Why Is God So Hidden?

By J. Warner Wallace 9/25/2013

     As a young atheist, I denied the existence of Godfor practical, experiential reasons. During my elementary school years, I found it difficult to understand why anyone would believe in God without visible evidence. I knew my parents, teachers and friends were real, because I could see them and I could see their impact on the world around me. God, however, seemed completely hidden. I often thought, “If God exists, why would He hide in this way? Why wouldn’t God just come right out and make it obvious to everyone He exists?” As I examined these questions many years later, I began to consider other factors and considerations, particularly related to the nature of “love”.

     I held love and compassion in high regard, even as an unbeliever. These were values I embraced as essential to our survival as a species, and values I considered to be foundational to human “flourishing”(as many atheists commonly describe it). But love requires a certain kind of world, and if loving God does exist, it is reasonable that He would create a universe in which love is possible; a universe capable of supporting humans with the ability to love God and love one another. This kind of universe requires a number of pre-requisites, however, and these pre-requisites are best achieved when God is “hidden” in the way He often seems to be:

     Love Requires Freedom | True love cannot be coerced. We love our children and we want them to love us. We cannot, however, force them to do so. When we give our kids direction and ask them to accept this direction as a reflection of their love for us, we must step away and give them the freedom to respond (or rebel) freely. If we are “ever-present”, their response will be coerced; they will behave in a particular way not because they love us, but because they know we are present (and they fear the consequence of rebellion). If God exists, it is reasonable that He would remain hidden (to some degree) to allow us the freedom to respond from a position of love, rather than fear.

     Love Requires Faith | Love requires a certain amount of trust; we must trust the person who loves us has our best interest in mind, even in times of doubt. There are occasions when trust requires us to accept something as true, even though we can’t immediately see this to be the case. In essence, trust often requires “hiddenness” on the part of the “lover” if love is to be confident, powerful and transformational.

     Love Requires Evidence | Love does, however, require sufficient evidence. While we may not want to coerce our children, we do need to give them sufficient reason to believe we exist, support and love them. While many non-believers may deny there is any evidence for the existence of God, the natural world has provided us with sufficient (albeit non-coercive) evidence God exists. We have the ability, however, to deny this evidence if we choose.

J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker, and the author of:

• Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

• God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe

• Alive: A Cold-Case Approach to the Resurrection

• Cold-Case Christianity for Kids: Investigate Jesus with a Real Detective

• Keeping Your Kids on God's Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith

• Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith

Romans 14:11 and Isaiah 45:23

By James S. Stewart

     (Is 45:23) 23 By myself I have sworn,
     from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
     a word that shall not return:
     “To me every knee shall bow,
     every tongue shall swear.” NRSV

     (Ro 14:11) For it is written,
     “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
     and every tongue shall give praise to God.” NRSV

     The first is the subject-matter of the teaching itself. What are Paul's leading themes ? The righteousness of God, the death of Jesus on Calvary, the reconciliation of the world, the eternally living and present Christ. Paul at least recognised, if some of his commentators have not, that where themes like these are concerned, you cannot in the last resort measure and explain : you can only wonder and adore. We may take it for certain that any formula or system which claims to gather up into itself the whole meaning of God's righteousness, or of Christ's redeeming work, is ipso facto wrong. The only right way to see the cross of Jesus is on your knees. The apostle himself reminds us of that, when he declares, immediately after one of his greatest accounts of his Lord's atoning death, "Before the name of Jesus every knee should bow." In this world, men kneel to what they love. And love has a way of breaking through every carefully articulated system : it sees so much more than the system-makers. Hence it is a right instinct that bids us beware of reconstructions of Paul's doctrine which claim to co-ordinate every aspect of the apostle's religious thought into a complete and perfect whole, leaving no loose ends anywhere. It is one of the great services of the Barthian movement to our generation that it keeps up an energetic protest against what it regards as a quite arrogant tendency to push systems and definitions into that ultimate region where God alone can speak. Such definitions merely indicate, as Barth declares, that "man has taken the divine into his possession ; he has brought it under his management" \ he has been forgetting that "only God Himself can speak of God." 2 But Paul never forgot that; and therefore at point after point his line of thought is interrupted by a sudden burst of doxology. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out !"  "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"    "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory."

     (Ro 11:33–36) 33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
     34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
     Or who has been his counselor?”
     35 “Or who has given a gift to him,
     to receive a gift in return?”
     36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. NRSV

     (2 Co 1:3–5) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. NRSV

     (1 Co 15:57) 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. NRSV

Your Inner Pharisee

By Josh Moody 8/11/2017

     The Pharisees are boogeymen among evangelicals, and as such, it is hard to conceive that we ourselves might be Pharisees. They are other people—bad people, legalists, judgmentalists, those who attack Christ and defend fake, hypocritical religion. “Hypocrites” is the most important descriptor. Pharisees act as if they are righteous; while they “strain out a gnat” of sin, they “swallow a camel” of evil (Matt. 23:24). They travel over land and sea to win a single convert, only to make him twice a son of hell as before (Matt. 23:15).

