The True Worship of God

'God [ is ] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'

John 4:24

 Newspaper Exegesis?

In this day and age, we have many Christians who throw up their hands at the latest outbreak of hatred, whether in the Middle East or in our own nation, news of the latest natural disaster to strike, or the latest religious scandal to signal 'the falling away', and say, 'Jesus is coming soon'! They believe that this world is under the dominion of 'Satan' ( rather than God ), and that 'he' is the cause of all this evil, which does seem to be escalating and growing more rampant with each passing day!

You hear a lot of talk, especially among conspiracy theorists and anti-government 'whackos', of the coming one-world government, and you may well believe it! There is most likely more truth to the 'rumors' and 'murmurs' than most of us feel comfortable admitting. Although this is most probably ( to some, 'undoubtedly' ) happening as we speak, and quite possibly further along in planning and closer in actuality than even they had imagined, we, as Christians especially, must realize who the True Ruler of this world is! These are simply the plans and machinations of evil men, men who were created by the God we serve, and thus, whether they like it or not, are completely and utterly subservient to him; 'under His thumb', so to speak!

These same Christians ( I'm almost inclined to employ quotation marks here ) 'see' all these events happening all around us, and all the evil that seems to run rampant without check through this world, and say things like, 'how could a good and righteous God allow this evil in the world?', or make statements like, 'if God was really in full and total control of this world, all this evil would not exist'; 'no, just wait till He comes back; He will set everything to rights again!'

Really?!

This is not going to be an essay about preterism; I'm not going to go to any great lengths to try to prove that all is fulfilled! My purpose is to remind all my fellow Christians ( no quotations here ) that, as Jesus said in the verse above, we are to worship Him 'in spirit and truth'. Most Christians will readily admit that when Jesus spoke these words, He was referring to the fact that it was no longer in a specific place that He was to be worshiped, like the Temple ( in Jerusalem ), or on the high places ( in Samaria ), but that wherever His people were, He would be worshiped 'in spirit and truth'. So many of us today, I believe, do not really understand this, or realize the full import of this statement. Jesus first of all said that His followers would worship Him 'in spirit', which we could safely assume to have the basic meaning outlined above, but He also said that we would worship Him 'in....truth'. Here's where we get into the 'tricksy' part, the biblical argument for fulfillment; I'm not going there ( 'been there, done that' ); better men than I have done an excellent job of showing ( proving ) that. All I would tell my fellow Christians ( again, no quotations ); look at all of these passages that you've been told by your pastor, etc. teach that this world is in the grasp of the devil ( 'Satan' ) and that God is not ruling on earth, that His Kingdom has not come 'on earth as it is in heaven', as Jesus Himself, the Son of God prayed, with all honesty, and then try to tell me that the above is true! I think you will find that the Spirit of the most Holy God will begin to convict you and show you that He has fulfilled, and is continually fulfilling, all His promises to His people!

 And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:35b

Does this sound like 'a one world order' to you? It sure does to me! John wrote, in Revelation 11:15, 'The kingdoms of this world have become [ the kingdoms ] of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!' Even when taken in the context of the time and place in history in which these statements were made, it is pretty clear what these men of God were saying; 'The earth [ is ] the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.' ( Psalm 24:1a ) 'This is Our Father's World'; this is a fact which no true Christian will deny, so why do we have such a problem believing what He Himself said about when He was coming, and what He said about His rule of this world?

When we disbelieve that He spoke truthfully to His first-century disciples of His soon ( 'about to be' ) coming, and attribute the dominion and rule of this world to a 'creature' that He said was defeated and cast out ( destroyed ) in the first century, can we truly say that we worship Him 'in spirit and truth'? When we spread hatred and discord ( disunity ) around the world, and even around our own country, within the bonds of peace, can we truly be said to be followers of Jesus?

Let us all be honest with ourselves, and realize who the True King of this 'New World Order' is, and worship Him 'in spirit and truth', following the path of truth and righteousness that He has set before us!

