9. When all the tribes needed to join together to defend Israel against an enemy, God would appoint a shophet (“judge”). These military/political leaders only had authority for a limited time and did not create dynasties or centralized bureaucracies such as the “other nations” did. Incidentally, the idea that human government began with Moses isn‘t true. Before the kingship of Israel, which God disapproved, Israel settled by clans and tribes. They didn‘t operate under a single human leader nor did they have a top-down authority structure. 10. The Politics of Yahweh, 108. Israel‘s egalitarian pre-monarchical tribal system was a deliberate witness against the monarchical, imperial powers of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, etc. 11. The establishment of the monarchy in Israel shows from the beginning that even the government led by people directly chosen by God ends up abandoning God’s ways and negatively impacting God’s people. Saul, David, Solomon, and all the rest are corrupt and abuse their power. Some of them also had good qualities and accomplished a great deal for God’s people, but all
were tainted by the great power that was put into their hands. The power of the king was always meant to be God’s alone. Jacques Ellul was correct when he wrote, ‘Prior to these events [1 Samuel 8], Israel was a people without political organization, ‘governed directly by God‘ … political authority rests on defiance; it is a rejection of God … There is no validation of political power whatsoever in the Old Testament. On the contrary, it is forever contested’ (Jacques Ellul, ‘Anarchism and Christianity,’ KATALLAGETE, 19). 12. Human governors often have no idea that they are actually accomplishing God‘s desires (Isaiah 10). While they think they are building their own kingdoms and gratifying their own cravings for power, the Lord often brings order to society through their instrumentality. 13. All authority comes from God even when it’s illegitimate, meaning, God arranges and uses it. That includes the spiritual forces (principalities and powers) that stand behind the visible rulers of the earth. Because Christ has reconciled all things in heaven and earth to Himself (Colossians 1:20), He
arranges earthly and cosmic powers to eventually bring about His will. Through the cross, God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself. There can now be peace between humans and God, and humans and humans. But the world is not aware of this until the gospel is preached. And people can accept or reject the message. As John Howard Yoder once put it, ‘Fallen powers could be God‘s servants for our good (Romans 13:4). By maintaining the peace they facilitate humanity‘s coming to the knowledge of the truth’ (John Howard Yoder, Revolutionary Christian Citizenship [Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2013], 78). In this same volume, Yoder presents the New Testament view of the state (126-129). 14. Matthew 20:18; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:32; 24:7. God the Father was ultimately behind it all (Acts 2:33; 4:28), using Jesus‘ crucifixion to undermine the very forces that put Him to death (Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 2:8). In this regard, the death of Jesus was the ultimate Trojan Horse. Like a skilled wrestler who uses his opponent‘s strength against him, God does the same with the evil powers. ____________________________________
Useful Resources In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.thelastreformation.com www.insurgence.org/ www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.creation.com
Free material to download, booklets and tracts. Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended! Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Frank Viola’s latest book details Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds The best resource for creation material and news
If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these Christian ministries supporting the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine
OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG
ISSUE: 08
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19
JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:27
W
hen Jesus comes back everyone alive at the time will see him. God will come to earth with POWER and GREAT GLORY! Mankind has never experienced God appearing in such a way. The Israelites came closest when God came down onto Mount Sinai, but even there the power of God was contained within the bounds of that mountain. Jesus and the Apostles proclaimed that God Almighty plans to remake his creation. He will remove all the previous work in order to remove sin and corruption. This is what Peter taught us before his martyrdom in Rome:
The great destruction That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Peter, above all other Apostles, knew Jesus deeply and realised early on that he would one day die for his faith. But as this passage from 2 Peter 3 reveals he
knew God’s will, his long term plan. He knew that this creation was so corrupted by sin that Jesus was going to change it. A complete restart. This is why Jesus came as Saviour, saving us from the consequences of the coming wrath upon sin. He seems to be taking a long time, so far 2000 years since Jesus announced it. However, because of God’s patience, mercy and grace we are included in his body. If Jesus did come back before 1000AD then none of us would exist today! We do however find ourselves in the last days that Peter describes. He prophesied our existence and these days of evil, days of the scoffers, the mockers and the rebellious. However we also find ourselves equipped with the Word of God and revelation like no other generation. There’s no excuse to not know God’s will.
Extinction Rebellion The judgement of God has been announced and the time set by the Father for the end. We must accept this in our hearts. This
INSIDE A Message for our times Part 7 • The 2 Jerusalems • The Pride of Man • Money and God & more...
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ISSUE: 01
Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19
Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below. We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day. All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity. This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge. If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement. Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.
The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org
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Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord? When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline. Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word. Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord. Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn. Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die. The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”! —Estelle Gifford Jackson FIRST THOUGHTS How Luther’s lips must at first have trembled when he ventured to say that the Pope was Antichrist! Why, Man, how can you dare to say such a thing? Millions bow down before him! He is the vicar of God on earth! Do they not worship our Lord God the Pope? “Yet he is Antichrist and a very devil,” said Luther. And at first he must have felt his ears burn and his cheeks grow red at such a piece of apparent wickedness. And when he found himself shunned by the ecclesiastics who once had courted Doctor Martin Luther’s company, think of what emptiness he must have felt!. Charles Hadden Spurgeon #601 1860
principle is best revealed in the crucifixion of Jesus. At the cross, God withdrew His protection to forces that were bent on His destruction (Isaiah 51:13). Those forces conspired together to kill the Lord of glory, but God brought good out of the horrible ordeal.
Christ and Culture This brings us to the matter of culture. Culture is a term that describes the social life of human beings. The culture of the world system includes language, habits, beliefs, customs, social organization, art, technology, and values. John, the apostle, highlights the key characteristics of the world system: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:16 NASB) Notice the three elements listed in this text. 1. The lust of the flesh – that‘s passion or sex. 2. The lust of the eyes – that‘s possessions or salary. 3. The boastful pride of life – that‘s position or status. John is speaking about money, sex, and power – outside of God and His ways. But the culture of the world system is not the only culture in existence. There is also the culture of God‘s kingdom, which I and others call ‘the culture of heaven.’ When it comes to the culture of this world, Jesus Christ stands against culture. Why? Because its goods, goals, and gods are completely at odds with the Lord and His kingdom (1 John 2:1517). Allegiance to Jesus always collides with culture‘s demand for loyalty. While the culture of the world system is under God‘s judgment, it‘s also under His sovereign control. Thus Jesus uses it for His glory. From this perspective, Jesus is above culture. In addition, the world system uses the things that Jesus Himself created, but in a misguided and perverted way. Such things as art, science, technology, etc. reflect on varying levels something of the Lord. From this perspective,
Jesus is the Lord of culture. Consider the language of divine withdrawal in the New Testament. God gave Him up (Romans 8:32) and delivered Him over to death (Romans 4:25). In like manner, the Gospels tell us that Jesus was ‘handed over’ to His enemies.14 God is a master at giving evil forces freedom and accomplishing His perfect will through their wickedness and disorder. He does this through redemptive protective withdrawal. Yet when those who are part of the world‘s culture give their allegiance to Christ, putting their trust and security in Him, Jesus becomes the transformer of culture, invading it in and through His people with the culture of heaven. Unfortunately, culture has traditionally trumped the church. A prime example can be found in the great schism between the Eastern and Western church in A.D. 1054. Interestingly, the majority of those who lived in what was once the Roman Empire (the west) joined the Western church and those who lived in the eastern part of the empire joined the Eastern church. In other words, one‘s culture determined their religion. So culture is an incredibly powerful force. But for the true follower of Christ, loyalty to Jesus – the world‘s true Lord – will trump culture.15 Along this line, the message of Jesus is political and anti-cultural. Jesus denounced arrogant rulers, announced the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (even acting it out beforehand), preached good news to the poor, condemned top-down leadership, and died the death of a political insurgent. By contrast, the kingdoms of this world operate in and through worldly culture. As such, they employ fear, deception, physical violence, and military power. The kingship of Jesus Christ, however, knows no such things (John 18:36). n For more by Frank please see the website: www.insurgence.org
___________________________________ Footnotes 4 Interestingly, the first mention of the term ‘king’ is found in Genesis 14:1. The city of Babel represents the beginning of high civilization. The tower was merely one feature of the city of Babel, which is also known as Babylon later in the Bible. The Babel account anticipates Egypt and its slavery of the people of God. (The terms ‘come let us’ along with building with bricks are found in both accounts – Exodus 1:10, 14 with Genesis 11:3-4.) The negative account of the city sketched out in Genesis 4 is simply the institutionalization of fallen man‘s estrangement from God. 5 Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 238. On page 239 of the same work, Hamilton adds, “Genesis is making the point that through the (disobedient) line of Cain many of the world’s significant cultural discoveries emerged.” As I pointed out in Insurgence, cities were places of concentrated human power where people sought to make a name for themselves. While promising to unite and protect, they ended up being locations of exploitation, control, and alienation. The city was never God‘s original idea. The fundamental essentials of the city: industry, weapons, and entertainment – representing security, protection, and enjoyment independent from God – came with the fall. 6 Alva McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1959), 47-48. In Insurgence, I establish how God views the origin of the ‘city.’ Babel simply continues the trajectory that began in Genesis 4 with the city called Enoch. See Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011) and Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2009), part 2. The whole sweep of Scripture shows that the cities of fallen man depict self-alienation from God. Even so, God uses the city for redemptive purposes. The city is the alternative environment of false security, drawing people into its promise of enjoyment, provision, and protection. 7. See 1 Samuel 8:20. Before the monarchy was established in Israel, God‘s people were guided by decentralized leadership, namely, ‘a plurality of offices, including judges, elders, priests, and prophets. Yet none of these leaders united all aspects of Israel‘s social constitution under a single human office. Each leader was accountable partly to the wider community (Deut 17:2–7 notes the importance of witnesses) and ultimately to God.’ John C. Nugent, The Politics of Yahweh (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books), 49-50. 8. Even though the tribes all shared the same language, the same culture, and the same religion, they did not have an overarching political authority – except for YHWH and “judges” whom YHWH would appoint when a need for coordinated military action arose.
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with a prophetic ministry (1 John 2:20). This is integral to us all being members of the one body, the church (which is a new creation in Christ); and why all of today’s prophets should be subject to the instructions given in 1 Cor 14:29ff. The writer to the Hebrews also says God (the Father) doesn’t speak today through prophets in the same way as in the OT (Heb 1:1-2). In the prophecies mentioned in Acts 11:27-28 & 13: 1-3 and 1 Tim 1: 18-19 , which are all specifically stated, in hindsight, to be ‘from the Holy Spirit’, there are no ‘Thus says the LORD…’ Whilst one cannot formulate teaching on an omission, it may nevertheless be significant. For - in contradistinction to an OT prophet - how can a prophecy be uttered on the understanding it needs to be weighed by
others, if the person giving the utterance has already weighed it? [When Ananias was given a message for Saul of Tarsus, he said it was ‘from the Lord Jesus’, but this was an integral part of Jesus’ unique commissioning of Paul. Furthermore, Ananias didn’t claim to have a prophetic ministry - the NT designates him as a “disciple” - and he only confirmed what the Lord Jesus had previously told Paul.]
Encouragement To Clarity If someone believes they have a prophetic ministry, they should be encouraged to follow (as much as is practically possible) the Apostle Paul’s instructions. If nothing else, it would help counter the increasing tendency of some to trust in their own ‘unique hotline to God’, rather than allowing others (with
whom they are in partnership etc) to weigh their words, and genuinely accept their assessment. On the other hand, we shouldn’t automatically dismiss the utterances of those who fail to follow Paul’s instructions. The Holy Spirit can (if he chooses) speak through the mouth of a donkey, and (on one occasion) the ungodly Caiaphas prophesied accurately. Even so, we still need to ensure we don’t give anywhere near the same weight to a supposed ‘word from the Lord’ compared to the weight we must always give to the prophetic utterances that constitute the OT & NT (the Canon of which is complete). There are also a number of additional biblical maxims to help us weigh prophecies more objectively. n
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you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.’’ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord.The Lord answered, ‘Listen to them and give them a king.’ (1 Samuel 8:4-22) God created Israel to be a tribal people, not a nation-state ruled by authoritative structures.8 Yet even though it wasn‘t God‘s will for Israel to have a king like the pagan nations, and even though a human king would lead to Israel‘s downfall, God granted them their request. But He warned the people what would happen if they took this step (1 Samuel 8:11-18). Israel persisted, and God conceded. The Lord, then, worked within Israel‘s governmental system to accomplish His sovereign intentions, even though it was never His perfect will. (Previous to Israel‘s kingship, God established elders and judges to settle disputes. But those people weren‘t political leaders who wielded political or
governmental power over the people. God was Israel‘s sole King; He alone had authority over His people.)9 John Nugent identifies God‘s original thought for Israel saying, When Abraham leaves Babylon and the Israelites leave Egypt, they are not simply moving to new places; they are moving away from corrupt empires whose totalizing vision of life stands in fundamental conflict with the totalising vision God has for his people. The fundamental attribute God requires of Abraham and the Israelites is trust in him alone. The way of life to which God was calling his people and that they began experiencing on their journey to Canaan was graciously set forth in Torah. The governing dynamic of Torah is God‘s exclusive reign over his people. Two corollaries followed: trust in God alone for safety and deliverance (as opposed to trusting in military might or strategic alliances) and flexible decentralized leadership (as opposed to a king who subsumes all offices under a single human head).10 Significantly, God regarded Israel‘s desire for a king to be an outright rejection of His own authority and proof that His people did not trust Him.
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The Truth About Human Governments God‘s view of human governments hasn‘t changed since the days of Samuel. Ever since fallen humans rejected the Lord‘s kingship, they have insisted on having human governments to rule over them.11 Despite their arrogance, God uses human governments and laws to keep basic order. And He does so even without their conscious awareness.12 This is made clear from Romans 13. But again, what God allows isn‘t the equivalent of what He approves.13 While human governing institutions can limit human chaos, they are incapable of producing global peace and harmony (which they virtually always promise). The reason is simple. All human governments are under the influence of ‘the god of this world’ and are therefore inherently corrupt. They are part of the world system, which John says is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19 NIV). Yet despite this fact, God is sovereign. He not only uses fallen human institutions to do good, but He also takes the corrupt and evil things they carry out and brings blessing out of them. This
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is inevitable and unstoppable. Although mankind has corrupted and corroded the earth and it’s incredible resources by his greed, it will be God himself who will finally destroy the planet. Many now frantically work and rebel to save themselves in order to avoid extinction, but this is not the real danger they face. Remaining part of Satan’s kingdom on earth and not entering the Kingdom of the King of heaven is the real danger for millions of souls (John 8:24, Hebrews 4:13).
Waiting for God Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7) Our brave new world order is full of wicked devices! Since the 19th century mankind’s ability to create ways of evil and leisurely distractions have gone global. We even call the technology we use ‘devices’ as if this is a good thing, but not in God’s sight (Luke 16:15). When Jesus made the earth it was complete lacking nothing - it was good (Genesis 1:31). It is mankind under the inspiration of Satan who has created his ‘devices’ for evil. The corruption of the earth is testimony to man’s so called ‘civilisation’. We are all guilty! As believers we are called to ‘wait on the Lord’ for many things. If we trust we will wait for him to defend us or sacrifice us according to his purposes (Dan 3:17-18). As Jesus has told us, this world and everything in it will be burned up - gone (Matt 24:35,36; 2 Thess 1:8 ). There will be nothing of this world left - nothing! No matter what men may plan, design, build or ruin it will all pass and be forgotten. This seems negative, but the good news tells us that God will make a New Heaven and New Earth without sin or death (Rev 21:1). This is what we wait for, this is the great promise of Jesus and the Christian hope as we trust in him. He has guaranteed it to us by his own blood. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful. (Rev 21) The Apostle John had the detailed revelation of the end. The symbolic coded language of Revelation was designed to reveal and confuse at the same time. This great mystery is seen only by those who have the Spirit of Christ (1 Corin 2:7-12). Satan blinds the minds of men to their desperate condition, but God also speaks in parables and visions that only those who seek find. John states that in the process of heaven and earth passing there was no longer any ‘sea’. This sea is the ‘sea of peoples’ previously interpreted for us in Rev 17:15. Indeed the natural sea will also have gone, but along with everything else too. Terrifyingly for the lost they will be no more, the wicked peoples of the earth will indeed be extinct. Only those meek found ‘in Christ’ and thus ‘in the book of life’ will translate into the new earth. These will be the remnant from every tribe and tongue, Jew and Gentile. The New Jerusalem appears only in the new earth after the wrath removes Satan and sinners. Waiting for Jesus return is the core of our faith and the great hope that inspires us to live wisely. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm
you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corin 1:4-8; see Phil 3:20) The whole earth is groaning, straining, suffering, struggling under the weight of sin and death imposed on it by the Lord himself to wake us up from sleep! For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. (Romans 8:22-25)
Everything as normal Until very recently most atheistic sceptics would have echoed Peter’s words quite easily, ‘all things continue as they were from the beginning’. Now however many are suffering the breakdown of the environment due to our ‘civilisation’. In his mercy the Lord is bringing these ‘minor judgements’ in the earth, like trumpet warnings, in an attempt to make men question so called ‘normality’. He is shaking both the heaven and the earth! Rather than blaming ‘mother nature’ for various ‘natural’ disasters perhaps mankind will realise these are perhaps the ‘Father’s Judgements’ to awaken the lost. Sadly people are dying as these events increase, but still millions, if not billions, refuse to give up their idols! (Rev 16:9). Jesus said that such people will be caught out at his return, like a thief in the night surprises his victim. He said that people will be going about business as usual. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3
went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Jesus should know how things will end up, after all he was the creator of it! The scale of this final judgement is mind blowing and beyond the imagination of most people. We are nearer the time of his return than at any other point in history, the signs are all around! (Luke 21:28).
