George Tiller

Yesterday, the infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller, was shot and killed inside the Reformed Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. For years pro-life movements have been after Tiller with everything from prayer, to protests, to lawsuits, to threats, and now wicked violence. When I heard about what had happened, I felt sick. The phrase that came to mind was, “The justice of man is short of the justice of God.” When man enacts God’s plans and purposes the result is more grief and pain.

I have personally prayed for George Tiller’s salvation for several years after the Lord apprehended my heart concerning the issue of abortion in America. When we think of God’s judgment, mostly what we’re imagining is what ‘we’ would do if we were God. God uses judgment to produce love, not death. We may look at the death of Tiller with indifference and a sigh of, “Justice has been served.” I believe true justice would have been that Tiller’s deception was ‘exposed’ as greatly erroneous and disconnected from soundness of mind and Godliness. This may be seen as a victory for the pro-life movement, but is violent bloodshed really retribution for the same? Can we honestly expect that the number of aborted babies will decline now that Tiller is gone?

If one has never seen pictures, or done research, of the ‘intact dilation and extraction‘ (late-term abortion) method of killing babies I’d suggest it as an important eye-opening experience. What this man did for a living, and what he was respected by so many for, was so insidiously heinous and evil there are few words to express. Over the course of his career, this man killed countless thousands of babies at the near time of delivery. These were not fetus’s, they were not masses of cells, or blood clots – they were children.

Browsing through the news articles related to this story, several lines jumped out at me.

CNN- The National Organization for Women, which supports abortion rights, called Tiller’s killing an act of “domestic terrorism.” And NARAL Pro-Choice America said Tiller had worked for years under “intense harassment tinged with persistent threats of violence.“

What the NOW organization is saying is that the man who killed Tiller is on the same level as Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussien, suicide bombers, and the men who hijacked aircraft for the 9/11 attacks in New York. Honestly? Let’s put Tiller’s track record into the NOW’s equation for a minute. Tiller actually was a domestic terrorist and worked for years to enact the intense harrassment of babies filled with actual violence unto death. Secondly, I’d like to point out that there is no reason to believe that Tiller’s slaying was linked with his work as an abortionist until the suspect is examined and his motives are determined. Will this be used to fuel the rights of these murderous organizations? Of course. As we can see the NOW is already jumping up and down in a frenzy calling for blood.

Another from CNN – If [thanks for that CNN ; )] Tiller was killed because of his work, he would be the fourth U.S. physician killed over abortion since 1993. In 1998, a sniper killed Dr. Barnett Slepian in his Amherst, New York, home. Anti-abortion activist James Kopp was later arrested in France and is serving life in prison. In 1994, Dr. John Bayard Britton and one of his volunteer escorts were shot and killed outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Paul Hill, a former minister, was convicted of the killings and executed in 2003. And in 1993, another doctor, David Gunn, was shot to death outside another Pensacola clinic. His killer, Michael Griffin, is serving a life sentence.

CNN went over the top and dug up all the dirt on the radical pro-lifers they could find. What did they come up with? Four abortion-related killings. Are four killings justifiable by the law? No. Is the government willing to justify 50 million murders since the 70’s? Yes, and they’re willing to pour money and propaganda into it. What we need to realize is that the liberal community of America is painting conservative Christians into a corner with other ‘well known’ mass murders. They’ll dress up a woman’s Catholic prayer group as Nazi soldiers bent on death and greed. They’ll threaten prayer meetings outside of their death clinics with weapons. What they want our children to believe is that every pro-lifer has a gun in one hand and bomb in the other, like the four…really four…men who did.

My prayer is for the Tiller family; that their eyes would be opened to the Lord.

Life in the Millennium (Part 3) – David’s Throne

I will eventually get the subject of this series – Life in the Millennium. But for now I’m content to establish some introductory understanding concerning the foundations of this Messianic Kingdom, as well as learning a great deal myself.

