Author: JT Hutts

What are the defining marks of a disciple?

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discipleship

Recently, I was asked this question by a friend, “What are the defining marks of a disciple of Jesus?” That’s a really good question. How would you answer that question?

At its core, the word disciple means follower or more specifically a follower who is a learner. A disciple learns and never stops learning the ways of his teacher or master. He learns by watching, listening, and mimicking his master.

The New Testament is chalked full of examples of men and women who who were called disciples of Jesus. The examples include people who followed Jesus both before and after they committed to follow Him completely (Jn.6:66; Acts 11:24). That’s interesting.

When it comes to being a disciple of Jesus, it is probably important to understand what Jesus expects of a disciple. John, a close disciple of Jesus, records a message given by Jesus that clearly outlines defining marks of a disciple,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12–14)

In Jesus’ own words, we have three defining marks of a disciple of Jesus:

1) A disciple loves like Jesus.

Notice, a disciple is not marked by his knowledge of Jesus (which is important) nor the good things he does for Jesus (which is also important). A disciple is moved to act upon what He knows about God. As Jesus says, “you love one another as I have loved you.” (cf. John 13:35, 15:9, 12, 17). This is not an option, it is an order. A disciple is primarily and distinctively marked by the love he shows another.

You can manufacture this kind of love for a moment, but Jesus demonstrated it throughout His entire life. Jesus had an amazing capacity to love people. He loved the unlovely and His enemy. A disciple loves God and others, like Jesus, by learning from Jesus Himself.

2) A disciple is willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of Jesus.

The words that came out of Jesus’ mouth next are words I am sure you agree are true, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Yes! To that I heartily say, “Jesus, you’re right on! The highest level of love is a willingness to give your life for someone you really care about.” However, Jesus is not just sharing a truism. His intention is that you would connect this truth to the way you love Him (Eph.5:1-2).

Jesus had no shortage of followers. He wasn’t interested in crowds of followers, He was focused on the core of the follower. Some followed just to catch His next miracle, others followed to hear His earth shaking stories and sermons, while others followed for reasons both good and bad. Not everyone that followed Jesus loved Him, some hated His guts.

Jesus had a radical way of separating true followers from bandwagoners. Frequently He had crowd reduction sermons and say things like,

  • “Sell everything that you have…and come, follow Me” (Mk.10:21)
  • “Forsake your life and follow Me” (Mk.8:34-38)
  • “Want to be great? Be a servant” (Mt.20:26-28)
  • “If anyone does not carry his own cross daily and follows Me” (Lk.9:23)
  • “If anyone comes after me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (14:27)

Afterwards, many would go home saying “Jesus, you’re just asking too big a sacrifice from me.” Others would mock His words saying, “You think your God or something?” And others continued to follow. They weren’t many, but they were committed because they counted the cost.

When Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” he was looking for a radical response. It’s as if He says, “If you are really My follower, then you will be willing to go to the grave for Me.” Wow. Let the words of Jesus sink into your skull for a moment. Did you think about that before you committed to follow Jesus?

A disciple dies to self. A disciple is willing to sacrificially lay down his life for Jesus, like Jesus went to the grave for yours.

3) A disciple obeys Jesus’ commands.

One who sacrificially loves, like Jesus, also joyfully obeys His words. Have you joyfully responded to His invitation? What invitation, you ask? Jesus gives you an invitation to be His close companion. This is more than an invitation to be buddy’s, pal, or homeboy. Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” This is not a manipulative or coercive invitation, rather it’s a mark of a follower. A disciple is willing to follow whatever His teacher or master has asked Him to do.

This is good news. Jesus is the earth shaking good news. He followed every one of the defining marks of a disciple. He lived the words He preached. He mimicked His Heavenly Father. So much so, that if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. No one could find a fault in Him. He went to the grave an innocent man. He did not die a fatalist, a moralist, or the most liked by the populist. He obeyed His Father joyfully, even when it cost Him His earthly life. He loved sacrificially, so that by His grace you could live eternally with Him. That’s the kind of friend, teacher, master, God He is.

Jesus last words to His disciples after His resurrection were, “teach them [all future disciples] to observe all that I commanded you.” A disciple learns to live obediently to the teachings of Jesus and joyfully seeks to reproduce the same characteristics in others until He returns.

So what are the defining marks of a disciple of Jesus? Well, in Jesus own words, a disciple is one who loves like Jesus, sacrifices His life for the sake of Jesus, obeys Jesus’ commands, and helps others to do the same. What say you? Do you bear these marks?

Question every disciple should ask himself:
Do I love people more and more?
How do I love those I least like?
What is the motive behind my love for God and others?
Is my love coming from duty or delight?
In what ways am sacrificing my life for the sake of Christ?
What commands of Jesus do you have a hard time obeying?
How are you learning to follow more like Jesus today?

thumb licks [1.15.13]

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Bible reading plans for the year.

Junk with a purpose.

I will get back to you after I find the answer and other stupid statements.

Bible 101.

Dealing with life’s interruptions.

Our generations acceptable sin.

Paper computer. This is too cool.

Training your child to leave home.

The biggest structure in the universe. I feel so small.

I don’t believe in grace.

“Nanicabo”(Family) – The Next Chapter

walking in forgiveness

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When I was 10 years old I shared the school bus with a stoutly loud-mouthed bully. He knew just the buttons to push to make me blow: comments about the size of my nose. The other kids on the bus would snicker, mostly because they didn’t want to be his next verbal target. I thought to myself, “Isn’t anyone going to do anything about this kid?” I did not have any soap or earplugs, but I did have a plan.

I was as skinny-as-a-toothpick, but I was significantly taller than him by a mere foot, which at 10-years old says a lot. I also watch a lot of batman cartoons. I stood up and stare him down. I could beat a blind man in a staring contest. My plan did not work and I didn’t have a plan-B. I had to think quickly because I could see he was about to take a crack at me. I could turn my other cheek by sitting down in defeat or I could wipe the smirk off his cheek. I chose the later. I charged to the back of the bus and gave him a knuckle sandwich. Immediately the bus driver slammed on the breaks. I flew forward. The bus driver marched to the back, grabbed us both by our shirts and ushered us to the front of the bus. We didn’t make it to our homes that day; instead, we both pouted as we waited for our parents at the bus barn. Not only did my fists hurt, but my pride took a hit too. And it wasn’t the last time.

Have you felt the cut of a sharp word, been scalded by a heated exchange, or battered by abusive comments? The hurt from these kinds of situations should not be belittled. Nor should you exaggerate your response to these kinds of offenses. The top two responses are, first, hiding the hurt by stewing it into secret places. If you are this type of person you keep your relationships under serious surveillance cautious to not get burned again.

The second response to an offense is like a volcano spewing the hurt back in hell-fury. If you are this type person you pursue payback by inflicting more punishment fitting for the crime hoping your offender feels your pain. Have you ever played the board game Battleship? No one likes getting hit, but we like to do the hitting. This is the reason why many are glued to reality TV shows. They are built on the premise of backstabbing, one-upping, reckoning, and revenge seeking. Now, I am a fan of some reality TV shows too, however, retribution on your terms more than likely turns sinful. Only God can best play the part of God. Only God should take out vengeance.

There is another way since stewing or spewing is not helpful for the one offending or offended. What is the other way? Forgiveness is the only means to unleash an offense. To not forgive in a sense makes you like a dog on chain and your master is the one who has offended you. Forgiveness does not have leashes attached; rather it is a willingness to treat the offense as if it never happened. A mark of new life in Christ is walking in forgiveness [Ephesians 4:24] and Christ is your example [v.32]. Here are four practical truths on how to walk in forgiveness from Paul to the church at Ephesus who like most churches were having relational struggles:

1. Speak the Truth [4:25].

Unforgiving people love to latch onto lies like a leech, especially if you’ve been offended. People would rather risk covering their tracks with a well-choreographed lie, than humbly speaking the truth. Unforgiveness sucks the truth out of people. That is the way of the father of lies [Genesis 3:1-4; John 8:44].

There are three roots behind each lie: 1) to get something you want, 2) to enhance who you are, 3) or to protect yourself. And people who do not put off falsehoods will exaggerate by saying, “You always ____. You never _____. Every time I ____, you ____ everything.” Speaking in absolutes is a sign of a liar.  Now truth speakers gather the facts. They never assume anything. They always ask for what is true [cf. 1 Corinthians 2:11; Philippians 2:1-3]. They “speak the truth in love” and the Truth sets free [cf. 4:15; John 8:32].

2. Solve Today’s Situations Today [4:26-28].

When you “let the sun go down on your anger” you do not deal the situation. Not dealing with anger is not a way of dealing with it. The tendency is to hold off until a better day when it feels right or the timing is right. However, digging up the past should be left to archeologists. And adding time to anger only multiplies the problem, since sin loves to multiply itself with more sin. Unresolved anger leads to the sins of bitterness, rage, and wrath, which can continue to snowball down the mountain until an angry avalanche has left mass devastation.

