The Gander Brook Center for Christian Leadership

Posted on February 27, 2012 by parklinscomb

For those of you living in New England among the churches of Christ, there is a leadership weekend happening this weekend (March 2-4) at the Gander Brook Christian Camp campus in Raymond ME.

Classes set for the next weekend

  • Sermons 102 — Billy McGuiggan (Preaching track)
  • Sermon practicum* — panel (Preaching track)
  • The work and obligations of a Shepherd — George Carruthers (Appointed and potential leaders)
  • Counseling basics — Park Linscomb (Appointed and potential leaders)
  • Marriage counseling 101 — Park Linscomb — (Appointed and potential leaders)

Schedule

Friday

  • Sermons — preaching
  • The work and obligations of a shepherd — Appointed and potential leaders

Saturday

  • Sermon preparation — preaching
  • Counseling basics — Appointed and potential leaders

Sunday

  • Sermon practicum — Preaching track
  • Marriage counseling — Appointed and potential leaders

* Preaching track students, bring a sermon to work on and polish for the sermon practicum

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The End — Revelation 19-22

Posted on February 25, 2012 by parklinscomb

Well, with today’s reading we come to the end of our daily journey through the Bible. It has been a challenge to me personally to both read, reflect, and try to write something cogent that people might want to read. I intend to continue writing in this blog, but not daily. I hope that if you’ve followed me this far that you’ll continue to read my more occasional posts, which will continue to be focused on the text of the Scriptures. Thanks to many of you who have encouraged me through responses, “likes”, comments, emails, and the like.

Today’s reading gives us a look into the very, very last things before eternity begins in earnest — the justice due to Satan and the wicked will be justly meted out. The Lord and His saints will win, and the new Jerusalem will come down from Heaven as a bride for her husband, Jesus, our Lord. It’s an advance look at the highlights of the greatest victory of all history. Have you ever watched a big football game for the first time from your DVR? As a preacher and finding myself really busy on Sundays (when most pro football games are being play) I’ve had to watch most of my Patriot football games on the DVR — after I’d already heard the score on the radio on the way home? And OK, it’s not quite as exciting, but it gives me a lot less heartburn. When the other team makes a really big play, no matter how bad the momentum is going against us, I can take comfort in knowing that the “good guys” did win in the end (eh, except in the Patriot’s case, in the Super Bowl, of course). God has given us a great gift, we get to see the score before we watch the game play out; and we win! And the reason? To give us hope to hang on, even when it looks like our team is losing, the momentum is going the other way, we have good reason to hope and hang on — we know who wins in the end.

Never enough Hallelujahs! — 19:1-6

God is here bringing all the trouble and trial and suffering to an end. The multitudes in Heaven, angels and saints, are shouting Hallelujah (“Praise YHWH”). It’s been a long hard slog for God, angels, and men against the powers of evil. God has been extremely gracious, generous, and patient toward deceived men, but the time has come for all the suffering evil has caused to come to an end. And especially when that blessed hour comes, there will never be enough Hallelujahs: 1) Salvation, glory and power belong to our God who avenged the blood of the saints, 2) the smoke of God’s enemies goes up forever, 3) what has happened to God’s enemies is right, and 4) our God reigns forever!

The Lamb becomes the Lion — 19:11-21

We’re used to thinking of Jesus as the humble, kindly, sacrificial Lamb of God — and He is; but a time is coming when the world will see a different Jesus, the Lion of Judah. Here is a picture of the avenging Christ, the just Lord punishing and purging the evil that has risen up and caused so much suffering, death, and sin. He is “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”, and He rules them with a rod of iron, treading the wine press of the fierce wrath of God. I guess you could say, “No more Mr. Nice Guy!” God has always had both a loving and gracious nature and a just and fierce nature. He has shown His love and grace in Jesus, but those who refuse this grace will have only His justice and wrath. This truth is reflected in what Isaiah says (and later Jesus Himself — Matt. 23:37)

Isaiah 65:1-6 ““I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name. “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots. “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. “Behold, it is written before Me, I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom,”

The first resurrection — 20:4-6

There have been a number of suggestions as to what the first resurrection might be. Some have suggested that it is part of a pretribulational premillennial plan of God — not a position I buy. Others that it is a metaphorical resurrection of their witness (of Jesus as Lord) in the success of the church (historians have noted that the church seemed to have grown in the “fertilizer” of the blood of the martyrs). What makes the most sense to me is the sense in which Jesus used a first and second resurrection remark in John 5 —

John 5:25-29 ““Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

The first call of Jesus, “an hour is coming and NOW IS”, will bring the dead back to life (e.g., Romans 6:4-6 and Eph. 2:1ff), a first resurrection, the time of one’s baptism into Christ. The second call of Jesus, “an hour is coming”, will be the general resurrection of the good and evil for the time of judgment. It is especially in this sense that we can understand how the second death will have no power over those who have experienced the first resurrection. Have you partaken in this first resurrection?

