Reflect

“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high’” (Luke 24:44-49). We usually limit Christ’s explanation of “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” to the phrase “Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead.” I think, however, that Jesus included the global, Spirit-empowered witness in that explanation. The saving work of the Christ and the power of that work to re-orient the world to a radical, eternal Christ-centeredness and submission is also part of the story of the O.T.

I used to say, almost tongue-in-cheek, that when you had finished doing everything Jesus commanded and teaching other disciples among all the nations to do the same, you could study and debate the Revelation (or Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, etc.). It seems to be time to add an additional statement: when you’re done witnessing “to all the nations” concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness found in faithfulness to Him, and how that is taught in the whole Bible, then you can talk politics. When you’re done strategizing on how to get others out there, looking for unreached corners of your own counties, giving as much as you can to fund the going of others, the purchasing of outreach materials, praying exhaustively for the mission (2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-6), using the digital world for outreach, etc., then you can worry over and battle and (sigh) throw insults and whatever else for the sake of the control of the city of man…if you can find Scripture backing up such an enterprise and approach.

If you’re talking/posting more about the President, President-elect, or any other politician serving in the city of man than you speak of Jesus, and you claim to follow Him, you need to repent. Everyone else is talking about these briefest of flashes in world history; you have been given the message of the forever-King, His works, and His commands. Why would we waste a single breath or keystroke on those who are only distractions from eternity?

Not to be crass, but under the old covenant, while Israel was still wandering the desert, part of the Law of Moses even told them how to dispose of their personal bodily waste (Deuteronomy 23:12-14). It mattered because “the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.” If the toilet door wasn’t shut on the LORD for some privacy, do you really think your blog is yours, Christian? Or your social media accounts? Or anything?

I started with the red letter recorded by Luke. Moving on to the good doctor’s sequel, let’s consider the red letter in its beginning.

“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth’” (Acts 1:1-8). I think it both fascinating and germane that, after Jesus “over a period of forty days” spoke to them “of the things concerning the kingdom of God,” they ask about a restoration of “the kingdom of Israel.” Any preacher or anyone involved in communication of information and events to a church can relate to this disjunct between what was said and what was heard (or not heard). “Forty days.” I do find it comforting that the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the very Word of God made flesh, Who “by the Holy Spirit [had] given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen,” had to deal with the same issues as a preacher in a small pulpit or the poor soul charged with making announcements.

So I’ll say again: if you claim to follow Jesus, and He has commanded that you be part of proclaiming Him to the entire world, why is He less than 10% of what you say, write, re-post, echo, think, adore? I guarantee there is still a “remotest part” in your town, beloved. We’re not done yet.

Earlier I mentioned something I often say about the Revelation or “end times” obsessions. I’m certainly not done teaching new disciples to obey everything Christ commanded (Matthew 28:20), and I’m nowhere close to obeying Him adequately myself, but I want to look at a chapter in the Revelation to finish this post out.

“…‘I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth [Zechariah 4:11-14; 2 Corinthians 2:17]. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies [2 Samuel 22:9; Psalm 97:3; Jeremiah 5:14]; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying [1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 1:10]; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood [Exodus 7:20; Revelation 16:4], and to strike the earth with every plague [the Revelation, describing the final Exodus event, references “plagues” often - 9:2; 15:1,6,8; 16:9,21; 18:4,8; 21:9; 22:18], as often as they desire. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them [compare with 17:6]. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city [Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:18; 18:10,16,18,19,21] which mystically is called Sodom [Isaiah 1:10] and Egypt [Galatians 4:21-31], where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days [compare with “forty-two months,” 11:2, and “twelve hundred and sixty days,” 11:3; see also Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Luke 4:25; Revelation 12:14], and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth [Esther 9:22]. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet [Ezekiel 37:5,10]; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them” (Revelation 11:3-12).