     Surely, we are not them.

     In a strict historical sense, Christians are not Pharisees. Pharisaic religion rejected Jesus as the Christ, and therefore when someone worships him as God’s Son, he is no longer a Pharisee.

     But is there an essence of Pharisaism alive today, even active within creeds that embrace the divinity of Jesus, the doctrines of grace, and Trinitarian orthodoxy? If we leave aside the doctrinal and historical elements of Pharisaism, the following six areas of examination might expose our own inner Pharisee.

     1. Our Prayers | Are our prayers, even if explicitly God-honoring, implicity self-exalting (Luke 18:9–11; Matt. 6:5)? For instance, do we pray to sound impressive to those who hear us? 

Elijah And The "Still Small Voice"

By Michael Comins Spring 2001

     Elijah lives in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab, the king who "did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him" (I Kings 16:30). Ahab had married a Phoenician princess named Jezebel who established the cult of Ba'al in the palace and persecuted the Israelite prophets of God. Elijah informs Ahab of God's displeasure with a threat; a drought will ensue until Elijah, on God's behalf, announces the coming rain (ch. 17). Elijah, fleeing the king's wrath, hides in a desert canyon above the Jordan valley. There, he is miraculously fed by ravens until the drought dries up his water supply (17:6). He moves to Phoenicia, where he and his household, once again, are fed in supernatural fashion. God finally commands Elijah to return to Israel, where he challenges the prophets of Ba'al to the famous contest on Mt. Carmel (ch.18). King Ahab and the people gather to see whose sacrifice will be accepted, that of Elijah or the prophets of Ba'al. This is Elijah at his best - angry, daring, dramatic. The fire of God descends from the heavens, consuming Elijah's offering. "Adonai, He is God!" shout the people. Under Elijah's command, they slaughter the prophets of Ba'al. Rain falls shortly thereafter. The text tells us that "the hand of the LORD had come upon Elijah" (18:45)[2] and, with supernatural strength, he runs before Ahab's chariot like a racehorse, as the king returns to his palace. It is hard to imagine a more graced or gifted person. Elijah is God's right-hand man, the people's hero and the king's herald.

     Elijah's story continues in 1 Kings 19.

     When Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets to the sword, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "Thus and more may the gods do if by this time tomorrow I have not made you like one of them." Frightened, he fled at once for his life. He came to Beer-sheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there; he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness (vv. 1-4).

     How suddenly Elijah's fortunes have been reversed! God's favorite, the hero of Israel, the worker of miracles who ran before the king's chariot, is now running for his life! Ahab is unwilling or unable to stop his wife, Jezebel. Elijah flees to the southern Israelite kingdom of Judah, and then to its southern border, Beersheba. Not wishing to endanger his servant, he leaves him behind as he flees Jezebel's agents into no-man's land, into the desert.

     He came to a broom bush and sat down under it, and prayed that he might die (v. 4).

     Elijah repeats Hagar's experience (Gen. 21:14) and learns the bitter truth of desert travel. If you do not know how to navigate the serpentine dry riverbeds, if you get lost amidst the formless dunes, if you cannot find shade and water, your life can end in one, short day.

     Perhaps Elijah is not surprised at all. It takes many days to travel to Beersheba. In all that time, God does not communicate with Elijah. After years of literally being fed by God, Elijah feels abandoned, his prophetic mission terminated. Perhaps he loses himself in the desert intentionally!

[2] Unless otherwise noted, this and all other biblical quotations are from the JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh: the traditional Hebrew text and the new JPS translation, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999).

     Rabbi Mike Comins is the Founder of TorahTrek. He grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) with a BA in Near Eastern Studies, and served as regional advisor for the Southern California Federation of Temple Youth and Rosh Eida at UAHC Camp Swig before making aliyah (moving to Israel) at age 26. While guiding Jerusalem for American youth and serving as chairperson of Netzer Olami (the International Reform-Zionist Youth Movement), Mike studied classical Jewish texts for four years at Machon Pardes, a yeshiva in Jerusalem. In 1996, he was ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Israeli Rabbinical Program. Exploring his lifelong interest in philosophy and theology, Rabbi Comins’ rabbinic thesis, Borowitz and Beyond: Towards a Hermeneutic Account of I-thou Encounter, received a score of 97 from referee Professor Paul Mendes-Flohr. He holds an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University, and worked for five years as education director of Kehilat Kol HaNeshama, a Jerusalem congregation he helped to establish. Upon ordination, Mike earned his license as an Israeli desert guide. He founded “Ruach HaMidbar Desert Trips and Retreats,” leading many trekkers, often rabbis, rabbinical students and students for the ministry, on spiritual journeys through Israel’s deserts and the Sinai mountains.

