During my devotions this morning, I was reading in Daniel Chapter 9, which of course is the chapter that contains the famous seventy sevens or weeks passage. It got me thinking about future events. Dispensationalists believe this chapter lays out the time-line for future events beginning during the time of Daniel. They also believe that there is one remaining 'seven' which has yet to be fulfilled which will be a period of seven years just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Of course there is much debate around this issue and many different opinions as to what events will occur and in what order. The only thing that is clear about this whole debate is the reason for it...the Scriptures that deal with future events are particularly unclear. They are unclear for a reason...God doesn't want us to know too much about the specifics of the future.
But there are things of which we can be certain. First of all, Jesus is returning again. When He does return, it will be in a completely different capacity than during His first coming. He was disguised in His first coming as a lowly carpenter hailing from a city of little regard...Nazareth. But His Second Coming will leave no doubt in anyone's mind who He really is. It's manner will be such that every person alive on the earth will know immediately they are witnessing the appearance of God.
Another thing we know for sure is that once the Lord Jesus returns, things on the earth will be very different from that point on. His Kingdom will be established in a very real and evident way. Only those who submit to Christ will be allowed to remain in this Kingdom, while those who have rebelled and continue to rebel will cast into a different place so that Christ's reign and control of the earth will be complete.
This new Kingdom is what Christians today should be focused on...our hope is in Christ alone, and He will accomplish His will. The earth will be cleansed from evil, and everlasting peace and joy in the presence of the Lord will be ours. With this in mind, I'm always puzzled at the degree of acrimonious debate that goes on today about the little details of the future. Far better that we simply agree to disagree over the minors, and focus our hope and joy on the majors!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Unnamed Prophet
There are stories within the Old Testament that when you read them, you're left with a series of questions. What does this mean? Why did it turn out this way? What is God trying to tell us? Chapter 13 of 1 Kings contains one of those stories. It is the story of an unnamed prophet to prophesies against the altar of Jeroboam located at Bethel. Not only do we not know his name, but know very little about him other than what is found in this chapter. He is told by God to come and prophesy against this altar, and then leave immediately by a different route without eating or drinking anything while in Bethel. As we read this episode, we learn that another prophet lies to the original prophet and draws him back to eat and drink in Bethel, and thus the first prophet is killed by a lion on his way home. A very strange story...but the other question that must be addressed is why does God include this unique story within the Scriptures? He has a purpose, and it is up to us to look further into this.
I'm struck by several observations. First of all, the lion that attacked the original prophet didn't eat him, nor did he run away. In fact, he stayed by the body until the second prophet came to take it, not attacking anything or anyone else. In other words, this was not a random lion attack. Second, the prior instructions to the prophet were very clear, and had he obeyed them, the lion attack would not have happened. Third, the penalty for disobedience falls completely on to the original prophet because the prophet who lied and tricked the first prophet to return to Bethel was not given any obvious punishment. My natural tendency in reading this is to feel sorry for the first prophet who is betrayed by the prophet from Bethel who lied and said that the Lord had told him to bring the prophet back to Bethel. The first prophet's disobedience to the original command occurred because he thought he had new instructions from the Lord, not out of willful disobedience. Yet he suffered the ultimate penalty for disobedience...death, while the prophet who lied and deceived received no penalty. Thus my first reaction...this is unjust. But God is not unjust. He is holy and righteous. So why did this happen this way? My thoughts...God had spoken directly to the original prophet and had given him clear instructions. His mistake was in accepting second hand instructions that were contrary to the original first hand instructions. He should have maintained his obedience to the original first hand instructions until he received contrary instructions...again first hand. We can fall into the same trap today, though thankfully we usually don't have to worry about being killed by a lion. Those who are walking close to the Lord often get a sense of a calling from Him to a certain type of ministry. It is clear, and it is first hand, i.e. something we sense directly from God. But as we share that calling with others, we may be told that the calling makes no sense, that God would never call us to something like that, or that we're making a huge mistake by following that calling. We may even get advice along the lines that a person feels from common sense that God has instead made us for a different calling. All too often, we forget the original call, and follow the advice of the many "prophets" around us, living and pursuing a calling that is different than what God had planned. What a loss and how tragic that truly is. Let us recall to mind and hold tight to any direct call from the Lord, and pursue that no matter what the prophets around us may say...
I'm struck by several observations. First of all, the lion that attacked the original prophet didn't eat him, nor did he run away. In fact, he stayed by the body until the second prophet came to take it, not attacking anything or anyone else. In other words, this was not a random lion attack. Second, the prior instructions to the prophet were very clear, and had he obeyed them, the lion attack would not have happened. Third, the penalty for disobedience falls completely on to the original prophet because the prophet who lied and tricked the first prophet to return to Bethel was not given any obvious punishment. My natural tendency in reading this is to feel sorry for the first prophet who is betrayed by the prophet from Bethel who lied and said that the Lord had told him to bring the prophet back to Bethel. The first prophet's disobedience to the original command occurred because he thought he had new instructions from the Lord, not out of willful disobedience. Yet he suffered the ultimate penalty for disobedience...death, while the prophet who lied and deceived received no penalty. Thus my first reaction...this is unjust. But God is not unjust. He is holy and righteous. So why did this happen this way? My thoughts...God had spoken directly to the original prophet and had given him clear instructions. His mistake was in accepting second hand instructions that were contrary to the original first hand instructions. He should have maintained his obedience to the original first hand instructions until he received contrary instructions...again first hand. We can fall into the same trap today, though thankfully we usually don't have to worry about being killed by a lion. Those who are walking close to the Lord often get a sense of a calling from Him to a certain type of ministry. It is clear, and it is first hand, i.e. something we sense directly from God. But as we share that calling with others, we may be told that the calling makes no sense, that God would never call us to something like that, or that we're making a huge mistake by following that calling. We may even get advice along the lines that a person feels from common sense that God has instead made us for a different calling. All too often, we forget the original call, and follow the advice of the many "prophets" around us, living and pursuing a calling that is different than what God had planned. What a loss and how tragic that truly is. Let us recall to mind and hold tight to any direct call from the Lord, and pursue that no matter what the prophets around us may say...
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