Search Results

Dear Roger, I’ve read the book of Daniel several times. Recently, I read a verse that I’d never noticed before that got me quite excited. In Daniel chapter 12 God instructed Daniel to seal up the prophecies in the book until the last days. He describes how knowledge will increase dramatically as the Second Coming of Christ approaches. As I look at what’s going on in the world this makes me think that the last days are up on us. So many prophecies seem to be fitting together in ways that people have not seen for 2000 years. Could you please comment on this? Sincerely, Susanna Dear Susanna, Of course, you are referring to Daniel 12:4 : “But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” The prophecies do seem to be opening up for us to see and understand. And of course, knowledge is doubling every year or so; as result, I’m getting rather excited, too. As you well know, the book of Daniel provides an overview of world events from the days of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon all the way to Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection and subsequent millennial reign. Daniel forms the framework for the book of Revelation and for the understanding of biblical prophecy. Daniel’s overview begins with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream vision in Daniel 2 . Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a huge multi-metallic man with a golden head, chest and arms of bronze, belly and thighs of brass, and feet and toes made out of iron mixed with clay. He then saw a mountain coming out of the sky which hit the man on the toes and feet. The mountain crushed the man into powder, and the mountain grew to fill the earth. Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar that the different metals represented different kingdoms. Babylon was gold; Media Persia was silver; Greece was bronze; and Rome was iron. The iron mixed with clay represented a future conglomeration of loosely federated governments united around one man whom Daniel identifies as the antichrist. The nations were in chronological order from top to bottom. We see here the devolution of human governments. The value of these kingdoms begins with gold and ends with iron. The specific gravity follows as well. Also, notice that the nations increase in power over time. Babylon was a terrible foe; however, its wickedness and power were nothing to match the wickedness, strength and power of the Roman Empire. I suppose that the lesson here is that all governments degenerate time. As explained in the book of Revelation, the 10 toes represent 10 nations, occupying the area of the old Roman Empire. These nations will come together in the last days in an attempt to destroy Israel and take over the world. The nations don’t get along very well just as iron doesn’t mix well with clay. Revelation describes these nations, along with several others, that will all be led in a loose coalition by the antichrist. The mountain which destroyed the multi-metallic man was a picture of the resurrected of Jesus Christ coming at his Second Coming to destroy the wickedness of the Gentile nations on earth. The mountain which grew to fill the earth is a picture of the millennial reign of Christ on earth. Daniel’s 70 “sevens'” prophecy encompasses the chronological framework for the history of the Jews from now until eternity. Again, the book of Revelation fits into this framework. It’s really impossible to understand what’s going on in Revelation without understanding the book of Daniel. Daniel’s generalized overview occurs in Daniel chapter 9. Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah when he realized that the 70 years of Jewish Babylon captivity was coming to an end. Daniel wondered what would happen next! Along with asking God to tell him what came next Israel, he spent the next two or three minutes confessing the sins of Israel and pleading God’s forgiveness for those sins. Gabriel arrived and led him know that the minute Daniel started his prayer he, Gabriel, was dispatched from heaven to come to Daniel and give him the answer. (I wonder if it takes two or three minutes to go from heaven to earth?) Gabriel shared that God has another program for Israel when the 70 years were concluded. This plan is for 490 years. As you read the verses below you will see how the book of Revelation fits into this passage. Daniel 9:24 Gives Us An Overview.  Daniel 9:25-27 Fills In The Details. Daniel 9:24 is the overview: Seventy “sevens” are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.” Daniel 9:25 -27 gives the details: “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Incidentally, this passage looks 560 years into the future to predict the very day when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, April 6, 30 A.D. In Daniel 9:24 we learn three facts regarding God’s plan for Israel. First, God’s Program For Israel Extends For 70 “Sevens” (70X7=490 Sevens). “Seven” is the Hebrew word “Heptad.”  This is a generic word which can mean seven of anything.  Like our word, “Dozen” which can mean twelve of virtually anything: twelve bananas, or twelve pencils. The context helps us to know 12 what. One “heptad” can be seven days, or seven bananas or seven years.In this passage what we are talking about years. One “Seven” equals 7 years. (70 X 7 years = 490 years.) Second, This Program Applies To Israel. “Your people and your holy city.” Third, This Program Will Continue Until Christ Establishes His Messianic Kingdom. Gabriel shared six characteristics of the Messianic Kingdom of Christ’s l000-year reign on earth.     *To finish transgression: refers to Israel’s national transgression of rejecting the Messiah.  At the Second Coming, transgression will be ended because they will accept Him as Savior.     *To put an end to sin: the national sin of Israel will end.     *To atone for wickedness: refers to the reconciliation for all in the Cross of Christ.  At the Second Coming Jew and Gentile alike will recognize and believe in the atoning work of Christ.     *To bring in everlasting righteousness: Christ’s Kingdom is set up on earth for a millennium.     *To seal up vision and prophecy: After 70th week all prophetic announcement and visions will be confirmed and fulfilled.     *To anoint t he Most Holy: refers to the Millennial Temple which will function during that time. God reassured Daniel that He still has a plan for Israel.  After 490 years Israel will be restored to their land and will prosper in a glorious future. The first sixty-nine “sevens” (483 years) ( Daniel 9:25 ) began at the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  This decree is described in Nehemiah 1:1 and 2:5-8 . Historically, the “20th year of Artaxerxes” was 444 B.C.. Using the Jewish calendar of 360 days per year and the fact that that  prophecies began on first day of month, we know that this period began on March 4, 444 B.C.   No question as to when the period began. The 69 “sevens” are broken down into two phases: One seven and sixty-two “sevens.”. Seven “sevens” tells of the time during which the temple was rebuilt.  It took 49 years.  Ezra and Nehemiah, both helped in the rebuilding, they spoke often of the troubled times occurring during the rebuilding.. The 69 “sevens” concludes when the Anointed One, the Ruler comes.” From 444 B.C. until the coming of Christ on Palm Sunday is 483 years or 69 “sevens.”  483 prophetic years (360 days adjusted to 365.25 days =5.25 days difference between the Jewish calendar and our present-day calendar.483X5.25=2535.75 days error or about 6 years and 11 months.  Subtract adjustment… and…483 Jewish years from March 4, 444 B.C. to Palm Sunday is April 6, 30 A.D.    (See Robert Anderson’s book, “The Coming Prince”) This is one way that Anna and Simeon knew that it was about time for the Messiah to be born so that they could carry out their planned worship of Jesus as a baby. To a believer in Christ, Daniel’s 490 year prophecy is a tremendous confirmation of the Word of God! We live in a day in which the Word of God is under attack on every hand.  Many mock it, and thousands ignore it; yet, here is a tremendous confirmation for all of us to see this prophecy fulfilled in absolute detail to the very day. Of course, Israel was blinded to it all. Several things occur between the end of the 69th seven at the beginning of the 70th ( Daniel 9:26 ). First, “the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.” This is one of the clearest testimonies in the Bible of the death of Jesus Christ in prophecy. “Cut off” describes his death. Isaiah 53:8 describes Jesus as “cut off from the land of the living.” Jesus mentioned often that he must go to Jerusalem and die in Matthew 16:21 . One of Holman Hunt’s most famous paintings of Jesus hangs in the Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery, is called “The Shadow of Death.”  Christ is pictured as a young man in Joseph’s workshop. The sun is setting.  Christ stretches out his hands after a hard day’s work.  At that moment, the artist catches Jesus’ image. The shadow on the wall shows a man with arms outstretched like He’s dying on a cross. Jesus Christ lived his entire life in the Shadow of the Cross.  He came to die on that cross for the sins of Israel and for the sins of the entire world. Only in crucifixion does a person die with outstretched arms.  After 69 “sevens” – 483 years, Jesus was “cut off”. Second, Jerusalem Is Destroyed. “The People of the Ruler who will come” refers to the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. More than three million Jews were killed. Masada occurred. When you are in Rome be sure to see the huge arch of Titus standing at the entrance to the Roman forum which commemorates Titus’ his victory over Israel. Seeing the coming Holocaust, Jesus wept for Jerusalem as described in Matthew 23 . “The Ruler who is to come” is the Anti-Christ. He’s the little horn of Daniel 7:8 and the Beast of Revelation l3. Third, a time gap occurs after the end of the sixty-ninth “seven” and before the beginning of the seventieth “seven”. At the Triumphant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, 30 A.D., God’s prophetic time clock stopped.  The hands stand poised at 69, indicating that there is still one seven-year period left. We have no indication giving insight into how long until the 70th “seven” commences. After all, long gaps of forty years occurred between the crucifixion and the destruction. Today we are in the gap, waiting for the last seven years to commence. You can read more about the gap in Luke 4:18-21 and as Christ quoted from Isaiah 61:12 and Hosea 3:4-5 . Fourth, The Seventieth “Seven” ( Daniel 9:27 ) Begins When The Anti-Christ Makes A Peace Treaty With The Nation Of Israel For Seven Years. “He” is “The Ruler of People Who Will Come”. The Romans came in 70 A.D. The Anti-Christ will be descended from them.  “Many” refers to the Jews and the nation of Israel. Samantha, Daniel sketches the outline of 70th seven; Jesus roughs in the picture with the Olivet Discourse; John fills in details with Book of Revelation.           This is why we’re not baffled or surprised by what we see in Europe and the Middle East..  I believe that God is preparing to restart the clock.  The teams are lined up and the ball is about to be snapped. Amazingly, Israel has never been assimilated into another nation.  In 1948 Jews came home from all over the world.  Sociologically, this has never happened with any people.  When’s the last time you saw a Babylonian walking around?  They’re all gone.  But not the Jews. We’re told elsewhere that the Jews will accept the Peace Treaty with the Anti-Christ who rules Europe because they are fearful of the threat of the “King of the North.” When a Bible student sees Israel aligned with the West, and not the North or South or East, he or she is not surprised! This is simply a sign of the times.  The teams are lining up.  We may one day witness the Anti-Christ taking control of a ten nation confederacy in Europe by subduing three nations. Incidentally, the Jews mistake the Anti-Christ for their coming Messiah and the beginning of peace for the initiation of the Millennium. Notice that the Rapture does not restart God’s prophetic clock. Really, no one knows exactly when the rapture may occur.  