Bible Talks

Matthew 2:13-23 "The Real Jesus: just a small blip in history?"

2011-11-24T20:55:00.001-08:00

Intro: It's easy in the good times

Given this year's catalogue of disasters (Queensland floods, Japan earthquake etc), it can be hard to trust that God is sovereign, that God is all-knowing and all-powerful and in full control.

By just looking at the events, we can come up with all sorts of interpretations - are they God's punishment for man's sin? Is the world coming to an end? Or are they just random events?

We need to turn to God's word.

1. Out of Egypt

- Another dream

Recapping Matthew 1:1-2:12, Matthew begins his gospel account by writing about the geneology of Jesus Christ, showing that Jesus is the Christ King, descendant of both the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), Judah and David, of whom the Messiah / Christ / King of Israel was prophesied to come from. He was to save people from their sins, as the angel showed Joseph in his first dream. In the second dream, Joseph and Mary were warned not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:13-15 describes the third dream. The main point of the dream is for the safety and protection of the baby Christ. Joseph and Mary were to bring Jesus to Egypt and remain there till it was safe to return to Israel. Matthew concludes that this is to fulfill the prophecy "Out of Egypt, I called my son".

- Hosea 11:1

"Out of Egypt, I called my son"

This is a direct quotation of Hosea 11:1. In Hosea 11, God looks back at the foundation of the nation of Israel. They were oppressed slaves in Egypt, but God brought them out of Egypt with His mighty right hand, with wonders and miracles.

But when Hosea spoke the prophecy, it was a rebuke to Israel. Despite God calling Israel His son, growing Israel, teaching Israel how to walk and taking them in His arms, Israel rejected God time and time again

- Matthew and Prophecy

So what is "Out of Egypt, I called my son" doing in Matthew 2:15? Is Matthew cherry-picking? And why does he quote only verse 1 and not verse 2 of Hosea chapter 1?

Matthew is an inspired author of God's word.

We want precision. But Matthew shows us prophetic fulfilment is more varied than we think.

- I called my Son

Hosea 11:1 is not the only place God calls Israel His son. In Exodus 4:22-23, God also refers to the whole nation of Israel as His son. Hosea recognises this.

But Matthew is now narrowing 'son' to one man - Jesus.

Jesus is the new Israel, God's son.

Jesus is the new Israel.

Jesus sums up the whole nation of Israel in Himself.

Jesus is the true Israel.

Israel was a disobedient son, but Jesus is the obedient son.

2. Rachel Weeping

- Herod's cruelty

Matthew 2:16 describes utter carnage. The loss of 1 child is already a terrible tragedy, let alone thousands and thousands of children over a few days. In Matthew 2:17-18, Matthew says this fulfills what was prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah.

- Jeremiah 31

Rachel is Jacob's 2nd wife. Jacob is one of Israel's Patriarchs as mentioned earlier. Rachel is thus one of the mothers of Israel. She was dead and buried in 1500BC. Why does she 'cry' around 600BC (Jeremiah's time)? It is because during that period Israel was conquered by foreign powers and the people carried off into exile.

However, the whole chapter is about hope (Jeremiah 31:13-17). God will bring the people back from exile.

- The end of exile?

Not only is there a physical return, God promises in Jeremiah 31:31-34 that there will be a new covenant, a 'spiritual return'. God's law will be written on the hearts of the people. God will forgive sin and iniquity.

3. He shall be called a Nazarene

- Another dream, another dream

Matthew 2:19-23 describe 2 final dreams that Joseph has. God is sovereignly guiding the child's life. Matthew again concludes that Jesus living in Nazareth is to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets "He shall be called a Nazarene".

- Old Testament verse?

But this verse cannot be found in the Old Testament. So why is Matthew quoting a Old Testament prophecy that doesn't exist?

- A Nazarene Christ

The clue is found in verse 23 - 'Prophets'. It is a summary of what prophets in the past have said.

Bethlehem is like the Adelaide of Israel, aka most remote town. And only nobodies came from Galilee (the region). Yet even the Galileans would say, "at least we aren't Nazarenes!" During that time, the Nazarenes were the most despised in all of Israel. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, among other parts of the Old Testament, prophesy that the Christ would be despised. The despised one would bring salvation for many.

4. Putting it all together

- God controls history

These passages show that God is protecting His Son, guiding and directing Christ's every movement to safety. God is in absolute control of everything that goes on!

This does not mean there would be no pain and suffering in this world. All the pain and suffering occurs because of our sin. In God's sovereignty, He did not stop the killing of babies.

Yet God hates death and suffering. He has done something about it. He has sent Jesus to save us from our sins. He will set a day when he will end death and suffering once and for all.

- Trust God's Word about history

What should we do in the meantime? We must trust in God! We must trust in His Word! His Word tells us why God broke into history - to save us from our sins.

Exodus 20:4-7 "Is it ok to be Jealous?"

2011-09-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

1. INTRO: Anger Management

a. Virginia Thrash Talk

On 16 April 2007, Cho Seung Hui gunned down 32 people and wounded 17 others before turning the gun on himself at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in what became known as the Virginia Tech Massacre. In the aftermath of the incident, reviews noted that he had a troubled mental history and students and staff long noticed that he had a 'menacing' streak about him, and that he was always 'angry'.

Was it ok for Cho to be as angry as he was?

The family and friends of those who perished in the incident were also angry. They were upset that Cho seemed to be abandoned by the helplines, that no one had picked up on the worrying signs of Cho's mental instability earlier.

Was it ok for them to be angry as well?

b. Barbecue Flames Fiasco

4 days later on the 20 April 2007, a US court heard of a 26 year old woman who had fatally stabbed her husband at a barbecue just 1 year into their marriage in June 2007. The woman was annoyed husband, 27, had tried to persuade two women to stay at the barbecue that they were hosting, claiming that he 'fancied' them. Filled with rage, she picked up a three-pointed knife (a souvenir from their honeymoon) and plunged it into her husband's chest.

The man's friends had always known her to be excessively jealous, but from her point of view she felt that her husband was always flirtatious with other women.

Is it ever right to be jealous?

c. Catastrophous Cast-Cow Calamity

In Exodus 32:7-10 we read of an angry God. The LORD God YHWH had cared so much for the Israelities. He had heard their groaning in Egypt and saved them from slavery to the Egyptians with his mighty hand. He had sent miraculous 10 plagues on Egypt, forcing the Egyptians to expel them from the land. He had parted the sea for them to cross to escape the pursuing Egyptian army.

But when the Israelites saw that Moses their leader had delayed going down from the mountain, they decided to take matters into their own hands and made a golden calf to represent God. They called the golden calf "your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4) God was so angry He wanted to dissociate himself from the Israelites (Exodus 32:7). He told Moses they are 'your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt'.

Did God forget that He had previously said 'You are my treasured possession among all peoples" (Exodus 19:5)? Or was God overly angry?

But what was the wrong the Israelites had done?

In fact, it seems like they weren't breaking the first commandment. They were still worshipping YHWH. They were making a feast to the LORD (Exodus 32:5).

Is it right for God to be angry?

2. Commandment No. 2 (Exodus 20:4-5)

a) The Command

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6)

The second of the 10 commandments that God had given them earlier is this: the Israelites were not to make for themselves a carved image and bow down and serve it.

b) The Reason

When God appears, he had no form. He only had a voice.

And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. (Deut 4:11-12)

If the Israelites want to worship YHWH, they had to remember that YHWH had no form when He appeared to them. In themselves, statues may be great, but they never can describe YHWH well enough. For example, a fearsome lion statue may demonstrate the ferocity of God, but His other attributes.

c) The Consequences

We must offer to God acceptable worship, with reverance and awe. God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28-29). This commandment is a strong warning to worship God rightly, on His own terms, not ours! We are not to worship Him anyway we like. If we don't obey, He will punish our children and our children's children (Exodus 20:5). Why? Because a child who is brought up not to fear the Lord will likely not find out about God. Thus his children will grow up not fearing God as well.

YHWH is a jealous God. He is not angry like Cho. It is right for God to be angry. It is not that God is insecure or has a low self esteem. It's because God has a right esteem of himself that He is angry.

Some jealousies are reasonable. For example, it is right and reasonable for a man to be angry and jealous for his wife. The relationship is exclusive and the husband has the right to guard it - if he is happy to let his wife sleep around with other men, or if he is happy for other men to violate his wife, there is something very wrong with him!

3. Commandment No. 3

a) The Command

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)

Unlike what most people believe, the third command is not about swearing - although the God of the Bible is also a God of words, and thus we must also be careful with what we say.

Rather, the command is about not taking advantage of God (Exodus 20:7). Just because God has saved them out of Egypt, it doesn't mean the Israelites can abuse YHWH's unique relationship with them - using His name for meaningless things or for their own benefit.

b) The Reason

YHWH as their God does not mean he is their genie - YHWH as our God does not mean we can make him do whatever we want. We must never think that doing something in the name of God can make us innocent or good.

'And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."' (Mark 7:6-8)

c) The Consequences

We will be guilty for thinking we can use God.

4. Jesus and the Ten Commandments

The essence of sin is to worship God on our own terms. Thus, we must seek to worship God on our own terms. For us Christians, something else has happened since the time of the Exodus and the Israelites. We must think about Jesus.

a) THE image & idol of God

Jesus is the image and idol of God.

'And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!"' (Luke 9:33-35)

Like in Exodus 19, God again speaks in a cloud. But this time, He says, "Listen to him!" The first commandment said to 'put no other gods before me'. Now God is telling everyone to listen to Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told not to have make any images of God. But now, Jesus...

"...is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." (Col 1:15)

"...is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature." (Hebrews 1:3)

b) THE true way to worship God

Thus, the true way to worship God is by worshipping Jesus.

'Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."' (John 14:6-7)

Acceptable prayer to God is in Jesus' name.

"In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." (John 16:23).

Jesus is unique. We should only be praying in Jesus' name, not in Mary's or by the saints'. We must never put anything or anyone in place of Jesus.

c) THE true worshipper

Jesus is the one and only way to the Father. He doesn't just show us the way, He is the way. He is the true worshipper of God.

"For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:24-25)

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. Those who trust in Jesus' sacrifice for himself will be completely cleansed, because Jesus offers the perfect worship for us!

5. Idols, Images & Empty worship

a) Idols today

Many people's religions today involve worshipping idols. For us Christians, we know there is ONE God only and idols are lifeless and unable. However, though we know they are nothing, we must be careful not to participate in what people think to be god, lest younger Christians think it is ok for Christians to have other gods as well (1 Corinthians 8). People can still ascribe power to those things, even if they do not intrinsically have power in themselves.

Yet Christians can also idolise -- good marks, approval of others, parents, money, career, self-worth, being successful in life. We could be just making use of God's name to serve ourselves, our idol.

b) Images today

In the time of the 10 commandments, when God revealed Himself He had no form. He revealed Himself by His word. And it is by His word we can come to believe in Jesus.

Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:29-31)

Yet images can be helpful. Paintings and portraits of Jesus can show people that Jesus was truly a figure of history, a real man. However, Jesus is usually portrayed as gentle shepherd with children, or a cute infant baby in a manger, or a bloody dying man on the cross. He is rarely portrayed as He is in the book of Revelation, a fearsome Lord with great power! One image cannot capture as fully every characteristic of Jesus as the Bible can. There are also problems when people are moved to worship Jesus based on how the artist portrays it, rather than on who Jesus really is and what He has done.

c) Empty Worship

We must worship God His way. Spending lots of money on a church building does not make it the right way to worship God. Getting married in a church does not make the marriage right. Because of pride, sexual immorality, selfishness etc., we fail to worship God rightly. The great news is that the only way to worship God is to worship the one who worshipped rightly.

Exodus 19:1-20:3 "Is my God too Small?"

2011-09-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

1. INTRO: The 10 Commandments today?

People have come to use the phrase '10 Commandments' to describe something fundamental to an aspect of life. For example, 'The 10 Commandments of Driving' includes what you should not be doing while driving a car. 'The 10 Commandments of Facebook' talks about Facebook etiquette, such as not posting private messages on a Wall.

Even if people don't know about the 10 Commandments (10Cs) of the Bible, people know it is something very important to Christians. But some people also think that the 10Cs are something Christians must do to get to heaven. Are they right?

2. Context of the 10Cs (Exodus 19)

Are the 10Cs for all people in the world, or for those they are given to? We must note that the time and place rules are given, along with who they are given to, and for what purpose they are laid down, will change the application of the rules completely. For example, in soccer there is a rule not to touch the ball with hands. However, the rule does not apply to all players - the goalkeeper can, and should. The rules are in place to ensure that the game is played as soccer and not handball. This rule also does not apply in a sport which requires the ball to be handled, such as handball.

Similarly, we must remember that the 10Cs were given at a particular time and place for a particular people and for a particular purpose.

The Israelites to which the 10Cs were given to had just been out of Egypt 3 months (Exodus 19:1). They were sons of a man named Abraham to whom God had made particular promises of land, blessing and a great nation. They had been living in the land of Canaan for many years before they entered the land of Egypt because one of Jacob's sons had by God's meticulous planning become the Prime Minister of Egypt. However, many years passed and there arose a Pharaoh who did not know the Israelites, making them slaves of Egypt instead. They were oppressed and were worked very hard by their Egyptian masters to build the Egyptian empire. In their desperation they had called out to God to be rescued, and God heard their cry. So God chose and sent a man named Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Note: Although this is a cartoon movie, the events of Exodus are held up by the Bible to be real historical events. The movie does apply some artistic freedom so the events may not look exactly as they did in history, but the descriptions in the Bible come close enough.

The Egyptian Pharaoh refused to allow his slaves to be released, so God did many terrible signs and wonders through Moses before Pharaoh finally let Israel go.

It is 3 months since they had been out of Egypt, at the foot of Mount Horeb (or Sinai), that the Israelites receive the 10Cs.

3. The God of 10Cs (Exodus 20:1-2)

One can only make rules if:
1. The person is someone with authority
2. The rules are for a purpose

God has a lot of authority, and He makes the 10Cs for a purpose.

a. God is one who speaks, NOT one who is silent
Some people say it is arrogant to profess to know what God is like or what He wants. There is truth to this statement, since there is an idea here that God is too holy or too big to be comprehended! But it is in fact not arrogant to know what God is like or what He has done, simply because God has already spoken! He has revealed to man what He is like and what He has done when He spoke in history, e.g. to Moses and the Israelites. If God never spoke, then we would be arrogant to profess to know God!

But since He has spoken, it is now arrogant to not care or pay attention to God! The God of the Bible speaks (Psalm 115). He doesn't just speak with rumbling and thunder, He speaks with intelligible words. Therefore we also cannot say God cannot be known because He is too big and too holy to be understood. He is powerful enough to make Himself understood - saying that He still can't be understood despite that again reflects on our arrogance, thinking little of His power!

b. God is personal, NOT impersonal.
God names Himself (Exodus 3:13-15). When Moses asks for his name, He calls himself 'I AM' (v14). He also calls himself 'LORD' (v15). Capital 'LORD' is actually 'YHWH' in the Hebrew Bible - God's personal name.

But the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."
God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD.
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. (Exodus 6:1-3)

God had not revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob his name LORD or YHWH before. Now he does.

c. YHWH is involved, NOT distant
He speaks. He saves. God is not a distant God. He heard the groans of the people. He made himself known to the people. He says 'I am YOUR God'.

d. YHWH is powerful, NOT weak.
Egypt was the world's superpower at the time. The Egyptians could replicate the 1st 3 miracles that God performed through Moses. But by the time of the 3rd plague, the Egyptian magicians admitted, 'This is the finger of God' (Exodus 8:19). How powerful is God? In one sweep God destroys the entire army of the world's superpower. Imagine the entire US army, navy and airforce fleet being wiped out in a single instant.

"The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses." (Exodus 14:23-31)

God didn't just save the Israelites from Egypt, He saves us today through Jesus from the very clutches of hell!

e. YHWH who redeems is NOT hardhearted
More on this in the next talk.

4. Commandment #1
Focusing on the first of the 10Cs...

And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:1-3)

What does it mean to have 'no other gods'?
What does it mean to have no other gods 'before me'?

This commandment does not prove that there is only 1 God (monotheism). Here, God is not saying He is the only God. A passage like Isaiah 45 spells that out more clearly.

Here, the commandment seems to be saying this: even if there were other gods, no other gods were to be before YHWH. God wants exclusive rights and obedience. But why would the Israelites want another god, since He has done so much for them already?

In our hearts, we know why. The question is easily asked of us today. Since God has done so much for us already, by saving us from the grip of Satan and from the clutches of hell though Jesus, why do we still want other gods (money, career, family etc.)?

Note: it is not saying we are then to be disobedient to our bosses, our parents or our teachers - but the commandment is saying not to put any of them ABOVE / BEFORE God.

A simple litmus test to check out hearts - when we come across a difficult passage or Biblical teaching, do we respond with a 'But!' ? The Bible tells us to 'stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near' -- do we respond with 'I know.. BUT... I have exams, and tests, and assignments and my parents tell me to study hard...." If we do, then alarm bells should ring! We are potentially putting other things BEFORE God!

5. Jesus?
However, one might argue that this commandment is no longer applicable to Christians today, since these laws are given to the Israelites. Note the "BUT..."!

a. Jesus repeats / reiterates the commandment as well.

Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matt 6:24)

b. He not only repeats it, He lives it.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" (Matt 4:8-10)

Just like the Israelites, who received the commandment after they were saved from Egypt, we too have been saved for heaven even though we haven't obeyed God's commandments fully. Jesus our Leader and Savior did it for us.

But having been saved, should we still continue forsaking the commandment as we did before?

c. Not only that, Jesus is God Himself.

"And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." (Matt 9:2-6)

When someone sins against another, only the offended party has the right to forgive the offender. By forgiving the man of his sins, which are against God, Jesus is claiming that He is God Himself.

Jesus is the mighty and powerful God who saves us and rescues us by His blood. Are we putting anything ABOVE / BEFORE Him?

Genesis 3 "The Problem of Evil & Suffering"

2011-07-07T07:54:00.001-07:00

1. The Problem
The problem of evil and suffering presents itself at 2 levels - at the philosophical level and at the personal level.

a. Philosophical
We see evil and suffering around us all the time. There is evil and suffering because of men, e.g. wars and murders. There is also evil and suffering that is not because of men, e.g. natural disasters.

This creates the philosophical problem of evil and suffering.
1. Since God is all powerful,
2. and God is good
3. yet evil and suffering exists

Putting the 3 statements together, it must therefore mean God doesn't exist, does He? Why does evil and suffering exist if God exists?

b. Up close & personal
But the evil and suffering doesn't just present at the philosophical level. It also presents at the personal level.

Some of us may have had a loved one raped or murdered, and some of us ourselves may even have personally suffered assault or loss.

Too often has one cried out, 'Why God? Why me?'

2. Evil & Suffering

a. Good God
In the first 2 chapters, we have seen how God is good.

b. Serpent
In verse 1 of chapter 3, we are introduced to the serpent. We are told he is a created creature of God. Therefore Christianity is not dualism, where God and the devil are equal and opposing forces of light versus darkness. The serpent was a good creature, for in chapter 1 and 2 we saw that God declared all things He created good. Somewhere between chapter 2 and 3, or even in chapter 3 itself, He turns against God. In Revelation 12:9, the serpent is called 'the great dragon', 'the devil and Satan', the deceiver of the whole world. He is thrown down to the earth from heaven with his angels. 2 Peter 2:4 also seems to be referring to the same thing, that these angels sinned and were cast into hell. It is likely that Satan used to be an angelic creature who rebelled against God. The serpent is the deceiver of the whole world - he opposes mankind with his lies.

c. Temptation & sin
There are 5 key points to note about the account that is recorded in chapter 3.

i. doubt
The serpent casts doubt on God's goodness. He makes God seem as if he's trying to keep something good from Adam and Eve.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:1-5)

ii. true lies
It is a half truth. They didn't die immediately and it was true that their eyes were opened - however, there is much shame in their relationship, and they are later cursed to die.

iii. sexy apple?
v6 - There is no mention of what fruit it is that they ate. The fruit is not sex - sex was part of God's good creation (Gen 2:25). The type of fruit doesn't matter. What matters is that the fruit is from the knowledge of good and evil.

What is it?

Is it about awareness of good and evil?
No. In chapter 2, Adam and Eve already know what is good and evil. For example, they know that eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is wrong.

Is it about experiencing good and evil?
No. For that would imply God gets into hanky-panky Himself -- that He has tasted evil and thus knows that it is bad.

Rather, the fruit is about being like God (3:5). God decides what is good and evil. He doesn't need to Google or taste what is good and evil to know what is good or evil. The fruit symbolises wanting to be like God, the arbiter of rules, the law-maker, the one who decides what is good or evil.

iv. reversal
There is a complete reversal of the order God intended.

God
Man - Woman
Animals

becomes

Animal
Woman - Man
God

The serpent deceives Eve, who leads her husband into temptation. The husband abdicates his leadership and listens to his wife (he was standing next to her while the conversation between Eve and the serpent was going on - 3:6). And both of them together try to overthrow God

v. naked fear
Upon eating the fruit, Adam and Eve recognise they are naked and try to hide from God. There is much guilt and shame for what they have done.

d. Confrontation
But God confronts them. Could they really have hidden from an all-knowing God? (3:9)
Adam has to take responsibility - God calls out to him instead of to Eve. Adam is in charge. He has to bear responsibility, even though Eve was first deceived.

He has been found out (3:11). Yet, the first thing he does is to blame someone else. Shockingly, Adam not only blames the woman, but also has the audacity to blame God for giving him the woman (3:12). Eve shifts the blame as well - she blames the serpent (3:13). This is classic sinful human nature at play.

e. Curse of God
So begins 3:14 to the end of the chapter, which are possibly the saddest verses in the entire Bible.

i. serpent

ii. woman
God punishes the woman in her sphere of life (3:16). There is much pain in child-bearing, not just in bringing forth children, but also in bringing up children. In addition, her 'desire would be for her husband' -- this phrase repeats itself only in one other place in the whole Bible -- in Genesis 4:7, where sin's 'desire is for you'. Part of God's curse is for the woman to want to rule over the man, the the man will win out in the end. In other words, there will be much conflict at home.

iii. man
God also punishes the man in his sphere of life. The earth is now cursed as well. Work is now frustrating (3:18-19).

In addition, both the man and woman are cursed to die (3:19)

iv. banished
Death is not natural. We were not meant to die (Gen 2).

Adam's sin is not just a historical event. It is what all of us do. But worse than death is being driven our of God's presence (3:22-24) - a way of saying eternal death.

3. How did I get here?

a. ambiguous mess
Genesis tells us there is evil and suffering, because we turn against God. It is written in symbolic language. Genesis does not answer questions such as 'did snakes have legs previously?' 'did snakes talk?', or 'where is the Garden of Eden?'

Genesis speaks the truth of history. It tells us the beginning of good and bad in our world.

b. Who's to blame?
Adam? But Adam represents all of humanity. We are in Adam, in humanity.
Serpent? Eve tried to blame the serpent as well. Yes, there is an external force. But in the end, we are responsible.
God? Adam did that too. No, we are to blame. That's why we live in a world that is fallen and cursed - fit for sinners like us.

4. The Solution

a. Problem with "the problem"
Going back to the philosophical 'problem':
1. Since God is all powerful,
2. and God is good
3. yet evil and suffering exists

There are a few problems with this philosophical problem.
1. God is summarised in 2 quick sentences. Can he be summarised in 2 quick sentences?
2. The argument assumes we have a static view of God. But he has not finished with this world yet. We should not be judging God on just what we see now.
3. If there is no God, there is no evil. Everything that seems 'wrong' e.g. natural disasters, would not be 'wrong'. For there to be meaning and purpose, God must be there.

b. Serpent Crusher
There will come a time with the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent. It was fulfilled when Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross (Rev 12:9-11). Jesus is the solution - God has already done something about the evil and suffering in the world!

But God hasn't done a final clean up yet. He is giving us time to turn back to him by believing in Jesus, before He does the final clean up of evil and suffering!

Genesis 2 "The Good God"

2011-06-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

1. To Be Enjoyed?
What is the criteria for success in life? For many, it would be happiness. To be successful would be to be happy in life. And many would say it would involve getting rich and buying everything that the heart desires.

Should Christians find enjoyment in this world? Shouldn't Christians be anti-pleasure so that they can focus on God? For example, since sex seems to be linked to 'dirty stuff' like prostitution and pornography, shouldn't Christians abstain from it? Since materialism is idolatry, isn't better not to buy luxury goods?

2. The Good Creation

a. "Very good"... "not good"
In Genesis 1:31, God declares all that He had made very good. Yet in Genesis 2:18, He says 'not good'. It is 'not good for man to be alone'.
How can there be a shift? Is God fickle-minded?

Genesis 2 is not chronologically after Genesis 1. That is, Genesis 2:4-25 is another perspective of the same account of creation, focusing in particular on the creation of man that was mentioned in Genesis 1:26-29. Genesis 2:4-25 is like a soccer action replay of Genesis 1:26-29 from a different angle.

Is this angle discussing the science of the creation of man, i.e was it the 12th rib or the 9th rib that God used to fashion the woman? Did God use the marrow or the bony part?

What is this new angle on creation?

b. Man
The topic sentence spells it out for us.
v4 - "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created"
v5-6 - Man was at the centre of the creation, when there were no plants yet. (This does not contradict the 1st chapter - see previous talk about why the account is laid out in '6 days'.)
Man is a key factor in the growth of creation.
v7 - Man is made from the ground.
v15 - He was created to work the ground. There is a strong link between man and land.

