The Name Jesus

By G. Campbell Morgan

Even today the naming of a newborn child is an event full of interest. The principles of choice are varied in these complex and somewhat superficial days. Children are given names because the names have been borne by their fathers before them. Sometimes names are still given to children as expressing a hope on the part of the parents, but as a rule they are simply given on the basis of preference.

The Hebrews meant far more by their names than we do. That will be discovered as the Old Testament history is read. They were often wrong in their naming of the children. The very first name, Cain, was a wrong name. Eve called her first-born Cain—Acquired. She was doomed to disappointment. She had hoped that the promised seed had already come. And the second name was also a mistake. She called her next boy Abel—Vanity. There was far more to satisfy the mother's heart in the coming years in Abel, even though he suffered death, than in Cain.

Sometimes the names were tragic names. Hosea, that prophet of the wounded spirit and the broken heart, as children were born into his home named them, and in their naming is seen the terrible conditions of the chosen people. He called the first Jezreel, judgment threatened! He called the second Lo-ruhammah, mercy not obtained! He called the third Lo-ammi, not My people!

When Mary's Child was born, Joseph named Him Jesus. And this was by special instruction conveyed to him by the angel. That angel was the messenger of heaven's thought, and of God's will. The Babe was registered Jesus in heaven. And that name, given by Joseph in obedience to the instruction of the angel who had received his command in heaven's own high court, was a name which expressed heaven's confidence in the Child now born. Earth's salvation will come as earth shares heaven's faith in Jesus; and the giving of the name at the first was expressive of this confidence of God in the newborn Child.

This story of the giving of the name is one of supreme interest. Do not be angry with me for bringing to you a text you have known from childhood, but let us come back to this name, which every child here who has begun to read at all, can spell, and try to understand some of the things signified by the giving of this name. A few moments first, then, with the name given; and, second, a consideration of the reason for giving this name to this Child.

I would have you, first of all, remember the humanness of this name. It was a very common Hebrew name. Doubtless many a boy living in Judea in the days when the Babe was born was called Jesus. And doubtless it had been for long years, for centuries, a popular name in Jewish families; for of course you remember that Jesus is but the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Joshua." There were many boys called Joshua, and in the Greek dialect obtaining at the moment, many boys doubtless bore this name of Jesus. There is nothing startling in the name. When the neighbors heard that Mary had called the newborn Boy Jesus, they did not stop to ask what she meant. Many another Jesus was running about in Nazareth and Judea, and all through the countryside it was one of the most common names, almost as common as John is today.

Thus God took hold of a name perfectly familiar, which set the newborn Child among the children of men, rather than separated Him from them. He took hold of a name that men were using everywhere, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus," the name that the boy next door has, the name that men have been calling their boys by for centuries. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus."

But how came it that this name was so familiar? What were the associations of the name in the Old Testament history? It was a name associated with two men pre-eminently—the one who first received it, a leader; and, then, another who made it conspicuous, a priest.

The first man who bore the name was the great soldier who succeeded to the leadership of the people after the passing of Moses, the man to whom there was committed the stern, hard, fierce fight that was necessary to establish the people in the land. This man was born in Egypt, in slavery, lived there about forty years, and then followed Moses as he led the people out of Egypt; then spent the next forty years in the wilderness, passing through all its experiences. Finally, he led the people with the sword and terrific conflict into possession of the land. That is the man who first received this name. So far as the Bible is concerned, and in all probability so far as Jewish history is concerned, the name had never been known before. It was made for him by Moses. His name was originally Hosea or Hoshea: but Moses changed it and called him Joshua.

Numbers 13:16 (ESV) 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

The next man who bore the name conspicuously was a priest in the days of restoration under Haggai and Zechariah.

Now this Child is born, and heaven, taking a name familiar in the homes of Judea, a name conspicuous in Hebrew history because of its connection with the soldier leader and the restoring priest, commands, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins."

Let us examine the matter more closely. We have seen that the name was common among Hebrew boys. We have seen that the name was thus popular because of the historic association. Now, what does the name mean?

In the story to which I have already made reference, in Numbers 13, it is told how men were sent to spy out the land: princes of the tribes. Among them was the prince of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, which name means salvation, or deliverance. In the course of that story in Numbers we are told, as I think parenthetically, that Moses changed his name from Hoshea to Joshua, and the reason for it will be found presently when the spies returned. You know the story well, how the majority report was against going up to Canaan; but the minority report —  and it is a very interesting thing to notice in human history how minority reports are almost always right — the minority report was, We can possess the land. Joshua was the spokesman, and what did he say? He declared that Jehovah was able to bring His people into possession in spite of all the difficulties. I think it was because of that word, and because of that fact and of that confidence that Moses with insight and foresight, seeing what this man meant to the nation, changed his name. It was a good name before: Hoshea: salvation. Yes, but this man was not depending on his own right arm. He had no dream in his heart that he could bring salvation to his people. He declared that it must be the work of Jehovah; and, consequently, Moses weaving the two names together, Jehovah and Hoshea, called him Joshua, for Joshua is the combination of the two words, Jehovah and Yawshah, which is Hoshea, and which as we have said means salvation. The name Joshua signifies Jehovah saves, or Jehovah will save, or Jehovah's salvation. Jehovah and salvation are thus woven into one name. It was high honor conferred on the new leader to bear such a name as that, and a wonderful revelation of the insight of the man who gave it to him. The original name, Hoshea, salvation, is a fine one, but this man knew that he could not lead the people in, even though his report be a true one; but he also knew that God could, and Moses said, Your name is changed, and into it is brought the name of the God Who can save. So the name was made. And Joshua led them in, but he never gave them rest.

The high priest of a later day, who had the name, came very near fulfilment of some of its significance as he bore the iniquity of the people, the filthy garments signifying this fact. Presently he was crowned. It was all prophetic and symbolic, but he failed, as the subsequent history of the people proves. The centuries have gone, and the high and noble thinking of the name has never been realized in actual life. There is a hush in the outer court of the inn, and a little Child has come into the world, and the world is quite careless, but heaven is not. Stars are shining, angels are singing, wise men are feeling the touch of the upper spaces, and are journeying toward the manger. Who is it? "Thou shalt call His name Joshua; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins."

God took hold of a common name of the boys playing about, and called His Son by that name. God took hold of the great historic name of the past, the name of the great leader and the name of the priest of the past, and gave it to His Son new born. Yes, but what is the deepest thing? Call Him Jehovah, Yawshah; Joshua, Jesus. Call Him by His own Father's name, Jehovah, and so indicate the truth about His nature. Call Him by the supreme passion of His Father's heart, salvation, and so indicate the meaning of His work in the world.

We pass it on from age to age in printed page, and from mouth to mouth in spoken word: Jesus! But in that name is wrapped up essential truth concerning Him. Jehovah, Yawshah. Call Him that. He is my Son. He is My Servant Who shares My nature. He comes to do My work. Now I understand Him when in the coming years I hear Him say, "I and My Father are One." Call Him Jesus, and I understand Him when I hear Him say, upon another occasion, "My Father worketh even until now, and I work." Call Him salvation, and link your two names together into the infinite music; whether it be Hebrew, Greek, or Anglo-Saxon, matters nothing. You cannot rob it of its music. Carry it into all languages and dialects, and in sweet tones it breaks upon the listening ear of humanity.