The Rapture could come at any moment. In the middle of the 70th “seven” (3 l/2 years, 42 months, l260 days) Satan falls from Heaven and indwells the antichrist ( Revelation 12:912 ; 13:4 ). Then, the antichrist Breaks The Peace Treaty And Does Two Things: 1. He Forbids The Offering Of Sacrifices In The Temple ( Daniel 9:27 . This Indicates that Israel will have a Temple during this time. 2, He Sets Up The Abomination Of Desolation On The Altar In The Holy Place In The Temple. The Abomination of Desolation is mentioned by Christ in Matthew 24:15-16 .  The Abomination of Desolation as described in the Old Testament refers to anything which desecrates the Temple of God. Three and a half years of Great Tribulation now began as the Anti-Christ tries to wipe the Jews off of the face of the earth. The Abomination of Desolation is a talking, resurrected, image of the antichrist with which the antichrist forces folks to worship him as God or face death ( Revelation13 ). Jesus said that this is a sign for the godly to flee. The antichrist will now launch the greatest wave of Anti-Semitism that the world has ever seen. As the time of great tribulation comes to an end, Jesus returns with the Armies of Heaven and defeats the antichrist ( Revelation 19 ). The Messianic Kingdom begins and the six characteristics of Daniel 9:24 will occur. Baffled?  Never, thanks to Daniel 9 . Today, we see the rise of Israel as a state; its alignment with the West; its possession of Jerusalem; it’s plans to rebuild the Temple, soon to be deployed Iranian nuclear missiles; the beginnings of worldwide anti-Semitism; all of which are preparing the way for the Beast. Watch the rise of the European Union. We see it all as God preparing the scene for His program with Israel. We don’t look for 70th seven. We look for our deliverance ( 1 Thessalonians 1:10 ). We look for our blessed hope ( Titus 2:13 ). Here is a good way to think about the Second Coming: “We plan as though Jesus weren’t coming for 1,000 years, but we live as if He were coming in the next 10 minutes.” Israel’s immediate future is desperate, but she will repent and turn to God, and apply the blood of Christ, and have a glorious future with Jesus Christ. By the way, the same future is available to all who apply the blood of Christ to themselves.  Susanna, I know that I answered a lot more than you asked. But I sure had fun. Hope you did too. Sincerely, Roger

Dear Roger, We worship on Sunday. For some reason, lately I’ve worried we are violating God’s 5th command to keep the Sabbath Holy. I can’t find any Biblical reference why we changed. Can you help ? Thanks, Gil   Dear Gil,   The Sabbath, was given to Israel, not to the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. The Sabbath runs from Friday night at sunset to Saturday night at sunset. The Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law and as a result most Jews still worship on the Sabbath.   On the other hand, Christians are free from the bondage of the Mosaic Law, and thus free from worshiping on the Sabbath, “…for sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” ( Romans 6:14 ).   It is well to note that every one of the Ten Commandments is included somewhere in the New Testament except the command to obey the Sabbath.   God still has an eschatological plan for Israel. He has a different eschatological plan for the Christian church. The plans are not the same. His plan for Israel includes worshiping on the Sabbath. His plan for the Christian church allows Christians to worship on any day that they so choose.   ”Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” ( Colossians 2:16 -17 ).   “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” ( Romans 14:5 ).    Because Jesus arose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, those early Christians called it the “Lord’s Day” ( Revelation 1:10 ), and regularly met for their Christian worship on Sunday ( Acts 20:7 , 1 Corinthians 16:2 ).   The transition from worshiping on the Sabbath to worshiping on Sunday did not occur immediately.   When Non-Jews began to convert to Christianity, there was much dispute about whether Gentile Christians had to observe the Jewish laws about circumcision, dietary restrictions, Sabbath observance, and so forth, before they could become Christians. About 20 years after his conversion, Paul, Peter, James and other Church leaders met at the “Council of Jerusalem” and decided that it was not necessary for Christians to observe the Sabbath rules and other Jewish laws ( Acts 15:28-29 , Romans 14:5-6 , Colossians 2:16 ).   In the early centuries of Christianity Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. In 321 A.D. he proclaimed Sunday a legal day of rest and ordered all judges, city-people and craftsmen to rest. Since that time worshiping on the Lord’s Day has become normative for most Christians. The one exception is the seventh day Adventists who still worship on Saturday.   Is the Sabbath an important commandment? Or is God just filling space on the tablet? The Sabbath command takes more words to discuss than any of the other ten. God needed only four words to tell us not to kill. He needed 97 to tell us to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”    There is an eternal principle here that goes right back to the creation.  God created and worked for six days and then rested on the seventh.  If resting one day out of seven was good enough for God it ought to be good enough for us!    God never intended for us to live life at full speed, 24/7. He designed our bodies to need sleep every night and to take a day of rest every week. He has woven a rhythm into the fabric of the universe. And it goes “six days work, one day rest, six days work, one day rest.”   The world says “Go, go go go go go faster.” (Notice the six and seven pattern) God says ‘go go go go go go rest.”    The Biblical Position Is That We Are No Longer Required To Worship On The Sabbath. However, The Principle Of The Sabbath Stands As An Eternal Principle Of Our Need For Rest.    Gil, let me share a few thoughts about applying the eternal principles of the Sabbath to us in our day.   “THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN, NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH” ( MARK 2:27 ).   The Pharisees discovered 1500 different ways a person could break the Sabbath. The law said not to carry a burden on the Sabbath.  So they argued over how big is a burden? Anything that weighed more than two dried figs was a burden. If you can’t carry a burden, can you drag it? How far? You couldn’t spit on the Sabbath. If spittle hit dirt and made a little row, that was plowing. You couldn’t light a fire nor quench a flame on the Sabbath. Recently a fire broke out in Jerusalem. Everyone ran to see the fire. When some Orthodox Jews got there, they stoned the fire truck for putting out a fire on the Sabbath.   In the Sabbath we see the heart of God. God is no scorekeeper. Enjoying the Sabbath with rest and worship is more important than following any man-made religious rules.    THE WORD SABBATH IS SYNONYMOUS WITH REST.   If you don’t give your body a break, your body is going to break.   Bishop Gerald Kennedy of California’s Methodist church told of two groups crossing plains during migrations to California during gold rush days. One group was led by a Christian who stopped every Lord’s day for worship and rest. The other party was led by a non-Christian who was so motivated with gold fever that he refused to let them stop and rest. The wagon train that rested and worshipped every seventh day arrived first in the gold fields.   Rest the mind as well as the body.   Sometimes I’ll be sitting with my son-in-law, Ricky. I’ll say “What are you thinking?” and He’ll say “Nothing.” And he’s serious. I love it!!! There’s nothing going on up there. He’s learned to quiet his mind. I am jealous. I’ve rarely had a mind that doesn’t go 100 miles per hour.   Resting on the Sabbath means TAKING twenty-four hours off every seven days.   For most of us this means five days at our job, one day working at home to get all the chores done, and one day with no work whatsoever. That is six days on and one day off.   Sometimes we think we can be like the Energizer Bunny—and just keep going and going and going.  But, the bunny is a fraud.  They have to keep putting new batteries in.    Once upon a time Julie and I decided to light a candle during our day of rest to remind us to slow down and rest. After a few weeks we got too busy to light the candle. No one ever said that learning how to rest would be easy.   Have you ever noticed on a hot day that when you turn your gas grill on high, the propane tank gets cold?  It’s because the tank is being decompressed.   According to the natural laws of compression and expansion, when we compress something like a gas or a liquid, it becomes very hot. Decompressing something has the opposite effect.   Life is like that. The more we compress into life the more heat it produces, and that heat comes in the form of stress and anxiety. The more we decompress the more enjoyment and fulfilled is life.   Even Jesus needed a time away to rest from his ministry of teaching and healing. We see in Luke 5:16 where Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” He walked for weeks and the phone never rang.  He got along just fine.  He got everything done he needed to do.   SABBATH KEEPING IS ABOUT REMEMBERING.   The Ten Commandments are given twice in the Bible. The commandment regarding the Sabbath is the same in both places, but the reasons for the commandment are different.   In Exodus chapter twenty the reason is tied to the rhythm of creation. In Deuteronomy chapter five the reason is connected to remembering all the great things God did for the people of Israel!     Sometimes we forget that we are eternal beings. There’s more to life than just making a paycheck and getting a promotion. I forget that I was created to be in relationship with my Creator.   I forget that I am a new creature in Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ).   I need to remember that I was bought away from sin not with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ ( 1 Peter 1:18-19 ).   I need to remember that God allows difficulties for the good purpose of molding me to look like Jesus.   When pressures and trials come, it’s easy to feel we’ve been abandoned by God.  The Sabbath reminds us that God has been faithful in the past, and that He will be faithful in the future.   GOD DESIGNED THE SABBATH TO BE OUR DELIGHT.    “… if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way … then you will find your joy in the LORD …” ( Isaiah 58:13-14 ).   First century Romans suspected that Christians were guilty of orgies on Sunday because they thought that no one could be having that much fun!   There are portions of Hebrew literature that declare that a part of the Sabbath should be set aside for love-making. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?     HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN WE’VE DONE THE SABBATH RIGHT?   Answer: “When we are no longer exhausted and mentally upset as we began another week. No one snatches Sabbath Rest from us. We give it away by our choices.   Partner up with Jesus: “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” ( Matthew 11:28 ).   Gil, I hope I’ve answered your question and even added a few extra thoughts that you may find helpful.   Love Roger