I think one of the greatest benefits to the church today would be to experience the lifestyle and culture of the first century church. I’m getting a “guy” to work on a time machine. Okay, it’s not a time machine, but it does make snow cones. Consistently, I find that I’m trying to place myself into the story – after the crucifixion when the resurrected dead are wandering the streets of Jerusalem,  during those 40 mysterious days of teaching after Christ’s resurrection, into the upper room waiting for the Promise of the Father, into the house gatherings of the apostles for prayer and the breaking of bread. That’s what a good story does right? It seeks to place the reader into the storyline so that the reader begins to think, act, and feel like one of the characters. And this story is the best story ever written. It includes, Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… (the grandpa from The Princess Bride – the shinning year of 1987). The plot line is simple enough for a child to grasp, yet so profoundly intricate that it strikes the intellectual mind with wonder.

taken by: Shlomit Wolf

One day as David is wandering around in his villa of cedar, he suddenly realizes the ark of the covenant is dwelling inside a curtained tabernacle. The injustice of the situation begins to dawn on him. Nathan the prophet tells him to do what is in his heart to do – build a permanent house wherein God would dwell. David is told by the Lord that he would not be the one to build the temple but that his seed would complete the endeavor (2 Sam. 7:12, 14). God then swears an everlasting oath to David, known as the Davidic Covenant.  This covenant ensures David that the following 3 things would be perpetuated 1) his seed, 2) his throne, and 3) his kingdom.

I. David’s Seed

The Lord tells David, “[I] will make you house. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your father, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body…” (2 Sam. 7:11b-12). David’s “house” is meant to be understood as his posterity – physical descendants (some translate house as “Royal dynasty”). Here, David is promised that he will have a child (Solomon), yet to be born, who will succeed him. His line will always be the royal line with the right to rule. No other family will inherit the kingly linage of the Davidic seed. This seed is the same seed that is spoken of who will crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).  In one sense, it speaks of the ongoing generations of David’s descendants, yet also points to a future Seed who will embody the fullness of a King-Priest anointing and bring about the final defeat of the serpent. God has  preserved a physical seed throughout history to bring about both the redemption of mankind and the Messianic Kingdom; both fulfillment’s are found in the man Christ. Gen 49:10  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. This is what is spoken of in Acts 2 during Peter’s discourse concerning the resurrection of Jesus. His case is that Christ, as the Son (Seed) of David must be resurrected in accordance with the oath God had sworn. Christ could not rule on David’s throne if He were a disembodied spirit, for David’s throne is in Zion – the city of David (1 Kg 8:1).  Therefore, Christ has risen to fulfill all that God had spoken, part being, he was given a resurrected body capable of sitting on an earthly throne.

II. David’s Throne

2 Sam 7:13b …I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Provision is made through oath that David’s throne would continue forever (2 Sam 7:16). The throne speaks not only the political power committed to David’s seed but the geographic locale whereupon this seed would preside. This is an important and oft overlooked provision.  As previously mentioned the throne of David rests in the city of David – Jerusalem. David’s throne was meant to be understood as the seat of exulted earthly power centered in Jerusalem. God chose Israel to make a name for Himself (2 Sam 7:23) through which He would establish His government in the earth. He sent His Son to sit on that seat (Ps. 2:6). Mary is told that her Son would be given the throne of His father David and that He would in fact reign over the house of Jacob forever (Lk 1:32). Jesus is both Messiah (1st coming) and King (2nd coming).

No where in scripture does it say that David’s throne is in the heart of believers or in heaven. To come to one of these conclusions requires the symbolizing of many passages to form an uninspired idea that somehow David’s throne evaporated and entered the heart of believers through the cross. This idea came through a misunderstanding, and further denial, of both the Dadivic Covenant and earthly millennial kingdom. The Davidic Covenant presents several problems for those who seek the allegorical or spiritual interpretation of the its provisions. Foremost is the fact that both David and Solomon understood it as literal (2 Sam 7:18-29; 2 Chron. 6:14-16); moreover there is not clear scriptural basis for understanding David’s throne to be in heart of a believer nor of it being synonymous with the heavenly Father’s throne.