Quite the tapestry of other Bible passages, isn’t it? I’ve taught through Revelation three times (not in the same venue or time slot), and am fighting a temptation to do it again. I’m not satisfied with how I’ve taught it, and can’t find anyone who teaches it in a way that seems (to me) to match the purpose of the Holy Spirit in inspiring it. It’s about an unveiling of “Jesus Christ.” It’s supposed to be a blessing to the one “who reads” it, along with those “who hear the words of the prophecy.” This is a corporate worship (“church service”) setting. The Revelation is something we’re supposed to “heed” (1:3). Yet it’s taught as information about events (past, present, future) on a geopolitical level. Nations are the focus, not Jesus. After just a cursory reading of the above passage from chapter 11 and noting a few of the Old Testament (or even New Testament) cross-references, my conviction that we don’t understand “prophecy” is only growing. True, I am an amillennialist, which means (now that I’ve put a label to it), many readers will automatically check out, but I believe the Revelation describes the work of Jesus Christ in His Church in this last age of the world (the Gospel Age) using only Old Testament quotes, allusions, and echoes. What if you had to write a newspaper article about a current event, but could only cut-and-paste from a history book to do it? Or, to make it more like the Revelation, you could only cut-and-paste from an art history book and several classic poets to do it? Just as Jesus taught from “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” concerning His saving work and the spread of the message of that work throughout the world, Revelation is a capstone to the Bible in that it does exactly that. It takes “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” and weaves a complicated, dramatic, powerful series of tapestry-images that we will only grasp if we are living a New Testament life with New Testament thinking and New Testament goals in New Testament ways while growing in our understanding of Old Testament passages and how they point to Jesus. To re-allocate Paul, “brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14).

The witnesses. Two of them. They speak with authority and power. The world hates them. I believe they represent the Church in the Gospel Age. You, Church, are called to proclaim the divine and personal Truth (John 14:6) in the power of the Holy Spirit to a world that absolutely hates it.

Why two witnesses? Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15 (see also Matthew 18:16; 26:60; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28). It took at least two for righteous condemnation in judgment.

The function of the two witnesses is to facilitate God’s judgment.

You are talking about who’s right and who’s wrong in the politics of the city of man, when you are called and empowered to walk through Ninevah warning, “yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4), and offering the only hope: “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). That generation of Ninevah wasn’t saved by a smear campaign against the king. Or by advocating replacement of that king. It was saved by proclaiming judgment and commanding repentance.

When Paul was speaking to Felix, the Roman procurator of Judea (A.D. 52-58), and the procurator’s wife, the apostle spoke “about faith in Christ Jesus,” which included “discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:24,25). Yes, it “frightened” Felix. Yes, he sent Paul away. But Paul, called to be a witness as much as we are, Church, did his duty “before the Lord of the earth.” He didn’t speak civic policy or political theory with Felix. He proclaimed the greater Kingdom and its greatest King. This is what Jesus said would happen (Matthew 10:16-20//Mark 13:9-11//Luke 21:12-15).

I took this picture a few nights ago looking out one of the back windows of the house, roughly facing southeast. Sirius is high in the picture. Brightest star in the sky. Part of Canis Major, the dog running with the hunter Orion across the winter night sky. Yet Sirius is not the brightest light in the picture. A bit less than 300 yards away from me is a barn. When the moon is casting its light, the metal roof of that barn is a bright trapezoid-looking shape that immediately catches your attention. That dog’s been chasing the hunter across the sky for all of human history, but a bit of metal roofing in a cattle field easily outshines it. You're not supposed to be a superstar or an announcer for a superstar (a celestial dog chasing Orion across the sky); you're an "adequate" (2 Corinthians 3:4,5; 2 Timothy 3:17) means of reflecting a greater light. Reflect the greater Light, Church. In the darkness, don’t echo the words (spoken or digital) of the darkness. There is only one Light. Reflect.

Thankfulness and Praise in Hebrews 1:3

“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3).

I am thankful that to see God, I need only to look to the Son. When I look at the Son, my spiritual sight is then drawn to the Father Who sent His Son (John 1:18; 14:9). When I look at the Son, I do so by the Son-given Spirit Who also inspired the Word which reveals the Son. Glorious Trinity! The “doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on Him…religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone” (1689 Baptist Confession, 2.3; 22.2). Praise Him with great praise! If 1:1 is the Old Testament, then remember that 1:2 is the God’s final all-sufficient Word the Son in the New Testament. There Jesus is revealed to us fully, and He is all we need to see to see God. We also learn how we are to live and the people of the Son. Praise Him for this full life in the glory and nature of God!

