Matthew-22-23

What I'm Reading

The Non-Canonical Gospel Attributed to John?

Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospel Attributed to John?

By J. Warner Wallace 10/9/2017

     The Gospel of John is a reliable addition to the New Testament Canon, but this ancient document isn’t the only text attributed to this disciple of Jesus. Another slightly less ancient text called the The Apocryphon of John claims to have been written by the same man who wrote the gospel we accept as reliable. But is this non-canonical text reliable? Was it really written by John? There are four attributes of reliable eyewitness testimony, and the first characteristic requires that any alleged eyewitness be present to see what he or she reports. The Apocryphon of John was written too late in history to have been written by the Apostle John, and like other late non-canonical texts, this fraudulent document was rejected by early Christians who knew that it was unreliable. In spite of this, The Apocryphon of John contains nuggets of truth related to Jesus. It is a legendary and elaborate fabrication written by an author who was motivated to change the history of Jesus to suit his own purposes. It is an alternative narrative twisted from the truths offered in the original Gospels. Much can be learned about the historic Jesus from this late fabrication:

     The Apocryphon of John (120-180AD) | The Apocryphon of John is a Sethian Gnostic text (Sethians were named for their reverent adoration of the Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, who they described as a divine incarnation and the ancestor of a superior race of humans). Like others Sethian texts, it was first discovered as part of the Nag Hammadi Library collection in Egypt in 1945. Three copies were discovered at that time, and another copy was later discovered in Egypt. All of these copies date to the 4th century, but scholars place the writing of the text in the 2nd century. The Apocryphon of John describes an appearance of Jesus to the Apostle John (after Jesus’ ascension) in which Jesus provides John with secret knowledge, much like other narratives in the tradition of Gnosticism.

     Why Isn’t It Considered Reliable? | The early Church leader, Irenaeus refers to The Apocryphon of John in his defense of the faith entitled “Against Heresies” (written in approximately 185AD). From a very early date, this book was identified as a Sethian Gnostic fabrication and late document with no Apostolic eyewitness connection to the Apostle John. As Irenaeus wrote, the text was one of “an indescribable number of secret and illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures.”

     How Does It Corroborate the Life of Jesus? | The Apocryphon of John presumes the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. It also affirms John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee, and an important disciple of Jesus (who is described as a Nazarene). Jesus is also given the title “Savior” (although the meaning of this term is different in Sethianism).

     Where (and Why) Does It Differ from the Reliable Accounts? | The Apocryphon of John is concerned primarily with an account of the creation of the world. The text was discovered in the Nag Hammadi library as the first document in a series of Sethian Gnostic texts and it includes the most detailed Sethian creation mythology. The role and position of Jesus in the Godhead is very different from orthodox canonical descriptions as a result of the presuppositions of Sethians who wrote this text. Sethian believers appear to have accepted the historicity of Jesus but attempted to place Him within their preconceived Sethian beliefs.

Click here to go to source

James "Jim" Warner Wallace (born June 16, 1961) is an American homicide detective and Christian apologist. Wallace is a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and an Adjunct Professor of Apologetics at Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has authored several books, including Cold-Case Christianity, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, in which he applies principles of cold case homicide investigation to apologetic concerns such as the existence of God and the reliability of the Gospels.

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

Every Prophecy Of The Bible

By John Walvoord (1990)

The Seven Bowl Judgments Announced

     Revelation 15:1–8. The revelation concerning the seven bowls is introduced by John. “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues — last, because with them God’s wrath is completed” (v. 1 ). This is another sign in sequence to two previous signs recorded in Revelation 12, the sign of the woman clothed with the sun (v. 1 ) and the sign appearing in heaven, referring to “an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads” (v. 3 ). The three signs together concentrate attention on the woman — or Israel, on the world empire — the ultimate work of Satan, and the seven angels of the seven last plagues that bring out God’s judgment of the wicked. The sign here presented in Revelation 15 is described as “great and marvelous,” an expression that is found only here (v. 1 ), and concerning the deeds of God (v. 3 ).

     The seven angels who are introduced here apparently are a different group from any mentioned previously, and the plagues concern a judgment of God that is different from anything that precedes it. Being seven in number, it gives the impression of completion, or fulfillment, or God’s judgment on the wicked, which is embraced in the phrase, “last, because with them God’s wrath is completed” (v. 1 ). Tremendous as have been the judgments in the breaking of the seals and the sounding of the trumpets, these last judgments are obviously more extensive and more final than anything preceding. They are the expression of God’s wrath (Gr., thymos), indicating not so much His judicial wrath as His anger. God’s reaction to sin is, first of all, anger, and second, wrath in the form of judgment.

     John recorded further revelation: “And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God” (v. 2 NASB). The sea of glass here as well as in 4:6 is apparently the same entity and may signify the Word of God. The sea is not an ordinary sea because the heavenly hosts are pictured as standing on it, and it is designed to manifest the glory of God. With fire speaking of divine judgment, those standing on it reveal that some will not experience the wrath of God, whereas others will. Those standing on the sea of glass are described as “victorious over the beast and his image” ( 15:2 ).

     The victorious group also is to be given harps, or lyres. The only musical instruments described in heaven are the harps, or lyres, and only certain personages in heaven have the harps. The martyred dead of the tribulation are among those who play the harp.

     John recorded that those who are victorious in standing on the sea of glass “sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb” (v. 3 ). The statement implies that there is one song of Moses and another song of the Lamb. The song of Moses is often linked with the song sung by Moses in Exodus 15 when the children of Israel were triumphant over Pharaoh and his hosts. Another suggestion, however, is that it refers to the song in Deuteronomy 32, also produced by Moses in presenting a comprehensive revelation of God’s faithfulness to Israel and the certainty of Israel’s enemies being defeated. The song of the Lamb is then recorded: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” ( Rev. 15:3–4 ).

     The question concerning who will fear the Lord and bring glory to Him is a question often addressed in Scripture. Jeremiah, for instance, asked the question, “Who should not revere you, O King of the nations?” ( Jer. 10:7 ). The song of the nations worshipping the Lord recorded here by John is a frequent theme of the Old Testament, which will be fulfilled, of course, in the millennial kingdom as well as in the eternal state (cf. Pss. 2:8–9; 24:1–10; 66:1–4; 72:8–12; 86:9; Isa. 2:2–4; 9:6–7; 66:18–23; Dan. 7:14; Zeph. 2:11; Zech. 14:9 ). Because God is righteous and holy, He will bring His judgments on men as indicated in the closing words of the song, “for your righteous acts have been revealed” ( Rev. 15:4 ).

     From the vantage point of heaven, John recorded that He saw further. “After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. The one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed” (vv. 5–8 ).

     The temple (Gr., naos) indicates that the angels come out of the inner holy place. Though access by the priest was limited, angels, because they have no sin, are able to enter the holy place. What John has seen is, of course, symbolic of what is about to happen. The angels are each given a bowl of the wrath of God that will be poured out in Revelation 16. Because this is a very dramatic consummation of God’s judgment on a wicked world, the Scripture indicates that the smoke will fill the temple, in a way similar to when the cloud filled the tabernacle ( Ex. 40:34–35 ). The whole scene is one that is ominous and indicating impending judgment on a wicked world.

Seven Bowls of God’s Judgment Ordered Poured Out on a Wicked World

     Revelation 16:1. As John contemplated the scene before him, he heard “a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth’” (v. 1 ). The voice from the temple could very well be the voice of God, though the text does not indicate this. The “loud” voice (Gr., megales) is a characteristic word throughout this chapter as brought out in the KJV. In verse 1 a “great” voice, in verse 9 “great” heat, in verse 12 the “great” Euphrates, in verse 14 the “great” day of the God Almighty, in verse 18 a “mighty” or great earthquake, in verse 19 the “great” city, also in verse 19 Babylon the “Great,” in verse 21 “great” or huge hailstones, also in verse 21 ax “exceeding” or great plague. Everything about this chapter speaks of the climax as the greatest and most awful period of human history.

     Because the seven bowls of the wrath of God are similar to the judgments of the trumpets and those of the seals, expositors have been tempted to equate them. Careful attention to the details, however, will point out the differences. It is true in the series of the trumpets and the bowls that the first ones deal with the earth, the next with the sea, the next with rivers and springs of water, the next with the sun, the next with darkness, the next with the Euphrates River, and the seventh with a comprehensive judgment including all that is in the trumpets and all that is in the bowls of the wrath of God, which are summarized in the seventh bowl as a great earthquake and a great hailstorm.

     Though the judgments are similar, notable differences are mentioned. The trumpet judgments extend to only one-third of the earth while the bowl judgments generally extend to the entire earth. There is really no problem of repetition of judgments as what the Scripture is revealing is that these judgments as the time progresses become increasingly worse and occur in rapid chronological order. The seven bowls apparently occur one after the other in rapid sequence and immediately introduce the situation of the second coming of Christ. In Revelation 16 a series of judgments beyond anything ever mentioned before is revealed.

The First Bowl

Revelation 16:2. In obedience to the voice from the temple, the first angel pours out his bowl. As John recorded, “The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image” (v. 2 ). By contrast, in the first trumpet a third of the earth is burned up ( 8:7 ). In the first bowl of the wrath of God painful sores and afflictions are experienced by those who worship the beast, the experience being similar to that experienced by the Egyptians ( Ex. 9:9–11 ). The only ones who escape this judgment are those who have refused to worship the beast.

The Second Bowl

Revelation 16:3. Next, the second bowl is poured out. “The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died” (v. 3 ). In the second trumpet a third of the sea turns to blood ( 8:8 ). This judgment again seems to be similar to the judgment of the plagues in Egypt ( Ex. 7:20–25 ), which was poured out on the River Nile, making it impossible to drink, and killing the fish in the river. In reference to the sea, it is possible that it may be limited to the Mediterranean, but the same word would be used if the entire world were involved.

The Third Bowl

     Revelation 16:4–7. John then recorded the pouring out of the third bowl. “The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: ‘You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve’” (vv. 4–6 ). In response to this, a voice is again heard from the altar, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments” (v. 7 ).

     Expositors tend to try to explain the judgment of the sea turning to blood as something not actually blood. If one accepts the omnipotence of God, of course, nothing is impossible, and the sea could become literal blood, or it may be the language of appearance, but in either case it is a terrible judgment, rendering the water unfit both for fish in the sea and for drinking on the part of man.

     Attention is called in the third bowl to the martyrdom of saints and rejection of the prophets (v. 6 ). The judgment was declared to be just (v. 5 ).

The Fourth Bowl

Revelation 16:8–9. John then recorded the fourth bowl. “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him” (vv. 8–9 ). Similarities and contrasts can be seen again between the fourth trumpet and the fourth bowl. The fourth bowl relates only to the sun and increases the sun’s intensity. By contrast, the fourth trumpet darkened a third of the sun, moon, and stars ( 8:12 ). Though the sphere of the judgment is the same, the effect is different.

The Fifth Bowl

Revelation 16:10–11. The fifth bowl is announced. “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done” (vv. 10–11 ). This judgment apparently increased the severity of the affliction of the first bowl and describes those associated with the beast, and others as well, as being in unusual agony. The familiar theme of failure to repent is repeated here (cf. 2:21; 9:20–21 ). When wicked men are confronted with the power of God, they do not easily come to the place of repentance, but instead enlarge their rebellion against God.

The Sixth Bowl

     Revelation 16:12. The sixth bowl introduces a number of interesting facts. “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East” (v. 12 ).

     When the sixth bowl is poured out, chronologically, the time of the second coming is very near. One of the major features of the period just before the second coming is a world war in which various parts of the world rebel against the world ruler who has taken power as the dictator some time before. In the light of this military conclusion to the great tribulation, the sixth bowl makes its own contribution in preparing the way for the kings of the East to cross the Euphrates.

     Few portions of Revelation have called for more varied interpretation than this verse. A survey of a hundred commentaries on Revelation reveals fifty different theories, practically all trying to interpret what is meant by the “kings from the East” (v. 12 ) and also to determine whether the river Euphrates is literal or not. The numerous symbolic interpretations are its own confession that this is not the proper interpretation.

     Accordingly, a literal interpretation of this is exactly what the text calls for, namely, that the Euphrates River will be dried up, and this will prepare for military invasion by the kings of the East, probably including rulers of China and other countries.

     The implication from the text is that this is accomplished by supernatural means, such as an earthquake, though the method is not revealed. In the twentieth century, however, Russia has helped build a series of dams across the Euphrates River to capture water for irrigation purposes. The fact is that at certain times in the season when all the water is stored, the Euphrates River is dry. If it were flowing at an ordinary rate, it would be a difficult river to cross because of the rough terrain on both sides of the river. With the riverbed dry, there would be no restriction of movement of a great army from the East.

     Though this passage does not connect directly with the sixth trumpet, apparently the river is dried up in order for the great army of two hundred million to cross it as indicated in the sixth trumpet ( 9:14–16 ). The two events are chronologically close together even though they belong to different series.

     Though no further information is given about the sixth bowl, John then recorded a small parenthetic section, giving the overview of Armageddon.

Parenthetic Revelation IV: Demonic Gathering of World Armies

     Revelation 16:13–14. John wrote that he saw what revealed a coming world war: “Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty” (vv. 13–14 ).

     This revelation is a combination of literal and symbolic. Obviously, the evil spirits that looked like frogs were actually fallen angels who, apparently, respond to the direction of the dragon that is Satan and the world ruler and his associate, the false prophet. The evil spirits are sent throughout the world to entice the kings of the world to join in the great world war that will be underway in the Holy Land.

     Obviously, as long as the world government is intact, there will be no war. The fact that there is a war indicates rebellion against the rule of the world dictator toward the end of the great tribulation.

     The gathering of the armies is in preparation for the second coming. Apparently Christ Himself proclaims the warning to be prepared, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he to stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed” (v. 15 ). Though many events precede the second coming and Satan himself is aware that it is impending, many will be unprepared — “naked” and “shamefully exposed” — as far as God’s righteousness is concerned.

     The armies from all the world are gathered geographically to the Holy Land, apparently to fight it out for power. The locale of the war is described as Armageddon. The term Armageddon geographically refers to the area eastward from Mount Megiddo in northern Israel and includes the large plain of Esdraelon. Megiddo is in the Hebrew a corresponding title to the Greek, Armageddon. This area has been the scene of great battles in the past, including that of Barak and the Canaanites ( Judg. 4 ) and the victory of Gideon over the Midianites ( Judg. 7 ). Saul and Josiah also were killed in this area. The valley is rather large, being fourteen miles wide and twenty miles long. Large as this area is, it obviously cannot contain the armies of millions of men, and it seems to be the marshaling point.

     Actually, the armies are scattered up and down the Holy Land for a length of some two hundred miles. Both World War I and World War II were identified by some as Armageddon, but subsequent history proved that they were wrong.

     The enticement of the demons is apparently effective because the armies of the world assemble to fight it out in the Holy Land. The fact that the demons, including the efforts of the dragon, the world ruler, and the false prophet, openly invite a world war, seems to be a contradiction because in Revelation 13 the world government is put together by Satan in order to fulfill his imitation of the millennial world government. Satan and the world ruler and the false prophet are a trilogy compared to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are in charge of the kingdom. Here, however, the same people are inviting countries of the world to fight it out, which seems to be a contradiction.

     The answer to this puzzle is found in Revelation 19 as the second coming of Christ is revealed. What Satan is doing is gathering all the military power of the world in a vain effort to contend with the army from heaven. It, of course, is futile because Christ speaks the Word and the armies and their horses on both sides of the conflict are instantly killed in the awful judgment that occurs at the second coming.

     As in other general prophecies dealing with many, there is also individual application as in 16:15, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” The symbolism of this verse is not explained in the text, but the individual is told to keep his clothes on in preparation for this event. Garments when used symbolically often refer to righteousness in life, and it may be that those who are saved at the time should continue to serve the Lord in a righteous fashion. Though many have been killed by the beast, many others have escaped up to this time as witnessed in the sheep in Matthew 25:31–46 and the remnant of Israel spoken of frequently in the Old Testament as in Ezekiel 20:33–38. Commentators generally agree that the seventh bowl is in preparation for the major events that follow, such as the second coming of Christ.

          __________________________________________________________________

Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

Why Bethlehem Uses the ESV

By John Piper 1/2/2004

Why I would like to see the English Standard Version become the most common Bible of the English-speaking church, for preaching, teaching, memorizing, and study.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O LORD,
my rock and my redeemer.

--Psalm 19:7-14 ESV

     I love the Bible the way I love my eyes—not because my eyes are lovely, but because without them I can't see what's lovely. Without the Bible I could not see "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4). Without the Bible I could not know "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8). Without the Bible I would not know that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior. I love the Bible because it gives the wisdom that leads to salvation, and shows me that this salvation is nothing less than seeing and savoring the glory of Christ forever. And then provides for me inexhaustible ways of seeing and knowing and enjoying Christ.

