Two Mountains

“‘Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,’ declares the LORD, ‘which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out My hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste,’ declares the LORD...‘Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from Me against her,’ declares the LORD...‘Who are you, O great mountain...you shall become a plain’” (Jeremiah 51:25,26,53; Zechariah 4:7).

“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within her citadels God has made Himself known as a fortress...as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever...let Mount Zion be glad...it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem...they shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea...as you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Psalm 48:1-3,8; Isaiah 2:2,3; 11:9; Daniel 2:34,35).

Father of glory (Zechariah 2:5), by the grace found through Christ alone (Zechariah 4:7), call us from one mountain to the other by Your Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). We long to behold Your beauty, to be taught to walk according to Your will, and to see Your Kingdom expand into eternity. In Your temple all cry, “Glory” (Psalm 29:9)!

Jeremiah’s Turning #12: Judgment's First Stop

Following the word “turn” (שוב) through Jeremiah’s prophecy.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel; pass your hand again [שוב] like a grape gatherer over the branches’” (Jeremiah 6:9).

The invading nation is God’s tool for bringing judgment on His people in this passage (speaking of the repeated Babylonian attacks on Jerusalem in the 6^th century B.C.). Phew. Thankfully that’s the God of the Old Testament. The God of the New Testament doesn’t bring judgment on false confessors and sin-riddled churches, does He?

Well...

By lying to the Church about giving, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God (Acts 5:4) the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and paid the ultimate price. In the New Testament. In the age of the New Covenant (under which we also currently live): “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.’ And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things” (Acts 5:1-11).

By taking part in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, some in the Corinthian church were struck with illness and some had even died (do you take the Table this seriously?! God does!). In the New Testament. In the age of the New Covenant (under which we also currently live): “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

Then there’s the list in the Revelation, in the letters given by the glorified Lord Jesus Christ to the churches. In the New Testament. In the age of the New Covenant (under which we also live):

• To the church in Ephesus: “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place - unless you repent” (Revelation 2:4,5). He has explained the symbol/metaphor of the “lampstand” in 1:20. It is the right to be a “church.” Jesus can remove that. You may still have your incorporation status, your cool name, your building, your website, etc., but Jesus can decree that you are no longer a church. Repent!
• To the church in Pergamum: “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth” (Revelation 2:14-16). Yes, doctrine and theology is vitally important, because it leads to our practice (this is the progression, by the way, in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, where discipleship in the Scripture precedes and leads to “every good work”). Blurring the lines of holiness between God’s people and the world is exceedingly popular and common (more time and mental ingenuity is expended trying to justify worldly doctrine and practice in the Church than teaching on biblical holiness by far!). I used to think it was something only teenagers did in the church. I know better now. They learned it from us. Repent!
• To the church in Thyatira: “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds” (Revelation 2:20-23). Why doesn’t God kill all false teachers quickly before their poison causes so much confusion and hurt? He gives them time to repent. But notice the spiritual application of generational sin (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Leviticus 20:5; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9) here: the “children” (disciples or followers) of the false teacher “Jezebel” will be killed as a lesson to the churches. I think God takes our doctrine and theology (and the resulting practical fruit) seriously. Repent!
• To the church in Sardis: “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you” (Revelation 3:1-3). In this case, the teaching of the church is and has been good (He calls them to “remember” it and “keep it” in their repentance). “Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). Repent!
• To the church in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15,16). A reliance on the ways, wealth, and wisdom of the world as opposed to full reliance on Christ for everything seems to be something that the Lord of the Church strongly opposes. He is saying this to them in love (3:19), but love’s message is “repent!”

I end up today with a verse that my pastor mentioned to us frequently the years I sat under his teaching: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). That ought to be a sobering thought, especially with all the passages from Revelation above. We teach Revelation as a warning shot of promised judgment on the nations, but that’s not where the judgment starts, is it?

Take the King of the Church seriously, believer. Take the Lord of the Church seriously, churches. Repent!

Jeremiah’s Turning #10: Creation’s Undoing

Following the word “turn” (שוב) through Jeremiah’s prophecy.

“I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were pulled down before the LORD, before His fierce anger. For thus says the LORD, ‘The whole land shall be a desolation, yet I will not execute a complete destruction. For this the earth shall mourn and the heavens above be dark, because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I will not change My mind, nor will I turn [שוב] from it.’ At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; they go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; every city is forsaken, and no man dwells in them” (Jeremiah 4:23-29).

There are some passages that are perfect instruments of our great Teacher, God the Holy Spirit. For example: 2 Samuel 22//Psalm 18. When we compare the context of the Psalm (“the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul”), and compare it to the cataclysmic heaven-rending events in the song, we are taught how to understand such passages. Where in the historic narratives of David’s life do we see anything like 2 Samuel 22:8-16//Psalm 18:7-15? We are taught by this to understand this language as descriptive of the spiritual battles paralleling the physical struggles of God’s people in this world (see also Judges 5:20 and compare it to the narrative of the battle).

Our passage from today is another of those great teaching verses. Jeremiah purposefully uses language in his description of Jerusalem’s destruction at the hand of the Babylonians (586 B.C.) that is only used in one other place:

• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:1,2).
• “I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light” (Jeremiah 4:23).

Jeremiah describes the destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple in terms of the undoing of all of Creation. This is not the only place where the Temple/Jerusalem is compared to “the heavens and the earth.”