     Returning to the U.S. in 1998, Rabbi Comins spent his first years back in North America on an extended spiritual sabbatical. He participated in several two-year institutes for rabbis: the Mindfulness Leadership Training program at Elat Chayyim with Sylvia Boorstein, and the Metivta Spirituality Institute, with Boorstein, Arthur Green and Jonathan Omer-Man. He participated in four- and six-week silent meditation retreats at the Spirit Rock meditation center under the tutelage of Boorstein and Jack Kornfield. To date, he has completed five solo wilderness retreats (four days of meditation, prayer and fasting in a small circle, generally known as a Vision Quest) under the guidance of different teachers, notably John Milton of Sacred Passage.

     He founded TorahTrek Spiritual Wilderness Adventures in 2001 while serving the Jackson Hole Chaverim in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for three years. The community’s first resident rabbi, Mike helped the Jackson Jewish community establish itself while developing TorahTrek into a nationally recognized program.

     Currently, Rabbi Comins lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jody Porter. He continues to grow TorahTrek, and devotes himself to writing and teaching. Rabbi Comins also contributes to various books and periodicals.

Michael Comins Books

A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism
Making Prayer Real: Leading Jewish Spiritual Voices on Why Prayer Is Difficult and What to Do about It

Five Things We Forget About Heaven

By Gavin Ortlund 8/11/2017

     In 1952, Florence Chadwick tried to swim from Catalina Island to the coast of California. For fifteen hours, she endured choppy waters, possible shark attacks, and extreme fatigue. Then a thick fog set in. She gave up.

     Two months later, she tried again. This time, though it was foggy again, she made it. When asked what made the difference, she said, “The first time all I could see was the fog. The second time I kept a mental image of that shoreline in my mind while I swam.”

     For me, Chadwick’s comment gives a great image of how heaven should function in our lives as we follow Jesus. In order to persevere through the fog and fatigue of life, we need a mental image of the eternal shoreline toward which we swim.

     But if you’re like me, you tend to think about heaven far less than you should. Many days it’s completely off my radar screen. What’s more, when we do think about heaven, we have a lot of misconceptions about it, as Randy Alcorn has helped us understand.

     So lately, I’ve been trying to think more about heaven. As I’ve done so, several features of heaven have surprised me. Think of these as qualities we often forget about heaven — parts of the shoreline most likely to be overlooked.

Click here to go to source

By John Walvoord

Habakkuk’s Prayer

     Habakkuk 3:1–15. In response to the tremendous revelation of God’s ultimate righteousness in which He will judge every sin, Habakkuk broke out in prayer and worship: “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD” (v.  2 ).

Habakkuk’s Prayer (ESV)

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

2  O LORD, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O LORD, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3  God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4  His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5  Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.
6  He stood and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the eternal mountains were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were the everlasting ways.
7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8  Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea,
when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
9  You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows. Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10  The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its voice;
it lifted its hands on high.
11  The sun and moon stood still in their place
at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12  You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
13  You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah
14  You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15  You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.

     Habakkuk went on to describe God as an all–powerful conqueror who shakes the earth and makes the nations tremble (v.  6 ). God’s power split the earth to form the rivers (v.  9 ). “Sun and the moon stood still in the heavens” (v.  11 ). God in wrath deals with the nations and delivers His people (vv.  12–13 ).

     Habakkuk 3:16–19. In response to this, Habakkuk declared, “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us” (v.  16 ). Habakkuk closed with the remarkable statement of his faith in the time of apostasy: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (vv.  17–18 ).

     Habakkuk’s perplexity in asking God why the wicked continued to flourish and why God used Babylon as an avenging instrument was replaced by Habakkuk’s simple trust in God, which was not based on what he saw but on the Word of God and the prophetic promise of ultimate justice and triumph for God.

     The close of the book states, “For the director of music. On my stringed instruments” (v.  19 ). Apparently, Habakkuk’s prayer became part of the worship and service of God in the temple.

     Though the book of Habakkuk is not primarily prophetic, it assures believers that God in His time will bring justice to the world and will triumph over the wicked and deliver the righteous.

The Prophecy In  Zephaniah

     The opening verse of  Zephaniah introduces the author as the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah. Implied in this statement was that he had high social ranking and probably belonged to royalty. His ministry was during the reign of King Josiah (640–609 BC). He probably was a distant relative of Josiah and was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum, and probably Habakkuk.

     The high point in the reign of Josiah was the recovery of the Law by Hilkiah in 622 BC ( 2 Kings 22–23; 2 Chron. 34 ). The discovery of the Law caused a revival of Israel spiritually. Baal worship was cut off ( Zeph. 1:4 ), but otherwise Judah’s moral condition justified the severe judgments that Zephaniah predicted.

     The reign of Josiah was in a period when Assyria was losing power, making it possible for the kingdom of Judah to expand and for Josiah to stop some of the religious practices of the Assyrians. In 612 BC, a few years before Josiah died, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed. Though some of the wicked practices introduced by King Manasseh, who preceded Josiah, were destroyed, even the spiritual revival did not bring about any deep-seated change in Judah.

