Opus 2026-360: A Moment Is Not Forever

There is a danger in spiritual snapshots.  We know that is true in our own lives but it is also true in the Bible.  Take for instance Solomon.  He is remembered for his wisdom.  When God gave him the opportunity to choose any gift he wanted, that is what he asked for.  It worked well at first.  Later on, not so much but that is the topic of another day.

What I want to recognize as wisdom and humility comes early in his reign.  He had been told he was to build the temple and was embarking on that challenge.  What hit me as I read was this observation of Solomon:

(2Ch 2:6 KJV)  But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

He had a realistic understanding of the greatness of God and the futility of trying to build Him a house that would contain Him.  In fact, notice the real purpose he lays out for the temple.  It was a focal point for us to come to so that we could offer our sacrifices.

I know there are lots of pictures in the Bible of God’s presence in the temple.  You can’t take away from that but Solomon wisely points out that God was making allowance for our needs rather than His own.  That is typical of the God we serve.  His majesty is beyond us.  His glory would consume us.  His knowledge would trip all the circuit breakers in our brain.  Yet He knows that we need something within our comprehension to grab hold of.  In His plan the temple was that place for Israel.  Since Pentecost the Holy Spirit has been available.  Some say we become the temple.  In Revelation we have this,

(Rev 21:22 KJV)  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Will the temple be rebuilt?  I am not sure why it would need to be but I am not a member of your brand of eschatology.  I can live with these simple Bible statements.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-172: The New Chosen

If you look at the Old Testament, you find a lot of references to Israel as a nation. We consider them the chosen people.

All of that changed at Calvary.  No longer is God dealing with us as a nation or a large organization.  He has no blanket promises to those who are citizens of America or any other country.  He is now dealing with us as individuals.  It a sense He always has dealt with individuals, but the theme of the Bible is about Israel preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah.

So Calvary changed everything.  I have a friend who accuses me of being guilty of something he calls “replacement theology”.  I didn’t even know the term when he first brought it up.  When he gave me his interpretation of the title I rejected it.  The problem is the more often he accuses me of this and I look at what the Bible is telling me, the more guilty I am of a heresy, his definition not mine, I never thought of committing.

God is not dealing with a chosen people now so much as he is dealing with chosen persons.  What that does to Israel is that each member of that nation is responsible for personal decisions.  No longer is there a blanket pardon or one-size-fits-all blessing.  If you are selling red heifers or have a piece of the new temple stored in your garage that might upset you but you can still rebuild a temple if you want.  Just don’t plan on fitting it into Revelation because it ain’t there, as the apostle John said,

(Rev 21:22 KJV)  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-080: The End of Israel?

People who are into eschatology love to quote these verses.

(Jer 31:35 KJV)  Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
(Jer 31:36 KJV)  If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
(Jer 31:37 KJV)  Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

It is vital to them to keep Israel in the game.  They reject any other thinking as “Replacement Theology” and say it as if that is heresy.  My friend also threw a couple of other big words at me that I was supposed to cringe at.  Meh.  Maybe it is heresy.  Maybe they are over reacting a bit.  Maybe they have a chart or graph that they want to sell.  They still act like this is the final word in regard to verse 36.

Challenge accepted.

In order for Israel to fall out of favor certain milestones need to be passed.  Keep in mind that these are all future.  It has nothing to do with Israel’s importance today.  This is a discussion of theory and the question of how God plans to work in history.

Notice,

(Rev 6:12 KJV)  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Evidently the sun is no longer giving light by day and the moon doesn’t seem to be much help either.

Keep reading,

(Rev 6:13 KJV)  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
(Rev 8:12 KJV)  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Stars are falling.  In my level of astronomy they won’t be giving much light if they fall.  The prophecy enthusiasts also like to make much of the parable of the fig tree which seems to be having some serious problems here, but that is for another day.

As for the sea,

(Rev 21:1 KJV)  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
(Rev 21:23 KJV)  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
(Rev 22:5 KJV)  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

No more sea and it continues with reference to the sun and moon.  It is a great picture.  I like it.  The problem is it does not fit their narative so, guess what?  They ignore it and never quote these verses.

