1. Our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. Often we are more concerned about our own victory over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. Many times the only reason we are upset about sin is because we are success-oriented, and not because we know that we have done something offensive to God. I believe W.S. Plummer said it well, “We never see sin aright until we see it as against God…. All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught…. Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, ‘I have sinned’; but the returning prodigal said, ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee’; and David said, ‘Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned.’” God wants us to walk in obedience, not personal victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self. One shows a self-centered attitude and the other shows a God-centered attitude. We cannot consistently walk in holiness as long we continue to make sin merely a personal battle. God wants us to experience the victory over sin, but that is not the end goal. Personal victory comes as a by-product of obedience. As we concentrate on living an obedient, holy life, we will certainly experience the joy of victory over sin.

2. We must take personal responsibility for holiness. Too often the religious world has tried to impress upon us that true holiness can only come from God and there is nothing one can do to attain it. While holiness is defined by the Lord, as we have noticed, living by faith does not mean that we are to exert no effort at all. We have a personal responsibility to walk in holiness. We will be judged based upon our choices and decisions in this area. We are not passive participants in this world. We are not victims of sin.  We have been empowered by God to choose our course and have the responsibility to walk in holiness. Human nature tells us that we need to blame others for our shortcomings and problems. We see this was done in the very beginning as Adam and Eve blamed everyone else but themselves for their sins. The devil made Eve do it and Eve made Adam do it. Holiness will never come as long as we are laying the blame upon others. No one has caused us to sin. No one is to blame for our condition. Certainly we have been affected by other people’s actions, but we have control over our choices. A denial of this fact will continue to lead us into a life of sinfulness.

3. We do not take sin seriously. We need to take our actions seriously and see the devastating effects of sin if we are going to live in holiness. We must not rationalize our weaknesses as tolerable or generally okay. We are committing sins and God does not find our sins acceptable. When we accept this harsh reality we are now ready to separate ourselves from these actions so we can separate ourselves to the Lord. We must separate from the things of the world and dedicate ourselves to God. Only God can define what is holy and unholy, not us. We need to look at sin as a personal offense to God. Will we see our actions as offensive to God and not merely a person defeat? Will we take personal responsibility for our sins, realizing that we must depend upon God’s grace for what we have done? Will we decide to obey God in all areas of life, no matter what is commanded of us? If so, we have take the first steps down the road to the holiness of God.

Every culture has some form of holiness which it keeps. Certain actions are considered taboo and improper in a society, while other actions are considered good and acceptable. But this is not the holiness that God is speaking about. Society does not dictate what is holy and what is common. Holiness has high standards. I cannot simply say that I dedicate this paper to God and it is no longer part of my common papers. Biblical holiness is specific separation as revealed by the Lord. People can claim to be holy and dedicated to the Lord but that does not make them holy to the Lord. The scriptures are full of illustrations of those who claimed to be holy to the Lord because they declared that their actions were for God yet God condemned them.

A clear example of this is in Leviticus 10:1-3 with the sacrifice presented by Nadab and Abihu. Nadab and Abihu offered a sacrifice to God which they considered dedicated to God. However, God killed Nadab and Abihu for offering an unholy or unauthorized fire.  Verse 3 says, “This is what the Lord meant when He said, by those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.” God defines what is holy and dedicated to God and what is not. This is an important lesson that we cannot gloss over too quickly. Too often people believe their actions are authorized as long as it is dedicated to the Lord. They seem to think that church bingo parties, church funded golf tournaments, church funded recreation and feedings, and anything else can be considered worship and acceptable to God as long as we simply declare that it is dedicated to God. But this is not the case. Only God has the right to declare what is holy and what is common. People have no right to make such declarations.

Further proof of this principle is found in Acts 10. Peter has a vision with all sorts of creatures and God said to Peter, “Rise, kill and eat” (Acts 10:13). “But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 10:14-15). Peter did not have the right to declare something unholy which God had declared holy. By the same token, we have no right to declare something holy which God has declared unholy. God defines holiness.