I am thankful that He “upholds all things by the word of His power.” The Son as mediatorial Creator is not a single past-time event. It is continual. Nothing exists outside of the unceasing creative power of the Son Who is the Word of God (Psalm 33:6; John 1:1-3). He, being fully God, is infinitely greater than this entire universe. I remember reading Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time long, long ago. The goal of his work as a theoretical physicist was to construct a picture of “a universe with no edge in space, no beginning or end in time, and nothing for a Creator to do.”[1] Nothing new there. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) also believed in an eternal creation, making creation the Absolute instead of any Creator. The apostle explains it this way a few centuries later: “…since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:20-25). The response to an unimaginably large and complex and varied creation is to be utterly awed by the Absolute and infinitely greater Creator… to “honor Him as God” and “give thanks.” Praise Him with great praise, for all that is exists derivatively from the One Who is Being. Not only that, but if the Word of God Who is eternally One with God continuously creates this universe, what can His perfectly-inspired written Word do in our lives by the power of the Spirit He has given us?

I am thankful that He has fully accomplished the “purification of sins.” This is the sixth day of Christmas (“geese a-laying” day), the sixth day celebrating His coming. The Son is the Law-Giver.[2] All of us have violated that Law. He came to this world to pay the penalty for the lawlessness of His people (Matthew 1:21). “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). This Good News is built on the foundation of God’s speaking in Hebrews 1:1. The Fall, the Law, the sacrifices for violations of that Law, the Promise of a final Prophet, Priest, and King…all of these are in the revelations God made “to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways” (1:1). And this points to my infinitely-heavy debt to God for violating His Law. He is worthy of praise in the Big Story and in my personal Small Story, for He is the Resolution of my greatest problem: lawlessness before the Law-Giver.

I am thankful that when I consider the power and authority over the entire universe, I rest in the fact that He is also the One “Who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). The more and more I read the Book, the more and more I see His absolute sovereignty revealed to us. It is on the first page, where being made by the plural Him in His “image” and “likeness” is immediately followed by the decree “let them rule” (Genesis 1:26) – His image is sovereignty. It is on the last page, where “the root and the descendant of David” (Revelation 22:16) is prayed to (showing His divinity) with the supplication, “come, Lord Jesus” (22:20), and is the Source of all we need, “the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” (22:21).[3] He is sitting down at the highest place of authority in the universe. He is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet” (Ephesians 1:21,22). “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25). The resurrected Lord tells the eleven on that hill in Galilee, “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Resting by faith in this truth is the greatest praise I can offer Him this day.

Antelope on the run.

---

[1] Hawking, Stephen, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (New York: Bantam Books, 1988), x.

[2] “…Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver” (1689 Baptist Confession, 19.3).

[3] Jesus as Fulfillment of the Davidic covenant is a massively important and relevant doctrine that I’ve only really awakened to in the last few years. He is identified in the first words of the New Testament as “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David” (Matthew 1:1), and, as I cited above, He is identified according to the Davidic covenant on the last page of the New Testament. The Davidic covenant is invoked in one of Paul’s earliest works (Romans 1:3) and one of his latest (2 Timothy 2:8). It is relevant because Christians are so obsessed with the earthly rulers and powers that I fear they spend very little time resting in the only eternal King and His current absolute power.

Big Picture Parallels in the Bible

I was thinking about the big picture of the Bible yesterday on my run, specifically about the two revelatory “dark ages” in the history of the biblical story. Between the final events of Joseph’s life and the Exodus is just over four hundred years (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 12:40,41; Acts 7:6; Galatians 3:17). Between Malachi and the apostles’ writing of the New Testament is a similar period of time (depending on when you date Malachi and the earliest writings of the New Testament).

The covenant people of God were delivered through Moses (as servant in God’s house, Hebrews 3:1-6) from Egypt, the house of slavery (Exodus 13:3,14; 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:5; 6:12; 7:8; 8:14; 13:5,10; Judges 6:8; Micah 6:4).

