Proverbs from Hebrews 12 & 13

The Bible is replete with practical instructions for walking as children of light in this wicked world.

Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.

keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith

consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.

Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons.

strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees

make straight paths for your feet

Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up

make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau

Make sure that you do not reject the One who speaks.

Let brotherly love continue.

Don’t neglect to show hospitality

Remember the prisoners

Respect marriage

Be satisfied with what you have

Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.

Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings

Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Pray for us

receive this message of exhortation

How then, shall we live? A look at the ancient saints' lives. Truly in but not of the world.

From chapter 2, volume 1 of John T. Christian's "History of the Baptists." Good encouragement for us in all times. Maybe more so in our current circumstance. If we be in Christ, He is our comfort and fellow saints are given to one another to encourage and care for each other.

A most beautiful and pathetic picture is given by the author of the Epistola ad Diognetum in the early part of the second century. He says:

The Christians are not distinguished from other men by country, by language, nor by civil institutions. For they neither dwell in cities by themselves, nor use a peculiar tongue, nor lead a singular mode of life. They dwell in the Grecian or barbarian cities, as the case may be; they follow the usages of the country in dress, food, and the other affairs of life. Yet they present a wonderful and confessedly paradoxical conduct. They dwell in their own native lands, but as strangers. They take part in all things, as citizens; and they suffer all things, as foreigners. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every native land is a foreign. They marry, like all others; they have children; but they do not cast away their offsprings. They have the table in common, but not wives. They are in the flesh, but do not live after the flesh. They live upon the earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the existing laws, and excel the laws by their lives. They love all, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown, and yet they are condemned. They are killed and made alive. They are poor and make many rich. They lack all things, and in all things abound. They are reproached, and glory in their reproaches. They are calumniated, and are justified. They are cursed, and they bless. They receive scorn, and they give honor. They do good, and are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice, as being made alive. By the Jews they are attacked as aliens, and by the Greeks persecuted; and the cause of the enmity their enemies cannot tell. In short, what the soul is to the body, the Christians are in the world. The soul is diffused through all the members of the body, and the Christians are spread through the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, but it is not of the body; so the Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world.

The soul, invisible, keeps watch in the visible body; so also the Christians are seen to live in the world, for their piety is invisible. The flesh hates and wars against the soul; suffering no wrong from it, but because it resists fleshly pleasures; and the world hates the Christians with no reason, but they resist its pleasures. The soul loves the flesh and members, by which it is hated; so the Christians love their haters. The soul is enclosed in the body but holds the body together; so the Christians are detained in the world as in a prison; but they contain the world. Immortal, the soul dwells in the mortal body; so the Christians dwell in the corruptible, but look for incorruption in heaven. The soul is the better for restriction in food and drink; and the Christians increase, though daily punished. This lot God has assigned to the Christians in the world; and it cannot be taken from them (Epist. Ad Diognetum, C. 5 and 6 p.69 sq. Otto. Lips., 1852).

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

There are some brothers in Christ who are so focused on the local assembly of saints that they deny there is any congregation of a universal manner; that is, comprised of all the redeemed from every generation. This focus includes an emphasis on water baptism, to the exclusion of what John foretold - that One was coming who would baptism with fire and the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11).

One passage that is said to be only about water baptism and the local fellowship is Ephesians 4, where we find this: Ephesians 4:4-5 (ESV) There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

The context of this short passage should shed light on whether it is all and only about the local assembly and water baptism or if it's about something greater.

We know that Paul's letter to the saints at Ephesus was meant to be read to many local assemblies; it's a universal letter to the body of Christ. In the first three verses of chapter 3, Paul stresses identity in Christ and the unity of believers - dealing with one another in humility, gentleness, patience, and so on.

And then we find this: Ephesians 4:4-7 (ESV) There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

This letter reveals Paul's passion for all the saints to understand the unity we have because of our union with Christ Jesus, proclaiming there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. By this union with Christ we each have been given grace according to His gift.

Is there ANYTHING in this passage that hints Paul was addressing only the local assembly or numerous assemblies of saints? Is he not making much of the fact that ALL the saints share in these things, without regard to any temporal circumstances? One body, not numerous local bodies. One Spirit, not a separate Spirit for each locale. One hope, one Lord, one faith, one God and Father of ALL. This speaks to all saints in all locations and all generations. And one baptism.

Water baptism makes no one a child of God. The lack of water baptism keeps no one out of the kingdom of God.

But that baptism John mentioned, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire, corresponds to the circumcision made without hands (Col 2:10-11). This baptism is what brings enemies of God into His kingdom as His friends and children; without this baptism, no one can enter into His domain.

As much as these brothers resist and insist, there is no argument that can be made from Ephesians 4 that restricts Paul's message of union and unity to the local assembly only. They can only make assertions in support of their view. Paul’s concern as an apostle was for the whole body of Christ, redeemed saints from every nation, tribe, and tongue. To deny this universal intent is to constrain the love of God for His people to clumps here and there, denying the communion we have through the Holy Spirit to all the saints.

It's too small a view of God's work and of His body.

War on the Home Front, Luke 4:14-30

You Can Listen to This Sermon Here.

