Weekend Reading: January 9, 2015

~ pjwenzel ~ 2 Comments

Welcome to your weekend! Below are the few articles and videos I’ve enjoyed over the course of what has turned out to be a super busy week. Not much here this week, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

PJW

Obviously the big headlines are studded with news out of Parris. The terrorist attacks and subsequent kidnapping showdown has reignited the discussion about the relative good and evil of both Islam and religion as a whole.

On the political front, with Jeb Bush all but certain to jump in the race for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney sent a strong (and surprising) buzz throughout the political world today when he told a group of about 30 donors that he’s considering a run in ’16 as well.  

And on further geo-political news, my friends at AIPAC reminded me this week that Iranian nuclear negotiations are in high gear and reaching an important stage. Their email to me included this important line: Iran with a nuclear weapon would mean a major threat to US National security, an existential threat to Israel, and would even further destabilize the Middle East with a race toward nuclear weapons by other countries. If you’d like to do some political activism – important in a free society! – then I’d encourage you to call or email smarmy Senator Sherrod Brown’s office, as he’ll be a key vote in the future when legislation regarding possible Iranian sanctions is brought to the fore. Learn more about this here and get info on Sherrod Brown’s Office here. 

And on a rather sad note, longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott died of cancer this past week. ESPN has an interesting video about his life and career. 

Jon Bloom has a nice article over at DG this week called, ‘God is at Work in Your Unremarkable Days’ that is worth checking out.

And R.C. Sproul, Jr. has a sobering assessment on the ‘7 Truths We have Forgotten’ which I found challenging and accurate.

The NBA released a pretty amusing video of December’s best bloopers...

…and lastly, some funny stuff. Quartz has a funny piece called ‘What Back to the Future II got right about tech in 2015’!

Enjoy – and have a wonderful weekend!

PJW

Study Notes: Revelation 1:9-16

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

Here are the notes from today’s lesson Revelation 1:9-16

The main theme in these verses is the character and appearance of the son of man – there are strong ties to Exodus 19, Daniel 7, as well as Daniel 10 (particularly verse 6), and Zechariah 4 (the lampstands).  I hope you enjoy!

1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Unity in the Kingdom

We have here the obvious beginning of a new section of the text. Now it is John speaking again, and he begins by saying he is a “brother and partner” in their trials – their “tribulation.” He is a partner in both their tribulation and also in the kingdom. If this doesn’t scream, “inaugurated eschatology” I don’t know what does…

John is already enduring tribulation – and he wants them to know that they aren’t alone.

Indeed, John’s humility must have been a great comfort to them. For as John MacArthur says:

John was an apostle, a member of the inner circle of the twelve along with Peter and James, and the human author of a gospel and three epistles. Yet he humbly identified himself simply as “your brother.” He did not write as one impressed with his authority as an apostle, commanding, exhorting, or defining doctrine, but as an eyewitness to the revelation of Jesus Christ that begins to unfold with this vision.[i]

John also reminds them that they are partners, not only in tribulation, but also in “the kingdom.” He is speaking in the present tense, by the way. He is speaking about the kingdom of God, which John considers as already existing and as having been ushered in at our Lord’s resurrection.

Furthermore, he says that he is with them in “patient endurance that are in Jesus.” Endurance that is a fruit of being “in Jesus.” All of these descriptors are modified by this phrase “in Jesus.”

Listen to Beale explain this so clearly:

John and his community are people who even now reign together in Jesus’ kingdom. But this is a kingdom unanticipated by the majority of Jews. The exercise of rule in this kingdom begins and continues only as one faithfully endures tribulation. This is a formula for kingship: faithful endurance through tribulation is the means by which one reigns in the present with Jesus. Believers are not mere subjects in Christ’s kingdom. “Fellow partaker” underscores the active involvement of saints not only enduring tribulation, but also in reigning in the midst of tribulation.[ii]

Hanging Out on Patmos

Next we learn where John is/was when he saw the visions. Most of the commentators seem to think he either wrote part of the vision down on the island, or later afterward.

The island itself wasn’t a very hospitable place. MacArthur describes it as, “a barren, volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, at its extremities about ten miles long and give to six miles wide, located some forty miles offshore from Miletus (a city in Asia Minor about thirty miles south of Ephesus; cf. Acts 20:15-17).”[iii]

Ladd says it was, “a bare, rocky volcanic island with hills rising to about a thousand feet. There are references in Roman literature to support the view that such islands were used for the banishment of political offenders. There is no evidence that John’s exile was any part of a general persecution of the church in either Rome or Asia.”[iv]

Thomas Brooks once used the island to as analogy to the human heart:

Our hearts naturally are like the isle of Patmos, which is so barren of any good, that nothing will grow but in earth that is brought from other places; yet Christ can make them like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters fail not.[v]

We don’t know for certain exactly why John is on Patmos, except that it is in connection with His service to our Lord and likely the spread of the gospel.

1:10-11 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet [11] saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Lord’s Day

Because of the Lord’s resurrection coming on the first day of the week – Sunday, as we call it now – the people of the early church began to gather in celebration on that day and eat and fellowship together. It is likely that when John refers here to the “Lord’s Day” he is not referring to the scriptural concept of the eschatological “day of the Lord”, but rather to that day which Christ followers had set aside to celebrate their Lord’s resurrection and victory over death and sin.[vi]

That they celebrated the resurrection day was closely tied to their motive to overcome trials. If Jesus overcame, and they were “in” Jesus, then they too could overcome. Jim Hamilton magnificently states that…

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can face suffering, imprisonment, testing, and tribulation without fear. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can be faithful unto death (cf. 2:20). The resurrection of Jesus guarantees that though we suffer we will not be crushed, though we are tested we will not fail, though we face tribulation we will be preserved, though we die we will rise.[vii]

In the Spirit

Beale notes that John’s use of the phrase “in the Spirit” is similar to Ezekiel’s use of that same phrase to connote a vision from God. He then mentions that behind him he hears a loud trumpet-like voice, which reminds us a little of God’s revelation to Moses. One such example is:

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. [17] Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. [18] Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. [19] And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. [20] The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16-20)

When God speaks to His prophets in this way, it seems like there is little room for doubting who it is that is speaking! I might just add there that this isn’t the way in which false angels/demons or Satan speaks. He doesn’t have that majestic presence that God does. God alone is ruler and proclaimed as such by all of heaven. His voice is described by Ezekiel in this way:

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:2)

We’ll see this same language used in just a few more verses (1:15).

Write What You See to the Churches

John is commanded to write what he sees down in a book. Similar to the OT prophets who were often commanded to write down what they had seen (Beale, for example, cites Ex. 17:4; Is. 30:8, Jer. 37:2 – in the LXX[viii] – and so forth), and often those writing contained judgments toward Israel. So the reader who might have studied the OT might have been already catching a hint of what’s to come by way of judgment (cf. Beale).

Now we see that Jesus has asked John to write all the things he is seeing down on a book or scroll to be sent to these seven churches. We’ve spent some time already discussing the churches, the importance of the number seven, and some of the viewpoints surrounding different views on why these specific churches were mentioned.

One unique view is that the order of the churches mentioned here is significant because it corresponds to a specific time frame in history. This is known as the “historist” view. Once again Beale give a nice overview that I find worth citing in the full:

There is apparently no significant to the order in which the different churches are addressed, although some have attempted to say that it foreshadows the church age after John: the spiritual condition of the seven churches prophetically represents seven successive stages in church history. However, there is no indication of such a prophetic intention nor does church history attest to any such pattern. What is likely is that the number “seven” refers to the church universal in both a geographical and temporal sense and that the conclusion of each letter extends its application to all the churches. Therefore, what we find in the letters is potentially relevant for the church of every time and place.[ix]

I won’t here take the time to describe each church and what we know about them, because we’ll get a chance to look at that when we get to each letter specifically.

1:12-13 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.

Here John turns around and sees the voice and when he does he sees seven golden lampstands. Later we’ll find that those lampstands are the seven churches. We’ll discuss that more again when we talk about verse 20. But let me just quote from Jim Hamilton on this:

The church is not a building but believers who are “living stones” (cf. 1 Peter 2:5). Zechariah’s lampstand, which symbolized the presence of God in the temple, is fulfilled by the seven lampstands of Revelation, which symbolizes God’s presence in the seven churches to whom John writes. Zechariah’s “two sons of oil,” Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the royal descendant of David, are fulfilled in Jesus, who stands among the lampstands as God’s presence in his church. Jesus himself fills the offices of High Priest and High King of Israel. The vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees in Zechariah guaranteed that God would empower the rebuilding of the temple. Similarly, John’s vision of Jesus among the lampstands guarantees that God will accomplish his purpose in the building of the Church.[x]

Then he says that in the midst of the lampstands there was “one like a son of man.” When you hear the phrase “son of man” whom do you think of? Jesus. This was Jesus’ own favorite self-designation and it comes from the book of Daniel, which we’ve seen in previous weeks.