1000 bound and then released to deceive the nations — 20:1-10

According to this passage Satan was to be bound for 1000 years. What was that intended to mean? Clearly it has to do with his ability to “deceive the nations” (v. 8). But what does that mean? That he wouldn’t tempt anyone for 1000 years? That there’d be no sin on the earth for 1000 years? I suspect that it has directly to do with persecution of the first couple of centuries of Christianity, which Satan had been behind. There would be a long indefinite period time (1000 years), when Christianity was not going to be persecuted the same way that it was in those first few centuries. However, at the end of that period of time, toward the end of time, Satan will again be loosed to “deceive the nations”, persecute the church (we’ve already talked about the dire circumstances Christians and the church will likely face toward “the end”) almost to the point of extinction (Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”). The point: Hang on!

The end of evil — 20:11-14

Why hang on? Because just when all the forces of evil have been concentrated and brought to bear against the Lord and His church, God will bring down the curtain and put a final and complete stop to all the evil and madness. Judgment of all the world from the beginning of time to the end will be carried on and executed. None will be exempted, everyone one of them judged according to their works. And death and Hades (even death itself shall die) and everyone whose name was not in the book of life will be thrown in the lake of fire, Hell. Let there be no mistake, sin (disobedience to God) isn’t a game, it’s not just a little fun, it’s nothing to play with or minimize; it will send you to Hell and you need to avoid it at all — ALL — costs.

Description of the bride — 21:1–22:7

And now that the evil has been summarily and forever dealt with, the wedding of eternity, the wedding that has been waiting since the fall at Eden, takes place! The bride of Christ, the church, the new Jerusalem, comes to her groom arrayed in a beautiful white dress, the righteous deeds of God’s people. She is the the bride, who Christ loved so much that He (Ephesians 5:25-27) “… gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” It is an epic love story, spanning the history of time and ending in tenderness and consummation (21:3,4).

The balance of the description of the bride as the new Jerusalem, the church, and Heaven — the metaphorical descriptions are getting somewhat mixed in this climax of glory — is rich and glorious. Indeed it is probably safe to say, “Better than advertised.” How so? Look at the golden streets, made of gold so pure that it is transparent like glass. No gold we know of in this world is transparent, which tells us that our God is trying to “describe red to a child blind from birth”, describe something so great that we have no words or things to compare it to. If Heaven is just the way it is described, it will be greater than great — but I just have a hunch that it will be so great that if I saw it with my own eyes, it would literally blow my tiny human mind. Heaven — be there at all — ALL — costs.

No deletions and no additions needed — 22:18-19

And yes, this passage actually is referencing the fact that no one should take anything from this specific book of prophecy, but if no one should take anything from this specific book of prophecy, it follows quite naturally that we should take nothing from any of God’s words — or make any additions. God revealed it as it should be revealed, as men need it revealed, no deletions and no additions needed or wanted.

Which leads me to a closing thought, as we finish this voyage through the Bible, we don’t need to stop here. Let me encourage you to flip the Bible back to Genesis and go through the whole Scripture again and again. You’ll find something new each time you read through. But just be careful to do it. We can delete or add to God’s word without actually drawing a line through text or writing new text into our Bibles by merely choosing to ignore parts of God’s word or going beyond what has been written. Keep reading, keep growing, and keep faithful.

As I mentioned earlier, I will continue to write more on this blog, just not everyday. I look forward to your company and your comments. So, I’ll alter my closing remark now to…

See you soon, Lord willing.

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Fallen, fallen is Babylon — Revelation 16-18

Posted on February 24, 2012 by parklinscomb

As I’ve mentioned before, the strands tell about the various aspects of God’s judgments on the world. Today’s reading deals with the strand of prophecies dealing with the finishing of God’s wrath on the material world.

Har-Magedon — 16:13ff

Chapter 16 deals with God’s plagues on the world in ways that are intended to remind us of the plagues of Egypt. This is not accidental, since the plagues on Egypt were the prelude to Israel’s liberation, like these plagues are a prelude to the liberation of God’s people and even of the creation:

Romans 8:19-23 “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

But as the effect of these plagues of God mount up the forces of evil gather in an effort to make one great push, for the war of the great day of God. The place where they gather is called Har-Magedon (Armageddon, otherwise known as Meggido), referencing a hill fortress on the western side of the plain of Jezreel. It is at this “place” that suddenly the Lord appears and decisively vanquishes all His enemies (v. 15) — “it is done” (v. 17).

Are these plagues literal? Is this great battle going to happen literally at the hill (Har) of Meggido. Remember this is a mystery, broad outlines of God’s strategy without the details, usually clear only after the fact. So, maybe, maybe not — I’m guessing “not literal”; what I am certain about is that it will happen just as God has revealed it. And what we most need to get out of it all is actually in v. 15, hang on! Hang on even when the sky seems to be (maybe literally) falling, even when the force of evil are gathering in gargantuan numbers against the saints, even when it all seems like a lost cause — because Jesus just may be “right around the corner”.

The great harlot, taken down by the beast — 17:1ff

How perfectly ironic that the great harlot, called Babylon, a great materialism tool in the hand of Satan, should be taken down by another great tool in Satan’s hand (v. 16). God, just as in the case of Assyria, uses another pagan power to punish the first. God just lets evil men punish other evil men — not unlike how murderers are often reputed in prisons to abuse and punish sex offenders.

