Maybe the very first statement should be one that tells you that I am not speaking of modern day political Egypt. The Egypt in the Bible is both a symbol as well as a spirit. Just in case anyone would read this and either get offended or start proclaiming that modern day Egypt is what I have to say, I've put it forth immediately.
When we read the Bible, it doesn't take long before we find the Exodus story (second book of the Bible). From that moment onward, Egypt is recognized as the place of bondage. However, I think that we misunderstand what bondage even is. We think that bondage represents sin only. Or we think that bondage represents anything that brings stress. Or we think that bondage is something that keeps us from being able to live haply. We think bondage is oppression.
Bondage is system. To define system: System is any institution, corporation, or organization that seeks it's own perpetuation and goals over and above anything or anyone else. Lets unpack that a little bit.
System is any institution, corporation, or organization... Basically, anything that is man-made is a system. Even our systems of religion are places of bondage, and not places of liberty. Nations can be systems - certainly government itself is a system. Institutions, corporations, and organizations have one common thread: their set up and leadership. These are places that have a small number on the top in charge, and from there people of influence, and then the common person. It is a pyramid. We have set up our businesses and organizations to even model this. From our business and corporate model, many "churches" have also modeled what church should be.
When we have one man, or only a few men at the very top, we find that the system is corruptible. The reason is twofold: man and satan. Man in corruptible. Man is depraved. We are inherently sinful, meaning we are born with the condition of sin, and we tend toward sin instead of away from sin. We become increasingly sinful. Man is not perfect. Only God is perfect. But the other aspect is satanic. There is a demonic influence over systems. The first place that we find such systems in the Bible is the tower of Babel. Ultimately, Babylon resulted from this tower. Babylon is a representation of the kingdom of darkness. Satan inspired such an idea as the tower of Babel. Why? Because it is easier to jerk and manipulate one man at the top than an entire nation or people.
However, the statement doesn't stop there. System seeks it's own perpetuation and goals over and above anything or anyone else. We'll break down that first part. What does it mean to seek your own perpetuation? Think about a small mom and pop store. The hope is that they can continue their business and hand it down to their children. In a sense, there is nothing wrong with this. In another sense, this is a stepping stone to disaster. The system itself has its own hopes and desires. When you come against this machine industry, it will lash out against you. Why? What is it that would cause for such a system to lash out instead of embrace death?
This is actually at the heart of the Exodus story. Why did Pharaoh continue to harden his heart? Why does it then say later that God hardened his heart? The hardening of Pharaoh's heart is not in itself because of Pharaoh, but because of the system itself. Any threat to the existence of that system, which in the case of the Exodus was the enslavement of an entire people, is vehemently opposed. It goes back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know best, and therefore anything that challenges our rule is to be squashed. Yet, the tree of life is a death and a cross. It is trust in the Lord, that even if He has hidden something from us (the accusation of the serpent in Genesis 3), it is for our benefit, and not for our detriment.
Systems desire to perpetuate themselves. They will use and abuse people in order to do so. If the establishment is crumbling, the workers, the clients, the customers, the owners, and all others involved are going to get hurt by that system. It somehow seems that the system itself is what is causing the pain and toil.
On the other hand, when we're dealing with systems, we're also dealing with an abuse and misuse of people in order to reach the desired goal. That goal might be influence, it might be income, it might be growth, or it might be survival. Whatever the goal is, that goal is the ultimate, and people are only a means to that end.
I worked at Chic-Fil-A. I don't have anything against the company. But I can use this as an explanation that even Christian owned companies are not beyond this. You have at the top of the corporation a CEO, or a board, and then others that work at corporate Chic-Fil-A under them. Then from there are the owners of the franchises, and under the owners are the managers, and then finally the common staff employee. That common staff employee gets paid what they have agreed to, but in the mind of the person at corporate Chic-Fil-A (which is an office and not a restaurant), that person is only a number. They are a faceless employee. They are a statistic. They are a paycheck, and they represent income and growth. The company Chic-Fil-A is probably one of the best (if not the best) companies to work for with this as their basis. Even though the people are numbers, the people that are at the top know that those numbers represent people. That does not stop the abuse and misuse of those workers, but it does limit it. I'm willing to admit that.
So when we read of Egypt being bondage, or slavery, many times we think that it is the harsh taskmasters and the making of bricks without straw that is the bondage and slavery. We think of the slavery itself, and the lack of mercy. What we don't realize is that the slavery and bondage is only the result of a system. Egypt is system. System is Egypt. The two are synonyms.
When we want to talk about our freedom from sin, or our freedom from Egypt, or how God is going to destroy Egypt, we need to have this understanding. What it means that God will destroy Egypt is that God will destroy the system that enslaves. He will take that pyramid that looks at people as numbers and statistics, and He will abolish that. In fact, when you look at what God has ordained that we be, you find that He has actually taken that pyramid and turned it upside-down.
Instead of the idea that Christ is at the top and under Him are the apostles and prophets, and then under them are some of the giants from the last 2000 years, and then we eventually come down to the pastors, and then the teachers, and then the common laymen, God has set Jesus at the bottom. The idea that we have in our mind is that the anointing, or blessing, comes from the head and flows down the body. Just as when you anointed a man as king or priest, you would anoint their head, and then it flowed down.
However, God has said that He who is to be greatest must be the least. Jesus was not exalted because of His greatness, but because of His humility. The sin and need of all of the people flow down onto the pastors and teachers, who then are able to serve and minster those people. The sin and need of those pastors and teachers flow down onto the apostles and prophets, who are then able to serve and minster to the people. The sin and need of those apostles and prophets then flows down onto Christ Jesus, and He is ultimately the one who took up sin - became sin - so that all of our needs are met through Him.
God has set up an upside-down pyramid, where ministry does not mean teaching or preaching or educating, but instead it means discipling. Discipleship means taking someone into your life and living together with them. They can get more sermons from seeing your character than from hearing your knowledge. The idea of a pastor or teacher is not to somehow "lead" or "teach" the flock in a Greek style. The Greeks would hold lectures. The Hebrews would share life together. Jesus is our ultimate example of what it means to be a teacher or pastor. He took in His disciples. There were the initial 12 that followed Him everywhere, but then there are others that also seem to follow Him (He sends out the 72 at one point). The 12 are closest, and even within the 12 there were 3 being distinguished: Peter, James, and John.
This is how God has established what we're to be about. But any religious system that is based off of Egypt will make statements like, "No church is perfect." Of course it isn't when you take an imperfect system and call that "church." But the Bible says that the Bride is perfect. She is blameless. She is spotless. She is clean. She is beautiful. How long will we judge whether we're doing church correctly on a false system - one that looks like Egypt? I am looking for a perfect church. The perfect church is one that is able to live together in unity, and confess our faults one to another. The perfect church is one that seeks humility above order. The perfect church is one that knows we are all sinners, and we all need to repent. The perfect church takes seriously the command in James where it tells us to "confess our faults one to another." It is actually in that very thing that we find freedom. But if we aren't living together, and we fear that we'll be judged instead of cleansed, then what are we even doing?
Egypt is still around. It is still alive and well. Though God judged it millennia ago, we are still facing the same bondage that the Israelites faced. In fact, we seem to have these statements like, "What alternative is there?" What other option do we have? It takes the mighty works of God almighty in order to deliver us from systems. It takes miracles to get us out, and it takes miracles to even sustain us in the wilderness before we come unto the Land that He has promised. But if you are willing to hear that call, "Get thee out," then fear not. Cry unto God for a deliverer from your oppression. Know this: the oppression is not those circumstances; it is a lifestyle that we have allowed Egyptian culture and society to form us to.
Why are so many of us unhappy? Why are so many of us not content? It is because we are enslaved, and we don't even know it. Our enslavement is to the television, our jobs, a system that tells us we need to have a career, a system that tells us the best thing we can do is get a degree in order to "be somebody," a system that tells us what kind of house to live in, what kind of family we should raise, what area of town we should live in, and everything else in our lives is constituted upon the value system and propaganda of Egypt.
Listen closely: do not strive to "be somebody." You already are somebody. You were made in the image of God, and He is ever crying out, "Let me see your face, and let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet like honey, and your face is lovely." Waters cannot quench this love; neither floods can drown it. "Whom the Son sets free is FREE INDEED." We are called as a people to be outside of Egypt, not to become the New Egypt. In Israel's history, Solomon reformed Israel into a "new egypt." The only thing left after that was exile and judgment.
The church and the synagogue are identical. They are synonyms. They are both set up as the same system. Come out from her, my people. Remember the first message of our Lord at Nazareth, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering sight to the blind, and to release they that are oppressed."
Monday, September 22, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
What is Election?
I wanted to write a blog on the book of Ephesians. Specifically, does the book of Ephesians teach Calvinism? This should let the cat out of the bag: I'm not a Calvinist. With that out in the open right away, what do we do with the verses about predestination and election? If we toss them to the side, then we are guilty of not taking the whole counsel of God. If we embrace them and elevate them to saying that God has predestined every even in history and future, then we also run the risk of not taking the whole counsel of God.
These two words - election and predestination - are extremely important to define. This isn't a bit of "doctrine" in which we can ignore or be tolerant with. This actually affects the Gospel, which is to say, it affects our perception of God. If we have a wrong perception of God, then we have a wrong perception of everything.
This thought came when my cousin asked my comment on a recent event. The video he shared and asked my opinion on is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fSvyv0urTE
Why do people seem to despise Israel? This was my comment:
Unconsciously we all have this. Israel is not a state, but a statement. It is a statement about a God that is specific enough to predestine and elect a certain people, thus condemning all other people. Lest we be grafted into Israel, we shall not rule and reign with Him. If we aren't ruling and reigning with Him, then we are in submission to Him. Submission is not desired of any nation. Abraham's calling out of the nations and into the Land that God would show him is more than a calling for "blessing." God took a man out of the nations to establish His own nation called Israel.
To hate Israel is to hate God. We need to be ruthless with this in our own hearts before condemning others because any sentiment and self-effacing love for Israel will one day be found out to be fraudulent. Sentiment turns to hate really quickly when they are in place and power to find us out. They will find us out.
It is easier for us to stand on the bench and hear such conflict. We can be appalled by it. But to what degree will we stand with Israel? To what degree will we truly love them? The truth of our love for them is to actually tell them of the coming calamity and devastation that awaits them if they go back to Israel. There is a final judgment, and many Jews know it. Something is coming. A civil unrest is rising into something much less than "civil," and much more gruesome than "unrest." When that havoc breaks upon them, are we willing to stand with them and also suffer the same fate as they? That is identification, and that alone constitutes love and intercession.
I want to focus on that first statement. What do I mean when I say that God has predestined and elected a certain people, thus condemning all other people? Let us back up and view this from a much bigger perception. In Genesis 11, the nations' first act is in rebellion to God. They come together as a one-world government to build a tower that will reach to heaven. God did not ordain this; the evidence is both that God had previously said to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1) and that they made bricks for stone. What altar have you ever read of in the Bible that was made out of brick? They not only went against God by making this out of brick, but also baked them. They could not even allow the sun to dry them, but had such urgency and imminence that they baked these bricks.
What is God's response? We know that He came down and confused the language, but ultimately His response was to take one man out of nations, and to establish Him as God's nation. It is through that nation that God has said, "I will bless all the families of the earth." Or, "I will bless all other nations." God says over and over again to Israel in the books of Moses that He does this and establishes this so that the nations will see and know that He is God. The prophets speak much about how God's ultimate redemption plan is that He will redeem Israel, and all nations will then know that He is God.