I find the last verse referred to in regard to measuring the heavens and penetrating the earth to be somewhat fulfilled also.  We have telescopes and theories that are measuring the universe.  We have mines and drilling going miles below the surface of the earth.

It would seem that there is a possibility that somewhere in the future Israel will cease to be the chosen nation.  Make sure that does not create any anti-semitism in your heart.  Jews are people and deserve the same courtesy and consideration you would give any other human being.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-319: CS vs BS: Reliable Sources

Common Sense verses Bovine Scatology

Whom do you trust?  Face it.  There is so much information out there that you can never absorb it all.  If you could read it you still would not know what to believe.  There comes a time when you need to accept certain things as true that you have not researched personally.  No one can canvas enough people to know what numbers are right.

How do you decide whom to believe.  This is where common sense again comes in.  Consider your sources and ask yourself, “Who is most likely to be telling the truth and who is lying?”  You can never read minds but you can grasp philosophies.  When a liberal Democrat tells me something and a conservative Republican tells me the opposite, if I had no other source of information I would put my money on the Republican every time.  Why?  That seems a bit narrow minded.  Not really.  

The generic Democrat has a liberal philosophy and a liberal attitude about truth.  To the garden variety liberal, truth is what advances the cause.  That means it is perfectly acceptable to deceive in order to win.  The generic Republican comes from a philosophy that is based on Christian values.  Those values say it is wrong to lie.  Period.  Christians believe that liars go to hell.  It isn’t just a matter of the Ten Commandments telling us we are to never bear false witness.  It is a promise of how God responds to false witness.

(Rev 21:8 KJV) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

So I ask you, is it better to trust someone who believes that truth is relative and the end justifies the means or someone who believes they will spend an eternity in the fires of hell if they lie?  It seems that is a bit of a rhetorical question to me.  

I admit there are Republicans who reject Christian moral standards but they are part of a movement that tells them the truth is essential.  Although in theory I will accept the statement that there are some Democrats out there that are Christian, I find it hard to believe that someone can be a part of a political movement that approves killing unborn children in abortion, embrace homosexual marriage and refuse to acknowledge God in their conventions or platform, can really worship the God of the Bible.

It seems like common sense to me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-28: Where Is Lilly Tomlin When You Need Her?

According to the internet, it was Chico Marx in Duck Soup who came up with the line, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”  This has been improved to, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

It is a joke that has become reality.

I continue to marvel at how the foundations of this declaration are constantly being laid in my classroom.  I am sure I have said it before:  The hardest thing for me to accept and adjust to is the casual and consistent ease with which students lie to me on a regular basis.  If I were not a Christian and acknowledge the sinful nature I would be surprised.  I am still constantly disappointed.  A young man or woman with all the appearances of being a wonderful human being will be chewing gum.  It is clearly visible as a yellow, green or blue mass, sometimes hanging out their mouth.  I ask them to get rid of it.  They look at me with Oscar winning sincerity and say, “I don’t have any gum.”

It starts here.  It continues on through life.  At some time in our life we have all been taken in by a smooth sales technique.  We hear constant commercials that make claims that have been cleared by the legal department but are designed to deceive.  We have people running for political office that rival the sincerity of my gum chewing students. 

The battle continues.  Honesty, integrity, truth and all of the results of such standards are being flushed down the toilet of our culture.  I can’t change the entire culture.  You don’t have much more power.  What I can do is clean up my back yard and encourage others around me to do the same.  I can also remind people who call themselves Christians that the Ten Commandments tell us,

(Exodus 20:16 KJV)  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

If that doesn’t do it for you then let me remind you,

(Revelation 21:8 KJV)  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

We all agree that Hitler is burning in Hell.  We have others we condemn to that fate, but notice what is tagged on at the end of the list:  liars.

Church, take it seriously.  God does.  World, you will also be held accountable, not by me but by whatever you will acknowledge was the Prime Mover of the Big Bang.

As Lilly Tomlin would say, “And that’s the truth.”

homo unius libri