Savior of the World Archives

Savior of the World #7

Christ Church on April 10, 2016

Introduction:

The words of Christ in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew have caused far more consternation and confusion than they really should have. The key, as before, is to look at how the passages quoted from the Old Testament are actually used, and how the event of the first century actually unfolded.

The Text:

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down’” (Matt. 24:1-42 )

Placing the Prophecy:

When we seek to understand where this prophecy should be placed in time, we should look for direct teaching in the passage on it. And that is what we have.

Jesus had told the disciples that not one stone would be left on another one (vv. 1-2). This statement prompts the disciples to ask a series of questions. The way they are frequently read, they are detached and unrelated questions. “When will this happen? And when will a bunch of other things happen millennia later?” But it is far more natural to take their questions as all relating to the same series of events—the destruction of the temple, the sign of Christ’s coming (in judgment on Jerusalem), and the sign of the end of the (Judaic) age.

What about the phrase this generation? Using a “literal” means of interpreting, how are we to understand Jesus’ words in v. 34? “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” Let us take His words at face value—at the least, all those things which He mentioned prior to v. 34 would occur within a generation (i.e. about forty years). This would bring us down to the culminating events of 70 AD.

But . . .

How is this possible? When we read those things mentioned prior to v. 34, and then go outside and look at the night sky, we see that they have not taken place. Nonbelievers have frequently seized on this point, thinking that Christ was obviously wrong about when the end of the world would be.

But the problem is that He was not talking about the end of the world. He was not asked about the end of the world. He was asked about the destruction of Jerusalem, and He answered the question. He was speaking about the end of the age.

Key Questions:

If we believe that our Lord requires us to place His words as fulfilled within the first century, how is this to be done without doing violence to the text?

The end is not yet—the first series of troubles (w. 3-13) in this passage are commonly cited as signs of the end. This is curious, because Jesus mentioned them in order to tell us that they did not mean that the end had arrived.

Witness to the nations—the gospel was to go forth, and was to be proclaimed under heaven. And then the end would come. Did this happen? The Bible says yes. Note that this witness is not the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Rom. 1:8 ).”. . . if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Col. 1:23 ).

Abomination of desolation—this abomination had already occurred once, in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Jesus says it would happen again in the holy place (v. 15), and that it would affect everyone in Judea (v. 16). This probably refers to the desecration of the temple which occurred under the Jewish rebels, although some apply it to the Romans.

The lights go out—Jesus here quotes from Isaiah 13:10 , a prophecy which Isaiah delivered against the king of Babylon (13:1). In the Old Testament, in every place that collapsing solar system terminology (decreation language) is used, it always refers to the destruction of a nation. The prophets speak this way about Edom (Is. 34:4 ). They speak this way about Israel (Amos 8:9 ). They speak this way about Egypt (Eze. 32:7-8 ). They speak this way about first century Israel (Joel 2:31 ). In Scripture, this is what this kind of language always means.

Clouds of heaven—in verse 30, we see the sign of the Son of man, who is in heaven. This is His judicial act against Jerusalem, and He sends out His messengers all over the Gentile world (v. 31). Remember also to consider Daniel 7:13 .

A lesson from the fig tree—Jesus says that within one generation these signs will bud, and the summer (not winter) would be near. He reinforces His words with a strong word—heaven and earth might fold, but His words, never. And everything He said came to the pass, within the course of one generation. And we must bow down and worship Him. He is a prophet sent from God.

Wish we’d all been ready—one is taken and the other left. This is commonly thought to refer to the rapture—one taken up into heaven. But look at Luke 17:35-37 . From verse 36 to the end of the chapter, we have an ethical exhortation based upon the temptations which result when the end is farther away than fifteen minutes.

Savior of the World #6

Joe Harby on March 6, 2016

INTRODUCTION:

The gloomy old reprobate Ambrose Bierce said this about the book of Revelation: “A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know nothing.” It is indeed unfortunate that we by our sloth have made a revelation into one of the most obscure books of the Bible. We have managed to veil a raised curtain.

THE TEXT:

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom . . .” (Rev. 1:9).

UNDERSTANDING REVELATION:

A question will arise—“Do you take this book literally?” Well, we are Christians, and this means we believe the Bible, all of it, as the Word of God Himself. But if the questioner means by “literally” what such folk usually mean, the answer is that we take parts of Revelation literally, which means that other portions cannot be taken that way. Most contemporary Christians reverse the order, but everyone takes some parts literally and other portions symbolically.

REVELATION LITERALLY:

First, we have literal guidelines. We hold that the book of Revelation, which the exception of the last three chapters, was fulfilled two thousand years ago. We take this position because we take certain dear statements in the book at face value. This position is called preterism.

First, this is something the book directly says: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1; cf. 1:3, 19; 22:6-7,12, 20).

Second, this is what the book indirectly says: In Dan 8:26, the prophet is told to seal up his prophecy because it is a long way off. The event proved it to be about four hundred years away. But John hears this—“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand’” (Rev. 22:10). What does this mean for us two thousand years later?