Signs in the Moon Two of the most significant indicators of our place in time are well known. The first was the return of Israel as a nation of Jews in 1948. The second was when they managed to conquer Jerusalem fought in June 1967 - the six day war. According to Jesus this marked the end of the Gentiles treading on the sacred ground of the Promised land and the end of his judgement of Israel. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24
see
Z echariah 7)
Significantly in 1969 a momentous sign did appear in the moon. Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface; Aldrin joined him later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds
(21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. (Wikipedia) The change in the middle east was as significant as man reaching and walking on the lunar surface, it marked a turning point in history. The return of Jewish peoples from all the nations of the earth (Aliyah) has been happening ever since. God would not allow this unless his wrath was completed (Isa 51:11) Also significant is that many Jews have now started to believe in Jesus as their true Messiah. In the last 30 years the Messianic church body has increased dramatically. Although Israel is still perceived as a ‘secular’ ‘ethnic’ nation by the rest of the world it faces much opposition because of it’s clear connection with the Bible and faith in God. Jewish Christian relations have never been as constructive as they are today. A recognition that Satan wants to hinder God’s will for his ancient people has inspired prayer and support for Israel. Not all Israel is Israel, but it must be acknowledged that none of this would happen without God’s intervention. Significantly since the early 1970’s the natural environment started to suffer. Oil production literally went through the roof and global pollution expanded. Human population has also exploded to over 7 Billion - like a harvest field ripening. We are now in a global ‘climate crisis’ not unlike that which the Pharaoh faced before Moses. Pharaoh defied and denied Moses and God’s will, his pride hardened his heart pushing the judgement to the end. Mankind will do the same again.
unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matt 24:14) The Kingdom he speaks of is of course that of heaven and earth to come, that which John foresaw in the Revelation imagery. A false hope is that this world and earth will be rescued by the church or even by Israel. The destruction of Israel back in AD 70 symbolised the inevitable destiny of all the earth, devastation. The return of Israel signifies that God keeps his word, keeps his promises. However, as the ancient offerings of the past reveal, everything must be burned up - nothing left. Once polluted by sin there is no way earth can be cleansed, like trying to get yeast out of bread once cooked - impossible. Jesus is indeed the only way out, we can’t even take our physical body with us, but must be given a new resurrection body like his own. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit’. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Gospel of the Kingdom
(1 Corin 15:35-49)
One clear marker of the end that Jesus gave concerned the preaching of the Gospel message to ALL nations (ethnos). This condition is very close to being met. Very few places on earth have not been discovered, remarkable in itself, but also remarkable is the way the Word about Jesus has also spread. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
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When Jesus returns the dead in Christ will be resurrected before our eyes! Those living will also be transformed into new ‘spiritual bodies’ which will be eternal, incorruptible and indestructible. Glory hallelujah - come Lord Jesus! n
by
Weighing Prophecy
Paul Skaife, Pastor, Halford House, Richmond
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” (1 John 4:1-3)
A
lthough the New Testament says we should be diligent to ‘test the spirits’ (Matt 24: 24-25, 1 Tim 4:11) this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Evangelicals increasingly disagree on the basics: including what is truth or error. So when it comes to a particular prophecy, it is hardly surprising if believers within the same local church or para-church organization differ as to what weight, if any, should be placed on it. It can also be emotionally difficult to give a prophecy a different weight from others, especially if they are the person giving the prophecy, or they are believed to have a prophetic ministry. Our main problem (unless we are cessationists) is to know how to weigh prophecy. In practice it is often a very subjective exercise. This needn’t be the case, as we are meant to weigh prophecies in light of Scripture as a whole. Scripture also provides specific guidelines.
Old Testament Examples For example, the ways outlined in the Old Testament to test the words of a prophet (Deut 13:15; Jer 23:25-40 etc). This means those who say their predictions don’t have to be 100% accurate, or whose predictions come to pass but are preaching another Jesus & / or who are neoGnostics (of which there are an increasing number, including on the religious TV channels), are all ‘false prophets’. But even if the words of a prophet pass this particular maxim, we still have to decide what weight (importance, etc) to give them. One crucially important maxim is to ensure we don’t give any of today’s prophets, and therefore anything they say, the same weight as an OT prophet.
New Testament Instructions The Apostle Paul’s instructions in 1 Cor 14:29ff (“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said…”) are primarily with respect to those who exercise a prophetic ministry. These instructions, which Paul says are “the Lord’s commands”, infer: (i) they are prophecies given by those who were already recognized by their own local church as prophets; (ii) that their spiritual character was consequently known and approved by their own local church (cf. Matt 7:15-17); and (iii) that they each submitted to others in their own local church – a characteristic of NT ministry, epitomised by Paul who, despite believing himself to be directly called into divine service by the Lord Jesus in a manner equivalent to the twelve apostles, could not only be sent out (with Barnabas) by his own local church in Antioch (Acts 13:3) but on his return ‘taught and preached the word with many others’ (Acts 15:35). These instructions are also universal, as in conclusion Paul wrote (vs 36-37) “Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.” The relatively few references in the NT to the activity of prophets in the early Church also all suggest they fulfilled their ministry alongside others with a recognised prophetic ministry: rather than acting solo, akin to OT prophets. Acts 11:27-30 “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and
through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.). The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” Acts 13: 1-3 “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon…, Lucius …, Manaen …and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” In both instances there was more than one recognised prophet present; and what was said was weighed by the others, who also decided how to practically respond. The general picture in Acts mirrors Paul’s instructions to the believers in Corinth, and vice-versa.
Applying The Test Whilst we don’t know the actual words of the prophecies given to Timothy, apart from them being exhortations to ‘fight the good fight of faith’; there was more than one prophecy given, and others present (including Paul) witnessed to them being from the Holy Spirit (1 Tim 1: 18-19 ). It is therefore possible that those who gave the prophecies to Timothy already had a recognised prophetic ministry, akin to the situation in the church in Jerusalem and in Antioch. The practical reason why those with a prophetic ministry today shouldn’t be given the same weight as OT prophets, is because under the provisions of the New Covenant all true believers have received an anointing, not just those REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21
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someone who chose to live contented and without asking for money as payment for his Christian service to the church. As our key text points out, the love of money is the root of all evil behaviour in the modern world. We must learn to give up all desires to be rich and comfortable at the expense of others, especially our brothers in Christ. As with the first church in Jerusalem, true Christianity will be marked by economic equality among the body of Christ with every basic need met. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. (2 Corin 8:9-15) This offering that Paul and Titus collected from Corinthian believers was no for themselves, but in order to help the Jewish believers in Judea who were experiencing a famine! In another place Paul reveals that he never demanded payment from anyone, but worked and paid his own way trusting the Lord to provide and save him. Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. ... I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20)
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Coins of all denominations did not develop into bank notes in Europe until around 1661 AD. Paper bills were first used by the Chinese, who started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) — mostly in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes — and used it for more than 500 years before the practice began to catch on in Europe inspired by Marco Polo and China. Paper currency was based upon the gold standard system.
Gold Standard System Versus Fiat System As its name suggests, the term gold standard refers to a monetary system in which the value of currency is based on gold. A fiat system, by contrast, is a monetary system in which the value of currency is not based on any physical commodity but is instead allowed to fluctuate dynamically against other currencies on the foreign-exchange markets. The term “fiat” is derived from the Latin “fieri,” meaning an arbitrary act or decree. In keeping with this etymology, the value of fiat currencies is ultimately based on the fact that they are defined as legal tender by way of government decree. In the decades prior to the First World War, international trade was conducted on the basis of what has come to be known as the classical gold standard. In this system, trade between nations was settled using physical gold. Nations with trade surpluses accumulated gold as payment for their exports. Conversely, nations with trade deficits saw their gold reserves decline, as gold flowed out of those nations as payment for their imports.
The Gold Standard: A History “We have gold because we cannot trust governments,” President Herbert Hoover famously said in 1933 in his statement to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This statement foresaw one of the most draconian events in U.S. financial history: the Emergency Banking Act, which forced all Americans to convert their gold coins, bullion and certificates into U.S. dollars. The legislation successfully stopped the outflow of gold during the Great Depression, but changed money forever. The gold standard is not currently used by any government. Britain stopped using the gold standard in 1931 and the U.S. followed suit in 1933 and abandoned the remnants of the system in 1971. The gold standard was completely replaced by fiat money giving those who print money the power of wealth control. The US Federal reserve and the UK’s Bank of England are privately owned corporations who have taken this responsibilty. This has led to the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer as the wealthy can hoard gold and assets. As the infographic above shows money is morphing again to a more powerful system of control - digital currency, so that purchasing or trading can only be done electronically. Although money now has many different forms it’s prudent to remember that none of it will make it into the new heaven and earth where righteouness dwells and money is not required! n
Chronology of the ‘Falling Away’ Learning From History - First Century to the Council of Nicea By Louis Garbi
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29-30) A.D. 49-100 The falling away from Christ can be identified with these characteristics: Religious systems associated with Jesus Christ mingling with Judaism, Gnosticism, philosophies of men, and false apostles. A love of power over others prevailed.
AD 100-117 Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch, made a distinction between bishops and presbytery (elders). He upheld the idea that the bishop was the only one who had the right to baptise. He reminds one of Diotrophese (III John) when he wrote; “Do follow your bishop, as Jesus followed the Father.”1 Historically he would be described as a monarchical bishop (one who solely rules as an overseer). This marks a rejection of the scriptural example and command of multiple overseers being appointed in a given congregation. Also, its high handed tone does not exemplify the Spirit of Christ. 1. Walker: A History of the Christian Church 1:9 p.47
AD 135-160 Gnosticism was at its height of influence among the churches, though it lingered long afterward. By the latter half of the first century, a concept of Christ was being taught which denied His fleshly existence, saying He came in an “appearance” of flesh. It is thought one reason for its acceptance was the difficulty some had in reconciling a member of the godhead possessing our earthly form. (This probably stems from a concept that the flesh is tainted with original sin.) Also because of Gnosticism’s wide and varied background, it was able to be insinuated among the unwary throughout the wide range of locations in which the gospel was received. “It took unto itself many elements from many sources, and assumed many forms. It is therefore, impossible to speak of a single type of Gnosticism.”2 The word comes from the same word translated as ‘knowledge’ in II Peter 1:5. However, the Gnostics understood this word to mean a type of knowledge mystically transferred to a believer, thus enlightening him without the need for a written testimony. It was experiential in nature. It stood opposed to receiving knowledge through the scriptures. Gnosticism had its roots in Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. 1. It taught that matter is evil and spirit is good. (Dualism) 2. Its reception was mystical, based on the
adherent’s “experience”. Gnosticism distinguished between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. 1. The God of the O.T. created matter, therefore was called inferior. 2. The God of the N.T. is the God of light. Gnosticism rejected that Christ had our flesh and blood. Rather they believed He had flesh of a different nature, or a phantom representation. (An idea that persists to this day.) Gnosticism taught a limited candidacy for salvation. 1. Some were ‘spiritual’ and could attain ‘knowledge.’ 2. Some were less ‘spiritual’ but could attain a degree of faith. 3. Some were strictly material in their existence, therefore hopeless. Maricon, a wealthy ship-owner, became a member of the church at Rome. He apparently considered the system’s growing rigidness as a result of regarding the God of the OT the same as the God of the NT. He considered the God of the NT a God of mercy, and the OT God an inferior being. He was excommunicated in the year 144. “Maricon’s movement was probably the most dangerous of those associated with Gnosticism. He sundered Christianity from its historic background as completely as had the more speculative Gnostic theories. He denied a real incarnation, and condemned the OT and its God. All this was the more plausible because done in the name of a growing legalism. For such a protest there was much justification. His churches spread extensively, in the orient especially, and survived into the fifth century.”3 2. Walker: A History of the Christian Church 2:1 p.54 3. Ibid 2:2 p.57
AD 150-175 An early form of the so-called ‘Apostles Creed’ was developed. It was deemed necessary to recite it in order to be baptised.
AD 154 The prestige of the Roman bishop began to emerge. Partially due to its great wealth and size, as well as being located in Rome (the focal point in much of the world’s mind), the Roman church had a domineering influence among other churches. In 154, its influence included the fact that it chose its first monarchical bishop, Anicetus. REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 5
AD 154-155 The observance of the Passover (later called Easter) is noted because of a controversy over the date of the occasion. This controversy was between Polycarp , bishop of Smyrna, and Anicetus, bishop of Rome. Note: The word ‘Easter’ was coined later. It comes from Eastre, “a Teutonic godless to whom sacrifice was offered in April.”4 Apparently the custom of some Jewish Christians to observe the Passover gradually came to be followed by many other churches to the point it became an unquestioned practice. This is contrary to Gal.4:10-11.
AD156 The Beginning of Montanism About this time there was a growing expectancy for the Second Coming of Christ. The miracles of the early church were fading out. There were those who wondered if there would be a renewed flourishing of this type of power. The setting was intensified by a growing burden of human authority in the churches. Montanus, a former priest of the idol Cybele, came on the scene as a self proclaimed instrument of the Holy Spirit, with prophetic utterances, and heralding the imminent return of Christ. There were two women associated with him, Priscilla and Maximilla. There were many attracted to this doctrine which was salted with rigorous asceticism; fasting, abstinence from meat, communal living, and celibacy. They gathered their disciples to an area in Phrygia, where they expected the New Jerusalem to be established. Though their prophecies were unfulfilled, there were many who were not discouraged and embraced this teaching. The movement continued for some time. 160 Monarchical Bishops were practically universal by this time. (Monarchical Bishop – a single overseer of many congregations in one city.) 4. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Easter” p.889
AD160-169 The “Catholic” orthodoxy began to appear. The word ‘catholic’ had been a loose description to the many assemblies professing Christ. Catholic means universal. However, around this period, it began to be used to denote a particular group of churches who battled the Gnostic and Montanist movements. They shared some notable features: Strengthened authority of the monarchical bishop, metropolitan churches5, the use of councils to initiate homogeneous policy, a common creed, a set body of scriptures. 1. AD185 A ‘Christian’ school of theology started at Alexandria. Alexandria had long been an important city in the Empire. It was a centre of trade. It had a library of the highest reputation. It was also the crossroads for Eastern and Western thought. It had long mingled Judaism with Greek philosophy, so it was no surprise that the same was done with the message of Christ. At this time a philosopher, Pantaenus, did this very thing. It PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES
is not certain whether he originated the school of Christian thought, but Pantaenus is the one of note. The school was a private endeavour at this time and not yet officially incorporated into the churches. 2. 186 Further advancement of the Roman church was indicated. Irenaeus, a bishop of Lyons, wrote; “Every church should agree with this church.”6 This in reference to the Roman church. He also upheld the idea of church councils; the only way of preventing Christianity from disintegrating into a thousand sects is for all Christians to accept humbly one doctrinal authority – the decrees of the episcopal councils of the church.”7 5. (City churches which dominated other churches. The metropolitan churches visited by the apostles of Christ had special regard as keepers of the faith. In our time, this term has an entirely different connotation.) 6. Walker: . . History. . . 2:5 p.63 7. Durant: Caesar and Christ 28:4 p.612-613 8. Walker: . . .History. . . 2:77 p.87
AD190 The continued controversy over scheduling the date of Passover resulted in more councils held to resolve the matter.
AD189-198 Victor, bishop of Rome, excommunicated congregations who refused to conform to the council.
AD200-260 Characteristics of church hierarchy were enhanced. “. . . between 200-260, the church as an organisation took on most of the constitutional features that were to characterise if throughout the period of the dominance of the Graeco-Roman culture.”8 Here are some features of that institutionalisation: 1. By this time the clergy – laity distinction was drawn and fixed. The word ‘clergy’ – kleros – is translated variously in the NT as: inheritance, lot, part, or heritage. Its literal meaning is a piece broken off or bits. It came to mean a portion or an acquisition. In I Pet.5:3, there is a warning for the elders not to consider the church as an acquisition. They were not to be lords. However, in the process of time the opposite attitude and practice became accepted. The warning in Acts 20:29 went unheeded by many. 2. Just as monarchical bishops presided over the local congregations in a city, the bishops in city churches extended authority over rural churches in the region of the city. Likewise, this pattern was carried even further as the bishops in major cities (Rome, Antioch, Ephesus, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Carthage) exerted influence over bishops in smaller cities. The bishops of the major cities were called Metropolitans or Archbishops. (By the 4th century the development was more complete with Metropolitans taking the title of Patriarch.) During this period (200-260) there were four layers in the church’s structure: laity, country
The Pride of Man
How History is set to repeat itself due to ignorance of the truth “ So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-10)
W
e are in a situation in the world today where the vast majority of people actively choose to reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As this passage in 2 Thessalonians 1 above shows this is a very dangerous and foolish thing to do. When our Lord’s patience runs out and he returns with fire nothing he rejects will survive. Even worse the rejection of the truth leads to eternal damnation along with Satan, the god of this world system. 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. (Hebrews 12:25-29)
God Almighty has spoken to humanity from heaven through Jesus Christ. He has made it relatively easy and simple to have faith and obey his way of love. He has given us grace, mercy and plenty of time to find him. Mankind is without excuse as his qualities of creativity,
beauty and order are all revealed in the natural earth around us even the atheists can see this - yet they ascribe no praise to Christ who made it so. In order to find the truth you have to humble yourself and admit you are an imperfect and corrupted soul who lives in an imperfect corrupted flesh because of our inheritance from Adam and Eve. Here lays the problem for the majority because they are full of pride and self righteousness. Satan worships himself and persuades other to worship him by pagan ritual, what the Bible calls iniquity (see RT edition 7). He preaches that we do not need God to tell us what to do, that we know best, we are in control of our lives. He tells us that God never made us, but that we evolved from nothing and go to nothing when we die, so enjoy yourself - do your thing. This selfishness and denial of truth contrasts sharply with the words of God in the Scriptures. This is why Satan has always been opposed to the Scriptures and those who promote them, Jews and Christians. History has shown how he has manipulated authorities to persecute and martyr millions of faithful believers who stood their ground. The dark ages were just such a time when, shortly after the cataclysmic formation of the Roman Church the son of perdition arose and took control. The Antichrist turned out to be one of us, just as Paul had predicted, another Judas.
Looking back at history we can see that this was the case and in many respects still is. Pride overcame these ancient leaders as it had before in Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome and now even to our present day. How many despots have we had in the last 2000 years since Jesus came who have even murdered in the name of God?! All this comes from pride, thinking we are something we are not, thinking we are in charge. Ancient wisdom in Proverbs warns us the disaster of pride and how it stirs God’s hatred of sin: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. (8:13) When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. (11:2)
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. (13:10) In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. (14:3) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (16:18) A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. (29:23)
Bearing these wise words in mind we can see that this is what offends God and destroys nations. Just think of what happened to Israel when they rejected the covenant that God gave them! How much more will modern nations suffer by rejecting the Gospel of Christ! (Lev 20; 2 Pet 2) n REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 19
for corruption, Jesus gave these words of advice to us: One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Luke 16:10-13; see also John 2:15) Essentially Jesus is saying serve him or serve Caesar (Satan). It’s no surprise that just a Christ came into the world Satan had developed the ‘headed coin’ system to run his empire. Remember the cry of the Jews at Jesus’ cruxifixion: But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. (John 19:15)
On a number of occasions Jesus was challenged regarding paying tax. Once to the Romans and once to the Pharisees for the new Temple tax (not the tithe). Taxing or census was not a foreign concept in the ancient world. God himself had once commanded Moses and Aaron to do this at the formation of the Sanctuary (Exod 30:13). However this was a one-off and the silver melted down for the foundation of the Tabernacle. It was never to be used as a form of oppression or control of the population (1 Sam 24:1-3). Ironically one of the reasons Jesus was born in Bethlehem was because of the census of the people for the purpose of taxation! (Luke 2:1). The KJV Bible uses the word ‘tribute’ rather than ‘tax’ because in ancient times this collecting was considered almost a form of worship of the rightful king or emperor. Jesus uses this to reveal a great truth about the difference between Satan’s kingdom on earth, and God’s kingdom of heaven. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying,What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. This is an incredible story and often missed by preachers today. Jesus never saw the tax system as valid, but to not offend them he paid it supernaturally and not from his own purse. He also reveals that his spiritual children do not pay him either ‘then are the children free’. This was further enforced when answering the Herodians: Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about PAGE 18 REVIVAL TIMES
anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius (coin). And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.”Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marvelled. And they left him and went away. (Matt 22:15-22) Jesus clearly separates himself from money which belongs to Caesar (his image), and expects a different tribute (worship) to be given to God. God of course has no need of anything, let alone money to achieve his purposes in the universe. The debt for sin could not be paid in cash, but would require his own holy, pure blood poured out as a sacrifice. For Jesus the money was so insignificant that he even gave his own purse to Judas whom he knew was a thief! (John 12:4-6, 13:29; Mark 14:10-11; Matt 26:15; 27:3-9).
