To Die in Christ

I was thinking about Revelation today. A woman in New York frequently calls me to ask for prayer and we always pray together on the phone. She has a lot of pain in her life. She's determined to get back to the south where I live. She wants to come back to our church. It hasn't been possible to this point.

I tell every time I talk to her that she needs to not fantasize about returning to us. She needs to find a church right where she is in New York state. She always says OK. Well, today, she called to say she's found that church - some kind of prophecy church. They have a rigorous schedule of evening Bible studies. Ironically, the only nights off are Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. The rest of the time they are at it for 90 minutes to an hour, studying Revelation, being "warned of the end times, warned to be ready" as she told me. The titles for the studies include, "the beast," "the tribulation," "the final battle" etc. Clearly, the leaders of her new church teach the word differently than me. But, she is with a fellowship of believers. And, they do a prayer shawl ministry on Saturdays, just as our church does.

I don't know think Revelation gets us ready for an imminent end per se. But Revelation does prepare us to live faithfully in the face of difficult times. Revelation 14:9-11 present a scary picture of judgment. Listen to the next verse, "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints." These horrifying images of Revelation are not intended to get us worked up about an apocalyptic nightmare that is right around the corner. Rather, it is a summons to holiness in the midst of a very unholy world. What is "the smoke of torment [that] goes up forever and ever" (14:11)? It is a summons to holiness, obedience, and faithful endurance.

Along those lines, Revelation 14:13 is curious. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. 'Blessed indeed,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!'"

This reminds one of Philippians 1:21-24.

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account."

Paul absolutely talks out what is in Revelation 14. There as with him, living for Christ is tough. When Revelation was written Christians were actively persecuted, probably by Roman emperor Domitian. It was likely that Revelation was written as a response to the persecution under him and sanctioned by him. In Paul's day, it was no easier. Persecuted by Jews who rejected Jesus (we dare not forget all the first Christians were Jews, so this is no antisemitic polemic), Paul wrote Philippians from prison. He was jailed by Romans but it was the conniving of Jewish leadership that landed him in custody.

Both Paul and John of Patmos tease out the options. What is better? To live faithfully under persecution or to die and join Jesus in the resurrection? Does anyone need more than 2 seconds to answer?

What about for 21st century Christians who don't have it so rough? My friend in New York is starting to see some hope in what has been a life marked by pain, loss, and failure. Would it be better for her to die in Christ or to persevere and endure? Persevering and enduring is coming much easier now that she is in a supportive group. Still would dieing be "gain?"

What about someone in their late 80's, in poor health, in the care of her adult children? Her children love her very much. But she's not used to being dependent and they have busy lives. How does she fit into the living or dieing in Christ narrative as she lives out her days.

I don't think in Philippians 1 or Revelation 14, the issue is whether it is better to live and endure hardships for Christ or to die and go to Heaven. The issue is we are not the master either of our destinies or of our present situation. We are subject to sin; we must put sin to death, and the only way is to fully surrender to Christ. When we fully surrender to Christ, we are free. We are free from dread of the present if the present is difficult, a real tribulation. And we are free from the fear of death. Paul can, without any accusation of suicidal tendencies, truly say he'd rather die, yet fight to live that he might be a witness for Christ. John of Patmos can truly call the saints to endure and at the same time say, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." It is all true when one have fully given himself to Jesus and Jesus is master in all areas of his life.

Christianity and the Five Pillars of Islam

I am a pastor, and recently, I challenged my church to respect Islam, know about Isalm, and become friends with a Muslim person. I don't know nearly enough about this religion that has over 1 billion adherents. So, I need to meet my own challenge.

I began by visiting a Muslim center near where I lived. I just showed up and asked someone to tell me more about the faith. I am still unsure if I will develop any further friendship out of that visit. But, I have in mind the faces of people I can pray for. And that's a good place to be.

One element of Islam is an understanding of the five pillars. I am going to share those five pillars here and offer comments on how those five pillars are relevant to Christians. The information I offer here on the five pillars of Islam comes from the following website http://www.islam.com/pillars.htm.


1) To bear witness that there is none worthy of worship save Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the messenger of Allah.

My understanding is that 'Allah' is the Arabic word for God. If Christianity were expressed in the Arabic language, then we would call God 'Allah' (just as we would call God 'Dios' if were speaking Spanish). So, I see this as a Christian value - declaring that God is worthy of worship, and God alone.

I do not believe that Muhammad is the messenger of God. On this point, Christians and Muslims would have respectful disagreement. Similarly, I do believe Jesus is God in human flesh and is to be worshiped. Muslims do not believe Jesus is God. So, again, on this Christians and Muslims would have respectful disagreement.

The potential for great offense is here. Muslims do not accept the divinity of Christ. Christians do not recognize Muhammad as a prophet. I think this first pillar is important because we can agree on monotheism. And we can peacefully accept that there are profound, irreconcilable differences between the faiths. Christians must pray that our Muslim friends would see the truth about Jesus.


2) To observe prayer (Salat).
Prayer is clearly a Christian value. I think we have much to learn about diligence and commitment from our Muslim friends. The devout Muslim prays five times a day, facing Mecca. Christians would do well to adopt such rigorous spirituality. Occasionally pre-written prayers are helpful. Praying the Psalms or praying a prayer-book is good. This might be part of a Christian's prayer - life.

However, we really believe that in Christ, we have a personal relationship with God. A big part of our prayers must be personal - personal confession, praise to a God we truly know, thanks for specific blessings, and request (not just for stuff, but that God's will be done in our lives). I don't know if Muslim prayers are this personal and individualized. Sometimes American Christians will make their faith too individualistic. We are a part of the body of Christ. But we also each have to work our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).


3) To pray Zakat (alms giving).
I definitely do not know the intricacies of Muslim theology of giving to the needy. Clearly it is a central part of Muslim faith, the third of the five pillars.

For Christians, giving is not a "payment" and we would never frame it that way. We give as a Spiritual discipline, as a way of acknowledging that all we have is from God. The benchmark or starting point is the 10% tithe. We structure our lives so that 10% of what we take is given to our church.

From there, we operate under the principle of generosity. This is a defining value of the church in the New Testament. Christians are not called to give 10%. Christians are called to far exceed that amount, so that the needy are fed, the orphans are cared for, the poor have a fair chance, and most importantly, the Gospel is advanced in the world.

It seems that Muslims give out of duty, although I don't to misrepresent. The wording from the website to "pay Zakat." Christians give from the heart's generosity, and as a spiritual discipline.


4) To perform the pilgrimage to the house of Allah (Hajj).
In response to a woman who was concerned about where proper worship should happen, Jesus said, "The hour is coming and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him." It's not where we worship, for Christians, it is how.

My understanding is that the Muslim pilgrimage is for the purpose of worship. Christians may go to worship in special places - the National Cathedral; historic places in Europe; the places of the Bible times (Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Greece); and, maybe famous international churches (Like Saddleback in California or HillSong in Australia). However, it is not necessary to go to these places.

The more important Christian journey is to go on trips of evangelism or compassion - mission trips. I firmly believe every Christian should go on missions, even if it is a short-term. Every Christian, if possible, should go on a mission trip in his or her life. Most Christians should go on some kind of mission trip every year. Where the purpose of the Muslim pilgrimage is for worship, the Christian mission trip is for service, works of compassion, and evangelism.


5) To observe fasting during Ramadan (Bukhari)
Much like the second pillar, prayer, this practice in Islam is an admirable demonstration of spiritual discipline. Americans in general have a serious obesity problem because we are addicted to excess (the 1 lb hamburger or the all-you-can-eat foot buffet). Spiritual discipline in the area of food is a serious issue for Christians and especially for Christians in an affluent society. Gluttony is a sin.