The covenant people of God were delivered through Jesus Christ (as Son in God’s house, Hebrews 3:1-6) from Second Temple Judaism, the house of slavery (John 8:31-36; Galatians 4:1-5:1).

In the allegory of Galatians 4:22-31, Hagar is “is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children” (4:25). Remember that Hagar is Egyptian (Genesis 16:1,3; 21:9; 25:12), a native from the house of slavery.

The Revelation makes the same comparison between earthly Jerusalem and Egypt: “...the great city which mystically is called Sodom [Isaiah 1:10; Jeremiah 23:13; Ezekiel 16:46] and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (11:8). This is, in fact, my interpretation of the Revelation: the story of the generation that transitioned from the old covenant to the new covenant, culminating in the current Gospel age (described symbolically in chapters 20-22).[1]

Jacob’s family goes into slavery in Egypt. Parallel to this, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah lead the people back into the land after the Babylonian exile. They build a second temple, one without the Ark of the Covenant or a manifestation of God’s glory at its dedication (it is an exceedingly empty symbol).

Over four centuries of silence occur both in the Hebrews’ time in Egypt and the growth of Second Temple Judaism.

God manifests His presence through His servant Moses and His Son Jesus Christ to bring deliverance.

The revelatory “dark ages” come to an end with Moses’ writing of the Law (the first five books of the Old Testament) and Jesus Christ’s apostles’ writing of the New Testament.

Interesting parallels worth some thought.

---

[1] I do not deny a second coming of Christ, but don’t believe the New Testament tells us much about it (many of the passages we attribute to the second coming actually describe the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the full establishment of the Gospel/New Covenant Age) – instead, we’re told how to live in Christ on earth while longing to be with Him in heaven. “To deter all men from sin on the one hand, and to give greater comfort to the godly in their adversity on the other, Christ would have us firmly persuaded that a day of judgment lies ahead. For the same reasons He has kept the day’s date a secret so that men may shake off all confidence in themselves and, in ignorance of the hour in which the Lord will come, may be ever on the watch, and ever prepared to say, ‘Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen’” (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, 32.3).

42

I’ve been preaching through the Old Testament book of Numbers for over a year in our evening service. Numbers is important – the apostle Paul, after describing an event recorded in Numbers, says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). A few weeks ago, someone glanced ahead to see what was in the text for the following study. As we were dismissing, he asked (with obvious skepticism), “what about chapter thirty-three?” Most of the chapter is a list of place names, most of which are referenced only here. It’s a travel journal describing the years between the Exodus and the entry into the Promised Land for the children of Israel. It includes scant details. The original accounts in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are far more interesting from a narrative point of view. So what do we learn from this text? Actually, something very important.

“These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord. And these are their journeys according to their starting points” (33:1,2).

It’s important that Moses writes this chronicles “at the command of the Lord.” We’ll see why in a moment. I’ve broken the long list down into its forty-two camping points to make a little more manageable.

One: Rameses (33:3-4)

They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them. Also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments.

Two: Succoth (33:5)

Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

Three: Etham (33:6)

They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

Four: Pi Hahiroth (33:7)

They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol.

Five: Marah (33:8)

They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah.

Six: Elim (33:9)

They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.

Seven: By the Red Sea (33:10)

They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

Eight: In the Wilderness of Sin (33:11)

They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.

Nine: Dophkah (33:12)

They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

Ten: Alush (33:13)

They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

Eleven: Rephidim (33:14)

They moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Twelve: In the Wilderness of Sinai (33:15)

They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Thirteen: Kibroth Hattaavah (33:16)

They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

Fourteen: Hazeroth (33:17)

They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

Fifteen: Rithmah (33:18)

They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

Sixteen: Rimmon Perez

They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

Seventeen: Libnah (33:20)

They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

Eighteen: Rissah (33:21)

They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

Nineteen: Kehelathah (33:22)

They journeyed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

Twenty: Mount Shepher (33:23)

They went from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

Twenty-One: Haradah (33:24)

They moved from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

Twenty-Two: Makheloth (33:25)

They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

Twenty-Three: Tahath (33:26)

They moved from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

Twenty-Four: Terah (33:27)

They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah.