Let it be known to the listener: I referred to Jezebel as Bathsheba, my mistake, in this sermon. Enjoy!

War on the Home Front, Luke 4:14-30

Previously, Paul preached about the war against evil that had been declared by Jesus in His baptism and then we learned about the personal confrontation with Satan in the 40 days of testing Jesus endured.

There is a change in today’s passage; we have an abrupt break between verse 13 & 14. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. In verse 13 we see that Satan had broken off the attack and departed until an opportune time. This is a classic tactic in any war - engage the enemy to discover weaknesses and defeat him, if possible. If not, retreat to recoup and seek out a better engagement, based on what you learned in the first one. And Satan must learn as he goes – he is not omniscient. In our text today we will see that Satan has redrawn the battle lines, from the spiritual domain of this age to Jesus’ home front, Nazareth. What Satan may have thought was a more opportune time.

As we consider these events, let us bear in mind the weight of what the Lord Jesus bore. The Creator of all flesh was the object of scorn and wrath by His creatures – including some of those He grew up with. Man of sorrows, obedient to the Father to save His own people, bearing shame and rude scoffing from those He grew up with. For our sake, God made Him who knew no sin to take our sin upon Himself.

Contrary to Satan’s slinking off to regroup, Jesus went back to Galilee refreshed, in the power of the Spirit. This is a mark of the one with whom the Spirit of God dwells – rather than shrinking back from conflict, Jesus knew His defense would be found in being obedient to the Father. People heard about Him, far and wide, and as He taught in the Jewish synagogues, they all glorified Him – they made much of Him. The account in Matthew gives us some insight as the Lord’s activities while Galilee and the reception He received. Matt 4:23-25 (page 1827). Many signs and miracles – attesting to His identity.

It is still as it was when the ancient preacher said that the ear never tires of hearing something new. People flocked after Jesus, just as they had John. Some of these people rushed to hear these new prophets because they desired healing and feeding and others because they believed on the Lord Jesus; this is pattern we see throughout the Scriptures. Those the Spirt has quickened will receive the gospel with joy; those still in their natural condition will reject the message. And the numbers in the crowds, both groups of people, were large enough to intimidate the religious leaders.

Verses 16-22. When Jesus went to His home town of Nazareth, He stood up to read from the Scroll of the Word of God, as He had been doing for some time – it was His regular practice at this point, having begun when He was twelve. But something was different this time. The time was approaching for the kingdom to be declared. The Son of God had been validated by heaven, it was now public knowledge who He claimed to be.

He read from Isaiah 61:1-2, a passage the Jews identified with their being set free from all political tyranny. At first everyone was impressed – Jesus read the scroll with authority that did not come from man! All eyes were on Him as they waited anxiously to hear what He would say about the text He had read. When Jesus said He was the One spoken of in this passage, they were amazed at His gracious words, yet confounded by their fleshly knowledge that He was the son of Joseph. Wasn’t that what Nathanael asked – could anything good come from that town, Nazareth? The Jews knew their deliverer would come from the house of David – Bethlehem – not from the nowhere town of Nazareth.

Verses 23-27. Jesus cites a proverb and refers to the miracles He had performed in Galilee – doubtless keenly aware of what these men were thinking. After commenting about how hard it is to be accepted by one’s home folk (Is this not Joseph’s son?), He brings up two accounts from their history. After Elijah won the famous victory over the prophets of Baal, he found refuge in the care of a widow mother in Sidon. People were starving and only this widow – not even a Jew! – was saved by a miracle. And note: her jar did not stay full until she obeyed Elijah and fed him with the last bit of flour she had. The second example is the well-known story of the Syrian army officer who was cleansed of leprosy. There was no record of the many Jewish lepers of that time being healed; God chose to save this Syrian.

Note an incident that would take place later in the Lord’s life. He and his disciples are traveling between Samaria and Galilee – the same region our text in chapter 4 takes place. Luke 17:12-19 (page 1857). The only leper who gave thanks and praise God for his physical healing was a Samaritan, not a Jew. And he was the only one of the lepers whose soul was healed. Here is the message: being a Jew, a descendent of Abraham according to the flesh, does not provide eternal life, reconciliation with God, entrance into His kingdom.

Verses 28-29. When those in the synagogue in Nazareth heard Jesus read Isaiah 61, they marveled and spoke well of Him. When the man they knew as a youth taught them the fulfillment of that passage, they were filled with wrath. The message in the Scripture citations was not lost on them – their God sometimes favored Gentiles over Jews. They tended to forget that their father Abraham was promised he would be a father to nations, far and beyond the boundaries of national Israel. This was the common reaction of the Jewish people, anger at the message from their Messiah, stiff-necked blindness, and a love for temporal comforts – just as they grumbled about being led out of Egypt to wander in the wilderness. Slavery was better than the constant wondering, not knowing where they were going or when they would get there. Note the contrast with the man they called “father” – God had called Abram to leave his family and go to a country God would show him. No map, no GPS, no direction or duration. And Abram went, as the Lord had told him. We learn that he was led to Canaan, but Abram didn’t stay there. He was a wonderer all his life, looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abram was a man of faith – he trusted God more than he trusted his own reason. People who demand a sign as evidence give evidence they don’t have faith. They want to see with their eyes of flesh what only spiritual eyes can see. About these Jesus said, The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's preaching, and look--something greater than Jonah is here (Luke 11:32). We see frequent evidence that even those closest to Jesus were prone to fall into this pattern – Thomas said he would not believe Christ had risen from the dead, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25). This is the default for man, trusting in what his natural sight can see, what his human mind can reason out. In Romans 5 we read that natural man is an enemy of God, in Phil 3 those who are devoted to things of the world are enemies of the cross, in James we are told friendship with the world is enmity (hostility) towards God, and in Col 1 we see that natural man is hostile and alienated from God by evil actions.