(Note: v7 - God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life - many people think that this is why man is different from animals. It is true that man is different from the animals, but it is easier to elicit this point from elsewhere.)

c. Garden of Eden
v8 - Man is a gardener. He is the gardener of the garden city that is Eden.
v9 It is a good garden. Everything was pleasant to sight and good for food.
v10 - In the garden, God is the good provider. There is a tree of life in the midst of the garden.

v10-14 - from Eden, God's goodness flows to the rest of the world. God is a good creator. The benefits spread out to the rest of the world.

d. Work
v15 - Man is created to work. It is good work. Work is part and parcel of why we are created. God has made us people to work.

e. Command
v16-17 - Many people complain that God should not have put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. He put it there almost as if He was setting man up to fall.
But the account does not present God negatively. In fact, the warning of God is part of His goodness. He warned us to protect us.

f. Relationship
v18 - This is where God says it is 'not good' for the first time in the creation account. It is 'not good' for man to be alone.

It is relationship that makes life pleasant. Relationships are key to goodness in life.

However, there is a little catch here. So far, everytime we have seen the word 'man' we assume the writer is talking about humanity in general. However, we must be careful to note that Genesis is really directly referring to Adam first and foremost. We must see that the 'not good' here first and foremost is said because Adam was alone. God deems that Adam needs a helper.

v19-20 - Adam exercises his authority over creation but is unable to find a helper suitable for him. There is a great waiting, a great tension.
v21-23 - The tension builds up like a crescendo to finally hit a climax in verse 23 - 'This at last!"

g. Sex
So close is the relationship that the husband-wife relationship is close than that between parents and children. Marriage is part of the goodness of God's creation. 2 become 1 flesh, not 1 team, nor 1 unit. In God's eyes, sex is part of God's good gift to mankind.

3. The Good God
God is not a kill-joy God.

a. For our good
He is the generous Creator, the generous Provider. He warns us about what is dangerous!

There are thus 3 wrong responses we can adopt in our lives.
b. Forbidding
Firstly, forbidding ourselves and others to enjoy the world. The world is seen as somewhat evil. This is known as asceticism.

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving..." (1 Tim 4:1-4)

It is actually the teaching of demons to say that God's creation is evil and should be abstained from!

c. Worshipping
On the other hand, we must be careful not to worship the creation. It is easy to start saying that the created stuff is good, but not God. It is also easy to stop thanking God for His good creation, patting ourselves on our backs instead. The 5Cs - cash, country club, credit card, car, condominium - can easily become idols. A good litmus test to see whether we are worshipping the creation is to ask ourselves, if the thing we are enjoying is taken away from us, will we still remain secure, trusting that God is the good provider and give thanks to God? Or will we feel that our lives are shattered?

"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." (1 Tim 6:17)

d. Distorting
We can also easily distort many of the good things God has given us. For example, we were created to work to care for the world and provide for ourselves. Yet, for many of us, work has become an idol, the thing that gives us motivation to wake up everyday, and the thing that defines who we are and our status in society. It has then become distorted.

Another way we often distort God's good creation is in the area of sex. God created sex to be carried out between a man and a woman within marriage. Yet, today, we have abused sex and distorted it in every way and every form. We often say that God's rules are restricting and kill-joy.

Yet real freedom is really found in following how God intended His good gifts to be used. God is the One who holds the instruction manual - not following it will only bring about much frustration and pain!

Genesis 1 "The Evolution Confusion"

2011-06-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

1. Origin of the Universe

a. How did I get here?
Is there a goal in life? What is the purpose of life? We commonly ask ourselves these questions.

The question of origins can be answered in 2 ways.

b. Modern Science vs Outdated Genesis
Firstly, many subscribe to the 'modern scientific' view. Life started off with a Big Bang. It all began from a primordial soup consisting of hydrogen, ammonia and water. The mixing of these elements and compounds resulted in the first cell. Through genetic evolution and the 'survival of the fittest' theory, the universe was born.

The second way to answer the question is to look at the book of Genesis. Many people today think Genesis is in confrontation with modern science. Some of the conflicts include:

a) The age of the universe.
According to cosmology, the universe is 15 billion years old.
According to geology, the universe is about 4 to 6 billion years old.
Genesis seems to be saying that the universe was made in 6 days, and tracing the geneology of the men named in the Bible, the age of the universe according to the Bible would then only be about 6,000 years old!

b) According to Genesis, the sun is made after trees are made. It doesn't make scientific sense, especially since we understand scientifically that trees need sunlight for photosynthesis to produce energy!

2. Reading Genesis Literally
The problem lies in the way Genesis is read. The right way is to read Genesis to see what it says, and not read it to try to answer questions we already have.

a. Literature vs Literalistic
We must read Genesis literally, not literalistically. We must read Genesis not as a science textbook, or as an engineer's textbook. For example, when someone says, "my heart is open to you" he does not mean he needs a coronary bypass graft! We must not impose a wrong way of reading Genesis (such as using science)!

Only after getting this right can we begin our reading of Genesis.

b. "In the beginning"... of what?
We see the title of the book in verse 1. "In the beginning". It is a big title. It is also the beginning of world history. It is the beginning of Genesis 1-11. More than that, it is also the beginning of Genesis 12-51 (How God begins his rescue of mankind). And it is also the beginning of the 5 books of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), how God rescues Israel. And it is also the beginning of the whole Bible (how God rescues mankind).

3. "God Created the Heavens and the Earth"

'The heavens and the earth' really means - everything. It is not a scientific term. Here, we see that God just exists. He is assumed to be in existence.

a. From chaos...
In verse 2, we see how the world was void and without structure. There is darkness, no sound, and no light. But there are waters - to understand this, we must understand the Jewish writers and Jewish audience. To them, waters are closely linked to chaos. They couldn't control the seas. Waters and the idea of chaos go closely together. And in the midst of chaos, the breath (Spirit) of God was there. Where there is breath, there is also word. For that is exactly what happens in the next verse (and the rest of the chapter) - God speaks.

b. ...To order
God speaks to bring order from chaos.

As mentioned earlier, this section cannot be read like a science textbook. What the text seems to be highlighting is the orderly presentation from chaos. It stresses order arising from chaos.

-repetitions
Where is the idea of order? The text from verse 3 to 31 is full of repetitions.

"And God said" appears 10 times.
"And there was evening and morning, the ___ day" appears 6 times
"Let there be..." appears 8 times
"And there was / and it was so" appears 7 times
"And God made" appears 7 times
"God called" appears 5 times
"And God saw that ___ was good" appears 7 times

Not only that, there is order in the creation

-pattern _______ & ________

Day 1: Light (Day) is separated from Darkness (Night)	Day 4: Greater light created to fill Day and lesser light to fill Night
Day 2: Expanse (Heaven) separates water from water	Day 5: Sea creatures created to fill waters and winged birds to fill Heaven
Day 3: Land (Earth) is separated from water (Seas)	Day 6: Land creatures and man created to fill Earth

It is not a scientific account. It is a very structured and orderly account. God created everything, and there is a focus on the land (in contrast to the chaotic seas).

c. Sovereign design
There is an order, there is a plan. He has absolute power over the creation. He said, "let it be", and it happened. By just speaking, God brings things into existence. This is what the writer of Hebrews confirms as well (Heb 11:3).

Genesis 1:31 sums up the whole of creation. 'And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good'.

d. Jesus
Looking forward to the New Testament, we find that this God who made everything is Jesus (John 1:1-3, 14).

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

In Colossians 1:16-17, we again read that it is Jesus who created everything and holds everything together.

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Hebrews 1 affirms this.

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs."

It is very different from deism, which is the idea of a watchmaker God, who winds up the earth at the start, then leaves to let it run on 'auto-pilot', being disinterested in the day-to-day running of the world.

"The very hands that were nailed to the cross were the same ones that flung the stars into space" - Graham Kendrick

4. Evolution confusion
a. Unnatural enemies
Many people are confused because science seems in conflict with the Bible. However, Genesis and science are in fact very good friends. Evolution doesn't necessarily disprove Genesis. They are 2 very different fields of study. Science is trying to explain how things work (mechanistically). Genesis 1 is trying to answer a very different question altogether. Who made everything? Who is it made for? Where are we going? When we try to ask scientific questions of Genesis, we end up in trouble. Similarly, when we try to ask theological questions of science, science has no answers. E.g. how do we come up with an experiment to prove that the universe was created by a primordial soup? We would need to replicate the exact conditions then - an impossible task!

Genesis 1 gave rise to modern science. The first scientists were Christians. They understood that God was a God who created the world with orderliness and patterns, thus allowing for 'theories' and 'laws' to be developed from repeated observation and experimenting.

b. Real conflicts
The real conflict is not one of evolution vs Genesis. It is between accidental evolution and Genesis. Accidental evolution maintains that there is no God - there is no God who created everything. Accidental evolution manifests itself not just in atheism, but also in pantheism and philosophical materialism.

When we say things such as 'Mother Earth is angry' when a tsunami hits, we do not believe that there is a God who created earth, but that earth is god itself.

When we live our lives in pursuit of money or success, or in line with our own laws and standards without caring whether or not God exists or whether God has said anything about how to live, we are being philosophical materialists.

But...
if everything were just an accident, then there is no point asking about the purpose of life.
If everything were just an accident, then billions of people dying should not grieve us at all.
If everything were just an accident, then even our close friends and families dying shouldn't affect us at all. We are just molecules being re-arranged into some other structure (ash / dust).

The real conflict is not between Genesis and evolution. It is that we humans just hate to accept that God is a personal God, who is also our Owner and Judge!

Luke 5:12-6:11 "The Maverick Messiah"

2011-04-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

1. "maverick": noun
The star pilot in the film "Top Gun" was played by Tom Cruise. He was a real maverick - he never did things by the book.

What does the word 'maverick' mean?

From Dictionary.com, 'maverick' means:

1. Southwestern U.S. an unbranded calf, cow, or steer, especially an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother.

2a. a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates: a modern-dance maverick. Synonyms: nonconformist, individualist; free thinker; loner, lone wolf.

2b. a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas: You can't muzzle a maverick. Synonyms: rebel, cowboy; loose cannon.

a. Samuel A. Maverick
The origins of the word can be traced back to Samuel A. Maverick, a Texan rancher who refused to conform to what all the other farmers around him were doing. He didn't put a brand name on his cows.

b. Jesus M. Christ
If Jesus surname was Christ (it isn't), then his middle name would be Maverick.

We see why this is so over 6 episodes in this text, here recorded for us by Luke. These are very unusual episodes.

2. Maverick Significance

1) The first 'maverick' or unusual episode is recorded in Luke 5:12-16. Jesus is seen to be touching lepers! To the people at that time, that was utterly forbidden, for touching an unclean leper would make a person unclean! To us, he is a maverick because he charged the leper to tell no one. Why does Jesus do that? Wouldn't it have been great publicity for Him and the kingdom of God?

2) The second episode is recorded in Luke 5:17-26. Jesus is forgiving sins - something the people of the time knew only God could do!

3) The third episode (Luke 5:27-32) sees Jesus is dining with tax collectors and sinners, likely to be prostitutes. What is a holy Jewish teacher doing in a modern day equivalent red light district?

4) The fourth episode (Luke 5:33-39) involves Jesus and his disciples going against the traditions of the day by not fasting.

5) He goes even further by seemingly breaking the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5),

6) and even healing on the Sabbath! (Luke 6:6-11)

a. Sickness & cleansing (Luke 5:12-16)
Looking at the first episode more closely, we see that the issue is not a medical one. 'Leprosy' in the Bible does not always refer to modern day Hansen's disease - it refers to a variety of skin diseases which may heal overtime. According to Old Testament law, lepers (unclean people) could not approach God at the temple. If healed, they had to go to the priest to be pronounced clean first. Jesus could have healed the man without touching him, yet He chose to touch him. He does so to prove a point - instead of Jesus becoming unclean, the man becomes clean instead.

Jesus' primary purpose is not to heal, but to preach the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43). Only through Jesus can people be made clean and approach God!

b. Sickness & sin (Luke 5:17-26)
What is Jesus talking about - forgiving sins and asking a paralytic to walk!? In modern times, we would think the former is easily done, since we can't say for see tangibly whether sins are forgiven! So we would think that Jesus healing the paralytic would mean he would have no problem doing the former (easier task)! Yet, both are in reality impossible to do - it is not that one is harder or easier than the other. By healing the man of his paralysis, Jesus shows that he can do the other as well. He deals with the root cause of the man's paralysis - his sin. Yet, sin and sickness is not always a 1-for-1 correlation. In John 9, we read of a man who was born blind, not because of his sin or his parent's sin, but so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3). However, in general, all of mankind face sickness and ultimately death because "sin was introduced into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Gen 3, Rom 5:12).

c. Coming for sinners (Luke 5:27-32)
We never call the ambulance for people who are well. Jesus is the doctor who comes for sinners. But in saying that he has 'not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance' He is actually taking a dig at righteous Pharisees. The Pharisees are sick too, just like the tax collectors and prostitutes, and need Jesus! However, they do not recognise the ill spiritual state they are in.

d. Time for feasting (Luke 5:33-39)
Jesus is rebuked for not fasting, being unlike John's disciples and the Pharisees. Jesus answers by saying he is the bridegroom! A wedding always has 2 things - the vows and the food. In saying He is the bridegroom, Jesus is referring to a text in the Old Testament, which speaks of Isaiah looking forward to a messianic banquet (Isaiah 25:6). Jesus has come to bring in the new age, as prophesied! It is now time for feasting while Jesus is here! Again, he has a dig at the Pharisees who prefer the old age (Luke 5:36-39)

e. Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5)
In the Old Testament, we read of God indeed commanding that no work was to be done on the Sabbath. However, the Pharisees added 39 rules on top of that, rules which were extremely difficult to follow and became huge burdens on the people! For example, one could only walk a certain number of steps on Sabbath day, or items could not be passed into a house through a window on the Sabbath. Anything beyond that was considered work! The Old Testament passage that Jesus quotes does not condemn David his actions. More importantly, by quoting the passage, Jesus is making a parallel between himself and King David. Jesus is the new King of Israel! He is God's chosen one, the Son of Man (Dan 7, see below), the lord of the Sabbath! As God intended it to be, so Jesus also intends the Sabbath to be separated out as a positive thing, a day of rest for the people.

f. Sabbath for healing (Luke 6:6-11)
Ironically, on the one day the Jews were meant to do good, they plot to kill Jesus instead.

3. The "Outside-the-box" Jesus

a. Who is He?
He is the preacher (5:17, 6:6). In his dialogues with the people, Jesus is always teaching about Himself.
He has the authority on earth to forgive sins (5:24).
He is the Son of Man, the lord of the Sabbath. The term 'Son of Man' alludes to Daniel 7:13-14, which speaks of the Son of Man having universal authority. Yet, in the first century, 'son of man' can also really just mean 'I', just like the Victorian 'we'. Jesus most likely intends both. He refers to himself as the one having universal authority, the one who is the lord of the Sabbath!

b. Why has he come?
He has come to bring forgiveness to us who are sick. How?

It is through dying our deaths for us.

We get a hint of his impending death in 5:35 - Jesus the bridegroom will be taken away. In 6:11, we read of how people were plotting to kill Him. And we know at the end of the book, Jesus does indeed get executed on the cross. He dies, so that the penalty of our sins are laid on him, allowing us to stand righteous before God without any fear of condemnation.

Is Jesus our maverick? Do we accept him?

4. Our Maverick?

a. Beyond religious law keeping
Believing in Jesus goes beyond religious law keeping. The 'righteous' good people actually go to hell. The 'bad' people go to heaven. That is, people who acknowledge that they are in need of saving, in need of forgiveness will receive Jesus' gift of forgiveness. People who refuse to acknowledge their need cannot accept His gift. No amount of law-keeping or ritual-keeping can get us to heaven - it is never good enough in God's sight. Only Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly.

b. Beyond the miraculous
Though Jesus healed people, becoming a Christian does not mean healing from all illnesses! Jesus did heal people, but we must understand the real significance of what was happening - he was focused on saving people from their sins! The purpose of the miracles then was to point to Jesus, revealing Jesus' identity.

c. Faith
Do we have faith in Jesus?
The leper trusted that Jesus could heal him (5:12)
The friends of the paralytic believed that Jesus could heal him, since they went to so much trouble to get him to Jesus (5:18-20)
The paralytic likely also trusted Jesus, for at Jesus' words to stand up, he prompted obeyed and got up, when most other paralytics might have thought Jesus was mad! (5:25)

We are to trust in Jesus alone.

d. Follow
Jesus has come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. If we acknowledge we need Jesus, we must repent and follow Jesus. Repentance is not about leaving behind bad morals to go after good morals. It is to stop running life our way and let Jesus take over the wheel.

In Luke 14:26, Jesus says that "if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."

In other parts of the Bible, we are told that God's people must 'honour their parents'. Why does Jesus say we must hate our own father and mother here then? What does he mean?

We are to put Jesus so far above everything else in our lives, including our families, and even ourselves, to the point that our love for our families and ourselves looks like hate. There must be no other gods in our lives. Jesus must take the highest place and honour in our lives.

We must repent and follow Jesus! Let Jesus drive our life!

Luke 4:14-5:11 "Jesus: The Liberator"

2011-04-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

1. "Liberty!"

a. Libya
In recent months, we have heard cries for liberty in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Revolts against the governments of these countries took place with great vigour. In Egypt, the dictator was overthrown, but at a great cost of human lives.

b. Israel
Israel in the 1st century was no different, being under a foreign dictator as well. Herod the Great, a half Jew, was put in charge of Israel by the Roman emperor. He was a ruthless ruler, speedily executing those who opposed him. The book of Acts records a couple of Jews Theudas and Judas who tried to oppose him. Their rebellions were quickly crushed (Acts 5:36-37).

In Luke 4:16-19, we read of Jesus standing up to speak in a synagogue in the town of Nazareth. He reads from the scroll of Isaiah,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The text is from Isaiah 61. It sounds like the start of a rebellion. Is that what Jesus has come to do?

c. World
In the 60s and 70s, some South American Christians preached that Jesus came to bring about social and political changes - that Jesus was interested in eradicating poverty and bringing about social justice.

Similarly, many of us today are concerned about the poor around us, and want to help them through charitable organisations.

Is this the liberty Jesus is bringing? What kind of liberator is Jesus?

2. Power Revolution

a. Power of the Spirit
Previously, the Holy Spirit had descended on Jesus like a dove (Luke 3:22). The next thing the Holy Spirit did was to lead Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4:1-2). After being tempted in the wilderness he returns in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (Luke 4:14). The Spirit of the Lord is on Him (Luke 4:4). This liberator seems very powerful.

b. People power
Not only that, he gathers a lot of attention in the surrounding country to Galilee, and is glorified by all as he taught in their synagogues (Luke 4:14-15). He has the attention of everyone (Luke 4:20). All speak well of him (Luke 4:22). News about himself spread to every place in the surrounding region (Luke 4:37). Many sought him (Luke 4:42). There were so many people who came to him that he needed a floating pulpit! (Luke 5:1-2)

c. Home rejection
However, he isn't accepted in his hometown (Luke 4:22, 24). In response to his low popularity in his hometown, he alludes to 2 Old Testament passages about how Elijah the prophet helped Zarephath, a non-Jew, and how Elisha another prophet helped Naaman, another non-Jew (Luke 4:24-27). Jesus point is that God has a good track record in looking after people who are not 'His own'. More often that not, God's own people reject Him.

Thus, instead of trying to boost his popularity in his hometown, Jesus becomes highly unpopular. The people in his own hometown turn on him, and even try to kill him by throwing him off the cliff! (Luke 4:28-30)

d. Power over demons
Jesus also does not seem to have come to deal with the Roman empire (Luke 4:31-37). When the demons call Jesus Son of God, they are right in saying so, but Jesus surprisingly silences them. Instead of allowing the message about Him being Son of God to travel further, He silences the demons! What kind of political liberator doesn't want an increase in media coverage?

e. Power over sickness
We sometimes don't think too highly of Jesus' healing of sickness because of modern medicine (Luke 4:38-39). We must remember that 100 years ago there were no antibiotics. People with fevers occasionally died from their illnesses. Simon's mother in law was ill with a fever. (As an aside, this means that Simon Peter, one of the Apostles, did marry and was not a virgin, contrary to many beliefs today). With a word, Jesus rebukes the fever and it leaves her. Jesus almost treats the fever like a personal being. Jesus comes with great power against the rulers of sickness. And unlike modern day doctors, His success rate is 100% (Luke 4:40).

f. God's new reign
Interestingly, even though he has success as a healer, he goes away to other towns to preach instead (Luke 4:43). His whole mission was to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. Again, it sounds like a political revolution - to overthrow the kingdom of the Romans.

g. Power over nature
To cap it all, He has power over nature. The liberator, with no fishing experience, tells Simon and his friends, seasoned fisherman, where and how to fish (Luke 5:3-7).

If Jesus has come as a political ruler or a social revolutionist, getting a lot of money seems to be a great start. He could earn a lot of money by selling fish that He can easily manipulate to be caught.

But is he really a new political leader or social revolutionist?

3. THE Liberator

a. Real captivity!
1. It is not a political regime change Jesus is trying to bring. He is not trying to win a crowd. Instead of trying to win a crowd in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, He says something which is really offensive. Having become overly sought after for healing, he departs into the desert (Luke 4:42). He shuts up the demons despite them being potentially good advertisements for him.

2. Jesus has also not come to bring people out of poverty. In Mark 14:7, Jesus says, "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me." Jesus is certain there would still be poor people around even after his work is done on earth.

What good news does Jesus bring to the poor then, as in Luke 4:18-19?

Jesus ushers in a kingdom that overcomes sickness and disease. He has come to proclaim a kingdom that frees people from captivity to demons and to the devil. This kingdom is a kingdom where the unclean people become clean. He has come to free the poor and oppressed under the Roman empire.

What is the common link between all these things?

They are all linked to sin. It was the nation's sin and disobedience to God that first put the Israelites in captivity under foreign rule. It is because of sin that there is sickness, disease, darkness and death.

Sin is the root cause of the captivity of mankind. Sin is the real captive of mankind. Sin captivates us. We want to live for ourselves and not for God. Sin is wanting to be God.

b. "Today"
In saying "Today" (Luke 4:21), Jesus is saying that the One who has come to bring liberation is now fulfilled in himself. It all hangs on Jesus. He is the one who has come to bring liberty.

c. Rejection or recognition?
The people of Nazareth did not understand! They should have gotten the warning that there were sinful. Instead, they rejected Jesus, and even tried to kill him!

On the other hand, Peter recognises Jesus' greatness and His own sinfulness, His own rebellion (Luke 5:8).

How will we respond the Jesus?

d. Change the world!
Jesus is the liberator who can change the world. He wants change in what matters for the whole world. Jesus has come to deal with the source of the world's problem.

Are we on Jesus' side?

Luke 4:1-13 "The First Temptation of Christ"

2011-04-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

1. Temptation

a. "Be tempted"
In marketing, temptation is good.

We know it all too well. Chocolate advertisements. Car advertisements. "Just one more hour of Warcraft!"

Temptation is about being led away from the framework of life that we have built or agreed upon.

b. Christ's?
As Christians, God is the one who sets the framework. He has created everything. He knows how things work.

Temptation for Christians is going outside His framework. We are right to feel guilty if we go outside His framework.

If we go outside His framework, even if we don't feel guilty, we are guilty before God.

But is temptation itself sin?

2. Model of Overcoming Temptation?
In Luke 4:1-13, we see Jesus is tempted. Yet He remains sinless. He is a perfect man. Therefore, temptation is not sin.

Many preachers preach this section as a model of how we as Christians can overcome temptations.

a. Nature of the temptations

3:21 The Holy Spirit had just come on Jesus
3:23 He has just begun His ministry. The first thing the Holy Spirit does is to lead Jesus into temptation in the wilderness.

What are the temptations?

i. Fend for yourself for your physical needs / use whatever you have in your power to fend for yourself (4:3)

It is a lie because this world is not the be all and end all. It is a very deceptive lie, because it sounds right (a half-truth, which are the most difficult lies to detect).

ii. Gain your own kingdom through false worship / building your own kingdoms in this world (4:6)

An example of worshipping Satan is by cheating, backstabbing, working 24/7 to rise up the corporate ladder etc. It is basically defining ourselves apart from God by building our own 'kingdoms'.

It is a lie because God has the sole authority. It sounds right because the devil is indeed very powerful - he is known as the prince of the air, the ruler of this world (the half-truth). Yet, God has full authority over Satan.

ii. Testing God's protection / Presuming on God's protection for us (4:9-11)

Examples of this include people not studying and praying to pass an examination, or praying to God for money and expecting riches. It is putting ourselves in a position where we are forcing God's hand.

It is a lie because it is the misuse of Scripture. It sounds right because Scripture is quoted (half-truth). But it is presuming on Scripture on our own terms.

b. Devil's lies
The temptations come from Satan (Luke 4:3). Satan speaks lies. His lies are very effective because they are always half-true.

How do we fend off the temptations?

c. Countering with Scripture
Jesus counters the lies with Scripture. This is a good model for us to follow. It means we should know the Bible and remember the Bible in our hearts.

Jesus quotes the following texts:
1) Deut 8:2-3 crf Luke 4:4

Man shall live by the Word of God alone. What does this mean? What is the Word?

In the context of Deuteronomy, the Word refers to God's promise to the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. God promised He would make them a mighty nation and bring them to the Promised Land.

For us, it means relying on the promises God has said in the past, and hanging on dearly to those promises.

2) Deut 6:10-14 crf Luke 4:8

God is the One who will give the Israelites the Promised Land, cities and towns and kingdoms.

We are to worship Him alone.

3) Deut 6:14-16 crf Luke 4:12

In context of Deuteronomy, it refers to not testing the Lord as at Massah, where the people complained against God for not having meat despite being showered with manna from heaven. It is about testing God, demanding that God provide for us according to our whims and fancies.

We are not to test God.

Modelling Jesus' response is supported in other parts of Scripture as well, such as James 4:7, which encourages us to submit ourselves to God. We are to resist the devil and he will flee from us. By submitting to God's word, we are able to fend off Satan.

Most preachers will end their sermons here. Alas, this is not the main point of Luke 4:1-13.

The passage is primarily about Jesus.

3. "If You are the Son of God..."