Dear Roger,   We have relatives who are not believers, and want to argue that the “harsh” God of the Old Testament could not be the same as Jesus of the New Testament. They ask, “How would a loving God wipe out whole nations, including babies. I would like to know how you respond to this question.   Dear Beth, I know what you mean. I’ve often wondered the same thing.   For example, how do we reconcile Joshua 11:20 in the Old Testament with John 3:16 in the New Testament?   “For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses” ( Joshua 11:20 .   “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16 ).   I’ve tried to sort it out for many years and couldn’t–until you asked your question! So, after reading your question I decided to focus on getting a satisfactory answer that had some substance and satisfaction.   Here Is How I Used To Answer The Question:   First, we cannot honestly overlay our morals, values and behaviors upon a previous generation or culture. Certainly, God’s directions for Israel to destroy entire cities wiping out all men, women, children, babies and live stock was normal behavior for people in the Old Testament. The average person in Old Testament times did not question God’s behavior or motives. This was just how life was lived.   That is not a very satisfying answer. I know. I didn’t like it either, but it was the best that I had at the time.   Second, I told people that this was just one of God’s mysteries and we must be content with not knowing until God reveals all in Heaven. I didn’t much like this answer either.   Finally, I told people that when our questions are “faith threateners”, we have to stand in faith on the resurrection. Jesus cheated death and promised that if we believe in Him that we can cheat death, too.   This belief trumps my doubts about an angry Old Testament God who did things that I can’t understand. Take time to read what Paul has to say about this in 1 Corinthians 15 .   Here Is How I Answer The Question Today:   God Is Immutable. He Never Changes. He Is Always The Same.   In the Old and New Testaments God can be seen acting both harshly and lovingly. In the Old and New Testament, God (Jesus) can be seen acting both harshly and lovingly. God is consistently the same in character, values and behaviors both in the Old Testament as well as in the New.   Anger and harsh behavior are always the result of judgment for sin. Compassion and love are poured out on those who are hurting and suffering.   Let me share several examples.   God was sometimes harsh in the Old Testament: He, at times, instructed the Israelites to destroy completely an idol worshipping city.   “They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” ( Joshua 6:11 ).   Jesus was sometimes harsh in the New Testament: He was incredibly angry when He used a whip to drive the money changers out of the Temple. Also, He will sit on the throne at the Great White Throne Judgment and cast non Christians into Hell. That is very harsh behavior for the one we call the Loving Jesus.   “In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’” ( John 2:14-16 ).   “Then I saw a great white throne and him (Jesus) who was seated on it. … And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books…. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” ( Revelation 20:11-15 ).   God was often seen as compassionate and loving in the Old Testament. I often use Psalm 103 at funeral services. The picture here of a loving and comforting God is incomparable.   The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.   Jesus was often seen as compassionate and loving in the Old Testament. The “Angel of the Lord” was a theophany of Jesus appearing in human form in the Old Testament. When the “Angel of the Lord” saw a sobbing woman and her son dying of thirst in the desert, He gave them water to drink and led them to safety.   “When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob.   God heard the boy crying, and the angel of the Lord (Jesus) called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink” ( Genesis 21:15-19 ).   The key to understanding that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament revolves around the issues of sin and justice. As holy, perfect and righteous, God must punish sin harshly. As loving and compassionate He extends grace, mercy and forgiveness to those who humble themselves and trust in Him as Savior and Lord.   Well Beth, I hope this gives you some ideas on how to approach your relatives with the gospel.   Let me know how it all turns out.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger, Is the passage in Scripture that tells us not to be unequally yoked dealing with marriage, business or both? Thanks for clarifying. Jeri   Dear Jeri,   This direction given by Paul regarding this subject is wisdom for the ages. God is not trying to put a damper on whom we may or may not marry—or with whom we may or may not go into business! He just deals with the issue with common Christian sense.   Paul used a metaphor in 2 Corinthians 6:14 regarding harnessing oxen to pull a plow: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” Oxen were matched as closely as possible in order for them to pull together most powerfully. Large and little oxen don’t match up. Young and old don’t match up very well either—nor do healthy and sick ones.   Proper plowing required two-yoked oxen pulling together with the same gait and corresponding strength—so does building your house. You want your contractor to have only one set of plans. Imagine trying to build a house with more than one set of plans that don’t match up—disaster.   God has a Biblical-blue print laid out in the Bible for a successful marriage. Imagine that you and your spouse are working off of two different marriage blueprints—chaos!   The principles of Biblical economics clearly lay out God’s plan for building a successful business. As a Christian you want to build your business on sound Biblical principles. Can you imagine trying to be in business partnership with a Non-Christian who is working with an entirely different set of values, ethics and business blueprints!   So, yes Jeri, Paul’s command applies to both marriage and business and to any other situation which calls for Christians to “link up” permanently with a person or persons who have yet to surrender their lives to Christ.   Love, Roger

Roger, I am in a quandary that has me in a bit of a desert…. My family and I attend church, and lately, we feel that we may not belong. Really has been a struggle, and a spiritual connectedness is absent. I go through the motions, and feel that things are going on around me without my being involved… There has recently arose a situation in which there have been some actions by two members that are less than Christ-like, and there is no way to address it, because it is the pastor’s family that has committed the acts…. I love so many of the church members, but I almost feel that God is moving me and my family somewhere else. Does it work like this? I am not a church hopper, and have often been confused by people that go from one church to another, I guess maybe I’ve passed judgment. And now here I am. What do I do? … I feel that I am attached to this church, but knowing the ugly underbelly, makes me feel that some things may not be as they seem. I guess overall my question to you would be this; If God is moving my family and I to another church, how would we know?   Thanks in advance! Melinda C.   Dear Melinda, I am not at all surprised that you and your family are considering moving on to another church. If I were a member of your church I would think strongly, as you are, about getting out of there as soon as possible.   “Pulling up the tent stakes” is what I call your current situation. This a time in your spiritual life when God is making you dissatisfied with where you are in order to prepare you to go somewhere else. Tent stakes usually loosen slowly. Changing churches seldom occurs quickly; but when it is time to leave, it is time to leave.   Leaving a church is difficult for a number of reasons, not the least of which is leaving behind all the friends and relationships you have developed. Plus, you probably have many good remembrances and spiritual experience that make it difficult.   You say that you have an aversion to “church hoppers”. Let’s make one thing clear. God intends for us to settle down with a group of Christian friends who become our source of strength, help, support, compassion, comfort, service and who journey through the Bible with you as you develop strong spiritual muscles. We call this our Fellowship or “Koinonia” group. Church hoppers, by definition, seldom settle down and invest their lives with a Christian group of brothers and sisters.   You are not church hopping when you are seeking to find a new church home. It is obvious to me that when you find the “right” church, you will settle down and involve yourself in fellowship there. It make a while to find the right church. Until you find one you are not hopping. You are searching. The difference between the two is significant.   HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME TO LEAVE? LET ME GIVE YOU SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER.   1. You No Longer Respect The Pastor And His Leadership.   Paul described what a good pastor looks like and how he behaves : “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respect able, hospitable, able to teach,” ( 1 Timothy 3:2 ).   If your pastor is failing in these areas it is definitely time to consider leaving.   2. The Pastor’s Family Is Out Of Control.   Paul taught that if a man can’t lead and oversee his own family then he has no business trying to pastor a church: “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full  respect” ( 1 Timothy 3:4 ).   3. There Are Fights And Dissension In The Church.   1 Corinthians 3:1-3 sounds like your church: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ…. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”   4. The Pastor Must Teach Well And Communicate Sound Biblical Doctrines And Truths.   Be careful about pastors who confuse Biblical truth with his personal convictions.   Paul was deeply concerned that the pastor be able to teach and teach the Bible well: “Now the overseer is to be able to teach …” ( 1 Timothy 3:2 ).   “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly” ( 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 ).   “You must teach what is accordance with sound doctrine” ( Titus 2:1 ).   5. The Singing And Worship Time Leads Into “The Throne Room” Of Heaven.   “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” ( Colossians 3:16 ).   6. You Have Decided That Finding The Right Church Is Worth More Than Losing The Church Relationships That You Presently Enjoy (as long as you are committed to investing your life with Christian brothers and sisters in your new church home).   “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25 ).   7. You’ve Decided Not To Search For The Perfect Church. That Church Does Not Exist. A Church Can Have Problems And Still Be A “Great Church.”   “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life”( Philippians 4:2-3 ).   I am sorry for what you are enduring in church right now. I will pray for your dysfunctional church to get well. I will also pray for you and your family to have great success in your search the God has in store for you and your family.   Please let me know how it all turns out.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger, If you accept Jesus into your heart at an early age and then never really do anything in your life that involves Him, and then you die, do you still go to Heaven? Sincerely, Name Withheld   Dear Name Withheld,   “Spiritual abortion” is the term I used to describe people who accept Jesus into their hearts at an early age and then never really do anything in their lives that involves Him. Based on the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23 (and in the corresponding passages in Mark and Luke), they will not be in Heaven.   Spiritual abortion occurs when a person professes faith in Christ but is spiritually still-born. Their profession of faith in Christ makes little, if any, difference in their lives. Spiritual breathing barely begins before it is quickly snuffed out.   The Parable of the Sower describes a farmer (Jesus) who is sowing seed on four very different types of soils.   Some seed fell on a hard pathway and some birds ate it up before it penetrated the ground. Some seed fell on a thin skin of topsoil overlaying a shelf of solid rock. The seed sprang up quickly, but the hot sun soon scorched and withered the new plants because they had small, shallow roots. Some other seed fell among thorn bushes which choked the life out of the sprouts. However, some of the seed fell on good soil and produced a prodigious crop of thirty to one hundred times what was sown ( Matthew 13:1-9 ).   