Therefore, attaining holiness is a very simple proposition: do what God says. Since God defines holiness, if we are to be holy as He is holy, we must simply do what God says. This is what God said to Israel in Exodus 19:5-6, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This same command is reiterated to us in 1 Peter 2:9, where Peter tells us that we are chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

External Holiness Alone Is Unholy

In Matthew 15:1-9 Jesus drew this clear distinction. Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees were keeping their own traditions and not following the commands of God. Jesus called them hypocrites because keeping their rules was not the holiness of God. Further, the external holiness that the Pharisees attempted to keep was also unholy. The reason they were unholy was because their hearts were far from God. In other words, it is possible for a person to do something that the Bible defines as holy or that people believe to be holy yet not fulfill biblical holiness.

When we engage in actions that would seem holy, like prayer, study, and worship attendance, but permit our hearts to remain distant from God or even rebellious to God, we are unholy even though we appear holy to others. We cannot be holy to the Lord unless both our actions and our hearts have been separated from the world and dedicated to God. One without the other is simply to be unholy. A clean heart that does not do what God says is unholy. A person who do what God says yet has an impure heart is also unholy. We must have heart and actions separated from the world and devoted to God to be credited as holy to the Lord.

Holiness Means Separation

Our first step in attaining holiness begins with a proper understanding of what God means when He calls us to be holy. Holiness has been defined in all sorts of ways.  Sometimes we have allowed our minds to think of holiness as sinlessness. Perhaps we consider holiness as perfection. The first time we come across a strong concept of holiness is in Exodus 3. In this passage we see Moses is shepherding a flock in the wilderness and comes to Horeb.  The angel of the Lord appears to Moses as a flame of fire within a bush, yet the bush was not consumed by the fire.  In verses 4-5 we read, “When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’  ‘Here I am,’ he answered.  ‘Do not come closer,’ He said.  ‘Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” Why was this holy ground? How could ground be considered holy? If Moses had taken a handful of “unholy” ground and compared it with the “holy” ground at the burning bush, would he been able to see a difference? If Moses had traversed this ground last week while shepherding, would the ground have been holy then? Consider for a moment what made this ground holy!

The only reason the ground where Moses stood was holy was because God had said it was holy. The word “holy” simply means “separate.” God had separated this land from the other parts of the earth as the place where He would reveal Himself to Moses in the burning bush that was not consumed. If God had spoken to Moses at another place, that location would have been holy. The ground did not change its characteristics or organic components. The ground was the same dirt that it always had been. The only way Moses knew that this ground was holy was because God revealed to Moses. The only reason the ground was holy was because God declared it separate from other ground.

Holiness requires separation from one thing and separation to a different thing. The ground that God used to appear to Moses was separated from the rest of the ground of the earth and separated to God for His purpose. Holiness requires division. This is one reason why the word “holy” and its various derivatives are translated with terms like “set apart, dedicated, consecrated, sanctified, and separated.” Holiness is about distinction and division from one thing and separation for or to another thing.

Suppose the temple priests required a new knife to be used for the preparation of the sacrifices to God. The priest could not merely take a knife from home and start using in the temple sacrifices. The knife may have been separated from the home but it had not been dedicated or separated to God. Further, the knife could not be considered holy to the Lord and remain in the house of the priest. The knife had to not only be separated to God, but it also had to be separated from the common use in the house. Holiness requires subtraction and addition. With this idea in mind, we see that God has called us to abandon our unholy ways and pursue His holy way. Without both actions, holiness is not possible.

Consider 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” In this command we see the dual command of separation. We are to separate ourselves from youthful passions and lusts. But that is not all that is required for holiness. We are to separate ourselves to or dedicate ourselves to righteousness, faith, love, and peace. This is the two-part equation to holiness. Separation from plus separation to equals holiness. We are not holy if we only separate from the youthful passions. Neither are we holy if we only dedicate ourselves to righteousness, faith, love and peace. Both separation from youthful passions and separation to righteousness, faith, love, and peace leads to the holiness of God. When we return to 1 Peter 1:14-16 we see that we are to separate ourselves from the desires of our former ignorance and inappropriate conduct and separate ourselves to Him and appropriate godly conduct.