     I praise God that we have the Bible in English. What a gift! What a treasure! We cannot begin to estimate what this is worth to Christians and churches, and even to the unbelievers and the cultures of the English-speaking world. Ten thousand benefits flow from the influence of this book that we are not even aware of. And the preaching of this Word in tens of thousands of pulpits across America is more important than every media outlet in the nation.

     I would rather have people read any translation of the Bible—no matter how weak—than to read no translation of the Bible. If there could be only one translation in English, I would rather it be my least favorite than that there be none. God uses every version to bless people and save people.

     But the issue before the church in the English-speaking world today is not "no translation vs. a weak translation." It is between many precious English Bibles. A Bible does not cease to be precious and powerful because its translators overuse paraphrase and put way too much of their own interpretation into the Bible. That's the way God's Word is! It breaks free from poor translations and poor preaching—for which I am very thankful. But even though the weakest translation is precious, and is used by God to save and strengthen sinful people, better translations would be a great blessing to the church and an honor to Christ.

Click here to go to source

     Previous to attending seminary I used the NIV, but since my seminary used the NRSV I switched to the NRSV. In September of 2017 I was convicted that I should be using a more literal translation. Now I am employed in changing each day's Bible translation from NRSV to ESV. It will probably take me two years to complete.

     John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

     John Piper Books | Go to Books Page

The 95 Theses Martin Luther

The 95 Theses (Stephen Nichols: The First and Second Theses)

By Martin Luther 10/31/1517

Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.

The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.

The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.

God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.

The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

Therefore the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.

Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept (Mt 13:25).

In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.

Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear.

This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.

It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love increase.

Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.

Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.

Therefore the pope, when he uses the words ``plenary remission of all penalties,'' does not actually mean ``all penalties,'' but only those imposed by himself.

Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.

As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.

If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.

For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.

That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.

The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them.

They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend.

No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.

The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.

Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.

For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.

They who teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.

Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.

Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.

Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the proclamation of the divine remission.

It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.

A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.

Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of love.

Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy.

Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.

Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.

Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.

Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.

Christians are to be taught that they buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.

Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.

Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.

Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.

Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.

It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.

They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.

Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.

It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.

That indulgences are not temporal treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only gather them.

Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.

St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.

For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.

The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.

But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).

On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for men of wealth.

The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for the wealth of men.

The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote gain.

They are nevertheless in truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.

Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.

But they are much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.

Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.

But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.

Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.

Much more does he intend to thunder against those who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.

To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.

We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.

To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.

We say on the contrary that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written. (1 Co 12[:28])

To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.

The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.

This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.

Such as: ``Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church?'' The former reason would be most just; the latter is most trivial.

Again, ``Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?''

Again, ``What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, beca use of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love's sake?''

Again, ``Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?''

Again, ``Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?''

Again, ``What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?''

Again, ``What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?''

``Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?''

To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.

If, therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.

Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Peace, peace,'' and there is no peace! (Jer 6:14)

Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Cross, cross,'' and there is no cross!

Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.

And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).

Click here to go to source

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is president of Reformation Bible College in Sanford, Fla., chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, and a Ligonier teaching fellow. He previously served as research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pa. He earned a Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and he is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols Books | Go to Books Page

7th Trumpet & Background of the 7 Bowls Begun

The Seventh Trumpet and Background of the Seven Bowls Begun

By Robert L. Thomas Revelation Commentary

The sounding of the seventh trumpet brings a great heavenly celebration over the anticipated establishment of God’s kingdom on earth ( 11:15-19 ), but a disclosure of the subject matter of the trumpet awaits an extensive examination of background matters ( 12:1-14:20 ) necessary to comprehend that trumpet’s contents once they are divulged. This chapter will treat the sounding of the trumpet ( 11:15-19 ) and the beginning of the background discussion ( 12:1-18 ), with the remainder of the background data ( 13:1-14:20 ) reserved for the next chapter of the commentary.

10. THE SEVENTH TRUMPET: THE SEVEN BOWLS AWAITED ( Revelation 11:15-19 )

Revelation 11:15–19 (ESV) 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Exegesis and Exposition

     11:15 Word about the second woe’s conclusion and third woe’s imminent arrival ( 11:14 ) bids the seventh trumpet-angel to act, thereby resuming the progressive movement following the intercalation of 10:1–11:14: Kα βδoμoς γγελoς σάλπισεν· α γένoντo ϕωνα μεγάλαι ν τ oραν λέγoντες (Kai ho hebdomos angelos esalpisen; kai egenonto phōnai megalai en t ouran legontes, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there came great voices in heaven, saying” ). He sounds his trumpet, yet, as with the seventh seal ( 8:2-5 ), no earthly activity of judgment resumes immediately. Instead a dramatic heavenly announcement ( 11:15b ) and hymn of thanksgiving ( 11:16-18 ) follow at once. Then comes an extended presentation, beginning in heaven and telling of the inner movements that lie behind this climax of human history ( 11:19-14:20 ) yet to be described ( 15:1 ff.).

     The absence of any immediate visitation against the earth - dwellers until chapter 16 is indicative of the nature of chronological progression in the fulfillment of the numbered series. Just as the seventh seal included all seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet includes all seven bowls described in 16:1 ff. This “telescoping” of the bowls for incorporation as part of the seventh trumpet agrees with the earlier revelation that the seventh trumpet is not a momentary happening, but occupies a period of time (cf. 10:7 ). This among other dissimilarities differentiates it from “the last trumpet” of 1 Cor. 15:51-52 (Bullinger, Walvoord).

     Because of what will eventually occur after “the various underplots” of chapters 12-14 work themselves out, an outburst of praise accompanies the sounding of the trumpeter. The voices uttering the hymn are in heaven, and they are loud — ϕωναμεγάλαι ν τ oραν (phōnai megalai en t ouran, “great voices in heaven” ). This is quite a contrast to the silence in heaven that followed the opening of the seventh seal ( 8:1 ). Whose voices they are is unrevealed, the same indefiniteness prevailing as in 12:10 and 19:6 where ϕωνή (phōnē, “voice”) is singular instead of plural as here. The voices should not be limited to a single category of angels such as the living beings ( 4:8 ) or the living beings and twenty-four elders ( 5:8-10 ). Neither should the twenty-four elders who sing the next hymn ( 11:16-18 ) be excluded from among these singers (contra Alford). It is a response of the whole host of heaven celebrating the coming ultimate victory marked by the seventh trumpet.

     John’s visional location changes from earth back to heaven to enable him to hear this song, because knowledge of events celebrated in this song are at this point limited to heaven (Beckwith). This heavenly scene helps the reader of his prophecy to connect events on earth with the invisible powers which control them and to view earth’s tragedies in the light of this heavenly perspective.

     The focus of the heavenly enthusiasm is the kingdom of God: γένετo βασιλεία τo όσμoυ τo υρίoυ μν α τo Xριστo ατo, α βασιλεύσει ες τoς ανας τν αώνων (Egeneto hē basileia tou kosmou tou kyriou hēmōn kai tou Christou autou, kai basileusei eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, “The kingdom of the world has become [that] of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever” ). Attempts to identify βασιλεία (basileia, “kingdom”) as the church of the present era by assigning it an abstract sense8 are futile, because an abstract sense for the noun is impossible when τo όσμoυ (tou kosmou, “the world”) follows immediately in assigning a realm over which the rule extends. Nor can the singular number of the noun support an abstract sense (i.e., “royal dominion”). The singular views the world as a unit, a single concrete kingdom. This world - empire, once dominated by a usurping power, has now passed into the hands of its true owner. Later celebrations in the book ( 12:10; 19:6 ) also observe this transition (Swete). The noun has a consistent concrete rather than abstract force in the NT (e.g., Matt. 4:8 ). Jesus will return and assume the throne of His father David in this future crisis, at which time He will replace the satanically energized sovereignty of world rulers that has prevailed for so long. The whole theme of Revelation is the purging of evil from the world so that it can become the domain of the King of kings (cf. 19:16 ). Only a physical kingdom on earth will satisfy this.

     The aorist verb γένετo (egeneto, “has become”) is proleptic. The replacement of the kingdom of the world in fulfillment does not occur chronologically at this point in the series of visions. Rather, the perspective of the verb tense is a point after the action of the seventh trumpet will have run its course. This event is future from the point of progress reached in the series, but the verb views it as an already accomplished fact (cf. Luke 19:9 ). The seventh trumpet triggers an anticipation of the final triumph when the future visible kingdom of God on earth will become a reality, when a transference of power from the heathen nations to God, as described in Psalm 2, will come. This change has not yet happened, but the time has come for it to happen (Alford). This use of the aorist tense conveys the absolute certainty of these future transactions by speaking of them as already past (Mounce).

Psalm 2 (ESV) The Reign of the LORD’s Anointed

2 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

     The new rulers of the domain of the earth are τo υρίoυ μν α τo Xριστoατo (tou kyriou hēmōn kai tou Christou autou, “[that] of our Lord and of His Christ” ). Kυρίoυ (Kyriou, “Lord”) is a title for God the Father as the later ατo (autou, “His”) shows. In the NT ύριoς (kyrios, “Lord”) more often refers to Christ, but in Revelation, it designates the Father more frequently. Xριστo (Christou, “Christ”) refers to Jesus, of course. He is the Father’s Anointed One (cf. Luke 2:26; 9:20; Acts 4:26 ). “The Lord and His Anointed (or Christ)” echoes Ps. 2:2, which early in Christian church history received a Messianic interpretation (Charles, Mounce). Themes from Psalm 2 recur frequently in Revelation (cf. 2:27; 12:5, 10; 14:1; 16:14; 17:18; 19:15, 19 ). The Psalm will have its final fulfillment when the Anointed is victor over all the kings of the earth (cf. Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:17-21 ) (Smith).

     In consequence of the acquisition of the kingdom of the world, the Father and His Christ will rule eternally (βασιλεύσει ες τoς ανας τν αώνων [basileusei eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, “He will reign forever and ever” ]). The unity of the joint sovereignty accounts for the singular βασιλεύσει (basileusei, “He will reign” ) (cf. Eph. 5:5 ) (Beasley-Murray, Mounce). When the Father rules, so does the Son. Sequentially speaking, the kingdom of the Son will ultimately merge with that of the Father (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24, 27-28 ) (Swete). The eternal nature of this kingdom (ες τoς ανας τν αώνων [eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, “forever and ever” ]) harks back to Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 27 (cf. Luke 1:33 ) (Beckwith, Charles). The heavenly throng is exuberant over this momentous occasion, and rightly so.

     It is evident that this looks forward to divine rule in the new creation ( 22:3-5 ) (Beasley-Murray). The eternal duration of the kingdom requires this. But whether or not it has the millennial reign over the present creation ( 20:1-10 ) in view needs clarification. Since earlier promises to the redeemed include reigning on earth ( 5:10 ), this prediction of an eternal reign must include the millennial or earthly phase of Christ’s future reign. The central theme of Revelation is the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth (Ladd). In addition, OT anticipations from which John draws many of his concepts include the eventual passing of the rule over earth into God’s hands ( Dan. 2:35, 44; 4:3; 6:26; 7:14, 26-27; Zech. 14:9 ). Paul also looked forward to a future kingdom in two phases ( 1 Cor. 15:24-28 ). The closing chapters of the Apocalypse refer specifically to these two phases, one a kingdom on the earth ( 20:1-10 ) and another a kingdom in God’s new creation ( 21:1–22:5 ). This heavenly announcement must include both.

     11:16 One segment of the heavenly throng follows up the dramatic announcement with a song of worship and thanksgiving: α o εoσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτερoι [o] νώπιoν τo θεo αθήμενoι π τoς θρόνoυς ατν πεσαν π τ πρόσωπα ατν α πρoσενησαν τ θε (kai hoi eikosi tessares presbyteroi [hoi] enōpion tou theou kathēmenoi epi tous thronous autōn epesan epi ta prosōpa autōn kai prosekynēsan t the, “and the twenty-four elders who were before God sitting upon their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God” ). It has been some time since the elders entered the ongoing action of the book. The last time was when one of the group functioned as an angelic revealer to explain to John the identity of the innumerable multitude in heaven ( 7:13-14 ). This time the whole group falls in worship of God as they have previously ( 4:10; 5:8, 14 ), this time the added π τ πρόσωπα ατν (epi ta prosōpa autōn, “on their faces” ) dramatizing their worship more graphically. This like all the other worship scenes in Revelation (chaps. 4-5; 7:9-12; 8:3-4; 14:2-5; 15:2-4; 16:5-7; 19:1-8; 22:1-5 ) transpires in heaven.

     11:17 Their song is one of thanksgiving: λέγoντες, Eχαριστoμέν σoι, ύριε θεòς παντoράτωρ, ν α ν, τι εληϕας τν δύναμίν σoυ τν μεγάλην α βασίλευσας (legontes, Eucharistoumen soi, kyrie ho theos ho pantokratōr, ho ōn kai ho ēn, hoti eilēphas tēn dynamin sou tēn megalēn kai ebasileusas, “saying, ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign’” ). The thanks expresses gratitude for God’s answer to the prayers of the saints in the form of the trumpets, the seventh of which has just sounded (Alford). The verb εχαριστέω (eucharisteō, “I give thanks” ) appears only here in Revelation, but John uses it three times in his gospel ( John 6:11, 23; 11:41 ) (Lee).

     The combination ύριε θεòς παντoράτωρ (kyrie ho theos ho pantokratōr, “Lord God Almighty” ) as a title for God is frequent in this book ( 1:8; 4:8; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6; 21:22 ). Παντoράτωρ (Pantokratōr, “Almighty” ) occurs twice with θεòς (ho theos, “God” ), but without ύριoς (kyrios, “Lord”) ( 16:14; 19:15 ). It contributes the thought that none can resist His power. It appropriately speaks of God’s all-embracing sovereignty (Morris), a sovereignty that at the point of the song’s perspective becomes a visible reality in asserting its direct rule over the world.

     The expression ν α ν (ho ōn kai ho ēn, “who is and who was” ) focuses upon God’s uninterrupted existence in the present and past. In the future He will be the same as He reigns “forever and ever.” A third part of the title— ρχόμενoς (ho erchomenos, “who is coming” ) that appeared earlier ( 1:4, 8; 4:8 ) — drops out, because at the moment anticipated in the song, He has already come (cf. 16:5 ). The kingdom Jesus told His disciples to pray for ( Matt. 6:10 ) has arrived in connection with the second coming of the King (Bullinger).

     The song continues by giving the reason for (τι [hoti, “because” ]) the thanksgiving. God has seized direct control of the world. Eληϕας (Eilēphas, “you have taken” ) is perfect tense in contrast with the aorist βασίλευσας (ebasileusas, “begun to reign” ). The perfect tense pictures the permanence of His control (Morris). A perfect of λαμβάνω (lambanō, “I take” ) in contrast with an aorist occurs at 3:3; 5:7; 8:5 also. “Your great power” (τν δύναμίν σoυ τν μεγάλην [tēn dynamin sou tēn megalēn]) is the final and overwhelming display of power through which God will overwhelm His enemies (Swete, Mounce). The almighty One until this time allows anti-Christian power to control the world, but after the future climax, His direct control will be in place.

     The aorist of βασίλευσας (ebasileusas, “[have] begun to reign” ) is ingressive as well as proleptic. From a future vantage point when the reign will have begun, the singers look back to the reign’s starting point. This is none other than the visible establishment of God’s reign over hostile powers through the vanquishing of all hostile powers (Ladd, Kiddle, Beasley-Murray). The effort to equate this reign with the church age following A.D. 70 and to say that the events of 11:18 are those leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in that year rests on an extremely allegorical treatment which finds no justification in the text itself.

     11:18 The twenty-four elders also sing about the response of the nations and the implementation of God’s wrath and of judgment of the dead: α τ θνη ργίσθησαν, α λθεν ργή σoυ α αιρòς τν νερν ριθναι α δoναι τòν μισθòν τoς δoύλoις σoυ τoς πρoϕήταις α τoς γίoις α τoς ϕoβoυμένoις τò νoμά σoυ, τoς μιρoς α τoς μεγάλoυς, α διαϕθεραι τoς διαϕθείρoντας τν γν (kai ta ethnē ōrgisthēsan, kai ēlthen hē orgē sou kai ho kairos tōn nekrōn krithēnai kai dounai ton misthon tois doulois sou tois prophētais kai tois hagiois kai tois phoboumenois to onoma sou, tous mikrous kai tous megalous, kai diaphtheirai tous diaphtheirontas tēn gēn, “and the nations were enraged, and your wrath came and the time for the dead to be judged [came] and to give the reward to your slaves the prophets and to the saints, even to those who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy the destroyers of the earth” ). The institution of the hated kingdom of God provokes a defiant rage from the nations (Lee). The verb ργίσθησαν (ōrgisthēsan, “were enraged” ) denotes the hostility of the nations of the world against God. Their wrath is quite distinct from the wrath of God by which these same people were terrified ( 6:17 ) (Moffatt). The wrath of men is wicked; the wrath of God is holy (Walvoord).