Jesus, the name high over all,
In hell, or earth, or sky,
Angels and men before it fall
And devils fear and fly.
That is the tone of His triumphant march to victory. But there is another tone.
Jesus, name of sweetness,
Jesus, sound of love;
Cheering exiles onward
To their home above.
Jesus, oh, the magic
Of the soft love sound,
How it thrills and trembles
To creation's bound.

This name has appealed to every generation, and to all classes of men because it is a great name. It is the name of the boy who plays in the street. It touches you. It is Jehovah, Yawshah. Call Him that, said the Father to the angel, and the Boy's name was registered in heaven, God's name linked with the great word that declares His mission in the world.

Second, the reason for giving this name. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins." You notice that slight variation in translation, certainly a great gain. The real thought is that of a contrast. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for it is He that shall save His people." I repeat, the form of the sentence really suggests a contrast. A contrast with what? With all the aspiration of the past, which had never become achievement. With all the strong and strenuous attempt that had ended in defeat.

Take the man who first bore the great name. Joshua is one of the greatest men upon the pages of the Old Testament in many ways. And yet in all full realization, he failed; and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us, "For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day." So the great leader of the past failed. He led them in, he led them with great sternness and severity, and magnificent triumph against Jericho, and Ai, and on, but he certainly never gave them rest. And all the history of the coming years was the history of perpetual restlessness. Joshua never led them into rest. Well, call His name Joshua, for it is He that shall save His people from their sins.

And Joshua, the high priest in the days of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, not much is said of him, but there he appears, the representative of religion, urging the people under Zerubbabel to their building, helping the office of the prophet with his priestly intercession. There he is seen in symbolic language, clothed with the filthy garments, representing defiled Israel. But he could not take away sin, and the filthy garments remained upon Israel, and Israel failed to fulfil the great function for which she had been created a nation, that of speaking the message of God; and Joshua the priest failed, as did Joshua the leader.

Very well, then, call His name Joshua, for He shall save His people from their sins. And so, brethren, that emphasis of contrast leads us to see that this name indicated, or the declaration associated with the name indicated, not merely a mission, but a method. The angel did not say to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name Joshua," for He shall lead the people in. He did not say to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name Joshua," for He shall bear away the filthy garments, and enable the people to bear their testimony. He might have said these things, but what He said was deeper. "He shall save His people from their sins." My brethren, this is a revelation of the assured success. Joshua failed to lead the people into rest, why? Because of the people's sin, with which he could not deal. Joshua the priest failed to realize in Israel God's purpose, that which should be his message to the nations, why? Because of his people's sin, which he could not carry. So that instead of dealing merely with the surface of things, or speaking of issues, the angel's message goes down to the depths and says, "Thou shalt call His name Joshua," for He will lead His people into rest, and to the fulfilment of their vocation by saving them from the sins which prevent rest, and which give the adversary power.

Call this newborn Child Jesus, "for He shall save His people" from these things and from the consequent ruin. If His people are saved from sins, they will find rest; if His people are saved from sins, they will fulfil their vocation, and be and do all that God means they shall be and do.

Makes me think of my favorite passage,     Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins." I pray you remember that the phrase, "His people," is significant at this point. It marks limits, and indicates limitlessness. What are the limits it marks? His people. No, brethren, I will begin with the other word. How does it indicate limitlessness? It does not say, He shall save the people of His own nation. It does not say, as has often been pointed out, He shall save God's people, but His own people. "His people." He is coming to make a position, to create a people to be a Kingdom, and to set up the Kingdom; and the people who are His He will save from their sins. There is your limit, but there is your limitlessness. How may a man become one of His people? Simply by believing on Him and crowning Him. It is a statement that overlaps the boundary line of Judaism. It is a statement that includes the wise men who come from afar to Him, as well as shepherds singing on Bethlehem's plains. This is the story of the first naming of the Child.

But as you take the story you will find this Child grows up, and He stands amongst multitudes of men, and He comes out of the border line of Judea, and touches Tyre and Sidon, and Phoenicia. He goes to Samaritans finally, and at the last commissions His disciples to go everywhere. Standing amongst men, He says, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." It is a universal invitation that He utters. Will you come? Are you coming? I am addressing in imagination the whole nation, and from here and there they come, they crowd. Who are those that come? His people. What will He do? Save them from their sins. Unless you make yourself His by birth, He cannot save you from your sins. Unless you yield to Him, you cannot be His. It is the call of Christ which constitutes human opportunity. That opportunity taken, and men yielding to it, what then? Then they become His, and He saves such from their sins. So that He brings men into rest, who come to Him, and that Joshua could never do. So that He enables a man to fulfil the Divine vocation who comes to Him, and that the high priest, Joshua, could not do. But our Jesus does it by saving us from our sins.

Brothers, when this name was given to Joseph by the angel it was, so far as man was concerned, a prophecy. So far as God was concerned it was an affirmation of faith, of absolute assurance and certainty. Thou, Joseph, shalt call His name Jehovah—Salvation, for He shall save His people from their sins. So spake heaven; and as men heard it, it was a prophecy, it was an indication, it was a hope. There is a sense in which it is true that He did not receive that name finally until He went back into heaven, and Paul tells us all the gracious story when he writes, "Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the Cross. Wherefore, also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name." What name? "That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow."

The angel uttered it, heaven's confidence, a prophecy of hope to men; and the Babe bore it, and carried it through the simplicity of childhood, one Boy among the many who bore it in those Judean villages; and the Boy passed out into youth, and bore the same name, Joshua, Jesus, in purity, and in resistance to all evil. And He bore it on through the years of public ministry, and He bore it on the Cross, and never so universally as there. Who is this upon the Cross? The Babe Whose name is Jesus. But Who is He? Joshua, Jehovah, Salvation.

Can He do it? Can He take sins away, and bring rest? Can He take sins away, and enable me to fulfil my vocation? I do not know. He is dead. They have buried Him. I do not know. I am one of the disciples, I am afraid. I do not know. I hoped, but I am not sure. What is this the women say? He is risen? He has appeared first to them, and then to the eleven, and then to Peter all alone, and then to others, and to five hundred at once. He gathered them about Him on Olivet, the risen One, and He went up, bearing with Him the same sweet human name that boys bore at their play in Judea, bearing up the name the leader of the past bore, who failed to bring into rest, bore it up triumphant into heaven itself; and He received it there anew, no longer a prophecy for men, but an evangel!

And there at the center of God's universe at this moment of human time is the Man Who bore the name, glorified, our Joshua, Hallelujah! He is able to lead us into rest. He is our High Priest, clothed no longer with the filthy garments, for He bore them away on the Cross; but with the miter on His head, and many diadems upon His brow, Jesus, the enthroned One. May God help us to hear the evangel of the name, and to know assuredly that what the name prophesied He has perfectly accomplished.