Jesus is described as “clothed with a long robe” and with “a golden sash around his chest.”

I was really interested in why He would be described like this, until George Ladd helped point me in the right direction: “this was the garb of the high priest (Ex. 28:4, 39:29). However, prophets could be similarly garbed (Zech. 3:4), so it is not clear whether this is intended to designate specifically our Lord’s high priesthood, or merely the dignity of his person.”[xi]

Beale mentions that the garb He is wearing could indicate a kingly or priestly function, but because of the scene – which seems to be a temple or church-like picture – the likelihood is that its priestly garb.

The overarching idea seems to be that Jesus is both priest and king. The “son of man” reference connotes Daniel 7’s clear royal kingship emphasis, but the garb is priestly it seems. Thus, like the passage in Zechariah 4 that describes the lampstands, there are two olive trees, one is the high priest and the other is the king. Jesus is both, and walks among his people keeping them secure and ensuring that He will finish the work He began. 

1:14-15 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, [15] his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.

Now I don’t want to “unweave the rainbow”[xii] here, but let’s concisely examine the descriptors used here of Jesus – many of which are taken from either Daniel 7, or Daniel 10.

The passage in Daniel 10 isn’t one we’ve examined yet. The prophet had a terrifying vision of a man, and, as Jim Hamilton puts it, “Daniels vision have to do with the son of man who receives an eternal kingdom, and in Daniel 10:14 Daniel encountered a man from Heaven who told him that he ‘came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.’”[xiii]

The description of this man who spoke to Daniel is found in verses 5 and 6:

I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. [6] His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. (Daniel 10:5-6)

So John is greatly influenced in his descriptors by the vision of Daniel. Remember that Daniel was told to “seal up” the vision he saw (Daniel 12:4), whereas John is instructed to not seal up the vision (Revelation 22:10). In other words, as Hamilton says, “what was prophesied by Daniel is fulfilled in Revelation.” [xiv]

Now back to Revelation 1, the white hairs on Jesus’ head are also a picture from Daniel, but in Daniel it is the Ancient of Days (the Father) who has the white hair. Jesus, the Son of Man, is now described in this way. For as Ladd says, John used them (the hair) to show that Christ shares eternal existence with the Father.”[xv]

He has eyes that are described as a “flame of fire”, which Beale and others say could symbolize judgment, though Mounce says, “It expresses the penetrating insight of the one who is sovereign, not only over the seven churches, but over the course of history itself.”[xvi]

Ladd sees both ideas in the description of His eyes and says, “We may conclude that it symbolized omniscience combined with holy wrath directed against all that is unholy.”

The “burnished bronze” feet of the Lord which are described as having been “refined in a furnace” could describe the moral purity of Christ.

1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

The idea of Jesus holding the seven stars in his hand we will come back to in a bit when we look at verse 20.

We read that issuing from the mouth of the Son of Man there is a two-edged sword – and its “sharp.” It’s sharpness connotes effectiveness. This isn’t a dull blade – it will accomplish what it seeks to do:

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

This undoubtedly is speaking of the Word of God. Jesus himself is the Word, and his Gospel goes out among the people of this world and conquers their hearts.

Johnson sees an interesting connection between the two reasons why Israel first wanted a king, and the function of Jesus as Warrior and Judge:

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, [20] that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:19-20)

Johnson says, “Although Saul failed to demonstrate either wise justice or courage in battle, David exemplified the king as a bold warrior and Solomon, the king as a wise judge. Yet David and everyone in his dynasty fell short of David’s poetic profile of the perfect ruler (2 Samuel 23:1-7) – until Jesus, the Son of Man, who is supremely wise in judgment and fierce in battle.”[xvii]

Lastly, John says that Jesus’ face was “like the sun shining in full strength.” Undoubtedly this is speaking to the magnificent glory of the Lord Jesus.

I couldn’t help but remember the passage in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians where he speaks of the reflected glory of the Father onto the face of Moses. Moses’ face would just shine for days after meeting with God. So much so, that he had to wear a veil to keep from blinding the people.

Paul makes a connection between the glory which Moses beheld which was fleeting, and that which we behold in the Word of God, which actually causes us to burn brighter with the rays of the Lord’s light. Of course the key verse in the passage is:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

And in a way, I think it’s fitting to end this section thinking of this verse because that’s what we’re doing now. We’re beholding the glory of the Lord as mediated through His word.

Sometimes I’m going to be able to make a direct application – especially with the letters to the churches coming up. We’ll be able to examine those and examine our own lives to make sure we’re living in accordance with God’s Word.

However, there are other times, like today, where we are simply “beholding.” We simply read and admire the glory of the Lord knowing that it isn’t a waste of time to meditate on His character and attributes. In fact, it changes us significantly by having an impact on how we view ourselves, His care for us, and His power and care over all history.

Footnotes

[i] MacArthur, Commentary on Revelation, Volume I, Pg. 40.

[ii] Beale, (the longer commentary) Pg. 201.

[iii] MacArthur, Volume I, Pg. 41.

[iv] Ladd, Pg. 30.

[v] Brooks, ‘Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks’, Pg.’s 5-6.

[vi] See esp. Ladd Pg. 31, and MacArthur pg. 41 for why the phrasing of this indicates John is speaking of “Sunday” and not the eschatological “day of the Lord.”

[vii] Jim Hamilton, Commentary on Revelation, Pg. 41.

[viii] Beale, the longer commentary, Pg. 203.

[ix] Beale, the longer commentary, Pg. 204.

[x] Hamilton, Pg. 46.

[xi] Ladd, Pg.’s 32-33.

[xii] Mounce, Pg. 78.

[xiii] Hamilton, Pg. 47.

[xiv] Hamilton, Pg. 48.

[xv] Ladd, Pg. 33.

[xvi] Mounce, Pg. 79.

[xvii] Johnson, Pg. 59.

Study Notes: Revelation 1:7-8

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

Here are my study notes for Revelation 1:7-8.  Only two verses, but a lot of interesting and worthwhile components here to examine. I hope you profit from these short notes.

PJW

1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

I’ve said in recent conversations with friends that Revelation is a study in the character of God. The multifaceted character of God is projected with an illuminocity that is enough to protract our time in the book for a great many months if we are not careful.

Verses seven and eight are just one such example. It’s an important reminder that though the Bible is written for us, it’s primarily about God.

Let’s examine how this is so beginning in verse seven…

The context of the verse is speaking of Jesus, and there are a few OT passages used to describe what we read here. It is a combination of Daniels 7:13, Zechariah 12:10 and perhaps also Genesis 22:18.

First, there is a clear allusion to Daniel 7 where we read about the “son of man” who is “coming in the clouds” (Daniels 7:13).

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. [14] And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

Johnson says, “Jesus uses Daniel’s wording in the same way, to speak of his resurrection and ascension ‘with the clouds’ to the Father’s right hand, to be invested with universal authority as the victorious Messiah (Mark 8:38, 14:32; Matthew 16:27, 26:64; Luke 9:26; cf. Acts 1:9).”[i]

How would John’s original early church audience have thought about these things? Johnson and Beale are saying that when John’s audience heard certain phrases like “with the clouds” their minds would have thought immediately of Daniel’s prophecy. John knows this, and uses those terms to describe what he’s seeing. Similarly, Jesus knows this (because they are his words in the first place) and uses them to convey his thoughts in a way that would bring certain ideas into the minds of the new testament church.

In modern terms, think of it this way. If I were to begin telling you a story with the words, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” you would immediately think: Star Wars! Your context and background and framework for understanding everything that proceeded from that point onward would be Star Wars related. Similarly, John uses words that snap us into the mindset of OT prophecy – Daniel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and so on.

Therefore, understanding these foundation, it seems that this passage is speaking about the second coming of Jesus, which is still future. It speaks of Him coming back in the clouds – we know that He left in the clouds, and the apostles were told He would return the same way:

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)

Johnson summarizes well:

Revelation affirms that Jesus has come to the Ancient of Days and been given all authority. His right to open the scroll shows this (Revelation 5). But the statement in Revelation 1:7, “He is coming with the clouds,” is a promise for the future, as the future tense of the verbs (“they will see…they will mourn”) makes clear.

