LET US RETURN TO THE LORD

"Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD . . . (Hosea 6:1-3)

We who have, by God's grace, trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, have been united with Him in his death for their sins and in His resurrection. As Christ was raised on the third day, we too, when we received Him as Lord and Savior, were raised with Him. That day became our "Resurrection Day," our "third day". We were raised to "newness of life" (Romans 6:4) "so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" (Romans 6:6).

But God's people today, as in Hosea's day, have a tendency to drift away from Him. And though our "idolatry" is more subtle today, it is no less deadly! The Apostle John, writing to believers in Christ, concludes his First Epistle with this warning: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." (1 John 5:21). The Apostle Paul, likewise, exhorted the Corinthian Christians: "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:14)

What are the idols that seek our worship today? Has something taken the place of Christ in our love and loyalty? Is there any activity in our lives that cannot be legitimately offered to God in gratitude? Is He shut out of any part of our lives? Or perhaps we have perverted the worship of the one true God to conform to our desires - as the Israelites did in Hosea's day. All this is idolatry.

"Come let us return to the LORD!"

GRATEFUL FOR A KINGDOM THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe . . . (Hebrews 12:28)

On the November 2, 1852, my great-great-grandfather, Johann Friedrich Boberg, appeared in Knox County, Indiana, Circuit Court to sign a “Declaration of Intention” to become a citizen of the United States of America. In that declaration, Johann renounced his allegiance to Prince Leopold of Lippe in what was then The Kingdom of Prussia, and swore his allegiance to the United States of America. That declaration was five years and one day after Johann arrived in the port of New Orleans – the minimum residency requirement for citizenship. Since the five-year anniversary was on a Sunday, he had to wait until Monday morning to apply. Johann Friedrich Boberg was eager to become a U.S. citizen!

Christians have pledged their allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and King. That allegiance takes precedence over any and all other allegiances. Christians, however, have a sort of dual citizenship. We are in this world – as to our physical existence – but not of this world as to our spiritual, eternal life. This world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31), decaying from within because of its sinfulness and rebellion against God, but “whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

My physical citizenship in this world is limited in both its nature and duration. As to its nature, my physical citizenship is limited to the realm God has assigned to human government, which has no authority over my relationship to God. The duration of my citizenship in this world is also limited. First, it is limited by my earthly lifespan. It may also be limited by the very existence of the nation in which I live! For example, the Kingdom of Prussia that had been Johann Friedrich’s home was dissolved in 1918, following the devastation of the First World War. Everything in this world is tentative and fragile. And God has promised that He will “shake” this world system, and then remove that which was shaken:

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:26-29)

God shook the world at Mt. Sinai when He gave His Law to the nation Israel. He shook both heaven and earth in the death and resurrection of Christ. And the writer of Hebrews says there is another “shaking” coming! When God shakes the heavens and the earth the next time, He will also remove what He has been shaken.

I’m thankful that by God’s grace, I have citizenship in an eternal kingdom! The most important citizenship a person can have is in the Kingdom of God. And we can have that citizenship through repentance from our sins and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We must renounce all allegiance to the prince of this world, and declare our total spiritual allegiance to Christ.

Johann Friedrich Boberg couldn’t wait to cast off the past and declare his allegiance to a new country. How much more eager should we be in these dark, sinful, violent times to renounce allegiance to this sinful world and declare our allegiance to God through Jesus Christ!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken . . .

BEWARE OF BIBLIOMANCY!

Bibliomancy. n. Divination by interpretation of a passage chosen at random from a book, especially the Bible. (American Heritage Dictionary)

About thirty years ago, I sat on an examining council for a missionary candidate applying for service in Japan. The candidate had grown up in Japan as the daughter of very successful church planters in that country, yet she said she had felt a burden for the newly opened field of Russia. Knowing she would have to learn a new language and culture if she went to Russia, she struggled over whether to go to that field or return to Japan. Which one was God’s will? To which field was she called?

Her struggle ended when she received what she believed was guidance from God in her devotions. She read Jeremiah 49:31 – “Arise , get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.” The candidate explained her reasoning to the council along these lines: The Lord was calling her to a “wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care” and whose homes have no “gates or bars.” Russian people, she reasoned, did not dwell securely, their homes have walls and gates for security, and they are certainly not a “wealthy nation.” Japan, on the other hand, is a wealthy nation whose people dwell securely without walls or gates. On this basis, she was certain that God was calling her to return to Japan as a missionary. I saw that the regular council members were delighted with her answer, so a bit my tongue. What was more disturbing than the fact that this recent Bible college graduate and young missionary candidate misused the Bible in this way was the fact that the council members, all long-time pastors, approved of that use!