     As a result of the spiritual state of Judah, the book of  Zephaniah is largely dedicated to declaring the coming judgment of God, referred to as the day of Yahweh or day of the Lord, to which references are made about nineteen times in this book.

     The day of the Lord is best understood as a time when God deals in direct judgment on the world, though it may also be a time of unusual blessing as in the millennium. The main burden of Scripture concerning the day of the Lord points to the ultimate judgment in connection with the second coming of Christ. The period immediately before Judah was the Babylonian captivity, which was the day of the Lord as far as Judah was concerned. This coming time of judgment, though extending to all the earth ( 1:2–3 ), was primarily on Judah and Jerusalem ( 1:4–2:3 ). Following judgment on Jerusalem, however, would be judgment on the surrounding nations (vv.  4–15 ). The book concluded with the ultimate restoration, referring to the millennial kingdom, which will take place after the second coming of Christ ( 3:9–12 ).

The Ultimate Judgment on the Day of the Lord on the Entire Earth

     Zephaniah 1:1–3. Speaking specifically of the ultimate judgment of God on the entire earth at the time of the second coming of Christ, Zephaniah declared the word of the Lord: “‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD” (vv.  2–3 ).

The Impending Judgment of the Day of the Lord on Judah and Jerusalem

     Zephaniah 1:4–18. Zephaniah declared the word of the Lord against Judah and Jerusalem: “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem” (v.  4 ). God particularly detailed that the “remnant of Baal” (v.  4 ) and the names of the idolatrous priests would be judged: “I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests — those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molech” (vv.  4–5 ).

     Judah was compared to a prepared sacrifice (v.  7 ), and on the day of the Lord, princes, king’s sons, and those wearing foreign clothes would especially be the objects of His wrath (vv.  7–8 ).

     Zephaniah declared the word of the Lord: “Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined” (v.  11 ). Their houses would be taken over by others, their vineyards would provide wine for others, and their wealth would be plundered (vv.  12–13 ). The day of the Lord was described in detail: “The great day of the LORD is near — near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD” (vv.  14–17 ). These prophecies were fulfilled in history and will be fulfilled at the second coming.

Zephaniah’s Plea to Repentance

     Zephaniah 2:1–3. In the light of the prophecies soon to be fulfilled, Zephaniah pleaded with the people of Judah to repent and come to God before His anger was revealed to them. He stated, “Seek the LORD all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger” (v.  3 ).

The Judgment of the Day of the Lord to Fall on Surrounding Nations

     Zephaniah 2:4–15. The land of the Philistines would be destroyed, including Gaza and Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron (vv.  4–5 ). The land of the Philistines would be so destroyed that it would become a place for flocks.

     Moab and Ammon also would share in the judgment: “‘I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammorites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land. Therefore, as surely as I live,’ declares the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, ‘surely Moab will become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah — a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them’” (vv.  8–9 ). The Cushites, referring to those in Ethiopia, also would hear God’s judgment (v.  12 ). God finally would judge Assyria and leave Nineveh desolate (v.  13 ). Where the city of Nineveh formerly was situated would be a place for flocks and herds and the desert owl. The city itself would be abandoned (v.  14 ). These prophecies were fulfilled in history.

The Apostasy of Israel Leading to Her Captivity

     Zephaniah 3:1–7. Jerusalem was described under the indictment of Zephaniah: “Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD, she does not draw near to her God” (vv. 1–2).

     Zephaniah denounced her officials as roaring lions, her prophets as arrogant, her priests as profane (vv.  3–4 ). God declared that not only Jerusalem but also the cities and the nations would be destroyed with no one to inhabit them (vv.  6–7 ). The day of the Lord would be a time when God’s wrath was poured out on the entire earth (v.  8 ). These prophecies were fulfilled in history.

The Coming Cleansing of the Nations

     Zephaniah 3:8–10. Following the day of the Lord would come a time when the nations would be cleansed and would once again worship the Lord: “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings” (vv.  9–10 ).

Restoration of Israel

     Zephaniah 3:11–13. Most important to God will be the restoration of the people of Israel in the day of the Lord. God declared, “On that day you will not be put to shame  for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid” (vv.  11–13 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennium.

     Though some spiritual revival took place in Israel when they returned from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem, the ultimate fulfillment will be in the millennial kingdom, following the second coming of Christ. Then there will be a true purging of that which is contrary to God and the nation of Israel, and those who are left will be the true worshippers.

The Blessing of God in Israel’s Restoration

     Zephaniah 3:14–20. Israel is exalted: “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm” (vv.  14–15 ). It will be a time when God takes “great delight” in Israel (v.  17 ) and will take away her sorrows. The prophecy concluded, “‘At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,’ says the LORD” (v.  20 ).