III. The Kingdom

2 Sam 7:16 …your kingdom shall be established forever

David is further promised that his kingdom will forever perpetuate. When this promise was given it would by nature of its longevity demand to be supreme on the earth. In theory, the armies of Israel would have no fear of their enemies going into battle because of the knowledge that their kingdom would not be thrown down. Even if it were not supreme initially it would simply outlast all other kingdoms to become so. An eternal entity cannot be subject to a temporary one. Even Rome, in it’s millennial rule of  glory, would and was,  simply outlasted by this Davidic Kingdom. The destruction inititated in 70 AD and completed in 135 AD was undone through the re-establishment of Israel in 1948. Although evil has purposed time and time again to ’stamp out’ the Jewish people, there will always be a remnant left to humbly receive Yeshua at His coming (see Mt. 23:39).  Jesus is the only one to fulfill this promise since He is both naturally ‘Son of Daivid’ and divinely eternal. It is implied that one king will rule this kingdom forever (see also Mic. 4:7). By understanding the promise to Mary concerning Christ’s throne (Lk 1:32), the Father’s purpose to have His Son as King (Ps. 2:6), and the prophecy in Daniel 2:44 of a kingdom which will never be destroyed it can be deduced that this covenant finds its fulfillment in Christ at His Second Coming. Further, we are told by Isaiah that through this given Son, there would be no end to the increase of His peace and government when He sits upon the throne of Daivid’s kingdom (9:7).

In summary, the three provisions of this covenant are find their rest in Christ at the establishment of His millennial kingdom.

Life in the Millennium (Part 2)- The King

Any believer when asked would agree that Jesus is King. He is given the title King many times throughout scripture. I believe the Lord would call the corporate body of Christ to some understanding of what His Kingship entails. For while we  nobly attribute the title “King” to our Lord Christ, many times we fall short in seeing the manifold implications of this Kingship beyond our own hearts. Christ is ruling in our hearts (Col 3:15), yet if we only look to the here and now (salvation), we miss the majority of the prophetic millennial theme (Christ’s inheritance).  Here, we could shift into the various view concerning the nature of reign this King will execute, but I’m choosing to put that on hold for now and steer toward the beginnings of this Kingly mandate.

David, one of my favorite people in the bible, was given some of the most dramatic revelation concerning this King and His kingdom. What makes David’s Messianic revelation unique is that 1) The Messianic Seed would come though David’s own line; 2) David received his divine inspiration in the context of worship, song, and prayer; 3) David several times overheard heavenly conversations happening between the Father and Son; 4) Further, we see David as a “type” of Christ – involved in the affairs of both kingly and priestly offices (possibly he is one of the clearest pictures).

In Psalm 2:3 David is shown the age old sin of mankind- pride. The heartbeat of this pride promulgates the vow, “We do not want this man [Jesus]  to reign over us.” Man was given the authority of the earth and has turned that authority into greed and wicked ambition culminating not in atheism, as many think, but in war against Christ himself. Man’s audacious declaration of war against heaven receives laughing scorn from the One who sits on creation’s throne (2:4). The Lord will distress them in His wrath, not because He has forsaken His mercy, but because He has given them every reason to hate Him and they have zealously embraced the opportunity. He has exposed their hearts for what they truly are apart from His blessed salvation – wicked, lustful, and envious.

God’s plan of redemption starts not with blessing of the cross but with an eternal zeal to dwell with man forever. Only Almighty God could so faithfully and flawlessly orchestrate the events of human history, not violate the freewill of man, and redeem an innumerable company of saints that would witness His eternal glory forever. God knew that man would fail. The work of atonement was a revelation of the eternal humility and unconditional love of the Godhead, not a scrambling backup plan due to unforeseen human shortcomings. For this Lamb was, in divine nature, already slain before any man hung Him on a tree.

Messianic Mandate – Psalm 2:6

While man was sinful, selfish, and evil, the Son was sinless, selfless, and righteous - all the attributes necessary for ordering a kingdom in the likeness of the Father’s. He declares to these hardened men that He has chosen another and will set Him on the holy hill of Zion (2:6). David is a witness to Jesus being named “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. Moreover, David is told that this King will rule from his throne forever:

2Sa 7:12-13 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Where is David’s throne? It is none other than in Zion – the city of David (1 Kings 8:1). Beloved saints, the throne of David is not in your heart or in mine. David did not sit on an spiritual throne in the hearts of people. His throne was located in the city of David, in Jerusalem, on the earth. Christ has been given this throne and is waiting to receive His inheritance (Heb. 10:12, 13). This Davidic covenant is the stigma to every king, nation, people of the earth because the message of the Messianic Kingdom is more than salvation from sin but invasion from heaven! Isaiah is shown God’s zeal that the word is sure:

