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Kirkers Read 07 – Revival by Riot

Ben Zornes on

We pointed out that last week, the books of Luke and Acts belong together as a two-volume defense of the gospel, likely to be presented during Paul’s trial in Rome. One of the most striking features of the second volume (Acts) is the progression of gospel preaching, riot, followed by revival. Throughout the book we see the Apostles, and especially Paul, proclaiming the gospel near and far, and almost always there was some controversy, fight, riot. But in the end, saints were always added to their number.

The reason this is striking is that some of the most famous sermons of the early church, which are recorded in Acts, are in the setting of civil hearings, trials, public debates, etc. It is easy for modern American Christians to look at civil society through the grid of “separation of Church and State.” In many ways this hinders us from provoking the society to deal with the political claim at the heart of the Christian faith: “Jesus Christ is King.”

Another interesting progression found in Acts is that, as Jesus promised, they would “be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).” Like the concentric circles from the ripples of a pebble dropped in a pond, the book “moves outward” from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The Messiah had come in relative obscurity, but within a generation his gospel was being declared to the ends of the earth all by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 103

Douglas Wilson on

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

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, Shall bewail her, and lament for her, When they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, Saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; For no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, And precious stones, and of pearls, And fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, And all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, And all manner vessels of most precious wood, And of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, And ointments, and frankincense, And wine, and oil, And fine flour, and wheat, And beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, And slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, And all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, And thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, Shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, Weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, That was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, And decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, And sailors, and as many as trade by sea, Stood afar off, And cried When they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, And cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, And ye holy apostles and prophets; For God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: For thy merchants were the great men of the earth; For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, And of all that were slain upon the earth” (Rev. 18:9–24).

This passage from Revelation 18 consists largely of lists or inventories of luxury items, and so we will take a larger section of text all at once. The form of this lament or dirge is taken from Ezekiel 27-28, where the prophet is offering up a lamentation for the great merchant city of Tyre. Jerusalem, labeled here as Babylon, has become essentially pagan in her outlook and is therefore going to receive a fitting response from God.

Jesus, prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the surrounding nation, compares what was going to happen to them in the day of judgment to what will happen to Tyre, and Tyre comes out ahead. “But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you” (Matt. 11:22).

The list of items in vv. 12-13 reads like a luxury catalog—cinnamon and slaves, marble and scarlet. The fact that the “souls of men” brings up the tail end shows the dehumanizing effect of all such ostentatious living.

The great image here is that this Babylon will be thrown into the ocean like a millstone, and will disappear suddenly and rapidly. A similar image can be found in Jeremiah.

“And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah” (Jer. 51:63–64).

And here we should once again remember the prophetic words of Christ about what would happen to Jerusalem within one generation. The withered fig tree, remember, was a type of fruitless Israel, and a sign of pending judgment.

“And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:20–23).

The mountain He was talking about was the mountain He was standing on, and that was yet another image of the looming judgment.

Jerusalem was not the greatest trading center in the world, but it was a rich city. What is necessary is for the fall of the city to be a great blow to the merchants and promoters, and that certainly happened.

Two other points can be made that help cement the identification of Jerusalem as Babylon headed for the depths.

“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; For God hath avenged you on her . .  . “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” (Rev. 18:20, 24).

This was a city that was guilty of the blood of saints, and prophets and apostles. Sounds like Jerusalem. Jesus had mentioned the blood of Abel and the blood of Zacharias, but it now included the blood of Jesus Himself, and the blood of Stephen and James and numerous others.

“That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:35).

And the second thing is that it says in v. 20 that God is rising up to take vengeance for all of it, and this again sounds like Jerusalem.

“For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:22).

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Kirkers Read 06 – Defending the Faith

Ben Zornes on

As we launch into the second half of the Summer Bible Reading Challenge, we begin with the Gospel of Luke this week, followed by Acts next week. These should be thought of as a two-volume book. They really are inseparable; where Luke leaves off, Acts picks up. Further, it is likely that both books together are a sort of legal briefing which Paul commissioned Luke to write as they were preparing for Paul’s hearing before Caesar (cf. Acts 28:17-20).

You’ll notice that Luke is far more attentive to detail and tedious than the other Gospel writers are, which makes sense given the fact that part of the purpose of this Gospel and Acts is to precisely proclaim the events of Christ’s ministry. Luke tells us in the preface that he is writing unto Theophilus (more on that in a second) “in order (Lk. 1:3).” Matthew Henry asserts that, “When [Luke] was under that voluntary confinement with Paul [in Rome], he had leisure to compile these two histories (and many excellent writings the church has been indebted to a prison for): if so, it was written about twenty-seven years after Christ’s ascension, and about the fourth year of Nero.”

