Last week Congress overturned the ban on gays serving in the military. President Obama will sign the bill into law this week. Some see this as a civil rights milestone on a par with the end of racial discrimination. Others are indifferent and have no idea what the fuss is about. Put me in the category of those who are deeply concerned about the implications of this decision.
The law that was repealed was passed in 1993 (10 U.S.C. – 654b). It prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."
Of course, it’s not that our military accepted homosexual activity before that time. In fact it was cause for discharge going back to the Revolutionary War. But before 1993 no act of Congress was necessary. It was simply understood that this was behavior that would weaken our military forces.
It may be a surprise to some, but the repeal will not immediately go into effect when the President signs the bill into law. It takes effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been supportive of overturning the ban. First, the President and the Pentagon must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' ability to fight. After that, the military will undergo a 60-day waiting period before any changes are made. In a statement, Gates said he will begin the process immediately. But, he added, certification won't come until after "careful consultation" with the military service chiefs and combatant commanders. This could take up to a year.
Even if there is some time involved, however, I’m convinced that this new law will harm the effectiveness of our military in a time of war. Here are some of the issues that apply:
1. Orientation v. life choices. In spite of the fact that much research has attempted to support the “born that way” hypothesis, there is no clear and convincing evidence that anyone has been born gay. The reality is that the human race is not divided between straight and gay. We’re all just people who were created with a sexual nature. Unfortunately, that part of our nature has been distorted by sin in a number of ways and homosexual behavior is just one of many examples. In other words, life style choices are no justification to latch on to the moral high ground of the civil rights movement.
2. Mental health. Did you know that until 1973 homosexuality was considered a mental illness? (It was then that the American Psychiatric Association removed it from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as a result of social pressure, not because of any new research.)
I agree that gay behavior is not a mental illness but there are some good reasons to be concerned about the mental health of homosexuals. For example, a study made on male twins who had served in Vietnam concluded that on average, male homosexuals were 5 times more likely to exhibit suicide - related behavior or thoughts than their heterosexual counterparts. Another study followed a large New Zealand group from birth to their early twenties. This study showed a significantly higher occurrence of depression, anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, substance abuse and thoughts about suicide, among those who were homosexually active. These are not qualities I’d like to see in the guy carrying a loaded weapon next to me.
3. Guilt. I’m not talking about guilt feelings that may be imposed on people by a repressive society that doesn’t understand their behavior, but true moral guilt. When Paul wrote about homosexual sins in Romans 1, he described them as “against nature”. When the Bible describes these sins it uses the word abomination, meaning something that’s abhorrent by its very nature. We all live in a world that was created with a fixed moral order. There is no exemption for soldiers. When a person’s actions place him or her in conflict with God’s created order, the result is guilt and the effects that it has on personal behavior and thinking.
4. The ripple effect.
The repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" will trigger a series of other gay-rights issues. Many states continue to debate same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, we can expect the same battle in the military. It will become difficult for policy makers to justify withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier. It will take very little time before a gay couple approaches their chaplain to request a military wedding.
5. The true agenda.
If gays, insisting that they were born that way, are patriotic citizens who simply wanted to serve their country, would it be too much for their service to include a period of celibacy while serving? Probably not, but I would suggest that patriotic service is not the true agenda behind this new law. The true agenda is acceptance and normalizing of what the Bible considers deviant behavior.
For these and other reasons, I encourage our leaders to set their personal agendas aside and let our military decide who is qualified to serve without interference from those who aren’t in the game.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Sign of the Virgin
“The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
What kind of sign is this? Babies are born every day. There were 700 years between the giving of the sign and the birth of Christ. Christmas was a sign of … what? I’ll be glad to answer that question this morning.
Ahaz was an Eighth Century B.C. king of Judah, and one of the worst. How bad was he? He was so bad that when he died they didn’t even bury him in the same area with David and the other kings of Judah. He was ungodly and yet at the same time was very religious. He was the kind of man who was willing to worship anyone and anything - except the Lord. He sacrificed one of his own children to a pagan idol. When Isaiah 7 was written he had trouble with a coalition of nations that were on the march toward Jerusalem. Two large armies were coming for Ahaz, and it’s tempting to think that it couldn’t happen to a more deserving bad guy. The Lord is rich in mercy, however, and promised to defeat both invaders but it was important for God to receive the credit for the victory. A sign was needed.
There are a number of times when the Bible describes an event as a sign. It’s something tangible people can see or hear that confirms a spiritual truth. For example, when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” The forgiveness of sins is a spiritual reality. No one who was there that day could see sins flying away. However, the Lord next told him, “Arise, take up your bed.” When the paralyzed man did just that everyone understood that not only could Jesus heal, He really did have the authority to forgive sins. The healing became a sign.
In the case of the Lord’s rescue of Jerusalem, it may have been possible to credit their successful defense to brave soldiers, the deal Ahaz was making with Assyrians or even plain luck. So God gave Ahaz the privilege of choosing any sign to provide clear evidence that God was saving His people. He could ask God to change the weather, for example, perhaps a blizzard in Jerusalem in the middle of July. That should do it. But Ahaz was not willing to even name a sign. It’s not that he had such high regard for the Lord, but he simply didn’t think the Lord was worth the trouble.
So the Lord designated the birth of Jesus as a sign, even though He would not be born for centuries. How could that be a sign that would apply to the problem Ahaz was facing? Go back to verse thirteen where the prophet said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?” It’s important to note that when God gave His sign in verse fourteen the word “you” is plural in Hebrew. The offer was originally given to Ahaz, but the sign was given, not to him alone, but to all the descendants of David. When Jesus was born it was evidence that the defeat of these two armies really was the result of divine intervention.
The amazing sign was that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. You may remember that in Matthew 1:23 this verse is used as evidence that Mary really was a virgin when she was expecting Jesus. The phrase, often translated “the virgin shall conceive”, may give the impression that a girl who is now a virgin will conceive at some point in the future, as if it’s part of the verb. Not so. In Hebrew it’s actually an adjective that describes the virgin. The sign is the miracle of a pregnant virgin and the birth of a son who would be Immanuel, God with us.
The birth of Jesus was a miracle but even more than that it was a sign. It is proof that God’s limitless mercy is so great it will even rescue the worthless hide of a pagan king. It is tangible evidence that God does care about people here on earth. It is confirmation that God is mighty to save any sinner who will turn to Him.
Isaiah 7:14
What kind of sign is this? Babies are born every day. There were 700 years between the giving of the sign and the birth of Christ. Christmas was a sign of … what? I’ll be glad to answer that question this morning.
Ahaz was an Eighth Century B.C. king of Judah, and one of the worst. How bad was he? He was so bad that when he died they didn’t even bury him in the same area with David and the other kings of Judah. He was ungodly and yet at the same time was very religious. He was the kind of man who was willing to worship anyone and anything - except the Lord. He sacrificed one of his own children to a pagan idol. When Isaiah 7 was written he had trouble with a coalition of nations that were on the march toward Jerusalem. Two large armies were coming for Ahaz, and it’s tempting to think that it couldn’t happen to a more deserving bad guy. The Lord is rich in mercy, however, and promised to defeat both invaders but it was important for God to receive the credit for the victory. A sign was needed.
