Ephesians 4
14 That we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carrierd about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Some of my favorite passages from the scripture are those written by the Apostle whom we call John. He wrote again and again about truth and love. One reason that I especially like his message is that if there is anything that characterizes modern society it is a serious lack of both truth and love. As the scripture presents them, they are a complementary unit. You often hear people having a religious discussion and they will freely use the word 'love', but how often will you hear the word 'truth'. As a society we've fallen for the cunning craftiness that the Apostle writes about in this passage from Ephesians. Things haven't changed all that much in the past 2000 years or so, about the nature of man.
The truth that I am writing about here, is Divine Truth, and is what we find recorded in the text of scripture. The love that I am writing about here is Divine Love, and is what I see as an essential aspect of the idea of Divine Grace. So we have the problem and the antidote. The Truth is that we have broken Divine Law and are found guilty. The antidote is that Divine Grace is made available by the Divine Love Jesus demonstrated on the cross, paying in full the penalty for our transgression of Divine Law. That's Truth and Love.
But, as soon as you divorce Truth from this formula of Law and Grace (Truth and Love), then there is no point at all left to 'religion'. Truth is the key element. If there is no Divine Law, then Love has no meaning. We're left with emotion that is subject to any sort of conditioned response that we wish. Taking the right pill can make us feel good about almost anything. But it doesn't bring us any closer to the Truth or to Love.
Yes, it's true, Jesus Loves You. And it's true, Jesus is the only Way. There has to be Truth in Love.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The known unknown
Matthew 6
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.
There are some things we know that we don't know
anything about and there are some things we don't
know that we don't know anything about. Some
would say that it's presumptuous to claim that
you are in a state of grace, or in common terms,
that you are 'saved' and you are going to heaven.
They would say that you can't know for sure
whether you are 'going to heaven' or not. They
would say that we can't know for sure.
I'll admit that there are things unknown, things
that can't be known. But I'd say that there are
also things that we can know, about what we don't
know completely. We can know something about what
we don't know. And that's a starting point.
You see, if you don't know, if you don't have any
idea about the things that you don't know, then
you are set up for being fooled again. But you
have an advantage by knowing what you don't know.
Or in the immortal words of Dirty Harry, A man's
got to know his limitations.
"...Asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she
answered: 'If I am not, may G-d put me there; and
if I am, may G-d so keep me.'" The question is a
scholarly trap. Church doctrine held that no one
could be certain of being in God's grace. If she
had answered yes, then she would have convicted
herself of heresy. If she had answered no, then
she would have confessed her own guilt..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc
Joan of Arc answered the question well during the
course of her mock trial for heresy. The focus
of her response lies in the action of Providence
rather than the action of herself. She's saying,
in effect, that there's really nothing that I can
do in order to obtain Divine favor. The grace
that I've received has been given based on no
merit of my own. She knew about what she was not
able to know -- whether or not what she had
experienced was 'salvation', only that the exact
knowledge of her soul's destiny was in the hands
of Providence.
In my own view, this is exactly what occurs in
the course of salvation. That we come to the
place in our knowledge that we realize our only
hope of grace is to place ourselves into the
position of trusting in Jesus as our only hope,
rather than hoping to rely on our merit.
That brings me to the next point. From here we
exercise faith in the hope that we are 'saved'.
In the words of scripture, '...if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that G-d hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved...' Romans
10:9 What we can know is what we find in the
text of scripture. What we can't know is what
lies beyond this mortal existence. We can only
rely on the message of scripture and know that
the unknown is beyond our reach.
But I think we find a clue in the words of Jesus
taken from the three verses above. He said,
where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. What we can know, to a certain degree is
where the affections of our heart lie. If we
find that our heart is drawn in by the
enticements of this world and the modern world
system, then we might expect that our treasure is
not in heaven, with the implication that heaven
is not our final destination. If on the other
hand, we find that this world holds little
appeal, and we find our heart longing for a
better place, then our heart is telling us that
we treasure the promise of heaven. The most
explicit clue is when we find that our heart
longs to know Jesus -- the treasure of heaven,
and the greatest of the known unknowns.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.
There are some things we know that we don't know
anything about and there are some things we don't
know that we don't know anything about. Some
would say that it's presumptuous to claim that
you are in a state of grace, or in common terms,
that you are 'saved' and you are going to heaven.
They would say that you can't know for sure
whether you are 'going to heaven' or not. They
would say that we can't know for sure.
I'll admit that there are things unknown, things
that can't be known. But I'd say that there are
also things that we can know, about what we don't
know completely. We can know something about what
we don't know. And that's a starting point.
You see, if you don't know, if you don't have any
idea about the things that you don't know, then
you are set up for being fooled again. But you
have an advantage by knowing what you don't know.
Or in the immortal words of Dirty Harry, A man's
got to know his limitations.
"...Asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she
answered: 'If I am not, may G-d put me there; and
if I am, may G-d so keep me.'" The question is a
scholarly trap. Church doctrine held that no one
could be certain of being in God's grace. If she
had answered yes, then she would have convicted
herself of heresy. If she had answered no, then
she would have confessed her own guilt..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc
Joan of Arc answered the question well during the
course of her mock trial for heresy. The focus
of her response lies in the action of Providence
rather than the action of herself. She's saying,
in effect, that there's really nothing that I can
do in order to obtain Divine favor. The grace
that I've received has been given based on no
merit of my own. She knew about what she was not
able to know -- whether or not what she had
experienced was 'salvation', only that the exact
knowledge of her soul's destiny was in the hands
of Providence.
In my own view, this is exactly what occurs in
the course of salvation. That we come to the
place in our knowledge that we realize our only
hope of grace is to place ourselves into the
position of trusting in Jesus as our only hope,
rather than hoping to rely on our merit.
That brings me to the next point. From here we
exercise faith in the hope that we are 'saved'.
In the words of scripture, '...if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that G-d hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved...' Romans
10:9 What we can know is what we find in the
text of scripture. What we can't know is what
lies beyond this mortal existence. We can only
rely on the message of scripture and know that
the unknown is beyond our reach.