Question, is all anger sinful? No. For the verse says, “be angry and do not sin.” [cf. Psalm 4:4] God created anger and has a good use for anger. Righteous anger is having a deep seeded conviction about evil [v.27]. In other words, righteous anger doesn’t add time to the situation, it seeks to solve as soon as possible after the offense before unrighteousness sets into the place anger. Those who walk in new life are timely problem solvers.

3. Slay the Problem not the Person [4:29-30].

Words can pierce people to their core. Words have caused wars and killed million [Proverbs 18:21, cf. Matthew 5:21-26]. And “corrupting talk” is the means by which we use words to disintegrate others [v.29]. Remember Goliath? He is a biblical example of corrupting talk. He had a big mouth and was all talk, but David championed over Goliath by letting God fight for him. David attacks the problem by trusting in the strength of his God, and God comes through with vengeance upon Goliath’s injustice.

Hurtful, harmful and hateful words do not only grieve you [Matthew 15:11], but also God [v.30]. Why? Each person is made in the image of God. When you murder another persons character it tarnishes the God who created them [cf. Isaiah 63]. You will have to stand before the throne of God and give an account of how you treat one another. Those who walk in new life in Christ build up, speak grace, rather than tear down what Christ, the Word, came to redeem.

In the book/movie, How to Train a Dragon, Vikings made a living slaying the dragons and the dragons lived to slay Viking villages. The key character Hiccup, a boy Viking, in the story wounds a dragon, but does not have the heart to slay it. Thereafter a friendship between the boy and the dragon begins. What they both come to learn through their friendship is that the slaying between the Vikings and dragons was a misunderstanding. This is also true in the arena of anger—the issue is not the one attacking you, but your self-controlled response to the attack. A gentle answer does turn away wrath, and an attitude of grace can keep you far away from messy misunderstandings.

4. Seek to be Proactive, not Reactive [4:31-32].

It is easy to justify your primary sin with a secondary sin [i.e. Genesis 3:8-13]. Fire does not put out fire; it just makes a bigger fire. When someone offends you firing back in anger declares the offender as the winner and leash holder. Do not hand over the leash so easily. Replace old reactions with pro-actions. In other words, act—don’t react. Have a Plan-B, C, D, X, Y, and Z.

Fifteen years after the school bus brawl I had another situation occur, but this time it was on a larger scale within my church. Someone raised false accusations against my biblical teaching and in their anger they publicly slandered my character. I was hurt. I was tempted to prove myself right and the other them wrong. No knuckle sandwich this time. Instead, I was convicted to extend forgiveness to the offender as if their offense never happened. It was something I could not do on my own power, but the kindness of the God and the forgiveness that God had given me was used as an instrument in my accusers life. Forgiveness is a mighty weapon of restoration in the hands of our powerful God [Romans 12:21].

Walking in forgiveness follows the example of Christ [v.32] by speaking the truth, solving today’s situations today, slaying the problem not the person, and staying proactive not reactive. Walking in forgiveness shines the light of the gospel to an unforgiving world [Luke 6:45], including your marriage, your children, your parents, your friends, your coworkers, your church, and your neighbors.

What is a Christian’s motivation to forgive one another? In Christ, you have the only pure motive to forgive one another and His death paves the way saying, “Forgiveness is available to all!” When Jesus was ushered to His death sentence as an innocent man He never defended Himself. It is not that He was a weenie or wimp, or that He was too cowardly to stand up to His accusers. He was, in fact, more courageous because He did not retaliate. He let God fight for Him. In the midst of unfair and unforgettable circumstances He remained kind, compassionate and forgiving [i.e. Isaiah 53:4-12]. Even Jesus’ last words were, “Father, forgive them for them know not what they are doing.” [Luke 23:34]

God has forgiven your sins as far as the East is from the West. When you don’t extend forgiveness what you are really saying with the hurt or offense done to you is far greater than the offense you have done to God. The comparison is incomparable [Isaiah 55:8-9].

Who do you need to unleash forgiveness to today? Walk in forgiveness.

the gift that keeps on giving

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These are some beautiful reflections by my wife Sarah on Christmas.

I can only imagine that both Mary and Joseph were exhausted. For the last 5-9 months as people learned of her pregnancy, Mary had lost friends.  Even her family frowned.  “Really?  You didn’t do anything wrong but you’re pregnant?  An angel you say?  Ok Mary, well, let’s not talk about it.”

If you’ve never had close friends turn their back on you, then you probably don’t know what Mary felt like. And this wasn’t one friend, this was like maybe ALL but one or two.  Mary and Joseph were alone.  Who was going to cook for her after the baby was born?  Who was going to be there to be excited about how cute he was?

Eight days later, there was one person who would be excited.  He had read the ancient writings and he knew that God had promised to come to earth in Bethlehem.  This was the One. The One who would pay.

In that moment, God began to pay for the wrongs that we do every day.  It wasn’t about being “good.”  Nothing that was simply “good enough” could stand in the presence of God.  He is GLORY itself.  Nothing with even one little spot can be allowed there, because there is ONLY goodness there.  Otherwise, we could still hurt each other in God’s presence.  No, he can’t let it be like that.  It WILL be perfect.  Perfect peace.

In that one moment, a sheltered life inside of the womb was born into a dirty room with animals, into the hands of people who had hurt and stolen and even killed with those hands.  A baby.  A baby who could only cry for milk.  Why would God come like that?  He chose it. He chose to be normal. Except for one thing: He would pay.

But Mary and Joseph believed.  They believed that God had a holy perfect place which was the only thing that made sense in a world filled with disappointment and apathy.  They were not born only to suffer with age and die.  No, they were born to see the perfect face of God, but they could not get there with “good enough” actions.  Someone must remove every last action that was not done out of love and thankfulness to God.  How could you erase the past?  It was too big to pay for.

But, maybe you HAVE had someone turn their back on you.  The first time it is simply excruciating.  The one and only person you love with all your heart.  On that last day of Jesus’ physical life, the first day began to make sense.  On that last day, the Father that had looked down with love on his Son, turned his back on him and the Son’s heart literally broke with blood and water mingling.  Why would the Father do that?

Until that moment, as God in the flesh, Jesus was perfect and without even one action of selfishness.  But, in that moment, His destiny was realized – to take all the sins of the world and their punishment onto Himself.  God then turned his back and poured out His wrath and death into the body and heart of Jesus. Jesus paid for you.  Every action that is not pure, was put on Jesus.  It wasn’t a symbol or a legend.  He died. And he didn’t deserve to.  We deserve it.  And we will face a physical death, but after that . . .

God wants once again to be with us.  Emmanuel.  His life. His gift.

waiting (a story of a boy and Christmas)

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A real-life story of a boy and Christmas from Ben Houchen, a shepherd and my best bud since middle school.

Waiting.

Nikki took Cynnan to the Surgeon today and had the pre-op consultation. Everything went well with that and the Doc said he would have time to do the surgery tomorrow. This got us excited, but as the day wore on and we got no confirmation of a Tuesday surgery we started to have doubts about our excitement. Sure enough, at around 5pm tonight we got the call to confirm the surgery time. Thi
s Thursday at 5pm.

AAAHHHHHHH, I hate all this waiting. I just hate it. And yet, the reality is, this is the season of waiting.

Advent is a season filled with waiting, with anticipation. And because we so closely associate the Advent season with the Birth of Christ and that picture of a baby in a manger, it is tempting for us to think that the spirit of Advent is a purely joyous one. But think for a moment about the people of Israel, at the time of the Birth of Christ.

Times for these people were not good. Israel was held under Roman occupation, and while this was better than the many exiles Israel had experienced prior to this point, it was by no means a good experience. The Romans knew how to subdue a people, and while they allowed Israel to worship her God, they also demanded taxes (an ancient form of worship) be paid to Creaser, and they subjected the people to many humiliating and dehumanizing practices. The people were waiting, but they had no certain hope of what they waited for, or how long they would have to wait to get it. We see evidence of how hopeless and unresponsive the people of Israel had become in the Gospel of Matthew. Just look at who all notices the birth of the messiah, The Maji and King Herod are the first people of any notoriety to even care that this child had been born. No one in the Jewish Community takes any notice of this boy until he is old enough to amaze them during a visit to the Temple. People were losing, or had lost hope. The waiting, it seems, was just too much for many of them to bear.