Ultimately, when I say that God has elected a specific people, I do not mean that only those whom God has elected will make it into Heaven. I see that in the Millennial reign of Christ that the nations continue. We know this from Scriptures like Zechariah 14, Daniel 7:12, and Isaiah 2. God's election pertains to the people that He has put His name upon: Israel. When we come to Christ, we are grafted in to being the people of God. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we who were afar off have been brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. But brought nigh into what? Ephesians 2:12 says it plainly: the commonwealth of Israel.
Romans 11:16-24 indicates that God has cut off the natural branches - those who are genealogically Israel - to graft in "wild branches," namely, the Gentiles. We are not a new phenomenon called the Church, but instead are the remnant of Israel. God has brought together the two - Jew and Gentile - to make of them one new man. We find in Romans 11:7 that only the elect have obtained the fulfillment of the promises (that is, Jesus the Messiah), but we find later in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel shall be saved..." So what Paul starts with in Romans 11 is that not all of Israel is part of the election, but then explains that God has elected both Jews and Gentiles to be grafted into the root that is holy, and then ends Romans 11 with saying that "all Israel shall be saved."
Who is this elect? It is the remnant of Israel. God has ordained in His sovereignty that there should be both Jews and Gentiles elected into the remnant of Israel. We are not some new phenomenon called the Church, but instead we are now grafted into that holy root - the same root that stems back to the beginning of time when God called Adam His son. It is all about being sons and daughters. We are not "people of God" in some abstract sense of the wording. We are the people of God because we are His children. He has adopted us all, whether we were Jewish, Greek, Italian, English, German, or Palestinian. Whatever our heritage, and from whatever people we came, God has ordained a specific people to be His remnant. It is that remnant, that election that will bless all of the families of the earth.
How?
We drive the Jew to jealousy (Romans 11:11, Deuteronomy 32:21). It is by our witness that drives them to jealousy that causes "all Israel" to be saved. At a future time, I might explore more deeply the fullness of the Gentiles, what it is, and how all things tie together so that when they come in, all Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:25-26). For now, I just want to make the point that those who are outside of the election are not necessarily those who are cast into hellfire.
At this present moment, here and now, the only way that you will not die and go to Hell is to be converted. In a sense, it is true to say that those who are outside of the election are going to Hell, but in a much larger sense, that is wrong. During the Millennial Kingdom, there are a people that are outside of Israel, but somehow are coming up to Jerusalem to worship God. They are not part of the election, but they are not cast into the lake of fire with the Antichrist. They don't suffer the same judgment as the army that marches against Jerusalem.
You might say, "Yeah, but that isn't heaven."
Okay, lets look at Revelation 22. After the Great White Throne, there is the New Heaven and the New Earth. It has been thought that the only way to get into that, and to escape the lake of fire, is to be saved. I don't have an absolute statement here, but I do have a question. In Revelation 21:24-22:5 we find that there are these people outside of the New Jerusalem that must come up to the Holy City. They are somehow not a part of this City that is called "The Bride of Christ" (Revelation 21:9), but are considered saved. They are somehow not mentioned as being in the City, but must come up to the City to take of the fruit of the tree of life and find healing. Those that are a part of this City (the Bride) rule and reign with Christ forever.
Rule and reign over what?
I would like to suggest that maybe being saved isn't everything. Maybe there is a bigger step than salvation. Maybe election and salvation are different and distinct. Maybe God has predestined that this people will be His people, and that this people will rule and reign with Him, and that all other people are welcome to be saved and glorify God in where He has called them, but not all other peoples are elected or predestined to be a part of that Bride. God desires that all shall be saved. This isn't a hope in universalism, because I still believe that there are those that are cast into the lake of fire for eternity. I haven't come to any good or solid conclusions as to where the distinction is, or how to even make a distinction. It is quite clear that those who are currently saved are grafted in, and therefore are a part of this election. What is not so clear is that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the City of God, nor that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the first resurrection during the Millennial reign of Christ.
When we're talking about election and predestination, I'm not entirely sure I grasp the concepts thoroughly, but it sure seems like neither does anyone else... One thing I do know for sure: Paul understood. He had a view that was larger than anyone else that I know. His perception was cosmic and eternal. It spanned from eternity to eternity - everlasting to everlasting. He knew the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. Of course, this revelation from God came with a price. Paul himself remarks that because of his incredible revelation and understanding God gave him a thorn in the flesh. I don't have these revelations that Paul had.
It seems to me that we all are quite far from the ultimate meaning and interpretation of such verses. I hope that maybe this helps some who are trying to understand better how all these things fit together. Maybe someone else can take this and run with it. As for me, I am not capable of comprehending such majestic thoughts, and I fall desperately short of having a conclusion.
These two words - election and predestination - are extremely important to define. This isn't a bit of "doctrine" in which we can ignore or be tolerant with. This actually affects the Gospel, which is to say, it affects our perception of God. If we have a wrong perception of God, then we have a wrong perception of everything.
This thought came when my cousin asked my comment on a recent event. The video he shared and asked my opinion on is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fSvyv0urTE
Why do people seem to despise Israel? This was my comment:
Unconsciously we all have this. Israel is not a state, but a statement. It is a statement about a God that is specific enough to predestine and elect a certain people, thus condemning all other people. Lest we be grafted into Israel, we shall not rule and reign with Him. If we aren't ruling and reigning with Him, then we are in submission to Him. Submission is not desired of any nation. Abraham's calling out of the nations and into the Land that God would show him is more than a calling for "blessing." God took a man out of the nations to establish His own nation called Israel.
To hate Israel is to hate God. We need to be ruthless with this in our own hearts before condemning others because any sentiment and self-effacing love for Israel will one day be found out to be fraudulent. Sentiment turns to hate really quickly when they are in place and power to find us out. They will find us out.
It is easier for us to stand on the bench and hear such conflict. We can be appalled by it. But to what degree will we stand with Israel? To what degree will we truly love them? The truth of our love for them is to actually tell them of the coming calamity and devastation that awaits them if they go back to Israel. There is a final judgment, and many Jews know it. Something is coming. A civil unrest is rising into something much less than "civil," and much more gruesome than "unrest." When that havoc breaks upon them, are we willing to stand with them and also suffer the same fate as they? That is identification, and that alone constitutes love and intercession.
I want to focus on that first statement. What do I mean when I say that God has predestined and elected a certain people, thus condemning all other people? Let us back up and view this from a much bigger perception. In Genesis 11, the nations' first act is in rebellion to God. They come together as a one-world government to build a tower that will reach to heaven. God did not ordain this; the evidence is both that God had previously said to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1) and that they made bricks for stone. What altar have you ever read of in the Bible that was made out of brick? They not only went against God by making this out of brick, but also baked them. They could not even allow the sun to dry them, but had such urgency and imminence that they baked these bricks.
What is God's response? We know that He came down and confused the language, but ultimately His response was to take one man out of nations, and to establish Him as God's nation. It is through that nation that God has said, "I will bless all the families of the earth." Or, "I will bless all other nations." God says over and over again to Israel in the books of Moses that He does this and establishes this so that the nations will see and know that He is God. The prophets speak much about how God's ultimate redemption plan is that He will redeem Israel, and all nations will then know that He is God.
Ultimately, when I say that God has elected a specific people, I do not mean that only those whom God has elected will make it into Heaven. I see that in the Millennial reign of Christ that the nations continue. We know this from Scriptures like Zechariah 14, Daniel 7:12, and Isaiah 2. God's election pertains to the people that He has put His name upon: Israel. When we come to Christ, we are grafted in to being the people of God. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we who were afar off have been brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. But brought nigh into what? Ephesians 2:12 says it plainly: the commonwealth of Israel.
Romans 11:16-24 indicates that God has cut off the natural branches - those who are genealogically Israel - to graft in "wild branches," namely, the Gentiles. We are not a new phenomenon called the Church, but instead are the remnant of Israel. God has brought together the two - Jew and Gentile - to make of them one new man. We find in Romans 11:7 that only the elect have obtained the fulfillment of the promises (that is, Jesus the Messiah), but we find later in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel shall be saved..." So what Paul starts with in Romans 11 is that not all of Israel is part of the election, but then explains that God has elected both Jews and Gentiles to be grafted into the root that is holy, and then ends Romans 11 with saying that "all Israel shall be saved."
Who is this elect? It is the remnant of Israel. God has ordained in His sovereignty that there should be both Jews and Gentiles elected into the remnant of Israel. We are not some new phenomenon called the Church, but instead we are now grafted into that holy root - the same root that stems back to the beginning of time when God called Adam His son. It is all about being sons and daughters. We are not "people of God" in some abstract sense of the wording. We are the people of God because we are His children. He has adopted us all, whether we were Jewish, Greek, Italian, English, German, or Palestinian. Whatever our heritage, and from whatever people we came, God has ordained a specific people to be His remnant. It is that remnant, that election that will bless all of the families of the earth.
How?
We drive the Jew to jealousy (Romans 11:11, Deuteronomy 32:21). It is by our witness that drives them to jealousy that causes "all Israel" to be saved. At a future time, I might explore more deeply the fullness of the Gentiles, what it is, and how all things tie together so that when they come in, all Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:25-26). For now, I just want to make the point that those who are outside of the election are not necessarily those who are cast into hellfire.
At this present moment, here and now, the only way that you will not die and go to Hell is to be converted. In a sense, it is true to say that those who are outside of the election are going to Hell, but in a much larger sense, that is wrong. During the Millennial Kingdom, there are a people that are outside of Israel, but somehow are coming up to Jerusalem to worship God. They are not part of the election, but they are not cast into the lake of fire with the Antichrist. They don't suffer the same judgment as the army that marches against Jerusalem.
You might say, "Yeah, but that isn't heaven."
Okay, lets look at Revelation 22. After the Great White Throne, there is the New Heaven and the New Earth. It has been thought that the only way to get into that, and to escape the lake of fire, is to be saved. I don't have an absolute statement here, but I do have a question. In Revelation 21:24-22:5 we find that there are these people outside of the New Jerusalem that must come up to the Holy City. They are somehow not a part of this City that is called "The Bride of Christ" (Revelation 21:9), but are considered saved. They are somehow not mentioned as being in the City, but must come up to the City to take of the fruit of the tree of life and find healing. Those that are a part of this City (the Bride) rule and reign with Christ forever.
Rule and reign over what?
I would like to suggest that maybe being saved isn't everything. Maybe there is a bigger step than salvation. Maybe election and salvation are different and distinct. Maybe God has predestined that this people will be His people, and that this people will rule and reign with Him, and that all other people are welcome to be saved and glorify God in where He has called them, but not all other peoples are elected or predestined to be a part of that Bride. God desires that all shall be saved. This isn't a hope in universalism, because I still believe that there are those that are cast into the lake of fire for eternity. I haven't come to any good or solid conclusions as to where the distinction is, or how to even make a distinction. It is quite clear that those who are currently saved are grafted in, and therefore are a part of this election. What is not so clear is that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the City of God, nor that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the first resurrection during the Millennial reign of Christ.
When we're talking about election and predestination, I'm not entirely sure I grasp the concepts thoroughly, but it sure seems like neither does anyone else... One thing I do know for sure: Paul understood. He had a view that was larger than anyone else that I know. His perception was cosmic and eternal. It spanned from eternity to eternity - everlasting to everlasting. He knew the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. Of course, this revelation from God came with a price. Paul himself remarks that because of his incredible revelation and understanding God gave him a thorn in the flesh. I don't have these revelations that Paul had.
