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"Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
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WHAT
DOES IT MEAN TO BE DECEIVED?
There is
an interesting passage found in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. It reads:
“The coming of the
lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false
signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those
who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so
be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so
that they may believe what is false, in order that all may
be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.”
I am very interested in
the phrase “God sends them a strong delusion, so that
they may believe what is false….” We have also seen in this
text that Satan is behind false teaching and is involved in
deception. We know that to be true, for the first time we are
introduced to Satan, we see him involved in the deception of Eve
in the days of the Garden of Eden.
I personally know of
several people I was close to that obtained a divorce. In each
instance they told me they knew they had no grounds to remarry
according to the Bible. Yet a few months, or perhaps in one case,
years later they found someone they wanted to marry. At that
point their “belief” changed. They then said they had a right to
marry Biblically.
So what changed? They
then had a desire for the Bible to take a position that they
wanted. So they ignored what the Bible stated clearly and manipulated
God’s word until it said what they wanted it to say. In essence,
they were deluded into believing a lie. God will allow them to
follow their desire rather than follow His instructions.
One of the biggest
concerns in today’s world is adding “culture” into Biblical
interpretation. We have seen congregations that are now adding
women elders, women leading public prayer, and having women to
preach from our pulpits. The argument seems to be that times are
different. We live in a different culture than they did in
Biblical times. But does that change scripture? God has women in
a different role than He does men. I have often said that they
are not in a lesser role, just a different one.
Women receive the same
reward that men receive. They, if faithful to what God taught,
will receive a home in heaven. The role of women is different,
but the reward is the same, therefore in God’s eyes, the roles
are equal. We see this in the business world every day. Positions
are deemed equal on the basis of payment.
If we must interpret the
Bible on the basis of culture, where does it stop. Are these
congregations now going to have homosexual men and or women in
roles of leadership? Are we going to accept gay marriage as
scriptural? That is our culture in the United States. Many
denominations have already made that step.
As in every aspect of our
lives, we follow our culture UNLESS it goes against what God
teaches. When it does, as Christians, we follow God’s word. Be
sure you are not allowing a strong delusion that is a lie to be
your compass. Satan knows how to tempt and trick us and he will
if he can.
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Feature Two: an article by R.
C. Oliver
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WHAT IS THE
KINGDOM?
R C Oliver,
1952
Webster
defines a “kingdom” as: “A state or monarchy the head of which is
a king.” I do not believe that it is necessary for us to try and
improve upon this definition, for I believe it to be in harmony
with what we can learn about the kingdom in the Bible.
Several
things are implied in the word kingdom which I think pertinent to
our study. They are: (1) The king, (2) The subjects, (3) The
constitution, (4) The laws and ordinances, (5) The ministers, and
(6) The territory.
In
the kingdom of heaven Christ is the king. Those who have been born
again, that is, those who have been led by the Spirit to be
baptized in water for the remission of their sins, are the
subjects of the kingdom. The holy and gracious purpose of God as
revealed in the New Testament is the constitution. The rules and
institutions of the inspired writers are its laws and ordinances,
The ministers of the gospel, both ordinary and extraordinary, are
its officers, and the whole earth is its territory.
The
kingdom is therefore that nation of people over which Christ
reigns as King. But over what nation does Christ reign as King?
Hear it! When Peter wrote his first epistle to the Christians that
were scattered through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, to those who had “purified their souls in obeying the
truth,” and who had been begotten again, “not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever”, he says to this people. “But ye are an elect race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own
possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” (1
Peter 2:9). Peter believed and taught that those in the church of
our Lord, that those who had been redeemed by his blood, were in
truth and in fact the holy nation or kingdom over which Christ
Jesus reigns as King and Priest. The church is the kingdom of God,
a conclusion with which every other text related to the kingdom
will agree.
Does
the Bible have anything to say about the origin of the kingdom? Is
the establishment of the kingdom so important as to cause God to
reveal His purposes along that line also? This question we must
answer in the affirmative.
About
six hundred years before Christ was born, the Babylonian empire
was the empire of the world. The people of Palestine had been
subdued by them an many of the Israelites had been made bondmen in
the land of Babylon, among whom we fin Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah. We know these last three as Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.
In
the first chapter of Daniel in the land of Babylon, the king of
Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a most wonderful dream, but the dream
troubled him. Not only did the dream trouble him but the fact that
the dream had left him troubled him even more. He had therefore
all the wise men of Babylon brought in before hi but none could
tell the dream, much less, interpret the dream. Finally, Daniel,
the man of God, was called in before the king.
Thou, O
king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the
form thereof was terrible. This image's
head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of
silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron,
his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that
a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver,
and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff
of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the
image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the
interpretation thereof before the king. (Daniel
2:31-36).
After
having told the dream to the king, the king knowing now that it
was the dream he had dreamed, was anxious to know what it meant.