Walking in Good Works

By Justin Holcomb 9/01/2014

     Ephesians 2 is filled with the good news of grace for both our justification and sanctification. The chapter begins by describing our natural condition — trapped in sin and by sin, rebelling against God to pursue our own ends on the one hand and suffering as the victims of those ends on the other — and then moves to how God loved us and rescued us by His grace, His sheer goodwill.

     The first half of the chapter focuses on what happened in the past — how God took pity on us and rescued His people, delivering us from our sin and His wrath. But the story doesn’t end there. As Peter O’Brien notes, salvation has already been described by Paul as relief from something negative: “a resurrection from the dead, a liberation from slavery, and a rescue from condemnation.” The chapter continues to verse 10, which centers on how God’s deliverance means we are created anew for lives of righteousness.

     The theme of Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear: grace. This theme was already mentioned in 1:4, when Paul mentioned how God set His mind on delivering us before the foundations of the world, but what was then more of an undercurrent now becomes the main point. We are saved by His grace, not by anything we have done.

     When you start to think that you’re absolved of all your sins not by virtue of your brainpower or your goodness or your good works, but by something entirely outside yourself, the unearned goodwill, benevolence, and favor of a God who decided to take an interest in your case and to invest heavily on your behalf at His expense — that’s humbling. At the same time, it should give you confidence that the God who saves you even when you are least worthy of being saved is capable of love on a scale that you can’t imagine. To bring up our efforts as a means of gaining God’s favor distorts our understanding of the God we worship.

     But if our efforts don’t gain God’s favor, what are they for, and how (since we’re still very much prone to sin) do we go about living? Paul now moves in 2:10 to focus on “good works.” It is tempting at first glance to think that verses 8 and 9 are about grace and verse 10 is about works, as though grace sets up an account with God, and works put the money in the bank. But this would be to miss something very important that we easily neglect: God is the source of our entire salvation, from start to finish. Or, as one commentator puts it, “It is grace all the way.” So what does that mean, exactly?

     Now that we’ve discussed how good works don’t lead to salvation, the most perplexing verse might be the one that says that God prepared good works for us beforehand. Notice how God-centered Ephesians 2:10 is. It may be about our doing works, but it is still very centered on God. In the Greek, the first word in the sentence is “his,” which is an unusual placement and puts the emphasis squarely on God. We are “his workmanship.” We “are created [by God] in Christ Jesus” for good works. These good works were those “which God prepared beforehand.” Clearly, works are important to Paul, but his emphasis here is on God’s bringing them about within us.

     We must always hold verse 10 together with verses 8-9. The Bible paints a holistic picture of the believer as one whose life is continually lived in grace that bears fruit, fruit that is used by God to bless others.

     What does that look like? If our works are “prepared beforehand,” what do we do? Paul says we “walk in them,” the same phrase he used to describe our life in sin. Good works become as much a part of our lives as our own pursuits were before. In other words, at the most basic level, we show up. We abide in the vine of Jesus (John 15:4). We walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25), obeying what God asks of our energy, money, and commitment even when it seems absurd or unfair; giving to the poor; surrendering our independence and pride; and forgiving the wrongs done to us. Make no mistake — what seems to be our part is hard and demanding. But the crucial thing to remember in the hard times is that it is not actually our part, but God’s kindness, that will end up allowing us to walk at all, transforming our desires, motivations, and behaviors.

     “Walking in good works” means we do our best not to mess it up. Yet we will mess it up, and when we do, grace picks us up again. It’s like the old Rich Mullins lyric: “If I stand, let me stand on the promise that you will see me through, and if I can’t, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you.”

     Above all else, and before any discussion of what we should do, we must understand deeply in our bones who we are: the workmanship of God. You are His project, and He has only just begun His good work in you (Phil. 1:6-7).

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The Pillar of the Truth

By Steve Timmis 9/01/2014

     At first reading, 1 Timothy 3:15 seems somewhat disconcerting. In it, Paul is explaining to Timothy why he is writing to him. It concerns the church: “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

     Did you catch what he wrote? “The church … a pillar and buttress of the truth.” As sound evangelicals, we know that Paul has to have that backwards, don’t we? Surely, the gospel is that which gives solidity and shape to the church? Isn’t the church built on the gospel and the product of the gospel?

     Yes, undoubtedly yes. But that’s not the point Paul is making in this context. He wants Timothy to get the church in Ephesus back on gospel tracks because she has departed from the gospel. The Pastoral Epistles are not simply manuals for church order. They are an urgent call to arms. Timothy needs to go to war because the gospel is at stake in this city and region.

     But critical to this strategy is the church herself. The church, formed by the gospel, is for the gospel, and by her life and witness, she commends the gospel and is the primary apologetic for the gospel before the world. John Stott, in his commentary on 1 Timothy and Titus, put it well when he wrote, “The church depends on the truth for its existence; the truth depends on the church for its defence and proclamation.”

     In essence, Paul’s letter to Timothy shows us just how important the gospel is for the church, but equally how important the church is for the gospel. Which, given the comment by Jesus in Matthew 5, isn’t at all disconcerting. Just as Israel under the old covenant commended Yahweh to the surrounding nations by her covenant life, so the church of the new covenant commends Christ by her covenant life.

     So here are the two takeaways:

ENSURE THAT THE GOSPEL IS AT THE HEART OF YOUR CHURCH

     Nothing else gives shape or stability to the church. Nothing else will sustain or nurture her. Nothing else gives her life or purpose. The church is all about Christ, and she is created by the gospel for Christ. Out of a deep love for Him, her ambition and passion will be His honor, reputation, and glory. The gospel isn’t merely the way into the church; it is the means by which we remain the church and thrive as the church.  Without the gospel of Christ, there is no church.

ENSURE THAT THE CHURCH IS AT THE HEART OF YOUR GOSPEL

     Unless we are convinced biblically and theologically about the centrality of the church in God’s purposes, we won’t be committed to living out that identity together for the fame and glory of Jesus. But consider how the church puts the gospel on display by means of three cardinal gospel truths:

JUSTIFICATION

     The church is the community of the justified. Unlike those who do not know Christ, we don’t need to justify ourselves by our relational performance. We relate to one another as brothers and sisters without fear or favor because Christ is our justification. Those relationships display that to a watching world.

FORGIVENESS

     As the forgiven, we become the forgivers. People understand the doctrine more when they see it displayed in real time, up close and personal, in messy, disordered lives.

RECONCILIATION

      It is in being reconciled to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit that we become a reconciled community.  It is precisely because we are no longer strangers to God that we are no longer strangers to one another. When people witness our reconciliation, they see a tangible expression of what God has done for sinners in Christ.

SHOWING THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL

     When the church puts the gospel on display in this way, we draw people’s attention to the gospel. Like a diamond lying in the corner of a room, we glimpse it out of the corner of our eye even when we’re not looking for it. It catches our attention. So it is with the people of God. As we live out our shared life together in the public square and marketplace, at street level, others glimpse the glory of God even when they are not looking for it. That glimmer excites inquiry, and they begin to look for the reason for our hope.

     In Jesus, truth was embodied. He did not merely speak the truth; He was the truth. He did not come to simply tell the world about God; He came as God. So it is with His people. We speak the truth of the gospel with our lips. We show the glory of the gospel by the manner in which we live life-on-life together on mission as His church.