There are a number of times when the Bible describes an event as a sign. It’s something tangible people can see or hear that confirms a spiritual truth. For example, when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” The forgiveness of sins is a spiritual reality. No one who was there that day could see sins flying away. However, the Lord next told him, “Arise, take up your bed.” When the paralyzed man did just that everyone understood that not only could Jesus heal, He really did have the authority to forgive sins. The healing became a sign.
In the case of the Lord’s rescue of Jerusalem, it may have been possible to credit their successful defense to brave soldiers, the deal Ahaz was making with Assyrians or even plain luck. So God gave Ahaz the privilege of choosing any sign to provide clear evidence that God was saving His people. He could ask God to change the weather, for example, perhaps a blizzard in Jerusalem in the middle of July. That should do it. But Ahaz was not willing to even name a sign. It’s not that he had such high regard for the Lord, but he simply didn’t think the Lord was worth the trouble.
So the Lord designated the birth of Jesus as a sign, even though He would not be born for centuries. How could that be a sign that would apply to the problem Ahaz was facing? Go back to verse thirteen where the prophet said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?” It’s important to note that when God gave His sign in verse fourteen the word “you” is plural in Hebrew. The offer was originally given to Ahaz, but the sign was given, not to him alone, but to all the descendants of David. When Jesus was born it was evidence that the defeat of these two armies really was the result of divine intervention.
The amazing sign was that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. You may remember that in Matthew 1:23 this verse is used as evidence that Mary really was a virgin when she was expecting Jesus. The phrase, often translated “the virgin shall conceive”, may give the impression that a girl who is now a virgin will conceive at some point in the future, as if it’s part of the verb. Not so. In Hebrew it’s actually an adjective that describes the virgin. The sign is the miracle of a pregnant virgin and the birth of a son who would be Immanuel, God with us.
The birth of Jesus was a miracle but even more than that it was a sign. It is proof that God’s limitless mercy is so great it will even rescue the worthless hide of a pagan king. It is tangible evidence that God does care about people here on earth. It is confirmation that God is mighty to save any sinner who will turn to Him.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A Baby What?
One proposition that went down to defeat in the recent election was Colorado’s Proposition 62. Here’s how the proposal read:
“An amendment to the Colorado Constitution applying the term 'person' as used in those provisions of the Colorado Constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law, to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.”
I find it interesting that voters went to the polls to decide if an expectant Colorado mother was “with child” or “with” some other unknown life form. And I find it tragic that voters found unborn children less than human.
It’s not that the answer to the question is really that difficult. I doubt that anyone is confused about whether or not the result of conception is a new life. That’s not the issue. During a debate on the proposal, here’s the way one Colorado intellectual explained it:
“I mean I have a cold, so I have a virus in my body, and that’s also something little and living inside of me. But if I’m going to try to kill it I’m not gonna be like, ‘Oh no it was a virus thing I just killed a life.’ It’s not the same thing.”
To help the lady out a bit with her argument, I think that she was trying to say that a virus and an unborn child actually are the same. There is life, although not human life – in her opinion. And that was the opinion of most other Colorado voters.
But are these people really convinced that it’s possible for two humans to conceive something not human, something that at some later time becomes human? No one has even ventured into that uncertain ground. Like our President, they find it easier to simply declare the subject above their pay grades and move on.
The reality is that, yes even in Colorado, unborn children are alive and human and voters know it. This is a simple truth, but an uncomfortable one when deciding to kill them. Ultimately that’s why the people of that state voted to affirm what they knew to be a lie. By deeming the unborn to be unhuman the value of human life issue ceases to be a problem.
It has been done before. For example, in the Dred Scott decision of 1857 the Supreme Court decreed that black people are “beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race.” As with Colorado babies, legal issues regarding black brothers and sisters could be made to disappear by simply deeming them to be “of an inferior order.”
This leads us to the heart of the issue. What is it that makes human life valuable and who decides? I would insist that voters and justices are not qualified to determine the value of human life because they are not the ultimate source of life. That’s why the unalienable right to life is not bestowed by a benevolent government but by our Creator. Our laws can deny or withhold or regulate that right, as in Colorado, but they can never grant it.
You see, human life has value and is worth protecting because only humans have been created in the image of God. There is something unique about being human that has never been observed in any other creature. Man alone has the capacity for self consciousness and self determination, creativity, love, a sense of justice and morality. There is a kind of greatness in every person that doesn’t result from the ballot box or a courtroom.
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
Thomas Jefferson
“An amendment to the Colorado Constitution applying the term 'person' as used in those provisions of the Colorado Constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law, to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.”
I find it interesting that voters went to the polls to decide if an expectant Colorado mother was “with child” or “with” some other unknown life form. And I find it tragic that voters found unborn children less than human.
It’s not that the answer to the question is really that difficult. I doubt that anyone is confused about whether or not the result of conception is a new life. That’s not the issue. During a debate on the proposal, here’s the way one Colorado intellectual explained it:
“I mean I have a cold, so I have a virus in my body, and that’s also something little and living inside of me. But if I’m going to try to kill it I’m not gonna be like, ‘Oh no it was a virus thing I just killed a life.’ It’s not the same thing.”
To help the lady out a bit with her argument, I think that she was trying to say that a virus and an unborn child actually are the same. There is life, although not human life – in her opinion. And that was the opinion of most other Colorado voters.
But are these people really convinced that it’s possible for two humans to conceive something not human, something that at some later time becomes human? No one has even ventured into that uncertain ground. Like our President, they find it easier to simply declare the subject above their pay grades and move on.
The reality is that, yes even in Colorado, unborn children are alive and human and voters know it. This is a simple truth, but an uncomfortable one when deciding to kill them. Ultimately that’s why the people of that state voted to affirm what they knew to be a lie. By deeming the unborn to be unhuman the value of human life issue ceases to be a problem.
It has been done before. For example, in the Dred Scott decision of 1857 the Supreme Court decreed that black people are “beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race.” As with Colorado babies, legal issues regarding black brothers and sisters could be made to disappear by simply deeming them to be “of an inferior order.”
This leads us to the heart of the issue. What is it that makes human life valuable and who decides? I would insist that voters and justices are not qualified to determine the value of human life because they are not the ultimate source of life. That’s why the unalienable right to life is not bestowed by a benevolent government but by our Creator. Our laws can deny or withhold or regulate that right, as in Colorado, but they can never grant it.
You see, human life has value and is worth protecting because only humans have been created in the image of God. There is something unique about being human that has never been observed in any other creature. Man alone has the capacity for self consciousness and self determination, creativity, love, a sense of justice and morality. There is a kind of greatness in every person that doesn’t result from the ballot box or a courtroom.
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
Thomas Jefferson
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Forviging the Unforgiveable
How can we forgive the unforgiveable? The offense may be a decades old injury, or it may be yesterday’s insult. It may be life threatening or an unkind word. When someone slows us down on the highways, a common response is not forgiveness but road rage. Air Rage is the new term used to describe disgruntled passengers who are growing increasingly upset with the airline industry. Thus, they take their frustrations out on airline personnel.
