Christ Church

Grace & Peace: Revelation 75

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”
Revelation 11:11-14

We have surmised that the two witnesses are the totality of the prophetic witness throughout the Old Testament, and in this passage we see their final vindication. Their witness extended from Abel down to Christ. The attempt was made to extinguish their witness, and it appeared as though evil had triumphed. The ungodly had rejoiced at their defeat, but now they stood up on their feet, and the wicked were thrown into great consternation.

They had conducted their witness before the God of the earth (Rev. 11:4). They are here vindicated by the God of heaven (Rev. 11:13). Once again we have testimony to the truth that God loves cliffhangers. He loves to bring the stories He tells to the point of eucatastrophe. The Spirit of life from God entered into them, and their complete defeat was transformed into a complete victory.

When they stood, a great voice from Heaven invited them to ascend, which they did in a cloud. Their enemies saw all of this. What the great voice did was say the same thing that the voice like a trumpet had said to John earlier (Rev. 4:1).

At that same time, there was a great earthquake, which killed seven thousand men. This is a mirror image of what had happened in Elijah’s time—when seven thousand had been kept back from idolatry. Here seven thousand were slain for their idolatry. The number is likely symbolic, with seven representing completeness and one thousand representing multitudes.

Now this is not the final destruction of Jerusalem, that which happened in 70 A.D. We are talking here about the first siege of Jerusalem under Cestius. At the same time, the final destruction is still in view because God takes a tithe of the city. The tithe is not a partial payment for God, but rather is testimony to the fact that all of it is His. The entire city was dedicated to destruction. Immediately after this down payment, the population was frightened and gave glory to the God of Heaven. This was apparently not true repentance—otherwise the final outcome would have been different.

Josephus records some of the infighting that occurred in Jerusalem in the aftermath of an earthquake—the Idumeans together with the Zealots were able to make an entry into the city because of an earthquake, and then perpetrated a great slaughter.

This completed the second woe. The third was right on top of them.

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Bible Challenge #9

Becky Pliego on

Dear sisters,

Ready for another week of this Bible Reading Challenge? Ready to be stretched in your thinking? Ready for another week in which God, through His Word, will make you grow and sanctify you? As we keep reading we see that the hardest part of this challenge, of wearing this new habit is not necessarily finding the time to read, or fully understanding what we are reading. The hardest part might be seeing how some passages would be wonderful for our friend, or our husband, or our children to read, but forgetting that the Word is a mirror in which we ought to see ourselves first. The Word of God is for all His people, yes, but it is also for you personally. The Gospel message is powerful to change people -including you. So, let’s pray this week, as we come to His Word, that He will change us into His image. That He will show us the areas in our lives in which repentance is needed, that He will speak to us and humble us, and revive us and make us strong. He will hear and He will answer us.

This week we will finish reading the book of Numbers. Numbers started with directions for His people in the desert and will end with directions on how God’s people will need to live in cities. New rules, new patterns will be needed in their new life after the crossing of the Jordan River and again, God will not leave His people without directions. He will make His ways known to them. Matthew Henry says in his commentary on Numbers 36:13, “Whatever new condition God, by His Providence, brings us into, we must beg him to teach us the duties of it, and to enable us to do them, that we may do the work of the day in its day, the duty of a place in its place.”

We will also finish reading the 1st epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. In it we will read how we are to live as people of God in this world. And just like it was impossible for the Israelites to live according to all the laws, it is impossible for us to live according to God’s demands apart from the power of the Cross.  Paul in this letter, explains how we can live pure and clean lives, lives set apart because we believe in the power of the Gospel. Obedience is possible because Christ is risen and He is at work in us. The way of love is possible because He has given us His Spirit. Building each other up is possible because the risen Christ is what brings us together. The theme of the resurrection of Christ and the believers is an important theme in this epistle, so pay attention, you don’t want to miss all of the treasures in it!