But I think we find a clue in the words of Jesus
taken from the three verses above. He said,
where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. What we can know, to a certain degree is
where the affections of our heart lie. If we
find that our heart is drawn in by the
enticements of this world and the modern world
system, then we might expect that our treasure is
not in heaven, with the implication that heaven
is not our final destination. If on the other
hand, we find that this world holds little
appeal, and we find our heart longing for a
better place, then our heart is telling us that
we treasure the promise of heaven. The most
explicit clue is when we find that our heart
longs to know Jesus -- the treasure of heaven,
and the greatest of the known unknowns.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Covenant
Romans 1
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of G-d
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith.
Over the holiday I dusted off a copy of The
Revelation Record and started to read it again.
It's been a while since I read it last, and I
wanted to read over the passages related to Gog,
which is usually interpreted as Russia. The
reason is that they play a role in end times
events recorded in both Ezekiel and Revelation.
One of the things that I was reminded of is that
Babylon in end times prophecy has often been
interpreted as the Roman Catholic Church. I've
always thought that this was a mistaken
interpretation if only because Babylon is used
symbolically long before the time that the Roman
Catholic Church came into existence. As I see
it, the only way to interpret the symbolic
Babylon is to recognize it as a way to represent
the entire world system under the rule of the
kingdom of man, in contrast to the symbolic
Jerusalem as a way to represent the heavenly
system under the rule of the kingdom of heaven.
In scripture, Jerusalem and Israel are the focus
of all prophetic scripture. G-d chose to reveal
himself, to this world, beginning with the
covenant of Abraham, choosing a people group with
which to identify himself, who were to be
characterized by their faith in him and the
historic covenant. Among other things, scripture
is the historic record of that unfolding covenant
relationship of the kingdom of heaven in its
relationship to men. You can see where we are
today. The covenant still stands, in modern form
as the New Covenant of grace, centered in the
salvation found only through faith in Jesus. But
you can see that in this world, it is as it has
always been. Just as it was in the time of King
Ahab, so it is in modern times, the kingdom of
man has little interest in any covenant of faith.
We wish to serve the little gods of 'self',
rather than our creator. Look at the passage
from Romans 1. It was written about 2000 years
ago and it accurately describes the way of man as
it stands in relation to the will of G-d.
Nothing's changed about the nature of man in 2000
years. Good for us that nothing's changed about
the nature of G-d in over 2000 years either. He
offers us the same saviour that he's offered 2000
years ago - salvation by faith in Jesus.
You see, the ONLY available righteousness is the
righteousness of faith offered by G-d. It's
something that we are not capable of on our own
merit. We lack that basic quality of
righteousness because of the condition we inherit
from Adam as original sin. We like to think that
we are only partly bad and partly good. But
that's only in comparison to other men. As we
compare to G-d, we are totally deficient in terms
of perfection. The standard is perfection, not
keeping up with the Jones'. Maybe I've lived a
sheltered life, but I've never seen anyone that I
recognize as perfection. On the other hand, I'm
haunted by the thought that because of my own
flawed nature, Would I even be able to recognize
perfection if it were shown to me? And my best
answer is that the closest thing to perfection
that we have at hand is the text of scripture.
But we can barely recognize it. Yet, it
describes for us that there is only one source of
perfection and righteousness and salvation in all
the earth, and it's in the person of Jesus.
The book of Romans is central to all of Christian
doctrine. It was when Martin Luther finally
recognized that the 'just shall live by faith'
that the Protestant Reformation got under way and
brought to the world another spiritual awakening.
I have nothing against the 'signs and wonders'
focus within the charismatic movement. But I
have to wonder where it leads after all the
emotion has run its course. What happens when
you wake up one morning and you just don't feel
all that great? Or your spouse is aggravating,
or your business fails or any number of
unpleasant emotions intrude? Is it over? The
Apostle Paul's life wasn't a bowl of cherries.
But he wrote this passage, since he knew that his
feelings were not the measure of his faith...
'The just shall live by faith', and this is one
of the unchanging elements of the covenant
between G-d and man.
Read the rest of this timeless passage from
Romans 1:
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated unto the gospel of G-d,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in
the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of G-d with power,
according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship,
for obedience to the faith among all nations, for
his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus
Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of G-d, called
to be saints: Grace to you and peace from G-d our
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my G-d through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout
the whole world.
9 For G-d is my witness, whom I serve with my
spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without
ceasing I make mention of you always in my
prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length
I might have a prosperous journey by the will of
G-d to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto
you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be
established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with
you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but
was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the
Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach
the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of G-d
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of G-d is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of G-d is
manifest in them; for G-d hath shewed it unto
them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and G-dhead; so that they are
without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew G-d, they
glorified him not as G-d, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible G-d
into an image made like to corruptible man, and
to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things.
24 Wherefore G-d also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to
dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of G-d into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
26 For this cause G-d gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the
natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that
recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain G-d in
their knowledge, G-d gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of G-d, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers,
without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of G-d, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that
do them.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of G-d
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith.
Over the holiday I dusted off a copy of The
Revelation Record and started to read it again.
It's been a while since I read it last, and I
wanted to read over the passages related to Gog,
which is usually interpreted as Russia. The
reason is that they play a role in end times
events recorded in both Ezekiel and Revelation.
One of the things that I was reminded of is that
Babylon in end times prophecy has often been
interpreted as the Roman Catholic Church. I've
always thought that this was a mistaken
interpretation if only because Babylon is used
symbolically long before the time that the Roman
Catholic Church came into existence. As I see
it, the only way to interpret the symbolic
Babylon is to recognize it as a way to represent
the entire world system under the rule of the
kingdom of man, in contrast to the symbolic
Jerusalem as a way to represent the heavenly
system under the rule of the kingdom of heaven.