So What about Tithing? In the light of the above information we can only conclude that the modern day practice of tithing money to an organisation claiming to be a ‘church’ is 100% erroneous. In the Scriptures no Israelite ever tithed money - it simply did not exist before 600BC! Tithing is not mentioned by the Apostles as an essential for believing communities. So what did they tithe then? The purpose of the tithe was for ‘feeding’ the priests ‘food’ who served in the ‘Temple’. They never tithed gold or silver even as plain metal weight. The Levites were a special tribe separated from their brothers for service to Yahweh. They were not given land or expected to work the land like the other tribes, they belonged to God. Mistreatment of these Levites and the collapse of the correct Temple service resulted in judgement against them. The Levites were a symbolic representation of heaven, a symbolic metaphor of Christ. When the Holy Spirit came into the new Temple of the church body (disciples) we see that they became a new priesthood and a holy nation. These believers did not take offerings, but ensured that none of them had need. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2). This certainly sounds like heaven on earth to me! The Apostle Paul was a great example to us of continued on page 20
bishops, city bishops, and Archbishops. There was also a substrata of clergy: presbyters, deacons, sub-deacons, acolytes (altar boys) exorcists, readers and janitors (from Janus, the doorkeeper god, they made sure that only the faithful could be included into certain parts of the assembly). This description was given given by Eusebius of the Roman church in 251.9 The appointment of the “lower clergy” was in the hands of the bishop. The appointment of the bishop was by the presbytery with the approval of a bishop from another city. By 325, it was decreed at the council of Nicaea that a bishop could only be approved by an Archbishop. 3. Other items hierarchical power are to be found in this time period. (a) Kalistos, bishop of Rome (217-222), issued a statement to the effect that he would personally absolve sins upon due repentance. (b) Cyprian, (200-258) a bishop of Carthage, made such declarations as these; i.“Ye ought to know that the bishop is in the church and the church is in the bishop, and if anyone be not with the bishop, that he is not in the church.”10 ii. Rome, “. . .the chief church whence priestly unity takes its source.”11 9. Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History book 6, section 43 10. Walker: . . . History. . .2:7 p.70 11. Ibid. 2:7 p.71
AD200-260 Mystery religions and their influence
In the latter part of the 2nd century and in the 3rd century much of the Roman Empire was given over to mystery religions. These were ancient pagan beliefs such as the worship of Demeter & Persephone, Cybele, Isis, Dionysus, and Mithras. The word ‘mystery’ used in association with these religions meant something hidden or kept secret, rather than something unfathomable. It was a secret kept within the circle of the initiated. Their celebrations and rituals were kept hidden from outsiders. They placed a great deal of emphasis on symbolic ceremonies. It stimulated fervour through impressing the senses, teaching a communion with their gods. “The mysteries. . .appear to have been originally an autumn festival of plowing and sowing. . .The . . .initiates broke their fast by participating in a holy communion in memory of Demeter. . .What mystic ritual was then performed we do not know; the secret well kept through antiquity, under the penalty of death. . . Very probably the theme was the rape of Persephone by Pluto, the sorrowful wandering of Demeter, the return of the maiden to earth, and the revelation of agriculture to Attica. . .The summary of the ceremony was a mystic marriage of a priest representing Zeus, with a priestess impersonating Demeter. . .The worshipers were then led by dim torch light into dark subterranean caverns
symbolising Hades, and again to an upper chamber brilliant with light, representing, it appears, the abode of the blessed. . .they were now shown, in solemn exaltation, the holy objects, relics, or icons that till that moment had been concealed. . .”12 The mystery trend made its way into the catholic system. It was absorbed because of the mindset of the general population. There were numerous converts who retained their backgrounds enough that the system reflected it. It was also used to attract new converts. “And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”(Rev.17:5)
Noted developments of the Apostate church: 1. The church was regarded as the keeper of life giving mysteries superintended by the clergy. 2. There was a systematic initiation for those entering in through baptism: (a) a formal renunciation of one’s past life (b) a recitation of the creed (c) immersion three times (one per each of the godhead) (d) a taste of milk and honey to express the new life (e) anointing with oil (f) laying on of hands (g) godparents (from the cult of Isis)
3. The Lord’s Supper was seen as a sacrifice requiring a “priest” to officiate 4. All were barred from being present at a baptism or the Lord’s Supper except the converted or candidates for conversion. 5. The creed and Lord’s Prayer were kept secret 6. Ritual fasting was practiced on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 40 hours before the Easter (a prelude to Lent) 7. Martyrs were commemorated in the Lord’s Supper on the anniversary of their deaths. 8. The relics of the martyrs were held in reverence. During the bracket of time covered so far (49-260), persecutions beset those wearing the name of Christ. The pagan world largely viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism. When Nero persecuted Christians in 64 AD, the distinction became more apparent. From about 68 it was a general policy to consider Christianity as criminal activity. There were fluctuating degrees of antagonism and easement. The Emperor Domitian was officially addressed as “our Lord and God.” He required his image to be worshiped. John was exiled to Patmos during Domitian’s reign. Emperors Trajan (98117) and Hadrian (117-138), while not condoning Christianity, made concessions to ease the terror. Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher Emperor, persecuted Christians in his belief that The Empire needed to return to the old gods and principles. Disease brought in from previous conquests in the East, in addition to the pressures from the continued on page 14
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A Message For Our Times PART 7 - By Stephen Turnham
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) The seventh part of 12 parts looking at how the church reaches out to the lost.
PART 7 - HOW DO WE REACH THOSE STILL IN DARKNESS? The short answer to this is that we can’t give to others what we have not received and lived first ourselves. Jesus’ command was to ‘go and preach the kingdom of heaven’ which he had fully demonstrated and given to them, because that’s what he received from the Father. They experienced Jesus at work, rest and play, God with them. They knew the creator and saw his power over all things, natural and supernatural. How can we give the lost the kingdom of heaven when we have not seen it or experienced it ourselves like those first Apostles? The answer is that we can’t. Most traditional church going Christians have never experienced real ‘kingdom life’ as described in Parts 1-6 of our previous studies. So what are we asking the lost to be a part of? Religion? Hypocrisy? Tradition? or is it something better than the world has to offer? Remember again what Paul said, “I received it by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1)
From heaven to earth If we preach Jesus properly it’s the Holy Spirit who will reach the lost and convict them to have faith in him, as he himself taught: “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: PAGE 8 REVIVAL TIMES
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:8-13) Did you know that in the Father’s eyes once you’ve heard about his sacrifice it’s a sin to not believe in Jesus his son!? That’s the one sin that will condemn a person to eternal death! We need to be cleansed of sin (in the general sense) and in the Lambs book of life (Spirit) to make it to glory with the Father. The Holy Spirit wants to focus on these truths first, then lead new born believers individually into all Truth in the Word, empowering them to forsake a sinful carnal life through continuous repentance and obedience to his Spirit. He is the light and we can only represent that light if with live in the Holy Spirit as he has commanded us - Christ’s love in us and expressed to each other and to those lost. That’s why it’s so important that we listen to his, and the apostles teaching on how best to live in grace as the body of his people and he will help them find true fellowship, true family. Heaven on earth. It’s vitally important that the Father can save a soul into a healthy household environment, so that like a baby they can have care and protection while they grow in godly knowledge. When this ‘motherhood’ of the church is not present a new disciple can often flounder, fall back and experience many years of trials and tribulations before reaching maturity in Christ, if at all. This is God’s perfect will and what he fights to achieve in us. Jesus kept the disciples with him night and day teaching, nurturing and being an example of the way of heaven. He also protected them in many ways from the evil one and false teachers.
This WAY was also seen in the lifestyle of the apostles and subsequently the early church body for more than 300 years.
The great apostasy It was not until the ‘great apostasy’ and ‘falling away’ that happened after the time of Emperor Constantine (culminating in the Holy Roman Empire and Papacy) that we see the revelation of ‘being church’ fall back to a more formalised and institutional temple building. Ritual services where congregations are led by a single priest (Roman) or pastor (Lutheran) was an invention of men and law and not passed down by the first apostles (as they claim). These false ‘church’ traditions have infected and spread across the world like a bad yeast. Now people think of church as a ‘holy building’ run by priests, bishops and Popes! This is a tragedy! This is not church, as in heaven, or the true gospel. It hinders the true believers seeking to honestly follow Christ as pilgrims in a dark evil world. The greatest salvation of souls throughout history has been via small groups and house based gatherings - these are the undeniable historical facts. The growth of disciples in places such as China and India and even Africa have proven this to be the way God is able to bless his Word the most. The Kingdom message spreads, as Jesus said ‘like good yeast through the dough’, because he knew that throughout all time everybody would still live in homes and meet within a small group. This is not to say that on occasion Christians should not come together as a larger gathering for teaching, prayer or even outreach, but the core of the church’s life is seen in the ‘household’ of faith. In the past some Christians have
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theology: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, both in heaven and in earth; who for us men and for our salvation, descended, was incarnate, and was made man, and suffered and rose again the third day; he ascended into heaven, and shall come to judge the living and the dead: And in the Holy Spirit. But the holy catholic and apostolic Church of God anathematizes those who affirm there was a time when the Son was not, or that he was not before he was begotten. Or that he was made of things not existing: or who say, that the Son of God was of any other substance or essence, or created, or liable to change or conversion.”19 In the end, this formula was accepted by all except three, who were exiled. In conjunction with this, all of Arius’ books were to be burned, and those guilty of retaining them were to be put to death. This was the Emperor’s decree in support of the council. Oddly enough, it wasn’t long after the council that one of the supporters of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, won the support of the Emperor. From this time forward the issue was up in the air, vacillating from party to party. The contenders with the highest profile were Athanasius and Arius. It was settled in 381 by a second general council held at Constantinople. The Arian party lost, and the original creed was further refined and enforced. It became a crime not to follow the orthodoxy. Before closing on this subject, it might be well to note a few other articles (canons) that were set forth at Nicaea: A bishop could only be constituted as such by the
agreement of the other bishops in his province. A bishop’s appointment was only valid upon approval of the Metropolitan Bishop. There could only be one bishop to a city. The deacons could not administer communion to the presbyters and bishops. The deacons could not sit among the presbyters.20 In conclusion, the council of Nicaea was a culmination of developments arising from such kernels of the heart described in the NT; many warnings dealing with the falling away, the antichrist. The shoots of such wove their way to this outcome. It makes one wonder. . . There seems to be no hint from available resources of any dissent. Perhaps it is because the very meekness of Jesus and His followers help them to avoid the pride and pomp of notoriety. The notion of actively seeking material support from civil government would have been akin to Jesus asking Peter to defend Him in Gethsemane. The matter of acquiring power is a two way street. In this case it is very evident. Constantine enjoyed the strengthened support of the Christian community, and they enjoyed the protection and augmentation of their position by the Emperor. When this happened the field became open for ambitious souls to play games with power on a vast scale; this, in the name of the meek and lowly Jesus. “And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (II Pet.2:2) 19. Eusebius’. . . . (Appendix – Boyle: A Historical of the Council of Nice) Sec. E, p.44 20. Ibid. Sec. E, p.55/58-59
The Origins of Human Government & Hierarchy Government Defined In this essay, I‘m defining ‘government’ as the governing institution of a nation-state. According to Scripture, the nation-state began with the scattering at Babel. As I pointed out in Insurgence, the first use of the term ‘kingdom’ in the Bible occurs in the city of Babel in Genesis 10:10.4 Speaking of the enterprise at Babel, one scholar rightly said, “Here the whole city-building towererecting project is one that God condemns.”5 Essentially, the people of Babel desired to create a centralized government, a concept that
By Frank Viola
ran contrary to God‘s will.6 Of course, those who build empires rarely perceive themselves to be wicked. They often begin with good motives, the chief one being to promise humans a better life. This is why Jesus said the rulers of the Gentiles were seen as ‘benefactors’ (Luke 22:25). But what we have at Babel is the beginning of the nation-state, the origin of the kingdoms of this world. Put another way, at Babel we have fallen man‘s endeavour to centralize domination and organize power. And God‘s response is to diminish this power by dispersing the people and creating multiple nations.
Israel’s Desire for Human Government So the nation-state (human government) began in the ungodly city of Babel, and God condemned the whole enterprise. But what happened when Israel, God‘s own people, wanted to create a government like all the other nations?7 The story is told in 1 Samuel 8. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’ But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not
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to us in the modern age and also a bit puzzling. In fact God forbad the moulding of gold and silver into such things (Exodus 20:4) that could be worshipped. The objects of the Tabernacle were cast and moulded out of gold and silver, but were never permitted to be seen other than by the priests. We see from all this information that God’s idea for the perfect society (as seen in the formation of Israel in the land of Canaan) did not include money as a coinage or currency. Instead he enabled a society based around exchange and sharing of goods according to need and crucially each family was apportioned their own land - FREE. He even established a method of cancelling any debts every 7 years and land restoration every 49 years, so that this equality of ownership in the tribes and families would be retained over time (Jubile(e) see Leviticus 25:10). How far from this perfect society Israel fell and which we Gentiles have never understood or experienced!
Who’s the King? Jesus was born at the time when the Roman Empire was marching forward to conquer. Between 200 BC and 14 AD, Rome conquered most of Western Europe, Greece and the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign established the Roman province of Syria in 64 BC and conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC. Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria c. 47 BC and defeated Pompey in 45 BC. So the Romans were a powerful superpower who controlled Jerusalem for over 60 years already when Jesus came. There was still quite a lot of rebel resistance against this occupation by Jewish zealots and their resistance (and replacement coinage) was one of the reasons Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD. By the time of Jesus crucifixion in approximately 33AD Rome had established its political and economic power upon the region backed by a powerful military force. The earliest of the Roman coins discovered was made of bronze and it was issued around 269 BC. These coins were minted in over 40 different cities. The name of the mint in Rome was Juno Monet and it is from here, that the term ‘money’ came into being. There you have it, where money comes from, Rome! (see also, ‘The Four Marks’). It was soon realised by the Caesars that by placing their head on the coin they could declare their rule and kingship over the empire in a monetaristic fashion, it was the thing to do. This generated authority over the people in a new way which affected the very basics of life and created easy consistent trade across a large empire. Caesar was the king, even with a senate he had power to command the army and affect economic decisions in a big way. Conquering and trading were the main features of Roman policy replacing local currency or bartering systems with their new ‘money’ system. The management of currency minting and thus banking developed rapidly. This was anathema to Jews who had never had coins, banking or tax! This was a form of oppression and control and why Jews hated tax collectors (Matt 9:11). After sharing his parable about a debt manger who was fired PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES
found this WAY of living, but have then made the mistake of going back to an organisation or denomination model thus hindering the natural expansion of the testimony in their community. Once we start expecting the lost to ‘come to church programmes’ we have really lost the point of Jesus mission which is to GO OUT to the people and supernaturally plant households of faith.
First Apostles The ministries listed in the apostolic teachings are all written to believers who met as church in homes, villages and cities (which were much smaller then) and were designed to maintain the households, all overseen by elders. These elder married men were those who had known Christ for some years and could teach/advise against heresy etc. As new households come to faith the body grows and forms a testimony of the love of God. But it needs to continually have the input of the apostles and prophets teaching (the real ones) who serve by example and help the elders and the people to stay on track - rejecting sin and false leadership and looking outwards to the lost. When these travelling apostles are either rejected or killed there is a danger that the wolves (false teachers) will move in and start to seduce, manipulate and tax for the sake of money and power (worldliness). Thanks be to God that we now have the Bible to act as a protection against such people. This is a grace that has been given to those of us who are now at the very end of the ages, as the world around us becomes more wicked and corrupt just as Jesus and the apostles said it would. Many faithful believers sacrificed their natural lives, so that we could have the pure Word of God to guide us. It is not our job to fight against the world or against politicians etc. Jesus said to pray for our enemies and feed them when disaster strikes. We are called to be a peculiar people who leave the fighting to the Lord! “Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me
speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.” (Psalm 31:2)
“Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.” (Psalm 59:9)
“But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.” (Psalm 59:16)
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Rom 12:19) It is a supernatural and heavenly thing to live like this, but this my friend is what a Christian is! “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt 5:43-48)
This is how we reach the lost. We do not go out there cursing them and attacking them for their sin and unbelief, because we were once just like them, rather we go to them with the supernatural power of God’s Kingdom in the Holy Spirit to preach his Son Jesus! If we are persecuted for a while - so be it, but we will not retaliate. It’s no good going preaching if we are not also living as a community of the Kingdom of Heaven (as far as possible, subject to persecution levels). New believers need to be able to become part of a household of faith who sincerely love one another despite human weaknesses - it is possible, because with God nothing is impossible! This was Jesus prayer the night he was to be betrayed by one of his own disciples. John overheard him crying out to the Father for
the flock under his care - even to the point of sweating blood! Jesus knew that if the Father did not send the Spirit into those men nothing would be accomplished. His prayer that night is probably the greatest prayer ever recorded and reveals to us the holy and pure heart of Christ towards us his children: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17) Now that’s what Jesus calls evangelism! Can you agree with him? Can you love your brother and your enemies equally and take persecution on the chin? Can you continuously bless and not curse letting God be the judge? Then you will be mature and Christ like. n
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The Two Covenants & The Two Jerusalems Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. ... But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Gal 4 & Heb 12)
O
ver the years many Christian scholars have been puzzled by Paul’s teaching regarding the two covenants and two Jerusalems. This has been due to the struggle of letting go of the Law as a means of justification before a holy God (see Gal 4). The means of salvation from sin completely changed when Jesus gave his life and blood upon the cross revealing a new way to the Father. No longer was obedience to the law received by Moses the way to be cleansed of sin. The sacrifice of animals and obedience to clean laws was now complete and replaced by a new faith - faith in Jesus and his precious blood. The nations (Gentiles) who were previously excluded from the first covenant were now able to connect with their creator through Jesus by the Spirit: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. (Eph 2:12-14) When Paul and the Apostles wrote their letters the old Jerusalem still stood. The historian Josephus said that Jerusalem at this time was a wonder of the world, especially because of the magnificent Temple which Herod had rebuilt. Rome loved Jerusalem and sought to preserve it from war or trouble. But Jerusalem was not holy, it was a place of conflict and apostasy. Paul and the Apostles knew that this old Jerusalem was doomed because Jesus had already prophesied its destruction (Luke 21:6) which Josephus later bore witness to. PAGE 10 REVIVAL TIMES
The old Jerusalem was indeed utterly destroyed 40 years later. As Paul had taught just prior to this, there is another Jerusalem where God dwells, the heavenly one. We must also sensibly conclude from many Scriptures that this is in fact an actual place, a place not of this realm but in the heaven of God’s presence and is composed of angels and redeemed people from time past. As Jesus said to the thief on the cross who repented, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23:43). Interestingly this ‘paradise’ is only mentioned three times in the Bible, first by Jesus, then by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:4 and lastly by John in Revelation 2:7 which clearly places paradise in the midst of God - outside of time. This paradise pre-existed earth and indeed all visible creation (J ohn 17:5) being eternal. It was from here that Satan was cast out and who fell to earth, a powerful cherub disrobed and condemned because of pride and self worship (Ezekiel 28:12-19). Nothing connected to Satan can now enter into that holy realm - heaven. This holy paradise, new Jerusalem, third heaven or mountain of God, is a spiritual dimension that cannot be fully explained by reference to things of earth (1 Corin 2:9-12). As Paul said he , ‘heard unspeakable words’. The closest insight that we have are John’s visions of the jewels and rainbows as he describes this Jerusalem descending into the new earth (Rev 21:10). This is why Jesus said this to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.’ (John 18:36) The servants Jesus spoke of were the legions of angels looking on, because the disciples had been scattered! (see Matt 26:53).