Luke 4:3, 9 - "If You are the Son of God..."
It is the temptation that comes on Jesus because He is the Son of God. It is unique! None of us are the 'Son of God' like Jesus.

a. Adam
3:38 Adam is the son of God. Therefore, Jesus being known as Son of God, is the representative Adam, the second Adam (see 1 Cor 15:45, Rom 5:12-21 for the same idea).

In Genesis 3 we see how Adam wanted to be like God. Being tempted by the serpent, he gave into the temptation, not trusting God's goodness. He disobeyed God. Sin and death came into the world through Adam.

As Jesus is pronounced by the Father to be God's Son (3:22), we hold our breath in anxiety: is this new Adam going to fall where Adam failed?

No, Jesus does not give into temptation! He is our new representative man!

b. Israel
Jesus is not just Adam, He is also Israel. Israel was the firstborn son of God (as we read the account in Exodus 4:22-23, when God tells Pharaoh to let His people go). Just like the Israelites were 40 years in the desert, Jesus was 40 days in the desert.

Jesus is the true Israelite. He does not give into temptation! And unlike Israel who were saved from the Egyptians, Jesus brings us salvation Himself.

c. Messiah
As we had seen earlier, Son of God is the generic term for the 'messiah', 'the anointed one', God's chosen King (The idea stems from 2 Sam 7). We have also seen in the previous chapter that Jesus is the Messiah who is going to die. According to the Old Testament Scriptures, He must suffer first before He enters into His victory.

Here, He is tempted to take the short-cut. But Jesus does not give in.

d. Not the last temptation...
Luke 4 is not the last temptation of Christ.

Later, almost immediately after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Peter rebukes Jesus for saying that He must suffer and die. Jesus responds by saying, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Luke 9:18-23 crf Mark 8:33) Jesus saw in Peter Satan because through Peter He was being tempted away from the cross.

The night Jesus was betrayed into custody, Jesus could have called upon legions of angels to deliver Him from the cross (Matt 26:53). Instead, He asks his disciple Peter to put away his sword (Matt 26:55-56 crf Luke 22:49-53) and He quietly surrenders to the authorities.

In Luke 22:42-46, Jesus is again tempted to not drink the cup (of wrath). But yet, He says, 'nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.'

All the temptations had one objective - they were tempting Jesus away from the cross.

4. Victory over Sin

a. Real enemy
The real enemy is Satan. Luke 4 introduces us to the main antagonist. It is not the Roman empire Jesus has to overcome. Jesus wins Round 1.

b. Real temptation
It is real temptation. Luke 4 presents Jesus as really tempted (Luke 22:44 crf Hebrews 4:15). The longer He resists, the stronger the temptation, especially the temptation to avoid the cross. He could have gotten Himself out of it. He had the means and the power to get out of it.

But He didn't.

c. Real Son
He is the real Son. Jesus is the representative Israel. But more than that, He is the representative Adam. He is our representative. He represents not just the Jews, but all nations. What if Jesus gave in? It would mean that Jesus would no longer be perfect. It would mean not going to the cross. We would be lost in our sins, because it is only at the cross that our sins can be washed away! We can only be right before God because of Jesus' death on the cross!

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Luke 3 "Clearing the Way"

2011-04-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

1. "Repent!"

a. Crazy fanatics!
How do we react when we see people on street corners holding up placards saying "Repent, the end is near!" "Hell is coming!

Do we think to ourselves, "Crazy fanatics!"?

We usually think their message is utter rubbish. Many people on the street usually just walk past them.

But isn't their message the same one we Christians believe in as well? Yet, it is a very confrontational message so we usually not like to play it up.

b. Meaning?
What does it really mean to repent? Is it just about joining a religious club? Is it about becoming a good person, turning over a new leaf, going from bad morals to good morals?

How is it related to the forgiveness of sins? How is it related to Jesus? Why should we repent?

John in Luke 3, now grown up from the unborn John we read about in previous chapters, is exactly like one of these crazy religious freaks.

2. Clearing the Way

a. Desert voice
v7 - He is a hell-fire kind of preacher as well! As people come to hear him, he lashes out at people, calling them 'snakes'!

The difference between him and modern day street corner preachers is that John is not at a busy intersection in the city, he is way out in the wilderness (1:80, 3:2-3)! People don't shun him - they flock to hear him in the desert! Why?

Israel was exiled to Babylon around 597 BC because they were disobedient to God. Isaiah 40 was written during the time of exile. There is a promise that Israel would return to the Promised Land. In 538 BC, they did finally return to the land! Yet, as we saw in previous chapters, they still had not truly 'returned'. There was no lasting 'shalom' or peace. They were still in Babylon theologically and spiritually. They were still under the Roman Empire. They were still a captive nation under foreign rule. Isaiah 40 was the last word God gave the Israelites. Since then, there has been silence from God. Then suddenly around 30 years ago (Luke 1-2), shepherds, Zechariah, Simeon and Anna heard God's word and proclaimed it to others! Silence ensued again, till now when John the Baptist begins to bring forth God's word again. It is no wonder everyone flocks to hear what he has to say.

b. Baptism of repentance
John preaches a baptism of repentance. He prepares the people spiritually, not physically. It is not a positive message (v7).

i. More than heritage
He is saying that it takes more than Jewish heritage to be right with God (v8). Heritage doesn't count for anything.

ii. Bear good fruit
They are to live lives that show they have repented. John gives concrete examples:
v11 - God's people are to look after each other
v12 - Tax collectors who tended to extort were to stop doing so
v14 - Soldiers in positions of authority and power who tended to abuse their power were to stop doing so

iii. Wrath to come
John preaches about God's wrath that is coming soon as well. This may be surprising for many who think God is love. But the God of the Bible is a God of wrath and anger as well. Yet, His anger is righteous. God's standard is perfect. He rightly condemns and punishes us. His wrath is picture here in Luke 3 in terms of fire. The Bible pictures fire as painful, conscious suffering, not annihilation. John says it is coming very soon - the axe is already laid to the root of the trees (v9)!

At this point we should note that while street corner preachers are saying the truth, what they do is not very wise since there is no relationship with he audience, and people don't understand what is going on. The Jewish context in which John begins his preaching is different and cannot be translated for modern day application - e.g. the Jewish people would flock to him.

c. Another baptism
v15 - John says he is not the Christ - he is like the bridesmaid at a wedding - the forerunner before the bride. Once the Christ appears the spotlight will be on him and John will fade into the background. The Christ will baptise them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. It is the Old Testament image of judgment. The Christ will bring in judgment day. It is the real baptism.

d. Imprisoned
John is a really brave preacher. He is brave enough to criticise the political leader of the day, Herod, for taking his brother's wife Herodias (presumably while his brother was still married to her), and for the evil things he had done (v19), but this gets him thrown into prison. God's forerunner is now imprisoned.

3. The Son
So with the forerunner being locked up, we now turn our attention to the arrival of the Christ, and we don't have to wait long! We see him arrive in v21. What's the first thing he does?

Nothing much. Instead, things are done to Him.

a. Holy Spirit @ baptism
v22 - The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in bodily form, like a dove. It would likely have looked like a dove descending on Jesus. But the dove did not stay there - we don't see Jesus with a dove on his shoulder the rest of his life. Some people have speculated the dove could have something to do with Noah's ark, but the link is not strong and perhaps it is best not to speculate on these things.

What we can be sure is that the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Together with Luke 1:35, 1:41, 1:45, 1:67, 2:26, it is clear Jesus is the Son of the Most High.

b. "My beloved son"
The next thing we hear is a very important sentence. "You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased." It is really 2 quotes from the Old Testament.

The 1st comes from Psalm 2:

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
When the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, the whole passage is brought to view. In Psalm 2, we read of the peoples of the earth trying to go against God. But God installs His Son as King over all the peoples of the earth and has full authority over them. We must make sure we kiss the Son - we must make sure we are on His side, not against Him.

c. "I am well pleased"
The 2nd quote is from Isaiah 42:1. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations."

God will put His Spirit on Jesus and bring justice to the nations. How will He as God's servant serve?

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Instead of rightfully punishing us, God will lay our punishment on Jesus instead. That is the way Jesus will serve.

Yet, these 2 pictures of Jesus are very different! How do we put the 2 things together? How does the King die and still rule? Is Luke 3 the first time these 2 pictures of God's servant are put together?

No. In Psalm 2, we see that the way to kingship sees much opposition from man. Before and after Isaiah 53, we see the victory of the Servant.

13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind--
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. (Isaiah 52)

The Christ must suffer first, before He is exalted.

Other than Jesus, only John was there - the pronouncement was for Jesus. He was encouraged and confirmed by God the Father. This is how the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus - through His Word!

d. Son of Adam...

v23 (as was supposed) shows the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. Legally, Jesus' father was Joseph though we know he was in fact born of a virgin. Tracing his geneology to Adam shows us that Jesus is representing all of humanity, not just Israel. Who better to rule the whole world than the Son of God! There is no room for relativism: everyone, regardless of their culture, language and tribe, has to be on Jesus' side to escape judgment.

4. Genuine repentance
Therefore, genuine repentance involves asking: what have we done with God's Son? How have we treated Him?

a. Know the times
We must not just have an intellectual kind of 'knowing' that Jesus is Ruler. Repentance involves living out what we know. It is a change of mind and will which shows forth in real action. Especially when we know that the time of judgment is near!

Jesus does not come to bring about a political rescue, a revolution. The Jewish tax collectors were collecting tax money for the Romans, their foreign rulers. In repenting, the tax collectors were told by John not to collect more than they were to collect - they were not told to stop collecting money altogether.

The way God will save is by bringing about judgment. We are closer to the final judgment than the crowds then. Jesus has already died, risen, and poured out His Holy Spirit. But the fire has not come yet. In the Old Testament, the Jews thought that the Holy Spirit and fire (judgment) would come together, but we now know there is a time gap between the pouring out of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) and the time of judgment.

We can be sure judgment will come because God's Spirit has already been poured out. The judgment is a personal judgment. It is conscious suffering, not annihilation. Anyone who's not on God's side will suffer His judgment.

b. Know the Saviour King
But there is a way to be on God's side - Jesus has come to take the penalty of sin. Repentance is not just about moving from bad morals to good morals. It is a change from self-governance to Jesus' governance, trusting that Jesus' death has taken away our penalty of sin, and trusting Jesus that we will be saved from God's righteous judgment at the end. Being a Christian is about letting Jesus drive our life!

c. Know real baptism
Baptism is the outward sign of the inward reality that leads to real fruit. We can easily put on an outward show, going through the motions of being baptised and being at church week after week, but still not have an inward reality. Those of us who have been brought up in Christian families must know that our heritage does not save us! Just because we are from a Christian family does not guarantee that we are Christian. Those of us who have become Christian from non-Christian families should get baptised - it shows that we are serious about following Jesus!

Luke 2 "The One"

2011-03-26T03:31:00.000-07:00

1. Looking for "The One"

a. Trilogies
There are many Hollywood movies which talk about 'looking for the One'. A couple of interest include Star Wars and The Matrix. The Matrix describes the search for 'The One' who can bend the rules in the matrix (a make-belief world created by machines to keep humans enslaved. The story is set in the future when machines become smart enough and overpower their human creators). The One is the person who would rescue the humans from slavery to the machines. In Star Wars, 'The One' is the person who will 'bring balance back to the Force', which can be either good or evil.

b. Oracle... birth... childhood
During the time of Jesus as recorded in the book of Luke, there was also an anticipation of 'The One'. There were many oracles made about 'the One who is to come' in the Old Testament, the Jewish holy Scriptures. The Jews were looking forward to a person who would deliver their nation from foreign rule. (See previous talks on Luke).

2. Oracles
What are some oracles made of 'the One' in the Old Testament Scriptures?

a. Righteousness & wisdom
'For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.' (Exodus 13:15)

As God rescues His firstborn Israel from Egypt, so should righteous Jews sacrifice their firstborn to God. They would use an animal in place of the firstborn male.

'This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.' (Leviticus 12:7-8)

Jews faithful to God would carry out this law.

'Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.' (Prov 3:3-4)

As faithful, righteous Jews, they would be wise living out God's word, such that people will look up to them as well.

The One has to be a righteous person in God's sight. Thus, oracles about the One in the Old Testament aren't necessarily predictions. Many of the oracles paint a visual aid of what God's righteous person looks like. The above are snippets of oracles about what righteous Jews would do.

b. Peace & light
"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." (Isaiah 9:1-2)

This is a prophecy made about the future when Israel was in exile, under foreign rule.

'For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.' (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The way God will being light to them is via One Person.

"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)

The prophecy is not just for Israel, but for the rest of the world as well!

"But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." (Isaiah 8:13)

Yet, not everyone will accept the Chosen One.

c. Jerusalem, Galilee & Bethlehem
"Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem." (Isaiah 52:9)

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The prophecy involves Jerusalem.

"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." (Isaiah 9:1-2)

Galilee is a remote region - a forsaken place. Yet, God's prophecy regarding the restoration of Israel would involve this very unknown place.

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2)

Bethlehem is even more remote! And yet from this small town would come 'the One'.

3. Birth of the One... or is He?

Looking at the events surrounding Jesus' birth, can we tell that He is the One?

a. Nobodies in the Empire
Back in Luke 2, we see the powerful Roman Empire of the day. Caesar issues a decree - just a few words and millions of people are uprooted (v1). Everyone has to comply.

v4-6 Poor Joseph has to take his pregnant wife to his hometown Bethlehem.
v7 They are nobodies in the empire - they can't even find a place to stay at the inn, even though Mary is about to give birth!

b. Angels, shepherds & the sign
v8 The angels appear to lowly shepherds, one of the lowest 'classes' of people in society at that time.

The birth of Jesus is very different from that depicted in most Christmas plays:
1. The angels in the Bible are male, not female
2. The angels are not cute tiny things (v13); they have a whole host of people with them. The host does not just mean a great multitude - 'host' means great army!

Yahweh in the Old Testament was known as Lord of Hosts, or Lord of Armies! In the Exodus account, an Angel of the Lord is described killing all the firstborn sons in Egypt.

v11 Jesus is Savior. He is Christ the Lord. Christ as we saw in previous weeks is the word for the anointed King who would come to win the battle.

3. The nativity scene is actually very ugly.
v16 Jesus is born in an animal shed! In fact, 'manger' means the feeding trough of the animals! It is not very nice indeed.

v12 Yet the announcement to the Shepherds was exactly that: The Christ Savior is born and he is lying in an animal feeding trough.

c. Oracles fulfilled
So, are there any oracles of the One which have been fulfilled?

v4 He is born in Bethlehem (fulfills Micah 5:2)
v4 He is from the line of David (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)
v10 There is great news and joy at his coming (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v11 He will be a ruler born in the city of David (fulfills Micah 5:2)
v14 He will bring peace on earth (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)

As the Jews read through Luke's account, they would no doubt have been able to pick out these oracles!

4. Childhood

What about Jesus' childhood? Are we able to tell from his childhood whether he is the One?

a. Custom of the Law
v22-24, 39, 41-42 Again and again the customs of the Jewish law are fulfilled by Joseph and Mary. They are faithful, righteous Jews. Jesus as a baby had thus fulfilled all the Jewish laws (it was done unto him by his parents!)

b. Simeon & Anna
v26-32 Simeon and Anna were also faithful and righteous Jews waiting for God to come and restore their country. God had promised Simeon that he would not die till he saw the Consolation of Israel, the One who would bring comfort to the nation by restoring the nation. God keeps his word to Simeon. As Simeon takes up the child and blesses him, he notes that Jesus would be a light of revelation not just to Israel, but to the Gentiles (non-Jews) as well.

c. Smarter than a 5th Grader?
v40, 52 Jesus was wise. He was very smart.
v44-47 Little Jesus was smart! He knew the word of God. He understood deep things, not just trivial things.
v49 Here we see that at 12 years old he already had some consciousness that he was the Christ, the Son of God.

d. Oracles fulfilled
So, which oracles of the One are fulfilled in Jesus' childhood?

v22-24 He would undergo a sacrifice of redemption of the firstborn and turtledoves for purification (fulfills Exodus 13, Leviticus 12)
v25 He is pronounced to be the Consolation of Israel by Simeon (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v29-30 He will bring salvation (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)
v32 He is a light for the Gentiles (fulfills Isaiah 49:6)
v34 He is the fall and rising of many (fulfills Isaiah 8:13)
v38 He is the redemption of Jerusalem (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v39 Galilee is his hometown (fulfills Isaiah 9:1)

5. The One?

a. God's sovereignty
All the Old Testament prophecies are coming true. For God to promise them hundreds of years ago and then fulfill them is a great show of his sovereignty and his control over history. God is in control even over the mightiest of men (Caesar). By passing the census, that forced Joseph to move from Galilee to Bethlehem, where the One was to be born in.

God is sovereign, in control over the whole army of heaven. He is the One who will bring salvation to men. God is involved in history.

b. Confusion
For us readers of Luke's account, it may be so obvious. Yet to the characters in the story, it is not so. In fact, they are confused on many occasions!

v18 All who heard the shepherds wondered at what the shepherds had told them
v33 Even Jesus' parents marvelled at what was said about him, having heard the angel's message that he was to be the Christ (Luke 1:30-33)
v50 Jesus' parents didn't understand Jesus even though they knew that he was the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-32)

For many of us in the 21st century, we like to say we will believe if we had been born 2000 years earlier during Jesus' time and seen Jesus with our very eyes. It wouldn't be so hard to believe in Jesus.

Yet, in this account we see that experience didn't lead to belief. In fact, experience = 'marvelled', 'confused', 'confused'! E=mc2!

c. Myopia
They didn't understand the significance of Jesus' birth and work.

Later, we even see John the Baptist asking "are you the coming One, or should we look for another?" (John 7:20) despite proclaiming previously that Jesus would be the One who would bring salvation to people. He had expected Jesus to be the new political leader, a political King who would drive away the Roman empire and re-establish Israel's sovereignty!

They were short-sighted about what Jesus had come to do. Jesus later died on the cross - He was not the King people were looking for.

v34 Simeon said he was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, i.e. that some would accept and some would reject him. Even his own people would reject him. Many would have great heartache, even Mary's (v35). She would have to see her own son being crucified years later.

We must not be as short-sighted too. What has the One come to do? In The Matrix, Neo the 'One' tries to free the humans from the grip of the Machines, only to realise that he is really a program installed by the Machines, used to regularly reboot the matrix software. At the end, the thing he achieves is not freedom from machines, but only a ceasefire between the 2 sides. He is a disappointing chosen 'One'. In Star Wars, Darth Vader, the 'One', throws the evil Emperor down the chute, 'vindicating' himself and turning back to the good side, bringing balance back to the Force. That was his purpose from the very beginning, to bring balance back to the Force. Yet, it is very unjust. For all the people he killed in the past, destroying the one evil Emperor should not be enough to clear his guilt.

We are all condemned, all deserving of death for sinning against God. The only way to be vindicated is if we believe in Jesus so that our penalty of sin is laid on Him instead. Through Jesus, God forgives us and so that we can be right with Him again. That is what Jesus has come to do (Luke 24:44-47). And unlike Neo in the Matrix, he fulfills his role completely and does not disappoint. Unlike Darth Vader, there is complete justice to be found in Jesus' death on the Cross. Jesus is truly 'the One'.

Luke 1:39-80 "Songs of Hope"

2011-03-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

1. Something to Sing About?

a. Sheer joy
There is great joy in victory. The Spaniards were ecstatic when they won the World Cup for the first time in 2010. America and their ally countries celebrated the end of World War II in jubilant delight. Some of us students would be extremely happy on receiving a high distinction, or a pass if we had only been studying the night before the examination. Still others would feel great joy when the girl of their dreams said 'yes' to going out, or to marriage. There is great thankfulness involved in all the above scenarios.

b. Christians
Christians are a people of thankfulness. In Colossians 3:16, we read of how Christians are to 'let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God'.

c. No... nothing!
But there was a time in history when the people of God had nothing to sing about!

"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?" (Psalm 137:1-4)

How do we get from Psalm 137 when there was no singing, to Colossians 3 when the people of God have so much to sing about?

2. Angel's Words Fulfilled
In Luke 1:39-80, we read of 2 songs. The first is the song of Mary, widely known as the Magnificat, meaning "magnify", the word coming from the first line of her song in verse 46. The second song is the song of Zechariah, also known as the Benedictus, meaning "I bless", the idea coming from the first word of his song in verse 68.

a. Mary
The joy of a person depends on the context. What is the person happy about?

The immediate context for joy is the fulfilment of the words of the angel.
v39 - Mary rushes to see her relative Elizabeth to see if the angel's words were so, and indeed they were!
v41 to 44 - The baby leaps in Elizabeth's womb at the greeting of Mary. Though it could have been coincidental, the leap of the baby in Elizabeth's womb is interpreted as a leap for joy by Elizabeth.
v43 signals the shift of focus from John to Mary's child. Mary's child is noted to be the Lord! It is clear from the context that the emphasis is not on Mary as the Lord's mother, but rather on the baby in Mary's womb! Sadly, there has been a misplaced emphasis on Mary as the Lord's mother throughout church history.

b. Zechariah
For Zechariah, the immediate context for joy is also the fulfilment of the words of the angel!
v57 - a boy is born, fulfilling the angel's promise! In those days there was no ultrasound, so it was impossible to have known the gender of the baby before birth.
v59 - In those days, they would have called the child after Zechariah; fathers and sons would be given the same name.
v60 to 64 - As Zechariah pens down his son's name (in accordance with the instructions of the angel in v13), insisting that his son be called John, his tongue is loosed and he is able to speak. Imagine not being able to speak for 9 months! He would definitely be ecstatic.

c. God of promise
But beyond the immediate context for joy, there was also a bigger context. These were once in a lifetime events: as seen in the previous weeks' talks, many Jews were waiting for a savior. Of all Jews, only Zechariah and Elizabeth were chosen, only Mary was chosen. They were chosen to be part of the fulfilment of God's promise to the whole of Israel, and to the whole world. God was fulfilling His promise through them!

The above is in line with what Mary and Zechariah were singing about.
The song of Mary (v46-55) has 3 main ideas:
1) I magnify the Lord
2) because He has done great things for her, a nobody
3) He helps the nobodies of Israel as He fulfills His age old promise to Abraham

The song of Zechariah (v68-79) has 2 main ideas:
1) God is fulfilling His age old promise
2) My child is going to go before the Lord to tell of His salvation

What is this salvation Zechariah is talking about? In discussing salvation, it is always important to ask the following 4 things: What or who is Israel needing saving from? What is Israel being saved for? What or who is Israel being saved by? And why is Israel needing saving?

3. "Salvation"

Israel is:

a. Saved from
v52 - being nobodies
v71, 74 - their enemies
v68 - slavery and bondage (especially to Babylon. When Israel was conquered by Babylon, their best and richest people were taken to exile and scattered all over Babylon. The king of Israel had his sons executed in his presence, following which his eyes were plucked out so that the last thing he ever saw was his dynasty ending before his very eyes, with no one to hand the throne down to. At this point of history, Israel was under Roman rule).

Why had they become enslaved to foreign rule?
v77 - sin. They had sinned against God. They needed saving first and foremost from their sin.
Sin leads to darkness and the shadow of death (v79)

b. Saved for
v74 - serving God, living for Him, away from enemies
v79 - peace or 'Shalom' - goodwill, security and safety. Peace is what God promises His people.

c. Saved by
v46 - "God my Savior". This verse speaks against Mary being divine or perfect, since she acknowledges that she herself needs saving.

What kind of savior is He? He
v49, 52 - is mighty
v51 - has a strong arm. In the Old Testament, God is known to save by His strong arm.
v69 - He is like David the King. The horn of salvation is a symbol of strength, like the horns on a bull.
v71 - He is a great warrior king, not a cute cuddly Jesus
v76 - is the Most High. John the Baptist will go before Him and announce God's salvation

d. Saved because
v72, 78 - God is merciful.

Many of us find it hard to understand the idea of mercy because we were brought up in a meritocratic society. We are rewarded based on merit. However, if we were to be rewarded based on God's view on us, we are doomed! We are sinful, we are His enemies. By praying give us what we deserve, we are in real trouble.

God is merciful because even though we deserve His judgment, He saves us instead. Mercy cannot be demanded - if it could it would be called merit. In fact, His people didn't even take the initiative to request for mercy (v54-55). His mercy had been promised before to His people (v72-73).

4. Songs of Hope

a. Nationalistic Israel... Materialistic Gentiles
These songs are about God acting to fulfill His word, God acting to show His patient mercy. The songs of praise are not just 'praise God!' repeated a thousand times. They speak of who He is and what He has done. He is merciful.

The songs are songs of hope as well. The babies have not done anything yet. They have not yet grown up. Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and the other Jews were still looking forward to a future time.

The Jews expect their nation to be saved politically, nationalistically, even by military force (v68-69). This is understandable since salvation in the Old Testament was physical. Even in Acts 1:6, Jesus' disciples were looking for the time when Israel would be restored as a political nation. Some people even thought that the restoration of Israel finally occurred in 1948, when Israel finally became a sovereign state. However, this is unlikely since there is still no 'shalom' or peace. There is much fighting in the Middle East today. God promised them complete rest and peace from enemies. Furthermore, Jesus Himself did not expect the restoration to occur by military strength. At his arrest, Peter one of his disciples drew his sword in an attempt to protect his master. Jesus calmly asked him to put his sword away (Matt 26:47-56)

On the other hand, Gentile Christians commonly think God will bring about physical salvation in the sense of material wealth. A book 'The Prayer of Jabez' demonstrates the idea. It is based on 1 Chronicles 4:10, where a man named Jabez prays to God, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" God granted what he asked. Just like Jabez, Gentile Christians like to say that if we had faith just like Jabez, we would also b granted prosperity and good health.

However, this view fails to acknowledge that the time Jabez was praying this prayer was in the Old Testament, when God's people had been promised a land of their own, the Promised Land. Jabez was rightly praying for the expansion of the Promised Land, in line with what God had promised earlier. In the Old Testament, that was how the Jews understood salvation - it was a physical salvation from their enemies.

