Loving Christian
greetings in the name of the Lord. At this challenging time, it
is good to know that the purposes of God will not be thwarted, and that
He is faithful to His promises. We shall be holding another
‘Word of the Lord’ conference on 27 Jan 2007 at the Centre
for Christ at Bow. Details will be circulated at the end of
December.
Articles
Our Great High Priest
No knockout means defeat
The King of the North
The prime meaning of Scripture
Sexual Orientation Order
A prayer God cannot answer
Our Great High Priest [KK]
God made a very good world [Gen 1:31]. Every day the
media reminds us that something has gone wrong; innocent suffering,
wicked men prospering, natural disasters, floods, earthquakes and
accidents of all kinds. You may have your own views on what has
gone wrong. The Bible says it's sin that disfigures everything;
disobedience to or disregard of God's laws.
We are born sinners: as children of Adam we inherit
his fallenness. 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be
made alive' [1 Cor 15:22]
This article looks at what the Bible says about sin,
then at what God has done to redeem the situation. There are 15 words
in the OT and 25 in the NT that refer to sin in all its manifestations,
its conception & act, its guilt & burden, the consequences
& punishment of sin, offerings for & forgiveness of sin.
But all can be grouped into three classes.
God's describes Himself in Exod 34:7 as 'forgiving
iniquity, transgression & sin'. The same three words occur in
David's confession in Psalm 51:1-2 'blot out my transgressions, wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, & cleanse me from my sin'. In
Lev 16:21-22 we have a reference to iniquities, transgressions,
sins.
1. SIN
The essential meaning of the two words usually
translated sin in both OT & NT mean 'to miss the mark'; to try
& fail. They are the commonest words for sin in the
bible. 'All have sinned' in the NT [ Rom 3:23] & 'there is
not a righteous man on earth who does good & does not sin' in the
OT [Eccles 7:10] both use this word. We are incapable of ourselves to
keep God's commands.
This word implies unintentional & unintended
sins. Three times in scripture [2 Chron 25:4; Deut 24:16; Ezek
18:20] God says we are all individually responsible in this area.
We try to live right, but fail to do so.
2. INIQUITY
The root meaning of the word translated iniquity is
'twistedness'; 'the restless activity of fallen human nature'
[Bullinger] - I am not a sinner because I sinned; I sin because I am a
sinner. I'm born that way. This is the generational aspect
of sin. In Psalm 51:5 David says 'I was brought forth in iniquity
& in sin my mother conceived me.' We can pass on good
qualities, ability in learning, sport, music; but we can also transmit
bad qualities, hasty temper, a spirit of anxiety, HIV, sexually
transmitted disease. Exod 20:5 speaks of God as 'visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children..'
In both of the above areas, though we are guilty
before God, there is a sense of 'I couldn't help it'. Whenever
Brother Lawrence sinned he would say to the Lord 'I shall always be
like this if you leave me to myself'.
3. TRANSGRESSION
The third set of words for sin are usually
translated transgression, wickedness or lawlessness: the sense is
active, wilful, deliberate rebellion against God.
The last century has seen some great villains who
killed millions, Joseph Stalin in Russia, Adolf Hitler in Germany, Pol
Pot in Cambodia, Idi Amin in Uganda, Saddam Hussein in Iraq - this is
in direct violation of God's law. They acted as if God didn't
exist. The violence we see in the world today comes mainly from
the same source. Much of the human pride & arrogance of
so-called clever people is deliberate transgression against God.
The OT was given us to teach us about God & His
ways. He had a hard time with ancient Israel. On numerous times God had
to confront Israel with its deliberate disregard for His law, both in
the wilderness under Moses, then under Samuel when they wanted a king
to reign over them, rejecting God as their king [1 Sam 8:19-22].
When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, then
murdered her husband to try to cover up his sin, these acts were done
deliberately, knowing they were contrary to God's commands. David
sinned deliberately. The prophets again & again speak against
Israel's turning to other gods; Amos in 2:4 writes 'they have despised
the law of the Lord, & have not kept His commandments.'
There is a wilfulness about the transgression words that is not necessarily there in the other two.