Advent is a joyous time for us because we are looking backward on a time of anticipation. We know the ending, we see the story, not as it is unfolding, but as it did. The concept, the spirit of advent then, is not one of purely joyous expectation. Advent includes a spirit of anticipation that is laced with negative emotions as well; fear, worry, even hopelessness, these are all part of the spirit of the Advent season. And it is important to realize that, because our understanding of those portions of the Advent season gives us the grace and peace to handle the Advent’s of our own present lives. I once read that Advent is essentially about learning to wait. It is about not needing to know the precise details of what is coming, only that, whatever it is, it is of the essence of sanctification for us. Every piece of it, some hard, some uplifting, signifies the work of God alive in us. We learn in Advent to stay in the present, knowing that only the present, well lived, can possibly lead us to the fullness of life. You see, as humans, we are not complete, we do not arrive, no, we are becoming as we go. Our lives are not meant to be escaped, or avoided. Life is meant to be perused, to be excavated, We are meant to taste and to touch and feel all that there is in life, the good alongside the bad. All of these things are then meant to culminate in our lives in a way that we come to know that the God who created us is with us still. Unto us a child is born, unto us a hope is given, not a hope of ease and indulgence, but of life, life to the fullest!

Would you like to enter into that full life with me? Then please, pull up a chair, wait with me a while.

We will become as we go.

You can read more about Cynnan’s story and how God is using a son to draw his parents nearer to Him.

thumb licks [12.17.12]

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Rachel weeping for her children and the massacre in CT.

Newsweek vs. New Testament.

What to do when Christmas has been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

Thoughtful Christmas ideas for husbands.

The Hobbit: a dwarf flow chart.

School shootings and spiritual warfare.

Who was St. Nicolas?

The Golden Gate guardian.

How to watch the Hobbit.

How to guard the Sabbath for your children?

And slew the little childer.

An interesting Hobbit review.

let there be light

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christmas-star

This message is used by permission from my good friend Brian. Brian is a former physicians assistant and shepherd. Now Brian is serving the gospel to the least reached. He is living the Words he wants you to hear. Be a light in darkness this Christmas…

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

For the first time in my life I made the connection between this passage and the creation account in Genesis 1.  The opening verses of Genesis are some of the most well known verses in all of scripture, right up there with John 3:16.  And we’ve probably heard or read these words at least 100 times before. But now I was beginning to make the connection between God’s strategy for saving the world and that which He was breathing into a visible and tangible form at creation.

Genesis 1:1-5 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

Every time I’ve read this or heard it, I always thought, Wow, God is a powerful God.  He is amazing.  He is a creative and awesome God.  For by the breath of His mouth, the universe and all of creation was called into existence.

But there is something even more amazing being spoken of in this passage.  Something  that I had never seen before.  Something that pulses deeper than even the glory and majesty of creation.  And its something that existed long before Genesis 1 ever did.

And that was God’s plan for redeeming the rebellion of humanity and winning His bride back to Himself.  I want you to see that when God called forth light out of the darkness, it was pointing to Jesus.  But not only was it poetically prophesying the coming of Christ, it was manifesting God’s design and call upon all those who would follow Him.

So I think there are 2 vitally important things we need to learn from this passage that relate directly to our lives as we pursue after God and seek to be imitators of Christ.

Light Shines in the Darkness

The first is that light was created to shine in the darkness.  Genesis 1 paints such a clear picture of this.  It starts out by saying that darkness covered the face the deep.  In other words, it was crazy dark.  You know, the kind where you can’t see your hand when it is right in front of your face.  And it was into this that God says: “Let there be light.”

Now I want to be clear about this because the practical applications of this are costly.  Its fun to talk about and intellectualize, but to change our lives to bring them in alignment with the truth of what this teaches is a whole other story.  So I want to make sure we are all on the same page here.

God did not call forth light to shine in the light.  It wasn’t because “light” covered the face of the deep that God says “Let there be light.”  It was because there was darkness.  God said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” Light has a created purpose and was designed to exist and shine in the darkness.

So now we have to begin to deal with the implications of this for our lives.  Because we are that light.  We are the light that was redeemed to shine in the darkness.

Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Now I just want to make one clarification.  We are not the Light capital “L.”  When this passage says that “you (and I) are the light of the world,” it means we are the light of the world like the moon is the light of the night.  The moon is just a big round pile of dirt.  It has zero ability of producing light.  But when you go outside on a dark night and look up into the sky, the moon’s brightness can light up the night.

And we say, look at the moon. Look how bright the moon is shinning.  And in doing so, we ascribe or we attribute the ability to produce light to the moon, when in reality, it is only reflecting the light of the sun.  It can’t make one tiny shred of light itself.  And so it is no different for us.

In this passage and anywhere else in Scripture for that matter, when you see it referring to us as the light, just know that it is not us that is the light.  We only shine when we are reflecting the Son, “S-O-N.”  And just as the moon was created to shine in the darkness by reflecting the sun’s light, so we were made to do the same.

So the first issue we have to deal with is where are we shinning? I have to tell you.  I was so convicted by this, that as a youth leader I had the audacity to be so excited about taking our students on summer mission trips.  And I would get so excited about being this great beacon of light in those dark areas for one glorious week every year, but I did little to nothing to shine in the darkness the rest of the time.

And now Becky and I find ourselves living in the very neighborhoods that we served on our mission trips to those places and all I could think about is moving somewhere else.  It was good enough to do for a week on a mission trip, but to actually live there and start to raise our family in such a place was hard to come to grips with.

God is not calling us to have an experience every now and then when we shine in the darkness.  Its not about having this special little time in our lives once a week every year where we turn the light on for a little while and pretend this is how we live all the time or this is how we would live all the time if we only had the opportunity.  Because we do have the opportunity.  It just takes sacrifices that if we admit it, are probably not willing to make.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t do these things.  Engaging in short term missions is absolutely necessary.  I’ll be the first one in line when given the chance and I’ll be the biggest cheerleader encouraging anyone and everyone to go.  All I’m saying is that what happens in the that week should simply be a reflection of what happens in our lives every single day.

You see, I have come to the humbling place in my life where I began to realize I was doing all this “stuff” for the Kingdom, but it was all being done in the light.  I was involved in this and I was involved in that, and it was all good and worthy stuff, but it wasn’t about shining in the darkness.  I found I was just fooling myself behind this disguise of advancing God’s Kingdom without actually setting foot in the darkness.

His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Light.  No matter how hard we work or what great things we accomplish in the light, His Kingdom is already present there.  And if we are going to be a people who are about advancing His Kingdom, it can only be done in the darkness.

We were called into His marvelous light in order that we might shine in the darkness.   This means that our lives must be lived out in the those places.  Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to move to the inner city, but some of you might.  Some of you may need to go home and start packing boxes.  And don’t be looking round at your neighbor right now, cause I’m talking to you.  And maybe its not about where your home is, but where you work or where you go to school.

What I am saying is that we need to take a good hard look at where we are shining.    And we need to stop making excuses for keeping our distance from the darkness.  Its not comfortable.  Its too hot.  Its not safe.  The school district isn’t good enough.  Its too far.  Its too hard.  Its too costly.  It takes too much time.  It doesn’t align with our goals, or our family or our future.

To be a light in the darkness is costly.  It is not safe.  It is not always comfortable.  It is certainly not the easy way to live.  But why would be dare be content with anything else?  Don’t settle to be a light among lights.  Don’t compromise for the sake of safety or comfort.  We have but one candle to burn, and I’d rather burn it out where people are dying in darkness than in a place that is flooded with lights.

God Separated the Light from the Darkness

The second thing I want us to see is that God separated the light from the darkness.  That is, God set apart the light to be different.  While the light was created to exist and shine in the darkness, it was made to be fundamentally different from it.  When God created the light, there was no question as to which one was which.

God didn’t make a light that most days of the week looks like darkness except on Sundays.  Or one that maybe shines all week except for Friday and Saturday night.  And He didn’t make a light with a motion detector so that when left alone it was identical to the darkness, but as soon as somebody came around, it would turn on as if it had always been on.

Light doesn’t look anything like the darkness.  And there are some pretty hefty ramifications for our lives because of that.  It doesn’t walk the same.  It doesn’t talk to the same.  It doesn’t act the same.  It doesn’t spend its money the same.  It doesn’t have the same goals or values.  It is different from the darkness in every way, but yet was created uniquely to exist in beautiful harmony with it.

And this separation in essence is why we exist.  Because this is what distinguishes light from the darkness.  This is what separates believers from everybody else on the face of the planet.  Because the goal of the darkness is to make much of itself, but the purpose of the light is make much of Christ.

How is it then that the lives of sinful humans can display the glory of our Almighty God to the world?  How is it that we who are so little can make much of One who is so great?  I believe the answer is to echo the cry of John the Baptist found when he said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John Piper said this: “This is why we exist – to display the glory of God… It is our created nature to make much of God.  Not to fulfill this purpose… is to be a mere shadow of the substance we were created to have. Not to display God’s worth by enjoying Him above all things is to be a mere echo of the music we were created to make. It is to be a mere residue of the impact we were created to have.”