This prophecy, like many of the Revelation prophecies probably are also, is likely to be a double prophecy — something to be fulfilled in the near future and in the more distant future. In the near future Babylon seems clearly to be Rome, since she is sitting on 7 hills. Will the more distant “Babylon” fulfillment be also sitting on 7 hills? Maybe. Is the more distant “Babylon” Rome again? Maybe. Will it be literal Babylon? Not likely, since Babylon was prophesied (in Isaiah and Jeremiah) never to be rebuilt. What it represents is a city or place that is the financial and trade center of the world, that seduces the world with its money and corruption. But it’s economic might couldn’t save it from destruction; though men fight for it thinking that it offers them great protection, money is a treacherous shield against destruction.

What would that city or place be today? I’ll let you assess that. But the point here for us is to resist being seduced or corrupted with the materialism of the great harlot — a tough maneuver to pull off and sustain in a consumer society like ours, wouldn’t you agree?

Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great — 18:1ff

Her fall was to be swift and complete. It will cause the leaders of the nations, the merchants of the markets, and the peoples of the world to mourn — the source of all the material wealth and sensuality is gone, forever gone! Why? “In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth!” (.v 24). When wealth and fortune become the prime value of one’s life, the value of the lives of others, the value of right, the value of truth, the value of integrity, of compassion, of faith fades into the shadows. Prophets, saints, and whoever else might oppose them are really quite dispensable. Money becomes the thing, the measure, the metric for success and meaning and even goodness (right). No wonder Babylon falls so completely and quickly — and justly. You can hear the celebration echoing from the next room (the next chapter)!

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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The Song of Moses and the Lamb — Revelation 13-15

Posted on February 23, 2012 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading is about another strand of God’s victory over the evil world that has been oppressing and persecuting God’s people — the villains of the 42-months (3.5 years).

Satan — 13:1

It’s important to realize who’s behind this whole thing. Just in yesterday’s reading we were reading how the dragon (Satan) went off to make war with the rest of the Woman’s children to see if he can pick them off one by one; and now he is pulling up his vicious minions for this one last push — going down in a blaze of eternal “inglory” and infamy. It is Satan that is behind the great persecution of the first two centuries, the persecution now, and the last great push toward the end of time. Refuse to be picked off! Persevere! Be courageous! Do what’s right! Stand firm with the Lord!

The Beastly government — 13:2ff

The original readers of this revelation probably clearly understood the Roman Empire to be the beast here. Will there be such a government toward the end of time? If so, it will likely be something like the old Roman Empire — broadly influential over most of the world, anti-Christian in nature, economically strong or controlling, and (by looking at the beasts it is compared to) swift, violently powerful, and viciously consuming. Worst of all, he’ll make war with the saints during this “42 month” period (not likely to be literal) and will overcome them! This brings the words of Jesus to mind, (Luke 18:8) “I tell you that [God] will bring about justice for [persecuted saints] quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” And those living during these dark days have severe challenges before them — Revelation 13:10 “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

The Beastly religious leader — 13:11ff

The beastly government will be buttressed by a beastly religion. Rome, of course, demanded emperor worship (“Caesar is lord!”) while offering a pinch of incense on an altar — as a token of loyalty to the state. Will there be something like this toward the end of time? Maybe. Perhaps as a real religion, perhaps as just a statement of faith in certain “politically correct” things (e.g., atheism, evolution, or 1984-like credos that must be accepted as truth) that try to supplant the supremacy of Christ as Lord. Christ must always reign supreme, must always be the priority, in the Christian’s life. It may cause trouble with the world around us, who will embrace the world’s wisdom, but we must remain faithful!

The Doom of the villains — 14:1ff

But these villains will finally meet their ignominious end, no matter how powerful or invincible they may seem to the eye. The Christian can rely on the promises of God and can persevere on the basis of those promises of God, who will not allow evil to stand or triumph — Revelation 14:12 “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”

Singing the song of Moses — 15:1ff

What is the song of Moses and why is it relevant here? The song of Moses was sung by newly freed men when Israel crossed the Red Sea leaving the drowning Egyptians and their slavery behind (Exo. 15:1ff). It is relevant because God’s people in this passage have also been rescued — (v. 2) “those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name.” Point? After the salvation of the Lord has been completed, we will have more than adequate reason to also rejoice! Hang in there, whatever the challenges are, and sing the song of Moses, too!

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Satan loses — Revelation 10-12

Posted on February 23, 2012 by parklinscomb

As we consider today’s reading, let’s keep in mind the apocalyptic language being used. These prophesied events aren’t to be taken literally, this isn’t like reading a newspaper or a history book. The keys to much of what we read can be found in the Old Testament’s rich mine of symbols, especially Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. And even so, as you do dig down into the meanings of these things, please also keep in mind that they still will remain mysteries, the precise events and people will remain cloaked, becoming clear only after the event itself.

