tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15071302789670793182024-03-12T23:47:08.475-07:00COMMUNITYconversationsExploring scripture with Dr. Johan Tredoux, Senior Pastor of <b>COMMUNITY</b> Covenant Church in Lenexa, KansasJohan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-75786871506131120272016-08-21T01:30:00.000-07:002016-08-21T11:06:15.358-07:00Bringing our Mission and Vision into Focus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><i>By Eric Amundson</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><i>Leadership Team Chairman</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Not long ago I received a message from Pastor Johan early on a Saturday morning, <i>“Are you available to meet today, I’ve got something I need to share with you.”</i> Little did I know that conversation was to be the unveiling of God’s focused Mission and Vision of our church. When we got together, Johan shared what God had put on his heart in the middle of the night and my immediate response was, <i>“That’s it! That’s who we are.”</i> I had no doubt that what he was sharing was indeed inspired. After parting I sat down to unpack what he had told me and put into words what the Mission and Vision I had heard meant to me. 2 days later I shared that with Johan over breakfast and watched as he broke down in tears. His response was, <i>“That’s exactly what’s on my heart."</i></span><br />
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Two weeks later Johan shared his heart with the other pastors and then the Leadership Team. I believe everyone was brought to tears that night. It was the most powerful and emotional church meeting I've experienced. To the person we all said, <i>“That’s it!”</i> We knew that the Holy Spirit was at work.</div>
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Now we have the privilege to share this Mission and Vision with you and trust that you too will say, <i>“That’s it! That’s who we are and what God is calling us to be!”</i></div>
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My prayer is that you will not simply hear it but that you will take time to reflect on it, chew on it, unpack it and wrestle with it and come up with your own understanding of what it means to you. How does it speak to your heart? How will it impact your ministry? Our Vision as a church is to be “A contagious community of Jesus love”. That will only happen when we are living out our Mission of “Helping people discover, live and share the love of Jesus”… and that begins with you and I first loving one another.</div>
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So what does it mean to me?</div>
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“Helping people discover, live and share the love of Jesus"</h2>
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<span class="" style="color: #454545; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: normal;">Our Mission as a church is to love on people. To show people, not just tell them, of God’s life changing love for his creation and specifically for them. He calls us as his followers to be the living expression of that love in a hurting world, living it out in witness so others will see it and want to know Jesus. As they come to know His love for them we want to help them embrace that love and live into that love because Christ’s love brings restoration, healing, change and peace. As we live into God’s love, it fills us, transforms us and overflows to those we encounter. This is our desire, to see people restored to the point that God’s love is so prevalent and real in all aspects of their life that it overflows to all they encounter.</span></div>
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“A contagious community reflecting the love of Jesus”</h2>
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<span class="" style="color: #454545; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: normal;">Our Vision is the manifested result of truly living out our Mission. We want to create a COMMUNITY that people are so excited about they will want all their friends to experience it. If we become a COMMUNITY that truly loves on people, that expends all of our energy on helping people know and live into God’s love, people will want to share that and invite others to experience that love because true love is contagious. Can we do this on our own? No. But God can! He can transform our hearts, our ministries, our attitudes. The work has already been started…RFKC, Church under the bridge, River of Life, Local Serve, Life Groups, and so much more but we need to sharpen our focus and constantly ask, “How does this help someone discover, live or share the love of Jesus?” and “Will this contribute to building a community that is reflecting Christ's love and that people are excited to have their friends experience?” </span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;">What does our Mission and Vision mean to you? As you unpack these statement for yourself I invite you to share your heart with us buy clicking the button below.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Together we<b> CAN</b> become <b><i>a contagious community reflecting the love of Jesus!</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28679Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28679Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> But the greatest of these is love. <i>1 Corinthians 13:13</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #bd081c; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 193px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 18px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #bd081c; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 193px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 18px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0COMMUNITY Covenant Church38.9718264 -94.76771550000000838.9710549 -94.768976000000009 38.9725979 -94.766455000000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-61860828522864663802016-08-20T15:17:00.005-07:002016-08-20T15:57:32.282-07:00The End in Revelation...What to expect when you are expecting?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTEY9AiyQftwWa15sszHpsEaMcTbqSeEe6Mz6GCQnhzfq8PN9X30HFoc5-7fIOuQY6ET90QLCBuQDNbNeznROjAXNDh6r_b4zZA7ISOOIa3_DgzCr_HQ_MxJhmivbR4xMFwrXTC6g5io/s1600/IMG_0934.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTEY9AiyQftwWa15sszHpsEaMcTbqSeEe6Mz6GCQnhzfq8PN9X30HFoc5-7fIOuQY6ET90QLCBuQDNbNeznROjAXNDh6r_b4zZA7ISOOIa3_DgzCr_HQ_MxJhmivbR4xMFwrXTC6g5io/s320/IMG_0934.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Revelation</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">21</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> I</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> remember Brenda</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">reading the book “ What to expect when you are expecting.” As she anticipated</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the birth of Nathaniel and got closer to 9 months we read</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that Nathaniel by now</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">hears echoes, faint sounds and rumblings of a brand new world that he will soon</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">be born into. As we think about the world to come, the new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jerusalem, the new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">heavens and the new earth, we find ourselves in the same place. We wonder what</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the world is like on the other side. Like John we hear echoes</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and rumblings and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">we lean-in to get a better understanding of what to expect when we are</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">expecting. How is everything going to end? Is it the end of the world or the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">end of evil?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> How does John</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">explain the unexplainable and express the inexpressible? What is surprising and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">almost takes your breath away, is that it is not an ending,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">but a fresh</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">beginning. We read in Gen 1 “In the beginning God created the heaves and the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">earth,” but when you get to Revelation 21:1 it says, “Then I saw a new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Heaven</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and a new earth.” It seems like God’s story has creation for its first word and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">creation for its last word!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> As John begins to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">describe that which is eternal, he decides that the best way to do it is to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">explain the unexplainable by n</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">egation, by saying what it is not.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">No more sea, meaning “no more</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">chaos.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">No more death, no more tears,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">no more pain, no more illness... he is going to put funeral homes out of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">business!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">No more misusing of things and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">others. In the new Jerusalem there is no space to be misused or mistreated</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">No longer any curse... no</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">covering myself with fig leaves and blaming others and God. John is saying, no</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">more playing the blame game. The curse is no more.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">No temple in the New Jerusalem.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">John didn’t</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">see a temple in the Holy City</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">... </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In the OT, people of God believed</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the presence of God was in the Holy of Holies in</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Temple. Place where heaven</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and Earth kissed. But in John’s vision, the holy of Holies is not just a small</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">box, but the Holy of Holies is the whole City</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">And</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">God and the lamb is the temple. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">VS. 3.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">.. God himself will be with them. And He</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">himself will wipe every tear from their eyes. Get this... we get to meet God</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">face</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to face!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> As if that is not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">enough, hear what John says in vs. 2 “I saw the Holy City the new Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">coming down out of heaven from God... and I heard a loud voice</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">saying “ Look!</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">This is critical. Notice the direction that the new Jerusalem comes. It is not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">us going to the new Jerusalem, but the New Jerusalem is coming to us. The New</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jerusalem is descending. John is writing to the Jewish Christians in the 7</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">churches</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to come out of Babylon and in so doing he gives them a vision of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">new Jerusalem that is already forming, but still in the future. It is God’s</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">alternative city!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> As a place</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">, the New Jerusalem </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is a paradise and a holy city. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">beginning God had planted a garden for humanity to live in (Gen. 2: 8). </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In the end he</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">will</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">give them an urban city</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">. What John is saying is that...</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Paradise</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> is the natural world in its</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ideal state filled with the presence of God and reconciled with humanity. In</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">other words, the vision of a “new heaven and new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">earth” does not mean the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">destruction and replacement of the material world but its transformation!! Paradise,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the original creation depicted in Genesis, has been</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">restored, not abandoned or</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">destroyed. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">It is the marriage of heaven and earth!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> So what do we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">make of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Holy City? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">John says this is the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">place where heaven and earth meets at the centre of the earth, from which God</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">rules his land and his</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">people. This is not pie in the sky, but very real. What</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is important to note is that John is writing this to the churches 2000 years</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ago. He is saying that the new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jerusalem is already forming, but will come to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">its full expression when Jesus comes again. What John is saying is that the new</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">creation is already under way (2 Cor.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">5:17) and his kingdom is already present.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jesus as the slaughtered Lamb is already on the throne and in charge and we who</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">are washed and marked by the blood of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Lamb are already priests in His</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Kingdom:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">This city stands in stark</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">contrast to the idolatrous, oppressive city of Babylon portrayed in Rev. 17–18,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the city that is fallen and judged. The New Jerusalem is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">God’s alternative to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Rome’s empire and every empire since.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">One way Revelation portrays the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">New Jerusalem as God’s alternative to Babylon is by its very size: 12,000</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">stadia (1,500 miles) in length, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">width, and height means that the city “has</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">a footprint approximately equal in size to the entire land mass of the Roman</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">empire”; it is “large enough to encompass .</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">. . the world as John knew it.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">It is depicted as a square</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">because the ancient ideal of perfection, especially for a city, was a square;</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Babylon was remembered as a square (Herodotus, History</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">1.178), but Revelation</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">goes a dimension further and portrays the city as a cube, because the Holy of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Holies was a cube.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> So when you read</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the symbolic description of the city, pay attention especially to vs. 25. It</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">says: “The twelve gates of the city is always open.” This is not Peter</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">standing</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">at the pearly gates asking you questions to see if you can get in. There are</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">twelve gates and they are always open.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">As the new Jerusalem is already</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">forming, the gates are open for</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">whosoever wants to come in. The new Jerusalem is already descending and when</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jesus becomes visible from his space (the second</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">coming), we will witness the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">full manifestation of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> It will fill the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">whole earth, and the glory of Christ will light up the whole world. All I know</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is... it is going to be good. It also tells me that what I do now matters.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">When</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">you think about, as followers of Christ, we are from the future! We are called</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to already live as if the end has come. To live as resurrected people. The old</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">has</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">gone and the new has come! Can you hear the echoes and the rumblings of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">world that is already and not yet?</span><br />
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Thank you for joining us on our journey through the book of Revelation!</h3>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-56724391006377731872016-08-13T07:46:00.002-07:002016-08-13T09:04:14.448-07:00On Bicycles and Bullies...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9UT19ZVVdq874e2qchszBqrQAPXvW5FO-nXTfpe59iAZiRstkaFYaY1NkrSNTiCg9Xw4pj7qMnaZLtA80SVgjCogVJ-PoCu5hq1CK7Y6ufLep33vXB_oeDkRj4KVHG3yPeaCs1QjaR0/s1600/IMG_0901.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9UT19ZVVdq874e2qchszBqrQAPXvW5FO-nXTfpe59iAZiRstkaFYaY1NkrSNTiCg9Xw4pj7qMnaZLtA80SVgjCogVJ-PoCu5hq1CK7Y6ufLep33vXB_oeDkRj4KVHG3yPeaCs1QjaR0/s320/IMG_0901.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"> </span>A commentary on Revelation 19</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">If someone were to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ask me what is the best way to acquire knowledge to describe what happens when</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">someone rides a bike, I would think about two ways to answer the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">question. On</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the one hand, I would think of the knowledge physicists have and their ability to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">tell you the laws of physics of what happens when the tire hits the road and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the rider</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">balances the bike.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">On the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">other hand, I would also think of the knowledge one can acquire by simply getting</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">on a bike and riding it. When I think about the two options, if given a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">choice,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">I would choose the second way. The obvious reason is that one may be able to study</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the physics of riding a bicycle and yet not be able to mount a bike and ride it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">down the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">street. On the other hand, those who learn to ride the bike actually put</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">physics to work, turning the wheel inward when they are about to fall. The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">simple truth is this... the more the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">bike is ridden, the more the skill is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">acquired. Those who have mastered the bicycle have learned well enough how to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ride that they no longer think about how it is to be done. They</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">simply do it. Could</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">this possibly have something to do with how we deal with bullies? Could</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fighting bullies be as easy as riding a bike?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> This riding-the-bike-parable has in my mind, a lot</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to do with Revelation 19 and what the church has always considered to be the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">last great battle between Christ and the forces of evil.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">The war vision shows</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jesus riding on a white horse </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">leading Christians in a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">dramatic showdown between Jesus and the beasts. It is about Jesus taking care</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of the real bullies of this</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">world. It is Jesus taking on the forces of evil and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">sin head-on and fighting for our salvation. It is battle. It is war like no war</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that has ever been fought, or will be fought, by human</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">armies. What is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fascinating is the weapon Jesus uses to fight. What is overlooked is that Jesus</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fights with a sword in his mouth, not on his side. He wages war by what he</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">says.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Unfortunately,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the unhappy consequence of St John’s Armageddon vision has inflamed the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">imaginations of many believers into consuming fantasies of an</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">end-time holocaust at</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Mt Megiddo in Israel. However, what is overlooked is that</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">John is writing this to the seven churches as a way to encourage them in their</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">present situation as well as giving them a vision</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of Christ’s cosmic victory</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">over the forces of evil. What is rarely noticed is that the scene of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">marriage supper of the Lamb precedes the battle. This is very significant! Eugene</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Peterson brings our attention to the fact that St. John’s salvation vision</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">follows the meal and battle pattern that was set down in Jesus passion. He</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">says:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">On the night in which</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">he was betrayed, he had a meal with his disciples. It was succeeded by his</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">arrest, with soldiers pouring into Gethsemane with swords and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">staves and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">torches. This meal and this war are the polarities of saving action... Eating a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">meal shows salvation at work in ordinary life, strengthening the people of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">faith; fighting a battle shows salvation at work defeating the opposition...</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Salvation, then, is not something that God does: it is something that God is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">doing, and not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">only for us but also with us, enlisting us in the saving action.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">*</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> All of a sudden, a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">light bulb goes off in my head.