After a catch-up day on Friday, we will start with the epistle of Mark and Deuteronomy, the last book Moses wrote in the desert on the plains of Moab before entering Canaan. It is important to note that in both, 1 Corinthians and Deuteronomy we will find many strong warnings against idolatry. God is God, and He is Holy and Zealous, and He has never changed. The gods people serve, the idols we make change. But God remains the same and His character remains the same.

Mark opens with a powerful phrase, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…” (ESV)  The same Gospel that later Paul proclaimed and we believe is true because God became man and conquered sin on the cross. Jesus starts His ministry doing what no one would have ever dared to do (and now we understand this much better!): He touched the unclean, the outcasts and made them whole. He also starts calling His disciples one by one, and we see that He chooses them to be His own, just like He chose Israel in the Old Testament out of the pure pleasure of His will.

Friends, we pray and trust that God will continue to bless you as you open His Word. May we have eyes to see His glory in the words we read and may we be transformed by it. Our prayer this week will be, “Father, help us this week to strive to excel in building up the church.” (1Cor. 14:12b ESV)

Under His sun and by Hs grace,

Becky Pliego and the team of Christ Church Ladies Fellowship

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 74

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”
Revelation 11:7-10

We now have the first mention of a beast in Revelation. In Scripture, beasts are persecuting political powers. In the popular mind, the beast and the antichrist are the same nefarious figure at the end of the world—but they are really quite distinct. A modern beast would be a figure like Stalin or Mao. A modern antichrist would be a false teacher . . . a mild liberal theologian who denies the Incarnation.

This beast ascends out of the Abyss, showing that his political force and authority are given to him by the underworld. He attacks the two witnesses, but is only allowed to do this after they have “finished their testimony.” With regard to the preceding verses, I argued that these were not two literal witnesses, but rather represented the chain of prophets throughout the Old Testament era. They came in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah. Part of the reason for not taking them as two literal prophets can be found in the wording of this section. First, it says that the beast “makes war” against them. This is an odd expression if we are talking about two men. Wars occur between armies. And second, in verses 8-9, the expression their dead bodies occurs three times. In the first two of these instances, the literal expression is singular—their dead body. This would indicate some sort of corporate body.

They testify for a long time—three and a half years. Their enemies exult over their dead bodies for a short time—three and a half days. The city where they died is identified as Jerusalem—where the Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is the graveyard of prophets. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee” (Matt. 23:37a). But graveyard is not quite the right expression because in this instance the malevolence of the God-haters is seen in how they deny burial to the witnesses, and how they rejoice and make merry over their death.

The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God.The book of Revelation is about the divorce and final putting away of Jerusalem. God’s rejection of her can be seen in the language used. This city, the city where Jesus was crucified, can be identified with her true spiritual names—that is, Sodom and Egypt. The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God. Israel is identified with Sodom in the Old Testament (Is. 1:10). And here in Revelation, the plagues of Egypt were rained down upon Israel (Rev. 8:6-12; 16:2-12)

Spite and vindictiveness are the hallmark of persecutors. They would not allow the witnesses to be buried, and they rejoiced over their carcasses. Unfortunately, this kind of malice has not been unknown in the history of the church. The ashes of Huss were thrown in the Lake of Constance. The bones of Wycliff were dug up and thrown into the river. The book of Revelation was largely fulfilled in the first century, but the fundamental spiritual realities have not changed.

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Bible Challenge #8

Christ Church on

Dear sisters,

¡Hola, hola! We did it! We finished Leviticus and Hebrews and we gleaned so much from our reading this past week, right? Isn’t it amazing how, when we start reading the whole Bible as one perfect story with one main theme at the centre our view of the whole is much better and we get to understand more? Praise God for the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our minds and hearts and lives.

If you are just joining us (or if you were behind and are now catching up with the rest of us), please, know that we are very grateful to have you in the group. We are praying for you because we know that sometimes we can be easily discouraged when want to prove ourselves that we finally have the willpower to keep up with a bible reading plan, but then fail -again. Friends, remember, this is not about trying harder, no! It is about wearing, about owning the habit of being in the Word. It is because we are weak that we come to the Word. It is because we don’t have a strong will power that we come to Christ and rely on Him. It is because we don’t understand why things happen the way they happen that we come to the Word. It is because we still sin that we come to the Word. So, Friend, be encouraged! Take the Book, and read it today!