The purpose of this revelation is not to give us a heads-up on exact people and events, but rather they were intended to give the readers down through the ages the sure and steadfast hope of God’s word that no matter how bad things get, God still wins — and therefore, so do we, if we remain faithful. Such a hope really does provide an anchor for the soul, when the storms of life — and even of prophecy — break on us. When these persecutions hit and things look dark indeed, we can confidently remember that God anticipated all of it well in advance; and it is no sign of defeat, but rather a sign that God’s ultimate victory and our salvation is sure. Speaking of such mysteries…

Seal up the things spoken — 10:4

Not everything that is given in a revelation to a prophet (or apostle) is for public consumption. Here John hears the seven great peals of thunder, he is then told to seal it up and not write it down. Apparently, it was something only for John to know. This isn’t terribly unusual. God told Moses that there might be things that humans would like to know, but that God will either not divulge at all, or divulge to a very select few — Deuteronomy 29:29 ““The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” He told Daniel (Daniel 8:26), “The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future.” And Paul tell us that in a vision he (2 Corinthians 12:4) “was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” Why? Perhaps like as God told Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:5), “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days– You would not believe if you were told.” Perhaps, it is because we wouldn’t be able to handle it; maybe we wouldn’t be able to understand it (it may be way over our ability to follow); maybe we only THINK we want to know; or maybe God keeps certain things secret like a general keeps His operational matters secret. We needn’t be concerned about the details of God’s plan, He’s got it all under control.

Sweet but bitter — 10:8ff

The scroll that John is told to eat here apparently has prophecies about the future. Why does it have a sweet taste but a bitter effect on the stomach? This may be a message for the martyrs under the altar, or the martyrs of that age that had not given their lives yet, or the Christians at the very end of time — the ultimate victory is coming (the sweet taste) but there’s a lot of bitter in between now and the victory. And this is important for us to remember in our personal lives as well as in the larger picture — we do win (great news!) but there are plenty of trials between here and there. Israel celebrated on the other side of Red Sea as Pharaoh and his army drowned in the Red Sea; they were free and would be given the Promised Land. But there would be plenty of trials between the Red Sea and the Jordan River. The goal is to be as faithful and courageous as Joshua and Caleb.

Two witnesses — 11:1ff

And no, I don’t think these two witnesses are Joshua and Caleb. In fact, I don’t know who they are. They are obliquely compared to Elijah and Moses in v. 6. They are compared with Jeshua the priest and Zerubbabel (v. 4), from Zech. 4. They are martyrs (the Greek word for witness) and prophets and they will serve the Lord during a period of great tribulation — 1260 days, 42 months, and 3.5 years are all the same length of time and they symbolize intensely troubled, but time-limited periods. Whoever they are — people, OT and NT, or whatever — they make the world really uncomfortable with their preaching of the Gospel, and when they are killed, the world celebrates — until they are raised up again (3.5 days later, sound familiar?) to the world’s amazement and terror. And here this revelation seems to end at “the end”. Some of these revelations in Revelations are like strands of prophecy about certain aspects of God’s victory, leading us to the end. Some look at the call of God through disaster to the world in hopes of their repentance — right down to the end. Others like this one focus on the persecution of the world upon the church during the last days of world. Others seem to focus on the fall of the world power of their day (Rome) with parallels to a similar downfall of a similar power at the end of time. Daniel does a similar thing as he talks about the 4 great empires three different times in his prophecy — each with a different emphasis in mind.

The woman and the child — 12:1ff

Here’s a wonderful look at the stretch of God’s dealing with His people to bring about their salvation. The woman symbolizes God’s people in the OT and the NT. The child is the Christ. The serpent is Satan. The picture is one in which Satan is trying everything to kill the woman, but God continues to intervene and rescue her to Satan’s ultimate and complete failure. The message? God will always be there to take care of His people — always!

The dragon was enraged with the woman — 12:17

But the dragon is enraged with the woman and goes off to make war with her children. Who are these children? You and me, the individual disciples. Satan will not be able to destroy the corporate people of God, the church, but he can attempt to pick us off individually and he does. Like a raging criminal, knowing that he cannot win, he is determined to do as much damage as he possibly can. Therefore, we must watch out.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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Victorious — Revelation 7-9

Posted on February 21, 2012 by parklinscomb

We’re still plowing through the book of Revelation. Hopefully, you’re seeing the big picture, grasping the main ideas of the book: the need to avenge the martyr’s blood, the suffering God will bring to the sinful world, the unrepentance of the world, and God’s care and concern for His people. This will continue today as the martyrs are comforted and the world suffers woe at the blast of God’s trumpets. Keep in mind as you read today that these matters were to be understood as happening “soon” — apparently in the days of the original readers of the Revelation who were living the tribulation. This isn’t to say that some of these sorts of things might not occur toward the end of the time — double prophecy is a common occurrence in Scripture — but since it is a mystery (as we discussed earlier) it is not possible to be sure one way or the other.

Victorious through the tribulation — 7:9ff

After the Lamb breaks the sixth seal, there is a “time-out” before more woe falls on the earth to be sure to protect God’s people, those with God’s seal on their foreheads. Seals were used in a general sense to prevent tampering. You marked stuff important to you with your seal, so that others wouldn’t mistake it for their own, or to insure that others wouldn’t just take your stuff — after all, it had your seal or mark on it. Seals were also used to prove that no one had tampered with something (food, drink, or document); if the seal were broken without the owner’s knowledge, someone had stolen some of your stuff or had done something to alter a document. God’s people were going to be sealed — marked as His and not tampered with. The 144,000 was not intended to be an exact number, like Jehovah’s Witnesses claim, but rather it was intended to indicate the whole number (12 being a perfect number and 1000 being a large number) of God’s people — no one left out. This same great multitude (which couldn’t be numbered this time) are carrying palm branches (symbols of victory) in their hands and coming from the great tribulation. These are being comforted by the Lord: God spreads His tabernacle over them, they will never again hunger or thirst, they’ll never be again struck down by the sun, and God will tenderly wipe away every tear from their eyes! The point for us? Hang on through trial and suffering, the reward is great and tender and comforting and victorious! You don’t win with revenge and getting even; you win by persevering and letting God execute justice.