Twenty-Five: Mithkah (33:28)

They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

Twenty-Six: Hashmonah (33:29)

They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

Twenty-Seven: Moseroth (33:30)

They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

Twenty-Eight: Bene Jaakan (33:31)

They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

Twenty-Nine: Hor Hagidgad (33:32)

They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad.

Thirty: Jotbathah (33:33)

They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

Thirty-One: Abronah (33:34)

They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

Thirty-Two: Ezion Geber (33:35)

They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

Thirty-Three: In the Wilderness of Zin, or Kadesh (33:36)

They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

Thirty-Four: Mount Hor (33:37-40)

They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom. Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.

Thirty-Five: Zalmonah (33:41)

So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

Thirty-Six: Punon (33:42)

They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

Thirty-Seven: Oboth (33:43)

They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth.

Thirty-Eight: Ije Abarim (33:44)

They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.

Thirty-Nine: Dibon Gad (33:45)

They departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad.

Forty: Almon Diblathaim (33:46)

They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

Forty-One: In the Mountains of Abarim (33:47)

They moved from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

Forty-Two: In the Plains of Moab (33:48,49)

They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.

I mentioned that it was important that Moses wrote this “at the command of the Lord.” Despite their sin throughout the wilderness wanderings, not one of their failures is mentioned in this chronicle. Up to this point, Numbers has not held back at all in mentioning the faithlessness, disobedience, and sin of Israel. In this list, however, the debacles associated with certain place names go unmentioned here. It’s about grace. At any one of these places God could’ve destroyed the people in their sin and been perfectly justified. Forty-two place names that highlight the patience and grace of God.

Read Numbers 9:15-23. They did not move unless God moved. They did not stay unless God stayed. From a “human responsibility” point of view, they were utterly tied to a following of the Lord wherever He went, whenever He went. From a “God’s sovereignty” point of view, God never left them without His presence for a single moment in the wilderness. Each of these forty-two place names emphasizes this point. God never abandoned His people, and they didn’t take a step that wasn’t in the shadow of His Presence.

God provided for them in the wilderness. “I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet” (Deuteronomy 29:5). There were times He allowed them to hunger in the wilderness so that they would lean on His Word more and more: “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” (Deuteronomy 8:3-5). Each of these forty-two places represents both preservation and discipline, both from a loving Father (read Hebrews 12:1-17...often).

They were delivered from Egypt, the kingdom of slavery and darkness, brought through the wilderness (in forty-two steps), and ultimately into the Promised Land. We can relate. We are currently in the wilderness of this world, between the bondage to darkness from which we came and the true heavenly Promised Land that awaits. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14).

This idea of “the first month” in Rameses followed by forty-one other place names becomes an important symbol in the rest of the Bible for God’s provision and discipline. The forty-two of Numbers 33 becomes 42 months, 1,260 days, or 3 ½ years of God’s care and perfecting of His people in the time between their deliverance and homecoming. Let’s look at how the Holy Spirit uses this concept in the rest of the Bible.

“The fourth beast shall be
A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.

The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.

He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.

But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.

Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:23-27).

“A time and times and half a time.” 3 ½ years. Forty-two months. The people of God persecuted but preserved and ultimately given “an everlasting kingdom” (the eternal reality of which the earthly Promised Land of the O.T. is a symbol). This vision of Daniel’s describes the rise of the new covenant people of God in Christ during the days of the Roman Empire (the fourth beast) in the A.D. first century (and really, until today). Life is not easy for the people of God, but they will be preserved until they receive the Kingdom eternally. Daniel 7 is one of my favorite chapters – I think a good understanding of it goes a long way to understanding the rest of the Bible and our circumstances today as the people of God in the world.

Revelation contains three references to this time period:

• “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth’” (Revelation 11:1-3).
• “Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days...the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent” (Revelation 12:6,14).
• “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:5-8).