The overriding thing that separates the light from the darkness is an unbalanced passion for the glory of God and the Kingdom of heaven.  And I realize that for some of you that may make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  Because a lot of times in our culture we associate unbalanced to mean unhealthy.

We talk about the need for balance in our lives all the time, right?  Balance, balance, balance.  We have to have balance.  We don’t want to be too far one way or too far the other.  And at times this is true, but I think sometimes we have watered down Jesus for the sake of balance.

There was a man by the name of Nee To-sheng, otherwise known as Watchman Nee.  He was born in communist China in 1903.  He came to know Christ at the age of 17 and spent the next 30 years traveling throughout China planting churches and shinning the Light of Christ in some of the darkness places on earth.  But in 1952 he was arrested for his faith in Christ and leadership among many of the local churches in China.  He sentenced to 15 years in prison,  although he was never let go and died in his cell 20 years later. Some of his teachings have been complied together into a profoundly powerful book called “The Normal Christian Life.”

Average and normal are not the same.  You see, average just means we look like everyone else.  Normal means we look the way Jesus expected us to look.  It means we shine the way Jesus expected us to shine.

Did Jesus really mean to love Him with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength?  Did Jesus really mean to love our neighbor as ourself?  Did Jesus really compare the Kingdom of heaven to finding a treasure in a field and selling everything for that field?  Because that doesn’t sound very balanced.

There is a word for someone who becomes that fixated on someone or something, but it isn’t balanced.  Its obsessed.  It is being driven by an all consuming passion to the point that none of what Jesus taught even sounds remotely crazy.  Quite frankly, it makes perfect sense.

If there is anything in life we need to be obsessed with.  If there is anything in life we need to be consumed by.  If there is anything in our lives that we need to be unbalanced about, it is the Jesus Christ.  It is the glory of God.  It is the Kingdom of heaven.

The more our lives display Christ’s worth above all things, the brighter He will shine in us.  This is why it is so fundamentally important for the light to be separated from the darkness.

Because when we look like we care about the same things they do.  When we look like we hope in the same stuff they do.  When we look like our values are the same as theirs, Christ will never look great in our lives.  Our lives must show that Christ is more precious than life.

To do this, we must make sacrificial life choices knowing that magnifying Christ is more valuable and more satisfying than protecting and preserving our own personal comfort or agenda.  So we may need to start asking ourselves some tough questions.  Questions that we may very well not want to know the answers to.  Because I think all to often we are far more content desiring to justify our actions instead of seeking to magnify Christ with them.

Now this is the part of the message where I would normally tell you some inspiring story about a missionary in Africa or Asia or something who is living this out.  The problem is, most of us really can’t relate very much to that.  So let me give another example that may hit a little closer to home.  Its a story about a guy who asked the right questions.

There is a pastor by the name of Francis Chan, maybe some of you have heard of him.  He has a love and devotion for God that you will rarely find anywhere.  He also happens to be an incredible speaker and when you put those 2 qualities together, it makes for a very dynamic pastor.  Thus the church he started in California grew like mad quickly topping 3000+ people.

They were making plans for building a 50 to 60 million dollar facility when he took a little trip to Uganda that changed his life forever.  He saw poverty first hand like he had never imagined.  And it got real personal for him when he saw little girls the age of his young daughters rummaging through garbage for food.

And all of a sudden it hit him, what does it mean to love my neighbor as myself?  Cause you know, Jesus said that.  In fact, He said it was so important, it was only second to loving God first.  So one of the first things he did upon returning to the states was to move his family of four out of their 2,000-square-foot house into one half that size so they could give more to missions and to the poor. He said: “I couldn’t reconcile how I could live in such a nice house while others were starving.”

The very next church board meeting Chan showed up with a one track mind.  When their church, (Cornerstone) first started and for many years there after, they gave away 4% of their budget.  Chan now walks in in the door and asked them to give 50% away.  His salary was slashed along with all other staff taking pay cuts and serious sacrifices in their programs were made.  But in less than 1/2 hour their budget was flipped on its head.

Instead of building a massive multimillion dollar building, they built an outdoor amphitheater saving countless of millions of dollars.  They have worship outside every Sunday, rain or shine.  And if it happens to rain on a Sunday morning, they get wet, but they know it is for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom.

Now here is a guy, living in the United States with the exact same pressures, the exact same influences, and exact same struggles that we face, but yet consciously and intentionally positioned his life to be separated from the darkness.  While the rest of America chases after it’s illusive dream, he has refused to be seduced by it.  Instead, his heart, mind, his soul and wallet are fixed on heaven.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.  It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

My prayer is that Christ would be so prized in your lives that you would blaze so brightly it would fry the retinas right out of the eyeballs of those who look upon you.  That your  hearts be so fixed on Christ that everything else would pale in comparison.

My goal isn’t that you be moved by the stories of those people who are living radical lives for Christ, yet do nothing to act yourself.  But instead, that you would earnestly seek the face of God for where and how He would have you to shine.

I don’t claim by any stretch of the imagination to be living this perfectly.  That’s precisely why I had to preach it.  Because this message is for me as much as it is for any of you.  It is time we be the light we were created to be.  Its time we let our light shine in the darkness.  And its time that the only thing people see when they look at us is a life obsessed with Jesus Christ.

thumb licks [12.05.12]

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Good News of Great Joy, a FREE e-book for this advent.

Anti-Santy Ranty, comparing Jesus and Santa.

Why we should rejoice when God blesses others.

I once made an origami frog, but these paper animals are amazing.

Why don’t men read books?

How to read the Bible with a non-Christian.

Have you ever wondered about the origins of breakfast, lunch and diner?

7 important event in history that paved the way for the Reformation.

If you were to add up the 12-days of Christmas, this is what it would cost.

The Story of the Innkeeper:

the God who hears

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Does God hear when I call on Him in prayer? If I don’t get an answer is God just hard of hearing? Somewhere we’ve acquired an illusion that God as a toothy grinned grandfatherly figure straining to hear through his old-fashion ear horn. This leaves us with an idol-god who is finite and rather creepy when you think about it.

Take a quick glance at Scripture and it will debunk any myth of a God who is decrepit or hard of hearing. Surely He is kind, slow to anger, full of all-consuming joy, spoils His children with indefeasible grace and generosity. But He does not have a cane or have need of hearing aides.

God hears.

Do you realize how important it is that God hears? The God of the universe hears the prayers of all His children (Ps. 65:2; 4:3; Jeremiah 29:12). The gods made with the hands of man cannot hear,[1] but human hands do not make God. He made man. And He made man with a mouth that are able to speak. With the psalmist, use your mouth to joyfully sing, “I love the Lord for He hears my voice” (Ps. 116:1)

Jesus after He raised Lazarus from the dead prayed and thanked God, “I knew that You always hear me” (John 11:41-42). Jesus prayed knowing that He was praying to His Father who listened.

“Because I have listened definitely to one thing from God, it does not follow that I will listen to everything He says. The way in which I show God that I neither love nor respect Him is by the obtuseness of my heart and mind towards what He says. If I love my friend, I intuitively detect what he wants, and Jesus says, “Ye are My friends.” Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not consciously have disobeyed it; but most of us show such disrespect to God that we do not even hear what He says, He might never have spoken.”[2] – Oswald Chambers

God hears more than words.

He knows the motivation behind my words. He sees my words straight through to my heart. He knows what I really want. Now God does meet wants, even needs. He demonstrates over and over His sensitive ears to the cry of the orphan and widow (Exodus 22:23); the plea of the poor (Exodus 22:27); the cry of the needy (Ps. 69:33). However, God does just give me whatever I want whenever I want it. Thankfully.

God has selective hearing.

God is not a passive dad that tunes out His children for no good reason. He hears the prayer of the righteous God-fearer,[3] and often He ignores the cries of the unrighteous sinner.[4] It is not that God is insensitive to the cries of sinners; it’s that sinners are not sensitive towards listening and obeying God. Their judgment is God replicating the treatment they are giving Him.

God has spoken many words, 774,746 to be exact.[5] Start by listening closely to those words. As Jesus said, to each of the believers in the seven churches of Turkey, “He who has ears let him hear.” (cf. Revelation 3-4)

My daughter Justus is 2-years old. She has good ears. Still she has a natural inclination to ignore the authority God has put over her like Charlie Brown listened to his teacher at school. For the most part, she hears the words of her parent’s say and eagerly listens. I want to have eager ears toward my authority, God, like my daughter.

A child’s attitude is “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” (cf. 1 Samuel 3:10) If you have not cultivated this devotion of hearing, you can only hear God’s voice at certain times; at other times you are taken up with things—things which you say you must do, and you become deaf to Him, you are not living the life of a child. Have you heard God’s voice today, moreover, have you listened to God’s voice today?

[1] Cf. 1 Kings 18:26-27; Psalm 115:6; 135:17; Isaiah 46:7

[2] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 1993).