The missionary candidate egregiously took Jeremiah 49:31 out of context, but she was also mislead by the wording of the King James translation she was using. (The college she attended held to a KJV-Only position.) Better translations like the New American Standard Bible or the English Standard Version clearly show that the LORD’s command was not a missionary commission but a call to war! It was a prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of the Ishmaelite tribes of the Arabian peninsula:

"Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, which lives securely," declares the LORD. "It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone.”  (Jeremiah 49:31 NASB, emphasis added)

The context of Jeremiah 49:28-33 is the pronouncement of God’s judgment on “Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor” (v. 28), the nomadic tribes of Arabia-Petraea.

Wrenching verses out of context to make them say something that was never intended is nothing new. Every pseudo-Christian cult does it. But it is paganism, seeking signs instead of truth and wisdom from the Scriptures. Many best-selling so-called Christian authors make millions off the gullibility of the Christian public by writing books claiming to have found  “hidden” messages in the Bible. The Bible Code by Michael Drosnin started an avalanche of books on the subject, pro and con, in the late 1990’s. Jonathan Cahn, who is sometimes called “pastor” and sometimes “rabbi,” is a Messianic Jew who has also capitalized on “hidden messages” in the Old Testament. His books The Harbinger and  The Mystery of the Shemitah both claim to unravel the “mystery” of America’s future. Cahn also says the Old Testament – in hidden messages – predicted the major economic crises and 9/11. The Harbinger sees the “mystery” of America’s future in Isaiah 9:10. But since the context surrounding that verse names “Jacob” and “Israel” and “Ephraim” and “Samaria,” who would imagine, just reading the text for what it says, that it contains a “hidden message” about America?!

This misuse of the Bible is bibliomancy! And it has a long history in Judaism. The Kabbalah -- which seems to be Cahn's inspiration -- is a Jewish mystical movement which began in the 6^th century A.D. The Kabbalist commentary on the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), called the Zohar, serves as a guide to Kabbalists in their quest for a deeper knowledge of God through mystical experience and understanding the hidden messages in the numerology and individual words of Scripture.  According to Elliot Miller, writing for the Christian Research Institute: “The overwhelming philosophical influence in areas where Kabbalah began was Greek; Neo-Platonism and its ‘Christian’ offshoot, Gnosticism.”[i] Early gnostic influences were among the false doctrines Paul and John were combating in the early church. (See Colossians, John, First John, especially.)

This may come as a surprise to many, but the purpose of the Bible – even the Book of Revelation – is NOT to reveal specific details of the future. The Apostle Paul wrote to his young colleague Timothy about the power and purpose of Holy Scripture:

“. . . from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17 NASB, emphasis added)

But how about the Book of Revelation? The stated purpose of Revelation was to edify and encourage God’s people in the face of a hostile world. It is applicable to Christians in every epoch:

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3 NASB, emphasis added)

Prognostication is always popular. That’s why the daily newspapers have astrology columns. But that’s not the purpose of the Bible. The Bible is God’s unfolding plan of redemption through Jesus Christ and instruction in godly wisdom to conform His people to the image of Christ. That message is clear and plain throughout Scripture.

Looking for hidden messages in the Bible is bibliomancy, and that is paganism.

---

[i] http://www.equip.org/article/what-is-kabbalah/

The Americans Liberated Us: The Story of Alfredo Gallina

Alfredo Gallina is one of a diminishing number of Italians who experienced the liberation of Italy from fascist and Nazi tyranny. But more importantly, Alfredo also experienced spiritual liberation that gave him victory over the tyranny of despair.

In 1938, at the age of 17, Alfredo joined the Italian army to fight for Mussolini’s fascist state. Alfredo tells his story:


I call myself Alfredo. I live with my wife, Annamaria, in the central Italian city of Terni. Terni is a steel manufactur¬ing city, and is predominently communist. During World War II, it was destroyed by Allied bombing.


I grew up under fascism. I knew nothing else. At school, once a week, we boys were made to dress in black shirts and to perform military drills all day with wooden rifles. To be a good Italian was to be a good fascist and Roman Catholic. In 1929, Mussolini signed a pact with the Church which made "The Holy Roman Apostolic Church...the only Church of the State of Italy." Thus, both our political and our religious beliefs were decided for us.