Peter stated on that Pentecost Day some 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, This is that which had been spoken of by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). Referring to the sound that had caused the multitude to come outdoors and gather in the early morning; and then hearing the Twelve Apostles of Jesus speaking in languages they could not know and could not have learned overnight, he said, Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath shed forth this, which you now see and hear (Acts 2:33).

Peter clearly stated by the measure of the Holy Spirit that he and the eleven apostles had earlier received, and which was acting through him as an Apostle of God, that on his ascension Jesus had received the promise of the Holy Spirit, and that he, that is Jesus, had become the donor of the Spirit upon all flesh: all mankind. While his address was to those collected together that day, Peter plainly said that the Spirit of God, had beginning that very day, been poured out on all flesh. The collective “we” that is made up of all believers from then to now have therefore received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Those standing there that day were the first recipients. We have been greatly blessed to be able to read of those events and also come to follow Christ and have the Word of God lead us home.

To continue: the Holy Spirit was the herald of the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. He was the confirmer of the plan of salvation and of the Word of God. He acted as the Comforter of the Twelve Apostles and those first disciples. So, without making any leap of faith: the Holy Spirit was the gift. It is not about the working of miracles; and it is not about the speaking in languages – those were signs that the donation had been made, confirming what had been said long before. It is about the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the gift. Salvation had been brought down to man.

Search the scriptures from end to end and you will never find where the Holy Spirit gave himself out to men or women on his own, or by his own will. The pouring out is always directed by the Holy Father. The Lord God Almighty gave the promise of the Holy Spirit to the Christ, God the Son; and Christ having received it in turn gave the offered and promised gift of the Holy Spirit to all who would be called.

As a side point, this is the philosophy that notes why no inspired man, no prophet or Apostle such as John, no saint or early Christian, and not Christ himself, was ever recorded praying to the Holy Spirit, or thanking the Holy Spirit for the things accomplished through him. That is why the scriptures are silent on giving place to the Holy Spirit in worship or in song (a phenomenon found in another enlightened age and state). We simply have no call to worship the Holy Spirit, only to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

The Holy Spirit was the donation; he was not the donor.

The simplest understanding is The Lord God Almighty was the devisor and creator of the plan of salvation, The Christ was the executor of the Will of God, and the Holy Spirit applied the confirmation through signs and wonders and in the compilation of the Word of God.

It is written that John the Immerser possessed the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15), but …never did a sign (John 10:41). Jesus gave a measure of the Holy Spirit to his disciples when he sent out the seventy two, and to the twelve. But only Jesus possessed the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:33, 34). That is said of no one else in the scriptures at any point.

There is some fumbling about with that last scripture and statement; so I should suggest that the implied form is – Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the Words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure (to Him). As has been identified by others – this is the required implication. The outcome of some other rendering would be that God always gives the Spirit without measure. Even the uninitiated knows that is not the case. And only the most modern sort of worshippers, those who listen to whispers in dark places, and who seek signs and follow after vapors, or who heed to calls on the top of mountains, can hear such things or ever find them written in God’s Word. It is also useful to note that this word “measure” in reference to the Spirit occurs only in this single passage. Perhaps we ought to look closer and spur ourselves on to examine these scriptures to see if these things are so.

~

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

 (Ephesians 4:1-8)

Hopefully we know that the Mercy Seat was the covering of the Ark; and the rest (as with my last three posts) ought to be obvious from the meaning just offered.

Propitiation rightly means to cover – that is as John noted: And he Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (v.2). The Nestle-Aland interlinear offers the phrase “satisfying sacrifice” below the Greek.

