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.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
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.
“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.
Monday, June 28, 2010
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
I say all of this to say, I love the fact that I live in
My 3rd 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
Why? Why was I able to live out my calling in
On this Independence Day, July 4, 2010, I want to thank God for
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, June 14, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Thundering God
Instead of attempting to locate in contemporary (or future) times every movement, every action, and every symbol we encounter in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation to John, we would be wise to let the imagery create a vision of God in our minds. Bible readers miss an encounter with the Almighty in Revelation because they spend too much time trying to figure it out and not enough time appreciating it and experiencing it.
Last weekend, our area had a lot of rain. My boys and I stood in the garage and stared at the thick, dark clouds. We listened to gentle rumblings of thunder. We counted the seconds until the flashes of lightening. The thunder storms brought a lot of rainfall, but in terms of percussion, they were mild. There were no claps of thunder that shook the house. The lightening flashes were several miles away.
Still, my younger son put his little hands over his ears and ran inside. There was no real danger, but his three-year-old mind (and heart) intuited the power of nature and he was appropriately frightened. He would only stay outside if I was holding him. He could sense the vastness and the power of God. Do we become so sophisticated that we lose a sense of the majesty and the glory that God possesses? Do scientists of various sorts know so much, they are no longer awed by God? Are people in their countless ways of succumbing to busyness not have time to be filled with wonder at God’s might?
John wrote down the seven messages for the seven churches (chapters 2-3) given to him by the awesome presence of the resurrected Jesus (described in Revelation 1:12-20). His heart was overwhelmed because Jesus came in all his glory. Poor John could barely stand and this was just the beginning. He next heard a voice “speaking to [him] like a trumpet” (4:1). That mighty voice blasted, and John was summoned in a vision up to Heaven. Once there, he was taken into the throne room of God.
Hundreds of pages could be devoted to each of the sites John beheld in that throne room. I will touch on just one of those images. “Coming from the throne,” John writes “are flashes of lightening, and rumblings and peals of thunder” (Revelation 4:5). It brings to mind the prophet Moses wielding the power of God against Pharaoh: “Moses stretched out his staff toward Heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail and fire down on the earth” (Exodus 9:23). Also, the words of Isaiah are remembered: “You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with a whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire” (Isaiah 29:6).
To try to interpret such a picture as this thundering God into some theological system is an effort in futility. I appreciate the work of theologians, even the dispensationalists who think they have Revelation figured out. I appreciate how seriously they take scripture and the practice of the Christian faith. But though I appreciate theology and myself study theology a bit, I read of the thunder that roars from the throne and I am reminded that no one has Revelation figured out. It’s not a secret; it is God revealed and the thundering God is too much for us.
But, we want our God to be that awesome and God is. We want the God we worship to have authority over all things and God does. It is appropriate to fear God; at the same time we rejoice in the love of God. His love is such that He sent his only son to die for us. The Risen Christ picked John up when he had fallen in a puddle of fear (Revelation 1:17). John was terrified, but his Lord and put a hand on him and said, “Do not be afraid.” Our terrifying God says that to us – “Do not be afraid.” God is the thunderstorm, but God is also the daddy holding each one of us in his arms so we don’t have to fear the storm.
In Revelation then, we see that God is to be feared. At the same time, God is to be trusted because God’s love is real. So, don’t take God too lightly. But don’t live in dread of God either. Live in confidence that all who are in Christ are adopted as children of God. We will all one day be summoned to that incredible and terrifying place, the throne room, but once we are there we will be filled with joy as we are filled with God’s love.
Last weekend, our area had a lot of rain. My boys and I stood in the garage and stared at the thick, dark clouds. We listened to gentle rumblings of thunder. We counted the seconds until the flashes of lightening. The thunder storms brought a lot of rainfall, but in terms of percussion, they were mild. There were no claps of thunder that shook the house. The lightening flashes were several miles away.
Still, my younger son put his little hands over his ears and ran inside. There was no real danger, but his three-year-old mind (and heart) intuited the power of nature and he was appropriately frightened. He would only stay outside if I was holding him. He could sense the vastness and the power of God. Do we become so sophisticated that we lose a sense of the majesty and the glory that God possesses? Do scientists of various sorts know so much, they are no longer awed by God? Are people in their countless ways of succumbing to busyness not have time to be filled with wonder at God’s might?