It seems to me that we all are quite far from the ultimate meaning and interpretation of such verses. I hope that maybe this helps some who are trying to understand better how all these things fit together. Maybe someone else can take this and run with it. As for me, I am not capable of comprehending such majestic thoughts, and I fall desperately short of having a conclusion.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Mystery of Messiah
Why does the Old Testament talk about the nations being judged because of their treatment of Israel, and then the New Testament speaks of judgment coming to the nations because of Jesus?
In the book of Isaiah, when you reach chapter 40 and onward, it seems as though there is a blur between Israel and their judgment and the Messiah’s suffering. Many times you read of Israel being the servant of God. But then only a few verses later you read of a servant that will deliver Israel. And then you read again of how Jacob is God’s chosen – His elect. And then you read of the Messiah that is the elect being called of name by God. It almost seems as though the Messiah and Israel are both intertwined and to receive judgment/chastisement. Maybe that is why the orthodox Jews find Isaiah 53 being about Israel instead of Messiah.
Part of what we’re seeing here is that Israel is a victim. Their past and their history show a lot of persecution and suffering. So when we are in Isaiah 53, we as Christians read this as Jesus. Some Jews, however, are able to internalize it and see Israel. So I know that when I say this I’m stepping on toes and hitting a nerve. But I think that the difference between the Jewish translation of this passage being Israel and the Christian translation being Messiah is that the former sees self as a victim and the latter sees self as a victor.
This is important to note. When you read the prayers of the prophets, and when you read about the salvation of Israel, you find over and over again that the people Israel need to acknowledge that they are the ones at fault. This isn’t the goyim (nations) that are persecuting us. It is God Himself chastising. This isn’t suffering being inflicted by godless men. This is God Himself judging. If they are unwilling to receive the judgment of God as from God, but will only receive it as victims of a cruel anti-Semitic world, then they will continue to undergo suffering and persecution – each time getting worse than the last.
But this is something every Christian needs to understand as well. If God did not spare His own Son, and if God did not spare His own people, why would He spare we that are grafted in as wild branches? Do not boast. Do not be arrogant or conceited. God has grafted you into their root for purpose. But God will cut you off and graft them back in. There will come a time where they will be regrafted, but it won’t be at the expense of the Gentile believers. Only if you are diligent and don’t boast against the true branches will you endure to the end.
So get back to the initial question of “How do you reconcile the Old Testament saying that the judgment of the nations comes down to how they treat the Jew and the New Testament saying that the judgment of the nations comes down to what they do with Jesus?” How do these things come together? It is a paradox, but if you will study this, you will find that it comes together in the cross. It is the pattern of God that suffering goes before the glory. Before there was resurrection, there had to be death.
God’s pattern has been established in the cross of Jesus. When you read the prophecies concerning Israel’s redemption, it always either states that there will no longer be tribulation, persecution, suffering, tears, etc, or it comes right after passages about judgment. It is always one or the other. And the reason for that is because it is the pattern of God. The end of the age will conclude with Jesus’ return. But it comes immediately after suffering like the world has never seen.
So what am I getting at here?
The paradox is something of hermeneutic. Many times in the prophets they said there would be death and pestilence and famine and judgment. All of these things happened. But did it happen exactly like the prophet said? Many times no. There was an immediate fulfillment, and yet there was only a partial fulfillment. The way this is worded is, “already and not yet.” It has already happened, but has yet to happen.
So the paradox of Israel and the Messiah come to a crux at this. Yes, many of the Scriptures that are referenced in the New Testament have been fulfilled. Peter said that the latter days outpouring of the Spirit had come in Acts 2. Peter indicated in his first epistle chapter 2 that we are living stones building a spiritual temple as a spiritual priesthood and offering spiritual sacrifices. This is probably a reference to Hosea 3:4 where God said that Israel shall for a time be without temple, sacrifice, priest, and ephod until David their king comes and rules over them.
But has that been fulfilled? Peter says yes, but there is an obvious sense in which it has not been fulfilled. Jesus has not returned. There has not been an antichrist to cut off sacrifices at the temple. There has not been an abolition of death. There hasn’t been the final defeat of Satan. World peace has not been established. So there must be something yet future that will take place that will fulfill all these prophecies. Though they have had partial fulfillment, and we can even say that there are spiritual implications in them, there has not been the literal fulfillment of any of these things.
And so the main point is not to split the Messiah and Israel. It is not to distinguish between which prophecies are about Jesus and which prophecies are about Israel in the last days. The main point is to understand that their callings are the same. The Messiah is the first fruit. He suffered and was raised from the dead before that ultimate suffering and resurrection of Israel. But it doesn’t stop there. There is another mystery at work here.
We are the Body of Christ. Those who have the testimony of Jesus and follow the commandments of God are now called to live out and fulfill the very same Scriptures given to Christ. We are also called to be a suffering servant. That isn’t to say that we are to be victims, but that we are to suffer on behalf of. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is not one that continuously is persecuted. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is one that lays down his life for the benefit of all.
This was fulfilled in the cross of Jesus. But there is another fulfillment still yet to come in the Church. And then there will be the final fulfillment in Israel’s death and resurrection at the end of the age. We are all heading to this. The glory of God being revealed from on high cannot come until the suffering and death of all three of these. Messiah is the first fruit, a remnant of the Church is then to have that same achievement and obtain the first resurrection, and then Israel will also suffer the death and resurrection to be the priestly nation to the nations in the Millennial Kingdom. The first has already happened, the last two are yet future.
This is why we need to be extremely careful in our Christology. We can actually attribute to Christ something that deteriorates God. Use extreme caution when saying something is fulfilled in Christ, and therefore it doesn’t need to happen in the future. This is heresy.
The reason that the nations get judged by how they treat Israel and what they do with Jesus is in this. They are the same question. Ultimately, what you are saying in your treatment of these two issues is what you are saying about God. It is the exact same pattern of God being worked out before the nations. If they deny Jesus, they will also deny the work of God in Israel. If they deny the work of God in Israel, they will also deny Jesus. To deny the one is to deny the other. We're talking about God's chosen servant in both cases. This gets to the heart of the matter.
If a Christian claims belief in Jesus, but then renounces this kind of scenario with Israel, then they are ultimately denying the very same Gospel message they proclaim. The cross is foolishness, but why? It is foolishness because who has ever heard of the idea that we gain our victory in our death? Who would call this logical that he who loses his life shall find it? It was true of Jesus, it is true for us, and it will be true for Israel in the last days.
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In the book of Isaiah, when you reach chapter 40 and onward, it seems as though there is a blur between Israel and their judgment and the Messiah’s suffering. Many times you read of Israel being the servant of God. But then only a few verses later you read of a servant that will deliver Israel. And then you read again of how Jacob is God’s chosen – His elect. And then you read of the Messiah that is the elect being called of name by God. It almost seems as though the Messiah and Israel are both intertwined and to receive judgment/chastisement. Maybe that is why the orthodox Jews find Isaiah 53 being about Israel instead of Messiah.
Part of what we’re seeing here is that Israel is a victim. Their past and their history show a lot of persecution and suffering. So when we are in Isaiah 53, we as Christians read this as Jesus. Some Jews, however, are able to internalize it and see Israel. So I know that when I say this I’m stepping on toes and hitting a nerve. But I think that the difference between the Jewish translation of this passage being Israel and the Christian translation being Messiah is that the former sees self as a victim and the latter sees self as a victor.
This is important to note. When you read the prayers of the prophets, and when you read about the salvation of Israel, you find over and over again that the people Israel need to acknowledge that they are the ones at fault. This isn’t the goyim (nations) that are persecuting us. It is God Himself chastising. This isn’t suffering being inflicted by godless men. This is God Himself judging. If they are unwilling to receive the judgment of God as from God, but will only receive it as victims of a cruel anti-Semitic world, then they will continue to undergo suffering and persecution – each time getting worse than the last.
But this is something every Christian needs to understand as well. If God did not spare His own Son, and if God did not spare His own people, why would He spare we that are grafted in as wild branches? Do not boast. Do not be arrogant or conceited. God has grafted you into their root for purpose. But God will cut you off and graft them back in. There will come a time where they will be regrafted, but it won’t be at the expense of the Gentile believers. Only if you are diligent and don’t boast against the true branches will you endure to the end.
So get back to the initial question of “How do you reconcile the Old Testament saying that the judgment of the nations comes down to how they treat the Jew and the New Testament saying that the judgment of the nations comes down to what they do with Jesus?” How do these things come together? It is a paradox, but if you will study this, you will find that it comes together in the cross. It is the pattern of God that suffering goes before the glory. Before there was resurrection, there had to be death.
God’s pattern has been established in the cross of Jesus. When you read the prophecies concerning Israel’s redemption, it always either states that there will no longer be tribulation, persecution, suffering, tears, etc, or it comes right after passages about judgment. It is always one or the other. And the reason for that is because it is the pattern of God. The end of the age will conclude with Jesus’ return. But it comes immediately after suffering like the world has never seen.
So what am I getting at here?
The paradox is something of hermeneutic. Many times in the prophets they said there would be death and pestilence and famine and judgment. All of these things happened. But did it happen exactly like the prophet said? Many times no. There was an immediate fulfillment, and yet there was only a partial fulfillment. The way this is worded is, “already and not yet.” It has already happened, but has yet to happen.
So the paradox of Israel and the Messiah come to a crux at this. Yes, many of the Scriptures that are referenced in the New Testament have been fulfilled. Peter said that the latter days outpouring of the Spirit had come in Acts 2. Peter indicated in his first epistle chapter 2 that we are living stones building a spiritual temple as a spiritual priesthood and offering spiritual sacrifices. This is probably a reference to Hosea 3:4 where God said that Israel shall for a time be without temple, sacrifice, priest, and ephod until David their king comes and rules over them.
But has that been fulfilled? Peter says yes, but there is an obvious sense in which it has not been fulfilled. Jesus has not returned. There has not been an antichrist to cut off sacrifices at the temple. There has not been an abolition of death. There hasn’t been the final defeat of Satan. World peace has not been established. So there must be something yet future that will take place that will fulfill all these prophecies. Though they have had partial fulfillment, and we can even say that there are spiritual implications in them, there has not been the literal fulfillment of any of these things.
And so the main point is not to split the Messiah and Israel. It is not to distinguish between which prophecies are about Jesus and which prophecies are about Israel in the last days. The main point is to understand that their callings are the same. The Messiah is the first fruit. He suffered and was raised from the dead before that ultimate suffering and resurrection of Israel. But it doesn’t stop there. There is another mystery at work here.
We are the Body of Christ. Those who have the testimony of Jesus and follow the commandments of God are now called to live out and fulfill the very same Scriptures given to Christ. We are also called to be a suffering servant. That isn’t to say that we are to be victims, but that we are to suffer on behalf of. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is not one that continuously is persecuted. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is one that lays down his life for the benefit of all.
This was fulfilled in the cross of Jesus. But there is another fulfillment still yet to come in the Church. And then there will be the final fulfillment in Israel’s death and resurrection at the end of the age. We are all heading to this. The glory of God being revealed from on high cannot come until the suffering and death of all three of these. Messiah is the first fruit, a remnant of the Church is then to have that same achievement and obtain the first resurrection, and then Israel will also suffer the death and resurrection to be the priestly nation to the nations in the Millennial Kingdom. The first has already happened, the last two are yet future.