Each of these is a different view of the same period – that which is described in Daniel 7. From the unbelieving nations (11:2) to the serpent/dragon/devil (12:12-17) to the “beast rising up out of the sea” (13:1, the “sea” representing the unbelieving nations - 17:15; cf. Psalm 65:7; Isaiah 8:7; 17:12,13), the Church will be hounded during this time period between salvation and homecoming. During this wilderness wandering in the world, God will preserve and provide for His people. The Church will give testimony (1:2,9; 6:9; 11:7; 12:11,17; 17:3,6; 19:10; 20:4) to Christ, holding to Him alone, even above love for life (12:11,17). He will also test her dedication to Him, purging her of idolatry and faithlessness. This Exodus pattern is also found in Hebrews 3-4.

The Bible as a whole tells this story. In the Old Testament (specifically Numbers, in this case) it is a type, or shadow, of New Testament experience for the people of God. Forty-two camping locations between Egypt and the Promised Land represent our long experience from the waters of baptism at salvation to the opening of our eyes in Glory. In that time God will show His great grace to us, despite our many failures, idolatries, and faithlessness along the way – for we are covered with the blood of the Lamb. Along the way God will test us and purge us, even as He preserves and provides for us. The world will hate those in the camp of the saints as we wander, for they are instruments of that serpent of old. But one day we will cross the Jordan and be home. This is an unshakeable and unbreakable promise, our hope step-by-step as we go forward. 42 months. 3 ½ years. 1,260 days. Time, times, and half a time.

Let’s keep going, Church.

The La Sal mountains from Arches National Park, October 2013

The Psalm and the Sacramental Scattering

“Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
Consume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah” (Psalm 59:11-13, N.K.J.V.).

When we consider the frequency of the verb “forget” in the Old Testament, we learn a bit about it. After the Psalter itself, the verb שכח occurs most in Deuteronomy (covenant renewed after the passing of a faithless generation) and Jeremiah (old covenant broken, new covenant promised). Forgetting is a threat to members of the covenant – the Church. The Psalm prays that unbelievers be scattered and not immediately judged to counter covenant unfaithfulness (forgetting).

The presence of hostile unbelievers as they besiege the camp of believers is sacramental. I’m not saying it is a sacrament (there are only two, baptism and the Lord’s Supper), but that it is sacramental (acts similarly to a sacrament). What do I mean by this?

The Westminster Divines describe a sacrament as that which makes clear “a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church, and the rest of the world” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 27.1) and something to “distinguish them from those who are without” (Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. 162). Further, sacraments confer a “grace” which is “the work of the Spirit,” which contains a “word of institution” or “promise of benefit to worthy receivers” (W.C.F. 27.3). Christ gives a sacrament “to signify, seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace the benefits of His mediation, to strengthen and increase their faith” (W.L.C., Q. 162).

Christ is the lone Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He is also the eternal Heir to David’s throne (Luke 1:31,32,68-75; Revelation 22:16). The Psalms not only speak of Him (Luke 24:44), but as the inspired songs of the Spirit of Christ, they are the Son’s very prayers.

The Son, then, in Psalm 59, prays that the besiegers do not immediately find destruction, but are scattered. It is the Mediator-King’s prayer on behalf of God’s people. This scattering marks a difference between the Church and the world, since the work of Christ is not to scatter His people, but gather them (Matthew 24:31//Mark 13:27; John 11:52; 2 Thessalonians 2:1). The scattering of the besiegers also strengthens the faith of those in the new covenant, preventing their forgetfulness (Psalm 59:11).

The continual existence of the enemies of the Church (until the last Day) keeps the Church from lapsing into apathetic forgetfulness. For now, the serpent is kept from deceiving “the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war” (Revelation 20:8). In this Age, the Church is gathered and the nations remain scattered by the Psalm 59:11 prayer of the Mediator-King. He does not outright destroy them – otherwise we would be tempted to forget the covenant. The scattering of the enemies is our preservation.

The scattering of the enemies of the Church also serves the Gospel mission of this Age, for the Church is created in every generation out of these scattered enemies. “...when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). The Age will one day end. The continued existence of those who hate the Church is one way Christ preserves our faith (so that we do not forget our need for Him) and the means by which the Church is propagated (the Church grows through enemies converted). However, Christ (in Psalm 59:13) also prays for the coming Day of judgment.