I won’t entertain the notion that this is the proof text for universal salvation, as that clearly ignores the Apostle’s intent, and is a serious waste of our time. But oh, the blood of Christ does cover us – when we become Christians and those of us that as Christians when we may sin. This is because Christ is our advocate, or intercessor and helper; and He will cover our sins when in obedience to Him we repent and confess that we have sinned. He is therefore certainly an appeasing and satisfying sacrifice that has been made on our behalf. He intercedes for us, when nothing else will do.

The sacrifice of the Christ, the Lamb of God,  acts in a twofold capacity: first, as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world when and if any should lay hold of it; and second, he acts to cover through intercession on our behalf to account for any sins we as Christians commit when we fail.

How satisfying to know that God will help us up if we will only call upon Him, seek his mercy and rely upon our Lord Jesus Christ, who will stand in our place as our advocate to make an accounting to Our Father for our sin. Is that not exactly as Paul notes things to be?

~

But now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being freely justified by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

(Romans 3: 21-26)

]]> http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/the-mercy-seat/feed/ 0 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/words-mean-something/ http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/words-mean-something/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:58:42 +0000 Richard Vandagriff http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1608 The word denomination comes from a Latin compound of de and nominare: “to name” or “from a name.” Pick one. It plainly means to call by a name.

As it is a word used by “Christian religions,” …

Let’s suppose for a moment that you are a cub reporter for the Egyptian Times. Suppose you and your buddies wonder what could be taking the king so long to return from his little trip out to round up a bunch of ragtag slaves. You were there when the plagues happened and you know that things are not so good right now. So when you got the news of a disaster, you wonder how that could have possibly happened. And you run and grab the last seat on a wagon out to the edge of the sea to interview some of the returning forces. When you get there, there is nothing to see — all the soldiers and chariots are gone. Pharaoh is nowhere to be found. No one will tell you what has happened. Only the rear echelon and the supply folks remain of the army that went out on that day. And they won’t talk. All you can get out of them is that Pharaoh is dead and the entire army is gone – lost in the sea. You can see bodies washing up on the shore and you want to know what happened.

What do you suppose you might have recorded of the utter destruction of the world greatest armed force of the day? Egyptian national pride sank to zero. They rode out to round up an unarmed nation of slaves (who were on foot) and they were all slaughtered. Talk about shock and awe – how could this have happened? The common Egyptians had already gone to their homes without their firstborn sons; and now their king and his officers were all dead. Their heads were bowed low as they closed the doors on their mourning. This was the most humbling event ever recorded in world history. There has never been anything like it before or since. No great power was ever so roundly defeated by events which began to unfold within a one month period and culminated in so decisive a way and in a single day. No nation the size and might of Egypt had ever had anything on this scale happen to them. They lost everything without ever letting go the first arrow. Do you see that? What then do you suppose you would have left for future generations to read about those dismal events?

Moses and the Israelites were cast out of Egypt and went to the edge of the Red Sea and camped. The text tells us that Pharaoh had a change of heart once they had gotten out of sight and he went after them with more than 600 chariots (the high speed assault vehicle of the day).

Exodus 14: beginning with verse 5:

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people. And they said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, and officers in each one. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt; and he pursued the Israelites who were going out triumphantly. The Egyptians – all of Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen and his army – chased after them and caught up with them camping by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses: “is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians. It would be better for us to serve the Egyptians, than to die in the wilderness.”

But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation, which He will prepare for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots, and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I AM the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Take a look at verse 21.

Then Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and their left.

All of Pharaoh’s charioteers may have thought they would be the all-time winners as they drove down into the middle of the Red Sea with a wall of water standing over them on each side, north and south. After all, who could defeat mighty Egypt? It was business as usual. How do you think you would have felt about it?