During the war, I served in the Italian army. I felt it was the right thing to do. After basic training, I spent time in Rome, where I met my wife. My unit was eventually sent to Albania. We saw no action against the Allied forces, but we met with some stiff resistance from the local partisans. The spirit of these partisans forced me to think. Why were we fighting this war? Why were we here, upsetting the lives of these people? Later, I would see the same sacrificial resistance by Italian partisans.


I was in Bari on the Adriatic coast when Italy signed the armistice with the Allies. When Italy declared war on Germany, I made my way back to Rome, where I joined the Allied troops under General Mark Clark. I drove a supply truck during the long, bloody battle at Montecasino. I saw many men die. One was a close friend.


It was with the Americans that a spiritual change began in me. The American troops had chaplains of all denominations. One could choose what worship he preferred. And I noticed that all these different chaplains got along well—there was a certain respect. This was totally new to me. I had known nothing but Roman Catholicism. But among these Americans, there was a choice.


Through the Americans I fell in love with America, even though I had never been there. The American soldiers taught me the dignity of the individual. In the Italian army, even on the battle field, the officers ate good meat and vegetables, while the enlisted men drank a weak soup. The enlisted men were literally the slaves of the officers.


In the American army it was so different. Not only did the officers and enlisted men eat at the same mess, but it was first come, first serve! Officers, even high ranking ones, waited in line behind privates and corporals! And I thought I had seen it all when I saw a colonel washing his own car!


So the Americans liberated us not only from the German occupation, but also from our own religious narrow-mindedness and our social caste system. The liberation from the Germans was quick and complete; the other liberation has taken much longer and is still incomplete.


After the war, I studied the history of the United States, particularly the War of Independence. I thought of emigrating to America, but with a wife and two children, financial concerns held us back. I started a business and pursued riches and la dolce vita.


But spiritually there was a void in my life. I was thinking only of pleasure, comfort and security. I had turned my back on the Church—and with it, God—when I was 14. But God had not turned His back on me!


God in His grace began to work in my heart. Suddenly, all the material things I had seemed nothing. Even the earthly relationships so dear to me seemed vain and transitory. It was then that I began to seek a spiritual answer to life. I read the writings of all the major world religions. I found some truth in all of them, but not The Truth. I did not find the peace I sought.


With much reluctance I returned to the study of Christianity. My wife had remained a faithful Roman Catholic, but if Christianity were ever to mean anything to me, I would have to find it for myself.


I considered it logical to begin my study of Christianity with a study of Christ. I bought many books on the life of Christ, but they were by secular authors who treated Jesus as merely a great man, a historical figure, not as God incarnate. Years passed and my spiritual confusion grew worse. At times I thought I would go insane.


Then one day I saw on television a man who talked from the Bible in a way I had never heard before. He explained what the text meant without any appeal to ecclesiastical authority. His message spoke to a profound need in my heart. At the end of the program, he offered a free Bible to everyone who wrote in. Suddenly it hit me that I had been studying the life of Christ from many writers, but I had never read the Bible, the primary source! I sent for the Bible and began reading it. My desire to know Christ grew strong. In my heart, I felt that I did accept Him, but in my mind I had doubts. How could Jesus be both God and man? And how could God be sovereign and man responsible? I was reading the Bible, but I could not understand much of it.


Then, one day, two young men came to my door who said they were from The Bible Today. My wife and I were delighted to see them. They were generous with their time, and they helped me resolve my spiritual problem. They showed me verses of Scripture that presented all aspects of the questions which troubled me, and then they showed me a principle I have found most valuable. The Bible says, "The just shall live by faith." It is by faith that we accept what God says even when we do not understand how it all fits together.


The missionaries gave me another verse which eased my mind—Deuteronomy 29:29: "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."


I saw that my responsibility was simply to accept what God had revealed and apply it to my life, and then rest in the Lord regarding those things which are not revealed.


We prayed together with the missionaries, and as we concluded, I sensed a great joy and peace in my heart that has been there ever since. It was settled. I was free at last in Christ. The world around me had not changed, but I had, and so had my dear wife. We rested in the fact that Jesus had died for all our sins and was now living to give us peace and victory. My mind and heart were at last united...by faith.


God has brought Americans into my life in times of great crisis, and each time they have brought liberation. But the liberation I treasure most is my liberation in Jesus Christ!