In scripture, Jerusalem and Israel are the focus
of all prophetic scripture. G-d chose to reveal
himself, to this world, beginning with the
covenant of Abraham, choosing a people group with
which to identify himself, who were to be
characterized by their faith in him and the
historic covenant. Among other things, scripture
is the historic record of that unfolding covenant
relationship of the kingdom of heaven in its
relationship to men. You can see where we are
today. The covenant still stands, in modern form
as the New Covenant of grace, centered in the
salvation found only through faith in Jesus. But
you can see that in this world, it is as it has
always been. Just as it was in the time of King
Ahab, so it is in modern times, the kingdom of
man has little interest in any covenant of faith.
We wish to serve the little gods of 'self',
rather than our creator. Look at the passage
from Romans 1. It was written about 2000 years
ago and it accurately describes the way of man as
it stands in relation to the will of G-d.
Nothing's changed about the nature of man in 2000
years. Good for us that nothing's changed about
the nature of G-d in over 2000 years either. He
offers us the same saviour that he's offered 2000
years ago - salvation by faith in Jesus.
You see, the ONLY available righteousness is the
righteousness of faith offered by G-d. It's
something that we are not capable of on our own
merit. We lack that basic quality of
righteousness because of the condition we inherit
from Adam as original sin. We like to think that
we are only partly bad and partly good. But
that's only in comparison to other men. As we
compare to G-d, we are totally deficient in terms
of perfection. The standard is perfection, not
keeping up with the Jones'. Maybe I've lived a
sheltered life, but I've never seen anyone that I
recognize as perfection. On the other hand, I'm
haunted by the thought that because of my own
flawed nature, Would I even be able to recognize
perfection if it were shown to me? And my best
answer is that the closest thing to perfection
that we have at hand is the text of scripture.
But we can barely recognize it. Yet, it
describes for us that there is only one source of
perfection and righteousness and salvation in all
the earth, and it's in the person of Jesus.
The book of Romans is central to all of Christian
doctrine. It was when Martin Luther finally
recognized that the 'just shall live by faith'
that the Protestant Reformation got under way and
brought to the world another spiritual awakening.
I have nothing against the 'signs and wonders'
focus within the charismatic movement. But I
have to wonder where it leads after all the
emotion has run its course. What happens when
you wake up one morning and you just don't feel
all that great? Or your spouse is aggravating,
or your business fails or any number of
unpleasant emotions intrude? Is it over? The
Apostle Paul's life wasn't a bowl of cherries.
But he wrote this passage, since he knew that his
feelings were not the measure of his faith...
'The just shall live by faith', and this is one
of the unchanging elements of the covenant
between G-d and man.
Read the rest of this timeless passage from
Romans 1:
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated unto the gospel of G-d,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in
the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of G-d with power,
according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship,
for obedience to the faith among all nations, for
his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus
Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of G-d, called
to be saints: Grace to you and peace from G-d our
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my G-d through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout
the whole world.
9 For G-d is my witness, whom I serve with my
spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without
ceasing I make mention of you always in my
prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length
I might have a prosperous journey by the will of
G-d to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto
you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be
established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with
you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but
was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the
Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach
the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of G-d
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of G-d is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of G-d is
manifest in them; for G-d hath shewed it unto
them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and G-dhead; so that they are
without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew G-d, they
glorified him not as G-d, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible G-d
into an image made like to corruptible man, and
to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things.
24 Wherefore G-d also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to
dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of G-d into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
26 For this cause G-d gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the
natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that
recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain G-d in
their knowledge, G-d gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of G-d, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers,
without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of G-d, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that
do them.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Political Saturday
I Kings 16
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight
of the LORD above all that were before him.
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light
thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the
daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and
went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the
house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to
provoke the LORD G-d of Israel to anger than all
the kings of Israel that were before him.
This has been a week busy with political events,
judging from the newspaper headlines. And on
Monday, we celebrate Labor Day.
Whenever the subject of politics comes to the
forefront, just as it does during these times,
the word hubris comes to mind.
"Aristotle defined hubris as follows: to cause
shame to the victim, not in order that anything
may happen to you, nor because anything has
happened to you, but merely for your own
gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past
injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in
hubris, its cause is this: men think that by
ill-treating others they make their own
superiority the greater."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris
And that's the level of public discourse related
to modern politics. Say something negative about
the other candidate in order to make yourself
look more appealing. But in the end, it leaves
me with no sense of admiration for all concerned.
What I tend to pay closest attention to is which
candidates draw criticism from which
spokespersons. It's the clearest indication, to
me, of what candidates are really like. Those
outspoken members of the opposition let you know
what candidates are likely to believe. You can
tell who a person is by who their enemies are.
The thing that I dislike the most about politics
is the deception and compromise. One reason for
that is because I don't believe that it's always
that difficult to know the difference between
what's right and wrong. But that's not the
language of politics. As I understand it, the
language of politics is making deals. In other
words, it's nothing but a swamp of compromise.
I realize that there isn't
much interest in doing what's right. I realize
that many people are far too compromised
personally to ever be able to have even a faint
desire to do what's right. So in the end,
politics is simply a reflection of the corruption
that exists at the personal level. And it's
always been that way. I won't be able to fix it.
Whenever I think of politics, what often comes to
mind is the record of King Ahab in hebrew
scripture, and his charming wife Jezebel. The
story goes on over the course of several
chapters, the kingdom of man represented by Ahab
and Jezebel versus the kingdom of heaven
represented by Elijah. It seems that the general
populace was apathetic.
"Apathy (also called impassivity or
perfunctoriness) is a state of indifference,
where an individual has an absence of interest or
concern to certain aspects of emotional, social,
or physical life.
History
Apathy etymologically derives from the Greek
απάθεια (apatheia), a term used by the Stoics to
signify indifference for what one is not
responsible for (that is, according to their
philosophy, all things exterior, one being only
responsible of his representations and
judgments).
Many Christians believe that the concept was then
reappropriated by Christians, who adopted the
term to express a contempt of all earthly
concerns, a state of mortification, as (they
claim) the gospel prescribes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apathy
I Kings 18
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that
troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel;
but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have
forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou
hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all
Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of
Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets
of the groves four hundred, which eat at
Jezebel's table.