However in the New Testament, salvation is not a physical salvation. The songs of Mary and Zechariah are fulfilled at a spiritual level. All the promises find their 'Yes!' and 'Amen!' in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). We are to look at Jesus, and see how all the promises are fulfilled in Jesus.

b. Spiritual Christians
God's promised salvation is thus - we don't need to do anything to be forgiven of our sins. Jesus has paid the penalty for us (Luke 24:44-47)! In Jesus, we have been saved from eternal death. We now listen to the voice of the King because we have been saved.

c. Now & not yet
Yet, we will still have enemies in this life, and we still struggle with sin. So we look forward to the day when Jesus returns, the day when we will be completely saved from our enemies, and from pain and suffering in this world.

Revelation 19:11-20:15 "The Millennium"

2011-03-08T03:55:00.000-08:00

1. Millennial Controversies
Around the world, Christians disagree over many issues. One of the issues include Revelation 20.

The millennium is just the Latin word for '1000'. Revelation 20 is the only text in the book of Revelation we can see the word 'millennium'.

a. Revelation 20
Rev 20:2 - Here is where we see the word 'a thousand' for the first time in the book of Revelation.

This is the picture presented in Revelation 20. At the beginning of the 1000 years, Satan would be bound and thrown into a pit for 1000 years (20:2-3). Christians, "those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands" are resurrected and reign with Christ for 1000 years. This is the first resurrection (20:5). The second death has no power over them, they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years (20:6). The rest of the dead, likely referring to non-Christians, did not come to life until the thousand years were ended (20:5).

At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released, and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea (20:8), but is almost immediately defeated (20:9), and then thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where they will be tormented day and night forever (20:10). There is then the picture of judgment day - Death, Hades and all whose names were not written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire (20:11-15).

However, they are 3 views of this regarding Revelation 20, differing based on when Christ returns and other aspects of the vision.

b. Pre-millenialism

In this view, Christ returns before the 1000 years. The 1000 years are not yet here. This view is substantiated by 19:11-21, which describes Jesus' 2nd coming, occurring just before Revelation 20. This view sees Christians reigning on earth with Jesus after he establishes his absolute rule on earth. Satan is bound absolutely. Christians will meet Jesus in the air when he returns (1 Thess 4:16-17), known as the 'Rapture'. Before the 1000 years, society gets worse and worse till a period of great tribulation occurs, a period of great persecution of Christians, just before Christ returns. Once the 1000 years are up, Satan will be released, but almost immediately defeated and thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur.

c. Post-millennialism

Jesus will come after the 1000 years. We could be living before the 1000 years, or during the 1000 years. Satan is not bound absolutely. There is improvement in society - Christianity is spreading and medical science and technology is improving. This view was especially prevalent during the time of the British Empire when many missionaries were being sent out, and many new cures for diseases were being discovered.

d. A-milllennialism

This view doesn't believe that the 1000 years is to be taken literally. The 1000 years is symbolic of the time between the 1st coming of Jesus and the 2nd coming of Jesus. He is bound in the sense that Satan can no longer blind people from the gospel. The saints are taken to reign, as written in passages like Ephesians 2:6 "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus", Colossians 3:1 "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" - for those who believe in Christ, they are raised with Christ, reigning at the right hand of God.

Which view is right?

2. Millennium in context
The people who come up with these views may have a lot of vested interests in these views. Their whole belief system hinge very heavily on the interpretation of Revelation 20.

We must read in context. We must be careful not to let our prejudices and prior knowledge dictate what the passage says. What does the passage really say?

a. Vision sequence
The sequence of visions is based on the order of John's visions (19:11, 20:1). The sequence is not necessarily the chronological order of history or the future.

There is a battle in 19:17-21 - this makes pre-millennialism unlikely since there is a battle when Jesus first returns - who is left for Satan to gather for the final battle in 20:8?

Furthermore, in Ezekiel 39, we read "I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured (Ezekiel 39:1-4).

In Revelation 19:17-18, we read also of birds being called to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. In Revelation 20:8, the nations that are gathered include Gog and Magog (nations of the east during the time of Ezekiel).

The 2 visions of a battle in Revelation 19:11-21 and in Revelation 20 are the same. Just like action replays, they are different views of the same event.

b. The final battle (16:14-16, 17:12-14, 19:11-21, 20:7-10)
In the context of the final battle, Jesus comes, and then there is the final battle. That is all we can be sure of. There is a thousand years, then there is the final battle. It is hard to know the exact relationship between the second coming of Jesus and the thousand years.

c. The 1000 years

i. Satan bound
What about the 1000 years in which Satan is bound? Satan is bound very well (Rev 20:1-3). Pre-millennialists believe Satan is bound absolutely, but only after Jesus returns, so society deteriorates till Jesus returns. Post-millennialists believe that Satan is not bound absolutely in the 1000 years which we are in, so society improves.

But is our world really getting better? After the 2 great wars in the 20th century, coupled with genocides, large scale natural disasters that still occur (e.g. 2004 tsunami), few people actually agree with the pre-millennial view.

The a-millennial view talks about the overlap of the ages, the 1000 years between the first coming of Jesus and His second coming. The world is not getting worse, nor is it getting better. It has always been like that since Genesis 3.

ii. saints reign
However, the a-millennialists may be reading too much into Christians reigning with Christ, by saying that all Christians are reigning with Christ as in Ephesians 2:6 and Colossians 3:1. In 20:4 we read, "Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

It alludes to Rev 6:9-11. "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

The white robe symbolises victory. In the 1000 years, the Christians are reigning in victory, but yet they are told to wait for the full number of Christians to be killed for the sake of Christ.

In Philippians 1:18-24 the Apostle Paul talks about being hardpressed between staying alive and getting out of prison, or being slain and be with Christ. His "desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" There may be an intermediate state for Christians after they die - that they are conscious to some extent that they are with Jesus, though not yet having received a new physical resurrected body when Jesus returns.

It seems that these Christians are in a period of delay, waiting for the final judgment.

d. The final judgment
There is not too much controversy about the final judgment.

There is a great white throne (20:11), which is similar to the picture in Daniel 7:9-10.
"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. "I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire."

It is a courtroom scene, judgment day.

There is a lake of fire, where Satan and the beasts go. It is awful. They are tormented day and night forever and ever (20:10).

But it is not only Satan and the beasts who are thrown into the lake of fire. Those who are not written in the Book of Life will also be thrown into the lake of fire (20:15).

e. The rest of the Bible
The rest of the Bible pushes us towards the a-millennial view. The world is not getting better or worse. It has always been like this. Revelation 19 coming before Revelation 20 does not necessarily mean Jesus returns before the 1000 years.

3. Distracted by the Millennium?
However, we can believe any of the above views and still be Christian. It is about arguing about the timeframe of when Jesus returns. It can be very distracting, and can cause Christians to not befriend other Christians.

We Christians need to work out what are the common things we believe in.

a. Pan-millennialism
Good godly Christians can believe different views of millennialism - we shouldn't worry about it too much! It will all 'pan' out in the end! These things do not matter in the end. There are some things we should fight for theologically, such as whether Jesus rose from the dead physically, or whether Jesus died on the cross. But we shouldn't hold too tightly to something we might be wrong in!

b. Cosmic battle
We must look at the whole picture. What does Revelation 20 teach us?

i. Dragon - beast (B1) - false prophet (B2) - prostitute
There is a cosmic battle. On one side is Satan, the serpent from of old. With him there is beast 1 from the land, anti-God governments, beast 2 from the sea, anti-God religious teachings of men, and Babylon, the great prostitute, the system of this world which encourages man to find security in materialism and in luxury apart from God. It is like the account of Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, where man wants to make a name for himself.

It is a very old battle. It has been going on since Genesis 3. The serpent of old, against God and mankind.

Revelation 12 describes when the serpent fell, when he was defeated. He was defeated by the blood of the Lamb, by the death of Jesus! It is the death of Jesus that is the key turning point. He knows his time is short, his end is near, and sends out beast 1 and beast 2.

ii. Jesus
In Revelation 19:11-21, Jesus comes. On the other side is Jesus. He is not a tiny little baby Jesus, nor is he weak Jesus on a donkey. In Revelation 19, Jesus is the grown man Jesus. The man who is called Faithful and True. He is riding in on a white war horse with an army behind him. It is like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. He has a sword coming out of his mouth - the word of God, the testimony of Jesus, about how he will judge the world. It will prove to be faithful and true. The word will call upon the birds to attack his enemies.

In this final battle, who wins?

In Rev 20:9, before Satan and his armies can do anything, it is all over. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes them.

There is such a big build up to the battle, but it is over in a flash!

c. Justice at last
4 times we are told, the final battle is total. It is very quick. It involves the whole world.

i. mop up
Jesus comes to fix up the mess. A lot of people pray for the mess of the world to be fixed up. Jesus will fix it up properly.

ii. deserved fire
Satan deserves the fire that will come to him. This is the significance of the 1000 years. Satan is bound for a thousand years, so that he will not deceive the world (20:3). Yet, when he is released, the first thing he does is to deceive the world and call for the final battle.

With his last breath, he still wants to come up against Jesus and His people. He deserves his punishment.

iii. martyrs vindicated
Those on the side of Jesus, who died for the sake of the gospel, will be vindicated. They will be seen to be on the right side. The persecutors who think they are the losers will come to see that they are in fact on the losing side.

d. All accountable
The mop up is total. Everybody has to give an account (20:12-13). "The small and the great... each one of them" - every single person has to face the judgment of God.

A lot of people ask, "why doesn't God fix up the mess?" It always almost refers to the mess on the other side of the world, or the mess that some people around them who are making life difficult for them.

But when God comes to fix up the mess, he comes to fix us up individually. If we are not for God, we will be fixed up. We will be judged.

e. Criteria for judgment
The judgment is awful. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Some people think hell is annihilation, that is, the people who are judged won't know about it. They will just disappear. But that is not what the text is saying.

Hell is living under God's wrath for eternity.

Everyone will be judged according to what they had done. God knows everything we've done. When the books are open, every wicked thought and deed will be exposed. What hope is there for any of us?

There is a book of life. Everyone whose name is in the book of life won't be thrown into the lake of fire. How do we get into the book of life?

It is by being forgiven by the blood of Jesus (19:13). It is by being on Jesus' side.

4. The Real Issues

a. Who wins?
Jesus and those who are with him are those who win. Yet, a lot of Christians have been killed in the past 2000 years for the sake of the gospel. Even for those of us not in those countries which persecute Christians, Christians are often seen as 'losers'. But the point in Revelation 20 is that Christians are winners.

b. Name in the Book of Life?
Are our names written in the Book of Life? Are we entrusting our lives over to Jesus?

Luke 1:5-38 "Impossible is Nothing"

2011-03-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

1. "Nothing will be impossible"
The phrase comes from Luke 1:37. "For nothing will be impossible with God." It is a common slogan for many Christians, especially as they approach work and study. "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26) and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). But are these texts really promising that we can do everything with God's help?

a. Supernatural power!
We read of many supernatural things in Luke 1. So seemingly incredible, they seem impossible. We read of Mary who will conceive a son without having sexual relations (1:34). In 1:11, we read of a supernatural being sent from God. He appears very suddenly.

God can work through both supernatural and natural means. Some of us may not believe the supernatural, but that does not discount the good historicity of Luke's gospel as we saw last week. We may have to change our worldview.

But that also leads to another question - does it mean that if we believe in something supernatural hard enough, it would happen?

b. Absolutely "Nothing"?
1:37 - God can do absolutely anything.

However, expecting him to do something miraculous, or anything for that matter, only applies to what he has already promised. If he has never said he would do something, then we would be presumptuous to expect that thing to happen.

c. What's promised!
Here, God promises that the Holy Spirit will come upon Mary. The power of the Most High will overshadow her and she will conceive without sexual relations (1:34-35). Elizabeth also has a child in her old age; the promise being given to Zechariah in 1:12-17.

Since God has promised them, they can have assurance that God will bring it to pass. As Mary sees her relative Elizabeth pregnant in her old age, she should even more be convinced that the promise will come true.

2. What Things Fulfilled?

a. Barren women
In 1:18-20, we see that Zechariah doesn't quite believe the angel's words. But the angel Gabriel maintains that his words would be 'fulfilled' in their time. This word is similar to the word 'accomplished' in the first verse.

What is going to happen fulfills not just what the angel is promising now, but also things in the past, in the Old Testament.

We know that Mary and Elizabeth lived around the time of 34-4 BC, when Herod was the king of Judea (1:5). We know that Zechariah and Elizabeth were Jews, since Zechariah was a priest and served in the temple of the Lord (1:5, 8-9), and Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron (1:5). Mary was also a Jew, since she was Elizabeth's relative (1:36), and she lived in a small Jewish town of Galilee named Nazareth (1:26).

The promises do not come in a complete vacuum, but rather arrive in the Jewish context.

There had been many instances of barren women in history of the Jews. In Genesis 18:10-14, we read of Abraham and his wife being promised a child in their old age. There is a strong parallel with the account here in Luke 1. In Genesis 18:14, we see the similar sounding words "Is anything to hard for the Lord?"

The promise to Abraham that he would have a son is traced back to Genesis 12:1-3, where Abraham is promised that he would be made a great nation, that he would be blessed, that his name would be great, that he would be a great blessing, and in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. He needed to have a son from his own body if the promise was to be fulfilled! All the mess of the world as seen from Genesis 3 to 11 would be reversed through Abraham!

In 1 Samuel we also read of another woman, Hannah who was barren but later also conceived to bear a son Samuel, who becomes God's prophet to the nation of Israel and inaugurates Israel's dynasty of kings. Although Hannah's prayer was for a child, God uses the prayer to further His purpose for the nation of Israel.

When Israel is later defeated by foreign powers and brought into exile, Isaiah another of God's prophets had this to say to them: "Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married," says the LORD. "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. "Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called." (Isaiah 54:1-5)

There are a lot of images of barren women in the Old Testament. In the above reading of Isaiah, it seems that Israel's barrenness and their exile were closely linked, yet God would one day bring them out of exile again. However, by the time of Luke 1 the people of Israel were still under foreign rule - under the Roman Empire.

Thus, it is very likely that Zechariah was not praying for a son. He would have acknowledged that Elizabeth was barren and their chance of having children was not long gone (1:7).

Instead, Zechariah would most likely have been praying for the restoration of Israel. He would have been praying on behalf of many other Jews who likely thought the same as well (1:10). In 2:25, we read of Simeon a devout Jew who is described as doing just that - he had been waiting for the 'consolation of Israel', his nation comforted and again in great power, just like back in the golden age of King David and Solomon's time. Many devout Jews would be wanting the same thing as well.

b. Forerunner
It is true that Elizabeth was glad that her reproach was taken away (1:24-25), for as with many barren women in that time they were looked down upon, they 'will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth" because their son will be the forerunner to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. This echoes Isaiah 40:1-5:
"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

It is literally an image of cutting a straight highway through the mountains and valleys. The people of God would be able to come straight back from exile in Babylon to Israel.

But how would Elizabeth's son prepare the people exactly?

1:16 - "He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just."

Elijah is another great prophet in Israel's past. He brought many people back to God by destroying the prophets of Baal and showing that the God of Israel was the only one true and living God. Yet, Elizabeth's son is not a reincarnation of Elijah, nor is he Elijah himself. He would be in the spirit and power of Elijah, someone like Elijah who turns people back to God, and someone who makes ready for the Lord.

When people look at Elizabeth's son, they will see the one who comes after him.

c. Virgin birth
They should not be focusing on Elizabeth's son. There is a strong parallel between the 2 stories of Elizabeth and Mary both being promised a son. Yet, the second story is far greater - Elizabeth was barren and old, but Mary was a virgin who never even had sexual relations! The impossibility of conception is raised a notch in Mary's case.

1:35 is not saying that the Holy Spirit 'came upon Mary' and had sexual relations with her, thus causing Jesus to be 50% God and 50% man. Jesus is not a hybrid of God and man. He is fully God and fully man.

The significance of the virgin birth is hard to find, since there is little in the Old Testament which speaks of the significance of a virgin birth, except for Isaiah 7:14, which the writer in Matthew 1:22-23 accepts as referring to the Messiah. Another possible significance of the virgin birth is that it proves God can do anything.

The virgin birth does not mean immaculate conception is true, that is, it does not mean Mary must be a virgin for Jesus to be sinless. In saying so, it somehow implies the Y chromosome from Joseph is sinful, and Mary is sinless herself. By pushing the argument that she's sinless, it is easy to then conclude that she is a co-redeemer with Jesus, with some Christians even pointing to 1:38 as showing that she had 100% faith in Gabriel's word, compared to Zechariah's wavering faith in 1:18. This view seems very unlikely, since 1:34 also shows that Mary doubted.

d. Son of God
Mary is chosen to conceive a very special child. In 1:35, Jesus is called the 'Son of God'. To us Christians today, we equate the term with 'God the Son', the second person of the Trinity, but in fact this is not the case. Son of God in Jewish culture really has a much more significant idea. It refers to the King of Israel. All the Kings of Israel since the time of King David were referred to as sons of God. This idea appears from 2 Samuel 7:12-16, as God addresses David.

"When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"

e. Angel's good news
What is the significance of the angel's good news? It is not that it was supernatural (1:26). An angel means 'messenger'. Gabriel was a bearer of God's word. Rather, the timing is really significant, because in Luke 1, the Jews had not heard a direct word from God for almost 400 years! Many nations had changed, yet they were still under a foreign power, though a different one from 400 years ago. There was absolute silence from God.

However, in just a matter of months, they had received 2 words from God. And in Jesus, God had finally spoken a word and turn the pages of history.

3. Impossible is Nothing

a. Adidas & Nike

Just like the Nike advertisement, the Adidas slogan is "Nothing is Impossible." Both exude a lot of self-confidence and trust in the human potential. They are very similar.

It is not at all different to many Christians who have say God can do anything we want. It is false advertising. God has not promised to always heal us, or give us riches, or help us to succeed in our jobs and rise up the career ladder.

b. Angel from God
The verses like Luke 1:37 cannot be too quickly applied to us! What is spoken to Elizabeth and Mary are words with a lot of significance and meaning! They do not come in a vacuum. The promises arrive in the Jewish context with heavy Old Testament influence. What is spoken to them is also special for all of history. What happens in Luke 1 concerns eternity. The word from the angel affects everyone's eternity.

c. Eternity with certainty
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, there is mention of a mirror, the Mirror of Erised, which shows people their 'deepest most desperate desires of our hearts'. 'However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible' (Rowling, 1997).

It is similar to many of our goals in life. Some of us may desire to be rich, others may desire to make a significant contribution to humanity via research, while still others may desire a stable income with a happy family. However, while those things may happen, God has never promised any of those things for each one of us.

With Jesus' birth now announced, the climax of God's eternal plan is now about to happen. Because God's promise was fulfilled as written down for us in the pages of the Bible, we can be certain that whatever else God promises in the Bible will happen as well. We must not be distracted by the temporary things of the world. We must approach eternity with certainty of the promises we have in Jesus.

Rowling, J. K. (1997). Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Revelation 17:1-19:10 "The Prostitute, the Beast... & the Lamb"

2011-03-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

1. Marriage vs Prostitution

What is the difference between a man going to a prostitute and a couple in a marriage relationship?

Both have union of sexual intimacy. Both have pleasure and excitement of that union.

But one is the sexual expression that God has given mankind to be expressed within the framework of marriage - the good gift of God. The other is the cheap distortion of God's good gift!

In marriage, a man loves the woman and courts her, patiently waiting for the wedding day and wedding night, celebrates with friends and family the joys of the wedding feast. They promise to stay together for better or for worse, till death. On the other hand, a man pays some cash to a complete stranger, whom he will never see again, for a night of excitement.

The image of a prostitute is what we read of in today's text.

2. The Great Prostitute

a. Her seduction & passion
17:4 - The prostitute is very attractive. She is beautiful to look at, being clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls. She is not a cheap prostitute - she is a 'high class' prostitute, an escort girl. Yet, even though she is externally alluring, she is full of abomination on the inside. From the outside the cup is golden, but on the inside it is full of abominations and impurities. It spells seduction. It looks attractive on the outside, but it leads a person to abomination, to evil, to turn away from God.

18:3 - Not only is she seductive, she is passionate as well. She gives passionate wine. Those involved with her get drunk. They get confident. They think they can do everything. But in fact, when drunk they aren't conscious of what they are doing. They lose all sense of good judgment.

b. Her clients
17:1 - She sits over many waters. What are these waters?
17:15 - The waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
They are both the rich and powerful (17:2), and the poor as well, from the term 'dwellers on earth' - anyone whose names are not written in the book of life (17:8)

c. Her pride
18:7 - She glorifies herself. She lives in luxury. She says, "I am on top of the world. There'll never be a day that makes me cry or mourn."

d. Her beast
17:3 - She also sits over the beast. She has a close association with the beast, whom she rides. The beast is scarlet, an expensive colour. It matches her clothing. The beast has 7 heads and 10 horns.

17:7-13 describes the beast. The 7 heads are like 7 hills, like 7 kings. Rome was said to be built on 7 hills. It is a beast that represent authority, government authority, rulers of the world. 17:12 - the 10 horns are 10 kings.

17:10, 13 - The kings come and go. It is a bit like Nero back at that time, who was said to have faked his own death, only to reappear, feigning resurrection. These kings have great authority. The beast is the picture of all the authorities of the world. Just like Japan, Germany, who at some points in history were down and out, e.g. after WWII, they later returned as the great economies of the world with great influence over global policies.

e. Her identity
Who then is this prostitute? There's a lot in the name. A name is supposed to tell a lot about a person's character. What characterizes the prostitute?

17:5 - Her name is Babylon the Great.

What's so special about Babylon? Babylon is a city. The first city that was built at Babylon was built way before 1800 BC. It was the city of Babel. It was where all the people of the world came together and wanted to build not only a great city, but a great tower that reaches to the heavens, to make a name for themselves. They wanted not to be scattered all over the world. They wanted security for themselves. It was the alternative to God, where man could make safety, security and a name for himself (Genesis 11).

Throughout history, man has always been obsessed with tall buildings. Cities with tall buildings are a picture of pride, glamour, riches and luxury. That is Babylon as well.

Later on in the Old Testament, around 1660 BC, Babylon grew to be the greatest nation, greatest civilisation, the greatest military power of that time. It was later overtaken by the Persians, then the Greeks and finally by the Romans. At the time of writing, Rome was the new Babylon. John the writer could have been referring to Rome as he wrote about Babylon in the book of Revelation. Yet, Babylon does not just referring to that particular great civilisation. Babylon is a symbol of all civilizations where mankind wants to get together in luxury, glamour, security and in riches.

The great prostitute and her sexual immorality is unlikely literal sexual immorality. It is a symbol for man's love for riches and money and the security they can give us. Yet, money is not inherently wrong. Just like sex is not wrong, it is God's good gift to man. It is the distortion of money to our own ends, the running after, the worshipping of the glamour, luxury and the security that money gives, which is the sexual immorality of the prostitute.

It is materialism.

18:3 - The merchants of the earth will grow rich from the power of the prostitute's luxurious living.
18:11-12 - The nations of the world will weep when they can't sell their expensive cargo.

And this is what our world is seduced by. All of us in Asia ultimately look to the great nation that in America. We all want to imitate America. We all want to work in a big firm in New York. We all want to study at Harvard just for the prestige of it. We all want to be someone in this world, and have the power and pleasure.

f. Her destruction
17:1, 18:2, 18:8, 18:10 - As Babel fell within a day, Babylon fell within a year (539 BC). It took very long to build Rome up, but it is said it fell overnight as well. Here is the judgment of God on the prostitute, on all the world holds dear. All that we have achieved, all our degrees, all our possessions will all go. It will all go.

Jesus: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matt 6:19-24)

The Apostle John: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17)

The prostitute thinks she will never fall, but she will.

3. The Marriage of the Lamb
There is another relationship spoken of in this text as well.

a. Long awaited
19:6-8 - The Lamb as we have seen in the past few chapters, refers to Jesus. Here is the marriage that is long awaited,. It is long awaited because God had planned it all along since the beginning.

As Paul writes Ephesians 5:31-32, he quotes Genesis 2:24. He is saying that when God created Adam and Eve, he wasn't really thinking about human marriage, he was really thinking about Christ and the Church. That was what God was heading His whole plan towards.

We as Christians are now engaged to Jesus.

2 Cor 11:2 - Paul says he has bethrothed the Corinthian church to one husband, as a pure virgin to Christ. We as Christians are not to chase after false Christs. We are not married yet.

One day, i.e. Rev 19, when Jesus comes again, the long awaited wedding day will come.

b. Finally arrived
19:17 - The day is described here. The Lamb is not just Jesus who died, He is also the one who wins the victory.

17:14 - The Lamb is the one who conquered. The kings with the beast will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them.

Jesus is risen. He has won the victory. He will come back and rule. That is why we rejoice. This wedding day finally comes, because the bride is ready.

c. Bride
Prettying themselves up - that is what brides do.

As the bride, we Christians are to make ourselves ready. We are to dress in fine linen, white and pure (19:8), a contrast the the scarlet and expensive purple of the beast and prostitute. The fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints (19:8). It is not saying we need to do righteous things to get to heaven. Jesus engages us despite our ugliness. Now that we are promised to Jesus, we are to get ready and grow in godliness and righteousness.

Sometimes, the brides of this world spend more time getting ready than we as Christians get ready to meet Jesus. We are often lackadaisical with regards to our righteousness.

But the bride here 'has been made ready' (19:7).

d. Dinner guests
19:9 - Not only is there a picture of the bride, in Revelation we are seen also as dinner guests. We are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This rich supper is contrasted against the alchohol of the prostitute that she uses to make the nations drunk.

We are those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. What a great privilege!

4. The Call
There are 2 great calls to Christians.

a. Come out!
The whole world has gone after materialism. The kings of the world have gone after materialism. Almost every government in the world is concerned about making their citizens rich. Our whole world has become drunk with materialism.

18:4 - We are to come out of her, lest we take part in her sins and share in her plagues.