The pathway soil represents the hearer who is not interested at all in the things of Christ. Since “birds” are sometimes a symbol of evil in the Bible, Jesus may well be referring to satanic deception which keeps these people from hearing the Gospel at all ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). Nevertheless, whatever, they reject the Gospel completely ( Matthew 13:18-19 ).   The rocky soil represents shallow professors who wilt when the going tough. A religious experience is no guarantee that personal salvation with Christ has occurred. Surface change is not the same as transformation of the heart. Feelings may change without transforming the soul. There is no repentance, no remorse over sin, no contrition, no brokenness, no recognition of the need for a Savior. When the going gets tough, this person’s relationship with Christ is proved inadequate or nonexistent ( Matthew 13:20-21 ).   The thorn-infested soil represents hearers who are distracted by too many other things. When the Sower was sowing the ground looked clean enough—but it was full of grab grass. The result was that the good seed and the dormant weeds grew together; but the weeds were so strong that they throttled the life out of the seed, and it died, while the weeds flourished ( Matthew 13:22 ). The weeds are any distractive things which take precedence over the things of Christ.   The good soil represents fruit-producing Christians. The seed on the good soil took deep root and produced flourishing plants that yielded a prodigious amount of fruit ( Matthew 13:23 ).   Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them.” The point of the Parable of the Sower is that true believers produce fruit. I believe that of the four groups, only one is Christian and “on the way to Heaven”. It is not hard to deduce that the hard, pathway soil is not Christian. Those here never received the Word into their lives in any way. On the other hand, it is not difficult to deduce that the last group, the good soil, is composed of true Christians. They received the Word, flourished and produced much fruit.   The difficulty comes in deciphering what Jesus was teaching regarding the middle two groups. Are they Christians are not? The key here is not their initial profession of faith in Christ; the key is the lack of fruit. The Book of Hebrews is careful to declare that the real test of real Christians is not how they start but how they finish ( Hebrews 6: 6 :4-6)!   Three types of fruit are mentioned in the Bible. The manifestation of these fruits is perhaps the best indicator of lives changed and transformed by the indwelling Christ (and on the way to Heaven).   First is the “Fruit of the Spirit” described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 : “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” As we mature spiritually these characteristics are manifested more and more.   Next is what Paul calls the “Fruit of Good Behavior” described in Philippians 1:11 : “… filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Those spiritually reborn experience life changes which make them more sensitive to sin and the things that keep us from the righteousness of Christ. As a result, they begin to reflect more and more of the righteous life of Christ in their own lives.   Finally is the “Fruit of New Converts” as mentioned by Paul in Romans 1:13 : “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.” As we mature in Christ, we find that fulfilling the command of Christ to evangelize the Lost ( Matthew 28:19-20 ) becomes a driving force in our lives.   James addressed this issue in James 2:14-18 : “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”   According to James, true faith in Christ will always be manifest by the works (fruit) that occur as a result of faith in Christ. No works means no faith.   I am sure many questions entered your mind as you read my answer. Let me share a few caveats. I believe that the Bible clearly teaches that once a person is saved they are always saved. Since salvation is based on Christ’s work and not on ours, God does not take it away because of our poor behaviors at some future point. Interpreting Jesus’ parable of the soils says to me that the middle two soils were never “saved” in the first place. It is not how we start but how we finish that really matters. True Believers remain faithful to the end.   What about people who receive Christ on their death beds and never have time to produced any works? True faith saves whether we have time to produce fruit or not.   What about people who live for Christ and then turn away from Christ? My opinion is that true Believers will not turn away and the fact that they do reveals that they never were True Believers in the first place.   What about backsliding? My advice is, “Don’t do it.” If you do, you and God will have to work that out together.   Well, Name Withheld, I hope this answer is helpful to you. May God bless you in your Christian growth to produce much fruit! Ask me another question soon.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger, My life is not turning out at all like I thought it would. I dreamed of marrying the right man, having a good job and a happy family. It hasn’t worked out that way at all. My husband is not a Christian and is antagonistic toward God and toward me. My teenage daughter is rebellious and on drugs. At least my job is holding steady. Mom and dad are getting older and needing more care than I can supply. I’m not enjoying life much. This is not at all how I dreamed it would be. Do you have any advice for me? Sincerely, Kattiana, Dear Kattiana, Once upon a time there were two missionaries named Paul and Silas. They were like super heroes as they lived out their adventures sharing the message of Jesus throughout Turkey. I don’t imagine that life turned out like they imagined either. They didn’t get first best; they had to make do with second. What they did with second best changed the world.   The gospel of Jesus was roaring through Turkey when Paul decided it was time to go to Bithynia, the largest, richest and most influential city in all Turkey. This was Paul’s homeland. This was his country. This was first best. He hardly could wait.   And then God said, “No. I want you in Macedonia.”   ”When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.   So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.   During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” ( Acts 16:7-9 ). We can imagine Paul on the sea shore near Troas looking across the Aegean Sea toward Macedonia while thinking, “I really don’t want to go to Macedonia. Bithynia is my first choice.  I’ll just have to see what I can do with second-best.” In Macedonia Paul performed his most significant service with the leftovers of a broken plan. Wanting Bithynia and getting Macedonia, how familiar is that. But to take the leftovers of disappointed expectation and to make of it the greatest opportunity that we ever have, how impressive is that!   James Whistler, the artist, started out to be a soldier at West Point but failed because he could not pass chemistry. “If silicone had been a gas,” he used to say, “I could have been a major general.” But it wasn’t. He failed soldiering, halfheartedly tried engineering and then tried painting with remarkable success. Whistler’s life is an impressive exhibition of handling life’s second bests.   Every Christian experiences closed doors at one time or other– some more than others: unexpected illness; lingering sickness; drawn out recovery after surgery; depression that begins to set in; financial reverse; divorce; loss of a job; an unexpected move; disappointments at school or work; discouragements to come from the low times of life; children begin to have deep personal problems; dealing with necessities and other things that demand our attention while the mainstream of life seems to be passing us by; a career where that’s boring you to tears.   Some of you are there right now. What happens next depends totally to you. Let me give you some thoughts about handling life’s second bests   First, don’t panic, no one lives out their entire life with first best.   I believe that God has a life plan for us all. I call it, “Plan A”. But I don’t know anyone who goes from birth to glory on Plan A, all the way. Often, when we get off track God says, “Okay we can get back to Plan A.” On the other hand, there are times when we make choices and behave poorly and God has to say, “I’m sorry,” we can’t get back to Plan A from here. We must jump to Plan B. Thank God he has a plan B. But the truth is that many of us are living on plan X triple prime. Thank God for grace.   Second, keep your faith intact. God has a plan for your life.     One of the best tests of a person’s faith is when we see him or her, wanting Bithynia and getting Macedonia, and yet is still certain that there’s a purpose for his or her life.   Third, don’t automatically assume that what seems to be second-best is really second-best. Satan also opens doors and provides options.   Abraham was called by God to go to Canaan. A famine was raging there. When Abraham heard of the harvest in Egypt he said, “God has opened the door in Egypt!” So he went to Egypt and got into all sorts of trouble. He lied about Sarah; he hired Hagar who soon mothered Ishmael; and the Arabs and Jews have been fighting it out ever since. Later God scolded Abraham for running to Egypt. “I was going to feed you supernaturally so that all of the people in Cana would know that your God was the true God and you blew it.”   Fourth, don’t be in a hurry. Be patient. Wait for God’s clear word before deciding what second-best might really be.   Spend extra amounts of time in prayer and fasting to know God’s will for what’s next.   Fifth, invite several others to walk with you on your second-best journey. Don’t go it alone.   The first 15 chapters of Acts are written in the third person: “Paul did this;” or, “Paul did that.” It is intriguing to notice that beginning with chapter 16 the record of acts is now written in the first person: “We did this,” or, “we did that.” In Acts 16 Paul joined forces with Dr. Luke who wrote both the gospel and this book of Acts. Will   Solomon wrote that there is much wisdom with many counselors. It was Paul, Silas, Luke, Timothy, Demas, Aquila and Priscilla and others who all worked with Paul to make the second-best, best.   Sixth, do not despair; the Holy Spirit has plenty of power and all the grace you need for victory in any situation.   If you read the Bible carefully you’ll see that God never gives martyr’s grace to a secretary. But let that secretary become a martyr and God has plenty of martyr’s grace.   Finally, second-best often begets a new dream and lurks nearby if we just take time to look for it.   My father loved his job as an airline executive overseeing the finances of a fledging airline. The company was sold and all the current officers were immediately let go, except for my father and one other. For three years he worked in a stressed-out environment with incredibly demanding leaders who engineered his departure while he was in the hospital having surgery. First best for my dad was finishing his career at age 65, with the airline he loved. He called it the worst day of his life. He was hurt, angry, grieving and depressed. I watched him go to bed and lay there for hours. Then, one day it was time to get up.   One of his favorite sayings was “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. So he did.   He found a low-stress job with an accounting firm. At age 65 he organized his own accounting firm. He played golf in the morning and accounted in the afternoon. On his 70 th birthday he said, “It’s time to close down the business and just play golf.” So, for the next 15 years he played five mornings a week and napped every afternoon.   “The best day of my life,” he said to me one day, “was the day I got fired. Had I worked five more years in that pressure packed place I would’ve died before 65. Now I see that second-best got me 20 more years of good health and time to do the things I want to do.”   He wanted first best but instead he got second–and it was the best thing that ever happened to him.   Well, Kattiana, I hope this is helpful. Sincerely, Ask Roger   “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” ( Revelation 3:7 ) A closed door often means a new dream! We just have to look for it.