20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel,
and gathered the prophets together unto mount
Carmel.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions? if the
LORD be G-d, follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered him not a word.
Elijah was not the type given to apathy, even
though the popular majority showed indifference
toward Baal worship. '...the people answered him
not a word.' As I see it, things are not that
much different today. It's well known that many
eligible voters don't bother to go to the polls.
One of the primary reasons is that people have
the sense that they are not being represented by
the 'system' and they sense that there is little
interest on the part of any within the power
structure to do what's right. In other words,
there are many people who recognize that the
nature of compromise, the compromise within
politics and personal compromise prevent
constructive action. On the other hand, Elijah
had the attitude that even if he was the only
one, he would take a stand against evil.
18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I
only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's
prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
Nothing's changed much over the years. Politics
is still mired in compromise, the public is mired
in apathy and personal compromise. And there are
still a few who can't sell out in spite of the
fact that they will be marginalized and socially
stigmatized. Another thing that hasn't changed
is that there is still a difference between right
and wrong, between truth and error. Political
process won't lead us there, popular apathy won't
take us there, but the kingdom of heaven will
eventually arrive in the fullness of time.
Elijah did what needed to be done, in his time.
He brought an end to Baal worship, although it
was not completely eliminated until years later
when Jehu became king.
Over the next few chapters, the story of Ahab and
Jezebel continues. It's a sad story of continued
compromise and apathy, characterized by endless
conflict. Corrupt leadership brings only misery
upon a nation. And during their reign, Ahab and
Jezebel brought a great deal of misery upon their
people. In other words, compromise is not the
virtue that it is advertised to be. It is a
practice that bears the fruit of misery, as it
was under the rule of Ahab and Jezebel.
You can come to your own conclusions about how
this carries over into modern society. Just like
me, you can examine the social metrics and take
stock of your own personal situation. Do you
believe that things are heading in the right
direction? Personally, I find evidence that the
misery index is already into the high-stress
range, and the kingdom of man is on a course that
will only generate more of the same and increased
conflict. Look around.
On the other hand, the kingdom of heaven offers
an alternative. And the day will come when Jesus
retuns to set the record straight. In the
definition of apathy, the wikipedia entry says
that christians... 'adopted the term to express a
contempt of all earthly concerns, a state of
mortification, as (they claim) the gospel
prescribes.' I don't know how anyone can arrive
at that conclusion, if they've ever read the
gospels. In fact Jesus taught that christians
were to pursue the kingdom of heaven while here
on earth, to do his will in the here and now.
Sure, it's at odds with popular culture. But the
Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans, 'And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of G-d.' Rom. 12:2 That would not
provide an excuse for personal compromise and
apathy or a 'state of mortification', as the wiki
entry suggests. In spite of the confusion that
rules the kingdom of man, christians are to be
ruled by the peace that characterizes knowing and
doing the 'will of G-d'. That's an alternative
to the kingdom of man.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight
of the LORD above all that were before him.
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light
thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the
daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and
went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the
house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to
provoke the LORD G-d of Israel to anger than all
the kings of Israel that were before him.
This has been a week busy with political events,
judging from the newspaper headlines. And on
Monday, we celebrate Labor Day.
Whenever the subject of politics comes to the
forefront, just as it does during these times,
the word hubris comes to mind.
"Aristotle defined hubris as follows: to cause
shame to the victim, not in order that anything
may happen to you, nor because anything has
happened to you, but merely for your own
gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past
injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in
hubris, its cause is this: men think that by
ill-treating others they make their own
superiority the greater."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris
And that's the level of public discourse related
to modern politics. Say something negative about
the other candidate in order to make yourself
look more appealing. But in the end, it leaves
me with no sense of admiration for all concerned.
What I tend to pay closest attention to is which
candidates draw criticism from which
spokespersons. It's the clearest indication, to
me, of what candidates are really like. Those
outspoken members of the opposition let you know
what candidates are likely to believe. You can
tell who a person is by who their enemies are.
The thing that I dislike the most about politics
is the deception and compromise. One reason for
that is because I don't believe that it's always
that difficult to know the difference between
what's right and wrong. But that's not the
language of politics. As I understand it, the
language of politics is making deals. In other
words, it's nothing but a swamp of compromise.
I realize that there isn't
much interest in doing what's right. I realize
that many people are far too compromised
personally to ever be able to have even a faint
desire to do what's right. So in the end,
politics is simply a reflection of the corruption
that exists at the personal level. And it's
always been that way. I won't be able to fix it.
Whenever I think of politics, what often comes to
mind is the record of King Ahab in hebrew
scripture, and his charming wife Jezebel. The
story goes on over the course of several
chapters, the kingdom of man represented by Ahab
and Jezebel versus the kingdom of heaven
represented by Elijah. It seems that the general
populace was apathetic.
"Apathy (also called impassivity or
perfunctoriness) is a state of indifference,
where an individual has an absence of interest or
concern to certain aspects of emotional, social,
or physical life.
History
Apathy etymologically derives from the Greek
απάθεια (apatheia), a term used by the Stoics to
signify indifference for what one is not
responsible for (that is, according to their
philosophy, all things exterior, one being only
responsible of his representations and
judgments).
Many Christians believe that the concept was then
reappropriated by Christians, who adopted the
term to express a contempt of all earthly
concerns, a state of mortification, as (they
claim) the gospel prescribes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apathy
I Kings 18
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that
troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel;
but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have
forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou
hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all
Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of
Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets
of the groves four hundred, which eat at
Jezebel's table.
20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel,
and gathered the prophets together unto mount
Carmel.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions? if the
LORD be G-d, follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered him not a word.
Elijah was not the type given to apathy, even
though the popular majority showed indifference
toward Baal worship. '...the people answered him
not a word.' As I see it, things are not that
much different today. It's well known that many
eligible voters don't bother to go to the polls.
One of the primary reasons is that people have
the sense that they are not being represented by
the 'system' and they sense that there is little
interest on the part of any within the power
structure to do what's right. In other words,
there are many people who recognize that the
nature of compromise, the compromise within
politics and personal compromise prevent
constructive action. On the other hand, Elijah
had the attitude that even if he was the only
one, he would take a stand against evil.
