suffering

Summary of 1 Thessalonians – doctrine and imperative

POST OVERVIEW. A summary of the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians giving the letter’s  doctrinal teaching and its imperatives (instructions and commands). This emphasis on doctrine and imperative is a feature of the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles, which I explain in greater detail in my upcoming book on discipleship (in late 2024).

INTRODUCTION. Recently some brothers and I completed a study of 1 Thessalonians. In our study, we employed the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles. The “DBS method for epistles” emphasizes the doctrinal teaching in the epistle and the epistle’s behavioral imperatives (commands, exhortations, instructions). Awareness of the doctrinal teaching of the epistles develops theological convictions and study of the behavioral imperatives yields conscious repentance and obedience.

DOCTRINAL TEACHING OF THE EPISTLE > > > THEOLOGICAL CONVICTIONS

BEHAVIORAL IMPERATIVES OF THE EPISTLE > > > REPENTANCE AND OBEDIENCE

The following are the key doctrines and imperatives from 1 Thessalonians.

KEY DOCTRINES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

1:4. “your election.” DOCTRINE OF ELECTION states that, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), in eternity past, God has chosen / elected all the people that He will, in time and space, call to salvation, that He will justify by faith and that He will glorify in the resurrection on the last day. This election is entirely based on God’s sovereign will and is not conditioned on any merit, quality or action of the chosen (therefore is called “unconditional election”). By the use of His providence, God will certainly bring to justification every one of those He has elected in eternity past and He will raise them up in glory on the last day.

1:5. In Thessalonica, the gospel, which is God’s appointed means of calling sinners to repentance and faith, came to them “in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Even Paul was amazed at how powerfully the gospel had worked in Thessalonica.

1:10. In this one verse there are actually four separate doctrinal truths. “wait for His Son from heaven.” The doctrine of the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory. “whom He raised from the dead.” The doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus “rescues us from the wrath to come.” The doctrine of the wrath of God against sin (Rom. 1:18; etc.) and the doctrine that Jesus is our Savior and He rescues us from God’s judgment by His substitutionary death on the cross.

2:19. “in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming.” Here we discovery that when Jesus returns, His saints will be present with Him. This means that, at His coming, the saints are not still waiting for the Lord, but are with the Lord.

This is the first of several teaching points that Paul will make in this epistle about the return of Jesus, about the resurrection of the saints and about the day of the Lord. The epistles to the Thessalonians contain much important doctrine on these topics of the end times.

3:3-4. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that persecution for your faith is a normal part of the disciple’s life. (See 1 Peter 1:6-9; 4:12-19; 2 Tim. 3:12; Matt. 5:10-12; etc.)

3:13. Another verse about the saints when Jesus returns. “The coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” Once again, we see that Jesus’ saints will be with Him when He comes.

4:13-18. Clear doctrinal teaching about the resurrection of the saints, particularly about the order of events of the resurrection and about how the resurrection of the saints relates to the coming of the Lord Jesus. A GO-TO PASSAGE ON THE RESURRECTION AND ON THE RETURN OF CHRIST. [See the full teaching on this passage in my blog #700 on May 6, 2024, entitled “The order of the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.”]

5:2-10. Paul’s teaching on “the day of the Lord.” In a sense, “the day of the Lord” and the resurrection are two sides of the same coin. Both of these relate to the return of Christ but each one relates to a different group. While the resurrection relates to believers being glorified when Jesus returns, “the day of the Lord” relates to the terror and judgment that comes upon the unrighteous when Jesus comes in judgment. Same event, but two different experiences.

Paul’s teaching on the day of the Lord:

  • The “day of the LORD” is a common theme among the Old Testament prophets. Therefore, Paul is not inventing a new term or a new idea but is building on what the Scripture has already revealed. Paul’s teaching is necessarily consistent with other scriptural teaching about the day of the LORD. (See Joel 1:14-15; 2:1-11, 30-31; Obadiah 15-21; Micah 5:10-15; Zeph. 1:7-18 (very clear!).)
  • 5:2. The day of the Lord will come upon the unrighteous without warning and without mercy. (Matt. 24:37-41)
  • 5:3. Sudden destruction, so there will be no time for rescue or escape. In fact, on the day of the Lord, the time for rescue has forever passed and the time of judgment has come. There is no hope on that day.
  • 5:4-5. Believers are not in darkness but are sons of light and sons of day (Ephesians 5:8-9; Rom. 13:12-13), so we will not be caught unawares when the Lord returns.  
  • 5:9. “God has not destined us (believers) for wrath (1:10), but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The doctrinal truth is that everyone is heading for one of these two destinations. All those outside Christ are “destined for wrath.” All those in Christ are destined for salvation. It is incumbent upon every person to honestly assess which destination is his. If you are currently destined for wrath, then I urge you to immediately repent and bow the knee to the Lord Jesus.
  • 5:10. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us. Here Paul references the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, that Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of His people (2 Cor. 5:21; Romans 14:9).

IMPORTANT IMPERATIVES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

2:11-12. “Walk in a manner worthy (of the God who call you into His own glory and kingdom).” Paul implicitly exhorts the Thessalonians to live their lives in a way that brings glory and honor to Christ. They have recently turned to God from idols (1:9) and now Paul is instructing them to live a new life consistent with their profession of faith in Christ. This, then, is a general call to obedient, holy living. (Specifics follow.)

4:1. We request and exhort you in the Lord that you excel still more (in your conducting yourselves in a manner that pleases God). (Intro to imperatives.)

4:3. Abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Peter 2:11; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:3-5) It is likely that the Thessalonians lived in a culture of pervasive sexual immorality. They were Gentiles and had been idol-worshippers (1:9) and had been complete strangers to the holy requirements of God’s Law (Eph. 4:17-19). Now Paul tells these new believers to abstain from sexual immorality. Cold turkey. Stop it! NOW! And this command applies to all professing disciples of Jesus today.

4:4. Although it is difficult to know specifically what Paul is saying here, the idea is clear. Exercise strict self-control over the desires of your physical body “in sanctification and honor” (4:4). Before these Gentiles had given themselves over to their lusts, but now in Christ, they must “possess their vessel in honor.” Sexual behavior is now controlled by Christ.

4:5. “Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles.” Before it was completely acceptable, even expected, to behave in lustful passion, but now, as disciples of Jesus, not so. Also notice that, although these Thessalonians were from the uncircumcised, they are no longer Gentiles. Paul contrasts these uncircumcised Thessalonians with Gentiles. Why? Because now “there is neither Jew nor Greek, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Now, since Jesus has come, the primary identifier for all mankind is not Jew or Gentile but it is disciple of the Lord Jesus or perishing sinner. The Thessalonians are no longer Gentiles but they are now uncircumcised disciples of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, they no longer act in “lustful passion.”

4:9-10. Love one another. Love of the brethren. “Excel still more.” Learn what it means to love the brethren and then excel at that activity. Love one another! (John 13:34-35)

4:11-12. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business.” Here we must discover the essence of what Paul is teaching and then bring it into our 21st century context. I think the idea is that the life of the disciple is not ostentatious and extravagant but is simple, orderly, and disciplined. The disciple does not spend his life in dissipation (1 Peter 4:3), indulging the flesh, but lives “a quiet life” of worship, witness, and prayer.