Daniel next explains what the horrible image represented. He told
the king: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for
the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength,
and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into
thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. (Daniel
2:37-38). Now watch it! Thou art this head of gold.
We
are not guessing when we say that Babylon was represented by the
head of gold. Notice what is to follow: “And after thee shall
arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom
of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the
fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that
breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” Now
note what Daniel said. He has affirmed the establishment of four
world empires, one to succeed the other, and he names the
Babylonian as the first. The next was the Medo-Persian empire,
which was followed by the Macedonian, the last of the four world
empires being that of Rome. Now watch it. Watch what God said
would happen. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever.” There we have it. Sometime between the
time of Nebuchadnezzar and the fall of Rome, AD 467, that is,
sometime between 606 BC and 476 AD, God said he would set up his
kingdom upon the earth. WE conclude therefore that somewhere
between these two dates God established his kingdom upon earth,
and we shall continue our search for more evidence.
When
the Harbinger of Christ, John the Baptist, began his ministry he
preached the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:1-2). When
Christ began his personal ministry he said, “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and
believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). Observe, Jesus said the
time is “fulfilled”, He therefore recognized the prophecy
concerning the establishment of the kingdom to be a time prophecy,
and a time prophecy cannot be postponed! If the time for the
kingdom to come was fulfilled then, but for some reason it did not
come then, we are forced to conclude that God’s prophet, and that
God through his prophet, lied about it. But who can believe such?
We conclude, therefore, that the time to fulfill the prophecy
concerning the establishment of the kingdom had arrived during the
time of John, Jesus and the twelve, for the latter preached the
same message. But what time was this? It was in the days of the
Caesars, it was therefore in the days of the fourth world empire
represented in the terrible image that had so troubled the mind of
Nebuchadnezzar. Certainly, then, the time had been fulfilled and
we can well expect to find the kingdom being set up about that
time. We are now ready to hear Christ further on the matter. He
said, “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That
there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of
death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with
power.” (Note: He did not say some of “you” but some of
“them”. That is third person plural, which destroys the idea of
Peter, James and John being the ones under consideration.)
Therefore, either the kingdom is in the world now, or also we have
some mighty old men running around somewhere. But observe further.
He said the kingdom was to come with power. In Acts 1:8 it is
affirmed that the power was to come with the Holy Spirit. If we
can find when the Holy Spirit came, we can conclude safely that
the Kingdom came at the same time. When did the Holy Spirit come?
He descended on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of
Christ, a record of which we have in Acts 2. We may very safely
conclude that the kingdom of God was established in the year 33 on
the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem. It has been in the
world ever since. Only the spirit of error would have you believe
that the kingdom of God is a future event. The kingdom of God is
here—it is here now! Christ is its king, and every blood-bought,
born-again person is a citizen of that kingdom, The idea that
Christ is to return to this earth and set up his kingdom, and
reign on David’s throne in the land of Palestine for a thousand
years, is one of the biggest religious frauds that has ever
disgraced the sacred desk! For in addition to being a reflection
on God’s integrity, it gives hope to a people where there is no
hope! If someone raises an objection by saying, “isn’t Christ to
reign on David’s throne?” Indeed, He is, and He is reigning there
right now. But how do we know that Christ is reigning on David’s
throne now? Listen to the text: “Therefore being a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that
of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake
of the resurrection of Christ, … Therefore, being by the
right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the
promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear…Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both
Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:30-2:36) Jesus is the anointed
Savior. But the anointed under the law was the prophet, priest,
and king. Therefore, Jesus “hath” not shall be, but “hath” been
made our prophet, our priest, and our king. As a king He is
occupying the throne of David his father, which throne is now in
heaven.
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Feature
Three: Sandy's Women's Corner
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Editor's Note: You can read weekly
articles from Sandy at the following Web
site: abiblecommentary.com "Blog for Christian
Women"
SING, AND BE
HAPPY
Since moving
to a new city and a new congregation, one of the things I miss is
not knowing all the children. Before, I knew all the children’s
name, and I was able to interact with them even if they were not or
had not been in my class. In a new place, it takes time. Though we
are in a smaller congregation, I am still trying to learn the
little people’s names.
There
is a little girl with whom I became acquainted last summer during
Vacation Bible School. She visited in my room while I was setting things
up for my class. She is energetic, happy, and generally adorable.
She never meets a stranger, and she talks like a grown-up, though
she is only five.
A
few weeks ago, she and her mother were sitting behind us during the
worship service. I don’t remember the song we were singing, but I
could hear Emilee singing clearly. It was one of the teens’
devotional songs; and since her parents work with our teens, she
obviously had sung it with them in devotionals.