• “But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has founded forever” (Psalm 78:68,69).
• “I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people’” (Isaiah 51:16).
• “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness” (Isaiah 65:17,18).

In addition, the New Testament makes a parallel between the “elements of the world” and the ceremonies/regulations of the old covenant:

• “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world [τα στοιχεια του κοσμου]. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things [στοιχεια], to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain” (Galatians 4:1-11).
• “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world [τα στοιχεια του κοσμου], rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
• “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world [των στοιχειων του κοσμου], why, as if you were living in the world [κοσμω], do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) - in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” (Colossians 2:20-22).

So, if we’re being consistent about letting the Psalms, Prophets, and Paul teach us to understand scriptural language, how does this affect our reading of 2 Peter 3:10-13? Is Peter teaching a cosmological destruction or the end of the old covenant era with the destruction of the Temple at the hand of the Romans in A.D. 70?

Let God the Holy Spirit teach you how to read Scripture, regardless of how this messes up your systematic theology...especially your eschatology.

* * * * * * *

As far as the turning mentioned in this verse, note again that when God purposes to punish His people, it will happen.

• “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
• “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:1-4).

The apostle Peter teaches us that there is a type of judgment that will come upon the Church, and the apostle teaches us that there are those within the Church who will deny this judgment and live in open rebellion (even leading others in the Church to follow them). Be warned. God may wait, but His judgment does not turn away from false confessors in His Church.

We Must Do More Than Weep

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1).

Not all of them. Some of them assimilated into the culture and people of Babylon and vanished into history. But there were some who, despite being born in Babylon, clung to the teaching of the ways of God passed to them from their parents and grandparents... including the great leader of the return, Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 4:6-10), whose name means “born in Babylon” - not a good name for a Jew!

Mourn that Zion is not fully unveiled, but do not let that mourning for the apparent reign of the City of Man keep you from teaching the ways of Zion to the next generation. May it be that God raises up one “born in Babylon” who will mightily lead the children of Zion tomorrow.

We must do more than weep.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare...when seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile’” (Jeremiah 29:4-7,10-14).

Lord, raise up from among our children and grandchildren Zerubbabels who are not at home in Babylon, but will be used of You to faithfully and powerfully lead us home to Zion.

Running from the Trinity into the Land of Slavery

In Isaiah 30:1-14 we see a rejection by the people of the one true God in three Persons, the Trinity, in sinful preference for the land of slavery, Egypt. May we be warned!

The people grieve the Spirit, and so reject the Father: “‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ declares the LORD, ‘Who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin; who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation. For their princes are at Zoan and their ambassadors arrive at Hanes. Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach’” (Isaiah 30:1-5). Isaiah reveals a great pneumatology (theology of the Holy Spirit) to us (11:2; 32:15; 34:16; 40:13; 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 59:21; 61:1; 63:10,11,14). One of these verses in particular is important for our Trinitarian consideration of 30:1-5.

“I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, ‘Surely, they are My people, sons who will not deal falsely.’ So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; as the cattle which go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name. Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me. For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your name” (63:1-16).

When the sons of Israel were faithless toward the LORD in the Exodus, it was the Person of the Holy Spirit Whom they were rejecting. When, during the pressures of the Babylonian Empire upon Judah, the peoples sought first alliance then escape to Egypt, the LORD similarly described it as a rejection of the Person of the Holy Spirit. In the Exodus and in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon, the people showed a trust in the land of slavery (Egypt) as opposed to the Holy Spirit Who was the LORD’s presence and salvation to them. Paul also will take this theme and use it as a warning to the Ephesians: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Remember that the events of the Exodus occurred to be a warning to the Church in the new covenant (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:1-14). The rejection of the Person of the Holy Spirit (and therefore the LORD Who is God the Father) is not the only faithlessness to the Trinity displayed in Isaiah 30. The prophet goes on to reveal a rejection of the Person of the Son (Who is also called the Word) by the people.

The people reject the Word (the Son), and so reject the Father: “The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, from where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on camels’ humps, to a people who cannot profit them; even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her ‘Rahab who has been exterminated.’ Now go, write it on a tablet before them and inscribe it on a scroll, that it may serve in the time to come as a witness forever. For this is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, ‘You must not see visions’; And to the prophets, ‘You must not prophesy to us what is right, speak to us pleasant words, prophesy illusions. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.’ Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, ‘Since you have rejected this Word and have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, therefore this iniquity will be to you like a breach about to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, so ruthlessly shattered that a sherd will not be found among its pieces to take fire from a hearth or to scoop water from a cistern’” (Isaiah 30:6-14).

God the Son is the Word (John 1:1-3; 1 John 1:1,2; Hebrew 1:2,3; Revelation 19:13). In our passage in Isaiah, the inability of the people to hear, understand, or receive the spoken and written Word of the Father is a rejection of the Person of the Son. To reject the Son is to reject the Father (John 8:28; 12:49,50; 14:10).

May we learn, then, the lesson of these former generations, who chose against Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the one true God Who is three Persons, by fleeing to the land of slavery when difficulties arose against the people of God. Remember that these difficulties arise to convict and correct the people of their idolatry, their preference for the gods of their own hands (career, desires, hobbies, entertainments, ungodly relationships, etc.) – gods who are made in their own image in rejection of the Trinity Who calls us to holiness in Himself. Hold to the Trinity, beloved Church!