5:6, 8. Do not “sleep,” but be sober and alert. “Sleeping” here is to be understood figuratively, meaning do not wander through life like those who are sluggishly sleepwalking. Rather, live a life of purpose and vigor, staying “alert.” Be alert to sin’s temptations and flee. Be sober about the things that distract you from striving toward the goal of holiness. Do not love sleep (Proverbs 6:10), but rather buffet your body and make it your slave (1 Cor. 9:27). Deny the body’s cravings, especially if it obstructs your will. Your discipline and your will must control your body’s desires or you will be useless as a disciple. The Lord does not recruit sluggards into battle, but instead seeks out obedient soldiers.

5:12-13. “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and esteem them very highly in love.” (Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Peter 5:5, 6) Those who labor among the flock as teachers of the Word and shepherds of the flock should know that they are loved and appreciated. Make every effort to love your pastors and elders in tangible ways so that they can labor with joy and be encouraged in their labors.

5:15. “Never repay another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” In classic Pauline fashion, the apostle tells us not to do one thing, but rather to do another. The unsaved man, when he is treated unfairly, seeks to fight back with evil. Revenge is the angry response of the pride of the flesh. But the disciple of Jesus seeks to give good for everyone, regardless of how he has been treated. The disciple accepts unjust treatment, whether intentional or unintentional, and continues to seek good for all concerned.

5:16-18. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.” These three short verses have served me as “go-to” verses for obedience and as a strong defense against wrongful thinking. Whenever I sense that I am getting discouraged or depressed, I check my thinking and, more often than not, I find that I am discouraged because I am allowing my thoughts to dwell in a negative place. I also find that this “negative place” is a place of disobedience. I am thinking about something the Bible commands me not to think about or I am not thinking about those things that the Bible commands me to consider. Thus, I am being disobedient. To break this spell, I turn my mind to 1 Thess. 5:16-18 and begin to rejoice. I start to obey the command to rejoice. That usually dispatches the depression, but if that does not work, I will begin to fervently “pray without ceasing.” Obeying the Word, I rejoice, I pray and I give thanks for all the Lord has given me. This obedience will drive away the discouragement, which is the side-effect of poor and disobedient thinking.

5:22. “Abstain from every appearance of evil.” (1 Thess. 4:3) Appearances are important! The image that you project to others will determine the credibility of your witness. Matt. 5:16. Your personal holiness testifies to the legitimacy of the gospel. “Does Jesus really change people, or do people just sign up and then try to act nice?” The disciple must ask himself, “Does the life that I live before others attest to Jesus’ power to really save people from their sin?” What gospel does your behavior preach? Because you have come out of the closet as a witness for Jesus, people are evaluating your life and determining whether Jesus is worth following at all. This begins by abstaining from every appearance of evil.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/15/2024                   #701

Seeing the resurrection in 1 Peter 5

POST OVERVIEW. A careful examination of 1 Peter 5 reveals that our future resurrection unto glorification is implied in several of the verses in this chapter. In this article, we are looking for the resurrection of the saints. (See also Post #690 on January 31, 2024, for an examination of the resurrection in 1 Peter 1.) This article will appear in my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified.”

Although not the central theme of 1 Peter, the future resurrection of all believers on the last day appears in various places in this epistle. This article looks at the appearances of the resurrection in 1 Peter 5.

TWO IMPORTANT RESURRECTION IDEAS

Before we begin the examination of 1 Peter 5, we need to discuss two important ideas about the resurrection.

First, resurrection is essentially about the glorification of the believer. Resurrection is the event that inaugurates our glorification. On the last day, at the last trumpet, all believers, whether asleep or alive-and-remaining (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52) will be glorified as they rise and meet the Lord in the air. Again, the resurrection is the initiating event of the eternally glorified state of all believers. At the resurrection, we will be glorified and will continue eternally in that glorified state. So, the resurrection begins glorification.

Second, when we read about our future glory, we should at least mentally note the connection with the resurrection. Both the resurrection and our eternal glory constitute our hope, but in slightly different ways. As the finish line ends the effort and the suffering of a long foot race, so the resurrection ends the trial and the suffering of life here on earth. We persevere to the end, pressing toward the goal for the prize, knowing that there is a finish line not far ahead that will end the difficulty of the race. And so we endure the hardship with hope, knowing that soon we will rise immortal in the resurrection.

But we hope also in our glorification because the knowledge that we will eternally be glorified helps us see the brevity of our earthly distresses. When we compare our tribulations in this life with the glories that await, we can indeed view these trials as “momentary light afflictions which are producing for us an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:18). We can say with the apostle Paul, “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

We see, then, that the resurrection and our future glory overlap and blend into one another. Our glorification unto eternity is our hope and that glorification is revealed at the resurrection. The resurrection is to glorification as birth is to physical life and as new birth is to eternal life. The resurrection is the inception of our glorification.

Whenever the Scriptures mentions our future glory, the resurrection is necessarily in view because the resurrection is the event that begins our eternally glorified existence. Thus we can think of in these terms: “our glorification at the resurrection.”

DISCOVERING THE RESURRECTION IN 1 PETER 5

5:1. In 5:1, Peter says he is “a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.” We also recall from earlier in the epistle (1:5) that all believers are “protected by the power of God for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.” These two verses speak about the same thing: namely, of the resurrection of the saints on the last day. In 5:1, Peter is saying that he also (meaning “he along with all believers”) will share in the glory that will be revealed at the resurrection. Similarly in 1:5, the apostle teaches that God Himself is now protecting our salvation, a salvation which will finally be revealed in its glorious fullness in our resurrection on the last day.

In other words, in 5:1, Peter exhorts obedience based on our soon-coming glorious resurrection and in 1:5, he teaches the doctrinal truth that our salvation will remain completely secure until our soon-coming glorious resurrection. In both cases, we can be confident that our glory will soon be revealed. (Consider the same teaching in Col. 3:4 – “When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”)

5:6. We turn now to 5:6, where Peter is addressing the issue of humility. Because “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (5:5), the apostle commands believers to humble themselves so that God may exalt them “at the proper time.”

But now what is “the proper time” when God will exalt the believer? Notice Peter speaks of the proper time, indicating that there is one proper time when all believers will be exalted. When is that time? Of course, we know that the time when all believers will be exalted is at the resurrection. So, Peter is commanding believers to humble themselves now “during the time of your stay on earth” (1:17), as they “live the rest of the time in the flesh (in the body)” (4:2) “that (ἵνα) He may exalt you (glorify you) at the proper time” (at the resurrection; 5:6).

Therefore, as obedient disciples, we humble ourselves under God’s sovereign hand, rejoicing as we persevere through life’s circumstances, patiently waiting for the promised resurrection when we will be exalted (glorified).

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10

5:10. As Peter concludes his letter to these scattered and suffering believers, he makes two more allusions to the resurrection and to our future glorification.

We will begin by examining the phrase, “(God) who called you to His eternal glory in Christ.” This phrase contains two significant theological concepts: first, the doctrine of God’s calling of believers and second, the doctrine of our future eternal glorification.

DIVINE CALLING. The doctrine of God’s divine calling of believers states that we are unable to respond to the gospel, because, in our natural state, all mankind is spiritually dead in our transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1). Therefore, God Himself must call a person out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). (See also Colossians 1:13; etc.) Unless and until God calls a person out of their spiritual deadness and darkness, the person is helplessly trapped in their sin. God’s calling of an individual is not conditioned on anything about the person nor is it dependent on anything the person does or does not do. Whom God calls and whom God does not call and the timing of God’s calling of an individual are entirely within the sovereignty of God and therefore are outside the control of man. This doctrine also teaches that the calling of God to a natural person dead in their sins cannot be resisted or refused. That is, when God issues His divine calling, the individual human must respond. When God issues His divine call, the sinner comes to life and emerges from their spiritual tomb.