End

A MAN NAMED CHRISTMAS

On December 25^th, 1766, a son was born to shoemaker Samuel Evans and his wife, Joanna, in Llandysul, Ceredigion. The couple named the child Christmas. That boy would grow to be a tall, husky, bushy-haired preacher who would lead the spiritual revivals in late 18^th- and early 19^th-century Wales. But he had a hard road to the ministry he would pursue from Anglesey to Cardiff for over half a century.

            Evans’ father died when the boy was only eight or nine years old, leaving the family in poverty. Living with a drunken uncle, Evans received no schooling and by age fifteen, he still could not read or write. His illiteracy grieved him, and with dogged determination he set out to teach himself, plodding through Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress with the help of friends. They also studied the Welsh Bible together: “We bought Bibles and candles, and were accustomed to meet together in the evening in the barn of Penyrallt, and thus in about one month I was able to read the Bible in my mother tongue.”

            At 18 he was converted under the influence of Presbyterian pastor David Davies, and soon began preaching in cottage meetings, having memorized published sermons. Without financial means to further his education, Christmas Evans went to England to earn money in the harvest fields. But in England he began to despair of his prospects in the ministry and nearly lost interest in spiritual matters altogether. The turning point in his life came when he was attacked by a mob, apparently provoked by Evans’ objection to their ungodly activities, and was beaten unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he found that he was blind in his right eye. This crisis awakened his faith and his determination to serve God. At age 20 he was baptized in Aberdare by Baptist pastor Timothy Thomas and joined that congregation.

            At the Baptist Association meeting in 1790, Evans accepted a call to minister in Caernarvonshire. He was ordained at Lleyn to serve five small Baptist chapels in that area. It was there that he met and married Catherine Jones, a member of one of the chapels. Though his preaching was well received, the ministry there took a toll on his health. So after some months in Caernarvonshire, Evans took a vacation to Pembrokeshire. Since he could not afford a horse, he traveled on foot, preaching in every town along the way. Crowds followed him from town to town, spreading revival throughout western Wales.

            Refreshed by his coastal tour, Evans threw himself back into the ministry in Lleyn, walking twenty miles every Sabbath to preach in various chapels and open-air meetings. Yet in spite of the many converts from his ministry, Evans was not pleased with the level of spirituality on the peninsula, and in 1792 he accepted a call to the island of Anglesey, where, for a salary of 17 pounds a year, he was to be responsible for ten chapels. On Christmas Day – his 26^th birthday – he and Catherine crossed the Menai Strait to take up residence in a dilapidated cottage with a ceiling so low the six-foot-tall preacher could not stand up in it! His ministry there prospered, however, and within two years he saw 600 converts, and the ten chapels had doubled to twenty.

            In 1823, Evans’ beloved spiritual companion Catherine died, and the same year he developed an eye problem which necessitated treatment in Aberystwyth. By 1826, the number of chapels in Anglesey had increased exponentially and Baptist preachers numbered twenty-eight. Evans then moved to Caerphilly where 140 more converts were added to the Baptist congregations. From there he ministered in Cardiff, then back to Caernarvon, “where he contended with great difficulties from church debts and dissension.” (Armitage, The History of the Baptists, 612)  On a trip to Swansea to raise funds for the Caernarvon chapels, he suddenly fell ill and died on July 19, 1838. His last message was, “I am leaving you. I have labored in the sanctuary fifty-three years, and this is my comfort, that I have never labored without blood in the basin,” a reference to Exodus 12:22. In his last breath he voiced the words to an old Welsh hymn and passed into eternity.

            Christmas Evans is reputed by some to be the most dynamic preacher of “the golden age of itinerant preachers” in Wales. Historian John Davies takes note of Evans, along with Calvinistic Methodist John Elias and Independent William Williams (William o’r Wern) as the prominent preachers in the revivals that swept Wales in the early 1800s. (The History of Wales, 359) It is estimated that between 1801 and 1851, a new chapel was built on average every eight days. Many of those chapels were the result of the tireless ministry of Christmas Evans.

        First published in Ninnau: The North American Newspaper, November-December 2015

WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

(Isaiah 53:1 NKJV)

This time of the year there is a lot of talk about the birth of Jesus (though not nearly as much as in past decades!). The Baby Jesus, the helpless infant lying in a manger is a heart-warming image. The Babe in the manger is also less threatening, disturbing, than the adult Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the Son of God and Savior of mankind!

Isaiah prophesied not only of the coming of the Messiah, but also of the attitude of skepticism and outright disbelief of those to whom He came. “Who as believed our report?” Isaiah asks. The Apostle John witnessed the rejection of Jesus Christ by the Jewish nation under the instigation of their religious leaders, as well as the ignorant indifference of the world in general:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (John 1:10-11)

The following illustration comes from Matthias Ruether, principal of Brake Bible and Missions School in Lemgo, Germany.

