How is today different than yesterday?

In my study of Revelation I’ve learned that this generation is not the only one that thought they were living in the end time. Martin Luther thought he was living in the end time. He thought the Pope was the antichrist and that the end of time was near. Many thought that the Turks were the scourge of God, that the Black Death was a final judgment.

Going back further, those living under the terror of Nero and Domitian thought the end was near. John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ said the, “time is near.” as did Paul in several of his epistles. When the Muslims began their conquests many thought the end was near. Thinking that the end is near is not new it is as old as the Christian faith. So why is now different than all those time when our ancestors thought the end was near? Are we even supposed to concern ourselves with the end of the age and if not why is so much in the old and new testament concerned with the day of the Lord? Why does the Lord in Matthew 24 when asked what will the signs of the end of the age be describe it in such detail?   

Matthew 24 is a road map in a sense because Jesus lays down some conditions and warnings. He says we must “watch out that no one misleads” us. He says “many will come in” His name and will mislead many; this has been and is being done. He says there will be wars and rumors of wars; again this has happened and is happening. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”; this is nothing new it’s been happening and is happening now. “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places”; still nothing new it has happened and is happening now. Jesus tells us that these things are just the beginning of “birth pains.” From this statement I believe we can agree that we have been in the beginning of things for quite a while.

Jesus then tells his disciples that they will be persecuted and killed. This obviously happened after His crucifixion and is happening now around the world. Nothing new here either. Christians real Christians have always been persecuted for their faith. We’ve been beheaded, tortured, enslaved, made fun of, marginalized, called heretics throughout history. This has happened and is happening now around the world.  There is nothing new about this in fact those who follow the Lord have always been persecuted just look at the prophets of the Old Testament, look at the disciples and apostles of the New Testament and how organized religion of the Dark and Middle ages persecuted Christians in the very name of Christ! Further there have been many, many false prophets and teachers throughout the ages. Nothing new here either. Jesus goes on to tell us that lawlessness will increase again nothing new, laws both God’s and man’s are enforced at the whim of the government (s). Just think about the immigration laws of this country and how political correctness has trumped law.  He says that the love of many will grow cold. Again history shows that this has happened and is happening though maybe a little more than before.   What is interesting here is that Jesus links lawlessness with the love of many growing cold.

Jesus tells us that, “the person who endures to the end will be saved.” and adds, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” This is new in that the gospel, the true gospel has not been preached throughout the inhabited earth until this last century even today there are places where the gospel has not been preached.

Jesus tells us in verse 24:15 that, “when we see the abomination of desolation” it’s time to get really worried. The abomination of desolation is simply the desecration of the Holy of Holies, (more on this in later writings). When this happens we are to flee Jerusalem. Kind of like Lot did when he left Sodom, run don’t look back just run. There are those that say this has happened already and indeed it has, Rome laid siege to Jerusalem and then left because of a civil war.  This gave those in Jerusalem time to get out of town. When the Romans returned they destroyed Jerusalem and there was not a stone left of the Temple one on top of the other. Gold is a prime motivator, seems the gold from the dome melted, because of the great fire, down into the very cracks of the stones of the temple. Romans loving gold had to tear down each and every stone to get at it.

So far in this writing a good case may be made for this time of ours not being the so called, “end time.” However, Jesus adds one little statement that gives one pause, Chapter 24: 21-22, “for then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” Let’s consider this statement. We have always had cities destroyed to the last man, woman and child just look at the Israelites when they conquered Canaan!  Consider the Mongols when they moved west, Rome and Carthage, the Christian, (I know the crusaders were not Christians but conquers.) sack of Jerusalem during the crusades all of which types had happened before and since the time of Christ. Imagine what it was like in Europe during WWI and WWII, the holocaust. Clearly, the world has had times worse than the fall of Jerusalem in 70 BCE both before its fall and after. What is different? We now have the capacity to destroy whole cities with one bomb! We can eliminate whole populations with a spray can of nerve or biological agents! Terrorists can destroy hundreds and even thousands in a matter of minutes. That is the difference between today and yesterday!

A Study in Revelation- Verses 1-3 part 1.

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must happen very soon. He made it clear by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who then testified to everything that he saw concerning the word of God and the testimony about Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud, and blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it, because the time is near!

