) but also offers forgiveness (Psalm 130:4) to those who repent.

The sad thing about modern-day Christianity is that many who call themselves Christians, ignore all of God’s characteristics, except for one – His love. His love is being misused as they expect of Him to bless them abundantly and to never get angry with them for living like the world, without any fear or respect for His holiness. Such people has created a weak, imaginary “Christmas Father-like” god for themselves and should not be surprised when they hear the words, “I never knew you” on judgement day. One only need to study the book of Revelation to realize the fury and wrath of God towards the unrighteous.

HIS TRIUNE NATURE

 As mentioned, God is spirit, by nature intangible (John 4:24). God is One, but He exists as three Persons — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17). This is similar in analogy to the nature of time.  Time is past, present, and future.  The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future.  But, there are not three times.  There is only one thing called time.

The following is an extraction from an article published on the “Grace To You” (John MacArthur) website.

“… though the fullness of the Trinity is far beyond human comprehension, it is unquestionably how God has revealed Himself in Scripture—as one God eternally existing in three Persons.

This is not to suggest, of course, that the Bible presents three different gods (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4). Rather, God is three Persons in one essence; the Divine essence subsists wholly and indivisibly, simultaneously and eternally, in the three members of the one Godhead—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Scriptures are clear that these three Persons together are one and only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). John 10:30 and 33 explain that the Father and the Son are one. First Corinthians 3:16 shows that the Father and the Spirit are one. Romans 8:9 makes clear that the Son and the Spirit are one. And John 14:16, 18, and 23 demonstrate that the Father, Son, and Spirit are one.

Yet, in exhibiting the unity between the members of the Trinity, the Word of God in no way denies the simultaneous existence and distinctiveness of each of the three Persons of the Godhead. In other words, the Bible makes it clear that God is one God (not three), but that the one God is a Trinity of Persons.

In the Old Testament, the Bible implies the idea of the Trinity in several ways. The title Elohim (”God”), for instance, is a plural noun which can suggest multiplicity (cf. Genesis 1:26). This corresponds to the fact that the plural pronoun (”us”) is sometimes used of God (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8). More directly, there are places in which God’s name is applied to more than one Person in the same text (Psalm 110:1; cf. Genesis 19:24). And there are also passages where all three divine Persons are seen at work (Isaiah 48:16; 61:1).

The New Testament builds significantly on these truths, revealing them more explicitly. The baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19 designates all three Persons of the Trinity: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In his apostolic benediction to the Corinthians, Paul underscored this same reality. He wrote, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Other New Testament passages also spell out the glorious truth of the Triune God (Romans 15:16, 30; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 2:18).

In describing the Trinity, the New Testament clearly distinguishes three Persons who are all simultaneously active. They are not merely modes or manifestations of the same person (as Oneness theology incorrectly asserts) who sometimes acts as Father, sometimes as Son, and sometimes as Spirit. At Christ’s baptism, all three Persons were simultaneously active (Matthew 3:16–17), with the Son being baptized, the Spirit descending, and the Father speaking from Heaven. Jesus Himself prayed to the Father (cf. Matthew 6:9), taught that His will was distinct from His Father’s (Matthew 26:39), promised that He would ask the Father to send the Spirit (John 14:16), and asked the Father to glorify Him (John 17:5). These actions would not make sense unless the Father and the Son were two distinct Persons. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit intercedes before the Father on behalf of believers (Romans 8:26), as does the Son, who is our Advocate (1 John 2:1). Again, the distinctness of each Person is in view.

The Bible is clear. There is only one God, yet He exists, and always has existed, as a Trinity of Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (cf. John 1:1-2). To deny or misunderstand the Trinity is to deny or misunderstand the very nature of God Himself.”

HIS WORK

We cannot understand God apart from His works, because what God does flows from who He is. Here is an abbreviated list of God’s works, past, present, and future: God created the world (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5); He actively sustains the world (Colossians 1:17); He is executing His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11) which involves the redemption of man from the curse of sin and death (Galatians 3:13-14); He draws people to Christ (John 6:44); He disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:6); and He will judge the world (Revelation 20:11-15).

A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM

If God created the entire universe as a place to accommodate human beings, He must have had a plan in mind. The Bible says God wants as many people as possible to spend eternity with Him. However, since God’s standard for behavior is perfection in thought and deed, we will never be able to meet God’s standard on our own.

But God is also Savior of mankind, coming to Earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. His main purpose was to provide the ultimate sacrifice for sins (bad things we do), by living a completely sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), dying on a cross (Colossians 1:19-20), and rising from the dead (Romans 6:9-10). He provided the ultimate example of holiness and the ultimate sacrifice for humanity’s evilness, in order to restore our personal relationship with Him. In the Person of the Son, God became incarnate (John 1:14). The Son of God became the Son of Man and is therefore the “bridge” between God and man (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). It is only through the Son that we can have forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), reconciliation with God (John 15:15; Romans 5:10), and eternal salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Jesus Christ “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). So, to really know who God is, all we have to do is look at Jesus.

SOURCES:

https://www.gotquestions.org/who-is-God.html

http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/who_is_god.html

https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Who-is-God-20120531

https://carm.org/who-is-god

https://www.gotquestions.org/what-does-God-look-like.html

https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A215/our-triune-god

 

 

Challenge Your Addiction, and WIN

HEAVENLY REMNANT MINISTRIESLeave a comment

We received an email from one of our subscribers, Adam Cook, who recently lost a good friend who suffered from drug abuse. Adam has now made it his mission to assist and encourage people who are addicted to drugs. The following was written by Adam:

DRUG ADDICTION

Photo Credit: Pexels

If you’re one of the 23.5 million Americans suffering from addiction, you’re not alone. But, now’s the perfect time to give yourself the gift that will last a lifetime, sobriety. No matter what your vice, where you started, or when you started, there’s no better time than now to challenge yourself back to health.