And when the men from Jesus' home town reacted to His message with anger, seeking to murder Him, verse 30: But passing through them, He went away. Jesus came to earth in the fullness of time; God's time. He would ascend back to the Father in God's time, not according to the whim of men. Verse 30 is a subtle reminder of Who He is. And this message and identity of their Messiah was lost on most of the Jews; even those who knew Him best - according to the flesh.

The Jewish people were, by and large, spiritually dead, ruled by their fleshly desires of temporal comfort and prestige. The Levitical religion they were given to point them to the promised Seed who would take away their sin had been turned into a religion of painting the outside of a tomb white so everyone would think it clean. They mostly had little regard for God, with the leaders taking advantage of the poor and the widows, robbing the priests who took care of those. And to these Jesus would say, You are of your father, the Devil (John 8:44). Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. (Matt 21:43) That nation, or people, producing fruit are those given by the Father to Jesus, that He would redeem the sheep of national Israel and the sheep beyond those borders, bringing all into His sheepfold. He would pray for us (John 17:24-26): Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation. Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me. I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them. And to His people, the Lord Jesus provides this guidance through His apostle: though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds (2 Cor 10:3-4). Just as Jesus waged war through obedience to the Father, so we wage war as spiritual people, not as worldly people. Christ has won the victory over sin and death and the devil – we are equipped by the Spirit to stand fast in the grace He gives to us.

This is our security – not our work, not our religion, not our earthly pedigree or station in society. God saves sinners, to the uttermost, through the redemption found in His Son, by grace alone. Unless a man is born from above, Jesus told a leader of the Jewish people, he cannot see – much less enter – the kingdom of God. In the New Covenant, we all know the Lord, we see Him with eyes of faith. We believe what was written even when the best human minds tell us it cannot be. While the world seeks a sign so they make a judgment, the sheep of God hear their Shepherd and believe.

To sum up. Satan had attacked true Israel directly; that was the scene last Sunday. In our passage today, he goes to Jesus’ home town to stir up family and friends in national Israel against the Israel of God. The Jewish leaders didn’t know it but they had grown lax, complacent, as their fathers had before them. They had grown attached to the idea that their physical connection to Abraham was their assurance of being in favor with YHWH. When YHWH shows up in the flesh, reads their Scripture about Himself, tells them it was being fulfilled as they listened to Him, their true colors were revealed.

When Job was suffering, his friends assumed it was because he had sinned and was being punished by God. They thought wealth and health were sure signs of God’s favor; illness and poverty signs of His wrath. Job was of the same mind as Abraham – he trusted God and dared not curse Him, though everything was taken from him. Do you and I see God the way Job’s friends and most Jews did, or do we see God as Job and Abraham did? Do you and I trust wealth, comfort, and the applause of man or do we trust the righteous one who judges justly? If we trust the gifts He gives, we are idolaters; if we demand signs, the men of Nineveh will rise in judgment against us.

The Jews of Jesus’ home town looked like and were treated as men of God. Yet most of them hated God and loved and trusted in their traditions and positions and sought signs. Some of the Jews in Capernaum, as in Berea, trusted the Word Who walked among them and was preached unto them.

For those of us who are in Christ, your background does not define you; your friends and family do not; your identity in Christ does. Rahab was a harlot, but she believed in God and is a sister in Christ. One Samaritan leper gave thanks to God and praised Him and was healed body and soul. Do not allow those who know you from childhood define you, as those who heard Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth judged Him. Do not allow the fear of what people close to you might say to keep you from serving God and His people, bringing joy to the brotherhood of saints and glory to your Father in heaven. If you are in Christ, you have a family that is closer and more dear that your friends and family according to the flesh. Jesus said (Matt 12:46-50) that His family was not defined by the flesh, but those who do the will of the Father in heaven were His “brother and sister and mother.” Do we identify with that family or do we cling to things and people of the flesh?

For each one of us, God forbid we allow our family, traditions, and positions blind us to the truth being taught in our midst. Let us search the Scriptures, not our traditions, to see if these things be so. Faith that saves is faith that believes the Word, obeys the Word, loves the brotherhood, and does not grow weary in doing well. Our Lord promised to defend His people, declaring that hell itself could not tear down the New Jerusalem He is building. Though Satan is defeated, his influence is seen everywhere as people of the world exalt in shameful deeds. Many who call themselves Christian despise His truth and, though many accept them as Christians, their words and their traditions betray them.