     The closing verse of Zephaniah summarizes the promises of God of blessing Israel in the future, including the regathering to their Promised Land, their being honored and praised by the nations, and restoration of their good fortunes in being returned to the land. In the millennium the promises to Israel of ultimate possession of her land ( Gen. 12:1–7; 13:14–17; 15:7–21; 17:7–8 ) and the coming of Christ as her Messiah and King will result in restoration of the Davidic kingdom, fulfilling the promises to David ( 2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 89:3–4; Isa. 9:6–7; Dan. 7:27; Zeph. 3:15 ). The closing expression of the book, “says the LORD” (v.  20 ), is a reminder that what has been promised has been promised by the Lord, who does not fail to fulfill His promises. These promises have ultimate fulfillment in the millennium.

          __________________________________________________________________

Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

The Coming of the Kingdom part 3

By Dr. Andrew Woods 4/25/2012

Evangelical Confusion

Because today's evangelical world largely believes that the church is presently experiencing the messianic kingdom, we began a study chronicling what the Bible teaches concerning this important issue of the kingdom. That there will be a future, messianic kingdom on earth has been revealed thus far through the divine intention to restore the office of Theocratic Administrator ( Gen. 1:26-28 ) that was lost in Eden ( Gen. 3 ). Likewise, the promise of a future, earthly, messianic reign was prophesied in the Abrahamic Covenant ( Gen. 15 ) and related sub-covenants. It was also explained that while these covenants guarantee that the kingdom will one day come to the earth through Israel, according to the Mosaic Covenant, the kingdom's ultimate manifestation is conditioned upon the nation's acceptance of Christ as her long-awaited king during the final events of the future Tribulation period. The previous article also explained how God restored the office of Theocratic Administrator that was lost in Eden, at least in a limited sense, at Sinai. This theocratic arrangement covered most of Old Testament history as God, even after the time of Moses, governed Israel indirectly through Joshua, various judges, and finally, Israel’s kings until the Babylonian Captivity ended the Theocracy.

Times of the Gentiles

This Babylonian Captivity initiated a dark time in Jewish history known as the "Times of the Gentiles" ( Luke 21:24; Rev. 11:2 ). This era is defined as the period of time when the nation no longer has a Davidic king reigning on David’s Throne. During this period, Judah would be trampled down by various Gentile powers. These powers include Babylon (605–539 B.C.), Medo-Persia (539–331 B.C.), Greece (331–63 B.C.), Rome (63 B.C.–A.D. 70), as well as the future, revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist (sometimes called "Rome Phase II"). Nebuchadnezzar, in a dream, saw this time period symbolized by a beautiful, dazzling statue. Each part of the statue represents a different Gentile power ( Dan. 2 ). In his dream, Daniel saw the same period of time in the form of four grotesque beasts. Each beast pictured a different Gentile power ( Dan. 7 ). To Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon or the first Gentile power to trample down Judah, this period appeared beautiful. This perspective explains why Nebuchadnezzar perceived this era in the form of an attractive statue. To Daniel, a Jew, whose people would be trampled down by these Gentile powers, this period was dismal. This perspective explains why he saw the Times of the Gentiles as represented by various ferocious beasts.

Note, the Times of the Gentiles, which began with Nebuchadnezzar's deposing of Zedekiah and the Babylonian Captivity in 586 B.C., are marked by the following three characteristics: the termination of the earthly theocracy, the lack of a Davidic king reigning on David’s Throne in Jerusalem, and Judah being trampled underfoot by a successive array of Gentile powers. The Times of the Gentiles will run their course and will eventually conclude with restoration of a rightful king reigning on David’s Throne, and the return of the shekinah glory of God to the Millennial temple ( Ezek. 43:1-5 ). This difficult period will end with the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign from David’s Throne in Jerusalem ( Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45; Matt. 25:31 ). While the Times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar's deposing of Zedekiah, it will be terminated at the return and enthronement of Christ thus inaugurating the long-awaited messianic kingdom.

Thus, only after the final kingdom of man (the revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist) has been terminated by Christ, will the Davidic kingdom then be established on earth ( Dan. 2:34-35; 43-45; 7:23-27 ). This fact alone should deter interpreters from finding a premature manifestation of the kingdom in the present Church Age. Unfortunately, "kingdom now" theologians ignore this chronology by arguing for a present, spiritual form of the kingdom, despite the fact that the kingdoms of man have not yet run their course, the Antichrist and his kingdom have not yet been overthrown, and the Second Advent has not yet occurred. This Danielic chronology causes Unger to conclude:

...Daniel neither in the image prophecy of chapter  2 nor in the beast prophecy of chapter  7 deals with the present age of the calling out of the church, the period during which Israel is temporarily in national rejection...Daniel was given the prophetic vision of Rome up to the time of Christ's death (the two legs). The vision resumed with the resumption of the divine dealing with national Israel (after the completion of the church at the rapture) during the period between glorification of the church and the establishment of the Kingdom over Israel ( Acts 1:6 ). Hence, the iron kingdom with its feet of iron and clay (cf.  3:33-35, 40, 44 ) and the nondescript beast of  7:7-8 envision not only Gentile power (1) as it was at the first advent, but (2) also the form in which it will exist after the church period, when God will resume His dealing with the nation Israel. How futile for conservative scholars to ignore that fact and to seek to find literal fulfillment of those prophecies in history or in the church, when those predictions refer to events yet future and have no application whatever to the church. [1]

