Lullabies and Other Important Songs

Songs are important and we communicate important things with songs. People who fall in love choose songs to commemorate their relationships. Grandmothers sing lullabies to their grandchildren. When my grandchildren were little, they each had their own song. We even made a recording of all six songs so they could listen whenever they wanted to. 

They are a little too old for lullabies now, but there is one song that makes me think of them every time I hear it. And so I will dedicate this song to the young people that I loved best of all in my life--Alice, Sadie, Katy, Meagan, Kristen and Grady. Here are the words:

"In My Life / If We Never Meet Again"

There are places I remember all my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better, some are lost and some remain

All these places have their moments with people and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living but in my life I loved them all

But of all these friends and loved ones, there is no one compares with you
And as memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new

Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and friends that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them but in my life I loved you more

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey

And perhaps we'll never meet anymore
Till we gather in Heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore

If we never meet again this side of Heaven 
As we struggle thru this world and its strife
There's another meeting place somewhere in Heaven 
By the beautiful River of Life

Where the charming roses bloom forever
Separations come no more
If we never meet again this side of Heaven 
I will meet you on that beautiful shore.

Click here to hear the song.

Fifty Shades of Grace Chapter 24

24--Revelation Made Easy Part 7

The Marriage Supper, Judgment, and the New Creation

This is the last of the posts that will help us to understand Revelation. The Great Tribulation that took place during the birthing of Christianity is over. The long millennium that began when Christ ascended into heaven is over. The last of God's elect has received life and so death is forever conquered. Christ comes again to restore Eden! 

Some people think that when Christ comes again, it will be to take us all to heaven, but that is not exactly true. When he comes again, heaven will come down to the new earth. Instead of us living with him in heaven, he will dwell with us on earth! That is what Immanuel means--God with us! Heaven for us will be like coming home. It will not be some strange place with weird and bizarre creatures. Well, there might be some weird and bizarre creatures, but they will be friendly and we won't be afraid of them. 

There will be a big wedding feast and everyone will be part of the Ultimate Party. You will need to read Revelation 19-22 to finish off this last section. Here is how the chapters break down:

The Marriage Supper (Chapter 19)

Heavenly worship: Babylon’s fall leads to heavenly rejoicing. The sainst in heaven praise God for martyr vindication. John presents this contrast (18:22—no more music) for rhetorical effect. Remember the avenged blood of the saints is a major sub-plot in Revelation.

The marriage supper of the Lamb  

1. The marriage supper is an image of New Covenant celebration. Matt. 22:2-3,7-9 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.  The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.  Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 
2. This is not the actual marriage, but anticipates the actual marriage. Israel has now been punished and judged to death and the new covenant is firmly established. 

Christ comes in historical judgment. He is the rider on the white horse. He is dressed like the warrior groom of Psalm 45 and he is coming to take his new bride. We know this is not yet the second coming because it must occur in John’s lifetime. (22:10) He is warring on the beast (Nero) and the false prophet (high priestly aristocracy. (20) The high priestly aristocracy disappears after 70 AD. 

The Millennium and Judgment (Chapter 20)

This is the only passage in Revelation that breaches the near time constraints. the number 1000 is a symbol of vastness—in this case a long period of time that extends to the end of history. John is now seeing the distant future. The only other place in Scripture that attests to this long period of time between 70 AD and the end of history is Matt. 25 where Jesus gives several parables about the long delay of the bridegroom or master. 

The binding of Satan was actually initiated during the earthly ministry of Jesus, but now we have the formal public and very dramatic presentation of this binding when the beast and false prophet are destroyed in the events surrounding 70 AD. The binding means that Satan is constrained for the purpose of preventing him from deceiving the nations, but he is still on  the scene. This will allow for the spread of the gospel. 

Christ establishes his rule during his first century ministry. Mark 1:14-15 "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Matt. 12:28  "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Christ includes his people in his rule. Col. 1:13  "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son."  Eph. 2:6  "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"  The Kingdom rule is already present in Revelation 1:6. In this vision, John is adapting this spiritual truth and applying it contextually to the first century martyrs:

1. No other believers are mentioned here. 
2. It follows upon the 70 AD victory of Christ in Rev. 19
3. The prayer of the saints in 6:9-11 is answered in 20:4. We see the same words used—souls of those who were beheaded, testimony, etc. But notice now that they are no longer under the altar!!! They are on thrones and will rule with Christ through the millennium. 
4. The first resurrection is not a bodily resurrection, but is a special reward for these martyrs. They died under the beasts, but when the beasts die, they are raised up to thrones and will reign during the millennium. 

The final judgment. John sees to the end of time that all those who give their lives to Christ will be given eternal life. 

