Prayer Request

My good friends Noah and Julie Roberts are expecting their first child on August 6th, next Wednesday. Their little girl, Magdalena Grace, has been diagnosed with Trisomy-18 and will mostly likely not live very long after birth. Please be in prayer for Noah, Julie, and Magdalena during this incredibly difficult time. Pray that God would shower Noah and Julie with a deep awareness of his compassion, comfort them with his love, and give them His strength and His peace to sustain them. Also, pray for miraculous mercies to be extended to little Magdalena.

You can read about Noah and Julie’s story at their blog: noahandjulieroberts.blogspot.com

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Favorite Narnia Moments (6): True Obedience

I used this episode from The Silver Chair as an illustration of the need to obey God even when it doesn’t make sense during a sermon I preached on Genesis 22 (Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac) last fall. If you remember, the children are given four “signs” by Aslan to help them complete their task of finding prince Rilian. The fourth sign was that they would know the prince by this, that he would be the first to ask them to do something in the name of Aslan. The problem is, the person who fulfills the sign is the prince of the Underworld who is tied to a chair because he is under an enchantment – and to make matters worse, they have just promised each other that they will not untie him no matter what!

“Oh, what are we to do?” Said Jill.

It was a dreadful question. What had been the use of promising one another that they would not on any account set the Knight free, if they were now to do so the first time he happened to call upon a name they really cared about? On the other hand, what had been the use of learning the signs if they weren’t going to obey them? Could Aslan really have meant them to unbind anyone – even a lunatic – who asked it in his name? Could it be a mere accident? But then, supposing this was the real sign? They had muffed three already; they daren’t muff the fourth.

“Oh, if only we knew!” said Jill.

“I think we do know,” said Puddleglum.

“Do you mean you think everything will come right if we untie him?” said Scrubb.

“I don’t know about that,” said Puddleglum. “You see, Aslan didn’t tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he’s up, I shouldn’t wonder. But that doesn’t let us off following the sign.”

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Reflections on Zechariah (1): Introduction

The next biblical book I am studying is Zechariah. Why Zechariah?

(1) I want to do something in the Old Testament; (2) I know very little about it; (3) it is the lengthiest Minor Prophet; (4) it covers an important historical period (520 BCff.) that few other books cover (Haggai is the only one I am aware of); (5) its filled with messianic hope and has some beautiful and important Messianic passages (e.g., 9:9, 12:10); (6) its apocalyptic visions are fascinating; (7) God’s people are generally more responsive to Zechariah than they were to the pre-exilic prophets, which makes the book more interesting/enjoyable to read in some ways; (8) why not?

As usual, I will be using this blog as a processing area. Feel free to make comments or suggestions along the way!

Here are the final two verses of the first section of the book (chapters 1-8), one of my favorite passages:

“Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

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Reflections on Revelation (6): The praise songs

Revelation paints a glorious picture of the worship of God in heaven. I have compiled a list of seven of the more prominent praise songs that are sung in the book of Revelation.

1) The worship portrayed in Revelation 4 is reminiscent of Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1. John sees a vision of God sitting on his heavenly throne and being worshiped by mighty creatures whom he calls “elders” and “living creatures.” The text is full of imagery. Picture this:

-”around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” (3)
-”before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal” (6)
-”from the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder” (5)

Day and night the four living creatures never cease worshiping God with this song:

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

The twenty four elders sing this song:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

One of my biggest questions in reading through this chapter (which frustratingly none of the commentaries addressed) was, who is the one one the throne – the Father, the Son, or the Triune God all at once? Because of the larger context of Revelation, in which the Lamb is clearly disassociated from the One who sits on the throne (e.g., 5:6, 13, 7:10, etc.), and because of the larger context of the New Testament, in which Christ is often portrayed as “sitting at the right hand of God the Father” (which assumes the Father is sitting on a throne), I have tentatively concluded that the One sitting on the throne is God the Father. This also makes sense of the praise song’s focus on God’s work of creation.