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The Coming of the Kingdom part 42

By Dr. Andrew Woods 01/03/2016

In this series, the biblical teaching on the kingdom has been surveyed to demonstrate that Scripture conveys that the kingdom is a future reality. We then began noting why this trend of equating God's present work in the church with the Messianic kingdom radically alters God's design for the church.

Larkin's Warnings

In prior installments we began calling attention to the warnings from a commentator from the past, Clarence Larkin, who noted at least five consequences that "kingdom now" theology has upon Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church. The first four of these five warnings have been discussed in prior installments. First, "kingdom now" theology causes the church to drift into a Social Gospel agenda favoring holistic redemption of societal structures in lieu of fulfilling the Great Commission. Second, viewing itself as the kingdom of God upon the earth causes the church to become at home in the world in contradistinction to the New Testament portrayal of the church as a mere pilgrim passing through both temporary and alien territory en-route to her ultimate eternal destination. Third, because there are not presently and numerically enough Christians necessary to establish God's kingdom upon the earth, it becomes necessary for the church to find common ground with those who do not share its biblical convictions in order to build the political coalition needed to implement a "kingdom now" social agenda. Fourth, Larkin observed that the discarding of the study of Bible prophecy naturally takes place when "kingdom now" theology gains a foothold in the church. Let's now move on and examine Larkin's fifth concern.

Building The Wrong Kingdom

Fifth, Larkin notes that those involved today in kingdom building are actually not building God's kingdom at all, but rather the kingdom of the Antichrist. Larkin explained, "When the Church enters into an 'Alliance with the World,'...the end of such an 'Alliance' will be a 'Religious Political Regime' that will pave the way for the revelation of Satan's great 'Religious Political Leader' and 'Superman' — the ANTICHRIST." [1] Early in this series we noted that, according to the divine visions given to Daniel, only after the final kingdom of man (the revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist) has been terminated by Christ, will the Davidic kingdom be established on earth ( Dan. 2:34-35, 43-45; 7:23-27 ). [2] Thus, the next kingdom on the horizon is not the kingdom of God but rather the Antichrist's kingdom. Only after the Antichrist's evil kingdom is personally overthrown by Christ will the Messianic kingdom become an earthly reality. This basic divinely revealed chronology logically teaches that those involved in kingdom building in the present Church Age are not contributing to God's kingdom since God's kingdom can only come after the Antichrist's kingdom has been abolished by God. Rather, they are helping build the next kingdom on the prophetic horizon, which is the Antichrist's kingdom! Dave Hunt articulates this very point:

There are many factors that make up the growing apostasy and seduction of the church. One of the most alarming, least understood, and fastest spreading errors is the teaching that earth instead of heaven is the ultimate home for the church, and that her goal is to take over the world and establish the kingdom of God. Only then, it is said, can Christ return — not, however, to take us to His Father's house as He promised His disciples in  John 14, but to reign over the Kingdom which we have established for Him... if the real Jesus Christ is going to catch His bride up from earth to meet Him in the air ( 1 Thess. 4:17 ), then those who work to build a kingdom for a "Christ" whom they will meet with their feet planted on earth have been under heavy delusion indeed! They have been working for the Antichrist! [3]

Ideas have consequences. "Kingdom now" theology has a negative impact upon one's view of Ecclesiology or the doctrine of the church. Viewing the church as the kingdom shifts the focus of the church beyond God's intended design. As well noted by Clarence Larkin nearly a century ago, if "kingdom now" theology should get the upper hand in the church, it will confuse God's original purpose for the church in at least five fundamental ways. The church will lose its purpose and thus forfeit its power. The church will no longer see itself as a mere pilgrim passing through Satan's domain. Rather, it will begin to view itself as being at home in the world. Moreover, the church will forge alliances with groups that do not share its core biblical convictions so as to foster the political alliance necessary in order to usher in a "kingdom now" agenda. The church will also cease emphasizing Bible prophecy. Finally, the church will involve itself in building Satan's kingdom rather than God's kingdom.

Signs And Wonders

Beyond these concerns, there exists yet another area of monumental change in the life of the church that will be ushered in when the church embraces "kingdom now" theology. This area relates to the modern - day signs and wonders movement. There exists today within the body of Christ an intramural debate concerning the perpetuity of spiritual gifts. Cessationists maintain that the revelatory gifts (prophecy, knowledge, tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc...) and confirmatory gifts (miracles, healings, etc...) ceased with the closing of the New Testament canon at the conclusion of the first century while the edificatory gifts (teaching, mercy, giving, leadership, etc...) remain. Christians of the Charismatic and Pentecostal variety, on the other hand, remain firm in their conviction that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are fully functional and operational within the body of Christ today. While I remain in the Cessationist camp, I continue to have a friendship with and appreciation for many of my brothers and sisters on the other side of this theological divide. My real point of contention here is against a type of hyper-Pentecostalism, which contends that signs and wonders are an absolute necessity in order to win someone to Christ. This approach is sometimes referred to as "power of evangelism." Such hyper-Pentecostalism places such an emphasis on the confirmatory and revelatory gifts as well as the necessity of accompanying signs and wonders that it transitions from being an issue to the central issue, thereby causing all other ecclesiastical issues to pale by way of comparison.

Although not all Pentecostals are "kingdom now" theologians, it is important to understand that the above described hyper-Pentecostalism is ultimately rooted in "kingdom now" theology. The reason for this nexus between the kingdom and signs and wonders is a simple one. The prophesied kingdom will be a time of unprecedented miracles, signs, and wonders. For example, of the future kingdom,  Isaiah 35:5-6 predicts,  "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy." If the kingdom, a predicted time of unprecedented miracles, is now a present reality, then the present age should also be a time of unprecedented miracles. In fact, these miracles should be paramount as well as the centerpiece of all modern ministry activity. Such hyper-Pentecostalism can be found in the mentality and activities of the Vineyard movement. While not painting with too broad a brush since not all Vineyard leaders or members represent what could be classified as hyper-Pentecostalism, it is fair to say that a strong dose of hyper-Pentecostalism resides today within the Vineyard movement.

Interestingly, the late John Wimber, the movement's founder, was heavily influenced by "kingdom now" theology. According to Wimber's own concession, he derived much of his views of the kingdom from the writings of George Eldon Ladd. Ladd taught a view called "Historic Premillennialism." Among other things, the view stands for the proposition that the kingdom is "already but not yet." While contending that some form of the earthly kingdom will ultimately come in the future millennial reign of Christ, the kingdom had also already been inaugurated in spiritual form in the present age. Ladd maintained that Jesus was currently seated and reigning on David's Throne in heaven orchestrating this present spiritual form of the kingdom. Although as mentioned earlier not all Charismatics and Pentecostals accept "kingdom now" theology, Wimber was a strong proponent of it. He was explicit in linking his belief in modern-day signs and wonders to a present manifestation of the kingdom. Note the following statement by Wimber in his book Power Evangelism.