This other realm of heaven is beyond the natural imagination, it’s bigger and purer than the known universe! The scale of it puts earth and our existence into perspective. It reveals God’s incredible power to be omnipresent and omnipotent in these places! The glory of God is magnificent and far above all that we know. It is this realm which Christ invites us into by faith in him, by rejecting Satan and being renewed in spirit, soul & body.
added value, or augmentation, without delay or hesitancy.”17 To this another ordinance was added that clarified who the Christians were “among the rest.” “Whence it is our will, that when one shall receive this epistle, if any of those belonging to the catholic church of the Christians in the several cities or other places, are now possessed either by the Decurions (senate officials on a local level), or any others, these thou shalt cause immediately to be restored to their churches.”18
An alternate bishop was appointed, Majorinus, and his successor was Donatus. Donatus and his group lost out on some funds from Constantine’s administration; other catholic clergy received them. An issue was made leading to a synod which was to decide the matter. (It was held at public expense.) Though the church was to make the decision, Constantine presided. The Donatists lost, appealed and lost again. They refused to yield to the synod. In 316, the Emperor had their church buildings closed and their bishops banished.
AD313
AD320-325
Licinius defeated Maximinus Daia, leaving himself and Constantine as Emperors. A new power struggle began with Licinius renewed the persecutions in the East. He was defeated by Constantine in 323.
AD319 The clergy was made exempt from taxes.
AD319
Entering the kingdom
Private sacrifices by pagans were prohibited.
Being ‘born of the spirit’ is the only way to enter this spiritual realm. Jesus made this quite clear to Nicodemus: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:5-8) Just as there are two Jerusalems (an earthly and a spiritual) there are ditto two covenants (promises). The first related to the earth a particular land and a chosen people. The second is the unseen kingdom of heaven and those redeemed. The first justifies a rebellious nation by means of Law and the second justifies anyone who believes by faith in the work of the Messiah, Christ.
AD321
The covenant requirements Both of these covenants have specific requirements in order for them to take effect in a soul. Under Law a person needed first to be a Jew by birth or by conversion. They then had to follow the 613 laws given to Moses which included ritual
The church was granted the right to receive legacies. This marked the beginning of the great acquisitions of land that soon brought the system into ownership of one fourth to one third the land in Italy. And nearly as great elsewhere in Europe during the centuries that followed. In later times a device was implemented to receive the legacies. . . A property owner might use and enjoy as his own certain church lands on the condition that when he died, his personal property would pass on the church.)
The teachings of Arius caused problems with the unity of Constantine’s power base. The Orthodox belief was that the Father and the Son were coeternal, unified in the godhead. There were other viewpoints which held Christ to be a created being, adopted into the godhead, or created into the godhead, therefore a lesser degree of God. Arius, a presbyter of a church called Baucalis, taught the Monarchian concept of God (as opposed to the Trinitarian concept) and that Christ was a created being. Arius came into conflict with his bishop, Alexander of Alexandria (320). It became so bitter that Alexander called a synod (320-321) which condemned Arius and those with him. This backlashed as Arius drew a growing number of sympathizers. This backlash caused the catholic church’s unity (the Orthodoxy) to be shaken.
AD323
14 Walker:. . . History. . . 2:10 p. 86 15. Ibid. 2:19 p.108 16. Ibid 2:19 p.110 17. Eusebius’. . . book 10, sec. 5, p.426 18 Ibid, p.248-249
Constantine defeated Licinius. He was then sole ruler of the entire Empire. His reign lasted until his death in 337. This is important because through these fourteen years his influence in the affairs of Christianity were able to extend through the entire Empire. This period of inculcating his favour would never be undone, and have ramifications far into the future.
AD321
AD325
Sunday work was forbidden to the people of the cities. From the previous information it can be seen that Constantine did much to facilitate the empowerment of the Orthodoxy. It is a consensus among historians that Constantine did not do this as a matter of devotion to God, rather it was to strengthen his power base. (He went though the conversion process near his death.) He favoured the catholic system, because it was the widest and most unified among divergent approaches to the gospel. With this religion as his power base, it was to his interest to insure its unification. By his power the Orthodoxy gained in prestige and was further consolidated. Here is an illustration of his efforts to unify: After the persecutions of Diocletian, controversy arose in N. Africa. The issue was whether Caecilian, the newly appointed bishop of Carthage, had a valid ordination. The bishop who ordained him was stigmatised because he had surrendered some copies of the scriptures during the persecution.
Because the controversy between Arius and Alexander was so severe, Constantine called for a council to be held at Nicaea. This was a landmark event as it was the first general council for the entire Orthodoxy. There were 318 bishops in attendance, plus a large number of “minor clergy.” Constantine himself attended and urged a solution for the unity of the church. It seems that the majority were out of touch with the issue, with Alexander and Arius having a minority of well versed supporters. This indicates that while the issue was hot, not too many understood it except for the most striking points. Athanasius was a supporter of Alexander, was heavily involved in the debate. Eusebius, a bishop of Caesarea (the historian), offered a rendition of the orthodox creed. It was orthodox in that it was based on generally accepted principles. We call it a rendition because creeds were still varied according to locale. The creed was amended according to the council’s rejection of Arius’ teaching, as statements were inserted to give no doubt of their Trinity continued on page 17
REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 15
continued from page 7
Germanic people (trying to recover territory taken by the Empire) was blamed on Christianity. Treason (a failure to worship the Emperor) and a failure to worship the old gods were the charges levelled at Christians. There were ugly rumours of cannibalism (a distortion of the Lord’s Supper) and orgies in their underground meetings. (Ironically, the antichrist rising out of these times would bring accusations such as these against the Jews and against Christians who refused to follow the Orthodoxy, such as not allowing their babies to be baptised, saying that they needed to believe and be baptised.)13 12. Durant: The Life of Greece 8:3 p.189 13. Guibert: Self & Society in Medieval France 3:17 p.212-214
Some persecutions of note: AD202 Severus persecuted harshly in Carthage & Egypt.
AD211-217 Caracalla persecuted in North Africa
AD235-238 Maximinus put forth an edict against Christianity. It was most severe in Asia Minor and Palestine.
AD248 The 1000th anniversary of Rome. The Empire’s troubles were blamed on Christianity. Decius instigated the “. . .first universal and systematic persecution of Christianity.”14
AD 251-253 Gallus persecuted, but was somewhat milder.
AD257-259 Valerian was harsher than Decius in his persecutions. At the beginning of this period, Gallienus (260-268) dropped the efforts of his father, Valerian. Property was restored and Christianity was tolerated. This was not by any decree. The pagan Empire just backed away for a while. This lasted forty three years, during which time Christianity enjoyed extensive growth. This marks the last time a major effort was raised by the Empire to destroy Christianity. It was perceived as a political threat. In 284, Diocletian became Emperor. In 285, he appointed Maximian to rule jointly with him. They had the title of Augustus. In 293, he chose two more rulers: Constantius, Chlorus, and Galerius. They bore the tile of Caesar. Thus Diocletian partitioned the Empire into fourths for more efficient administration. Diocletian was considered a very capable ruler. He evidently recognised the highly organised hierarchy of the orthodoxy as a power that had considerable influence, thus a threat to the existing government. It had an infrastructure widespread and beyond his control. “Two courses lay open for a vigorous ruler, either to force it into submission and break its power, or enter into PAGE 14 REVIVAL TIMES
alliance. . .”15 In February, 303, he set forth three edicts wherein church buildings were ordered to be destroyed, books burned and clergy imprisoned and forced to abdicate by torture. A fourth edict in 304 required all Christians to sacrifice to the Roman gods. The attack was fierce. Christians were tortured to coerce them. It was so terrible that many pagans sought to protect them. Constantius Chlorus, whose sector was that of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, was mild in carrying out the edicts. Upon the resignation of Diocletian and Maximian, Chlorus and Galerius ascended to the Augustii while Severus and Maximinus Daia became Caesars. Constantius Chlorus died in 306 and his army hailed his son, Constantine, as Emperor. Which he accepted. Soon afterward the son of Maximian, Maxentius overthrew Severus. Licinius, in the favor of Galerius, also took a portion of rule over the former territories of Severus. Galerius, Constantine, and Licinius issued an edict of toleration (April 311). However this did not end the persecution as Daia renewed it in Asia and Egypt. Maxentius was also in league with Daia, though he limited his efforts to encouraging paganism rather than persecuting. A power struggle arose with Maxentius and Daia upholding paganim vs. Constantine and Licinius holding favor with the Orthodoxy. (Galarius died in May, 311.) In the ensuing conflict, Constantine met “. . .face to face with Maxentius at Saxa Rubra, a little to the north of Rome, with the Mulvian bridge across the river between his foes and the city. There on October 28, 312, occurred one of the decisive struggles in history in which Maxentius lost the battle and his life. The West was Constantine’s. The Christian God, he believed, had given him the victory. . .”16
AD312-313 The edict of Milan was produced by Constantine and Licinius. (The date is approximate, some sources say one thing and some say another.) This edict was not of toleration, rather it was a grant for Christianity to be on par with every other sanctioned worship throughout the Empire. In fact it was given a marked favor that that eventually led to the suppression of other religions. “. . . we had given orders, that each one, and the Christians among the rest, have the liberty to observe the religion of his choice, and his particular mode of worship. . . We have resolved among the first things to ordain, those matters by which reverence and worship to the Deity might be exhibited. This is how we may grant to the Christians and to all, the free choice to follow that mode of worship which they may wish. . . And this we further decree, with respect to the Christians, that the places in which they were formerly accustomed to assemble, concerning which we also write to your fidelity, in a different form, that if any persons have purchased these, either from our treasury, or from any other one, these shall restore them to the Christians, without money and without demanding any price, without any super-
sacrifice for sin. There were laws restricting diet and what was clean or unclean (see Leviticus). The Israelites agreed to obey God’s Law at given at Mount Sinai, shortly after he had saved them from the world superpower Egypt. Yahweh had saved and purchased them for his will. They received the huge benefits of wisdom, knowledge and protection from enemies. However, because of God’s holy name any failure by them to obey would result in various cataclysmic judgements that would see many of them die and made homeless (Deuteronomy 32). This covenant agreement was fulfilled, completed and ended by Jesus himself, because as Messiah he had the authority to change both the requirements of the law and the priesthood (Hebrews 7:12). He withdrew his presence from within the nation’s Temple (Matthew 21:43). He had the Temple destroyed by the new superpower Rome and scattered the Israelites remnant for 1,908 years banishing them as a nation from the promised land. The age of Israel as the ‘holy nation’ in the earth came to an end. Jesus established the new promise of the Spirit which was for all nations, for anyone who would believe in him and his sacrifice for sin. Jesus literally opened the door to paradise! But what are the requirements of this new covenant in his blood? Jesus had previously said to Nicodemus that a person would have to be born of the ‘water’ AND the ‘Spirit’ in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. How should we understand these two requirements? We see that the first disciples (some appointed Apostles) waited upon Jesus words in Jerusalem after they had seen him in his resurrected flesh ascend to heaven itself. Around 120 of these disciples (who had been baptised by John the Baptist for repentance) waited in the upper room of prayer for 10 days prior to Pentecost. Miraculously on that very day they received the Spirit of God into themselves. This appeared
like tongues of holy fire over them, then filling them. These people were the foundation of God’s NEW TEMPLE made of living stones. A new holy nation. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (2 Corin 3:3) God came to dwell inside human flesh as in Jesus, they were ‘born again’ of the Spirit. This empowered them with incredible boldness, worship and supernatural gifting. Jesus circumcised their hearts (spirit) cutting away the old to establish the new. The old has gone. As Peter preached to the puzzled onlookers he explained what was happening to them and that they too could partake of this new promise by doing 2 things: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37-41) Paul later reveals that these three genuine heartfelt actions of obedience save the sinner being confirmed by the Spirit of God entering the heart of the individual (repent of idols, die in baptism, receive the Spirit by faith). Jesus makes us a new creature fit and ready for the new world to come. He also explains that baptism is vital because it’s really a burial of the old man (dead spirit of sin). We die ‘symbolically’ in the flesh to the world and Satan pledging our allegiance to Christ as Lord and King of our new life (See Romans 6). We accept and receive the gift
of his righteousness (1 Corin 1:30. The soul receives a deliverance and a supernatural cleansing by the Father, so that his presence dwells in our heart - the power of the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit of Christ we do not belong to him! (Romans 8:9) The old covenant did not and cannot provide this salvation and this is why Jesus is so much greater than Moses (Hebrews 9). The record of Israel’s history with God is now given to us in the Scriptures as an example to reveal revelation and insight to our growing spirit. We grow in understanding of the Kingdom of God to come and learn directly from him The Word of God.
The new replaces the old Although the Jews were severely punished by God and ejected from their land for almost two millennia they do not cease to be his possession (Jeremiah 30:7). A unique nation in the earth he has used them how he has seen fit in order to affect the world and establish his Holy Name. They are a constant reminder of the high standards that God (Yahweh) demands. However, as we have seen they no longer possess the spiritual kingdom authority of the Spirit. This now rests with those who are born again, whether Jew or Gentile, His Church (holy nation). In this sense the requirements of the Law (powerless without a Temple) have been removed and the good news of Jesus has spread throughout all nations. Today many Jews are beginning to realise that Jesus is their Messiah and this is another sign of Christ’s soon return. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:12-13) And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15) n REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11
God and Money By Stephen Turnham
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
I
t’s hard to find anyone in the world these days who is content with what they have. However, as we read in Paul’s letter contentment is the state of being and maturity in Christ that he teaches. There is no doubt here that Paul is warning all Christians of a great and terrible danger to their soul and spirit. He states unequivocally that ‘they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare’ and says that this ultimately leads to ‘destruction and perdition’. Can Paul really be saying this? Is it wrong for a Christian to be rich in this life? Many of us in the West would not consider ourselves wealthy or at all rich. We look at the worldly people and see millionaires and billionaires who have no wants or needs physically. They live a life of continual luxury and we consider them rich, successful. We now know, however, that if we look beyond our rich western and European cultures we find a much poorer desperate world. We find millions if not billions living from hand to mouth never knowing if they will eat that day. As we glide around the shelves of the supermarket troubled over which brand to choose, the poor in the world die hungry. In this light we could realise that we also live in luxury and are actually part of the materially rich of which these Scriptures speak. We have grown up in a Babylonian culture of plenty and a Greek culture that says ‘more is better’ and success is measured by financial income. However, we are fooled if we think that this is a good thing for our souls. Remember Jesus own words regarding the rich: PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matthew 16:25-27) It’s pretty certain that God Almighty never intended anyone in his original creation to be poor or needy, it’s definitely a curse. However, it’s a curse not because of God’s will but because of man’s rebellion against Him. As we will see, the problem in the world is not resources, but distribution of those resources. This is all to do with wise stewardship in a world that is dominated by Satan and his hordes. Rebellious men, over all the millennia in which they have arisen post flood, have chosen (on the whole) to obey greed. They have gone the way of Cain and without God’s presence have decided to ‘do it their way’, exploiting resources and people to ensure they live in luxury.
Should we be poor? Jesus, Paul and the Apostles teach us that we are not required to remain poor once we have found his grace. However, we are to be wise and not to follow the worldly lusts for more and more. The Church body of Christ must be an example of balance. Yes we work, but we also do not horde wealth but rather share to bring about an equality that God originally intended. Not that this will change or restore creation back, but that it might be a testimony to those in the darkness of the world and who worship and serve money.
Jesus said that we should not worry about our provision as those in the world do. Rather we should focus on him and his kingdom and be generous like his Father. Those who want to be rich struggle with the idea that, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. Quite often as Christians we do not read enough of what Jesus actually said regarding these things. When did you last read the Gospel? One of the deceptions in a rich society is that we ‘feel’ comfortable and ‘at ease with life’, because we are not hungry or bored. We have so much to feed us and keep us busy. We end up living in a bubble, but this can be a seducing of the devil and not God’s will. Why else do we need a saviour, but to open our eyes to the danger this presents to our soul’s destiny! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you,Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow
is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’ (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:24-34)
These words of Jesus were and are revolutionary. It shows us that we must have a new priority in our new life as a believer and follower of Christ. This is a battle for the mind and spirit of men and not insignificant. Jesus makes it clear that God does actually know what we need, but more important is that we are not focussed or controlled by that need. As his children we must seek first the kingdom of heaven (God) and his righteousness (generosity) trusting that he will provide all the stuff we need to live whilst here on earth. What a relief this is! It means that as his child we do not need to worry like the world, or compete, deceive and manipulate others for gain. He does not want us to be careless but rather care free!
Where did money come from? The idea of what ‘money’ is has changed throughout history. The kind of money system we engage with today is very different to ancient times for a number of key reasons. Also we need to realise that when the Bible Scriptures speak of money in the old testament it means the ancient concept of it and we should not superimpose our experience today on that understanding. The kind of serious problems doing this has created has destroyed lives and even nations over the centuries! We will look at one example later that affects Christians even to this day. At the dawn of humanity, bartering was used in lieu of money to exchange goods.
As ancient man began to rear domestic livestock, one of the earliest forms of barter included cattle, sheep, as well as vegetables and grain. The first known currency was created by King Alyattes in Lydia, now part of Turkey, in 600BC. The first coin ever minted features a roaring lion. Alyattes was the first monarch who issued coins, made from electrum (and his successor Croesus was the first to issue gold coins). Alyattes is therefore sometimes mentioned as the originator of coinage, or of currency. (wikipedia)
So if the first coinage was not until around 600BC, about the time of the Babylonian exile and after the Kings of Israel and Judah, what did they do? As mentioned above bartering was a huge deal and meant that trading was very slow and awkward. However, they did trade with precious metals, but by weights. The Scriptures calls this ‘money’ but it was NOT coinage but raw metal in a chest. A good example of this was when Joash was reigning over Judah recorded in 2 Chronicles 24. And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again.Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house
of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada. We see in this passage that the goal of the collection of so called ‘money’ was to repair the house of God which had been neglected and the precious gold and silver objects taken or sold etc. This was similar to how the Tabernacle was originally constructed back in the days of Moses who ordered a similar collection of precious metals and no mention of coinage, of course, because there was none! God only mentions commodities being concerned about attitude more than ownership (Exod 25 ). I suspect you are a bit surprised by this, because the English Bibles translate the weights and measures of these metals as ‘money’, so we automindedly think ‘coins’. In my view this translation method was a mistake and means we can misunderstand what was really going on. No-one had bank accounts or purses with coins in them. Most ancient people prior to 600BC had no idea of such a concept. Wealth was measured in a completely different way and Biblical wealth was not measured by material things alone, but someone’s wisdom and honour before God was more valuable. This was evident in the story of Job which reveals that we are tested when material wealth comes and goes (Job 1). The history of Israel and Judah also reveals these tests of character. From all this we can see that God never invented coinage ‘money’ even though he was the King of Israel. Even after they forced Samuel to institute a carnal kingship there was no continued on page 16
REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 13
God and Money By Stephen Turnham
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
I
t’s hard to find anyone in the world these days who is content with what they have. However, as we read in Paul’s letter contentment is the state of being and maturity in Christ that he teaches. There is no doubt here that Paul is warning all Christians of a great and terrible danger to their soul and spirit. He states unequivocally that ‘they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare’ and says that this ultimately leads to ‘destruction and perdition’. Can Paul really be saying this? Is it wrong for a Christian to be rich in this life? Many of us in the West would not consider ourselves wealthy or at all rich. We look at the worldly people and see millionaires and billionaires who have no wants or needs physically. They live a life of continual luxury and we consider them rich, successful. We now know, however, that if we look beyond our rich western and European cultures we find a much poorer desperate world. We find millions if not billions living from hand to mouth never knowing if they will eat that day. As we glide around the shelves of the supermarket troubled over which brand to choose, the poor in the world die hungry. In this light we could realise that we also live in luxury and are actually part of the materially rich of which these Scriptures speak. We have grown up in a Babylonian culture of plenty and a Greek culture that says ‘more is better’ and success is measured by financial income. However, we are fooled if we think that this is a good thing for our souls. Remember Jesus own words regarding the rich: PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matthew 16:25-27) It’s pretty certain that God Almighty never intended anyone in his original creation to be poor or needy, it’s definitely a curse. However, it’s a curse not because of God’s will but because of man’s rebellion against Him. As we will see, the problem in the world is not resources, but distribution of those resources. This is all to do with wise stewardship in a world that is dominated by Satan and his hordes. Rebellious men, over all the millennia in which they have arisen post flood, have chosen (on the whole) to obey greed. They have gone the way of Cain and without God’s presence have decided to ‘do it their way’, exploiting resources and people to ensure they live in luxury.