Dear Roger,   I’m just confused on one point, where does it say that satan has open access to Heaven? and there are scriptures that say no sin can dwell in the presence of God, so Heaven isn't where God is right now? Sincerely, Seth   Dear Seth,   We hear all the time from people that there is no sin in Heaven! Who says so!? Most people don’t realize that Satan has open access to Heaven even now. We think of Heaven as a place of perfection and peace where there is no more sorrow and no more sin. We are thinking of the permanent Heaven and not the present Heaven. God will one day erect a new Heaven and earth because the present Heaven is soiled with sin.   Unfortunately there is pain and suffering in the present Heaven. For example, in Revelation 6 we see in the present Heaven a group of martyrs who are weeping as they plead for God to wreak vengeance on their persecutors.   God does not remove all the tears from Heaven until Revelation 21 (when He puts the permanent Heaven into place.).   We must be careful not to confuse the present Heaven with the permanent Heaven. At the “end time God” will create a new permanent Heaven and a new Earth where there are no longer any tears or sins.   Don’t misunderstand me. The present Heaven is intimacy with Jesus Christ and all that implies. I can hardly wait to talk to Jesus–and see Jessie and mom and dad again! I want to kneel before the Savior and declare, “Jesus Christ is Lord with countless millions. Jesus has work for me to do based on how well I managed the resources that He gave me to work with while I was alive on earth. I am looking forward to my new responsibilities and getting to work!   Let me answer your questions succinctly.   Three times the Bible shows us Satan in Heaven. In Isaiah 14 he was living in Heaven when He rebelled. God cast him out of Heaven. Then, in Job 1 and 2 Satan is allowed back in Heaven where he argued with God concerning Job’s righteousness and loyalty to God. Finally, in Revelation 12 God will cast Satan permanently out of Heaven and down to earth where he fosters Great Tribulation on the earth.   By the way, I don’t know the answer to your question about reconciling Satan being in heaven with the fact that God will not allow sin in His presence. This is a mystery to me. I think that we will just have to ask God when we get to Heaven.   In terms of practical application let me tell you why your question is more important than you probably realize. These passages make clear that we are involved in an intense spiritual battle with Satan here on earth. He blinds the eyes of unbelievers so that they cannot see the glory of Christ. He can bring us pain, suffering and devastation. He is out to steal, kill and destroy our abundant life in Christ. We are the “pawns” in the game of Heavenly chess as God and Satan fight over our loyalty and commitment to Christ.   As we mature in Christ, we enter into intense spiritual battles because Satan now has access to Heaven–and to earth.   OK, Seth, you can stop reading here. I hope I have answered your question satisfactorily.   However, I have taken time to write below a short theology of Satan’s fall and ultimate end. I hope you will read it. I think you will find the rest of my letter both helpful and informative.   Most people look to Isaiah 14 and Revelation 12 as passages describing the Fall of Satan before our world was even created.   Isaiah 14 is an ode to the fallenness of the King of Babylon who destroyed Jerusalem and kidnapped the Jews into captivity. Many see it as a double fulfillment for Satan’s fall as well as for the destruction of Babylon. In describing the fall of the Babylonian king we see the fall of Satan himself from Heaven.    “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to Heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; ….I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave …” ( Isaiah 14:12-15 ).    Many view Satan as the praise leader in Heaven whose arrogant pride enticed him to rival God for ascendancy and worship. This passage describes the moment God cast the self-infatuated devil out of Heaven. Tradition seems to indicate that Satan seduced about one-third of God’s angels to join his rebellion. God tossed the these angels now demons aside as well.   Satan and two-thirds of his followers were cast to the earth where they are causing much mischief and destruction. The remaining third were cast into “Tartarus” which is the lowest level of Hell. During the Great Tribulation these venom-slinging locusts ( Revelation 9 ) will be released from “Tartarus” when the fifth trumpet (also identified as the “first woe”) sounds. They bring great torment on those who acquiesced to the pressure and allowed themselves to be stained by the Mark of the Beast (666) ( Revelation 9:1-11 ).   Jesus acknowledged that He witnessed the fall of Satan from Heaven to earth:    And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him ( Revelation 12:7-9 ).    This passage refers not only to the original fall from Heaven but also to the expulsion from Heaven which will occur during the Great Tribulation when Satan indwells the Anti-christ and the “Abomination of Desolation” is erected in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem—and all Hell breaks loose on earth.   Satan’s fall explains the origin of sin and suffering on earth. He seduced Adam and Eve in the Garden and now is in charge of this earth. Jesus confirmed this when He did not nullify Satan’s offer to give him the kingdoms of this world. This is also confirmed in the Book of Revelation. The purpose of opening the Seals is for God to take back the title deed to earth which is now in Satan’s possession.   For whatever reasons God allows Satan current access to Heaven. For example, in Job 1-2 Satan is standing before the throne arguing with God over the righteousness of Job. Also, Paul taught that Satan “whispers in the ear of God” accusations about God’s people concerning their sins and shortcomings.   As you can see, the present Heaven is stained by horrendous sin. We will certainly enjoy it when we arrive there because the greatest attraction about Heaven is God Himself. Nevertheless think of how exciting will be the sight of the creation of the permanent Heaven. John declared:    “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” ( Revelation 21:1-4 ).    Thanks for your question, Seth. I hope my answer is helpful.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger, I was wondering about those bodies of holy people who were raised to life after the resurrection of Jesus in Matthew 27:50-53 . Who were these people? I was reading the Easter story when this got my attention. I have never heard about them until now. What are your thoughts? By the way, while you are at it, could you enlighten me about the rapture of the church and the second coming of Jesus? Sincerely, Anna   Dear Anna,   Frankly, everyone who reads about these resurrected people is just as curious as you. This is the only time that they are mentioned in the Bible. So I suppose we must take this passage at face value. Jesus was not the only one who experienced the resurrection that week. The bodies of some holy people who had died previously were also resurrected. God tells us that their job was to proclaim the message of the gospel and the resurrection of Jesus.   We don’t know how long they ministered or how God resurrected them. I doubt that he reburied them so I would imagine that they were the forerunners of what the Bible calls the rapture. The term “rapture” is used to describe the event which occurs to the resurrected bodies of Christians at the second coming of Jesus Christ   The Bible says that the second coming and the rapture are closely tied to events in the Middle East. I heard this morning about the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia over the country of Yemen. We all know that the president of the United States is trying to arrange a nuclear treaty with Iran to limit nuclear weapons with Iran as long as Iran promises not to use any against Israel. Recently, the United States president attempted to engineer the democratic elections in Israel to secure the defeat of a man who was dedicated to securing the borders of Israel at all costs. He is doing all he can to prepare for a nuclear attack against his country.   We Westerners have such a hard time figuring out the fight in the Middle East. We imagine that if we can just get the Arabs and Israelis to sit down at a table then we can compromise and work everything out.  The diplomats think that somehow that this is a political, economic, and sociological battle which can bring peace and success.  They are ignoring the fact that it is a religious and theological battle.   In Genesis 16 we find that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, and his concubine, Hagar, have a great falling out. Abraham is forced to remove Hagar and her son, Ishmael, from his family. Many Arabs are descended from Abraham through Ishmael. All Jews are descended from Abraham through Sarah’s son,, Isaac. God declared that Ishmael would be a wild and uncontrollable man who would fight continually against Isaac. The fight between the two still rages. This is a family fight. Resolution can only come as we factor in the dimensions of family and theology.   Today there are 389 million people of Arab descent (of course, not all Arabs are descended from Ishmael). There are an estimated at 21.7 million Jews, of which 6.3 million are currently living in Israel. It’s inconceivable that Israel has not been overrun by the Arabs–except that God has a plan for the Jews in the final days.   What we see happening in the Persian Gulf is not the end. There must come a time of peace and several more battles before the end comes. God’s plan for his Church in the final days is currently underway. The central focus of God’s plan revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is an appropriate topic these days because God’s plan also centers on our resurrection.   The very next event in God’s prophetic calendar may well be the “rapture” of the church. The word, “Rapture”, is not found in the Scriptures. “Rapture” is from the Latin word “Rapturo” which means “to catch away.”   Jesus describes the rapture in Matthew 24:36-41 :   36  “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, [f] but only the Father. 37  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”   The resurrection of Christ and His followers is a critical part of God’s plan for his followers. We know this because the Second Coming of Christ is mentioned 318 times in the New Testament alone.   As we study the Second Coming we immediately notice a paradox. The second coming is in two stages separated by at least seven!   * 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says that “He’ll come in the air.” Zechariah says that His feet will land “on the ground.”   * 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and Revelation 16:15 say that He’ll come in secret, as a “thief in the night.” Revelation 1:7 says that “every eye will behold Him.”   * Titus 2:13 refers to it as a time of “blessing and hope.”  II Thessalonians 1:8-9 shows it as a time of punishment and judgment.   * 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and John 14:2-3 says that He will come “for” His saints. Zechariah 14:5 ; 1 Thessalonians 3:13 ; Revelation 19:11-16 says that He will come “with” His saints.   The only way to understand this paradox is to realize that Christ’s Second Coming is in two stages.   The First stage is the Rapture. Christ comes in the air, in secret, for His saints to remove them to Heaven.   I n the Second stage Christ comes to the ground, with every eye on Him, with His saints, to bring judgment and punishment.   I want to list for you all the prophetic events which must be fulfilled before the Rapture can occur. There are none. His return is imminent.  