This past week I met a woman who had been the victim of an abusive relationship. When she showed me some pictures of her last hospital visit I was amazed. She was so badly beaten that I would not have recognized her as the woman standing before me. As we talked about how she overcame that painful experience, I asked her if she had been able to forgive the man who had done this to her. Without hesitation she responded that she had been able to do that, and her countenance reflected the peace she had found. And as a result she started a ministry to provide shelter for other women in similar circumstances.
At the other extreme, as I write this, news reports are coming in telling us that a man was killed in a fight over a parking space. Isn’t it amazing that some people are able to forgive the worst in offenses and move on, while others consider losing a parking spot unforgivable? You see, it’s not the seriousness of the offense that makes it unforgiveable, it’s the attitude of the one offended.
I’m speaking to Christians today, not because we are less forgiving than others, but because this is an issue that requires God’s help. He not only commands us to forgive, He makes it possible as we are told in Ephesians 4:32. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”
Paul explains here what it means for a believer to put on “the new man,” one of the characteristics of new life in Christ. This was originally written to the church that would leave its first love in later years, and Paul may have had a sense that they were headed in that direction as he wrote this letter. That’s why he encouraged Christians in Ephesus to cultivate an attitude that includes kindness and a tender heart which leads to forgiveness. This is far different from the one who says “I can forgive but I can’t forget.” These are all heart issues that go beyond unfelt words.
It’s easy to be kind and tenderhearted toward those who treat us well, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible for Christians to transcend our natural inclinations and apply both to those who treat us badly. We are kind and tenderhearted when we have a spirit of compassion toward the person who has done us harm. It means awareness of another person’s hurts, sufferings and problems. It means that we look at our offender in the light of eternity.
The result of those attitudes is genuine forgiveness. The Christian treats that person as if the wrong had never occurred. How can we adopt these attitudes when they are so unnatural? We go to the cross. We forgive as we have been forgiven. And how have we been forgiven? Let’s think about that for a few minutes.
God has forgiven us without merit on our part. It may be natural to wait until our offender deserves our forgiveness, but that’s not the kind of forgiveness we have received. We were bankrupt and our debt was so great that nothing less than the cross could make restitution. Since God forgave our great debt, Christians are willing to write off the small offenses of others.
We were totally in the wrong and yet God has pardoned us fully. He didn’t forgive what was reasonable and leave us with the remaining guilt. We came to the cross clothed in filthy rags, deserving of death and walked away with the righteousness of Christ, clean and justified before a holy God. In the same way, the Christian forgives offenders completely and without reservation.
God’s forgiveness was costly. There never was a greater injustice than that day when the one Person who had done only good was crucified. Our Creator and Savior who had shown only love was treated with contempt, rejected by His own, mocked, beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross and then died in agony. Forgiveness may cost the Christian a few dollars or a little pride which we can easily spare and we do it for the One who gave everything for us.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are wondering where to go with an offense that seems beyond your ability to forgive I encourage you to bring it to the cross. There you may find that the debt is not so great after all, pardon is not unthinkable and forgiveness is not as costly as it once seemed.
This past week I met a woman who had been the victim of an abusive relationship. When she showed me some pictures of her last hospital visit I was amazed. She was so badly beaten that I would not have recognized her as the woman standing before me. As we talked about how she overcame that painful experience, I asked her if she had been able to forgive the man who had done this to her. Without hesitation she responded that she had been able to do that, and her countenance reflected the peace she had found. And as a result she started a ministry to provide shelter for other women in similar circumstances.
At the other extreme, as I write this, news reports are coming in telling us that a man was killed in a fight over a parking space. Isn’t it amazing that some people are able to forgive the worst in offenses and move on, while others consider losing a parking spot unforgivable? You see, it’s not the seriousness of the offense that makes it unforgiveable, it’s the attitude of the one offended.
I’m speaking to Christians today, not because we are less forgiving than others, but because this is an issue that requires God’s help. He not only commands us to forgive, He makes it possible as we are told in Ephesians 4:32. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”
Paul explains here what it means for a believer to put on “the new man,” one of the characteristics of new life in Christ. This was originally written to the church that would leave its first love in later years, and Paul may have had a sense that they were headed in that direction as he wrote this letter. That’s why he encouraged Christians in Ephesus to cultivate an attitude that includes kindness and a tender heart which leads to forgiveness. This is far different from the one who says “I can forgive but I can’t forget.” These are all heart issues that go beyond unfelt words.
It’s easy to be kind and tenderhearted toward those who treat us well, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible for Christians to transcend our natural inclinations and apply both to those who treat us badly. We are kind and tenderhearted when we have a spirit of compassion toward the person who has done us harm. It means awareness of another person’s hurts, sufferings and problems. It means that we look at our offender in the light of eternity.
The result of those attitudes is genuine forgiveness. The Christian treats that person as if the wrong had never occurred. How can we adopt these attitudes when they are so unnatural? We go to the cross. We forgive as we have been forgiven. And how have we been forgiven? Let’s think about that for a few minutes.
God has forgiven us without merit on our part. It may be natural to wait until our offender deserves our forgiveness, but that’s not the kind of forgiveness we have received. We were bankrupt and our debt was so great that nothing less than the cross could make restitution. Since God forgave our great debt, Christians are willing to write off the small offenses of others.
We were totally in the wrong and yet God has pardoned us fully. He didn’t forgive what was reasonable and leave us with the remaining guilt. We came to the cross clothed in filthy rags, deserving of death and walked away with the righteousness of Christ, clean and justified before a holy God. In the same way, the Christian forgives offenders completely and without reservation.
God’s forgiveness was costly. There never was a greater injustice than that day when the one Person who had done only good was crucified. Our Creator and Savior who had shown only love was treated with contempt, rejected by His own, mocked, beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross and then died in agony. Forgiveness may cost the Christian a few dollars or a little pride which we can easily spare and we do it for the One who gave everything for us.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are wondering where to go with an offense that seems beyond your ability to forgive I encourage you to bring it to the cross. There you may find that the debt is not so great after all, pardon is not unthinkable and forgiveness is not as costly as it once seemed.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Signature of God
When an artist places the last brush stroke on his masterpiece, the final touch will always be his signature. In a similar way, when God created the Universe He added His signature in the form of a number: 1.6180339887498948482… We have known about this number at least since the time of Pythagoras, and possibly even before then. Sometimes it is referred to by the Greek letter Phi, defined as 1 plus the square root of 5 divided by 2. Sometimes it’s called the Golden Ratio.
In Greek architecture the Parthenon and other Greek buildings used Phi. The dimensions of a number of some of the pyramids are close enough to Phi to indicate that it was used by the ancient Egyptians. It has been used in art works, music, even Fibonacci numbers. Most amazing, however, is the way Phi appears in nature.
For example, if you look at the pattern of seeds in a sunflower head you’ll see a design of criss-crossing spirals that are based on Phi. You’ll see it in the spiral pattern on pine cones, leaves, cactus plants, pineapples and others. The 16th century philosopher, Heinrich Agrippa, drew a man over a pentagram inside a circle demonstrating that the proportions of the human body correspond to Phi.