2) In chapter 5 the same angels shift their worship from God the Father to God the Son, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (5:5):

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth” (5:9-10)

3) This song is sung by the elders, the four living creatures, and innumerable angels, for God’s salvation of the 144,000 from Israel. From chapter 7:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen“

4) In chapter 11, after the seventh angel blows his trumpet, the twenty four elders sing this song:

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

The reference in verse 17 to God’s reign beginning with this act of judgment, especially when read in light of the immediately preceding verse 15 (“the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever”), is helpful for understanding the relation between preterism and millennial views. In the partial preterist view (and in some non-preterist views as well!), the 70 A.D. judgment marked the inauguration of the millennium of chapter 20 – this is why preterists are basically either post-mill or a-mill. The preterist views Christ’s judgment on Jerusalem as a major Christological event – the public vindication of his session at God’s right hand. Hence John can write that Christ’s kingdom begins with the judgment associated with the seventh trumpet (which, in this view, is the judgment on Jerusalem).

5) This is “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb,” sung by those who conquer the beast, from chapter 15:

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

6) This song is proclaimed by the angel who pours out the third bowl of God’s wrath in chapter 16:

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

Its interesting to note how many of these songs, such as this one, have as their major impetus an act of divine wrath/judgment. This may lend credence to Gentry’s thesis that a major theme of Revelation is God’s judgment on apostate Israel.

7) And lastly, the great multitude at the marriage supper of the Lamb in chapter 19 sing this song:

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

To conclude:

Nowhere else in the Bible do we get such a picture of heavenly worship (i.e., worship by angels and glorified saints) – most biblical praise songs are sung on earth. Getting a vision of this heavenly worship is such a powerful stimulus for our worship here, and our perseverance. To think – right now God is being incessantly worshiped by creatures which are so bright and awesome that we would be tempted to worship them if we saw them, as John was (19:9-10). Its more noisy, exciting, and beautiful than any concert has ever been on earth. Even just knowing that that is going on somewhere is enough to fill life with meaning. There is a place where goodness and light and happiness are untouched, unspoiled, unruined. No matter how neglected the glory of God may be among fallen humans, its not forgotten by the seraphim. No matter how terrible things may be going here on earth, the worship of heaven continues, undisturbed and un-interrupted.

Well, this is my last post on Revelation. I have loved studying this book, but am ready to move on. I have been doing scattered reading from Psalms for the past few days, and in a few days I will start reading through and posting about Zechariah.

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Favorite Narnia Moments (5): Home at Last

This is from the end of The Last Battle and is part of Lewis’ description of heaven.

It is as hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time there were somehow different — deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know.

The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can’t describe it any better than that: if ever you get there you will know what I mean.

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then he cried:

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that is sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!”

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Favorite Narnia moments (4): The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs!

Throughout The Last Battle, the dwarfs refuse to fight for either Aslan or Tash. Their rallying cry is, “the dwarfs are for the dwarfs,” and they are cynical about loyalty to any ruling party. Towards the end of the book, however, the dwarfs’ skepticism and isolationism eventually makes them unable to appreciate or value anything. In Aslan’s terms, they are so afraid of being taken in that they are unable to be taken out. There is much here that is relevant to post-modern cynicism about ultimate truth and meta-narrative.

“Aslan,” said Lucy through her tears, “could you – will you – do something for these poor Dwarfs?”

“Dearest,” said Aslan, “I will show you both what I can, and what I cannot, do.” He came close to the Dwarfs and gave a low growl: low, but it set all the air shaking. But the Dwarfs said to one another, “Hear that? That’s the gang at the other end of the stable. Trying to frighten us. They do it with a machine of some kind. Don’t take any notice. They won’t take us in again!”