You may ask why did God allow sin in all its forms
to pollute the world? The answer is seen in how God made the
world. He created mankind to be a race of beings who would
respond to Him in love, not because they had to but because they wanted
to. God created a world in love as an expression of His own
nature. He asks for a response of love from us.
This builds in one inevitable result; free-will. You
can make a person do anything except love you. And if you
give people the choice you must expect that some will say 'No - I want
to go my own way.' The rebellion that marks much of life in the
21st Century is the result. You may agree with Martin Luther's
observation on the world of his day; 'if I'd been God I'd have kicked
the world to pieces centuries ago'. But our God is not vicious or
malevolent. He reached down into our world to do something about
the mess we were in.
God's initiative
God came to do something about it in His Son, & He prepared the way
by a system of sacrifices which would culminate in the One perfect
sacrifice. In ancient Israel, for individual sins,
you brought an animal, confessed your sins over it then you killed it
as representative for your sin [Lev 4:1-4]. This sacrifice was for
unintentional sins: sins committed without intending to.
The annual Day of Atonement takes place ten days after Rosh Hoshanah:
it is the day of national forgiveness, the only day on which fasting was commanded in the law.
The programme of sacrifices for Yom Kippur was very
elaborate, & is detailed in Lev 16. We note here a major
point of difference between the High Priest & Jesus; he had first
to offer for his own sin [Lev 16:11]. Look through Lev 16 you
will get some idea of the great significance & solemnity of Yom
Kippur.
But all scripture speaks of Jesus either directly or
in a figure. The whole programme of OT sacrifices pointed to the
Great High Priest. The differences are very clear and marked in
the book of Hebrews.
The Aaronic High Priest
- He had to be a physical descendant of Aaron [tribe of Levi]; he was appointed by men.
- The office was necessarily temporary, only for the high priest's lifetime.
- He had to offer first for his own sins.
- He offered the blood of a slain animal for sin.
- The sacrifices needed to be offered repeatedly.
- The high priest could approach God only once a year.
A significant incident is described by Matt & Mark at
Jesus' trial; when He admitted in answer to the high priest's question,
that He was the Messiah, the high priest TORE HIS CLOTHES. This
was strictly forbidden in Lev 21:10. When he did so he ceased to
be high priest. This was as good as pointing to the One next to
him who was to take over his office.
Jesus the Great High Priest
- He was not a descendant of Aaron; His tribe was
Judah, not Levi; this signifies a different priestly order. "You
[are] a priest according to the order of Melchizedek". [Psalm 110:4]
- This order was perpetual; Melchizedek appears
briefly in the OT in Gen 14:18-20 and Heb 7:1-10 expands on who &
what he was. He is described as a priest of God Most High,
without antecedants, no beginning of days nor end of life, a continual
priesthood.
- He was not appointed by men but by God. Ps
110:4 says that this appointment was made by God with an oath whereas
the Aaronic priests were not.
- Aaronic priests had to offer for their own sins first - Jesus was the sinless Son of God & needed no such offering.
- Aaronic priests entered an earthly tabernacle with
the blood of bulls and goats - Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle,
of which the earthly one was only a copy & a shadow,with His own
blood.
- The blood of animals was ineffective in cleansing
from sin; it had to be offered repeatedly. Jesus' sacrifice
was ONCE FOR ALL [Heb 10:10] - all people, all time, all sins. In
doing so He obtained eternal redemption for sinners [Heb 9:12].
As such according to Heb 8:6 He is the Mediator of a better covenant
based on better promises.
- But the sacrifice of Jesus deals not only with the
results of our sin, but does something about the cause: Heb 10:16
quotes a promise in Jer 31. 'I will put My laws in their minds
& write it on their hearts' [Jer 31:33]. The result is that
you are no longer a slave to sin.
The freedom of the Spirit is that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIN. Your old nature has been taken away.
Throughout the Jewish world the Feast of Yom Kippur
was celebrated a few weeks ago. It is the holiest & most
solemn day of the Jewish year. It is followed five days later by
the most joyful festivals, the Feast of Tabernacles, when they
celebrate God's deliverance from slavery & bondage in Egypt.