The Prophets Anticipate The Kingdom

Throughout the dark years of national disobedience, Gentile dominion, and kingdom postponement, the Old Testament prophets held out hope for the nation and the world by faithfully speaking of a coming generation of Jews who would return to Yahweh thereby ushering in kingdom blessings. On account of this ray of spiritual light that the prophets provided in the midst of spiritual darkness, Peter refers to prophecy as, "...the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" ( 2 Pet. 1:19 ). While it would take multiple volumes to adequately portray all that the Old Testament prophets revealed concerning the coming kingdom, [2] a few predictions from the prophet Isaiah will suffice. According to  Isaiah 2:1b-4:

 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

Isaiah 11:6-9 similarly says:

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

According to these wonderful predictions, when the messianic kingdom materializes, Jerusalem will be the center of world spiritual and political authority. This authority will result in perfect justice, world peace, cessation of conflict with and among the animal kingdom, and universal, spiritual knowledge. These glorious conditions await a future Jewish generation's enthronement of the king of God's own choosing ( Deut. 17:15 ). Such enthronement will make Israel not only the owner but also the possessor of all that is promised in Israel's covenants. As these covenantal blessings come upon Israel in that future day, the entire world will be blessed as well ( Rom. 11:12, 15 ).

Continuation Of The Times Of The Gentiles Until Christ's Coming

Following the Babylonian Captivity in 586 B.C., the prophesied seventy years of national, divine discipline had run their course ( Lev. 25:1-7; 2 Chron. 36:20-21; Jer. 25:11; 29:10 ). The newly inaugurated Persian government allowed God's people to return to their homeland ( Ezra; Neh. ). Thus, by the time of Christ, the nation had been back in the Promised Land for over five centuries. However, such long residency in the land did not mean that the Times of the Gentiles had concluded. During all of this time, Israel still had no reigning king upon David's Throne. Moreover, as Daniel predicted ( Dan. 2; 7 ), Israel continued to be under the domination of various Gentile powers. Those powers included Persia, which was followed by Greece, and finally Rome. By the time Christ was born, the Roman Empire occupied the Promised Land, placed Israel under an enormous tax burden, and usurped from the Jews the right to execute their own criminals. Beyond this, the nation had gone through four hundred years of silence when God was not directly speaking to His people through prophetic oracles.

Against the backdrop of such silence and bondage entered Jesus Christ, the rightful heir to David's Throne. The Gospel accounts identify and affirm Jesus Christ as the long-awaited Davidic Descendant prophesied in both the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants. For example, Matthew’s Gospel connects Christ genealogically to both Abraham and David ( Matt. 1:17 ). Matthew also routinely associates Christ with the title "Son of David" ( Matt. 9:27 ). Luke similarly shows Jesus to be the rightful Heir to God’s promises to David ( Luke 1:32-33, 68-69 ).

ENDNOTES

Trusting His Word

By Mike Malone 4/1/1995

     Every parent knows that children have a way of exposing the real issues of life in an innocent yet unsympathetic manner. “Where did God come from? Where did I come from? Where will I go when I die?” are questions which raise ultimate philosophical concerns. The most important of questions, however, is “How do you know?” Answers may be offered to all sorts of questions, but this most basic one begs to be asked when any of those answers is offered.

     Imagine that you have just awakened from a deep sleep and you find yourself in a concrete bunker with a dozen other people. You all are suffering from amnesia. You don’t know where you have come from, who you are, what you should do, or how you might travel to some other place. It is clear that you are headed somewhere because each person possesses various provisions, food, clothing, medicines, etc.

     As others awaken, you begin to engage them in conversation. “Who are you? How did we get here? What shall we do? When?” Each person in the room will offer observations. Each will offer opinions, suggestions, solutions, and preferences. Each person will, sooner or later, develop convictions about the situation and what, if anything, should be done.

     In a sense, this is our plight. We are gathered on this planet and faced with questions demanding answers. A cafeteria of responses is available. But the critical question is, Who shall we believe and why? Shall I believe my New Age neighbor? Shall I believe my Lutheran cousin? Shall I believe my carefree work associate? Where shall I go to find the truth?

     Think back to the people in the bunker. Christianity claims that a road map has been provided in order that we might find our way from where we are to where we want to be (and we do want to be somewhere else, we realize).

     But it is more than a road map. It tells us that we were made for something greater than life in a concrete bunker. It offers explanations of the world in which we find ourselves, the One who created it, and His great desire that we might know Him. It describes us and explores the inner workings of our minds and hearts, revealing what is true but not altogether pleasant about us. It points us to a goal, an end, which is purported to satisfy the deepest longings of our aching hearts. And it tells us that, while the road is long and arduous, we may expect to experience great personal joy, comradery, and beauty along the way.