JESUS’ DIVINE CALL TO LAZARUS. This is perhaps best illustrated by the story in John 11 of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for four days. He was thoroughly and completely dead. You might say he was extremely dead. He was so dead that his sister said, “By now he stinketh.” But Jesus, as God in human flesh, “cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The man who died came forth” (John 11:43-44). Jesus sovereignly commanded Lazarus to get up and come out of the tomb and Lazarus, even though he had been dead for four days, could not resist or refuse the command. God called and man the creature obeyed the call. It is the same with all those whom the Spirit of God calls to eternal life. Those who are dead in their trespasses and sins are made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1, 5) so that we might experience everlasting joy and “so that in the ages to come He (God) might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). (See also Rom. 8:28, 30; 9:23-24; among many other Scriptures that explicitly teach this doctrine.)

CALLED TO ETERNAL GLORY. Having seen the nature of God’s divine call, we will now explore the purpose of God’s divine call. The text says that “the God of all grace (has) called you (i.e., all believers) to His eternal glory in Christ” (1 Peter 5:10). The meaning of this is not difficult to discern. When we were chosen by God in eternity past (1:1), our divine calling by God in time and space was guaranteed, so that we would certainly attain to God’s eternal glory in Christ. And when will God “Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you”? That is, when will you receive your eternal glory? You will receive your eternal glory when you are glorified in the resurrection. The event that changes us from disembodied spirits or living embodied mortals into glorified immortals is the resurrection.

SUMMARY

What we see then is that Peter ends his letter in much the same way he began. At the beginning of the letter, in 1:3-5 the apostle had spoken of a “living hope,” of an “imperishable inheritance,” and of a “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We saw that these were references to the resurrection and that this teaching about our future glory encouraged these persecuted believers to rejoice in suffering.

Now, at the end of the letter, Peter again exhorts us to endure our present suffering “for a little while” (5:10) because soon the God of all grace will call us into our eternal glory at the resurrection.

So, we rejoice in the hope of our resurrection through whatever trials and suffering we experience here in this short life.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/20/2024                   #694

A soldier in active service (2 Timothy 2:4)

POST OVERVIEW. A devotional study of 2 Timothy 4:2.

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. – 2 Timothy 2:4 (NASB)

SOLDIER. Paul’s instructions in this verse are directed very narrowly to a specific kind of person. The exhortation that follows is first of all exclusively for soldiers. Only soldiers are being addressed. If you are not a soldier, this verse does not concern you. In Paul’s mind, the world is made up of soldiers and not-soldiers. Here he is writing to soldiers.

What is a soldier? What does Paul have in mind? The definition of soldier here would need to connect with the preceding verse where Paul tells Timothy to “suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2:3). A good soldier, then, is a disciple of Jesus who willingly suffers hardship for Jesus’ sake. “Suffering hardship” means consistently making choices according to the instructions and the intentions of the soldier’s commanding officer in disregard of any consequent personal pain , loss, dishonor, or sacrifice. The good soldier of Christ Jesus does not seek hardship, but neither does the good soldier avoid it. Rather, the presence or absence of hardship has been removed from the good soldier’s consideration.

So in this verse Paul is addressing those who are soldiers according to these terms. Are you a good soldier of Christ Jesus? What is your attitude toward voluntary hardship? Is your obedience to the Lord conditioned by what it will cost you? Only good soldiers need to read on.

But actually there does exist another group of disciples whom we could call “the not-yet soldiers.” These are those disciples who long to be “good soldiers,” who long to shed the rags of timidity and to discard the false safety of compromises and small disobediences and instead to put on the mantle of a soldier and charge out into the mission where your only concern is obedience to the King. If you have a burning desire to become a good soldier, then let Paul’s words fan your desire into a flame (Psalm 37:4; 2 Tim. 1:6).

We have spent some time defining a (good) soldier of Christ Jesus (2:3) because we need to determine if 2 Tim. 2:4 is written for us. Paul is not writing to all believers here, because not all believers are “good soldiers” according to this definition. Paul would desire that all disciples were soldiers, but the reality is that all are not, so Paul makes his first “cut.”

A SOLDIER IN ACTIVE SERVICE. But now Paul introduces another qualification to further narrow the funnel. As Paul knows that, among disciples, there are soldiers and there are not-soldiers, so also there are soldiers in active service and there are soldiers not in active service. So all “not-soldiers” have been excluded and now all soldiers not in active service are cut from the team.

What does it mean “to be in active service?” In a military sense, a soldier in active service is one who has been trained and equipped to be useful as a soldier and who has subsequently been deployed by his commanding office to accomplish a specific mission. His identity as a soldier compels him to be in active service and impels him toward the front lines. He lives for a mission. This is a military soldier in active service.

What, then, is Paul’s message or instruction when he speaks to Timothy as a soldier of Christ Jesus? What is the image that comes to mind for the disciple of Jesus who longs to be a soldier “in active service?” It turns out that the analogy between soldier and disciple works very well. Like the soldier, the disciple is aware that he has been deployed by his commanding officer, the Lord Jesus Christ, to accomplish the specific mission of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). His identity as a disciple of Jesus compels him to be conscious of his Commander’s mission and impels him to proclaim Jesus to the world as His witness (Acts 1:8). The disciple lives for the gospel. For the disciple in active service, Christ is his life (Phil. 1:21; Col. 3:4). He longs to be useful to the Master, prepared for any good work (2 Tim. 2:21).

DOES NOT ENTANGLE HIMSELF IN THE AFFAIRS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Now we come to the heart of the verse and to the vital instruction that Paul is going to give to Timothy and to all disciple-soldiers in active service. Paul’s words are at once an exhortation and a warning. “Soldier, never entangle yourself in civilian affairs.”

IDENTITY. You are not a civilian, you are a soldier. Therefore, you are to live the life of a soldier, which is a life of discipline, self-control, rigor, and training.

The affairs of civilian life will dull your preparedness and distract you from your mission. Once you have tasted the ease, comfort, luxury, and safety that are part of the everyday life of a civilian, your zeal for pleasing the Master as a soldier who is dangerous to the enemy will begin to erode. The danger of everyday life is that you begin to resent the hardship of the soldier’s life. When the Commander calls you to a new mission, He finds that you are no longer eager to follow orders that involve hardship or risk. Ease and luxury and, most dangerous of all, safety begin to be values, and duty and suffering for our King gradually lose their appeal.

The life of a soldier is a life stripped down to the bare essentials. “But godliness is actually a means of great gain. If we have food and covering, with these we will be content” (1 Tim. 6:6, 8). The life of a disciple is a simple life. “Make it your ambition is to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4:11). As disciples of Jesus, we do not want to be “led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). As the disciple grows better equipped and more useful to the Master, the complications of his life are willingly sloughed off and discarded as unnecessary weight.

PLEASE THE ONE WHO ENLISTED HIM AS A SOLDIER. The soldier’s purpose is to “please the one who enlisted him as a soldier” (2:4). Getting involved in the entanglements of everyday life will cause you to lose sight of your purpose, to question your purpose, and to compromise your purpose. The sweetness of pleasing the Master by being dangerous to the domain of darkness gradually loses its satisfaction.