It is so easy to participate in the materialism of the world. It is all around us. It is what our friends and relatives are like. There are so many expectations of our parents and friends. Where we will work, what car we drive, what sort of house we will own.

Yet, we are to be different.

b. Practical implications
What are our God-given resources? Time, abilities and assets? Some abilities are inherited, some are practised. Some assets are inherited, some are earned. But ultimately all are from God. How would we use these resources differently living for the prostitute, compared to if we live for Jesus and the marriage supper of the lamb?

c. Rejoice!?
19:1-6 - There is another call - a call to rejoice at the fall of the prostitute. Isn't it weird to be happy that the world system is going? We should be happy because that is the world system that is in rebellion against God.

18:11, 15 - The dwellers of the earth mourn because that was all they lived for. The more we hold onto the prostitute, the more we will mourn when it falls. It is how we see life. Do we actually believe that this world system will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus?

19:9 - These are the true words of God.
19:10 - The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. All Christians are prophets in that we predict that Jesus is coming back to judge the world. We are all prophets about the one thing that actually matters. Do we actually believe this will happen? Is it really our life reference point?

It is so hard because it is what our relatives, our friends also want. It is what they expect of us. We feel so secure in having the money, status and power of this world. But if we know that the world system is going to collapse, we owe it to God, to ourselves and to our family and friends to 'get out!' Even though the world tells us to just continue on with 'life', climbing up the career ladder, we need to get out! We need to make different decisions in life, and influence our family and friends as well to 'get out' as well.

Revelation 15-16 "Armageddon"

2011-02-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

1. Armageddon

a. Science Fiction
150 years ago, H. G. Wells wrote "A dream of Armageddon". He wrote it before the time of nuclear bombs, yet he saw that by modernising technology, battles of the future will be on a massive scale. The name 'Armageddon' comes from Rev 16:16, which translates "The Mountain of Megiddo". It's a place in the middle east. It overlooks 2 great roads of trade and commerce. In the past, there were many battles there. For example, we read of a major battle in Judges 5 that was in Megiddo.

b. Old Testament battles
There were many battles in the Old Testament of the Bible, but perhaps the greatest of them all was the battle in Egypt. It was the battle that brought the people of God out of Egypt. They were slaves in Egypt. They had no standing army of their own and were powerless to escape from slavery under the hands of the Egyptians. But God sent 10 plagues onto Egypt, through a person called Moses, forcing Pharaoh to let God's people go. Pharaoh was so stubborn in allowing them to go that even after he had let them go, he chased after them, only to finally be stopped by the Red Sea. God parted the Red Sea, allowing His people to cross, but drowned Pharaoh's army as they gave chase through the parted Red Sea.

c. Battle against God
In Revelation 15 and 16, we read of another battle against God. Here, it is the dragon against God (Rev 16:16). Those who are on the dragon's side, the evil governments of the world and the false philosophies of the world, summarised as Beast 1 and 2 in the previous chapters. It echoes of the Exodus. The clearest indication that this battle echoes of the Exodus is that there are 7 plagues (Rev 15:1)

2. Seven last plagues

a. Read as a whole
These are the complete, total last plagues. (Number 7 symbolises completion). Armageddon as we read in Rev 16 is the last plague, but really, should be read together with the other plagues.

b. "Last"
It's called last plagues, because it is about the very end -judgment day. Last week, in Rev 14, we saw the picture of judgment day. Rev 15-16 should be seen like an action replay of the same event in Rev 14.

c. Song of Moses & the Lamb
In Rev 14:2-3, we get a glimpse of what happens to those who conquer the beast and its image, those who have been redeemed from the earth - they are playing harps and singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. In Rev 15:3-4, we see what they are singing - they are singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. What is the song of Moses? It was first sung after the Israelites saw the Egyptian army being drowned in the Red Sea:

"Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
"I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.' You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them."You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The LORD will reign forever and ever. For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea." (Exodus 15:1-19)

But here in Rev 15:3, it is now also called the Song of the Lamb. It is all about the victory of God. God is mighty. God is powerful. All the nations will glorify Him. It was similar back then in the Exodus, when the world's most powerful army (like the present day US Army) was wiped out by God.

Why is it called the Song of the Lamb, the song of Jesus? It has got to do with 'typology'. There are things in the New Testament that are types of the Old Testament. Things in the Old Testament which are pattern of things in the New Testament, visual aids, to teach us certain truths. What does the Exodus teach us? It teaches us that God is powerful, powerful to save. He saves His people from slavery by destroying His enemies.

When we look forward to the New Testament, the song of Moses becomes the song of the Lamb, because in Jesus, as we go into another time frame of history, we find the same pattern occurring, where once again God's people are enslaved to sin, unable to pull themselves out of slavery to sin, and heading to be punished in hell. But Jesus comes as God's servant, who by His death on the cross, by rising again, rescues His people out of slavery, as God defeats His enemies, not the Egyptians this time, but the dragon.

God doesn't just try to save us, He is powerful to save us. He is able to save us.

d. From the tabernacle
The song is sung before the bowls of wrath come (Rev 16:1). The bowls are from the tabernacle. They come from the angels who carry them, and these angels come from the tabernacle (Rev 15:5-6). It reminds us of the Exodus, because after the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were to make a tent, a tabernacle, a sanctuary. In this tabernacle, God was to dwell in the Holy of Holies. It was a symbol for God's dwelling place. But in Rev 15:5-7, we see the real dwelling place. No one can enter God's dwelling place till the seven plagues are finished (Rev 15:8).

e. Bowls of wrath
The seven bowls are the full, complete bowl of God's wrath (Rev 15:7). Not half full, but over-the-brim full.

3. God's wrath poured out

The idea of God's wrath is not popular today. Some people think that the God of Christianity is a cruel monster. Atheists would think the world is better off without religion. They believe Christianity makes humanity worse. Is God really inhuman?

a. Plagues on Egypt
We must look at the bowls together, not individually. Together, they are the last 7 plagues of God. They are a big echo of the 10 plagues in the Exodus.

Rev 16:2 - sores and boils
Rev 16:3 - sea turned to blood
Rev 16:10 - darkness
Rev 16:12 - river is dried up
Rev 16:13 - frogs
Rev 16:21 - hailstones

These are the same stuff as the 10 plagues. It is a symbolic reminder of the phyiscal destruction of Egypt. Back in the Old Testament, it was real hailstones. But the symbol of the Old Testament plagues, is not as bad as the real thing. The real judgment of God, is actually worse than sores and hailstones. It is being outside the goodness of God.

These are judgments on creation. They are poured out on the earth (Rev 16:1), on the sea (Rev 16:3), on the rivers and streams (Rev 16:4), on the sun (Rev 16:8), into the air (Rev 16:17)

They are poured out on all creation. The apostle Peter writes, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!" (2 Peter 3:10-12)

The world as we know it will come to an end. In Rev 21-22, we read that there will be a new heavens and a new earth.

b. "Smart bowls"
These 7 bowls which are poured out are 'smart bowls', like 'smart bombs'. These bowls are smart because they target - 'the people who have the mark of the beast' (Rev 16:2), those who shed the blood of the saints and prophets (Rev 16:6), those who continue to curse God (Rev 16:9, 11), the throne of the beast (Rev 16:10). The great city of Babylon that persecutes God (Rev 16:19) is the kingdom that splits into 3.

It sounds very much like the Exodus. The 10 plagues only affected the Egyptians, not the Israelites. Judgment day is God's wrath on those who are not His people. These 7 plagues are terrible. In Rev 8 and 9, we read of the 7 trumpets, which remind of the Exodus as well. They were warning signs of the things already happening in our world today. But back in Rev 8 and 9, it was a third of things which were destroyed. A third of the sun, a third of the earth etc.

c. Total
But in Rev 16, it is total.

Rev 16:3 - every living thing in the sea died.
Rev 16:20 - no island and no mountain is left.

God is finally taking His vengeance on those who reject and hate Him.

d. Martyrs avenged
In Rev 6:10, those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne, Christians, cried out in a loud voice "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" They were given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of fellow servants and their brothers should be complete.

In Rev 16, it is time.

e. Final battle
The bowls build up to the final battle. In the Old Testament, Euphrates was seen as the eastern border of civilisation, beyond which were barbarians. God now allows it to be dried up so that the hordes, kings from the east could come across and invade the known world (Rev 16:12).

"And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (Rev 16:13-14)

That is, God is allowing Satan and his evil governments, false evil philosophies and wrong religions, telling lies to gather people around the world to make war against God. It is just like atheists going around recruiting more atheists to go against God. Their arguments are really bad -- by taking the worst of religion, they say all religion is bad. It's as good as saying science produced the terrible atomic bombs and weapons of mass destruction, therefore all science is bad.

f. Done!
But just as the enemies are gathered at Armageddon (Rev 16:16), the seventh angel pours out his bowl and exclaims "It is done!" (Rev 16:17) It is finished. Babylon is destroyed without a struggle. It is a walk over. There is no hope for the forces of evil, those on the dragon's side, to win on judgment day (Rev 16:18-21).

g. Agony.. yet unrepentant!
Those on the dragon's side will experience agony - harmful and painful sores (Rev 16:2), they have to drink blood (Rev 16:6), they will be scorched by the sun (Rev 16:8), they will gnaw their tongues in anguish (Rev 16:10), just like Jesus had predicted earlier. They will be pounded by enormous hailstones (Rev 16:21)

The people who are undergoing these awful plagues, curse the name of God, who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give God glory (Rev 16:9, 11). Instead of knowing that they have done wrong, they curse God who has done justice.

Rev 15 and 16 gives us this graphic picture of hell. God's anger poured out to the full. Is God really a wicked monster, like some atheists claim him to be?

4. Armageddon: God's ANGER

a. Power, justice & glory
He is powerful. Just as He is powerful to save, He is powerful in defeating His enemies. Some people are angry, but not powerful, e.g. a young girl throwing tantrums - very angry, but not powerful at all!

In these 2 chapters, God is described as Lord God Almighty (Rev 15:3, 16:7, 14). God's anger is just. He is not evil in His anger.

Our society is confused with the purpose of our jails. We may think 1) they are to there to protect society - keep the criminals off the streets. 2) to deter others from committing crimes 3) to correct, rehabilitate. However, without retributive justice, it is actually unjust, actually cruel, immoral. With 1) alone, you'll end up with the situation in Minority Report, where people are put in jail before they do anything wrong. With 3) alone, you can end up with a police state, where those who don't fit in with society will be sent to jail for 'rehabilitation'. With 2) alone, the state can easily chop off the hands of thieves to to deter people. Yet in all these 3 scenarios, these are all unjust.

God is not a cruel monster, because humanity deserves its punishment for sinning against God. Just and true are God's ways (Rev 15:3, Rev 16:5, 7). we keep saying to God, 'get lost' - no matter how we express that, whether in establishing our own morality or our purposes in life.

In hell, even if haters of God were given an opportunity to repent, they would not. They will continue to curse God for eternity. God is not a cruel monster. He is just judge.

What about our loved ones who don't turn to God? God's judgment is glorious (Rev 15:4). It shows His holiness. We must learn to love God's glory, even more than our own family members. If anyone who does evil, hating God and can ultimately get away with it, it is unfair. Then God is unjust, He is not glorified.

b. Who will win?
The real question is not who will win - the real question is whose side we are on.

c. Whose side will you be on?
We are either on one or the other. There is no neutral ground. Are we on the side of the saints, the side of God's people, those who can enter the throne room of God, who will sing the victory one, the blessed ones who are awake and have garments on (Rev 16:15).

Rev 16:15 - what does it mean to be awake and have the garments on? Being awake alludes the letter to the seven churches (Rev 3). The church of Sardis had the appearance of being alive, but they were dead. They need to wake up! (Rev 3:1-3). Having garments on alludes to the letter to Laodicea - Rev 3:14-18. They are lukewarm - they think they are ok, they are rich, needing nothing, but in fact they are poor and naked. Jesus will spit them out of His mouth. Rather, we should be clothed with white clothes, which refer not just to purity, but victory (white signifies victory in Jewish culture). They are white because the robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:13-14)

d. Unexpected
All of us deserve the judgment laid out in Rev 15-16, if we don't turn back to Jesus. Some of us may think we would rather 'enjoy' life now, and turn back to Jesus later at our deathbed. But how do we know we will turn back then if we don't turn now? As we perpetuate our decision, we make it harder to turn back later. And by postponing the decision, 'not wanting to make a decision now', we are making a decision - a decision to keep Him on hold. And thirdly, Jesus says, He is coming like a thief, anytime soon! Don't think Armageddon is a long way to go! We cannot be sure we will reach 40 or 80 before Jesus returns.

So whose side are you on?

Luke 1:1-4 "Can we be certain about Jesus?"

2011-02-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

Luke 1:1-4

1. The Cloud of Uncertainty
At present, it seems like Jesus is under a huge cloud of uncertainty.

a. Scientific facts
We've now science to explain phenomena like lightning and thunder.Yet, science can't prove whether God exists, or whether Jesus actually lived, died and rose again as Christianity maintains.

b. Many faiths
With so many faiths in the world, how do we know which faith is right? Doesn't it depend on the country we're born in? Maybe all faiths lead to God? Isn't tolerance the most important thing? Isn't everyone right? Don't wars result from faiths like Christianity claiming to be the only way?

c. Personalised experience
Some people say you need to have a personal experience of Jesus. But what about those of us who have not had a personal experience of Jesus? What if we don't feel very close to God at all? Feelings can be so subjective! What about other religions where people have had miraculous experiences as well? Aren't they right as well then? How sure are we whether Jesus actually lived, died and rose again as Christianity maintains?

2. Objective Certainty
We can be very sure.

a. Purpose of Luke-Acts
The purpose of the book of Luke is written in Luke 1:3-4. Luke writes an orderly account for his friend Theophilus, that he may have certainty concerning the things he has been taught.

Who's Theophilus? It is literally translated 'Lover of God', so is it a code name for all Christians?

It is unlikely. With the use of "Your most excellent", it is likely Theophilus was a real person, a man of high-ranking importance, likely in government office. He has heard something about Christianity before (v4).

But who's the person doing the writing?

In 170 AD, Irenaeus writes "Against Heresies" in Ante Nicene Fathers (3.1.1) that Marcion (a heretic in early 140AD) had mutilated the gospel according to Luke. Quite early on the church had recognised this book to be written by Luke. In later parts of the Bible we read about him following the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys to preach the gospel.

However, Luke is a second generation Christian. That is, he was not a first hand eyewitness. So how can we take his word that the things written in his book actually took place?

b. Solid Investigation
Luke had done very careful investigation. The sources that he looked up include "many (who) have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us" (v1), likely people such as Matthew, Mark and others who had written shorter snippets of the things that had happened, and also "those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us" (v2). Luke had heard the account of what he had written directly from first hand sources. These eyewitnesses were "from the beginning", that is, they were either 1) with Jesus at the beginning of his ministry when he was baptised by John the Baptist, or 2) with Jesus since he was born. It is likely to be the latter since Luke records much of the events surrounding his birth, and also a brief account of his childhood that none of the other gospel writers wrote about.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, the Apostle Paul writes, "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

We read that at the time of Paul (who was being accompanied by Luke), many of the first hand eyewitnesses were still alive, and it is likely Luke met many of them. Luke's gospel is an account of eyewitness accounts. Many of the witnesses later died believing what they did.

Hence the Gospel of Luke was written around 30-40 years after the death of Jesus, a relatively short time in terms of ancient history when there were no computers and instant messenging devices! It is not easy to forget our first date, our wedding day, or the first time we boarded the plane to go overseas for further studies - milestone events in life. It is all the more difficult to forget the events of Jesus' death and resurrection since they were so miraculous. Writing the account down within his lifetime gives his account a lot of credibility. Luke's account is good history.

c. Real history
It is not just good history, it is real history. There were real places and real people. In Luke 1:5, we read about Herod, in 2:1 Caesar Augustus, 3:1-2, Caesar Tiberius, Pontus Pilate. We can head to the library and find historical evidence that these figures existed. They were real people. Even Josephus, a Jewish historian living during the time after Jesus' death (37 A.D - 101 A.D.), a non-Christian, writes, “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man [if indeed one ought to call him a man.] For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. [He was the Christ.] When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. [On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him.] And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”

Even non-Christians at that time acknowledged Jesus' life and death really happened!

These things were not done in a corner. A lot of people believe Julius Caesar existed and did what he did, but there are only 10 copies of manuscripts about him, and the time distance between the records are very far apart! In contrast, the New Testament has more than 5600 manuscripts, with an average time gap of less than a 100 years between the life and death of Jesus to the time it was penned down.

3. Eternity with Certainty

a. Historical faith
Why does it matter whether Luke is history or not? It matters a lot. Our eternity depends on it. If Jesus did not die on the cross, then we are wasting time studying the Bible. Christians are to be most pitied of all people, because we suffer and live lives for a belief that is false.

Christianity is a belief based on events that occurred in history.

There are some historical roots to Buddhism. But it is not a belief based on the historicity of what happened. It is based on a set of religious teachings. The teaching of Buddhism says the world is not real, so the history of the world is not real as well.

Judaism, Islam and Christianity are rooted and based in history. However, they disagree on the historical events Christians would see as the most important.

The Jews believe Jesus lived, died and never rose again.
Muslims believe Jesus lived, but he didn't die.
Christians believe that Jesus lived, he died, but he rose again.

These three beliefs are rooted in history and thus cannot all be correct at the same time. Pluralism (agreeing that everyone is right), sounds very nice, but it is in fact not true tolerance. It is merely avoidance or being afraid/lazy/unwilling to seek the truth. True tolerance is not being afraid to discuss the issue, to find out the truth.

b. His-Story
Science is not the only access to truth. Scientific truth is based on repeated experiments, on observations. Christianity is in the realm of historical truth and cannot be proved by repeated experiments. Historical truth is proven by word of mouth, reliable sources etc. Many of us believe in World War II because of history textbooks and first hand accounts of our grandparents, not from doing experiments in the laboratory. Christianity is about historical truth about what happened back then. Faith is trusting in something. The trustworthiness of the object that we put our trust in is critical.

In John 20:29-31, "Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Why can we not see and yet believe? It is because of people like Luke and John who have taken the trouble to write about the life and death of Jesus. We are blessed because even the disciples then were at first clueless about what was going on -- King Jesus who was to usher in the Kingdom of God, was executed. But we now have the Bible! Everything has been written down and explained for us!

At the end of the book of Luke, Jesus appears to 2 disciples, "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:26-27)

He appears to even more disciples later, and said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:44-48)

c. Your eternity?
Are we now certain of these things? We can be very certain. Yet, it is so important to know not only that these things happened, but also what it means for us. If we look at ourselves and search the deepest most desperate desire of our heart, what would it be? Would it have something to do with Jesus dying on the cross and being raised to life again, or would it have nothing to do with Jesus?

Haggai 2:10-23 "A Lesson on Holiness: Stone upon stone!"

2010-10-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

Haggai 2:10-23

1. Intro: Out, stubborn spot!
Coffee stains and food spillages may be some stains which we may have encountered in the past. They are hard to get rid off.

Sins are similar. We also find them hard to get rid off. Even though we know Jesus has died on the cross, cleansing us from our sins, we still feel the guilt many times. We can't wait for the day when Jesus returns, when we finally feel that all our sins have been washed away.

2. The context: Three months into reconstruction (2:10)

The year is 520BC. 4 messages were given to Israel through Haggai the prophet:

29 Aug (Hag 1:1) - 1st word: The lesson of prioritising God first. They were to show that they put God first by giving priority to the temple.

21 Sep - Recommencement of the construction of the temple. The Israelites had stopped work soon after laying the foundations. They were very enthusiastic at first, but soon lost heart due to fear of the neighbours around them, spreading lies that they were trying to install their own monarch and overthrow the King of Persia.

17 Oct (Hag 2:1) - 2nd word: The lesson on patience. The Israelities were told not to give up on building the temple, despite discouragement that the temple was not as impressive as before, and despite discouragement by opposition from their neighbours

18 Dec (Hag 2:10) - 3rd word (today's sermon)

18 Dec (Hag 2:20) - 4th word (today's sermon)

The calendar during the ancient times was based on the reign of the monarch. The calendar begins from day 1 of the monarch taking the throne. As highlighted in the previous weeks' sermons, the Israelites had just returned from exile in Babylon. 70 years before, the nation was in a state of apostasy. They had turned away from God. God punished them by allowing them to be captured by the Babylonian Empire. But the Babylonians were soon conquered by an even greater power, the Persians. It is King Cyrus of Persia who allows the Israelites to return to their homeland and rebuild. The Israelites are still under a foreign power and do not have a king of their own. They only have governor Zerubabbel.

Before we go into the 3rd and 4th word that God spoke to the Israelites through Haggai, we want to answer this question - isn't the temple building not very important? We know today that true worship is in spirit and in truth, not at a particular location. Yet the post-exilic prophets focused on the physical. Why?

The main lesson for the Israelites to focus on building a physical temple, is that God did not want them to make divisions between their relationship with God and everything else.

A lot of people talk about having a balanced life. "Yes, you can go to church, but don't forget your studies! Church may take up too much time." Or, "Don't study too hard, you must spend more time in church for that is where we serve God." This is called compartmentalisation. We compartmentalise our lives such that there are some parts of life which God is not part of. This view is completely wrong. We think that as long as we do the 'religious things', or we allow God into some parts of our lives, we are ok. We forget that how we study, how we do sports, what we wear, what we drive, how we drive -- all and every aspect of our life must be submitted under God. God cannot be compartmentalised.

Similarly, the Israelites thought that as long as they were back in the Promised Land, as long as they didn't forget God completely, as long as they continued with the usual practices of offerings, they were ok. Do the religious rituals, but don't have to be overly committed. It is the case of loving God, but not with all their heart. It is the case of thinking that their relationship with God is the 'spiritual' aspect of life, whereas the 'physical' aspect of life is separate.

God is not pleased with such an attitude. What the Israelites do in all of life concerns him, and affects their relationship with God.

Yet, we see in Haggai 2:6-7 that God's attitude towards the Israelites changed once they started taking Him seriously, rebuilding the temple.

"In a little while... I will fill this house with glory."

Which leads to the second lesson for the Israelites to build up a physical temple.

In Haggai, the people were told to keep working at the temple even though it looked unimpressive. It was not glorious. But they were to keep at it. They were not to be discouraged by the appearance.

In the New Testament however, we see that the temple idea is replaced by 3 images:

1) Jesus. Jesus is the temple. He is Immanuel "God with us". In John 1:14, Jesus described as the Word 'dwelt among us' or 'tabernacled' among us, the idea of the tabernacle/temple, where God meets His people.

2) The individual Christian is described as the temple as well. The individual Christian is to abstain from sexual immorality, for the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian (1 Cor 6:19)

3) The church or gathering of Christians is described as the temple too. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22)

Although we no longer focus on the physical, we still face the same issues as the people at the time of Haggai. The temple does not look glorious now. Christian life and ministry in the present time is unimpressive. Praying, reading the Bible, meeting other Christians to read the Bible are not spectacular. But we must wait for the blessed hope! (Titus 2:13). We must remember that the glory is not now. It will come soon. The Christian life is a life of hope. God's word to the Israelites through Haggai was to 'be strong!' because He rescued them from slavery out of Egypt. We must heed the word to 'be strong' as well, because God has rescued us from slavery to sin through the death of His son Jesus Christ.

3. The message:

a. The problem of an unclean people (2:11-14)
The point of the message is that they could not make an 'unholy' object 'holy' just by allowing it to touch something 'holy'. However, a 'holy' object can be made 'unholy' by getting it to touch something 'unholy'.

During those times, there were 3 categories for the Israelites. Persons or objects were 'holy' or set apart for God, 'clean' or 'unclean'. For example, dead bodies were the most 'unclean' of all, since death was closely linked to sin. People who touched dead bodies had to be ceremonially purified.

This system of classification taught the Israelites 2 things:

1) Like the lesson of building the temple, their relationship with God was deeply connected with every aspect of their life

2) It was excruciatingly difficult to be holy. It was very easy to become unclean.

For 16 years, they had not prioritised God. They focused on building their own houses rather than rebuilding the house of God. Effectively, they had become unacceptable to God. Effectively, they had become an unclean people (Hag 2:14).

b. The judgment of a holy God (2:15-17)
Hence, whatever they did and whatever they offered was defiled as well. God judged them, to the effect of: 'don't you realise that because you did not prioritise God your harvest has been poor?' God was not pleased with unclean people offering sacrifices to them. In 1 Samuel 15:22, we see what God is really interested in. "But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

Even if they praised God till their face turned blue, if they were without faith and disobeyed God, God wouldn't listen to them.

By not blessing their works, God was hoping for them to turn back to Him (Hag 2:17).

c. Faith, repentance and blessing (2:18-19, 20-23)
However, once the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid (Hag 2:18), once reconstruction recommenced, God changes His thoughts toward them. "Is the seed yet in the barn?" This is actually a positive statement. It implies that there would be a harvest. A farmer would not look for seeds in the barn if there was no harvest. He would pull out the seeds from the barn after a harvest.

"From this day on, I will bless you."

But what was it that lifted the curse on Israel? Was it really just because they started rebuilding the temple?

To some extent it was (Hag 2:18), but if the people were unclean, it would still be unable to please God (Hag 2:17)!

The reality is, Israel had an idea that God would still accept them as clean people again (prior to God saying so in Hag 2:19). There was only one way they knew how to become clean again - through sacrifices.

However, from reading Haggai, it seems clear that they did not become clean by making sacrifices. They were defiled, so 'whatever they did and whatever they offered was defiled as well' (Hag 2:17)

So how did God accept them as clean again?

The answer is found in the New Testament.

It was because of their faith prompted by His promises (e.g. regarding the temple and that He would fill it with glory again), their faith prompted by His word, their faith expressed by works. All Israel did was to listen to God and obey Him.

God creates a clean people for Himself, not because of who they were, or by what they had done, but by their obedient faith and repentance.