John wrote down the seven messages for the seven churches (chapters 2-3) given to him by the awesome presence of the resurrected Jesus (described in Revelation 1:12-20). His heart was overwhelmed because Jesus came in all his glory. Poor John could barely stand and this was just the beginning. He next heard a voice “speaking to [him] like a trumpet” (4:1). That mighty voice blasted, and John was summoned in a vision up to Heaven. Once there, he was taken into the throne room of God.
Hundreds of pages could be devoted to each of the sites John beheld in that throne room. I will touch on just one of those images. “Coming from the throne,” John writes “are flashes of lightening, and rumblings and peals of thunder” (Revelation 4:5). It brings to mind the prophet Moses wielding the power of God against Pharaoh: “Moses stretched out his staff toward Heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail and fire down on the earth” (Exodus 9:23). Also, the words of Isaiah are remembered: “You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with a whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire” (Isaiah 29:6).
To try to interpret such a picture as this thundering God into some theological system is an effort in futility. I appreciate the work of theologians, even the dispensationalists who think they have Revelation figured out. I appreciate how seriously they take scripture and the practice of the Christian faith. But though I appreciate theology and myself study theology a bit, I read of the thunder that roars from the throne and I am reminded that no one has Revelation figured out. It’s not a secret; it is God revealed and the thundering God is too much for us.
But, we want our God to be that awesome and God is. We want the God we worship to have authority over all things and God does. It is appropriate to fear God; at the same time we rejoice in the love of God. His love is such that He sent his only son to die for us. The Risen Christ picked John up when he had fallen in a puddle of fear (Revelation 1:17). John was terrified, but his Lord and put a hand on him and said, “Do not be afraid.” Our terrifying God says that to us – “Do not be afraid.” God is the thunderstorm, but God is also the daddy holding each one of us in his arms so we don’t have to fear the storm.
In Revelation then, we see that God is to be feared. At the same time, God is to be trusted because God’s love is real. So, don’t take God too lightly. But don’t live in dread of God either. Live in confidence that all who are in Christ are adopted as children of God. We will all one day be summoned to that incredible and terrifying place, the throne room, but once we are there we will be filled with joy as we are filled with God’s love.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Word
John's Gospel begins "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the Word was God." A few verses later it says, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (1:14). And in Ephesians it says the "sword of the Spirit" is "the word of God" (6:17). Finally, in Revelation, the risen, glorified Jesus appears to John, a Christian in exile on Patmos Island. The Resurrected One is said to have a sharp, two-edged sword coming from his mouth (Revelation 1:16).
Jesus is the word, and the word is sharp, cutting, pruning, and also judging. In Revelation 1, Jesus is described in spectacular images. Then in chapters 2-3, there are 7 messages to 7 churches located in Asia Minor. At the beginning of each message, Jesus restates and self-identifies some aspect of the spectacular description from chapter 1. To Ephesus, he is the one who holds the seven stars in his hand (1:6 / 2:1); to Smyrna he says, "these are the words of the first and the last" (1:17 / 2:8). This parallel of self-identification to a description from chapter 1 begins each message to each individual church.
To Pergamum Jesus says, "there are the words of him who has the sharp, two-edged sword" (1:16 / 2:12). Why is Pergamum the church that receives the depiction of Jesus related to him being a man of penetrating words? Maybe it is because words were so important in that city and the city was proud of its collection of words and its ownership of words. One of the greatest libraries of ancient times was in Pergamum. It rivaled the great library Alexandria. Book production was so prolific there that the name of the city is where the word "parchment" comes from. Denizens of the city may of thought all words worth remembering begin in their town.
The problem in this city of knowledge and city of words is the Roman Emperor was worshiped, and Christians were persecuted. They may have felt superior for their knowledge, but they were oblivious to the source of transcendent knowledge and eternal truth. They worshiped a false God and tried to silence the truth of the real God preached by followers of Jesus.
As I read that Jesus threatened to make war with the "sword of [his] mouth" (v.16), I wondered if the same ominous divine threat hangs over centers of human knowledge today? I find it necessary to state and restate that I am an advocate of education. I have 22 years of formal education. I am believer in study and in human beings knowing as much as they can and as many words as can be known. Many of my friends are people with PhD's (in a number of different fields). They are humble people who bow before Jesus and who try to excel in scholarship in order to bring honor to the Lord.