When the spiritual war stirs up trouble on the home front, when family and friends turn against you because of your testimony of Christ, look to Him, put no confidence in the flesh. We have a sure refuge, the man of sorrows who bought us at a high price. Trust Him, rest in Him, today. There is no other savior, no other advocate with the Father, no other refuge from the storms of this life or from the judgment that is surely coming upon this world. Do not live to please men. Warn those who love the world to turn and embrace Christ. He surely will save all that the Father gives to Him. 

Amillennialism

You Can Listen to this Sermon Here

Amillennialism

A reminder of a couple of things that we need to keep in mind.

1.       Every system of theology is the product of man and will have error. No one description of any system will satisfy everyone. We should look for the system that aligns best with Scripture. “does the least violence to Scripture.”

2.       Keep Christ clearly in view. The ultimate goal of all creation is the glorify God the Father and the Son. Our view of the end times should seek to keep His glory in its rightful place

This evening I will present amillennialism, but I want to make one thing clear before I get started. While I disagree with and find fault with postmillennialism and historic premillennialism, I have no fight with sober-minded brothers and sisters who hold those views. We are together for the gospel, to coin a phrase.

From our introduction, a definition and hermeneutic by Anthony Hoekema: "...amillennialists do not believe in a literal thousand-year reign which will follow the return of Christ... the millennium of Revelation 20 is not exclusively future, but is now in the process of realization." Welcome to the millennium! This hermeneutic: Progressive Parallelism in Revelation (Earth's history repeated 7 times) OR Prehistorist: interpret in terms of meaning to 1st century church-- reassurance of Christ's victory over Roman persecutors. Context determines whether literal or figurative. Interpret the Old Testament by the New Testament.

I will present the progressive parallelism view this evening as that the dominant amillennial view; it is the view I hold. The handout provides an overview of how we see these different vantage points of redemptive history revealed to us in John’s apocalypse. To help comprehend the parallel nature of this Scripture, I’ve included a comparison of the three series of judgments: bowls, trumpets, and seals. This progressive parallelism is also called recapitulation - retelling the same basic story several times.

One brother summed up this view in these concise points (I changed his first point a bit):

·         The focus of the Bible is the Lord Jesus and not national Israel.

·         God deals with individuals and not nations in the matter of eternal salvation.

·         God has always included the Gentiles in the number of His elect.

·         There are two Israel’s in Scripture, one physical and one spiritual.

·         The covenant promises in the OT have been fulfilled, forfeited, or made to Christ and His church.

·         The NT interprets the OT.

Amillennialism is sometimes referred to as "realized millennium" since it holds to a kingdom that has been inaugurated. This system holds to a two-age model, wherein we recognize the many references in Scripture to "this age" and "the age to come" (Matthew 12:32, Luke 20:34-35 and Ephesians 1:21 for example). We have our citizenship in heaven, we anxiously await the return of the Lord here on earth. When He returns, it will be that great and terrible day when He will judge the nations, gather His people, and make all things new; to live on the new earth with His people for eternity.

Since Amillennialism is not a basic hermeneutical rule (contrary to dispensationalism) the primary focus of the amillennial system is in Revelation, where the millennium is found. As I mentioned a couple weeks back, Revelation contains elements of narrative and epistle content, but is primarily an apocalyptic work, full of signs and symbols. We are told in the very first verse of this book that God made the revelation known by signifying it though His angel to John. The Greek word behind "signifying" is used in various technical fields to describe communication through signs; such as sign language used to communicate with deaf people. Since we see that this is the device YHWH has told us He used to reveal this bit of the redemptive story to our brother and partner in the tribulation, what basis would we have to interpret it "naturally" or "literally"? Further, in many of the scenes, John reported that he was in the spirit, not the flesh. If the book is symbolic by design, we should insist on clear indications that a piece of it should be taken literally, or physically rather than assume all should be.

The key element to our determining when each parallel story begins and ends is that we see the end of the age at the end of each one. As you can see with the bowl, trumpet, and seal judgements on the handout, the 7 parallel stories are not identical in their start or end points, but they have much in common, covering much of the redemption era. Rather than three series of world-ending judgments that crash down on creation one after another, we have a single series of judgments shown from slightly different angels, using different terms to communicate the same story. Each of the stories ends with a scene of the end of this age.

Considering this point, it is important to realize that the symbols in John's Apocalypse are not something we have to figure out; they are nearly all alluding to previous books of the Bible. God put in the canon all the tools necessary for us to properly interpret and understand Revelation. While the OT is not the determining filter for interpreting the New, we cannot understand the whole if we don't study the OT along with the New.

One thing popped into my head last Sunday while we were reading the creation story. In that historical narrative, we see that God created time and every bit of matter and organized it into our universe in 7 days. Paul (our Paul, not the apostle) mentioned that God did not need 7 days to do all He did, but He did so for a purpose. Throughout Scripture we see the number 7 having significant symbolic meaning of perfection; the battle of Jericho being one example. The Hebrews marched around the city 7 times on the 7^th day and blew the trumpets 7 times; and the walls of that great city fell flat. Perfection. Completion. The amillennial view of the last book of the Bible sees that entire book organized around the number 7. There are 7 churches and 7 spirits before the throne of God. 3 sets of 7 judgments, and there are 7 parallel accounts of what happened since the first 7 days were recorded. I am not into numerology, but numbers are significant in all the Bible and even more so in apocalyptic literature such as John’s Apocalypse. The 7 spirits in ch 1 vs 4 represent the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit, revealed in detail in ch 5:6. Since there is but one Holy Spirit, we know this number 7 is not literal, but symbolic of His perfection, completeness, and unity.