Do you know that in order to get roughly two million people through the Red Sea on the next day that Israel had to move quickly through on a path over a mile wide? The water had to be piled up a few hundred feet on each side and all of it out in plain sight. Do you know that one imperial gallon of water weighs 10 pounds, and that one cubic foot weighs just slightly less than sixty two and one half pounds? Have you ever thought of the sheer force that was piled up out there that night? What impression would that have made on you if you had been standing on the edge of the sea watching those events unfold? Do you suppose no one was doing that? You should know it was the custom of armies then (and in many places still is) to bring their wives and families along with the various supply groups. Do you suppose the great Pharaoh and his 600 plus officers and charioteers went out into the desert toward the Red Sea without any provisions or backup?

God did this work with no effort expended on his part. We would need to build a dam the size of the modern one at Aswan to hold back that much water and it would take thousands of men and twenty years to get it built. God managed it all overnight. “And they passed through on dry ground.”

So, do you suppose these curious events escaped the attention of the common people who had worked and lived in the cities around the palaces of Pharaoh and the rest of the ruling class? The record says they were not immune to the plagues. Even if they only learned when the king and his men failed to return – they had to know it meant they had been dealt an incredible disastrous defeat. They knew what had happened whether or not anyone had seen or witnessed things. It affected them all. They lost crops, livestock, and worst of all, their children. Then they lost the army, the king and the pride of Egypt in one fell swoop. Do we see the scope of this defeat and the humbling of the great nation of Egypt, the premier empire of that day?

The Egyptian soldiers followed down the path of death because they felt secure in their position. Any commoners were along for the ride because they had been born and bred into this godless society just like the rest. It was all they had ever known. They sought nothing else because they knew nothing else. But I cannot doubt even for a minute that those signs troubled some of them and perhaps even made their hair stand up on end. They knew where the sea was and could fix its boundaries – except it seems on that day. All the contrary signs were just not sufficient to wake them up out of their stupor and to make them to swallow their pride and see what was happening right in front of their eyes. They should have turned those chariots around or run as fast as they could, regardless of what any Pharaoh or officer had to say about it or may have wanted to do.

But then you cannot outrun God. And so they did not get out of the middle of that dried seabed before the water came crashing back to its place. The trap had been set, and so it was sprung. And they were destroyed for being against the Lord God Almighty, even though they knew next to nothing about him. Their learning curve had been short. But they had seen and witnessed the mighty signs and they chose to ignore them.

So, what would you have chiseled into that pylon wall over at the temple when you returned? What would you have written on the lotus paper? What would you have reported? What would the next Pharaoh have left for the record?

We need to see the danger stretched out on each side of us along our path. We need to respect the will of the God of all creation; and we need to make the right choices. Don’t get caught where we should not be – eternity is forever.

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. (Romans 2:28-29; ESV)

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Romans 4:9-12; ESV)

Notice that Paul was saying the same thing earlier in Romans. Not all who are physically circumcised are the people of God, the true Israel. In fact, those who are not circumcised can be recipients of the promises and those who are circumcised can miss out on the promises. The prophets had spoken of a remnant of Israel. It had become obvious that the nation as a whole was not responding to God’s leading. It was a smaller group within the nation of Israel that was really God’s people. Therefore, it was foolish to think that since the whole nation had not entered the blessing that the promise of God had failed. Romans 9:6 is a very important text to understanding the fulfillment of the promises found in the first covenant. Most scholars and churches teach that the promises that we read about in the prophets have not been fulfilled. Therefore, Israel must be a political nation to inherit God’s promises. Paul’s words here defeat such a thought. God’s promises were not to physical Israel, but to true Israel. The rest of Romans 9 is to prove this point to be true.

Proof #1: Abraham’s children. The first proof used by Paul is the children of Abraham. Paul points out that Abraham had other children (like Ishmael and the many children with Keturah), but the promises would only come through Isaac. God’s promises were not to all of Abraham’s children. Being descendants of Abraham does not make them children of promise. I think the NLT does a good job here: “This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children” (9:8: NLT). You are not children of promise just because you are descendants of Abraham. Being Jews does not mean you are people of God.