The soldier needs to remember the words of Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

CONCLUSION

The disciple of Jesus is a soldier in active service, joyfully enduring hardship as he battles the domain of darkness, proclaims the glories of Christ, and avoids the entanglements of the world.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 11/1/2023                   #677

Investigating the “42 months” of Revelation 12:6 and 12:14

POST OVERVIEW. (4th post)A continuation of post #617 (1/31/2023) investigating specific occurrences of the “42 months” in Revelation 11-13 (also in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7). This post looks specifically at Rev. 12:6 and Rev. 12:14.

QUICK REVIEW

In our last post (#617, 1/30/2023), we had begun carefully examining several occurrences of the “42 months” to get a clearer picture of these events near the end of the age, and now we will continue that work by looking at Rev. 12:6 and 12:14.

Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. – Revelation 12:6

But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. – Revelation 12:14

GATHERING CLUES

Since these two verses evidently describe the same event, we will interpret them simultaneously. That is, we will consider information in either verse as being useful for interpreting both verses. We see that both verses tell of a woman who flees into the wilderness to a place where she is nourished for “42 months.” How do we interpret what this means?

THE WOMAN. We will begin by identifying the woman. She is introduced in Rev. 12:1 wearing a crown of twelve stars. The woman then gives birth to a male child (12:5). This is obviously the Incarnation. Jesus completes His work and then “was caught up to God and to His throne” (12:5), which describes His ascension, so that by the end of 12:5, we are at basically the same place as we are in 5:6, when the Lamb arrives back in heaven. But who is “the woman?” The woman is a symbol for true Israel or the elect. Here in Rev. 12:1-5, the woman represents the Old Testament people of God. Thus, the twelve stars (12:1) represent the twelve tribes.

But “the woman” also appears during the “42 months” (12:6, 14) in the time shortly before the coming of Jesus at the end of the age. The woman is persecuted by the dragon (12:13) after the dragon (the serpent, Satan) is thrown down to the earth, “having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (Rev. 12:12). In other words, here in 12:6 and 12:13-17, “the woman” represents the church. Therefore, throughout this chapter, the woman is a symbol for true Israel or the elect, representing as she does the entire people of God.

THE OTHER SYMBOLS. So, if in 12:6 and 12:13-17, “the woman” represents the church, what do the other symbols mean? Let me begin this exploration with an observation. We know that the “42 months” appears seven times in Scripture. In all the other passages which mention the “42 months,” the people of God are persecuted and must endure suffering. In Dan. 7:25, the little horn wears down the saints. In Dan. 12:7, the holy people will be shattered. In Rev. 11:2, “the holy city” (the church) is tread underfoot. In Rev. 11:7, the beast overcomes and kills “the two witnesses” (the church). And in Rev. 13:7, again, the beast overcomes the saints. But in Rev. 12:6 and 12:14, even though “the woman” must flee into “the wilderness,” she does not suffer and is not killed in this “place,” but instead is “nourished.” The woman is just as faithful as “the saints” and “the holy people” and “the holy city” and “the two witnesses,” but in God’s sovereignty, one portion of the church suffers greater and more dangerous persecution while another portion suffers less. Paul wrote, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12), and Jesus sends His whole church out “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matt. 10:16). So, all disciples are willing to suffer and die for Jesus, but, according to God’s divine sovereignty, not all will. Some will flee into the wilderness to their place to be nourished, away from the presence of the serpent (Rev. 12:14).

FAITHFUL CHURCHES AND A PLACE IN THE WILDERNESS

Now we should consider Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Among these seven churches, only two, Smyrna and Philadelphia, were faithful and received no rebuke and no call for repentance from the Lord. Smyrna represents the suffering church, the church that is imprisoned and tested and has tribulation. Jesus commands them, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10). By contrast, the church at Philadelphia is presented with an open door and to them Jesus promises, “I will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world” (3:10). In this context, “the hour of testing” refers to the great tribulation of the church (Rev. 7:14). The point is that one faithful church goes through tribulation and testing, while another faithful church is kept from that same testing. One faithful church goes through the fire while another flees into the wilderness to be nourished. As Philadelphia displays the church that the Lord, in His sovereignty, delivers from testing, so some of the church will be allowed to flee into the wilderness to be nourished during the 42 months.

Thus, the general meaning of Rev. 12:6 and 12:14 reveals that, during the 42 months, not all the church will be subject to deadly persecution. In Matthew 24:22, our Lord declares that the days of the great tribulation will be cut short “for the sake of the elect.” Clearly implied here is that some of the church will be spared and will remain alive until the coming of the Lord. We know that is the case because Paul tells us in 1 Thess. 4:17 that there are some “who are alive and remain” and in 1 Cor. 15:51, the apostle tells us that “we will not all sleep.” Some, therefore, will be able to flee to a place of safety in the wilderness. The “place” here may not be a physical place but may be speaking of a place of spiritual safety. The “wilderness” suggests that the church must seek refuge away from the land of abundance and fruitfulness. There in the wilderness the church finds nourishment and she is sustained by the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The physical comforts are few but there is safety in the barren place where no one wants to go. And so the church stays under the radar and is nourished during the “42 months” as she awaits her King’s coming.

Having investigated the seven occurrences of the “42 months,” we now want to consider all these passages together and see what they teach us about the end times. That will be the purpose of our next blog post in this series.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/18/2023                   #624

Book of “Job” – Studies in righteousness Part 1

INTRODUCTION TO JOB. The book of “Job” is often approached as a book on suffering, but Job’s suffering is merely the dramatic context for a complex theological discussion about the nature of God and the nature of man and the question of righteousness. If God is all-powerful and infinitely holy, and man, at his best, is abjectly weak and sinful, how can man ever be right before God?

VERSES ASKING ABOUT MAN’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

‘Can mankind be just before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?’ (Eliphaz) – Job 4:17

“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?” (Job) – Job 9:2

“What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” (Eliphaz) – Job 15:14

“How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?” (Bildad) – Job 25:4

The profound question that pervades Job is, “How can a man ever be right before a holy, transcendent, omnipotent God?” The book of Job, therefore, is an excellent context for exploring the subject of righteousness. What does it mean to be righteous? How is it possible for a man to be a sinner and also to be in right standing before the LORD? What must a man do to attain righteousness?

DIFFERENT THEOLOGIES

The primary point of tension that emerges in the story is that Job and his friends are at very different places in their theology. First, Job is fundamentally aware that he is in right standing before God, even if he cannot explain why that is true. Second, Job believes that, despite the catastrophic turn of his circumstances, he remains in favor with God. In other words, a man’s righteousness is unrelated to his circumstances. Third, Job maintains that, although he is not sinless, he is nevertheless righteous before God. In Job’s theology, a man can be righteous (“pure before his Maker” Job 4:17) and can be a sinner at the same time. For Job, righteousness (“to be in the right before God” 9:2) is neither obtained nor maintained by a man’s performance. In other words, Job asserts that being right before God is not by works. And fourth, Job accepts the possibility that God can remain perfectly just and also allow the righteous to suffer.

In stark contrast to Job’s theology, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar see Job’s suffering as irrefutable proof that Job has sinned greatly and God is now punishing him for his sin. Finding the righteous and the wicked is very easy in their system: if someone is prospering, it is because he is righteous, and if someone is suffering, it is because he is a sinner. Theirs is a works-based theology that makes sense to the world and that is mimicked by all religions. First, it is a complete mystery how anyone can be right before God. Second, your circumstances are the direct product of your righteousness, If you want to improve your circumstances, then you must come clean with your misdeeds. Third, it is impossible for a sinner to be righteous. “Sinner” and “righteous” are like black and white. You are either one or the other. And fourth, for Job’s friends, God rewards good behavior with good circumstances and He recompenses bad behavior with bad circumstances. It all hinges on works. God deals with man on the basis of that man’s performance.