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The angel re-affirmed this to Mary:

Luk 1:32, 33  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

The apostles gave testimony of the  Davidic covenant to show that Christ had indeed been resurrected – for the dead cannot inherit the living. The resurrection was a vital part of God’s covenant to David. (see also Acts 13:21-41)

Act 2:30  Therefore, {David} being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up {resurrect} the Christ to sit on his {David’s} throne,

Jesus will come again, fulfill the Messianic Mandate, sit on David’s throne, and rule the nations of the earth from Jerusalem with  uncompromising righteousness. Creation is groaning and waiting until this kingdom is established and restored. This King will answer every groan, every tear, every malcontent, every injustice, every wrong, every plea, and every cause. This King is what every man, both wicked and just, truly desire. All will come to the Desire of All Nations.

A Pause to Begin Something Old

I have a burden. I’m going to hit the pause button on the “Life in the Millennium” series I’ve started and interject a few thoughts I’ve been having. Because I can, there are no rules on the blog sphere world, and my readers consist of 3 people (whom I very much appreciate).

Anyone with a computer could tell you that we are seeing a resurgence of interest in the end-times. From blogs, twitter, and CNN, articles on the “end of the world” are popping up like Chinese carry-out restaurants in shopping malls. Believers all across the earth are beginning to respond to the trumpet alarm of Matthew 25:6 “Behold the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!”

Christianity, as with any religion, believes in an ultimate reckoning for mankind. This reckoning (called eschatology) will sum up all things, bring an end to evil, and usher in a glorious age where God will dwell with man as He originally intended.

Now we make a quite large, non-conformist, leap ahead to an event of considerable division – the Rapture. The revelation of the rapture is an odd thing because the rapture isn’t in the book of Revelation – yes, that did sound like Willy Wonka. In fact, the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the inspired word of God. The meaning is derived from the Latin word “rapturo” meaning “caught up“. The rapture of the saints is an amazing revelation intended to instill hope in believers enduring persecution. The premier verse concerning the doctrine of the rapture, 1 Thess 4:14-18, was written to a church to whom Paul said a few verses prior, “[You] received the word in much affliction (1:5)…we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation…(3:4)” The believers in Thessalonica were undergoing significant persecution at the hands of both Jew and Gentile antagonists. Paul wrote them because he had concern for their faith lest his “labor [be] in vain” (3:5).  He was giving them a hope of the things to come. The doctrine of the rapture was meant to enable believers undergoing persecution to fix their eyes on their ultimate glory in Christ, not give them a false escapism mentality.

If one were to look at church history, specifically the early church, one would see that there wasn’t a message of escaping the onslaught of wicked adversity, but rather, the message was to stay strong in adversity. The early church fathers, the martyrs of the Reformation, and the modern day martyrs in China and the Middle Eastern nations all bear witness to the deception of the pre-tribulational doctrine. This doctrine understands neither the mercy of the Lord, nor His wrath, but rather misconstrues it into a false hope. On top of that, it reassures believers that the teacher is infallible and that the flock need not fret nor read their bibles. Corrie Ten Boom said in her letter addressing the rapture:

“In America, the churches sing, “Let the congregation escape tribulation”, but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.”

Beloved saints, we have been hoodwinked, taken for the lethargic, prayerless Christians we are. Out of touch with our suffering brethern. Out of sync with the Holy Spirit. Closed to the teaching of the apostles and Christ. Useless to the kingdom of God. Susceptible to error. Instructed in comfort. Bred for deception. We are bent, but not broken. What will it take to awaken the church in America to the coming storm?

Life in the Millennium (Part 1) – The Kingdom

In modern days, few believers have sought to grasp the truth of the millennial kingdom. Most have received the Lord into their heart and have sought to “bring the kingdom” into the various aspects of their lives – and rightly so.  What we need to understand about the kingdom is that it is meant to invade every aspect of society. This is what I love about Morningstar Ministries. They are sounding the trumpet in the earth that the kingdom is more than personal salvation but governmental/social/economic invasion. It is not enough for believers to only receive salvation, yet many have stopped here. The message of salvation will not receive persecution in the nations of the earth because it is only the entrance to a far greater glory. Obviously, we are not seeking persecution to validate our faith, but we as believers are commanded to declare the whole message (Acts 5:20) of the kingdom and to disciple the nations (Mt. 28:19).