18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I
only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's
prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
Nothing's changed much over the years. Politics
is still mired in compromise, the public is mired
in apathy and personal compromise. And there are
still a few who can't sell out in spite of the
fact that they will be marginalized and socially
stigmatized. Another thing that hasn't changed
is that there is still a difference between right
and wrong, between truth and error. Political
process won't lead us there, popular apathy won't
take us there, but the kingdom of heaven will
eventually arrive in the fullness of time.
Elijah did what needed to be done, in his time.
He brought an end to Baal worship, although it
was not completely eliminated until years later
when Jehu became king.
Over the next few chapters, the story of Ahab and
Jezebel continues. It's a sad story of continued
compromise and apathy, characterized by endless
conflict. Corrupt leadership brings only misery
upon a nation. And during their reign, Ahab and
Jezebel brought a great deal of misery upon their
people. In other words, compromise is not the
virtue that it is advertised to be. It is a
practice that bears the fruit of misery, as it
was under the rule of Ahab and Jezebel.
You can come to your own conclusions about how
this carries over into modern society. Just like
me, you can examine the social metrics and take
stock of your own personal situation. Do you
believe that things are heading in the right
direction? Personally, I find evidence that the
misery index is already into the high-stress
range, and the kingdom of man is on a course that
will only generate more of the same and increased
conflict. Look around.
On the other hand, the kingdom of heaven offers
an alternative. And the day will come when Jesus
retuns to set the record straight. In the
definition of apathy, the wikipedia entry says
that christians... 'adopted the term to express a
contempt of all earthly concerns, a state of
mortification, as (they claim) the gospel
prescribes.' I don't know how anyone can arrive
at that conclusion, if they've ever read the
gospels. In fact Jesus taught that christians
were to pursue the kingdom of heaven while here
on earth, to do his will in the here and now.
Sure, it's at odds with popular culture. But the
Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans, 'And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of G-d.' Rom. 12:2 That would not
provide an excuse for personal compromise and
apathy or a 'state of mortification', as the wiki
entry suggests. In spite of the confusion that
rules the kingdom of man, christians are to be
ruled by the peace that characterizes knowing and
doing the 'will of G-d'. That's an alternative
to the kingdom of man.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Solzhenitsyn and Russia - East and West
Ezekiel 38
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land
of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord G-D; Behold, I am
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech
and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into
thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all
thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them
clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of
them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah
of the north quarters, and all his bands: and
many people with thee.
Ezekiel 39
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against
Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord G-D; Behold, I
am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of
Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the
sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come
up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon
the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand,
and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy
right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel,
thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is
with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous
birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the
field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have
spoken it, saith the Lord G-D.
In the first verse Gog is interpreted to be
Russia, Meshech is Moscow and Tubal is the
province of Tobolsk. These passages describe an
army of six nations that will mount an invasion
against Israel in a sneak attack. They will
launch the attack from the north, out of the
country of Russia.
This is a prophetic passage that has not yet been
fulfilled. There is more detail about this
invasion in these two chapters, but I won't go
into the other details. I just want to look at
the fact that this is an invasion from the north,
that consists of an army from six different
countries. The motivation is that the Lord will
'put hooks into thy jaws', in order to draw these
nations together for an invasion.
What we see happening in this region right now,
is setting the stage for the fulfillment of
prophetic scripture. For now, there is no six
nation alliance gathering to mount an invasion of
the nation of Israel, as far as I know. Recent
events show that Russia is just putting the bear
hug on former Soviet states to secure its own
borders.
Walvoord offers these comments:
"The prophecy against Gog is one of the most
dramatic predictions of Ezekiel. Many details of
the prophecy are not entirely clear, but the man
thrust of the prediction is not difficult to
understand. The passage predicted an invasion of
Israel by a great army that will attack Israel
from the north...
This passage is a part of the predictions of the
great world conflict which will characterize the
years just before the Second Coming. Though
Bible expositors have differed as to when this
fits into the prophetic picture, it is plausible
that preceeding this event the prediction of the
revived Roman Empire, a ten-nation confederacy,
will be fulfilled...
As the battle described here is a disaster for
the invading countries, it may change the
political power structure to such an extent that
it will be possible for the Roman leader of the
ten nations to become a world dictator...
The Great Tribulation also records another
mammoth world war (Dan. 11:40-45; Rev. 16:12-16)
which will occur just before the Second Coming.
This should be distinguished from the war in
Ezekiel 38-39 which is not a world conflict but a
war between a select group of nations attacking
Israel.
In the quarter of a century since World War II
Russia has risen to be one of the great military
powers of the modern world. To a far greater
extent than ever before Russiahas become a
prominent nation, especially in its influence on
the Middle East...
According to Scripture the invaders will be
totally destroyed which, undoubtedly, will have
an effect on the world power struggle in which
Russia is now a major factor... (the ten-nation
confederacy will be free to act at this point)
The war centering in Armageddon is one which
involves all the nations of the world. The
Russian war is predominantly Russia with six
allies. The Armageddon struggle covers all the
Holy Land, but the war with Russia is settled on
the northern mountain of Israel... The scenes are
different." pp 188-191
The latest news of the Russian invasion of
Georgia is a reminder of the recent passing of
solzhenitsyn on August 8th of this year, and the
address that he made in 1978 at the Harvard
University commencement ceremony. It's worth
having another look at the address to guage how
events are unfolding in the east.
Solzhenitsyn said,"A decline in courage may be
the most striking feature that an outside
observer notices in the West today. The Western
world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole
and separately, in each country, in each
government, in each political party, and, of
course, in the United Nations. Such a decline in
courage is particularly noticeable among the
ruling and intellectual elites, causing an
impression of a loss of courage by the entire
society. There are many courageous individuals,
but they have no determining influence on public
life."