This is why we need to be extremely careful in our Christology. We can actually attribute to Christ something that deteriorates God. Use extreme caution when saying something is fulfilled in Christ, and therefore it doesn’t need to happen in the future. This is heresy.
The reason that the nations get judged by how they treat Israel and what they do with Jesus is in this. They are the same question. Ultimately, what you are saying in your treatment of these two issues is what you are saying about God. It is the exact same pattern of God being worked out before the nations. If they deny Jesus, they will also deny the work of God in Israel. If they deny the work of God in Israel, they will also deny Jesus. To deny the one is to deny the other. We're talking about God's chosen servant in both cases. This gets to the heart of the matter.
If a Christian claims belief in Jesus, but then renounces this kind of scenario with Israel, then they are ultimately denying the very same Gospel message they proclaim. The cross is foolishness, but why? It is foolishness because who has ever heard of the idea that we gain our victory in our death? Who would call this logical that he who loses his life shall find it? It was true of Jesus, it is true for us, and it will be true for Israel in the last days.
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Who are Gog and Magog?
I recently had a discussion with someone about demons and giants and the nephilim. They said that Gog and Magog were giants. It might be true. It got me thinking, though. I’ve read the names, and I knew the sources. I have never actually tried to reason out who these people are, and what is their significance? In the book of Revelation, the very end of the world is the war of Gog and Magog against Jerusalem (Rev 20:1-10). Because of the context, it really causes one to ask if these are even persons.
We find Magog in Genesis 10:2. He is a son of Japheth. Genesis 10 is considered the table of nations. So when we find these names in the rest of the Bible we shouldn’t assume it is the actual person. It is most likely the nation, or the people, that come from that person. So, already I am at an assumption that Magog is a nation, and not a literal person, when it is mentioned in Revelation.
But we find these names outside of Genesis and Revelation. They both appear in Ezekiel chapter 39. This chapter is a continuation of chapter 38. Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about the end time war against the Antichrist. There is the calling of all the birds and animals to feast on the flesh of the army. But in Revelation 20, we find that we are addressing Satan. He is thrown into the fire (which is the same fate that was given the Antichrist and false prophet at the end of Revelation 19).
So why is it that when we read Ezekiel 38-39, it is clearly speaking of the Antichrist, but then Revelation 20 speaks of Gog and Magog as Satan after the Antichrist has already been destroyed and thrown into the fire?
Gog and Magog are not people, but symbols. The word Gog seems to be a Hebrew word play. It denotes the roof of the tent used for the feast of Tabernacles. However, it is a human alternative to that roof. The whole point of the feast of Tabernacles is that God has tabernacled with mankind. He has come down to dwell in our midst. This is a human alternative – an antichrist.
Antichrist is not simply opposed to Christ. It is anything and everything that claims to be Christ, but is not Christ. Gog, then is a symbol for the Antichrist and for Satan. The two are the same, though I don’t hold to the Antichrist being Satan incarnate. Gog is the promotion of something other than God as being God. Satan has said, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” The people ask ask, “Who is like the beast?” This quote from Revelation 13 is a direct quote from passages in the Old Testament asking the same question about God. “Who is like our God?” But they take it and use it to worship the Beast!
Magog is a nation. It is the land that Gog rules over. It comes from Japheth. Magog is most likely the ever alluded to “northern kingdom” in the prophets. Just exactly who this people is, I’m not sure. One thing is certain, the ma- prefix means from in Hebrew. So magog could also be some sort of metaphor or symbol. From Gog, or from Satan, would hint at being the kingdom of darkness. The end of the age concludes with a complete clash between darkness and light – Satan and God.
When we’re talking about Gog and Magog, we’re plunged right into the heart of the theocratic Kingdom, and in that we’re also scoping the depths of eschatology. The entire Scripture seems to be about one thing, and one thing only: the battle between two kingdoms. Everything else is understood within that context. So Gog and Magog are another one of the many symbols that tie us right back to Satan versus God, the battle for who will rule over this earth and all nations.
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We find Magog in Genesis 10:2. He is a son of Japheth. Genesis 10 is considered the table of nations. So when we find these names in the rest of the Bible we shouldn’t assume it is the actual person. It is most likely the nation, or the people, that come from that person. So, already I am at an assumption that Magog is a nation, and not a literal person, when it is mentioned in Revelation.
But we find these names outside of Genesis and Revelation. They both appear in Ezekiel chapter 39. This chapter is a continuation of chapter 38. Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about the end time war against the Antichrist. There is the calling of all the birds and animals to feast on the flesh of the army. But in Revelation 20, we find that we are addressing Satan. He is thrown into the fire (which is the same fate that was given the Antichrist and false prophet at the end of Revelation 19).
So why is it that when we read Ezekiel 38-39, it is clearly speaking of the Antichrist, but then Revelation 20 speaks of Gog and Magog as Satan after the Antichrist has already been destroyed and thrown into the fire?
Gog and Magog are not people, but symbols. The word Gog seems to be a Hebrew word play. It denotes the roof of the tent used for the feast of Tabernacles. However, it is a human alternative to that roof. The whole point of the feast of Tabernacles is that God has tabernacled with mankind. He has come down to dwell in our midst. This is a human alternative – an antichrist.
Antichrist is not simply opposed to Christ. It is anything and everything that claims to be Christ, but is not Christ. Gog, then is a symbol for the Antichrist and for Satan. The two are the same, though I don’t hold to the Antichrist being Satan incarnate. Gog is the promotion of something other than God as being God. Satan has said, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” The people ask ask, “Who is like the beast?” This quote from Revelation 13 is a direct quote from passages in the Old Testament asking the same question about God. “Who is like our God?” But they take it and use it to worship the Beast!
Magog is a nation. It is the land that Gog rules over. It comes from Japheth. Magog is most likely the ever alluded to “northern kingdom” in the prophets. Just exactly who this people is, I’m not sure. One thing is certain, the ma- prefix means from in Hebrew. So magog could also be some sort of metaphor or symbol. From Gog, or from Satan, would hint at being the kingdom of darkness. The end of the age concludes with a complete clash between darkness and light – Satan and God.
When we’re talking about Gog and Magog, we’re plunged right into the heart of the theocratic Kingdom, and in that we’re also scoping the depths of eschatology. The entire Scripture seems to be about one thing, and one thing only: the battle between two kingdoms. Everything else is understood within that context. So Gog and Magog are another one of the many symbols that tie us right back to Satan versus God, the battle for who will rule over this earth and all nations.
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Invisible Cloud
Without the understanding of how Paul could reference an entire city, which very possibly had thousands of converts within it, and not write to specific local gatherings, we can’t understand our unity with the invisible cloud of witnesses. We think it is about the here and now, that which is seen and heard. We consider those whom we know and whom we’ve come in contact with. Most days, it doesn’t even pass through our minds to pray for those in India. How, then, can we grasp that in God there is an unbroken continuum and an unbroken link between those who are on this earth and those who are asleep?
The invisible cloud of witnesses are with us. They are here, along side, next to us. They battle with us. They are unseen, yet still present. And, in fact, they are possibly able to do battle and to aid the saints to an even greater degree now that they are past. They have left the realm of the physical an entered into the spiritual realm. Here they do battle with Satan along side of us. It is almost as if while we’re here on this earth, our characters is what does battle by revealing the glory of God to all of creation, but when we’ve passed, it is not only our characters, but our legacy.
In this, all I can seem to do is assume. What is safe is that the legacy of those who have passed is continuing to sharpen and fine-tune the characters of those who live on. Can the number of people be counted to get great benefit from reading Spurgeon or Wesley or Augustine or Saint John of the cross? These are people who have long passed on, yet their stories and their lives and their teaching remains and continues to persuade and lead people into deeper relations with God.
As one Greek philosopher had said, “You can’t enter the same river twice.” The river might have the same name, but it is always flowing. There is new water every second. The Body of Christ is, in the same way, a river with a continual flow. When a righteous person passes, they aren’t gone. They don’t disappear for a while, and then they are resurrected at the end of the age. Their soul must go somewhere. (We must assume.)
Jesus references the soul in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Now, my question is about the soul. When we pass on, where does our soul go? Obviously our body is in the ground. Yet, our soul isn’t buried there with us.
Watchman Nee had given most of his life to the understanding of the body, soul, and spirit. Though I disagree with much of what he stated, one thing I do agree with is that the soul is a non-physical part of our bodies that has it’s own characteristics. This is obvious, however, Nee takes it to another level. I highly recommend his book, The Latent Power of the Soul. In this he expresses that the soul has a power, and that power can be released. Other religions have learned how to release this soul power by fastings, meditations, and other forms of self-exhaustion. The point is to try and destroy the flesh so that your body is only a shell. You don’t give yourself to your carnal habits. This produces in you a breach in your flesh so that your soul can be released.
Though this is highly philosophical, and I’m very skeptical of the way it is worded, I like the idea of the soul having a power in it. There seems to be something that sits right within me when considering that mediums can contact “the dead” (whether those dead are truly those who have passed on or only demons) through their souls. Through soul power, people in India can read minds, levetate, calm animals, and even make objects move without touching them.
These are real phemonema. There are actual events and people have been recorded as having these abilities. Though we think them of fantasy and nonsense here in America, and most of Europe, they are common realities in some parts of Asia. How does this relate to the invisible cloud of witnesses? It is only to say that the soul might not actually get buried in the ground with our bodies, and that there might indeed be some sort of a power in our souls that can either aid or rebel against the purposes of God.
I don’t know that there is a way to explain this, nor do I know if there are too many Biblical references. Certainly, I can take verses and stories and apply them, but there aren’t any concrete Scriptures to validate these opinions. I’m willing to admit that.
Yet, one of the problems that needs to be considered is the problem of eternity and time. What most believe is that when we die, we go out of time and into the eternal realm, where we stand before God in judgment, and He then declares us to be blessed or cursed. This comes from Scriptures such as Revelation 21:11 and Hebrews 9:27.
Even if we believe that there is some sort of a waiting time for the consummation of all things, we hold to the idea that eternity (whether in Heaven or Hell) is timeless. I must beg the question: what if it isn’t? What if time and eternity are as much one as the fabric of space and time? What if eternity is actually just another age with days, years, decades, and millennia? Lets go even further. What if these days, years, decades, and millennia are actually corespondant to our days, months, years, and decades? What if time for us is time for them?
We can see that in Daniel 10, the angel comes to Daniel and tells him, “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.” Wait… an angel was resisted, and that somehow caused for him to be post-poned in delievering his message? It was an actual 21 days? Or was it just the angel’s way of speaking in terms that we know? But if it was only a figure of speech, then what did the angel really mean?
What about Saul and Samuel? Saul contacts a medium, and the medium goes to contact the man in whom Saul wishes to speak… Then Samuel comes and speaks with Saul. There’s only one problem: Samuel is dead. Did God allow Samuel to come back in a specific moment of time, seeing as Samuel was in eternity and timelessness? Or was time still active and Samuel’s appearing was granted by God? The same question can be asked about when Jesus met with Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguation? Was Samuel still here and present on this earth, though invisible? And then when Saul needed his counsel, God allowed for this dead man to be made visible again? Can that really be a valid answer? Can we really put our faith in the idea that God would send us back to a specific time in space-time? It might be what is most simple, but it isn’t what is most logical. There are great depths that seem to be revealed in simply asking these questions.