Jesus fasted. Jesus also feasted. Many Christians take up various sorts of fasts during Lent (the seven-week period leading up to Easter). I have done this and found it to be a valuable spiritual exercise helping me refocus on my walk with Christ by way of my rumbling stomach. However, nothing in Christianity suggests that this spiritual discipline needs to be reserved for Lent. Fasting can happen at different times during the year.

As a way of being evangelistic and combining the 2nd and 5th pillars of Islam, Christians might consider doing this. During Ramadan, Christians can fast and pray for Muslims to come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. If the opportunity is there Christians can share their faith with Muslim friends during this time. This exercise would be demanding, but it would respect at strong Muslim tradition, it would show our hearts for God and for our Muslim neighbors, and at the same time the fasting would draw us closer in our own walk with God.



I hope what I have done here is help Christians see the five pillars, respect them and respect the noble tradition of spiritual discipline in Islam, and at the same time to appropriate these traditions into Christian practice.

When there's nothing left

^{Mark 12:38-44
38}As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,^j]">[j]worth only a fraction of a penny.^k]">[k]
⁴³Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Jesus shows his messed-up math in this account at the temple. "This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all others," he said. Ah ... NO! If a wealthy scribe comes a long and drops in a talent (a monetary unit worth hundreds or thousands of dollars in today's currency), it is more than a widow's paltry coins (which cannot be worth more than a few buck today). The temple priests would be able to use the rich man's talent to contract stone masons to repair the damaged pillars, or to buy new gold for the decorations in the inner sanctum. The widow's coins would buy one pigeon for one person to make one sacrifice as an act of worship, and then it would be gone!

"This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all others," Jesus said.

Put it in modern terms. A poor widow walks into church right behind a wealthy business man. This week, she has paid her rent and some other bills. The balance in her checkbook is not less than $50. When the offering plate comes around, she puts in every last penny in her purse, $3.14. The business man is worth over $65 million. He drops a check into the plate - $1,500,000. He won't even notice that money missing. But, you tell me, which financial gift means more to that church?

That church needs a new roof. That church wants to fund an evangelism campaign, but they are in a large city, an expensive city. The campaign's budget is $20,000. The pastor has also challenged the church to raise money for a special home in the western part of the state. It's a place for kids from broken homes, kids who have been kicked by parents incapable of caring for them. A lot the kids are from the town where their church is located. In the home, they will be in school, be cared for, and will be taught the Gospel. But, the home has a put a call out to churches state-wide because they are in need of $80,000 to carry on their programs.

"This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all others," Jesus said.

Seriously, Jesus? Are you sure?

When we look at the simple numbers, it seems the Savior of humanity, the one we call "Lord," the one we worship is off his rocker. Stick to the resurrection stuff, Jesus. Leave the declarations about which financial gifts are valuable to the treasurer, OK?

The thing is, Jesus really is Lord, which means master, boss! He gets to declare which gifts are valuable. As we wrestle with this, it becomes clear that when we look at the entire statement, math is not the problem. We don't struggle with the facts of Jesus' statement. We haggle about the facts so that we don't have to deal with the implication.

"I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

The woman was praised because she gave all she had. Jesus wants us to give all we have. We don't want to do that.

Take that entire story I came up with about the multimillionaire giving $1.5 million to a church that had all the needs I mentioned. If Jesus is Lord of that church, then He will show how the new roof, the evangelism campaign, and the group home for troubled kids will all get taken care of. Maybe the way God takes care of those needs is by a millionaire giving a big gift. Maybe God shows how the needs can be met with less money. However God does, the church acknowledges that God is the one doing it because in that church, Jesus is Lord.

The Lord has no need of the rich man's millions. But if the church becomes convinced that it needs the rich man's millions, then the rich man will become lord of that church, displacing Jesus. That's a problem because the church sacrifices faith for math. As logical as math is, it is subordinate to God, as is everything else, every way of thought (logic, philosophy, etc), every fact (money, number of worshipers, etc), and every tradition of a particular church. Those things all have their places. God is Lord.

As for money, we aren't all called to give every last penny to offering plate. If we did, the next week, we'd all be 100% broke and lined up at the church asking for help with our mortgage and rent payments. The church could not give the help because all the money went to the new roof, the evangelism campaign, and the home for troubled kids. No, we aren't all called to empty our bank accounts. But we are all called to lay all our money at the foot of the cross and declare Jesus to be Lord of our holdings, our accounts, and our cash.

This is much more than metaphor. Everything we do involving money, which is just about everything we do, must be submitted to God in prayer. How much we invest, how much we give, how much we save - God is Lord of all of it.

When we eat out at a nice restaurant, we remember the call of Jesus to feed the 'least of these' (Matthew 25:35). It doesn't mean skipping all meals that are elegant and expensive. But it might mean taking an inventory. A family might ask, how often do we eat out a nice place? If the answer is 16 times a year, the family then takes that to God in prayer. They come up with a plan. They'll eat out 16 times in the next year, kind of. Six of those times, they'll go to their favorite restaurants like they always have. The other ten times, that family will eat at home, a simple meal - rice and beans. They will set aside the money they would have used for the expensive meal and send it to World Vision or Bread for the World or some other agency that combats hunger. Why? Because they submitted their leisure money to God, their Lord, and this is what their Lord told them to do.

I think most Christians would want to hear Jesus say to them "Well done, good and faithful servant." I think most would want to be commended by Him the way that widow unknowingly was. How do we know when we are where Jesus wants us to be with our money? How does one know if he is like the rich man Jesus told to give everything away (Luke 18:22)? Here's a starting point - the 10% tithe.

Figure out your total income, and give 10% of that annual amount to the church. Make that a regular practice. No matter how good or bad the year is financially, make this something you will not waver on. Tithe. Faithfully, consistently, tithe.

Then, begin praying in earnest for how God wants you to use the rest of the money (and stuff) you have. Don't say, "OK, I've tithed, I am in the clear." It's not about being 'in the clear.' Don't say, "OK, I've tithed, I have done my duty." It's not about 'duty.' Tithing is not one of the ways we earn our ticket to Heaven. That ticket cannot be earned, only received as a gift of grace. Tithe because you long for the heart of God to beat in you. Tithe as ridiculously extravagant expression of gratitude for who God is and how much God loves you. Tithe as a spiritual discipline that declares who is Lord over all your life. Then, after the tithe is given, sit down with God and your bank account, and start praying.

The thing with the widow was, when she gave those last two coins, she had nothing left. All she could do then was look to God. Our faith is impoverished until we get to that point where we have nothing left, and all we can do is look to God.

Judgment - Eternal Gospel?

I do not read the book of Revelation as future-forecast, not as prophecy, not as road map for the end times, but rather as Gospel. No doubt, Revelation is prophecy and it is apocalyptic literature. But that is problem if we get caught up in how it sounds strange to our modern ears. As 21st century listeners in the Western World not accustomed to the subversive nature of 1st apocalyptic literature, we risk missing what God is saying in Revelation as we try to force the message into our context. I propose reading it first and foremost as Gospel, God's good news.

Chapter 14 is an example. "I saw another angel ... with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth - to every nation and tribe and language and people." We know the word Gospel means 'good news,' and comes from the same Greek root word that gives us evangelism. Gospel is only truly good when it is shared, which is evident in this verse. So what is this good news we who are in Christ are to share with everyone everywhere in the world? What specifically is the "eternal gospel" proclaimed in Revelation 14?

Verse 7 - "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come." Along with Alan Johnson who writes the entry on Revelation in the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, vol. 2 (p. 1197), I ask, why is judgment good news? A second angel comes along in the passage and proclaims the fall of Babylon (the ancient Roman empire which actively persecuted the church when Revelation was written). A third angel declares that those who worship the beast (the Roman emperor) will drink the cup of God's wrath. "They will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the Lamb" (v.10).

Good news? It sounds horrifying. The prospect of a fiery eternity scares me. I am confident in Christ and I know that I have been saved from such a future. But it scares me that anyone would have to face that, even my worst enemy. I long for an afterlife in I which experience God's goodness; I do not eagerly anticipate the demise of the ungodly. So why is this good?