     Eventually they will demonstrate their wrath by assembling in great armies to oppose God ( 16:14, 16, 19; 20:8-9 ). This last great assault against divine power looks back again to Psalm 2 (cf. 11:15; Ps. 2:1, 5, 12 ) (Beckwith). The Jerusalem church in Acts 4:25-28 applied Psalm 2 to the treatment of Christ by Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate, and others, but here the outlook is wider and the fulfillment more ultimate (Swete). This part of the elders’ song is reminiscent of the promise to the overcomers in Thyatira, whose promise is to share in the infliction of punishment on the nations ( 2:26-27 ) (Kiddle).

     The next line of the song is a proleptic statement of the coming of God’s wrath (λθεν ργή σoυ [ēlthen hē orgē sou, “your wrath came” ]). God’s wrath is more than a match for the wrath of the nations. ργή (Orgē, “Wrath”) is the consistent word in other NT books to prophesy the coming of this wrath (cf. Matt. 3:7; Luke 3:7; Rom. 2:5, 8; 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9 ) (Smith). The outpouring of God’s wrath spells the end of worldly rebellion against God.

     The sense of λθεν (ēlthen, “came”) carries into the next line of the hymn: “the time for the dead to be judged [came]” ( αιρòς τν νερν ριθναι [ho kairos tōn nekrōn krithēnai]). Kαιρòς (Kairos, “Time”) carries the force of “the right time or season” (cf. Mark 11:13; Luke 21:24 ). Judgment comes only when the time is ripe (Swete, Morris, Johnson). Two other infinitives besides ριθναι (krithēnai, “to be judged” ) in the remainder of v. 18 add to the identification of this kairos. They are δoναι (dounai, “to give”) and διαϕθεραι (diaphtheirai, “to destroy”). In addition to judgment, it is also the right season to give rewards to the faithful and to destroy those who destroy the earth. The judgment of the dead is the first event of the “fitting time.”

     The judgment of all men at the Great White Throne ( 20:11-15 ) is the event seen by some in this reference (e.g., Lee, Charles, Lenski), but a closer look at the Great White Throne will reflect that it is the judgment of the wicked only. The inclusive nature of the judgment is correct, however, because the remainder of v. 18 speaks of both groups, the righteous and the wicked. The elders in their song make no attempt to separate the different phases of judgment as they are separated in the closing chapters of Revelation. They simply sing of that future judgment as though it were one event, much on the order of other Scriptures that do not distinguish future judgments from each other (cf. Mark 4:29; John 5:25, 28-29; Acts 17:31; 24:21 ) (Swete).

     The distribution of rewards will, of course, be a part of the judgment. Mισθòν (Misthon, “Reward”) is what is due to each person. The payment of it is for everyone an act of God’s grace, but rewards will vary in proportion to the works of the recipient (cf. Rom. 4:4; 1 Cor. 3:8 ) (Swete, Morris). Revelation 21:9-22:5 in particular describes the reward of the faithful (Mounce). The recipients have an extended designation: τoς δoύλoις σoυ τoς πρoϕήταις α τoς γίoις α τoς ϕoβoυμένoις τò νoμά σoυ, τoς μιρoς α τoς μεγάλoυς (tois doulois sou tois prophētais kai tois hagiois kai tois phoboumenois to onoma sou, tous mikrous kai tous megalous, “your slaves the prophets and to the saints, even to those who fear your name, the small and the great” ). A division of this compound expression into three groups — the prophets, Jewish Christians (i.e., “saints”), and Gentile Christians (i.e., “those who fear your name” ) — has the merit of usage in the book of Acts on its side. In Acts o ϕoβoύμενoι τòν θεόν (hoi phoboumenoi ton theon, “those who fear God” ) frequently denotes Gentiles who as proselytes attached themselves to Jewish synagogues (e.g., Acts 13:16, 43 ) (Swete). Yet usage in another NT author and from a different era of Christian history is out of place in a book that makes no such distinction between Jewish and Gentile Christians (Beckwith, Moffatt, Lenski).

     The better course is to understand two groups of reward recipients, the prophets and the saints, by understanding the α (kai) following γίoις (hagiois, “saints”) to have the ascensive meaning “even” (Beckwith, Ladd, Mounce). It is important, however, to distinguish the two from each other. The sense of “the prophets and the rest of the saints” has the disadvantages of not limiting τoς δoύλoις σoυ (tois doulois sou, “your slaves” ) to the prophets only and of applying τoς ϕoβoυμένoις τò νoμά σoυ (tois phoboumenois to onoma sou, “those who fear your name” ) to the prophets as well as the saints. Both of these present very unusual combinations. “Your servants the prophets” is a well - known OT designation for OT prophets (e.g., 2 Kings 9:7; 17:13, 23; 21:10; 24:2; Dan. 9:6, 10 ) (Bullinger). The designations δoλoι (douloi, “slaves) and γιoι (hagioi, “saints”) nowhere else apply to the same group in the same passage. Δoλoς (Doulos, “Slave”) in Revelation has a nontechnical use to refer to Christians in general, but it also has a technical use to refer to the prophets only. Revelation 1:1 illustrates both uses of the word. In the present verse, the meaning must be technical to refer to the prophets only, resulting in two categories, “your slaves the prophets” on the one hand and on the other “the saints, even to those who fear your name.”

     Another problematic issue is the identity of these prophets. The linking of prophets with apostles in 18:20 and the angel’s reference to them as “your [John’s] brethren” in 22:9 shows the impossibility of excluding NT prophets from the term. Their responsibility as vehicles of divine revelation distinguishes them from the saints in general. On the other side, however, “prophets” in 10:7 certainly included and was probably limited to OT prophets. “Your servants the prophets” has an OT ring to it, as cited above. The following rationale indicates that the two meanings do not mutually exclude each other. In Rev. 1:1, John by referring to himself as a doulos takes his place alongside the OT prophets. By the time of this writing, deaths of the other apostles had thrust NT prophecy into the limelight, even to the point of making the NT prophet equal in authority with OT prophets. So the probable solution here is to see a reference to OT prophets primarily, but not to exclude NT prophets from the picture completely. The latter take their place in being grouped with that former prestigious company.

      “The small and the great” (τoς μιρoς α τoς μεγάλoυς [tous mikrous kai tous megalous]) applies to “the saints” only. John is fond of referring to these two categories of humanity (cf. 13:16; 19:5, 18; 20:12 ). In this case, it means that the lowliest slave among the converts of Christ will receive the same consideration as a convert of imperial rank (cf. Ps. 115:13 ) (Swete).

     The “fitting time” (αιρòς [kairos]) when the dead are judged and the faithful are rewarded will also be the occasion of destruction of earth’s destroyers (διαϕθεραι τoς διαϕθείρoντας τν γν [diaphtheirai tous diaphtheirontas tēn gēn]). Two ideas of who these destroyers are have them as destroyers of every kind (Swete, Lenski) and more specifically the Roman Empire of John’s day picturing the forces of the last days (Mounce). Neither view does justice to the specific details of Revelation. The latitude of the expression far exceeds a reference to Rome, and the details of the visions do not allow a reference to just any destroying force. Another viewpoint limits the reference to those alive on earth who rebel against God in the future period just before Christ’s return (Walvoord), but this is too restrictive. Chronological sequence is not that critical in this song of the elders. The expression must be broad enough to include all agencies of evil (Beasley-Murray). It better agrees with the context of Revelation to identify the destroyers as Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, and Satan (Charles, Johnson). “Those who destroy” must include Babylon because of the allusion to Jer. 51:25 and the similar identification of Babylon in 19:2 (Smith). Furthermore, it is the destruction of these entities that precedes the final establishment of the kingdom ( 19:17-21; 20:10 ) (Kiddle).

Jeremiah 51:25 (ESV) “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
declares the LORD,
which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
and make you a burnt mountain.

     11:19 Immediately after the conclusion of the elders’ hymn of thanksgiving, the ark of the covenant in the heavenly sanctuary appears: α νoγη νας τo θεo ν τoραν, α ϕθη ιβωτς τς διαθης ατo ν τ να ατo· α γνoντo στραπα α ϕωνα α βρoντα α σεισμς α χλαζα μεγλη (kai ēnoigē ho naos tou theou ho en t ouran, kai ōphthē hē kibōtos tēs diathēkēs autou en t na autou; kai egenonto astrapai kai phōnai kai brontai kai seismos kai chalaza megalē, “and the temple of God which is in heaven, was opened, and the ark of His covenant in His temple appeared; and there came [bolts of] lightning and voices, and [peals of] thunder and an earthquake and great hail” ). Verse 19 is a transition verse having a close connection with what precedes and with what follows. If it connects more closely with what follows, it begins a new section. In favor of this division is the stylistic shift from the more usual εδoν (eidon, “I saw”) to ϕθη (ōphthē, “appeared”) in v. 19 as well as in 12:1, 3 (Moffatt). Verse 19 also relates closely to what is about to be disclosed (Scott). Yet a greater structural break comes with the appearance of “the great sign” in 12:1. Also, the occurrence of the storm theophany as in v. 19b usually marks the end rather than the beginning of a new vision.

     It is better to view v. 19 as the response to the hymn of vv. 17-18 (Beckwith, Lenski, Ladd, Morris). The ark of the covenant corresponds to the rewarding of the faithful and the cosmic disturbances to the outpouring of God’s wrath in that song (Mounce). This is a solemn view of the temple from which the judgment of the dead proceeds (cf. 14:15, 17; 15:5-8; 16:7 ) (Alford). It is a fitting inauguration of God’s final judgments as it is a conclusion for the series initiated by the seventh trumpet.

     The prolepticism that characterizes vv. 15-18 applies to νoίγη (ēnoigē, “was opened”) also. The opening of the temple is very probably the same as the one in 15:5 where the chronological progression resumes with the introduction of the seven bowls. Symbolically it means that after the series has run its course human beings will enjoy unmediated fellowship with God (cf. Rev. 21:3 ) (Ladd). The ναòς (naos, “temple”) is now the celestial heavenly temple, the one presupposed but not specifically mentioned in the scenery of chapters 4-5 (cf. 3:12; 7:15; 15:5 ff.) (Moffatt). The sanctuary on earth ( 11:1 ) differs from it. It is the point where the prayers of the saints ascended ( 8:3-4 ) and from which God’s acts of vengeance proceed ( 8:5; 15:5-8 ) (Alford). With this as the source and with the appearance of the ark of the covenant, it is clear that the judgments to come relate to the restoration of God’s people Israel and the fulfillment of all His covenant promises to them (cf. Gen. 15; 2 Sam. 7 ) (Bullinger).

     “The ark of His covenant” ( ιβωτòς τς διαθήης ατo [hē kibōtos tēs diathēkēs autou]) has a rich biblical history. It symbolizes God’s presence and the place of atonement (cf. Lev. 16:2 ff.; Heb. 9:3 ff.; 10:20 ), but used wrongly, it becomes the source of the Philistines’ plagues (cf. 1 Sam. 4:8 ) and Jericho’s fall ( Josh. 6:1-20 ) (Sweet). Its proper place was within the second veil of the tabernacle ( Heb. 9:4, 24 ) and in the inner chamber of Solomon’s temple ( 1 Kings 8:6 ). This scene is of the heavenly counterpart of that earthly ark. John views heaven under the same ritual categories as those found in the OT, with the understanding that the originals of those sacred things on earth exist in heaven (Moffatt, Morris). At some point during OT times the earthly ark disappeared, perhaps perishing when Nebuchadnezzar burned the temple ( 2 Kings 25:9; Jer. 3:16 ) or being removed by Shishak ( 1 Kings 14:26 ) or Manasseh ( 2 Chron. 33:7 ). A tradition has it that Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mount Sinai until the final restoration of Israel ( 2 Macc. 2:4-8 ). The disappearance of the ark signified a temporary setback that had to be corrected before the bliss of the final consummation. For a Jewish Christian prophet, therefore, this appearance of the heavenly ark indicated that the Messianic crisis was now at hand, God’s covenant people and His dealings on their behalf being central subjects of the visions to follow (Alford, Moffatt, Johnson).

     The usual storm theophany closes the heavenly response to the seventh trumpet’s sounding. ’Aστραπα α ϕωνα α βρoντα α σεισμòς α χάλαζα μεγάλη (Astrapai kai phōnai kai brontai kai seismos kai chalaza megalē, “[Bolts of] lightning and voices, and [peals of] thunder and an earthquake and great hail”) manifest the divine presence (cf. Ex. 19:16-19; Rev. 4:5; 16:18 ) (Swete, Ladd) and wrathful judgment of God ( Rev. 8:5; 10:3; 16:18 ) (Beckwith). These combined with the first view into the heavenly ναòς (naos, “temple”) and the revelation of the long-lost ark of the covenant make this an unusually decisive moment (Moffatt). These phenomena, particularly the earthquake and hailstorm, will come up for further mention in 16:18, 21 (Kiddle).

Robert L. Thomas | Revelation Exegetical Commentary - 2 volume set (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary)

Calvin On Christ's Cry Of Abandon

By Steven Wedgeworth 7/31/2017

     Pastor Tim Keller has posted a follow-up to the ideas and concepts that Mark Jones highlighted a few days ago concerning Christ’s cry of abandon from the cross. There’s a lot that could be said, but so far it’s simply worth notting that it is a very good conversation that opens up lots of avenues for further discussion. In his most recent post, Pastor Keller cites Calvin for explanation and context, and he embraces many important distinctions. As I was reading along, I decided to cross-reference Calvin and ended up going down a fun sort of rabbit hole. As it turns out, Calvin wrote quite a lot on this particular topic. It’s fascinating. Calvin treats the whole matter with biblical integrity and careful attention to dogmatic theology, and the whole excursion serves a sort of theological education.

     In what follows, I would like to give this all more exposure. I will list Calvin’s most significant statements on Christ’s cry of despair on the Cross and give a brief commentary on each, noticing his comment affirmations, denials, and emphases. I may not have found every relevant passage in Calvin’s writings, but I have tried to catalog the major ones. If readers find others, they may feel free to pass them along.

     1538 Catechism Of The Church Of Geneva | John Hesselink has published an edition of the catechism Calvin wrote in 1538. This was a summary form of the first edition of his Institutes, and it served as the city confession of faith for a time. It can now be found in Hesselink’s Calvin’s First Catechism: A Commentary (Louisville: WJK, 1997). The 20th chapter of that catechism explains the Apostles’ Creed, a creed which Calvin says “contains nothing merely human but has been assembled from very sure testimonies of Scripture.” When Calvin gets to the part of the creed that says Christ “descended into hell,” he makes these remarks:

     It is said that he descended into hell. This means that he had been afflicted by God, and felt the dread and severity of divine judgment, in order to intercede with God’s wrath and make satisfaction to his justice in our name, thus paying our debts and lifting our penalties, not for his own iniquity (which never existed) but for ours.

     Yet it is not to be understood that the Father was ever angry toward him. For how could he be angry toward his beloved Son, “in whom he was well pleased”? Or how could he appease the Father by his intercession, if the Father regarded him as an enemy? But it is in this sense that he is said to have borne the weight of divine severity, since he was “stricken and afflicted” by God’s hand, and experienced all the signs of a wrathful and avenging God, so as to be compelled to cry out in deep anguish: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Click here to go to source

Steven Wedgeworth is the pastor of Christ Church in Lakeland, Florida. He writes about theology, history, and political theory, and he has taught Jr. High and High School. He is the founder and general editor of The Calvinist International, an online journal of Christian Humanism and political theology, and a Director for the Davenant Trust. A graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, MS), Steven lives in Lakeland, FL with his wife, son, daughter, and two terriers.

“He Descended Into Hell” Tim Keller

By Tim Keller

     Is it right for preachers to speak of Jesus experiencing the loss of the Father’s love on the cross? After all, orthodox Trinitarian theology teaches that at the ultimate level, ontologically, the Father did not ever hate the Son. The Trinity remains completely unbroken. Indeed, when the Son was dying for us he was offering the Father a ‘pleasing sacrifice’ and a ‘satisfaction’ for sin.

     But then what was the “forsakenness” that Jesus experienced on the cross? If in the ultimate sense he did not lose the Father’s love, what did he lose? Is it wrong to say that when Jesus was on the cross he experienced estrangement from God? Is it wrong to say that he lost any sense and even assurance of God’s love?