Should we be poor? Jesus, Paul and the Apostles teach us that we are not required to remain poor once we have found his grace. However, we are to be wise and not to follow the worldly lusts for more and more. The Church body of Christ must be an example of balance. Yes we work, but we also do not horde wealth but rather share to bring about an equality that God originally intended. Not that this will change or restore creation back, but that it might be a testimony to those in the darkness of the world and who worship and serve money.
Jesus said that we should not worry about our provision as those in the world do. Rather we should focus on him and his kingdom and be generous like his Father. Those who want to be rich struggle with the idea that, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. Quite often as Christians we do not read enough of what Jesus actually said regarding these things. When did you last read the Gospel? One of the deceptions in a rich society is that we ‘feel’ comfortable and ‘at ease with life’, because we are not hungry or bored. We have so much to feed us and keep us busy. We end up living in a bubble, but this can be a seducing of the devil and not God’s will. Why else do we need a saviour, but to open our eyes to the danger this presents to our soul’s destiny! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you,Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow
is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’ (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:24-34)
These words of Jesus were and are revolutionary. It shows us that we must have a new priority in our new life as a believer and follower of Christ. This is a battle for the mind and spirit of men and not insignificant. Jesus makes it clear that God does actually know what we need, but more important is that we are not focussed or controlled by that need. As his children we must seek first the kingdom of heaven (God) and his righteousness (generosity) trusting that he will provide all the stuff we need to live whilst here on earth. What a relief this is! It means that as his child we do not need to worry like the world, or compete, deceive and manipulate others for gain. He does not want us to be careless but rather care free!
Where did money come from? The idea of what ‘money’ is has changed throughout history. The kind of money system we engage with today is very different to ancient times for a number of key reasons. Also we need to realise that when the Bible Scriptures speak of money in the old testament it means the ancient concept of it and we should not superimpose our experience today on that understanding. The kind of serious problems doing this has created has destroyed lives and even nations over the centuries! We will look at one example later that affects Christians even to this day. At the dawn of humanity, bartering was used in lieu of money to exchange goods.
As ancient man began to rear domestic livestock, one of the earliest forms of barter included cattle, sheep, as well as vegetables and grain. The first known currency was created by King Alyattes in Lydia, now part of Turkey, in 600BC. The first coin ever minted features a roaring lion. Alyattes was the first monarch who issued coins, made from electrum (and his successor Croesus was the first to issue gold coins). Alyattes is therefore sometimes mentioned as the originator of coinage, or of currency. (wikipedia)
So if the first coinage was not until around 600BC, about the time of the Babylonian exile and after the Kings of Israel and Judah, what did they do? As mentioned above bartering was a huge deal and meant that trading was very slow and awkward. However, they did trade with precious metals, but by weights. The Scriptures calls this ‘money’ but it was NOT coinage but raw metal in a chest. A good example of this was when Joash was reigning over Judah recorded in 2 Chronicles 24. And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again.Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house
of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada. We see in this passage that the goal of the collection of so called ‘money’ was to repair the house of God which had been neglected and the precious gold and silver objects taken or sold etc. This was similar to how the Tabernacle was originally constructed back in the days of Moses who ordered a similar collection of precious metals and no mention of coinage, of course, because there was none! God only mentions commodities being concerned about attitude more than ownership (Exod 25 ). I suspect you are a bit surprised by this, because the English Bibles translate the weights and measures of these metals as ‘money’, so we automindedly think ‘coins’. In my view this translation method was a mistake and means we can misunderstand what was really going on. No-one had bank accounts or purses with coins in them. Most ancient people prior to 600BC had no idea of such a concept. Wealth was measured in a completely different way and Biblical wealth was not measured by material things alone, but someone’s wisdom and honour before God was more valuable. This was evident in the story of Job which reveals that we are tested when material wealth comes and goes (Job 1). The history of Israel and Judah also reveals these tests of character. From all this we can see that God never invented coinage ‘money’ even though he was the King of Israel. Even after they forced Samuel to institute a carnal kingship there was no continued on page 16
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Germanic people (trying to recover territory taken by the Empire) was blamed on Christianity. Treason (a failure to worship the Emperor) and a failure to worship the old gods were the charges levelled at Christians. There were ugly rumours of cannibalism (a distortion of the Lord’s Supper) and orgies in their underground meetings. (Ironically, the antichrist rising out of these times would bring accusations such as these against the Jews and against Christians who refused to follow the Orthodoxy, such as not allowing their babies to be baptised, saying that they needed to believe and be baptised.)13 12. Durant: The Life of Greece 8:3 p.189 13. Guibert: Self & Society in Medieval France 3:17 p.212-214
Some persecutions of note: AD202 Severus persecuted harshly in Carthage & Egypt.
AD211-217 Caracalla persecuted in North Africa
AD235-238 Maximinus put forth an edict against Christianity. It was most severe in Asia Minor and Palestine.
AD248 The 1000th anniversary of Rome. The Empire’s troubles were blamed on Christianity. Decius instigated the “. . .first universal and systematic persecution of Christianity.”14
AD 251-253 Gallus persecuted, but was somewhat milder.
AD257-259 Valerian was harsher than Decius in his persecutions. At the beginning of this period, Gallienus (260-268) dropped the efforts of his father, Valerian. Property was restored and Christianity was tolerated. This was not by any decree. The pagan Empire just backed away for a while. This lasted forty three years, during which time Christianity enjoyed extensive growth. This marks the last time a major effort was raised by the Empire to destroy Christianity. It was perceived as a political threat. In 284, Diocletian became Emperor. In 285, he appointed Maximian to rule jointly with him. They had the title of Augustus. In 293, he chose two more rulers: Constantius, Chlorus, and Galerius. They bore the tile of Caesar. Thus Diocletian partitioned the Empire into fourths for more efficient administration. Diocletian was considered a very capable ruler. He evidently recognised the highly organised hierarchy of the orthodoxy as a power that had considerable influence, thus a threat to the existing government. It had an infrastructure widespread and beyond his control. “Two courses lay open for a vigorous ruler, either to force it into submission and break its power, or enter into PAGE 14 REVIVAL TIMES
alliance. . .”15 In February, 303, he set forth three edicts wherein church buildings were ordered to be destroyed, books burned and clergy imprisoned and forced to abdicate by torture. A fourth edict in 304 required all Christians to sacrifice to the Roman gods. The attack was fierce. Christians were tortured to coerce them. It was so terrible that many pagans sought to protect them. Constantius Chlorus, whose sector was that of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, was mild in carrying out the edicts. Upon the resignation of Diocletian and Maximian, Chlorus and Galerius ascended to the Augustii while Severus and Maximinus Daia became Caesars. Constantius Chlorus died in 306 and his army hailed his son, Constantine, as Emperor. Which he accepted. Soon afterward the son of Maximian, Maxentius overthrew Severus. Licinius, in the favor of Galerius, also took a portion of rule over the former territories of Severus. Galerius, Constantine, and Licinius issued an edict of toleration (April 311). However this did not end the persecution as Daia renewed it in Asia and Egypt. Maxentius was also in league with Daia, though he limited his efforts to encouraging paganism rather than persecuting. A power struggle arose with Maxentius and Daia upholding paganim vs. Constantine and Licinius holding favor with the Orthodoxy. (Galarius died in May, 311.) In the ensuing conflict, Constantine met “. . .face to face with Maxentius at Saxa Rubra, a little to the north of Rome, with the Mulvian bridge across the river between his foes and the city. There on October 28, 312, occurred one of the decisive struggles in history in which Maxentius lost the battle and his life. The West was Constantine’s. The Christian God, he believed, had given him the victory. . .”16
AD312-313 The edict of Milan was produced by Constantine and Licinius. (The date is approximate, some sources say one thing and some say another.) This edict was not of toleration, rather it was a grant for Christianity to be on par with every other sanctioned worship throughout the Empire. In fact it was given a marked favor that that eventually led to the suppression of other religions. “. . . we had given orders, that each one, and the Christians among the rest, have the liberty to observe the religion of his choice, and his particular mode of worship. . . We have resolved among the first things to ordain, those matters by which reverence and worship to the Deity might be exhibited. This is how we may grant to the Christians and to all, the free choice to follow that mode of worship which they may wish. . . And this we further decree, with respect to the Christians, that the places in which they were formerly accustomed to assemble, concerning which we also write to your fidelity, in a different form, that if any persons have purchased these, either from our treasury, or from any other one, these shall restore them to the Christians, without money and without demanding any price, without any super-
sacrifice for sin. There were laws restricting diet and what was clean or unclean (see Leviticus). The Israelites agreed to obey God’s Law at given at Mount Sinai, shortly after he had saved them from the world superpower Egypt. Yahweh had saved and purchased them for his will. They received the huge benefits of wisdom, knowledge and protection from enemies. However, because of God’s holy name any failure by them to obey would result in various cataclysmic judgements that would see many of them die and made homeless (Deuteronomy 32). This covenant agreement was fulfilled, completed and ended by Jesus himself, because as Messiah he had the authority to change both the requirements of the law and the priesthood (Hebrews 7:12). He withdrew his presence from within the nation’s Temple (Matthew 21:43). He had the Temple destroyed by the new superpower Rome and scattered the Israelites remnant for 1,908 years banishing them as a nation from the promised land. The age of Israel as the ‘holy nation’ in the earth came to an end. Jesus established the new promise of the Spirit which was for all nations, for anyone who would believe in him and his sacrifice for sin. Jesus literally opened the door to paradise! But what are the requirements of this new covenant in his blood? Jesus had previously said to Nicodemus that a person would have to be born of the ‘water’ AND the ‘Spirit’ in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. How should we understand these two requirements? We see that the first disciples (some appointed Apostles) waited upon Jesus words in Jerusalem after they had seen him in his resurrected flesh ascend to heaven itself. Around 120 of these disciples (who had been baptised by John the Baptist for repentance) waited in the upper room of prayer for 10 days prior to Pentecost. Miraculously on that very day they received the Spirit of God into themselves. This appeared
like tongues of holy fire over them, then filling them. These people were the foundation of God’s NEW TEMPLE made of living stones. A new holy nation. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (2 Corin 3:3) God came to dwell inside human flesh as in Jesus, they were ‘born again’ of the Spirit. This empowered them with incredible boldness, worship and supernatural gifting. Jesus circumcised their hearts (spirit) cutting away the old to establish the new. The old has gone. As Peter preached to the puzzled onlookers he explained what was happening to them and that they too could partake of this new promise by doing 2 things: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37-41) Paul later reveals that these three genuine heartfelt actions of obedience save the sinner being confirmed by the Spirit of God entering the heart of the individual (repent of idols, die in baptism, receive the Spirit by faith). Jesus makes us a new creature fit and ready for the new world to come. He also explains that baptism is vital because it’s really a burial of the old man (dead spirit of sin). We die ‘symbolically’ in the flesh to the world and Satan pledging our allegiance to Christ as Lord and King of our new life (See Romans 6) . We accept and receive the gift
of his righteousness (1 Corin 1:30. The soul receives a deliverance and a supernatural cleansing by the Father, so that his presence dwells in our heart - the power of the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit of Christ we do not belong to him! (Romans 8:9) The old covenant did not and cannot provide this salvation and this is why Jesus is so much greater than Moses (Hebrews 9). The record of Israel’s history with God is now given to us in the Scriptures as an example to reveal revelation and insight to our growing spirit. We grow in understanding of the Kingdom of God to come and learn directly from him The Word of God.
The new replaces the old Although the Jews were severely punished by God and ejected from their land for almost two millennia they do not cease to be his possession (Jeremiah 30:7). A unique nation in the earth he has used them how he has seen fit in order to affect the world and establish his Holy Name. They are a constant reminder of the high standards that God (Yahweh) demands. However, as we have seen they no longer possess the spiritual kingdom authority of the Spirit. This now rests with those who are born again, whether Jew or Gentile, His Church (holy nation). In this sense the requirements of the Law (powerless without a Temple) have been removed and the good news of Jesus has spread throughout all nations. Today many Jews are beginning to realise that Jesus is their Messiah and this is another sign of Christ’s soon return. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:12-13) And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15) n REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11
The Two Covenants & The Two Jerusalems Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. ... But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Gal 4 & Heb 12)
O
ver the years many Christian scholars have been puzzled by Paul’s teaching regarding the two covenants and two Jerusalems. This has been due to the struggle of letting go of the Law as a means of justification before a holy God (see Gal 4). The means of salvation from sin completely changed when Jesus gave his life and blood upon the cross revealing a new way to the Father. No longer was obedience to the law received by Moses the way to be cleansed of sin. The sacrifice of animals and obedience to clean laws was now complete and replaced by a new faith - faith in Jesus and his precious blood. The nations (Gentiles) who were previously excluded from the first covenant were now able to connect with their creator through Jesus by the Spirit: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. (Eph 2:12-14) When Paul and the Apostles wrote their letters the old Jerusalem still stood. The historian Josephus said that Jerusalem at this time was a wonder of the world, especially because of the magnificent Temple which Herod had rebuilt. Rome loved Jerusalem and sought to preserve it from war or trouble. But Jerusalem was not holy, it was a place of conflict and apostasy. Paul and the Apostles knew that this old Jerusalem was doomed because Jesus had already prophesied its destruction (Luke 21:6) which Josephus later bore witness to. PAGE 10 REVIVAL TIMES
The old Jerusalem was indeed utterly destroyed 40 years later. As Paul had taught just prior to this, there is another Jerusalem where God dwells, the heavenly one. We must also sensibly conclude from many Scriptures that this is in fact an actual place, a place not of this realm but in the heaven of God’s presence and is composed of angels and redeemed people from time past. As Jesus said to the thief on the cross who repented, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23:43). Interestingly this ‘paradise’ is only mentioned three times in the Bible, first by Jesus, then by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:4 and lastly by John in Revelation 2:7 which clearly places paradise in the midst of God - outside of time. This paradise pre-existed earth and indeed all visible creation (J ohn 17:5) being eternal. It was from here that Satan was cast out and who fell to earth, a powerful cherub disrobed and condemned because of pride and self worship (Ezekiel 28:12-19). Nothing connected to Satan can now enter into that holy realm - heaven. This holy paradise, new Jerusalem, third heaven or mountain of God, is a spiritual dimension that cannot be fully explained by reference to things of earth (1 Corin 2:9-12). As Paul said he , ‘heard unspeakable words’. The closest insight that we have are John’s visions of the jewels and rainbows as he describes this Jerusalem descending into the new earth (Rev 21:10). This is why Jesus said this to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.’ (John 18:36) The servants Jesus spoke of were the legions of angels looking on, because the disciples had been scattered! (see Matt 26:53).
This other realm of heaven is beyond the natural imagination, it’s bigger and purer than the known universe! The scale of it puts earth and our existence into perspective. It reveals God’s incredible power to be omnipresent and omnipotent in these places! The glory of God is magnificent and far above all that we know. It is this realm which Christ invites us into by faith in him, by rejecting Satan and being renewed in spirit, soul & body.
added value, or augmentation, without delay or hesitancy.”17 To this another ordinance was added that clarified who the Christians were “among the rest.” “Whence it is our will, that when one shall receive this epistle, if any of those belonging to the catholic church of the Christians in the several cities or other places, are now possessed either by the Decurions (senate officials on a local level), or any others, these thou shalt cause immediately to be restored to their churches.”18
An alternate bishop was appointed, Majorinus, and his successor was Donatus. Donatus and his group lost out on some funds from Constantine’s administration; other catholic clergy received them. An issue was made leading to a synod which was to decide the matter. (It was held at public expense.) Though the church was to make the decision, Constantine presided. The Donatists lost, appealed and lost again. They refused to yield to the synod. In 316, the Emperor had their church buildings closed and their bishops banished.
AD313
AD320-325
Licinius defeated Maximinus Daia, leaving himself and Constantine as Emperors. A new power struggle began with Licinius renewed the persecutions in the East. He was defeated by Constantine in 323.
AD319 The clergy was made exempt from taxes.
AD319
Entering the kingdom
Private sacrifices by pagans were prohibited.
Being ‘born of the spirit’ is the only way to enter this spiritual realm. Jesus made this quite clear to Nicodemus: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:5-8) Just as there are two Jerusalems (an earthly and a spiritual) there are ditto two covenants (promises). The first related to the earth a particular land and a chosen people. The second is the unseen kingdom of heaven and those redeemed. The first justifies a rebellious nation by means of Law and the second justifies anyone who believes by faith in the work of the Messiah, Christ.
AD321
The covenant requirements Both of these covenants have specific requirements in order for them to take effect in a soul. Under Law a person needed first to be a Jew by birth or by conversion. They then had to follow the 613 laws given to Moses which included ritual
The church was granted the right to receive legacies. This marked the beginning of the great acquisitions of land that soon brought the system into ownership of one fourth to one third the land in Italy. And nearly as great elsewhere in Europe during the centuries that followed. In later times a device was implemented to receive the legacies. . . A property owner might use and enjoy as his own certain church lands on the condition that when he died, his personal property would pass on the church.)
The teachings of Arius caused problems with the unity of Constantine’s power base. The Orthodox belief was that the Father and the Son were coeternal, unified in the godhead. There were other viewpoints which held Christ to be a created being, adopted into the godhead, or created into the godhead, therefore a lesser degree of God. Arius, a presbyter of a church called Baucalis, taught the Monarchian concept of God (as opposed to the Trinitarian concept) and that Christ was a created being. Arius came into conflict with his bishop, Alexander of Alexandria (320). It became so bitter that Alexander called a synod (320-321) which condemned Arius and those with him. This backlashed as Arius drew a growing number of sympathizers. This backlash caused the catholic church’s unity (the Orthodoxy) to be shaken.