Are we in danger of (or in need of) the cutting, pruning, convicting word of God? I think so, because when Jesus speaks, the words are truth. His truth will purify our pursuit of knowledge and learning. The main sin at Pergamum was the tolerance of false teaching (Balaam, v.14 and the Nicolaitans, v.15). Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, was set alongside other gods and philosophies.
We cannot set Jesus alongside the humanism of our day. We strive for knowledge knowing in humility that He is the source of transcendent knowledge. We reach for the stars and at the same time stay on bended knee doing our obeisance before the King of Kings. Our ambition must be held in check by humility.
If we can keep Jesus first and listen to Him over and above all other voices, then our perspective will be in order. We will get to hear our Lord say to us what was said to the Pergamum believers who persevered - "To everyone who conquers I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it."
Do we want a new name, given by the Lord Jesus? I guess that depends on whether or not we trust His knowledge and his words.
Jesus is the word, and the word is sharp, cutting, pruning, and also judging. In Revelation 1, Jesus is described in spectacular images. Then in chapters 2-3, there are 7 messages to 7 churches located in Asia Minor. At the beginning of each message, Jesus restates and self-identifies some aspect of the spectacular description from chapter 1. To Ephesus, he is the one who holds the seven stars in his hand (1:6 / 2:1); to Smyrna he says, "these are the words of the first and the last" (1:17 / 2:8). This parallel of self-identification to a description from chapter 1 begins each message to each individual church.
To Pergamum Jesus says, "there are the words of him who has the sharp, two-edged sword" (1:16 / 2:12). Why is Pergamum the church that receives the depiction of Jesus related to him being a man of penetrating words? Maybe it is because words were so important in that city and the city was proud of its collection of words and its ownership of words. One of the greatest libraries of ancient times was in Pergamum. It rivaled the great library Alexandria. Book production was so prolific there that the name of the city is where the word "parchment" comes from. Denizens of the city may of thought all words worth remembering begin in their town.
The problem in this city of knowledge and city of words is the Roman Emperor was worshiped, and Christians were persecuted. They may have felt superior for their knowledge, but they were oblivious to the source of transcendent knowledge and eternal truth. They worshiped a false God and tried to silence the truth of the real God preached by followers of Jesus.
As I read that Jesus threatened to make war with the "sword of [his] mouth" (v.16), I wondered if the same ominous divine threat hangs over centers of human knowledge today? I find it necessary to state and restate that I am an advocate of education. I have 22 years of formal education. I am believer in study and in human beings knowing as much as they can and as many words as can be known. Many of my friends are people with PhD's (in a number of different fields). They are humble people who bow before Jesus and who try to excel in scholarship in order to bring honor to the Lord.
Are we in danger of (or in need of) the cutting, pruning, convicting word of God? I think so, because when Jesus speaks, the words are truth. His truth will purify our pursuit of knowledge and learning. The main sin at Pergamum was the tolerance of false teaching (Balaam, v.14 and the Nicolaitans, v.15). Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, was set alongside other gods and philosophies.
We cannot set Jesus alongside the humanism of our day. We strive for knowledge knowing in humility that He is the source of transcendent knowledge. We reach for the stars and at the same time stay on bended knee doing our obeisance before the King of Kings. Our ambition must be held in check by humility.
If we can keep Jesus first and listen to Him over and above all other voices, then our perspective will be in order. We will get to hear our Lord say to us what was said to the Pergamum believers who persevered - "To everyone who conquers I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it."
Do we want a new name, given by the Lord Jesus? I guess that depends on whether or not we trust His knowledge and his words.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Jesus and the Unclean woman
Imagine this. You are a 14-year-old girl. You’ve never been to school. You were married to a man at age 13, and became pregnant 6 months later. Now you are in labor. Labor has already lasted three days. At midday, on the fourth day of labor, you pass a still-born child. Relieved, you think the madness and torture is over. But on the fifth day, you discover to your horror that you have no control over your bodily functions. No matter how much you wash, no matter why you try, you have no control. You cannot get rid of the odor.
Your husband is disgusted. He cannot stand you. Your presence is unendurable. You were supposed to become the mother of his firstborn son. Instead, this has happened. It must be some punishment for something you have done. So, he throws you out of the house.