Prayers like a firebomb — 8:3-5

This is such a powerful mental picture as you read through. The Lamb breaks the seventh seal, followed by… wait for it … wait for it … silence. Dramatic effect or meaning? And the answer might be yes to both. Something dramatic is about to happen, for sure; but it could also mean that just because nothing appears to be happening now, that nothing will happen. All down through time and history God has chosen the proper times for all that He has done — and it all has been done perfectly with everyone’s best interest at heart. We can trust His judgment on such things. But once He chooses to act, watch out. The bowl of the saints prayers mixed with incense, set afire by the coals of the altar in Heaven is thrown to the earth like a firebomb!

Still trying to call them to repentance — 8 and 9

Even though these things are intended to be judgment from God, however, it is also clear that they are intended to have been calls to repentance, too. There are woes upon the world itself, there are spiritual woes, and even warfare! Yet, despite all these things men still refused to turn away from their wicked and sinful ways — specifically their idolatry, murders, theft, and sexual immorality (possible ways in which they are persecuting or oppressing the saints). The bad things that happen in this world can often be “two-furs” — punishment for wrongdoing and pleadings to return (just like the appropriate punishment of a parent to a child).

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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The Grand Scene of God’s Throne — Revelation 4-6

Posted on February 20, 2012 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading continues with the book of Revelation, but the easy part is over. The next several chapters are heavily cloaked in apocalyptic language which is intended, as I mentioned yesterday, to reveal only the outlines of what God has planned without giving specific details. Please keep this in mind as we read through. Some have made the mistake of seeing too much in these visions. It is best to take them as broad sketches of God’s plans.

The Grand Scene — 4:1ff

This wonderful look into the throne room of God — even given the fact that it is a physical attempt to describe something spiritual — is amazing! The feel is majestic and awesome (in the truest sense of this often abused latter adjective). And this is the intention of this portion of the revelation. It was important for a severely persecuted church to know that their God was truly King of the universe, and that nothing Satan or his agents could do would ever really even come close to defeating Him. The final verse summarizes this for the original readers and us — Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Never doubt that God will win. Sometimes things look pretty dark, but that’s only the way things look, that’s not the way they really are.

The Grand Scheme — 5:1ff

And indeed there is a great and grand scheme that God has predetermined for the course of this world. This is not to say that God has planned out all the details of my life and yours; we still have our own moral will and make our own decisions. But God has a destination in mind for the history of the world, for the fate of the sinful, and the reward of the saved. We may join either side, but the final destinies of those general groups are already fixed and determined — clearly we do well to join the winning side. But it appears that Jesus is the executor of this grand scheme, since He is deemed worthy to open the scroll (book). It’s contents seem to be aimed directly at the plan for answering the prayers of the saints and particularly of the martyrs.

All the prayers of the saints are heard and kept — 5:8

This isn’t an expansive passage but it has an important message for anyone who’s ever suffered because of the name of Jesus: God has heard and even keeps your prayers. When prayers aren’t answered with a “yes”, the temptation is that God hasn’t heard and that your prayer has “died” as the last echoes of your voice faded out. But this idea that the prayers of the saints are kept in an incense bowl is kind of comforting; those prayers didn’t just fade into the ether; God is keeping them and intends to answer them in His own time. For who suffer, the answers to our prayers may not be quite as soon as we had in mind, but when He does answer (as we’ll see later) it will be with final authority!

Made a kingdom — 5:10

There are theologies that believe that the kingdom of God is still in the future. But here in the book of Revelation we can see that He has already made (past tense) a kingdom and priests as we reign on the earth with the Lord. Now, of course, there’s a fuller sense in which we’ll be that kingdom after the end of time in the eternal realm, but don’t miss the fact that we are actually in that kingdom now.

How long, O Lord? — 6:9ff

Here’s a disturbing and yet comforting revelation. As the martyrs, those who had given their lives already in the service of the King, ask how long these persecutions and martyrdoms would go on, ask for God’s judgment and just revenge to finally rain down on a world who had shed their blood, the Lord says essentially, “Wait. Wait until the full number of your martyr brethren are also slain.” Gulp! The mortal struggle goes on. That wasn’t particularly good news for the folks hearing this for the first time — or even in our own day — because the mortal struggle between good and evil, God and Satan, would go on, goes on even now, and will go on until the end. Gulp! But the comforting part is, first, that their victory (symbolized by their white robes) and struggle is over, and, second, that justice really will be done — because God is “holy and true”, He doesn’t lie and He doesn’t let injustice prevail. Here are important things to be reminded of — we’ve seen things like this before in our readings — we are not just at war, we are in the war zone, and the our already defeated but enraged enemy will cause as much suffering and even death as he can manage. So don’t be surprised. Remember this passage just a few days ago: 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you”? So be strong, persevere, be hupomene (the Greek word for more than mere longsuffering, it is a word for heroic, courageous, and defiant perseverance to the death)!