After
worship, Emilee was hiding behind the doors going out of the
auditorium. She jumped out, attempting to scare me. She had a big
smile on her face, and laughed when I responded to her prank. I
took the opportunity to tell her I had heard her singing. She
smiled even bigger when I told her she has a pretty voice. She
really does! She didn’t miss a note or a word. I asked her if she
liked to sing; and she replied, “Oh, yes. I love to sing, and that
is my favorite song”.
In
talking with her mother later, I discovered that Emilee really
focuses on singing. She loves to sing. She tries to learn the words
and the music, and thankfully her precious mother encourages her to
sing out.
It
occurred to me that parents rarely encourage children to sing the
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we are privileged to enjoy in
our worship services. I recently asked my fourth and fifth grade
Bible class what their favorite part of worship is. They all said
the singing. Unfortunately, many adults do not feel that way. Most
congregations have a “singing night”, either Sunday night or
Wednesday night; and many people stay home because they don’t like
to sing.
Do
you realize what a privilege it is to sing praises to God? Do you
realize that we are commanded to sing and make melody in our hearts
to the Lord? Do you realize that we are to teach and admonish one
another when we sing? I suspect we all need to take the singing
praises a lot more seriously.
Many
years ago, a little boy sat on the front row with his dad during
the worship service. When the song leader began the song, this
little boy sang loudly. In fact, he could be heard above everyone. His
father tried to quite him, but it never worked. My mother told his
father, “Leave that boy alone. He’ll be directing our singing one
of these days”. Sure enough, Steve has been directing singing for
many years. He stills sings loudly, and you can tell he loves doing
it.
Steve
and Emilee are great examples of praising God in the way we are
commanded to sing. On opposite ends of the age scale, they exhibit
the true meaning of sing and be happy.
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Feature Four:
Honor to Whom Honor
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There
is a godly man in Chattanooga that has a heart of gold. He, like
Christ, is very concerned about the poor and downtrodden. He served
many people in this position, taking them to the store, or taking
needed supplies to them. He was often found fixing items they had
that were broken. He brought them to worship and taught them the
gospel. Many of these were baptized into Christ. I have known Doug
McVey for many years and he has always had a desire to serve God. He
is truly a man worthy of our honor. Thank you, Doug, for all that you
have done and continue to do.
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Feature
Five: Bible Question
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When
Jesus comes again, will He set up His kingdom and reinstitute the
system of animal sacrifices?
This is an aspect of the premillennial theory, that
when Jesus comes again He will set up his kingdom, reign as king and
priest in Jerusalem, and return to the Old Law. Our question is
concerned with the belief that Jesus will reinstitute animal
sacrifice in His kingdom.
One premillennial author writes: “Most
premillennial scholars agree that the purpose of animal sacrifice
during the millennial kingdom is memorial in nature. As
the Lord’s Supper is a reminder of the death of Christ to the
Church today, animal sacrifices will be a reminder during the
millennial kingdom.”
First, notice the purpose of animal sacrifice in the
Old Testament.
Leviticus 4:26 “And he shall burn all his fat
upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and
the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his
sin, and it shall be forgiven him.”
While these sacrifices could not totally remove the
sin, they could move sin forward, looking to the time of the
sacrifice of Christ. We see this in the Hebrew writer’s
words in Hebrews 4:3-4. “But in those sacrifices there
is a remembrance again made of sins every
year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and of goats should take away sins.”
Now, notice the difference when we read of the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
In conclusion: Where does the Bible teach that Jesus,
or anyone at God’s instruction, shall, or will ever, reinstitute the
practice of animal sacrifice? The Bible in no place teaches this
concept. It is clearly a “man created idea”.
Jesus will never come back to earth to establish His
kingdom, for He is already reigning as our king and priest and “he
must reign till he hath put all enemies under his
feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians
15:25-26. As long as people are dying in this world, Jesus
is reigning in heaven.
Further, He could not be a priest on earth, for the
Hebrew writer states:
Hebrews 7:14 For it is evident that
our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing
concerning priesthood.
Hebrews 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should
not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts
according to the law:
Neither could Jesus be a king on earth. For in the days
of the divided kingdom there lived a king named Coniah, or Jeconiah.
Jeremiah 22:24 &
30 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of
Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet
would I pluck thee thence….Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this
man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his
days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne
of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
According to the Cyclopedia of Biblical,
Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Coniah is a
contracted form of Jeconiah. And while Jeremiah insists that Coniah
will not have a descendent on the throne of David; Matthew 1:11
tells us that Jesus is a descendent of Coniah, or Jeconiah.
Therefore Jesus cannot be a king on earth, nor
can he be a priest. But the Bible insists that He is our king
and high priest today as He sits on the throne by His Father.
1 Timothy
6:14-15 “That
thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable,
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his
times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only
Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;”
Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a
great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession.”
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I found this little story and if
you have ever watched flower girls and ring bearers at weddings, you
can just see this happening:
A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was
coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to
the crowd. While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like
claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all
the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears
from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked
what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the
Ring Bear."
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