When you think of the kingdom, what comes to your mind? This is one of the most defining beliefs that a Christian has and often goes unaddressed in the mind of believers. The way we see the kingdom today determines how we order our lives tomorrow and the years to come.

I believe the message of the kingdom can be thought of in 3 stages. 1) Salvation – this is square one, not the completion of a lifetime of searching. Salvation is the threshold- as it were – into the household and family of Christ. 2) Repentance – this is an ongoing process after the initial salvation of the soul. I think of repentance as the work of holiness- becoming Christ-like in our thoughts, action, and words. We must fully submit to what the Lord has called a believer to, and not simply fit our faith into an established lifestyle. I like the phrase, “The Sunday morning gathering has to touch Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons.” 3) The fulfillment of the kingdom – Christ’s leadership as “King of kings”. We know that Jesus is the King of kings, but when we think of what that actually means, it’s easy to lose sight of the full picture.

John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles primary message was the declaration of the kingdom – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Jesus was resurrected so that the Holy Spirit could come dwell in our hearts. He said it was better for him to leave than to stay- can you imaging what the disciples must have initially thought of that statement? Better? However,  Christ is now ruling in the hearts of believers, in the temple of our body (1 Cor. 6:19). We are the living stones that constitute the dwelling place of God in the earth. The kingdom of God is already here in the heart of believers – yet it is in part. A man by the name of George Ladd, when referring to the kingdom, coined the phrase, “The already, but not yet”. The kingdom has come, but it is in a limited way.

The reality of the kingdom in our hearts now is like unto the ark residing in the tabernacle of David. Was the presence of God in Israel’s midst? Yes. Was it the permanent dwelling place that fulfilled the desire in the heart of God to dwell with mankind forever? No. The Holy Spirit will not leave the hearts of believers at the second coming of Jesus, but the current expression of the kingdom can be thought of as the skukkot before the presiding presence in the temple . The current dispensation of grace is not the full expression of the kingdom. Why? because we are still finite beings with mortal temples, and secondly, the land has yet to be redeemed. The Garden of Eden is a picture of the 2-fold expression of the kingdom – God dwelt with man – man dwelt in a garden. Man was meant to fully experience God and to do so in the environment of a natural garden. The full measure of God’s dwelling is vividly portrayed in Revelation 21 and 22. Here, we see that earth is renewed and transformed in order to house God and man in the experiential union of a perfected environment.

Let us therefore express the kingdom now in every sphere of our influence, and look forward with zeal and joy to the consumation of the eternal plan of God – dwelling with Him.

The Millennnial Kingdom

The millennial Kingdom is the most revealed prophetic theme in the Bible. It is the fulfillment of the hundreds of verses concerning the rule of Messiah from Jerusalem. If you’re only beginning your study of the millennial kingdom, I would suggest starting with Revelation 20-21 and Isaiah 2, & 11. Of course, there are many more vital passages, but sometimes the overwhelming amount of information is just that, overwhelming. This can make beginning the study of the Word difficult. It’s an odd thing that most believers desire to be students of the Word but they don’t know where to begin, and so after some frustration, most give up. So, the above mentioned passages are a great starting point.

I’ve found the two most helpful keys to interpretation of prophetic scripture to be-

1) literal, or “face value“, interpretation. This means that the reader understands that God’s word was meant to be understood in a plain sense without loads of hidden meaning (obviously there are exceptions to this). If it says it’s symbolic, it’s symbolic; if it doesn’t say it’s symbolic – the reader can assume that it’s meant to be taken literally. Many times in scripture the angel will tell the original author what the symbols mean (see Dan 7 and Rev 17). This method lets the interpretation become congruent between the most learned scholar and the beginning student. The bible was written for the below average person (i.e. “untrained and uneducated men” Acts 4:13).  If one must have a PHD in order to understand prophetic revelation – a serious error has occurred.