Imagine being not prepared when the king arrives. That's rather tragic. But this is just what happened in a small restaurant in Ladenburg near Heidelberg, Germany, on August 22, 2011. Around noon, a friendly-looking married couple in their mid-sixties was seen standing in front of the "Gueldener Stern" ("Golden Star"), the oldest inn in town, studying the menu. The proprietress walked up to them and told them, somewhat gruffly, that they were at capacity. She went on to explain that a wedding reception was taking place that day, and not one table was to be had. Maybe they'd have better luck in the pizza restaurant next door. So the famished couple walked over to the Italian restaurant, much to the joy of the pizza baker, who realized at once who stood in front of him - namely, the Swedish royal couple, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Sylvia! ….

When the proprietress (of the inn) was asked about her faux pas, she was more than just a little uncomfortable about it. "I just don't have time to read magazines all day," she offered in explanation as to why she did not recognize the royal visitors. . .

Christmas reminds us that the King of the world came. Unrecognized by most, he became man in a small town in Israel. "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" (John 1:11). Had the proprietress but recognized the Swedish royal couple, she would have been saved from major embarrassment. But there is a lot more at stake at Christmas. He who recognizes the Son of God will have eternal life. "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God," (John 1:12).  (Translated from German by Ilka Jones)

"I just don't have time to read magazines all day," said the proprietress.  But do folks today have even a few minutes of the day to read the Bible? Even those who profess to be Christians are too busy to read and study God’s Word. Surveys have indicated that only 10% of those who say they are evangelical Christians have read the Bible in its entirety. In Jesus’ day, even those who did read the Scriptures failed to recognize the Messiah when He was in their midst:  “You search the Scriptures,” Jesus challenged the religious leaders, “for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39)

Who has believed our report? asks Isaiah. Indeed. I challenge every reader today to read all of Isaiah 53, and ask yourself honestly: “Who does this chapter describe?” And pray that God’s Holy Spirit would reveal Christ to you. For Isaiah goes on to ask: And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?”

Unless and until God opens a person’s heart and mind to the truth, that person will remain in darkness and ignorance. The problem is not intellectual – it is spiritual. Pride keeps people from yielding to Christ. Jesus prayed,

 "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. (Matthew 11:25-26)

Have you believed the report, the message of Christ prophesied centuries before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem? Have you embraced Him as your Lord and Savior?

REVELATION: GETTING THE MESSAGE

No book of the Bible has attracted more unfruitful speculation than the Book of Revelation. Yet God promised a blessing for the reading, hearing, and heeding of that book:

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.  (Revelation 1:3 NASB)

In order to gain that blessing and avoid the rabbit trails of speculation, we need to understand the main message God wants us to get, which is the contrast and conflict between the fallen world system and the kingdom of God.  Note how this theme is developed in the following points:

1                

1.   The present world system is hostile to God and His people. Its values and practices are contrary to all God’s commandments.

2.     The world system gets its directions from Satan (the serpent, the dragon).

3.   The world system has its own form of religion that mimics God’s revealed faith and practice. An antichrist (the beast), a false prophet (an unholy spirit), and a false “father” (Satan).  Note: the second beast superficially looks like a male lamb, but speaks like a dragon (Satan) (13:11)

4.    This system is supported by deceptive “great signs” (13:13; 16:14; 19:20) Those who are seeking “signs and wonders” to support their faith will be especially susceptible to this deception.

5.     This false religion persecutes true believers.

6.  The evil world system is called "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (17:5)

7.   The evil world system uses religion to control the people, but once that control is accomplished, it rejects and destroys all religion but its own. (17:16-18)

8.     God’s people are commanded to “come out” of this evil system. (18:4)

9.     God’s people will be persecuted, even to the point of physical death, but they are assured of eternal life and a reign with Christ. (5:10; 20:6; 22:5)

10.  A new heaven and a new earth in which there will be no sin, no tears, and no death await the faithful in Christ. (21-22)

The real danger in reading and studying the Book of Revelation is that we can get so caught up in trying to fit every detail into our preconceived prophetic scheme and world events that we miss the real message!  God promises a blessing to those who get that message and live by it!

Have you bowed in simple trust to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? The time is short. God’s final message – the Apocalypse, The Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ – holds great hope for those who belong to Him.  But it proclaims eternal judgment to those who reject God’s Son.