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Grace & Peace: Revelation #24

Douglas Wilson on

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

“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 2:26–29).

The church at Thyatira was having trouble keeping the corruption of the nations out of the church. But the Lord calls them to faithfulness, and urges them to overcome and keep His works to the end. For the believer who does that, God will give him authority (exousia) over the nations. In short, exercising dominion within the church, according to the Word, will result in dominion in the world. In the second psalm, God promises that the Christ will be given a rod of iron to rule over the nations, and here the Christ promises that the overcomer will share in that rule with Him. As the Christ received authority from the Father, so also will the servants of Christ receive authority from Him – and it is all at the root the same authority. That rule is not all sunshine—the nations are sometimes shattered in the process. Jesus came, after all, to set the world on fire (Luke 12:49). To the one who overcomes, God will give him the morning star. This is simply the gift of Christ under another figure. Christ is the morning star (Rev. 22:16). The one who is able to hear needs to make a point of hearing what the Spirit says to all the churches.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #23

Douglas Wilson on

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

“But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.” (Revelation 2:24–25)

Jezebel was tolerated in Thyatira, and this was a big problem. It was a problem for her and for her followers because they were going to be chastised by the Lord directly. It was a problem for the leadership at Thyatira because they were the ones who put up with this contagion in the church. The Lord promises to parse the situation out, in accordance with the works of “each one of you.”

The next word is a bit more encouraging. The toleration of Jezebel was a problem, but the Lord continues to talk to the church leadership (apparently) along with the rest of the saints in Thyatira, the ones who had not been corrupted with this licentious teaching. It is interesting to note how John references how these false teachers described their own teaching – as “the depths of Satan.” They were apparently peddling some sort of deep heavy, and the Lord will have none of it.

He says that he will put no additional burden on them. I take this to mean that there is no additional task beyond the implied task of no longer tolerating Jezebel. No additional labor is necessary. Get rid of that woman, and hold on tight until the Lord relieves them.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #22

Douglas Wilson on

Grace and Peace

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

“And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works” (Rev. 2:21–23).

Woman handJezebel was a false prophetess who made room for sexual license among her disciples, a doctrine that is too often an easy sell. She was a professing Christian and was part of the church there in Thyatira. The Lord’s judgments are not always immediate. In this case, He had given her a warning, and time to repent of her fornication. But she did not take advantage of the opportunity, and refused to repent. [Read more…]

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #21

Douglas Wilson on

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

“I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (Rev. 2:19–20).

The church at Thyatira was an industrious, hard-working church. In speaking to them, the Lord begins by douglas-wilson-revelation-13-moscow idahocommending them for their labors. He uses a number of overlapping terms to do so—He praises their works, using that work twice, once at the beginning and the other at the end of the list. He commends their works, and then their love, and their faith, and their steadfastness, and then their works again. The works at the end of the list were greater than the works at the beginning. Their labors were growing in volume and intensity. The church at Ephesus worked hard also, but had fallen from their first love. The church at Thyatira was given over to ever-increasing works, but they were also commended for their love (agape). All in all, they appeared to be a healthy church. [Read more…]

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Grace Agenda 2016 – Debrief

Ben Zornes on

GraceAgenda 2016: Darwin’s Dead End was a blast!

First off we had the pre-conference seminars. The “Sexual Apologetics” for Church Leaders, taught by Pastor Doug, was full of wisdom, insight, and provoking encouragement as to how to stand firm for biblical truth in the midst of a sexually confused generation.
Some quotes from the Pastor Doug:

  • The point is to win the person, not the argument; but this doesn’t mean we don’t pursue the argument!
  • God created a world in which He is the God of that world, & in which logic & reason are subservient to Him!
  • God couldn’t create a world in which He was not God.

The ladies had a “Dangerous Women” seminar. A lot of great sessions from the Femina Girls.

Dr. Tim Edwards laid the theological groundwork for the rest of the conference, teaching that the Psalms are filled with teaching on creation. In essence, the Scriptures are primarily a book to instruct us, not merely inform us. Thus, defending creationism is not merely about scientific proofs (though those have their place), it is about defending God’s story of redemption.

ND Wilson spoke on “Fantastical Realism”, and made the case that Christians must understand that we live in a world that is God’s. So, we must learn to not be apologetic for this reality. Darwinism wants to be in the position of naming the animals, when God has given dominion to His Son and His people.

Dr. Gordon Wilson offered “7 Evolution Busters”. The burden of proving how the universe came into being in the Darwinian model is impossibly heavy. Whereas Christians have a firm starting place, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).”

Dr. John Sanford, a geneticist from Cornell University, spoke on genetic entropy, in a talk entitled “All Creation Groans”. His expertise in genetics showed the incredible fact that mutations are not moving in a direction favorable to supporting the Darwinian worldview.

Pastor Douglas Wilson wrapped up the weekend with a stirring reminder: “Darwin as Wrecking Ball”. Our culture has begun to be shaped more and more by the mindset that we are simply matter in motion; rather than the glory of being made in the image of man. We as Christians must stand firm in teaching the world that Scripture is authoritative in all things for all things.

We had a blast, and hope that as the sessions are made available online (stay tuned), those who could not attend can be encouraged as well! Looking forward to next year’s GraceAgenda– 500 Years of Reformation (March 31-April 1, 2017)!

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