2.) Progressive revelation – this simply means that “revealed truth” throughout scripture builds upon itself, thereby revealing more and more truth throughout the following generations. Prophetic revelation “looks forward” not backward. For instance, if we interpret the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem in Isaiah 2 first; and then interpret the saints sitting on thrones in  Rev. 20 – it is understood that saints will reign on the earth with Jesus. However, if use regressive revelation we would find that Jerusalem  and Jesus ruling on earth are not specifically mentioned in Revelation 20. Therefore, one could deduce that Isaiah was only speaking of symbolic rule of Christ during the first century church and in the hearts of men. This is a serious error and causes not just 1 or 2 OT passages to loose their significance but 10’s of passages suddenly become volumes of misconstrued symbolism that have little to no future relevance. Many, through a poor interpretation of Heb. 8:13,  attempt to discredit the Old Testament by saying it has “passed away”. To be clear, the Old Testament is not equivalent to the Mosaic Covenant. The revealed truth of the NT does not eliminate the truth of the old. Even justification by faith was not a completely new idea to the first Jewish believers in the church (see Gen. 15:6, Rom 4:1-5). The OT is the inspired word of God and works with the NT in harmony to reveal the eternal plans of God to redeem mankind and dwell with him forever. Jesus and the inspired writers of the New Testament did not use this method of regressive revelation to interpret scripture and reveal more truth. They built upon (looking forward) the understanding of the OT teachings of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms.

The Jews, that made up the majority of the initial church, had somewhat of an advantage over their fellow Gentile brothers who were coming in to “the Way” (Christianity) quite rapidly. A Jewish man or woman of that day would be quite familiar with the teachings of Moses, the psalms, Daniel, or Isaiah. More specifically, they would be well versed in OT covenants namely, the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants – which to the dismay of many, still retain significant future fulfillment. I believe this is one of the reasons that there were no Gentile authors of the inspired New Testament books. God used men who were going to build upon the revealed truth in the OT to establish the New Covenant (justification- grace through faith) and add to the revelation of the Second Coming and establishment of the Messianic Kingdom – namely through the book of Revelation.

In conclusion, we must, as students of the word, dilegently pour over the prophetic passages related to the end-times. We must take God “at His word” and not seek to “force” our interpretation upon the inspiration of scripture, but rather, let the scriptures speak for themselves and adjust our interpretation accordingly.

What Is It About Beauty?

Have you ever stopped and really pondered beauty?  There is someting about beauty that draws the human heart into wonder and fascination. What is it that defines beauty?

The Father in heaven is committed to several things. Firstly, He will give Yeshua the full reward of His suffering (Is. 53).  Secondly, He will set His Son as King on the holy hill of Zion in Jerusalem to be King over the nations (Ps.  2). And thirdly (before number 2 is fully manifest) He will reveal His Son as beautiful. Isaiah saw part of the eternal plan of God to reveal Yeshua’s shining beauty before the nations -Isa 33:17  “Thine eyes shall see the king [Yeshua] in his beauty…”

It is interesting to note that all beauty stems from the creator of beauty. This is what Isaiah saw in Is. 4:2 -  “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious…”.  Yeshua is the branch that grew from the root of Jesse. Yeshua isn’t immediately beautiful before all the nations because Father loves the process of growth. He took time to send His Son as a Child (Is 9) and let that child learn obedience (Heb. 5:8), grow into man who would lay down His life for all; now He is waiting at the right hand of the Father to receive His full inheritance and be shown to all the nations as Beautiful. All that is truly beautiful, all that is truly good, came from God. Sometimes I like to think of Him as the author of beauty – all the does, all that He says, all that He creates is beautiful.

Four Ways of Interpreting Prophetic Scripture

1.) Idealist – The idealist sees prophetic scripture in an allegorical sense depicting the ongoing struggle between good and evil. This interpretation makes prophetic scripture applicable for all generations of believers, yet minimizes the significance of it because it does not see a substantial fulfillment of such prophecy.
2.) Historisist- the historist sees prophecy scripture as fulfilled progressivly throughout histroy. The events, symbols, and judgments appear in various historical events such as: the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, the spreading of the gospel after Pentecost, the rise of Islam, WWII etc.
3.) Preterist – the preterist interperates all biblical prophecy as being fulfilled by 70AD during the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman armies. This fulfillment includes the rise of Antichrst, the Second Coming of Jesus, the numbered judgments in the book of Revelation etc
4.) Futurist – the futurist sees fulfillment of biblical prophecy as mostly future events that have not occured yet. This interpretation includes the coming of Antichrist and the Antichrist empire, a 7-year tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus, the millennial reign etc as all future events.