The first of these 7 settings is chapters 1 - 3, where even dispensationalists agree there is a break. This story introduces the book as a symbolic revelation and includes the timeless letters to the 7 churches and all churches. Each letter ends with an announcement of the end of the age (to the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life) and this haunting admonition from Christ - he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The second setting is chapters 4 - 8.5, where the seal judgments are poured out. Dispensationalists say the church is raptured between chapters 3 and 4, because you see no church in the book from here on out. That dog just don't hunt. In one of the most gripping scenes in the whole Bible, Rev 6 reveals the grief felt by martyrs who are have died and with the Lord in heaven, because their brothers on the earth are being murdered. The word "church" isn't used, but we are aware of saints on earth - they are the church!  This story ends with the 7th seal and the golden censor and judgment on the earth, in Revelation 8:5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The third setting picks up with the trumpet judgments in 8:6 and runs through the end of chapter 11, where we see the 7th trumpet and the judgment on the earth that is almost identical to what 8:5 revealed. Revelation 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Our fourth story runs from chapter 12 through chapter 14, beginning with the vision of the woman giving birth to a son while the dragon waits to devour him as soon as he is born — an obvious reference to the birth of Christ and Satan's attempts to defeat Him. The rest of the section describes the continued opposition of the dragon to the church. This section also introduces us to the two beasts who are the dragon’s helpers: the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth. This story ends with a lengthy description of judgment on the earth, with the harvest of the earth and the great winepress of God's wrath.

The fifth story picks up later in redemptive history, as chapter 15 begins with judgment, as the third telling of these judgments, with bowls this time, is revealed. Chapter 16 ends with Babylon the great being overthrown and made to drink the cup of the fury of God's wrath. When the 7th bowl is poured out, the angel of God cried out "It is done!" The Greek word is different from what Jesus cried out in John 19:30, when He said, "It is finished!" but the meanings of the two Greek words and the two English phrases are very similar. Also in this last scene of Rev 16 we see something shown to us in chapter 6 - islands and mountains fled from God. And the people of the world being punished by God curse Him as they go to their doom. This isn't happening a second time, it's merely being revealed to John - and us - a second time, from a slightly different perspective.

The sixth story is revealed in chapters 17 - 19, where Babylon falls - again! Over the years, many have seen the Roman Catholic Church in chapter 17. That cult is the city on 7 hills, she was drunk on the blood of the saints as she murdered untold numbers of Christians in the Inquisition. Most believe it to be a description of all false religion, waging war on the people of God. They make war on the Lamb and the Lamb will conquer them! Chapter 18 retells, in detail, the fall of Babylon - this is third time we've been told Babylon has fallen. Things continue to be repeated in John's account. Chapter 19 begins with a celebration of God's judgment on the rebels, celebrates the marriage supper of the Lamb, and ends with victory of the Lord Jesus over the people of the world. This is the great supper of God, where the birds of prey feast on the flesh of His enemies and the false prophet and his beast where thrown into the lake of fire.

The seventh and last story is chapters 20 - 22. In chapter 20 we see this present age, with Satan restricted from having complete dominion over the nations, the gospel having the freedom to go to the four corners of the world, saints reigning in heaven with the Lord, the brief release of Satan to deceive the nations and wage war against God - again! The Lamb wins, judges the people of the world and HIs enemies enter into the second death, never-ending punishment. The last 2 chapters reveal the glory of what is to come. As the graph I handed out shows, these chapters extend further than any other. The new earth, where righteousness dwells! The Apocalypse wraps up with the promised return of Jesus being held out to us, giving hope to every generation of saints, that we would not grow weary in well doing. And we see that the bliss of being with the Lord in New Jerusalem is not dependent on being ignorant of God's judgment on His enemies. They are described as "outside the city gate." We have the warning about adding to or taking away from this book and the promise that, surely, Jesus is coming soon! Every generation of Christians has had reason to believe His time is nigh. We are to be eagerly awaiting the return of our Lord and God, not sleep-walking through life.

This scheme is not without difficulty. Chapter 6 appears to end with the return of Christ, with chapter 7 opening with a new vision. We see continuity, however, with the seal judgments, which are unveiled beginning in ch 6:1 and ending with the 7^th seal in ch 8:5. Having some of the seals in one story and the last seal in another telling of that story is more difficult to explain and accept than a story line that has judgment, a brief look at the victory of the saints, then the last seal and the end of time. Also, the binding of Satan is something that take much thought to comprehend how Rev 20:1-3 can be true when we also read he roams like a lion. Recall that even humans can have dominating influence while not present, through agents and prior contact. Much more the prince of demons!

In addition to this scheme of how we read John's Apocalypse, what else distinguishes Amillennialism? Revelation is not a book of terror, as some people imagine it. Revelation is a glorious message of Christ Jesus' victory over sin, death, and Satan and His promise to redeem and live among His people. Is that not a summary of the entire Bible? Having a right view of the Bible as a whole helps us have a right view of specific passages within it. This will be the main point of our final message on eschatology, next week.