In Love, and for the unity of the faithful,

Charles Haddon Shank

Civil Liberty and The Powers that Be

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. 

For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Romans 13:1 

There are several ways that this verse could be interpreted. This verse is only a part of a larger passage from which is gleaned the accepted ( among most Christians ) understanding of the authority of the civil magistrate. As accepted by most Christians, this passage is usually understood as saying, at the very least, that we must obey all civil authorities, as long as what they command does not contradict what God commands. As the apostle Peter once said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men'. This is true; we ought to obey God rather than men! God has given us a list of commands, or laws to live by, and when we follow those laws rather than the laws of men, we have the peace that passes beyond all understanding and blessed communion with our Creator. These Christians argue that if the civil government orders us to do something which is contrary to the laws of God, we most surely should disobey, though usually in a pacifistic manner, their orders. At the worst, I believe, other Christians will blindly obey the civil 'authorities', even acting contrary to the laws of God, either out of pure or even willful ignorance.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

Romans 13:4 

Beyond the clearly eschatological nature of these statements, they hold a very clear and blatant message for us today; 'True rulers, those ordained by God, do not, as many today, 'call evil good, and good evil', but rather execute ( God's ) 'wrath on him who practices evil'! Those 'authorities' who do not this are no authority at all, and should not be obeyed as such!

For because of this you also pay taxes, 

for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.

Romans 13:6

As before, many Christians believe that we should dutifully pay every little tax that our governmental 'authority' levies on us, and will vilify anyone, especially another Christian, who doesn't do the same. I'm not a tax lawyer, and neither will I make this all about dutifully or not paying any taxes, because I believe that some taxes should be paid, especially with the system we have set up in this country. The road tax would be one of those taxes; 'somebody has to pay for it!'

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:8

The verse above, though it may seem  to have nothing much to do with Paul's little sermon earlier in Romans 13, has *everything* to do with it!  Love, as we can see throughout the Greek, or New Testament Scriptures, 'is the bond of perfection' love is what it's all about, and when Paul speaks of love here, it's not the 'touchy-feely' kind of love that we are most familiar with today, a 'love' that can enrapture to people one minute, and the next minute fall crashing to the floor! No; this love fulfills, or fulfilled, rather, the law; it is active, not doing harm to another, respecting their liberties as you would your own!

Paul was reminding the Roman Christians of their bounden duty before God to love those whom God had put in authority over them, as Peter said later, 'whether to the king as supreme' ( I Peter 2:13 ) or to governors, 'those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and [ for the ] praise of those who do good'. These were not commands to obey all authority,even that which only claimed the authority, but only that true authority which acknowledged that higher Authority, the authority which God alone has, Absolute Authority! Any earthly power who claims to have or tries to wield absolute authority is not of God!

In conclusion; a quick note on the eschatological nature of the verses above. If, as some suppose, the 'governing authorities' of which Paul writes were indeed the Roman, or civil authorities; it could truly be said that they had been ordained of God, but for the annihilation of the ministry of death, the punishing of the evils that Judaism had brought upon God's covenant people. On the other hand though, 'God’s minister to you for good' might well refer to that same ministry of death, or the commandment, rather, which, as Paul wrote elsewhere, 'which [ was ] to [ bring ] life', for although they ( the Jews ) failed to fulfill God's purpose for them, which was to bring life to His greater creation; they were still the 'Keepers of the Commandments', so to speak!

So, as we continue to see our civil liberties go down the drain, let's keep in mind that, first; Paul was addressing a particular situation that a certain people faced, in a time long ago and a land far away. Secondly; let's keep in mind that these words, though certainly applicable to us today, are not a command to obey just anyone who claims the authority over us. There is only One who truly has authority over us, and He has ordained certain ministers to reward those who do good and to punish those who do evil!

Let us not just simply watch our liberties, civil or otherwise, go down the drain; let us stop using a misinterpretation of Scripture as an excuse to sit on our laurels and then complain when nothing good comes of it!

Charles Haddon Shank

All God's Children?

If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood [ shall be ] upon them.