He could come at any moment.   The Apostolic church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death or Heaven. The Early Christians were not looking for a grave; but for a lightning bolt in the sky !   The records tell us that the early Christians topped every hill looking for Jesus. They were constantly looking for His return. They expected him to be right around the corner. The Scriptures often refer to our hope as Christians being the return of Jesus Christ.   I recall once getting in big trouble in the fifth grade.  The teacher was outside of the room.  The noise and playing was escalating dramatically the longer she stayed away. We were causing quite uproar when the door opened and there stood the teacher   Each of us had to write 500-word-theme on “Why I will Not Disrupt Class When the Teacher Is Gone.”   What disturbed me the most was the fact that I failed to hear the pitter-patter of her orthopedic wedges coming down the hall.   For the rest of the year, every time she left the room we lived in fear of the imminent return of the teacher.   When will Christ return for his saints at the rapture? If we read Matthew 24:36-42 and look at the signs of war, devastation, famine, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions it’s easy to deduce that the second coming should occur at any moment. But no one knows for certain.   All that we know is that His coming is imminent .  God expects us to be ready at any minute. Jesus tells us that only God knows the moment scheduled for the second coming to begin. Jesus said that in an hour when we think not he will surprise us with His coming.   I did have one professor in college who claimed to know what time Jesus would return.  He said, “I know that Jesus is going to come back sometime before 7:00 a.m., because if there’s any time when I think not, it’s before 7:00 a.m.”   In a practical way, we are to plan as though He weren’t coming for l000 years, but we are to live as if He were coming today.   While no one knows the time of his return, the Bible does give us some insights as to when it might occur. There seems to be three basic options— although there may well be many options God has not even hinted at.   The first is called pre-tribulation that declares that before the last seven years of tribulation and hell on earth Jesus will return before the tribulation for his church. The second is called mid-tribulation and posits that the rapture will occur 3 ½ years after a peace treaty is signed which secures for Israel’s safety after which all hell will break loose on earth. The mid-tribulation interpretation has the church experiencing the pain and suffering of the great tribulation for the next 3 ½ years. The third position is called post-tribulation and imagines that the rapture will not occur until the final seven years of earthly destruction are concluded. In the twinkling of an eye, the rapture occurs.   The Lord Jesus himself will descend with the spirits or souls of those who have previously died and are now in heaven. Their bodies will come out of their graves to be united with their heavenly souls into spiritual bodies which are fit to live in heaven forever.   When Jesus comes at the rapture, he will not come all the way to earth.  He will return in secret in the air accompanied by a tremendous shout. That shout will penetrate every grave, pierce the deepest seas and be heard by every saint upon earth. I imagine that Jesus will shout the same words that he shouted when he called the dead Lazarus up out of the grave in Bethany: “Lazarus, come forth.” “   It’s been said that if Christ hadn’t singled out Lazarus, every grave in the graveyard would have opened. So, at the rapture, he leaves off the name “Lazarus” and calls every Christ follower to come forth out of their graves.   The Dead in Christ shall rise first.   By the way, those who are not Christians are not resurrected until the 1000-year reign of Christ is completed. They will then be resurrected to be judged at THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT where not one of them is declared good enough to enter God’s perfect heaven. They died without a savior and are bound for the Lake of Fire.   Of course, Christian bodies will resurrect from all over the world. Many will be in man-made graves. On the other hand, many Christians have gone down at sea; some were burned to death; some were lost in the wild places of the earth; some were cremated; some died in deserts and their bones were left to scorch in the heat; some were torn to bits in explosions. It. doesn’t matter to Jesus.  He knows everything and He knows where they are.   He comes for the bodies of His loved ones and not a one of them shall be lost.   Then, in a “twinkling of an eye,” those Christians who are alive on earth will hear His shout as their bodies are transformed into spiritual bodies fit for heaven. They then rise up in the air to meet Jesus in their journey on to heaven.   When all are safely in heaven, THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB occurs. This will be a time of reunion, fellowship and celebration for all of God’s children.   But woe to those who are left behind.  They enter a world of horrible hell on earth dominated by plagues, trials, plagues, trials, tribulations, famine and death.   The Bible says that we are either saved or not saved. No in between exists.  By what we do with Jesus, we determine what’s going to happen to us on that day.   Whenever I attend a funeral of a Christian, I can truly say, “Goodbye, I’ll see you with Jesus after a little while.”   Early in my ministry I heard the story about a Christian man Christian man who lay dying.  He had three sons, two were Christians and the third and youngest was a wayward sinner. Dad spoke to his two Christian boys and said: “I’m going to leave you for a little while, but it won’t be for long. I’ll see you again someday soon.” To the youngest boy he said: “Goodbye, my son, goodbye.”  The young boy with a broken heart cried out, “Father, why do you say goodbye to me with such finality and tell my brothers that you’ll see them again before long?” Dad replied: “Your brothers trust Jesus as their Savior.  You have rejected Him.  Those who reject Jesus never find a heavenly home.  This is the parting of the ways for us forever.  I’ll never see you again.  Goodbye.” The poor boy broke down and sobbed: “Oh, Father, tell me that it’s just goodbye for a little while.  I’ll trust Jesus as Savior, too.” It will be a great day for those of us who know Jesus as Savior!  Whether we’re still alive or have gone to be with Christ and just returned for a spiritual body We are to be believers who are watching and waiting for Christ’s return. We look for our blessed hope ( Titus 2:13 ).   According to Paul the resurrection of Jesus is the proof that one day we too shall be resurrected. Paul teaches that everything hangs on the resurrection and if the resurrection is not true then we should all give up and go all because there is no salvation.   As far as I’m concerned, Jesus promised that he cheated death, and that if I believe in him I can cheat death and live forever, too.   Anna, I hope you find this answer helpful. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. Sincerely, Roger

In order to lend some credibility to my comments, you may need to know that I’ve counseled married, remarried, cohabitating and divorced couples and individuals for over forty years. Nothing surprises me anymore. Of the hundreds of letters that I receive to Ask Roger, almost one-half of them deal with marriage issues.    While the issues in marriage, and in cohabitating, remain much the same, I’m not the same. When I first began pastoring (at age 20) the rules for divorce were clear. First, adultery was always grounds for divorce ( Matthew 5:31-21 ). Second, a Christian married to an unbeliever may get a divorce if the unbeliever wants to get out of the marriage ( 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ).   In those days it was easy for me to apply the rules. People either obeyed them or they didn’t. If they didn’t they weren’t really welcome in our fellowship.   I look back with sadness. A lot of people in broken marriages turned to the church for help and comfort and all we had to offer were two rules.   The more contact I’ve had with those divorced and divorcing, and with people who needed to get out of miserable, dangerous, abusive and broken marriages the more my heart aches. Too many situations simply don’t fit the rules.   Let me give you an example of a letter that I recently received from a woman with two daughters. She is tragically trapped in a marriage sham but feels is obligated to keep married because God will punish her if she divorces the miserable dead beat.   Dear Roger, I am 23 years old, and i got married when i was 19. i been married 5 years now. i got 2 kids… as of right now my husband is pass out .he was drunk and he came home and pick a fight and when i told him i just want to sleep he punch me and grab my hair and says i don’t care about him just because i didn’t want to talk to him…i really don’t know what to do.. i love my two daughter so much..i don’t want them to be grow up and see that they don’t have their parent together..Please Pray for me and my daughters…today is Sunday i suppose to go to the church, but i can’t my eyes can’t open cause i been crying all night.. Please help me pray for me and my daughter….   Today, I try to interpret the Bible’s teachings on divorce–and there are many–as a selection of godly principles. With this approach, I find the Scriptures full of help which provides much truth to work with in helping hurting people.   No two marriages are alike. Each needs individual attention. Any decision to divorce — or to recommend it — comes only after a careful consideration of a multitude of factors. Prayer and seeking God’s will in every situation is essential.   1. Adultery is always grounds for divorce ( Matthew 5:31-32 ).   2. A Christian may divorce a non-Christian if the non-Christian wants to divorce ( 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ).   3. Physical abuse, and in many cases emotional, cruel and/or mental abuse may mean that it is time to consider abandoning the marriage ( Malachi 2:16 ).   “God hates divorce; but, He also hates a man covering himself with violence” ( Malachi 2:16 ). The term in Malachi 2:16 , comes from a Hebrew word that can also mean, “covering his wife with violence.”   I advise any woman who has been hit by her husband to consider getting as far away from him as soon as possible — and never to look back–divorce or otherwise. Continued belittling and mental and emotional badgering fits under the “violence” umbrella. Notice that this principle holds true if the roles are reversed and the wife is the one instigating the violence.   By the way, can you imagine that a quick way to break your marriage vows is to hit the one that you promised to love.   4. The husband who consistently refuses to live up his responsibility of loving his wife as Jesus loved the church, may, in some cases, have violated his marriage vows and made the marriage contract null and void ( Ephesians 5:25-33 ).   Paul taught that the marriage vows made by a husband include loving and sacrificing for his wife as Jesus loved and sacrificed His life for His church. According to the vows laid out in the Bible, the husband is to invest his life in loving his wife and caring for her needs even before he takes care of his own. He is responsible to make her into the best woman she can possibly be. He is to watch over her and protect her from “evil things”. He is responsible for his wife’s spiritual development so that one day she may be pure and holy as she comes into the presence of Christ.   