Let’s get started. The first thing you’re going to need to do, is to decide on the level of support you need. Support is usually broken down into these categories:

Medically supervised detox is required for some patients because their long-term addiction has affected their physical health, as well as their psychological health; this is typically done in an inpatient medical setting.

Residential inpatient care typically offers patients a 30, 60 or 90 day program to live on the premise where round the clock care is provided. These highly structured programs offer valuable individual and group therapy sessions.

Partial hospitalization programs are offered at some facilities. Patients typically seek extensive therapeutic treatment during the day, and return to a sober living facility, in the evening.

Counseling for drug and alcohol is the least expensive option because it offers a far less extensive treatment plan, usually an hour of counseling once or twice a week. The best approach to ensure complete recovery is to consider this after completing one of the above.

Once you leave an addiction treatment center, you’ll need to start incorporating healthier habits [br1] in your daily routine. Forming new habits is a critical part of addiction recovery.

Where you live. If you’re returning to a residence where you’re surrounded by others who are addicted and getting care, you’re going to need to strongly consider finding a new place to live. Your successful recovery will depend on who you surround yourself with; search for a neighborhood where you see lots of healthy folks living.

Who you spend your time with. When you’re recovering you need to avoid triggers that may cause a relapse; friends who are still using, is a huge one. Surround yourself with healthy friends who aren’t dealing with addiction.

Exercise. Addiction affects both the mental and physical part of your body, and exercise works to heal both parts. Many recovered addicts report that group exercise was an integral part of their post rehab routine; this is likely because of the exercise and mental health connection and the socialization and mental health connection.

Volunteer. If you’re well along in your addiction recovery, now would be a good time to share your wisdom and experience with others. Consider volunteering to address young people in schools, for example.  If you’re newer to the process, volunteer in something that you’re passionate about. If you’re an animal lover, check out volunteer jobs at the local Humane Society.

Get good rest. A study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine reported that the incidence of insomnia was five times more likely in a recovering addict than in the general population. The National Sleep Foundation recommends:

  • Keep a regular sleep schedule for both falling asleep and waking.
  • Thirty minutes before bed follow a repeated ritual that relaxes you, such as reading a book, taking a bath, meditation, or deep breathing exercises.
  • Don’t eat too much or too little before bed, both disrupt your sleep.
  • Incorporate daily exercise.
  • Eliminate light and sound as much as possible. Consider eyeshades and white noise machines to block these out.

Focus on your positive. Part of the 12 Steps of Recovery call for a “fearless and searching moral inventory.” During this exercise, addicts focus on both their positive and negative qualities. All too often, though, addicts tend to find primarily the negative. Use this time instead to focus on your best traits.

Hopefully, after reading this you’ve accepted the challenge. There’s no time like the present to commit for the win!

THE CALLING OF A WATCHMAN

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The word “watchmen” is translated from the Hebrew word shamar or shomer. It appears 468 times in the Scripture and is translated “watchman” eight times. Other alternate translations are keep, guard, guardian, keeper, watch, observe, heed, or preserve.

“On Your Walls O Jerusalem I Have Appointed Watchmen; All Day And All Night they Will Never Keep Silent. You Who Remind the Lord Take No Rest For Yourselves.” (Isaiah 62:8).

It was Isaiah who first prophesied that God would raise up watchmen concerning the forthcoming events in the history of the Hebrews. As the events prophetically predicted by Isaiah unfold, we indeed see God calling the Prophet Ezekiel as the most prominent watchman in the scriptural usage of the word “watchman” (Ezekiel 3:17, 33:7), and it is Ezekiel that biblically best demonstrates what a watchman is and what he does.

Watchmen were critical for many reasons. In the Bible, watchmen would pray for repentance in the city (Ezekiel 18:30-32). They were called to wake up the city from its apostasy (Hosea 8:1) and turn from destruction (Amos 3:6). Praying watchmen provided protection from invasion (Jeremiah 4:5) and reported any sign of danger approaching the city (II Samuel 18:24-27).

THE BIBLICAL WATCHMAN, EZEKIEL

In Ezekiel 3:17-21, the underlying spiritual aspect of the watchman is emphasized. In Ezekiel 33: 2-9, the watchman warns of a physical threat.

Ezekiel 3:17-21

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. 20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.”

Ezekiel 33:2-9

2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ 7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.”

According to Finis Jennings Dake, a watchman is one who looks out or sees from a height, with the view to warning of impending danger or to give any information, good or bad. The Lord often called priests and prophets to be a watchman. The duties of the watchmen were threefold: to wait and watch for what God would command and give in warning, to watch over the people, and to warn the people for God. Ezekiel’s prophetic calling was a great weight. Because the responsibility of warning the wicked sinner and the fallen righteous is not to be taken lightly.

Notice that Ezekiel is primarily concerned with fulfilling his responsibility before God. His primary concern is not whether people take heed, panic or fall back into apathetic slumber, but that he has fulfilled his duty to warn them. Their response remains their own responsibility.

CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE WATCHMEN IN THE END TIMES

With the continual threat of division, darkness, and terrorism presently in the world, watchmen are critical to warn others of the coming of the seven years of tribulation. In fact, it is felt to be a mandate from the throne of God! Any Christian who has a heart for God and a heart for others, and who is willing to humble themselves before God with a pure heart is encouraged to pray about being a part of this call.

Jesus said the End Times would be even crueler and more violent than the time He walked the Earth. He said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37) And what characterized the times of Noah? We read in Genesis 6, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”[8] and “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence.”[9]

The role of the watchman is described in scripture in both the Old- and New Testaments. In a key parable, Jesus shows how a Christian may be commissioned by Christ as a dedicated watchmen, while at the same time Christ emphasizes that every believer is to have the attitude of a watchman.