Leviticus 20:13

Several things we might note about this 'command'; first, it IS a part of the Mosaic Law, which most Christians will heartily agree, passed away at the cross, and secondly ( and these are not necessarily in order of importance ), this only speaks of male with male, there is nothing said here ( or anywhere else, to my knowledge ) about female with female, or two females with a male, or any other such combination. You might note that it IS impossible for a woman to lie with another woman after the manner she would with a man, and in a sense you'd be correct, but for the purposes of purely selfish pleasure, this is somewhat possible. With the marvels of modern technology, it might even become possible for two women to have sexual intercourse, and for one of the women to become pregnant through such intercourse. Although they are working on this too, it is still not possible for two men to lie together ( have sexual intercourse practicing sodomy ) and for one of the men to become pregnant. It just doesn't work; unless the sperm penetrates the egg, there is no conception!

Traditionally, especially among the more 'conservative' Christians; sexual intercourse, between a man and his wife, has been hallowed for it's procreative essence, almost solely, and up till 100-200 years ago, depending where you're from, maybe, it was deemed an almost 'necessary evil', and only to be practiced as the means of natural procreation. Some of these puritanical ideas exist even among certain sects of Christianity today! It most definitely was not purely a pleasurable past-time!

God made the male and female bodies so that they would mesh perfectly, and devised an ingenious delivery system that would not only safely and efficiently deliver the sperm to the egg, but He also made the system in such a way as to afford a kind of orgasmic pleasure to both partners! He created us in such a way, too, that there was not a conception every time this system was utilized, but that it was always, or at least, almost always, depending on the situation ( 'headaches', etc. ) enjoyable!

Biblically speaking, then, there is the verse quoted above, that speaks against what is known as homosexuality, or sodomy, in some circles, and the episode of Lot and the two messengers in Sodom, as recorded in Genesis 19, that speak most plainly against this life-style ( or death-style, as I've even called it in the past ), but interestingly enough, Jesus never condemned the practice in His day, though you must know it was around. The Ten Commandments never mention it, and when Jesus summed them up in Matthew 22; if He attached as much importance to the condemnation of this practice as most Christians do today, you'd think He would have at least added, 'oh yeah, and that thing about a man lying with a man back under the Mosaic Law........', but He didn't; not one iota!

Now don't get me wrong; I believe that God instituted the marriage of a man and woman, for as I've often said, 'God brought Eve to Adam, not Steve to Adam'! This is most likely where the puritanical notion that men and women are supposed to 'come' together solely for the purposes of procreation came from ( 'Be fruitful and multiply' ). Now, as described above; it is not even possible ( they're working on it, though ) for a man to get pregnant, as he only carries the sperm, and not the egg. Sperm with sperm only creates confusion, when there is no egg to penetrate, or invest in! I'm not saying that homosexuality is not wrong, but neither will I condemn it as a more terrible transgression of God's word than any other selfish idolatry, or any practice of rebellion against God!

Children of God?

In this post-eschaton ( some might even say 'post-biblical'; oh, wait, that was me! ) era in which we live, there is a growing tendency, even among some Christians, to say that the law is no more, even to an almost neo-anti-nomian extent. There may be a sense in which that is true; the so-called Mosaic Law, that which was written in stone, was fulfilled in Jesus the Christ, and nailed, with Him ( in Him, might be a better way to say it ) to the cross: the Law died! Without going back over too much ground that we've already covered, Jesus, in that sense, was the Law, and Jesus was resurrected! In the same way then, the Law was resurrected, only this time, it wasn't written in stone; this time, the Holy Spirit of God entered into us, much as in the pictorial story of Matthew 1 and Luke 1, and planted, much as a seed, the Word of God within our hearts.