Trying to hide from the Lord — 6:15ff

When the hammer finally does fall on the wicked world, however, the wicked world will find no comfort. They’ll wish for the rocks and hills to fall on them (ouch) to hide them from the judgment of the Lord — though it will do them no more good than the fig leaves and Adam and Eve tried as they hid in the bushes from God walking through the Garden.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Letters to the churches of Asia — Revelation 1-3

Posted on February 19, 2012 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading begins the last book of the Bible, Revelation. It is written by the apostle John toward the end of his life on the island of Patmos, where he was being detained as punishment for being a Christian leader. The Bible tells us that Jesus on the cross asked John to look after His mother, Mary; and church tradition tells us that in time John moved to and lived in Ephesus for a long period of time as he took care of Mary. Indeed there is a ruin of a very early church building (built by Constantine’s mother) in Ephesus named after Mary. All this is said merely to point out that John would be very familiar with and in relatively close communication with the churches in Asia even in his captivity. According to Revelation’s opening lines, John received this revelation from Christ Himself and it starts with letters to the various churches in the Roman province called Asia, which really composes modern western Turkey.

Revelation is written in apocalyptic language. This was a sort of literature with origins going back to Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. It is rich with symbolic language and gives just enough information to provide a general outline of prophecy without giving the sort of details that would make things easy to see. Or to put it another way, apocalyptic language lets us see the outline of someone behind a curtain, but obscures things enough that you can’t tell who it really is — until after the fact. I mention this because Revelation is the constant reading of some folks who believe that with enough study of the numbers and symbols and codes they’ll be able to crack the revelation and be able to tell us all exactly when the end of time will come. To be blunt, it’ll never happen.

The main point of Revelation is NOT to reveal the time of the end, which Jesus told us will never happen. The main point is to say that before the end occurs things will get really, really tough for Christians, but Christians must hang on. Hang on by you fingernails, if you must, but hang on! It will indeed be true that it will darkest before the dawn, but hang on — God wins. No matter how bad it looks, that’s only how it looks, that’s not the way it really is, hang on.

With this out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the major thoughts in the first three chapters of Revelation.

Revelation 2:1ff — Leaving your first love

There was a lot that Ephesus had done right. What Jesus had against them was that they just weren’t as zealous as they had once been. Unless they repented of this, their lampstand would be removed — no longer be part of Christ’s church! A little scary, don’t you think? Because it’s easy over the years to let our faith become less passionate. We don’t always intend to, of course, but the world’s weeds just sort of dampen our zeal. Worship become a little routine. Prayer becomes a little rote. Our minds and times are filled with work, kids, chores, friends, hobbies, etc. and Jesus just gets marginalized. Why does this matter? Because when persecution comes, or when hard choices must be made, or when we must turn our backs on things of this world that we love a less than full-on zeal will sometimes make the wrong decision and deny the Lord. Don’t leave your first love; in fact, do what you must to grow your love, intensify your love — stoke it, sharpen it, and make Jesus the first priority.

Revelation 2:8ff — Be faithful until death and I will give you a crown of life

Here’s a great promise. But it is one that has stipulations, that I hope you noticed. It’s not just “I will give you a crown of life”. It is 1) be faithful and 2) until death. Faithfulness is about obedience and consistency. “Until death” probably originally carried the nuance of being faithful even to the point that they slit your throat, feed you to the lions, or use you for human torches — all things done to ancient Christians. But in today’s world, where (at least for now) persecution of Christians is relatively rare, it carries the nuance of “without retirement”. There’s a book written by Steve Farrrar, Finishing Strong that pointed out and brought this reality home to me years ago as it pointed out the many examples in the Bible and contemporary life of those who started strong, but finished weak or not at all. How important it really is to realize that a good beginning doesn’t necessarily translate to a good finish — we must be diligent and remain wary of the “lion” that lies in wait seeking to devour us all our Christian life long. The crown of life is for those who have remained faithful all the way to the end of this world’s pilgrimage.

Revelation 2:12ff — The new Balaam and the Nicolaitans

The Nicolaitans are called out by name twice in these letters to the churches from Jesus, here and in the letter written to the Ephesians. It is not know precisely what they might have taught apart from references among early church writers who mentioned a certain lawlessness that led to complete immorality. The comparison of the Nicolaitans to Balaam therefore is a reference to Balaam’s willingness to be a preacher for hire, saying anything for pay; in this case, Balaam’s counsel to King Balak to entice Israel to sin against God through sexual immorality, and therefore curse themselves in God’s sight. There are important lessons not to be missed here. Those who desire to preach, must preach God’s work alone; and although they may be paid, they must not be hirelings.

Revelation 2:18ff — Beware of Jezebel and her immorality

There’s a good chance in this case that the “Jezebel” of this section may have also been a female Nicolaitan who had taught this lawlessness and even lured brethren to her bed of immorality — a double temptation. For such highhanded rebellion (refusing to repent, even after confronted), the Lord planned a very visible and severe punishment to her and her followers. The churches needed to know that this teaching was completely unacceptable. We live in a time in which the loosened moral restraints and vagueness of truth in society are tempting even Christians to compromise their principles. But despite the disdain that the world will offer to those who hold the godliness of Scripture, we really must resist. Holiness, including sexual morality, doesn’t change with the times.

Revelation 3:1ff — Wake up!