The context of Jesus’ parable in Mark 13 shows there are signs of perilous times related to the close of this age. As we see many of these signs all around us today, we understand the rapture of the Church may be close at hand, though we are shown in scripture not to be “date setters” trying to predict the exact day. Contemporary evangelical pastors, such as Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, are increasingly recognizing the importance of being informed of current events and see the need for taking a stand in society. Hibbs is a regular speaker at the Watchmen on the Wall conferences in Washington, D.C. where critical issues are raised, while at the same time there is a reassurance of our encouragement and hope in Christ and in His coming.

In Jesus’ parable of watchmen in Mark 13, the main event is the anticipated return of the “the Son of Man”, a term Jesus used to describe Himself: “For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.”[1] The King James Version of the Bible uses the word porter to describe this watchman. In some translations, this watchman is called a doorkeeper(NASB) or a gatekeeper(NLT). In one form or another, the porter serves three parties: the master of the house, the inhabitants of the house and the guests who come to visit the house.

In Jesus’ time, the Romans occupied Israel and the main threat to the Jews and the early Church was not an invading army. Information of critical news came by way of word-of-mouth and the door keepers, and those who sat at the gates of the city would be in the know. Today, threats to the community are ascertained instantly by way of the Internet and radio. Christians who consistently review news and events are serving as modern-day watchmen. Because Christians emphasize truth and integrity and are often willing to stand for truth courageously, many non-Christians are interested in the news Christians have to share.

Though the doorkeeper has the main responsibility to watch in the parable, Jesus emphasizes in the conclusion of the parable that all Christians are to have the attitude of watchmen in the End Times, especially as we await an important main event, Christ’s return to rapture the Church: “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”

PRECONCEPTIONS ARE HARD TO OVERCOME

Noah warned the people of a great disastrous flood while people had never even seen rain before. Most people were apathetic. This condition is called the “normalcy bias” and was a reason why so many Jews refused to leave Germany before being killed. When you go against the grain to warn people, most people will be apathetic, some will appreciate it, and others may even become angry. We see all three of these reactions when we warn people. Some Christians believe the Church is supposed to “feed the sheep” and that’s it. But if all we do is feed the sheep and don’t warn them of danger, all we’re really doing is just fattening them up for the kill. We shouldn’t be dogmatic in assuming our role and responsibility before God is the same as another person. Christian attitudes towards End Times prophecy range from disdain to obsession, but there is a healthy medium to be found.

To be a watchman today requires overcoming some serious obstacles, such as the mind-numbing effects of mainstream media and the dumbed-down public education system. Psychologists have also labeled a certain kind of mental inertia and coined “the normalcy bias” that describes people who believe nothing really dangerous is ever going to happen, no matter what kind of facts you may present.

POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT

Though we understand the End Times are a time of heightened trials, there are scriptures that emphasize we are to encourage one another with the blessed hope of the rapture of the Church and our ultimate unity with Christ.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-3)

PRESENTLY, THERE’S A GROWING MOVEMENT

In addition to the blogs and websites sprouting up with a watchmen theme, there are organizations, such as “Watchmen on the Wall” that focus on equipping pastors to be watchmen in their communities. The mission statement of Watchmen on the Wall states:

“Watch what is going on in the culture. Pray for the wisdom to engage biblically, courageously, and winsomely. Sound the Alarm from the pulpit. Take a bold stand with others to defend and advance faith, family, and freedom.”

Conclusion

As Christians, we are all called to be watchmen in attitude, if not in service in these End Times, according to the teachings of Jesus. We should be careful of criticizing believers who have been called by God to focus on research regarding critical information and warning others. There is no sense in living ignorantly. And the desire to stand for truth and to be “valiant for the truth” (Jeremiah 9:3b) still finds common ground among many people of diverse backgrounds.

(Main source: Templestream Blogspot)

THE ALLEGORICAL DISASTER

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2Timothy 2:15)

After Jesus rose from the dead, one of His first recorded acts was to interpret Scripture: “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). The Greek word translated “explained” in this verse is a form of the verb diermeno from which our English word “hermeneutics” is derived. The failure to interpret Scripture properly is condemned in the New Testament: “… regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2Peter 3:15,16). Peter addresses two problems: being untaught and unstable. It is ironic that in our day many consider ignorance to be bliss when it comes to studying proper hermeneutics.

The basic idea in hermeneutics is that the author’s meaning should control our interpretation. God the Holy Spirit inspired the human writers of Scripture, who used their own languages in their historical setting to convey their meaning. The job of the interpreter is to come to a clear understanding of that meaning. This means, most importantly, that we love the truth and have a heart to learn, even if what we learn is not what we hoped for or expected. When Jesus explained the Scriptures on the road to Emmaus, he told these disciples what they had not hoped for nor expected: that it was necessary for Messiah to suffer (Luke 24:26). Yet, properly interpreted, this is what the Scriptures taught.

The Bible is history’s most published, studied, translated and quoted book, but it is also the most misused and misinterpreted book. Cults and false religions, like those who preach the prosperity gospel, use it to their own benefit. Others simply misinterpret it or choose to blindly hold onto what their church fathers and pastors taught them, without any interest to study the Bible for themselves or a willingness to even consider that what they have been taught, might actually not agree with the true Scriptural meaning. The fact that a given passage is misunderstood, purposely or otherwise, does not demonstrate that the author of the passage had no clear meaning in mind. Nor does it follow that the readers cannot discern this meaning if they are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In this article I want to expose common errors in unbiblical allegorical interpretations of God’s Word.

THE HISTORICAL BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is especially notable as resting essentially on a historical basis due to the Messianic element in it. Indeed, it can be said to have claimed from the beginning, a fulfilment of history. The apostles in their earliest appeal, demanded that one “search the scriptures.” There is a vast difference, however, between studying history and studying something historically. The fact that the Christians retained the Old Testament is ample evidence. That they failed to deal with it adequately, the New Testament is also ample evidence. But since the Messiah was offered to the whole world as well as to the Jews, Christian historiography had two main tasks before it. It had to place the life of Jesus in the history of the Jews, upon the one hand, and in the general history of antiquity, upon the other. The latter problem was not forced upon the church until the pagan world began to take the new religion seriously. The relation of Christianity to Judiaism, however, was of vital importance from the beginning, for it involved the supreme question whether or not Jesus was the one in whom all of the prophecies were fulfilled.