This is the season of the year when Jesus was born, so it is
appropriate that we join with our Jewish brethren, & celebrate our
deliverance from the bondage of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus.
No knockout means defeat [PW]
The above was the heading of an article in
the October edition of Israel Today. The article continued,
“Israel did not win the war in Lebanon. At least that’s the
popular view among Israelis.” From the time of David Ben Gurion
one of the principles of Israel’s defence strategy, on which her
continued existence depends, has been a clear-cut Israeli victory must
come quickly because of economic and diplomatic limitations.
The government and army has been accused by those serving in Lebanon of
indecisiveness manifesting itself in inaction, in not carrying out
operational plans and cancelling missions, leading to prolonged stays
in hostile territory without an operational purpose. Former
General Yitzhak Ben Israel stated, “For the first time in the
history of the Israeli State we failed to prove that peace negotiations
pay more than violence.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
declared the outcome of the war a “great victory”. Arab
media now regards Nasrallah as the most popular figure in the Arab
world. According to London based newspaper Al-Quds al Arabi,
“Nasrallah’s Katyusha rockets destroyed the myth of the
invincible Israeli army.” Two days after the end of
hostility Syrian President Bashar Assad in a speech to the nation said.
“The diplomatic strategy of peace and negotiations is no longer
the only way to regain the Golan Heights, but also armed resistance,
just as Hassan Nassrallah recently showed us,”
I believe that this summer could prove to be the
watershed in the destiny of Israel. For more than 50 years we
have seen the evidence of God’s protection over Israel.
Several times when she should have been swept into the sea by invading
armies, she survived. Lance Lambert and others have documented
remarkable testimonies giving evidence of God’s intervention in
the nation’s time of need. God loves Israel and longs for
her to return to him, but she will not. The nation and its
leaders have placed confidence in their superior military
strength. They look to their weapons to defend them.
Weapons may be necessary but a nation’s real security is in the
Lord.
Sins which separate
"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would
heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria
revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob
in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil
deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before
me.” Hosea 6:11 –7:2
Israel is a sinful nation. Her special relationship to the Lord cannot
hide her sin. The sins of Israel may have been different at the time of
Hosea but the heart of God is the same. The evidence of the last
58 years is that God wants to bless her, but if she places her trust
elsewhere she will be humbled. As I wrote in the last issue I do
not believe that Israel’s continuing survival is assured.
We must not preach peace, peace if there is no peace; rather cry out to
the Lord that He will send an Elijah to turn many hearts that they may
be spared the great and terrible day of the Lord.
We must also urgently pray for Israel’s continuing security: she
is probably in greater danger today than ever. The war with
Hezbollah is on hold but not concluded and Syria is looking
increasingly threatening. The main threat comes from Iran where
President Ahmadinejad continues to make bellicose speeches regarding
Israel’s destruction. The international community fears
that behind Iran’s nuclear programme is the determination to
acquire nuclear weapons. I suspect that President Ahmadinejad
recognises that Iran is some years away from creating an effective
nuclear bomb. His language is designed to goad Israel into making
a pre-emptive strike the consequences of which are unthinkable.
Israel’s leaders recognise the predicament. There is little
hope that the international community will be able to resolve the
crisis with Iran: Israel cannot assume that Ahmadinejad is not serious
about Iran's intentions. A pre-emptive strike by Israel may be
the only option. It seems inevitable that a strike against Iran would
provoke an all out regional war with the high likelihood of rapidly
becoming a global war. Israel’s survival would be in doubt.
Israel’s leaders need great wisdom at this time.
The King of the North [PW]
Daniel chapter 2: 36 to 45, contains the well
known interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The dream
describes the succeeding empires of the world as a statue. Babylon,
over which Nebuchadnezzar ruled, would be followed by a series of
empires. Often this is interpreted as four empires ending with
the Roman Empire as the fourth. The feet of iron and clay are
seen as a deterioration of the fourth empire. An alternative
interpretation, which I believe more likely to be correct, is that the
feet of iron and clay represent a fifth empire. Note if you use the NIV
the ‘finally’ at the beginning of verse 40 is an
unwarranted translator’s interpretation. There is no
‘finally’ in the Hebrew. Bullinger points out that 'the
fourth' is an ordinal number not a cardinal one. It does not say 'four
& no more'. The
fifth is revealed in vv 41-43. Also the earlier description of the statue v 31 – 33 divides it into five distinct parts.