Adolf Zeising found Phi expressed in the arrangement of branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. He extended his research to the skeletons of animals and the branchings of their veins and nerves, and to the proportions of chemical compounds and to the geometry of crystals.
In 2003, two researchers analyzed psychometric data and theoretical considerations and concluded that Phi underlies the clock cycle of brain waves. In 2008 this was empirically confirmed by a group of neurobiologists.
In outer space, the orbital periods, mean distances, and orbital velocities of the planets in the solar system are all related to Phi. You can see Phi in the spiral pattern of galaxies, including our own.
The Bible teaches us that we live in a fallen world where creation “groans and labors with birth pangs together until now”. (Romans 8:22) And yet even through the distortion caused by sin’s curse we can see evidence that our world is God’s work.
Educated fools preach that we inhabit a universe of nothing but chaos and randomness. They see no design because that would imply a Designer. Our world, they loudly insist, is nothing but a collection of cooling gases. Its creatures exist at the meaningless pleasure of time and chance. And He who sits in the heavens laughs as he lovingly places His signature on atoms and galaxies, pine cones and people, in His unique way, 1.6180339887498948482…
“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
Psalm 19:1
In Greek architecture the Parthenon and other Greek buildings used Phi. The dimensions of a number of some of the pyramids are close enough to Phi to indicate that it was used by the ancient Egyptians. It has been used in art works, music, even Fibonacci numbers. Most amazing, however, is the way Phi appears in nature.
For example, if you look at the pattern of seeds in a sunflower head you’ll see a design of criss-crossing spirals that are based on Phi. You’ll see it in the spiral pattern on pine cones, leaves, cactus plants, pineapples and others. The 16th century philosopher, Heinrich Agrippa, drew a man over a pentagram inside a circle demonstrating that the proportions of the human body correspond to Phi.
Adolf Zeising found Phi expressed in the arrangement of branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. He extended his research to the skeletons of animals and the branchings of their veins and nerves, and to the proportions of chemical compounds and to the geometry of crystals.
In 2003, two researchers analyzed psychometric data and theoretical considerations and concluded that Phi underlies the clock cycle of brain waves. In 2008 this was empirically confirmed by a group of neurobiologists.
In outer space, the orbital periods, mean distances, and orbital velocities of the planets in the solar system are all related to Phi. You can see Phi in the spiral pattern of galaxies, including our own.
The Bible teaches us that we live in a fallen world where creation “groans and labors with birth pangs together until now”. (Romans 8:22) And yet even through the distortion caused by sin’s curse we can see evidence that our world is God’s work.
Educated fools preach that we inhabit a universe of nothing but chaos and randomness. They see no design because that would imply a Designer. Our world, they loudly insist, is nothing but a collection of cooling gases. Its creatures exist at the meaningless pleasure of time and chance. And He who sits in the heavens laughs as he lovingly places His signature on atoms and galaxies, pine cones and people, in His unique way, 1.6180339887498948482…
“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
Psalm 19:1
Friday, September 24, 2010
Generational curses: when it’s grandpa’s fault.
Someone told me this week that he was doomed because his entire family was under a curse passed down from previous generations. Isn’t it sad to think that your life is burdened with the actions of people you have never met? Unfortunately some faulty teaching has not helped to dispel the misunderstandings that abound about that issue.
I have heard some insist that demons are able to torment people based on the actions of their ancestors. You can, they would say, inherit red hair, freckles and a family demon from your parents. Let me set your mind at ease about that scary idea. The Bible never describes any demon as a curse. Neither demons nor the devil have the ability to curse a person and they don’t attach themselves to families.
Others claim that generational curses are family illnesses, like cancer, that result from the sins of an ancient ancestor. Continual financial difficulties, mental problems, persistent irrational fears and depression or anything that seems to be a persistent struggle or problem may be labeled a generational curse. It’s almost enough to make us join the besieged Israelites who cried out, “Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities.” (Lamentations 5:7)
The concept of generational curses comes from several passages in the Bible, like Exodus 34:6, 7, where the Lord describes Himself as “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." So to understand this idea we need to camp on the text for a while.
The text tells us that the Lord “visits” the iniquity of the fathers. Is the Lord’s visitation a curse? The Hebrew word actually means to attend to or pay attention to someone or something. It can refer to either blessing or judgment, but when our sin attracts the Lord’s attention, we can be sure that some sort of judgment is implied.
You may also notice that it is the “iniquity” of the fathers that attracts the Lord’s attention. This does not mean that God judges anyone for sins he or she has not committed. It does mean that when one person allows a consistent pattern of sin in his life, his children and grandchildren are likely to repeat the same sin and be judged for it. It’s the iniquity, not the family connection that is judged.
Remember Abraham? He was a great man of faith, but he had a problem with honesty. Genesis records two near disasters that resulted from his pattern of telling people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. This was half true, because she was his half sister, but it was also completely a lie. Genesis 26 records the pattern repeated in his son, Isaac, who also told people that his wife, Rebekah, was his sister, another lie. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, was also famous for his dishonesty and even planned an elaborate hoax to deceive his father and cheat his brother. Three generations picked up the same sinful pattern of dishonesty.
However, when God ‘visited’ Jacob, He was not judging the grandson for sins of Abraham but for his own iniquity. That’s why no one can call himself “doomed” by the sins of the prior generation. When God encountered Jacob by the Jabbok he limped away from the experience with a bad leg, a new name and a changed heart. (See Genesis 32) You will never find another example recorded in Scripture of deceit or dishonesty on Jacob’s behalf. The pattern had been broken. Let me suggest that’s why you can see evidence of the old family sin in his older sons but not in his younger sons, Joseph and Benjamin.
Yes, we are all influenced by patterns of sin we learn from our ancestors, but by God’s grace we can change. Those patterns can be broken.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
I have heard some insist that demons are able to torment people based on the actions of their ancestors. You can, they would say, inherit red hair, freckles and a family demon from your parents. Let me set your mind at ease about that scary idea. The Bible never describes any demon as a curse. Neither demons nor the devil have the ability to curse a person and they don’t attach themselves to families.
Others claim that generational curses are family illnesses, like cancer, that result from the sins of an ancient ancestor. Continual financial difficulties, mental problems, persistent irrational fears and depression or anything that seems to be a persistent struggle or problem may be labeled a generational curse. It’s almost enough to make us join the besieged Israelites who cried out, “Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities.” (Lamentations 5:7)
The concept of generational curses comes from several passages in the Bible, like Exodus 34:6, 7, where the Lord describes Himself as “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." So to understand this idea we need to camp on the text for a while.
The text tells us that the Lord “visits” the iniquity of the fathers. Is the Lord’s visitation a curse? The Hebrew word actually means to attend to or pay attention to someone or something. It can refer to either blessing or judgment, but when our sin attracts the Lord’s attention, we can be sure that some sort of judgment is implied.
You may also notice that it is the “iniquity” of the fathers that attracts the Lord’s attention. This does not mean that God judges anyone for sins he or she has not committed. It does mean that when one person allows a consistent pattern of sin in his life, his children and grandchildren are likely to repeat the same sin and be judged for it. It’s the iniquity, not the family connection that is judged.