A Recent Disscussion

I was recently conversing with an amillennialist concerning the nature of Matthew 25 and its placement in the scheme of the end of days. Amillinnelaists, for those new to end time study, deny a future, earthly, 1000 year reign of Christ. The term derives from A- meaning “no” and millenia – meaning 1000. Simply, the amillenialist believes that we are currently living in a symbolic 1000 year reign where believers are “now” reigning with Christ in fullness, Satan was bound at the cross and is currently bound; and the Second Advent will complete, rather than inaugurate, the Kingdom of God.

My point of this post isn’t to present the strengths and weaknesses of this view. Rather, it is to convey something that came to me through this discussion.

Our conversation focused around the subject of “millennial humans” surviving the tribulation, not being raptured at the Second Coming, not being consumed by the wrath of God, and finally going on repopulate the earth under the leadership of Jesus. I of course the proponent of this view and he, denying the idea.

Our focus was the beautiful text of Matthew 25:31-46

Mat 25:31  But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
Mat 25:33  and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Here we find a) Jesus coming and sitting on His throne of glory b) the gathering of all the nations who have survived the tribulation c) a court case taking place that separates sheep (believers) from goats (unbelievers).

His point was that if the sheep are believers, who inherit eternal life, and the goats are unbelievers, who are sent away to eternal punishment – where are the third group of humans who are neither saved or sent to punishment? It is this third group of humans that I believe to repopulate the millennial earth under Jesus’ leadership as King of the nations.

The wording used in vrs 31 denotes that this court case occurs  right after Jesus is seated on His throne of glory. My view, that there were indeed humans that survived the tribulation and went on into the millennium retaining their human state, forced me to place this event at the end of the millennium; to which end, ashamed to say, I sought to persuade my comrade.

I was sure that Isaiah 4, 10, 11, 65, 66, Joel 2, Zech 12, 14 made it strikingly clear that there was a “remnant” of humanity left after the terror of the tribulation. Jesus said himself that, “unless those days (refering to the tribulation) were shortened, no flesh would be saved.(see Mt. 24:22)” Why would Jesus want flesh to be  saved if the end of the tribulation resulted in the final eternal redemption and destruction of humanity?

Yet, this Matthew passage had me confused. Why were there only 2 groups being mentioned and where were those who didn’t take the mark of beast nor receive salvation and get raptured with the rest of the saints?

An idea came to me this morning. What if the groups mentioned in Matt. 25:31-46 are not composed of believers at all. Rather, when all the nations are gathered, present are humans who have not sealed their fate by taking the mark of the beast (we’ll call these the reprobate), nor have they been raptured because they have not received salvation – we’ll call these the resistors. The other group would be those who have taken the mark of the beast but were not killed in the tribulational judgments nor at the battle of Armageddon.

So, the sheep are those resistors who deciede to received salvation by confessing that Jesus is, in fact, Lord. And the goats are resitors and the reprobate who deny the cross of Christ (cf Is. 24:21, 22). Therefore, Matt. 25:31-46 is at the beginning of the millennium and the saints do not make up any of the 2 groups who are judged.

Rebuilding Babylon

For years, eschatology junkies have pondering the meaning of Babylon mentioned in the book of Revelation (namely Rev. 17 & 18). Most (but not all) have spiritualized it’s appearance in the book by saying that is symbolic of anything from America, to the internet, to media, to Islam…and on and on.

My question has been: “If Israel can be reinvented as a recognized nation in 1948 giving the biblical prophetic community the shock of a lifetime, why can’t Babylon be rebuilt in Iraq to give a literal fulfillment to what John had prophesied some 1900 years ago?”

Check out the article here:

Of course, this article still has to be proven, though other reliable sources and…well…actual excavation and reconstruction.

Wow, I am floored right now…