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Could it be that John in Revelation 19 gives the early church as well as</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">us a strategy on how to fight the real bullies of sin</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and evil? Could it be</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that the development of holy habits and practices are at the heart of what it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">takes to defeat the enemy? Through our baptism and regular practices of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">communion</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and reading scripture together in worship, we stand in solidarity</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">with Christ as His witnesses and live into His victory and so overcome the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">bullies. To get back to the riding-a-bike-</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">parable, it is not just knowledge</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">about riding a bike that gets me down the road, but actually riding the bike.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">My Christian walk becomes such a habit that I don’t even think about it. It</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">becomes as easy as riding a bike. Along the way, let us not give too much</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">credence to the power of evil. The enemy is defeated, he is confined and on a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">leash. St. Teresa of Avila</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">encourages us: “I don’t understand these fears, ‘the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">devil! the devil!’ when we can say ‘God!’ ‘God!’ and make the devil tremble...</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">I pay no more attention to them than to flies.”*</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Salvation is Christ on the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Cross going into battle with the forces of evil with his own blood on his robe.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">It is the beautiful picture of the slaughtered lamb who is alive and on the throne.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">But it is also about eating bread and drinking wine. It is Jesus saying to His</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">disciples at the last supper and to us... “Do this as often as you will.” Ps 23</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">breathes new life into my</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">spirit...</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">You prepare a table before me</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">in the presence of my enemies.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
You anoint my head with oil;</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
my cup overflows.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Surely your goodness and love will follow me</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
all the days of my life,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
forever.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">*Eugene Peterson, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Reversed</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Thunder</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">, Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.</span></i><br />
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Questions to ponder:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Do you regularly practice holy habits and disciplines to fight evil and sin in your life? If not what practices could you start today? i.e. Spending daily time in the word, time in prayer, journalling, joining a life group, etc.</li>
<li>Does the understanding of Christ's battle being fought with the "sword in his mouth" rather than a sword on his side, along with the blood on his robe being his own, change the way you understand Armageddon and Christ's battle against evil?</li>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-35699822853145519412016-08-01T19:53:00.000-07:002016-08-01T19:53:56.894-07:00666 - The Mark of the Beast<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfueyNITILhEjpF_GbV7lTWAI3y4F7FnxWAM55xh0PO_5ui2Gjt4lPwsiYaVheiYWcYLuJ7iZ3G6dtRE2W8chUewert7v0MIs06KoAHKxIHI9LitWdYyXR2xzpOmzEXuE1YDvRv6l4Yrw/s1600/666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfueyNITILhEjpF_GbV7lTWAI3y4F7FnxWAM55xh0PO_5ui2Gjt4lPwsiYaVheiYWcYLuJ7iZ3G6dtRE2W8chUewert7v0MIs06KoAHKxIHI9LitWdYyXR2xzpOmzEXuE1YDvRv6l4Yrw/s320/666.jpg" width="320" /></a></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><b>A look at Revelation 13 - The Mark of the Beast</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Whenever I think</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">about the Mark of the Beast.... my mind immediately goes to the youth camp in</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Krugersdorp, a town close to Johannesburg, South Africa. The name of this Youth Camp</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">was </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Maranatha, which</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> literally means </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Come Lord Jesus</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">. It had a huge 30 ft.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">cross made out of white painted rocks stacked against a steep hill that lit up</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">at night. It could be seen for</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">miles and everyone knew about this camp because</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of the cross. One of my memories of this Middle school Camp experience was</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">watching the movie “The Thief in the Night.” Even</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">back then, it should have</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">been R-rated because of the intense emotional trauma it caused to me and my</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">friends who had never seen a movie, let alone something so disturbing. The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">primary focus of this movie was a dispensational portrayal of the rapture and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">what happens to those left behind. Unbeknownst to me, this was the beginning of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">a fear-based</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">spirituality that would take years to undue. One thing was for</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">sure, after watching this movie; you knew instinctively that you never wanted</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">anything to do with the number 666. Did you know there is name for this phobia?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 12px;">technical term for the fear of the number 666 is hexakosioihexekontahexphobia. That is also the longest word in the French dictionary which is ironic for the fear of 3 numbers. </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Revelation 13 the land beast is famously identified as a person whose number is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">666 (Rev 13:18). This is probably one of the most well known symbolic and even</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">superstitious</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">numbers of all time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Back then, I was</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">told that the future world dictator and his supporters are expected to promote</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">one world religion and to use computer technology to control the global</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">economy. The big story was that a cash-less society was on the horizon and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">everyone who participates will have to be marked with a number. Some warned</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that credit card numbers</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">or the international product code numbers were all</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">part of the ploy of the beast to pull you in. Proponents of this scenario</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">gained credibility by claiming to offer a strictly literal</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">understanding of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Bible.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> It is however hard</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to maintain this case. Previously we have made the case that the Apocalyptic</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Genre requires that we read the text symbolically, not literally. This should</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">be applied to the number 666 as well. The question is not whether to read the text</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">symbolically, but how to read its symbolism. The issue is whether the visions</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of the beasts in Revelation</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">13 function as coded predictions concerning figures</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that will appear at the end of time, or whether the passage depicts threats</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that affect people of many times and places.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> One of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">requirements for proper exegesis is to consider how the imagery would have</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">communicated to the readers in the seven churches. Since John wrote in order to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">be</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">understood by them, we must consider what meaning they might have seen in</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">this number 666. So, are you ready? Here it comes...<b>Most scholars believe that</b></span><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">666 is the numerical</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><b>name for Nero Caesar</b>. Koester says:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In John’s day they</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">assigned numerical value to letters. The practice was not uncommon. On the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">level of street culture, for example, a graffiti artist at Pompeii used a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">number for the name of his beloved when he scrawled on the wall: "I love</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">her whose number is 545." </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">By the time Revelation was written,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Nero was dead, but John portrays the beast as a Nero figure in order to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">underscore the threat that it poses. John sought to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">startle the Christians who thought</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that the best way to get along in pagan society was to accommodate its</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">practices under the assumption that it was all quite</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">harmless.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Through his imagery John warns,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">"<b>`Beware, it is Nero all over again,' </b>just as one might say, whenever we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">hear anti-Semitism, `Beware, it's Hitler all over</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">again.*</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> So, if we know that the number 666 is Nero, shall</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">we stop trying to figure out who is the next beast? Yes and No. Yes you can</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">stop trying to figure out who will emerge as the leader of a one-</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">world</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">government who marks his followers. But no, you can’t stop looking for the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">beast that marks his followers. The beast still brainwashes people with</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">propaganda about “what</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">they think” (forehead) and “what they do” (forearm). The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">beast parades as fame and fortune and lures you to think that you can have it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">all. He invites us to the altar of materialism and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">sexual seduction. The beast</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">inspires its followers to embrace the belief that the Empire is Divine and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">complete, but the truth is the number 666 means incomplete, falling short of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">complete number 777.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Instead,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> m</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ay we be marked by the lamb and follow Him, the one who is the true emperor of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Earth! His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who is complete. In</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fact Jesus’</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">numerical # goes beyond 777, his number adds up to 888.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">* Craig R. Koester.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Revelation and the End of All Things (Kindle Location 1944). Kindle Edition.</span></i><br />