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles/Solzhenits
ynHarvard.php
"Russian troops poured into South Ossetia on
August 8 to repel a Georgian attempt to regain
control of the breakaway region. After smashing
Georgia's small US-trained army in South Ossetia,
Russian troops then pushed deep into Georgia,
including through Abkhazia."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080825/ts_afp/georg
iarussiaconflict
Russian military had been making preparations to
move into Georgia for a while. It wasn't a big
surprise to those who were paying attention. But
it sends a message to the world about the
direction of Russian interests. Even though the
Soviet Union fell apart in the 1980's, there are
still those in Russia whose idea of independence
is not that much different than the senile
alchoholics who ran the Soviet Union. I'm not a
student of Russian political personalities, but
from what little I read, Mr. Putin fully intends
that Russia control the region bordering Europe
and Middle Eastern countries. Of course, the
unspoken yet fully understood objective is
complete control of petroleum resources, and
therefore, complete control of western economies.
Look at what has happened to the West - Europe
and the U.S. For hundreds of years there was no
serious challenge to the leading role played by
Western Europe and the U.S. Economic control was
centered in the Western world. In times past,
the level of economic superiority of the west was
stunning. One indication of that was the fact
that you could travel almost anywhere in the
world and people would gladly accept U.S.
currency as payment. That's changing.
One of the primary reasons for change is the
energy dependence of western countries on the
petroleum resources of eastern countries. Mr.
Putin knows this. Western Europe and the U.S.
have a problem. They both have petroleum based
economies that rely on imported supplies. This
situation creates an opportunity for the
exploitation of East-West political tension.
Solzhenitsyn titled his address, 'A World Split
Apart' in reference to the conflict between
Eastern-Western worldviews. What he saw as he
viewed Western societies was a lack of moral
direction and courage. From his own experience,
he knew that this was a serious flaw. I would
suggest that one primary reason that we find
ourselves in this position is exactly because of
what Solzhenitsyn mentioned in his address to
Harvard as far back as 1978. There is a lack of
spiritual energy in Western society, that is not
lacking in the Eastern. As Schaeffer has pointed
out, Christian theology has been infiltrated by
modern western notions of 'truth'. What we have
left is only a shell of western christian
influence in society. In other words, we don't
have anything left to believe in. But the
Eastern worldview is fully energized by its envy
and loathing of Western society.
You see, if we had a shared sense of moral
clarity, we wouldn't question the idea of taking
and maintaining a leadership role in the world.
But we don't have that shared clarity, and we
don't desire a leadership role. We've become
irrelevant. And Russia just sent us that
message.
So we see world events unfolding before our eyes.
We see things taking shape in the Middle East,
Europe and Asia and we see what's happening in
this country. But how do we interpret the
significance of events? I'd suggest that for the
time being, in the U.S. there is a sense that
things are not well, but there isn't any desire
to address the real issues either at home or
offshore. Recent world events make us
uncomfortable, but we'd rather not confront the
realities, right now.
Scripture has something to say about the
significance of world events. As I've written
before about the book of Daniel, I believe that
one reason that we have the prophecy of scripture
related to end times is that in spite of all the
chaos and confusion caused by a world in crisis,
we can have the full assurance that it is under
Divine direction. Scripture provides us with
everything we need to know about the direction
and significance of world events as the end of
time draws near.
In the last post, I closed with the opening
passage of the book of Revelation. Looking at
developments in Europe and Asia over the past ten
or twenty years in light of prophetic scripture
leads to the conclusion that the time is very
soon at hand. The book of Ezekiel has a prophecy
that is directed toward Gog -- a nation whose
army will attack Israel from the north. Gog is
interpreted to be the modern nation of Russia.
Implications are that the West is totally corrupt
and rotting from the inside out. And the Church
of Jesus Christ will soon be taken out of the
earth to make way for the final assault of the
kingdom of man (Babylon) on the kingdom of heaven
(Jerusalem). But it will not succeed.
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land
of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord G-D; Behold, I am
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech
and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into
thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all
thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them
clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of
them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah
of the north quarters, and all his bands: and
many people with thee.
Ezekiel 39
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against
Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord G-D; Behold, I
am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of
Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the
sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come
up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon
the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand,
and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy
right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel,
thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is
with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous
birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the
field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have
spoken it, saith the Lord G-D.
In the first verse Gog is interpreted to be
Russia, Meshech is Moscow and Tubal is the
province of Tobolsk. These passages describe an
army of six nations that will mount an invasion
against Israel in a sneak attack. They will
launch the attack from the north, out of the
country of Russia.
This is a prophetic passage that has not yet been
fulfilled. There is more detail about this
invasion in these two chapters, but I won't go
into the other details. I just want to look at
the fact that this is an invasion from the north,
that consists of an army from six different
countries. The motivation is that the Lord will
'put hooks into thy jaws', in order to draw these
nations together for an invasion.
What we see happening in this region right now,
is setting the stage for the fulfillment of
prophetic scripture. For now, there is no six
nation alliance gathering to mount an invasion of
the nation of Israel, as far as I know. Recent
events show that Russia is just putting the bear
hug on former Soviet states to secure its own
borders.
Walvoord offers these comments:
"The prophecy against Gog is one of the most
dramatic predictions of Ezekiel. Many details of
the prophecy are not entirely clear, but the man
thrust of the prediction is not difficult to
understand. The passage predicted an invasion of
Israel by a great army that will attack Israel
from the north...
This passage is a part of the predictions of the
great world conflict which will characterize the
years just before the Second Coming. Though
Bible expositors have differed as to when this
fits into the prophetic picture, it is plausible
that preceeding this event the prediction of the
revived Roman Empire, a ten-nation confederacy,
will be fulfilled...
As the battle described here is a disaster for
the invading countries, it may change the
political power structure to such an extent that
it will be possible for the Roman leader of the
ten nations to become a world dictator...
The Great Tribulation also records another
mammoth world war (Dan. 11:40-45; Rev. 16:12-16)
which will occur just before the Second Coming.
This should be distinguished from the war in
Ezekiel 38-39 which is not a world conflict but a
war between a select group of nations attacking
Israel.