I think the hope of this judgment passage is contained in verse 6, quoted earlier. Recall that in Revelation 5:9 and also 7:9, there was a vision of believers gathered in Heaver - Christ followers from every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages. There we are told the outcome of the effort that is put forward in 14:6. The angel had an eternal gospel that was to be shared to every language and tribe and nation and people. As Craig Blomberg points out, angelic activity in Revelation is mirrored by the church's activity on earth (NIV Application Commentary: Revelation p.372) . Verse 6's depiction of the angel evangelizing is seen in real time in our world when the body of Christ, the church, takes the good news to all peoples. And all who receive Jesus and acknowledge him as Lord are not subject to the wrath reserved for the wicked on the Day of Judgment.

Thus, judgment is gospel because it is an opportunity for the church to be at work.

I recently read about Physicist Stephen Hawking's 'discovery' that God is not needed for the creation of the universe. He proposes a scenario in which all that exists can be explained apart from God or the Bible. The article from Associated Press was posted on Yahoo News. Over 26,000 people commented on the article. Many of comments I read came from professing Christians who sanctimoniously judged the heart and declared the fiery eternity of Mr. Hawking and any who would agree with him. I was saddened. People claiming Christ almost took glee in how lost Hawking is.

That must not be. Our attitude is not that of Christ if we revel in someone's spiritual downfall. The "eternal Gospel" as spelled out in Revelation 14 tells of an awful eternity for those who worship anything other than Jesus. But also contained in that gospel is the call for the church - you and me - to share the Gospel with the world so that they will turn to the Lord on not suffer under the weight of God's wrath. What we read here is a summons to action. We are called to be Jesus' witnesses in the world.

A Curious Observation about Satan and the Garden of Eden

It’s pretty common knowledge that Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and eat the apple. Right? Of all the things in the Bible, that can be assumed and accepted without argument or debate. Can’t it? Well, just to be sure, we should go through Genesis 3 and circle all the references to Satan. It just takes a second. In fact, here’s the passage.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:1-7, NRSV).


Try as we might, there is no mention of Satan, Devil, Lucifer, Evil One, Dragon, or other title for the evil Fallen Angel. The simple fact is the narrative tradition that passed Genesis on from one generation to another until it was finally written down did not recognize some evil supernatural being. We are told of a talking serpent that tempted Eve with half-truths.


So where does the idea that serpent actually being a manifestation of Satan come from? Even with the evidence of Biblical content just cited, people would still say I am nuts to question the notion that the serpent was any other than Satan. Genesis doesn’t say it was Satan, but we’ve always assumed it was. We dare not question what we’ve always known. So someone who does question must be wrong (and blasphemous and heretical and anathema).

I submit to you that it is extremely important that we read the Bible critically; that is, we question everything as read for the purpose of being sound and sure in our understanding. We don’t just throw out commonly held assumptions about familiar stories, like Adam and Eve. We think on those stories thoroughly so that our belief is informed, well formed, and we know why we believe it.

To find the source for our theological assertion that the Eden serpent from the very first book of Bible is Satan at work, we turn to the 12th chapter of the last book, Revelation. Revelation 12:7-9:


7And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Verse 9 is pretty clear – the serpent and Satan were one. Did believers always understand this connection? I don’t think so. The idea of Satan is one that evolved through the different eras of Israel’s history and relationship with God. In the book Job, Satan is one of God’s council members. His is an official role – the adversary. By the time the prophet Zechariah is at work, Satan is clearly running against the purposes of God (Zechariah 3:1-4). In the days of Jesus, Satan is an enemy who has access – he is able to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. However, the demons of Hell cower in fear before Jesus in every encounter they have with him.

In Revelation, it’s all out warfare and it is not fought here, but in Heaven (12:7). Moreover, God is not a participant. Rather the archangel Michael leads a brigade of angels who defeat the Dragon, Satan, who also has an angel army. There is no word on how long or how violent this conflict is. The important note is that as the warfare in Heaven is also played out on earth, the battle is not won with swords or spears (or weapons of modern warfare). Rather sacrifice and martyrdom win the day.

“But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death” (Rev. 12:11).

The metaphor for Jesus crushing the evil one is not a mighty lion, but rather a slaughtered lamb, and the uncompromising testimony of the church that has sworn allegiance to Jesus. There have been thousands of pages of Bible interpretation written just on Revelation chapter 12. My words here simply offer up the foundational truth of that chapter, and one of the basic essentials of Christianity. Evil is defeated by faithfulness – the faithfulness and love of Jesus to die for our sins; and, the faithfulness of His church, including us, to testify to the truth about Him and His gospel to the world no matter what that testimony will cost us.

Destroying the Destroyers of the Earth

In Revelation 11, John of Patmos speaks of two witnesses empowered with authority (presumably the authority of Jesus; referred to as a "voice from Heaven," chapter 9-10). These witnesses prophesy for 1260 days while clothed in sackcloth. The sackcloth evokes the image of John the Baptist, the austere prophet who paved the way for Jesus and was martyred.

I say they "evoked" the Baptizer because that's what the images in Revelation do. They evoke memory in the community of faith. The pictures of Revelation also awaken our anticipation of what God is going to do both in our lives and in the eschatological future (eschatological future = what God will do at the end of the age). Ours is a faith perceived by us through memory and anticipation, even as we experience the presence of God. At the Communion Table (also called the Lord's Supper and the Mass and the Eucharist), we remember Jesus breaking the bread and saying "this is my body." The memory and the act of eating awakens us to the reality of our own sinfulness (we deny, betray, and abandon him just as Peter and Judas and the others did). And, eating alongside our brothers and sisters in the church fills us with awareness of the presence of God in our daily lives.

The images of Revelation should have the same affect. People get so caught up trying to locate the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Where they Peter and Paul? Do they represent the Church and Israel? Are there two witnesses in the future that will be a part the tribulation period or the millennium? I don't see it that way. These are called olive trees and lamp stands (Rev.11:4). And I remember, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). Jesus was saying that to his disciples, all his disciples. Thus to me, he said you are to be a witness that flavors and preserves and improves the world around you the way salt (and olives) flavor, preserve, and improve.

I remember Jesus saying to his disciples, and thus to me, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). You are to be a light that eliminates (as a lamp stand would) the darkness with the truth and love of God. Who are the two witnesses? I know I am called to be a witness, and you, reader, are too if you profess to follow and worship Jesus. We don't need to spend time with "tribulation charts" and mind-numbing end times scenarios where we connect the dots with all the symbolism of Revelation. Doing that robs the book of its power to speak in our lives. If we spend our time speculating, calculating and guessing over the symbols and pictures of Revelation, we never have to actually respond to the provocative Gospel in Revelation with the living of our lives.

I could go on with the connections between Revelation 11 and the four Gospels, but this isn't a commentary. This is an honest talk with God. In this conversation, which you are invited you to overhear, I am struck by an article I recently read in Christianity Today magazine. Author Scott Sabin writes, "In Genesis ... Adam is placed in the garden to serve and protect. Throughout the Old Testament we are reminded that "the Earth is the Lord's" and that our role is one of stewardship - temporary caretakers called to account for how well we have discharged our duties." This is reinforced in Revelation 11:18, which says Judgment Day will bring the destruction of those who destroy the earth."

I was fascinated by Sabin's observation and also by his citation of Revelation 11. I have read Revelation more times than I can count, but each time I have quickly glossed over 11:18. In that verse, who do the 24 elders say is rewarded? (1) God's servants, (2) God's prophets, (3) God's saints, and (4) those who fear [revere] God's name. And who gets destroyed? Those who destroy the earth.