Sardis is a city which sat atop a supremely defensible mountain (pictured here), and, had therefore, twice suffered a defeat through being so overconfident that their guards fell asleep on watch and never even resisted the invaders. Consequently, Jesus’ command to them was to wake up and strengthen the things that remained — implying that some good things had already bitten the dust and that there was danger that the rest would be falling soon. Wake up! Satan is quite pleased when we become inattentive, confident in our strength and ability to resist — and “asleep at the switch”. In my several years working with teens, the one’s that scare me the most are the ones who will, with supreme confidence, declare that they will never, ever do drugs or alcohol. I worry, with good reason, that they may fall hard — and some do. But it doesn’t just apply to teens; any of us can become so overconfident that we let our guard down and set ourselves up for a big fall. We must stay awake and vigilant in our Christian walk, always.

Revelation 3:7ff — Kept Christ’s word of perseverance

What does it mean to keep Christ’s word of perseverance? It means to endure heroically regardless of the persecution or hardship that comes our way. Philadelphia had done just that to their great credit and the pleasure of the Lord. Are you?

Revelation 3:14ff — Don’t be lukewarm

Laodicea was in a valley below a warm springs just to the north at Heiropolis. By the time it got to Laodicea it was lukewarm and not pleasantly drinkable. Which is the prime point of Jesus’ letter to this church, who thought that in their wealth they were also spiritually healthy. “Not so much,” Jesus seems to be saying. The point for us seems clear enough, especially in a materialistic society such as ours: wealth doesn’t equal spiritual health. Lukewarmness is always a danger.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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False teaching, living, and additions — 2 John, 3 John, Jude

Posted on February 18, 2012 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading will take us through three short letters written to unknown churches (2 & 3 John) or general churches (Jude). They’re all short, one chapter a piece. And they all deal with problems in a direct and concise way.

The author of 2 & 3 John is John the apostle, apparently later in his life and ministry. Second John deals with a doctrinal error that had apparently begun to infect a church in his sphere of ministry, probably the province of Asia, where John is said to have spent the last few years of his life. Third John deals with a personality problem that threatened to disrupt the unity of the church in the region and place one church in particular under the dominance of a self-seeking leader.

The author of Jude is identifies himself to be the brother James (presumably the one who wrote the book of James), and therefore, also the half-brother the Lord Jesus. We know that Jesus had four other brothers and that two of them are named James and Jude (Judas) — Matthew 13:55 ““Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” And similar to James’ straightforward style of exhortation, Jude seems to be quite direct, too.

Jude tells us that he had originally intended to write them about an apparently more doctrinally broad and uplifting letter about salvation. However, he had found it necessary, because of some new challenge to the faith, to encourage them to “contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Although this new challenge is not directly named, the false teachers that he seems to be addressing include 1) those who deny Christ (v.5), 2) those who reject authority (v.6), 3) those who engaged in licentious behavior (v.7), 4) those who revile angels (v. 10), and 5) the greedy and rebellious (v.11). These were invading the love feasts of the church and corrupting the church with their sins. I’m tempted to identify them as gnostics, but I don’t want you to think that I’ve got gnosticism on the brain. 🙂

With these things out of the way, let’s take a look at a few things of interest…

What to do with false teachers — 2 John

If false teachings are to be avoided, then false teachers themselves are to be avoided. Sometimes this is the hardest part of dealing with false teachers; sometimes they’re friends, sometimes they’re friendly and even charismatic. They are hard to turn away. But John warns us not to even eat with them. Harsh? Strong medicine? Over the top? Paul had a similar warning, 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’” The longer you hang around them, the more likely you’ll be to be influenced by force of their winsome personality to ignore Scripture and follow their notions. “But how will we ever reach them to pull them back?” you might rightly ask. Teaching and fellowship association are different things. I would be great to win them back to the Lord, but it would be tragic to lose your salvation. Be careful!

Diotrephes who loves to be first — 3 John

Now John deals with a different issue. False doctrine isn’t the issue here, but false living is. To many of my readers it may seem beyond comprehension that someone who is a Christian would be so self-centered, so ambitious, even so competitive that he/she would actively cull out of the church anyone who posed a threat to his/her popularity or influence. But it does happen. This is the primary problem that Paul occasionally ran into in his missionary activity that always started in a synagogue. When Paul’s message became too popular — including the Gentiles — sometimes the local synagogue leadership would stir up trouble for him. The Jewish leadership was at least partially motivated by this jealousy, when they condemned Jesus and delivered Him over to Pilate for crucifixion. And there has been more than one church controversy that was really more of a power struggle than a doctrinal problem, but which got “wrapped” in doctrine to make it more legitimate. Pride is an insidious and voracious destroyer, and Diotrephes suffered from it severely. Elevated to leadership, Diotrephes couldn’t afterward stand playing second fiddle. Be careful of this one, too.

The faith which was once for all handed down to the saints — Jude 1:3

I’ve talked about this before but it bears repeating, Christianity as it has been given to us in the Bible is not a “starter kit”. It doesn’t need additions, it doesn’t need innovations, it doesn’t need extra oomph. No new doctrines, no newly discovered documents or doctrines, no “evolution” or “emergence”. The Gospel is perfect precisely as it has been given to us in the Scripture. It’s pattern is “tight” enough to please the Lord and “loose” enough fit any culture or age.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, we’ll be on the “home stretch” and begin Revelation, the last book in the Bible. See you tomorrow, then, Lord willing.