Based on years of observation, many husbands walked out on their wives long ago—even while they both lived under the same roof.   5. The wife who undermines and/or disrespects her loving husband, may, in some cases, have violated her marriage vows and made the marriage contract null and void ( Ephesians 5:22-24 ).   As you read the Ephesians five passage, notice that while the husband is commanded to love his wife, his wife is never asked to love him. She is to obey and respect him; but she’s never told to love him. Many have trouble with a wife being told to obey and respect her husband. It doesn’t seem right or fair.   Let me tell you what I see going on here. Women whose husbands are fulfilling their roles of loving and sacrificing their lives for them don’t have to be told to love their husbands. Loving men like that comes naturally. It is easy to love and respect some one who has your best interests at heart.   6. The husband who refuses to get a job in order to meet the needs of his family is worse than an unbelieving non-Christian ( 1 Timothy 5:8 ). He has forfeited his role as a husband and violated his marriage vows.   Of course, there are times when few/no jobs are available. This is different from the husband who refuses to work. In this case, the wedding vows are not broken by the failure to make a living.   7. God never intended for people who are divorced without Biblical grounds to remain single forever ( Genesis 2:18 and Matthew 5:32 ; 19:8-9 ).   Jesus said that it is a wrong to marry someone who has been divorced who did not have the proper grounds for divorce. In the same way, it is not right for a person who is divorced without biblical grounds to remarry.   However, the overriding principle here comes from before the Fall when God says to Adam, “It is not good for man to be alone” ( Genesis 2:18 ). It is my opinion that after an appropriate amount of time, and after seasons of brokenness, humility, confession and repentance, God is still intends for marriage to be the first defense against loneliness.   8. If you have proper grounds for a divorce, then you have proper grounds to remarry ( 1 Corinthians 7:15 , 39 ).   9. If your previous partner has remarried, reconciliation is impossible. There is freedom to remarry.   10. In certain cases it is God’s will to remain unmarried ( 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ).   11. When a marriage is irrevocably marred and broken it may well be time for both parties to consider simply picking up the pieces and starting over again ( John 8:1-12 ).   Remember how Jesus gave a second chance to the woman caught in adultery ( John 8:1-12 ). He helped her to pick up the pieces of her broken life and start over again.   Jesus is still in the business of helping people pick up the pieces of their broken lives so that their best days are ahead!   So, Let’s Practice.   I have repeated below some of the marriage and cohabitation questions I have recently received at Ask Roger. Take a few moments, just for fun, and think about how you might handle each one. Some are easy. Others are inscrutably difficult.   “What if I am married to a person with an incurable personality disorder that I never should have married in the first place, whose aberrant behavior is destroying our family? Is it OK for me to get a divorce?”   “What if I can handle my spouse’s angry and belittling verbal abuse—but I see my children being mentally and emotionally destroyed before my very eyes?”   “What if my husband puts a gun in my mouth and threatens to shoot me?”   “What if I don’t love my spouse anymore?”   I’ve heard Christians say, “Well, I don’t love him anymore.” Not loving someone has never been grounds for divorce. The Bible says that we are to love our wives/husbands. If you can’t do that, then love her/him as your neighbor. If you can’t love her/him as a neighbor, then, love your enemy.   “What if my spouse is involved in illegal/criminal behavior (gambling, drugs, gun running, etc) which could get us all in trouble?”    “My husband divorced me for another and I’m really praying that God will break them up and bring him back to me.”   “One month after i got married to the father of my two youngest children i found out he was having an affair.… He moved another women into his home….after about six months of rejection i filed for divorce. Our divorce will be final in man’s eyes. my question is in references to Matthew 19: 3-11 can i re-marry? will i commit adultery? will any future marriage be cursed? did i do the right thing?   “When I became a Christian I learned that I had no biblical grounds for my divorce. In order to make things right should I divorce my new wife in order to return to the old one?”   “In our culture polygamy is both allowed and encouraged. The missionary told me that the Bible says that we are to have only one wife and family. I have three wives and nineteen children. Is he right? If I choose one, the others will be put on the street to starve with no support. What should I do?”   “I have been taught in my church that it is okay to leave someone abusing you, etc. And being separated-But it is not okay to get divorced and marry someone else (unless widowed).”   “If God doesn’t recognize divorce, and marriage is a covenant, how can someone get remarried?”   “I’m told if your first spouse is alive, you are committing adultery if you remarry.”   “Is it OK to have sex with my ex?”   “My boyfriend likes looking at porn more than he likes having sex with me. What should I do?”   “I married my then spouse for all the wrong reasons. I thought things would change after the marriage, but they got worse. My then spouse confessed he didn’t believe in god and he brought all types of evils into our family. After many failed attempts to get him to join a church or get counseling I decided it only be wise to leave him. My concern is on remarrying, we were married in a court building, not on biblical grounds. So am I able to remarry if I cleanse myself, repent for those sins?”   When I talk to high school and college kids on the subject of marriage I ask them to raise their hands if they intend to get married some day. Most all hands go up. Then I ask how many have actually seen the type of marriage they would like to have? A few hands raise. Not many.   Then, I encourage them to look at everyone else in the group; one of every two persons in the room will be divorced at least once. I have never yet married anyone who intended to be in the divorced group—but half of all people tragically end up there any way.   A failed marriage is an awful thing. The ripples of pain flow outward in ever widening circles just as a stone tossed into the middle of a quiet pond sends ripples out in all directions.   So, make having a successful marriage a top priority in your life. You want to be in your rocking chair, rocking on the front porch some day in retirement with your very best friend—the love of your life. That will be sweet.

In John 8:44 , Jesus speaks of Satan as “a liar and the father of lies.”  Deception is his preferred tool as he attempts to rob God of His glory.  Like any other vandal, he seeks to mar all that might reflect the glory of God, and make it unattractive to those searching for truth and relationship.  However, he is clever enough to package his lies in appealing ways.  Just as he did in the garden, he puts just enough “truth” in the lie to make it plausible. Then he repeats the age-old question, “Did God really say … ?” One such lie has birthed a commonly held misconception in our culture, and many others.  On the surface, this misconception seems appealing because it appears to promote peace and harmony.  Over the past couple of decades, “tolerance” has become a social dogma so firmly ensconced in our culture, that questioning it can lead to mandated “sensitivity training” or worse (if there is worse!). On the surface, tolerance appears virtuous.  After all, doesn’t the Bible teach that we should love all people, and accept them where they are?  Yes it does, but tolerance doesn’t teach us to love anyone, only to “put up with them.”  It says, “ I won’t mess with you, if you don’t mess with me.”  In contrast, love compels me to get involved in other’s lives, to leave my comfort zone, even at my own expense. Tolerance falls short of Jesus’ commission “… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” ( Matthew 28:20 ).  Tolerance is content to leave someone where they are, no matter how harmful their situation.  That’s not love, that’s apathy!  In essence, tolerance is a form of selfishness that allows me the comfort of ignoring the spiritual condition of others, as long as I “tolerate” them. Casas Assistant Pastor, Darin Hoffman, puts it this way, “I’ll let you be selfish, if you let me be selfish.” A popular bumper sticker spells out the word “coexist” using various religious and ideological symbols. C – Islams’s crescent and star;•     O – Wicca’s pentagram;•     E – (= mc2 ) for science;•     X – Judaism’s star of David;•    I – Buddhism’s Karma Wheel dotting the i;•     S – Taoism’s Tao symbol;•     T – Christianity’s cross. The message ? – “All systems of thought and belief are equally valid. It’s OK for you to believe in one of them, as long as you accept all the others.”  This is no different than “moral relativism”, the belief that there is no absolute truth; “I have my truth and you have your truth.”  And it does nothing to tear down walls.  Rather it allows me to build up strong walls with large signs on them that say, “Don’t preach at me and I won’t preach at you!” The technical term for this is “henotheism” A term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single “God” while accepting the existence of other gods. Müller stated that henotheism means “monotheism in principle and a polytheism in fact.”  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism ) A henotheist may exclusively worship one god, for whatever reasons, while accepting that there are other gods worthy of worship even if he or she chooses not to worship them.  From a purely pragmatic point of view, this may appear to be the only path to world peace.  It may well be the basis of the false peace the book of Revelation says will be imposed upon the world in the final days.  It is only a small step from henotheism to the “truth” of a new god who embodies all of the “truth” from the lesser historical gods. A henotheistic world view requires some difficult re-interpretation of foundational scriptures.  What do you do with the following? “You shall have no other gods before (or besides) me. ( Exodus 20:3 , and Deuteronomy 5:7 ) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ( John 14:6 , italics added for emphasis) At best, henotheism reduces Christianity to nothing more than a belief system, a way of thinking.  But Christianity is more than that.  Unlike any system of thought, Christianity is about relationship with the God who created the universe and everything in it.  No other religion teaches that God desires a relationship with us, that he created men and women for communion with Him.  No other system of thought teaches that God delights himself in us ( Zephaniah 3:17 ).  And no other religion teaches that God Himself sacrificed to buy us back, when we had sold ourselves into sin.  The uniqueness of Christianity does not allow it to stand alongside any other as an equal. A difficult paradox for henothesim to address is that Christianity, like several others, identifies its God as the creator of the universe.  There can only be one creator of the universe, all others must have been created by that creator.  The only way they could all be equal would be if they were, themselves, all products of a “Darwinian creation”. Then, none of them would be the creator, because by Darwinian definition, there is no creator.  However, if there is a creator-god, all others must be subservient to that god.  And if any subservient god demanded man’s worship, that would be robbing the creator-god of the worship due.  Who does that sound like? Again, the devil took him (Jesus) to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ( Matthew 4:8-9 ) We should answer as Jesus did! Our defense from such subtle deception is to cultivate an intentionally-biblical world-view. It needs to be intentional, or it will never happen.  It needs to be biblical, because it needs to be based upon objective truth. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ( Ephesians 4:14 ) And it needs to be a world-view, in that it is all-encompassing, applied to every facet of life.  Henotheism only works if I compartmentalize life.  Only then can I ignore contradictions between various thought systems, because they belong to different life compartments. How then, if we are not to embrace “tolerance” as the world preaches it, should I respond to others with differing world-views.  A Biblical world-view shows that we are placed in the midst of darkness as lights, beacons to guide the lost to the one true God who loves them and sacrificed His Son for them.  We are to do this with compassion and understanding, yet with an urgency prompted by our concern for their eternal destiny.  We are to do it with gentleness and patience, never tiring of their dullness of hearing, but constantly holding them up in prayer.  And like our God, we are to lovingly sacrifice ourselves for them – that they might see a glimpse of the love God has for them. Adapted from an article written for Casas Magazine