In reading Revelation, we spin our wheels and waste our time when we make charts, graphs, and time lines. A better faith reading is to read the words, feel the power, and then ask oneself. Am I a servant of God, or a prophet, or a saint, or one who fears God? Or, am I one who does destructive things? Am I one who destroys relationships with my words, my jealousy, my racism or prejudice, my disdain for people of different socioeconomic classes or my sexism? Am I one who destroys the planet with my blatant disregard for conservation, recycling, and my indifferent wasting of resources? How we answer when we ask ourselves those questions will give us a sense of our own experience on Judgment Day, whatever that day looks like, whenever it is.

Peace

I was in college and at the same time, I was in the National Guard. In the Guard, I was an infantryman. Those are foot soldiers. To give you an idea of the mentality instilled in the infantry, during basic training bayonet classes, a company of 54 soldiers are spread in a field, each with a bayonet affixed to the muzzle of their M-16's. They go through a series of violent moves as they shout at the top of their lungs "Kill, Kill, Kill, with the cold blue steel." That's just one small way men are trained to be killers. And in war, it is necessary to be that focused on the job, which is to kill the enemy.

As I said, I was in college at the same time I was in the Guard. I knew that there was the possibility our country would go to war and my college education would be interrupted. I would be called to go to another nation and do what I had practiced in basic training and on weekend drill duty every month. In fact our country did go to war - the Desert Storm. Our unit was not mobilized. So, I never faced war. But I tried to prepare for it mentally. And I ran into the teachings of Jesus. I mean teachings like "blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9), "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39), and "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44).

Any serious Christian has to consider these teaching of Christ when considering war and violence. I never resolved the issue in my own heart. My unit was never mobilized and my 6-year stint in the Guard ended in 1995. In 2003, I could not resolve the issue as our country went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, I regret that I could not see then ('03) how foolish those wars (Iraq, Afghanistan) have turned out to be. Thousands have lost their lives with very little gain for the greater good of humanity.

In America, we have not prayed for those who persecuted us. We have sought to destroy them with extreme prejudice and we call it "patriotism." We have not turned the other cheek. We have responded to violence with greater violence and more destruction. We have not done as the Apostle Paul prescribes in Romans 12:17-21
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"^d]">[d]says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."^e]">[e] ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
We have not overcome evil with good, but rather we matched evil with more evil (Abu Grhaib). It certainly was not and is not the Jesus way.

Three things bring this to my attention.

First, all my Republican friends (I am, politically, an independent) do two things. First, they lash out at a Democratic president and paint a picture of him as evil and anti-Christian, but they never acknowledge the good things he does. And they refuse to look at the foibles of the Republicans. The Republicans are depicted as being appointed by God and the Democrats as agents of Satan. It's a ridiculous caricature in both directions.

Second, my good friend's wife from another country is applying for citizenship. She's a pacifist and has trouble swearing an oath to support our nation's use of force. It's not that she's anti-American. She wants to be a citizen of our nation. She just doesn't support military force any time or any where. She's for peace - always. Yet, the military zealots in our country would call her a "pinko liberal commie fascist coward" if did anything other than uncritically support every action of our military. The right-wing elements of our nation claim to defend freedom by fighting enemies abroad (who generally aren't attacking our freedom), but at home these same right-wingers attack anyone who expresses that freedom (freedom of speech) if that expression is critical of the military. It's not right.

Third, I have been reading the book God's Politics by Jim Wallis, a pacifist. He's also an evangelical. I don't always agree with him or his approach, but I am finding I agree more and more with his anti-war stance. He's laid a vision for how terrorism can be fought with international police cooperation rather than unilateral wars. His arguments on these issues are compelling and worth consideration.

All of this - my conservative friends, my liberal friends, my pacifist friends, the foolishness of our nation, the anti-Christian nature of our nation, and finally the reading I have done - it all has me thinking. It has me reliving arguments I had with myself while in college some 20 years ago. Those arguments were never resolved and still aren't. I received army infantry training. My father served in the infantry in Vietnam, and I believed he served honorably. My father-in-law was a navy captain, my grandfather a navy enlistee. My uncle was a career air force my and my sister-in-law was a Jag officer. One of my best friends from high school is in his 21st year in the national guard. I am not anti-military.

But, I am finding more than ever that I see the Gospel as closer to pacifism than any other philosophy out there related to the issues of war, nationalism, and international commerce. The pacifists are in step with the Lord. And I want to be in step with the Gospel of Jesus. So, in side me, deep in my soul, the argument continues.

Work

"Work - been there, done that. Didn't work out for me."

"In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: 'If anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat.' ^R)">(R) ¹¹ For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work [of others]."

The first quote is from an old friend of mine. He really struggled. He struggled with relationships. He had a hard time holding onto a job for more than a few weeks. Most of the time I knew him, he was completely unemployed, and not all to interested in getting gainful employment. In one of our sessions in which I was encouraging him to fill out some applications, maybe hit all the fast food places and grocery stores, he responded, "Work - been there, done that. Didn't work out for me."

The second quote is from the Apostle Paul, writing in 2nd Thessalonians 3:10-11. "If anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat." I wonder if Paul would make an exception for my friend who has bipolar personality disorder? I don't know. In recent years, I spent a summer working with someone who had a similar personality disorder, and it didn't slow her down one iota. I never would have guessed her condition because in ministry, she was energetic, dynamic, and extremely effective.

At our church, we have been focusing on compassion ministry - care for people who are disadvantaged, needy, starving, orphaned, exploited. From 2008 until now, with the global economic woes, the unemployed have felt themselves to be among those in need of the compassion of the church. Our church has had an unbelievable run of people calling and asking for aid in paying bills and the monthly rent. My rough estimate is that the calls have tripled from what they were before 2008. Who are the new charity-seekers? People who used to work.

Still, if there is 10% or 15% unemployment in our country, doesn't that mean we have an employment rate of 85% or 90%? Yes, a lot of people are out of work. Still most have jobs, don't they? The practical bottom line is people need enough to pay the rent, eat, stay in acceptable clothing, have transportation, and have insurance and health care. Everyone has to have these things. The materialism of America demands much more - TV, movie and amusement money, the latest fashionable clothes, a car, and vacation money. None of those things are needs, but don't tell advertisers that.

What do we do with Paul's statement about working and eating? Do I tell my friend, the one I mentioned at the beginning, to shove off? Do I tell him I am done helping him? Is that Jesus in speaking, if I say that?

And who am I any way? As I ponder this concept of work, something occurs to me? I don't really produce anything. I can't build a house or a car or a radio or a computer. I suppose I could work in a restaurant if I had to, and if there was a job available, and if the manager would hire me. But, right now, I don't do that. Right now, I produce no food, no product, no measurable service. I don't really fix things. As far as consumer products go, I don't add anything to the market.

My work is recognized by hospitals - they give pastors a picture ID card and free parking. I could be categorized as a teacher of sorts. I could be considered a counselor. I do manage (maybe oversee is a better word) a small, nonprofit organization, and productive people under my leadership do a lot of good in the world. So, I suppose I contribute something. At any rate, a percentage of the monetary gifts working people give to the church go to my salary and benefits, and everyone accepts that. So, I do work.

But, what if my work were cut off?

Along another line of thinking, what work is considered "valuable?" Is the man who fries hamburgers most valuable because he's providing something essential for human existence - food? He's certainly not paid like his work is the most valuable. What about the person whose work requires him or her to gain a master's degree and maybe a doctorate? Is that work more valuable because the skill set is rarer and harder to come by? What could you live without, the verbose preacher's ramblings or the cook's meals? Professional athletes provide something we could certainly do without - entertainment. (Half the time, it's not entertaining but rather infuriating because your team loses!) And they get paid millions, even the mediocre athletes.