4. The fulfilment: The Lord purifies a people
When we get to the New Testament, something astonishing happens. Jesus comes. This Holy One of God comes and touches unclean things, and instead of Himself becoming unclean, He actually cleanses them. He healed a leper, brought a dead girl to life etc. The leper is made clean and can present himself to the priest.

How is He able to do so? How is He able to make unclean things clean?

The answer is found in Jesus' death on the Cross.

The way the community of Old Testament community could make themselves clean before God was to make animal sacrifices. Bulls and goats were sacrificed and blood spilt, in order rid themselves of the stain of sin.

But in the book of Hebrews we learn that those things were really just external washings. What Jesus does is to wash and cleanse us, truly.

"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Heb 9:13-14)

Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness to clean us from the stain of sin, so that we can become a people of His own possession and do good works.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14)

We can't become clean by our own effort. What we need is somebody else to die in our place. What we need is God Himself to purify us through Jesus' death.

5. The lesson: stone upon stone!
Recap the lessons of Haggai:

In this world, There are many things in this life that seek for our attention, seek for us to prioritise it. We must prioritise God instead.

In this world, living as a Christian and doing Christian ministry will be difficult, but there will be a glory that is to come.

Even though we are a people who continue to sin, even though we are a people who continue to have memories of things which we regret, there will be a day when we will forget all that. That day is assured because of what Jesus has already done!

Through His blood, Jesus washes us.

By His death, we are clean.

In His life, we have hope.

All we need to do now between Christ's death and His future coming, is to have faith in these truths.

Just like the Israelites patiently rebuilding the temple little by little, stone upon stone, we are to be strong and persevere in this faith. God says, "Be strong, for I am with you."

Haggai 2:1-9 "A Lesson on Patience: 'Start small; finish great'"

2010-10-18T03:54:00.001-07:00

1. Intro: If it takes 2 minutes, don't call it "instant" noodles!

Life today is more stressful. Things are done a lot faster. For example, if a friend in the same country replied to your letter in 2 weeks, it was considered fast. If someone living overseas replied within a month, it was considered fast. Nowadays, if a friend does not reply to an MSN message within 5 minutes if his status was online, we take it to be rude!

However, instead of have more time on our hands, it seems we have now more things to do during the day.

'Quicker and faster' has become a virtue. Quick is good.

However, this has caused us to lose the virtue of patience. We've also lost the idea of Christian discipline. Daily prayer, bible reading, meeting other Christians in church regularly at first may not seem very enjoyable. So being the fast food generation, if we can't "have it now", we quickly turn to other things for enjoyment instead.

This is what we will see in the book of Haggai as well.

2. The Context: the Recommencement of the Rebuilding of God's House
Recap: It is around the year 520BC that Haggai hears the word of God (Hag 1:1). The Israelites had been removed from the Promised Land because they had disobeyed God and worshipped idols. They were exiled to Babylon for 70 years. They could finally return because the Persians allowed them to. However, they were still under the Persian King. The only leader figure they had was governor Zerubabbel.

When they returned to the Promised Land, they were all enthusiastic and were keen to build the temple, God's house. However, in their first attempt to build the temple they got discouraged and they stopped at the foundation. They gave priority to their houses. But as we saw last week in chapter 1, the people were rebuked for doing so and the reconstruction of the temple was recommenced.

3. The Message:
A month had gone by since then (Hag 1:1, 2:1).

a) Don't compare (2:3-4a)
Although this is not the main message of the chapter, one of the lessons they were to learn was not to compare based on appearances. They were making comparisons between the previous temple that was built by King Solomon with the current temple. It was dangerous! It would only lead to discouragement and disappointment, as we read in Ezra 3:10-13. They would easily drop the task once discouraged.

This is a lesson we must learn to practise as well. We like to make immediate comparisons and value people based on looks, or their profession and abilities. However, if we think we are better, we are actually being proud. If we think others are better, it is actually self-loathing. We sometimes think we are lousy because our exam grades aren't good. But we must remember our identity as Christians is not based on a mark or on our proficiency in a task. Are we less valued by God if we don't do well in our exams? Do we look better in God's sight if we are a company CEO? No! It is true that people in the world may view us with awe and respect if we have a string of degrees after our name, but to God, all our achievements and statuses in the world count for nothing.

Can we think ourselves better than others if we think ourselves as Christian? No. We have no achievement of our own to boast in. We were saved when we were dead in our trespasses.

The only thing we should identify ourselves by is Jesus. The only thing we should boast in is the cross of Christ.

But God understood how the Israelites felt (Hag 2:3). In fact, God knows us better than our families, friends and even ourselves do.

b) I am with you - so work! (2:4b-5)
God tells them to be strong, and work! (Hag 2:4). The reason why they could be strong, why they could continue to work, was because YAHWEH, the LORD is with them. He is the LORD of Hosts, the God of many armies (Hag 2:4). In what way is He with them?

He is with them in the same way He was with the Israelites as He rescued them out of Egypt. They were to 'fear not' (Hag 2:5). A lot of us neither fight or fly away from a threat; we are just incapacitated. The Israelites were in danger of doing the same as well, halting the construction of the temple when they were fearful of people who would persecute them for rebuilding the temple.

c) Be patient; trust me (2:6-9)
5 times in 4 verses, God reminds Zerubabbel and the others who is saying these things - He is the One who made everything. He is going to the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. He is going to shake it all up (Hag 2:6).

There have been some recent shakes in the world. In December 2005 there was a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake which killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries. Sichuan province in China and Christchurch of New Zealand was recently hit by an earthquake as well. Not just that, the world was not too long ago hit by the GFC - the Global Financial Crises. Within a year, Iceland, voted by the United Nations as the best place on earth to live in, was hit by bankruptcy, with Icelanders being unable to draw cash out of the ATMs because the banks were frozen.

But these things are nothing compared to what God will do.

He will fill His house with glory. All the world will be shaken, so that all the world's riches and power will return to God where they belong. He will give the place peace (Hag 2:7).

To the Israelites, peace was only possible if all the countries around them were conquered (Hag 2:21).

But they were to be patient and trust God. The temple may seem insignificant, and the enemies around them many. But wne day, Zerubabbel would be restored to kingship again (Hag 2:23).

4. The Fulfilment: The Lord is Patient
This passage is quoted in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:25-29.

The author of Hebrews takes this verse and encourages his readers to be patient, just like the people in Haggai were to be patient. Even if there was persecution, they were to keep working!

Now is not yet the time of glory. But God is waiting, because he is patient toward men, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 2:8-13)

It is not yet that day.

5. The Lesson: Start small; finish great!
So what should we do now?

We need to live lives of holiness. We need to reach the lost with the gospel, because there will be no more opportunities after that day of shaking.

This means doing the small things, the unimpressive things like bible reading and praying, the things we don't want to do. But seeking first the Kingdom of God is not about immediate results.

He will fill his house again. But will we wait? Will we work?

Haggai 1 "A Lesson in Prioritising"

2010-10-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

1. Intro: Excess Luggage - What to do?
The speaker Charles and his wife are Australians who were originally from Indonesia. They haven't been back to Indonesia in 10 years, so when they returned for a visit, not just as a couple, but with 2 extra kids, they were swamped with gifts from family. They couldn't carry everything back to Australia. Unless they were willing to foot the USD$18 per kg excess baggage charge, they had to make choices and leave some things behind.

Life's like that. We can't do everything and we have to prioritise. There are only 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and only so much we can squeeze into our lives. Even if we manage to pack our schedules tightly, like the excess baggage charge there will be costs to doing so.

What things do we put off? What things should we prioritise in life? Especially as Christians, how will we use the time God has given us?

2. The Context: In the second year of Darius the king (1:1)
v1 - Haggai is set in the year 520 BC. Specifically, historians can pinpoint the exact date to be the 29 August. The people of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, have been back in the Promised Land 15 years. They were in exile previously, under the rule of the Babylonians. In 586 BC, the Babylonians had broken down the gates of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah and laid waste to the city and the temple. This was because Israel had failed to obey God. They didn't obey the prophets who had warned them that worshipping other gods other than God Himself would cause them to be driven out of the Promised Land. The relationship between Israel had been tumultuous. Most of Judah's rulers had led the people into apostasy. They wanted God's blessings, but not the responsibility that came along with them. Even when the northern kingdom of Israel had been decimated in 722 BC, Judah still did not heed the warning.

Verse 1 thus gives us the context for the book. It is no longer during the reign of Babylon that the book of Haggai is set in, but rather, the reign of Darius, the King of Persia. Historians document how the Persians liked to make their captives happy by allowing them to worship the gods they want so that they would not revolt. But we read in other parts of the Bible that rather, it is God's plan to rescue His people.

Yet, this is still a far cry from the glorious days of Israel. They now only had a governor, not a monarch.

When they returned from exile in 538 BC, they were very enthusiastic about building the temple, but their zeal dissipated in time.

3. The Message:

a. Is it time...?
This was what they were saying now. "The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD." (v2)

Notice that they weren't saying that it wasn't ever their plan to do so, but rather, there were other things that required more immediate attention. What were the things that required more 'immediate' attention?

v4 - They were busy renovating their houses, making them paneled or ornate. God was second priority. Their own houses were more important.

Similarly, can we end up doing the same? Who is it we are busy for? Do we set something else above God? Praise from the boss? Praise from society? Praise from our friends? Our boyfriend or girlfriend?

b. Consider your ways (1:5-11)
If we prioritise our 'house' above God's house, we are denying Him pleasure, denying Him the chance to be happy with us. We also deny Him His glory (v8).

The Israelites were to consider their ways - could they see why their produce was low and their labour unfruitful? (v5-11) It was because they did not honour the Lord first.

We cannot use this passage to say that natural disasters and unfruitful work that we encounter is necessarily due to us not honouring the Lord though. In other parts of the Bible, such as in the book of Job, we see that even though he obeyed and honoured God, he still faced loss and suffering.

What has happened to the Israelites has come upon them specifically as a warning for them to turn back to God.

For us, anything that happens to us that humbles us may in fact be because we are not honouring God as well. We need to similarly 'consider our ways'.

c. I am with you (1:12-15)
How did the people respond? They 'obeyed the voice of the LORD' and 'feared the LORD' (v12).

To that God responds, "I am with you." (v13). This is amazing because the temple or house of God, the place where God dwells, was not even built yet! So why was there a need to even build the house?

Building the house of God reflects whether they cared for God. It was not about how great the house was. Building the house of God reflected their priorities.

4. The Fulfillment: "Destroy this temple!"
In the book of Ezra, we read that in 515 BC, the temple was finally completed. This second attempt succeeded after their initial failed first attempt. It wasn't as grand as the previous one, but it was completed.

Later during the time of the Roman Empire, Herod made improvements to the temple, improvements which took 46 years to complete.

But one man later came and said, "destroy this temple."

"The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken." (John 2:13-22)

It is not about the building after all. In the next 2 weeks, we'll see how Jesus' body is the real temple.

5. The Lesson: 'Seek first...'

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matt 5:19-34)

It is foolish to put our trust in things that don't last. When we put something first, something else will have to give. God demands to be served as number 1. We don't need to be anxious about our needs if we prioritise Jesus and His kingdom first.

Is there anything in our lives that is more important than God?

Revelation 22 "The Next Attraction"

2010-09-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

1. When is the Second Coming?

a. Predictions
In Revelation 22, we see many verses that speak of Jesus promising to return soon

v6 "must soon take place"
v7 "I am coming soon"
v10 "for the time is near"
v12 "I am coming soon"
v20 "Yes, I am coming soon"

How soon though?

People through the ages have speculated about when Jesus would return.

Harold Camping, an American radio and TV broadcast host, has predicted that the rapture will occur on May 21 2011, with the end of the world Oct 21, 2011. If this is true, how will we live today? Some of us won't be able to finish our degrees - why bother studying?

The Jehovah Witnesses previously predicted that Jesus would return in 1924. When 1924 came and went without Jesus visibly returning, they claimed that Jesus had come, only that he came 'invisibly'.

What if May 22 2011 turns up and Jesus still hasn't returned? People will surely get disenchanted as well won't they?

b. If tonight...

If Jesus returns tonight, will we be ecstatic? Or will we be very sad? Would we do anything differently? Some of us may have a lot of plans for the future in mind - how can we actually desire the return of Jesus as the writer does in v20 - "Come, Lord Jesus"?

2. The Garden City

a. City of God
Last week we looked at Rev 21, where we saw that the City of God comes down from heaven. We saw that in the City, God is there with His people. God does away with all the pain and suffering.

b. Garden of Eden?
This week, Rev 22 describes not so much the city, but the environment. The City is also a garden!

The description of the garden in Rev 22 must surely evoke an association with the Garden of Eden (Gen 2).

i. river of life

v1 - Here is a river of the water of life. There is also a mention of a river in the Garden of Eden:

¹⁰A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Gen 2:10-14)

v1 -The river of the water of life here in Rev 22 is no a murky river, but a crystal clear river. It issues from the throne of God and of the Lamb. This seems to be similar to a description found in Ezekiel 47:1-5.

¹Then he brought me back tothe door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. ²Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. ³Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. ⁴Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. ⁵Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen.

The water comes out from the altar in the temple where God is. Similarly, the river of the water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The source of life is God Himself. Heaven is where there is life, but life ultimately comes from God.

This is an idea seen also in the previous chapter.

"To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment." (Rev 21:6)

ii. tree of life

v2 - The tree of life is there. It is also in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:22). Adam and Eve could eat of every tree in the Garden of Eden, including the tree of life, since they were only not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:17). In other words, they had unlimited supply of life. Death was not in the Garden of Eden.

However, after they sinned, the man was denied access to the tree of life (Gen 3:22-23).

v2 - The tree of life is on either side of the river, and has 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves are for the healing of the nations. This is a throwback to Ezekiel 47:12.

"And on the banks,on both sides of the river, there will growall kinds of trees for food.Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

Heaven will have things which are very satisfying. 12 kinds of fruit may not literally mean '12', but rather symbolise the idea of perfection. In the Bible, the number '12', along with other numbers such as '3' and '7' seem to hold this idea. There will be all kinds of trees. Heaven won't be boring - there will be no discontentment.

The tree of life will have leaves for the healing of nations. What sort of healing do nations need?

iii. curse no more

v3 - the nations will no longer be accursed. What curse is on the nations? It goes all the way back to Genesis, when God cursed man and creation (Gen 3:14-19) after Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

"cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you
and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."

The curse is because of man's sin. Sometimes, we don't feel the curse, until we hear about natural disasters, break ups, divorces, and death of close ones.

The healing the world needs is God's forgiveness. Our goal then, is not to fix up the mess of the world, but to look forward to the new creation.

iv. throne & reign

v3 - God is there in the new creation. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the garden. It is first and foremost about God Himself. We are to worship God.

v5 - We will be reigning again, having dominion over creation as we were meant to (Gen 1:28). As Christians, we will reign as kings with Christ, even judging angels (1 Cor 5, 6). The centre of heaven is not us, nor things that we think will satisfy us (e.g. money), it is God Himself at the centre.

v. worship... face to face
v4 - We'll be so changed we can actually see God face to face. We will be able to see His glory - He is so bright! Previously, anyone who looked at God's face would die (Exodus 33:20). No one in the Old Testament really saw His glory. Even Moses had to be hid in a cleft of a rock and saw only God's back (Exodus 33:22-23).

c. Even better
The garden described here, is much like the Garden of Eden. But there is one big difference. There is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil! There is no way man can fall away from God again. This garden is even better than the Garden of Eden.

3. Jesus' coming

a. Prophecy

v6 - The book of Revelation is a prophecy. It is not just foretelling. It also details the history of the world. It is from heaven's angle. Prophecy is forthtelling God's word. God passes His word to His angel, who in turn reveals it to John, who writes it down so that we know the prophecy as well (v8-9).

b. Sure thing
v6 - Because it is God's word, it is sure. These words are trustworthy. These are things that MUST take place. It is more certain than anything else, even death. For if Jesus could return before a person dies.

c. Soon

v7 - "I am coming soon", so soon, that John is told not to seal up the words of prophecy in the book (v10). This is unlike Daniel who was told to seal up the words of prophecy, because it was not for his generation to know (Dan 12:4).

v11 - He will come so suddenly it would almost be as if those who are practising evil would have time to repent upon seeing him. People will still be doing whatever they are doing.

d. Just WHO is coming?

v16 - Jesus is the one who is coming soon.

v12 - He is the Judge.

v13 - He is the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet), or in other words, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Jesus is Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets!

e. Response

He is the King of the world. We can't just ignore him.

i. encouragement
v12 - It doesn't seem encouraging. Jesus will come to repay everyone for what he has done. If all of our wrongdoings are exposed, who would stand? Everyone would be condemned.

However, if we fear His name (Rev 11:18) and trust in Jesus and His testimony (Rev 12:11), there is reward. What will we be adjudged to have done? Jesus will judge us to have conquered by His blood, and be seen to be in the right. We will be repaid according to our deeds, yes - but we will receive reward instead of condemnation.

v14 - These are those who have washed their robes by the blood of the Lamb, and have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city through the gates.

ii. warnings

v15 - However, besides encouragement, there are also stern warnings. Outside of the city are the dogs (to the Jewish readers, they were unclean animals), sorcerers, the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and everyone who love and practice falsehood. Sometimes people say God is unkind for leaving them outside the city. The reality is that they love falsehood. Those in hell don't want to be in the City or the garden. They don't want God.

v18-20 There is also a stern warning about adding or taking away from the prophecy of the book. It is not about having an old Bible with the last pages torn out. It is about deliberately distorting the gospel message. If we add to the gospel (by saying, as well as Jesus you need mother Mary, the saints, or do good works etc.) or take away from the gospel (by saying Jesus didn't really live, or didn't really die etc.)

Jesus is coming. We should be encouraged as well as take heed of the warning, to get into that great city.

4. But why aren't we desperate for heaven?

a. Too satisfied
It could be that we are too satisfied. Life has been too good. We have clothes to wear, food readily available, exams under control. We seem likely to graduate and get a job.

Those who are persecuted, those who are going through chronic pain, who long for Jesus to return.

b. Too complacent
We could be too complacent. Too complacent about the name of God. We don't care that God's name is rubbished around us. Rather than feeling disturbed, we are sometimes quite entertained by it. More than 90% of the world's population do not name Jesus as Supreme Lord. This doesn't bother us. We are too complacent that God's glory is not exalted.

It brings to the point that sometimes we are torn between heaven and friends and family. On the one hand we want heaven to come quicker, and on the other, we don't want heaven till our friends and family are saved.

We need to be desiring the name of God to be honoured. We should desire His name to be honoured, more than our friends and our family. Sure, we want our friends to come to believe in God, but ultimately we want them to believe in Jesus, because of God's name to be exalted.

c. Too short sighted
2000 years have gone by, and we think that Jesus may not be coming back after all. But we forget that to God, 1 day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3). From our perspective, 2000 years is a long time, but to God it really is like 2 days.

Jesus will come back 'soon' -- not just in terms of time like 'in 2 days', but also soon in theologically soon. There is nothing else in the Bible timeline that must happen before Jesus comes back. It is the next event that has been promised. It is like someone raising a hammer over a porcelain cup. Most of us would envision the next thing to happen is for the hammer to fall on the cup.

Many of us think Jesus wouldn't come back in our lifetime, and hence turn to satisfaction in the things of this world. If we try to satisfy ourselves with the things that are not God, we will not be satisfied. This is the case even if we try to seek after the things, asking God to help us seek the things. Ultimately, we are actually trying to seek after the things itself.

5. Come Lord Jesus!
The only thing that can quench our heart's deepest desire is the water of life that is found by trusting in Jesus (v17).

If we knew Jesus would come tonight, would we change anything? The best answer is no.

We need to be fully prepared. We got to get on with life, we need to eat, earn money to eat etc. There is a tension. We still live in this world. But we are not to live for the things in the world. We need to align our decisions in life, our energies, our time to line up with His coming. For though we know He is going to come, but we don't know when He is going to come. We need to be telling people about Jesus, and with urgency. But we also know He may not come in our lifetime.

The Apostle John says in v20, 'Come, Lord Jesus!' Do we agree and say 'Amen' to that?

John 9 "Seeing is Believing"

2010-09-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

I gave this bible talk (my first ever!) at an evangelistic event a couple of weeks ago.

John 9

Seeing is believing. Many people think we must see something before we believe that the thing exists, or that we must observe a phenomenon before we know it to be real.

For example, science is based on observation and empirical evidence. We observe that ice melts at 0 degrees, or that blood contains particles when seen under a microscope.

1. No seeing, no believing.

In John 9, we see the same idea at the beginning - No seeing, no believing.

An event has taken place. A man who was previously blind now has his sight restored (verses 6-7). The community and his friends did not witness the event (verse 8). There are 3 ways the community could have responded to the news. A) Believe it. B) Not believe it. C) I don’t care, it doesn’t concern me.

They respond with the first 2 options (verse 9). They are divided over whether the man was the same person as the one whom they knew to be the blind beggar. Either the group responding with option 2 outnumber option 1 or the group responding with option 2 are more influential. Overall, the community leans towards the idea that the beggar is lying, because although the beggar adamantly identifies himself as the blind beggar who has had his sight restored, they bring him to the religious leaders of the day, people known as the Pharisees (verse 13).

a. Reasons to think the community did not believe

The community fails to celebrate with one of their own, someone who has just experienced healing, and someone who is no longer a dependent among them.

By bringing the man to the Pharisees, they create a lot of pressure. This was because it was a Sabbath day that Jesus healed the man (verse 14). During those times one of the laws of their community stipulated that no work was to be done on the Sabbath, a day of the week dedicated to rest. By healing the blind man, Jesus was accused of doing work on the Sabbath and breaking the law. This is a really serious accusation because according to their law, any person who does not observe the Sabbath is deserving of death (Exodus 31:15-16). It would have been very difficult for the man to maintain his story. He would actually be sending his healer to death! The account had to be genuine enough for the man to risk not just someone else’s life, but the person who healed him of his blindness! It would have been much easier to say that no such thing happened.

The neighbours were actually giving the man a lot of pressure to say no such thing happened. They did not believe him. If they believed, they wouldn’t have wanted to get either of them into trouble.

b. The Pharisees did not believe

The neighbours were not the only one. The Pharisees as well did not believe the man’s account (verse 18) and went to call the parents of the man.

2. Believing without seeing

However, it is actually possible to believe without seeing. We see that even in this story this is true. The parents of the man affirm that the man is indeed their son, and that he was born blind, but now sees (verses 20-21), although they are afraid to confirm how their son was healed for fear of persecution.

The Pharisees believe this. They did not believe he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight. They believe on account of the parents’ testimony.

Although many laws and theories of science are based on empirical evidence, ultimately, many of us have never actually observed those laws and theories with our own eyes before. We just accept what we read in textbooks and journal articles without actually repeating the experiments. In effect what we do is to take the word of the scientists and researchers who do the research. We can believe without seeing, without observation.

3. Believing in Jesus is seeing

As we read on, we see that what is commended in this story is not belief per se, but belief in Jesus. There is a peculiarity about verse 37. As Jesus walks up to the previously blind man, Jesus says to him, ‘you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you’. He does not say ‘you are now seeing him – it is he who is speaking to you’.

Returning back to the event when Jesus first healed the blind man, we see that the man had no sight from the point Jesus had put some mud on his eyes to the point he washed in the pool of Siloam. After he had washed his eyes, Jesus was not around at all. He could not have seen Jesus prior to this first meeting, but yet Jesus says he had seen him.

Jesus says that the blind man had seen even before he received his sight. What does that mean? What did the blind man ‘see’ before he received his sight?

a. The man believes that Jesus is from God

John 9:33 “If he were not from God he could do nothing.” By saying this the man was affirming that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed chosen one, sent from God.

The man said this even though he knew that saying so would put himself at risk of being cast out (verse 22). In those days, it is a dreadful thing to be cast out. It basically meant the person becomes an outcast of the society. The community was not to have any contact with the person, so he would have to be cut off from even his friends and family. It is a terrible situation to be in. Yet, the man was ready to stand up for his account. He was not only risking his own livelihood, he was risking the life of his healer, as we have seen earlier. A rational person would not be willing to lose so much over a fake story or a loose conviction.

b. The man believes Jesus is God

Not only that, when Jesus asks the man whether he believed in the Son of Man, the man asked “who is he, sir, that I may believe in Him” (verses 35-38). Now the man most likely is asking this because up till this point, he hadn’t seen who his healer was, though he was ready to believe in him. As soon as Jesus identifies himself as that person, he immediately says, “Lord I believe” and worships him. This is quite astonishing because the Jews believe only God deserves to be worshipped. And here, by worshipping Jesus, the man is effectively declaring that Jesus is God.

How does Jesus respond? Jesus doesn’t correct the man.

Instead He says, “For judgment I came into the world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (verse 39).

Comparing verse 39 with verse 41, we see that those who at first do not see and later ‘see’ are those who are blind and have no guilt.

Original state	Those who do not see	Those who see
New state	‘See’	Blind
New state	No guilt	Guilt remains

Does Jesus mean we all have to be physically blind, 'those who do not see', like the man in the story in order to have no guilt?

No. The key words are ‘you say’ in verse 41. On hearing what Jesus says, the Pharisees are likely asking cynically, ‘so are you saying we are blind?’ (verse 40) They do not actually voice out the words ‘we see’ but Jesus claims they have said, likely meaning that they said the words in their hearts. They are actually those in verse 37 who see and become blind. Their guilt remains.

What is the difference between the man and the Pharisees? Although the Pharisees believed the story that the man who was previously blind now had sight was true, and that Jesus healed him as well, they do not think he is a sinner and couldn’t have come from God (verses 22, 24, 29, 33). They did not believe in Jesus.

The man believed that Jesus is the Christ, and that Jesus is God.

Original state	Those who do not see	Those who see
New state	Believe that Jesus is Christ and God	Do not believe that Jesus is Christ or God
	‘See’	Blind
	No guilt	Guilt remains

5. Do you see = believe?

Some people may think, I haven’t seen the events, so I cannot believe.

However, we’ve seen that it is possible to believe without actually seeing the events. If the evidence is strong enough, it is hard not to believe.