What about Elisha and the chariots of fire? Obviously, there is indeed an invisible realm that is parallel to this one. There is a spiritual world that fights along side of us. Elisha was able to see an army of chariots of fire. He was able to understand that the Lord’s army stood along side of His people. So, then, when the servant of Elisha was afraid, God openned his eyes, and the servant saw. Was this possibly a revealing of something greater than we know? Was God revealing to this servant, and to us who read the story, of an invisible realm that is always here and now and with us? Was God showing that eternity is not bound by our physical cosmos, but is still within time?
The invisible cloud is always here and with us. It reminds us of our past. It wars with us for righteousness to prevail. It helps us in our times of need. It speaks words of counsel, and it beckons us to be greater than we are. They who have passed on call us forward to be the end-time people of God. They, together with us, help us to hasten the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:12). What if those of history continue to war even after life?
The Greek word describing “the age to come” is aion. It is literally translated as an age or era or period of time. When Jesus refers to the age to come, which is most commonly believed to be Heaven, He is speaking of a new era. It is the dawn of a new time. It isn’t going into timelessness, but instead of timelessness and eternity and heaven crashing into this time based cosmos. I speak only speculatively, for I only know that the invisible cloud fights along side of us in their legacy. The rest is assumption and playing with thoughts and ideas. Yet, what if…
The Hebrew word is Olam. It speaks of something to respect of “to the distance of the horizon, and then some.” So, basically, olam is as far back in time, or as far forward in time as the eye can see, and then beyond. It is usually translated as eternal, or eternity. In the New Testament, the word for eternal, when speaking of “eternal life,” is aionios. This is different than aion. Aion is simply another time. It is sometimes translated as forever, but it doesn’t mean that, and it certainly doesn’t mean outside of time. The word aionios means without time; from the beginning to the end; forever; never ending; eternity as we know it.
If you start to study this out, you start to see that Jesus speaks of both an eternity that has no beginning or end, just as God has no beginning or end, and an eternity that is within time, has a specific beginning and end. He speaks of them synonymously. They are happening at the same time, in the same place, and we are a part of both. The idea of olam is only given to God, because He is the only one who is everlasting. Yet, the New Testament seems to blow the Old Testament idea out of the water and say, “Not only are you going to be God’s Bride, but in being God’s Bride, the two really do become one flesh, and now you are granted certain Godlike qualities.”
Excuse me while I venture into heresy (joke). That which has always been attributed to God only, now we have. Eternity… Timelessness… Beyond this physical cosmos… These are not things that we would consider to be for people, but only for God. Yet, Christ seems to invite us into that realm, here and now, and in being a part of that here and now, we also get to see and slight understanding of what He might also be speaking of when He talks of an age to come (aion). Timelessness in the bounds of time. Eternity within the bounds of that which is chthonic. Can you imagine the immensity of such a statement? Is there anyone who could possibly imagine what God really is trying to say? It is beyond the grasp of the human mind, and that is why we’re left to speculation here. That is why we can’t give definitive answers.
We are in a continuum of time. That which had happened in times past, which we most likely don’t even know of, is at war with that that is happening now. We are in touch with the saints that have gone on before us, and they are pushing and speaking to us to continue their work for the glory of God. At the same time, there is a demonic continuum of the glory of man (which is a glory of Satan). Both are at war with each other, and we are the generation to choose which river to stand in. When we aren’t willing to stand with those who were martyred and opposed within our own localities and nations, we cannot truly apprehend the apostolic perception and authority that is rightfully ours. In tapping into this kind of awareness and this kind of reality, we open ourselves to those who are around us to hate us with the same ferocity that they hated the saints of the past. It most likely isn’t that the people who oppose Christ are going to war against us in the heavenly realms, but that as this present age continues, Satan wars. It makes more sense theologically to expect Satan to war alone with his unholy angels than for those who die in opposition to Christ to continue in their opposition to Christ in the heavenly realms. That which they have decided here and now they will continue to decide in eternity, therefore love wins by giving them exactly what they have always asked for: hellfire.
Now, without the understanding of this Church militant and Church triumphant (Karl Barth’s wording), we miss out on our purposes in God, and our place within the Body of Christ. It is for the lack of this understanding of being One Body (both between present, past, and future, and between Israel and Gentile) that both Jews and Christians alike suffer an anemic religion that provides nothing but successions of Sundays and programs and events. They both provide morale, but neither provides the glory of God (John 17:21). The failure to see the Lord in His own people will lead to Him saying, “Depart from me, you cursed ones, unto everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matthew 25:41. And the men and women will reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you,” Matthew 25:44, because they could not see the interconnection between the Lord and His people Israel, nor could they see the connection between the Lord and His people past and present.
For, our being One Body is both past and present, but also Church and Israel. We are interconnected. We are both one, because we both have the same Head. Failing to see this is failing to see everything with right perspective. We can play our games, clap our hands and sing our songs, and enjoy our fellowships and gatherings, but without the weight and significance of the total interconnection of all of the Body of Christ, we fall short of the glory of God. We are left bankrupt, because it leaves us to ourselves.
I’ve already gone through this, but it needs to be restated for the idea of One Body, One Spirit. We are indeed one Body. It is the idea of agape love that would view people as already forgiven that compels us to view Israel through the eyes of they have already been forgiven. Though they are not, we love them and accept them as though they are. It’s not easy, but neither is anything in the Christian faith. It is the power of Christ in us, the hope of glory, that strengthens and enables us to succeed in all things that God has given us to subdue.
The Christianity of God is based upon all these things. All that has been written, all that has been said, is summed up in this last chapter. We are one. We are beautiful. We are perfect. Together with the saints of old, we are the Bride of Christ. This is how we act. This is how we display ourselves. These chapters are only an introduction to authenticity. So, then, go and find the deeper things of God. Learn all that you can learn, and have no fear, for if God be for us, then who can be against us? In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may God bless us all, and especially those who are truly searching, amen.
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The invisible cloud of witnesses are with us. They are here, along side, next to us. They battle with us. They are unseen, yet still present. And, in fact, they are possibly able to do battle and to aid the saints to an even greater degree now that they are past. They have left the realm of the physical an entered into the spiritual realm. Here they do battle with Satan along side of us. It is almost as if while we’re here on this earth, our characters is what does battle by revealing the glory of God to all of creation, but when we’ve passed, it is not only our characters, but our legacy.
In this, all I can seem to do is assume. What is safe is that the legacy of those who have passed is continuing to sharpen and fine-tune the characters of those who live on. Can the number of people be counted to get great benefit from reading Spurgeon or Wesley or Augustine or Saint John of the cross? These are people who have long passed on, yet their stories and their lives and their teaching remains and continues to persuade and lead people into deeper relations with God.
As one Greek philosopher had said, “You can’t enter the same river twice.” The river might have the same name, but it is always flowing. There is new water every second. The Body of Christ is, in the same way, a river with a continual flow. When a righteous person passes, they aren’t gone. They don’t disappear for a while, and then they are resurrected at the end of the age. Their soul must go somewhere. (We must assume.)
Jesus references the soul in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Now, my question is about the soul. When we pass on, where does our soul go? Obviously our body is in the ground. Yet, our soul isn’t buried there with us.
Watchman Nee had given most of his life to the understanding of the body, soul, and spirit. Though I disagree with much of what he stated, one thing I do agree with is that the soul is a non-physical part of our bodies that has it’s own characteristics. This is obvious, however, Nee takes it to another level. I highly recommend his book, The Latent Power of the Soul. In this he expresses that the soul has a power, and that power can be released. Other religions have learned how to release this soul power by fastings, meditations, and other forms of self-exhaustion. The point is to try and destroy the flesh so that your body is only a shell. You don’t give yourself to your carnal habits. This produces in you a breach in your flesh so that your soul can be released.
Though this is highly philosophical, and I’m very skeptical of the way it is worded, I like the idea of the soul having a power in it. There seems to be something that sits right within me when considering that mediums can contact “the dead” (whether those dead are truly those who have passed on or only demons) through their souls. Through soul power, people in India can read minds, levetate, calm animals, and even make objects move without touching them.
These are real phemonema. There are actual events and people have been recorded as having these abilities. Though we think them of fantasy and nonsense here in America, and most of Europe, they are common realities in some parts of Asia. How does this relate to the invisible cloud of witnesses? It is only to say that the soul might not actually get buried in the ground with our bodies, and that there might indeed be some sort of a power in our souls that can either aid or rebel against the purposes of God.
I don’t know that there is a way to explain this, nor do I know if there are too many Biblical references. Certainly, I can take verses and stories and apply them, but there aren’t any concrete Scriptures to validate these opinions. I’m willing to admit that.
Yet, one of the problems that needs to be considered is the problem of eternity and time. What most believe is that when we die, we go out of time and into the eternal realm, where we stand before God in judgment, and He then declares us to be blessed or cursed. This comes from Scriptures such as Revelation 21:11 and Hebrews 9:27.
Even if we believe that there is some sort of a waiting time for the consummation of all things, we hold to the idea that eternity (whether in Heaven or Hell) is timeless. I must beg the question: what if it isn’t? What if time and eternity are as much one as the fabric of space and time? What if eternity is actually just another age with days, years, decades, and millennia? Lets go even further. What if these days, years, decades, and millennia are actually corespondant to our days, months, years, and decades? What if time for us is time for them?
We can see that in Daniel 10, the angel comes to Daniel and tells him, “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.” Wait… an angel was resisted, and that somehow caused for him to be post-poned in delievering his message? It was an actual 21 days? Or was it just the angel’s way of speaking in terms that we know? But if it was only a figure of speech, then what did the angel really mean?
What about Saul and Samuel? Saul contacts a medium, and the medium goes to contact the man in whom Saul wishes to speak… Then Samuel comes and speaks with Saul. There’s only one problem: Samuel is dead. Did God allow Samuel to come back in a specific moment of time, seeing as Samuel was in eternity and timelessness? Or was time still active and Samuel’s appearing was granted by God? The same question can be asked about when Jesus met with Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguation? Was Samuel still here and present on this earth, though invisible? And then when Saul needed his counsel, God allowed for this dead man to be made visible again? Can that really be a valid answer? Can we really put our faith in the idea that God would send us back to a specific time in space-time? It might be what is most simple, but it isn’t what is most logical. There are great depths that seem to be revealed in simply asking these questions.
What about Elisha and the chariots of fire? Obviously, there is indeed an invisible realm that is parallel to this one. There is a spiritual world that fights along side of us. Elisha was able to see an army of chariots of fire. He was able to understand that the Lord’s army stood along side of His people. So, then, when the servant of Elisha was afraid, God openned his eyes, and the servant saw. Was this possibly a revealing of something greater than we know? Was God revealing to this servant, and to us who read the story, of an invisible realm that is always here and now and with us? Was God showing that eternity is not bound by our physical cosmos, but is still within time?
The invisible cloud is always here and with us. It reminds us of our past. It wars with us for righteousness to prevail. It helps us in our times of need. It speaks words of counsel, and it beckons us to be greater than we are. They who have passed on call us forward to be the end-time people of God. They, together with us, help us to hasten the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:12). What if those of history continue to war even after life?