The coming of the Messiah was the main continuation of Jewish national history. The whole sad drama of Jewish history may be said to have led one “searched the scriptures” for the evidences of the signs by which the advent could be recognized. The invitation to search the scriptures was, in appearance at least, a challenge to a scientific test of verification. If the information on of the life of Jesus corresponded with the details of the promises, there was a proof that all of the prophecies had been fulfilled. But only the Messianic prophecies were fulfilled. The rest of the prophecies had to be constructed out of fragmentary and uncertain references, and the only satisfactory way they could do it was to apply many of them was symbolism and allegory. Using non- Messianic prophecies as foretelling the life of Jesus had not been the purpose in the minds of their authors. But those who apply allegorical interpretation have held, through all the history of the church, that the texts were applicable and that the proof was thereby established in the harmony of the old and the new dispensations. The tool for the re-writing of history was the creation of what is called allegorical interpretation of texts.

WHAT IS MEANT BY ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION?

The word “allegory,” is derived from the Greek “alla,” meaning “other,” and “agoreuo,” meaning “proclaim.” It originally referred to a figure of speech that Cicero defined as a “continuous stream of metaphors.” According to Augustine, allegory is a mode of speech in which one thing is understood by another. Allegory differs from the parable in its more systematic presentation of the different features of the idea which it illustrates, as well as in its contents which are concerned with the exposition of theoretical truths rather than practical exhortation.

THE HERETIC HISTORY OF ALLEGORICAL (SPIRITUAL) INTERPRETATION

The use of allegory to explain, or explain away, texts was not a creation of Christian historians, for the device was not unknown to pagan literature or philosophy. As far back as the sixth century B.C., Homer was interpreted allegorically by Theagenes of Rhegium, and pagan philosophy had constant recourse to allegory to harmonize myth with reason.

Allegorism was well established in Alexandrian Judaism, especially by Philo, who made a systematic use of it to bridge the chasm between the Old Testament revelation and the Platonic philosophy. Philo compares the literal sense of Scripture to the shadow which the body casts, finding its authentic, profounder truth in the spiritual meaning which it symbolizes. He does not want to depreciate or abolish the literal or the historical meaning but looks to it as man’s body which merits the fullest respect.

The School of Alexandria adopted the allegorical interpretation of the Holy Scripture, believing that it hides the truth and at the same time reveals it. It hides the truth from the ignorant, whose eyes are blinded by sin and pride, hence they are prevented from the knowledge of the truth. At the same time, it always reveals what is new to the renewed eyes of believers. Clement of Alexandria is considered the first Christian theologian who uses allegorical interpretation, giving a cause of using it in a practical way. He says that the Bible has hidden meanings to incite us to search and discover the words of salvation, which are hidden from those who despise them. He said the truth is in the pearls which must not be offered to the swines. Other early church fathers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian also used this method of interpretation.

His disciple, Origen, adds other justifications of using allegorical interpretation to the Scriptures. Origen often denies the literal meaning. For example, he says, “Could any man of sound judgment suppose that the first, second and third days (of creation) had an evening and a morning, when there were as yet no sun or moon or stars? Could anyone be so unintelligent as to think that God made a paradise somewhere in the east and planted it with trees, like a farmer, or that in that paradise he put a tree of life, a tree you could see and know with your senses, a tree you could derive life from by eating its fruit with the teeth in your head? When the Bible says that God used to walk in paradise in the evening or that Adam hid behind a tree, no one, I think, will question that these are only fictions, stories of things that never actually happened, and that figuratively they refer to certain mysteries.” He explained away the darker happenings in the history of Israel and even in the New Testament, he treated stories such as that of the Devil taking Jesus up into a high mountain and showing him the kingdoms of the world as parables or fables. Gnosticism took hold of some of his phases and attempted to harmonize Christianity with the parallel cults of paganism. Neo-platonism was doing much the same for paganism itself. The cults of Asia and Egypt were drawn together and interpreted in the light of the worship of Demeter or Dionysus.

Celsus was a pagan Greek who wrote the most notable attack upon Christianity of which we have record from those early times. He charges the Christians with obscurantism, stating that their teachers generally tell him “Do not investigate,” while at the same time exhorting him to believe. Origen was apparently a little ashamed and he reminded Celsus that all men have not the leisure to investigate. Origin frankly admits the paucity of sources for the history of Christianity, as he allegorized most of history away. He recognized the weakness of Christian historiography but failed to see how it could be remedied. In so many words Origen admitted that since the sources for Christian history cannot be checked up “by external evidence, there is nothing left but to accept their main outlines on faith.”

Nevertheless, a vigorous reaction against the Alexandrian allegorism made itself manifest in the fourth and fifth centuries. Its center was Antioch, which concentrated on the literal sense of the holy Scriptures.

The allegorical method promoted by Origen (who taught many other errors as well) nevertheless became the basis for the Roman Catholic church’s use of Scripture. Some of these heretic teachings have unfortunately also been adopted by the Reformers, especially regarding prophecies, eschatology and often anti-Semitic approaches towards Israel and the Jews. It has also become a handy tool in the hands of other cults and false teachers, such as those who teaches the Prosperity gospel.