     While the Bible is much more than this, it is not less. And it may be trusted to “deliver the goods.” How do we know that?

     The question of the reliability and authority of the Scriptures revolves around the person central in them, Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible is not a book which simply fell out of the sky or was discovered on the side of a mountain with a peculiar pair of spectacles enabling its discoverer to read it. The Bible is the record of the mighty acts of God in human history, acts which prepare for and lead to the appearing, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The claim of the Bible is that these are matters of history. They may be examined. They should be expected to withstand the scrutiny of any who would bother to investigate them.

     When people argue for the trustworthiness of the Scriptures they will, rightly, refer to the majesty of its themes, the fundamental unity of its message, its power to influence the lives of men and women, and the remarkable way in which it has been preserved over centuries of use. But in the end the issue is Jesus Christ. At bottom, confidence in the Bible is a matter of loyalty to Him. Until one has come to terms with Jesus Christ, other issues are merely academic.

     True, we must trust the Bible at some level if we are to come to terms with Jesus of Nazareth. Given this book’s claims and given what it offers us, the only responsible thing is to investigate whether or not we ought to trust it. And that may be done by examining what it and history have said about its central character, Jesus Christ.

     In a conversation with a friend of my mother, I had the temerity to suggest that anyone who was not a Christian was one of two things: ignorant or irresponsible. That still seems to me wholly true. Life is much too short and filled with too many important questions to fail to take seriously this remarkable thing which has occurred on the stage of human history. It matters infinitely what one thinks about Jesus. Be neither ignorant nor irresponsible.

The History of the Reformation

By R.C. Sproul 4/1/1995

     “A cesspool of heresies.” This was the judgment rendered by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V on May 26, 1521, shortly after Luther took a stand at the Diet of Worms.

     Earlier, in the bull Exsurge Domine, Pope Leo X described Luther as a wild boar loose in the vineyard of Christ and as a stiff-necked, notorious, damned heretic. On May 4, 1521, Luther was “kidnapped” by friends and whisked off to Wartburg castle, where he was kept secretly hidden, disguised as a knight. There Luther immediately undertook the task of translating the Bible into the vernacular.

     Frequently the Reformation is described as a movement that revolved around two pivotal issues. The socalled “material” cause was the debate over sola fide (“justification by faith alone”). The “formal” cause was the issue of sola Scriptura, that the Bible and the Bible alone has the authority to bind the conscience of the believer. Church tradition was regarded with respect by the Reformers but not as a normative source of revelation. The “protest” of Protestantism went far beyond the issue of justification by faith alone, challenging many dogmas that emerged in Rome, especially during the Middle Ages.

     In a short time, the Reformation swept through Germany but did not stop there. Aided by the translation of the Bible in other nations, the reform spread to the Huguenots in France, to Scotland, England, Switzerland, Hungary, and Holland. Ulrich Zwingli led the Reformation movement in Switzerland, John Knox in Scotland, and John Calvin among the French Protestants.

     In 1534 Calvin delivered a speech calling the church to return to the pure Gospel of the New Testament. His speech was burned, and Calvin fled Paris to Geneva. Disguised as a vinedresser, he escaped the city in a basket. During the next year, some two dozen Protestants were burned alive in France. This provoked Calvin to write his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was addressed to the King of France. His thought contained in the Institutes developed into the dominant theology for the international expansion of the Reformation.

     The first edition of the Institutes was completed in 1536, the same year Calvin was persuaded by Farel to come to Switzerland to build Geneva into a model city of Reformation. In 1538 Farel and Calvin were forced to leave Geneva. He lived and ministered in Strasbourg for three years until he was recalled to Geneva in 1541.

     Calvin’s theology stressed the sovereignty of God in all of life. His chief passion was the reform of worship to a level of purity that would give no hint to or support of the human penchant for idolatry. Geneva attracted leaders from all over Europe who came there to observe the model and be instructed by Calvin himself.

     During this period turbulence spread to England when King Henry VIII resisted the authority of Rome. In 1534 Henry became the Supreme Head of the Anglican Church. He undertook the persecution of evangelicals, which escalated under “Bloody Mary,” causing many to flee to Geneva for refuge.

     The persecutions were suspended under “Good Queen Bess,” Elizabeth I, whose stance provoked a papal bull against her in 1570. The Reformation spread rapidly to Scotland, largely under the leadership of John Knox, who served 19 months as a galley slave before he went to England and then to Geneva. In 1560 the Scottish Parliament rejected papal authority. In 1561 the Scottish Reformed “Kirk” was reorganized.

     One interesting footnote to this is that the first man John Knox ordained into the ministry of the church was an obscure clergyman by the name of Robert Charles Sproul, of whom I am a direct descendant.

     In the early 17th century, the Reformation spread to the new world with the arrival of the Pilgrims and colonies of Puritans who brought Reformed theology and the Geneva Bible with them.