Remember Abraham? He was a great man of faith, but he had a problem with honesty. Genesis records two near disasters that resulted from his pattern of telling people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. This was half true, because she was his half sister, but it was also completely a lie. Genesis 26 records the pattern repeated in his son, Isaac, who also told people that his wife, Rebekah, was his sister, another lie. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, was also famous for his dishonesty and even planned an elaborate hoax to deceive his father and cheat his brother. Three generations picked up the same sinful pattern of dishonesty.
However, when God ‘visited’ Jacob, He was not judging the grandson for sins of Abraham but for his own iniquity. That’s why no one can call himself “doomed” by the sins of the prior generation. When God encountered Jacob by the Jabbok he limped away from the experience with a bad leg, a new name and a changed heart. (See Genesis 32) You will never find another example recorded in Scripture of deceit or dishonesty on Jacob’s behalf. The pattern had been broken. Let me suggest that’s why you can see evidence of the old family sin in his older sons but not in his younger sons, Joseph and Benjamin.
Yes, we are all influenced by patterns of sin we learn from our ancestors, but by God’s grace we can change. Those patterns can be broken.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Monday, September 13, 2010
Signs, Wonders and Flying Footballs
I was making my rounds as a military chaplain one day, visiting other soldiers who were also in the field when I arrived at one of our units and found a very ill soldier. In fact, he looked so bad that I expected him to be evacuated as soon as possible. As we talked, I shared some Scripture with him and prayed for his healing before continuing with my visits. Because his condition was serious, I made it a point to visit the same unit the next day to see how he was doing and was surprised to discover that he had recovered completely and was back on duty. When I located the soldier he said that he had never believed in God before our talk, but that while I was praying for him that he could actually feel himself recover. He was convinced that it was God at work.
A poll published by Newsweek in May, 2000 reported that 84 percent of Americans believe in miracles and 48 percent of us say we have witnessed or experienced one. Include me in both groups because God can and does work in our world today. However, quite a few people have questions about “signs and wonders” and the way they fit in with contemporary Christian life. The Roman Catholic Church regards evidence of miracles as a requirement for sainthood. Some charismatic groups consider miracles to be a part of normal life for every believer. So let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the subject.
The prophet Joel predicted that when the Day of the Lord took place, it would be accompanied by, “wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath.” (Joel 2:30) At Pentecost Peter applied Joel’s prophecy to the gift of the Holy Spirit and the miracles that were taking place at that time. And yet the prophecy still applies to future events, which is why the term interests so many Christians today.
Is there a difference between a sign and a wonder? There is, and it may be helpful to begin there. A sign is a physical manifestation that demonstrates a spiritual truth. It refers to things that can be seen which provide insight about things that can’t be seen. For example, if you were standing on a sidewalk in front of your house when a football came flying over the roof, your natural conclusion would be that there was someone you couldn’t see on the other side of the house who either threw or kicked that ball over. The flying football, something you could observe and study, was a “sign” of a reality you couldn’t see. That’s why all miracles recorded in the Gospel of John are called signs.
A wonder is something so unusual that it is beyond what is possible in the material world. It’s an event so amazing that it makes a person want to investigate further. When the New Testament uses this Greek word, it is always combined with “signs”.
A sign places emphasis on the doer. A wonder places emphasis on the observer. When Jesus turned water to wine, it was called a sign because Jesus used it to allow the disciples to see His glory through a miracle. Those who saw the miracle take place would call it a wonder. They aren’t two different miracles, but the same event seen from two different points of view.
It’s interesting that the combination “signs and wonders” is used 17 times in the New Testament. Peter used it twice in his sermon on Pentecost to confirm the ministry of Jesus. It is used nine times to confirm the ministry of the apostles. Both the ministry of Jesus and the work of the apostles were related to the start of the Church age and its authenticity as a genuine work of God.
Are signs and wonders for Christians today? Unlike those who lived in the apostolic age there is no need to confirm the authenticity of the Church. That message has already been confirmed by God through Scripture.
Are signs and wonders a means to bring the unsaved to faith? No, faith is always a gift from God as we are told in Ephesians 2:8, 9. That’s why the disciples believed when they saw miracles while others saw the same miracles and did not believe. In fact miracles not only don’t lead to saving faith, they can be a means of deception. The New Testament mentions signs and wonders as characteristic of the ministry of the Antichrist, with the result that people will be deceived by what they see. (See, for example, 2 Thessalonians 2:9.)
Miracles are, however, a means for believers in any age to accomplish God’s will. We should never limit God to specific patterns of behavior that conform to our finite expectations. We should never allow the gift to take our eyes off the giver. Faith healers who claim that God always heals in response to their ministry are presuming upon the Holy Spirit. Those who claim that God never heals are doing the same thing. The Spirit moves like the wind, beyond human understanding, but we can affirm that that His work is always exactly right.
The soldier God healed did not make a profession of faith while we were in the field and I have never seen him since. Only the Lord knows the rest of that story. He did, however, promise to find a Bible preaching church and seriously investigate the gospel, so there is hope because that is the true picture of how God uses signs and wonders today.
A poll published by Newsweek in May, 2000 reported that 84 percent of Americans believe in miracles and 48 percent of us say we have witnessed or experienced one. Include me in both groups because God can and does work in our world today. However, quite a few people have questions about “signs and wonders” and the way they fit in with contemporary Christian life. The Roman Catholic Church regards evidence of miracles as a requirement for sainthood. Some charismatic groups consider miracles to be a part of normal life for every believer. So let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the subject.
The prophet Joel predicted that when the Day of the Lord took place, it would be accompanied by, “wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath.” (Joel 2:30) At Pentecost Peter applied Joel’s prophecy to the gift of the Holy Spirit and the miracles that were taking place at that time. And yet the prophecy still applies to future events, which is why the term interests so many Christians today.
Is there a difference between a sign and a wonder? There is, and it may be helpful to begin there. A sign is a physical manifestation that demonstrates a spiritual truth. It refers to things that can be seen which provide insight about things that can’t be seen. For example, if you were standing on a sidewalk in front of your house when a football came flying over the roof, your natural conclusion would be that there was someone you couldn’t see on the other side of the house who either threw or kicked that ball over. The flying football, something you could observe and study, was a “sign” of a reality you couldn’t see. That’s why all miracles recorded in the Gospel of John are called signs.
A wonder is something so unusual that it is beyond what is possible in the material world. It’s an event so amazing that it makes a person want to investigate further. When the New Testament uses this Greek word, it is always combined with “signs”.
A sign places emphasis on the doer. A wonder places emphasis on the observer. When Jesus turned water to wine, it was called a sign because Jesus used it to allow the disciples to see His glory through a miracle. Those who saw the miracle take place would call it a wonder. They aren’t two different miracles, but the same event seen from two different points of view.
It’s interesting that the combination “signs and wonders” is used 17 times in the New Testament. Peter used it twice in his sermon on Pentecost to confirm the ministry of Jesus. It is used nine times to confirm the ministry of the apostles. Both the ministry of Jesus and the work of the apostles were related to the start of the Church age and its authenticity as a genuine work of God.