“I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Ps. 119:11 Developing an intentionally Biblical world-view requires an intentional study of God’s Word, aimed at understanding the true meaning and application of it to everyday life.  Like any other intellectual endeavor, there are certain methods and tools that can make the process more efficient and effective.  The minds God has given us are wonderful instruments with far more capability than most of us ever realize.  While we tend to emphasize the conscious methods of study and analysis, much of what we learn and discover results from subconscious or intuitive processing.  Such intuitive processes lead to the “aha” moments in life, where we suddenly make a new connection or application.   Years ago, I read an article in the newsletter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) on the intuitive process in petroleum exploration geology.  It noted that many successful petroleum and mineral exploration geologists (consciously or not) relied heavily upon intuitive processes to find economic petroleum and mineral deposits.  The author stated that the intuitive process is not passive, but arises from a disciplined approach involving three basic phases – immersion, incubation, and inspiration.    In the immersion phase, the geologist devotes massive amounts of time to absorbing all he or she can about the region of interest, the types of deposits sought and any other information that might remotely be related to the quest.  He made the statement that sometimes this comes across wrong to superiors, co-workers or outsiders.  The geologist may spend hours slouched back in a chair, feet on the desk, staring at a map on the wall, or trading “war stories” with other geologists.  In this stage, it is not often understood what the inter-relationships are between the various materials digested, and the shear volume of material makes it unlikely that anything initially stands out as significant.  But by immersion in the subject matter, many of the details are subconsciously absorbed and stored for later processing.   The incubation phase occurs when the geologist steps back from the immersion phase (sometimes overwhelmed or exhausted by the process).  Even though he or she is no longer aggressively pursuing knowledge on the subject, or consciously analyzing it, the subconscious mind continues to process the material, sorting out the facts and figures, connecting the dots, systematizing the apparently disparate parts into a coherent synthesis.  The length of the incubation phase is often unpredictable, except by repeated experience, since each individual situation may contain varying degrees of complexity.  It is also influenced by the intensity of preconceived notions.  The more strongly held misconceptions take longer to disassemble, to make way for new paradigms.    Suddenly, “out of the blue”, an idea bubbles up to the conscious mind – an inspiration.  Too often, it is dismissed, because it seems so out of line with past experience or conventional wisdom.  It is only by conscious intent that a new idea is entertained and analyzed to see if it indeed contains any merit.  It may be an incomplete “seed” that triggers a thought process leading to the answer, or it might come as a strong urge to “drill here!”  Those that have learned to use the intuitive process know how to distinguish such inspiration from a case of indigestion.    It is often only after testing the idea that the geologist can trace backwards through the subconscious logic that led to it.  Such inspiration is most common as the geologist is engaged in non-verbal activities like listening to music, exercising or hiking.  Part of the discipline involves providing such apparently “unproductive” interludes (read “life balance”).   I believe this process may be useful in many other areas of study and practice, not the least of which is the understanding of God’s word.  While the geologist is largely dependent upon unconsciously learned logical processes, we as believers have yet another aid in the process, the work of the Holy Spirit.  So let’s see how this process might look in study of the Bible.   Immersion in the Bible involves concentrated study and dissection of passages, be they a book of the Bible, or scattered passages related by some theme one wishes to better understand.  It starts by prayerfully reading and re-reading the passages until all of the details are recognized, whether or not their relationships make sense.  Just as the scientist would carefully observe every detail, the Bible student must become so familiar with the material, that the details can be easily recalled.  The ultimate expression of this is memorization of passages.  The goal is to learn the content of the passages.  The role of prayer and the action of the Holy Spirit in this phase cannot be overemphasized.  Prayer is a yielding to the will of God and opening of the heart to the Spirit of God, who “knows the mind of God.”   In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. ( Romans 8:26-27 ; New International Version, ©2011)   During this stage and into the next, the student will begin to bring in commentary and other supporting materials to begin interpreting the passages.  If he or she has committed the passages to memory, it will be easier to recognize which supporting materials are faithful to the text and which are not. Again, dependence on the leading of the Spirit will help separate the wheat from the chaff.  Inconsistencies will more likely become apparent.  Materials on the cultural, historical, political, geographical, economic, social, and even geological contexts can shed light on the events or ideas expressed.  Biographical materials can reveal themes that the authors or those being written about consciously or subconsciously dwelt upon.  During this stage the goal is to understand the intended meaning of the passages, and not force it into a modern context or set of presuppositions.   Up until now, the process has been what the Bible refers to as “hiding the word of God in my heart”, so that I am intimately familiar with it.  I can then begin to meditate upon it, turning it over and over in my mind and my heart, consciously and subconsciously, looking at it from all angles and integrating it into the larger cognitive framework I have built over the years, my core scripts and world-view. The more it incubates, the deeper it becomes embedded in my world-view.   If I have granted God’s word the authority it is due, it will occasionally reveal flaws in my core scripts or world-view.  In other cases, it may validate truths I have been taught or discovered on my own.  Those “inspirations” may come at unexpected times, or rise to the conscious mind because of triggering events, words or thoughts.  The more authority I have granted His word, and the more I have opened myself to the action of His Spirit, the more fruit will be born of committing His word to my heart and mind.   In the scientific and technical disciplines, this approach bears the most fruit among the best educated (formally or informally).  In this case, hiding away God’s word is the education, as well as related reading, listening to lessons, or even watching related video materials.  The key here is intentionality.  It is not just passive absorption of material, but rather, absorption with intent to understand and apply the material     In the spiritual realm, the process can be fruitful for anyone who applies it, because the Holy Spirit makes accessible the mind of God.  The more the process is committed to prayer, the more fruitful it will become because it will be unhindered by interference from the enemy, and the soil will be well prepared to receive the seed.  The discipline of “resting” or “waiting upon the Lord” serves the same purpose as the “non-verbal” interludes mentioned above.  It will be during those times of listening, that I will receive the most inspirations, not as I am wrestling with the process.  The inspirations will be applications of the word to everyday life, educating and focusing my world-view.   As with the geologist, the more I practice this process in studying the Bible, the more productive it will be.  What I learn in one study, will still be there in subsequent studies, and may enter into the application or understanding of the new topic or passage in unexpected ways.  Even unfocussed reading and meditation upon God’s word will contribute to the process, as in that process, I am storing away God’s word.  When I say unfocussed, I do not mean inattentive.  I simply mean attentive study aimed at understanding and application, but not necessarily with some end result in mind.  The more of God’s word that I have stored away, the more my subconscious mind will have with which to work.  And there will be more about which the Holy Spirit can remind me.   But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ( John 14:26 ; New International Version, ©2011)   But I cannot reasonable expect the Holy Spirit to remind me of something I have not previously hidden in my heart.   I have often been surprised by a sudden “inspiration” triggered by a comment on the radio or something I have read.  Looking back, I realize it is because I had previously hidden away pertinent parts of God’s word, and my subconscious mind has worked it over, and may have actually made the connection some time previous, but something I see or hear triggered release of that connection.   If you have never intentionally tried the intuitive method, consider it.  Look back at some of the “aha” moments in you life, and see if they were not actually preceded by immersion, and incubation, maybe weeks or months before hand.  And do not neglect immersion in other “non-biblical” topics, such as hobbies, interests, current events, biographies, and even fiction.  All of these can provide balance to life and may yield rich analogies and ideas that morph into Biblical illustrations and object lessons.  But be immersed in an attentive way, continually filtering the material so you recognize error or heresy.  You may be surprised how effective this method can be in understanding and applying scripture.  The worse that can happen is that you will learn a lot more of God’s Word!