Christian scholars who believe the Bible, rather than the allegorical teachers, took up the task of reconciling the events of Jewish history with the annals of other histories, and worked into a convincing and definite scheme of parallel chronology the narrative from Abraham to Christ. Mathematics was applied to history – not simply to the biblical narrative but all that of the ancient world – and out of the chaos of fact and legend, of contradiction and absurdity, of fancy run riot and un-founded speculation, there was slowly hammered into shape that scheme of measured years back to the origins of Israel and then to the creation, which still largely prevails to-day. This is one of the most important things ever done by historians. Henceforth, for the next fifteen centuries and more, there was one sure path back to the origin of the world, a path along the Jewish past, and marked out by the absolute laws of mathematics and revelation.

FAILURE TO CONSIDER THE CONTEXT

Imagine that someone read you one sentence out of the middle of a novel. You would not know who any of the characters were, what had happened to them previously, or what the plot was about. Often this is how the Bible is read. Since the Bible is laid out with verse numbers (which have been added by editors, they were not in the original), it is often falsely assumed or presented as if each verse is a little literary work of its own, disconnected from anything else. Only if we have a shared body of information, study the whole of Scripture, understand the Jewish background of the Bible, and understand the setting of each book of the Bible, then a verse quoted from a given book will make sense to us. Yet many never gain this information.

The context of a verse exists at various levels – textual, literary and historical. The first is its immediate textual context. A word is found in a sentence, a sentence in a paragraph and a paragraph in a chapter, etc. Remembering that the chapter and verse designations were not in the original, one must read the entire section, preferably the whole book, before considering the meaning of a verse. This is merely treating the Bible as one would any other piece of literature.

The fact that the Bible is God’s inspired Word does not mean that it has some mystical, non-standard way of communicating. For example, “You shall not steal,” carries the same meaning if God says it as it does if said by an owner of a store. The fact that God’s inspired Word says it lends the phrase more authority and assures its validity, but it doesn’t change the meaning of the phrase. People err in assuming that because the Holy Spirit inspired the words of Scripture those words must have some hidden, secret, mystical meaning. The Bible follows the same grammatical and literary conventions as any other Jewish literature of its time. Its uniqueness is in its inerrancy and divine inspiration, not in how it is to be read and interpreted. So we must always consider a passage in its immediate grammatical context and not isolate it, looking for some obscure, cryptic meaning.

Another factor is a passage’s literary context. A verse from the Book of Proverbs should be treated as the type of literature it is, namely wisdom literature. A passage from Kings should be treated as historical narrative. The Bible is a collection of different books, written over many centuries. It contains various types of literature. Just as we would distinguish a written history of the United States from a technical journal on auto mechanics, we must treat a gospel as a different type of literature than an epistle. Common errors in interpretation result from a failure to do this. For example, when reading history, if the Bible says that so and so did this, it does not necessarily follow that it was good or bad. If the inspired account says that David arranged for Uriah to be killed, it follows that this surely happened. That the Bible tells about this action is not an endorsement of it. In this case the Bible makes it clear it was wrong. In many instances the historical narrative does not comment on the moral quality of someone’s act, but merely tells us about it. We may have to look elsewhere in the Bible, for example in didactic (teaching) sections, to find out whether such an act is good or evil.

For example, Saul consulted the witch of Endor and Samuel was summoned (1Samuel 28:7-16). It does not follow that the Bible endorses necromancy or that those who practice such things normally do contact the dead. On the contrary, the Bible forbids this practice (Deuteronomy 18:10). The passage in 1Samuel gives us the historical record of Saul’s sin. The teaching section of the Bible tells us that it is a sin. Often the historical sections do comment on the moral qualities of actions, but not always. The important issue is that we recognize the different types of literature (genré) and give this due consideration when interpreting a passage.

Another level of context is the historical context. The most blatant and common example of failing to consider the historical context is the failure to acknowledge that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is a Jewish book. It contains many Jewish idioms whose meaning was clear to the early Jewish readers but often misunderstood by contemporary readers. We need to educate ourselves about the Hebrew background to Scriptures. For example, a common Jewish idiom used throughout the Bible is the phrase “son(s) of . . .” Rather than use an adjective, as we would, the Jews would say, for example, “sons of light” (1Thessalonians 5:5). This means “characterized by.” From passages such as this: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). This is an example of the Hebrew way of speaking of being the son of what one is characterized by. It was never meant to be taken that either the Jews or people in general are literal descendants of Satan. It would be to say that when we lie we are being “devilish.” False teachers prey on ignorance and mislead the uninformed.

There are other historical matters that help us understand Scripture. These include geography, political structures of the time, customs of other peoples with whom the Jews interacted, etc.

The Bible is a unity, though written by dozens of authors over many centuries, the Holy Spirit inspired it all. The Bible has an amazingly clear and consistent message. This serves as part of the evidence for its inspiration. Therefore, when interpreting a passage, we must consider how our proposed interpretation fits with the whole counsel of God as revealed throughout the Bible. For example, there are many passages that make it clear that Jesus was human and descended from the lineage of David. Yet it does not follow from passages that teach this that Jesus was only human. Many other passages teach that He is God. The whole counsel of God on the matter is that Jesus is fully human and fully divine God. This truth must inform our interpretation of any particular verse that speaks to us about Christ.

SOME MORE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ALLEGORIZING SCRIPTURE

As mentioned in the introduction, allegorizing Scripture has a long and destructive history. The main “benefit” of allegorizing is the ability to remove real or apparent contradictions between Scriptures and current beliefs.

The reason many have been sold on the allegorical method is the false assumption that since the Bible is a spiritual book, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that it therefore contains hidden or secret meanings. The idea is that the truly spiritual person can discern meanings to passages of the Bible that are hidden from the unenlightened. There are even passages of the Bible that can be cited to seemingly justify this idea, such as 1Corinthians 2:14. However, it should be noted that the “things of the Spirit of God” that the natural man “cannot understand” are clearly revealed in the context of this passage. They concern the fact that central to God’s plan of salvation was a crucified Messiah, foolishness to Gentiles and an offense to the Jews (1Corinthians 1:18-29). The problem was not that a person couldn’t grasp the words that Paul preached – that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and rose from the dead. The claims of the gospel were clear enough. The problem was that the natural man refused to accept God’s wisdom. So this passage does not teach a secret meaning to Scriptures that can be extracted by a clever allegorist. If so, then why not say Jesus didn’t really die and rise again, it is just an allegory? Paul taught a literal cross with literal words.