The New Creation and the New Jerusalem (Chapter 21)

The new creation begins in the first century. While creation of the new heavens and the new earth await the second coming, those who will people the earth are already a new creation. II Cor. 5:17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Isaiah 65 is the OT backdrop for this:

17 

“For behold, I create new heavens

    and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

    or come into mind.

20 

No more shall there be in it

    an infant who lives but a few days,

    or an old man who does not fill out his days,

for the young man shall die a hundred years old,

    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

Verse 20 has to occur BEFORE the second coming because it assumes there is still death in the world. 

Compare Rev. 21:12-14 with Ezekiel 48:30-35

The Gates of the City

Ezekiel 48:30-35  “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure,  three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.  On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.  On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.  On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.  The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

The city is a perfect cube which harks back to the Holy of Holies and is much bigger. This means the city is architecturally perfect and has become the most intimate dwelling place of God.

The River of Life (Chapter 22)

The tree of life—image of salvation. It is the cross. 

Compare 22:1-5 with Ezekiel 47:1-12

Water Flowing from the Temple

Ezekiel 47:1-12  Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.  Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

 Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.  Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.  Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.  And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river.  As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.  And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.  And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.  Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.  But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.  And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

Jesus is coming

Once again we are reminded thrice (22:6, 10, 20) that Christ is coming soon in judgment. The end of the book gives both encouragement and warning. There are numerous allusions to the OT prophets in this section, including Isaiah 55:1

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Isn't it amazing that the very last complete sentence in the Bible is about GRACE? It is all grace from beginning to end. The gospel story is complete in this chapter and the only thing that still awaits is the Second Coming of Christ. What a day that will be--like the Ultimate New Year--with new beginnings and new bodies and a new heaven and a new earth.

It is the end of 2016 as I write this and we are looking forward to 2017. Here are some pics we took when our dear grandchildren spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with us in 2012. Our home was like a winter wonderland that year!

  

Fifty Shades of Grace Chapter 20

20--Revelation Made Easy Part 3--The Scrolls and 7 Seals

Remember how I told you that we have to interpret Revelation based on the Old Testament. Well, let me tell you a secret that very few people know. Revelation  was actually written in code on purpose. John wrote the book of Revelation in Greek, but he used Hebrew idioms and Hebrew grammatical structures with tons of references to the Old Testament prophets precisely so that the Romans would not understand it. Anybody who had read the Old Testament would recognize the language right away, so Jews and Christians would “get it.” But their enemies would not. That is because Christians were going to be persecuted and the book of Revelation  is meant to be a comfort to them as they wait for their enemies to be destroyed. 

The Greek word for revelation is apocalypse.  So it is right to say that the Old Testament is the key to understanding the apocalypse code--the key to understanding Revelation.  

I should warn you that you should read Revelation chapters 4 through 8:5 before you read this, so you know what I am talking about. Then you can read this to understand what all the symbols are. 

The scroll in Revelation has its counterpart in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel also has 4 living creatures who are very similar to the ones described in Revelation. Ezekiel’s vision is about the rebellion of Judah and its subsequent destruction. In Revelation, the scroll is God’s divorce decree against unbelieving Israel. Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews are about to be destroyed. Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and in Matthew 8:11-12 he told the people that the sons of the Kingdom would be cast into utter darkness. 

The Seven Seals

The first four seals are four horsemen. The Old Testament backdrop for them is in Zechariah where they were commissioned to prepare the land for final judgment. Knowing this, we know that in Revelation we will have the same interpretation. 

The first seal—the white horse is not Christ, because Christ is the one opening the seal. Also someone is giving orders to the white horseman and nobody orders Christ around! The horseman probably represents Vespasian, who is the Roman general sent by the emperor Nero to fight against Jerusalem. The color white means he will be the victor.  The bow symbolizes that the war is fought from a distance. The crown is a second evidence that victory is assured to the Roman army. 

The second seal—the bright red horse and its rider. Red represents blood. Revelation  is filled with bloody images—the blood of the slain Lamb, the blood of the saints, and the blood of God’s enemies. It means death and destruction are near. The sword means that now the fighting is closer. The battle is now inside Jerusalem with Jews fighting each other. Both Josephus (Jewish Wars 5.1.5. and 6.2.3.) and Tacitus (another historian) report that while Jerusalem was surrounded, there was civil war going on inside the walls. The horseman takes peace from the earth. The Roman Pax Romana was being destroyed by the Jews who revolted in A.D. 66 requiring the Romans to squelch the revolt. 

The third seal—a black horse and its rider. 

The color black—and the weighing scales both represent famine. The Jews inside the walls of Jerusalem would starve to death if they didn’t die from the sword. Josephus reports (5.3.4) that John of Damascus and Simon set on fire houses full of corn as if doing it on purpose to serve the Romans. So the Jews were not only killing each other, but they were burning the storehouses where all their grain was kept. They destroyed corn that would have given them enough food to last for several years if they were under siege.