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Questions to ponder:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Do you ever find yourself avoiding the number 666 or pausing when you encounter it? </li>
<li>Does the idea that 666 is not a future person but rather a warning about succumbing to an ideology affect your thinking about the world we live in? </li>
<li>How does the idea that "forehead" represents "what we think" and "forearm" represents "what we do" cause you to rethink your thoughts and actions?</li>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-48081752174354767022016-07-23T21:04:00.001-07:002016-07-25T21:42:33.293-07:00The Dragon of Revelation 12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">I have a few confessions to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">make...Yep; I am going to come clean on a few things that you should know about</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">me. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Okay, so here it goes... First,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">you should know that I have</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">not watched even one episode of the TV series </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Game of Thrones</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">. Secondly, I have no</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">idea what the craze is about the </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Pokémon</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Go</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> game, and lastly, of the original Star Wars trilogy</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that started in</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">1977, I have only seen </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">The Return of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jedi</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">So, there it is, I</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">already feel better just sharing this with you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">However, even though I have</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">not immersed myself in this epic pop culture, what is clear to me is that the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">adventures of various characters "a long time ago in a galaxy far,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">far</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">away" has gripped the imagination of our culture across many generations.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">It is like everyone gets it when you say “The Force be with you.” </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">I can see how</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">people can get hooked</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">on this epic phenomenon called Star Wars. It’s about</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">illuminated swords clashing in an epic showdown between the forces of light and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">darkness. It is as if stories of the battle</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">between the forces of good and evil</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">wants to win our loyalties to the side of good and to alienate us from evil. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Somehow we know that that is the way it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is suppose to be...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">We see this same phenomenon in the Roman</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">culture during the days that John received the Revelation. It was Greek tales</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of good and evil that gripped the imagination of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the people of that day. In one</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">such epic story, as shared by Koester, </span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">“The antagonist was a fierce dragon</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">named Python and the protagonist was a woman named Leto, who was the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">mother of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the god Apollo. When Leto became pregnant by the god Zeus, the dragon pursued</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">her in order to kill her and her child. The north wind rescued Leto by carrying</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">her away,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">so that she eventually found refuge on the island of Delos, which lay</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">in the Aegean Sea. There the woman gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. Four days</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">later, Apollo set off in pursuit of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the dragon, soon slaying the creature to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">avenge his mother.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">This story had such a powerful impact that</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the Roman emperors were able to put the tale to good use by associating</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">themselves with Apollo, whose defeat of the evil dragon</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">was said to have</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">ushered in an age of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. Citizens of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">empire could be expected to identify the woman in the story with the goddess</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Roma, who was the queen of heaven. Her son would be the Roman emperor, who</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">overcame the forces of evil and chaos so that light and peace could flood the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">So, when John tells about a pregnant woman and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">a dragon in Revelation 12, Christians in the seven churches would have heard</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">echoes of the familiar story of Leto. What is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fascinating, however, is that John's</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">version reverses the usual implications of the tale, so that in his version the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">woman in labor is not a pagan goddess, but the people of God; the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">child is not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the emperor but Christ; and the dragon represents the forces that oppose Christ</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and threaten his church. In the end, a story that was used to celebrate the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">popular culture</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is now transformed by John to tell a powerful story of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">battle in Heaven between the dragon and Michael, the archangel. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Michael takes on the dragon, (who now is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">identified as</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Satan), and the next thing you know, Satan is cast out of heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">This defeat dramatically limits the area in which Satan can operate. Instead of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">being able to work in heaven,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">denouncing the saints before God (Rev. 12:10),</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Satan is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">banished from heaven so that he must restrict his operations to the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">This brings a powerful encouragement to those who heard this</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">message from John for the first time and for us as well.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In short succession, let me highlight a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">few very encouraging</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">points from this fascinating depiction of the limitations</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of the power of evil:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">In the end, it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is the saints that have a safe place under the throne of God, but Satan lost</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">his place. This means that evil has no place in heaven.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">It was Christ’s</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">death, resurrection and exaltation that caused Satan to be cast from Heaven to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">earth. It is the slaughtered Lamb who ends up on the throne, not Satan. And this,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">my</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">friends, is not a </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Game of Thrones</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">it is the real deal.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">What we should know</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">is that Satan rages here on earth like a trapped animal, since he has already</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">lost Heaven. This should encourage us to resist him in the name of Jesus.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">The serpent who</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">tempted Adam and Eve in Gen 3, who accused Job in the throne room of heaven,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">who tempted Jesus in the wilderness and goes around like a roaring Lion is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">defeated. He is on a leash for just a short time.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">And together with the saints around the throne of God we say AMEN!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">By the way, this is not a George Lucas production!</span><br />
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Come be a part of <span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></h3>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Join Us For Worship - </b>Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.</li>
<li><b>Watch Live Online</b> - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>online and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/213737" target="_blank">Click here.</a></li>
<li><b>Watch Past Sermons</b> - Missed this week's sermon? <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/89691014" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<li><b>Wednesday Evening Q&A -</b> Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation</li>
<li><b>Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question -</b> <a href="https://cccks.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=26" target="_blank">Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.</a></li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b></div>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-66249148636440735052016-07-09T11:46:00.001-07:002016-07-09T12:08:40.310-07:00What about Hell?<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh606KvJ2eBDDnLOUJmJBIUjt-dh4SzlrGg1KBYODYTo8OrBRm4BCymtxgYg-9SirDfMcAq438Qh2SHfR3pTBfjmAXeNllfI5pG2PWDU94dxuLMAqI1KGjLGQRTo5wkewUf2zx165YlS1c/s1600/File+Jul+09%252C+1+44+14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh606KvJ2eBDDnLOUJmJBIUjt-dh4SzlrGg1KBYODYTo8OrBRm4BCymtxgYg-9SirDfMcAq438Qh2SHfR3pTBfjmAXeNllfI5pG2PWDU94dxuLMAqI1KGjLGQRTo5wkewUf2zx165YlS1c/s320/File+Jul+09%252C+1+44+14+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Two church members</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">were having a chat about their local church where they worshipped. The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">conversation went something like this...</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">“’How is it going at your church?’</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">‘Well,' </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">said the other church member.... 'we are going through an interesting</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">time at our church. You see, a few months ago our church fired our pastor.’</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">‘How come,’ the 1st member asked?’</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">‘Well’ said the 2nd member, ‘it is like</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">this...this pastor kept preaching that we are going to go to hell, and so we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">fired him.’ ‘Wow’ said the 1st member, ‘that seems to be very drastic.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">So how</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">does your church deal with this difficult situation?’ ‘Well, you see, we got a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">new pastor,’ said the 2nd church member.’ ‘And how does he preach?’ the 1st</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">member asked.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">‘Well, it is interesting that you asked. He also preaches that we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">are going to go to hell.’ ‘So, what is the difference between this pastor and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the one you had before? Are you going to fire</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">him too?’ the 1st member asked.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">‘No,’ the 2nd member responded. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">You see, when the first pastor preached it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">seemed like he liked preaching about hell, but when our new pastor preaches</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">about hell it breaks his heart.’ ‘Wow,’ the 1st member</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">responded and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">thoughtfully walked away."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> And</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">so it is in many congregations today. As you know, we prefer to talk about the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">pleasant side of Christianity and we like preachers that do. But what do we say</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">about the alternative, if</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">people choose not to follow Jesus? If we don’t follow</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Jesus, as persons and communities, what results can we expect? How do we talk</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">not only about Christian comfort, but also about</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">discomfort? How do we grasp</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the significance of what the Church has said down the years about the awful</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">possibility of final loss?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> First,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">it must be said as clearly as possible that as soon as we find ourselves</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">wanting to believe in Hell we find ourselves in great danger. The desire to see</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">others punished – including</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the desire to do the punishing ourselves – has no</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">place in a Christian scheme of things. Of course there is a right and proper</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">desire for justice, but the desire to punish, must be</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">distinguished from this.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">If I want to see someone else in torment, it may say more about the condition</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of my heart than anything else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Second,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">most of the passages in the NT, which have been thought by the church to refer</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">to people going into eternal punishment after they die, don’t in fact refer to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">any such thing.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">When Jesus uses language about the awful punishment in store for</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">those who rejected his message, it must be read as warnings of the awful future</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">that awaited the nation of Israel if she</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">rejected the way of peace which Jesus</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">was proposing. When Jesus spoke about “Gehenna,” the Greek word for hell, he</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">was talking about the Jerusalem rubbish-dump – a great, foul,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">smouldering heap</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of trash away from the city. His warning was that those who persisted in going the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">way of nationalist rebellion rather than the way of peace would turn Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">into a huge</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">and foul extension of its own rubbish dump. And of course, as we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">know, this warning came true when Caesar Nero in 70 AD destroyed Jerusalem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> Third,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">if we worship other gods, and not the one in whose image we were created, we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">run the risk of becoming less and less human. These other gods are not life</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">giving. Every day on</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">television we see images of those who have ceased being</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">truly human, because they have given themselves over to the demonic gods of</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">this world. They are more like beasts, when</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">they make the decision to blow</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">themselves up or kill innocent people. They in fact have become inhuman. Those</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">who persistently refuse to follow Jesus, the true image of God, will by</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">their</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">own choice become less and less like him, that is, less and less truly human.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">We sometimes say... these people have turned into monsters. So, here is my</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">point... If human beings</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">insist that God leaves them alone then God’s final</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">response is “as you will.” Because some choose to dehumanize themselves, and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">because God gave his human creatures the risky gift</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">of freedom and choice, I</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">also see God honoring that choice. Hell is the final resting place of the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">person who has chosen to reject God. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Hell is a condition of horrid Godlessness, outside</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">the city,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">where a person is severed from the very source and giver of life and love. </span>The</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">reality of how God will handle this in the end remains a mystery. And let’s not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">forget about</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">accountability. Every person will have to give an account of him</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">or herself and stand before the judge, which is Jesus Christ himself. Here, I</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">am glad to say that Jesus will be a fair judge.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">After all, he knows what it’s</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">like to be human.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> In</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">closing, we can’t ignore the heart of God. It is a heart of compassion not</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">wanting anyone to go astray. 2 Peter 3:9 says: “It is not God’s will that any</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">should perish, but that all should</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">come to repentance.” The call for us is to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">follow the one who brings to us a kingdom of gentleness and justice. It is the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">voice crying in the wilderness...”Come to me, all you who are</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">weary and I will</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">give you rest.”</span><br />
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<h3>
Questions to ponder:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Do you view hell as a place for people to get what they deserve or a sad finale to one's life? </li>
<li>How would this view of hell affect how you live day to day and interact with others? </li>
<li>How would viewing hell as "<span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica\22 "; font-size: 12px;">A condition of horrid Godlessness, outside</span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica\22 "; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica\22 "; font-size: 12px;">the city,</span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica\22 "; font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica\22 "; font-size: 12px;">where a person is severed from the very source and giver of life and love" affect your sharing of the Gospel with unbelievers</span>?</li>
</ol>
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<h3>
</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
Come be a part of <span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></h3>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Join Us For Worship - </b>Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.</li>
<li><b>Watch Live Online</b> - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>online and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/213737" target="_blank">Click here.</a></li>
<li><b>Watch Past Sermons</b> - Missed this week's sermon? <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/88224233" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a></li>
<ul></ul>
<li><b>Wednesday Evening Q&A -</b> Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation</li>
<li><b>Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question -</b> <a href="https://cccks.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=26" target="_blank">Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.</a></li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b><b>Couldn't join us Wednesday night? Watch the Exploration Revelation Class - Week 4</b></div>
<div>
Recorded Live on July 6th, 2016<br />
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Exploring Revelations with Pastor Johan Tredoux - Week 4<br />
Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitychurchlenexa/">COMMUNITY Covenant Church</a> on Wednesday, July 6, 2016</blockquote>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0COMMUNITY Covenant Church38.9718264 -94.76771550000000838.9710549 -94.768976000000009 38.9725979 -94.766455000000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-32227525939439282082016-07-01T09:05:00.000-07:002016-07-09T11:55:29.720-07:00Where Is Heaven?<div id="fb-root"></div>
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Heaven...Where is it? What is it? What can we learn from John's glimpse behind the veil into the throne room of God? This is week 3 of our 10 week exploration of the book of REVELATION. Thank you for being a part of <i><span style="color: orange;">COMMUNITY</span>online</i> and journeying with us as we explore God's Word to the 7 churches of Rome.</h4>
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<h3>
Imagine There’s No Heaven</h3>
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Where has Heaven gone to? A few years ago John Lennon, in a famous song invited us to imagine it didn’t exist. In a dreamy voice, he sang...<br />
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Imagine there's no heaven<br />
It's easy if you try<br />
No hell below us<br />
Above us only sky<br />
Imagine all the people living for today </blockquote>
This song was very tempting for a generation tired of heaven being used as a carrot stick to get them to behave. Because this strange distant place exists, and because you might want to go there yourself some day, you’d better behave nicely here, or so the saying went. This was part of my story growing up as well. To me it meant, if you don’t drink, smoke or chew and stay away from girls that do, you might have a chance at Heaven.<br />
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Today, our society is still as confused over Heaven as it was when Lennon sang his song. On the Christian side Heaven is central to the Gospel as a promise to those who put their faith in Christ. Given that Heaven is where Jesus went, we as followers of Jesus, better get our minds round it. Is it possible that the book of Revelation might just give us that fresh new insight we need to deepen our understanding of Heaven?<br />
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So far, (our previous blogs) we have tried to understand John's apocalyptic tradition and the world of the Roman Empire in which he lived and wrote. Our next task is to come to grips with the questions of when and where John expected his visions to be “fulfilled.”