As our Creator, our Father, if you will ( okay, even if you won't ), God has many children, but traditionally, again, Christianity tells us that only those who accept God and His Christ, and live according to His Word are children, or rather, sons of God. Scripture does say, in several notable passages, that the sons of God are those ( and only those? ) who do His will and keep His commandments. In a previous article, I hinted rather strongly at the possibility that this phrase was simply an eschatological statement. Not only do I believe this to be so, and that this phrase was used in opposition to 'sons of Abraham' ( Adam ), or even 'sons of the devil'  ( which is what Jesus called the Pharisees ( John 8:44 ), but that all men ( women too ) are the children, sons and daughters of their heavenly Father.

One way to explain this post-eschaton, and almost extra-biblical belief, would be to use the analogous example of a human father and his children. Like it or not, and it happens even among Christians ( I can attest to this in my own life ), something happens in families, where one or more of the children become estranged, for whatever reason, from one or both of their parents, and even though in some cases, the offending child will often be disowned, this child is still a part of that family, though maybe not an integral part, and not privy to the blessedness of family life. As long as both parent and child live, there is always the hope of a future reconciliation!

So it is with our heavenly Father; all His children have been reconciled with the one final and atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ on the cross. One can argue till they're blue in the face that it is only those who subscribe to the Covenant  that have been reconciled, but I believe that common sense, at the very least, should tell them how wrong that is! I agree; all have not reconciled with their Father, and so, in that sense, have not been reconciled to their Father, but the Christ finished His work at the cross; He reconciled His children to Himself! It is now up to us, with the Power of the Holy Spirit of God, of course, to reconcile the world with Him!

In His family,

Charles Haddon Shank

"Why is this happening to ME; what did *I* do to deserve this?' ( the Patience ( and Wisdom ) of Job )

Often, when we are beset with trials and temptations, we tend to ask ourselves ( or God, rather ) questions like this. When we are faced with such situations, however, it is not as usual as it used to be, to turn to the story of Job, and seek the wisdom that he employed when faced with his tribulations ( I can almost guarantee you; what he faced was worse than pretty much anything most people face ) There is much hidden wisdom to be gleaned from the book of Job, but my purpose is not to seek out this hidden wisdom, necessarily, but to seek that which is plainly written.

'Have you considered My servant Job, that [ there is ] none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'

When reading this story, this is what we need to keep foremost in our minds; God saw Job as the Perfect Man, doing as he should! God was not wrong about Job, although one might tend to that conclusion as one enters the story, He did not speak falsely concerning Job; Job lived up to every expectation God had for him!

'Why, then, did God allow all this to happen to him?', you might ask. You might as easily ask, 'why did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden, knowing, as He must have, the trouble it would cause?' Going back to our first question, for we might dismiss the second for a later time, again we can see, as we read through the story, some reasons for why this might have happened to Job. First of all, we might ascertain, as some have, that God was simply using Job as a test-case, to prove to his Accuser that He ( God ) was right about Job. This, although it almost seems unfair, and certainly somewhat petty of our Creator and Father, may seem to have a sort of *wisdom* about it, and almost certainly is the clearest answer as to why Job had to endure what he did, I believe, is not the answer!

If something were to happen in our lives which made us feel akin to Job, and even when we have done things that we know are deserving of this or worse, it is natural to look back on our lives and ask ourselves ( even others ), 'why is this happening to ME?', and 'what did *I* do to deserve this?' As individuals, and again, this is only natural, we tend to selfishly think that WE must have done something wrong to warrant this tribulation! Though this is sometimes the case ( we do reap what we sow ), it is not always so; look at Job and ask yourself, 'what did Job do to warrant this?' Well obviously, seeing as God proclaimed him 'a blameless and upright man', he didn't do ANYTHING to deserve it, so 'why', again, would God do this to poor old Job?

Often, more often than not, sadly, when such things take place in our little lives, we're tempted to murmur and complain, lash out, and sometimes, to despair. However, when we realize that we are not simply individuals ( we are that, but ' no man is an island' ), but that we are part of a larger Body, a part of God's creation, and therefore subject to a higher Power and Purpose, things might begin to fall into place, so to speak, for us!

Job's friends, as we can see from our own reading of the story of Job, had some good points. They were wrong in many aspects about Job, but they spoke quite correctly about certain aspects of God's nature.They actually seemed to have a certain *wisdom* about them!