I was already acquainted with George Eldon Ladd's writings (he was a Fuller Theological Seminary professor), but it was not until I read his book Jesus and the Kingdom that I realized his work on the kingdom formed a theological basis for power evangelism. As I read Dr. Ladd's books, and read afresh the gospel accounts, I became convinced that power evangelism was for today. [4]

The Vineyard embraces the present manifestation of the kingdom as part of its overarching ministry philosophy:

Commitment to the theology and practice of the kingdom of God is the most fundamental core value in the Vineyard. When the Vineyard talks about the kingdom, we are talking about the kingdom of God as a dynamic reality that is the future reign of God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus. We have been commissioned to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, bearing witness to the already and the not yet of the kingdom in words and deeds. This understanding of the kingdom of God is the central motif that gives both structure and definition to all of our theology. We view the kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the Bible. [5]

The more open someone becomes to "kingdom now" theology, the more he will naturally move in the direction of hyper-Charismatic and Pentecostal theology.

ENDNOTES

By John Walvoord (1990)

John's Vision Of Heaven | Prophecy of the Church in Heaven

     Revelation 4:1–11. This chapter, following the revelation of the message to the seven churches, is introduced by the important phrase after this. Most of the struggles of scholars attempting to interpret the book of  Revelation stem from a failure to understand that the book of  Revelation is a book of prophecy and that prophecy has a chronological order. This becomes the key to unlocking the book of  Revelation. As pointed out before ( Rev 1:9–20 ), John was instructed, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later” (v.  19 ).

     Simplistic as this statement is, it provides an inspired outline of the book of  Revelation, referring first to what was — that is, the experience of John seeing Jesus in His glory in chapter  1; “what is now,” the messages to the seven churches, which refer to the present age as the seven churches represent churches in this present age; and then “what will take place later,” referring to that which is future. Confusion in the interpretation of  Revelation stems almost entirely from the failure to observe this divine outline. The opening of chapter  4 with the phrase after this, referring to the churches, should make clear that from chapter  4 on, the book of  Revelation is dealing with future events.

     Apart from these indications in the text of the chronological outline, a number of important arguments support this concept so essential to understanding this book. One of the important and convincing arguments that the book of  Revelation chapter  4 and following relates to the future is that the events described, either in symbolic or other ways, find no literal fulfillment in the history of the church. The historical school of interpretation, which regards the book of  Revelation as being fulfilled in history, has been unable to provide any consensus on its interpretation and offers only confusion.

     If the events described have any literal fulfillment, they, accordingly, must be ful-filled at some future time. This is in harmony with the concept that the book is prophecy rather than history or simply descriptive of the moral conflict that exists in the world. This also explains why, apart from the futuristic view, which views  Revelation as prophecy beginning at chapter  4, there has been no coherent, or majority interpretation, and each of the major views — allegorical, preterist, and historical — when applied to this book yield entirely different answers according to the person doing the study. Only the futurist view provides any reasonable coherence between what the book states and what the fulfillment of its prophecy would indicate. Though there are some instances where interpretation is not entirely clear, other events stand out as being specific future events and provide enough guidance so that the book of  Revelation becomes a majestic unfolding of the future with the revelation of Christ at the second coming as its main theme.

     One of the important conclusions in prophecy is the concept that the church composed of the saved of the present age will be in heaven while the great events of the tribulation and of the end time take place. This is exactly what is described in  Revelation 4–5. The church in heaven is in contrast to the great time of trouble that will take place on the earth prior to the second coming of Christ. Accordingly, though the specific prophecies of  4–5 are not the main burden of these two chapters, what is being described is a vision of heaven when the saints and angels and the sovereign God on His throne form an intelligent background for other events that will take place both in heaven and on earth.

     John stated at the opening of  Revelation 4:  “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (v.  1 ).

     Actually, John was on the Isle of Patmos where he had been exiled, and the revelation was given to him at this location. In this instance, however, he stated,  “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” (v.  2 ). It may be debated whether John was physically caught up to heaven or whether simply in his vision he is caught up in heaven. In either case, he saw the scene as he would if he had been present. The voice that provided the invitation, according to John, was the same voice he had heard in  1:10 where he was instructed to write the message to the seven churches (v.  11 ).

     Because John’s experience is similar to what will happen at the rapture when the church is caught up to heaven, some have equated the two events, but actually, John was not raptured, and his natural body was probably still on the Isle of Patmos. Accordingly, it is better to regard this as a special situation. It may be going on beyond the intent of this passage to hint that the rapture is going to take place in the period following the church age, but from the context in which the event is placed in the book of  Revelation, it is reasonable to conclude that the rapture has taken place and that what John is seeing is a setting for events in heaven that will take place in heaven and on earth in the period after the rapture.

     The word church, prominent in chapters  2–3, does not reoccur until  22:16, though the bride mentioned in  19:7, no doubt, is a reference to the church. The total absence of any reference to the church or any synonym of the church in chapters  4–18 is highly significant because ordinarily the church would be in the center of the activities. Rather, Jews and Gentiles are spoken of separately as individuals who are saved or unsaved.

     John’s first experience upon arrival in heaven was to behold  “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” ( 4:2 ). He described the personage on the throne in these words:  “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne” (v.  3 ). The personage on the throne is said to resemble in His glory the jasper and the carnelian stones. The jasper, described in  21:11, is a clear stone in contrast to the jasper stone known on earth as an opaque stone. Accordingly, some have concluded that it may be a diamond in appearance. The carnelian stone is red in color like a ruby.

     Though the colors of the stone, enhanced by the rainbow, resembling an emerald, which is green in color, provide the glorious appearance, the significance of these stones may be derived from their use in Israel. On the breastplate of the priest there were twelve stones, each representing a tribe of Israel. The high priest represented all twelve tribes before God when he performed his priestly functions. The jasper and the carnelian stones were the first and last of the twelve stones (cf.  Ex. 28:17–21 ). Further, the jasper represented the tribe of Reuben, the first tribe, and the carnelian stone represented Benjamin, the youngest tribe. Mention of these two stones, accordingly, was intended to include all the twelve tribes of Israel.

     Further, the names of Reuben and Benjamin have significance because Reuben has the meaning of “behold the son,” and Benjamin means “son of my right hand.” Christ, of course, fulfills both of these functions, and He is the first-begotten Son. Like Benjamin, He is “the Son of My right hand,” also speaking of Christ in His relationship to God the Father. Taking all these things into consideration, it would seem best to interpret this passage as a description of God the Father sitting on a throne. This is also supported by the fact that Christ is pictured in a different way in this passage as separate from the One on the throne, though actually He occupies the throne with the Father also. The main purpose of this vision, however, was to show the glory of God.

     As John surveyed the scene in heaven, he also saw twenty-four other thrones and recorded,  “Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads” ( Rev. 4:4 ). They are obviously a representative group. In Israel, for instance, the many priests were divided into twenty-four groups, and one priest would represent each of the twenty-four.

     The question has been raised, however, as to whether these twenty-four elders represent all the saints, both Old and New Testament, or only the church of the present age, or perhaps they are angelic figures. These and other interpretations have been advanced by scholars.