How does a person’s theology help them to respond to life? Let’s go on.

JOB’S SOLUTION TO HIS SUFFERING

Because Job is aware that he is not suffering for his sin, the solution to his suffering is much more complicated than it is for his friends. Since Job did nothing to cause his suffering, there is nothing he can do to relieve his suffering. Perhaps Job complains too loudly, but he complains to his God, because Job knows that God is the one who can change things. He does not know why God has chosen to bring this misery, but he never changes the direction of his pleas for mercy. From his friends, Job asks for compassion and comfort, and sadly gets none. From himself, he struggles for perseverance. But from God, he wants answers and relief. Job demonstrates that he is a man of faith because his life is God-oriented. When he is prospering, he is “blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil” (1:1). After his children have a party, he offers burnt offerings for them (1:5). When he loses everything, including his ten children, “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped” (1:21). When he is covered with sores and his wife tells him to curse God and die, Job replies, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (2:10). When his “friends” continue to tell him that his suffering is his own fault, he continues to maintain that God is just. When all the specifics are stripped away, all Job can do is wait for the LORD to give him an audience and tell him what he must do. “Wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

JOB’S FRIENDS’ SOLUTION TO HIS SUFFERING

Because of their simple theology, Job’s friends consistently offer Job a simple, works-based solution to his suffering. They begin with a simple diagnosis: since Job is suffering, a cesspool of evil must be lurking behind his righteous façade. His performance has degraded and he has lapsed into sin. But if Job will just admit his wrong-doing and begin to improve his performance, then all will be well and his suffering will go away. Notice that their philosophy is man-oriented. Man determines his destiny based on his performance. If the man performs well, he prospers, and if he sins, he suffers. Because their philosophy is man-oriented, they continue to urge Job to perform. For them, there is no mystery with God. God is simple. He sets up the rules and then doles out success or suffering based on how well we do.

DO THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER?

There is another closely related idea that goes along with this man-centered thinking. According to Job’s friends, it is a foundational principle that God does not let the righteous suffer in this life. To have the righteous man suffer would not be consistent with God’s character. But is this biblical thinking? We will consider that question in another post.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/10/2023       Updated 2/18/2023                #619

Are we unwilling to suffer for the gospel? (Col. 3:3)

POST OVERVIEW. An exhortation for disciples of Jesus to accept suffering and persecution as a necessary price to pay for the privilege of proclaiming Christ.

One of the prominent themes in the New Testament is the suffering of those who follow Jesus. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, our Lord made clear that His disciples would be expected to suffer in this world. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16). To the faithful church at Smyrna, the risen Jesus Christ commanded that they “be faithful until death” (Revelation 2:10). In writing to the suffering church scattered throughout modern-day Turkey, Peter declared that “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). That Jesus’ church would be expected to suffer for His name sake is not surprising since Jesus Himself suffered to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). The faithful prophets of the Old Testament were hunted (consider Elijah), were mocked, imprisoned, and threatened with death (like Jeremiah) as they proclaimed the word of the LORD. The apostles and prophets of the New Testament were often under intense pressure to compromise their message and to be silent, yet they preferred to suffer and die rather than shrink back (Hebrews 10:38-39) and compromise. It is plain from virtually every book of the New Testament that the church of the Lord Jesus in the world is expected to suffer and to persevere through suffering to obtain the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

In light of the Bible’s clear message regarding promised suffering and the certainty of persecution (2 Tim. 3:12), it is troubling that the western church, even the true church that has not apostatized, seems to consciously avoid suffering. My view is that the church in America has been lulled into a degree of softness. We are not only unprepared for suffering, but, more than that, we are also unwilling to suffer shame for Jesus’ name (Acts 5:41). Being unprepared to suffer is perhaps understandable since disciples of Jesus have never really been persecuted in this country. But being unwilling to suffer is an entirely different matter. Believers in America seem to still believe that we can remain true to our crucified Savior and remain true to the gospel of salvation without having to suffer. There seems to be a pervasive attitude that there exists a nuanced way to tell the world that they are perishing and need to repent, and this search for a gentler message is motivated by a fear of suffering for the gospel.

THE DISCIPLE OF JESUS HAS ALREADY DIED

The many references to suffering and to courageous perseverance in the Bible are placed there to stoke the furnace of our courage and to quench the fear of man. One of the most profound thoughts expressed in the Scriptures is stated very simply in Colossians 3:3.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:3

Paul states here that the disciple of Jesus “has died.” The apostle is speaking figuratively of the death that you have died in the new birth. “Our old self was crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6). “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). But, while Paul is speaking figuratively of the death of our old life and the death of the old man, that death is nonetheless real. The disciple of Jesus is dead to the fear of death because we have already died. And, if the fear of death has died, then how can there still be fear of other suffering that we might endure for the name of Jesus?

Paul can serve as our example here. Paul had no fear of the future or of suffering or of the threats of man because Paul had already died. And how can you threaten a man who has already died? The same is true for us. We have died with Christ and therefore can never die again. To put it in terms of persecution, we are physically vulnerable but spiritually safe. Of course, we are not to welcome or seek out suffering. We are to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16) because we desire for our ministry for Jesus to last as long as possible, but the length or the comfort or the safety of our gospel ministry is never to restrain our boldness or to constrain our proclamation. We have died and been raised with Christ (Romans 6:4) and can therefore “go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13).

So then, as those who have already died and as those whose “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3b), as those whose eternity is forever established (see Phil. 3:20 – “our citizenship is in heaven”), let us run the race with joy and abandon as those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. – Phil. 1:21

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/21/2023                   #614

Suffering and tribulation in the book of Revelation

POST OVERVIEW. A survey of the book of Revelation considering the instances of suffering (“tribulation”) in the book and planning for our response of perseverance.

Spectacular! Awesome! Terrifying! Amazing! Glorious! These are words that readily come to our minds as we read through the book of Revelation. This portion of Scripture contains some of the most breathtaking images and events in the entire Bible. In fact, because these vivid images and these clashes between the forces of evil and righteousness capture our attention, it is possible to miss one of the most prominent features of Revelation, namely, the suffering of the church of Jesus Christ. But once we begin to examine the book through the lens of suffering, and specifically the tribulation of the church in the world because we follow Jesus, we realize that the suffering church is a prominent theme in Revelation.

EXPERIENCING TRIBULATION AND REQUIRING PERSEVERANCE

At the beginning of the book, as John introduces his prophecy in Revelation 1:9, he already speaks of “tribulation” (Greek θλῖψις – thlipsis) and “perseverance” (Greek ὑπομονή – hupomonay).

9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Let’s explore these words for a moment. The word here translated as “tribulation” is a common New Testament word. It is usually translated as “tribulation,” but can also be rendered “affliction,” “oppression,” or “distress.” The overwhelming majority of uses of this word refer to the church or to a specific believer suffering for their faith in Jesus. And this is its use here. John the apostle, as “a partaker in the tribulation,” is writing to his fellow partakers in the tribulation. The message is clear: if you would be a witness “of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus,” then you must be prepared to be a fellow partaker in the tribulation. Affliction, distress, and tribulation are simply an expected part of being a follower of Jesus. If you would follow Jesus, you should expect to suffer.