The Greek word describing “the age to come” is aion. It is literally translated as an age or era or period of time. When Jesus refers to the age to come, which is most commonly believed to be Heaven, He is speaking of a new era. It is the dawn of a new time. It isn’t going into timelessness, but instead of timelessness and eternity and heaven crashing into this time based cosmos. I speak only speculatively, for I only know that the invisible cloud fights along side of us in their legacy. The rest is assumption and playing with thoughts and ideas. Yet, what if…
The Hebrew word is Olam. It speaks of something to respect of “to the distance of the horizon, and then some.” So, basically, olam is as far back in time, or as far forward in time as the eye can see, and then beyond. It is usually translated as eternal, or eternity. In the New Testament, the word for eternal, when speaking of “eternal life,” is aionios. This is different than aion. Aion is simply another time. It is sometimes translated as forever, but it doesn’t mean that, and it certainly doesn’t mean outside of time. The word aionios means without time; from the beginning to the end; forever; never ending; eternity as we know it.
If you start to study this out, you start to see that Jesus speaks of both an eternity that has no beginning or end, just as God has no beginning or end, and an eternity that is within time, has a specific beginning and end. He speaks of them synonymously. They are happening at the same time, in the same place, and we are a part of both. The idea of olam is only given to God, because He is the only one who is everlasting. Yet, the New Testament seems to blow the Old Testament idea out of the water and say, “Not only are you going to be God’s Bride, but in being God’s Bride, the two really do become one flesh, and now you are granted certain Godlike qualities.”
Excuse me while I venture into heresy (joke). That which has always been attributed to God only, now we have. Eternity… Timelessness… Beyond this physical cosmos… These are not things that we would consider to be for people, but only for God. Yet, Christ seems to invite us into that realm, here and now, and in being a part of that here and now, we also get to see and slight understanding of what He might also be speaking of when He talks of an age to come (aion). Timelessness in the bounds of time. Eternity within the bounds of that which is chthonic. Can you imagine the immensity of such a statement? Is there anyone who could possibly imagine what God really is trying to say? It is beyond the grasp of the human mind, and that is why we’re left to speculation here. That is why we can’t give definitive answers.
We are in a continuum of time. That which had happened in times past, which we most likely don’t even know of, is at war with that that is happening now. We are in touch with the saints that have gone on before us, and they are pushing and speaking to us to continue their work for the glory of God. At the same time, there is a demonic continuum of the glory of man (which is a glory of Satan). Both are at war with each other, and we are the generation to choose which river to stand in. When we aren’t willing to stand with those who were martyred and opposed within our own localities and nations, we cannot truly apprehend the apostolic perception and authority that is rightfully ours. In tapping into this kind of awareness and this kind of reality, we open ourselves to those who are around us to hate us with the same ferocity that they hated the saints of the past. It most likely isn’t that the people who oppose Christ are going to war against us in the heavenly realms, but that as this present age continues, Satan wars. It makes more sense theologically to expect Satan to war alone with his unholy angels than for those who die in opposition to Christ to continue in their opposition to Christ in the heavenly realms. That which they have decided here and now they will continue to decide in eternity, therefore love wins by giving them exactly what they have always asked for: hellfire.
Now, without the understanding of this Church militant and Church triumphant (Karl Barth’s wording), we miss out on our purposes in God, and our place within the Body of Christ. It is for the lack of this understanding of being One Body (both between present, past, and future, and between Israel and Gentile) that both Jews and Christians alike suffer an anemic religion that provides nothing but successions of Sundays and programs and events. They both provide morale, but neither provides the glory of God (John 17:21). The failure to see the Lord in His own people will lead to Him saying, “Depart from me, you cursed ones, unto everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matthew 25:41. And the men and women will reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you,” Matthew 25:44, because they could not see the interconnection between the Lord and His people Israel, nor could they see the connection between the Lord and His people past and present.
For, our being One Body is both past and present, but also Church and Israel. We are interconnected. We are both one, because we both have the same Head. Failing to see this is failing to see everything with right perspective. We can play our games, clap our hands and sing our songs, and enjoy our fellowships and gatherings, but without the weight and significance of the total interconnection of all of the Body of Christ, we fall short of the glory of God. We are left bankrupt, because it leaves us to ourselves.
I’ve already gone through this, but it needs to be restated for the idea of One Body, One Spirit. We are indeed one Body. It is the idea of agape love that would view people as already forgiven that compels us to view Israel through the eyes of they have already been forgiven. Though they are not, we love them and accept them as though they are. It’s not easy, but neither is anything in the Christian faith. It is the power of Christ in us, the hope of glory, that strengthens and enables us to succeed in all things that God has given us to subdue.
The Christianity of God is based upon all these things. All that has been written, all that has been said, is summed up in this last chapter. We are one. We are beautiful. We are perfect. Together with the saints of old, we are the Bride of Christ. This is how we act. This is how we display ourselves. These chapters are only an introduction to authenticity. So, then, go and find the deeper things of God. Learn all that you can learn, and have no fear, for if God be for us, then who can be against us? In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may God bless us all, and especially those who are truly searching, amen.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Church Leadership
This has been a question asked by a couple people, "What does Church leadership look like?" I am so unfit to answer this question. Before we even talk about leadership, we need to ask what do we mean by "church?" There is a lot to unpack.
When you ask someone what church is, they will typically tell you it is the people. Then you ask them about their church and they will tell you about programs, events, buildings, sermons, worship music, and other things that really make you wonder how much they truly believe that the church is the people. Lets get this one clear: the church is not a building. You might meet in a building, you might meet in a living room, you might meet at a different place each week, but where you meet does not in any way, shape, or form tell us one iota about your "church." The church is first and foremost the people of God, coming together frequently in fellowship together.
In the midst of frequent fellowship, and in the midst of adversity of life lived together, we find ourselves in a strange place. Questions come from the devil asking whether these people even like you. He tempts and taunts and earns his title as "the accuser of the brethren." Nothing short of complete transparency and honesty will help to overcome that hurdle. When we can be united in a way that we are able to confess our faults one to another, and honestly tell each other when we have felt wronged or when the devil has been speaking his deceptions into our ear, it is precisely at that moment that we have stepped out from being an institution and into being an apostolic reality.
Our lives and characters are to be interwoven in a way that you cannot see me without seeing the other members of my community. You cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends. When you hear me speaking about a certain subject, I have not come to this knowledge independent, but instead in the midst of corporate wrestling. We all have a word, a song, a prophecy, a tongue, an interpretation of that tongue, a cry, a burden, a hope, a love, a message that cuts through all the crap, and most of all, we all have hearts yearning for a coming Kingdom. In that context, when we meet, we don't listen to the one man who has prayed, but instead we listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches through this man, and that woman, and these brothers, and those couples, and even the children. God speaks through each and every one, or He doesn't speak at all. Even in silence, we can be speaking the very word of God.
This brings me to another question often asked: How do you maintain order? We have set up "church" so that we have the worship, a little bit of announcements, and then the sermon, and then we all "fellowship" or leave. How is it that if there is no set schedule that we will have order?
It is not a cop out when I say that the Holy Spirit gives order. When we take off our control and allow Him to be in control, we find that the amount of order is amazing. Our time together can actually be more ordered and seamless when He is in control than when we are in control. The problem is this: often we let go of control and God is not in it. What happens when the Holy Spirit does not come in our midst to have authority and lead? Is God required to take the authority over the meeting?
When we come together, if there is no order, it is not because we haven't set up rules and bounds and guides, or that we lack leadership. The reason that there might be a lack of order is actually a spiritual issue. For those that have kept their hearts and are following the Spirit, there will be order. But if we have spent our Saturdays watching the football game, and have neglected prayer and the Bible, then it is no wonder that we need a system in order to keep from going berserk.
The quality of our life lived before God is no greater than the quality of the life we live together. When our lives together are constituted by seeing one another once or twice a week, we've already shown our cards. When we "fellowship" by playing games and watching movies together, we've already shown our lack. When we need some sort of entertainment to sit together for multiple days back to back, then our quality of life together is quite poor. How is it that the same eternal Spirit that is at work in me is at work in you, but we can't even find something to talk about? How is it that so often what we talk about and discuss has no eternal weight to it? How is it that we are far more intrigued with the ball game than we are with what it means to have a corporate character of holiness?
I say these things to our shame.
And then we want to talk about how we need church leadership. The leadership is often times equally as wanting in character and life as the person in the pew. The only difference is that you have a man or woman that is now a toddler in the faith that is able to lead the infants. This is not true of every congregation, but it is certainly true for the majority. Church leadership is born out of the intensity of life lived together. When we have wrestled with these first and foundational issues of how to even come together frequently, then we can start discussing leadership.
Leadership is never something that we promote because of a title, education, or credential. It is based on one thing, and one thing only: the word of God. When the credentials are met according to the Bible, and when that word comes from heaven to say, "Separate unto me..." then we shall know who the leaders are. God appoints the elders and deacons. He appoints the pastors and teachers. If it weren't for the assured times when discipline is necessary, you would not even know who the elder is and who the layman is. They are one together.
Submission to authority is thus a submission to the Holy Spirit. Those that are to be great among us are to be our servants. Just as Jesus did not come to be served, but instead to serve, so we are to serve one another. Those that God has appointed as elders are in actuality very rarely the ones that "stand a head and shoulder above all others" (reference to King Saul). Typically God chooses the servant and the least of all. That does not mean the least educated or least knowledgable, but the one that does not identify himself or herself as anything worthy of such a title. The one that does not desire to be sent out and speak to the world as a prophet is the one chosen as a prophet. Why? Because God knows that that man or woman will not speak their words, but will instead remain humble and speak only the words God has given. Likewise, the servant, the one that is truly humble, will not seek to somehow lord over anyone else when they are given authority, but will instead have the authority because of the anointing of the Spirit. They will not govern according to the way that the world governs, but instead have a different disposition: one that asks how Jesus leads; one that asks what it means to rule and reign in the Kingdom of God.
In this manner, God has made it that those who lead are not always those that are most qualified. It is a humbling to those that are more qualified to then submit to the authority. The authority, by the way, is never a man with a title - even one given of God - but instead a submission to the Holy Spirit. If the youngest and newest convert speaks a word that is cogent and drips with anointing, no matter how much we desire to scoff and say we're the elder or we know more, we bend the knee and submit to that word or rebuke that has come from even the babe in Christ.
The oldest is not too far from being rebuked by the youngest. All are able to speak into one another's lives, because what is more important than leadership is apostolic character. Our greatest pursuit is that we do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, which is to say that we we live solely for the glory of God. Anything less than the glory of God is apostasy, and we will not settle. Our leaders are to be those that have discernment to know when a word is truly coming from God and when it is coming from the flesh. These are men that might not know everything as far as knowledge goes, but they do know God. They do know His presence. They do know His power. They do know His Spirit.
Because the leadership has cherished that Spirit that is within them, they are able to see the false a mile away. Any kind of false humility, false speaking, false prophecy, false hope, or false spirit is utterly opposed. And know that it is never the person that is attacked, but the spirit of deception. We speak the truth in love to one another. That doesn't mean that we are somehow timid or wimpy. We can speak boldly and confidently without assailing.
In the context of community, in the midst of adversity of life together, we find an unusual calling. How can we even be to each other what we ought when our privacy is taken away? How can we show each other love when all of the luxuries that we've enjoyed up to now are no longer legitimate? It takes a certain kind of stamina and love for the truth to endure this. When we are willing to submit to that love of truth over our personal ambition, then we have come to a place where maybe we can start asking questions about church leadership. Out of that Body that is consecrated to the Lord, and has been sanctified through the outworking of His Spirit in the midst of that Church, God will speak, "Separate unto me." There will be no question of who the elders or pastors or teachers or deacons or leadership are. It will be blatantly obvious if we are indeed in the Spirit.