Many people take Revelation's references to “the End” or to “heaven” as being about specific times or places that are “later” or “apart from” the time and place of first-century Roman Asia. There are then a few important questions we need to ask,<br />
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<li> How would John's audience have understood his language about “heaven”? </li>
<li> How did people in Roman Asia think of time and space? </li>
<li> What did the concepts of “heaven and earth” mean to the inhabitants of the first-century Roman Empire? </li>
<li>What relationship existed between these “realms”?</li>
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Space</h3>
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One of the challenges of the common notion of “heaven and earth” found in our world is that it projects two distinct places between which there is little connection.
Part of this perception was developed from the way ancient Israel understood YHWH as a “sky-father” god like other powerful storm gods around them. The literal meaning of the Greek term ouranos, which is translated “heaven,” is “sky,” that is, the
physical space above the earth. The same meaning is also found in the Hebrew word for heaven as seen in Gen 1:1. Here the word for heaven is “She-maim.” What is fascinating is that “maim” means water and “She-maim” means water from above. This very ancient understanding of heaven as reflected in our biblical creation story shows the primitive understanding people had of time and space. For them the earth was flat and Heaven was a fixed canopy from where water falls. This was before the days of Galileo. It is this understanding that still captures many Christians’ imagination of heaven.<br />
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However, in Revelation we find John describing heaven from a different perspective. Heaven in Revelation is more about describing two realities. In Revelation, “Heaven” is holy while “earth” is evil. Earth is the perspective of empire. Heaven, on the other hand, is where John sees that the truth is unveiled. In Revelation, John does not describe heaven as a place far away “way beyond the blue.” For John, Heaven is God’s space, which intersects our space but transcends it. As the veil was pulled back for John, heaven was experienced as only a further dimension of our world.
N.T. Wright says:
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The Christian hope is not (despite popular impressions) that we will simply “go to heaven when we die.” As far as it goes, that statement is all right; after death those who love God will be with Him, will be in His dimension. But the final Christian hope is that the two dimensions, heaven and earth, at present separated by a veil of invisibility caused by human rebellion, will be united together, so that there will be new heavens and a new earth. Heaven isn’t therefor an escapist dream. Heaven is the extra dimension, the God-dimension, of all our present reality; and the God who lives there is present to us, present with us.</blockquote>
John expects his audience to be familiar with apocalyptic writings, which mean that “heaven” is not in the sky or after death, but co-present with daily life, hidden only by a veil.
In being invited to “heaven” by a heavenly angel, John of Patmos is given privileged access to the truth of things. As Richard Bauckham explains:<br />
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John (and thereby his readers with him) is taken up into heaven in order to see the world from the heavenly perspective. He is
given a glimpse behind the scenes of history so that he can see what is really going on in the events of his time and place.</blockquote>
Because John of Patmos had personally seen the apocalyptic truth of heaven and had communicated this through his book, the Christians addressed in the 7 churches were able to know that it is where God lives and reigns that constitutes the ultimate reality, not the illusory reality of the Empire of Rome.<br />
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Questions to ponder:</h3>
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<li>Does this affirm or challenge your perception where and/or how you think of “heaven” as existing? </li>
<li>How would this view of heaven affect how you live day to day? </li>
<li>How do you see God's space intersecting with your daily life?</li>
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Come be a part of <span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></h3>
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<ul>
<li><b>Join Us For Worship - </b>Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.</li>
<li><b>Watch Live Online</b> - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>online and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/213737" target="_blank">Click here.</a></li>
<li><b>Watch Past Sermons</b> - Missed this week's sermon? <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/88224233" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a></li>
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<li><b>Wednesday Evening Q&A -</b> Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation</li>
<li><b>Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question -</b> <a href="https://cccks.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=26" target="_blank">Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.</a></li>
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<b><br /></b><b>Couldn't join us Wednesday night? Watch the Exploration Revelation Class - Week 3</b></div>
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Recorded Live on June 29th, 2016<br />
<div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/communitychurchlenexa/videos/1402035633145530/" data-width="500" data-show-text="false"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/communitychurchlenexa/videos/1402035633145530/" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitychurchlenexa/videos/1402035633145530/"></a><p>Exploring Revelation with Pastor Johan Tredoux - Week 3</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitychurchlenexa/">COMMUNITY Covenant Church</a> on Wednesday, June 29, 2016</blockquote></div>
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</div>Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-79691872427306158032016-06-23T21:21:00.000-07:002016-07-01T08:06:44.933-07:00Interpreting Prophetic Literature<h3>
Is prophecy about the future, the present, or the past?</h3>
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I have a “Word” for you...</h3>
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Sometime ago, in fact 27 years ago, I went to a prayer meeting here in KC. It was early in the morning. After the prayer meeting a man who attended the meeting, who sincerely felt that he was led to give me a word of prophecy, approached me. He stopped me and said: “Johan, I have a “word” for you. It has been revealed to me that you are going to go back to South Africa and you are going to meet up with 3 men and together God is going to use you in a powerful way.” That was it, and off he went. It is interesting to note that my house was on the market at that time. As I reflect back on that “word” given to me, all I can say is... I am still waiting for those 3 guys.<br />
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What is it about us that we are so easily captivated by those who think they know history in advance? Could it be, that as a human race, with all the turmoil around us, we want to feel secure. We want to know what is going to happen to us. This is why fortune-tellers, tarot readers, psychics, mediums, sorcerers and witchdoctors are so popular and have been around for a long time. However, the Bible warns against a neurotic interest in the future and escapist fantasy into the future. In fact, the Bible forbids trafficking with people who make predictions and are into clairvoyance. <i>(Deut. 18:14-15)</i>. And yet, in spite of this warning, there are those who persist in wanting to read Revelation primarily through the lens of prediction. <br />