Most Reformed and prosperity preachers are quite adept at allegorizing passages of Scripture. By following this type of interpretation, non-Reformers can just as well argue that Jesus have taught modern success theories, positive thinking, liberation theology (Marxism), Unitarianism, the New Age, or anything else. Remember that the key reason for the allegorical method’s existence was to integrate the Bible with Greek philosophy or whatever other contemporary worldly ideas that seemed popular and desirable at the time. The resurrection can be allegorized into the new hope that springs into being with the cycles of nature: bunnies, and green grass. Or it can be allegorized as something analogous to ugly larvae changing through metamorphosis into butterflies. By saying this, I do not mean to mock the resurrection, but merely use it as an example of how dangerous allegorical interpretation really is and how it opens opportunities for false teachings.

Preachers are prone to more “softer” versions of allegorizing. What this means is taking passages that are not really about what is preached on but lend themselves nicely nevertheless. For example, John 10:10 says, “I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full.” The context of this passage is that Jesus claims to be the true “Shepherd” of Israel as opposed to the false religious leaders who were motivated by self-interest and did not concern themselves with the welfare of the flock. It is quite a stretch to take this passage as meaning that we should enjoy everything life has to offer. This belittles the true claim of the passage. The claim is that Jesus Himself is God, whom the Jews knew to be the only true Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). Only God incarnate can lead us through the valley of the shadow of death into everlasting life. Modern hearers rarely find out the true impact of powerful passages like this, they are merely interested in listening to a modern man who can make their lives a little more pleasant. Allegorizing the Bible lends itself to this end.

This does not mean that the Bible never uses allegory or non-literal terminology. What I am addressing is the ignoring of the intent of the original author and using mysticism or allegory to read one’s own meaning into various passages. If the Bible uses metaphor or allegory, it still has one meaning, the meaning of the author. An author uses an allegory to make a particular point.

The same is true for parables. Parables are not allegories, but short stories that make one or more points. For example, the “parable of the prodigal son” is not an allegory about backsliding. It is a story that illustrates the hardness of heart of the Jewish leaders who were offended at the fact that unworthy sinners were coming to Jesus (Luke 15:2). The key person is the older brother, whose attitude was that of the Jewish leaders of the time. Perhaps one could argue that allegorizing this into a sermon about backsliding does no harm, people are motivated to come to Jesus. But think about this: whenever we fail to show the author’s intent when interpreting a passage, we show a lack of respect for the Bible. If the Holy Spirit inspired the human writers to convey His meaning to us, how do we improve on that by ignoring the Holy Spirit’s meaning and supplying our own? When we do, we subtly create a disrespect for the Bible in the minds of our hearers.

LOVING THE TRUTH

Sadly, many in the churches have a distaste for learning or a lack of openness to ensure that what they were taught was in fact in line with the true messages of Scripture. This was brilliantly documented in David Well’s book, No Place for Truth. There is an anti-scholastic bias that prevails, causing people to only concern themselves with what seems appealing and this can be fatal. It’s one thing to misunderstand, it is another not to care. Once some people find out some study is necessary to properly interpret Scripture or that a study might proof their “traditional” education wrong, they opt out immediately. They come up with references to books, links and YouTube videos to defend their views, rather than presenting Scriptural references. And if they do, they also add to or explain away the actual meaning of the additional Scripture they present.

The worst problem I have encounter is the “I don’t care whatever Scripture you present” attitude. You can sit down, and provide clear, incontrovertible evidence for certain Biblical truths, and some people could care less. They just want to keep their cozy unbiblical ideas and remain comfortably undisturbed. If we refuse to learn from the Scriptures, then our experiences will not lead us closer to God either. Being too proud or too lazy to learn can be spiritually fatal.

If we truly love God and His Word, then we will rejoice to learn the way of the Lord more perfectly. We will long to learn more about the whole counsel of God, the meanings of Biblical terms, the historical background of Scripture and the author’s (not the church father’s or the pastor’s) intent for the meaning of various passages.

Main sources:
– COMMON ERRORS IN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION EXPOSED, by Bob DeWaay
– THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY PSYCHOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC METHODS CHRISTIANITY AND HISTORY II. ALLEGORY AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF ORIGEN by James T. Shotwell. Columbia University

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW HEAVENS, NEW EARTH AND THE NEW JERUSALEM

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There are many different interpretations about the New Heavens, New Earth and the New Jerusalem. Most of the opinions are based on speculation. The following merely provide the writers personal understanding:

GOD – THE BEGINNING AND THE END

Revelation 21:6a says, “And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. ” The words “It is done” almost reminds of the last words of Christ on the cross when He said, “It is finished,” as we read in John 19:30. Christ achieved the redemptive purpose of God on the cross but here redemptive history finally ends.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 says, “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” As the last enemy, which is death, has now been abolished, Christ delivers up the Kingdom to God the Father.

God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. This is also repeated in Revelation 1:8 and in Revelation 22:13. He was in control in starting everything and He will be in control, ending everything. His sovereign purpose and plan with human history will be fulfilled.

HEAVEN FOR THE FAITHFUL

Heaven is spoken of 582 times in the KJV, 622 times in the NIV and 692 times in the NKJV. Of these, the word Heaven on average appears 54 times in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:5 gives us a description of heaven.

Revelation 21:6b-8 makes it clear that not everybody would enter heaven. “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.””

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 we also find a list of those who would not inherent the Kingdom and thus eternity, “ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

In Galatians 5:19-21 we basically find a repeat, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In 1 John 2:15-17 we read, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

In Revelation 22:17 we find the last invitation in the Bible. “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

In Isaiah 55:1 we also read, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.” Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” John 4:13-14 is another great text, “ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.””