I hope that this answers some of those questions about leadership, authority, and submission to that leadership and/or authority.
When you ask someone what church is, they will typically tell you it is the people. Then you ask them about their church and they will tell you about programs, events, buildings, sermons, worship music, and other things that really make you wonder how much they truly believe that the church is the people. Lets get this one clear: the church is not a building. You might meet in a building, you might meet in a living room, you might meet at a different place each week, but where you meet does not in any way, shape, or form tell us one iota about your "church." The church is first and foremost the people of God, coming together frequently in fellowship together.
In the midst of frequent fellowship, and in the midst of adversity of life lived together, we find ourselves in a strange place. Questions come from the devil asking whether these people even like you. He tempts and taunts and earns his title as "the accuser of the brethren." Nothing short of complete transparency and honesty will help to overcome that hurdle. When we can be united in a way that we are able to confess our faults one to another, and honestly tell each other when we have felt wronged or when the devil has been speaking his deceptions into our ear, it is precisely at that moment that we have stepped out from being an institution and into being an apostolic reality.
Our lives and characters are to be interwoven in a way that you cannot see me without seeing the other members of my community. You cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends. When you hear me speaking about a certain subject, I have not come to this knowledge independent, but instead in the midst of corporate wrestling. We all have a word, a song, a prophecy, a tongue, an interpretation of that tongue, a cry, a burden, a hope, a love, a message that cuts through all the crap, and most of all, we all have hearts yearning for a coming Kingdom. In that context, when we meet, we don't listen to the one man who has prayed, but instead we listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches through this man, and that woman, and these brothers, and those couples, and even the children. God speaks through each and every one, or He doesn't speak at all. Even in silence, we can be speaking the very word of God.
This brings me to another question often asked: How do you maintain order? We have set up "church" so that we have the worship, a little bit of announcements, and then the sermon, and then we all "fellowship" or leave. How is it that if there is no set schedule that we will have order?
It is not a cop out when I say that the Holy Spirit gives order. When we take off our control and allow Him to be in control, we find that the amount of order is amazing. Our time together can actually be more ordered and seamless when He is in control than when we are in control. The problem is this: often we let go of control and God is not in it. What happens when the Holy Spirit does not come in our midst to have authority and lead? Is God required to take the authority over the meeting?
When we come together, if there is no order, it is not because we haven't set up rules and bounds and guides, or that we lack leadership. The reason that there might be a lack of order is actually a spiritual issue. For those that have kept their hearts and are following the Spirit, there will be order. But if we have spent our Saturdays watching the football game, and have neglected prayer and the Bible, then it is no wonder that we need a system in order to keep from going berserk.
The quality of our life lived before God is no greater than the quality of the life we live together. When our lives together are constituted by seeing one another once or twice a week, we've already shown our cards. When we "fellowship" by playing games and watching movies together, we've already shown our lack. When we need some sort of entertainment to sit together for multiple days back to back, then our quality of life together is quite poor. How is it that the same eternal Spirit that is at work in me is at work in you, but we can't even find something to talk about? How is it that so often what we talk about and discuss has no eternal weight to it? How is it that we are far more intrigued with the ball game than we are with what it means to have a corporate character of holiness?
I say these things to our shame.
And then we want to talk about how we need church leadership. The leadership is often times equally as wanting in character and life as the person in the pew. The only difference is that you have a man or woman that is now a toddler in the faith that is able to lead the infants. This is not true of every congregation, but it is certainly true for the majority. Church leadership is born out of the intensity of life lived together. When we have wrestled with these first and foundational issues of how to even come together frequently, then we can start discussing leadership.
Leadership is never something that we promote because of a title, education, or credential. It is based on one thing, and one thing only: the word of God. When the credentials are met according to the Bible, and when that word comes from heaven to say, "Separate unto me..." then we shall know who the leaders are. God appoints the elders and deacons. He appoints the pastors and teachers. If it weren't for the assured times when discipline is necessary, you would not even know who the elder is and who the layman is. They are one together.
Submission to authority is thus a submission to the Holy Spirit. Those that are to be great among us are to be our servants. Just as Jesus did not come to be served, but instead to serve, so we are to serve one another. Those that God has appointed as elders are in actuality very rarely the ones that "stand a head and shoulder above all others" (reference to King Saul). Typically God chooses the servant and the least of all. That does not mean the least educated or least knowledgable, but the one that does not identify himself or herself as anything worthy of such a title. The one that does not desire to be sent out and speak to the world as a prophet is the one chosen as a prophet. Why? Because God knows that that man or woman will not speak their words, but will instead remain humble and speak only the words God has given. Likewise, the servant, the one that is truly humble, will not seek to somehow lord over anyone else when they are given authority, but will instead have the authority because of the anointing of the Spirit. They will not govern according to the way that the world governs, but instead have a different disposition: one that asks how Jesus leads; one that asks what it means to rule and reign in the Kingdom of God.
In this manner, God has made it that those who lead are not always those that are most qualified. It is a humbling to those that are more qualified to then submit to the authority. The authority, by the way, is never a man with a title - even one given of God - but instead a submission to the Holy Spirit. If the youngest and newest convert speaks a word that is cogent and drips with anointing, no matter how much we desire to scoff and say we're the elder or we know more, we bend the knee and submit to that word or rebuke that has come from even the babe in Christ.
The oldest is not too far from being rebuked by the youngest. All are able to speak into one another's lives, because what is more important than leadership is apostolic character. Our greatest pursuit is that we do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, which is to say that we we live solely for the glory of God. Anything less than the glory of God is apostasy, and we will not settle. Our leaders are to be those that have discernment to know when a word is truly coming from God and when it is coming from the flesh. These are men that might not know everything as far as knowledge goes, but they do know God. They do know His presence. They do know His power. They do know His Spirit.
Because the leadership has cherished that Spirit that is within them, they are able to see the false a mile away. Any kind of false humility, false speaking, false prophecy, false hope, or false spirit is utterly opposed. And know that it is never the person that is attacked, but the spirit of deception. We speak the truth in love to one another. That doesn't mean that we are somehow timid or wimpy. We can speak boldly and confidently without assailing.
In the context of community, in the midst of adversity of life together, we find an unusual calling. How can we even be to each other what we ought when our privacy is taken away? How can we show each other love when all of the luxuries that we've enjoyed up to now are no longer legitimate? It takes a certain kind of stamina and love for the truth to endure this. When we are willing to submit to that love of truth over our personal ambition, then we have come to a place where maybe we can start asking questions about church leadership. Out of that Body that is consecrated to the Lord, and has been sanctified through the outworking of His Spirit in the midst of that Church, God will speak, "Separate unto me." There will be no question of who the elders or pastors or teachers or deacons or leadership are. It will be blatantly obvious if we are indeed in the Spirit.
I hope that this answers some of those questions about leadership, authority, and submission to that leadership and/or authority.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Cosmic and Eternal Perspective
I find it quite strange that when I communicate this
perspective, there are very few who are acceptant of it. As if saying that we
won’t be raptured is bad enough, when you then compound upon that the belief
that Israel will be the priesthood to the nations and that Jesus will return
and set up His Kingdom from Israel, ruling and reigning from Zion, it is the
final straw. For some reason, people are unwilling to come to terms with that.
The most common response is not Scriptural rebuttal, but instead are questions
like, “Why can’t God do it differently? How do you know that God wants to do it that way? How can you tell
(which is the same as how do you know) that God wouldn’t do something else? He
does work in mysterious ways, right? His thoughts are not our thoughts, right?
So how would you know that this
is what He has in mind?”
These are fair questions at face value. I’ve answered them,
but haven’t fully answered them. It goes back to the God that chooses. Why
would He choose Jerusalem? Why would He choose Zion? Why would He choose
Israel? Why did God choose Gideon? Why did God choose Samson? Was there
something intrinsic in Gideon or Samson that God saw? Or was it quite the
opposite?
If we think that Samson was some muscular man that was 7
feet tall and 250 pounds of pure muscle, then we have a wrong basis from which
we perceive. God chooses that which is foolish and that which weak to confound
the wise and strong. It is not so much about the person of God’s choosing that
make the man spectacular. It is the God that chooses that makes the man
spectacular. This needs to register deep within us. If we think that God would
choose us as the mostly Gentile Church to be that end time people to intercede
for Israel because of our merit or qualifications, then we have left the faith.
It is not in our strength that God is calling us, but in our weakness.
The whole view comes from a much larger view. So in order to
answer the rebuttals that claim I don’t know whether God would or would not act
and react in this or that manner, we need to step back and view things from a
cosmic level. We find such a cosmic level in Genesis. Of all places in
Scripture, the book of Ephesians and the Garden of Eden are the 2 that most
specifically address the cosmic and eternal perspective.
8 And the Lord God planted a
garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the
ground made the Lord God to grow every
tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in
the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
15 And the Lord God took the man,
and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17
Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17
Something that is a good study is to look up the Hebrew.
What did God command that Adam not do? What would be the result? Then you cross
reference with the next chapter and read what Eve says, it is completely
different. Though the sentence in English looks the same, the Hebrew is very
distinct. Then the serpent repeats what God really did say. Satan deceived the
woman by telling her the truth.
But here in our study, I want to examine this text closely.
Nowhere in the text does God say that Adam was to not eat of the tree of life.
He was only told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What
is it about knowledge of good and evil that God would forbid Adam to eat of
this tree? What is it about the tree of life that Adam would choose to not eat
of it?
Do you understand my questions? Out of all of the things
that God could have set up in the garden and said not to partake of, why was it
a tree that would reveal to Adam good and evil? Does God intend for humanity to
be undiscerning? And what was so repelling of the tree of life that Adam would
have possibly been in the garden for 100 years and not once taken from that
tree of life? Did it look displeasing, whereas the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil looked pleasing?
There are zero Scriptures anywhere in the Bible that will
tell you what the trees looked like. There are also zero Scriptures that will
tell you what these trees represent. This is something that needs to be
discerned collectively and by the Holy Spirit. So lets start with the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. Why would God forbid Adam to take of that
fruit? Is there something about knowing good and evil that God does not desire
for us?
I think that this is easiest to answer. Obviously, God wants
us to know the difference between good and evil. He tells us to discern right
from wrong. He tells us to discern the spirits. He tells us to separate the
precious from the vile. He tells us to walk in the light instead of in the
darkness. He tells us to be holy as He is holy. He tells us to choose life over
death. How can God require this of us if we aren’t to be discerning?
This is a different kind of discernment. What the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil represents is human efficiency. This is what we
are able to accomplish outside of God. We can establish morale. We can use our
rationale and our intellect to determine that it is wrong to rape, kill, and
steal. We don’t want someone to come up to us and stab us, so that is obviously
“wrong.” But by what basis do we judge others if atheism is true? To what
degree is there a moral standard that is universal? At best, we can determine
according to communities, societies, nations, and maybe even internationally
what is good and bad. But can we truly decide whether Hitler was a good or bad
person?
By what means, outside of God, do we gain our morality? This
is key. Is morality simply a list of do’s and don’ts? Is there something else
to morality? I think so. Morality is a necessity. But it goes beyond what is right
and wrong. We think that morality is living life in a way that we dodge the
“big sins.” Yet, we lack the understanding that morality doesn’t stem from what
we do. It stems from who we are.