Second, John says that every eye will see this son of man – “even those who pierced him.” We know that to be our Lord, who was pierced for our transgressions (Zech. 12:10 and John 19:37). Zechariah is the key OT passage here:

Him Whom They Have Pierced [10] “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. [11] On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (Zechariah 12:10-11)

Hendriksen is right to say, “The Bible knows nothing about an invisible or secret second coming. Nowhere is this taught. On the contrary, ‘every eye shall see him.’”[ii]

Of course this means that the Jews who crucified Jesus will see that He indeed was and is the Christ. But I don’t think we can limit the awareness to simply the Jews, for the verse is much broader than that – which leads to our third possible reference.

The third reference is a possible allusion to Genesis 22:18. When the text says that, “every eye” will see Him and that “all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him”, it is possible that there is a reference to the Abrahamic promise:

and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

In other words, the universal nature of what God is planning to do is clearly marked out in Revelation 1:7, and finds its roots deep in the OT story. God will not withdraw His promises, and He will bring to completion that which He began so long ago.

So to sum it up here, it seems that this verse is speaking of the second coming of Jesus in the heavenly clouds of glory. What we learn is that when He returns it will be made known not only to the Jews, not only to His elect, but to every man, woman and beast on the earth. His resplendent glory will be known to all.

There will be two reactions on that day. The first will be one of fear and “mourning”, as we’ve just read. This mourning is not out of repentance.

Contra Beale (in this case), I’m apt to agree with George Ladd who says this, “However, there is in the book of Revelation no indication of the repentance of the wicked. On the contrary, the judgments of God only serve to confirm the wicked in their wickedness (9:20, 16:9, 11). Probably, we are to understand that Christ is not the object but the occasion of their grief; they wail on account of him because of the terrible judgment which he is to inflict upon them.”

The second reaction will be one of exuberant joy and adoration. It will be a great “YES!” from the souls and hearts and mouths of all His children left on earth.

John takes these truths in, digests them, and says “Even so. Amen.” It is as if with a heavy heart – the heart of an evangelist – that he takes a deep sigh, and says, even though all this will happen, Amen. The “Amen” is the agreement with what he has written, it is the stamp of veracity upon all he has said. Therefore he is agreeing with the Lord in his “amen.” He is saying that despite the millions upon millions who will be headed for Hell, yet he will not question the sovereign plan of the Lord – far from it, in all things he will agree with the Lord, and does so by stating “amen.” May we also respond to our Lord in this way.

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

In verse eight we have again another incredible statement about the character of the Lord Jesus. He calls Himself the “Alpha and the Omega” and then, as if to make clear what He was getting at, He says He is, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The words “Alpha” and “Omega” are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. This is a slightly tweaked version of what we find in verse 17, which says, “I am the first and the last.”

There are also parallel passages in the epilogue:

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. [7] The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. [8] But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:6-8)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13)

Furthermore, Hendriksen points out something really neat, “Notice that the same phrase which in verse 4 described the Father here designates the Son. ‘I and the Father are one’ (John 10:30).”[iii]

And Johnson rightly points out that when God uses this self-designation He does so to 1. Remind us that He is the Lord of history, and that apart from Him there is no God and 2. To remind us that He is powerful (and in control) enough to deliver us from our present tribulation. This OT understanding fits well with His closing words, “the Almighty” – which Ladd likes to say can be translated, “the All-Ruler.”[iv]

We find a few examples of this first way God uses this eternal name in the OT book of Isaiah:

Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. [3] He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod. [4] Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. [5] The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. [6] Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” [7] The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. (Isaiah 41:2-7)

“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. [13] My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. (Isaiah 48:12-13)

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. [7] Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. [8] Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry [9] All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. [10] Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? [11] Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. (Isaiah 44:6-11)

Johnson says, “All three pairs – Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last – proclaim God’s eternal and invincible rule over history. The idols were not there at the beginning, nor will they last to the end. They did not give the universe its existence, nor can they manipulate its destiny. They cannot be trusted and need not be feared. The Lord is God from start to finish.”[v]

This is also seen in God’s self-disclosure in Exodus 3:14, and in the “I AM” statements of Jesus throughout the Gospel of John. The name, “I AM” sums up the idea we have been discussing here, and tells us that He is eternal and unchanging. Again, Jesus and the Father are One God with the Spirit. They are all One, the great I AM.

This leads to what I mentioned earlier, the second point about this title is that it implies God’s powerful work to save us now and in the end of history. Note what He said to Moses in Exodus 3:

And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. (Exodus 3:9)

When He calls Himself the “Almighty” it is not simply to show off His power and strength and reign, though it does this as well, but it is also meant as our comfort. This is what we saw in the Isaiah passages – and it is implied here – namely that God is able to save us now and will save us finally at the consummation of history.

I say save us “now” because if you note in his title He says that He is the Alpha and Omega, and then gives more details, He says He is the one “who is and who was and who is to come.” It is interesting that He begins be saying He is the one “who is.” This seems to be as if to call attention to the fact that He is not simply a transcendent Being who wound up the clock of the universe at the Alpha, and will finally come back at the Omega at the teleos of history.

This is important because He is stating that, “He is” because He is actively involved in history, in our affairs, and is working out His will in and through history until its consummation – so has it always been. He doesn’t say that He is the beginning and the end simply to say He is eternal – but He is also the one “who is” because He “is” involved in the in-between times.

And the nature of His involvement is characterized by His power and His love.

This is eminently practical to us. When we look at these things we cannot help but worship and find great comfort in these words. The same God who spoke to Moses on Horeb is the God who writes to us here saying that He will be with us. And, as if we needed more examples of the amazing consistency of the Godhead and of Scripture, we read the same thing from Jesus in Matthew 28:20 when He says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

To Sum Up

When you add these things together – the Daniel, Zechariah, Genesis passages and the OT roots behind God’s name and everlasting person – you get this overwhelming sense of eternal kingship, lordship, and sovereignty, but also this interment, condescension and providential hand that guides history, events, and the small details of our lives toward a final teleos.

He is the ruler – He is the One who is and was and is to come. He is Lord of history and of the planets and of this planet, but He is also Lord of the details. And that includes the details of your life, and my life. Amen.

Therefore Revelation is a study in the character of the Almighty God. How that character fashions us, our history, and our future. We find comfort in the fact that because He is eternal He knows the future. We find comfort that because He is almighty, He controls the future. We find comfort in that because He “is love”, His eternal control and plan is merciful, and because He is righteous we find comfort that at the end of the day justice will be done and our God’s name will be honored and glorified.

Side Note: I am disappointed to find that the more I talk to laymen about the book of Revelation the more I am impressed with a general ignorance of the book’s purpose. This book is not merely a guide to unraveling the mysteries of the future. Not many specifics are given as to the future that are not somehow general or symbolic, as we shall see. Those whose wrongful desire is to try and ascertain specifics about the coming of this or that sign have misplaced their desires, and their diligence is wasted (in my opinion). I’m not saying there aren’t mysteries to be solved with study and maturity. But what I am saying is that the primary focus of this book is that it provides us an avenue toward understanding that our God is Lord of all. It is an avenue, not of fruitless and vain speculation, but of reverential worship and great comfort to all who believe. Man seems to have a natural proclivity toward trying to “figure it all out.” I would seek for clarity on every single verse, but I would not presume that we’ll ever have it all figured out, and I hope to humbly proceed with God’s help and the wisdom of scholars who’ve gone before me. God help me in this endeavor. Amen.

 

Footnotes

[i] Johnson, Pg. 51.

[ii] Hendriksen, Pg. 54.

[iii] Hendriksen, Pg. 55.

[iv] George Eldon Ladd, ‘A Commentary on the Revelation of John’, Pg. 29.

[v] Johnson, Pg. 54.

Weekend Reading: January 2, 2015

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Welcome to your Friday on what feels (at least to me) like the week that will never end! I found myself reading a lot this week – both articles and books. I’ve read two books (What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, and Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President) and finished another (Volume 3 of William Manchester’s ‘The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm’).  I enjoyed each of these and look forward to what the new year has in store!

Books on Deck: In edition to the myriad commentaries on Revelation I’m reading, I’ve begun Tolkein’s ‘The Silmarillion’, and have already paged through notable parts of ‘The Inklings Handbook’ which seems to be a hard one to get a hold of. I also intend to (finally) read Charles Krauthammer’s ‘Things that Matter’, which was a thoughtful gift from Kate’s parents some time ago and promises to be an excellent book.