Your parents take you in, but they can’t stand the sight or smell of you any more than he could. They make you stay in a shack at the edge of the family compound. Your condition does not improve. With no control over your body, you always reek. You are put out again, this time to fend for yourself.
You are 14. You illiterate and have no skills. You just want to die.[i]
Here’s what the girl in that unbelievably desperate situation doesn’t know. There are approximately 3 to 4 million women who deal with the condition she has and the condition has a name - obstetric fistula. “A fistula is simply a hole between an internal organ and the outside world that should not exist. There are two primary causes of fistula in women in developing countries: childbirth, causing obstetric fistula and sexual violence, causing traumatic fistula.”[ii] This impoverished girl thinks her life is over and quite possibly it is her fault. The problem is unique to her and so she bears the agony of being punished for some unknown sin. In truth, for only a few hundred dollars, a surgical operation could repair the injury and restore her life.
Instead, she has been kicked to the curb, and herself believes that the curb, the gutter, the waste heap is where she belongs. Lewis Wall is the professor of obstetrics/gynecology in the
Another website with even more information is the site of the Fistula Foundation http://www.fistulafoundation.org/index.html. There, Asosa, an 18-year-old young woman from
I studied in school until 7th grade. I helped my mother at home with housework, but I didn't have to carry too many heavy things.
I got married when I was 15. I met my husband for the first time on my wedding day. My parents chose him for me. I felt sad that I had to quit my education, but otherwise I liked my husband. He was a good man.
I got pregnant one year later. My pregnancy was fine. My labor started at three in the afternoon and my husband and my mother were with me. A traditional doctor told me to go to the hospital. I got a free letter from my kebele. I went to
After the baby died, I went back to my village and two months later my husband married another woman. My friends were there to help me in the village. I lived with my mother. When I came to
I have made friends here. We have fun together and we talk about our health and our operations. We ask each other, what will you do when you are cured?
When I am cured, I want to go back home and continue my education. I want to study and I want to become a doctor like the doctors here and help girls like me who have this problem.
When I go back to my village, I will tell other women to go immediately to a hospital so that they won't have a problem with their labor. Most people don't know that a hospital can help them, but if they knew, they'd go.[iii]
The pains of those who deal with fistula are real, but isolated. It’s easy for someone in the
How can we care for them all?
Jesus cares for them, and we – His church – are his body. We make up the body of Christ. What burdens His heart is to burden ours.
I had never heard of fistula until I read the wonderful book Hospital By the River. It’s the story of two Australian Christians, doctors Reginald and Catherine Hamlin. They answered the call of God to go to the mission field, specifically
When they were cured through the routine surgery, it was like a miracle had taken place. These women Catherine Hamlin describes thought their lives were done, and then they had life again. Over and over, women praised the Lord, and saw life with new eyes. Many stayed and worked as nurses and administrative assistants in the hospital. Their lives in the villages they left behind were over anyway. Husbands rejected them, parents saw them as burdens, a shame on the family. They didn’t contribute anything and so were often relegated to the status of unproductive animals. Not all husbands and parents were so calloused and cruel, but many were. No one gave these women much hope.
That complete rejection is what caught my eye as I thought about the Gospel, and as I thought about preaching on Mother’s Day.
Luke 8:43-48 says,
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 43Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 44She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. 45Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” 46But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” 47When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
The connecting point for the woman came when Jesus called her “daughter.” It says in verse 44, “immediately, here hemorrhage stopped.” At that point, she was anonymous. The crowd was so dense they did not notice her steal into the midst of them and touch Jesus. Her bleeding condition rendered her ritualistically unclean. By law she was cut off from society. She couldn’t be in normal relationships because if anyone touched her, they too would become unclean. She couldn’t go to temple or synagogue. She was a “reject” in every way describable.
Yet, her gamble worked. Violating law and convention, she made her way unnoticed through the crowd and touched Jesus. Upon grasping his clothes, she was healed. She could then wash up and present herself to the priest. She’d be a part of society once again.
But Jesus didn’t leave it at a simple healing. No healing is complete in his eyes until the broken spirit is healed. She needed more than just her ailment corrected. She needed to know that though everyone around her treated her like she was a piece of nasty garbage, God loved her. In shame and despair, God saw her, was with her, and was for her.