Hand-in-glove with this view of Revelation, then, is a hermeneutic that seeks to keep the gospel message front and center in all of Scripture. Spurgeon told a story of an elderly Scottish preacher who was attending the first service of a young preacher. When the young man had finished, he sought out the older gentleman to ask him what he thought of the sermon. The old man looked the young man in the eye and said, “Not much.” “What was the problem with the message?” the young man asked. “There was no Jesus in your message, young man!” “But sir,” he replied, “there was no mention of Jesus of the text!” The elder preacher leaned in close and told him, “Son, there’s a saying that in England all roads lead to London. Not all of them go straight there, but they all lead there. Every sermon must lead your people to the cross. It may not be a direct route as in the gospel accounts, but even if you have to take them over the hedges and through the swamps, you must take your people to Christ!”

National Israel is not the focus of God's redemptive plan, Christ Jesus is. The Law of Moses is not the focus of God's redemptive plan, neither is the politics of this grand land. Anything we put in the way or place of Jesus can be a stumbling block to those being called and to those who are in Christ. So, as did Paul, we seek to preach Christ and Him crucified and not any ethnic group, political movement, or law. Here are some examples of how this works out on topics relevant to this series.

Paul uses the word mystery many times his letters, addressing several topics. One of the most controversial topics is the mystery that was then being made clear - that God had intended from the beginning to include Gentiles in His kingdom. His letter to the Ephesians is a wealth of insight into the glorious redemptive purposes of God. Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. If we understand the nature of being members of the same body we would not accept those who say any ethnic group has special standing before God. In this epistle, the apostle uses three metaphors to describe what God is doing among people who were, by nature, children of wrath. Hal Brunson summed it up - "As the architect is one with his building, as the body is one with its members (Eph 4 & 5), and as the husband is one with his bride (Eph 5), so also God sovereignly joins Himself to His elect people as the head (Col 1:18) and husband (Eph 5:25)." The building metaphor is most substantial, with Paul using several architectural terms - wall, partition, household, foundation, corner stone, framed, temple, habitation, and building - all found in Eph 2:14-22. This aligns with James' description of the elect as the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16) and Peter's spiritual stones (1 Peter 2:5). Paul says Gentiles were once alienated from the commonwealth of Israel but have been brought near by the blood of Christ and are, therefore, members of the household of God. Jew and Gentile saints are one new man and one body (Eph 2:15-16) by this reconciliation that is found in Christ. This mystery is unveiled: Christ Jesus has broken down the middle wall of partition that stood between Jew and Gentile. Note how strange it was throughout the gospels for Jesus to speak and eat with those who alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. The Jews' literal hermeneutic could not accept the fact that YHWH had promised Himself to anyone other than physical Israel. But that was the purpose and the promise of God from the beginning.

Another way Scripture helps us understand what God is doing is to see the contrast between physical Israel, Jews, and Jerusalem. While those with a strict literal hermeneutic claim Israel always and only means physical Israel, the Bible says otherwise. Hal Brunson's book, Who is Israel/ What is a Jew? Where is Jerusalem?, is a wonderfully written, well organized, compelling look at these questions.

Galatians gives us one the clearest contrasts between physical and spiritual Israel and Jerusalem. Gal 4:21-5:1 (page 2253). Paul uses Sarah as a metaphor for both unbelieving Israel and those in those in the New Covenant. As Israel, she was barren and desolate, bearing only the child that God had promised and provided. As the heavenly Jerusalem of the New Covenant, only those the Father gives to the Son, enemies of God ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, are included. Hagar is now brought in to represent national Israel, in bondage under the Law of Moses. Earthly Jerusalem, national Israel, contrasted with heavenly Jerusalem and her children, Abraham's seed according to the promise - the Israel of God (Gal 6:16).

The term, Jerusalem, shows up 142 times in the New Testament. 137 of these are references to the physical city, regarding something that took place in the first century. In each of the remaining 5 uses of Jerusalem, the writers spiritualize it to indicate the present, spiritual, heavenly, eternal nature of God's kingdom, not a future, physical, earthly instance of God's temporal kingdom. Brunson: "Paul asserts that God has rejected earthly Jerusalem and national Israel, as Hagar was the physical mother of Ishmael the rejected seed." Abraham and the other saints of old sought a heavenly city, not an earthly one, a better country and a heavenly Jerusalem. Why would anyone teach that God's purpose in glorifying His name would be tied to return the shadow kingdom, version 2?

As for the contrast between physical and spiritual Jews, the biblical witness is manifold. Romans 2:28-29 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 9:6-7 For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Brunson observed that those who haggle over physical Israel still being the apple of God's eye might be just like Hagar, if she had argued with Abraham that her son had a biological claim on his blessing. But in Isaac shall the world be blessed, and the child of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. Paul said it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (Rom 9:8). To sum up, those who insist on keeping ethnic Jewish believers separate in identify from Gentile believers don't read Paul closely. The apostle asserts Gentiles are the true Jews (Rom 2:29), the true circumcision (Phil 3:3), Abraham's seed (Gal 3:29), fellow citizens (Eph 2:19) of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12) and children of promise (Gal 4:28) born of the same mother - Jerusalem which is above (Gal 4:26) and the Israel of God (Gal 6:16). 