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A much overlooked factor in reading revelation is that the letter from John is not addressed to the Christians in North America who live in the 21st century, but to the Christians of the seven churches in Asia. Futuristic interpreters usually assume that Revelation's message will become clearer as the final days approach, and yet there are many scholars who believe just the opposite. They are convinced that Revelation's message would have been clearest to those who lived in John's own time. So, instead of looking for clues by combing recent headlines or news broadcasts, these scholars would rather study the language and literature of the ancient world. What these scholars are saying is that Revelation is not a coded collection of secrets that will finally become intelligible at the end of time, but it was an open book right from the beginning designed to communicate with the Christians who were alive in Rome at the time of John’s writing. <br />
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And this is where I believe we will find our best clues into the nature of prophetic literature.<br />
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So, what shall we make of Prophetic literature? </h3>
<ul>
<li>A common way to misunderstand prophecy, and especially the prophecy of revelation, is to suppose that it means prediction. But that is not the Biblical use of the word. Prophets are not fortune-tellers. The prophet is the person who declares, “Thus saith the Lord.” right here and now. The prophet says that God is speaking now, not yesterday and not tomorrow. </li>
<li>We see throughout the OT and NT that prophets speak words of comfort and/or challenge, on behalf of God, to the people of God in their concrete historical situation. </li>
<li>Some believe that Revelation is like a WWF wrestling match. Before the two wrestlers crawl in the ring, the outcome is already decided. We just have to wait till the end of the match to know who wins. God’s mind is made up. History is already plotted from beginning to end. Prophetic literature, however, is more like the World Series. The outcome is up for grabs. How each person plays makes a difference in the outcome. It really matters what we do. </li>
<li>Prophetic literature calls for ethical responsibility, holy living, and repentance from sin, and social justice. The outcome of history is not in the hands of a boxed-in God. The future belongs to a God who makes covenants with people and is free to respond to what we do. God is free to come in mercy or judgment. God is free to bring this present evil age to an end now or later. This prophetic style is seen very strongly in the letters written to the churches. </li>
<li>The prophets were convinced that a covenant making God works in history and through his people to accomplish His purposes. It is important to note that John doesn’t see salvation sweeping in from outside of history. John wants the readers of the seven churches to know that salvation is already present... in history. The true Savior of the world is the slaughtered Lamb whose Kingdom is already unfolding.</li>
<li>One of the strong characteristics of prophets is that they always try to connect the God of the beginning with the God of the end. That is, they communicate consistently that God cares about his creation and wants to redeem it and not destroy it. We see this very strongly in Revelation. John wants to communicate that God is going to finish what he started. John speaks of a God who makes all things new. Those in the first century were encouraged to follow the Lamb into the new creation and this applies to us as well. Of course, this rules out a God who blows the planet to pieces or rain asteroids down on us. </li>
<li>Given the presence of false prophets like Jezebel, we can determine the authenticity of a prophet's message if the prophet promotes faithfulness to God or whether it leads people away from God. The preface to Revelation says that John wants people to respond to his prophecy by "keeping" it (Rev. 1:3). </li>
</ul>
In conclusion, Eugene Peterson reminds us that <b>the prophetic word eliminates the distance between God’s speaking and our hearing</b>. He says: “If we make the prophetic word a predictive word we are procrastinating, putting distance between ourselves and the application of the word, putting off dealing with it until some future date.” There are, to be sure, references to the past and implications for the future, but <b>the predominate emphasis of the prophetic word is on the now</b>. There are predictive elements in some prophecy (and some in Revelation, like the anticipation of the new Heaven’s and the new Earth), but they are always in service to a present message.<br />
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Questions to ponder:</h3>
<ol>
<li>How do you discern a prophetic word? Is it truly a "word from God" or someone's well intentioned belief?</li>
<li>If someone was to share with you a predictive prophetic word, how do you think it would affect your life? Would it impact your view of the present and/or the future? Would it be a blessing or a distraction?</li>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Up Next: </span><b>Where is heaven?</b></h3>
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Come be a part of <span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></h3>
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<ul>
<li><b>Join Us For Worship - </b>Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.</li>
<li><b>Watch Live Online</b> - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>online and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/213737" target="_blank">Click here.</a></li>
<li><b>Watch Past Sermons</b> - Missed this week's sermon? <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/88224233" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a></li>
<li><b>Wednesday Evening Q&A -</b> Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation</li>
<li><b>Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question -</b> <a href="https://cccks.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=26" target="_blank">Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.</a></li>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0COMMUNITY Covenant Church38.9718264 -94.76771550000000838.9710549 -94.768976000000009 38.9725979 -94.766455000000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1507130278967079318.post-77927510683306117232016-06-17T09:03:00.000-07:002016-06-23T21:32:24.121-07:00Revelation Unveiled<div class="MsoNormal">
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This summer at <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>, I have
embarked on a very invigorating and adventurous path, that is... to spend ten
Sundays on the Book of Revelation. I have taught on end time Eschatology at
Mid-America Nazarene University, but I have never preached on it. So you can
say that I have officially entered into “The Danger Zone.” You remember that
song from the movie Top Gun?</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> I am sure like many American’s, I have
grown up with a real fear of Revelation. Especially after I saw the movie “The
Thief in the Night,” which came out when I was about thirteen years old. It
literally scared the hell out of me. (no pun intended) I remember many times
coming home from school not finding anyone, and my immediate thought was that
my family was raptured and I was left behind. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Even so, I am sure that you would agree
with me that Revelation is one of the most powerful texts in the Western World.