That point is driven home the moment Jesus calls her “daughter.” The most legalistically minded among the Pharisees would have called her a lawbreaker. Jesus called her daughter and commended her faith. He also bid her “peace.”
Peace in the Jewish sense is so much more than a simple absence of conflict. It is wholeness, shalom. The idea of shalom is that all right between a person and her neighbors and a person and her God. Jesus called this troubled soul “daughter,” and he bid her “peace.”
This is what Jesus does for all people; you, me, everyone. The Biblical lesson about an afflicted person and Jesus meeting her in her pain, at her lowest, most desperate point speaks into our lives because Jesus does the same for us. When we seek him, force our way through obstacles to touch him, and have faith in him, he responds with love and grace. And our lives change forever.
The woman didn’t suddenly have an easy life because she was healed. Dr. Wall says of modern fistula sufferers who do not have access to treatment, “They are seen as hopeless, drifting to the margins of society where they live lives of misery, isolation, worsening poverty and malnutrition, unloved, unwanted, and alone.”[iv] If a Christian ministry, reaching out in the name of Jesus identifies these women and helps them get treatment, they don’t pop right onto their feet and live meaningful, self-sufficient lives the day after the surgery. The healed woman didn’t have an easy street the moment she heard the Master call her “daughter.”
She did though have peace of mind because she knew without a doubt that God was on her side. She did have a reason to live a purposeful life – she had been blessed by Jesus. She would, from that point going forward, need a new community of people of faith to embrace and welcome her. She most likely joined the ranks of Jesus’ women disciples (see “daughters of
Similarly, the women healed of fistula will often need the church to help them find employment, and maybe a place to live. Many will need the church to become their family, a source of friendship and emotional and social support. It’s true of any group or individual today rescued from the brink of destruction by Jesus working through his body, the church.
We help the alcoholic put the bottle down. We must then help him get on his feet and discover God’s purpose in his life. We help the person struggling with depression find joy and a loving community. We then need to help that one move into a productive, sustainable joy that lasts throughout life. We help each other through times of crisis and provide community and family as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are there for one another in good times and in bad. And, the church is always open, ready to enthusiastically welcome whomever we would deem to be the lowly, the outcast, the bleeding woman. Just as the hurting soul can find hope in hearing Jesus call him “son” or her “daughter, he or she can find that hope in God’s people, the church.
The connecting point for us is we are as broken as anyone. The Wall Street banker and the starving child in a poor country have this in common: both are lost without Jesus. But, both are saved when they recognize their own condition (of being lost apart from God), and turn to Jesus in repentance and in faith. He welcomes and saves both. AMEN
Monday, May 17, 2010
"I know your works"
My goal for the next several months is to illustrate in this column the gospel found in Revelation. Revelation is inspired writing, possibly the most direct dictation of any book in the Bible. Paul was inspired when he wrote his letters as were the evangelists when they wrote the Gospels. But each wrote with their own style and with specific purposes, and not always the same purposes. Revelation is different. In Revelation, the resurrected Jesus appears to John while John was in exile. John became a secretary, writing exactly what Jesus told him to write.
Bible readers and theologians, historians and New Testament scholars trip over themselves trying to unlock the intricacies of the symbolism in Revelation. In places though, the message is obvious. “I know your works” the Lord says to the Christians of the Ephesian church (2:2). Craig Keener points out that Emperor Domitian had named
In the face of such a diverse religious landscape that was potentially hostile to the Gospel, Jesus commends the believers for their patient endurance (Revelation 2:3). “I know your works” – Jesus knew that their faithful worship was carried out in difficult circumstances and he wanted them to hear that this commendation.
“I know your works” – it was also a harsh critique from the Lord. “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” The way it is written, Jesus could have meant their love for God was diminished or they were failing in love for one another. They worshipped faithfully. Their commitment to truth was admirable. But, their practice of Christianity lacked love, and Jesus finds this unacceptable. He did not say that the greatest commandment was to preach true doctrine. That is important, but the greatest commandment, said Jesus, is to love the Lord our God with all the heart, all the soul, all the spirit, and all the mind. The second command is to love our neighbor as ourselves, and on these two hang the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 10:27). It’s all about the love, said Jesus, and in
So did Jesus then tell them to start loving again? No! The love comes from God. The Ephesians needed to “repent” (v.5); turn back to Jesus, and the love would follow because He is the source of true Godly love.