[3] Cf. Prov. 15:29; Psalm 34:15; 145:19; John 9:31

[4] Cf. Isaiah 59:1-2; cf. Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11,14; Ezekiel 8:18; Amos 5:23; John 9:31

[5] This number is a guesstimation taking an average among English Bible translations.

a biblical theology of the book of Revelation

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The book of Revelation has been studied by all generations of Christians with various interpretations of the book.  Often the studies have focused solely upon its Apocalyptic nature, seeking to interpret the prophetic messages of the book.  Yet Revelation has a vast theological message that has been largely ignored.

Within a three part series and two guest bloggers we will attempt to trace the theological themes of the book of Revelation through the lenses of

1) the glory of God,

2) suffering and victory, and

3) redemption.

Theology of Redemption from the book of Revelation

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This article was written by my friend Jeremy Oliver. Jeremy is an Assistant Pastor at Battle Ground Bible Church since August 2011. Previously he taught Bible and ran the Spiritual Life at a Christian academy in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also served in the biblical counseling program and led a small group at Harvest Bible Chapel North Phoenix. After earning a BA in History from Indiana University and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies concentrated in History from Valparaiso University, he completed a Masters of Divinity from Faith Bible Seminary in 2010. He and his wife, Jen, have been happily married since November 2006. They have a beautiful boy named, Charlie.

—

One of the great questions that loom in the mind of individuals is, “How can a loving and all-powerful God allow evil in the world?”  If God is so concerned for humanity and even died to redeem it, how is it that evil exists in the world?  Grant Osborne notes that Revelation serves as a theodicy of God, continuing in the line other biblical literature which “refers to the justification of God in two directions: the seeming triumph of the wicked and the suffering of the innocent.”[1]  Revelation continues in this tradition, prophesying of the culminating redemption of creation and the defeat of evil.  It is in this horrid picture of judgment upon the world that ultimate redemption is found for those who hold fast to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  In the final vision (Revelation 21:9-22:9) God has defeated the forces of evil and His redemptive work is completed.  It is in the context of Revelation that the answer to the problem of evil is finally answered and God responds to so many who have echoed the cry of those slain on behalf of God, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10). In this section, the theme of redemption will be traced through the book of Revelation.

In the prologue of this book, John admonishes the reader to hold fast to Christ because the events flowing out of these visions are imminent and the consummation of redemption is ‘near’.   Beale notes, “The main goal of the argument of John’s Revelation is to exhort God’s people to remain faithful to the calling of following the Lamb’s paradoxical example and not to compromise, in order that they may inherit final salvation.”[2]  Following this admonition is John’s vision of the risen Christ as he views the church in the world.  This vision contains seven letters to contemporary churches of John’s day from Jesus (1:5), who has provided redemption “from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom of priests to his God and Father” (1:5).

After the initial greeting to these churches, Jesus observes their activities, bringing attention to their strengths and weaknesses.  Yet within these letters there are promises of final redemption for those who repent and hold fast to Jesus Christ (2:7, 11, 17, 28; 3:5, 11-12, 21).  Repentance is crucial to the people of God in Revelation and it is stubborn refusal to repent that precedes the judgments of God.  Osborne notes, “It is clear that the judgments of the trumpets and bowls are not just the over-reaction of a vindictive God who wreaks vengeance on all his enemies but a last call to repentance while there is still time.”[3]  Jesus is calling them to repent and stand, which in turn is setting the stage for what one should stand firm for, namely, the consummation of redemption at the end of human history as we know it.  The return of Christ is certain and imminent; they will be affected by it, whether it occurs in their lifetime or in the distant future.

Upon the close of these seven letters John is brought to heaven for a vision of the coming judgment (4:1-11:19).  In transition to the impending judgment by God comes a glorious scene of the risen Jesus Christ as one who is worthy to bring that judgment (5:3-5).  In Christ’s death and resurrection, he is the redeemer who alone is worthy to judge the sinfulness that has permeated the world.  Beale notes, “God and Christ are glorified because Christ’s resurrection demonstrates that they are sovereign over creation to judge and to redeem.”[4]

Chapters 4 and 5 are central to the book of Revelation as they show the sovereign hand of the God, the only one worthy to bring both judgment upon sin and the fulfillment of redemption.  What a horrible scene of mass destruction; yet God is worthy in his holiness to bring such judgment.  In his holiness he is praised by those who follow him because they know that such destruction is part of his plan of redemption for those who follow him.  The second vision ends with this sobering reminder of this contrast of judgment and reward, all at the hand of God,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth” (11:17-18, ESV).

The next stage in this progress of redemption is battle between God and Satan.  It is Satan who is ultimately behind this rebellion against God and who battles greatly against God’s people on the earth (12:17), knowing that his time is limited (12:12).  In his battle against God’s people, Satan calls the Beast and the False Prophet to cause men to reject God (13:4, 14) and brutally hunt and massacre the people of God in the world (13:7, 15).  But even in the midst of this ghastly scene, there is hope for those who choose God over this rebellious onslaught (13:7-10).  In this is the hope of that final destruction of evil by God and the consummation of redemption.

In response to this great atrocity God does not idly allow evil to continue unrestrained.  He is patient with humanity, warning them of the coming judgment (14:6-13) before his final and horrific judgments and the millennium in which he will rule upon the earth (15:5-18:24).  Here God continues his process of defeating evil and progressing towards the pinnacle of redemption.  Again God is praised for his just and sovereign dealings with evil and rebellion (19:1-2) and calls his people to himself where they will commune with him, in contrast to the destruction of those who are conquered with the Beast and the Prophet.

After this thousand year reign the ultimate defeat of evil comes as Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire and all those who followed this rebellion with him.  It is here that evil is ultimately defeated and God wholly brings redemption to the world and all those who follow him (21:1-22:5).

The overarching theme of this consummation of redemption is marked by the new heaven and earth (21:1).  There are three specific elements of this redemption that will be examined further: Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people of God.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is a place of great significance throughout Israel’s history and is, as Isaiah noted, “Yahweh’s holy hill, the place where he lives (4:5; 8:18; 10:12; 12:5-6; 14:32; 24:23; 30:19; 31:9)”.[5]  This city was established under the reign of David as the capital of Israel; it is here in the Tabernacle and eventually in the Temple that Yahweh dwelt.  Sadly, sinful Israel mistook this presence of Yahweh for unconditional protection, which was shattered with the Babylonians in 587 B.C. and the unimaginable scene of the removal of Yahweh’s presence from Jerusalem’s Temple in Ezekiel (8:1-3).  It was because of sin that Jerusalem never attained the status intended for it as the city of the Great King (Psalm 48:2).

Jerusalem, which was intended to be a place of great worship of Yahweh, became a place which “kills the prophets” (Luke 13:33) and would eventually murder the one who came to redeem it, Jesus Christ.  This city lost its status as the dwelling place of God and instead received condemnation from the Savior (Luke 19:41-44).

It is in Revelation 21-22 that Yahweh redeems Jerusalem from its sinful past so that it lives up to its potential as the city of the Great King (Psalm 48:2).  The description that John gives is fantastic, recording a place of immense glory and the dwelling place of the glorious One.

The Temple

The Temple was the center of Jewish worship of Yahweh.  After the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, Yahweh was not able to dwell directly with his people due to their sinfulness and his holiness.  Yet, desiring a relationship with his people he had the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, construct the Tabernacle as a place of worship in which this was possible.  Even this interaction between God and man did not compare to the harmonious relationship in the Garden, as sacrifices had to be offered continually and the people were removed from direct presence of God in his dwelling place, the Holy of Holies.  Once the permanent settlement of the Temple was constructed, this same basic structure remained in place for Jewish worship.  It was in the holy city of Jerusalem that the Temple was erected and viewed as being protected because it was the dwelling place of God.  However, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 B.C., all of Israel was distraught and confused.  McKelvey notes, “This meant nothing less than the loss of God’s presence (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4-5; 11:23).”[6]  The Temple was restored under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, but this did not last either.

As history progressed, Jesus Christ came upon the scene making Messianic promises of worship that would not take place at the Temple (John 4:21-24).  Jesus would later cleanse the Temple and reject the people who rejected him and, as McKelvey notes,

“The consequences of Jesus’ rejection and death for the Temple of Jerusalem are nowhere more in evidence than in Mark’s statement that at the moment Jesus died the veil of the Temple was torn apart (15:38)…the meaning is not in doubt; the death of Jesus stands for the removal of the Temple of Jerusalem and its replacement by a new means of forgiveness…”[7]

Later in the New Testament Paul would describe the believer as “God’s Temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  No longer did the believer have to offer sacrifices to Yahweh as a means of blood manipulation; rather, through the death of Jesus Christ, sin was atoned for and a new era of communion with Yahweh was brought forth.  The nullification of Temple worship became even more apparent with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70.  However, believers are still sinful beings and do not yet know the promise of ultimate fulfillment of dwelling with Jesus.  In Revelation 21-22 the realization of this is seen in the structure of the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:22 gives the key to the Temple in the New Jerusalem, “and I saw no Temple in the city, for its Temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” (ESV).  What an amazing picture in which communion with God is fully realized, without the need of sacrifices or the veil of the Holy of Holies. It is here in the New Jerusalem that God and humanity will dwell together as was intended in the Garden of Genesis 2.