In the quarter of a century since World War II
Russia has risen to be one of the great military
powers of the modern world. To a far greater
extent than ever before Russiahas become a
prominent nation, especially in its influence on
the Middle East...
According to Scripture the invaders will be
totally destroyed which, undoubtedly, will have
an effect on the world power struggle in which
Russia is now a major factor... (the ten-nation
confederacy will be free to act at this point)
The war centering in Armageddon is one which
involves all the nations of the world. The
Russian war is predominantly Russia with six
allies. The Armageddon struggle covers all the
Holy Land, but the war with Russia is settled on
the northern mountain of Israel... The scenes are
different." pp 188-191
The latest news of the Russian invasion of
Georgia is a reminder of the recent passing of
solzhenitsyn on August 8th of this year, and the
address that he made in 1978 at the Harvard
University commencement ceremony. It's worth
having another look at the address to guage how
events are unfolding in the east.
Solzhenitsyn said,"A decline in courage may be
the most striking feature that an outside
observer notices in the West today. The Western
world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole
and separately, in each country, in each
government, in each political party, and, of
course, in the United Nations. Such a decline in
courage is particularly noticeable among the
ruling and intellectual elites, causing an
impression of a loss of courage by the entire
society. There are many courageous individuals,
but they have no determining influence on public
life."
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles/Solzhenits
ynHarvard.php
"Russian troops poured into South Ossetia on
August 8 to repel a Georgian attempt to regain
control of the breakaway region. After smashing
Georgia's small US-trained army in South Ossetia,
Russian troops then pushed deep into Georgia,
including through Abkhazia."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080825/ts_afp/georg
iarussiaconflict
Russian military had been making preparations to
move into Georgia for a while. It wasn't a big
surprise to those who were paying attention. But
it sends a message to the world about the
direction of Russian interests. Even though the
Soviet Union fell apart in the 1980's, there are
still those in Russia whose idea of independence
is not that much different than the senile
alchoholics who ran the Soviet Union. I'm not a
student of Russian political personalities, but
from what little I read, Mr. Putin fully intends
that Russia control the region bordering Europe
and Middle Eastern countries. Of course, the
unspoken yet fully understood objective is
complete control of petroleum resources, and
therefore, complete control of western economies.
Look at what has happened to the West - Europe
and the U.S. For hundreds of years there was no
serious challenge to the leading role played by
Western Europe and the U.S. Economic control was
centered in the Western world. In times past,
the level of economic superiority of the west was
stunning. One indication of that was the fact
that you could travel almost anywhere in the
world and people would gladly accept U.S.
currency as payment. That's changing.
One of the primary reasons for change is the
energy dependence of western countries on the
petroleum resources of eastern countries. Mr.
Putin knows this. Western Europe and the U.S.
have a problem. They both have petroleum based
economies that rely on imported supplies. This
situation creates an opportunity for the
exploitation of East-West political tension.
Solzhenitsyn titled his address, 'A World Split
Apart' in reference to the conflict between
Eastern-Western worldviews. What he saw as he
viewed Western societies was a lack of moral
direction and courage. From his own experience,
he knew that this was a serious flaw. I would
suggest that one primary reason that we find
ourselves in this position is exactly because of
what Solzhenitsyn mentioned in his address to
Harvard as far back as 1978. There is a lack of
spiritual energy in Western society, that is not
lacking in the Eastern. As Schaeffer has pointed
out, Christian theology has been infiltrated by
modern western notions of 'truth'. What we have
left is only a shell of western christian
influence in society. In other words, we don't
have anything left to believe in. But the
Eastern worldview is fully energized by its envy
and loathing of Western society.
You see, if we had a shared sense of moral
clarity, we wouldn't question the idea of taking
and maintaining a leadership role in the world.
But we don't have that shared clarity, and we
don't desire a leadership role. We've become
irrelevant. And Russia just sent us that
message.
So we see world events unfolding before our eyes.
We see things taking shape in the Middle East,
Europe and Asia and we see what's happening in
this country. But how do we interpret the
significance of events? I'd suggest that for the
time being, in the U.S. there is a sense that
things are not well, but there isn't any desire
to address the real issues either at home or
offshore. Recent world events make us
uncomfortable, but we'd rather not confront the
realities, right now.
Scripture has something to say about the
significance of world events. As I've written
before about the book of Daniel, I believe that
one reason that we have the prophecy of scripture
related to end times is that in spite of all the
chaos and confusion caused by a world in crisis,
we can have the full assurance that it is under
Divine direction. Scripture provides us with
everything we need to know about the direction
and significance of world events as the end of
time draws near.
In the last post, I closed with the opening
passage of the book of Revelation. Looking at
developments in Europe and Asia over the past ten
or twenty years in light of prophetic scripture
leads to the conclusion that the time is very
soon at hand. The book of Ezekiel has a prophecy
that is directed toward Gog -- a nation whose
army will attack Israel from the north. Gog is
interpreted to be the modern nation of Russia.
Implications are that the West is totally corrupt
and rotting from the inside out. And the Church
of Jesus Christ will soon be taken out of the
earth to make way for the final assault of the
kingdom of man (Babylon) on the kingdom of heaven
(Jerusalem). But it will not succeed.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
In These Things I Delight
Jeremiah 9
23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in
his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that
he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the
LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness, in the earth: for in these things
I delight, saith the LORD.
So, we have to come to the point where we
recognize that there are two parallel, yet
overlapping dimensions that we live in. There is
the kingdom of man and the kingdom of heaven.
One of the things that we see in scripture is
that the sphere of man's influence is limited by
the higher order and authority of heaven's rule.
It ought to be obvious. We have a grasp of the
concept of the infinite, but we experience life
in terms of our finite personal relationship to
everything else, all the while knowing that there
is more out there that we haven't yet
encountered.
Let me suggest that one of the common desires of
man is immortality. It's expressed in a variety
of ways. One of the more personal ways that we
experience it is in our fear or loathing of
death. We wish to be remembered. But we will
soon be forgotten. Do you know who lives on the
other side of your back yard? They are not
immortal either, but they will want to be buried
with a grave marker.