I really like something I read by Francis Wilson in the Ecumenical Review. Work lends meaning and fulfillment to life; the purpose of work is not to gain and accumulate property, but to meet the needs of the community. It brings to my mind the preaching of John the Baptist in Luke 3. He addressed the approach to work that should be taken by soldiers and tax collectors (both thought to be professions that were inherently evil and antithetical to the will of God). John did not tell workers in either profession to give up their jobs, but rather to approach them in such a way that they were honest with others and obedient to the ways of God.

What he said there along with Wilson's comments about work and meaning leads me to the conclusion that God can be glorified in just about any job (OK, maybe hit-man, bookie, exotic dancer, pin-up model might be exceptions and you can think of other exceptions as well). But, by any job, I mean a garbage man or a shoe salesman, a plumber or a mortician, a school teacher or an EMT. How can these works glorify God and give meaning?

First, do the job the very best you can. The Christian garbage man should arrive early and be a professional to nth degree. He should makes his rounds with efficiency and a sense of care for the people whose trash he is collecting.

Second, he should treat his coworkers and his employer with great respect and dignity. He should think of Jesus' words "love your neighbor as yourself" each time he interacts with people on the job, even on tough, tough days.

Third, he should be financially responsible with the money he is paid on that job. Even if he's not paid as well as he should be, he should do his very best to be financially wise.

Fourth, he should live with thankfulness. Maybe he wants a better job, one that is less messy, more interesting, with more amenable hours, and better pay. He can pray for that better job. He can send out applications and resumes. If the first 500 he sends out yield nothing, send 500 more. Until God brings that dream job along, he collect waste cheerfully, thanking God that he is doing something meaningful and getting paid to do it.

This approach may take serious spiritual discipline, but I think it is worth the spiritual work. It is worth it to condition our souls so that we can see Jesus in what we do whether it is picking up garbage, fixing cars, teaching university students, or something else. Most of us spend about 40-48 hours a week sleeping and another 40-50 at work. We need to interact with Jesus in our dreams and in our vocation, or else he is only gaining access in less than 30% of our lives. He's supposed to be Lord of all.

Our work has meaning, and the church must love those who have no work but are desperately looking. Furthermore, God calls the church to love people like my friend who look sometimes, but most of the time prefer the life of homelessness to the daily grind of holding a job. Yes, Paul said those who don't work don't eat, and as an institution, we cannot feed everyone. We must make choices and we must seek God's wisdom as we make those choices. But as individual Christ followers, we love people for the same reason we strive for excellence on our jobs. We don't do it for the glory of the job. We work hard for the glory of God. And we don't love (and help) people because of their worthiness. We love people because while were still lost in sin, Jesus loved us enough to die for us.

I don't know if I offered anything revolutionary about work in this blog. I hope my thoughts inspire some thought in you.

"In" but not "of" the World

People who believe in Jesus and dedicate their lives to worshiping Jesus and following Jesus are called to be in the world. A select few, the smallest minority, are called to the isolation of life in a monastery where most of life is spent in solitude, praying alone. I think that call is as legitimately issued by God as any calling. Perhaps the call out of the world at large and into the inner world of constant solitary prayer went out to Anna, the daughter of Phanuel (Luke 2:36-38). However, most Christians are not called out of the world permanently. Most of us are called by God to serve Him in the world as witnesses who tell the story of salvation in Jesus Christ.

However, we are not the be of the world. The grime of sin and the desperation of those lost and far from God should not rub off on believers. Rather we should affect unbelievers with the grace of God so that whether or not they turn to Christ after having met us, their lives are brightened because they experienced God's love having received if from us. The world should be a holier place because of the presence of Jesus' disciples. We disciples should not be tainted or dirtied because we've been in the world. We're here as God's emissaries. Heaven is our home and our time here should not lead us to become more worldly.

The "in but not of" discussion pertains to all areas of life. In our relationships, in our moral conduct in social environments and work environments, in casual comings and goings, and in every conceivable human interaction, Christians either live as those sent by God, or we live like those who do not know God. The "in but not of" dynamic permeates every corner of life including the arenas of money and power.

These issues are in play in a specific exchange Jesus had with men who approached under the guise of innocent seekers. Their humble approach could not hide the devious purposes in their hearts. They were spies from the scribes and chief priests and they came with a question intended to trap him in his own words (Luke 20:20-26). "Teacher ... is it lawful for us to pay taxes to emperor or not?" By lawful, they meant lawful in the eyes of God. In 6AD Judas the Galilean led a revolt against Roman occupation of the land God had promised to his chosen people, Israel. Part of Judas' platform was the notion that it was a violation of God's law to pay taxes because the taxes were engraved with an image of Caesar. Such a "graven image" violated the 2nd commandment (Exodus 20:4).

Of course the catch to this type of zealous religious commitment was that if an Israelite refused to use Roman coins and pay the tax, he would be breaking Roman law. The Romans had all the military power as their crosses of crucifixion showed. Judas the Galilean went to his death for the sake of Israelite independence (that never came). The scribes' spies in Luke 20 did not have such valor in their hearts. They wouldn't die for a cause, but they were happy to either lead Jesus to do so or to expose him as a charlatan. They were engaging in political game playing only for Jesus the consequences were potentially fatal. And the scribes - Israel's religious leaders - did not care.

In answering these insidious inquirers in Luke 20, Jesus could say, "Yes, pay the tax." In this way, he'd appear to be deferring to Rome's might. He'd lose his groundswell of support and be seen as a paper tiger who cow towed to the unclean gentiles.

Or, Jesus could say, "No, don't pay it." He'd look heroic, but word would quickly be leaked to the governor and Jesus, who was already raising eyebrows, would be seen as dangerous, subversive. In that case, his arrest would be a forgone conclusion. Jesus wasn't looking to get arrested. He never avoided or sought it. He spoke the truth about man's sin, God's love, and the community of faith he was building. He spoke that truth openly even as the highest temple officials in Jerusalem opposed him. And, maintaining his composure even before the torturers whip, he spoke that same truth after he was arrested.

Maybe that's the key for us - 21st century Christians trying to live as witnesses in the world, but as people who are not of the world. Maybe the quickest way for to point to Jesus is to speak and to live the truth (lovingly and compassionately) no matter what it may cost us.

To the questioners Jesus asked, "Whose head and title" is on the coin? The acknowledged that it was the emperor's image, and so he told them to "give to the emperor things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's" (v.25). To understand Jesus' response to this tricky inquisition, we must remember Luke's point of view. He and his readers knew Jesus was Lord, and God was god of everything. So, as powerful as he seemed to human eyes, the emperor himself was in actuality subject to God. He along with every other person belonged to God.

Jesus was not about to be painted into a corner by a coin. The most important part of his answer is the part about giving to God what belongs to God. To those spies sent by the chief priests, Jesus issued a challenge. What exactly belongs to God? Everything! So, they needed to stop trying to pick Jesus apart with disingenuous queries. They needed to step back and realize that they themselves belonged to God. They needed to give what belonged to God to God. They needed to submit their own hearts to God's glory and to God's purposes. Until they did that, they were not ready to ask Jesus questions. Until they recognized God as the ultimate and only true authority, they were nothing more than puppets manipulated by the religious leaders who sent them.

Luke's worldview, which was Jesus' worldview, was that God was and is in charge of everything. God allows humans to sin and we do. God allows the consequences of sin to play out in human society. This accounts for most of the messes we have to deal with. However, as corrupt and vile as the world can sometimes seem, God is always God and is always in control. Jesus demonstrated this by reducing the ridiculous test, do we pay Caesar's tax or do we not pay it, by establishing a timeless truth. "Render to God the things that are Gods." They knew as do we that all things are God's. And as followers of Jesus, we must speak that truth in all places and times, no matter what may happen as a result of our saying.

Revelation 10 and the Sovereignty of God

Often my posts appear to be more theological commentary or reflection, but that's because that is how I work things out. I read, think, pray, and then God reveals things. That's what happened with this 'sovereignty discussion.' I have been in discussions about determinism and sovereignty for about 6 months now and I find Keener's observations very helpful in understanding my faith, my very understanding of God.