The People of God

Lastly, the people of God are fully redeemed as well.  Since the Fall of Adam and Eve humanity has lived under the effects of the sinful nature.  In the atoning work of Jesus Christ, redemption was made possible, yet the indwelling of sin still existed.  Revelation echoes this great truth in victory songs, recalling imagery of redemption throughout human history.  Hubbard notes,

“The Lamb is worthy of praise because its shed blood ransomed `believers from all nations (5:8-9).  The language appears to compare Christ to the Paschal lamb whose blood delivered the Israelite firstborn (Exod. 12; Mark 14:12-25, par.; cf. John 1:29) and to the lamb (i.e., the Suffering Servant) whose atoning death purchases believers from eternal death.”[8]

In Revelation 21-22 redemption is fully realized as this communion occurs between humanity and God.  Revelation 21:3 gives such a vivid picture of this ultimate goal of Yahweh’s sovereign plan of redemption, “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (ESV).  What a glorious picture of the hope which all believers should long for.  Ladd notes, “This feature – the fact that God will be God to his people – is the central element of God’s covenant with his people throughout the entire course of redemptive history…Now, at last, this covenant promise finds its perfect fulfillment in the new earth of the Age to Come.”[9]  Finally, it is this hope that is the motivation for John’s benediction (Revelation 22:6-21).

[1] Grant R. Osborne, “Theodicy in the Apocalypse,” Trinity Journal 141:1 (Spring 1993), 64.

[2] G.K. Beale, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, 356.

[3] Osborne, “Theodicy in the Apocalypse”, 69.

[4]Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 173.

[5] P.W.L. Walker, “Jerusalem”, in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. by T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 589.

[6]  R.J. McKelvey, “Temple” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. by T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 807.

[7] Ibid, 808.

[8]  R.L. Hubbard, Jr., “Redemption” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. by T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 720.

[9]  George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974; revised edition, Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993), 682.

triumphant odiferous sacrifice

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Staying on mission is tough. Even, as I prepare for the mission it’s tough. God has used the stories of missionaries like Hudson Taylor, David Brainerd, and Mary Slessor to keep me moving. These men and women lived on the front-lines suffering for the sake of the name of Christ. Today, I will look at one missionary’s testimony of how he pressed through tough times. His name is Paul.

In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul had just written a hard letter to Corinth and is anxious how it was received. So he sent Titus ahead to find out how they were doing. “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13) Although the door was open for Paul in Troas, He could not shake God’s moving to connect with Titus and the call to spread the gospel in Macedonia.

This is the context behind two illustrations Paul gives to help us understand how he presses on through tough times in ministry and stays on mission spreading the name of Christ, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” (2:14-16)

1) ARE YOU PLACING YOURSELF IN THE TRIUMPHANT PROCESSIONAL GIVING SACRIFICES TO THE NAME OF CHRIST? (v.14)

Paul’s first image is common to Rome, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.” After a great victory there would be a parade. It wasn’t a parade of candy and clowns, rather a huge triumphant processional with rank after rank of trumpeters, streams of soldiers and senators, wagons of spoil, prisoners to be enslaved or executed, and ended with the hero or conquering general dressed ceremoniously riding a chariot.  Along the route people cast flowers, burned incense or poured out perfume. Wonderful fragrances filled the air.

So why does Paul use this illustration? It serves two purposes. On the one hand, Jesus is triumphant and Paul is in His service. But on the other hand, Jesus is like a heroic general and Paul is conquered and called to suffer in His service—even die.

The word triumph is used one other place in the NT, Colossians 2:15, “[God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” In Colossians, Paul says God leads the devil in triumph, but in 2 Corinthians, he says that God leads Paul in triumph. Both have been defeated in their rebellion against God. Both are being led in triumphal procession and shamed for their rebellion. However, there is a great difference, Paul is “in Christ.” He was defeated and taken captive; but he was brought to faith and forgiven, and became a joyful servant of the greatest General who ever was. Jesus, the One who conquered sin and death.

Although Jesus was the one marched to His death, He rose victorious from the grave. He conquered death as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9). And it is Jesus’ sacrifice that gives Paul motivation to also give his life as a sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2). When you are finding ministry difficult, place yourself in the triumphant processional praising the name of Christ. Recognize your place in the parade and give thanks to your Hero.

2) ARE YOU SPREADING THE FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST EVERYWHERE YOU GO? (vs.15-16)

Paul second illustration is a continuation of his first, “And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” Smells is a God-given sense that affect us all—for better and for worse. Smell alerts you to danger, such as, a building on fire. Animals use smell to survive.  Smell tells you when someone else is around. There are delightful smells like freshly bake cookies, meat on the grill, fields of lavender, the smell of a little baby, or a new car. There are also putrid smells like dirty socks, moldy cheese, Mosinee’s paper mill, skunks,1 or even worse, a dead skunk.

Paul thinks of his missionary life and ministry as spreading fragrance of the knowledge of Christ. He considers the gospel odiferous. Using OT imagery, Paul says we are like incense being offered to God or animals being burned upon the altar, “we are the aroma of Christ to God.” Notice our aroma is first to God, not man. It is to Him we give our first, best, most, and greatest sacrifices of praise. As God warns the children of Israel: “If you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me…I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas.” (Leviticus 26:27, 31)

Also wrapped up in Paul’s message to Corinth are heart-rejoicing and heart-breaking words about missionary service: spreading the name of Christ pleases God, but it does not please everybody. His fragrance divides the world, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” To those on the side of Christ His smell is of victory and life (cf. Romans 10:15),2 but to those on the side contrary to Christ His smell is of defeat and impending death (John 15:18-25). As a bee makes sweet honey sweet to the taste, it can also sting too. So it is with the work of Christ and spreading His name to your neighbors and the nations. Don’t expect everyone to like the message or the you the messenger.

WHO IS SUFFICIENT FOR THESE THINGS? (vs.16-17)

Paul concludes by asking a crucial question—“Who is sufficient for these things?” Who can bear the weight of knowing that the aroma of a Christ-exalting life will lead some to eternal life and reveal to others death? The answer: no one. That’s why Paul says, “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:16-17) Paul carries out the mission by the grace of God. He is not sufficient—you and I are not sufficient—in ourselves. No missionary feels sufficient. And 2 Corinthians 3:5 Paul says, “Our sufficiency is from God.” (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:12; Romans 1:5)

Staying on mission is tough. Each day you face the temptation to cling tightly to your life, comforts, treasures, and self-sufficiency. Are you willing to lay down your treasures to treasure Him? May God lift your eyes to see His incomparable worthiness and may you without reservation place yourself in the triumphant processional giving sacrifices to your victorious Savior spreading His sweet and putrid fragrance to your neighbors and the nations.

Theology of suffering and victory from the book of Revelation

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This article was written by my friend Scott Tiede. Scott attended Purdue University where he studied mechanical engineering. He worked as an engineer for about 10 years while serving and growing at Bethel Bible Church in Winomac, Indiana. He was called into a staff position at Bethel Bible Church in 2005, and he attended seminary at Faith Bible Seminary in Lafeyette, Indiana, earning his Masters of Divinity in 2010. Pastor Scott joined the staff at Delaware Bible Church in the summer of 2012. Pastor Scott married his wife, Tracy, in 1995 and has four children: Caleb, Keziah, Jacobi, and Elizabeth.

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When it comes to the book of Revelation, there are various themes woven throughout the letter.  Of the many themes, two that are very apparent are suffering and victory.  The thesis of suffering and victory is nowhere better represented than by Christ Himself, who suffered death on the cross and now is triumphant (5:5-6).  These themes of suffering and victory present themselves in various ways throughout the book.

Suffering is used to encourage sanctification

This idea is on full display in the letter to the churches in chapters 2 and 3.  Each of the seven churches were contending with some type of trial (2:4, 10, 14-15, 20; 3:1, 10, 15).  Jesus Himself reveals that He will pour out some brand of suffering on each of the churches with the goal of repentance and restoration.  God is not one who does not fulfill His promises, but is continuously active in bringing the necessary countermeasure to sin in the lives of the faithful that will produce righteousness.  In the case of the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, those countermeasures include suffering (2:5, 16, 21-25; 3:2-3, 11, 16-18).  Bennetch states it this way, “Varied as were the trials and experiences that the saints passed through, he[1] was always in their midst, proceeding to fulfill his aim of perfecting the good work begun in each soul.”[2]  Revelation 3:19 makes it clear that the Lord rebukes and disciplines those He loves.  Suffering is used in Revelation to produce sanctification.