There are three likely options for who Theophilus is. Either a prominent individual believer, a Civil Magistrate (either in Greece or Rome), or a more metaphorical name for the whole church. Given the context of Paul and Luke’s imprisonment in Rome, awaiting a hearing before Nero, it seems probable that this is written to copiously defend the faith before both the Jewish and Gentile leaders. Thus, this is in some sense the first apologetical book in Christian history. Luke begins by announcing the coming of the King in Luke 1-2, and then ends with Paul and the other believers proclaiming Christ’s Kingdom to all the earth (Acts 28:30-31). Luke’s arc in these two volumes is from Incarnation of the Promised One, to the proclamation and miraculous establishment of His Kingdom. All these details are what “are most surely believed among us. (Lk. 1:1).”

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 102

Douglas Wilson on

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

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, That ye be not partakers of her sins, And that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, And God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, And double unto her double according to her works: In the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, So much torment and sorrow give her: For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Rev. 18:4–8).

Another voice speaks from Heaven, and summons all of God’s people to “come out from her.” This is yet another indication that the great harlot is the old and fading Judaic system. As the Judaic system it had served its purpose, and because of the great unfaithfulness and corruption that had grown up among the leadership of the Jews, God was about to visit a great judgment upon her. And, as follows God’s pattern, He calls his faithful ones away from the catastrophe. He did this with Noah, He did it with Lot, and Jesus told His followers when they were supposed to head for the tall grass. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:20). Then it will be time to flee to the mountains (v. 21). Jesus even goes so far as to say that the demolition of Jerusalem will be the culmination of all things. “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (v. 22).

To remain is to partake of her sins, which means that such ones would also partake of the judgment.

The cry to come out of Babylon was common in the Old Testament, and they are worth quoting in a cluster.

“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, With a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, Utter it even to the end of the earth; Say ye, The Lordhath redeemed his servant Jacob” (Is. 48:20). “Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, And be as the he goats before the flocks” (Jer. 50:8). “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: Be not cut off in her iniquity; For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He will render unto her a recompence” (Jer. 51:60). “Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon” (Zech. 2:7). “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; Go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (Isaiah 52:11).

In short, when the visitation of God finally falls upon apostate Israel, that “Babylon” will not be a good place to be. We want to go out of that city, just as Jesus was taken out of it, and the reproach we will bear will be only temporary. “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13:13–14).

This terrible shakedown of Jerusalem is an indication to us that we are receiving an unshakeable kingdom, and so we should be encouraged.

“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:25–29).

The sins of Jerusalem had mounted up to Heaven, just as the bricks of Babel had sought to rise to Heaven. This ties Jerusalem in with the doomed city of Sodom, another image of judgment from the Old Testament. Jerusalem has already been identified as Sodom (Rev. 11:8), and the fact that her sins have now been noticed is another indication. “I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:21).

The fact that the voice from Heaven says that the great harlot will be paid back double is another identifier. In the prophet Jeremiah, it is Israel that will be paid back double for her sins.

“And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things” (Jer. 16:18). “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction” (Jer. 17:18).

As Jerusalem as Babylon plays that role completely. Just as Israel was delivered from the Old Babylon, so also the new Israel will be delivered from the New Babylon.

“And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, Neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, That sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, The loss of children, and widowhood: They shall come upon thee in their perfection For the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments” (Is. 47:7–9).

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Kirkers Read 05 – A Vibrant Gospel

Ben Zornes on

The Gospel of Mark was likely the first written record of the life and ministry of Christ; it is likely that Peter was a primary source for Mark. One thing that doesn’t always come through in English translations is just how active and vibrant the narrative is. Mark clearly wants to get across the activity and agency of Christ. Jesus was “at work.” This is not a mere “retelling.” Mark wants us to see Jesus moving and doing. Jesus is a real man who is not passively responding to things that happen to Him; He is in the driver’s seat, performing His ministry as a servant to the sick and suffering of Israel.

This is important when it comes to His death and resurrection. He is not passive, even as He is being tried by night, nailed to a cross, and buried in a grave. Jesus is the active character in it all. Ultimately this shows us what Jesus said elsewhere, “No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father (John 10:18).” Jesus is the servant, come to heal mankind’s disease. But He comes not as a sad puppy waiting for attention before acting. Jesus is the instigator of all the events that come to pass. Including––most importantly––His redemptive work.

We’ll read Galatians at the end of the week. As you read this epistle, read it as Paul’s case for which way the vote should go at the Jerusalem Council. What was in question at the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 was whether Gentile believers needed to be circumcised in order to become Christians. Paul clearly thought that requiring this would be tantamount to undermining the entirety of the gospel. Galatians was written very much in the midst of all the debate and lead up to the council. We can be grateful for his defense of the liberty from the law which Christ won for us, and that our salvation is in no other than Christ and Him crucified.

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