Are signs and wonders for Christians today? Unlike those who lived in the apostolic age there is no need to confirm the authenticity of the Church. That message has already been confirmed by God through Scripture.
Are signs and wonders a means to bring the unsaved to faith? No, faith is always a gift from God as we are told in Ephesians 2:8, 9. That’s why the disciples believed when they saw miracles while others saw the same miracles and did not believe. In fact miracles not only don’t lead to saving faith, they can be a means of deception. The New Testament mentions signs and wonders as characteristic of the ministry of the Antichrist, with the result that people will be deceived by what they see. (See, for example, 2 Thessalonians 2:9.)
Miracles are, however, a means for believers in any age to accomplish God’s will. We should never limit God to specific patterns of behavior that conform to our finite expectations. We should never allow the gift to take our eyes off the giver. Faith healers who claim that God always heals in response to their ministry are presuming upon the Holy Spirit. Those who claim that God never heals are doing the same thing. The Spirit moves like the wind, beyond human understanding, but we can affirm that that His work is always exactly right.
The soldier God healed did not make a profession of faith while we were in the field and I have never seen him since. Only the Lord knows the rest of that story. He did, however, promise to find a Bible preaching church and seriously investigate the gospel, so there is hope because that is the true picture of how God uses signs and wonders today.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Is it a sin to have one beer?
Ask Pastor Mark Driscoll this question and his answer will be, “No problem.” In fact, he may even buy the first round.
Obviously Christians disagree about social drinking. Many of my heroes of the faith would disagree with me, and in all honesty, I haven’t even convinced everyone in our own congregation! Even so, I must let the Bible answer that question, which I’ll do here.
It was a caller from North Carolina who put this in the form of asking about one beer. Why one? Why beer? He didn’t say, but he may have been asking the question many others would like to ask. Perhaps he was looking for a verse in the Bible that commands, “thou shalt not drink.”
Would it make a difference to you if I could show you one verse that requires total abstinence from alcohol? How about three?
Consider first the command given to priests in Leviticus 10:9. "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.” (Leviticus 10:9) God’s rationale behind this command is, “that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken”
Then there is the command given to Nazarites in Numbers 6:2, 3. “When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink.” (Numbers 6:2, 3) God’s reasoning in this case is that, “All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD.”
Thirdly, I’ll also mention the case of the royal family because the Bible teaches us that, “It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. (Proverbs 31:4, 5)
Our Southern caller, if he is reading today, might be thinking that this is all OLD Testament stuff. Ancient laws concerning Jewish priests, Jewish Nazirites or Jewish kings have absolutely nothing to do with New Testament Christians, right? Before he makes that argument, however, I’d encourage him to meditate on 1 Peter 2:9, where Christians are called “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” It does seem that the Lord intends for there to be some correlation between those ancient laws and the Church.
But even beyond that, my friend, there is a principle that Scripture is teaching through this pattern. Why do you think that God would want to spoil the party for these fine people by giving them a commandment that did not apply to others? From the rationale given in the text we can conclude that these three groups of people were to represent God’s highest ideal, and alcohol in any amount would interfere with holiness, judgment, their ability to apply God’s will to daily life. These are things to which believers in any age should aspire.
Because of God’s requirement for priests, Nazirities and kings it is reasonable to conclude that He considers this a higher standard for His people and is one He would like to see in those who aspire to be close to Him. And because God doesn’t change, I would conclude that the same is true today. That’s why contemporary Christians today can apply these principles to our lives.
That brings us to the bottom line then in applying the Bible’s teaching concerning alcohol. Your own answer to the question will depend on your personal goals. If your goal is to find the lowest standard possible for a Christian, then I’d say drink up. If you are truly a child of God, Happy Hour is not going to keep you out of heaven. I would have to say, however, that if that’s all you desire from the Christian life, you have reason to be concerned.
If, however, your goal is to find God’s very best for your life. If your passion is holy living and a closer walk with the Lord, then I would strongly encourage you to follow the pattern given to us in the Bible and stay away from alcohol in any form and in any amount.
My great desire is for all of God’s people to experience the best that God has in store for them. So this morning, I’ll raise my Starbucks travel mug and propose a toast. “Here’s to God’s very best for you today.”
Obviously Christians disagree about social drinking. Many of my heroes of the faith would disagree with me, and in all honesty, I haven’t even convinced everyone in our own congregation! Even so, I must let the Bible answer that question, which I’ll do here.
It was a caller from North Carolina who put this in the form of asking about one beer. Why one? Why beer? He didn’t say, but he may have been asking the question many others would like to ask. Perhaps he was looking for a verse in the Bible that commands, “thou shalt not drink.”
Would it make a difference to you if I could show you one verse that requires total abstinence from alcohol? How about three?
Consider first the command given to priests in Leviticus 10:9. "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.” (Leviticus 10:9) God’s rationale behind this command is, “that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken”
Then there is the command given to Nazarites in Numbers 6:2, 3. “When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink.” (Numbers 6:2, 3) God’s reasoning in this case is that, “All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD.”
Thirdly, I’ll also mention the case of the royal family because the Bible teaches us that, “It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. (Proverbs 31:4, 5)
Our Southern caller, if he is reading today, might be thinking that this is all OLD Testament stuff. Ancient laws concerning Jewish priests, Jewish Nazirites or Jewish kings have absolutely nothing to do with New Testament Christians, right? Before he makes that argument, however, I’d encourage him to meditate on 1 Peter 2:9, where Christians are called “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” It does seem that the Lord intends for there to be some correlation between those ancient laws and the Church.
But even beyond that, my friend, there is a principle that Scripture is teaching through this pattern. Why do you think that God would want to spoil the party for these fine people by giving them a commandment that did not apply to others? From the rationale given in the text we can conclude that these three groups of people were to represent God’s highest ideal, and alcohol in any amount would interfere with holiness, judgment, their ability to apply God’s will to daily life. These are things to which believers in any age should aspire.
Because of God’s requirement for priests, Nazirities and kings it is reasonable to conclude that He considers this a higher standard for His people and is one He would like to see in those who aspire to be close to Him. And because God doesn’t change, I would conclude that the same is true today. That’s why contemporary Christians today can apply these principles to our lives.
That brings us to the bottom line then in applying the Bible’s teaching concerning alcohol. Your own answer to the question will depend on your personal goals. If your goal is to find the lowest standard possible for a Christian, then I’d say drink up. If you are truly a child of God, Happy Hour is not going to keep you out of heaven. I would have to say, however, that if that’s all you desire from the Christian life, you have reason to be concerned.
If, however, your goal is to find God’s very best for your life. If your passion is holy living and a closer walk with the Lord, then I would strongly encourage you to follow the pattern given to us in the Bible and stay away from alcohol in any form and in any amount.
My great desire is for all of God’s people to experience the best that God has in store for them. So this morning, I’ll raise my Starbucks travel mug and propose a toast. “Here’s to God’s very best for you today.”
Monday, August 23, 2010
Did Christ Create Klingons?