God pours out suffering in such a way as to demonstrate His mercy

Clearly the Creator of the universe has the power to wipe His creation away instantaneously.  In the book of Revelation, however, this is not the case.  Instead, there are three sets of plagues rolled out (seal, trumpet, and bowl), and each set of plagues ratchets up the amount of the severity of the suffering while also shortening the time span between judgments.  What is the reason for this?  Could it be that God is a merciful God and that these judgments are rolled out in such a way as to bring the greatest possible number of souls to Himself?  Thielman states it this way, “Prior to the end of all things, the steadily increasing level of suffering does not lie outside God’s control – it is both a punishment on the wicked for their evil, particularly for their persecution of God’s people, and a merciful pedagogical effort designed to extend to them every possible opportunity to repent prior to the final outpouring of God’s wrath on them.”[3]  In fact, the Greek word for repent (μετανοέω) is used 12 times in the book of Revelation, which constitutes over one-third of the total uses in the entire New Testament (34).  Indeed some of the wicked will repent during this time of suffering and will give glory to God (11:13).  The way that God releases His judgment upon the earth puts His great mercy on display.

God pours out suffering in such a way as to demonstrate His justice

If God’s mercy is on one end of the spectrum, then on the other end of the spectrum is God’s Justice.  After mercifully pouring out judgment and suffering on the earth so that all who might come to Him would repent, God’s justice is on full display in the vision of the glorious Rider on the white horse of 19:11-18 who comes to stand against the Beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies (19:19).  This mysterious Rider is none other than Christ Himself (19:11, 13 [cf. John 1:1, 14], 16).  As He comes, the evil forces who gather to make war against Him (19:19) instead find themselves captured or killed before any fighting can begin (19:20-21).  The fact that Christ can defeat His enemies without lifting a finger in battle shows His great power.  God’s justice is powerfully revealed in the fall of Babylon (chapter 18), the destruction of those who refuse to repent (20:15), the destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet (19:20), the destruction of death and Hades (20:14), and in the final destruction of Satan himself (20:10).  Strauss writes regarding the appearance of the Rider on the white horse, “These verses (19:11-21) introduce that great event anticipated for centuries and about which the Old Testament prophets wrote.  It is the golden age on earth when all creation shall be subject to its Creator and Redeemer.  But before He reigns He must subdue every enemy and opposing force.”[4]  The suffering in the book of Revelation points to God’s justice.

Suffering produces a division among people

The awful judgments poured out in the book of Revelation separate people into two different groups; those who align themselves with evil, and those who respond to God in faith.  This theme is present from the beginning when John writes, Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near (1:3).  Lenski states, “Revelation is a book of promise and of judgment.  The promise is intended for those who are sealed; the judgment is intended for Satan and for all who are allied with him.”[5]  The price of being on God’s side is not cheap.  Some of those allied with God had suffered death because they had maintained their testimonies (6:9).  On the other hand, those on the side of evil will experience enormous fear to the point of wishing that they could be hidden from the face of Christ (6:16).  The wicked will also experience great pain (9:4-5) to the point that they will seek death, but not find it (9:6).  Some of the wicked will die during the judgments (9:15).  Those on God’s side are to be sealed on their foreheads (7:3), while those who associate with evil receive the mark of the Beast (13:16-17).  Also, there is a contrast to the activity of each group.  While the godly are singing praises to Him (7:10, for example) and serving Him (7:15), the wicked refuse to stop worshiping idols (9:20), refuse to repent of their evil deeds (9:21), are gloating over the death of the witnesses of God (11:10), and are aligning themselves to make war against Him (19:19).  The wicked are burdened with sin, but the righteous have had their sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb (7:14).  Even in the intensity of the bowl judgments, the wicked curse the name of God and refuse to repent (16:9, 11, 21).  The end of the wicked is eternal torment (20:14), but the end of God’s people is an existence where there is no hunger, thirst, tears, scorching heat (7:16-17), or sin curse (22:3); instead there is eternal life (22:14).

Another key theological thread running through the book is that of victory.  In the end, God will be victorious over Satan and his minions.  This is apparent in at least three ways in the Revelation.

Victory is on display through Christ’s cross work

John speaks in Revelation about the fact that Jesus has achieved victory already through His death on the cross and resurrection.  John refers to Christ as the “firstborn from the dead” as well as “the One who has freed us from our sins by His blood” (1:5).  Revelation 1:18 refers to Christ as the one who has had victory over death forever.  When John is confronted by the fact that there is no one worthy to open the seals of the scroll (5:4), one of the elders tells him not to weep because Jesus is able to open the scroll (5:5).  Why is He able to do this?  The elder says that Christ can do this because he has overcome (5:5).  Before any of the judgments are manifested, Christ has already achieved the victory by His death on the cross and resurrection.  Revelation 7:14 makes it clear that people are being saved through Christ’s cross work when it says, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  It is not the judgments being doled out in the end that will provide salvation for the faithful, but only the work Christ did on the cross.  Revelation 19:11-16 presents a scene wherein Christ makes a magnificent entrance into the world as a great and victorious Warrior King.  Standing in contrast to His entrance into Jerusalem on the back of a lowly donkey to eventually be crucified is the fact that Christ now sits upon a white steed dressed in splendor, and crowned with many crowns.[6]

Victory is on display in the Church

Endurance and perseverance are the keys to victory in the book of Revelations.  As Christ suffered horribly and died, but persevered, so believers are to remain strong in the face of suffering.  Beale states it this way, “The Lamb’s followers are to recapitulate the model of his ironic victory in their own lives; by means of enduring through the tribulation they reign in the invisible kingdom of the Messiah (see 1:6, 9).”[7]  In the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3, promises are made to each church if that church will overcome (Gk. νικάω).  These promises include being able to eat from the tree of life (2:7), authority over the nations (2:26), and the right to sit with Christ on His throne (3:21).  The key to these and the other promises mentioned in Revelation 2-3 is perseverance.  Flora states it this way, “Revelation says that one overcomes by endurance and by faithfulness — not just a quick fix saying, “Lord, I believe,” but the faith which walks that out in faithfulness every day of one’s life.”[8]  In the end, the faithful will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome and will inhabit the New Jerusalem (21:24-27).

Victory is already complete, but will be fully realized when Satan is defeated

As mentioned above, Christ has already achieved the victory through His death on the cross and resurrection.  However, the effects of sin and Satan on the world remain until Satan is ultimately defeated for good.  In effect, the world is still under the curse of sin.  However, John reveals that after Satan, death, and Hades are thrown into the Lake of Fire (20:10, 14) the sin curse will be lifted (22:3).  This will open the door for Christ to renew all things, and a new heaven and a new earth will be the result (21:1).  John describes this as a magnificent place that is constructed and decorated with what appears to be precious metals and stones (21:11, 18-21), a place where no outside illumination is necessary because light is sufficiently provided by the glory of God (21:23).  John reveals that this future estate will be the fully-realized victory of God over Satan and evil.

To conclude this section on suffering and victory, John Walvoord summarizes well the anticipation of man since the fall, and the joyous eternal state that is described in the end of Revelation:

With the close of the prophetic narrative, the Biblical revelation of Jesus Christ also comes to its conclusion. In the beginning of eternity, all that was anticipated in the first and second comings of Christ is fulfilled, and Christ is honored as King of kings and Lord of lords. The eternity which stretches beyond the horizon of Scriptural revelation is one of unspeakable bliss for the saints and unending joy in the presence of God. In the center of the service and worship of the saints will be Jesus Christ, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” To this eternal destiny every believing heart turns in anticipation and joyous expectation.[9]

[1]He refers here to Christ.

[2]John H. Bennetch, “The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse,” Bibliotheca Sacra 96 (July 1939): 364.

[3]Frank Thielman, Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical and Synthetic Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 626.

[4] Lehman Strauss, The Book of the Revelation (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1964), 322.

[5]R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Revelation (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), 21.

[6]David J. MacLeod, “The First “Last Things”: The Second Coming of Christ (Rev 19:11-16),” Bibliotheca Sacra 156 (April 1999): 209.

[7] G.K. Beale, “Revelation (Book)” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. by T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 356.

[8]Jerry Flora, “New Testament Perspectives on Evil,” Ashland Theological Journal 24 (1992): 20.

[9]John F. Walvoord, “The Future Work of Christ Part IV: The Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal State,” Bibliotheca Sacra 123 (October 1966):299-300.