     Preachers will do well to read Calvin closely when he expounds the line in the Apostles’ Creed, “He descended into hell.” (Institutes II. 16. 8-12)

     Calvin argues this Jesus ‘descent into hell’ was not merely descending into physical death and the grave. He believes it represents biblical teaching that Jesus suffered not just bodily pain but all the torments that a soul in hell, cut off from God’s presence, would experience. He “bore all the punishments [evildoers] ought to have sustained” with only one exception, that those torments could not keep hold of him forever. He “suffered the death that God in his wrath had inflicted upon the wicked.” (II.16.10). Calvin does not mince words here. “Not only that Christ’s body was given as the price of our redemption, but that he paid a greater and more excellent price in suffering in his soul the terrible torments of a condemned and forsaken man.” (II.16.10) And he says: “Surely no more terrible abyss can be conceived than to feel yourself forsaken and estranged from God; and when you call upon him, not to be heard. It is as if God himself had plotted your ruin.” (II.16.11)

     That is what Jesus experienced on the cross. As far as Christ’s experience was concerned, he lost everything he had with the Father, just as a damned soul would. He lost God’s presence, favor, communication, and therefore any feeling sense of God’s love.

Click here to go to source

     Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.

     He is also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.

     Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.

Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.

Tim Keller Books | Go to Books Page

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 109

Help Me, O LORD My God
109 To The Choirmaster. A Psalm Of David.

109:24 My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads.

26 Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

ESV Study Bible

Fox's Book Of Martyrs

Chapter 2 | The Ten Primitive Persecutions

     Timothy, a deacon of Mauritania, and Maura his wife, had not been united together by the bands of wedlock above three weeks, when they were separated from each other by the persecution. Timothy, being apprehended, as a Christian, was carried before Arrianus, the governor of Thebais, who, knowing that he had the keeping of the Holy Scriptures, commanded him to deliver them up to be burnt; to which he answered, "Had I children, I would sooner deliver them up to be sacrificed, than part with the Word of God." The governor being much incensed at this reply, ordered his eyes to be put out, with red-hot irons, saying, "The books shall at least be useless to you, for you shall not see to read them." His patience under the operation was so great that the governor grew more exasperated; he, therefore, in order, if possible, to overcome his fortitude, ordered him to be hung up by the feet, with a weight tied about his neck, and a gag in his mouth. In this state, Maura his wife, tenderly urged him for her sake to recant; but, when the gag was taken out of his mouth, instead of consenting to his wife's entreaties, he greatly blamed her mistaken love, and declared his resolution of dying for the faith. The consequence was, that Maura resolved to imitate his courage and fidelity and either to accompany or follow him to glory. The governor, after trying in vain to alter her resolution, ordered her to be tortured, which was executed with great severity. After this, Timothy and Maura were crucified near each other, A.D. 304.

     Sabinus, bishop of Assisium, refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter, and pushing the idol from him, had his hand cut off by the order of the governor of Tuscany. While in prison, he converted the governor and his family, all of whom suffered martyrdom for the faith. Soon after their execution, Sabinus himself was scourged to death, December, A.D. 304.

     Tired with the farce of state and public business, the emperor Diocletian resigned the imperial diadem, and was succeeded by Constantius and Galerius; the former a prince of the most mild and humane disposition and the latter equally remarkable for his cruelty and tyranny. These divided the empire into two equal governments, Galerius ruling in the east, and Constantius in the west; and the people in the two governments felt the effects of the dispositions of the two emperors; for those in the west were governed in the mildest manner, but such as resided in the east felt all the miseries of oppression and lengthened tortures.

     Among the many martyred by the order of Galerius, we shall enumerate the most eminent.

     Amphianus was a gentleman of eminence in Lucia, and a scholar of Eusebius; Julitta, a Lycaonian of royal descent, but more celebrated for her virtues than noble blood. While on the rack, her child was killed before her face. Julitta, of Cappadocia, was a lady of distinguished capacity, great virtue, and uncommon courage. To complete the execution, Julitta had boiling pitch poured on her feet, her sides torn with hooks, and received the conclusion of her martyrdom, by being beheaded, April 16, A.D. 305.

     Hermolaus, a venerable and pious Christian, or a great age, and an intimate acquaintance of Panteleon's, suffered martyrdom for the faith on the same day, and in the same manner as Panteleon.

     Eustratius, secretary to the governor of Armina, was thrown into a fiery furnace for exhorting some Christians who had been apprehended, to persevere in their faith.

     Nicander and Marcian, two eminent Roman military officers, were apprehended on account of their faith. As they were both men of great abilities in their profession, the utmost means were used to induce them to renounce Christianity; but these endeavors being found ineffectual, they were beheaded.

     In the kingdom of Naples, several martyrdoms took place, in particular, Januaries, bishop of Beneventum; Sosius, deacon of Misene; Proculus, another deacon; Eutyches and Acutius, two laymen; Festus, a deacon; and Desiderius, a reader; all, on account of being Christians, were condemned by the governor of Campania to be devoured by the wild beasts. The savage animals, however, would not touch them, and so they were beheaded.

     Quirinus, bishop of Siscia, being carried before Matenius, the governor, was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan deities, agreeably to the edicts of various Roman emperors. The governor, perceiving his constancy, sent him to jail, and ordered him to be heavily ironed; flattering himself, that the hardships of a jail, some occasional tortures and the weight of chains, might overcome his resolution. Being decided in his principles, he was sent to Amantius, the principal governor of Pannonia, now Hungary, who loaded him with chains, and carried him through the principal towns of the Danube, exposing him to ridicule wherever he went. Arriving at length at Sabaria, and finding that Quirinus would not renounce his faith, he ordered him to be cast into a river, with a stone fastened about his neck. This sentence being put into execution, Quirinus floated about for some time, and, exhorting the people in the most pious terms, concluded his admonitions with this prayer: "It is no new thing, O all-powerful Jesus, for Thee to stop the course of rivers, or to cause a man to walk upon the water, as Thou didst Thy servant Peter; the people have already seen the proof of Thy power in me; grant me now to lay down my life for Thy sake, O my God." On pronouncing the last words he immediately sank, and died, June 4, A.D. 308. His body was afterwards taken up, and buried by some pious Christians.

     Pamphilus, a native of Phoenicia, of a considerable family, was a man of such extensive learning that he was called a second Origen. He was received into the body of the clergy at Caesarea, where he established a public library and spent his time in the practice of every Christian virtue. He copied the greatest part of the works of Origen with his own hand, and, assisted by Eusebius, gave a correct copy of the Old Testament, which had suffered greatly by the ignorance or negligence of former transcribers. In the year 307, he was apprehended, and suffered torture and martyrdom.

     Marcellus, bishop of Rome, being banished on account of his faith, fell a martyr to the miseries he suffered in exile, January 16, A.D. 310.

     Peter, the sixteenth bishop of Alexandria, was martyred November 25, A.D. 311, by order of Maximus Caesar, who reigned in the east.

     Agnes, a virgin of only thirteen years of age, was beheaded for being a Christian; as was Serene, the empress of Diocletian. Valentine, a priest, suffered the same fate at Rome; and Erasmus, a bishop, was martyred in Campania.

     Soon after this the persecution abated in the middle parts of the empire, as well as in the west; and Providence at length began to manifest vengeance on the persecutors. Maximian endeavored to corrupt his daughter Fausta to murder Constantine her husband; which she discovered, and Constantine forced him to choose his own death, when he preferred the ignominious death of hanging after being an emperor near twenty years.

     Constantine was the good and virtuous child of a good and virtuous father, born in Britain. His mother was named Helena, daughter of King Coilus. He was a most bountiful and gracious prince, having a desire to nourish learning and good arts, and did oftentimes use to read, write, and study himself. He had marvellous good success and prosperous achieving of all things he took in hand, which then was (and truly) supposed to proceed of this, for that he was so great a favorer of the Christian faith. Which faith when he had once embraced, he did ever after most devoutly and religiously reverence.

     Thus Constantine, sufficiently appointed with strength of men but especially with strength of God, entered his journey coming towards Italy, which was about the last year of the persecution, A.D. 313. Maxentius, understanding of the coming of Constantine, and trusting more to his devilish art of magic than to the good will of his subjects, which he little deserved, durst not show himself out of the city, nor encounter him in the open field, but with privy garrisons laid wait for him by the way in sundry straits, as he should come; with whom Constantine had divers skirmishes, and by the power of the Lord did ever vanquish them and put them to flight.

     Notwithstanding, Constantine yet was in no great comfort, but in great care and dread in his mind (approaching now near unto Rome) for the magical charms and sorceries of Maxentius, wherewith he had vanquished before Severus, sent by Galerius against him. Wherefore, being in great doubt and perplexity in himself, and revolving many things in his mind, what help he might have against the operations of his charming, Constantine, in his journey drawing toward the city, and casting up his eyes many times to heaven, in the south part, about the going down of the sun, saw a great brightness in heaven, appearing in the similitude of a cross, giving this inscription, In hoc vince, that is, "In this overcome."

     Eusebius Pamphilus doth witness that he had heard the said Constantine himself oftentimes report, and also to swear this to be true and certain, which he did see with his own eyes in heaven, and also his soldiers about him. At the sight whereof when he was greatly astonished, and consulting with his men upon the meaning thereof, behold, in the night season in his sleep, Christ appeared to him with the sign of the same cross which he had seen before, bidding him to make the figuration thereof, and to carry it in his wars before him, and so should we have the victory.

     Constantine so established the peace of the Church that for the space of a thousand years we read of no set persecution against the Christians, unto the time of John Wickliffe.

     So happy, so glorious was this victory of Constantine, surnamed the Great! For the joy and gladness whereof, the citizens who had sent for him before, with exceeding triumph brought him into the city of Rome, where he was most honorably received, and celebrated the space of seven days together; having, moreover, in the market place, his image set up, holding in his right hand the sign of the cross, with this inscription:

     "With this wholesome sign, the true token of fortitude, I have rescued and delivered our city from the yoke of the tyrant."

     We shall conclude our account of the tenth and last general persecution with the death of St. George, the titular saint and patron of England. St. George was born in Cappadocia, of Christian parents; and giving proofs of his courage, was promoted in the army of the emperor Diocletian. During the persecution, St. George threw up his command, went boldly to the senate house, and avowed his being a Christian, taking occasion at the same time to remonstrate against paganism, and point out the absurdity of worshipping idols. This freedom so greatly provoked the senate that St. George was ordered to be tortured, and by the emperor's orders was dragged through the streets, and beheaded the next day.

     The legend of the dragon, which is associated with this martyr, is usually illustrated by representing St. George seated upon a charging horse and transfixing the monster with his spear. This fiery dragon symbolizes the devil, who was vanquished by St. George's steadfast faith in Christ, which remained unshaken in spite of torture and death.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs

The Continual Burnt Offering 2 Corinthians 9:10

The Continual Burnt Offering (2 Corinthians 9:10)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

October 11

2 Corinthians 9:10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.    ESV

     The seed, we are told, is the Word. Sown in faith, the results may not be seen immediately but the harvest is sure, for God has declared His word shall not return unto Him void. Many tender gospel messages have seemed to fall on deaf ears, but later bear fruit among those who originally seemed to ignore them. So the laborer is to work on, sowing in hope, trusting that God will encourage the seed to germinate and to bear fruit for His glory in time to come. To a discouraged evangelist an aged brother exclaimed, “Many a one will die easier for what he has heard tonight!”

Matthew 13:18–23 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”   ESV

It was only a tiny seed at the first,
And its power I little knew;
But ‘twas sown, and the germ from its prison burst,
And was nourished by sunshine and dew.
The grain of the past was a blessing at last,
In the bountiful harvest that grew.
Go hopefully on in the work of the day,
Scatter broadcast the seed of the Word;
Sing thy song, though unseen; drop the word by the way,
And leave the results with the Lord.
Though but little at most—and with nothing to boast,
“What she could” will ensure a reward!
--- W. J. H. Brealey

The Continual Burnt Offering: Daily Meditations on the Word of God

#1 Dr. John MacArthur | John MacArthur

#2 Dr. John MacArthur | John MacArthur

#3 Dr. Thomas Ice | Pre-Trib Research Center

Devotionals, notes, poetry and more

UCB The Word For Today
Stop being intimidated
(Oct 11) Bob Gass

‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity.’

(2 Ti 1:7) for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ESV

The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV 2011 Edition). So, don’t get involved in anything that doesn’t require you to use your faith. The key to momentum is always having something to look forward to and believe God for. You either venture, or you vegetate. Jesus deliberately sent His disciples into a storm. Why? To develop their faith, and show them that with Him on board you can get through anything! God will keep exposing you to difficult situations because He knows it’s the only way your faith will grow. Nineteenth-century American preacher and abolitionist Phillips Brooks wrote, ‘Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power, pray for power equal to your tasks.’ You don’t tap into God’s resources until you attempt something that seems humanly impossible. That’s when you discover: ‘I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power’ (Philippians 4:13 TLB). All progress involves risk. In baseball, you can’t steal second base while your foot’s still on first base. And progress involves overcoming fear. One day when David was tending his sheep, ‘there came a lion’ (1 Samuel 17:34 KJV). But in God’s strength he defeated it - plus a bear, and later a giant called Goliath. That lion was just an opportunity in disguise. If David had wavered or run away, he’d have missed his chance to become king of Israel. So, when a lion of fear comes into your life, recognise it for what it is: an opportunity from God to rise up in faith and conquer it.

Jer 15-17
1 Tim 1

UCB The Word For Today

American Minute
by Bill Federer

On October 11, 1798, President John Adams addressed the officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts in a letter: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

American Minute

The Soul of Prayer
by P.T. Forsyth, (1848-1921)

     Go into your chamber, shut the door, and cultivate the habit of praying audibly. Write prayers and burn them. Formulate your soul. Pay no attention to literary form, only to spiritual reality. Read a passage of Scripture and then sit down and turn it into prayer, written or spoken. Learn to be particular, specific, and detailed in your prayer so long as you are not trivial. General prayers, literary prayers, and stately phrases are, for private prayer, traps and sops to the soul. To formulate your soul is one valuable means to escape formalizing it. This is the best, the wholesome, kind of self-examination. Speaking with God discovers us safely to ourselves We “find” ourselves, come to ourselves, in the Spirit. Face your special weaknesses and sins before God. Force yourself to say to God exactly where you are wrong. When anything goes wrong, do not ask to have it set right, without asking in prayer what is was in you that made it go wrong. It is somewhat fruitless to ask for a general grace to help specific flaws, sins, trials, and griefs. Let prayer be concrete, actual, a direct product of life’s real experiences. Pray as your actual self, not as some fancied saint. Let it be closely relevant to your real situation. Pray without ceasing in this sense. Pray without a break between your prayer and your life. Pray so that there is a real continuity between your prayer and your whole actual life. But I will bear round upon this point again immediately.

     Meantime, let me say this. Do not allow your practice in prayer to be arrested by scientific or philosophic considerations as to how answer is possible. That is a valuable subject for discussion, but it is not entitled to control our practice. Faith is at least as essential to the soul as science, and it has a foundation more independent. And prayer is not only a necessity of faith, it is faith itself in action.

     Criticism of prayer dissolves in the experience of it. When the soul is at close quarters with God it becomes enlarged enough to hold together in harmony things that oppose, and to have room for harmonious contraries. For instance: God, of course, is always working for His Will and Kingdom. But man is bound to pray for its coming, while it is coming all the time. Christ laid stress on prayer as a necessary means of bringing the Kingdom to pass. And it cannot come without our praying. Why? Because its coming is the prayerful frame of soul. So again with God’s freedom. It is absolute. But it reckons on ours. Our prayer does not force His hand; it answers His freedom in kind. We are never so active and free as in prayer to an absolutely free God. We share His freedom when we are “in Christ.”

     If I must choose between Christ, who bids me pray for everything, and the servant, who tells me certain answers are physically and rationally impossible, must I not choose Christ? Because, while the savant knows much about nature and its action (and much more than Christ did), Christ knew everything about the God of nature and His reality. He knew more of what is possible to God than anybody has ever known about what is possible in nature. On such a subject as prayer, anyone is a greater authority who wholly knows the will of God than he who only knows God’s methods, and knows them but in part. Prayer is not an act of knowledge but of faith. It is not a matter of calculation but of confidence—“that our faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Which means that in this region we are not to be regulated by science, but by God’s self-revelation. Do not be so timid about praying wrongly if you pray humbly. If God is really the Father that Christ revealed, then the principle is—take everything to Him that exercises you. Apart from frivolity, such as praying to find the stud you lost, or the knife, or the umbrella, there is really no limitation in the New Testament on the contents of petition. Any regulation is as to the spirit of the prayer, the faith it springs from. In all distress which mars your peace, petition must be the form your faith takes—petition for rescue. Keep close to the New Testament Christ, and then ask for anything you desire in that contact. Ask for everything you can ask in Christ’s name, i.e. everything desirable by a man who is in Christ’s kingdom of God, by a man who lives for it at heart, everything in tune with the purpose and work of the kingdom in Christ. If you are in that kingdom, then pray freely for whatever you need or wish to keep you active and effective for it, from daily bread upwards and outwards. In all things make your requests known. At least you have laid them on God’s heart; and faith means confidences between you and not only favours. And there is not confidence if you keep back what is hot or heavy on your heart. If prayer is not a play of the religious fantasy, or a routine task, it must be the application of faith to a concrete actual and urgent situation. Only remember that prayer does not work by magic, and that stormy desire is not fervent, effectual prayer. You may be but exploiting a mighty power; whereas you must be in real contact with the real God. It is the man that most really has God that most really seeks God.