The grotesque sins that we can commit aren’t always
connected to something obviously vile. I’ll give you an example. I know a
family that has two kids. Both of them have grown up to be hellions while still
being involved in their church. She is quite sexually active, and he is always
doped up on drugs. What caused this? When you take a look at the family as a
whole, the parents are very lenient. They have the attitude that you can’t
decide for yourself until you try it. So they allow their kids to be demons and
hooked on drugs and sexuality with full expectation that they’ll grow out of
it. But then it doesn’t stop with the sex and drugs. Now they disrespect their
parents. Why?
The question doesn’t start with the disrespect. That is what
the parents are so offended about. It doesn’t start with their lack of
obedience. The place to start looking is the parent’s lack of love. It was
their lack of being parents that led their children to find some other fill. It
was that drive to find another fill that led to the bigger problem: a hatred of
their own parents. The hatred isn’t the problem. That is a side effect of the
problem.
I’ll give another example. I know someone who is divorced.
They had a child out of wedlock. Their relationship to their ex-spouse is
rocky. What came first: the rocky relationship or the divorce? Well, common
sense would say the rocky relationship. That isn’t the case though. They had
both divorced one another before even having trouble in the relationship. I
don’t mean that they left one another. I mean that they were still allowing
their interests in other men or women dictate. They were still flirtatious.
They were still willing to show their love to another at their spouse’s
expense. This was from both sides. The sin wasn’t the divorce. It wasn’t the
child out of wedlock. The child out of wedlock and the wedding were both
attempts to try to keep the relationship going. The downfall was that neither
one of them were devoted.
What am I getting at with this? We need to be people who are
willing to plumb the depths of our sins. We need to be willing to see it for
what it really is. Morality doesn’t start with a question of right and wrong.
Morality starts with devotion and determination that nothing will go unchecked
and unnoticed. Everything that we do in life will be observed carefully to see
if there is anything behind it that is evil in disguise.
It is a nice thing to pick up the check for someone else at
the dinner table. What is the motive? Are you trying to be nice? Are you trying
to show off? Are you trying to hold it over their head so that next time you
can say they owe you? The righteous does righteous acts and doesn’t even
realize they have done it. You can bring it up to them that the way they
conduct themselves is very righteous. They wouldn’t have noticed.
For example: it says in Deuteronomy 15 that we are to take
care of the orphans, widows, foreigners, traveler, family, and that we should
not knowingly try to oppress anyone. This isn’t hard for the righteous. They
just live in that kind of lifestyle. They are generous. When someone is seen
without a coat, they give him or her their coat. They don’t even have to think
about it. That is just who we’re taught to be by God. You see someone in need,
so you supply the need.
This is where morality starts. It starts with motives and
core actions. If you are an introvert, there are certain things that you need
to be careful of. You need to be careful of not keeping quiet when it is
necessary to speak. If you are an extrovert, you need to be careful not to
speak when you need to be quiet. It isn’t about whether it is right or wrong.
The issue is over a love of truth.
There are certain situations where it is more loving to keep
quiet and allow someone to suffer and ask, “Why would God allow this?” There
are times where if you keep quiet, you are now doing disservice. It takes
discernment. It also takes a lot of agony. God will form you. I won’t say that
I have arrived because this is the biggest struggle I have. Trying to find the
absolute root of things is tough.
But this is what morality is. Morality is searching to the
root. It is digging up everything until you find that first initial problem.
This doesn’t always involve your own life (although that is most frequent).
Would it have been the moral thing to do if Dietrich Bonhoeffer would have succeeded
in killing Hitler? Hitler was a monster, but the Bible says to submit under the
governmental authority. It says that vengeance is the Lord’s.
Probing the depths of morality takes effort. It takes more
than effort. It takes a certain kind of moral stamina. It is easy to raise
questions of whether it is “right or wrong.” It is much more painstaking to not
be content with right or wrong but digging to the root to see where the issue
really lies. Is it okay to kiss before marriage? Is it okay to display any kind
of physical affection outside of marriage?
When we have a moral deficiency in any area, that deficiency
will expose itself somewhere. This is certain: your sin will find you out.
Moral deficiency isn’t about addictions to cigarettes or pornography. Moral
deficiency is about a lack in even believing that there is a right or wrong in
certain matters. Where were those parent’s morals when they allowed their
children to grow up watching sex and drug filled movies? Where were those
parent’s morals when they allowed their kids to go out partying all night? Now
suddenly when they don’t have respect from their kids they want to play the
morality card. You forfeited your morality when you allowed blatant sin and
corruption to be displayed before their eyes daily in your own home.
I see a lot of people who have pictures of their whole
family in a certain sport jersey. Then they want to talk about how their lives
are devoted only to Jesus. You can’t have them both. If you have that severe of
a pride for your favorite football team that your kids are forced to wear the
jerseys before they even understand the sport, then you aren’t devoted to God.
You can take your pick.
Morality must issue from God. He is the only fully moral
being. Anything that will block us or keep us from seeing Him clearly and
expressing Him clearly to others through our actions is not moral. Any kind of
deception, whether inward or outward, is amoral. To be amoral is to reject
morals. It is to say that morality doesn’t exist. There are no morals; there
are only my own desires and lusts.
Lets take this back to the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. If man is the one deciding what is good and what is evil, then can there
be true morality? Do we have that desire to probe the depths? Do we have that
ability to discern the root of sin? It takes God’s speaking and discernment
from His Holy Spirit to reveal to us the depths. The tree of the knowledge of
good and evil is a cheapie. It is a cop-out, an evasion.
This is the struggle. We have two systems that have been
established: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life.
The one says that we can decide what is good and evil, the other claims there
is none good but God. To which do you prescribe? Does the basis of all morality
come from God? Do you search the inner depths of self to see if there is
anything that comes from something outside of God? Jesus got to the root when
He said that to look upon another woman with lust is adultery.
This is the definition of the two trees. One is morale; the
other is life. To one we grant access that we are all supposed to be “good
people” and that we ought not to be unkind and this is how civilized people
ought to live and move and speak and treat one another. There are certain
standards that have been made by society. It is improper to go around yelling
the n-word. But why? Is it wrong because it is offensive, or is it wrong
because the root comes from ungodliness?
If morality is merely doing and performing the things that cause
the least amount of offense or human pain, then we have a cheap morality. And
this is only setting the stage. The true depths come when we add in Ephesians.
This is only describing the two sides. This is only defining terms. We have the
wisdom of God versus the knowledge of men. But where does that knowledge come
from? Who is it that gave the knowledge to man?
Here is where the plot thickens. Satan deceived Eve, and in
that has given us our morality. The devil doesn’t care how moral we are. We can
be good people. He will still destroy us in our morals. There are good
atheists. They aren’t all evil. Some are. But by what definition do we
prescribe someone as good or evil? If Jesus Himself questioned the rich young
ruler for calling Him good, then why would any of us take the title of good?
Even Jesus said that God alone is good; we ought all the more to recognize our
failure.
8 Unto me, who am
less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Ephesians 3:8-9
Ephesians 3:8-9
I did not put the full statement here on purpose. I don’t
want to rush into this. Let it sink in. Paul was given the ability to see this
mystery because he really believed that he was the least of all saints. It is
from this that he goes into the depths of this mystery mentioned in verse 9.
But let me prelude. This is a mystery, but Paul calls it, “the fellowship of
the mystery.” Why would he call it that? It is because it is from fellowship
that this mystery is obtained. I haven’t told you what the mystery is yet. But
view carefully what is being said. Outside of fellowship with God and with each
other, this mystery has no place.
We find in chapter 2 the kind of fellowship that Paul is
talking about. He mentions that there is no distinction between the Jew and the
Gentile. When we read Paul, we have to take him at all the words that he has
spoken. We can’t just read the epistle to the Ephesians and suspect we know
what he is talking about. The Romans are the only Church he wrote to that he
did not also visit before he wrote.
It is within the Book of Romans (chapter 11) that we find
Paul explained that we as Gentiles have been grafted into the House of Israel.
So when we see Paul expound that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, he is saying
that we are both grafted in.
This is extremely important. The better we can view and
believe that, the better we can prepare
and believe the rest of the eschatological Scriptures. Do you truly believe
that you have been grafted in and are now a part of Israel? You, though you
might be Gentile, are now the Israel of God. But that does not diminish Israel
at all. It paradoxically fulfills Israel even more. Because we are grafted in, God now has an Israel (both Jew
and Gentile alike – whether saved or unsaved (Romans 11:26)) that is a fuller
representation of who He is in the Earth.
10 To the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God,
Ephesians 3:10
Ephesians 3:10
It is from this Israel that is the fullness of Him who fills
all things that God is going to display to the principalities and powers (demons) the manifest wisdom of God. What is the manifest
wisdom of God? It is the value system. It
is everything we have been discussing about morality up to this point. There is
an entire system that has been made where people follow and believe they are
doing rightly, and yet are completely duped. God’s wisdom is to give strength
to the weak. God’s wisdom is to use the fool to confound the wise. God’s wisdom
is to take a sinner and be able to show the world through that wretch the
righteousness of God.
How is it that we can display God’s wisdom? It is through
being that Israel. It is from accepting the Jew, whether saved or unsaved, as
part of the Kingdom because they are under the same Head – whether they know it
or not. We are brothers and sisters with them. We are incomplete without them.
They are incomplete without us. It is in unity that we are able to display the
character of God. What kind of characteristic are we displaying? Drum roll,
please.
God is a trinity. Jesus did nothing of Himself. In all
things, He did only what He saw the Father do. He spoke only the words of the
Holy Spirit. The Father only did that which would glorify the Son. He used the
Holy Spirit to give strength and edification to Jesus. The Holy Spirit only
desired to reveal the Father through Jesus. They were all interwoven together
where you cannot see the one without seeing the other two. This is the basis of
community. When you see me, you see my wife. You see those saints that God has
put us in community with.
This is the fellowship of the mystery. When we can live
sacrificial lives where our only desire is to promote and glorify our brothers
and sisters (yes, that even means Israel), then we have come of age and are now
qualified to rule and reign with Christ. It is by losing your life that you
gain it. In living solely to glorify God and to promote those around you and to
deny your own life so that Israel might live, you have now performed the
priestly function of intercession. This is how God intends to display the
manifest wisdom of God to the principalities and powers. This is how He intends
to defeat Satan. By our deaths, and by the Antichrist overcoming us, we gain
the victory. It is the same wisdom of the devil that put Jesus upon the cross.
It is the same wisdom of God that raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan
and death.
But there will be an ultimate triumph over both Satan and
death. It awaits the consummation of the ages. It takes our death and sacrifice
for Israel to defeat the powers that
blind them. It takes Israel’s death and Calvary experience through the nations
that defeats the demonic forces blinding the nations. It is in the death and
resurrection of the saints that life is given to Israel. It is in the death and
resurrection of Israel that life comes to the nations. As it is written:
12 Now if the fall
of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of
the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?
13 For I speak to
you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine
office:
14 If by any means
I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of
them.
15 For if the
casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving
of them be, but life from the dead?
Romans 11:12-15 (emphasis mine)
Romans 11:12-15 (emphasis mine)
It is with this perspective that we can rightly appreciate
and perceive the eschatological framework. Therefore, I will give an overview
of the end times for those who are going to need this repeated several times.
In this overview, we will not be examining too many of the details. That will
come in with Daniel and Revelation.
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