Five empires fit with the seven kingdoms of
Revelation 17: 10 in which Rome is the sixth king to be followed by a
seventh then an eighth, which is a revival of one of the former
empires. Islam is the empire which followed Rome to control the
Holy Land: it is an empire that although perceived as being moribund at
the start of the 20th century is now reviving.
A divided empire
It was not just President Bush and Tony Blair who condemned Hezbollah
for their attack on Israel this summer. Politicians and clerics
from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan also condemned their actions.
This condemnation was not a sign of support for Israel but arose from a
concern over the growing influence of Iran and Syria. Sheikh
Safar al-Hawali, a Saudi cleric, whose ideas inspired Osama bin Laden,
issued a fatwa condemning Hezbollah. Hezbollah, which translates
“the party of Allah”, is he said “the party of the
devil”. Al-Hawali called on Muslims not to pray for
Hezbollah. The Wahabi doctrine prominent in Saudi Arabia regards
Shiite Moslems as heretics. Another Saudi cleric agreed,
“It is not acceptable to support this rejectionist party
(Hezbollah) and one should not fall under its command or pray for its
victory”. The above is a reminder of the iron and clay
character of Islam, at times united as when condemning the Danish
Cartoons or the recent comments by the Pope, but at other times divided
as we witness daily in the attacks by one community on the other in
Iraq.
Daniel 11
It is in the context of Islam that I have come to understand a prophecy
that used to puzzle me, the identity of the King of the South (Daniel
11: 40) who challenges the King of the North at the end time. I
accept a conventional interpretation of Daniel 11. From verse 3
to 35 it deals with the empire of Alexander the Great and its division
into four separate kingdoms. The chapter focuses on two of these
kingdoms, the dynasty founded by Ptolemy in Egypt, which is referred to
as the king of the South and the dynasty founded by Seleucid in
Syria/Babylon referred to as the king of the North. Verses 21 to
35 describe Antiochus Epiphanes, the cruel descendant of Selucid who
most see as a prototype of the Antichrist. It is not difficult to
relate the events described in verses 3 to 35 to history. The
lesson for us is that if the first part of the prophecy was fulfilled
in such literal detail then the second part from verses 36 to the end
of chapter 12 will also be fulfilled literally.
The king (of the North) in verse 36 is described in similar terms to
the little horn of Daniel 7: 25, the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2: 4
and the beast of Revelation 13. Therefore we identify him as the
Antichrist who will appear at the end of the age. But the Antichrist
according to Revelation 13: 4 is invincible. Who is it who dares
to come against him?
If Islam is to be the final fulfilment of the
Antichrist’s kingdom the solution becomes both simple and
literal. As we have seen above Islam is divided; the two major
divisions being Sunni and Shiite. Sunni Islam has its spiritual
centre in Cairo, Egypt while historically the spiritual centre for
Shiite Islam was Baghdad. Baghdad is located only a few miles
north of the site of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. The book
that I have been promoting, ‘Antichrist – Islam’s
awaited Messiah’, puts forward the view that the Antichrist will
arise out of Shiite Islam. If so the description ‘king of
the North’ is a description which fits literally in the context
of Daniel 11. Isaiah 14 refers to the Antichrist as the king of
Babylon, he is also referred to as the king of Assyria. The king of the
South would describe a leader of Sunni Islam coming out of Egypt.
It is not difficult to foresee a time when a Shiite leader arises who
advances the cause of Islam throughout the world. With his
success he will gain the allegiance of all Muslims both Shiite and
Sunni. There is a longing throughout Islam for the return of the
days of the Caliph to unite Muslims and bring the world into submission
to Allah.
According to scripture there will come a time when
this leader will demand worship. To worship either a man or image
is anathema to Muslims. A prime objection they have to
Christianity is the belief that we worship a man. It is probable
that this demand of worship will provoke a rebellion. Many
Muslims will realise that they have been deceived. At that time
Sunni Islam will become the rallying point for this rebellion.