But seeking salvation is not adequate to ensure entrance to heaven. We also need to live in faith in Christ to overcome the world. Already in Revelation 2:7 we read, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 3:5 also says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” 1 John 5:4-5 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

There will be no sin or ungodliness in heaven and everyone will be holy. Matthew 5:8 says we will see God, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” Hebrews 12:14 confirms it, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

Revelation 21:27 puts it this way, “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” In Revelation 22:14-15 it says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

Scripture actually describes three levels of heavens. The first heaven is the atmosphere around the earth and the air that we breathe. The second heaven is the stratospheric heaven, the heaven of the heavenly bodies such as the planets, the stars and the moons. In 2 Corinthians 12:2 Paul was taken up into the third heaven, the divine heaven where God dwells and where angels and believers are. Men like Enoch and Elijah already have their glorified bodies in heaven as they have been raptured.

Everything regarding our spiritual life and destiny is in heaven. Our Father, our Saviour, our Comforter, our citizenship and our reward are there. A true longing for heaven is evidence of true salvation and demonstrates one’s love for the Lord. The more we set our affections on the things above, the less likely we are to follow the things of the flesh. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Without the hope and anticipation of heaven and eternity there is very little reason and meaning to live for.

Christ is already preparing a place for us in heaven, the “New Jerusalem.” John 14:1-4 provides so much comfort for true believers, including the Tribulation saints. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

1 John 3:1-2 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

END OF THE PRESENT EARTH AND HEAVEN

Revelation 20:11 said, “I saw a Great White Throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them.”

Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet and the ungodly are now in the eternal Lake of Fire. The entire universe has also been destroyed. In 2 Peter 3:7 we read, “But the present heavens and earth by His Word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgement and destruction of ungodly men.” The present heaven and earth will be uncreated simultaneously with the destruction of the ungodly.

CREATION OF A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed. And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” (Isaiah 51:6,16)

God creates a New eternal dwelling place for the godly of all the ages, the angels and the four creatures. Not only will we have a New dwelling but also our glorified bodies!

Revelation 21:1-3 says, “Now I saw a New heaven and a New earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

The terminology of a New heaven and a New earth is borrowed from the Old Testament. Isaiah 65:17 says, “For behold, I create New heavens and a New earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” In Isaiah 66:22 we read, “For as the New heavens and the New earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.”

In this instance, the use of the word “New” does not refer to the word “neos” which means New as in opposed to old. It relates to the ancient Greek word “kainos” which means New in quality. It is basically a replacement of the heaven and earth we now know. Psalm 102:26 says, “They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.” Sin and death entered and corrupted the world and the universe and therefore, God has to wipe it out. Satan and his demons will never enter the New heaven and neither will sin enter the New earth.

Heaven will be the capital city within the infinity of the New heaven and the New earth.

HEAVEN COMING DOWN

In Hebrews 11:8-10 it says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He went to his temporary inheritance but was actually looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:13-16 speaks about the heavenly hope of all who lives in faith and in Hebrews 11:16 it refers to the heavenly city, “But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

In Hebrews 12:22-23 we read, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Hebrews 13:14 says, “We do not here have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”

In the book of Revelation, we find the first reference to the New Jerusalem in Revelation 3:12. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My New name.”

This will be the eternal “holy city,” from where God will reign and where every single being would be holy. Revelation 20:6 of Revelation says, “Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection that takes people to heaven.”

Every Old Testament saint and everybody who died in Christ throughout the ages are already there in their spirits. The “New Jerusalem” is actually none other than the current third heaven spoken about earlier. The New heaven and a New earth will be a complete new universe and once it has been created, heaven will come down and completely fill the new universe. This is where all of the redeemed will live in the heavenly city, the “New Jerusalem.”

Revelation 21:10 says, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God”

John MacArthur is of the opinion that even during the time of the Millennial Kingdom, we will go back and forth into the earth in glorified form and back to the holy city, the “New” Jerusalem. And then finally the holy city will become the capital city of eternity.

The city is like a bride because all of the redeemed are forever united to God and to the Lamb. In Revelation 21:2 we read that the “New” Jerusalem was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” In Revelation 21:9 the angel said to John, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” The marriage between Christ and His bride is now entering its eternal stage. The citizens are the eternal bride of Christ, now enlarged beyond the raptured Church as it includes all of the redeemed throughout all ages, the Old Testament saints, the Tribulation saints, the redeemed remnant of Israel and everybody redeemed during the time of the Millennial Kingdom.

Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

The tabernacle is symbolically the Father’s house in the “New” Jerusalem in the midst of the redeemed.

This reminds of Leviticus 26:11-12 where God also once said to the Jews, “ I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” The difference is that there would now be no need for a temple or offerings, as seen in Revelation 21:22, as God and the Lamb are our Temple. “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

LIFE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” And that is exactly what we will experience in heaven.

In Revelation 21:4 we read these comforting words, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” There will not be any tests, trials, tribulations, heartaches, pain or any sad or bad things happening in heaven, as we experience in this current life on earth.

There will be no more pain because the healing promise in the atonement is fulfilled. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” These words do not only refer to spiritual healing but also to physical healing as we see in Matthew 8:17, “In order that He might fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah, He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

In addition, Revelation 7:16 says, “ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat”

Revelation 21:1 mentions that there will no longer be a sea. Currently, three quarters of the earth’s surface is covered with water in the oceans and on the land. This means that our glorified bodies would not be dependent on physical water. Revelation 22:1 says “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” As there is no more sea which it could flow to, this also cannot be a river as we know it. Once again we cannot add our own views on this. All that the Bible teaches is that the water of life is as clear as crystal and comes down from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The water of life is symbolically of salvation, purity, holiness and eternal life flowing down through the city from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Psalm 46:4 said, “There is a river, the streams of which make glad the city of God.”