I have heard the phrase “sovereignty of God” floated in theological debates recently. In some cases it has become a dividing line, and dogmatic adherents of a particular position make no room for debate. You’re on their side, or you are wrong. The specific case in point regards salvation. Some insist that not only does God know in advance all who will be saved, but God determines in advance all who will be saved. God determines all who will be saved (and conversely all who will be damned to eternal Hell).

Those of this mindset declare this to be a sure sign of God’s sovereignty. If God was the sole determining influence in salvation, and if it we human beings had a voice in it by our choice to follow or reject Jesus, then it would mean God was not sovereign. We know God is sovereign because the Bible asserts this (Psalm 8:1). Thus, God is sovereign, ergo, God determine eternal destiny of all (Heaven or Hell).

I believe completely that God is sovereign, but I do not accept the reasoning that sovereignty leads to determinism. Those who do believe that draw a hard line and have trouble allowing for multiple positions in the conversation. I think God’s sovereignty does not impede human freedom to follow God or rebel against God. So, how do we discuss sovereignty without falling into this debate about determinism?

I was surprised to find very helpful teaching about sovereignty of God in Craig Keener’s commentary on Revelation chapter 10 (NIV Application Commentary: Revelation, Zondervan, 2000, p.279-285). In Revelation there are four series of seven judgments – the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven thunders, and the seven bowls. John gives a thorough depiction of what is said in the seals, trumpets, and bowls, but not the thunders. Why?

Chapter 10 begins with a mighty angel (v.1). Keener points out that angels as they are described in the book of Revelation, exert considerably more power and inspire infinitely more awe than do Greek gods. Revelation was read by Greek speaking Jews, Asians, and Greeks, all of whom would have been familiar with and heavily influenced by the polytheism of ancient Greece. These were gods created in man’s image and suspect to the same personality quirks and flaws as men and women. The angels of Revelation were otherworldly, mighty. And they all fell subject to the God of Israel, revealed in Jesus Christ. The first century reader would look at the text of Revelation 10 and think “Holy smokes! The God described here is far more powerful and awesome than anything I’ve ever heard of.” Revelation 10 points to the sovereignty of God.

So does the secret of the Thunders. We know all about the terrifying images that came when the seals were opened and the trumpets blew. We’ll hear a lot more beginning in chapter 16 when the bowls of wrath are poured out. Here is what we Bible readers get with the thunders. “When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down” (10:4). In his commentary, Keener concludes, “most likely the seven thunders remain mysterious in order to teach that the hidden things belong to God” (p.281). In other words, we have to accept that there are things we cannot know until God reveals them. And if God chooses to never reveal these things, then as an act of fait and a way of submitting to the Sovereign Lord, we accept that we will never know.

Using this principle of submission before our Sovereign, I turn back to the conversation about salvation – do we choose Jesus or do we have no say in the matter? Who is saved and how it happens exactly is for God to know. We know salvation took place on the cross. How it is appropriated into the lives of individuals is God’s concern. Our God-given mandate is to be a witness to God’s sovereignty, God’s love, and to the story of God’s coming in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth. “God rules the future” (Keener, p.84), and we don’t need the details unless he decides we need them.

Angels and Trumpets

What would it be like if we could leaves the boundaries of space and time and journey to Heaven and listen in as God discusses with angels and within the Trinity the events of our time? What if this discussion centered around the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? How different would God’s perspective be than our own?
“The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” (Revelation 8:8-9).

Might this be our way of understanding Heaven’s description of the oil spill? I don’t mean that Revelation 8:8-9 is a direct prediction, a prophecy that was fulfilled when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. I don’t think that one moment in history in April, 2010, is the single fulfillment of prophecy. I don’t believe Revelation works that way exactly.

Rather, it seems that John was given Heaven’s perspective regarding events on earth. And he wrote as a human being trying to understand what God had shown him. The incredible visions Revelation are real pictures of how the events of the history of mankind fall into God’s overall plan. But the comparisons are not direct. John wrote within his own timeframe and in a specific literary style. He wasn’t envisioning an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He didn’t know what the Gulf of Mexico was and his version of a spill involved an overturned flask of the olive variety. The symbols and method of employing those symbols he used fit his context.

Many commentators have tried to link the prophecy of Revelation to events in 20th and 21st century Israel and 20th and 21st century America. John Wesley interprets Revelation chapter 8 in terms of the events of the history of the Roman Empire and the Mediterranean world in the 1st through 5th centuries AD. His approach (and that of many other Bible scholars, theologians, church history experts, and preachers) is the right one. John wrote in terms intelligible in John’s world. John was guided by faith and had the Roman world in view.

Thanks to the brilliance of the Holy Spirit who inspired him, he wrote words that speak beyond him. What John said goes beyond what John could know because the Holy Spirit gave his words a power no human, no matter how creative, could possess or communicate. So, John saw a vision that he understood to be the forces of heaven at work in destroying marine life in a dramatic fashion, killing 1/3 of aquatic life and sinking 1/3 of the ships at see.

Whatever it was that John saw, it accurately relayed this truth. God is all powerful – more powerful than the sea. Humankind is amazing. I can’t imaging swimming at 5000 feet below sea level. I can’t really conceptualize 5000 feet below sea level much less doing anything down there. But, human beings figured out how to go down their and drill for oil. Whether or not you think it is a good idea to do that, it’s impressive that humans can. And with the impressive depths of human knowledge, comes the ability to do great good and to do great damage as in the case of the oil spill.

However, no matter how great the feats of humans (landing a man on the moon, discovering a concoction of drugs that help someone live with aids), or the evil (the Holocaust, genocides throughout history), or the mess (Deepwater Horizon, Exxon Valdese), humanity’s power, while great, pales before God. One third of the aquatic life died (Rev. 8:8). One third of the fresh waters became undrinkable (v.11). One third of the stars were darkened (v.12). John saw God’s power on display.

God did not cause the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. British Petroleum bears the blame for that. And, it is a huge disaster and should not be understated. We must pray for the clean-up efforts and for the people of the Gulf Coast region. Those among us (“we” being we who do not live along the Gulf Coast) who are available to help with the clean-up and have the ability to offer the kind of help needed should sacrifice personal time to go and help. That’s what Christians do. At the same time, we read Revelation and stand with mouths agape at the power of God. And reading Revelation to the last chapter, we know one day that those who are in Christ will be in the Heavenly city where there will be no oil spills.

A Grateful American

I haven’t cheered that loudly while watching a game in a long time, and I don’t even like soccer that much. But, as the United States inched closer and closer to advancement (or disqualification) in the World Cup, I got more and more into it. A loss or a draw would mean going home. A win, would mean advancing to the knock-out round. It was stoppage time (soccer’s version of Overtime), and the score was 0-0. Then Landond Donovan, the face of American soccer, put in the rebound. I jumped out of my chair.

I say all of this to say, I love the fact that I live in America and am an American. Often in my preaching I am critical of the lifestyle of most people in our country. I am equally critical of the philosophy that dominates American Christianity in all its forms. My critique intensifies as I perceive that the values that govern the lives of American Christians are often more American than they are Christian. In every case, with every Criticism, I point to the Bible as my source. That said, I love America and the experience of Christianity I have been afforded living in America.

My 3^rd year of seminary, it was a time of serious discernment. I was serving as a church youth pastor and finishing up my studies. There as the possibility that my part time position would become a full time position. Yet, I knew God was calling me away from that church, but where? To what? In 1990, God used my study of the book of Revelation to prep my heart. God used that book to get me ready to receive God’s call. Six years later, during that final full year of seminary study, God used a specific verse from Revelation to narrow my call.

“I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). That fall, 1996, I saw that verse with new eyes. I really believe the Holy Spirit settled on my heart. I wanted to meet people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. I didn’t care where I was from. My concern was where I was going. Where could I go to meet all those people?