Another distinctive of Amillennialism is the tension of living in this age where sin and death are present yet we have been raised up to new life in Christ. As Jesus taught (Mark 1:15),, His kingdom was among His people even while He lived on the earth. He promised to be with us until the end of the age (Matt 28:20) and He reigns even now (Eph 1:21-22, 1 Cor 15:25), not waiting for a future earthly circumstance. We are taught to live godly lives in this present age as we wait for our blessed hope (Tit 2:12-13), to not be conformed to this world (Rom 12:2), nor be devoted to it (1 John 2:15-17), and not put our hope in things of this age, such as wealth (1 Tim 6:17). And this: Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be (1 John 3:2). This is the "already but not yet" character of the kingdom of God.

We who are in Christ have our identity in Christ, we are seated with Him in the heavenlies, He lives in us by HIs Spirit, and we eagerly await His return, knowing He is the faithful one who come back and take us to be with Himself. Between this age and the next comes His return, which means the judgment of all flesh, the gathering of the elect, and the resurrection of the world. Jesus described this as a parable in Matthew 13 and explained it to His disciples (verses 36-43, page 1849).

The age-to-come is characterized by the continued reign of Christ (Eph 1:21-22), the kingdom will be consummated (Rev 22), we will be united with glorified bodies (1 Cor 15:53), and this: Revelation 21:3-4 “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” This is the age-to-come. It's not the same as this present age, nor is it an improved earth.

In light of all this, how should we live? The practical aspects of one's view of the end times is more substantial and more subtle than most of us think. We will, Lord willing, examine this next Sunday as we wrap up this series on eschatology. For now, let us learn from God what the long and short of it is.

2 Peter 3:11-13 (page 2423).  May God give us grace to live as honorable servants in this wicked age.

Colossians 1:21-23 Changed by the Gospel

Colossians 1:21-23 (HCSB) Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him — if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. ⌊This gospel⌋ has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

This epistle is addressed to the saints in Christ at Colossae, faithful brothers (chap 1:2). Paul says to them, ONCE, you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of evil actions. It is a truth that the children of God were chosen unto salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 1:1-4; Revelation 17:8). At the same time, we are raised up to new life in Christ IN TIME, at God's timing. The point being, until a person is brought to life spiritually, he is dead in Adam, an enemy of God, full of evil and unwilling and unable to want God or what is good. ONCE, we were alienated and hostile - hostile toward God (Romans 5:10) and others. Alienated is a word pretty much lost in our culture. We aren't supposed to call people aliens, they're undocumented. To be alienated means to be at odds with, unreconciled, lacking peace.

You will hear politicians proclaim that man is naturally good and in need only of the right education, etc. Some will teach that God's elect are not under condemnation, but born as "covenant children" and members of the New Covenant by fleshly heritage. Paul will have none of either of these arguments. He said much the same to the church at Ephesus: Ephesians 2:1-2 (HCSB)  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins  in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. These saints were in the same boat as the ones in Colossae! They HAD walked in disobedience, being dead in sins and trespasses. Paul went on, Ephesians 2:3 (HCSB) We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. Paul changes from YOU to WE, to show that he - an apostle - was no better off than they were. Children of God are BY NATURE children of wrath, like the others - the people of the world that do not love God and will not be reconciled to God. If this was not so, what would be our need of Christ to reconcile us to the Father?

Before we came to faith in Christ, each of us was alienated, hostile, disobedient, fleshly, and children of wrath. This is why no man can tell who the elect are until God effects salvation. Once made new in Christ, the believer has different appetites, is no longer alienated, etc. While we cannot hold to a litmus test, we must hold to the truth that a good tree will bear good fruit.

And this is the next point Paul brings to our attention. Colossians 1:21-22 (HCSB) Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him. Being born again by the Spirit of God happens in time - today is the day of salvation! BUT NOW, He has reconciled us - this is something God has done. Those who think man makes the initial or determinative move in being reconciled to God overlook many passages that show Who does this all important work. Christ reconciles spiritually dead sinners to holy God by His physical body which was broken for us, put to death on our account, so He could present us to the Father as holy, faultless, and blameless.

Compare those attributes to those attached to us before He reconciled us to God. Between our text and Ephesians 1 there are about 11 descriptions of how evil and deserving of God's wrath we were before He bestowed the riches of His grace on us. BUT NOW, having been reconciled, there are three words that describe us: holy, faultless, blameless. We should hang on that first word, for God is holy and without holiness no one will see Him.

A.W. Pink is helpful in our understanding God's holiness:

He only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture He is frequently styled “The Holy One”: He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute Purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin.

This perfection, as none other, is solemnly celebrated before the Throne of Heaven, the seraphim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa 6:3). God Himself singles out this perfection, “Once have I sworn by My holiness” (Psa 89:35). God swears by His “holiness” because that is a fuller expression of Himself than any thing else.