AD323
14 Walker:. . . History. . . 2:10 p. 86 15. Ibid. 2:19 p.108 16. Ibid 2:19 p.110 17. Eusebius’. . . book 10, sec. 5, p.426 18 Ibid, p.248-249
Constantine defeated Licinius. He was then sole ruler of the entire Empire. His reign lasted until his death in 337. This is important because through these fourteen years his influence in the affairs of Christianity were able to extend through the entire Empire. This period of inculcating his favour would never be undone, and have ramifications far into the future.
AD321
AD325
Sunday work was forbidden to the people of the cities. From the previous information it can be seen that Constantine did much to facilitate the empowerment of the Orthodoxy. It is a consensus among historians that Constantine did not do this as a matter of devotion to God, rather it was to strengthen his power base. (He went though the conversion process near his death.) He favoured the catholic system, because it was the widest and most unified among divergent approaches to the gospel. With this religion as his power base, it was to his interest to insure its unification. By his power the Orthodoxy gained in prestige and was further consolidated. Here is an illustration of his efforts to unify: After the persecutions of Diocletian, controversy arose in N. Africa. The issue was whether Caecilian, the newly appointed bishop of Carthage, had a valid ordination. The bishop who ordained him was stigmatised because he had surrendered some copies of the scriptures during the persecution.
Because the controversy between Arius and Alexander was so severe, Constantine called for a council to be held at Nicaea. This was a landmark event as it was the first general council for the entire Orthodoxy. There were 318 bishops in attendance, plus a large number of “minor clergy.” Constantine himself attended and urged a solution for the unity of the church. It seems that the majority were out of touch with the issue, with Alexander and Arius having a minority of well versed supporters. This indicates that while the issue was hot, not too many understood it except for the most striking points. Athanasius was a supporter of Alexander, was heavily involved in the debate. Eusebius, a bishop of Caesarea (the historian), offered a rendition of the orthodox creed. It was orthodox in that it was based on generally accepted principles. We call it a rendition because creeds were still varied according to locale. The creed was amended according to the council’s rejection of Arius’ teaching, as statements were inserted to give no doubt of their Trinity continued on page 17
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money or coinage in the world. I think you’ll agree that’s astounding to us in the modern age and also a bit puzzling. In fact God forbad the moulding of gold and silver into such things (Exodus 20:4) that could potentially be worshipped. The objects of the Tabernacle were cast and moulded out of gold and silver, but were never permitted to be seen other than by the priests. We see from all this information that God’s idea for the perfect society (as seen in the formation of Israel in the land of Canaan) did not include money as a coinage or currency. Instead he enabled a society based around exchange and sharing of goods according to need and crucially each family was apportioned their own land - FREE. He even established a method of cancelling any debts every 7 years and land restoration every 49 years, so that this equality of ownership in the tribes and families would be retained over time (Jubile(e) see Leviticus 25:10). How far from this perfect society Israel fell and which we Gentiles have never understood or experienced!
Who’s the King? Jesus was born at the time when the Roman Empire was marching forward to conquer. Between 200 BC and 14 AD, Rome conquered most of Western Europe, Greece and the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign established the Roman province of Syria in 64 BC and conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC. Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria c. 47 BC and defeated Pompey in 45 BC. So the Romans were a powerful superpower who controlled Jerusalem for over 60 years before Jesus came. There was still quite a lot of rebel resistance against this occupation by Jewish zealots and their resistance (and replacement coinage recently discovered) was one of the reasons Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD. By the time of Jesus crucifixion in approximately 33AD Rome had established its political and economic power upon the region backed by a powerful military force. The earliest of the Roman coins discovered was made of bronze and it was issued around 269 BC. These coins were minted in over 40 different cities. The name of the mint in Rome was Juno Monet and it is from here, that the term ‘money’ came into being. There you have it, where money comes from, Rome! It was soon realised by the Caesars that by placing their head on the coin they could declare their rule and kingship over the empire in a monetaristic fashion, it was the thing to do. This generated authority over the people in a new way which affected the very basics of life and created easy consistent trade across a large empire. Caesar was the king, even with a senate he had power to command the army and affect economic decisions in a big way. Conquering and trading were the main features of Roman policy replacing local currency or bartering systems with their new ‘money’ system. The management of currency minting and thus banking developed rapidly. This was anathema to Jews who had never had coins, banking or tax! This was a form of oppression and PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES
found this WAY of living, but have then made the mistake of going back to an organisation or denomination model thus hindering the natural expansion of the testimony in their community. Once we start expecting the lost to ‘come to church programmes’ we have really lost the point of Jesus mission which is to GO OUT to the people and supernaturally plant households of faith.
First Apostles The ministries listed in the apostolic teachings are all written to believers who met as church in homes, villages and cities (which were much smaller then) and were designed to maintain the households, all overseen by elders. These elder married men were those who had known Christ for some years and could teach/advise against heresy etc. As new households come to faith the body grows and forms a testimony of the love of God. But it needs to continually have the input of the apostles and prophets teaching (the real ones) who serve by example and help the elders and the people to stay on track - rejecting sin and false leadership and looking outwards to the lost. When these travelling apostles are either rejected or killed there is a danger that the wolves (false teachers) will move in and start to seduce, manipulate and tax for the sake of money and power (worldliness). Thanks be to God that we now have the Bible to act as a protection against such people. This is a grace that has been given to those of us who are now at the very end of the ages, as the world around us becomes more wicked and corrupt just as Jesus and the apostles said it would. Many faithful believers sacrificed their natural lives, so that we could have the pure Word of God to guide us. It is not our job to fight against the world or against politicians etc. Jesus said to pray for our enemies and feed them when disaster strikes. We are called to be a peculiar people who leave the fighting to the Lord! “Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me
speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.” (Psalm 31:2)
“Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.” (Psalm 59:9)
“But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.” (Psalm 59:16)
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Rom 12:19) It is a supernatural and heavenly thing to live like this, but this my friend is what a Christian is! “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt 5:43-48)
This is how we reach the lost. We do not go out there cursing them and attacking them for their sin and unbelief, because we were once just like them, rather we go to them with the supernatural power of God’s Kingdom in the Holy Spirit to preach his Son Jesus! If we are persecuted for a while - so be it, but we will not retaliate. It’s no good going preaching if we are not also living as a community of the Kingdom of Heaven (as far as possible, subject to persecution levels). New believers need to be able to become part of a household of faith who sincerely love one another despite human weaknesses - it is possible, because with God nothing is impossible! This was Jesus prayer the night he was to be betrayed by one of his own disciples. John overheard him crying out to the Father for
the flock under his care - even to the point of sweating blood! Jesus knew that if the Father did not send the Spirit into those men nothing would be accomplished. His prayer that night is probably the greatest prayer ever recorded and reveals to us the holy and pure heart of Christ towards us his children: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17) Now that’s what Jesus calls evangelism! Can you agree with him? Can you love your brother and your enemies equally and take persecution on the chin? Can you continuously bless and not curse letting God be the judge? Then you will be mature and Christ like. n
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A Message For Our Times PART 7 - By Stephen Turnham
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) The sixth of 12 parts looking at who the ‘church’ really are and why.
PART 7 - HOW DO WE REACH THE LOST? The short answer to this is that we can’t give to others what we have not received and lived first ourselves. Jesus’ command was to ‘go and preach the kingdom of heaven’ which he had fully demonstrated and given to them, because that’s what he received from the Father. They experienced Jesus at work, rest and play, God with them. They knew the creator and saw his power over all things, natural and supernatural. How can we give the lost the kingdom of heaven when we have not seen it or experienced it ourselves like those first Apostles? The answer is that we can’t. Most traditional church going Christians have never experienced real ‘kingdom life’ as described in Parts 1-6 of our previous studies. So what are we asking the lost to be a part of? Religion? Hypocrisy? Tradition? or is it something better than the world has to offer? Remember again what Paul said, “I received it by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1)
From heaven to earth If we preach Jesus properly it’s the Holy Spirit who will reach the lost and convict them to have faith in him, as he himself taught: “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: PAGE 8 REVIVAL TIMES
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:8-13) Did you know that in the Father’s eyes once you’ve heard about his sacrifice it’s a sin to not believe in Jesus his son!? That’s the one sin that will condemn a person to eternal death! We need to be cleansed of sin (in the general sense) and in the Lambs book of life (Spirit) to make it to glory with the Father. The Holy Spirit wants to focus on these truths first, then lead new born believers individually into all Truth in the Word, empowering them to forsake a sinful carnal life through continuous repentance and obedience to his Spirit. He is the light and we can only represent that light if with live in the Holy Spirit as he has commanded us - Christ’s love in us and expressed to each other and to those lost. That’s why it’s so important that we listen to his, and the apostles teaching on how best to live in grace as the body of his people and he will help them find true fellowship, true family. Heaven on earth. It’s vitally important that the Father can save a soul into a healthy household environment, so that like a baby they can have care and protection while they grow in godly knowledge. When this ‘motherhood’ of the church is not present a new disciple can often flounder, fall back and experience many years of trials and tribulations before reaching maturity in Christ, if at all. This is God’s perfect will and what he fights to achieve in us. Jesus kept the disciples with him night and day teaching, nurturing and being an example of the way of heaven. He also protected them in many ways from the evil one and false teachers.
This WAY was also seen in the lifestyle of the apostles and subsequently the early church body for more than 300 years.
The great apostasy It was not until the ‘great apostasy’ and ‘falling away’ that happened after the time of Emperor Constantine (culminating in the Holy Roman Empire and Papacy) that we see the revelation of ‘being church’ fall back to a more formalised and institutional temple building. Ritual services where congregations are led by a single priest (Roman) or pastor (Lutheran) was an invention of men and law and not passed down by the first apostles (as they claim). These false ‘church’ traditions have infected and spread across the world like a bad yeast. Now people think of church as a ‘holy building’ run by priests, bishops and Popes! This is a tragedy! This is not church, as in heaven, or the true gospel. It hinders the true believers seeking to honestly follow Christ as pilgrims in a dark evil world. The greatest salvation of souls throughout history has been via small groups and house based gatherings - these are the undeniable historical facts. The growth of disciples in places such as China and India and even Africa have proven this to be the way God is able to bless his Word the most. The Kingdom message spreads, as Jesus said ‘like good yeast through the dough’, because he knew that throughout all time everybody would still live in homes and meet within a small group. This is not to say that on occasion Christians should not come together as a larger gathering for teaching, prayer or even outreach, but the core of the church’s life is seen in the ‘household’ of faith. In the past some Christians have
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theology: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, both in heaven and in earth; who for us men and for our salvation, descended, was incarnate, and was made man, and suffered and rose again the third day; he ascended into heaven, and shall come to judge the living and the dead: And in the Holy Spirit. But the holy catholic and apostolic Church of God anathematizes those who affirm there was a time when the Son was not, or that he was not before he was begotten. Or that he was made of things not existing: or who say, that the Son of God was of any other substance or essence, or created, or liable to change or conversion.”19 In the end, this formula was accepted by all except three, who were exiled. In conjunction with this, all of Arius’ books were to be burned, and those guilty of retaining them were to be put to death. This was the Emperor’s decree in support of the council. Oddly enough, it wasn’t long after the council that one of the supporters of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, won the support of the Emperor. From this time forward the issue was up in the air, vacillating from party to party. The contenders with the highest profile were Athanasius and Arius. It was settled in 381 by a second general council held at Constantinople. The Arian party lost, and the original creed was further refined and enforced. It became a crime not to follow the orthodoxy. Before closing on this subject, it might be well to note a few other articles (canons) that were set forth at Nicaea: A bishop could only be constituted as such by the
agreement of the other bishops in his province. A bishop’s appointment was only valid upon approval of the Metropolitan Bishop. There could only be one bishop to a city. The deacons could not administer communion to the presbyters and bishops. The deacons could not sit among the presbyters.20 In conclusion, the council of Nicaea was a culmination of developments arising from such kernels of the heart described in the NT; many warnings dealing with the falling away, the antichrist. The shoots of such wove their way to this outcome. It makes one wonder. . . There seems to be no hint from available resources of any dissent. Perhaps it is because the very meekness of Jesus and His followers help them to avoid the pride and pomp of notoriety. The notion of actively seeking material support from civil government would have been akin to Jesus asking Peter to defend Him in Gethsemane. The matter of acquiring power is a two way street. In this case it is very evident. Constantine enjoyed the strengthened support of the Christian community, and they enjoyed the protection and augmentation of their position by the Emperor. When this happened the field became open for ambitious souls to play games with power on a vast scale; this, in the name of the meek and lowly Jesus. “And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (II Pet.2:2) 19. Eusebius’. . . . (Appendix – Boyle: A Historical of the Council of Nice) Sec. E, p.44 20. Ibid. Sec. E, p.55/58-59
The Origins of Human Government & Hierarchy Government Defined In this essay, I‘m defining ‘government’ as the governing institution of a nation-state. According to Scripture, the nation-state began with the scattering at Babel. As I pointed out in Insurgence, the first use of the term ‘kingdom’ in the Bible occurs in the city of Babel in Genesis 10:10.4 Speaking of the enterprise at Babel, one scholar rightly said, “Here the whole city-building towererecting project is one that God condemns.”5 Essentially, the people of Babel desired to create a centralized government, a concept that
By Frank Viola
ran contrary to God‘s will.6 Of course, those who build empires rarely perceive themselves to be wicked. They often begin with good motives, the chief one being to promise humans a better life. This is why Jesus said the rulers of the Gentiles were seen as ‘benefactors’ (Luke 22:25). But what we have at Babel is the beginning of the nation-state, the origin of the kingdoms of this world. Put another way, at Babel we have fallen man‘s endeavour to centralize domination and organize power. And God‘s response is to diminish this power by dispersing the people and creating multiple nations.
Israel’s Desire for Human Government So the nation-state (human government) began in the ungodly city of Babel, and God condemned the whole enterprise. But what happened when Israel, God‘s own people, wanted to create a government like all the other nations?7 The story is told in 1 Samuel 8. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’ But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not
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control and why Jews hated tax collectors (Matt 9:11 ). After sharing his parable about a debt manger who was fired for corruption, Jesus gave these words of advice to us: One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Luke 16:10-13; see also John 2:15) Essentially Jesus is saying, ‘serve him or serve Caesar (Satan)’. It’s no surprise that just as Christ came into the world Satan had developed the ‘headed coin’ system to run the empire. Remember the cry of the Jews at Jesus’ cruxifixion: But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. (Jn 19:15) On a number of occasions Jesus was challenged regarding paying tax. Once to the Romans and once to the Pharisees for the new Temple tax (not the tithe). Taxing or ‘census’ was not a foreign concept in the ancient world. God himself had once commanded Moses and Aaron to do this at the formation of the Sanctuary (Exod 30:13). However this was a one-off and the silver melted down for the foundation of the Tabernacle. It was never to be used as a form of oppression or control of the population (1 Sam 24:1-3). Ironically one of the reasons Jesus was born in Bethlehem was because of the census of the people for the purpose of taxation! (Luke 2:1). The KJV Bible uses the word ‘tribute’ rather than ‘tax’ because in ancient times this collecting was considered almost a form of worship of the rightful king or emperor. Jesus uses this to reveal a great truth about the difference between Satan’s kingdom on earth, and God’s kingdom of heaven. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying,What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. This is an incredible story and often missed by preachers today. Jesus never saw the tax system as valid, but to not offend them he paid it supernaturally and not from his own purse. He also reveals that his spiritual children do not pay him either ‘then are the children free’. This was further enforced when answering the Herodians: Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in PAGE 18 REVIVAL TIMES
his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius (coin). And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.”Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marvelled. And they left him and went away. (Matt 22:15-22) Jesus clearly separates himself from money which belongs to Caesar (his image), and expects a different tribute (worship) to be given to God. God of course has no need of anything, let alone money to achieve his purposes in the universe. The debt for sin could not be paid in cash, but would require his own holy, pure blood poured out as a sacrifice. For Jesus the money was so insignificant that he even gave his own purse to Judas whom he knew was a thief! (John 12:4-6, 13:29; Mark 14:10-11; Matt 26:15; 27:3-9).
So What about Tithing? In the light of the above information we can only conclude that the modern day practice of tithing money to an organisation claiming to be a ‘church’ is 100% erroneous. In the Scriptures no Israelite ever tithed money - it simply did not exist before 600BC! Tithing is not mentioned by the Apostles as essential for believing communities. So what did they tithe then? The purpose of the tithe was for ‘feeding’ the priests ‘food’ who served in the ‘Temple’. They never tithed gold or silver even as weights. The Levites were a special tribe separated from their brothers for service to Yahweh. They were not given land or expected to work the land like the other tribes, they belonged to God. Mistreatment of these Levites and the collapse of the correct Temple service resulted in judgement against them. The Levites were a symbolic representation of heaven, a symbolic metaphor of Christ. When the Holy Spirit came into the new Temple of the church body (disciples) we see that they became a new priesthood and a holy nation. These believers did not take offerings, but ensured that none of them had need. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2). This certainly sounds like heaven on earth to me! continued on page 20
bishops, city bishops, and Archbishops. There was also a substrata of clergy: presbyters, deacons, sub-deacons, acolytes (altar boys) exorcists, readers and janitors (from Janus, the doorkeeper god, they made sure that only the faithful could be included into certain parts of the assembly). This description was given given by Eusebius of the Roman church in 251.9 The appointment of the “lower clergy” was in the hands of the bishop. The appointment of the bishop was by the presbytery with the approval of a bishop from another city. By 325, it was decreed at the council of Nicaea that a bishop could only be approved by an Archbishop. 3. Other items hierarchical power are to be found in this time period. (a) Kalistos, bishop of Rome (217-222), issued a statement to the effect that he would personally absolve sins upon due repentance. (b) Cyprian, (200-258) a bishop of Carthage, made such declarations as these; i.“Ye ought to know that the bishop is in the church and the church is in the bishop, and if anyone be not with the bishop, that he is not in the church.”10 ii. Rome, “. . .the chief church whence priestly unity takes its source.”11 9. Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History book 6, section 43 10. Walker: . . . History. . .2:7 p.70 11. Ibid. 2:7 p.71
AD200-260 Mystery religions and their influence
In the latter part of the 2nd century and in the 3rd century much of the Roman Empire was given over to mystery religions. These were ancient pagan beliefs such as the worship of Demeter & Persephone, Cybele, Isis, Dionysus, and Mithras. The word ‘mystery’ used in association with these religions meant something hidden or kept secret, rather than something unfathomable. It was a secret kept within the circle of the initiated. Their celebrations and rituals were kept hidden from outsiders. They placed a great deal of emphasis on symbolic ceremonies. It stimulated fervour through impressing the senses, teaching a communion with their gods. “The mysteries. . .appear to have been originally an autumn festival of plowing and sowing. . .The . . .initiates broke their fast by participating in a holy communion in memory of Demeter. . .What mystic ritual was then performed we do not know; the secret well kept through antiquity, under the penalty of death. . . Very probably the theme was the rape of Persephone by Pluto, the sorrowful wandering of Demeter, the return of the maiden to earth, and the revelation of agriculture to Attica. . .The summary of the ceremony was a mystic marriage of a priest representing Zeus, with a priestess impersonating Demeter. . .The worshipers were then led by dim torch light into dark subterranean caverns
symbolising Hades, and again to an upper chamber brilliant with light, representing, it appears, the abode of the blessed. . .they were now shown, in solemn exaltation, the holy objects, relics, or icons that till that moment had been concealed. . .”12 The mystery trend made its way into the catholic system. It was absorbed because of the mindset of the general population. There were numerous converts who retained their backgrounds enough that the system reflected it. It was also used to attract new converts. “And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”(Rev.17:5)
Noted developments of the Apostate church: 1. The church was regarded as the keeper of life giving mysteries superintended by the clergy. 2. There was a systematic initiation for those entering in through baptism: (a) a formal renunciation of one’s past life (b) a recitation of the creed (c) immersion three times (one per each of the godhead) (d) a taste of milk and honey to express the new life (e) anointing with oil (f) laying on of hands (g) godparents (from the cult of Isis)
3. The Lord’s Supper was seen as a sacrifice requiring a “priest” to officiate 4. All were barred from being present at a baptism or the Lord’s Supper except the converted or candidates for conversion. 5. The creed and Lord’s Prayer were kept secret 6. Ritual fasting was practiced on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 40 hours before the Easter (a prelude to Lent) 7. Martyrs were commemorated in the Lord’s Supper on the anniversary of their deaths. 8. The relics of the martyrs were held in reverence. During the bracket of time covered so far (49-260), persecutions beset those wearing the name of Christ. The pagan world largely viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism. When Nero persecuted Christians in 64 AD, the distinction became more apparent. From about 68 it was a general policy to consider Christianity as criminal activity. There were fluctuating degrees of antagonism and easement. The Emperor Domitian was officially addressed as “our Lord and God.” He required his image to be worshiped. John was exiled to Patmos during Domitian’s reign. Emperors Trajan (98117) and Hadrian (117-138), while not condoning Christianity, made concessions to ease the terror. Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher Emperor, persecuted Christians in his belief that The Empire needed to return to the old gods and principles. Disease brought in from previous conquests in the East, in addition to the pressures from the continued on page 14
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AD 154-155 The observance of the Passover (later called Easter) is noted because of a controversy over the date of the occasion. This controversy was between Polycarp , bishop of Smyrna, and Anicetus, bishop of Rome. Note: The word ‘Easter’ was coined later. It comes from Eastre, “a Teutonic godless to whom sacrifice was offered in April.”4 Apparently the custom of some Jewish Christians to observe the Passover gradually came to be followed by many other churches to the point it became an unquestioned practice. This is contrary to Gal.4:10-11.