On to Articles! Here’s what I (and others who sent stories my way) found of interest this week:

As I’m writing this, the U.S. (or should I say President Obama acting on his own) has imposed sanctions on North Korea for the Sony hack. This when it seems that the communist state may not have really been the ones to perform the hack in the first place...I’m guessing that at this point the details which encompass the motives of the President, NK leadership, and Sony will never be known in full. But if it all comes to light eventually, I guess the comfort is that someone will make a made-for-TV movie of the snafu…so then everyone wins, right? (h/t David Clementson, Matt Ferris)

And since this seems to be the post for getting the truth out about stuff, Al Mohler (among others) outed Newsweek’s own hack job. The hack this time wasn’t a program but a person, namely Kurt Eichenwald. Eichenwald wrote a trashy article on the Bible a few days ago, and committed egregious malpractice in his vindictive and unprofessional slur. (h/t Gene Belew)

Speaking of getting the truth out about news stories, it turns out that the Pope didn’t actually say that all dogs go to heaven, that seems to have (possibly) come from a previous Pope. Not sure if this Pope agrees with the last Pope, but hey that’s another issue altogether! The NY Times and others caught onto their shoddy journalism and printed a few graphs at the bottom of the linked clip explaining their deficiency. (h/t Jen Gates)

You’ve probably heard by now that Florida State got hammered by Oregon (and yes we’re talking football here), and Ohio State advanced past an SEC team (the entire South must be in denial right about now) to meet in the national champ. game.

I mentioned earlier that I enjoyed Matt Perman’s book ‘What’s Best Next’, well you can check out his blog here.  Has lots of enjoyable and helpful tips for getting you organized for the new year. In that similar realm of organization and efficiency, studies are starting to show that the open office floor plan isn’t so sweet. 

Speaking of things which aren’t so sweet maybe you should read this for a laugh and not an investment opportunity…

With one year ending, and another beginning, there are several article round-ups and charts on what 2014 brought us. Here are a few…

Ligonier has their best articles of 2014, You Version listed a few facts about people’s Bible Reading habits, the best photobook options for all those holliday pics, and Challies’ top articles of the year.

Sidebar: You Version said 2014’s most popular verse is Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

As I was reading through the Desiring God website’s top articles, I pulled out just one – on motherhood and a wife’s calling. This used to be their most visited article of all time (now #2) and I thought it was worth posting. It’s very very good.

Speaking of motherhood I found this post by Krista Welch to be really thought provoking and worth a read. 

With a new year will come many new inventions and cool things ahead. One of them is the 4k TV’s. Another might be new advances in biometric security…some of these are hilarious.

In the new year, I want to read more, and do more – don’t you? Well Al Mohler had an article on how he reads and what he reads earlier in the year which I thought was worth posting. And David Mathis over at DG had a nice little piece on how ‘Bible Reading is an Art‘.

For an interesting long form read on technology, check out the New Yorker’s profile of a young man who has begun building an empire based on ‘Clickbait’.

And you don’t even have to leave the New Yorker site to get a chuckle at Ayn Rand’s Reviews of Children’s Movies (h/t Alex Wenzel) PREVIEW: Her review of ‘Frozen’:

An exceptional woman foolishly allows her mooching family members to keep her from ruling a kingdom of ice in perfect solitude. She is forced to use her unique powers to provide free entertainment for peasants, without compensation. I liked the snowman, when he sang. —One star.

Also, in terms of world news, this just happened…Someone please alert that guy who is writing the Tom Clancy novels now, who, really, isn’t, Tom Clancy…

Finally, be sure to check out Vince Vitale’s interesting piece called ‘Everyone Believes in a Virgin Birth’…

Enjoy your weekend! (like you need one right?)

Weekend Reading: December 24, 2014

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Merry Christmas Eve! Hopefully you are sipping coffee and eating some sort of pastry you’ll have to work off in the new year. I’m in Toledo today enjoying time with the family and some great conversations – deep things, you know, like the correct pronunciation of “GIF” (as in the motion files you’ve been texting back and forth). We finally found the answer (h/t Alex Wenzel – Parris Payden might want to take note!!!).

Because these important conversations have taken up so much of my time…there are only a few articles to share today…enjoy!

There’s a lot going on half-way ’round the world in India this week. Mass “conversions” of Christians and Muslims to…Hindu. Though its sounding like they were forced for political reasons.

San Fran PSA stretches Webster’s definition of idiotic. 

And Joe Carter over at the Gospel Coalition blog has a great (and practical) blog called ‘How to Change Your Mind’. Sounds a lot like this post from a long time ago…

The cyber attack on Sony got more attention this week when **suddenly** most of North Korea’s internet crashed (the whole country). Sounds like the police state is back up and running as of this morning (to some degree), so all is once again roses in that asian bastion of communist utopia. Was Korea’s hack of Sony (and subsequent threats to American theaters) an act of war? The President says “no“, others disagree – you decide…

Did Peter Jackson ruin Tolkein’s world in his recent ‘Hobbit’ series? The latest edition of the series (and Jackson’s work) received positive marks from some, but others don’t like what Jackson has done and go so far as to say that he “must be stopped”!

And for some deeper thinking – this article is a few weeks old and I just not got to reading it. It’s called ‘3 Ways Not to Use Greek in Bible Study’ – best part:

“Nevertheless, a problem arises when people mistakenly think that a word’s etymology tells them ‘what it really means.’ We can see the fallacy of this notion clearly in our native English language. For example, the wordnice comes from the Latin root nescius, meaning ‘ignorant.’ But no one but a fool would respond to your calling them “nice” by saying, ‘Oh, I see what you really mean! You’re saying I’m ignorant! You and your veiled Latin insults!'”

Lastly – the New York Times actually printed something interesting today. They have an infographic (of sorts) of the top Christmas gift searches from Google by city. Note that Columbus folks seem obsessed with Buckeye “gear”…shocker

Enjoy your Christmas!

Weekend Reading: December 19, 2014

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It’s not even 6pm eastern and its already dark out…this sad state of affairs is only livened up a bit by the fact that Christmas is only 6 days away – and the fact that its the weekend! Due to the season, the ratio of stories I’ve actually looked at VS. the ones I’ve “saved for a rainy day” are tilting heavily toward the latter. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this (abbreviated!) version of the Weekend Reading!

With the end of the year ahead, there are many news outlets and websites putting together compilations of the best of this, or the best of that. National Journal has one on the top Google trends from 2014 which was interesting. And the Weather Channel has the top 100 photos of the year – many that are pretty darn cool.

Also, it was pointed out to me by my good friend Jim Baugess that the 16th was Jane Austen’s birthday – in honor of that, another Buzzfeed list…

Tim Challies re-posted a stunning open letter from faithit.com titled ‘To My Porn Watching Dad, From Your Daughter’ – the post shares insights I think every man (and especially those with kids) ought to grasp tightly and never let go.

And with the release of the newest Hobbit movie in theaters, there are more than the usual glut of articles relating to Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien. I literally have three others I didn’t get to read, but this one by David Mathis is really good. **Teaser** – his best line, “Tolkien created Middle-earth not as an escape from the real world, but as a retreat to see our reality all the clearer and come back more wide awake to our world.”

You know the Olympics is going to be in Rio in 2016, so of course the Olympic committee is busy testing the conditions of the area – including the water where athletes will be competing. Apparently it is, well, rather toxic…

Someone put together what they call ‘5 of the Best Free Bible Study Tools’ available. After checking it out, I agree. I use all of these tools regularly, and they’re wonderfully helpful.

Steve Lawson (a phenom of the pulpit) has been blogging out a series called ‘The Moment of Truth’ over at Ligonier’s site. This week the installment was really good.

‘O, Holy Night’ is one of my favorite Christmas Carols, and this week I learned that the song has a great story behind it! Check it out…

And, of course, leading the news this week is the opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the brazen cyber attack on Sony – today the FBI came out and officially accused the North Korean government of being behind the attack. It might just be me, but in the past if a foreign regime attacked America in any way, then threatened to harm/kill American citizens (who attend theaters or any other public gathering), their country would be staring down the barrel of several fleets of warships and fighter planes by now…

Sony, of course, pulled their movie in what some might call a cowardly response to the threats. Even the President whipsawed the Hollywood wussies for their decision in his annual accountability time before fawning fans in the media.

Perhaps the saddest thing about the movie’s cancellation is the fact that it has stunted another great hollywood career? (like we care)

And Stephen Colbert is moving on from Comedy Central and will be taking over David Letterman’s post over at the Late Show. Wait…Letterman is still on TV?

And that IS IT! Now go bundle up and do some shopping – or logon to Travelocity to begin booking your flights to Havana now!  Happy Weekend!