“God .. has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1, 2
Genesis tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but in Hebrews we read that Christ made “the worlds”. What caught my attention and curiosity was the mention, not of the earth, but of the worlds. (The NIV has “the universe”.) Yes, the writer used the plural, which immediately makes some of us think that Hebrews may be boldly going where no biblical writer has gone before. Are there Klingons out there? Did our Lord populate other planets with alien beings, or are there other kinds of worlds somewhere?
I got curious and started doing some research. What I discovered was that the “worlds” mentioned in this verse are a little closer to home. In the New Testament there are actually three different Greek words translated with the same English word: “world”.
Gai is used to describe planet earth as a whole, often in contrast to the heavens, as Jesus used it in Matthew 5:18, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away ...” But that’s not the word used here.
Then there is kosmos, which refers to the world’s system. By that I mean the people, events and things that are working together to oppose God. That’s the way John used the word in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” But that is not the kind of world made by Christ.
The third kind of “world” is the Greek word, aion which normally refers to long periods of time, like eons or ages or generations. This is the same word Jesus used when He promised “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. (Matthew 28:20) To my surprise, that’s the word used in this verse.
So why do translators take a word that refers to periods of time and translate it worlds or even “the universe”? The context is the key. This passage is a clear reference to the Lord’s work of creation, which includes the sun, moon, stars, earth, planets and everything in them. It also includes the creation of time.
It may be difficult for us to conceive of time as something that has a beginning (and end), but it truly is tied closely to the rest of creation. The earliest measurement of time was apparently the changing phases of the moon. Then around 1500 B.C., the Egyptians began using sundials to measure the time of day. As you might expect, today we have developed more precise methods to measure time. For example, according to Wikepedia, the current official definition of a second is, “the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.” It’s interesting, isn’t it that no matter how we try to refine them, all of our measurements of time are still connected to simple observations of motion within God’s creation?
I get it now. Without the rest of creation, there would be no ages, generations or eons. I can understand why scholars chose the English word “worlds” to translate aion in this case. Let’s not stop there, however. We should be thinking about periods of time or even dispensations when we exegete or apply this verse. If our Lord created time and all the ages since that day, then He is the one in control of the events of history, the days of your life, and the ages still in the future. This means that time does not consist of days and years filled with random events and meaningless acts. Time has a destination and it follows the course laid out by its Creator.
Unfortunately this verse, packed with meaning as it is, won’t help with the Klingon issue. What it will do is give us the encouragement of knowing that our Savior, the One who love us the most, is also Lord over all the ages.
Genesis tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but in Hebrews we read that Christ made “the worlds”. What caught my attention and curiosity was the mention, not of the earth, but of the worlds. (The NIV has “the universe”.) Yes, the writer used the plural, which immediately makes some of us think that Hebrews may be boldly going where no biblical writer has gone before. Are there Klingons out there? Did our Lord populate other planets with alien beings, or are there other kinds of worlds somewhere?
I got curious and started doing some research. What I discovered was that the “worlds” mentioned in this verse are a little closer to home. In the New Testament there are actually three different Greek words translated with the same English word: “world”.
Gai is used to describe planet earth as a whole, often in contrast to the heavens, as Jesus used it in Matthew 5:18, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away ...” But that’s not the word used here.
Then there is kosmos, which refers to the world’s system. By that I mean the people, events and things that are working together to oppose God. That’s the way John used the word in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” But that is not the kind of world made by Christ.
The third kind of “world” is the Greek word, aion which normally refers to long periods of time, like eons or ages or generations. This is the same word Jesus used when He promised “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. (Matthew 28:20) To my surprise, that’s the word used in this verse.
So why do translators take a word that refers to periods of time and translate it worlds or even “the universe”? The context is the key. This passage is a clear reference to the Lord’s work of creation, which includes the sun, moon, stars, earth, planets and everything in them. It also includes the creation of time.
It may be difficult for us to conceive of time as something that has a beginning (and end), but it truly is tied closely to the rest of creation. The earliest measurement of time was apparently the changing phases of the moon. Then around 1500 B.C., the Egyptians began using sundials to measure the time of day. As you might expect, today we have developed more precise methods to measure time. For example, according to Wikepedia, the current official definition of a second is, “the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.” It’s interesting, isn’t it that no matter how we try to refine them, all of our measurements of time are still connected to simple observations of motion within God’s creation?
I get it now. Without the rest of creation, there would be no ages, generations or eons. I can understand why scholars chose the English word “worlds” to translate aion in this case. Let’s not stop there, however. We should be thinking about periods of time or even dispensations when we exegete or apply this verse. If our Lord created time and all the ages since that day, then He is the one in control of the events of history, the days of your life, and the ages still in the future. This means that time does not consist of days and years filled with random events and meaningless acts. Time has a destination and it follows the course laid out by its Creator.
Unfortunately this verse, packed with meaning as it is, won’t help with the Klingon issue. What it will do is give us the encouragement of knowing that our Savior, the One who love us the most, is also Lord over all the ages.
Monday, August 16, 2010
We’ll all be pre-trib on the way up. (A modest, but irrefutable defense of the Pretribulation Rapture.)
It may be a sign of the end times that so many people are interested in prophecy, especially concerning the Second Coming of Christ. When I wrote about the rapture of the church last week, I promised that I’d say a word about its timing – pre, mid or post. So here it is.
In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus described events prior to His return as “great tribulation.” He also referred to the prophecy of Daniel, who predicted that the tribulation would be a period of seven years beginning with a covenant between the Antichrist and Israel. That seven year period, the Great Tribulation, is key to understanding the timing of the rapture.
It’s no surprise that Christians who are looking forward to the Rapture often have differing ideas about when that day will arrive. In recent years, the Post Tribulation theory has been gaining in popularity. This means that the Church will go through the Great Tribulation and then meet the Lord in the air while He is returning to earth to judge those who are left behind. Others think the Rapture will take place sometime during that seven year period.
This is all fine with me, because once we are on the way up everyone will know that the Rapture takes place BEFORE the Tribulation. Where does the Bible say that? Thanks for asking.
First of all, it’s important to understand God’s purpose in bringing great tribulation on this earth. The Tribulation is for and about Israel. Daniel said that it will begin with a covenant made with Israel. Jeremiah called it “the day of Jacob’s trouble.” Obviously, 70 pound hailstones can be a headache for everyone, and Gentile nations will be judged but the purpose will be so that “he (Jacob) shall be saved out of it.” (See Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 9:27) By the end of that seven year period, Jews will finally acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah and Savior as He assumes the throne of David.
This is what Paul meant when he said that “all Israel will be saved.” (See Romans 11:26.) Yes, many have tried to spiritualize Romans 11, but it seems clear to me that throughout this wonderful chapter “Israel” means Israel and “saved” means saved. If you understand the antipathy of many Jews today in regard to Christianity, perhaps you can understand that it will take some major upheaval for that change of heart to take place.
That’s also why the book of Revelation is structured as it is. In its first three chapters, the book is addressed to the churches, there are letters to seven churches, Jesus is seen walking in the midst of the churches. And yet when the graphic descriptions of the Tribulation are given (beginning with the scene in heaven in Chapter 4) the church is not even mentioned once. The entire focus is on Israel, the Jews, Jerusalem, the Temple. You’ll notice that in Revelation 7:3 John saw an angel who came to earth to seal the 144,000 servants of God, all from Israel. It can be interesting listening to explanations about why these particular Church members are not sealed, or were somehow “unsealed” and needed to be sealed again, but the clearest and simplest explanation is that the Church won’t be there. We’ll already be in heaven.