Tribulation necessitates perseverance. What does John mean by “perseverance?” “In the NT, this is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” Also implied in this word is the idea of ongoing and patient endurance. In other words, “perseverance” means remaining fixed on the mission or purpose or goal in the face of trials and sufferings, even sufferings that are persistent and that show no signs of abating.

Now, since John begins his prophecy with references to tribulation and perseverance, and since he implicitly encourages and exhorts his fellow partakers in the tribulation to persevere in their testimony of Jesus, it could be argued that one of the main purposes of Revelation is to encourage believers to persevere and be faithful until death (2:10), regardless of their tribulations. Revelation contains much about the suffering church, but if the church expects persecution (2 Tim. 3:12; John 15:18-20) and if the church is steeled to persevere, then our tribulations pose no threat.

INSTANCES OF SUFFERING IN REVELATION

With our study of tribulation and perseverance as a background, we will now survey the occurrences of suffering in Revelation.

  • We have already seen Revelation 1:9 where John himself is a fellow partaker in the tribulation. In war, officers are not exempt from death. Just so, in the gospel advance, apostles are not exempt, but rather serve as examples.
  • The church at Smyrna (2:8-11) is one of the two churches not called to repent by our Lord. Smyrna is a suffering church (2:9-10) who is called to be faithful until death (2:10).
  • In Revelation 6:9-11, we encounter “those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of their testimony” (see 1:2, 9). These souls are told to rest for a little while longer until the full number of martyrs is completed. These believers had already persevered even to a violent death and there were others who would also be faithful until death who would join them in heaven. But notice that their suffering yielded a white robe (6:11).
  • We meet the two witnesses in 11:3-12. These two represent the persecuted church that is faithful even in the face of intense opposition. They faithfully finish their testimony and then are overcome and killed by the beast (11:7). The world rejoices in their deaths, but that celebration is short-lived as the witnesses are taken up to heaven in the cloud.
  • The next chapter, chapter 12, is all about the activity of the dragon (Satan) as he pursues and persecutes “the woman,” who represents the oppressed church. “The woman” flees into the wilderness to hide from the dragon (12:6, 14) and appears to avoid direct persecution by her flight. This chapter shows that there will come a time when believers will be hunted and pursued, but the Lord will protect them.  
  • The tribulation of the church becomes intense and overt in chapter 13 as the beast and the false prophet (“another beast” 13:11) rise to power. In addition to blasphemies against God and a desire to be worshiped, the beast also “makes war with the saints and overcomes them” (13:7) and puts many in prison (“captivity”) and kills many with the sword (13:10). Then the false prophet (“another beast”) “causes as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (13:15) and prevents those who do not have the mark of the beast from buying (food) (13:17).
  • Next, we see the kings of the whole earth gather together under the leadership of the beast and the false prophet (16:13-16) for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. This is Armageddon (16:16). Although the interpretation of this passage is quite complex, the basic idea is that the forces of evil, led by the beast, are gathered together for the annihilation of the church. We see this same picture in 19:19 and in 20:8-9.
  • There is suffering during the thousand years, as well (20:4-6), for there we see “the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and the word of God” (see also 1:2, 9; 6:9; 12:11).

Thus we see that, in the book of Revelation, the church militant is the church in tribulation, but we are exhorted to persevere and be faithful until death (2:10) and by so doing, we will receive our reward, the crown of life (2:10).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/19/2023                   #613

Revisiting imprecatory psalms and imprecation

POST OVERVIEW. Another consideration of the imprecatory psalms and the other acts of imprecation in the Old Testament. This article once again evaluates whether imprecation of enemies is still a weapon in the disciple’s armory and, if not, why not. Other posts on this same topic are Posts #500 (3/8/2022), #503 (3/11), #502 (3/15), #505 (3/18), #509 (3/30), and #514 (4/6) back in March and April of this year, and Post #563 (8/26/2022).

DEFINITION OF IMPRECATION

The first thing we need to do in this revisiting of imprecation is define what we mean. In the Bible, “imprecation” is when a believer calls on God to curse or destroy his enemies. So, in the “imprecatory psalms,” the psalmist (often David) is in distress and his life is being threatened by enemies, and in response, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to give him relief by cursing or punishing or judging the psalmist’s enemies. The question that needs to be answered with regard to imprecation is, “After the first advent of the Lord Jesus, is the believer still allowed to imprecate (call down curses on) his enemies, or has that forever changed with the coming of Jesus?” At the end of my Post #514 (4/7/2022), I wrote this conclusion:

“And so we conclude our study of the imprecatory psalms. We have seen that these psalms which called down curses on the enemies of the righteous are no longer useful to the disciple of Jesus. Jesus Himself commands His people to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, which renders an imprecatory psalm obsolete. But also, since we are to be wise ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), we realize that imprecating others is a poor strategy for sowing the gospel.”

In a later post on this topic of imprecation (#563, 8/26/2022), I concluded:

“Thus, the sanctioned New Testament response to persecution and affliction appears to preclude any retaliation, revenge, or imprecation of enemies. We would thus conclude that the disciple of Jesus is allowed to lament the suffering and to groan underneath it, and to long for the day when God will judge the wicked and set all injustice right but is not to imprecate his enemies. Rather, he is to trust the Lord with the administration of all justice and is to endure the suffering in the strength that Christ supplies.”

STILL MORE THOUGHTS ON IMPRECATION

All my study of imprecation has consistently led me to the conclusion that the disciple of Jesus is not to curse or to ask God to curse his enemies, but is rather to endure the persecution and the suffering. This is clear and incontrovertible. This is what the New Testament teaches.

THE FINAL QUESTION TO SETTLE THE MATTER: It seems to me, however, that the discovery of this New Testament doctrine requires a further step to fully settle the matter. That is, why is the disciple of Jesus not permitted to call down the LORD’s curses on his enemies when the Old Testament saints could do this?

As we explore this question, we begin by acknowledging that the solution is somehow tied to Christ and His death on the cross. The challenge, then, is to discern how Christ’s death on the cross has silenced the imprecatory psalms and removed them from the believer’s arsenal. The Lord no longer hears the believer’s imprecatory prayers because Jesus Christ has died and rendered all our imprecation of earthly enemies trivial by comparison. In the ultimate act of injustice, Jesus has died and yet our Lord “uttered no threats nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:23).

Not only has our Lord demonstrated for us that imprecation is no more, for He uttered no threats in His death (1 Peter 2:23), but He has also commanded His disciples to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27-30). Thus, the imprecatory psalms are obsolete, like the day of atonement and the cities of refuge. These psalms are part of the old covenant when the LORD would demonstrate His power by vanquishing His peoples’ enemies and when His people would call upon Him to rescue them physically. But under the new covenant, Jesus the Messiah has come and has already rescued His people. “It is finished” (John 19:30). Now that our Lord has accomplished His atoning work on the cross and has been raised from the dead as first fruits of all those who will rise on the last day, physical threat and physical death have lost their sting (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:54-55; etc.). Because of the resurrection, the disciple of Jesus no longer fears those who kill the body (Matt. 10:28). Instead, we love and pray for our enemies because our enemies may be of the elect (like Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9). One of my persecutors today could be worshiping the Lord Jesus with me next Sunday.

Under the old covenant, enemies were hated (Hinted in Matt. 5:43; explicitly stated in imprecatory psalms). The sons of Israel often asked the Lord to destroy their enemies and to rescue them from physical danger. But in the new covenant, the Lord Jesus has now vanquished sin, our greatest enemy, and He has rescued us from death. Because of Jesus’ victory on our behalf, we no longer hate our enemies, but instead we proclaim to them our message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20).  With the giving of the Great Commission, the disciple of Christ is no longer focused on sustaining his own physical life but has instead fixed his eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) for the purpose of proclaiming the good news to friend and foe alike.