In his comments on this passage, the great revival preacher John Wesley said, “with regard to us, to every one of us also he saith, ‘I know thy works’” (quoted from E-Sword). What’s true for
“I know your works” – it is a summons to us to align our lives with Jesus’ gospel. And we don’t this is a call to repentance so that we may receive forgiveness and also receive the grace Jesus gives. In this way, by opening ourselves to Jesus, we too receive permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The First and the Last - The Living One
I must confess a theological struggle that has plagued me recently. As followers of Jesus, we make the claim that Jesus was and is 100% God. In the incarnation (Jesus coming, born of Mary, and living as a 1st century Jew), he is also 100% human. Without a blink, we determinedly make both claims. Recently, I blinked.
With a scrutinizing eye, I combed through John's Gospel to find where it is definitively stated that Jesus is God. I didn't have to go far. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1, 14a, NRSV). Case closed: Jesus is God! But for me, the case wasn't (and isn't) closed.
I continued reading and what I found is Jesus being referred to as the "Son of God." Jesus is the one "sent by God." Jesus doesn't say, "I am God." Jesus continuously subordinates himself and speaks of God as a Superior Other. Jesus is subservient to the Sovereign God. For me this became more than just a difficult notion to understand. It's a given that it is hard for a human to grasp that Jesus is a man and at the same time is God. Here's what became hard for me. The Bible over and over failed to say Jesus is God. Why?
I share all of this to be open with you about my own theological pickle. I hesitate to call this a moment of doubt or a crisis of faith. The more I read of John's Gospel, the more I became convinced that whatever else is true, one thing I am sure of is our call to worship Jesus. I don't think I have ever been more confident that life is all about serving Jesus and salvation is only found in Him. I am just not so sure about what we (Christians) have said about him.
So, what to do? How does a pastor preach every week with these questions swimming through his mind? This inner theological debate has waged in my brain for months, and you haven't head a thing about it. Why am I am coming clean now?
The key for my own understanding (and return from the edge of theological abyss back to evangelical orthodoxy) has been a text in Revelation. The resurrected Christ is speaking to John: "he placed his right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one'" (Revelation 1:17-18a). The phrase "living one" would have been understood by a first century Jew as referring to God and no one else. It was used repeatedly in Isaiah in that way, and the same idea is conveyed about God in Revelation 1:8. So, for Jesus to tell John he is "the living one" is to self-identify as God. I really needed Him to do that.
That self-identification, coupled with the verses from John I cited, helped me sit down and exhale. I can, on faith, believe in two key Christian doctrines - the trinity and the dual nature of Christ. Of course I am an unfinished product and I continue to have theological questions. But I am relieved to have this one calmed to the point that I can speak openly of it to my church. Starting today, I am going to spend the next several months sharing other insights from Revelation. I recommend you read it through, several times. I also recommend Craig Keener's commentary on Revelation in the NIV Applicaton Commentary series.
I conclude with this. Don't be afraid of your questions or doubts, and don't bury them or pretend they aren't there. Our growth in Christ comes when we are 100% honest with Him. So if theological uncertainty is nibbling at your soul, face it. Take the questions head on. If you need to, come to me and let me help you. I have questions too. Jesus is the answer.
With a scrutinizing eye, I combed through John's Gospel to find where it is definitively stated that Jesus is God. I didn't have to go far. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1, 14a, NRSV). Case closed: Jesus is God! But for me, the case wasn't (and isn't) closed.
I continued reading and what I found is Jesus being referred to as the "Son of God." Jesus is the one "sent by God." Jesus doesn't say, "I am God." Jesus continuously subordinates himself and speaks of God as a Superior Other. Jesus is subservient to the Sovereign God. For me this became more than just a difficult notion to understand. It's a given that it is hard for a human to grasp that Jesus is a man and at the same time is God. Here's what became hard for me. The Bible over and over failed to say Jesus is God. Why?
I share all of this to be open with you about my own theological pickle. I hesitate to call this a moment of doubt or a crisis of faith. The more I read of John's Gospel, the more I became convinced that whatever else is true, one thing I am sure of is our call to worship Jesus. I don't think I have ever been more confident that life is all about serving Jesus and salvation is only found in Him. I am just not so sure about what we (Christians) have said about him.