     They were described as having white robes, speaking of righteousness in the presence of God, and wearing crowns of gold, which were not the crown of a ruler (Gr., diadem), but rather the crown of a victor (Gr., stephanos), crowns awarded victors in the race. The implication is that these have already been rewarded as symbolized in the throne.

     In reconstructing the events of the end time, if the church is raptured before the end-time events and is judged at the judgment seat of Christ, it would provide a plausible explanation that these twenty-four elders are representatives of the church. Additional revelation on this subject will be discussed in chapter  15.

     John was then made aware of ominous sounds indicating divine judgment:  “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder” ( 4:5 ). The setting in heaven foreshadows the judgments to come on the earth. A similar experience of thunders, lightnings, and trumpets was experienced in the giving of the Mosaic law in  Exodus 19:16. The scene in heaven that he saw was, of course, the forerunner of the terrible judgments to be inflicted on the earth in the period that followed.

     John also recorded,  “Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God” ( Rev. 4:5 ). Mention of these seven spirits is found earlier in  1:4 and  3:1. Though no explanation is given, it is probably best to consider this a representation of the Holy Spirit in a sevenfold way rather than consider them relating to seven angels, which would be an alternate explanation.

     The Holy Spirit, not ordinarily visible, on certain occasions has assumed physical form as here, and in the case of the Holy Spirit descending as a dove on Christ at His baptism ( Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32 ). On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was seen as  “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” ( Acts 2:3 ). In this scene from heaven not only God the Father was revealed on the throne and Christ in the next chapter as  “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” ( Rev. 5:5 ) but the Holy Spirit as well, all three persons of the Trinity being present. The term of  “seven” in relation to the lamps and the spirits of God is in keeping with the concept that the number seven indicates perfection, and is in keeping also with the seven qualities or attributes of the Holy Spirit revealed in  Isaiah 11:2–3.

     John recorded,  “Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal” ( Rev. 4:6 ). Though the expression is not interpreted here, there seems to be a relationship to the laver or a bronze basin filled with water in the tabernacle in the Old Testament and the  “Sea” in the temple ( 1 Kings 7:23–25 ), both of them being washstands designed to provide the priest with water for cleansing. Together they represent the sanctifying power of the Word of God symbolized by the water.

     John also recorded,  “In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings” ( Rev. 4:6–8 ). There is considerable diversity among interpreters concerning what the four living creatures represent. Probably the best interpretation is that they are physical embodiments of the attributes of God, as the seven lamps represent the Holy Spirit (v.  5 ). They are compared to a lion, ox, man, and flying eagle. Some relate this to the four Gospels:  Matthew represented the lion or the king;  Mark, the ox or servant;  Luke, man in his humanity; and  John, the flying eagle representing the deity of Christ. Still others compare them to angels and find support in the fact they had six wings. Their ministry was to worship God, and John recorded,  “Day and night they never stopped saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come’” (v.  8 ).

     Their worship of God also is a call to the twenty-four elders to worship.  “Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever” (vv.  9–10 ). The twenty-four elders also give their praise to the Lord,  “They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’” (vv.  10–11 ).

     Though the entire content of chapter  4 is what John saw in heaven, it also is a revelation of the glory and honor given to God in the future and therefore has a prophetic base. Most important, it emphasizes what events will occur in heaven while end - time events take place on earth.

Prophecy that Christ Will Be Worthy to Take the Seven-Sealed Scroll

     Revelation 5:1–10. Attention now is focused on the fact that Jesus Christ is in heaven. This is in contrast to His later second coming when He will be on the earth for one thousand years. John saw a scroll, parchment rolled up on a roller, written on both sides and sealed with seven seals in such a way that as the scroll unrolled, each seal must be successively broken. John recorded this:  “Then I saw the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals” (v.  1 ).

     A mighty angel raised the question,  “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (v.  2 ). A strong angel is mentioned in  10:1 and  18:21. The loud voice would indicate that what is being said is of great importance and should demand the attention of everyone. John added,  “But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside” ( 5:3–4 ).

     One of the others comforted John, who was weeping, and told him,  “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (v.  5 ). The reference to Christ as the Lion is based on  Genesis 49:9–10. The tribe of Judah, the lion tribe, was the one from which Christ would come. The concept of Christ as the Root of David ( Rev. 5:5 ), or a descendant of David, was also prophesied in  Isaiah 11:10. The characterization of Christ as a Lion calls attention to Christ as the sovereign judge of the world, especially at His second coming, and is in contrast to His portrayal of a Lamb, speaking of meekness. This is the only reference to Christ as a Lion in the book of  Revelation, in contrast to many references to Him as the Lamb.

     John recorded what happened next;  “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne” ( Rev. 5:6–7 ). The purpose of addressing Christ as the Lamb is to identify Christ as the Lamb who was sacrificed at His first coming, but also the same person as the glorified Christ of the book of  Revelation. Christ is both Lamb and Lion. Because the attributes of God are displayed by Christ, the four living creatures are also prominent in the picture.

     The reference to horns seems to indicate authority ( Dan. 7:24; Rev. 13:1 ). The seven eyes are identified as the seven spirits of God, most probably another reference to the Holy Spirit, as in  5:6 (cf.  Zech. 3:9; 4:10 ). The Lamb took the scroll:  “He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne” ( Rev. 5:7 ).

     The same twenty-four elders who fell down before the One on the throne now fall down and worship the Lamb, indicating His deity and lordship.  “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (v.  8 ).

     In recognizing the deity of the Lamb, the twenty-four elders sang a new song:  “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (vv.  9–10 ).

     The translation of verses  9–10 in the NIV is somewhat different from that which was used for the King James Version. In the KJV the song states,  “for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (vv.  9–10 ). The difference is that in the KJV the song indicates that the  “four and twenty elders” (v.  8 ) are those that are redeemed, which would harmonize with the concept that they are representing the church. In the NIV a different manuscript changes this from first person to the third person. Instead of purchasing the twenty-four elders, it states,  “You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (vv.  9–10 ).

     The rendering of the KJV makes necessary that the twenty-four elders are human beings and is conducive to supporting the concept that they are representatives of the church. In the revised translation of the NIV, it is made general and the statement is simply that Christ purchased men from all peoples and made them to be His subjects. The NIV translation would make it possible for the twenty-four elders to be something other than human beings, that is, angels, though it does not affirm this.

     Scholars continue to differ on this subject. Manuscript evidence in support of the KJV in verses  9–10 gives considerable support to the concept that the KJV is actually the best manuscript. The KJV would give the twenty-four elders a distinctive place in heaven, in contrast to angels, instead of being angels themselves. There is no solid reason why the twenty-four elders could not be redeemed human beings rather than angels regardless of which translation is accepted. The interpretation that they are angels is possible with the revised translation but is not supported by any direct statement. With either translation the twenty-four elders could be human beings.

Prophecy of Angelic Worship of the Lamb

     Revelation 5:11–12. In a general survey of what is going on in heaven, John next looked and heard a multitude of angels beyond number also worshipping the Lamb,  “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” (v.  11–12 ).