Third, this enables us to make sense of the prophecies in a way which fits them “literally,” and also dates the book. History happened a certain way, but for the creative, the future is always infinitely malleable.

Fourth, this means that the book was not meaningless to its original recipients, the saints of the seven churches of Asia. “Hey, Clement! Who is Saddam Hussein?” John says to his first readers, “Let him who has understanding . . .” (Rev. 13:18).

NERO CAESAR:

One of the reasons why we tend to be so confused about the book of Revelation is that we have drifted away from the classical education of earlier times. This kind of education provided, in some small measure, the kind of information which the residents of these cities had from their own “newspapers.”

Nero was an animalistic pervert. He kicked one of his pregnant wives to death. He murdered his mother. He set Christians on fire to serve as lamps for his dinner parties. He would dress up as a beast and rape both male and female prisoners. And he was the covenant head of Rome—that great Satan.

His was the number of a man—Latin, Greek and Hebrew all used letters for numerals. We use Roman letters and Arabic numerals, but they used the same set of symbols for both. If we did that, awould be 1, b would be 2, and so on. So for example, this would give abc a numerical value of 6. In Hebrew, using their numbering system, the name Neron Kesar adds up to 666. No need exists to “massage” the numbers. And if you take it as Nero Kesar, as a Greek mistakenly might, you get 616, one of the textual variants of the number in the manuscripts.

Then there is the line of emperors. The beast was the Roman Empire, a city seated on seven hills. But the seven heads of the beast had another signification. “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come” (Rev. 17:9- 10). The first five Caesars were Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. The sixth Caesar was Nero, who was reigning when Revelation was written. Five have fallen, and one is.

There is also the matter of the forty-two months—“And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months” (Rev. 13:5-7). Nero was the first Roman emperor to persecute the saints, and he did so from November 64 to June 68 . . . forty-two months.

Who was the blasphemer? Asia was the center of emperor worship, and it was where our seven churches were located. Nero most certainly received “great things and blasphemies.” He had an immense statue of himself in his palace, and received accolades such as “The Eternal One! Thou august! Sacred voice!” Nero was one of the great blasphemers of history.

We have many other reasons to identify Nero as a principal figure in this book. He was the head of the beast which is the focus of the wrath of our Lord Jesus Christ, the ruler of

the kings of the earth.

KINGS OF THE EARTH:

Nero provides us with a case study of what the Lord Jesus does when He wields the rod of iron. We are told that the kings of the earth will bring their honor and glory into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24). But why would they see it in this way when we do not see it in this way?

Why is the modern church no longer prophetic? There is only one alternative to civic megalomania. Those who will not have a Lord over the state are those who insist that the state is Lord. But we are Christians, and the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19:10).

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Savior of the World #5

Joe Harby on February 14, 2016

INTRODUCTION:

In this series of messages we have been presenting what is, for many, a very different way of looking at the Scriptures. We have been talking about historical optimism, as opposed to the rampant historical pessimism of the modem evangelical world. But we must be careful in using phrases like “way of looking at the Scriptures.” This refers to what is called our hermeneutic, which refers to the art of interpretation, and so we must take some time to consider this. The word comes from Hermes (otherwise known as Mercury), the god of messages. But he was also the god of thieves, which is why we need to be careful.

Now if we presuppose the biblical hermeneutic in order to come to the Bible, then have we really derived it from Scripture? And if we come to the Bible without a hermeneutic in order to learn what our hermeneutic should be, then how can we learn anything? This applies to more things than eschatology, but it certainly applies there.

UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURE:

We must understand the nature of words, the nature of communication: Words are never spoken into a void. All communication presupposes at least a speaker, a message, and a recipient. Communication needs these three elements as a bare minimum. If you assume communication, you are assuming these three things. And without a hermeneutic a man is as deaf as a post.

The Word of God is not spoken into the Void. The Bible is the Word of the self-revealing triune God, who thereby reveals Himself to man. The Bible is not the Word of God suspended in the sky. It is the Word of God to man. Thus we have the three dements necessary to communication—the speaker is God, the message is the Word, the recipient is man. And man, in order to “hear,” must have a built-in hermeneutic, given to him by God. As Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). Logocentric discourse is therefore inescapable—God, in giving us language, has seen to it.

HERMENEUTICAL DISCIPLES:

So our pattern should be that of allowing the New Testament to provide commentary on what passages in the Old Testament mean. We have the basic hermeneutic already, which is then refined and sanctified as we calibrate it according to Scripture.

For the apostles not only teach us about Jesus. For example, the apostles also teach us about particular passages, as in Deuteronomy, say.

Because our subject is historical optimism, we will be looking at places which deal with this subject, but the process should govern all our studies. Allow the New Testament to

teach you the Old Testament. The Bible teaches Bible—and so let us consider here Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah.