Until that Day, we should regard the hatred of the world toward the Church as a gracious reminder of Christ’s sovereign defense and preservation of the Church (the Church outlasts every nation in history, no matter how mighty or determined to destroy the Church that nation is). We do not forget (hear the echoes of the “remembrance” from the Lord’s Supper, Luke 22:19//1 Corinthians 11:24,25) and therefore are held in the new covenant. The continued existence of those who hate us is Christ’s preserving grace to us.

“What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24).

Rather than hand-wringing, give Him thanks and purpose to grow in faithfulness to Him and His mission (to see some from out of His enemies saved). Instead of scattering (a sign of judgment from the Mediator-King), let us gather in Him.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25).

The Sword of Jesus

Biblical, Christ-centered preaching is Christ’s own sword, which He wields to warn, correct, and judge both His Church and the world. The theme of God’s striking Word is seen in the prophets:

• “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked” (Isaiah 11:1-4).
• “‘Is not my Word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29).

Does He do this directly in a literal manifestation of His Person? No. A passage in Hosea reveals to us how His sword is unsheathed to do its work: “Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgment goes forth as the light” (6:5). The sword of the Word of God is present in the proclamation of that Word by God’s called emissaries.

His Word faithfully proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit produces the effects for which it is intended. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10,11). We often quote this verse, but don’t make the connection between the Word going forth from the mouth of God and the proclamation of that Word by God’s prophets/preachers.

Read Genesis 1. The very existence of Creation all around us (and including us) is a testimony to the power of God’s proclaimed Word. This is the power He manifests when His appointed prophets/preachers proclaim His Word. Preaching is a function of the will of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11,12). If the first Creation was made by His Word alone, how much more the New Creation – and who has been called and empowered to proclaim His creating Word?

As an important aside:

• I define “prophecy” as the act of applying the Word of God by the calling, guidance, and power of the Holy Spirit – what we do when we “preach” in the Church every Lord’s Day. I think the continuists and cessationist arguments are both off because we have allowed the modern Pentacostal/charismatic movements to define the terms “prophecy” and “tongues” (among others). The vast majority of what we see the Old Testament prophets doing was applying the Law (including the promised curses of invasion and exile) to their day by the power of the Holy Spirit. “Prophecy” is a term that emphasizes the Spirit’s involvement in preaching (applying the contextually-accurate, theologically-orthodox explained Word to the hearers in the gathering of the Church).
• I do not mean that the off-topic, contextually-removed, theologically-bankrupt, humanistic, erring babbling of the man who refuses to be faithful to the Word and is not in submission to the Spirit is the sword of Christ. Just because someone has a title and stands on the stage before a crowd does not guarantee that his words are the Word. Our opinions, preferences, “special words,” “leadings,” experience, etc., are not the sword of the Spirit of Christ, which is the Word of God proclaimed by His power. Please don’t hear me say otherwise.

This is how Christ the King works through His Holy Spirit: in the reading, preaching, and teaching of the Word wherever the saints gather:

• This sword convicts and disciplines true believers: “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12,13).
• This sword is all we need against all the powers of darkness – human or spiritual – that oppose the reign of the King of kings over all the heavens and earth: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore...and take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:10-13,14,17).

The Revelation is a fitting conclusion to the Bible since it is put together by the Holy Spirit from all the other things the Spirit inspired in the rest of the Bible. There is not a phrase or image that isn’t echoing something that came before. Here we see “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,” inseparably connected with the glorified, reigning Jesus:

• “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and 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” (Revelation 1:12-16).
• “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of Him Who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast My name, and you did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of My mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’” (Revelation 2:12-17).
• “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it 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” (Revelation 19:11-15).

Does Jesus have a two-edged sword literally, physically coming out of His mouth? No. Read these images in light of the rest of the New Testament, which clearly shows the Word going forth in power throughout the world, according to His will, by the power of His Holy Spirit, and through the Church.