Some find the book scary, others alarming, and for some, confusing and even
dangerous. And I have to agree. Who can forget the modern-day Branch Davidians
incinerated at Waco and the Heavens Gate community, who committed mass suicide
thinking they were joining a spaceship?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Many have set dates for the return of
Christ only to be disappointed. So, why study Revelation? Can Revelation be
understood? </span>Is it good news or bad news? Is it primarily about Christ or the
antichrist? Does it concern the past, the present, or
the future?<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"> I hope you will discover with me, over the
next ten weeks, that Revelation is not about the antichrist, but about the
living Christ. It is not about a rapture out of this world, but about faithful
discipleship in this world. I hope that at the end of the book we will not find
ourselves in millennial debates, but find ourselves on our knees worshipping
the Lamb.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> So, here are a few things for you to
consider as we begin our journey with Revelation...</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">First
things first... putting it in context</span></b></h3>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> One of the rules of Biblical
interpretation is that we consider the historical context and audience to whom
the text is addressed. This includes the author, the time the text was written,
the specific literary genre used, as well as the reason for writing the text. So
here is a quick answer on the first three:</span><br />
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<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Who
is the Author?</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> Most scholars don’t know who John
is. Some have thought that John is one of the disciples, but most scholars
believe that he is a traveling prophet or the bishop over the seven churches
that he is writing to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">When
was it written</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">? Most scholars have placed the
writing during the reign of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Emperor
Domitian from 81-96 A.D</b>. It was a relatively peaceful time in the Empire
with little persecution of Christians during this time.</span></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">To
whom was it written</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">? What is often overlooked is
that John is sharing this Revelation with the 7 churches of Asia Minor. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was not written to the church of the
21st century</b>. It is important to know that it had a profound meaning to
those who received this letter from John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They understood what he was talking about. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">His letter to the churches was all 22 chapters.</b></span></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></b></h3>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">What
is the literary style of Revelation?</span></b></h3>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> This is a more difficult question and if we
can get this right, we have the best change to unpack some of the mysteries of
Revelation. Scholars agree that Revelation use both the Apocalyptic and
Prophetic style of writing. It is then critical for us to understand this
particular form of writing. This will give us the filters we need to make sense
of all the bizarre symbols and weird language used in Revelation. So lets look
first at the Apocalyptic Style of Writing:</span></div>
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<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Apocalyptic
Genre:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> What is fascinating is that the Apocalyptic
style of writing had a 400 year history going all the way back to the Persian
empire. This style of writing was very familiar to the author of Revelation. In
fact it is used throughout the book of Revelation.</span></li>
<li>One of the <b>most common characteristics of
A.G. is that it is filled with dualism...</b> like lamb vs. the beast, light vs.
darkness, or God vs. Satan. It is filled with imagery and symbols that should
not be taken literally. We should be asking “What do these synbols mean?”
Symbolic numbers is also a strong characteristic of the Apocalyptic writing
style. I mean, who doesn’t want to know what 666 really means?</li>
<li>Over it’s 400 year history, the A.G.
<b>usually surfaces during oppressive regimes or empires</b>. It is written when
things are going bad. This is why this style of writing is usually very
pessimistic. They have seen so many failed attempts to change the systems of
oppression, that they don’t think God can work from within history to
accomplish His purposes. A new future will then have to come from outside –of
–history. However, it is important to note that John doesn’t see salvation
sweeping in from outside of history. John wants the readers of the seven
churches to know that salvation is already present... in history. The true Savior
of the world is the slaughtered Lamb whose Kingdom is already unfolding.</li>
<li>In verse 4 John calls Jesus the one “who
is, who was, and who is to come. This is a strange way to use the tenses. We
usually go with past, present, future. But John puts the present first and goes
backward and forward from there. This points to a much-overlooked factor that
has to be considered when we interpret Revelation. It is the time factor.
Scholars indicate that <b>the time orientation of the Roman world was more
focussed on the present</b>. That is, they thought that the duration of their
present time will remain that way forever. Therefore the mindset was that the
present drives what is forthcoming. The future is already in the process of
becoming. When you compare this idea of time with us, Scholars would describe
our time worldview in the USA to be more future oriented. That is... the future
drives what is present.</li>
<li><b>It is also a common feature of the
Apocalyptic style of writing that the author repositions himself earlier in
time and talk about the past as if it is in the future.</b> Because of its
apocalyptic genre, we see that John writes of the cataclysmic events of the
previous generation, such as Nero’s persecution of the Christians. 54-68 AD. He
writes about the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He even goes as
far back as the time in Egypt when the Jews were slaves and the time in Babylon
when the Jews were in Exile.</li>
</ul>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Unlocking Revelation</span></h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"> This brings me to the key to understand the
book of Revelation. In order to reveal, to rip the cover from the way things
are, John is saying to the 7 churches, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I
want you to know what the Spirit has revealed to me about the real reality of
the world we live in..</b> I want you to see two worlds. I want you to know
that the victorious Christ is already present...he is the real deal. The New
Creation is already underway. Everything else is fake. The true reality is the
one <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">who is and who was and who is to
come</b> ... <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Present , past, future.</b></span></div>
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<br />
<ul>
<li>The key to understand Revelation is that
John wants the 7 churches to know that Jesus, the Lamb of God, not Caesar, is
the true Emperor of the earth.</li>
<li>Revelation is a very daring, very creative,
absolutely dangerous proclamation that Jesus Christ, not the Caesar, is the
true Emperor of the earth. (It is this message that will either get you crucified
or exiled. The Roman Empire did not allow descend)</li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">That’s
what Revelation is up to</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">. Revelation is a
theatrical prophecy in the Apocalyptic genre of how Jesus, the Lamb conquers
the Beast, whom John portrays as Rome.</span></li>
<li>John speaks of Rome as Babylon, the Beast,
the great whore. John was afraid that the Christians in the seven churches are
being lulled to sleep into embracing Roman Civil religion. John is reminding
them.... Remember Rome is a beast. Rome is not just evil when it is persecuting
Christians; Rome is evil in peacetime as well. It is idolatrous!</li>
</ul>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Questions for you to ponder:</b></span></h3>
</div>
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<ol>
<li>What is your first thought when thinking about studying Revelation? Fear? Excitement? Trepidation?</li>
<li>Does understanding the context and literary style of Revelation challenge or support your current interpretation?</li>
<li>2000 years from now how will cultures interpret our modern day symbols? Will they understand the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11, Facebook?</li>
</ol>
</div>
<hr />
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<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB">Up Next: </span><b>The Unique Nature
of Prophetic Literature!</b></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Come be a part of <span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Join Us For Worship - </b>Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.</li>
<li><b>Watch Live Online</b> - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of <b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMMUNITY</span></b>online and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/213737" target="_blank">Click here.</a></li>
<li><b>Watch Past Sermons</b> - Missed this week's sermon? <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/88224233" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a></li>
<li><b>Wednesday Evening Q&A -</b> Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation</li>
<li><b>Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question -</b> <a href="https://cccks.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=26" target="_blank">Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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Johan Tredoux, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07633123447261074320noreply@blogger.com0COMMUNITY Covenant Church38.9718264 -94.76771550000000838.9710549 -94.768976000000009 38.9725979 -94.766455000000008