Psalm 2—The second psalm is quoted in multiple places in the New Testament (Acts4:25-26; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Acts 13*33; Rev. 227; 19:15). The psalm has twelve verses. The first two are quoted in Acts 4 and applied to the crucifixion. God’s response is one of laughter. He then declares Himself concerning His Son. Verse 7 is quoted three times in the New Testament, and in each instance, the reference is to Christ’s becoming something after His completed work. Acts13:33 makes this explicit in the resurrection. In verse8, right after the resurrection, Christ is given the nations. The next verse (9) is quoted at least twice in Revelation; the first time Christ shares His authority with those believers who overcome, and the second time it is applied to Christ alone. The psalm concludes with an appeal to the kings of the earth to make their peace with the Christ.

Isaiah—the great vision of glory and peace is given in Isaiah, and we know it well. The lion will lie down with the lamb. But when will this happen? Let the New Testament tell us. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious” (Is. 11:9-10). Notice how Paul quotes this passage in Romans 15:12. “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written . . . And again, Isaiah says: ‘There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope’” (Rom. 15:8-9, 12). Simply put, Paul tells us that Isaiah’s vision began to come to fruition in his day, in his mission to the Gentiles.

Deuteronomy—Through Moses God promises the people of Israel a prophet like Moses. This is quoted by Stephen in Acts 7:37 and applied to Christ. Acts 322-23 makes the same identification, but with more information. “Jesus Christ . . . whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:19-26)

The psalmist again—Psalm 110 is also quoted many times in the New Testament (Matt: 22:44; Mk 1236; Lk 20:42-43; Acts 2:34-35; Heb. 1:13; 5:6; 7:17, 21). The psalm ends with Christ crushing the rulers of the whole earth. But how is this to be done? In the gospels Christ quotes the psalm to show that David’s Lord is also David’s son. But in Acts2:33-35, the passage is applied to the present reign of Christ at the right hand of the

Father. The rest of the quotations refer to Him as both prince and priest in terms of a present reality. This means that He will remain at God’s right hand until His gospel work is accomplished.

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Savior of the World #4

jtgrauke on February 6, 2016

INTRODUCTION:

Many Christians want to avoid millennial wrangles, and in an important sense, they are quite right. It makes little sense to fight with one another about when the divine peace will come. But other Christians want to avoid debate on the subject because they believe it to be unimportant.

“After all, is not ‘the millennium’ found only in one chapter of the book of Revelation, a notoriously difficult chapter in a notoriously difficult book? Shouldn’t we just walk away from all such fractious debates?” If we were limited to the word millennium, this might have some weight. But what happens when we consider the word kingdom?

THE TEXT:

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matt. 4:23; cf. 9:35).

PREACHING THE KINGDOM:

The kingdom of God is simply an immense subject—as great as the love of God, which is to say, as great as the gospel. And a central theme in scriptural references to the kingdom would be what we would call eschatological. This means our gospel preaching must contain that eschatological element if it is to be biblical. But how often do modem Christian evangelists “preach the kingdom?”

We are to preach a kingdom gospel—“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). We are to declare kingdom repentance—“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at

hand!’” (Matt. 3:2)

Our teaching should be kingdom teaching—“to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

Our sermons should consist of kingdom preaching—“But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12; 20:25; 28:31).

When we reason with unbelievers, we should use kingdom apologetics—“And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8).

SO WHAT IS THE KINGDOM?

The kingdom of God is nothing less than the rule and realm of the Lord Jesus Christ, manifested in history according to His will and pleasure. Is He not the king? Is this not how we pray? “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10 )?

His good pleasure is that His kingdom start small and gradually grow. “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his held, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches’” (Matt. 13:31-32).

When the kingdom has grown to its appointed size, the Lord will come. “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:24-26).

In short, when you have a king, there must be a kingdom. Jesus is that king. Jesus is our king.

NARROW THE WAY?

As attractive as all this may sound, doesn’t the Bible contain any contrary verses? It does contain passages which may look contrary— at first glance. This would include passages like, “Narrow is the way . . .” But we need to learn the ways of the kingdom.

“And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).

Consider Luke 13:22-30. The narrow gate was for the remnant of the Jews of the first century, and then the Gentiles would stream into the kingdom. Jesus was asked if only a few would be saved. His answer was “that’s right—few of you.” But after you have rejected the one who taught in your streets, a broad way will be opened for all the nations, and they will stream in to sit down with Abraham in the kingdom. “Few of you. Many Gentiles.”

In another place, Jesus teaches the Jews, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Matt. 21:43). The doctrine of the remnant is not a universal truth about the kingdom. It was a truth that was grounded in the first century rejection of the Messiah by the people of the Messiah. Only

a faithful remnant, prophesied by Isaiah, accepted Him. And this was a blessing for the entire world. The narrow way is the reason the way is broad.

CHARACTER OF THE KINGDOM:

This great kingdom is not an earthly kingdom established by carnal rule. It is not just another kingdom; as a kingdom it is different in kind—“now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). It is not from here, but it most certainly is for here.

Savior of the World #8