“The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:26). It follows, therefore, that He must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding His punishment than without requiring His hatred of it. God has often forgiven sinners, but He never forgives sin; and the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of Another having borne his punishment: for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb 9:22). Therefore we are told “The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies” (Nah 1:2).

God's holiness is a characteristic of His person, not merely something He does. There are some who teach that we become holy, as required, by doing the good works He prepared for us. One popular teacher in Baptist circles says our good works are what saves us at what he calls our "final salvation." On the other extreme are Baptists who say NO good works are necessary for one to have assurance of his salvation. But in our text, Paul was led to declare that our Savior presents us before the Father as holy. This makes clear that the holiness without which we will not see God is His holiness! While our good deeds are judged, they are not part of the determination of whether we are saved. Rev 20:11-15 is one depiction of Judgment Day; this passage makes it crystal clear: our works have NOTHING to do with our destiny. The determining factor is whether or not your name is written in the Lamb's book of life, something that was done before the foundation of the world (Rev 17:8). Since our redemption and resulting good works take place in time, and our destiny was determined before the foundation of the world, nothing we could do could influence God's choosing His sheep.

Without a clear picture of God, we cannot have a right view of sin or self. Left to ourselves or distracted from Biblical truth we will see self in a far better light than is warranted; we will see our sin as a light thing; and we will see God as One who winks at our sin. One author observed, "There is a god we want and there is a God Who is. They are not the same God." When we come to grips with Who God is, we will see OUR sin as more grievous than our neighbors, we will long for His holiness. Take comfort that if you are IN Christ, He WILL present you to His Father as holy, faultless, and blameless.

Those last two words supplement holiness with sinlessness and giving no opportunity for God's name to be profaned. Having sin - which includes causing His name to be profaned - renders a verdict no man can withstand. In Christ, being in union with Him, is the essential aspect of our salvation that guarantees, insures, our right standing with God. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. Trust Him wholly - let no other trust intrude. Good words from an old hymn!

We come now to what causes some to think salvation is conditional upon our performance. What we see as verse 23 is a continuation of verse 22. Paul writes that we HAVE been reconciled, we WILL be presented; IF we continue, grounded and steadfast in the faith and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel.

What do we make of this? Considering how the Scriptures reveal the saving work of God being a certainty (Romans 8:28-30; John 6; Ephesians 2), we must not think in this place Paul speaks of conditions that put our eternal souls at risk. But care must be taken so our preconceived ideas do not lead us astray. The word we see as "if" is from a Greek word that means, if. Paul is not telling us our destiny is in question; he's telling how we can KNOW we are reconciled, to be presented holy, faultless and blameless.

One who has had an experience, claims Christ but does not remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, should not think he is reconciled to God. The Bible is full of these "conditional statements" which are there to prompt us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. Hebrews 3:6 (HCSB) But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope. This warning is repeated in verse 14. Romans 8:16-17 (ESV) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 1 John 2:24 (HCSB) What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 2 Peter 1:10 (HCSB) Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. These warnings are not there to make us think we can lose our standing and be damned; they are there so none of us will take for granted what we profess with our lips.

Today in our country, far too many fellowships are full of people who wrote down the date they made their decision for Christ, as they say. But we are never told to look back on our decision for assurance; always and only are we told to look unto Christ and the work He is doing in us today. Our salvation is a "done deal" in that Christ has paid our sin debt. But it is very much a current status - IF we hold onto the confidence of our hope. Since we know it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom to His children, that His Spirit works in us to will and to do what please Him; since we know that Christ Jesus will lose none of the sheep He was sent to redeem, we CAN have confidence in our hope that is in Christ! Rather than worry about the IF statements, let us look unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, seeing His Spirit work in us that which is pleasing to Him. Others will see and hear of these things and rejoice that God is faithful to His promises, even on our account. So we do not lose heart, we do not grow weary, we do not get shifted away from the sure hope we have Christ, as announced in the gospel.

The last part of verse 23 ties back to the opening of this letter. Recall from verse 6: the gospel has come to you and is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. Here Paul says this gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. What does he mean by this? If the gospel had been proclaimed to the entire world and was bearing fruit all over the world back then, why are we still here? Why did Jesus tell us to preach the gospel to all creatures (Mark 16:15) if Paul was going to get that done?

It's mostly like that Paul meant was that, by this time, the gospel had been preached to all the world, as Paul knew it. As we see throughout the Bible men say things that reveal their limited human understanding, it shouldn't be unthinkable that Paul might be saying this, based on what he knew of the world. As far as he knew the world, the gospel had been preached to all of it. Paul quotes Psalm 19:4. Romans 10:17-18 (HCSB) So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. The proclamation in Psalms refers to general revelation, as the sun and stars testify to the glory of God. At the writing of Romans, Paul uses that message to describe the world-wide testimony of the apostolic gospel of Jesus Christ. So it makes sense in our text that Paul was speaking about the growth and success and spread of the gospel over the whole known world. Hard for Paul to know the unknown world!

The last words we have from Paul in this section is his oft-mentioned connection with this life-giving gospel: he was a servant thereof. He did not serve his own ambition, but worked and labored to make the name of Christ known everywhere to everyone. This ought to be our ambition as well! It will be if we've been changed by the gospel.