As we find later in the book though, Job's friends had not spoken rightly of God, especially  concerning Job, maybe, so Job offered sacrifice ( theirs ) and prayer for his friends, and they were spared the wrath of God who would have dealt with them according to their folly, had he not! Looking at Job's friends, then, we can ascertain at least one aspect of the wisdom of this piece of literature. If Job had not gone though all that he did, the folly of his friends would not have been exposed and so would have been 'dealt with' ( we can only speculate what THAT might have involved ), and Job would not have had the opportunity of 'playing priest' ( atoning ) for them!

We, therefore, when we go through these trials and tribulations, whether deservedly, reaping what we've sown, or whether, hard, as we try, we cannot fathom why God would allow such calamity to befall us, should first ask ourselves, 'how does this calamity affect those around me?', 'what might God be doing for them through me?' The realization that it is not all about me, but that it has everything to do with us, should give us pause, and even the greatest comfort when we go through what some have called 'the trial of our faith'!

The question before all of us, and I will say, almost selfishly, before me, first and foremost, is, 'will we use these situations to glorify God, to strengthen and edify the Body, or will we selfishly murmur and complain, even despairing of life? Will we use the wisdom that Job showed, and persevere, or just do better, or will we continue to reap what we sow, wallowing in our own guilt and misery?  

The choice is yours; choose wisely!

Sufferingly,

Charles Haddon Shank

The Main Event; the dissonance between true preterism & partial-futurism

'The only good 'ism' is a prism'

Have you ever heard this saying before? If you have; have you ever really thought about what it means? From a theological point of view, it should remind us that 'isms' are usually based on men's actions, or ideas ( 'baptism' may be the single exception ). As long as human beings exist, though, 'isms' will persist! That's just the way of it! Men ( and women ) naturally think that they are right, that they have the truth, and that any who disagrees with them on what that truth is ( including the logical implications of that truth ) does not have the truth. That's where 'isms' come in; they become dividing factors ( factions, even ) that serve to make a schism ( there's that 'ism' ) in the Body of Christ!

It is true that there are two 'isms' present in the title of this article, but they are present simply to show why there is such dissonance, or lack of harmony, especially when it comes to eschatology, within the Body of Christ, which Body we are, as manifold Scriptures clearly proclaim. Speaking of eschatology, or the study of end things; it is either fulfilled, or it is not! You can't have it both ways! There are others out there who are better equipped than I, who have taken great pains to show that ALL of the Scriptural promises related to eschatology MUST needs have taken place in the first century with the return of Jesus ( God ) in judgment on His Covenant people.There will be no proof-texting in this article, but I do adjure you to carefully, and within the covenant context, READ all the relevant texts, and remember Jesus' own words in Matthew 24:34; 'Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place'!

I have recently viewed a video by one such brother, which chronicles this dissonance, in which he shows that the main difference ( three, actually ) between the two camps named above is that true, or full preterists ( he calls them 'hyper-preterists' ) believe that the final Return of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Judgment are in the past, having been fulfilled in the event that transpired between the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and His final 'coming in the clouds' judgment of His Covenant people, while the partial--futurist ( he call them 'historic preterists' ) belie that there is a final Return, Resurrection, and Judgment in our Future. They DO believe, hence the 'partial' moniker, that there was *a* return, *a* resurrection ( of sorts, not quite sure how all that works out ), and *a* judgment, but that these were not the final word, so to speak; the fat lady has yet to sing!

Without going into great detail or discussion here, and without making this article too long and tedious; let's take a quick look at each of these events, beginning with the main event, and working our way down, which leads back, naturally, to the Main Event!

Return

Jesus told His followers, in John 14:23; 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him'. Through the witness of the Holy Spirit, which His Father sent as a Comforter to the first-century church ( 'the church in short-pants', anther brother has called it ), and His subsequent Return; Jesus kept this promise! I anyone denies that He did, then that one is indeed without hope! While none will disagree that the Godhead now make their home with us through the Holy Spirit, you might hear arguments about a promised future bodily return.