Yes, much more could be said. You’ll notice that I haven’t even mentioned foolish virgins, not being appointed to wrath, the restrainer being taken out of the way or not knowing the day or the hour. The important thing to understand, Church, is that the Tribulation is not about you. It’s about Israel. So, my mid, post, pre-wrath and even amill. friends, perhaps you should be listening for the last trumpet. See you on the way up.
In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus described events prior to His return as “great tribulation.” He also referred to the prophecy of Daniel, who predicted that the tribulation would be a period of seven years beginning with a covenant between the Antichrist and Israel. That seven year period, the Great Tribulation, is key to understanding the timing of the rapture.
It’s no surprise that Christians who are looking forward to the Rapture often have differing ideas about when that day will arrive. In recent years, the Post Tribulation theory has been gaining in popularity. This means that the Church will go through the Great Tribulation and then meet the Lord in the air while He is returning to earth to judge those who are left behind. Others think the Rapture will take place sometime during that seven year period.
This is all fine with me, because once we are on the way up everyone will know that the Rapture takes place BEFORE the Tribulation. Where does the Bible say that? Thanks for asking.
First of all, it’s important to understand God’s purpose in bringing great tribulation on this earth. The Tribulation is for and about Israel. Daniel said that it will begin with a covenant made with Israel. Jeremiah called it “the day of Jacob’s trouble.” Obviously, 70 pound hailstones can be a headache for everyone, and Gentile nations will be judged but the purpose will be so that “he (Jacob) shall be saved out of it.” (See Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 9:27) By the end of that seven year period, Jews will finally acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah and Savior as He assumes the throne of David.
This is what Paul meant when he said that “all Israel will be saved.” (See Romans 11:26.) Yes, many have tried to spiritualize Romans 11, but it seems clear to me that throughout this wonderful chapter “Israel” means Israel and “saved” means saved. If you understand the antipathy of many Jews today in regard to Christianity, perhaps you can understand that it will take some major upheaval for that change of heart to take place.
That’s also why the book of Revelation is structured as it is. In its first three chapters, the book is addressed to the churches, there are letters to seven churches, Jesus is seen walking in the midst of the churches. And yet when the graphic descriptions of the Tribulation are given (beginning with the scene in heaven in Chapter 4) the church is not even mentioned once. The entire focus is on Israel, the Jews, Jerusalem, the Temple. You’ll notice that in Revelation 7:3 John saw an angel who came to earth to seal the 144,000 servants of God, all from Israel. It can be interesting listening to explanations about why these particular Church members are not sealed, or were somehow “unsealed” and needed to be sealed again, but the clearest and simplest explanation is that the Church won’t be there. We’ll already be in heaven.
Yes, much more could be said. You’ll notice that I haven’t even mentioned foolish virgins, not being appointed to wrath, the restrainer being taken out of the way or not knowing the day or the hour. The important thing to understand, Church, is that the Tribulation is not about you. It’s about Israel. So, my mid, post, pre-wrath and even amill. friends, perhaps you should be listening for the last trumpet. See you on the way up.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
What Does the Bible Say About the Rapture?
I’m surprised at how often the subject of the rapture comes up on our television program. Someone will point out the fact that the word “rapture” is not even mentioned in the Bible and wonder why it is that we Christians, or Baptists in particular, insist on talking about it so much.
Let’s think about that for a few minutes.
The first church I served as Pastor was in the western part of the United States and may have been a little more informal than some other groups. It was not unusual for someone to raise a hand in the middle of my Sunday morning sermon and ask, “Where does the Bible say that?” Actually that’s not a bad question to ask, and I’d like to answer that today.
In John 14 you will find Jesus and the Twelve in an upper room on the final evening of His earthly ministry. He had many things to teach disciples, such as the fact that He would go away. Then in verse three, He told them, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
What interests me about this verse is that it is so different from other descriptions of the Lord’s Second Coming. Scripture tells us that Jesus will come to the earth. He will come to rule the nations. He’ll come to defeat Satan. Here, He told them that instead of coming to join His disciples, He’ll come and receive them, implying that they will come to Him.
In all honesty, if that was the only verse in the Bible that talks about the issue, you probably wouldn’t use that to come up with the doctrine of the Rapture. It would remain an interesting mystery. Fortunately, there are places where the Bible does explain what Jesus meant by this.
The Apostle Paul offered some help when he said something even more shocking in 1 Corinthians 15. Ever since Adam, the human race has been under a death penalty. Our hope is not to escape death, but to go through death to resurrection. Here, however, one of the things Paul taught was that there are some people who will not go through death, but will go directly from this life to resurrection. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52
How does that happen? Paul gives a description in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17 when he said, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
That’s the Rapture. The Lord comes down and Christians who are alive at the time shoot up to meet Him! It is also where we came up with the word “rapture”. The word may not be in any English translation but the word for “caught up” in the Vulgate (rapiemur) is where it comes from.
Who wouldn’t talk about something so great?
And, of course, it raises the question, when? Pre? Post? Mid?
I’ll be glad to answer the question and we’ll see what the Bible has to say about it next time.
Have a great day, everyone.
Let’s think about that for a few minutes.
The first church I served as Pastor was in the western part of the United States and may have been a little more informal than some other groups. It was not unusual for someone to raise a hand in the middle of my Sunday morning sermon and ask, “Where does the Bible say that?” Actually that’s not a bad question to ask, and I’d like to answer that today.
In John 14 you will find Jesus and the Twelve in an upper room on the final evening of His earthly ministry. He had many things to teach disciples, such as the fact that He would go away. Then in verse three, He told them, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
What interests me about this verse is that it is so different from other descriptions of the Lord’s Second Coming. Scripture tells us that Jesus will come to the earth. He will come to rule the nations. He’ll come to defeat Satan. Here, He told them that instead of coming to join His disciples, He’ll come and receive them, implying that they will come to Him.
In all honesty, if that was the only verse in the Bible that talks about the issue, you probably wouldn’t use that to come up with the doctrine of the Rapture. It would remain an interesting mystery. Fortunately, there are places where the Bible does explain what Jesus meant by this.
The Apostle Paul offered some help when he said something even more shocking in 1 Corinthians 15. Ever since Adam, the human race has been under a death penalty. Our hope is not to escape death, but to go through death to resurrection. Here, however, one of the things Paul taught was that there are some people who will not go through death, but will go directly from this life to resurrection. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52
How does that happen? Paul gives a description in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17 when he said, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
That’s the Rapture. The Lord comes down and Christians who are alive at the time shoot up to meet Him! It is also where we came up with the word “rapture”. The word may not be in any English translation but the word for “caught up” in the Vulgate (rapiemur) is where it comes from.
Who wouldn’t talk about something so great?
And, of course, it raises the question, when? Pre? Post? Mid?
I’ll be glad to answer the question and we’ll see what the Bible has to say about it next time.
Have a great day, everyone.
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