The first three verses of Revelation tell us much about the book’s authorship and intent. Unpacking these three verses we find this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. We learn that the Revelation was given by God the Father to His Son Jesus Christ who gave it to His angel to give to John.  John was to testify to what he was shown and to give the revelation to His, Jesus Christ’s servants. We learn that John then “testified to everything that he saw concerning the word of God and the testimony about Jesus Christ.” This shows us that there were three persons confirming the truth of the Revelation, God the Father, God the Son and His Servant John. Under Jewish law there must be at least two witnesses to testify to a truth here there are three. It is believed by most scholars that the author is the Apostle John who was on the island of Patmos as prisoner because of his faith and preaching the Gospel.

Revelation was given; “to show his servants what must happen very soon.” In looking at the Greek words for “very soon” and “the time is near” it appears to me, (I’m not a Greek language scholar, nor am I a bible scholar.), that one could take it to mean that the time is near for the start of God’s judgments upon the earth. Within the first three verses we are told twice that the things in the revelation are going to happen soon. When I was in college one of my professors said that when he mentioned something once we could let it pass but if he said it twice we should write it down because it may be on the test. If he said something three times we needed to really learn it because it was very important. Obviously because the time is near is mentioned twice it is very important that we take note of the nearness and what it means.

Revelation in the Greek means:

1.  Laying bare, making naked.
2. a disclosure of truth, instruction
• concerning things before unknown
• used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all
3. manifestation, appearance. 

Scripture makes several references to revelation or making things unknown known. Daniel 2:28 says "But there is a God in heaven that reveals mysteries, and He has make know to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.” At Amos 3:7 it says "The Lord in Revelation is making His plans for the judgment of the earth known." The question is will we listen to His counsel? Nineveh heard the words of Jonah and repented saving their city while the Jews heard the words of Jeremiah, Isaiah and others and did not repent and were taken into captivity in Babylon.

New Study in Revelation -- Introduction

Opening Salvo

Our small group completed a yearlong study in Revelation last weekend. Our new study will be Galatians. I have decided to make the book of Revelation a life study. Our yearlong study did not even scratch the surface of the depth of this wonderful book and I want to learn it. I have two main goals in this study. The first is my belief that by really learning a book of the bible one will learn the whole bible.  Each book of the Bible contains within it references to both Old and New Testament books. By studying in depth I’ll learn more about the whole bible than if I studied each book independently. It will also show me how the whole bible though the books within it are written hundreds of years apart hangs together indicating that though it has many authors it really only has one.

My second purpose in a lifelong study of Revelation is my contrary nature. I have never understood why Pastors are scared half to death to preach or teach out of this book.  This is the only book of the entire bible that carries with it a blessing for all who read it.  Verse 1:3 it says, "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." It ends with these blessings; verse 22:6 "Behold I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." and 22:10, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near." Yet that is exactly what has happened by pastors who fear preaching from this book.

I don’t mean to say this in a negative way but facts is facts and as a lawyer friend said you cannot argue facts. Oh, while I’m at it I might as well say that I don’t understand why pastors are so afraid of expository preaching either. Now that I’m done with my tirade I will go on to my method of study. (I like blogging because it allows me to write and express what I like knowing that no one will read it anyway. Yet my thoughts are in the air as it were.)

Method of Study

I believe that to effectively study this book or for that matter any book of the Bible. One must stay away from the doctrines of any one denomination or religious philosophy. Because it tends to make one view the bible from an inductive reasoning point of view rather than letting the Holy Spirit speak through the words of the Scripture, deductive point of view. This is not to say that I discount doctrine but I place man-made doctrine as one point of view among many. In my experience doctrine may be argued effectively by any scholar.

I am going to follow these general rules for study:

1.    The bible is divinely inspired in the original language Greek or Hebrew. Translations are just that translations therefore it is important to learn the meaning of words used in the original language when there is a need for clarification of meaning.

2.    When the scripture makes common sense I’ll seek no other sense.  Therefore, I’ll take words and sentences at their primary, ordinary, usual and literal meaning unless context in light of associated passages and obvious and fundamental truths clearly indicate otherwise, i.e. I won’t read into scripture meanings that are not obviously there, I'll not play a form of Bible bingo.

3.    I believe in the law of double reference that two events may be blended into one picture. However, I do not at this time believe in the double fulfillment of prophesy.

4.  I will be objective in my study not favoring one view over the other because of my personal wants, wishes and desired. I love history and Bible study and believe strongly that inserting personal beliefs into the study of each is a great failing among historians and Bible scholars. I believe the study of history and Scripture is and should be a deductive not an inductive study. Let the facts and scriptures speak for themselves. In this way we get a pure view of history and Scripture.