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Greater is He who is in you — 1 John 4-5

Posted on February 16, 2012 by parklinscomb

Yesterday we looked at John as he spoke the importance of love for one another, obedience to the Lord, and a clear faith in Jesus as God’s Son coming in the flesh. He’ll continue with these themes — and a few more in today’s reading.

Test the spirits — 4:1

Whether it was gnosticism or Judaizing teachings or something else, they needed to test the spirits of the teachers in their midst (wherever they might be). Some taught truth, but some taught error. Some spoke of God, but some spoke from Satan. Some spoke from godly perspectives, but some spoke from worldly motives, viewpoints, and assumptions. And yes, Christians are not only allowed but commanded to judge (a better word is probably “discern”) such matters. We need to be able to tell what’s true from what’s false, what’s right from what’s wrong, good fruit from bad fruit, fresh water from sea water. John commands us to test the spirits — are they from the Spirit (compare it to the Bible) or from the world? Because, as I’ve mentioned before, doctrine (teachings) do make a difference.

Religious teachings purport to be revelations of the true spiritual reality, but not all teachings really are — in fact, only one can be a real description of spiritual reality, in the same way that only one teachings of physical reality can be true; e.g., gravity pulls us toward the earth, light travels at 186,000 miles per second, the sun is 93 million miles away, etc. We use these facts (teachings) about physical reality to operate in our physical world; to try to operate under the “teachings” that gravity pulls us sideways, that light traveled at 186,000 miles per hour, or that the sun was 93 million light years away would make getting to the moon impossible, because they’re all wrong. So, also with spiritual reality; if we attempt to be saved under false teachings, getting to Heaven will be impossible. So test the spirits — by the Scriptures!

Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world — 4:6

This passages encourages us to keep our courage and hope despite opposition and false teachers. Yes, the world surrounds us and opposes us at every turn, but keep firmly in mind that God is on the faithful Christian’s side. I’m reminded of the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:16, when his servant went out one morning to find their house surrounded by the Aramean army. The servant rush back indoors in a panic with the report of how they were surrounded, but Elisha replied with a prayer to the LORD that He open his servant’s eyes. When the LORD “opened” the servants eyes, he saw the host of heaven surrounding the Aramean army — 2 Kings 6:16 “So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’” So, let’s open our eyes to the spiritual realities around us, and realize that “great is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

His love is perfected in us — 4:7-12

How is God’s great, infinite, marvelous love “perfected” in US? Easy; when we are living our lives as we should, we become the very hands and heart of God, of Jesus, ministering and helping and teaching others around us. Love isn’t really perfect unless is shown, and although God shows His love minute by minute in His daily blessings toward us, we have the unbelievably great opportunity to be the hands and heart of God toward other people through things that we do to bless their lives. We’re not called the body of Christ for no reason, you know. The church remains the physical body of Christ here on earth, showing God’s love in word and deeds day after day in what you and I do. Isn’t that awesome? Now go perfect the love of God to all the world around!

The one who cannot love God — 4:19-21

No, I’m not talking about someone who is emotionally handicapped. I’m talking about people who profess to love God while not loving their brother or sister. John tells us that such a contradiction is impossible. Here’s a challenge than for modern men who sometimes tell us that they love Jesus, but don’t want anything to do with the church. Really? That’s too bad, because you cannot really love Jesus, then. Yes, sometimes people in the church are less than lovable, but we’re not called to love only those that love us, are we?

Matthew 5:46-48 — “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In other words, according to what John is saying here, to say that we do not love our brothers and sisters, is the same thing as saying that we do not love the Lord. I cannot think of a more devastating, convicting, and damning statement than that. Does it take work? Yes. Is it impossible? No, not at all. How? 1 John 5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” Do good to your brothers and sisters in Christ, forgive them, be kind to them, have their best interests at heart — do what you’re supposed to do toward a brother or sister — and you are showing love. And you’ll find that even your attitude toward them will begin to change, because our emotions will follow our deeds.

His commands are not burdensome — 5:3

How do you feel about God’s commands? Are they a pain? Or do you regard them as wise  and preferred counsel for your life? Think about Sunday or Wednesday night church gatherings. Think about giving. Think about forgiving someone. Burdensome or not? It’s usually the rebellious heart that sees them as burdensome, because the rebellious heart wants to go another way and would except it’s perhaps afraid of consequences. Fear of consequences aren’t always bad, because they can serve us well, when other higher motivations aren’t strong enough; but fear can also take the joy out of Christian living. Change your attitude and your perspective on things, and great things always happen.

That you may know that you have eternal life — 5:11-13

Don’t you want to know? The false teachers and possibly some church difficulties had thrown big question marks into the minds of some (or all) of the folks that John was writing to about their salvation. John wanted them to know how to know they were on the right track. Perhaps you’d like to know, too.

Have you become a Christian the way that they Lord commanded: faith in Jesus as the Son of God, repentance of sinful living, give a confession of faith in Jesus as God’s Son, obedience in water immersion in the name of Jesus for forgiveness of sins, and living a faithful disciple’s life. This last thing, John would say, includes loving your brother and sister and being obedient to what the Lord says. Now do you know? If you have questions, I’m open to contact.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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