The fourth seal—a pale horse and its rider. 

This would have been a greenish death pallor. The Jews were going to be buried by the Romans. However there is a limitation: 1/4 of the people die. The wild beasts—represent a covenant curse (Lev. 26:22). So many Jews were dying inside the city, that there was no place to bury the dead, so they threw the carcasses over the wall and into the valley below. (See also Jeremiah 7 and 19—the Valley of Slaughter). Another covenant curse was cannibalism (Lev. 26:29) and Josephus and others report the cannibalism that was taking place in Jerusalem during the siege. 

The fifth seal—souls of the slain.

John now glances up into heaven where he sees the martyred saints crying out for vengeance and vindication. The heavenly altar—The earthly altar (Ex. 29:12) was a place where the blood of sacrifices was spilt. John sees the blood of the saints spilled out on the heavenly altar. They were killed for testifying—“for the witness they had borne.” Notice again the forensic courtroom language. They testified against Israel—that the Jews had killed them.

In verse 10 we see that judgment is on those who “dwell on the land.” (Land means ‘promised land’ or Israel and is sometimes translated “earth” but since John uses words heavily connected to Old Testament we are going to go with “land” since that is how it is stated in the Old Testament. Also Rev. 1:7 clearly states that the judgment is on the tribes who pierced Jesus and they would be located in Jerusalem.) 

Jesus also supports this view when he prophesies to the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23—32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[a] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The sixth seal — earthquake, black sun, blood moon, falling stars, sky rolled up like scroll, mountains and islands moved from their places. 

This is de-creation language—the Creator is tearing the world apart. The Old Testament uses the same language. (See Isaiah 13, 34:4; Ezekiel 32; Jeremiah 4; Joel 2) The same words are used in these prophets to describe foreign armies and nations and to describe how God will mete out justice. 

Significance of heavenly phenomena—God ordained stars and planets to rule day and night. (Gen. 1) Falling stars always represent the fall of rule—in some cases earthly governments, in this case the temple. (Even today stars symbolize rule—our fifty stars on our flag represent state rule.) 6:15 tells us the “kings of earth” (the priests of the land) will hide themselves in caves. Jerusalem was well known for all its caves and tunnels and secret passageways. This is where the priests would have gone to hide. Some of these hiding places were under the temple itself. Notice in verse 16 that they do indeed recognize the Lamb as Christ himself. Remember when Jesus told Caiaphas “you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in power and great glory?” Well, the time is here! Peter also makes this connection in Acts 2:16-24 where he quotes Joel and accuses the Jews of crucifying the Son of God.

The first interlude. The four angels are holding back the winds of destruction. 

The four winds of the earth refer to the four points of the compass. The angels are being commanded to withhold judgment until God’s elect are marked for protection. Everything is in place for judgment to occur but there are still Christians in Jerusalem. The holding back of the winds is to give them a chance to get out. (Luke 21 and Matt. 24 & Josephus 4.9.1 and 4.10.5) This is accomplished by the suicide of Nero and the failure of Galba to keep the Roman Empire from being destroyed. As a result, Vespasian is recalled to Rome and he takes his army with him. Eusebius records in Ecclesiastical History that the Christians were instructed to go to Pella. Jews from all over the world were making their way back into Jerusalem, thinking that proximity to the temple would save them. But Vespasian sent his son Titus back to finish the job. 

The 144,000—were the Jewish core that started the church age. The number is highly symbolic like the rest of Revelation. Ten was a perfect number and ten cubed was thrice perfected. The number one thousand is often used in Scripture to signify the perfect number. (Ps. 50:10; I Peter 3:8)  The 12 tribal elders times the 12 apostles make the 12 x 12 which = 144. So the 144,000 are the Jewish Christians who are kept during the tribulation and who will go out and spread the gospel to the world. This had already begun and the world already had the gospel. 

Seal on the foreheads: The OT backdrop is Ezekiel 9:3-7. The mark on the forehead is not a literal mark; it stands for the allegiance of belief; it is a worldview. The forehead represents the mind. Those who believe in Christ are marked as His and are under His protection. 

The great multitude from every nation in 7:9 now includes all Christians from all time—Jews and Gentiles. This number is not a set number—no one can number them. And they are not from the 12 tribes—they are from every tribe and nation and language. This is in contrast to the 144,000 from the 12 tribes. 

Old Testament references in verses 15-17 are mainly from Isaiah and Psalms. 

The seventh seal —silence in heaven for about half and hour. An angel with a golden censer fills it with fire and throws it on the land in response to the imprecatory prayers of the saints. 