Study Notes: Revelation 1:4-6

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1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 

Here John tells us to whom he’s addressing this letter – to the seven churches in Asia. There were more than simply seven churches in Asia (as Voddie Baucham points out), but these might simply be the main churches to whom John has been working/corresponding. In fact, there were many other churches that were equally significant (see Mounce). So we can guess all we want, but I haven’t yet read any convincing argument on why these specific churches would have been picked. It is enough, I believe, that Jesus ordained these letters to be handed down to us today and that He picked these specific churches for His reasons and His glory.

Hendriksen points out that on a map, they form a sort of irregular circle. Ephesus was the closest to John physically, but perhaps also relationally.[i]

I believe (as do others) that its important that the Lord, in His sovereignty, directed these letters written to the number of churches (7) that represent the idea of “fullness” or “completeness” and “perfection” in the Bible. Thereby leading many scholars to believe that while the Lord was certainly speaking to specific churches with specific people during John’s life and in his ministry, He was also speaking the “whole” or “complete” church – the universal church.

Baucham certainly believes this, and Hendriksen says bluntly, “These seven churches represent the entire church throughout this dispensation.” I think of it like this – just because something is used as a figure or symbol doesn’t mean it wasn’t real or had real application in its context. Jesus spoke many words to Pharisees and disciples that had meaning to those people in that context, yet they still hold meaning for us today. The fig tree Jesus cursed was a real fig tree, yet it had greater meaning for many throughout the ages.[ii]

Therefore, while written to specific real churches with real Christians, this letter is still relevant for the universal church, the complete and full church across all geographical boundaries for all time. Just as we still apply the lessons of the gospels and the epistles of Paul to our lives today, so too this letter applies to us today.

He begins with the greeting “grace and peace” and its well that he says “grace” first, for as Beale says in one of his sermons on the text, grace must always precede peace. The greeting is meant as a reminder of the grace they have received by way of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the peace it has brought them not only in this life, but eternally. This greeting is a refreshing way of encouraging the elect and quickly identifying in their minds just exactly who they are and who is writing the letter. This letter is from the Prince of Peace, this letter is from the One who has extended grace to you and saved your lives.

Hendriksen summarizes better than most, “Grace is God’s favor given to those who do not deserve it, pardoning their sins and bestowing upon them the gift of eternal life. Peace, the reflection of the smile of God in the heart of the believer who has been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, is the result of grace. This grace and this peace are provided by the Father, dispensed by Holy Spirit, and merited for us by the Son.”

Then we are told from whom the message comes. John describes him as “him who is and who was and who is to come.” I love that because it reminds us that what you’re about to read was preordained from before the foundation of the world, is being currently underwritten and guaranteed, and will be upheld until the end of history. The forthcoming letter’s veracity is built upon the enduring character of God. Not only that, the emphasis on the timelessness of God reminds us again of the timelessness of His Word. By prefacing His message in this way He is reminding them that this word – His word – will be relevant from now until the end of time and beyond, for:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

As Beale says so well:

The purpose of this revelation is to give the eternal, transhistorical perspective of “the one who is and who was and who is coming,” which can enable them to understand his commandments and so motivate them to obedience (vs.3). Confidence in God’s sovereign guidance of all earthly affairs instills courage to stand strong in the face of difficulties that test faith: this is the point of the OT expression which lie behind “the one who is and who was and who is coming.[iii]

Next we are told that there is another co-author in the Godhead, the “seven spirits who are before his throne.” We’re only four verses into this letter and already we’re going to have to try and understand what is meant by this description. Are there seven literal spirits floating around the throne of God? What is John talking about here? Who are these spirits? What are they?

The key is in the number. The number is used to communicate a concept, an idea. Seven is used to communicate fullness, completeness, as I mentioned earlier. So seven here represents the Holy Spirit in His universal function and mission. 

There is also a close connection between the lampstands we read about in 1:20, and the “seven spirits” as well. We are told in verse 20 that the lampstands represent the church, and Beale sees close ties between verse 4’s “seven spirits” and golden lampstands lit with the fire that stand “before the throne” (before likely meaning a role as messenger):

From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God (Revelation 4:5).

If we assume the lampstands/torches are the church and the Holy Spirit is normally symbolized by fire (think Pentecost), then it would make sense for John to say here in chapter 4 that “the seven spirits of God” are the “seven torches of fire” – the idea being that we, the lampstands, are empowered by the Spirit.

Adding to this interpretation is the context of the OT. As I mentioned before, the OT is important for understanding these things because the OT speaks in this language a great deal. Look at what Zechariah writes in chapter 4 of his book:

Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied. So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:1-7)

So we see here that God Himself gives the interpretation of the seven lamps with the fire, and tells us that what is going to be accomplished will not be done by mere might or power (of man, presumably), but by the Spirit. The lamps and the olive trees – which we’ll read about more in chapter 11 – are the people of God filled with His Spirit.

Beale explains the context of Zechariah 4:

In Zachariah’s vision the lampstand represented the second temple (the part representing the whole), for which Zerubbabel had laid the foundation. On either side was an olive tree that provided oil for the lamps. Zechariah interprets the olive trees as ‘the anointed ones who are standing before the Lord of the whole earth’ (4:14), that is, as Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel.

The main point of this OT chapter (Zechariah 4) was that even though the temple kept getting delayed by outside forces and opposition, God was calling them to endurance and perseverance. It wasn’t going to be done by their strength alone, however, but by “my Spirit.”

The same is true for us today. We live by the power of the Spirit, are led into “all truth” by the Spirit, and are born again by the Spirit. Therefore once again, the OT helps give us grammatical context for what we’re reading here – it also reminds us that God’s character and methodology for interacting with man has been very similar throughout the Bible. His message and His power haven’t changed.

Revelation, as you’ll soon figure out, is going to repeat the same themes over and over again using OT imagery and OT texts to remind the seven churches – and us – that God is faithful. He was faithful in the OT and is faithful today, and will be faithful in the future.

Lastly, it seems to me that in verse 4 and 5 we have a situation where authorship is connoted. Some have said that these seven spirits are angels, because they seem to be messengers standing “before” the throne. While the note about them standing “before” the throne is a great point and may indicate a sort of messenger or implementer of the message, the same could be said of the Holy Spirit. And when you combine the NT principle that it is the Holy Spirit who is speaking through the Word of God, and making it come to life in our hearts – indeed implementing it and leading us into “all truth”, with the idea that there seems to be an authorial (authorship) role given to the seven spirits, I think we have to lean toward these spirits being the one Holy Spirit in His completeness and perfection.

1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 

Verse five extols the attributes of Jesus. Both His priesthood (“by his blood”) and His kingship (“the ruler”) are described in dramatic fashion here. Jesus’ kingship is seen as superior to all other kings of the earth.

This phrase is used in Colossians 1:18 and indicates his kingship and rule. “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18).

Mounce is right to note that there is a very rich connection with the Messianic Psalm 89:

And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:27)

The phrase is also used in connection to our standing with Jesus. Paul says in Romans 8:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29) 

Mounce concludes, “As the risen Christ now exercises sovereign control, so also will the faithful share in his reign.”[iv]

We’re also told here that Jesus is the one “who loves us and has freed us from our sins” – this is a description of his priesthood, as I just mentioned, but also it reminds us of our former captivity to sin and death. These topics are going to be important in the coming chapters. You see, what this book will do is paint in great detail the vile nature, the horrid reality, of sin and its end – which is the “second death.”

In other words, those who think very little of their sin now in this life, ought to read the consequence of it, and see how God views their sin. God views sin as an abomination. It is a stench in His nostrils. And those who “dwell on the earth” and “refuse to repent” of their sins will one day be “cast into the lake of fire.” That’s a pretty violent end.

The violence of the end for sinners therefore sets in sharp relief that blessing which we read here – He has “freed us from our sins.”

Lastly, notice that Jesus is described as the “faithful witness” – He bears witness of the truth of the kingdom of God. Although Christ is reigning now and has ushered in His kingdom, it is invisible to the world. They do not see it, nor do they desire to seek it.

Like Christ, we are to be faithful witnesses to the kingdom of God, which leads us to verse six. 

1:6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

We are to follow Christ in both His kingship and His priesthood. We realize these privileges even now. This is both present and past – He made us and is making us – is the sense of the text. Interestingly, very similar phrasing is found in 5:10 and 20:6. The latter is that passage on the millennium that so many people are familiar with, and it says this:

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

Now this only really makes sense if we see the millennium as taking place right now. Before the kingdom of God becomes physical for every eye to see, we have to persevere (see Beale[v]).

To understand our roles as priests we need to look at the OT. Exodus 19 says:

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. (Exodus 19:4-6)

The people of Israel were to be a “kingdom of priests” who would witness to God’s character, as a light to the gentile nations. They were a kingdom of priestly, holy, special people meant to show the surrounding nations what it looked like to be in a right relationship with God.