Theology of the glory of God from the book of Revelation

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Many have tried to establish a theme for the Book of Revelation, but the following summary by George G. Weeber captures its theme and focus,

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, as the unveiling of our exalted, glorified, and sovereign Lord over His church and the world as the Revealer and Executor of the secret decrees of God in order to consummate His victory over the world of evil at His Second Coming and establish the royal kingdom of God.[1]

The glory of God is a theme that permeates the Book of Revelation. From chapter 1 through 22 there is a golden vein that describes and ascribes glory to God. This portion of the paper will describe the theme of God’s glory in Revelation as it relates to his holiness and incomparability.

The Glory of God Within the Literary Structure

Worship scenes play an important role in unifying the book because they are not just interludes, but part of the context. The hymn sections of Revelation usually provide commentary within the narrative visions in which they are embedded. The primary reason that the author introduced throne scenes was to serve as literary contexts for commentary on the hymns. This makes them important for the structural analysis of Revelation.[2]

Revelation is a hymnal of worship describing God’s glory as seen in His holiness and incomparability. The setting of the book of Revelation is within the throne room of God and the hymns are sung in this setting. The worship in Revelation is characterized by thanksgiving (11:17), praise (19:5), prayer (5:8), and song. Worship for God is expressed in the context of desolation and divine judgment.

The Book of Revelation has, like many letters, a prologue (1:1-8), body (1:9-22:5), and epilogue (22:6-21).[3] Within all three elements there is an overwhelmingly large emphasis given to the praise and glory of God. The author of Revelation teaches his readers a lot about how to worship God now in light of how we will worship Him in the future. Among the 22 chapters of Revelation there are 11 distinct worship episodes, which make up a sizable chuck of the book’s text.[4] The verb proskymeo (to worship) is used 24 times in Revelation compared to 59 times in all of Scripture.[5] One could say worship is what ties Revelation together.

The Glory of God is pictured within His divine characteristics

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is full of imagery and expresses John’s reverence for God. Within Revelation God is presented in all His majesty and glory. It is His glory that lights the heavens (21:23). We see God as holy, omnipotent, omniscient and eternal. There is an emphasis on His righteousness and judgment upon sin, but little about His love and mercy.[6] The character of God within Revelation is fitting to the role He plays as the Judge of mankind.

God is holy.  Those that are in the presence of God near His throne never cease to worship God day and night. They cry out to God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” (Ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ: 4:8; cf.4:9, 11; 19:2) There is no one that is like or will ever be like our God. He is incomparable. He alone is worthy of worship because He is holy.

God is Sovereign over all things, including the judgment of man and His dealing with evil.[7] God protects His people and punishes rebellion. The picture in Revelation is of God ruling history and the fact that He will bring about history’s consummation in Christ.[8] The overwhelming picture of God is of a mighty potentate seated on His throne (4:3), a picture that is determined by the visionary nature of the book and by the need to stress the sovereignty of God over the forces of evil.[9]

God sits on His throne (τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ: 4:9; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:15; 21:5).[10] He rules and reigns over His people and their dominion with His supreme plan. He reigns on His throne as Judge and King.[11] It is God, not the evil one, who sits on the throne, and it is God who judges His enemies and blesses those who faithfully follow the Lamb of God.[12] The Book of Revelation is a letter written to encourage followers of Christ to focus their faith on the triumph of a sovereign God’s reign, which has now been disclosed through the exaltation and reign of Christ.

God is sovereign over all creation. The twenty-four elders proclaim God as the Creator of all things (4:11). He creates and He sustains (cf. 10:6; 14:7). The culmination of absolute sovereignty is seen in God’s creation of the new heavens and earth (21:1-22:5). At that time, He destroys the old earth tainted by sin and combines earth and heaven “making all things new” (21:5). The Book of Revelation conveys a sense of sovereignty that no other New Testament book approaches.[13]

God is Eternal as related to His Sovereignty. God is described as One who will be forever and ever. He is “the One who is and who was and who is to come” (ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος: 1:4, 8; 4:8-10; 11:17; 16:5). God is in control of the present in the same way He was in control of the past and will be in control of the future.[14] With this promise of His eternal control is the promise of His coming and judgment. God does not have a beginning or end, for He is described as “the First and Last” (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος: 1:17; 22:13). He not only controls the past and the future, but everything in between, for He is “the Alpha and Omega” (Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ: 1:8, 17;21:6, 13).

God is Omnipotent as related to His Sovereignty. God is a mighty God.[15] He is the divine warrior and has all the power to do His will. Whatever evil is done in His sight by the evil powers of this world, God has more power still. God is stronger than the kings of earth. He will overcome and be the victor over evil. He will judge in His power and glory (18:8). God is “Almighty” (ὁ παντοκράτωρ: 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6; 21:22), and all heaven ascribes power and might to Him (7:12; 12:10).

The Glory of God Seen Within His Son Jesus Christ

From the beginning of the text John greet his readers “from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” (1:5) The first vision of John in Revelation is Jesus in all His glory (1:12-20).

Jesus is referred to by John with many distinct divine names: the “I AM” (1:8, 17; 2:23; 21:6; 22:13, 16), Son of God (2:18), ruler of God’s creation (3:14), Word of God (19:13; cf. John 1:1-14 & 1 John 1:1-4), and the Lamb of God (13:11; cf. John 1:29, 36; 21:15) . These characteristics and more are vivid throughout the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Lamb of God (ἀρνίον) is a constant symbol for Christ in Revelation as the victor over the forces of evil and the Church as the body of Christ, which shares this victory with Him (17:14).[16] He has opened up the way for His people to have a glorious destiny. He is the Lamb worshiped by all heaven (5:6) and worthy to open the seven seals (6:1, 3ff). The greatness and glory of the Lamb is indicated in the way He is joined with God (cf. 7:9; 14:4; 22:1-3).[17] He is equated with God. Jesus is the supreme One and His glory makes His saving work possible.

There is a hint to the humanity of Christ as He is referenced to being from the tribe of Judah and the house of David. Greater emphasis, however, is placed on His deity. Revelation leaves us no doubt that Jesus Christ is the God of all. He is triumphant over death and regarded as the eternal One of infinite power and majesty who is worthy of all honor and adoration.[18] He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, slays the wicked, delivers the righteous, and reigns over the earth. John cannot help but fall before Him and worship. At the conclusion of two visions, he falls at the feet of the angel to worship, and the angel responds, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” (19:10; 22:9)[19]

The Book of Revelation is a cataclysmic reminder that through Christ life is stronger than death and eventually the kingdom of this world will be the kingdom of our Lord and His Messiah (1:6; 5:10).[20] He will reign forever and ever (11:15). There is no one like Jesus Christ. Jesus is supreme.

In conclusion, the Book of Revelation has a heavy emphasis on the glory of God. God’s glory is seen in the literary structure of the book, within His characteristics, and in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If one wants to grow in his or her understanding of God’s glory, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is a great place to start. God is enthroned in heaven and is working out His purposes on earth. Revelation calls us to respond with awe, godly fear, praise, faith, and obedience.[21] One day we will ourselves cry to the Lord, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

[1]George G. Weeber, The Consummation of History: A Study of the Book of Revelation, (s.l: s.n., 1978,) 27.

[2] David E. Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Volume 22. (Word Books: Dallas, TX. 1997), xcviii.

[3]Dennis A. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary of Revelation, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing Co., 2001), 26-28.

[4]1:12-20; 4:1-5:14; 7:9-17; 8:3-5; 11:16-19; 12:10-12; 14:1-7; 15:2-8; 16:5-7; 19:1-10; 20:4-6; 21:1-22:5

[5]Leon Morris, New Testament Theology, (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1986), 296.

[6]John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966), 10.

[7]Note there is a great conflict between good and evil (Ch.12-19; and reiterated in 20:1-10).

[8]Vern S. Poythress, The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Co, 2000), 40.

[9] I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology, (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 573.

[10] There are also variations of this phrase cf. 4:2, 3; 7:10; 19:4; 20:11.

[11] His sovereignty is seen in His judgment through the 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets and 7 Bowls.

[12] Robert W. Wall, Revelation: New International Biblical Commentary, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 39.

[13]D.A. Carson & Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 721.

[14] Grant Osborne. Baker Evangelical Commentary of The New Testament: Revelation, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 32.

[15] The sovereign might of God is seen in the incredible use of εδοθη, a divine passive that points to Gods control of the events (6:2, 4, 8, 11; 7:2; 8:2, 3; 9:1; 3, 5; 11:1, 2; 12:14; 13:5, 7, 14; 13:5, 7, 14, 15; 16:8). Osborne, 32.

[16]Weeber, 27.

[17]Morris, 293.

[18]Walvoord, 27.

[19] J. Ramsey Michaels in His commentary suggests that the parallels in the two visions are intended to form a contrasting pair, each centering on a city personified as a woman—Babylon and Jerusalem, prostitute and bride. Interpreting the Book of Revelation: Guides to New Testament Exegesis, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992), 65-66.

[20]Stephen F. Smalley, The Revelation to John (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2005), 19.

[21]Poythress, 40.