AD156 The Beginning of Montanism About this time there was a growing expectancy for the Second Coming of Christ. The miracles of the early church were fading out. There were those who wondered if there would be a renewed flourishing of this type of power. The setting was intensified by a growing burden of human authority in the churches. Montanus, a former priest of the idol Cybele, came on the scene as a self proclaimed instrument of the Holy Spirit, with prophetic utterances, and heralding the imminent return of Christ. There were two women associated with him, Priscilla and Maximilla. There were many attracted to this doctrine which was salted with rigorous asceticism; fasting, abstinence from meat, communal living, and celibacy. They gathered their disciples to an area in Phrygia, where they expected the New Jerusalem to be established. Though their prophecies were unfulfilled, there were many who were not discouraged and embraced this teaching. The movement continued for some time. 160 Monarchical Bishops were practically universal by this time. (Monarchical Bishop – a single overseer of many congregations in one city.) 4. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Easter” p.889
AD160-169 The “Catholic” orthodoxy began to appear. The word ‘catholic’ had been a loose description to the many assemblies professing Christ. Catholic means universal. However, around this period, it began to be used to denote a particular group of churches who battled the Gnostic and Montanist movements. They shared some notable features: Strengthened authority of the monarchical bishop, metropolitan churches5, the use of councils to initiate homogeneous policy, a common creed, a set body of scriptures. 1. AD185 A ‘Christian’ school of theology started at Alexandria. Alexandria had long been an important city in the Empire. It was a centre of trade. It had a library of the highest reputation. It was also the crossroads for Eastern and Western thought. It had long mingled Judaism with Greek philosophy, so it was no surprise that the same was done with the message of Christ. At this time a philosopher, Pantaenus, did this very thing. It PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES
is not certain whether he originated the school of Christian thought, but Pantaenus is the one of note. The school was a private endeavour at this time and not yet officially incorporated into the churches. 2. 186 Further advancement of the Roman church was indicated. Irenaeus, a bishop of Lyons, wrote; “Every church should agree with this church.”6 This in reference to the Roman church. He also upheld the idea of church councils; the only way of preventing Christianity from disintegrating into a thousand sects is for all Christians to accept humbly one doctrinal authority – the decrees of the episcopal councils of the church.”7 5. (City churches which dominated other churches. The metropolitan churches visited by the apostles of Christ had special regard as keepers of the faith. In our time, this term has an entirely different connotation.) 6. Walker: . . History. . . 2:5 p.63 7. Durant: Caesar and Christ 28:4 p.612-613 8. Walker: . . .History. . . 2:77 p.87
AD190 The continued controversy over scheduling the date of Passover resulted in more councils held to resolve the matter.
AD189-198 Victor, bishop of Rome, excommunicated congregations who refused to conform to the council.
AD200-260 Characteristics of church hierarchy were enhanced. “. . . between 200-260, the church as an organisation took on most of the constitutional features that were to characterise if throughout the period of the dominance of the Graeco-Roman culture.”8 Here are some features of that institutionalisation: 1. By this time the clergy – laity distinction was drawn and fixed. The word ‘clergy’ – kleros – is translated variously in the NT as: inheritance, lot, part, or heritage. Its literal meaning is a piece broken off or bits. It came to mean a portion or an acquisition. In I Pet.5:3, there is a warning for the elders not to consider the church as an acquisition. They were not to be lords. However, in the process of time the opposite attitude and practice became accepted. The warning in Acts 20:29 went unheeded by many. 2. Just as monarchical bishops presided over the local congregations in a city, the bishops in city churches extended authority over rural churches in the region of the city. Likewise, this pattern was carried even further as the bishops in major cities (Rome, Antioch, Ephesus, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Carthage) exerted influence over bishops in smaller cities. The bishops of the major cities were called Metropolitans or Archbishops. (By the 4th century the development was more complete with Metropolitans taking the title of Patriarch.) During this period (200-260) there were four layers in the church’s structure: laity, country
The Pride of Man
How History is set to repeat itself due to ignorance of the truth “ So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-10)
W
e are in a situation in the world today where the vast majority of people actively choose to reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the passage in 2 Thessalonians 1 above shows this is a very dangerous and foolish thing to do. When our Lord’s patience runs out and he returns with fire nothing he rejects will survive. Even worse the rejection of the truth leads to eternal damnation along with Satan, the god of this world system. 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. (Hebrews 12:25-29)
God Almighty has spoken to humanity from heaven through Jesus Christ. He has made it relatively easy and simple to have faith and obey his way of love. He has given us grace, mercy and plenty of time to find him. Mankind is without excuse as his qualities of creativity, beauty and order are all revealed
in the natural earth around us even the atheists can see this - yet they ascribe no praise to Christ who made it so. In order to find the truth you have to humble yourself and admit you are an imperfect and corrupted soul who lives in an imperfect corrupted flesh because of our inheritance from Adam and Eve. Here lays the problem for the majority because they are full of pride and self righteousness. Satan worships himself and persuades other to worship him by pagan ritual, what the Bible calls iniquity (see RT edition 7). He preaches that we do not need God to tell us what to do, that we know best, we are in control of our lives. He tells us that God never made us, but that we evolved from nothing and go to nothing when we die, so enjoy yourself - do your thing. This selfishness and denial of truth contrasts sharply with the words of God in the Scriptures. This is why Satan has always been opposed to the Scriptures and those who promote them, Jews and Christians. History has shown how he has manipulated authorities to persecute and martyr millions of faithful believers who stood their ground. The dark ages were just such a time when, shortly after the cataclysmic formation of the Roman Church the son of perdition arose and took control. The Antichrist turned out to be one of us, just as Paul had predicted, another Judas. Looking back at history we can
see that this was the case and in many respects still is. Pride overcame these ancient leaders as it had before in Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome and now even to our present day. How many despots have we had in the last 2000 years since Jesus came who have even murdered in the name of God?! All this comes from pride, thinking we are something we are not, thinking we are in charge. Ancient wisdom in Proverbs warns us the disaster of pride and how it stirs God’s hatred of sin: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. (8:13) When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. (11:2)
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. (13:10) In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. (14:3) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (16:18) A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. (29:23)
Bearing these wise words in mind we can see that this is what offends God and destroys nations. Just think of what happened to Israel when they rejected the covenant that God gave them! How much more will modern nations suffer by rejecting the Gospel of Christ! (Lev 20; 2 Pet 2) n REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 19
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The Apostle Paul was a great example to us of someone who chose to live contented and without asking for money as payment for his Christian service to the church. As our key text points out, the love of money is the root of all evil behaviour in the modern world. We must learn to give up all desires to be rich and comfortable at the expense of others, especially our brothers in Christ. As with the first church in Jerusalem, true Christianity will be marked by economic equality among the body of Christ with every need met. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. (2 Corin 8:9-15) This offering that Paul and Titus collected from Corinthian believers was not for themselves, but in order to help the Jewish believers in Judea who were experiencing a famine! In another place Paul reveals that he never demanded payment from anyone, but worked and paid his own way trusting the Lord to provide and save him. “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. ... I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20)
Coins to Cash to Credit Coins of all denominations did not develop into bank notes in Europe until around 1661 AD. Paper PAGE 20 REVIVAL TIMES
bills were first used by the Chinese, who started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) — mostly in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes — and used it for more than 500 years before the practice began to catch on in Europe inspired by Marco Polo and China. Paper currency was based upon the gold standard system.
Gold Standard System versus the Fiat System As its name suggests, the term gold standard refers to a monetary system in which the value of currency is based on gold. A fiat system, by contrast, is a monetary system in which the value of currency is not based on any physical commodity but is instead allowed to fluctuate dynamically against other currencies on the foreign-exchange markets. The term “fiat” is derived from the Latin “fieri,” meaning an arbitrary act or decree. In keeping with this etymology, the value of fiat currencies is ultimately based on the fact that they are defined as legal tender by way of government decree. In the decades prior to the First World War, international trade was conducted on the basis of what has come to be known as the classical gold standard. In this system, trade between nations was settled using physical gold. Nations with trade surpluses accumulated gold as payment for their exports. Conversely, nations with trade deficits saw their gold reserves decline, as gold flowed out of those nations as payment for their imports.
The Gold Standard: A Brief History “We have gold because we cannot trust governments,” President Herbert Hoover famously said in 1933 in his statement to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This statement foresaw one of the most draconian events in U.S. financial history: the Emergency Banking Act, which forced all Americans to convert their gold coins, bullion and certificates into U.S. dollars. The legislation successfully stopped the outflow of gold during the Great Depression, but changed money forever. The gold standard is not currently used by any government. Britain stopped using the gold standard in 1931 and the U.S. followed suit in 1933 and abandoned the remnants of the system in 1971. The gold standard was completely replaced by fiat money giving those who print money the power of wealth control. The US Federal reserve and the UK’s Bank of England are privately owned corporations who have taken this responsibilty. This has led to the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer as the wealthy can secretly hoard gold and assets. As the infographic on page 16 shows money is morphing again to a more powerful system of control - digital currency, so that purchasing or trading can only be done electronically using devices. Although money now has many different forms it’s prudent to remember that none of it will make it into the new heaven and earth where righteouness dwells and money is not required! n
Chronology of the ‘Falling Away’ Learning From History - First Century to the Council of Nicea By Louis Garbi
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29-30) A.D. 49-100 The falling away from Christ can be identified with these characteristics: Religious systems associated with Jesus Christ mingling with Judaism, Gnosticism, philosophies of men, and false apostles. A love of power over others prevailed.
AD 100-117 Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch, made a distinction between bishops and presbytery (elders). He upheld the idea that the bishop was the only one who had the right to baptise. He reminds one of Diotrophese (III John) when he wrote; “Do follow your bishop, as Jesus followed the Father.”1 Historically he would be described as a monarchical bishop (one who solely rules as an overseer). This marks a rejection of the scriptural example and command of multiple overseers being appointed in a given congregation. Also, its high handed tone does not exemplify the Spirit of Christ. 1. Walker: A History of the Christian Church 1:9 p.47
AD 135-160 Gnosticism was at its height of influence among the churches, though it lingered long afterward. By the latter half of the first century, a concept of Christ was being taught which denied His fleshly existence, saying He came in an “appearance” of flesh. It is thought one reason for its acceptance was the difficulty some had in reconciling a member of the godhead possessing our earthly form. (This probably stems from a concept that the flesh is tainted with original sin.) Also because of Gnosticism’s wide and varied background, it was able to be insinuated among the unwary throughout the wide range of locations in which the gospel was received. “It took unto itself many elements from many sources, and assumed many forms. It is therefore, impossible to speak of a single type of Gnosticism.”2 The word comes from the same word translated as ‘knowledge’ in II Peter 1:5. However, the Gnostics understood this word to mean a type of knowledge mystically transferred to a believer, thus enlightening him without the need for a written testimony. It was experiential in nature. It stood opposed to receiving knowledge through the scriptures. Gnosticism had its roots in Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. 1. It taught that matter is evil and spirit is good. (Dualism) 2. Its reception was mystical, based on the
adherent’s “experience”. Gnosticism distinguished between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. 1. The God of the O.T. created matter, therefore was called inferior. 2. The God of the N.T. is the God of light. Gnosticism rejected that Christ had our flesh and blood. Rather they believed He had flesh of a different nature, or a phantom representation. (An idea that persists to this day.) Gnosticism taught a limited candidacy for salvation. 1. Some were ‘spiritual’ and could attain ‘knowledge.’ 2. Some were less ‘spiritual’ but could attain a degree of faith. 3. Some were strictly material in their existence, therefore hopeless. Maricon, a wealthy ship-owner, became a member of the church at Rome. He apparently considered the system’s growing rigidness as a result of regarding the God of the OT the same as the God of the NT. He considered the God of the NT a God of mercy, and the OT God an inferior being. He was excommunicated in the year 144. “Maricon’s movement was probably the most dangerous of those associated with Gnosticism. He sundered Christianity from its historic background as completely as had the more speculative Gnostic theories. He denied a real incarnation, and condemned the OT and its God. All this was the more plausible because done in the name of a growing legalism. For such a protest there was much justification. His churches spread extensively, in the orient especially, and survived into the fifth century.”3 2. Walker: A History of the Christian Church 2:1 p.54 3. Ibid 2:2 p.57
AD 150-175 An early form of the so-called ‘Apostles Creed’ was developed. It was deemed necessary to recite it in order to be baptised.
AD 154 The prestige of the Roman bishop began to emerge. Partially due to its great wealth and size, as well as being located in Rome (the focal point in much of the world’s mind), the Roman church had a domineering influence among other churches. In 154, its influence included the fact that it chose its first monarchical bishop, Anicetus. REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 5
them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Jesus should know how things will end up, after all he was the creator of it! The scale of this final judgement is mind blowing and beyond the imagination of most people. We are nearer the time of his return than at any other point in history, the signs are all around! (Luke 21:28).
Signs in the Moon Two of the most significant indicators of our place in time are well known. The first was the return of Israel as a nation of Jews in 1948. The second was when they managed to conquer Jerusalem fought in June 1967 - the six day war. According to Jesus this marked the end of the Gentiles treading on the sacred ground of the Promised land and the end of his judgement of Israel. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24
see
Z echariah 7)
Significantly 2 years later in 1969 a momentous sign appeared in the moon. Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface; Aldrin joined him later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. (Wikipedia) The change in the middle east was as significant as man reaching and walking on the lunar surface, it marked a turning point in history. The return of Jewish peoples from all the nations of the earth (Aliyah) has been happening ever since. God would not allow this unless his wrath was completed (Isa 51:11) Also significant is that many Jews have now started to believe in Jesus as their true Messiah. In the
last 30 years the Messianic church body has increased dramatically. Although Israel is still perceived as a ‘secular’ ‘ethnic’ nation by the rest of the world it faces much opposition because of it’s clear connection with the Bible and faith in Yahweh. Jewish Christian relations have never been as constructive as they are today. A recognition that Satan wants to hinder God’s will for his ancient people has inspired prayer and support for Israel. Not all Israel is Israel, but it must be acknowledged that none of this would happen without God’s intervention. Significantly since the early 1970’s the natural environment started to suffer. Oil production literally went through the roof and global pollution expanded. Human population has also exploded to over 7 Billion - like a harvest field ripening. We are now in a global ‘climate crisis’ situation not unlike that which the Pharaoh faced before Moses. Pharaoh defied and denied Moses and God’s will, his pride hardened his heart pushing the judgement to the end.
Gospel of the Kingdom One clear caveat on the end that Jesus gave concerned the preaching of the Gospel message to ALL nations (ethnos). This condition is very close to being met. Very few places on earth have not been discovered, remarkable in itself, but also remarkable is the way the Word about Jesus has also spread. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matt 24:14) The Kingdom he speaks of is of course that of heaven and earth to come, that which John foresaw in the Revelation imagery. A false hope is that this world and earth will be rescued by the church or even by Israel. The destruction of Israel back in AD 70 symbolised the inevitable destiny of all the earth, devastation. The return of Israel signifies that God keeps his word, keeps his promises. However, as the ancient offerings of the past reveals, everything
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must be burned up - nothing left. Once polluted by sin there is no way earth can be cleansed, like trying to get yeast out of bread once cooked - impossible. Jesus is indeed the only way out, we can’t even take our physical body with us, but must be given a new resurrection body like his own. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit’. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corin 15:35-49)
When Jesus returns the dead in Christ will be resurrected before our eyes! Those living will also be transformed into new ‘spiritual bodies’ which will be eternal, incorruptible and indestructible. Glory hallelujah - come Lord Jesus! n
by
Weighing Prophecy
Paul Skaife, Pastor, Halford House, Richmond
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” (1 John 4:1-3)
A
lthough the New Testament says we should be diligent to ‘test the spirits’ (Matt 24: 24-25, 1 Tim 4:11) this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Evangelicals increasingly disagree on the basics: including what is truth or error. So when it comes to a particular prophecy, it is hardly surprising if believers within the same local church or para-church organization differ as to what weight, if any, should be placed on it. It can also be emotionally difficult to give a prophecy a different weight from others, especially if they are the person giving the prophecy, or they are believed to have a prophetic ministry. Our main problem (unless we are cessationists) is to know how to weigh prophecy. In practice it is often a very subjective exercise. This needn’t be the case, as we are meant to weigh prophecies in light of Scripture as a whole. Scripture also provides specific guidelines.
Old Testament Examples For example, the ways outlined in the Old Testament to test the words of a prophet (Deut 13:15; Jer 23:25-40 etc). This means those who say their predictions don’t have to be 100% accurate, or whose predictions come to pass but are preaching another Jesus & / or who are neoGnostics (of which there are an increasing number, including on the religious TV channels), are all ‘false prophets’. But even if the words of a prophet pass this particular maxim, we still have to decide what weight (importance, etc) to give them. One crucially important maxim is to ensure we don’t give any of today’s prophets, and therefore anything they say, the same weight as an OT prophet.