The priest was a mediator between God and people and that is how is how Israel functioned writ large on the earth. They were to be the go-between between God and the nations. They acted in a kingly way and performed priestly functions.

Today we take on this role in a new way. Peter puts it this way:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

Mounce notes:

The early church understood itself to be the true Israel and the inheritors of all the blessings promised to their spiritual predecessors. Corporately they are a kingdom (which stresses their royal standing in connection with the exaltation of Christ as ruler of all earthly kingdom), and individually they are priests of God (which emphasizes their immediate access to God as a result of Christ’s sacrificial death).[vi]

We engage in our priestly responsibilities as mediators of the new covenant. We shine as lights to the world by living lives controlled by love, and sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus. As Paul says:

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

So we are mediators, priests in this this way. We bring people to God, and help them make peace with God and, as Peter says, “we proclaim the excellencies” of God.

This is likely what Jesus had in mind when He announced the new covenant in John 13:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Similarly Paul in Ephesians 2:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Interesting Side Note: I think it’s interesting how John has written in a sort of parallelism here in verse 5 and 5 as it corresponds to the priesthood and kingship issues. Check this out:

A. “the ruler of kings on earth” 1:5b
B. “has freed us from our sins by his blood” 1:5c
A. “and has made us a kingdom” 1:6a
B. “priests to His God and Father” 1:6b

Obviously the A’s go together and so do the B’s. Now, I’m just an amateur theologian, but this was pretty easy to spot. The idea being that we are following in His footsteps – He is making us after Himself, not by our power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).

To What End?

Now what is the purpose of all of this? Why has God made us “priests and kings”? Verse six tells us why: “to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”

The reason we are mediators for God is for His glory (see Isaiah 43:7). We do this out of love – we are happy to do this (2 Corinthians 5:14). It is the joy of Christ within us, a changed heart (Ezekiel 36:26) that drives us to extend Christ’s grace to others.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16).

And, as we’ll see even shortly now, this grace, this witness, will often take place during tribulation.

 

Footnotes

[i] Hendriksen, Pg. 52.

[ii] Obviously we want to be cautious not to confuse application with interpretation though. I have found that in trying to give examples of how to think appropriately about prophetic symbolism it is easy to sometimes shy away from a blunt answer because I want to give examples and help get minds to understand where John is coming from. In doing so, however, I find more trouble sometimes than is warranted! We must always be cautious with these matters.

[iii] Beale, Pg. 187.

[iv] Robert Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, Pg. 71.

[v] Beale, Sermon on Revelation 1:4-9, found here: http://www.lanesvillechurch.org/sermons-audio/970112.mp3

[vi] Mounce, Pg.’s 72-73.

Weekend Reading: December 12, 2014

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the weekend! Only 13 days until Christmas, which means that if you’re reading this you’ve somehow stolen away a few precious moments of down-time away from the craze of the season. That being said, let’s get right to it – what are the best articles, videos and blogs I read this week? See for yourself!

First, there was an amazing video posted on the Gospel Coalition website by Joe Carter. The video and blog detail the journey of a former sociopath wanna-be killer who became a Christian. This guy talks for 35min about his life and his thinking. He’s obviously a deep thinker – and its a fascinating video.(h/t Tony Romano for posting on FB).

And, I’m not sure how to introduce or categorize this, but…the Pope stated this week that dogs go to heaven…this must be pretty embarrassing for Catholics, right? I mean, don’t you have to pretty much believe whatever the Pope says as de facto truth? Apparently conservative catholics disagree with his statement for the obvious reason that dogs don’t have souls. This raises some questions though, doesn’t it? I mean besides the fact that this particular pope is obviously not the brightest bulb in the box, its probably well past time (a few hundred years past?) for those who claim the Catholic faith to start reading more of the Bible and comparing that against the statements of their church leadership (Acts 17:11). (h/t Dennis Lankford)

On to other items…did you know that most Vegetarians lapse back into eating meat after only a year? And, when I say “most” I’m talking 84%!!!!  Frankly, this isn’t a surprise for anyone who’s acquainted with the power of bacon…

Since its the Christmas season, people will be abbreviating things here and there…like “xmas” – R.C. Sproul says we should just chill out about all this abbreviation! It’s okay…this isn’t an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.

Got any packages delivered by the big brown bus lately? Well here are some little known things about the UPS company (from Tim Challies)

In other news, TIME mag has come out with their “person of the year” award, and Stephen Colbert is wrapping up his show on the Comedy Channel with one last interview with a Member of Congress…

David Mathis over at Desiring God had a really nice article on giving during the holiday season. And, not sure you noticed or not, but you’re not the only one spending YOUR money…

And if you’re studying Revelation, you might be interested to know that G.K. Beale is releasing a new (shorter) commentary on the Apocalypse this coming January. I have his bigger one and its about 1,000 pages and pretty technical at times, yet very good.

Meanwhile…Denny Burk was teaching through the pastor epistles and took some time to draft a thoughtful (but short) post on the possibility of church deacons being women. It’s not a very long or thorough treatment, but should raise some awareness on the matter if you’ve never considered it before.

And, oh ya, did you know we tried to rescue some captive journalists in Yemen recently? It didn’t go too well…

Also – and this is a little on the long side – a lady named Rebecca Reynolds posted a blog called ‘A Mother’s Repentance’. It’s a pretty good read. I’d imagine that many of her thoughts about raising kids along with the emotional pain of miscarriage, are likely to be familiar to many of my readers. (h/t Alison Payden)

Of course the big to-do this week in the news revolved around “torturing” terrorists. The basic two questions are 1. What is ethical and what is not? and 2. Do these enhanced techniques actually work? Here’s the NYT on it, here’s the 13 methods the CIA were using, and here is an article standing up for the use of these techniques. 

Okay back to consumerism and christmas and stuff…did you know there are many ways that retailers try to send you subliminal messages in order to get you to pony up the dough? Challies linked to this article which discussed at least 10 of these strategies. 

Challies also posted this great article on abortion from an organization called ‘Stand to Reason’. Thanks to my mom who read the article and pointed me to it and the short audio clip at the end. These guys look like a great resource for anyone wanting to logically think through their faith.

Speaking of faith and great organizations, John Piper wrote a blog post this past week which was basically a fundraising appeal for DG. I know, I know, its kinda weird to post something like this, but I just had to shake my head in admiration. There are many para-church orgs out there that could learn from the graciousness of Dr. Piper.

And, finally, on the fun side, did you know there’s a video out there – and we’re talking professional movie quality stuff here – that depicts a dual between Darth Vader and Batman? Pretty cool stuff for nerds like me! (h/t Mike Murphy)

That’s it! Now go get some shopping, giving, and celebrating done – it’s the Christmas season!

PJW

Introduction (and Prologue) to Revelation: Part 6

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Below are my notes from yesterday’s teaching in Revelation. These notes include not only the end of my introduction to the book, but also some comments on the first three verses of the book (The prologue).  Enjoy!

PJ

The Outline

I believe that in order to put this book together and understand the flow of this book, there are some things we need to take into consideration regarding the outline of the book.

Different people from different schools of thought have strong opinions about the flow of this book. Johnson divides the book into three[i] major sections:

  1. The Prologue 1:1-8
  2. The Body 1:9-22:9
  3. The Epilogue 22:6-21

John MacArthur[ii], a dispensationalist, outlines the book like this:

  1. The Things which You Have Seen (1:1–20)
  2. The Prologue (1:1–8)
  3. The Vision of the Glorified Christ (1:9–18)
  4. The Apostle’s Commission to Write (1:19, 20)
  5. The Things which Are (2:1–3:22)
  6. The Letter to the Church at Ephesus (2:1–7)
  7. The Letter to the Church at Smyrna (2:8–11)
  8. The Letter to the Church at Pergamos (2:12–17)
  9. The Letter to the Church at Thyatira (2:18–29)
  10. The Letter to the Church at Sardis (3:1–6)
  11. The Letter to the Church at Philadelphia (3:7–13)
  12. The Letter to the Church at Laodicea (3:14–22)

III. The Things which Will Take Place after This (4:1–22:21)

  1. Worship in Heaven (4:1–5:14)
  2. The Great Tribulation (6:1–18:24) This is the majority of the book!
  3. The Return of the King (19:1–21)
  4. The Millennium (20:1–10)
  5. The Great White Throne Judgment (20:11–15)
  6. The Eternal State (21:1–22:21)

MacArthur sees the book as a continuous/progressive chronological outline of the things that are to come. Men like Baptist scholar Jim Hamilton, who are not dispensationalists, also read the book chronologically to some degree.