Aslan raised his head and shook his mane. Instantly a glorious feast appeared on the Dwarfs’ knees: pies and tongues and pigeons and trifles and ices, and each Dwarf had a goblet of good wine in his right hand. But it wasn’t much use. They began eating and drinking greedily enough, but it was clear that they couldn’t taste it properly. They thought they were eating and drinking only the sort of things you might find in a stable. One said he was trying to eat hay and another said he had got a bit of an old turnip and a third said he’d found a raw cabbage leaf. And they raised golden goblets of rich red wine to their lips and said “Ugh! Fancy drinking dirty water out of a trough that a donkey’s been at! Never thought we’d come to this.” But very soon every Dwarf began suspecting that every other Dwarf had found something nicer than he had, and they started grabbing and snatching, and went on to quarreling, till in a few minutes there was a free fight and all the good food was smeared on their faces and clothes or trodden under foot. But when at last they sat down to nurse their black eyes and their bleeding noses, they all said:

“Well, at any rate there’s no Humbug here. We haven’t let anyone take us in. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.”

“You see,” said Aslan. “They will not let us help them. They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.”

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Reflections on Revelation (5): Why I disagree with Gentry on 21:1-22:5

I have been heavily using Gentry throughout my study of Revelation, and I owe him a great deal of debt for all I have learned from him. I had to part ways with him, however, when I got to 21:1-22:5 and read his interpretation of this glorious vision of the New Jerusalem. After acknowledging that 20:7-15 predict the (still future) second coming of Christ, Gentry claims that 21:1-22:5 revert back to the first century and describe (in highly poetic language) the glory of the church and salvation. Gentry argues that John’s major theme is the replacement of the old Jerusalem with the new Jerusalem, and thus “the coming of the new Jersusalem down from heaven (chaps. 21-22) logically should follow soon upon the destruction of the old Jerusalem on the earth (Rev. 6-11, 14-19), rather than waiting thousands of years” (Four Views on the Book of Revelation, 87). Gentry finds additional support for his view in:
(1) the time frame indicators which follow this section immediately in 22:6, 10.
(2) the progressive nature of “new creation” language, in line with Isaiah 65:17- 20
(3) the alleged harmony between this view and the imagery employed elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., the depiction of the church as the bride of Christ in Eph. 5)

As a fellow partial preterist who has much respect and appreciation for Gentry’s general contribution to eschatology and interpretation of the book of Revelation, I find Gentry’s view of 21:1-22:5 unconvincing for the following reasons:

1) The book of Revelation builds in momentum as one moves through the book: its vision grows exponentially more and more grandiose. The praise songs get longer and grander, the judgements get fiercer, the warfare gets more intense, and so on. There is definite crescendo. As Gentry himself writes, “the closer John approaches his conclusion, the more glorious the outcome appears” (82). It would be strange, therefore, if, after painting such a glorious vision in 20:7-15 of Satan’s defeat, Christ’s glorious return, and the final judgment, events which Gentry admits were thousands of years away from John’s lifetime, John were to return to first century events in chapter 21. 21:1 begins, “Then I saw …”, implying continuity and escalation. Gentry’s reading seems to disrupt this movement, this crescendo. This reading of Revelation makes John’s conclusion quite underwhelming: instead of going out with a bang, the book trails off with a thud.

2) Since 22:6-21 is the conclusion of the entire book, it is illegitimate to insist that the time frame indicators of 22:6 and 22:10 limit 21:1-22:5 simply because they are textually near. On this reading it is not clear why 20:7-15 are not also bound by these time frame indicators. It seems better to see the time frame indicators of chapter 22 as referring to the book as a whole, without demanding that every single event in the book (such as those specified as a thousand years long!) be completed within John’s readers’ lifetimes.

3) The events of 21:1-22:5 seem too glorious for Gentry’s view. When arguing against the futurist interpretation of 1:1 and 1:3, Gentry asks, “why not accept John’s statements at face value?” (92). Can the same question be asked regarding Gentry’s interpretation of 21:4: “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (21:4)? Admittedly John’s language in 21:1-22:5 is very symbolic, but the symbolism here seems to draw from the height and the grandeur of the events described. To restrict the fulfillment of 21:4 to gospel salvation which begins to remove ultimate grief and death does not seem (to me at least) to be taking John’s statements at face value.