     I said a little while ago that to pray without ceasing also meant to pray without a breach with your actual life and the whole situation in which you are. This is the point at which to dwell on that. If you may not come to God with the occasions of your private life and affairs, then there is some unreality in the relation between you and Him. If some private crisis absorbs you, some business or family anxiety of little moment to others but of much to you, and if you may not bring that to God in prayer, then one of two things. Either it is not you, in your actual reality, that came to God, but it is you in a pose—you in some role which you are trying with poor success to play before Him. You are trying to pray as another person than you are,—a better person, perhaps, as some great apostle, who should have on his worshipping mind nothing but the grand affairs of the Church and Kingdom, and not be worried by common cares. You are praying in court-dress. You are trying to pray as you imagine one should pray to God, i.e. as another person than you are, and in other circumstances. You are creating a self and a situation to place before God. Either that or you are not praying to a God who loves, helps, and delivers you in every pinch of life, but only to one who uses you as a pawn for the victory of His great kingdom. You are not praying to Christ’s God. You are praying to a God who cares only for the great actions in His kingdom, for the heroic people who cherish nothing but the grand style, or for the calm people who do not deeply feel life’s trials. The reality of prayer is bound up with the reality and intimacy of life.

--- Forsyth, P. T. (1848-1921).

The Soul of Prayer

Lean Into God
Compiled by Richard S. Adams

Wonder is involuntary praise.
--- Edward Young

When I was young,
I admired clever people.
Now that I am old,
I admire kind people.
--- Abraham Joshua Heschel

The feeling remains
that God is on the journey, too.
--- Teresa of Avila
... from here, there and everywhere

History of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Thanks to Meir Yona

     4. When this accident had unexpectedly happened, the minds of both parties were variously affected; for though one would expect that the Jews would be discouraged, because this fall of their wall was unexpected by them, and they had made no provision in that case, yet did they pull up their courage, because the tower of Antonia itself was still standing; as was the unexpected joy of the Romans at this fall of the wall soon quenched by the sight they had of another wall, which John and his party had built within it. However, the attack of this second wall appeared to be easier than that of the former, because it seemed a thing of greater facility to get up to it through the parts of the former wall that were now thrown down. This new wall appeared also to be much weaker than the tower of Antonia, and accordingly the Romans imagined that it had been erected so much on the sudden, that they should soon overthrow it: yet did not any body venture now to go up to this wall; for that such as first ventured so to do must certainly be killed.

     5. And now Titus, upon consideration that the alacrity of soldiers in war is chiefly excited by hopes and by good words, and that exhortations and promises do frequently make men to forget the hazards they run, nay, sometimes to despise death itself, got together the most courageous part of his army, and tried what he could do with his men by these methods. "O fellow soldiers," said he, "to make an exhortation to men to do what hath no peril in it, is on that very account inglorious to such to whom that exhortation is made; and indeed so it is in him that makes the exhortation, an argument of his own cowardice also. I therefore think that such exhortations ought then only to be made use of when affairs are in a dangerous condition, and yet are worthy of being attempted by every one themselves; accordingly, I am fully of the same opinion with you, that it is a difficult task to go up this wall; but that it is proper for those that desire reputation for their valor to struggle with difficulties in such cases as will then appear, when I have particularly shown that it is a brave thing to die with glory, and that the courage here necessary shall not go unrewarded in those that first begin the attempt. And let my first argument to move you to it be taken from what probably some would think reasonable to dissuade you, I mean the constancy and patience of these Jews, even under their ill successes; for it is unbecoming you, who are Romans and my soldiers, who have in peace been taught how to make wars, and who have also been used to conquer in those wars, to be inferior to Jews, either in action of the hand, or in courage of the soul, and this especially when you are at the conclusion of your victory, and are assisted by God himself; for as to our misfortunes, they have been owing to the madness of the Jews, while their sufferings have been owing to your valor, and to the assistance God hath afforded you; for as to the seditions they have been in, and the famine they are under, and the siege they now endure, and the fall of their walls without our engines, what can they all be but demonstrations of God's anger against them, and of his assistance afforded us? It will not therefore be proper for you, either to show yourselves inferior to those to whom you are really superior, or to betray that Divine assistance which is afforded you. And, indeed, how can it be esteemed otherwise than a base and unworthy thing, that while the Jews, who need not be much ashamed if they be deserted, because they have long learned to be slaves to others, do yet despise death, that they may be so no longer; and do make sallies into the very midst of us frequently, not in hopes of conquering us, but merely for a demonstration of their courage; we, who have gotten possession of almost all the world that belongs to either land or sea, to whom it will be a great shame if we do not conquer them, do not once undertake any attempt against our enemies wherein there is much danger, but sit still idle, with such brave arms as we have, and only wait till the famine and fortune do our business themselves, and this when we have it in our power, with some small hazard, to gain all that we desire! For if we go up to this tower of Antonia, we gain the city; for if there should be any more occasion for fighting against those within the city, which I do not suppose there will, since we shall then be upon the top of the hill 1 and be upon our enemies before they can have taken breath, these advantages promise us no less than a certain and sudden victory. As for myself, I shall at present wave any commendation of those who die in war, 2 and omit to speak of the immortality of those men who are slain in the midst of their martial bravery; yet cannot I forbear to imprecate upon those who are of a contrary disposition, that they may die in time of peace, by some distemper or other, since their souls are condemned to the grave, together with their bodies. For what man of virtue is there who does not know, that those souls which are severed from their fleshly bodies in battles by the sword are received by the ether, that purest of elements, and joined to that company which are placed among the stars; that they become good demons, and propitious heroes, and show themselves as such to their posterity afterwards? while upon those souls that wear away in and with their distempered bodies comes a subterranean night to dissolve them to nothing, and a deep oblivion to take away all the remembrance of them, and this notwithstanding they be clean from all spots and defilements of this world; so that, in this ease, the soul at the same time comes to the utmost bounds of its life, and of its body, and of its memorial also. But since he hath determined that death is to come of necessity upon all men, a sword is a better instrument for that purpose than any disease whatsoever. Why is it not then a very mean thing for us not to yield up that to the public benefit which we must yield up to fate? And this discourse have I made, upon the supposition that those who at first attempt to go upon this wall must needs be killed in the attempt, though still men of true courage have a chance to escape even in the most hazardous undertakings. For, in the first place, that part of the former wall that is thrown down is easily to be ascended; and for the new-built wall, it is easily destroyed. Do you, therefore, many of you, pull up your courage, and set about this work, and do you mutually encourage and assist one another; and this your bravery will soon break the hearts of your enemies; and perhaps such a glorious undertaking as yours is may be accomplished without bloodshed. For although it be justly to be supposed that the Jews will try to hinder you at your first beginning to go up to them; yet when you have once concealed yourselves from them, and driven them away by force, they will not be able to sustain your efforts against them any longer, though but a few of you prevent them, and get over the wall. As for that person who first mounts the wall, I should blush for shame if I did not make him to be envied of others, by those rewards I would bestow upon him. If such a one escape with his life, he shall have the command of others that are now but his equals; although it be true also that the greatest rewards will accrue to such as die in the attempt."

     6. Upon this speech of Titus, the rest of the multitude were afrighted at so great a danger. But there was one, whose name was Sabinus, a soldier that served among the cohorts, and a Syrian by birth, who appeared to be of very great fortitude, both in the actions he had done, and the courage of his soul he had shown; although any body would have thought, before he came to his work, that he was of such a weak constitution of body, that he was not fit to be a soldier; for his color was black, his flesh was lean and thin, and lay close together; but there was a certain heroic soul that dwelt in this small body, which body was indeed much too narrow for that peculiar courage which was in him. Accordingly he was the first that rose up, when he thus spake: "I readily surrender up myself to thee, O Caesar; I first ascend the wall, and I heartily wish that my fortune may follow my courage and my resolution And if some ill fortune grudge me the success of my undertaking, take notice that my ill success will not be unexpected, but that I choose death voluntarily for thy sake." When he had said this, and had spread out his shield over his head with his left hand, and had, with his right hand, drawn his sword, he marched up to the wall, just about the sixth hour of the day. There followed him eleven others, and no more, that resolved to imitate his bravery; but still this was the principal person of them all, and went first, as excited by a divine fury. Now those that guarded the wall shot at them from thence, and cast innumerable darts upon them from every side; they also rolled very large stones upon them, which overthrew some of those eleven that were with him. But as for Sabinus himself, he met the darts that were cast at him and though he was overwhelmed with them, yet did he not leave off the violence of his attack before he had gotten up on the top of the wall, and had put the enemy to flight. For as the Jews were astonished at his great strength, and the bravery of his soul, and as, withal, they imagined more of them had got upon the wall than really had, they were put to flight. And now one cannot but complain here of fortune, as still envious at virtue, and always hindering the performance of glorious achievements: this was the case of the man before us, when he had just obtained his purpose; for he then stumbled at a certain large stone, and fell down upon it headlong, with a very great noise. Upon which the Jews turned back, and when they saw him to be alone, and fallen down also, they threw darts at him from every side. However, he got upon his knee, and covered himself with his shield, and at the first defended himself against them, and wounded many of those that came near him; but he was soon forced to relax his right hand, by the multitude of the wounds that had been given him, till at length he was quite covered over with darts before he gave up the ghost. He was one who deserved a better fate, by reason of his bravery; but, as might be expected, he fell under so vast an attempt. As for the rest of his partners, the Jews dashed three of them to pieces with stones, and slew them as they were gotten up to the top of the wall; the other eight being wounded, were pulled down, and carried back to the camp. These things were done upon the third day of the month Panemus [Tamuz].

          The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem, by Flavius Josephus Translator: William Whiston

The War of the Jews: The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem (complete edition, 7 books)

Proverbs 27:1
by D.H. Stern

1 Don’t boast about tomorrow,
for you don’t know what the day may bring.

Complete Jewish Bible : An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'Rit Hadashah (New Testament)

My Utmost For The Highest
A Daily Devotional by Oswald Chambers

                After God’s silence—what?

     When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days in the same place where He was. --- John 11:6.

     Has God trusted you with a silence—a silence that is big with meaning? God’s silences are His answers. Think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything analogous to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking for a visible answer? God will give you the blessings you ask if you will not go any further without them; but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into a marvellous understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? You will find that God has trusted you in the most intimate way possible, with an absolute silence, not of despair, but of pleasure, because He saw that you could stand a bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, praise Him, He is bringing you into the great run of His purposes. The manifestation of the answer in time is a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you say—‘I asked God to give me bread, and He gave me a stone.’ He did not, and to-day you find He gave you the bread of life.

     A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that the contagion of His stillness gets into you and you become perfectly confident—‘I know God has heard me.’ His silence is the proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, He will give you the first sign of His intimacy — silence.

My Utmost for His Highest

The Hand
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas

                The Hand

It was a hand. God looked at it
  and looked away. There was a coldness
  about his heart, as though the hand
  clasped it. As at the end
  of a dark tunnel, he saw cities
  the hand would build, engines
  that it would raze them with. His sight
  dimmed. Tempted to undo the joints
  of the fingers, he picked it up.

But the hand wrestled with him. 'Tell
  me your name,' it cried, 'and I will write it
  in bright gold. Are there not deeds
  to be done, children to make, poems
  to be written? The world
  is without meaning, awaiting
  my coming.' But God, feeling the nails
  in his side, the unnerving warmth
  of the contact, fought on in
  silence. This was the long war with himself
  always foreseen, the question not
  to be answered. What is the hand
  for? The immaculate conception
  preceding the delivery
  of the first tool? 'I let you go,'
  he said, 'but without blessing.
  Messenger to the mixed things
  of your making, tell them I am.'

The Poems of R.S. Thomas

ONE / PHILOSOPHY IN MAIMONIDES’ LEGAL WORKS
Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest

     In his introduction to The guide for the perplexed explicitly states that he wrote the work for individuals perplexed by the apparent conflict between talmudic Judaism and philosophic inquiry. (1) Elsewhere he states that his legal works were addressed to the general community of halakhic Jews. (Introduction to Commentary to the Mishnah, J. Kafiḥ, trans. (Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook, 1963), p. 48 (hereafter cited as C.M.); The Book of Knowledge: Mishneh Torah, M. Hyamson, trans. (Jerusalem: Boys’ Town, 1965), p. 46 (hereafter cited as M.T.); Treatise on Resurrection, J. Finkel, ed. (New York: PAAJR, 1939), IV, p. 4.) Husik and Strauss claim that Maimonides protected his halakhic reader from the disturbing influences of philosophy. (The philosophy of Maimonides, (Maimonides octocentennial series)) But as we shall see, Maimonides did not totally insulate the audience of his legal works from the importance and significance of philosophy. Although one recognizes that Maimonides’ Guide and his legal works were addressed to different audiences, one may yet reject the approach which would understand these two audiences as reflecting two incompatible spiritual outlooks. Maimonides, who placed a high value on philosophy, did not restrict himself to communicating his philosophic understanding of Judaism to perplexed students alone, but also attempted to lead the traditional halakhic Jew toward a philosophic orientation to Jewish spirituality. An examination of Maimonides’ treatment of philosophy in his legal works will enable us to judge whether he was aiming at a unification of philosophy and Halakhah or whether, in the legal writings, he was articulating the views of a tradition which had no use for philosophy.

     Maimonides’ first major legal work was his Commentary to the Mishnah. Saul Lieberman and Joseph Kafiḥ have shown that Maimonides did not cease reediting and correcting this work after its completion in 1168. One cannot claim, therefore, that it represents an early phase in the development of Maimonides’ thinking. Also, it must be clear that a medieval Jew’s commentary on a rabbinic work represents his personal understanding of Judaism. Revelation as expressed in the Bible was not the only basis upon which the traditional Jew organized his spiritual life; he accepted the Bible as understood and developed by the talmudic tradition.

     In the introduction to his Commentary to the Mishnah Maimonides divides the subject matter of the Talmud into four categories:

  a) explanation of the Mishnah;
  b) legal decisions in situations of conflict either in the
     Mishnah itself or in interpretations of the Mishnah;
  c) matters relating to new legislation which was introduced
     after the redaction of the Mishnah;
  d) derashot—non-legal writing (subsequently referred to as
     Aggadah).

     Although the greater part of the Talmud deals with legal issues, Maimonides is quick to warn his reader not to undervalue the last category, Aggadah:

     One must not think that it is of slight importance, or that it is of little use since it serves a very great purpose in that it includes deep allusions and marvelous issues, for if one engages in a deep examination of those derashot he will gain from them understanding of the absolute good regarding which there is none greater and from which will be revealed Divine matters and true matters, all of which were concealed by men of science and with which philosophers consumed a whole lifetime.

     This statement clearly articulates an approach to the Talmud and thus to traditional Judaism which not only rejects the view that Judaism is exclusively a legal system concerned with normative behavior, but emphasizes the primacy of Aggadah. To appreciate fully the implications of this position in terms of Maimonides’ understanding of Judaism, we should clarify the epistemology involved. Although one’s epistemology is not sufficient to explain a way of life, it is a key factor which makes certain options possible while it excludes others. This is especially true when the various world views involve such concepts as revelation and human reason.

     The two modes of discourse, Halakhah and Aggadah, are not identical. The normative legal framework is an elaboration of the revelation of the law which is specific to the Jewish community. Other nations do not share in this legal system and are not bound to recognize its normative appeal. This particularity, however, does not obtain to the teaching of truths contained in Aggadah.

     In The Commentary to the Mishnah, Ḥagigah, Maimonides identifies the esoteric teachings of Judaism, Ma’aseh Bereshit (the Account of Creation) and Ma’aseh Merkavah (the Account of the Chariot), with the universal cognitive disciplines of physics and metaphysics. This identification denies any intrinsic mystery to the hidden teachings. In principle, these teachings are capable of being understood by all men of reason because, according to Maimonides, the criteria upon which they are based are universal criteria of knowledge. The caution with which such teachings were handled by the tradition was due not to the fact of their requiring initiation into some unique esoteric logic, but rather to an awareness of the difficult and extensive intellectual training in logic and mathematics which such disciplines demanded.