Secondly, we cannot say the Bible is true, but it is an ancient document and doesn’t concern me.

Remember, Jesus has clearly reiterated that those who believe in Him are those who see and have no guilt. Those who don’t acknowledge Jesus is God are blind and their guilt remains.

Later in the book of John we see why those who believe in Jesus can be guilt free. Jesus dies on a cross, taking the sins of those who believe in him on himself, so that God’s just anger towards us for rebelling against him is directed toward Jesus instead. We are spared. We can have eternal life. Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead and will return in the future to receive those who believe in Him and have no guilt, but punish those who are guilty.

It demands of us a response today. Later in the book of John, the author says in John 20:29 that his book was written so that by reading it we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name. Will you believe the testimony of John?

Revelation 21 "Heaven: The Revolution"

2010-09-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

1. If Heaven was a City...

a. Which one?
Which city do we think most closely resembles Heaven? Los Angeles? Sydney? Singapore? Stockholm? London?

Most of us envision heaven to have the best things of cities we like. We want heaven to have Sydney's harbour and beaches, Singapore's security etc. Just like SimCity, we pick and choose the best of cities and put them together.

b. Our categories
This is not wrong since we struggle to envision how heaven looks like. We try to describe something on our own terms, using categories we are familiar with.

c. O.T. categories
When John wrote the letter of Revelation, he also struggled to find the right words to describe how heaven looks like. He describes heaven using categories his Jewish audience would be familiar with. He uses a city to describe the heavenly city - Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was known as the city of God, the capital of God's country. King David had established Jerusalem as the capital city of united Israel around 1000 BC. It was where King Solomon built the temple, where God dwelt among His people. However, in 586 B.C. Babylonians destroyed the city (2 Kings 17).

God promised to restore the city (Isaiah 52:7-9), and in 538 BC it is partially realised with Cyrus II of Persia allowing Jews to return to rebuild the temple. Construction of the temple was completed in 516 BC. In 445 BC, King Artaxerxes I of Persia decreed the city to be rebuilt as well.

Jerusalem was under the rule of the Roman empire during Jesus' lifetime. Herod, the Jewish client king installed by Rome, greatly expanded and renovated the temple. However, in 70 AD following a Jewish uprising, the Romans utterly razed the city to the ground.

John wrote Revelation in AD 90, when Jerusalem still laid in ruins.

2. New Jerusalem

Rev 21:1-8 is a vision of the New Jerusalem. Rev 21:9-27 is the same vision from a a different angle, a different perspective, much like a replay of a goal scored in a soccer match from multiple perspectives.

a. No more this creation (verse 1)

"New heaven and new earth" -- in the Bible, when the words heaven and earth are put together, they are commonly used to refer to creation, or 'the sky and the earth'. The word 'heaven' in the phrase 'new heaven' does not refer to Heaven itself.

It is a new creation. New Jerusalem will not literally be a rebuilt Jerusalem city. (This is also in contrast to what the Jehovah Witnesses teach. They teach that the current earth will be renewed, but this does not go in line with verse 1 and also 2 Peter 3:10 which states that the current creation will pass away).

The sea, as we had seen earlier, is a symbol of chaos. It is where the first beast arose from (Rev 13:1), and where the merchants of the sea plied their trade (Rev 18:17). The sea is closely related to Babylon.

But now, the sea also is no more.

In possibly one of the most beautiful promises in the Bible, verse 4 also states that God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

b. Not Babylon nor Prostitute (verse 2)

The new city is called the New Jerusalem, not the New Babylon. Jerusalem is contrasted with the city that was described in the previous chapters (Rev 18). It comes down out of heaven from God. It is from God. It is described as the bride adorned for her husband.

Babylon on the other hand had been described as one that wants to exalt herself against God, declaring independence apart from God. She is described as a prostitute, who is not at all like the bride.

c. Awesome

i. location (verse 10)
The location of the New Jerusalem is superb. One of the most important things about buying property is the location. You can change the interiors, the structure, but never the location.

The New Jerusalem is set on a great high mountain. It is a city that all the nations can see. It holds a lot of influence over the world.

ii. structure (verse 16)
In those days, cities had 4 walls and gates to keep enemies out. The length and breadth and height of New Jerusalem are equal, meaning the city is a square shape. The size of the city is enormous, having an area of 2220 squared kilometres (since 1 stadia = 185 metres).

iii. materials (verses 19-21)
The materials used as foundations of the city are magnificent; the city gates are not only adorned with pearl, they are made of pearl themselves. The materials used are precious jewels as found on the robe of the High Priest. The city is magnificent.

iv. life (verses 4 and 6)
"To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment." There is life in heaven, not death and destruction.

Some people who suffer from chronic diseases refuse to accept the gospel because they don't want to live in eternity having to suffer the same chronic diseases. However, as we've seen from verse 4, there will be no pain and no suffering in heaven. Heaven does not just have an unlimited quantity of life (eternal life), it has an unlimited quality of life as well.

v. light (verse 23)
There is also light in heaven, not from the sun or the moon, but from God Almighty and the Lamb. There is such a great magnificence, brilliance and splendour in heaven.

vi. security (verse 27)
In the past, city gates had to be shut to keep enemies out. At night, the city gates would also have to be shut. In heaven, the gates would always be left open. There would be no more enemies! Since there is no night, the gates would also never need to be shut. It is completely secure.

d. God's

i. presence (verses 3 and 22)
God is there. "The dwelling place" and "will dwell" can be translated 'tabernacle'. Just like the tabernacle during the time of Moses, God will be in the midst of His people.

Strangely, unlike in the past when the Israelities had to set up a tent or tabernacle in the middle of their camp as they moved around in the wilderness, or build a temple during the time of the kings, there would be no temple in heaven (verse 22). The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The tabernacle and temple in the Old Testament are just shadows of the reality. We can tell something about the object casting the shadow from the shadow, but it is not the actual object itself. Similarly, the tabernacle and the temple are shadows, and God and Jesus in heaven is the actual reality.

ii. people (verses 3, 7 and 24)
No longer is heaven just open to Israelites, but also to all the nations (verse 24). Anyone who conquers, that is, by trusting that Jesus' blood can save and testifying of Jesus (Rev 12:11), will be able to inherit heaven (verse 7).

God will be their God. They will be His people (verse 3). He will own them, and never give up on them. Unlike Andy giving up his toys in Toy Story 3, that will never happen in heaven.

iii. action (verse 2)
God is the one who brings the city to us. We can never make the earth as good as heaven. God is the one who creates the New Jerusalem and gives it to us.

e. That's why!
This is why heaven is worth looking forward to. It will be wonderful.

3. Outside the City

a. The impure (verse 8)
However, not everyone can enter the city. Things which are "unclean" will not enter it, nor "anyone who does what is detestable or false", but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

b. The second death (verse 27)
The "cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars" also cannot enter the city. In chapters 2 and 3, we saw that even 'churches' may not be able to enter the city, if they did not trust in Jesus alone and repent of their wicked deeds.

4. Heaven: the Revolution

a. Self @ centre?
We need a revolution in our thinking. We started the sermon thinking of how heaven would be like. Most of us would pick and choose the best of the cities we like so that it suits -- me.

We need a Copernicus revolution, and realise that the centre of heaven is not us, it is God! It is all about God. Heaven is first and foremost about being in perfect relationship with God, which will translate to having a perfect relationship with others as well.

b. Where in eternity?
We need to stop being preoccupied about where we will settle down in the next 10 to 20 years. Singapore? London? New York?

We should instead be more concerned about where we will be living for the rest of eternity.

c. Life now?
Most of us are in fact culpable of verse 8. We cannot enter the City. We cannot work our way into heaven too. But we can get in by trusting in Jesus. It is a gift that is freely given. No payment is needed (verse 6).

d. God's word?
Do we believe these words? Unlike most of other parts of Revelation, these words are spoken directly by God Almighty Himself (verses 3-8). The Muslims were enraged when an American pastor attempted to burn the Koran, because they view the Koran as the word of God. What about us? Do we feel that the Bible is the Word of God as well? Do we trust that these promises will come true?

Leviticus 23-27 "Let's Party!"

2010-09-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

1. Christianity Today

a. Fasting or feasting?
Should Christians fast? When a Christian fasts, we think to ourselves mockingly, "Ooohh.. very holy eh?" Is Christianity a 'don't do this, don't do that' kind of religion? A 'no fun' kind of religion?

b. Jewish festivals & rules?
Maybe we don't think the New Testament portrays Christianity as such. "Only the Old Testament is no fun. In the New Testament, Christianity is more about feasting rather than fasting."

2. Calendared Feasts & Rest

a. 7 Feasts & their meaning
Lev 23:1-3 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places."

Holy convocation simply means special convention, or special meeting / get-together of God's people to feast.

The Jews were to keep the Sabbath and the feasts. They were to keep it because of what God had done - He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and brought them out.

There were 2 reasons the Jews had to keep the Sabbath:
1. "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:11)
2. "'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me... Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you." (Deut 5:6-7,12)

What if they didn't keep the Sabbath? They were to be put to death.

"Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever." (Exodus 31:15-16)

It sounds harsh since it is not even a moral matter. But it is not. By not observing the Sabbath, one was in fact breaking the covenant, a solemn promise to God. It is a very serious thing. It is in effect saying that the person no longer wanted to be counted as part of God's people. Basically, it was rebellion against God. In modern terms, it is like an American burning the American flag.

The seven feasts are listed as follows:
Lev 23:4-5 The Passover (14th day of 1st month)
Lev 23:6-8 The Feast of Unleavened Bread (15th day of 1st month)
Lev 23:9-14 The Feast of Firstfruits (The day after the 1st Sabbath upon entering the Promised Land)
Lev 23:15-22 The Feast of Weeks (7 weeks from the day after the 1st Sabbath on which the Feast of Firstfruits was held)
Lev 23:23-25 The Feast of Trumpets (1st day of 7th month)
Lev 23:26-32 The Day of Atonement (10th day of 7th month)
Lev 23:33-36 The Feast of Booths (15th day of the 7th month, lasting 7 days)

The 7 feasts were to remind the Israelites that God rescued them out of slavery and to remind them of how God rescued them out of Egypt.

The Passover reminded the Israelites that just before the Exodus, the God 'passed over' their houses and spared their firstborn, whereas all the firstborn of the Egyptians perished (Exodus 11-12). The Passover was the trigger for Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was to remember that the Israelites left Egypt in a hurry, before the bread could leaven (Exodus 12:34)

The Feast of Firstfruits was to remind them that God was the one who brought them into the Promised Land. It's like most educated Asian children giving their parents their first paycheck. It's honoring their parents, acknowledging that they can work in their job because of the parents paying for their education. Similarly, the Israelites were to acknowledge God for giving them the good fertile land by offering their first harvest to God.

The Feast of Weeks. Again an agricultural gratitude to God for the first harvest.

The Feast of Trumpets. It's not clear what the significance of this is, but may have something to do with the New Moon Feast when they blew trumpets as well.

The Day of Atonement was the one day in the year when the Israelites could make atonement for their sins before God (Lev 23:28; see previous Leviticus sermons). Remembering God's goodness to the Israelities in saving them and forgiving them.

The Feast of Booths was to remind them that they dwelt in booths when God brought them out of Egypt (Lev 23:43), especially after they had settled down in nice houses in the Promised Land.

They are called feasts, not fastings. The feasts were about rejoicing and not doing any work. "...you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days." (Lev 23:40) They were to rejoice in what God had done for them.

b. Sabbath year, Jubilee... & their meaning
After they have entered the Promised Land, the Israelites are to rest the land every 7th year (Lev 25:3-4). They are not to sow the field or prune the vineyard. They are to trust that "the Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired servant and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food." (Lev 25:6-7)

"And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?' I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives."(Lev 25:18-20)

God would provide, and provide so much the harvest in the 6th year will last into the 8th year, so the Israelites need not worry.

Every 50th year was also to be the Year of Jubilee. It was to be a year of rest and of joy. Everyone under slavery would be given back their freedom. It is like playing monopoly. After a while, the richer players just get richer, and it comes to a point where it's cheaper to 'stay in jail' than move around the monopoly board. The Jubilee year provides a chance for the poor to break out of this poverty cycle.

c. Shadows fulfilled in Christ

Do Christians still have to do them?

Col 2:16-17 "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

As Christians, we no longer have to obey these laws as the Israelites were under the law. Shadows are helpful in seeing what the reality is like. But they are not the real thing. Jesus celebrated the Passover. The last time he did was just before he died.

"And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (Luke 22:15-18)

The Passover feast really points to Jesus' death. "Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

We as Christians today don't have to celebrate the Passover. The Passover looks forward to the death of Jesus. We celebrate instead, the Lord's Supper.

"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." (1 Cor 11:23-26)

Christians have something far better to celebrate than the Egyptians coming out of Egypt. We have been brought out of hell itself!

We are to thank God for our salvation. We thank God, not so much for the physical agricultural produce, but for the spiritual blessings we have received. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph 1:3), "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Eph 1:15-16)

We are to thank God always, not just on special occasions like Christmas or Easter. "...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph 5:20)

Each day is not more special than another. There is no mention even of a fixed schedule for the Lord's supper. "As often" we do it, we remember the Lord's death. However, if people feel that certain days are more holy...

"As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God." (Rom 14:1-5)

d. Rest from work?

What about resting from work? Do we Christians today still have to observe the Sabbath or else be executed?

Remember the 2 reasons why the Jews had to keep the Sabbath:
1. "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:11)
2. "'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me... Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you." (Deut 5:6-7,12)

We are not Jews under the law of Moses, so the second reason for observing the Sabbath does not concern us. However, we are still living in God's creation. God has built into creation and mankind, not just work, but rest as well.

"Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed." (Exodus 23:12)

The pattern that God set up is to work 6 days and rest 1 day. In the past, the Russians tried to implement a 10-day work week. It flopped terribly.
Rest is about refreshment. Notice the verse includes our servants, maids as well. Singaporean employers are especially not to give our servants just 1 day off per month!

Many Christians are especially workaholics. We think we must keep working overtime in order to ensure our we don't lose our jobs. Rest will make us less competitive.

However, in effect what we are doing is that we are not trusting God. We should rather trust God that He will always provide. Not that we don't work at all, but like in Lev 25:18-20 as stated earlier, take the required rest and trust God to provide:

"And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?' I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives."(Lev 25:18-20)

Rest is good. It is wise. It is something we do that has good consequences. The Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27).

3. Levitical rules applied

Besides laws regarding feasts and the Sabbath, Leviticus also outlines various rules.

a. Blasphemy (Lev 24:10-16)
Blasphemy is when we curse God. The punishment for cursing God is the death penalty. When Job faced tragedy, losing his family and property overnight, his wife suggested he should just curse God and die.

But that's exactly what we feel like doing sometimes when things don't go how we want it to. "God, why did you let this happen? Curse you!"

Why is cursing God so serious? It is minimising God. He doesn't know what He is doing. He is not powerful enough. In the Old Testament it also includes not taking God's name in vain.

It is more than using Jesus' name as a swear word. We shouldn't do that still, for why should we associate our Savior's name with our frustrations?

It is about cursing Jesus. Saying Jesus is not powerful. Saying Jesus is nothing.

The opposite is to say "Hallowed by Your name". How do we do that? It is living out a life that brings honour to Jesus' name. Does how we live as Christians honour Jesus' name?

b. Eye for an eye (Lev 24:17-23)
"If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him." (Lev 24:29-20)

Yes, they are allowed to take compensation, but no more than what is fair. The law was put there not to push for the maximal revenge, but rather, to minimise revenge.

In fact, it is likely the Jews didn't even practise taking revenge. "When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth." (Exodus 21:26-27)

Jesus added, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matt 5:38-41)

Jesus is saying, we should go beyond that - we shouldn't be people who seek revenge. We are not to stand on our right to take revenge. It is in order that we be forgiving.

c. Dealings with the poor (Lev 25:23-28, 35)
There is a lot about redeeming the relative. The Jews were not to have the attitude of waiting till the Jubilee year for their relatives who had been sold into slavery to be freed. They were to do as much as possible to redeem their own relatives.

They were to support the poor living among them.

We are to do the same today.

d. Blessings & discipline (Lev 26)
The first half of Lev 26 is about the blessings the Jews would get for obeying God.

What about us as Christians? If we obey God, will we get material, physical prosperity like them?

No. There is a difference between the Israelites and us. In the Old Testament, it was very physical - physical rescue, physical land, physical prosperity.

Today, it has taken on a spiritual dimension. We are Christians from many countries. It is all about the spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph 1). All who live godly lives in Christ will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12). We are prosperous spiritually now, and prosperous physically when we get to heaven.

The second half of Lev 26 deals with punishments for disobedience. If the Israelities turn against God, God will punish them to discipline them. If they do not take the warning, God will give a seven fold punishment, but again in order to still discipline them. Lev 26:40 looks forward to a time God has thrown them out of the Promised Land, but even then, if the people were to turn back to God, He would still remember their covenent with them (Lev 26:45)

It is the same for Christians. In our hardship, God is treating us as sons (Heb 12). Life is difficult and hard for Christians, but God is using it to make us more holy like Him.

e. Vows (Lev 27)
It ends off the book of Leviticus. If the people make vows, they must keep them. Vows are usually done when people are in dire straits. After the tribulation, people would often water down the vow or forget the vow. Some people make vows to get people to believe them. "Lend me your money. I swear by God's name I will return it to you."

Jesus says "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil." (Matt 5:33-37)

If we have to keep making vows in God's name for people to believe us, we aren't very trustworthy people are we? We shouldn't need to make vows.

As Asians, this is something we need to heed. We are people who are falsely polite and say, "Yes, I'll come to your party if I have time". We aren't people of our word. It is better to be upfront and say we can't make it, than to beat around the bush.

4. Let's Party

a. Joy
Even in the Old Testament, their religion was more like a feast than a fast. It is about thanking God and celebrating what God had done for them. They were 'Holy-days', or 'holidays'.

Christianity is about feasting and joy as well. The Jews were slaves in Egypt and were rescued out of Egypt. We have more to be thankful about! We were slaves to Satan heading to hell, now we have been brought out of darkness into the Kingdom of light.
"Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast." (Mark 2:18-19)

Jesus says he is the bridegroom. He has come to marry God's people. Jesus has come to save us. That is something to be really joyful about. It is not the kind of drunken orgy kind of party. In those kind of parties, there is a lot of vomitting, and in the end the so called sexual 'freedom' destroys.

b. Holiness
Rather, Christianity is the kind of party where the people don't take revenge, where people speak the word you can trust, where the people take care of the poor, where the people go through suffering and know God is disciplining them.

Living God's way is a great way to live!

Leviticus 17-22 "Be Holy for I am Holy"

2010-09-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

1. Law of Moses &; the Christian

a. Which Levitical laws still apply?

Lev 19:19 - "You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material." Uh oh. Does that mean Christians today can't wear polyester shirts?

What about medium rare steak? "You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it." (Lev 19:26)

b. Motivation?

If we think some Levitical laws don't apply today, what is the criteria? In fact, what is the rationale for the Israelites to keep the laws, and what is the rationale for us today to keep the laws? Do we have the same motivation for doing the laws as the Israelites?

In those times, the motivation for the Israelites was to be holy, for the LORD God is holy. If we were to be holy as God is holy (1 Pet 1:15-16), must we do the laws today?

2. Big Picture Motivations

a. Leviticus

In Leviticus, all the laws applied to the Leviticus. They couldn't pick and choose. They couldn't not do the laws, even if they didn't like it. For example, they couldn't wear 'polyester' clothing. Tatoos were as forbidden as adultery.

The big motivation for the Israelites was the God was their LORD (Lev 19:2). He is their LORD, YAHWEH. It is a special name. It reminds them of the Exodus, when God brought them out of Egypt by his mighty right hand.

Previously, God had not revealed Himself to the Israelities as LORD.

"God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." (Exodus 6:2-7)

God fulfills His promise and brings them out of Egypt. He does so by grace - they did not deserve it. Neither did they contribute to the Exodus:

"You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:4-5)

Now, the Israelites were to be distinct. They were to be God's treasured possession. God made the whole world, but chose Israel of all the world. Hopefully, the nations would be attracted.

b. Christian

What about us as Christians?

i. Same

Just like the Israelites, we were saved by grace as well. We are now to be holy, different from the rest of the world. We are to be holy because God is holy. The idea from Lev 19:2 is quoted in 1 Peter 1:15-16.

ii. Different

Yet, there is a significant difference.

Lev 18:5 - "You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD."

Exodus 19:4-6 - "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine."

Lev 18:26 -28 - "But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you."

The Israelites needed to do all the laws in order to stay in the land and enjoy the blessing of the land.

They needed to have faith in God's salvation in the Exodus + do the works of the law in order to stay in the land.

However, for us Christians, we have been saved by grace through faith. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:8-10). We are saved so that we may do good works. We do not do good works to stay in salvation.

As Christians today faith in God's salvation through Jesus leads to love and fulfilment of the law. The motivation to do the law is because we're free).

3. Understanding & Applying Levitical Laws

So, should Christians do all the Levitical laws?

* In principle,

1. "Be holy for I am holy" - Christians are now to be holy, different from the rest of the world. Christians are to be holy because God is holy.

2. What Jesus and the Apostles say as outdated we don't have to do. For example, in Mark 7:19 Jesus declares all foods clean. The sacrificial system no longer applies because Jesus' death has paid.

3. The things New Testament apostles emphasize in their letters should be continued

4. If the New Testament is silent about a particular law, we look at the trajectory of the Old Testament laws in light of Christ

10 examples of Levitical laws and their application (if any) today:

a. Worship other gods

Lev 17:7 "So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations."

This is a statute forever, and it is clearly reinstated in the New Testament

"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry... What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?" (1 Corinthians 10:14, 29-22)

b. Eating blood

Lev 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life."

Lev 19:26 "You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it."

Blood symbolises life. The sacrifice 'works' because the blood makes atonement. However, as we've seen last week "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb 10:4), and since Jesus has declared all foods clean, does this law then apply to New Testament Christians? No medium rare steak, no blood pudding allowed.

In Acts 15:13-21, James is addressing the Jews on the issue of whether Gentiles need to follow Jewish laws in order to be saved. Some men from Judea were teaching that unless one was circumcised, they cannot be saved (Acts 15:1).

James' final verdict is that this was not to be the case, but they should still abstain from the things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

Since it is repeated in the New Testament, it seems quite clear that Christians should not eat blood.

However, because Jesus has declared all foods clean, and this is the only instance in the New Testament that talks about eating of blood (compared to sexual immorality and eating things polluted by idols), it is not so. The last sentence of James' speech may actually indicate that this is not something that Christians need to do to be distinct from the rest of the world.

"For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." (Acts 15:21)

Eating blood is very offensive to the Jews. James doesn't want the Gentile Christians to eat blood and things strangled because that would seriously stumble the Jews. As Paul writes in Rom 14:14-17, "I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

It is the idea of "being all things to all men so that I might save some" (1 Cor 9:22)

c. Forbidden sexual & marriage relations

But what about sexual immorality? If things polluted by idols (1 Cor 8) and blood are not forbidden for Christians and should only not be eaten if it puts a barrier up for others from believing in the gospel, then what about sexual immorality that James also talks about in the same sentence?

In Leviticus 18, we read of prohibitions of sexual relations between close relations. Not just blood relatives - sister-in-law and neighbour's wife are also included in the list. ("Uncovering nakedness" is a euphemism for having sexual relations with). Also prohibited are homosexuality, bestiality and adultery.

This still applies to Christians today. It is reinstated without any contradiction.

"But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." (Eph 5:3, 5)

Jesus even ups the standard:"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt 5:27-28). Just looking lustfully without intercourse is already sin.

Homosexuality is contrary to nature, contrary to God's design

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." (Rom 1:26-27)

Do we stone those who transgress this law today?

No. The most that can be done is excommunication. "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you." (1 Cor 5:1-2).

d. Parents & children

Lev 19:3 "Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God."

This is reinstated in the New Testament.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."" (Eph 6:1-4)

As dependent children, Christians must obey their parents in the Lord. Christian children must honor their parents. However, it is only 'in the Lord'. Some parents may sacrifice their children to the god of success. "I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name." (Lev 20:3). Christian children should not obey parents to follow after idols. The parents should bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

e. Love thy neighbour

"You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." (Lev 19:13-18)

These are clear principles of loving thy neighbour that carries on into the New Testament.

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27)

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." (James 5:1-4)

One of the implications of this (esp. Lev 19:15) is to see that governments are there to defend the weak, the hired servants, and uphold justice, not primarily to provide jobs, education or money.

f. Mixing two kinds

Lev 19:19 "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

What about polyester?

This law is unlikely to apply to Christians today.

Zooming in on clothing, we see in the New Testament that it is not what clothes a person on the outside that matters, but that which clothes a person on the inside that makes a person distinct from others.

For example, Peter says in 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

Having said that, Christian women should also dress modestly and not draw the lustful eyes of men. (1 Tim 2:9-10)

g. Tatoos etc

Lev 19:27-28 "You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.

You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD."

The New Testament doesn't speak about body piercings. It is likely that Lev 19:27-28 are written with the backdrop of pagan rights and rituals that the surrounding countries participated in. These rituals involved tatoos and specific hair trimmings to win the approval of the gods or manipulate the demons.

In the account between Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal, we see the prophets of Baal doing exactly that to try to 'rouse' the attention of Baal.

"And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."

And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention." (1 Kings 18:26-29)

h. Fortune telling

Lev 19:26 "You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. "

Lev 20:27 "A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them."

"As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour." (Acts 16:16-18)

Christians today don't need fortune telling. We get guidance and wisdom by reading the Bible.

i. Priest's marriage partner, children & food

Leviticus 21 and 22 contain laws for the priests, detailing who they can marry, what their children have to do etc.

As we have seen, the Old Testament sacrificial system has been done away with so these priest laws no longer apply. All Christians are priests (1 Peter 1:15-16)

However, there is a sense in which Christian leaders must also marry women of certain criteria, e.g. able to train the children, worthy of respect, not malicious talkers etc.