What is most distinctive about MacArthur’s schema is the fact that so much of the book is set in the future. I think that there are serious issues with this, not the least of which is the fact that if most of the book is set in the future then how would this have meant anything at all to John’s original audience? They were undergoing tremendous persecution, and if all these tribulations are all supposed to be in the future (and we’ll throw in a pre-trib rapture, of course), that’s the equivalent of John saying, “hey I know you’re suffering now, but your great hope is that one day there will be a lot more suffering, and you won’t have to be around for that!” That’s exactly what the message of the pre-trib premil crowd boils down to for us today as well – its only when you actually write it out in its boiled down essence that it begins to sounds illogical.

However, others like Tom Schreiner, William Hedriksen, Voddie Baucham and G.K. Beale (to name a few) see the book as a series of angles looking at the same scene – the time between Christ’s first advent and second advent. This is called “recapitulation”, and can be broken up in a number of ways, generally showing the same scenes in ever increasing drama. They see the bowls, seals, and trumpet judgments as simply different ways to describe the tribulation on earth between Christ’s coming again.

Baucham’s rough outline[iii] is derived from Derek Thomas and goes something like this: 

  1. 1-3 – the introduction, letters to 7 churches
  2. 4-5 – the throne room, the sovereignty of God proclaimed
  3. 6-7 – the seals – judgments which represents issues common to every age
  4. 8-11 – the unfolding trumpets, final which sounds the coming of Christ. These run parallel to the seals judgments.
  5. 12-14 – the scene changes completely and doesn’t flow with continuity from previous chapters. The story is told again from a new vantage point. God is victorious over his enemies.
  6. 15-16 – the Bowl Judgments, Babylon is destroyed (was destroyed in Ch. 14, this retells it from new angle)
  7. 17-19 – The destruction of Babylon the beast and false prophet
  8. 20-22 – God deals with the dragon, new heavens and new earth and eternal fellowship with God enjoyed.

One thing that I’d like to note is that Hendriksen combines sections 2 and 3 and says that chapters 4-7 form one unit. I don’t think one needs to necessarily hold to one or the other very tightly. Baucham, for instance, also posted Hendriksen’s view and outline on his own church website, so I think they pretty much agree on the divisions here for the most part. I appreciate that where there are disagreements on the divisions they aren’t disagreements as to the approach of the book as a series of visions or perspectives, but rather they are disagreements about when one vision ends or how we ought to categorize these visions. This is something we’ll look at closely as we go along in our study because the text will present us with forks in the road that we’ll need to address.

Under the recapitulation view, the tribulation encompasses the entire time between the first and second advent of Christ. Whereas the premillennial view (either one) views these great tribulations as happening during a compressed period of time – 7 literal years – prior to Christ’s 2nd advent, and therefore label this as one long event with the proper name ‘The Tribulation’.

It seems that in order to study the book in a cohesive way one must at least take a viewpoint on how these things should be understood/viewed, otherwise it would be very difficult to understand the big picture of this book.

I will be teaching from the recapitulation perspective that the tribulation passages are meant to describe the trials Christians (and others) will endure between the advents of Christ, thus taking the 7 years to mean the fullness of this interadvental time, and not a future 7 year period of time.

This also means that the judgment scenes and some of the heavenly throne scenes (for example), as giving us different perspectives, or camera angles, on the events that will take place between the advents of our Lord. Each section is not comprehensive of every event of this age – some focus on one thing to the exclusion of another, though the parallels remain constant. Hendricksen also notes that as we get toward the end of the book the judgment scenes continually increase in intensity. So this is the view I think it makes the most sense, and offers the clearest explanation of what we’re looking at, and the way we’ll be moving forward in our study of the book.

Now, some more info on the recapitulation perspective…One thing to note, and that is that Hendriksen’s chapter divisions (mentioned above) are not precise. Beale actually does a little better job showing the nuances in the recapitulation in his work (note especially page 131 of his commentary if you’re interested in checking that out in detail), and he seems to think that a man named Farrer has the most cogent breakdown – this is a bit more precise than the Henriksen one: 1-3, 4-7, 8:1-11:14, 11:15-14:20, 15-18, 19-22.[iv]

It should also be noted that 1. Within these sections there are subsections and sub-points that the author makes, and that 2. There are wider ways to classify the book as a whole (as I did just a bit earlier).

There are MANY nuances to these breakdowns, but the general 7-8 recapitulation divisions seems to hold pretty true across spectrum of theologians of this mindset who are not strict futurists.

The next thing to know about the recapitulation perspective is that it is found in much of the OT prophetic literature from which Revelation draws much of its imagery (much of which is in chiastic form).[v] Daniel, Beale points out, has a structure of “five synonymously parallel visions (chps. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10-12)” and “may be the most influential on the structure of Revelation, since Daniel is used so much in the book and is used to signal the broad structural divisions of the Apocalypse.”

Later in his writing Beale puts numbers to ideas (mostly based on the influence of Daniel, which I mentioned earlier): 1:1-18; 1:19-3:22; 4:1-22:5; 22:6-21. This is a broader structure which can be broken down further, but the point is that 4-22:5 really form an overarching idea – not that they are in the future, but that these visions of judgment and destruction are sequential and similar in form and also “bracketed by the overarching vision of God the Creator and Redeemer.”[vi]

Beale leans on the obvious Daniel allusions and the natural literary breakdown of the book, and has himself settled on a recapitulation view:

If it can be concluded that these Daniel 2 allusions are intentional and draw with them the contextual idea of Daniel 2, then there is a basis for proposing that this provides a significant framework of thought for the whole Apocalypse, that is, end-time judgment of cosmic evil and consequent establishment of the eternal kingdom. As has been seen, this is an inaugurated latter-day thought pervading the visions as well as the letters, which means that the visions should not be understood in an exclusively futuristic manner, but as also including significant sections pertaining to the eschatological past and present. This conclusion is most compatible with a recapitulation view, according to which repeated sections that concern past, present, and future occur throughout the book.[vii]

And, on a more advanced note…if you want to study even further, Beale notes that he and others definitely see the possibility for some chiastic structure in the literary makeup of Revelation. At the center of the structure seems to be 11:19-14:20. Also interestingly, each of the judgment scenes, whether it’s the seals, the trumpets, the bowls or the final judgment of the world (19:11-21:8) there are always three components: prelude, vision, and interlude. These three things repeat over and over again.

Chapter One

Chapter one finds us with John the Apostle on the island of Patmos, in exile “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (vs.9). He opens his letter explaining where his message comes from its in this prologue where we’ll begin our verse by verse exposition.

The first three verses have been called the “prologue” and the “introduction” and Beale says that they indicated that “the apocalypse was revealed for the purpose of witness, which results in blessing” and that “The main emphasis here is the blessing obtained from reading the book and hearing it read.”[viii]

1:1-2 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Here we see the transmission of the message that we’ll be studying. First and foremost it is called “the revelation” of Jesus Christ. This is Jesus’ message, not the invention of John or any other man. Secondly, it is given him by God – presumably the Father and head of the Trinitarian Godhead. Thirdly it is sent via “his angel” and this angel could be the messenger we read about later and this angel communicates it to John. It seems to be a four-step process of communication.

Now there are some significant things to note about the words John uses here in the opening graph of his letter.

First, and most obvious, this word “revelation” or “apocalypse” gets at the heart of the book, and that’s likely why the church has called this John’s Apocalypse from pretty much the beginning of the church onward. “Apocalypse” means to lay bare, it is a disclosure of the truth and a revealing of things previously unknown.[ix]

Another set of important words are those which say “He sent and communicated it (NASB)” or as in the ESV, “He made it known by sending.” The three words “and communicated it” are just one in the Greek sēmainō (pronounced say-my-no) which means “signified” or “to give a sign” or “to indicate.” This original meaning of the word carries with it prophetic/apocalyptic overtones and perhaps signals to us the kind of communication we’ll be getting here.

Apart from the words themselves, Beale sees real importance in the structure of John’s opening. Namely, it looks a whole lot like Daniel’s introduction of the revelation he was given by God to communicate to King Nebuchadnezzar in the second chapter of Daniel. A portion of that passage goes like this:

Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, [28] but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: [29] To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. [30] But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. (Daniel 2:27-30)

Daniel then goes on to describe the great image of a god/idol that is separated into several kinds of metal and representative of different kingdoms of man.

The most important part is that verse 28 I think. You see how se says, “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” and “he had made known”, and it is these phrases that lead scholars like Beale to see clear allusions to Daniel’s literary structure in Revelation 1:1-3 (and other parts as well).