God called me to pastor a little church just outside Washington DC. There, I had some of the most amazing experiences. I met people who had lived in Arlington, VA all their lives. I met people who had come from rural Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. Drawn to DC by service in the military or employment with the government, they came and they stayed. I was meeting and walking alongside people from all over the U.S. and from all over the world. China, Sudan, El Salvador, Laos, Bolivia, Albania – I have been privileged to baptize people from all these places, and many more.

Why? Why was I able to live out my calling in Arlington, VA and Washington, DC? It happened because people want to come to America and experience the freedom and opportunity of our great nation. We have numerous immigration problems. There’s no question about that. I have lived up close and personal with some of the complicated issues surrounding immigration. In spite of the issues, immigrants continue to come in search of education, work, freedom, and hope. Churches like the one I served for 9 years in Arlington, and like HillSong Church are here and have opened the doors to the world as the world has flocked to America.

On this Independence Day, July 4, 2010, I want to thank God for America. Thank you God for once again drawing me to your amazing word – Revelation 7:9. It is the picture of the Heaven you have prepared for all who put their trust in Jesus. I can’t wait to see it – one day, in your time. Until then, thank you Lord for making America a place where it is possible to get a glimpse of Heaven. Help our church be a sanctuary, a safe place for people to come when they need a safe spot. Help our church receive, with loving Christian hospitality, people from every language, tribe and nation. For the sake of liberty, it is the American thing to do. For the sake of the Gospel and for loving the world in the name of Jesus, it is the Christian thing to do. AMEN.

Weeping for God's Word

My basic devotional practice is to read a portion of scripture and then write my response to the Word in a journal. What I right may be a summation of the chapter or section I have just read. Or, I may right some theological conclusions I draw based upon the reading. Or, I may write something very confessional, very personal, as God's word awakens in me a consciousness and awareness of my own spiritual walk. No matter what I write, is stems forth from my reading of scripture. I am at my best when I do this every day. I am letting life get too hectic when this simple practice is neglected and I only get to it once or twice in a 2-3 week span.

What would I do without the word? Would I miss the Bible if I was never able to read it? Obviously as a pastor, I have to read, interpret, teach, and preach the Bible every week. But, on the personal level, would I miss it if I didn't have it?

The first century Christ-follower John was taken into a vision to Heaven where he went into the throne room of God. He saw in the right hand "of the one seated on the throne" (as God is referred to) "a scroll written on the inside and on the back" (Revelation 5:1). What's written on the scroll? John desperately wanted to know, but "no one in heaven or on the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it" (5:3). And John began to weep bitterly.

At this point in the drama of Revelation, he has already met the resurrected Christ in his fully glorified form (1:13-16). He was given specific messages for seven churches (chapter 2-3). He was drawn into the throne room of Heaven (chapter 4). John has been privileged to see things most believers never see in their lifetimes on earth. We believe we are invited to resurrection by our resurrected Lord Jesus, and one day we will see clearly though now we see only in part (1st Corinthians 13:12). But John got to see a bit more clearly than most do on this side of Heaven. He wept for what he didn't get to see. He was sure that scroll had information he wanted, and no one was found worthy to open and read it.

Do we long for God's word that strongly, that we would weep and be utterly broken without it? John was encouraged by one of the elders (first mentioned in 4:4). He said, "Do not weep. See the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals" (5:5). Note the depictions of Jesus in the elders' words. Jesus then appears to John as a Lamb that was slain. I capitalize "Lamb" as do the interpreters of the New Revised Standard Version because in Revelation the Lamb is Jesus.

Jesus is the Lamb, the Root, the Lion, and the Conqueror. Jesus is also the one who opens the scroll and opens the message of God so John can hear it, understand it, live by it, and share it. That's the way the Word needs to be at work in us. First, we have to hear it (Romans 10:14-17), and we need to understand it (Acts 8:30-35). Then, once we know the Word, we need to live by it (Matthew 4:4; 2nd Timothy 3:16-17). Finally, we must, as men and women of Jesus, share the Word (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus makes it possible. A trained scholar can study an ancient text whether it is from the Bible from some other ancient source. The scholar can study all the parchments and papyri available and determine how the text was transmitted over the centuries from Hebrew to Aramaic to Greek to Latin to German to English. That scholar can study the grammar, the genre, the literary technique, and several other features of the text and how it influenced the community of faith. A casual reader of scripture can also, with no training whatsoever, read a passage and get a lot out of it.

However, there is a different way of reading, a way that comes only when one is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit of God, sent by Jesus, opens our hearts and minds as we read, the Word becomes a Living Word that shapes our lives. And it is for that that we weep.

In Revelation 5, the action of the Lamb, Jesus, taking the scroll from God sitting on the throne evokes worship. The living creatures (described in 4:6) and the elders fall before the Lamb (v.9) and sing of Jesus' worthiness. Thousands upon thousands of angels join in the worship of Jesus. Then, "every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea" join in the worship and singing (Revelation 5:13; this recalls Philippians 2:10). This is universal worship of Jesus and it comes when he takes the scroll from God with the purpose of making the contents of the scroll available to women and men.

Sometimes, I get spiritually lazy. I fall out of my habit of reading scripture and commenting on it. Sometimes, I am committed and I do my reading and keep my journal, but it is a chore. I have days where I don't feel any great movement of the Spirit in my soul. The Word of God feels dry. It feels like I am just slogging through a task I assigned myself. I think, though, that slogging through is worth the effort. There's a worship song that goes "this is the air I breathe." Reading scripture and (more importantly) meeting the Lord in the scripture is the air I breathe.

The days I slog through, God is quietly, almost imperceptible, at work deep inside me. The work God does in me on those days when I force myself to read is highly valuable and the breakthrough (God breaking through the walls of sin I have erected around my heart) eventually comes. When it does, my spirit takes flight and I join those thousands of thousands of angels. I sing that worship song to Jesus because he has called me to himself.

If you are reading this, I urge, you, make it a habit to read God's word every day. Pray as you read. Ask God to open His deep truth to you and ask Him to open your heart to His love. Ask God to give you such passion for Him that you will weep for His word. Do this, and eventually, in God's perfect time, you'll discover what all that singing in Heaven is about. In you'll know Jesus in ways that change you forever.

Revelation: What am I reading?

The final book of the Bible, Revelation, has held a grip on me since I joined a small group of high school and college students studying it in the summer of 1990. Shortly after that study and reading the book This Present Darkness (Peretti) and spending time in prayer for a young woman who was my peer (I was 20 at the time), I returned for my junior of college. And I heard God call me into vocational ministry. Revelation is exceedingly interesting to me and is also closely tied to the days I heard God tell me distinctly that I would be a pastor.

Since 1990, I have learned much about Revelation. There are many ways of reading this book of the Bible. There is the fantasizing speculation (books like The Left Behind Series), there is complete misreading (Hal Lindsey's Late, Great Planet Earth), devotional reading, and historical-critical reading. The best commentary on Revelation I have found is by Craig Keener in the NIV Application Series. The most thorough work I have read is David Aune's commentary in the Word Biblical Commentary Series.

Aune's work is not very accessible for non-scholars. I have trouble with it because my Greek is very elementary. I have a limited understanding of Hellenistic Greek vocabulary, and my knowledge of the grammar is even weaker. Aune writes in a scholarly style that requires a lot of effort for me to read. That said, I appreciate the great detail he goes to in pursuing lines of argument. His books is over 300 pages (not counting a 200-page introduction) and he only covers Revelation 1-5.

One of the topics he deals with is genre. When a Christian reads Revelation, what exactly is she reading? If someone reads Romans, the genre is obvious. It's an epistle, a letter. Isaiah is a prophecy. The Psalms are worship songs and are classified as writings or wisdom literature. Leviticus is law.