"He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?" (1 Tim 3:4-5)

"This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination." (Titus 1:5-6)

Ultimately Christian leaders set the example for all Christians to follow, and these 'criteria' do not only apply to the leaders.

There is also an idea that the priests can feed on the bread offered by the people. "He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things" (Lev 21:22)

Similarly gospel workers can also get their living from preaching the gospel (1 Cor 9:13-14)

j. Freewill offering

Lev 22:18-19 "Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD, if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats."

The sacrifices no longer deal with sin. But today, Christians should "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Rom 12:1-2) and "through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name." (Heb 13:15)

4. "Be holy for I am holy"

a. Distinctive
To be distinctive is the key to understanding Leviticus. The laws teach that God's people must be distinct, just as God is distinct.

Are we different from the world in our dating and marriage relationships?

Are we different our families in not worshipping our ancestors?

Are we different in the way we care for our neighbours?

b. All of life

It is in all of life that we are to be holy, distinct.

c. God

We live our lives before God. We are to be holy because God is holy. We live like this because of God, to please God.

Leviticus 16 "Total Cleansing"

2010-08-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

1. Meeting God

a. Fun or Fear?
When we meet the Prime Minister, wouldn't we make sure we're wearing our absolute best, make sure we're all cleaned up, make sure our language is appropriate etc.?

What would it be like to meet God?

We are so small we struggle with the idea. Not only is He big and powerful, He is clean. He is holy, separate and distinct from us. We are dirty.

We see this in Leviticus 10. Aaron's sons offered unauthorised sacrifice and were struck dead before God. In Leviticus 16:1-4, 6, 11-14, we see that even the High Priest Aaron needs to clean up before he can enter the Holy Place inside the veil.

b. Cover up
Face to face with an all holy God, it is fearful. When we meet up with God, we try to cover up. We justify ourselves by saying that everyone else is doing it. We are really not that dirty. We compartmentalise, and say that well, we may lie and steal, but we've certainly never murdered anyone before. We may say we have have sinned in my thoughts, but never in action. We try to do good things to make up for all the bad things we do.

c. Contamination & sin
In previous weeks we have seen that they are 3 categories

HOLY<-------->CLEAN<--------->UNCLEAN

The Israelites could move from being unclean to clean by being cleansed, purification practice or pronouncement by the priest.

But how did they remain clean?

2. Cleansing that works?

a. Day of Atonement

i. Not whenever (verses 2, 30 and 34)
This is the one day in the year that the High Priest can meet God. Not even the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies whenever he liked.

ii. High priest only (verses 3 - 25)
The High priest has to do everything by himself.

iii. 2 goats
The 1st goat is killed and its blood put on the ark and on the altar outside. This atones and cleanses the actual tent itself (Lev 16:16). There is an idea that even the tent itself is 'dirtied' by the people living around it.

The 2nd goat receives all the sins of the Israelites of the last 12 months, then sent into the wilderness (Lev 16:21-22). This is the idea of a scape goat.

iv. Blood
The deaths of the bull and the 1st goat are violent. It symbolises what the Israelites rightly deserve for their sins - a violent death as well.

v. Full atonement
It seems like it works (verse 33)! However, one little phrase seems to point out a major flaw in the system. 'Once a year'.

b. Yearly reminder
In a way it is good, since on one day in a year, the past year sins are all gone. However, it also means next year it has to be done all over again.
The sins that are yet to be committed are not atoned for on the day of atonement.

c. Ineffectual shadow
Heb 10:1-3 - 'Law' here refers to the Leviticus law. Since it has to be done every year, their sins are not fully dealt with. The Levitical system reminds the people that they are sinful. It also reminds God that He has not completely changed the people.

3. Real cleansing

a. Jesus' sacrifice
Heb 10:4 - Seems contradictory to Leviticus 16, but it is not. Leviticus 16 is but a shadow of the real sacrifice to come, that is Jesus' sacrifice. We can tell a lot of things about an object from its shadow, such as its shape and size, but the shadow itself is not the reality. Logically, how could killing an animal of less value than a human being take away the sin of a human? Heb 10:5, quoting Psalm 40 which was written after Leviticus, shows that the Levitical law was not what God was after.

b. Once for all
Jesus' sacrifice works once for all because:
1. He died as one fully God and fully man. Unlike a goat, He was of infinite value (Heb 10:5)
2. Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself (Heb 10:9). The goats on the other hand, had no idea what was going on. They were far from willing sacrifices.

Heb 10:13 - After Jesus offered for all time a single sacrifice for our sins, He sat down. The posture is important. The High priest has to stand yearly, but Jesus has sat down. It is a single sacrifice that works for all time (Heb 10:15 as well)

c. B.C. & A.D. sins
Have we ever thought how the Old Testament people had their sins cleansed if the sacrifices actually didn't work? Heb 9:15 - Jesus' death works backwards in time, and also cleanses us now in the New Testament. By carrying out the sacrifices as instructed they were trusting in the same God who later sent His Son Jesus to cleanse those who trusted in Him.

4. Total cleansing

a. Staying clean
How do we stay clean?

Can we move from unclean to clean by doing good things? No. Only Jesus' death can cleanse us from our sins.
But should we still sin blatantly? No. Heb 9:14, 10:22 - Jesus' death has cleansed our conscience. How could we still go on sinning?

b. Meeting God
Heb 10:19-22 - We can have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus!

Revelation 14 "A Tale of Two Wraths"

2010-08-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

Important pre-talk note: God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11)

1. Contrasting Wraths

a. Evil

This type of anger can be described as sinful anger, frustrated anger, or selfish anger. There is a lot of bitterness. It is a type of anger which puts others down and lifts the self up (Eph 4:31)

b. Righteous

In contrast, righteous anger is not sinful at all. There is an idea where you can be angry but not sin (Eph 4:26). There is an idea of retribution - paying back those who deserve it. Some people may baulk at such an idea, but when we read news stories of gross abuse, such as the Austrian man who locked his own daughter in his cellar for 24 years, or the Australian woman who sold her daughter for drugs, most, if not all of us who any ounce of mortality in us would be angry. We should be angry. It is right to be angry.

This is the type of anger in Revelations 14.

2. Contrasting Visions

a. Victory vs. defeated (verse 1)

The Lamb is on Mount Zion, God's mountain, where the temple is (Psalm 25). God's King has been installed on Mount Zion. This is the Lamb who has conquered Satan by His blood (Rev 12:11). In contrast, the defeated dragon in sinful anger goes after God's people (Rev 12)

b. "Lamb" vs "666" (verse 1)

Another contrast - What is written on the foreheads of God's people?

God's people have Jesus' name and His Father's name written on their foreheads, while Satan's people have '666' written on their foreheads (Rev 13:16-18).

c. Redeemed vs dwellers of the earth (verses 2-5, 6)

Another contrast: The redeemed sing a new song, but those who are not of the 144,000 redeemed are unable to learn the song. These are described as the 'inhabitants of the earth'. It is a way of saying 'non-Christians' (Rev 6:10, 11:10). The idea of redemption can be illustrated by buying a person out of slavery. There is a cost involved. The redeemed are those who have been bought at a price by God.

What is the song about?

The song is found in Rev 15:3-4. It is all about God. God's people are there in victory.

d. Virgins vs sexual immorality (verses 4, 8)

Yet another contrast. God's people are described as virgins. Those who don't are described as those who are sexually immoral.

Why are Christians called virgins though? Is there anything wrong with marriage?

No, there is nothing wrong with sex within marriage. It is also not saying that Christians must abstain from sex, even in marriage, to get to heaven. Saying that Christians are virgins is a way of talking about Christians' faithfulness to Jesus. They are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev 14:4). As the church, we are Jesus' bride. We have to be pure, devoted to Christ, and not put up with any other gospel apart from the one Paul had preached (2 Cor 11:2-4)

3. Angels of Coming Judgment

The angel flying overhead is in a great position to tell the message to the whole world (Rev 14:6). The message is especially directed to non-Christians, and is really a three-point summary of the gospel.

a. Fear God (verse 7)

As Creator, God is also judge because he has the right to assess whether his creation is according to how he had envisioned it. He deserves glory because He is the Creator. This is a non-politically correct statement - all religions must bow down to this God. The hour of judgment has come.

b. Babylon Fallen (verse 8)

It is very dangerous getting drunk. People throw up and lose their inhibitions; they may become violent and unsteady. This is the picture of all the nations drinking the wine of Babylon's passion of her sexual immorality. The whole world has gone mad following Babylon. In the Old Testament, Babylon is pictured as the evil power that destroys Israel and God's temple (Jer 51:6-9).

But Babylon is fallen! This world system is going down! All the pride and wealth of the world will be destoryed. Whatever we trust that is of the Babylon of this world, it will be pulled from under us.

c. Drink wrath (verses 9-10)

If we do not fear God and believe that Babylon will fall, the hour of judgment being near, we will be judged. Rev 14:9-10 has a similar idea to Jer 25:15-16. Non-Christians will drink the full strength of God's wrath. There will be no rest, no reprieve, no relaxation (Rev 14:11).

d. Saints' rest (verses 12-13)

As Christians look at the outcome of non-Christians, the proper response is to keep trusting in Jesus. Even if Christians are killed or martyred, they will have rest from their labours.

4. Ripe for Harvest

Rev 14:14-20 refers to the final end.

a. Old Testament (verse 14)

The vision here is not exactly the same as in Daniel 7:13-14. In Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is presented to the Ancient of Days. Here, the Son of Man is already seated.

b. Fully ripe (verse 15-17)

Mankind is the harvest. The vision is from Joel 3:9-13. An angel seems to be helping to harvest as well (Rev 14:17,19)

c. Blood (verse 19)

The shocking bit here is that those gathered for the harvest are not the people to be saved as most would tend to believe. Here, the harvested are people who have rejected God. They are thrown into the winepress, to be trampled upon. The winepress symbolises the wrath of God. God's city is too holy for such terrible atrocity (necessary to be carried out for justice to be established as mentioned earlier), so the winepress is carried out outside the city. The blood that flows out of the winepress in modern day terms covers an area of 300 squared km, 1.85m high.

5. A Tale of Two Wraths

a. Dragon's wrath

Satan is frustrated. He has evil intent (Rev 12:12). If we are not Christians, we are on Satan's side, but he is not on our side. Beware of the dragon's wrath.

b. God's wrath

Beware of God's wrath too! As humans, we may feel righteous anger, but we in fact have a high tolerance for sin. God has zero tolerance for sin. He cannot stand sin. He must punish those who turn away from Him. He is fully just.

We were the ones who turned away from Him in the first place. Although He created us and deserves our undivided devotion and obedience, we rebelled. Although He has given us so many good things, we are ungrateful.

Yet His righteous anger is not flippant. He waits till the earth harvest is fully ripe. He is slow in His anger. He waits. The God in the New Testament gets angry too, not just the Old Testament God.

The ideas of being trampled in the winepress, being tormented with fire and sulphur, are merely symbolic of the pain and terrible punishment that would be meted out. It is the idea of being shut out from God (2 Thess 1:8-10). Some people are happy to go to hell because they presume their 'mates' would be there with them, but they do not understand that even the idea of friendship is a good gift from God. In hell, it is ultimate depravity. In hell, people are away from the glories of God. There is no friendship in hell. There is only hatred in hell.

Yet the punishment will be personally meted out by God. The punishment will take place in the presence of the Lamb (Rev 14:10). It does not say that God takes pleasure in this, but it has to be done by Him in order for justice to be fulfilled.

Leviticus 8-15 "Unclean before God"

2010-08-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

1. Unclean!

a. Ever felt unclean?

Have you ever experienced a time when you are just about to wash your hands after a big business, just before a meal and then you realise... there's no soap.

Or for mothers, right after they give birth to baby - most feel so yucky and sticky.. they would want to have a nice hot shower.

What about skin problems, pimples, outbreaks of acne? Do you then feel too 'unclean' to face friends?

Or when you're just about to step into an important function or interview.. Right after you've dashed to the function all hot and sweaty.. Or for girls, the make up smudges...

Some people can tolerate a lot of uncleanness and you can't see their bedroom floor! Their room looks like it has just been burgled.

What if you experience some kind of bodily discharge? For girls, menstrual periods?

Why do we feel unclean in these different things? Could it be just health reasons or social acceptance?

b. Leviticus 11-15

Lev 11:1 Around 1300BC, after the Israelites exit Egypt -- God tells Moses to speak to the people, telling them what is clean or unclean

The following chapters can be summarised as such.

Leviticus 11 Food laws. Some clean. Some unclean.

Leviticus 12 Woman after giving birth. 7 days. 33 days before purification is complete.

Leviticus 13 Skin disease. Leprosy (not Hansen's disease, more like psoriasis). Some skin disease that makes the person unclean. Note that in verse 37 - things on a person that can also make a person unclean, such as clothing, bags etc.

Leviticus 14 How to become clean from skin disease. Also talks about how a house can become unclean.

Leviticus 15 Woman having period and man having a discharge makes them unclean.

Why all these laws? Could it be for health reasons?

However, if it is for health reasons, do the unclean food somehow make it more easy to catch a disease?

Or is it about what society thinks?

What is the significance?

2. Significance of Uncleanness

a. God is holy

Leviticus 11:44 "For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground."

God makes distinctions to show the Israelites what is clean and unclean. The laws show that God is distinct, different from them (holy).

b. Sanctuary vs. "outside the camp"

God dwelt in the tent within the tent. God's word was in the very middle, in the ark of the covenant which was right in the very middle in the holy of holies. That was where He dwelt. He is separate from everything else.

Lev 12:4 Until the woman who have had a period are purified, they cannot even enter the outer tent.

Lev 13:46 The dwelling of the leprous person is outside the camp.

All these things show God is holy, distinct from the Israelites.

c. Spread & contamination

Lev 13:45-46 - "The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

The unclean person does this to prevent others from coming into his contact and thus becoming unclean. This shows that uncleanness can be spread from person to person.

Lev 15:12 - If the unclean person touches a bowl, the bowl also becomes unclean.

There is an idea that the uncleanness can be spread from a person to an object.

Lev 15:24 - If any woman has a menstrual period, and they have intercourse, the man also becomes unclean. Every bed on which he lies, everything on which she sits on also becomes unclean.

This shows the uncleanness can spread from person to person, and then to an object.

If a person becomes unclean, not only does the unclean person have to exercise responsibility, everyone else has to! It becomes all very tedious, e.g. trying to find out whether a person has a period.

d. Priests needed: Aaron & Sons

In the Old Testament times, only Aaron and his sons could pronounce people clean or unclean.

Lev 13 They will pronounce sickly people etc unclean, then send them away for 7 days. They are more like health inspectors. They don't do any physical healing. They merely pronounce people clean or unclean.

However, it is more than just being clean, there is a atonement element to it - being right with God again.

The priests can make a sacrifice so that people can be right with God again.

Lev 14:18-20 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

Before this, there was a need to consecrate Aaron and his sons, to make them holy (Lev 8)

Lev 8:12 - The OT priests are holier than the laity. They are set apart from the people to be the go-between, the mediators, between the laity and God.

Today's Anglican church priests are not holier than the commonplace. It is a different definition of priests.

e. Summary

More details added onto last week:

HOLY<--------> CLEAN <-----------> UNCLEAN

At any moment in their lives, the Israelites could become unclean

To move from unclean to clean, they needed some cleansing, purification practice, and/or pronouncement by the priest

To move from clean to holy, consecration is needed. (Consecrate = making something or someone holy)

If a person is unclean, it disqualifies the person from any closeness with God

Analogy 1: If you don't obey a posh restaurant's dress code, you cannot enter it

Analogy 2: They are some people who are clean, but not holy. The people who enter an operating theatre need to wear a mask, wear clogs, wear a head covering. Even though they may have been 'clean' by showering before work, the extra layer of washing and personal protective equipment almost makes them 'holy' compared to the people watching on from outside

The whole tent, cleanness and uncleaness spoke of their relationship with God

Fast forward 1300 years, many Israelites thought Jesus was going to free them

3. Cleansed by Jesus

a. Leper / woman with blood flow

Mark 1:40-44 After reading Leviticus, we can now understand why this man couldn't go to the temple to worship God because he was unclean. He couldn't be in contact with God. He thought that Jesus could make him clean.

In the OT, no one can make unclean people clean. The priests can only make the pronouncement. But Jesus makes the leper clean! Jesus tells the leper to not spread the news that He can make a person clean, but only to approach the priest to make the pronouncement that he was now clean (so that the leper can then live a 'normal' life again). Why Jesus didn't want the leper to spread the news at this point needs to be studied at a separate time.

Cleanliness is about being clean with God and being able to approach him.

Mark 5:24-34 The woman had bleeding for 12 years. For 12 years, she could not approach God. She had to take note of where she sat etc.

She was desperate to be healed.

She thinks she can be clean just by touching Jesus' clothes. She trusted that Jesus could make her clean so that she could approach God again

Instead of making Jesus' clothes unclean, she becomes clean!

b. All foods clean

Mark 7:1-5, 15-23 The Pharisees made more and more rules to make sure the people wouldn't become unclean. Their rules about washing hands was not about hygiene like today, but was ceremonial washing.

Jesus says nothing outside a man could make a person unclean. Mark the author explains in Mark 7:19, that with Jesus saying this, Jesus declares all foods clean. This is important for us to note. The Leviticus laws no longer apply to us today. It is not about the external things.

So why have all the rules in Leviticus 11-15?

c. Our real problem

It is to show us the different categories clean and unclean. It is dangerous to become unclean because the person would then be unable to approach God.

Notice that it's the stuff from our heart that makes us unclean (Mark 7:20-21). We are born with an evil heart. It is not society that makes us unclean. We are not born white. We have a propensity to do evil.

And not just our deeds, but also our thoughts. Mark 7:20-21 - these are thoughts and actions which are anti-social. These are things that make us unclean, so that we cannot approach the holy and just God.

Some people don't have to be convinced that they are unclean. But most of us have to be convinced we are evil. Most of us think we are not too bad. E.g. sexual immorality - we aren't as bad as Tiger Woods.

But we have to measure sexual immorality by God's standard. Any sexual activity outside marriage is already sin. Pornography, thinking about romance, lewdness, dirty jokes - aren't we all guilty?

Also hatred, malice - don't we sometimes hate people?

Envy and arrogance - do we not worship cars, possessions, status and achievement?

d. Beyond Aaron & Sons

How do we get out of this problem? It is by the priest. We need the priest. Not the pastor. Not Aaron and his sons. They are long dead. Even Jews today can't work out who are the real priesthood. In fact, in Lev 10 - Aaron's sons light up a sacrifice that God did not command. They failed. Even Aaron had to make atonement for himself (Lev 9:3)

With Christianity, we have a much better High Priest (Heb 7:23-28). Death prevented the priests from continuing their office. Jesus lives forever, and thus has a permanent priesthood. He is our go-between. He is a much better priest - he is able to save completely.

Unlike the other high priests, he doesn't have to offer sacrifices for his own sin. He is sinless. He sacrificed for our sins once and for all.

4. Unclean before God?

a. Recognition

Do we realise that we are unclean before God?

We need to realise we are unclean before we realise we need Jesus.

b. No more!

He is the priest who died and laid down His own life so that we can be clean. We can be unclean no more!

Leviticus 1-7 "Sweet smell of sacrifice"

2010-07-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

1. The irrelevance of sacrifice?

Why look at the book of Leviticus? It seems so irrelevant. What does it got to do with us? Isn't Christianity different from other religions? Why does it seem so similar? It almost seems like Chinese ancestral worship.

Speaker's claim: this is the most relevant thing in life. It is more relevant than any other thing we'll learn in university. Why?

2. The relevance of sacrifice

a. Jewish Master Chef

Firstly, it is relevant to the readers of the book. They were the Israelites who just came out of Egypt and were heading toward the Promised Land. In the reality TV show MasterChef, the contestants cook for the judges. Every now and then a celebrity chef comes in, and the contestants must imitate the famous recipes.

Leviticus is something like that - a major recipe. The Israelites must go collect the right 'ingredients' and prepare offerings in a certain way.

Lev 1:1, Lev 7:37 - This is the message of God, the recipe from God on how to make these sacrifices

Chapter 1 - Burnt offerings

Chapter 2 - Grain offerings

Chapter 3 - Peace offerings

Chapter 4 - Sin offerings

Chapter 5 - Guilt offerings

Chapter 6 - Priests and offerings

It is full of detail, because they actually have to do it.

Where do they make the offerings?

The location is always the same, but it moves around. It is a tent - rather, a tent within tent. There is an east gate, the bronze altar. Within the tabernacle, there is tent of meeting. Going through the first curtain, there is the holy place. Then going through a second curtain, there is what is known as the holy of holies. Inside, there is the ark of the covenant, which held the tablets inscribing the commandments of God. Where the word of God is, His presence is there.

This was where the offerings were made.

Who does the offerings?

Lev 1:2 - All people of Israel can be involved

Why is there a need for the sacrifices though?

b. Sin and its effects

Lev 4:1 - Sinning unintentionally. God is the God of all the world, he decides what is right or wrong. If you break his commands, even unintentionally, it is sin. Examples: Lev 5:2-3

There is also intentional sin (Lev 6:2-3). This type of sin is more like 'breaking the 10 commandments' kind of sin.

Whether it is intentional or not, it is still sin. We could be sinning even though we don't know. Some people don't know it is wrong to cheat, sleep around etc. Yet what they do is wrong, according to what God says is. It's not just if they know it or not.

The effect of sin is that it makes us unclean. It makes the tent of meeting unclean. God is holy and cannot keep on dwelling there.

Hence the need for sacrifices.

c. Sacrifices

The sacrifices do slightly different things.

Chapter 2 - Grain offering. They needed to prepare it properly. Verse 13 - They needed to add salt to it. It was to remind them of their covenant with God, their serious relationship with God.

Chapter 3 - Peace offering. 'Shalom'. It is the idea of positive relationship. It is the idea of fellowship together. Being friends again. This offering shows how to become friends with God again.

Chapter 5 - Better named the reparation offering. It is the idea of restitution, 'paying back'. Our sin damages our relationship with God. There is a need for a repayment. Just like scratching somebody's car, we'll need to 'pay back' to repair the car.

But the main thrust of the sacrifices is atonement:

Lev 1:4 - He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

Lev 4:20 - Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.

Lev 5:13 - Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering

Lev 5:16 - He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

etc...

Lev 16:16 - Atonement deals with uncleanness. Sin separates man from God. Atonement cleanses us, so that we can come back to God. It gives us forgiveness. It is another way of looking at atonement:

Lev 5:18 - He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven.

Lev 6:7 - And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.

Important notes about the sacrifices:

1. It is costly. Lev 1:2 - The animal is taken from your own animal herd. It will cost you something. Animals during that time were precious. Some people didn't own animals, they could use a bird.

2. It has to be unblemished. Lev 1:3 - Can't offer animals that are going to die or the left overs.

3. It needs to be a sacrifice that identifies with you. Lev 1:4 - By laying the hand on the animal, the person offering actually identifies with the animal. The animal is going to the altar in the person's place.

4. The killing of the animal is bloody and brutal. Lev 1:5 - We deserve the bloody brutal death. But the animal becomes the scapegoat on our behalf.

d. God

All the sacrifices are burnt on the altar, so that God can be pleased. There is mention of pleasing aroma (Lev 1:9, Lev 1:3)

It is all about God. Sacrifices are all done at the 'tent of meeting' - where Israelites could meet God.

How does it all apply to us?

e. Visual aid

2 Tim 3:15 - It makes us wise for salvation

How does it make us wise for salvation?

It gives us 3 Important truths:

1. God is holy

2. We are sinful, unholy, and dirty. Which one of us has never stolen, never lied, never lusted, never been greedy?

3. God enables us to go back to Him, by giving us the recipe of sacrifice

Leviticus is not just relevant for the Israelites, but it is also relevant for us today. It is a visual aid to point us forward to the real thing - Jesus.

3. The Sweet Smell of Sacrifice

a. Jesus

The reason why we don't have to do all the sacrifices is because of Jesus. An analogy is that of boyfriends/girlfriends in long distance relationships keeping photos of each other. When they see the real person, they no longer look at the photos since they can see the real person!

Eph 5:2 - Jesus gave Himself up, dying on the cross, like the animal, died a violent brutal death, a sacrifice to God. That is why we can be cleansed.

b. For us

God cannot just sweep our sins under the carpet, there needs to be a payment, a penalty to be made. Jesus took the penalty for us. Note: Fragrant offering doesn't mean God has a nose, it's just figurative.

How's this all different from Asian offerings?

1. It's given from God. Asian offerings - how do we know about them for sure? Many of them are folk tales. Lev 1:1 - Moses says this is from God.

2. God doesn't eat the food. In Asian offerings, the ancestors take the food, as if they need to be fed by us.

3. God isn't an unpredictable God. In Asian offerings, we aren't sure what these deities and ghosts are going to do. God is the God who is predictable. When He gets angry with us because of our sin, we should expect him to be angry

4. God doesn't throw tempers. He controls His anger. Even though God is just, and is holy, He held back. (Rom 3:25). Asian gods seem to throw tempers

5. In terms of atonement, there is hardly any with Asian gods - people mainly seem to be just appeasing them by giving sweets. This makes their lips stick together so that they can't pass the message on to the "Big God"

c. Before God

He is the God who should rightfully have nothing to do with us. Amazingly, He accepts us because of the death of Jesus. It is relevant to us because we need to know whether or not we are accepted by God or not. That is the most important question not just in university, but in the whole of life!

Most of us go through life wanting to be accepted by peers, by our parents etc. We work hard to be accepted by our bosses etc.

But the biggest person we need to be accepted by is God.

Some of us want to be accepted by God by doing our own sacrifices. We think that by our work in society, God should accept us.

No matter what we try to do, we cannot make up for what we do against God. We could argue for the Israelites, that they had to use their own lambs, but still, it was God who provided the animals to them.

For us, God has provided His Son, His own Son. This is sacrifice that actually works. He is the one who knows what works.