Old Testament backdrop: The plagues mimic the plagues of Egypt, so that the Jews will recognize God’s hand in it. The scene mimics the scene at Mt. Sinai—peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, rumblings. And the 7 trumpets mimic the taking down of Jericho. With all these reminders of how Yahweh dealt with His enemies, there could be no doubt in the minds of the unbelieving Jews that God’s wrath was now directed against them.  

Random pics of God's grace in my life:

Fourth of July in South Haven MI

Halloween

Our Sweet Grady Boy!

Halloween

Precious Kate

Scrapbooking

Franklin Park on Grandparents' Day

Waiting for moms to pick them up

Waiting on moms

Fifty Shades of Grace Chapter 18

Revelation Made Easy—Part One

Have you ever read the book of Revelation? It is full of very scary things and lots of strange creatures and bizarre events. Most people do not understand the book very well and they have devised all kinds of ways to try to interpret its meaning. As a result, everybody comes up with his own idea of what it means and then they fight with everybody else who has another idea. 

I think it is always best to let Scripture interpret Scripture. That way we know the Holy Spirit is the one who is interpreting for us. Some people try to use the daily news or the internet to interpret Revelation, but we are going to use the Bible itself. 

We will start at the very beginning with Genesis. In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, God promised them that one day a Redeemer would come and save his people and restore Eden. God’s people waited a very very very long time, but finally the Redeemer came and his name was Jesus. He lived a full life and then his own people had him crucified and he died and was buried. But he rose up from the grave, proving that he was one who had God’s approval to reign over the whole earth. He was the promised Redeemer, the son of David, the one who would be king forever and ever. 

When he ascended into heaven and sat down at God’s right hand, he began to rule. But he had not been formally presented to the people of the world yet. In the Old Testament, you may recall that King Solomon had a coronation ceremony. The book of Revelation is about how God “revealed” Jesus as the human king over all creation. That is how the book got its name. It is all about the big reveal! It is Jesus’s coronation ceremony!

The very first thing a king does when he becomes king, is to destroy his enemies. If you read the New Testament very carefully, you will see that the number one enemy of Jesus and of the Christian church at that time was the Jews. The book of Revelation is a book about how Jesus destroyed the unbelieving Jews and their old covenant and began a brand new covenant with his people who believed on him. His new bride included both Jews and Gentiles and his bride is the church.

Before we look at how he does this, we need to go all the way back to the Old Testament again to see what God says will happen if his people are rebellious and worship other gods. If you look at Leviticus chapter 26 under the “punishment for disobedience” section, you see that God says four times  “I will strike you seven-fold for your sins!” That is very significant, because the book of Revelation is laid out in just that way. There are four sets of seven punishments. They are called letters, seals, trumpets and bowls. 

As always, God begins with his own people when he begins to purify the nations, so the seven letters are addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor. The seven seals represent a declaration of war. Do you remember in the book of Esther when that wicked Haman put the King’s seal on his declaration of war with the Jews? The seven trumpets are the final warning sounding the alarm that destruction is imminent—just like when the Israelites blew the trumpets when they marched around Jericho. And the seven bowls are the final destruction. 

So you see, by understanding the Old Testament and the way God works, we already have a good idea about what lies ahead in the book of Revelation and why it is laid out the way it is. The person Revelation is revealing is the long promised Redeemer who will one day restore Eden—Jesus! 

Random pics of God's grace in my life:

 Sweet Alice riding Rosie

 

Katy, Sadie and Alice

 Katy and Alice

 Meagan and Krissy

 Preparing to make Christmas Trees

 Getting the base of the Christmas Trees

 The finished trees! Alice Katy and Sadie

Our sweet Grady boy!

Fifty Shades of Grace Chapter 17

Chapter 17--Why Jesus Had to Live a Whole Life

Everybody knows that Jesus came so that he could die for our sins. But why did he have to live a whole life first and be a baby and a toddler and a child and a teenager? Why couldn’t he just come as a full grown man and then die? 

Those are good questions that we don’t think about very often. Jesus death paid the penalty for our sins, but he had to do much more than that. He had to live a perfect life for two reasons: One, so that he could experience every part of human life the way we experience it. And two, so that he could live it out perfectly and sinlessly showing us how to do it and giving us credit for living our lives sinlessly if we trust in Him. 

Think about that for a minute. Not only are our sins forgiven, but we are given credit for all the good things we should have done and did not do! That is amazing, outrageous, scandalous grace, but it doesn’t stop there! When he rose from the dead and sent us his Holy Spirit, he empowered us to do right things. We have the power to love and accept others even if they hate us and do mean things to us. We have the power to resist temptation. We have the power to endure persecution even if it means we have to die because we are Christians. 

So when you are trudging through your life and you feel down and you are not able to do all the things you should, be grateful that Christ already lived the perfect life in your place and ask him to help you do the right things.