     The point of this discussion is Maimonides’ assertion that the epistemology of Aggadah is not unique and exclusive to Jews. One may question this position by pointing out that Aggadah does not speak in the explicit style of philosophic treatises. One may also indicate that many aggadic statements appear to contradict the claims of reason. Maimonides must defend his position by explaining such counter-evidence. Also, Maimonides’ epistemology upsets a prevalent approach to Judaism which insists on the unintelligibility of Aggadah to the non-Jew. Certain norms of the Halakhah which are laughed at by the nations of the world (e.g., the ritually forbidden linsey-woolsey, the red heifer, the scapegoat), have trained the Jew to carry the burden of isolation from the rest of the world. Similarly, one may argue, the Jew must carry the burden of accepting aggadot which are laughed at by non-Jewish scholars. The spiritual and political isolation of the Jewish people can reinforce and support Jewish insulation, both with regard to the practice of Halakhah and the acceptance of Aggadah. Maimonides deals with these problems in his introduction to The Commentary to the Mishnah and in his commentary to Ḥelek.

     In Helek, Maimonides describes two approaches to Aggadah which cognitively isolate the Jewish community from the universal world of rational discourse:

     The first class is, as far as I have seen, the largest in point of their numbers and of the numbers of their composition; and it is of them that I have heard most. The members of this class adopt the words of the Sages literally, and give no kind of interpretation whatsoever. With them all impossibilities are necessary occurrences. This is owing to their being ignorant of science and far away from knowledge.… They think that in all their emphatic and precise remarks the Sages only wished to convey the ideas which they themselves comprehend, and that they intended them to be taken in their literalness. And this, in spite of the fact that in their literal significance some of the words of the Sages would savor of absurdity. And so much so that were they manifested to the ordinary folk, leave alone the educated, in their literalness, they would reflect upon them in amazement and would exclaim: “How can there exist anyone who would seriously think in this way and regard such statements as the correct view of things much less approve of them?” This class of men are poor, and their folly deserves our pity.

     Maimonides does not question the pious motive inspiring this group’s literal acceptance of Aggadah. He shares the absolute allegiance to rabbinic authority that this group proclaims:

     Three classes are deniers of the Torah. He who says that the Torah is not of Divine origin—even if he says of one verse, or of a single word, that Moses said it, of himself—is a denier of the Torah; likewise, he who denies its interpretation, that is, the Oral Law, and repudiates its reporters, as Zadok and Boethius did; and he who says that the Creator changed one commandment or another, and that this Torah, although of Divine origin is now obsolete, as the Nazarenes and Moslems assert. Everyone belonging to any of these classes is a denier of the Torah.

     Yet while Maimonides would define this allegiance in terms of legal matters, this group expands the idea of rabbinic authority to include Aggadah as well. Torah, as a unity of Halakhah and Aggadah, would argue against separating thought from action. Why discriminate between what the rabbis legislate in Halakhah and what they preach in Aggadah?

Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest

Take Heart
October 11

     And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” --- Luke 1:46–47.

     He loves to hear us sing when we sing his praises from our hearts.   Spurgeon's Sermons on Old Testament Women, Vol. 1: (C. H. Spurgeon Sermon Series)   Don’t you delight to hear your own children sing, and is there anything sweeter than a song from a child? And God loves to hear his children sing. Even your discords, so long as they do not affect your heart but are only of sound and not of soul, will please him. What a beautiful simile is used in Psalm 22: “O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (KJV)! Just as God’s ancient people, during the feast of tabernacles, dwelt under booths made from the boughs of trees, so Jehovah is represented as having made for himself a tabernacle out of the praises of his people. They are only like fading boughs that soon turn brown, yet the great Lord of all condescends to sit beneath them, and as we each bring a new bough plucked from the tree of mercy, we help to make a new tabernacle for the Most High to dwell in.

     Mary praised God with personal devotion. Notice how intensely personal her song is. We should join with other Christians in their songs of praise, but always mind that your personal note is not omitted, “My soul glorifies the Lord.” Don’t you think that some of you too often forget this? You come to hear sermons, and sometimes you do not come to the assembly as much as you ought for the purpose of directly and distinctly praising God in your own personality and individuality. The music is delightful to us as it rises from thousands of voices, but to God it can be pleasant only as it comes from each heart. “My soul”—for I have a personal indebtedness to you, my God, and there is a personal union between you and me; I love you, and you love me; therefore, even if all other souls are dumb, my soul glorifies the Lord. In this fashion, have a song to yourself, and mind that it is thoroughly your own.

     In Mary’s song we see great spirituality. She is far from being content with mere lip service. Her language is poetic, but she is not satisfied with her language. But she speaks of “my soul” and “my spirit.” Let us never be satisfied with any kind of worship that does not take up the whole of the inner and higher nature. It is what you are within that you really are before the living God. It is quite a secondary matter how loud the chant may be or how sweet the tone of your hymn or how delightfully you join in it, unless your spirit, your soul, truly praises the Lord.
--- C. H. Spurgeon

Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

On This Day October 11
The Battle of Tours

     In 570 the woman Amina bore a son who, according to eastern storytellers, cried out immediately at birth, “There is no god but Allah, and I am his prophet!” He was Mohammed, the “Promised One,” and it was he who gave the Arabs their religion. The ensuing years saw Mohammed’s followers leap from conquest to conquest until the Middle East and North Africa were under their feet. Then they moved like a swarm of locusts across Spain before climbing the southern slopes of the Pyrenees and gazing lustfully into France.

     Europe had fallen into its Dark Ages just as the Arabs were coming into their Golden Age; and in the early 700s the Muslims were threatening to pounce on the remnants of the old Roman Empire. Across Europe echoed the cry: “The Arabs are coming!” They were coming, and they seemed unstoppable. In the streets of Paris men and women trembled; and from their midst came a strong, young, long-haired Frank—Charles, son of Pepin. Charles Martel, he was called. Charles the Hammer.

     Charles gathered his Franks and a few allies on the plain between Tours and Poitiers. It wasn’t much of an army—just a motley crew of miscellaneous, frightened barbarians. Charles told them just to stand firm, to hold their ground, to die if necessary, to do anything but break lines.

     On October 11, 732 the two forces met—two cultures, two languages, two creeds, two civilizations battling for the fate of western civilization. The Muslims charged toward the amassed Franks, the thundering roar of their hoofbeats and shouts heard miles away. The defenders held firm. A second charge came, but Charles’s soldiers stood spread-eagled over their dead. A third charge failed, then a fourth. Charles galloped among his men, shouting orders, closing gaps. For five days the attacks came in waves. On the sixth day the Arabs cut through the lines only to find themselves surrounded and trapped. Their morale was spent and the surviving invaders fled.

     The battlefield was carpeted with the dead—but Europe was saved for Christianity.

     Be smart, all you rulers, and pay close attention. Serve and honor the LORD; be glad and tremble. Show respect to his son because if you don’t, the LORD might become furious and suddenly destroy you. --- Psalm 2:10-12.

On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

Morning and Evening
Daily Readings / CHARLES H. SPURGEON

          Morning - October 11

     “Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.” --- Lamentations 3:41.

     The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God’s young eaglets, that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer girds the loins of God’s warriors, and sends them forth to combat with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader cometh out of his closet, even as the sun ariseth from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua; it is the arrow shot from the chamber of the prophet foreboding defeat to the Syrians. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank thee, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of thy marvellous lovingkindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!

          Evening - October 11

     “Whom he did predestinate, them he also called.” --- Romans 8:30.

     In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words—“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling.” Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is “an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ’s, you can say, “Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy.” Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and his divine will? Again, in Philippians, 3:13, 14, we are told of “The high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we find in Hebrews 3:1—“Partakers of the heavenly calling.” Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call his people.

Morning and Evening

Amazing Grace
October 11

          REVIVE US AGAIN

     William P. Mackay, 1839–1885

     Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? (Psalm 85:6)

     The most desperate need of our day is a spiritual and moral renewal. This revival must begin with God’s people, you and me—the Church. It must be more than a mere increase in church membership and attendance. There must be an individual resurgence of God consciousness, moral righteousness, and Christ-like living. It must include the elements of humbling ourselves and turning from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). Although spiritual renewal cannot be “worked up” by human effort, we can prayerfully desire and seek it. We can ask God sincerely for a fresh touch of His love and the desire to represent and serve Him more effectively.

     Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do,”
     While the souls of men are dying, and the Master calls for you.
     Take the task He gives you gladly. Let His work your pleasure be;
     Answer quickly when He calleth, “Here am I, send me, send me!”
     --- Unknown

     The author of this text, William Paton Mackay, was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. After his education at the University of Edinburgh, he practiced medicine for a number of years before being called to the Christian ministry in 1868. Written in 1863 but revised four years later, this hymn text was based on Habakkuk 3:2: “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” The hymn was included in Ira Sankey’s Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs of 1875, under the title “O Lord, Revive Thy Work.”

     We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love, for Jesus who died and is now gone above.
     We praise Thee, O God, for Thy Spirit of light, who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night.
     All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain.
     Revive us again; fill each heart with Thy love; may each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
     Chorus: Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive us again.
     For Today: 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 85:6; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Titus 3:4–8

     Ask God to show you the areas in life that need a spiritual renewal. Pray for a genuine revival in your local church. Be willing to pray, however, “Lord, let it begin in me.” Carry this musical prayer with you as you go ---

Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions

The Existence and Attributes of God
Stephen Charnock

     IV. The fourth general is, Reasons to prove this.

     Reason 1. God must know what any creature knows, and more than any creature knows. There is nothing done in the world but is known by some creature or other; every action is at least known by the person that acts, and therefore known by the Creator, who cannot be exceeded by any of the creatures, or all of them together; and every creature is known by him, since every creature is made by him. And as God works all things by an infinite power, so he knows all things by an infinite understanding. First, the perfection of God requires this. All perfections that include no essential defect, are formally in God; but knowledge includes no essential defeat in itself, therefore it is in God. Knowledge in itself is desirable, and an excellency; ignorance is a defect; it is impossible that the least grain of defect can be found in the most perfect Being. Since God is wise, he must be knowing; for wisdom must have knowledge for the basis of it. A creature can no more be wise without knowledge, than he can be active without strength. Now God is “only wise” (Rom. 16:27); and, therefore, only knowing in the highest degree of knowledge, incomprehensibly beyond all degrees of knowledge, because infinite. Again, the more spiritual anything is, the more understanding it is. The dull body understands nothing; sense perceives, but the understanding faculty is seated in the soul, which is of a spiritual nature, which knows things that are present, remembers things that are past, foresees many things to come. What is the property of a spiritual nature, must be, in a most eminent manner, in the supreme spirit of the world; that is, in the highest degree of spirituality, and most remote from any matter. Again, nothing can enjoy other things, but by some kind of understanding them; God hath the highest enjoyment of himself, of all things he hath created, of all the glory that accrues to him by them; nothing of perfection and blessedness can be wanting to him. Felicity doth not consist with ignorance, and all imperfect knowledge is a degree of ignorance: God, therefore, doth perfectly know himself, and all things from whence he designs any glory to himself. The most noble manner of acting must be ascribed to God, as being the most noble and excellent Being; to act by knowledge is the most excellent manner of acting; God hath, therefore, not only knowledge, but the most excellent manner of knowledge; for as it is better to know than to be ignorant, so it is better to know in the most excellent manner, than to have a mean and low kind of knowledge; his knowledge, therefore, must be every way as perfect as his essence, infinite as well as that. An infinite nature must have an infinite knowledge: a God ignorant of anything cannot be counted infinite, for he is not infinite to whom any degree of perfection is wanting.

     Reason 2. All the knowledge in any creature is from God. And you must allow God a greater and more perfect knowledge than any creature hath, yea, than all creatures have. All the drops of knowledge any creature hath, come from God; and all the knowledge in every creature, that ever was, is, or shall be, in the whole mass, was derived from him. If all those several drops in particular creatures, were collected into one spirit, into one creature, it would be an unconceivable knowledge, yet still lower than what the Author of all that knowledge hath; for God cannot give more knowledge than he hath himself; nor is the creature capable of receiving so much knowledge as God hath. As the creature is incapable of receiving so much power as God hath, for then it would be almighty, so it is incapable of receiving so much knowledge as God hath, for then it would be God.

     Nothing can be made by God equal to him in anything; if anything could be made as knowing as God, it would be eternal as God, it would be the cause of all things as God. The knowledge that we poor worms have, is an argument God uses for the asserting the greatness of his own knowledge (Psalm 94:10): “He that teaches man knowledge, shall not he know?” Man hath here knowledge ascribed to him; the author of this knowledge is God; he furnished him with it, and therefore doth in a higher manner possess it, and much more than can fall under the comprehension of any creature; as the sun enlightens all things, but hath more light in itself than it darts upon the earth or the heavens: and shall not God eminently contain all that knowledge he imparts to the creatures, and infinitely more exact and comprehensive?

     Reason 3. The accusations of conscience evidence God’s knowledge of all actions of his creatures. Doth not conscience check for the most secret sins, to which none are privy but a man’s self, the whole world beside being ignorant of his crime? Do not the fears of another Judge gall the heart? If a judgment above him be feared, an understanding above him. discerning their secrets is confessed by those fears; whence can those horrors arise, if there be not a superior that understands and records the crime? What perfection of the Divine Being can this relate unto, but omniscience? What other attribute is to be feared, if God were defective in this? The condemnation of us by our own hearts, when none in the world can condemn us, renders it legible, that there is One “greater than our hearts” in respect of knowledge, who “knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). Conscience would be a vain principle, and stingless without this; it would be an easy matter to silence all its accusations, and mockingly laugh in the face of its severest frowns. What need any trouble themselves, if none knows their crimes but themselves? Concealed sins, gnawing the conscience, are arguments of God’s omniscience of all present and past actions.

     Reason 4. God is the first cause of everything, every creature is his production. Since all creatures, from the highest angel to the lowest worm, exist by the power of God, if God understands his own power and excellency, nothing can be hid from him, that was brought forth by that power, as well as nothing can be unknown to him, that that power is able to produce. “If God knows nothing besides himself; he may then believe there is nothing besides himself; we shall then fancy a God miserably mistaken: if he knows nothing besides himself, then things were not created by him, or not understandingly and voluntarily created, but dropped from him before he was aware.” To think that the First Cause of all should be ignorant of those things he is the cause of, is to make him not a voluntary, but natural agent, and therefore necessary; and then that the creature came from him as light from the sun, and moisture from the water; this would be an absurd opinion of the world’s creation; if God be a voluntary agent, as he is, he must be an intelligent agent. The faculty of will is not in any creature, without that of understanding also. If God be an intelligent agent, his knowledge must extend as far as his operation, and every object of his operation, unless we imagine God hath lost his memory, in that long tract of time since the first creation of them. An artificer cannot be ignorant of his own work: if God knows himself, he knows himself to be a cause; how can he know himself to be a cause, unless he know the effects he is the cause of? One relation implies another; a man cannot know himself to be a father, unless he hath a child, because it is a name of relation, and in the notion of it refers to another. The name of cause is a name of relation, and implies an effect; if God therefore know himself in all his perfections, as the cause of things, he must know all his acts, what his wisdom contrived, what his counsel determined, and what his power effected. The knowledge of God is to be supposed in a free determination of himself; and that knowledge must be perfect, both of the object, act, and all the circumstances of it. How can his will freely produce anything that was not first known in his understanding? From this the prophet argues the understanding of God, and the unsearchableness of it, because he is the “Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isa. 40:28), and the same reason David gives of God’s knowledge of him, and of everything he did, and that afar off, because he was formed by him (Psalm 139:2, 15, 16). As the perfect making of things only belongs to God: so doth the perfect knowledge of things; it is as absurd to think, that God should be ignorant of what he hath given being to; that he should not know all the creatures and their qualities, the plants and their virtues; as that a man should not know the letters that are formed by him in writing. Everything bears in itself the mark of God’s perfection; and shall not God know the representation of his own virtue?