     The details of the angels worshipping the Lamb are significant. First of all, there is the astounding number that places them beyond human estimation. They are declared here to sing, which is unusual for angels. The singing of that large a group must have been most impressive and forms an important background to the final worship of the Lamb by the whole universe. The fact that this follows the worship of the twenty-four elders may be in contrast to human worship.

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

In Secret

By Derek Thomas 10/01/2014

     According to Jesus, it is what we do in secret that matters most. Jesus is not suggesting that the outward is unimportant — far from it. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14).

     The answer is emphatically no. Still, it is also possible to have outward works but no inner reality. In this instance, religion is a pretense. Six times in the Sermon on the Mount, alluding to three distinct exercises, Jesus employs the term secret:

Give “in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:4).

Pray “in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (v. 6).

Fast “in secret…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (v. 18).

     The Sermon on the Mount is addressing the issue of authenticity. Just how genuine is our relationship with the Lord Jesus? It is altogether possible to practice an outward display of piety — to “talk the talk” — without demonstrating any inner reality of godliness. This is true of every professing Christian, and it is especially true of those engaged in Christian ministry. Authentic Christianity requires an outward and discernible “work of faith” (1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Thess. 1:11). But it also requires genuine godly affections and an inner discipline of the heart.

     There is a manner of ministry that is more about self-service than self-sacrifice, self-indulgence than self-discipline, and self-promotion than self-denial. There is also giving that is designed for recognition — plaques on walls intended to be read by generations to come, or press releases informing the world of “generous donations”; prayers in pristine Cranmerlike language of the sixteenth century suggesting depths of personal piety; fasting that is shown via open-necked T-shirts revealing a ribbed torso.

     But all these outward demonstrations of piety may be no more than mere hypocrisy. The Greek word translated “hypocrites” (Matt. 6:2, 5) refers to the masks worn by ancient actors as symbols of pretense and show. Thus, give with fanfare; pray with pride; fast with notice. This ministry is inauthentic. It is a sham.

     Inauthentic ministry was a charge leveled against Paul. The Corinthians said that there was discrepancy between the way he wrote his letters and the way he was in person: “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account” (2 Cor. 10:10). It is a serious charge, and in his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul spends almost the entire time defending himself. The critique came from jealousy and therefore bore no legitimacy. But the fact is, the charge can be true — not of Paul, but of us. Leadership calls for genuineness, authenticity and transparency.

     True, there’s something of a cliché about the word authentic when applied to Christian ministry (add contemporary, intentional, relevant, and community to that list). If we really need to add the description authentic, we are probably trying too hard and therefore not being authentic at all. Nevertheless, hypocrisy lurks everywhere, not least in Christian ministry, and we ignore it at our peril.

     Godliness must be found in the heart if it is to be genuine. The one who prays more in public than in private, or only gives at special events when likely to be thanked for it, or practices spiritual disciplines and lets everyone know just how difficult a spiritual routine he keeps, is more concerned about the outward appearance than a heart-relationship with Jesus.

     Jonathan Edwards observed the pattern of the hypocrite with respect to prayer:

     Perhaps they attend it on Sabbath days, and sometimes on other days. But they have ceased to make it a constant practice daily to retire to worship God alone, and to seek his face in secret places. They sometimes do a little to quiet conscience, and just to keep alive their old hope; because it would be shocking to them, even after all their subtle dealing with their consciences to call themselves converts, and yet totally to live without prayer. Yet the practice of secret prayer they have in a great measure left off.

     There has been a rise in the use of “written prayers” in Presbyterian worship in the last decade. In part, it is a reflection of the desire to elevate worship. Liturgical, written, prepared prayers are certainly preferable to the (otherwise) paucity and emptiness of some extemporary prayers. But written prayers (drawn from The Valley of Vision, for example) may simply mask the emptiness of the heart.

     And Thomas Cranmer seemed to understand the danger of wearing a mask of hypocrisy when he included the Collect of Purity in the Book of Common Prayer for the Anglican Church. Cranmer placed it just before the celebration of the Lord’s Supper:

     Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord.

     This is a prayer for all seasons.

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Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Book 5 | Psalm 107

107:10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

Setting a Course for Faithfulness: An Interview with Stephen J. Nichols

By Stephen Nichols 10/01/2014

     Tabletalk: What are your responsibilities in your new roles as President of Reformation Bible College (RBC) and Chief Academic Officer for Ligonier Ministries?

     Stephen J. Nichols: First, I need to say how humbling these appointments are. And, it’s also rather exciting. Under the supervision and direction of the board of directors, the president of Reformation Bible College governs all aspects of the college from the staff and faculty to the students and curriculum. I will not be alone in this, as I will be working alongside Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr., rector and chair of theology and philosophy, and Dr. Michael Morales, chair of biblical studies.

     Ligonier is primarily a teaching ministry that delivers content in a variety of ways. As chief academic officer, I will be working with Chris Larson, Ligonier’s president, in maintaining the theological emphasis and voice of Ligonier, which has proven beneficial to so many in the church over these last four decades. In both of these positions, I will be reporting directly to Dr. R.C. Sproul.

     So, as you can see, it is all rather humbling and exciting. Ultimately, the responsibility of both positions is to maintain theological fidelity. History abounds with tragic examples of ministries and colleges losing their moorings. Above all, institutions need God’s grace to stay true to Him, and they also need to be intentional and committed. Dr. Sproul has cast the vision and set the course. These two roles that I now fill, along with many other roles at Ligonier and RBC where others serve, are in place so that the next generation, and generations to come, may grow in their knowledge of God — to increase their zeal to serve God, and to glorify and enjoy God forever.

     TT: What excites you most about the ministry of RBC?

     SN: It would have to be both the potential of the faculty and the potential of the students. Gathered in Sanford, Fla., is a world-class collection of scholars. They are a delightful mix of seasoned and young faculty, all very capable. All are published, all have doctorates, and all are committed churchmen. Augustine once said that a good teacher is one who loves the subject, loves the students, and, above all, loves God. That is the RBC faculty, and they will be a substantial resource for the church for years to come.

     Then there are the students. They will be taught the full range of biblical studies, the complete run of church history, doctrine, philosophy, and apologetics. On top of that, RBC has a great works curriculum, affording students the opportunity to engage classic texts from the early Greeks to the present day. And they are taught by godly men who love their subjects and are called to make disciples of their students. When you consider all of this, you can’t help but get excited about the potential of RBC.

     TT: What would you like to see RBC accomplish over the next ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years?

     SN: First and foremost would be faithfulness — faithfulness as an institution to the Reformed faith and to the particular theological emphases that have marked Ligonier Ministries since its inception forty years ago. That faithfulness also has to do with our students. They come to us, study with us, and eventually graduate. Commencement is not an end, however, but a beginning of a life of ministry, of work and vocation, and of family. What will be said of RBC students at the end of their life’s journey? If the answer is faithfulness, then RBC will have been used by God in their lives to accomplish something of lasting significance and of true substance.

     TT: Why are you concerned with defending the doctrine of Scripture’s inerrancy in this day and age?