It is useful to observe that the contrast is between being children of promise and children of the flesh. Paul makes the same distinction in Galatians 4 and is worth reading for yourselves to grasp the point Paul is making. Recall that when Paul speaks about something in the flesh in Romans it has been a reference to the works of the Law (circumcision, Sabbath, defilement laws, clean and unclean foods, etc). I believe the other point Paul is making is that keeping the works of the Law does not make one children of promise. You may be children of the flesh (by blood and by works of the Law), but neither make you the children of promise.

Proof #2: Isaac’s children. Paul goes further to use the example of Isaac’s children, Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were both children of Isaac, but only one of the two would receive the promises of God. Even within Isaac there is a distinguishing that must occur. Even within Isaac there has been a winnowing process. The point is that this winnowing process has been in effect since the inception of Israel.

So how did God choose between Jacob and Esau? It was not by human works. God did not select Jacob to be the nation through the promise based upon Jacob’s works. Israel did not merit its selection. It was not by works of the Law or by any action that Israel was selected. God elected Israel of his own plans and purposes. This was God’s doing. This was God’s choice, even before the children were born. Humans could not thwart God’s purpose. God would use Jacob (Israel), not Esau, as his nation.

Now here is where some make a big mistake. Some take this passage to mean that God chooses which individuals will be the elect (saved) and which will not be the elect (condemned). This greatly misses the point that Paul is making. It is important to see the context and carefully consider the text to defeat this false teaching. First, the context has not been about individuals but about the nation of Israel. Go back to Romans 9:6. Not all of Israel are truly Israel. Paul is explaining the destiny of the nation of Israel, not each individual. The context also reveals this as Paul is in great anguish over the nation (9:2-3), not for each individual. Second, the text also reveals that Paul is talking about the nation, not individuals. Look at the quotation in verse 12, “The older will serve the younger.” However, Esau never served Jacob. Instead, Esau was trying to kill Jacob for most of his life. Esau and Jacob are not being referred to as individuals, but as the nations that came from them. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites and Jacob’s descendants were the Israelis. Edom served Israel. Edom did not have power, but Israel did have power over Edom and the surrounding nations. Therefore the text and the context reveals that Paul is talking about Israel as a nation. When we understand this, then we do see God’s electing purposes. God selected Israel to be the nation before Jacob was born. God chose Israel. We could even use the Calvinistic term, unconditional election. God chose Israel to be his people without any works or acts on Jacob’s part. The choice was made before Jacob was even born. Thus, verse 13 concludes the thought: God chose Israel, but rejected Edom.

Grant Osborne says the Greek word, “Yields the idea of making known by means of symbols” (Baker Exegetical Commentary, 55). Robert Thomas also states, “…in nonbiblical literature, it [this Greek word] already had a usage related to symbolic divine communications with men” (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, 56). This tells us we must adapt how we study this book. When we communicate with one another, we assume that we are speaking literally, unless something in our language demands us to take it symbolically. We study the scriptures the same way. We take the words of God literally and straightforward unless something in the text demands an idiomatic or figurative interpretation. When Jesus started talking about planks and logs in our eyes, we know that Jesus is speaking figuratively, using imagery to teach a principle. With the book of Revelation, the preface has told us to reverse our method. The book has been put into symbols and signs. Therefore we should read the book as symbols unless something in the text demands otherwise.

Now, let me make an important point. Just because Revelation is full of symbols does not mean that there is not a literal or historical fulfillment. The images represent a literal or historical event. The book of Revelation is not fanciful myths and stories. The symbol represents something actual and real. The red, octagonal stop sign represents the literal act of stopping one’s car. The point is that we should read Revelation seeking the meaning behind the images. We cannot take the numbers, locusts, scorpions, dragons, beasts and other images found in the book at face value. They represent something and our goal as readers is to determine the meaning of those symbols. We take the book of Revelation as symbols representing something unless something clearly shows us that the image is not symbolic.

What is soon to you? If someone told you that these things are going to happen soon, how long do you think it will be? Would you think that it would be 2000 years later? Do you think it would be 300 years later? 100 years later? No, these things do not fit. Scholars are beginning to rightly reject the popular futurist view that the book of Revelation has not occurred yet because of these time markers.