     Reason 5. Without this knowledge, God could no more be the Governor, than he could be the Creator of the world. Knowledge is the basis of providence; to know things, is before the government of things; a practical knowledge cannot be without a theoretical knowledge. Nothing could be directed to its proper end, without the knowledge of the nature of it, and its suitableness to answer that end for which it is intended. As everything, even the minutest, falls under the conduct of God, so everything falls under the knowledge of God. A blind coachman is not able to hold the reins of his horses, and direct them in right paths: since the providence of God is about particulars, his knowledge must be about particulars; he could not else govern them in particular; nor could all things be said to depend upon him in their being and operations. Providence depends upon the knowledge of God, and the exercise of it upon the goodness of God; it cannot be without understanding and will; understanding, to know what is convenient, and will to perform it. When our Saviour therefore speaks of providence, he intimates these two in a special manner, “Y our heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things” (Matt. 6:32), and goodness, in Luke 11:13. The reason of providence is so joined with omniscience, that they cannot be separated. What a kind of God would he be that were ignorant of those things that were governed by him! The ascribing this perfection to him, asserts his providence; for it is as easy for one that knows all things, to look over the whole world, if writ with monosyllables, in every little particular of it; as it is with a man to take a view of one letter in an alphabet. Again, if God were not omniscient, how could he reward the good, and punish the evil? the works of men are either rewardable or punishable; not only according to their outward circumstances, but inward principles and ends, and the degrees of venom lurking in the heart. The exact discerning of these, without a possibility to be deceived, is necessary to pass a right and infallible judgment upon them, and proportion the censure and punishment to the crime: without such a knowledge and discerning, men would not have their due; nay, a judgment just for the matter, would be unjust in the manner, because unjustly past, without an understanding of the merit of the cause. It is necessary, therefore that the Supreme Judge of the world should not be thought to be blindfold, when he distributes his rewards and punishments, and muffle his face when he passes his sentence. It is necessary to ascribe to him the knowledge of men’s thoughts and intentions; the secret wills and aims; the hidden works of darkness in every man’s conscience, because every man’s work is to be measured by the will and inward frame. It is necessary that he should perpetually retain all those things in the indelible and plain records of his memory, that there may not be any work without a just proportion of what is due to it. This is the glory of God, to discover the secrets of all hearts at last, as 1 Cor. 4:5, “The Lord shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of all hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God.” This knowledge fits him to be a judge; the reason why the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, is because God knows their ways, which is implied in his knowing the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:5, 6). I now proceed to the use.

     Use I. is of information or instruction. If God hath all knowledge; then,

     Instruct 1. Jesus Christ is not a mere creature. The two titles of wonderful Counsellor, and mighty God, are given him in conjunction (Isa. 9:6), not only the Angel of the covenant, as he is called (Mal. 3:1), or the executor of his counsels, but a counsellor, in conjunction with him in counsel as well as power: this title is superior to any title given to any of the prophets in regard of their predictions; and therefore I should take it rather as the note of his perfect understanding, than of his perfect teaching and discovering; as Calvin doth. He is not only the revealer of what he knows, so were the prophets according to their measures; but the counsellor of what he revealed, having a perfect understanding of all the counsels of God, as being interested in them, as the mighty God. He calls himself by the peculiar title of God, and declares that he will manifest himself by this prerogative to all the churches (Rev. 2:23): “And all the churches shall know that I am he which scarches the reins and hearts,” the most hidden operations of the minds of men, that lie locked up from the view of all the world besides. And this was no new thing to Him, after his ascension; for the same perfection he had in the time of his earthly flesh (Luke 6:8), he knew their thoughts; his eyes are therefore compared (Song of Solomon 5:12) to doves’ eyes, which are clear and quick; and to a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14), not only heat to consume his enemies, but light to discern their contrivances against the church; he pierceth by his knowledge, into all parts, as fire pierceth into the closest particle of iron, and separates between the most united parts of metals; and some tell us, he is called a Roe, from the perspicacity of his sight, as well as from the swiftness of his motion.

     1. He hath a perfect knowledge of the Father; he knows the Father, and none else knows the Father; angels know God, men know God, but Christ in a peculiar manner knows the Father; no man knows the Son but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son (Matt. 11:27); he knows so, as that he learns not from any other; he doth perfectly comprehend him, which is beyond the reach of any creature, with the addition of all the divine virtue; not because of any incapacity in God to reveal, but the incapacity of the creature to receive; finite is incapable of being made infinite, and therefore incapable of comprehending infinite; so that Christ cannot be Deus factus, made of a creature a God, to comprehend God; for then of finite he would become infinite, which is a contradiction. As the Spirit is God, because he searches the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10), that is comprehends them, as the spirit of a man doth the things of a man (now the spirit of man understands what it thinks, and what it wills), so the Spirit of God understands what is in the understanding of God, and what is in the will of God. He hath an absolute knowledge ascribed to him, and such as could not be ascribed to anything but a divinity: now if the Spirit knows the deep things of God, and takes from Christ what he shows to us of him (John 16:15), he cannot be ignorant of those things himself; he must know the depths of God, that affords us that Spirit, that is not ignorant of any of the counsels of the Father’s will; since he comprehends the Father, and the Father him, he is in himself infinite; for God whose essence is infinite, is infinitely knowable; but no created understanding can infinitely know God. The infiniteness of the object hinders it from being understood by anything that is not infinite. Though a creature should understand all the works of God, yet it cannot be therefore said to understand God himself: as though I may understand all the volitions and motions of my soul, yet it doth not follow that therefore I understand the whole nature and substance of my soul; or if a man understood all the effects of the sun, that therefore he understands fully the nature of the sun. But Christ knows the Father, he lay in the bosom of the Father, was in the greatest intimacy with him (John 1:18), and from this intimacy with him, he saw him and knew him; so he knows God as much as he is knowable; and therefore knows him perfectly as the Father knows himself by a comprehensive vision; this is the knowledge of God wherein properly the infiniteness of his understanding appears: and our Saviour uses such expressions which manifest his knowledge to be above all created knowledge, and such a manner of knowledge of the Father, as the Father hath of him.

     2. Christ knows all creatures. That knowledge which comprehends God, comprehends all created things as they are in God; it is a knowledge that sinks to the depths of his will, and therefore extends to all the acts of his will in creation and providence; by knowing the Father he knows all things that are contained in the virtue, power, and will of God; “whatsoever the Father doth, that the Son doth” (John 5:19.) As the Father therefore knows all things he is the cause of, so doth the Son know all things he is the worker of; as the perfect making of all things belongs to both, so doth the perfect knowledge of all things belong to both; where the action is the same, the knowledge is the same. Now the Father did not create one thing and Christ another; “but all things were created by him, and for him, all things both in heaven and earth” (Col. 1:16): as he knows himself as the cause of all things, and the end of all things, he cannot be ignorant of all things that were effected by him, and are referred to him; he knows all creatures in God, as he knows the essence of God, and knows all creatures in themselves, as he knows his own acts and the fruits of his power; those things must be in his knowledge that were in his power; all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God are hid in him (Col. 2:3). Now it is not the wisdom of God to know in part, and be in part ignorant. He cannot be ignorant of anything, since there is nothing but what was made by him John 1:3), and since it is less to know than create; for we know many things which we cannot make. If he be the Creator, he cannot but be the discerner of what he made; this is a part of wisdom belonging to an artificer, to know the nature and quality of what he makes. Since he cannot be ignorant of what he furnished with being, and with various endowments, he must know them not only universally, but particularly.

     3. Christ knows the heart and affections of men. Peter scruples not to ascribe to him this knowledge, among the knowledge of all other things (John 21:17). “Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.” From Christ’s knowledge of all things, he concludes his knowledge of the inward frames and dispositions of men. To search the heart is the sole prerogative of God (1 Kings 8:39), for thou, even thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men: shall we take only here with a limitation, as some that are no friends to the Deity of Christ would, and say, God only knows the hearts of men from himself, and by his own infinite virtue? Why may we not take only in other places with a limitation, and make nonsense of it, as Psalm 86:10, “Thou art God alone.” Is it to be understood that God is God alone from himself, but other gods may be made by him, and so there may be numberless infinites? As God is God alone, so that none can be God but himself; so he alone knows all the hearts of all the children of men, and none but he can know them; this knowledge is from his nature. The reason why God knows the hearts of men, is rendered in the Scripture double, because he created them, and because he is present everywhere (Psalm 33:13, 15), these two are by the confession of Christians and Pagans universally received as the proper characters of divinity, whereby the Deity is distinguished from all creatures. Now when Christ ascribes this to himself, and that with such an emphasis, that nothing greater than that could be urged, as he doth (Rev. 2:23), we must conclude that he is of the same essence with God, one with him in his nature, as well as one with him in his attributes. God only knows the hearts of the children of men; there is the unity of God: Christ searches the hearts and reins; there is a distinction of persons in a oneness of essence; he knows the hearts of all men, not only of those that were with him in the time of the flesh, that have been, and shall be, since his ascension; but of those that lived and died before his coming; because he is to be the Judge of all that lived before his humiliation on earth, as well as after his exaltation in heaven. It pertains to him, as a Judge, to know distinctly the merits of the cause of which he is to judge; and this excellency of searching the hearts is mentioned by himself with relation to his judicial proceeding, “I will give to every one of you according to your works.” And though a creature may know what is in a man’s heart, if it be revealed to him, yet such a knowledge is a knowledge only by report, not by inspection; yet this latter is ascribed to Christ (John 2:24, 25): “he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man:” he looked into their hearts. The Evangelist, to allay the amazement of men at his relation of our Saviour’s nowledge of the inward falsity of those that made a splendid profession of him, doth not say the Father revealed it to him, but intimates it to be an unseparable property of his nature. No covering was so thick as to bound his eye; no pretence so glittering as to impose upon his understanding. Those that made a profession of him, and could not be discerned by the eye of man from his faithfulest attendants, were in their inside known to him plainer than their outside was to others; and, therefore, he committed not himself to them, though they seemed to be persuaded to a real belief in his name, because of the power of his miracles, and were touched with an admiration of him, as some great prophet, and, perhaps, declared him to be the Messiah (ver. 23.)

     4. He had a foreknowledge of the particular inclinations of men, before those distinct inclinations were in actual being in them. This is plainly asserted, John 6:64: “But there are some of you that believe not; for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.” When Christ assured them, from the knowledge of the hearts of his followers, that some of them were void of that faith they professed, the Evangelist, to stop their amazement that Christ should have such a power and virtue, adds, that he “knew from the beginning;” that he had not only a present knowledge, but a foreknowledge, of every one’s inclination; he knew, not only now and then what was in the hearts of his disciples, but from the beginning, of any one’s giving up their names to him; he knew whether it were a pretence or sincere; he knew who should betray him; and there was no man’s inward affection but was foreseen by him. “From the beginning,” whether we understand it from the beginning of the world, as when Christ saith, concerning divorces, “From the beginning it was not so,” that is, from the beginning of the world, from the beginning of the law of nature; or, from the beginning of their attending him, as it is taken, Luke 1:2; he had a certain prescience of the inward dispositions of men’s hearts, and their succeeding sentiments; he foreknew the treacherous heart of Judas in the midst of his splendid profession, and discerned his resolution in the root, and his thought in the confused chaos of his natural corruption; he knew how it would spring up before it did spring up, before Judas had any distinct and formal conception of it himself, or before there was any actual preparation to a resolve. Peter’s denial was not unknown to him, when Peter had a present resolution, and no question spake it in the present sincerity of his soul, “never to forsake him;” he foreknew what would be the result of that poison which lurked in Peter’s nature, before Peter himself imagined anything of it; he discerned Peter’s apostatizing heart, when Peter resolved the contrary: our Saviour’s prediction was accomplished, and Peter’s valiant resolution languished into cowardice. Shall we then conclude our blessed Saviour a creature, who perfectly and only knew the Father, who knew all creatures; who had all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge who knew the inward motions of men’s hearts by his own virtue, and had, not only a present knowledge, but a prescience of them? Instruct. 2. The second instruction from this position, That God hath an infinite knowledge and understanding. Then there is a providence exercised by God in the world, and that about everything. As providence infers omniscience as the guide of it, so omniscience infers providence as the end of it. What exercise would there be of this attribute, but in the government of the world? To this, this infinite perfection refers (Jer. 17:10), “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” He searches the heart to reward, he rewards every man according to the rewardableness of his actions; his government, therefore, extends to every man in the world; there is no heart but he searches, therefore no heart but he governs; to what purpose, else, would be this knowledge of all his creatures? for a mere contemplation of them? No. What pleasure can that be to God, who knows himself, who is infinitely more excellent than all his creatures? Doth he know them to neglect all care of them? this must be either out of sloth; but how incompatible is laziness to a pure and infinite activity! or out of majesty; but it is no less for the glory of his majesty to conduct them, than it was for the glory of his power to erect them into being. He that counts nothing unworthy of his arms to make, nothing unworthy of his understanding to know, why should he count anything unworthy of his wisdom to govern? If he knows them to neglect them, it must be because he hath no will to it, or no goodness for it; either of these would be a stain upon God; to want goodness is to be evil, and to want will is to be negligent and scornful, which are inconsistent with an infinite, active goodness. Doth a father neglect providing for the wants of the family which he knows? or a physician, the cure of that disease he understands? God is omniscient, he therefore sees all things; he is good, he doth not therefore neglect anything, but conducts it to the end he appointed it. There is nothing so little that can escape his knowledge, and therefore nothing so little but falls under his providence; nothing so sublime as to be above his understanding, and therefore nothing can be without the compass of his conduct; nothing can escape his eye, and therefore nothing can escape his care; nothing is known to him in vain, as nothing was made by him in vain; there must be acknowledged, therefore, some end of this knowledge of all his creatures.

     Instruct. 3. Hence, then, will follow the certainty of a day of judgment. To what purpose can we imagine this attribute of omniscience, so often declared and urged in Scripture to our consideration, but in order to a government of our practice, and a future trial? Every perfection of the Divine nature hath sent out brighter rays in the world than this of his infinite knowledge. His power hath been seen in the being of the world, and his wisdom in the order and harmony of the creatures; his grace and mercy hath been plentifully poured out in his mission of a Redeemer, and his justice hath been elevated by the dying groans of the Son of God upon the cross. But hath his omniscience yet met with a glory proportionable to that of his other perfections? All the attributes of God that have appeared in some beautiful glimmerings in the world, wait for a more full manifestation in glory, as the creatures do for the “manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19); but especially this, since it hath been less evidenced than others, and as much, or more, abused than any; it expects, therefore, a public righting in the eye of the world. There have been, indeed, some few sparks of this perfection sensibly struck out now and then in the world in some horrors of conscience, which have made men become their own accusers of unknown crimes, in bringing out hidden wickedness to a public view by various providences. This hath also been the design of sprinklings of judgments upon several generations, as (Psalm 90:8), “We are consumed by thy anger, and by thy wrath we are troubled; thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.” The word צלומנו signifies youth, as well as secret, i. e., sins committed long ago, and that with secrecy. By this he hath manifested that secret sins are not hid from his eye. Though inward terrors and outward judgments have been let loose to worry men into a belief of this, yet the corruptions of men would still keep a contrary notion in their minds, that “God hath forgotten, that he hides his face from transgression, and will not regard their impiety” (Psalm 10:11). There must, therefore, be a time of trial for the public demonstration of this excellency, that it may receive its due honor, by a full testimony that no secrecy can be a shelter from it. As his justice, which consists in giving every one his due, could not be glorified, unless men were called to an account for their actions, so neither would his omniscience appear in its illustrious colors, without such a manfestation of the secret motions of men’s hearts, and of villanies done under lock and key, when none were conscious to them, but the committers of them. Now the last judgment is the time appointed for the “opening of the books” (Dan. 7:10). The book of God’s records, and conscience the counterpart, were never fully opened and read before, only now and then some pages turned to, in particular judgments; and out of those “books shall men be judged according to their works” (Rev. 20:12). Then shall the defaced sins be brought, with all their circumstances, to every man’s memory; the counsels of men’s hearts fled far from their present remembrance, all the habitual knowledge they had of their own actions, shall, by God’s knowledge of them, be excited to an actual review; and their works not only made manifest to themselves, but notorious to the world: all the words, thoughts, deeds of men, shall be brought forth into the light of their own minds by the infinite light of God’s understanding reflecting on them. His knowledge renders him an unerring witness, as well as his justice “a swift witness” (Mal. 3:5); a swift witness, because he shall, without any circuit, or length of speech, convince their consciences, by an inward illumination of them, to take notice of the blackness and deformity of their hearts and works. In all judgments God is somewhat known to be the searcher of hearts; the time of judgment is the time of his remembrance (Hos. 8:13): “Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins;” but the great instant, or now, of the full glorifying it, is the grand day of account. This attribute must have a time for its full discovery; and no time can be fit for it but a time of a general reckoning. Justice cannot be exercised without omniscience; for as justice is a giving to every one his due, so there must be knowledge to discern what is due to every man; the searching the heart is in order to the rewarding the works. Instruct 4. This perfection in God gives us ground to believe a resurrection. Who can think this too hard for his power, since not the least atom of the dust of our bodies can escape his knowledge? An infinite understanding comprehends every mite of a departed carcase; this will not appear impossible, nor irrational, to any, upon a serious consideration, of this excellency in God. The body is perished, the matter of it hath been since clothed with different forms and figures; part of it hath been made the body of a worm, part of it returned to the dust that hath been blown away by the wind; part of it hath been concocted in the bodies of canibals, fish, ravenous beasts; the spirits have evaporated into air, part of the blood melted into water; what, then, is the matter of the body annihilated? is that wholly perished? no; the foundation remains, though it hath put on a variety of forms; the body of Abel, the first man that died, nor the body of Adam, are not, to this day, reduced to nothing; indeed, the quantity and the quality of those bodies have been lost by various changes they have past through since their dissolution; but the matter, or substance of them, remains entire, and is not capable to be destroyed by all those transforming alterations, in so long a revolution of time. The body of a man in his infancy and his old age, if it were Methuselah’s, is the same in the foundation in those multitude of years; though the quantity of it be altered, the quality different; though the color and other things be changed in it, the matter of this body remains the same among all the alterations after death. And can it be so mixed with other natures and creatures, as that it is past finding out by an infinite understanding? Can any particle of this matter escape the eye of Him that makes and beholds all those various alterations, and where every mite of the substance of those bodies is particularly lodged, so as that he cannot compact it together again for a habitation of that soul, that many a year before fled from it? Since the knowledge of God is infinite, and his providence extensive over the least as w ell as the greatest parts of the world, he must needs know the least as well as the greatest of his creatures in their beginning, progress, and dissolution; all the forms through which the bodies of all creatures roll, the particular instants of time, and the particular place when and where those changes are made, they are all present with him; and, therefore, when the revolution of time allotted by him for the reunion of souls and deceased bodies is come, it cannot be doubted but, out of the treasures of his knowledge, he can call forth every part of the matter of the bodies of men, from the first to the last man that expired, and strip it of all those forms and figures which it shall then have, to compact it to be a lodging for that soul which before it entertained; and though the bodies of men have been devoured by wild beasts in the earth, and fish in the sea, and been lodged in the stomachs of barbarous men-eaters, the matter is not lost. There is but little of the food we take that is turned into the substance of our own bodies; that which is not proper for nourishment, which is the greatest part, is separated, and concocted, and rejected; whatsoever objections are made, are answered by this attribute. Nothing hinders a God of infinite knowledge from discerning every particle of the matter, wheresoever it is disposed; and since he hath an eye to discern, and a hand to recollect and unite, what difficulty is there in believing this article of the christian faith? he that questions this revealed truth of the resurrection of the body, must question God’s omniscience as well as his omnipotence and power.