     SN: Defending inerrancy is necessary precisely because it is being challenged and even jettisoned by many who would claim to be evangelicals. The doctrine of inerrancy reminds us that the Bible is God’s authoritative and trustworthy Word to us. My concern is with alternative views, and especially with the consequences of those alternatives. If you do not hold to inerrancy, what do you have? Essentially, you have limited inerrancy. That has the Bible submitting to us — to our judgment. That has it all topsy-turvy. The doctrine of Scripture is the first domino, so to speak. If it falls in the wrong direction, the whole chain of dominoes falls in the wrong direction.

     TT: Why is it important to express and defend a biblical Christology?

     SN: Christology encompasses the person and work of Christ. As for His person, we must confess the God-man, the hypostatic union of both the divine nature and human nature in one person. As for Christ’s work, we must confess His sinless life, His perfect obedience, His atoning death as a substitute in our place, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension to the Father’s right hand. Sadly, many of these doctrines are also being challenged and jettisoned today. Consider this: Can we have the gospel without a biblical Christology? The answer, of course, is no. And without the gospel, we cease to be the church. We are called to proclaim the gospel and live out its ramifications. The heart and soul of the gospel is a biblical Christology. We must confess it, teach it, and defend it.

     TT: Several of your writings focus on Jonathan Edwards. Why do you return to this early American preacher and theologian so often?

     SN: I never find the time I spend with Edwards to be wasted time. I come away from reading him being challenged and with new ways of thinking about and living the Christian life. Just the other day, I was looking at the letter Sarah Edwards, his wife, wrote to their daughter after Jonathan died. She said, “What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud.” She clings to God’s holiness and goodness in a time of turmoil and suffering. Sarah’s reaction reflects what her husband lived, taught, and wrote. I go back to Edwards because I so need that perspective.

     TT: What are two major lessons that American Christians need to learn from Christians who lived in centuries past?

     SN: Track down a copy of Confessions (Penguin Classics). You will see that the first word in Latin is magnus. God is great. He is transcendent, infinitely above and over His creation. The corollary is that we are not. We are finite. I don’t think we reflexively think of God as great and of ourselves as small. But we must.

     The second major lesson concerns suffering. The vast majority of voices from the past offer a far different perspective than we do on suffering. Perhaps it’s due to our living in the “entitlement age,” or due to our sense of overcoming so many diseases and ailments that once plagued previous generations. Whatever the reason, we see suffering as abnormal and to be avoided. What does Paul mean by participating in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings? We learn more about what that means when we look to the past than when we confine ourselves to the present.

     TT: In what major ways has American culture distorted our understanding of Jesus?

     SN: American culture’s distorting our understanding of Jesus offers a clear case where culture rushes in to fill the vacuum left when we disdain tradition. The Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds mark out helpful boundaries regarding the person of Christ. The Reformers mark out helpful boundaries for thinking of Christ’s work. When we neglect these resources, we are overly influenced by culture. In America’s Victorian age, Jesus was “feminized.” He was seen exclusively as meek and mild. Even the images of this era portray Jesus as feminine. In our day, Jesus has taken on any number of personae. I’ve seen images of Him in a boxing ring with gloves on, ready to fight the devil.

     Scripture presents Jesus as a rather complex person. We can distort that image, constructing a Jesus who looks like us, and is there simply to affirm us. The creeds and the Reformation solas can go a long way in helping us think clearly and biblically about Jesus.

     TT: Name a few inappropriate ways to read church history.

     SN: I can name three. The first would be to not read it. Why cut yourself off from the riches of the past? The second concerns reading history with judgmental and dismissive attitudes. We can easily do this because we tend to think so highly of our own age, and we tend to be unaware of our own blind spots. The counter is to read church history with humility, not hubris. Third, we need to avoid “hagiography.” Our church history figures don’t need halos. The Scripture writers show the faults and flaws of the biblical figures. There is only one who ranks as the true hero: Christ. We can be so thankful for leaders from church history who so clearly and persuasively point us to Christ. But we must ultimately look to the One to whom they are pointing and not to them.

     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. Nichols is author of several books, including For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church, Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, and The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World.

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Fox's Book Of Martyrs

Edited by William Byron Forbush

     This is a book that will never die - one of the great English classics. Interesting as fiction, because it is written with both passion and tenderness, it tells the dramatic story of some of the most thrilling periods in Christian history.

     Reprinted here in its most complete form, it brings to life the days when "a noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid," "climbed the steep ascent of heaven, 'mid peril, toil, and pain."

     "After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification." --- James Miller Dodds, English Prose.

     A History of the lives, sufferings and triumphant deaths of the early Christian and Protestant martyrs.

     "When one recollects that until the appearance of the Pilgrim's Progress (Illustrated): Updated, Modern English. More than 100 Illustrations. the common people had almost no other reading matter except the Bible and Foxe's Book of Martyrs, we can understand the deep impression that this book produced; and how it served to mold the national character. Those who could read for themselves learned the full details of all the atrocities performed on the Protestant reformers; the illiterate could see the rude illustrations of the various instruments of torture, the rack, the gridiron, the boiling oil, and then the holy ones breathing out their souls amid the flames. Take a people just awakening to a new intellectual and religious life; let several generations of them, from childhood to old age, pore over such a book, and its stories become traditions as individual and almost as potent as songs and customs on a nation's life." --- Douglas Campbell, "The Puritan in Holland, England, and America"

     "If we divest the book of its accidental character of feud between churches, it yet stands, in the first years of Elizabeth's reign, a monument that marks the growing strength of a desire for spiritual freedom, defiance of those forms that seek to stifle conscience and fetter thought." --- Henry Morley, "English Writers"

     "After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly inflienced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our own time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification." James Miller Dodds, "English Prose"

Sketch of the Author

The Continual Burnt Offering (1 Corinthians 13:12)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

October 2

Job 33:13 Why do you contend against him,
saying, ‘He will answer none of man’s words’?   ESV

My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors,
He worketh steadily.
Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow,
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I, the under side.
Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

Matthew 2:23

By Joseph Benson - 1811-1818

Psalm 69:9–10   (NASB95)  9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.

Isaiah 53:3   (NASB95)  He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

     Now it is certain the Nazarene was a term of contempt and infamy put upon Christ, both by the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, and that because he was supposed to come out of this very city. There was, among the Jews, a celebrated thief, called Ben-Nezer, and in allusion to him, they gave the name to Christ. His very going to dwell at Nazareth, was an occasion of his being despised and rejected by the Jews. Thus, when Philip said to Nathanael, We have found Jesus of Nazareth, of whom Moses spake, Nathanael answered, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And when Nicodemus seemed to favour him, the rest of the council said to him, Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. Here then we have a plain sense of these words. He was sent to this contemptible place that he might there have a name of infamy and contempt put upon him, according to the frequent intimations of the prophets. If, after all, this interpretation is not acquiesced in, we may, with many of the ancient Christians, particularly Chrysostom, suppose, that the evangelist may refer to some writings of the prophets, which were then extant, but are now lost, or to some writings not put into the Sacred Canon, or to some paraphrases upon the writings. As to the interpretations which refer this to Christ’s being called Netzer, the Branch, Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5;

Isaiah 11:1   (NASB95)  Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Jeremiah 23:5   (NASB95)  “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.