“Behold! The ecclesiastical power which is given to pastors of the church (by whatever name they are called) is clearly declared! That is, by God’s Word which they are established to administer, they boldly dare all things and constrain every glory, greatness, and power of this world to obey and submit to the divine Majesty. By this Word they have command over the whole world; they build up Christ’s house and overturn Satan’s kingdom; they feed the sheep and kill the wolves; they lead by teaching and exhortations those who are teachable; they constrain and correct the rebellious and obstinate; they bind, loose, thunder, and cast lightning - but all in the Word of God” (John Calvin, 1541 edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion, 15).

As we go through these days in this world, our “righteous souls are tormented by the lawless deeds we see and hear” (to paraphrase 2 Peter 2:8). The days and weeks and months and years and decades seem long, and it seems that the forces of darkness are in easy, clear control of the world. It must’ve seemed so to Daniel, as well. But the message of that book is clear: despite the Nebuchadnezzars and Belshazzars and Babylons and scary beasts, God is absolutely, 100% in total control over all. The clashing of world powers is matched in the heavenlies by unseen (but far more powerful) forces that don’t fight for God in their own created strength, but by His unstoppable and perfect providential will. Let the Word direct your vision of the world – as it was during Daniel’s day, so it is today. The King of kings and Lord of lords has been given authority over all of heaven and earth. He has unsheathed His mighty sword – the Spirit-inspired Word, and wields it through the faithful proclamation of His Church in all places in all the centuries since His ascension. By it He defends where He will and defeats where He will, according to His perfect, sovereign plan. Read it with this truth in mind. Preach it, teach it, pray it with this truth in mind. Hear it and live by faith-based, Spirit-empowered obedience to its commands in your life. The Word is the Sword of Christ, and it does exactly what He wills it to do, both in your heart and mind, and on the vanity that is the world stage.

Biblical, Christ-centered preaching is Christ’s own sword, which He wields to warn, correct, and judge both His Church and the world.

All this being said, I feel I need to suggest something, and, in so doing, probably scuttle a reasonably edifying blog post.

Because of the principle I argued for above, I’ve often wondered if the events of Revelation 19:11-15 were actually descriptive of the events started at Pentecost: Jesus descending in His Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18; Romans 8:9; 1 Peter 1:11) to begin manifesting His reign and bringing judgment upon His enemies through the proclamation of the Word throughout the world (Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:23).

I’ve had the same thoughts about the Olivet Discourse (which is obviously about the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70): “And He will send out [αποστελει] His angels [τους αγγελους, which can also be translated “messengers”] with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). Could this be the current Gospel Age, when Christ is gathering the elect from all over the world through His sent-out messengers?

I’m not denying a “literal, physical, visible return” of Christ. I’m saying that it’s very possible that the passages that we’ve traditionally thought taught this doctrine do not. Before you write me off (I mean that figuratively, not literally, physically, and visibly), read the Old Testament parallel to Matthew and Revelation’s “literal, physical, visible return” texts: 2 Samuel 22//Psalm 18. Now show me where anything even remotely like this happened in a “literal, physical, visible” sense in the historical narrative of 1-2 Samuel. Do the same with Deborah’s song (Judges 5:4,5,20). When did we see the coming of the Lord on march or see angels stoop to battle human beings in the historical narrative of the battle itself (4:1-24)?

I think we in the Church are long overdue for a revolution (I would’ve used “reformation,” but that’s been taken) in our eschatology. Rooting our reading of the New Testament more firmly in the way the Old Testament speaks while being purposefully aware of the historical context of the A.D. first century and the theological shift-of-age that happened then would make our eschatology smaller (but more potent) and more focused on the general thrust of the entire N.T.: Jesus is Lord of all, and He manifests His reign by the power of His Spirit through the proclamation of the Word throughout the world. May our reading of so-called eschatological passages lead us to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) rather than charts and today’s news.

There is a connection between the response to the proclamation of the Word of God and our eternity after the final judgment. Proclamation and eternal judgment are linked in the Word of God (Romans 10:8-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8). Don't underemphasize or undervalue this great link. Preaching is a manifestation of the eschatological.

Preach the Word. We are Spirit-empowered heralds of the King Who – right now – reigns over heaven and earth and continues (as He has for almost 2,000 years) to powerfully manifest that reign through the proclamation of the Word through His Church.