This coming week we will start Numbers (1-25), read the 3 short epistles John wrote and start 1 Corinthians (1-4).

In Numbers we will encounter a book with engaging stories, more laws, and some genealogies. It starts, like Leviticus starts, with the Lord speaking in the tent of the meeting and the same central themes that started in Genesis are carried on in this book: 1) God is holy and wants to dwell with His people. 2) God wants to bless His people with the same promises He made to Abraham (many, many descendants, a Promised Land, and that through them all the nations of the world will be blessed) 3) But most importantly, God’s promise of giving Himself to His people, of becoming their God and making them His people continues.

We will keep reading and will keep learning by seeing God’s deeds, hearing His Word and His precepts, more of His perfect character. For example, we will continue to see how the people will insist on having a complaining attitude and will continue to murmur against God and His prophets, but we’ll see how He perseveres in loving them and in extending mercy to them. His grace abounds and that is remarkable! Our God’s goodness is higher than anything we could have possible imagined!

In the epistles of John, we see these same themes. God is holy and we are sinners. But because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross, because He shed His blood for us, we can find perfect forgiveness for our sins. The theme of cleanness and uncleanness that we find in Exodus and Leviticus is carried here too. We are cleansed with the blood of the Lamb and He can now abide in us and we can abide in Him. No more sacrifices are needed, the gospel message songs clear: Repent and believe. Salvation belongs to the Lord!

Be ready, also, to read a very well know passage in 1 Cor. 3:16, and understand it in a very different way.

So, yes, we still have so many treasures to find in God’s Word. Why wouldn’t we want to come and search diligently for them? So, this week, we will not put God’s Book aside, we will take it with us and open it and read it, and mediate on it, and make it our own. We want to be women of the Word, because only when we are women of the Word can we be truly called women of God.

May our prayer this week be, “Father, thank you for your Word, may we read it and find our joy complete.”

We are grateful to God for the way God has blessed us through this Bible Reading Challenge. He is indeed at work in us, and we praise Him for that!
We would love to invite you to watch the live Webinar this coming Monday at 10:00am PST here.

Under His Sun and by His grace,

Becky Pliego and the Team of Christ Church Ladies Fellowship

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 73

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”
Revelation 11:3-6

Biblical law requires at least two witnesses before a condemnation, and here, before Jerusalem is finally condemned, the requisite two witnesses are brought forward. The identity of these witnesses has long been disputed and discussed, and this contribution to the discussion is offered with that awareness.

That said, I take these witnesses to represent all the prophets of Israel. The Lord taught us that the guilt of the old covenant era was cumulative. “From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation” (Luke 11:51). The Lord said this, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, which is our topic here. The two witnesses are dressed in sackcloth, which denotes a message of woe and the need for repentance. That matches the narrative as well.

The two witnesses have miraculous powers, as did the prophets of old, and their powers echo the powers of Moses and Elijah, the two who visited with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses turned water to blood, and he struck the earth with all manner of plagues. Elijah called down fire from the sky that consumed the men who had come to arrest him, and he shut up the heavens so that a fierce drought came upon Ahab’s Israel. Moses and Elijah also represent for us the Law and the Prophets.

All of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem.In addition, the two olive trees and two candlesticks are intended to make us think of Zerubbabel and Joshua (Zech. 4:2-14). These two men were true servants of God, serving Him in the civil and religious spheres respectively. In the same way, throughout the Old Testament not only did prophets come out of the wilderness, like Elijah, but they also wielded civic, political power, like Moses and David. And all of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem. Their works of power were ignored, and their powerful words were ignored. “Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them” (Jer. 5:14).

These two men prophesy for 1,260 days, the same period of time that sees the holy city trampled on by the Gentiles. I take this as a picture of the final prophetic culmination. “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). They were not persuaded when Jesus rose, as the prophets had said, and neither were they persuaded when they died . . . also as the prophets had said.

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