So, what to do? How does a pastor preach every week with these questions swimming through his mind? This inner theological debate has waged in my brain for months, and you haven't head a thing about it. Why am I am coming clean now?
The key for my own understanding (and return from the edge of theological abyss back to evangelical orthodoxy) has been a text in Revelation. The resurrected Christ is speaking to John: "he placed his right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one'" (Revelation 1:17-18a). The phrase "living one" would have been understood by a first century Jew as referring to God and no one else. It was used repeatedly in Isaiah in that way, and the same idea is conveyed about God in Revelation 1:8. So, for Jesus to tell John he is "the living one" is to self-identify as God. I really needed Him to do that.
That self-identification, coupled with the verses from John I cited, helped me sit down and exhale. I can, on faith, believe in two key Christian doctrines - the trinity and the dual nature of Christ. Of course I am an unfinished product and I continue to have theological questions. But I am relieved to have this one calmed to the point that I can speak openly of it to my church. Starting today, I am going to spend the next several months sharing other insights from Revelation. I recommend you read it through, several times. I also recommend Craig Keener's commentary on Revelation in the NIV Applicaton Commentary series.
I conclude with this. Don't be afraid of your questions or doubts, and don't bury them or pretend they aren't there. Our growth in Christ comes when we are 100% honest with Him. So if theological uncertainty is nibbling at your soul, face it. Take the questions head on. If you need to, come to me and let me help you. I have questions too. Jesus is the answer.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Amos 9
“I will restore the fortunes of my people” God says in Amos 9:14. This book, the oracles of the Prophet Amos, has been filled with anger and ominous words. The visions Amos predicted came to fruition as the might Assyrian empire conquered and humbled the northern kingdom of
Why the rejection of the worship the people offered? A lack of justice, especially for the poor (5:24)!
This theme runs throughout Amos and thus the beginning of chapter 9, the final chapter, is in keeping with all we have read. “I saw the Lord standing before the altar and he said: Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of the people; and those who are left I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, not one of them shall escape” (9:1). To be a prophet of God is to be called by God to see things no one would want to see. I don’t ever want to be that close to God’s anger. Amos didn’t either, but God called him and Amos answered the call and faithfully preached these unwanted prophecies.
God killing with great thoroughness and violence – it makes one shutter. But it could have been avoided as can the destruction people today bring on themselves. What idols do we prop up and put in God’s place? When do we relegate God to small corners of our lives? When do we lock our faith in a small box, shove it under the bed, and only bring it out for nighttime prayers or Sunday worship. What other forces or factors determine how make decisions? Obviously here I am addressing people who claim to be God-worshippers. The questions would change for those who are utterly indifferent to the Lord.
When people today – including you and me – practice 21st century American idolatry God notices, and our lives will be hurt by our rejection of God’s ways. When believers today neglect the poor, God sees our indifference just as God saw in Amos’ day. We will feel consequences for our refusal to see as God sees.
And yet …
From the “I will kill …” we keep reading in Amos 9 up to verse 11, where God says, “I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in days of old.” The God who punishes is also a God who forgives, gives second chances, and makes new that which has failed, has been corrupted, and has died. This too is who God is.
So, as I conclude my reflections on Amos, I consider it a book that among many things shows me what God is like. Make no mistake – Amos is a dark book because God is one who won’t tolerate sin. If we read that and think, O, God doesn’t tolerate sexual sin, drinking, smoking, swearing, and other things I don’t do, we miss it. To conclude from Amos that God will punish other people, people not as righteous as us, is to completely ignore Amos’ word. The right conclusion is to realize how much God despises when we set up idols in our lives, idols that occupy the place that belongs to God. The right conclusion is to realize God cares about the neediest of the needy in the world, and if we want to be on God’s side, we must care about what matters to God.
Finally, the right conclusion from Amos is to recognize that the angry God is also a restoring, forgiving God who sent his son Jesus to take on himself the punishment for our sins (Romans 3:25). There is no hint of Jesus in Amos – Amos is not a Messianic prophecy. But Amos, especially Amos 9, shows the character of God. A major aspect of God’s character is mercy, and another is forgiveness. God rebuilds what has broken. So when we realize we have engaged in idolatry (money, success, the “American dream” can all be as idols), and when we realize we have neglected the poor God loves, we repent (turn away from sin, and back to God), ask forgiveness, and once again worship God as we work for justice and exalt Him above all others.
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