This allusion to Daniel is important because it reveals John’s thought process about how what he has seen fits into the fulfillment timeframe of Daniel. John is trying to tell us that he is picking up where Daniel left off – this revelation is about disclosing in more detail something that formerly had been predicted, but now more details are here for us to understand.

I’m noting this now because we need to put ourselves in John’s shoes here and try to understand John’s own understanding of the context of what he saw. His literary/prophetic context was the OT prophecies. So when he is using phrasing like Daniel, it is likely because he’s saying “I’m picking up where Daniel left off.”

This helps us understand several things. For example, John says that, “God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” and then says in verse three, “for the time is near.” Understanding John’s own perspective helps us understand what he means by this, and Beale has a great insight into this that is worth quoting in full:

Rev. 1:1 especially should be seen as introducing the main idea of the book, and it is, indeed, understood by many as the title of the whole work. Therefore, if John understands this Danielic allusion in 1:1 in the light of the eschatological context of Daniel 2, then he may be asserting that he conceives of what follows in his book ultimately within the thematic framework of Daniel 2 (and probably its parallel apocalyptic chapters) or at least as closely linked to that framework. The focus of “quickness” and “nearness” in vv 1-3 is primarily on inauguration of prophetic fulfillment and its ongoing aspect, not on nearness of consummated fulfillment, though the latter is secondarily in mind as leading from the former.

Indeed, what follows shows that the beginning of fulfillment and not final fulfillment is the focus. The references to the imminent eschatological period (v 3b), the fact of Christ’s present kingship over the worlds kings (v 5), the initial form of the saints’ kingdom (vv 6, 9), and the following “Son of man” reference (1:7) and vision (vv 13-15), also indicating initial fulfillment of Daniel 7, point strongly to this focus and to the presence of a Danielic frame of reference [x]

This is important for us to understand and really digest. John is saying that these things are upon him – they are not something that will happen in the distant future.

1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

I love verse three because it is so very John-like. John has told us that beholding the Word incarnate changed the lives of the disciples. He has told us that when we see Him in the flesh one day, we will be like Him. The reason John gives for this is that “we will see Him as He is.” John Piper and Jonathan Edwards seem to think this has to do with our soul seeing His soul, that somehow we will grasp all of who He is spiritually and that will bring us into total understanding and conformity to who we ought to be (who we were made to be!).

A similar sentiment is uttered here. John says that those who read the words of this book will be blessed and also those who hear it. Surely this is true of all the saints for all time. For every Christian you find that reads the Word of God, you will also find a Christian who is or has been blessed by that reading. It is the Word that changes us (Hebrews 4 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 attest to this) and that change is a blessing from God. To be changed into the image of God is the greatest blessing one can comprehend. God changing our minds and hearts and bringing us into an understanding of who He is, and who we are, and what He wants with us – can you imagine a greater privilege or blessing?

And of course, as we mentioned earlier, the verse ends with the phrase “the time is near.” This indicates that these sayings, these warnings, these truths are upon the apostle. He believes that they are near, they are soon, they are going to be relevant in the very immediate future or present. Of course our minds automatically go to the conclusion that whatever we read next (the rest of the book) must have a great amount of finality, or consummation. But I think there is no great call for holding onto that supposition. John is not saying that the time is “near” for the fulfillment of all things, rather the time is near that we will be seeing and experiencing all the things that are in this book that he’s writing. This makes the book eminently relevant to the early church that he’s writing to, as well as to us today.

Conclusion to the Prologue

The thing that stood out to me most in this prelude to the book of Revelation is the fact that God reveals Himself progressively. He is truly the Lord of history. Abraham didn’t know who would come from his lineage to fulfill the promises God had given him. David didn’t realize that the everlasting kingdom God gave him would be fulfilled in God’s own Son. Noah didn’t realize that his ark symbolized the fortress of freedom that God would one day embody in the personage of Jesus who alone is our raft to safety from the shoals of sin and death. Nor did Daniel know that the eternal kingdom and the Son of man whom he foresaw would be ushered in by a King who would rule all kings, a Lord that would reign over all lords, an eternal God inaugurating an eternal kingdom.

In Revelation we are given a glimpse into the trials and tribulations that we’ll face in this world. We see their nature, their genesis, and the pain they will bring the saints of God. We see the cost of following Jesus. But we also see the triumph of the Lamb and the amazing power He wrought on that dead tree 2,000 years ago. We see that when He triumphed over the grave, He arose and took up His rightful place at the Father’s right hand. The consequences of this for us are simply amazing. This book recounts not only the reality of our trials here on earth, but of the blessings we have in the triumph of Jesus, the Firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8).

Footnotes 

[i] Johnson, pg. 26

[ii] From his commentary (Volume I) on the Book of Revelation, pg. 11.

[iii] From Voddie Baucham sermon May 27, 2012, www.gracefamilybaptist.net. Sometimes you will find that an associate pastor preaches here in his stead, but both hold the same perspective.

[iv] Beale, Pg. 112.

[v] Beale, Pg. 135.

[vi] Beale, Pg. 140.

[vii] Beale, Pg. 141.

[viii] Beale, Pg. 145.

[ix] See the blue letter bible online and the Strong’s concordance: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G602&t=NASB

 

[x] Beale, Pg. 182.

Weekend Reading: December 5, 2014

~ pjwenzel ~ 2 Comments

Welcome to your weekend! Below are the most interesting, wacky, encouraging and important articles, music, video I took in these past few weeks. For you night owls you’re getting this a bit early, so enjoy!

First things first – Happy Birthday to my Pops! You’re a hero to me, and I’m thankful for you every day!

***If you’re getting this prior to Midnight then check out Ligonier’s $5 Friday – especially ‘The Word Became Flesh’ download. And if you don’t get this in time, buy it anyway because you won’t hear anything better in terms of Christmas music (I promise!)

Okay…Let’s start with the fact that the trailer for the new Star Wars movie debuted over Thanksgiving. What do you think? Good? Bad? Time will tell!  Speaking of Star Wars…someone dug up this clip of Mark Hamill being interviewed in the 80’s about possibly doing an Episode 7 (h/t KT W) – a more recent interview gives some insight into the new film. 

Hey – you know what, its Christmas season! Which means that there are lots of music options out there. I mentioned one above, and here’s another – Shane and Shane have released a new album and so have Sovereign Grace!

Tim Challies wrote what I think is probably the most honest little blog I’ve read in a while. It’s titled ‘No I Won’t Pray for You.’

And if you’re not going to read anything else this week, check out this article by David Mathis over at Desiring God. He’s writing about silence, and getting away from the hustle and bustle. 

Another pretty good article over at DG’s website is by Jonathan Parnell and is titled ‘Taking Homosexual Sin to Church’.  Sometimes Parnell can through a lot of thoughts out there and forget to bring them home to a relevant conclusion, but here he really seems to make some solid points.

For the kids…R.C. Sproul’s video versions of children’s stories ‘The Lightlings’ and ‘The Prince’s Poison Cup’ have been posted here. 

Speaking of the kids, National Journal posted a story titled ‘The Most Dangerous Toys in America’, and since most of them are of the scooter variety I would agree! (My 4 year old can attest to this)

John Piper’s advent book is free on Christian Audio.com

And – a little on the weird side – there’s been some chatter online about this proposal to redesign our currency. 

Not nearly as cool as Amazon’s latest in Robot technology…

If you love golf, you’ll enjoy this round up of the best golf shots of 2014.

Wretched Pastors Corner: What ever happened to Rob Bell? Answer: He’s Oprah’s new lackey. And Rick Warren gets 5 gold stars for his continued soft-headed approach to ecumenicalism. Read the comments section for context and whiplash.

Al Mohler had a well-rounded commentary on the Ferguson non-indictment. Voddie Baucham also got some deserved attention on the matter, and a man I really respect in ministry, Thabiti Anyabwile, posted what I think is the most illogical and naive article yet on the matter. It’s s frustrating situation in Missouri, but I think Thabiti missed the boat Voddie got it right – you decide!

Another great little piece by Tim Challies a week or so ago re: money and enjoying what money we do have. Check it out!

…And Michael Morales over at Ligonier had a nice piece on the Great Commission in the OT. It’s a little heavy, but still pretty decent.

Something to think on for the week ahead – an article in the Atlantic about ‘The Fall of Facebook’…very interesting stuff. 

I appreciated Brian Najapfour’s article called ‘Six Truths About Sickness’ 

And finally, some politics, Mike Allen over at Politico has an article profiling 20 of the most likely GOP Presidential candidates. Karl Rove had something similar but it was such mush I didn’t bother linking it.

Enjoy your weekend!

PJW