Unprepared and ill equipped, they will be crushed by an Antichrist who
by now has gained the support of many other nations not worried by such
scruples. Pray that when this day comes many Muslims will in their
disillusionment turn to Christ.
The prime meaning of Scripture [PW]
In a sermon on Ezekiel 37, C. H. Spurgeon described the
various ways in which preachers have applied this passage. Some
use it to describe the resurrection, others the revival of a decayed
church. It can also be used to describe the restoration of dead
souls to spiritual life or to comfort people passing through
spiritually barren times. Spurgeon wrote, “Though it is
right and lawful to take a passage in its widest possible meaning, yet
I hold it to be treason to God’s word to neglect its primary
meaning. The preacher of God’s truth should not give up the
Holy Spirit’s meaning; he should take care that he does not even
put it in the background. The first meaning of a text, the
Spirit’s meaning, is that which should be brought out first, and
the rest may fairly spring out of it, yet the first sense should have
chief place.” In the context of Ezekiel 37, he went on to
preach that there will be a political restoration of the Jews to their
own land followed by spiritual restoration which he understood to be
the prime meaning of this passage.
These thoughts came to mind recently when listening
to a man that I respect as a Christian leader. He preached on
Joel 3 using it as a call to engage in spiritual warfare.
Undoubtedly his points were valid but spiritual warfare is not the
primary meaning of the passage, which speaks very clearly of the time
when Israel is restored to her land and finally redeemed by her
Saviour. This leader is one among many who believe that Israel
will be progressively restored to faith in God. Her enemies will
be confounded and Islam will collapse leaving the way open for a mighty
work of the Holy Spirit among both Jew and Arab. As stated last
time I find such views difficult to reconcile with my own understanding
of Scripture regarding the future of Israel.
If we are to come to the correct understanding of
any scripture, particularly the prophetic passages, we must focus on
the prime meaning - the prime meaning being the simple and obvious
meaning. There will still be different interpretations. There are
many prophetic passages in which the prime meaning is not obvious: it
is only as events unfold that the true meaning will become clear.
This I believe to be the deliberate intention of the Holy Spirit in
order to ensure that we keep looking to Him for understanding and not
to our own intellect. There are also many passages where the
meaning is both simple and clear. They are there to prevent us
from being led astray. By focusing on the prime meaning much of
the confusion over prophetic interpretation would be cleared up.
Antichrist – Islam’s awaited Messiah.
Joel Richardson has asked that if you have read the book
and found it helpful, you place a review on Amazon.co.uk. It is
very easy to submit a review by visiting the web page for the
book. Amazon in the USA has now rated Antichrist –
Islam’s awaited Messiah as one of its best selling books on
Islam. I keep a stock of the books in so it is still available if
you have not read it yet. If you would like a copy please send a
cheque for £6.50 including post and packing made out to Philip
Wren.
Sexual Orientation Order
Hopefully most readers have been made aware through other
ministries of yet another attempt to undermine Christian values.
This order due to be given consent by Parliament in the near future
will make it illegal to refuse to offer goods or services to
homosexuals. There are many ways in which these regulations could
compromise Christian ministries and businesses. Due to volume of
letters written by Christians complaining about the implications of
these regulations they have been sent back for review. It is
important to make our view made known now as the Regulations will not
be debated in Parliament. For more information contact the
Lawyers Christian Fellowship.
Contact Details are as follows:
Christian Concern for our Nation
PO Box 655
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 9AT
web site: www.christianconcernforournation.co.uk.
Phone: 07712 591164,
Fax: 0870 706 1617
A prayer God cannot answer [KK]
I was thrilled to be able recently to sit at the
feet of Colin Urquhart and be reminded of teaching which I first heard
in the 80's. Using scriptures like Eph 1:3 'He has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms'; Rom 8:17
'heirs of God & joint-heirs with Christ'; and 2 Pet 1:3 'His divine
power has given us everything we need for life & godliness', he
pointed out that all these promises are in the past tense. We should
not ask God for what He has already given. He cannot give us more
than He has already given us in Jesus. Having given us everything
in Jesus, 'how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things'
[Rom 8:32].
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