New Testament Instructions The Apostle Paul’s instructions in 1 Cor 14:29ff (“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said…”) are primarily with respect to those who exercise a prophetic ministry. These instructions, which Paul says are “the Lord’s commands”, infer: (i) they are prophecies given by those who were already recognized by their own local church as prophets; (ii) that their spiritual character was consequently known and approved by their own local church (cf. Matt 7:15-17); and (iii) that they each submitted to others in their own local church – a characteristic of NT ministry, epitomised by Paul who, despite believing himself to be directly called into divine service by the Lord Jesus in a manner equivalent to the twelve apostles, could not only be sent out (with Barnabas) by his own local church in Antioch (Acts 13:3) but on his return ‘taught and preached the word with many others’ (Acts 15:35). These instructions are also universal, as in conclusion Paul wrote (vs 36-37) “Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.” The relatively few references in the NT to the activity of prophets in the early Church also all suggest they fulfilled their ministry alongside others with a recognised prophetic ministry: rather than acting solo, akin to OT prophets. Acts 11:27-30 “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and
through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.). The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” Acts 13: 1-3 “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon…, Lucius …, Manaen …and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” In both instances there was more than one recognised prophet present; and what was said was weighed by the others, who also decided how to practically respond. The general picture in Acts mirrors Paul’s instructions to the believers in Corinth, and vice-versa.
Applying The Test Whilst we don’t know the actual words of the prophecies given to Timothy, apart from them being exhortations to ‘fight the good fight of faith’; there was more than one prophecy given, and others present (including Paul) witnessed to them being from the Holy Spirit (1 Tim 1: 18-19 ). It is therefore possible that those who gave the prophecies to Timothy already had a recognised prophetic ministry, akin to the situation in the church in Jerusalem and in Antioch. The practical reason why those with a prophetic ministry today shouldn’t be given the same weight as OT prophets, is because under the provisions of the New Covenant all true believers have received an anointing, not just those REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21
with a prophetic ministry (1 John 2:20). This is integral to us all being members of the one body, the church (which is a new creation in Christ); and why all of today’s prophets should be subject to the instructions given in 1 Cor 14:29ff. The writer to the Hebrews also says God (the Father) doesn’t speak today through prophets in the same way as in the OT (Heb 1:1-2). In the prophecies mentioned in Acts 11:27-28 & 13: 1-3 and 1 Tim 1: 18-19 , which are all specifically stated, in hindsight, to be ‘from the Holy Spirit’, there are no ‘Thus says the LORD…’ Whilst one cannot formulate teaching on an omission, it may nevertheless be significant. For - in contradistinction to an OT prophet - how can a prophecy be uttered on the understanding it needs to be weighed by
others, if the person giving the utterance has already weighed it? [When Ananias was given a message for Saul of Tarsus, he said it was ‘from the Lord Jesus’, but this was an integral part of Jesus’ unique commissioning of Paul. Furthermore, Ananias didn’t claim to have a prophetic ministry - the NT designates him as a “disciple” - and he only confirmed what the Lord Jesus had previously told Paul.]
Encouragement To Clarity If someone believes they have a prophetic ministry, they should be encouraged to follow (as much as is practically possible) the Apostle Paul’s instructions. If nothing else, it would help counter the increasing tendency of some to trust in their own ‘unique hotline to God’, rather than allowing others (with
whom they are in partnership etc) to weigh their words, and genuinely accept their assessment. On the other hand, we shouldn’t automatically dismiss the utterances of those who fail to follow Paul’s instructions. The Holy Spirit can (if he chooses) speak through the mouth of a donkey, and (on one occasion) the ungodly Caiaphas prophesied accurately. Even so, we still need to ensure we don’t give anywhere near the same weight to a supposed ‘word from the Lord’ compared to the weight we must always give to the prophetic utterances that constitute the OT & NT (the Canon of which is complete). There are also a number of additional biblical maxims to help us weigh prophecies more objectively. n
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you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.’’ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord.The Lord answered, ‘Listen to them and give them a king.’ (1 Samuel 8:4-22) God created Israel to be a tribal people, not a nation-state ruled by authoritative structures.8 Yet even though it wasn‘t God‘s will for Israel to have a king like the pagan nations, and even though a human king would lead to Israel‘s downfall, God granted them their request. But He warned the people what would happen if they took this step (1 Samuel 8:11-18). Israel persisted, and God conceded. The Lord, then, worked within Israel‘s governmental system to accomplish His sovereign intentions, even though it was never His perfect will. (Previous to Israel‘s kingship, God established elders and judges to settle disputes. But those people weren‘t political leaders who wielded political or
governmental power over the people. God was Israel‘s sole King; He alone had authority over His people.)9 John Nugent identifies God‘s original thought for Israel saying, When Abraham leaves Babylon and the Israelites leave Egypt, they are not simply moving to new places; they are moving away from corrupt empires whose totalizing vision of life stands in fundamental conflict with the totalising vision God has for his people. The fundamental attribute God requires of Abraham and the Israelites is trust in him alone. The way of life to which God was calling his people and that they began experiencing on their journey to Canaan was graciously set forth in Torah. The governing dynamic of Torah is God‘s exclusive reign over his people. Two corollaries followed: trust in God alone for safety and deliverance (as opposed to trusting in military might or strategic alliances) and flexible decentralized leadership (as opposed to a king who subsumes all offices under a single human head).10 Significantly, God regarded Israel‘s desire for a king to be an outright rejection of His own authority and proof that His people did not trust Him.
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The Truth About Human Governments God‘s view of human governments hasn‘t changed since the days of Samuel. Ever since fallen humans rejected the Lord‘s kingship, they have insisted on having human governments to rule over them.11 Despite their arrogance, God uses human governments and laws to keep basic order. And He does so even without their conscious awareness.12 This is made clear from Romans 13. But again, what God allows isn‘t the equivalent of what He approves.13 While human governing institutions can limit human chaos, they are incapable of producing global peace and harmony (which they virtually always promise). The reason is simple. All human governments are under the influence of ‘the god of this world’ and are therefore inherently corrupt. They are part of the world system, which John says is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19 NIV). Yet despite this fact, God is sovereign. He not only uses fallen human institutions to do good, but He also takes the corrupt and evil things they carry out and brings blessing out of them. This
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and corroded the earth and it’s incredible resources by his greed, it will be God himself who will destroy the planet and restart. Many now frantically work and rebel to save themselves in order to avoid extinction, but this is not the real danger they face. Remaining part of Satan’s kingdom on earth and not entering the Kingdom of the King of heaven is the real danger for millions of souls (John 8:24, Hebrews 4:13).
Waiting for God Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7) Our brave new world order is full of wicked devices! Since the 19th century mankind’s ability to create ways of evil and distraction have gone global. We even call the technology we use ‘devices’ as if this is a good thing, but not in God’s sight (Luke 16:15). When he made the earth it was complete lacking nothing - it was good (Genesis 1:31). It’s man under the inspiration of Satan who has created his devices for evil. The corruption of the earth is testimony to man’s so called ‘civilisation’. As believers we are called to ‘wait on the Lord’ for many things. If we trust we will wait for him to defend us or sacrifice us according to his purposes (Dan 3:17-18). As Jesus has told us, this world and everything in it will be burned up - gone (Matt 24:35,36; 2 Thess 1:8 ). There will be nothing of this world left - nothing! No matter what men may plan, design, build or ruin it will all pass and be forgotten. This seems negative, but the good news tells us that God will make a New Heaven and New Earth without sin or death (Rev 21:1). This is what we wait for, this is the great promise of Jesus, the Christian hope as we trust in him. He has guaranteed it to us by his own blood. John saw this future: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful. (Rev 21) The Apostle John had the detailed revelation of the end. The symbolic coded language of Revelation was designed to reveal and confuse at the same time. This great mystery is seen only by those who have the Spirit of Christ (1 Corin 2:7-12). Satan blinds the minds of men to their desperate condition, but God also speaks in parables and visions that only those who seek find. John states that in the process of heaven and earth passing there was no longer any ‘sea’. This sea is the ‘sea of peoples’ previously interpreted for us in a previous chapter (Rev 17:15). Indeed the natural sea will also have gone, but along with everything else too. Terrifyingly for the lost they will be no more, the peoples of the earth will indeed be extinct. Only those meek found ‘in Christ’ and thus ‘in the book of life’ will translate into the new earth. These will be the remnant from every tribe and tongue, Jew and Gentile. The New Jerusalem appears only in the new earth after the wrath removes Satan. Waiting for Jesus return is the core of our faith and the great hope that inspires us to live wisely. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Corin 1:4-8; see Phil 3:20) The whole earth is groaning, straining, suffering, struggling under the weight of sin and death imposed on it by the Lord himself! For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. (Romans 8:22-25)
Everything as normal Until very recently most atheistic sceptics would have echoed Peter’s words quite easily, ‘all things continue as they were from the beginning’. Now however many are suffering the breakdown of the environment due to our ‘civilisation’. In his mercy the Lord is bringing these ‘minor judgements’ in the earth, like trumpet warnings, in an attempt to make men question so called ‘normality’. He is shaking both the heaven and the earth! Rather than blaming ‘mother nature’ for various ‘natural’ disasters perhaps mankind will realise these are perhaps the ‘Father’s Judgements’ to awaken the lost. Sadly people are dying as these events increase, but still millions, if not billions, refuse to give up their idols! (Rev 16:9). Jesus said that such people will be caught out at his return, like a thief in the night surprises his victim. He said that people will be going about business as usual. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3
OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG
ISSUE: 01
Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19
Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below. We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day. All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity. This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge. If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement. Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.
The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org
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Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord? When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline. Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word. Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord. Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn. Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die. The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”! —Estelle Gifford Jackson FIRST THOUGHTS How Luther’s lips must at first have trembled when he ventured to say that the Pope was Antichrist! Why, Man, how can you dare to say such a thing? Millions bow down before him! He is the vicar of God on earth! Do they not worship our Lord God the Pope? “Yet he is Antichrist and a very devil,” said Luther. And at first he must have felt his ears burn and his cheeks grow red at such a piece of apparent wickedness. And when he found himself shunned by the ecclesiastics who once had courted Doctor Martin Luther’s company, think of what emptiness he must have felt!. Charles Hadden Spurgeon #601 1860
principle is best revealed in the crucifixion of Jesus. At the cross, God withdrew His protection to forces that were bent on His destruction (Isaiah 51:13). Those forces conspired together to kill the Lord of glory, but God brought good out of the horrible ordeal.
Christ and Culture This brings us to the matter of culture. Culture is a term that describes the social life of human beings. The culture of the world system includes language, habits, beliefs, customs, social organization, art, technology, and values. John, the apostle, highlights the key characteristics of the world system: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:16 NASB) Notice the three elements listed in this text. 1. The lust of the flesh – that‘s passion or sex. 2. The lust of the eyes – that‘s possessions or salary. 3. The boastful pride of life – that‘s position or status. John is speaking about money, sex, and power – outside of God and His ways. But the culture of the world system is not the only culture in existence. There is also the culture of God‘s kingdom, which I and others call ‘the culture of heaven.’ When it comes to the culture of this world, Jesus Christ stands against culture. Why? Because its goods, goals, and gods are completely at odds with the Lord and His kingdom (1 John 2:1517). Allegiance to Jesus always collides with culture‘s demand for loyalty. While the culture of the world system is under God‘s judgment, it‘s also under His sovereign control. Thus Jesus uses it for His glory. From this perspective, Jesus is above culture. In addition, the world system uses the things that Jesus Himself created, but in a misguided and perverted way. Such things as art, science, technology, etc. reflect on varying levels something of the Lord. From this perspective,
Jesus is the Lord of culture. Consider the language of divine withdrawal in the New Testament. God gave Him up (Romans 8:32) and delivered Him over to death (Romans 4:25). In like manner, the Gospels tell us that Jesus was ‘handed over’ to His enemies.14 God is a master at giving evil forces freedom and accomplishing His perfect will through their wickedness and disorder. He does this through redemptive protective withdrawal. Yet when those who are part of the world‘s culture give their allegiance to Christ, putting their trust and security in Him, Jesus becomes the transformer of culture, invading it in and through His people with the culture of heaven. Unfortunately, culture has traditionally trumped the church. A prime example can be found in the great schism between the Eastern and Western church in A.D. 1054. Interestingly, the majority of those who lived in what was once the Roman Empire (the west) joined the Western church and those who lived in the eastern part of the empire joined the Eastern church. In other words, one‘s culture determined their religion. So culture is an incredibly powerful force. But for the true follower of Christ, loyalty to Jesus – the world‘s true Lord – will trump culture.15 Along this line, the message of Jesus is political and anti-cultural. Jesus denounced arrogant rulers, announced the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (even acting it out beforehand), preached good news to the poor, condemned top-down leadership, and died the death of a political insurgent. By contrast, the kingdoms of this world operate in and through worldly culture. As such, they employ fear, deception, physical violence, and military power. The kingship of Jesus Christ, however, knows no such things (John 18:36). n For more by Frank please see the website: www.insurgence.org
___________________________________ Footnotes 4 Interestingly, the first mention of the term ‘king’ is found in Genesis 14:1. The city of Babel represents the beginning of high civilization. The tower was merely one feature of the city of Babel, which is also known as Babylon later in the Bible. The Babel account anticipates Egypt and its slavery of the people of God. (The terms ‘come let us’ along with building with bricks are found in both accounts – Exodus 1:10, 14 with Genesis 11:3-4.) The negative account of the city sketched out in Genesis 4 is simply the institutionalization of fallen man‘s estrangement from God. 5 Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 238. On page 239 of the same work, Hamilton adds, “Genesis is making the point that through the (disobedient) line of Cain many of the world’s significant cultural discoveries emerged.” As I pointed out in Insurgence, cities were places of concentrated human power where people sought to make a name for themselves. While promising to unite and protect, they ended up being locations of exploitation, control, and alienation. The city was never God‘s original idea. The fundamental essentials of the city: industry, weapons, and entertainment – representing security, protection, and enjoyment independent from God – came with the fall. 6 Alva McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1959), 47-48. In Insurgence, I establish how God views the origin of the ‘city.’ Babel simply continues the trajectory that began in Genesis 4 with the city called Enoch. See Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011) and Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2009), part 2. The whole sweep of Scripture shows that the cities of fallen man depict self-alienation from God. Even so, God uses the city for redemptive purposes. The city is the alternative environment of false security, drawing people into its promise of enjoyment, provision, and protection. 7. See 1 Samuel 8:20. Before the monarchy was established in Israel, God‘s people were guided by decentralized leadership, namely, ‘a plurality of offices, including judges, elders, priests, and prophets. Yet none of these leaders united all aspects of Israel‘s social constitution under a single human office. Each leader was accountable partly to the wider community (Deut 17:2–7 notes the importance of witnesses) and ultimately to God.’ John C. Nugent, The Politics of Yahweh (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books), 49-50. 8. Even though the tribes all shared the same language, the same culture, and the same religion, they did not have an overarching political authority – except for YHWH and “judges” whom YHWH would appoint when a need for coordinated military action arose.
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9. When all the tribes needed to join together to defend Israel against an enemy, God would appoint a shophet (“judge”). These military/political leaders only had authority for a limited time and did not create dynasties or centralized bureaucracies such as the “other nations” did. Incidentally, the idea that human government began with Moses isn‘t true. Before the kingship of Israel, which God disapproved, Israel settled by clans and tribes. They didn‘t operate under a single human leader nor did they have a top-down authority structure. 10. The Politics of Yahweh, 108. Israel‘s egalitarian pre-monarchical tribal system was a deliberate witness against the monarchical, imperial powers of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, etc. 11. The establishment of the monarchy in Israel shows from the beginning that even the government led by people directly chosen by God ends up abandoning God’s ways and negatively impacting God’s people. Saul, David, Solomon, and all the rest are corrupt and abuse their power. Some of them also had good qualities and accomplished a great deal for God’s people, but all
were tainted by the great power that was put into their hands. The power of the king was always meant to be God’s alone. Jacques Ellul was correct when he wrote, ‘Prior to these events [1 Samuel 8], Israel was a people without political organization, ‘governed directly by God‘ … political authority rests on defiance; it is a rejection of God … There is no validation of political power whatsoever in the Old Testament. On the contrary, it is forever contested’ (Jacques Ellul, ‘Anarchism and Christianity,’ KATALLAGETE, 19). 12. Human governors often have no idea that they are actually accomplishing God‘s desires (Isaiah 10). While they think they are building their own kingdoms and gratifying their own cravings for power, the Lord often brings order to society through their instrumentality. 13. All authority comes from God even when it’s illegitimate, meaning, God arranges and uses it. That includes the spiritual forces (principalities and powers) that stand behind the visible rulers of the earth. Because Christ has reconciled all things in heaven and earth to Himself (Colossians 1:20), He
arranges earthly and cosmic powers to eventually bring about His will. Through the cross, God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself. There can now be peace between humans and God, and humans and humans. But the world is not aware of this until the gospel is preached. And people can accept or reject the message. As John Howard Yoder once put it, ‘Fallen powers could be God‘s servants for our good (Romans 13:4). By maintaining the peace they facilitate humanity‘s coming to the knowledge of the truth’ (John Howard Yoder, Revolutionary Christian Citizenship [Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2013], 78). In this same volume, Yoder presents the New Testament view of the state (126-129). 14. Matthew 20:18; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:32; 24:7. God the Father was ultimately behind it all (Acts 2:33; 4:28), using Jesus‘ crucifixion to undermine the very forces that put Him to death (Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 2:8). In this regard, the death of Jesus was the ultimate Trojan Horse. Like a skilled wrestler who uses his opponent‘s strength against him, God does the same with the evil powers. ____________________________________
Useful Resources In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.thelastreformation.com www.insurgence.org/ www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.creation.com
Free material to download, booklets and tracts. Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended! Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Frank Viola’s latest book details Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds The best resource for creation material and news
If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these Christian ministries supporting the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine
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ISSUE: 08
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19
JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:27
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hen Jesus comes back everyone alive at the time will see him. God will come to earth with POWER and GREAT GLORY! Mankind has never experienced God appearing in such a way. The Israelites came closest when God came down onto Mount Sinai, but even there the power of God was contained within the bounds of that mountain. Jesus and the Apostles proclaimed that God Almighty plans to remake his creation. He will remove all the previous work in order to remove sin and corruption. This is what Peter taught us before his martyrdom in Rome:
The great destruction That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Peter, above all other Apostles, knew Jesus deeply and realised early on that he would one day die for his faith. But as this passage from 2 Peter 3 reveals
he knew God’s will, his plan. He knew that this creation was so corrupted by sin that Jesus was going to change it. A restart. This is why Jesus is the Saviour, saving us from the coming wrath. It seems to be taking a long time for this to occur, so far 2000 years since Jesus announced it. However, because of God’s patience, mercy and grace we are included in his body. If Jesus did come back before 1000AD none of us would exist today! We do however find ourselves in the last days that Peter describes. He prophesied our existence and these days of evil, days of the scoffers, the mockers and the rebellious. However we also find ourselves equipped with the Word of God and revelation like no other generation. There is no excuse to not know God’s will.
Extinction Rebellion The judgement of God has been announced and the time set by the Father for the end. We must accept this in our hearts. This is inevitable and unstoppable. Although mankind has corrupted
INSIDE A Message for our times Part 7 • The 2 Jerusalems • The Pride of Man • Money and God & more...
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