4) I agree that the old Jerusalem/new Jerusalem (prostitute/bride) contrast is a strong theme in Revelation, and that a decisive redemptive historical shift occured in 70 A.D. with regard to the nature of God’s people. But none of this entails that the church (the new Jerusalem, the bride) does not also feature prominently at the second coming of Christ at the end of history.

5) Personally, I find the vision of heaven painted in 21:1-22:5 very encouraging. If this language is merely “expressing, by means of elevated poetic imagery, the glory of salvation” (89), I must admit I am thoroughly dissapointed. The trajectory of the whole biblical story is that God will renew his fallen creation into its original theo-centric harmony and bliss. Wouldn’t one expect a glorious conclusion to this glorious story? As I said earlier, this interpretation of Revelation seems quite underwhelming. I think of T.S. Eliot’s poem: “this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.”

For these reasons, I conclude that the glorious vision of 21:1-22:5 awaits future fulfillment and that Christians can therefore find great encouragement in this passage’s prediction of a new heavens and a new earth in which “the former things have passed away” and thus there is (quite literally) no more mourning, no more pain, and no more death. But the best part about it is this: “behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (21:3).

I am sure it will be greater than we can even imagine.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).

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Reflections on Revelation (4): My overall favorite verse

I finished Revelation this morning. Perhaps my favorite passage in the whole book is 21:6b-7, which comes right in the middle of the description of the New Jersusalem. It is such a beautiful promise:

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

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Reflections on Revelation (3): The Names of Jesus Christ

In my first post, I noted two theological emphases that come through very forcefully in the book of Revelation, regardless of the hermenuetical approach that one adopts in reading Revelation: (1) a high Christology and (2) a glorious vision of heaven. Stated negatively, this means that the book of Revelation is a strong corrective for two very serious and very common theological errors: (1) a wimpy Jesus and (2) a boring heaven. As I have continued reading, I would add at least two more emphases to this list: (3) a call for Christian perseverance amidst suffering; and (4) God’s sovereignty over history and nations. I have also been struck by how much the book of Revelation draws from the Old Testament. Revelation does not quote from the Old Testament as much as some other New Testament books, but there are constant allusions and echos: John’s whole thought world is informed by Old Testament imagery and pattern. He especially draws from Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah.

In this post I am going to focus on the first of these emphases: Revelation’s high Christology. In my next post on Revelation I will focus on the second emphasis I have noticed in the book, its glorious vision of heaven.

Here is a list of all the names that Jesus Christ is called in Revelation that I have compiled as I have been reading through:

The faithful witness (1:5). The firstborn of the dead (1:5). The ruler of the kings of the earth (1:5). The First and the Last (1:17). The living One (1:18). (He) who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1). The First and the Last, who died and came to life (2:8). (He) who has the sharp two-edged sword (2:12). The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze (2:18). He who searches mind and heart (2:23). (He) who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars (3:1). The holy One, the true One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one will open (3:7). The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation (3:14). The Lion of the Tribe of Judah (5:5). The Root of David (5:5). The Lamb (5:6). The Lamb who was slain (5:12). One who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron (12:5). (One) seated on the cloud like a son of man, with a golden grown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand (14:14). Lord of Lords and King of Kings (17:14). The Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (22:13). The root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star (22:16).

Here are the two lengthiest physical descriptions of Jesus Christ in Revelation:

1:13-16:
In the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

19:11-16:
The one sitting on (the horse) is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

I am so glad for the study I have put into Revelation in the past few weeks. This book has greatly increased my love and reverence for Jesus Christ. During times of corporate worship, its helpful to remember that the Jesus we are singing to is not in a state of humiliation, but glory and power, like these passages describe.  Revelation helps us recapture this glorious vision of Christ that we need so urgently.

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