     Instruct. 5. What semblance of reason is there to expect a justification in the sight of God by anything in ourselves? Is there any action done by any of us, but upon a scrutiny we may find flaws and deficiency in it? What then? shall not this perfection of God discern them? the motes that escape our eyes cannot escape his (1 John 3:20): “God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things;” so that it is in vain for any man to flatter himself with the rectitude of any work, or enter into any debate with him who can bring a thousand articles against us, out of his own infinite records, unknown to us, and unanswerable by us. If conscience, a representative or counterpart of God’s omniscience in our own bosoms, find nothing done by us, but in a copy short of the original, and beholds, if not blurs, yet imperfections in the best actions, God must much more discern them; we never knew a copy equally exact with the original. If our own conscience be as a thousand witnesses, the knowledge of God is as millions of witnesses against us; if our corruption be so great, and our holiness so low, in our own eyes, how much greater must the one, and how much meaner must the other, appear in the eyes of God? God hath an unerring eye to see, as well as an unspotted holiness to hate, and an unbribable justice to punish; he wants no more understanding to know the shortness of our actions, than he doth holiness to enact, and power to execute, his laws; nay, suppose we could recollect many actions, wherein there were no spot visible to us, the consideration of this attribute should scare us from resting upon any or all of them, since it is the Lord that, by a piercing eye, sees and judges according to the heart, and not according to appearance. The least crookedness of a stick, not sensible to an acute eye, yet will appear when laid to the line; and the impurity of a counterfeit metal be manifest when applied to the touchstone; so will the best action of any mere man in the world, when it comes to be measured in God’s knowledge by the straight line of his law. Let every, man, therefore, as Paul, though he should know nothing by himself, think not himself therefore justified; since it is the Lord, who is of an infinite understanding, that judgeth (1 Cor. 4:4). A man may be justified in his own sight, “but not any living man can be justified in the sight of God” (Psalm 143:2); in his sight, whose eye pierceth into our unknown secrets and frames: it was, therefore, well answered of a good man upon his death bed, being asked “What he was afraid of?” “I have labored,” saith he, “with all my strength to observe the commands of God; but since I am a man, I am ignorant whether my works are acceptable to God, since God judges in one manner, and I in another manner.” Let the consideration therefore of this attribute, make us join with Job in his resolution (Job 9:21): “Though we were perfect, yet would we not know our own souls.” I would not stand up to plead any of my virtues before God. Let us, therefore, look after another righteousness, wherein the exact eye of the Divine omniscience, we are sure, can discern no stain or crookedness.

     Instruct. 6. What honorable and adoring thoughts ought we to have of God for this perfection! Do we not honor a man that is able to predict? do we not think it a great part of wisdom? Have not all nations regarded such a faculty as a character and a mark of divinity? There is something more ravishing in the knowledge of future things, both to the person that knows them, and the person that hears them, than there is in any other kind of knowledge; whence the greatest prophets have been accounted in the greatest veneration, and men have thought it a way to glory, to divine and predict. Hence it was that the devils and pagan oracles gained so much credit; upon this foundation were they established, and the enemies of mankind owned for a true God; — I say, from the prediction of future things, though their oracles were often ambiguous, many times false; yet those poor heathens framed many ingenious excuses to free their adored gods from the charge of falsity and imposture: and shall we not adore the true God, the God of Israel, the God blessed for ever, for this incommunicable property, whereby he flies above the wings of the wind, the understandings of men and cherubims? Consider how great it is to know the thoughts and intentions, and works of one man, from the beginning to the end of his life; to foreknow all these before the being of this man, when he was lodged afar off in the loins of his ancestors, yea, of Adam; how much greater is it to foreknow and know the thoughts and works of three or four men, of a whole village or neighborhood! It is greater still to know the imaginations and actions of such a multitude of men as are contained in London, Paris, or Constantinople; how much greater still to know the intentions and practices, the clandestine contrivances of so many millions that have, do, or shall swarm in all quarters of the world, every person of them having millions of thoughts, desires, designs, affections, and actions! Let this attribute, then, make the blessed God honorable in our eyes, and adorable in all our affections; especially since it is an excellency which hath so lately discovered itself, in bringing to light the hidden things of darkness, in opening, and in part confounding, the wicked devices of bloody men. Especially let us adore God for it, and admire it in God, since it is so necessary a perfection, that without it the goodness of God had been impotent, and could not have relieved us; for what help can a distressed person expect from a man of the sweetest disposition and the strongest arm, if the eyes which should discover the danger, and direct the defence and rescue, were closed up by blindness and darkness? Adore God for this wonderful perfection.

     Instruct. 7. In the consideration of this excellent attribute, what low thoughts should we have of our own knowledge, and how humble ought we to be before God! There is nothing man is more apt to be proud of than his knowledge; it is a perfection he glories in; but if our own knowledge of the little outside and barks of things puffs us up, the consideration of the infiniteness of God’s knowledge should abate the tumor: as our beings are nothing in regard to the infiniteness of his essence, so our knowledge is nothing in regard of the vastness of his understanding. We have a spark of being, but nothing to the heat of the sun; we have a drop of knowledge, but nothing to the Divine ocean. What a vain thing is it for a shallow brook to boast of its streams before a sea, whose depths are unfathomable! As it is a vanity to brag of our strength, when we remember the power of God, and of our prudence, when we glance upon the wisdom of God, so it is no less a vanity to boast of our knowledge, when we think of the understanding and knowledge of God. How hard is it for us to know anything! Too much noise deafens us, and too much liglit dazzles us; too much distance alienates the object from us, and too much nearness bars up our sight from beholding it. When we think ourselves to be near the knowledge of a thing, as a ship to the haven, a puff of wind blows us away, and the object which we desired to know eternally flies from us; we burn with a desire of knowledge, and yet are oppressed with the darkness of ignorance; we spend our days more in dark Egypt, than in enlightened Goshen. In what narrow bounds is all the knowledge of the most intelligent persons included! How few understand the exact harmony of their own bodies, the nature of the life they have in common with other animals! Who understands the nature of his own faculties, how he knows, and how he wills; how the understanding proposeth, and how the will embraceth; how his spiritual soul is united to his material body; what the nature is of the operation of our spirits? Nay, who understands the nature of his own body, the offices of his senses, the motion of his members, how they come to obey the command of the will, and a thousand other things? What a vain, weak, and ignorant thing is man, when compared with God! yet there is not a greater pride to be found among devils, than among ignorant men, with a little, very little, flashy knowledge. Ignorant man is as proud as if he knew as God.

     As the consideration of God’s omniscience should render him honorable in our eyes, so it should render us vile in our own. God, because of his knowledge, is so far from disdaining his creatures, that his omniscience is a minister to his goodness. No knowledge that we are possessed of should make us swell with too high a conceit of ourselves, and a disdain of others. We have infinitely more of ignorance than knowledge. Let us therefore remember, in all our thoughts of God, that he is God, and we are men; and therefore ought to be humble, as becomes men, and ignorant and foolish men, to be; as weak creatures should lie low before an Almighty God, and impure creatures before a holy God, false creatures before a faithful God, finite creatures before an infinite God, so should ignorant creatures before an all-knowing God. All God’s attributes teach admiring thoughts of God, and low thoughts of ourselves.

     Instruct. 8. It may inform us how much this attribute is injured in the world. The first error after Adam’s eating the forbidden fruit was the denial of this, as well as the omnipresence of God, (Gen. 3:10,) “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I hid myself;” as if the thickness of the trees could screen him from the eye of his Creator. And after Cain’s murder, this is the first perfection he affronts, (Gen. 4:9), “Where is Abel, thy brother?” saith God. How roundly doth he answer, “I know not!” as if God were as weak as man, to be put off with a lie. Man doth as naturally hate this perfection as much as he cannot naturally but acknowledge it; he wishes God stripped of this eminency, that he might be incapable to be an inspector of his crimes, and a searcher of the closets of his heart. In wishing him deprived of this, there is a hatred of God himself; for it is a loathing an essential property of God, without which be would be a pitiful Governor of the world. What a kind of God should that be, of a sinner’s wishing, that had wanted eyes to see a crime, and righteousness to punish it! The want of the consideration of this attribute, is the cause of all sin in the world (Hos. 7:2.), “They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness;” they speak not to their hearts, or make any reflection upon the infiniteness of my knowledge; it is a high contempt of God, as if he were an idol, a senseless stock or stone; in all evil practices this is denied. We know God sees all things, yet we live and walk as if he knew nothing. We call him omniscient, and live as if he were ignorant; we say he is all eye, yet act as if he were wholly blind.

The Existence and Attributes of God

Matthew 22-23
Jon Courson

Matthew 22
The Greatest Commandment
Jon Courson

click here
01-14-1990

Matthew 23
Jon Courson

click here
01-17-1990

Matthew 22:35-40
The Bible For Dummies
Jon Courson

click here
11-29-2009

Matthew 21:28-22:46
Jon Courson

click here
12-02-2009

Matthew 23-24
Jon Courson

click here
12-16-2009

Matthew 22:15-22
Good For Our Country
Jon Courson

click here
07-24-2011

Matthew 22:1-14
A Marriage Message
Jon Courson

click here
07-22-2012

Jon Courson

Matthew 22-23
Skip Heitzig

Matthew 21:33-22:22
Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22:23-23:39
Calvary Chapel NM

Skip Heitzig | Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22-23
Gary Hamrick

Matthew 22
The Other Side of the Coin
Gary Hamrick

Matthew 23
Don’t Be a Hypocrite
Gary Hamrick

Gary Hamrick | Corner Stone Chapel

Matthew 22-23
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable
of the Wedding Feast
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22:15-46
Paying Taxes
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 23
Jesus Denounces the
Jewish Religious Leaders
Paul LeBoutillier

Paul LeBoutillier | Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon

Matthew 22-23
Brett Meador | Athey Creek

Matthew 22
m2-430

01-18-2023

Matthew 23:37-38
I Would...But You Would Not
s2-421

01-22-2023

Matthew 23
m2-431

01-25-2023

Brett Meador

==============================
*************************************

Lean-Into-God

Where Do You Lean?

10/11/2023 Yesterday Tomorrow

Matthew 22 - 23

Matthew 22

Matthew 23

What I'm Reading

Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospel Attributed to John?

The Seven Bowl Judgments Announced

Seven Bowls of God’s Judgment Ordered Poured Out on a Wicked World

The First Bowl

The Second Bowl

The Third Bowl

The Fourth Bowl

The Fifth Bowl

The Sixth Bowl

Parenthetic Revelation IV: Demonic Gathering of World Armies

Why Bethlehem Uses the ESV

The 95 Theses (Stephen Nichols: The First and Second Theses)

The Seventh Trumpet and Background of the Seven Bowls Begun

10. THE SEVENTH TRUMPET: THE SEVEN BOWLS AWAITED ( Revelation 11:15-19 )

Exegesis and Exposition

Calvin On Christ's Cry Of Abandon

“He Descended Into Hell” Tim Keller

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Chapter 2 | The Ten Primitive Persecutions

The Continual Burnt Offering (2 Corinthians 9:10)

October 11

Devotionals, notes, poetry and more

Matthew 22 The Greatest Commandment Jon Courson click here 01-14-1990

Matthew 23 Jon Courson click here 01-17-1990

Matthew 22:35-40 The Bible For Dummies Jon Courson click here 11-29-2009

Matthew 21:28-22:46 Jon Courson click here 12-02-2009

Matthew 23-24 Jon Courson click here 12-16-2009

Matthew 22:15-22 Good For Our Country Jon Courson click here 07-24-2011

Matthew 22:1-14 A Marriage Message Jon Courson click here 07-22-2012

Matthew 21:33-22:22 Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22:23-23:39 Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22 The Other Side of the Coin Gary Hamrick

Matthew 23 Don’t Be a Hypocrite Gary Hamrick

Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Feast Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22:15-46 Paying Taxes Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 23 Jesus Denounces the Jewish Religious Leaders Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22 m2-430 01-18-2023

Matthew 23:37-38 I Would...But You Would Not s2-421 01-22-2023

Matthew 23 m2-431 01-25-2023

Night of Prayer for Israel Gary Hamrick October 11, 2019

Why Does Evil Dominate the World? 1 John MacArthur

Why Does Evil Dominate the World? 2 John MacArthur

John 19 Good Friday John MacArthur

Mark 8:27-33 Ultimate Good News/Bad News John MacArthur

You Must Be Born Again John MacArthur

Bible Q and A Part 75 10-09-2020 | John MacArthur

Israel’s Disobedience and the Sovereignty of God | David Hocking Pre-Trib Research Center

The Evil of Replacement Theology: Origin, History, Relevance | David Reagan Pre-Trib Research Center

Lean-Into-God

Lean-Into-God

Matthew 22
The Greatest Commandment
Jon Courson

click here
01-14-1990

Matthew 23
Jon Courson

click here
01-17-1990

Matthew 22:35-40
The Bible For Dummies
Jon Courson

click here
11-29-2009

Matthew 21:28-22:46
Jon Courson

click here
12-02-2009

Matthew 23-24
Jon Courson

click here
12-16-2009

Matthew 22:15-22
Good For Our Country
Jon Courson

click here
07-24-2011

Matthew 22:1-14
A Marriage Message
Jon Courson

click here
07-22-2012

Matthew 21:33-22:22
Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22:23-23:39
Calvary Chapel NM

Matthew 22
The Other Side of the Coin
Gary Hamrick

Matthew 23
Don’t Be a Hypocrite
Gary Hamrick

Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable
of the Wedding Feast
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22:15-46
Paying Taxes
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 23
Jesus Denounces the
Jewish Religious Leaders
Paul LeBoutillier

Matthew 22
m2-430

01-18-2023

Matthew 23:37-38
I Would...But You Would Not
s2-421

01-22-2023

Matthew 23
m2-431

01-25-2023

Night of Prayer for Israel

Gary Hamrick

October 11, 2019

Why Does Evil Dominate the World? 1

John MacArthur

Why Does Evil Dominate the World? 2

John MacArthur

John 19

Good Friday
John MacArthur

Mark 8:27-33

Ultimate Good News/Bad News
John MacArthur

You Must Be Born Again

John MacArthur

Bible Q and A Part 75

10-09-2020 | John MacArthur

Israel’s Disobedience and the Sovereignty

of God | David Hocking
Pre-Trib Research Center

The Evil of Replacement Theology:

Origin, History, Relevance | David Reagan
Pre-Trib Research Center