     Reformation theology dominated Protestant evangelicalism for decades but became diluted later under influences of Pietism and Finneyism.

     By the end of the 20th century, Reformation theology declined dramatically in the Western world, being assaulted by 19th-century liberal theology on the one hand, and the influence of Arminian theology on the other. This was especially true in America.

     In the present scene of American evangelicalism, Reformation theology is a minority report. The dominant strands of theology that reign in current evangelical circles are dispensationalism and neo-Pentecostal charismatic thought. The phenomenal spread and growth of dispensational theology in America is a fascinating chapter in church history. Having its roots in British Plymouth Brethren suppositions, dispensationalism spread rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fueled by the Bible School movement, prophecy conferences, and the preaching of men like D. L. Moody, dispensationalism gathered enormous popular support.

     The American version of dispensationalism got a great boost by the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible. The Scofield Bible, with its study notes, served as a popular tool for the spread of dispensational theology. This theology was forged by men who had their roots predominately in Reformation thought. The themes of classical Reformed theology were modified significantly by this movement.

     The New Geneva Study Bible is the first distinctively Reformed study Bible in English to appear since the Geneva Bible in the 16th century. It seeks to recover the theology of the Reformation and provide a guide for the laity to understand its historically, doctrinally, and biblically rich system. Its importance to American Christianity is enormous. It is my hope that it will help guide English-speaking evangelicals back to their Reformation roots. More importantly, it is designed to call evangelicals back to the Bible itself and to their historic confessions of biblical theology.

     Beyond the borders of America, the New Geneva Study Bible may be used to expand the light of the Reformation to lands where the original Reformation never reached, especially to Russia and Eastern Europe.

     In our day we have seen a revival of interest in the Bible and a renewed commitment to the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture. But the Reformation was more than a doctrine about the Bible. It was sparked by a deep and serious study of the Bible. It is not enough to extol the virtue of Scripture—we must hear the teaching of Scripture afresh. It is only by a serious and earnest recovery of biblical truth that we will be able to avoid falling into a new cesspool of heresy.

Robert Charles Sproul, 2/13/1939 – 12/14/2017 was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education and discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was also copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Dr. Sproul has contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, has spoken at conferences, churches, and schools around the world, and has written more than one hundred books. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

The Gnawing Worm of the Soul

By Cyprian of Carthage 8/23/2017

     In her book Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies, author Rebecca DeYoung writes about envy and its destructive power:

     “Why are we envious? Whom do we envy? And why does envy lead to such destructive impulses? While there is something ugly and malicious about envy—Gregory the Great lists anger as a vice that arises from it—there is obviously something self-destructive, self-hating about envy too. A poem by Victor Hugo recounts an opportunity granted to Envy and Avarice to receive whatever they wished, on the condition the other receive a double portion. Envy replied, ‘I wish to be blind in one eye.’ The envious person resents another person’s good gifts because they are superior to his or her own. It’s not just that the other person is better; it is that by their comparison their superiority makes you feel your own lack, your own inferiority, more acutely”.

     Cyprian of Carthage joins us today to offer some thoughts on this vice and ways to guard against it. —Renovaré Team

     But what a gnawing worm of the soul is it, what a plague-spot of our thoughts, what a rust of the heart, to be jealous of another, either in respect of his virtue or of his happiness; that is, to hate in him either his own deservings or the divine benefits—to turn the advantages of others into one’s own mischief—to be tormented by the prosperity of illustrious men—to make other people’s glory one’s own penalty, and, as it were, to apply a sort of executioner to one’s own breast, to bring the tormentors to one’s own thoughts and feelings, that they may tear us with intestine pangs, and may smite the secret recesses of the heart with the hoof of malevolence. To such, no food is joyous, no drink can be cheerful. They are ever sighing, and groaning, and grieving; and since envy is never put off by the envious, the possessed heart is rent without intermission day and night.

     Other ills have their limit; and whatever wrong is done, is bounded by the completion of the crime. In the adulterer the offense ceases when the violation is perpetrated; in the case of the murderer, the crime is at rest when the homicide is committed; and the possession of the booty puts an end to the rapacity of the thief; and the completed deception places a limit to the wrong of the cheat. Jealousy has no limit; it is an evil continually enduring, and a sin without end. In proportion as he who is envied has the advantage of a greater success, in that proportion the envious man burns with the fires of jealousy to an increased heat. …

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 92

1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

5 How great are your works, O LORD!
Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
7 that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8 but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

The Continual Burnt Offering (Acts 1:10)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

August 25

Isaiah 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.   ESV

But whether it be noontide, or whether it be night,
Or whether at the morning’s dawn or in the evening’s light,
When we shall see His blessed face and clasp those pierced feet,
And mount with Him above the sky, then is our joy complete.
Yes, “satisfied,” thrice “satisfied,” to in His likeness wake,
To dwell with Him thro’ countless years when that glad morn
shall break—
When He will come again.
--- M. E. Rae