One of the greatest contradictions of modern myth
is the impersonal view of man. And the promoters
of myth also wish to create an impersonal god in
their own contradictory view. This lies at the
foundation of the myth of evolution. There is a
desperate desire to portray man and god as
totally impersonal. And it's apparent that it
has nothing to do with science. Science can't
answer the question of whether or not personality
exist. Only religion or myth can. Yet, in
everyday experience, we see first-hand that our
lives revolve around an axis of personal
interaction. If you're like me, you may not
enjoy all the personal interaction, but I can't
deny that it's a central aspect of my daily
activity.
You would think that these folks are clever
enough to see that they are playing a game that
they can't win -- the dogmatic evolutionists.
Everyday people can see right through the myth of
an impersonal creation, because they experience
life surrounded by other people. The human
experience is deeply personal. Dogmatic
assertions can't change the human experience.
Human experience and the rejection of mythology
doesn't automatically imply that the ancient text
of scripture is true. The testimony of history
verifies the truth of scripture.
Unless, of course, you believe the other fantasy
known as relativism. In that case history was
true for them but may not be for me. And we have
to then go back to the idea that the only
validation of truth is how we experience it. Or,
your truth is different from my truth. The
fantasy of relativism leads only to chaos and
confusion, the normal state of the kingdom of
man.
But science shows that there is order in the
universe, and there is very little room for
error. Misplace one character in a computer
program, for instance, and it just won't work.
How much more elaborate is the design of
biological life? It's another aspect of the
contradiction of modern myth. Even though it
masquerades as science, it is just the opposite.
The prophet Jeremiah got this message a long time
ago. He put it all in one simple statement. It
is glorious to know the nature of who the Lord
is, who man is and what the earth is. There is
an established order that will never be subject
to the whim of men's fantasy.
This passage implies that the things that really
matter are not wisdom, strength or riches (the
goals of 'evolution'), but rather a well ordered
relationship between man, his Creator and fellow
man. The Lord requires that there needs to be
recognition that the personal level is where we
find our true identity. Lovingkindness,
judgement and righteousness are aspects of
relationship to our Creator and fellow man.
You can see right away that the kingdom of man
has it all wrong.
Some suggest that we need a revolution. I'd
settle for a revelation, although revolution is
the more likely course of events, judging from
the past. The revelation will arrive at its
appointed time. The time is at hand.
Revelation 1
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which G-d gave
unto him, to shew unto his servants things which
must shortly come to pass; and he sent and
signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of G-d, and of the
testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at
hand.
23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in
his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that
he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the
LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness, in the earth: for in these things
I delight, saith the LORD.
So, we have to come to the point where we
recognize that there are two parallel, yet
overlapping dimensions that we live in. There is
the kingdom of man and the kingdom of heaven.
One of the things that we see in scripture is
that the sphere of man's influence is limited by
the higher order and authority of heaven's rule.
It ought to be obvious. We have a grasp of the
concept of the infinite, but we experience life
in terms of our finite personal relationship to
everything else, all the while knowing that there
is more out there that we haven't yet
encountered.
Let me suggest that one of the common desires of
man is immortality. It's expressed in a variety
of ways. One of the more personal ways that we
experience it is in our fear or loathing of
death. We wish to be remembered. But we will
soon be forgotten. Do you know who lives on the
other side of your back yard? They are not
immortal either, but they will want to be buried
with a grave marker.
One of the greatest contradictions of modern myth
is the impersonal view of man. And the promoters
of myth also wish to create an impersonal god in
their own contradictory view. This lies at the
foundation of the myth of evolution. There is a
desperate desire to portray man and god as
totally impersonal. And it's apparent that it
has nothing to do with science. Science can't
answer the question of whether or not personality
exist. Only religion or myth can. Yet, in
everyday experience, we see first-hand that our
lives revolve around an axis of personal
interaction. If you're like me, you may not
enjoy all the personal interaction, but I can't
deny that it's a central aspect of my daily
activity.
You would think that these folks are clever
enough to see that they are playing a game that
they can't win -- the dogmatic evolutionists.
Everyday people can see right through the myth of
an impersonal creation, because they experience
life surrounded by other people. The human
experience is deeply personal. Dogmatic
assertions can't change the human experience.
Human experience and the rejection of mythology
doesn't automatically imply that the ancient text
of scripture is true. The testimony of history
verifies the truth of scripture.
Unless, of course, you believe the other fantasy
known as relativism. In that case history was
true for them but may not be for me. And we have
to then go back to the idea that the only
validation of truth is how we experience it. Or,
your truth is different from my truth. The
fantasy of relativism leads only to chaos and
confusion, the normal state of the kingdom of
man.
But science shows that there is order in the
universe, and there is very little room for
error. Misplace one character in a computer
program, for instance, and it just won't work.
How much more elaborate is the design of
biological life? It's another aspect of the
contradiction of modern myth. Even though it
masquerades as science, it is just the opposite.
The prophet Jeremiah got this message a long time
ago. He put it all in one simple statement. It
is glorious to know the nature of who the Lord
is, who man is and what the earth is. There is
an established order that will never be subject
to the whim of men's fantasy.
This passage implies that the things that really
matter are not wisdom, strength or riches (the
goals of 'evolution'), but rather a well ordered
relationship between man, his Creator and fellow
man. The Lord requires that there needs to be
recognition that the personal level is where we
find our true identity. Lovingkindness,
judgement and righteousness are aspects of
relationship to our Creator and fellow man.
You can see right away that the kingdom of man
has it all wrong.
Some suggest that we need a revolution. I'd
settle for a revelation, although revolution is
the more likely course of events, judging from
the past. The revelation will arrive at its
appointed time. The time is at hand.
Revelation 1
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which G-d gave
unto him, to shew unto his servants things which
must shortly come to pass; and he sent and
signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of G-d, and of the
testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at
hand.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Schedule Change
Beginning this Monday, I have a new schedule and will post weekly rather than daily.
I'll be able to write either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We'll see how the new schedule works out.
I'll be able to write either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We'll see how the new schedule works out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)