ENJOYING THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS

But now, on this side of the cross, we can enjoy the imprecatory psalms because they point forward to that time when our great Savior would render all our imprecation meaningless and unnecessary. As the day of atonement (Leviticus 16) and the suffering servant (Isaiah 53) pointed unerringly to Christ in His first advent, so the imprecatory psalms also point to Christ as the One who, by His death on the cross, will rescue us from the most fearsome of all our enemies, sin and death, and will thus set us free to love our enemies and plead with them to come to faith in the Lord Jesus. We can enjoy these psalms because they remind us that Christ has died and risen from the dead and has thus rendered all cursing of enemies obsolete.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 12/12/2022                 #599

Do not be surprised by persecution (1 Peter 4:12)

INTRODUCTION. This fairly long post is a consideration of the New Testament’s prominent teaching on persecution and how we, as American disciples, can respond to it when it comes.

One of the young women at our church has taken a stand for Christ at her school and has thereby placed her job at risk. Her school wanted all the teachers to affirm the school’s LGBTQ and pro-abortion stances and this teacher refused. Praise the Lord that she refused! But her stance has definitely jeopardized her job. In fact, it would be an answer to prayer if she does not lose her job. Suddenly, her faith in Christ has become much more expensive.

NEITHER UNEXPECTED NOR SURPRISING

Which brings up an important subject. It seems that in America, disciples of Jesus are often surprised when following their crucified Savior, the one who was despised and forsaken of men, suddenly becomes painful or expensive or risky. This is very curious to me, not that a follower of Jesus would suffer some form of persecution, but that being persecuted for their faith would come as an unexpected surprise to any disciple of Jesus. The New Testament, start to finish, is full of declarations and examples announcing to the believer that persecution and affliction will certainly come upon them simply because they follow Jesus. Some of the best-known passages follow. Even a cursory reading of these makes it unambiguously clear that persecution and hatred from the unbelieving world should be expected, and the question is not “if” persecution will come, but “when” and “how.”

2 Timothy 3:12 – Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

COMMENT. Paul is preparing Timothy to take over his ministry of the gospel, so he tells Timothy of the persecution that will be coming to him. Paul states categorically that Timothy will be persecuted. In fact, the only way for Timothy to avoid persecution is to for him to not desire to live a godly life. This, of course, is not an option, because all believers “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). All true disciples will be persecuted, and “all” means all.

1 Peter 4:12 – Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.

COMMENT. In Peter’s letter to believers experiencing the fires of testing, he takes time to explicitly state the case about persecution. Do not be surprised by any fiery ordeal, as though it is something strange. It is not strange; it is normal. Fiery ordeals (like persecution and affliction) are normal parts of the Christian life which the Lord brings in for our testing. The Lord brings an ordeal to test our faith and to prove that it is the genuine article. Instead of groaning in the unexpected pain, rejoice that you have been considered worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake.

1 Thess. 3:3, 4 – 3 so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know.

COMMENT. Again, as Paul writes to these new believers under the heavy artillery of intense persecution, his primary encouragement is for them to stand firm. There is little of what we would call sympathy or empathy. For the apostle Paul, the issue is obedience. Will these professed disciples of Jesus in Thessalonica endure their appointed affliction and continue to profess Christ, or will they collapse under the pressure and make a shipwreck of their faith? As Peter has said (above), we are destined for this. Persecution and affliction are our appointed duties. Therefore, the true disciple will stand firm.

Matthew 10:16 (10:21, 22) – “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.”

COMMENT. Anyone who knows anything about sheep and about wolves knows that what Jesus describes here is a dangerous situation for the sheep. Sheep are defenseless, slow, frail, docile animals, the very definition of the word “prey.” By contrast, wolves are vicious, cunning, fast, and strong. They travel in packs, relentless predators in pursuit of their prey. And Jesus sends His new covenant disciples out as sheep in the midst of wolves. It seems almost a death sentence. Sending sheep into the midst of wolves would be akin to something extreme like telling His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him.

The gospel mission requires that Jesus’ disciples are willing to go wherever He sends them as sheep in the midst of wolves. (“We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” – Romans 8:35) Not all will be killed for their faith, but some certainly will (Matt. 10:21). Not all will be scourged (10:17), but all will be hated because of Jesus’ name (10:22). And despite these dangers and threats, the disciple obeys His good shepherd (John 10) and goes out into the midst of a world of wolves, proclaiming from the housetops (Matt. 10:27) that men should repent and turn to God (Acts 26:20). Persecution is real for sheep among wolves.

John 15:18-20 – “18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”

COMMENT. Jesus is in the Upper Room giving His apostles, and by implication, His new covenant church, final instructions for life on mission before His crucifixion, and part of the necessary instruction has to do with the persecution His church will experience. Jesus’ message in these verses is clear: “The world hates you and they will persecute you.” While possibly unsettling and uncomfortable, these words are certainly unambiguous. Jesus leaves no room for misunderstanding, and it is the naïve and foolish disciple who is caught by surprise when the world reveals its true colors in hatred and persecution.

These are just some of the more prominent examples of the New Testament’s predictions of the persecution and hardship that will come upon disciple’s of Jesus just because they follow the King of kings. So, it would seem that believers would expect affliction to come.

THEN, WHY ARE WE SURPRISED?

But in America, it is easy to miss even these blatant messages and to overlook or downplay our promised persecution. Despite these scriptural billboards, we are often shocked when our alienation from the world produces painful consequences. So, why are we still surprised, even with all these promises?

Perhaps the most significant reason is the messages that believers receive from pulpits in America. The overwhelming majority of preaching pastors in America will not deliver a single sermon in their preaching lifetime on persecution. Ever. For the pastor, sermons on persecution are not popular with most congregations, so it is best to avoid them. Also, it is possible the pastor doesn’t really believe in persecution, so why would he tell his congregation about it?

Another factor is the idea that real persecution will never come to America. For those pastors who do preach on persecution when their text demands it, many of them will also add a phrase like, “Of course, persecution has not come to America yet.” This phrase is said such that the congregation can relax, secure in the knowledge that, not only has persecution not come to America yet, but, if we play our cards right and continue to behave ourselves as decent, quiet, law-abiding Christians, it probably never will. This is dangerous thinking, because, if we consider Paul’s teaching in 2 Tim. 3:12 (see above), the fact that we are not experiencing persecution in America can only be attributed to the fact that we are not “living godly in Christ Jesus” or because we are not vocal enough in our witness for Jesus that the world feels a compulsion to silence us.

But I think also a disciple can be surprised by sudden affliction because, even though they were prepared to suffer and expected that their bold witness for Jesus would draw enemy fire from the world, the timing took them off guard. With the woman who I mentioned at the top of this post, she knew that her biblical view of human sexuality and her view that abortion is murder were in conflict with most at her school, but she did not realize that her Christian values could put her job at risk. The world’s hatred of Christ was suddenly vented on her. So, in America, even devoted disciples can be stunned when Christ’s words are suddenly manifested in real life. And, for right now, these sudden but not life-threatening attacks from the world will be more economic and psychological than physical. A missed promotion. Losing a job. A rejected application. Lost relationships. Ostracism, alienation, loneliness. But the severity will increase, because the Scriptures call for it and the Scriptures must be fulfilled. There will be imprisonments and scourging. There will be oppression and violence and death.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

In the face of these promises of persecution and affliction, what should the disciple of Jesus do? As in all matters of faith and godliness, the believer is to see the example that Jesus gave us, that we should follow in His steps. “While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). And we are to continue boldly “pressing on toward the goal for the prize” (Phil. 3:14), not letting our promised persecution derail us, but rather enduring the suffering the Lord allows as we continue on in obedience.