“Therefore, John’s book is a prophetic work which concerns the imminent and inaugurated fulfillment of OT prophecies about the kingdom in Jesus Christ.” (Beale, New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC), 183).

Those who want the book of Revelation to be about things that have not been fulfilled yet try a number of ways to get around these clear time markers. Tim LaHaye, who is one of the most well known futurist advocates for the book of Revelation (popular as co-author of the Left Behind novels), makes no comment in his commentary, Revelation Unveiled, about these time markers. One method to keep a futurist view is to ignore these verses and just keep moving on.

Robert L. Thomas, defends a futurist view by arguing, “God is not limited by considerations of time in the same way man is” (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary (WEC), 56). This point is absolutely correct. God is not bound by time in the same way that people are. However, this does not solve the problem. Remember, Revelation is supposed to be the unveiling, not the concealing. Revelation is not supposed to add to the confusion, but explain the concealed. Further, God is bound by time when he speaks to humans and reveals to them that something must soon take place and the time is near. God is not bound by time, but he is bound by his word when he speaks to humanity. If he tells humans that something must happen soon and the time is near, then it must be soon to us and near to us, otherwise God is false and is unable to communicate with his creation.

Beale states the point even stronger. Beale states, “Things must soon take place,” “…connotes neither the speedy manner in which the Daniel prophecy is to be fulfilled nor the mere possibility that it could be fulfilled at any time, but the definite, imminent time of fulfillment, which likely has already begun in the present.” (Beale, NIGTC, 181-2).

The argument of those who take the book of Revelation as still in the future is that, “Things must soon take place” can also mean “things must suddenly take place.” That is, the preface is not saying that the things contained in Revelation will happen soon, but whenever these things do happen, they will happen suddenly. There are many problems with this position. This does not deal with verse 3, “The time is near.” Even if verse 1 does mean, “Things must suddenly take place,” there is no way to get around that God said the time is near.

Robert L. Thomas, a futurist, states well the problem with taking verse 1 to mean “suddenly.” “A major thrust of Revelation is its emphasis upon the shortness of time before the fulfillment. In the midst of persecution God’s people do not have long to wait for relief to come. To say that the relief will come ‘suddenly’ offers no encouragement, but to say that it will come “soon” does.” (WEC, 55). One of the themes of Revelation is relief from suffering the Christians are experiencing will come soon. If not, the book of Revelation becomes an untrue and hopeless book since the martyrs will told a little while longer till they were vindicated. Hundreds or thousands of years will not work. Not only will the futurist position not work in light of these words, but I submit to you that seeing only the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD will also not work. If the book of Revelation is only about the demise of the Roman Empire, the problem is that would not happen for nearly 400 years after the book of Revelation was written. Four hundred years is not soon and is not near. If I were to tell you that Christ would come in judgment and relieve you of your suffering more than 400 years from now, would you have relief? No, not at all. The time marker is not only a problem for the futurist position but it is also a problem for those who see only the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD as the message of the book of Revelation.

Therefore, the book of Revelation is not about the rise of the Roman Catholic church. The book of Revelation is not about Iraq and Saddam Hussein. The book of Revelation is not about the European Union. The book of Revelation is not a book about current events. We must not read the newspapers and try to plug what is happening today as the fulfillment of the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation was relevant to the first century Christians who heard its message. Notice in verse 3 that those Christians in the first century who read, heard, and kept what is written in it would be blessed. If chapters 4-22 are yet to come still, then there is no blessing for those Christians who received this letter. This does not mean that there is nothing for us to learn. We learn from every book in the Bible even though there was an original audience to whom the book was written. We do not read the book of Romans and discard its value because it was written to the Christians in the city of Rome in the first century. There is still great value, lessons, and applications for us. The book of Revelation is the same. Though written to the seven churches of Asia, there is still great value, lessons, and applications for us.