The genre is Revelation is harder to pinpoint. Aune discusses J.J. Collins' definition of an apocalyptic; and Collins' definition is based on Revelation. So, Revelation is the proto-type of Apocalyptic literature. Not so, according to other scholars. Some look at particular non-Biblical Jewish works from the 200BC-100AD, and they compile a list of features. Some of those features do not apply to Revelation, so it cannot be an apocalypse.

Aune rejects that conclusion saying that just because Revelation doesn't meet every qualification on the apocalyptic-check list does not disqualify it. Structurally, the majority of verses in Revelation are more like an apocalypse than any other form.

However, Aune also observes that Revelation itself claims to be prophecy (22:18). Furthermore, in apocalyptic literature, the righteous who are persecuted in this life by the wicked are rewarded in the next. And, the wicked who have disregard God in this life and have injured the weak are punished in the next. It seems to be a precursor of 20th century Liberation theology. Prophecy, on the other hand, is a warning to the wicked that they must repent, change. Implicit in this warning is that they will have the opportunity to do so. Revelation is full of such warnings (2:5, 16, 21; 3:3, 19). The opportunity for repentance is a part of the message in Revelation (9:20-21). There is also, and perhaps more often mentioned, reward and punishment. But repentance is not completely missing.

So, Revelation is structured like an apocalypse. In some ways the message suggests prophecy and in Chapter 22 it self-identifies as prophecy. Chapters 1-3 and chapter 22, the beginning and ending, function as a letter. This was a specific 1st century form and Revelation takes that form. So what is the final book of the New Testament, letter, prophecy, apocalypse, or combination of all three?

In my own experience, Revelation is Gospel because in Revelation, I see Jesus and I see who I am supposed to be in Jesus. I see in the four Gospels too, but in Revelation, I meet the Lord in a unique and transforming way. This happened in 1990 when I was called into ministry. It took place again in 2006 when I began the year intending on preaching Revelation every single week of that year (I did not end up doing that, but I hope to someday). And again this year, in April & May, the Lord spoke to me through Revelation after the Lord had thoroughly disrupted my spiritual equilibrium in my journaling through the Gospel of John. As my vision of Jesus keeps expanding in Revelation, I have to call it Gospel. I couldn't make that case in scholarly circles. But from a reflective standpoint I have to. If I ever write a book about Revelation, it will be a reflective piece and I'll call it Revelation as Gospel.

The Crystal Sea - Revelation 4:6

This is a second entry on Revelation 4. In his commentary on Revelation chapters 1-5, David Aune takes 53 pages to cover Revelation 4. I don't have that much material, but I am interested in one of the images Aune responds to, the"sea." John had been taken into a vision which took him from the Island of Patmos where he had been exiled for the faith to the throne room of Heaven. Among what he sees is this body of water at the foot of God. "And in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal" (v.6, New Revised Standard Version).

Aune attributes much of John's description of his vision in Revelation to the writings of Ezekiel. Some may hear this type of connection and accuse Aune of disregarding divine authority. O, I know Aune! He's like all those liberal scholars who don't believe in God. John didn't copy Ezekiel. John received his vision directly from God! Aune doesn't believe the Bible. To that type of critique, I'd say, you don't understand. For Aune to say that Revelation is based on the writings in Ezekiel, he is not saying John didn't have a vision. Aune isn't making a statement about whether or not he accepts the spiritual veracity of Revelation. Aune is trying to describe and understand Revelation.

Look at Ezekiel 1:22. Ezekiel was in a vision and he saw mind-blowing images, including living creatures like those we see in Revelation (Ezekiel 1:5 ff.). In verse 22, he writes, "Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal." Take Ezekiel's vision in conjunction with Genesis 1:7 - "So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters above the dome." To say John writing in Revelation used Ezekiel as a source is not to say that John didn't have the vision or see the throne room. Perhaps, he and Ezekiel were looking at the same thing. Ezekiel used language from Genesis 1:7. John in Revelation used Ezekiel's language because it would have been familiar to him and to his readers. 'Oh,' thinks John. I now see what I read. This is what Ezekiel was talking about.

Another point of connection is the "sea" Solomon fashioned out of bronze when he was constructing the temple. "Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim and five cubits high" (1 Kings 7:23). The mythology of a sea of fresh water (both subterranean and celestial) existed in Jewish literature (see Psalm 29:10, "the Lord sits as king over the flood) as well as in Babylonian and in other Ancient Near Eastern texts. The idea of a heavenly ocean is prevalent in Ancient Near Eastern thought.

So, when Solomon put that sea as a prominent design in the temple, did he have in mind God calming (and prevailing over) the raging chaos sea (Genesis 1:2); or did he have in mind God's dome (Gen. 1:7); or did he have in mind the sea God opened to allow his people to pass through and then closed to swallow the Egyptian pursuers (Exodus 14:21-27)? When Ezekiel described his vision, did his turn to Genesis and Exodus and Solomon for his descriptive words? When John wrote what he saw in the Revelation, did he rely on Ezekiel as a model, or was he thinking of the Psalms (like Psalm 29), or of Solomon, or Moses, or the writing of Genesis 1? It's most likely all of the above.

This is but a sampling of the ways we can follow the imagery of sea in relation to waters in the atmosphere and also in terms of the geography of Heaven. The metaphor runs throughout the Old Testament. All of this is what is behind Revelation 4:6 - only the first part of verse 6. Revelation is a tour de force of allusions to the Old Testament. In a sermon Fred Craddock said there are over 500 allusions or references to the Old in Revelation. People go crazy trying to look to the future and to the present in an attempt to interpret the mysteries of Revelation. It's not a secret code! John intended it to be understood. It Reveals the truth; it does not hide it.

However, the truth is revealed by one who assumes that his readers understand his references. Do we want to understand Revelation? We need to understand the Old Testament. John used Old Testament pictures to illustrate what God was doing in the late first century in churches in Asia Minor. He wrote from a very specific context to Christians in very specific contexts. It is challenging to read what he wrote because we come from outside those contexts. He words though do speak to us because his writing was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Under God's direction, what he wrote took on an eternal quality that presents inerrant truth.

When then do we do with the sea image? A couple of thoughts come to mind for me. In Genesis 1:2, the sea is an untamed, dark chaos. The ominous nature of the unknowns of the depths of the sea played on the worst fears men could imagine in the days of Moses, in the days of Job, in the days of the 12 disciples, and going forward in history up to the days of Columbus. The sea was death. More specifically for Israel, the sea was what kept them in slavery in Egypt because the sea stood between them and the Promised Land.

However, the sea also stood as a testimony to the power of God. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the sea. In Exodus 14, the mighty raging sea obeyed God immediately without protest. In the days of Jesus, men feared the sea with outright panic, but he walked on it. Storms at sea struck fear into the hearts of the heartiest seafarers, but those same storms quieted immediately at a rebuke from Jesus. Man is utterly powerless before the sea, but throughout the Bible God puts the sea in its place.

In Revelation, the sea is glass. Recreational sailors don't like calm waters because there is no wind - nothing to push their sailboats along. Ruefully they say, "the lake is like glass today." A crystal sea or a glass sea is one that is calm. In God's throne room, that which commands dread in the hearts of women and men, the sea, is submissive, lying still at the feet of God on his throne. And in Revelation 21, when God makes his home among human beings, we read, "the sea was no more" (v.1).

The sea is as awesome as God made it to be. John reminds us that as tremendously powerful as that is, God is more so. God Lords over the sea. Does God Lord over us? He allows us to choose whether we will bow submissively before him and live according to His Word and to His Will. Is that the path we take? Or do we rage and rebel and kick against God? In this light, it's kind of silly: one little human being is his own, small, contained ocean of protest. How much calmer is the heart when the man or the woman submits authority for life to God? When it comes to a person's life, or the ragings of the sea, or the bottom-line message in Revelation, the final answer is the same. God is Sovereign and Jesus is Lord.