SDG                 rmb                 8/31/2022                   #564

Calling down curses: a New Testament perspective

INTRODUCTION. This post considers the topic of imprecation of enemies, asking the question whether imprecation is a spiritual tool of the New Testament disciple of Jesus.

Back in March-April of 2022, I had written a six-part series of posts considering the topic of the so-called “imprecatory psalms.” In the Bible, “imprecation” is when a believer calls on God to curse or destroy his enemies. So, in the “imprecatory psalms,” the psalmist (often David) is in distress and his life is being threatened by enemies, and in response, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to give him relief by cursing or punishing or judging the psalmist’s enemies. The question that we sought to answer in our six-part study was, “After the first advent of the Lord Jesus, is the believer still allowed to imprecate (call down curses on) his enemies, or has that forever changed with the coming of Jesus?” At the end of the sixth post (#514, April 7, 2022), I wrote this conclusion:

“And so we conclude our study of the imprecatory psalms. We have seen that these psalms which called down curses on the enemies of the righteous are no longer useful to the disciple of Jesus. Jesus Himself commands His people to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, which renders an imprecatory psalm obsolete. But also, since we are to be wise ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), we realize that imprecating others is a poor strategy for sowing the gospel.”

If you would care to read through all six posts, they are Posts #500, 503, 502, 505, 509, and 514 back in March and April of this year. The key word “imprecatory” should get you to them.

IMPRECATION REVISITED

This week, my wife began a study of the book of Habakkuk with a group of ladies and, because of the content of the first chapter of this book, the subject of imprecation of enemies was discussed with vigor in their Bible study. Afterward, my wife and I talked about imprecation and I decided to revisit this topic and see if my views had changed. The rest of this post is a record of today’s musings about imprecation. (NOTE: Because of time constraints, I have not reviewed these thoughts and placed them in order.)

Observation: I do not believe there are any New Testament examples of imprecation.

THEORY: Imprecation of enemies was apparently allowed in the Old Testament, but the teaching of the New Testament has replaced imprecation with prayer for enemies, forgiveness of enemies, and endurance of the persecution and suffering by the saints.

When persecution and affliction for the name of Jesus come upon the disciple, the disciple simply adds perseverance and endurance to his other daily spiritual duties and disciplines and continues to press toward the prize.

For those being persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10-12), it is okay to flee (Matthew 10:23), but it is not okay to fight. You are allowed to run, but you are not allowed to retaliate.

When Stephen is being stoned to death in Acts 7, he offers no imprecation of those who are killing him. Instead, he asks the Lord not to hold the sin of his murder against his murderers (Acts 7:60).

The church in Thessalonica was experiencing persecution when Paul wrote his two letters to them, but there is no hint of any imprecation against their persecutors in the letters. In 1 Thess. 2:14-16, the Thessalonians “endured the same sufferings” as other churches, and in 3:3-8, Paul reminds them that “no one would be disturbed by these afflictions (because) we have been destined for this (3). For we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction (4).” Paul told them they would suffer affliction and commended them for standing firm (8), but it is evident that he never told them how to defend themselves or retaliate. Why? Because the disciple of Jesus is called to stand firm, but not to retaliate.

In 2 Thess. 1:4-10, when the church is experiencing withering persecution, Paul reminds them that the Lord Jesus Himself will repay their persecutors on the last day when He returns in blazing fire. Again we see that the New Testament believer is to endure affliction now and entrust judgment entirely to the righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus.

In the New Testament, the disciples of Jesus accept persecution for Jesus’ sake as part of the cost of being His follower (1 Thess. 3:3-8). They may flee (Matt. 10:23; Acts 13:50-51; 14:5-7; 17:10, 14), but they do not organize themselves into an armed force. In fact, they even do very little to defend themselves. Disciples of Jesus do this because they are relying entirely upon the Lord to defend them. He is the one who will deliver them from their distresses and afflictions and so they wait for Him. Ultimately, Jesus’ disciples persevere in tribulation (Rom. 12:11) because they are waiting for Him to rescue them on the last day when He descends from heaven with a shout. The point is that Jesus is my Defender and I will trust Him to lead me through any circumstances and any affliction such that “with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20).

Philippians 3:10 – “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS.” Paul desired to know “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.” But how can this stated desire be fulfilled if, every time the Lord brings affliction and persecution into Paul’s life, he immediately prays for God to bring judgment on his persecutors and to bring relief from his affliction? Obviously, Paul did not do this. Rather, the apostle “rejoiced in his sufferings” so that he was “filling up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24). Here there is no suggestion of any imprecation of persecutors, but instead there is an acceptance of the fact that suffering for the name of Christ is part of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

The book of Revelation has several passages that give light to this question of imprecation of enemies. In Revelation 6:9-11 we see the souls of the martyrs underneath the altar crying out to the Lord, “How long, O Lord, holy and true?” These have been “slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne,” and they want to know when God is going to avenge their deaths. They were told to rest for a little while longer until the rest of the martyrs would join them. Again, no imprecation against their murderers is suggested, and more martyrs will join them, for the Lord has ordained that the full number of martyrs will be killed.

In Revelation 11:7, we are given a scene where “the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with the saints and overcome them and kill them.” Once again, we see that suffering persecution is an expected part of being a follower of Christ, even to the end of the age. The picture here is not one of brave saints fighting against the beast and being outmatched, but of defenseless sheep being slaughtered by the beast because of their bold witness for Christ (see Romans 8:35, where “we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered”). This exact scene is also presented in Rev. 13:7, where “it was given to the beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them.” In this destruction by the beast, the Scripture gives no hint of imprecation.

Although the context of 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 is not persecution, Paul’s attitude toward suffering and affliction in this passage is instructive. Paul is given “a thorn in the flesh” and three times asks the Lord to remove the thorn. The Lord replies that His grace will provide him (and thus, will supply any believer) with all he needs to endure the trial. “My grace is sufficient for you.” “Most gladly, therefore,” Paul will boast about his weaknesses (12:9). Indeed, he is “well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties” (12:10) for Christ’s sake. Note that Paul does not complain or whimper about his affliction, which might be the equivalent of imprecation in persecution, but is well content and boasts of his weaknesses. In the same way, then, in persecution we remain well content in the Lord and we most gladly endure, rejoicing that we are considered worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:41).

CONCLUSION

There is certainly more that could be said, but I think the summary is this: In the New Testament, it seems that, at every possible opportunity to meet affliction and persecution with imprecation of the persecutors, the people refuse to do so and, instead, resolve to persevere and to endure through the affliction and, in many cases, pray for the very ones who are persecuting them.

Thus, the sanctioned New Testament response to persecution and affliction appears to preclude any retaliation, revenge, or imprecation of enemies. We would thus conclude that the disciple of Jesus is allowed to lament the suffering and to groan underneath it, and to long for the day when God will judge the wicked and set all injustice right but is not to imprecate his enemies. Rather, he is to trust the Lord with the administration of all justice and is to endure the suffering in the strength that Christ supplies.

SDG                 rmb                 8/27/2022                   #563