The greatest joy of heaven is not the beauty or the experience of praise and worship with reunited loved ones, to be with God as Christ and to have fellowship with Him.

In Revelation 22:3-5 it says there will also no longer be any curse. We will serve Him and have His name on our foreheads, marked as His personal possessions. “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

We will reign with God, as Revelation 3:21 says, “To him who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne.”

We will adore God and worship day and night as we read in all passages in Revelation which deal with heaven. Revelation 7:15 for example said, “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.”

Revelation 22:2 says, “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

The tree of life is another symbol and not a tree as we know one. In Genesis 2:9 God also spoke of a tree of life. “And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The tree of life was a symbol of eternal life and of blessing.

Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” A righteous person produces a tree of life, which eventually leads to blessing, fulfilment, contentment, joy and happiness and this is exactly what heaven would be like.

The twelve kinds of fruit probably indicate that life will have a variety of good things. There will be praise and worship, singing and many other things, all for the glory of God. The reference to “months” could also indicate that our activities would be changing all the time. The healing leaves spoken of cannot relate to illness or pain as we learned that there would not be any sickness in heaven.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HEAVEN

Revelation 21:11 starts with the greatest characteristic of heaven as, “Having the glory of God.” God’s glory is who He is and He manifests His invisible spiritual attributes as light. Psalm 36:9 says, “In Thy light we see light.” In Psalm 104:2 we read, “Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.” In Exodus 24:17 it says, “The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.”

There will be no need for the sun or the moon to shine as the glory of God illumines it and the lamp is the Lamb as we read in Revelation 21:23-24a. “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light” Revelation 22:5 says, “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

Isaiah also prophesied this in Isaiah 60:19. “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light, but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light and your God for your glory.”

It literally says that heaven dwells within the very presence of God and Christ which literally fills the whole New heaven and New earth. God is already omnipresent right now, but currently Satan and his demons are still present in the universe.

Revelation 21:24 says, “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.” Some scholars see this as describing something in the Millennial Kingdom but it cannot be as the entire chapter is about the New heaven and the New earth which come after the Millennial Kingdom. The use of the word “nations” in this context basically refers to the redeemed from every tongue and tribe and nation who will all be walking in the light. Everybody will now be of the same tongue and tribe and nation with no division.

Some scholars see the reference to “the kings of the earth” as some structural hierarchy in heaven, but all of the redeemed would be at the same level. This most probably relates to rulers still being alive at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, taken into the New heavens and the New earth without going through death.

The light makes heaven astonishing beautiful and in Revelation 21:11, John says, “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal”

Revelation 21:12-13 describes the outside of heaven. “Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.”

To add anything to the literal meaning of these verses would be wild guessing, which is strictly prohibited in Revelation 22:18-19. “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

It is a place with dimensions and it has an outer wall. Citizens can go in and out of it because it has gates. Revelation 21:21 mentions that the twelve gates were twelve pearls – each individual gate was of one pearl.

Heaven is clearly a place for believers under both the Old and the New covenant. Revelation 21:12 says that a name of one of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel was written on each gate. At all of the twelve gates, there would be an angel. These gates are placed in the same way that God will organize His people around the Millennial temple as described in Ezekiel 48. Furthermore, “the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones and on them were the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” According to Ephesians 2:19-20 the Apostles are the foundation of the Church. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”

God is always measuring out what belongs to Him. In Ezekiel 40 to 48 it gives a description of the Millennial temple and in Ezekiel 40:3 God is measuring it. In Revelation 11:1 John referred to the Tribulation temple when he said, “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” Now Revelation 21:15 mentions that the angel “had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its wall.”

The city is laid out as a square as all sides and angels are equal. In Revelation 21:16 we see that it is measured out as about 1500 miles cubed. When God gave orders for the building of the holy place in the tabernacle and the temple on earth, it was also a cube. It was the same with Solomon’s temple in 1 Kings 6:20.

It says that the wall is about 18 inches or 216 feet which is rather short and most probably refers to its width. The wall was made of jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass. Just imagine how great this should be as not even the gold currently here on earth is like clear glass. This is unique.

The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. Eight of these twelve stones are found in the breastplate of the high priest as seen in Exodus 28 and Exodus 39. The brilliant colours of these stones through which the light of God’s glory is shining must be indescribably beautiful.

In Revelation 21:25 we see that the gates will never be closed as there will never be night and heaven is a place of rest, safety and security. The same is said in Isaiah 60:11. “Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.” (Isaiah 60:11)

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH

There is often confusion as some scholars interpret Ezekiel 40-48 as referring to the same holy city as the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. Jehovah-Shammah is a Christian transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning “Jehovah is there.” It is the name given to the city in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 48:35. Here is a comparison, indicating that Ezekiel actually spoke about Jerusalem during the Millennial reign.

New Jerusalem / Jehovah Shammah

1) 12 gates named after Israel (Revelation 21:12)/ 12 gates named after Israel (Ezekiel 48:30)
2) 12 foundations named for Apostles (Revelation 21:14)/ Foundation not described
3) 1500 miles square and tall (Revelation 21:16)/ One mile square (Ezekiel 48:30)
4) Coming Down from heaven (Revelation 21:2)/Located in Israel on Earth (Ezekiel 40:2)
5) No Temple. God and the Lamb are its Temple (Revelation 21:22)/ Temple just north of the city (Ezekiel 40:2)
6) No sin; nothing impure can enter (Revelation 21:27)/Daily sin offerings in the Temple (Ezekiel 45:13-15,17)
7) No more death (Revelation 21:4)/Still death (Ezekiel 44:25 also Isaiah 65:20)
No natural beings. Only the perfected (21:27)/ Natural Beings (Ezekiel 46:16)

(Main source of external influence: The teachings of John MacArthur)