Since Jesus promised that both He and His Father would come and make their home ( dwelling ) within the Body of believers, you would think it follows that Jesus now dwells with us; so where is this 'return'? Will He leave us at some point in our future, and then 'return' ( again? ) to.................???????????

Oh, wait.............

'I will never leave you nor forsake you'!

A bit of proof-texting, or an eschatological statement? Either way, as the writer to the Hebrews ( 13:5 ) made this quote most likely from the Septuagint; it is a very clear statement that God would never forsake His people! This may seem to be a simple, even childishly weak argument, but it may serve to show the ignorance of the whole idea of this future 'return'. Again; since God now dwells with His people, having made His dwelling ( home ) with them once more, what need is there for a 'return'?

Resurrection

There is no doubt, for Scripture plainly relates it, that there was a major resurrection 3 days after the death and burial of Jesus. This was ostensibly a bodily resurrection ( Jesus' was ) and even during the ministry of Jesus, we read about several bodily resurrections. There were some recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures as well, but all pointed forward to THE Resurrection, which was, and is, Christ!

The same brethren which were mentioned earlier, seem to have a problem wrapping their heads around the idea of corporate resurrection, or the idea ( fact, really ) that it was NEVER about individual bodies, though individual bodies must necessarily be involved; it was all about a corporate resurrection of the Body of Israel, God's chosen people, His 'firstborn'! A careful ( as opposed to 'care-less' ) reading of Ezekiel 37 is probably the clearest example of this corporate ( though again; individual bodies were involved ) resurrection!

As a covenant document, Scripture stands as testimony of the faithfulness of God to His people, individual people, yes, but as a Body, the resurrected Body of Christ!

Judgment

As we have seen  in previous articles, judgment, as opposed to being a bad thing, or having a bad connotation, is a good thing! Judgment can be made for good or for evil, as God made known throughout the prophetic Scriptures, by bringing the curse upon one group of people, and heaping blessings upon another ( see the corporateness there? ). we are called to judge whether a thing or idea is good or evil, right or wrong. Sometimes we make wrong judgments, based upon our own feelings, and call good evil and evil good!

The Judgment that God ( Jesus ) meted out in His Return in the clouds ( AD70 ) was an adverse judgment on His typical Old Covenant people, yes, but more than that, and weaving back through the tapestry of Resurrection and ending ( beginning ) in the beautiful and continuous symphony that was His Return; He dwells once more in the midst of His people, and unlike the typical Tabernacle in the wilderness, this a permanent dwelling place, never to be destroyed, and without the separating veil!

The Conclusion of the Matter

You may have already come to your own conclusion, or accepted blindly the conclusions of others; you may have even stopped reading before this, because you figure I'm just 'off my rocker', and 'way out in left field', maybe 'too far gone', but these sorts of conclusions would only further strengthen the notion that 'the only good 'ism' is a prism'! If you are so sure that you are right, and thus everyone who disagrees with you is wrong, that you are willing to separate over it, and to foster schism within the Body because of it, then maybe you should have stopped reading a while back; you're part of the problem!

By emphasizing, as I have done, that those who foster such schism within the Body are part of the problem, and by pointing the finger at THEM, I inadvertently point even more fingers at myself! No MAN, I don't care how innocent he thinks he is, or how righteous and truthful; no mere human being, for we are weak by nature, can truthfully say that he does not, to some extent, fell, or have felt this way about his brethren; I know I cannot!

In conclusion then, as the wise man once said, 'Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all': as the great Anti-type to which he pointed said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is [ the ] first and great commandment. And [ the ] second [ is ] like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets'. Love is the main thing, and if we do not have enough love not to separate the Body of Christ over our 'isms', then I believe it is questionable whether we have the love of God in Christ!

Fearfully, Charles Haddon Shank

Fire & Water; God's Cleansing Agents

This is our Father's world, and to our listening ears,
All nature sings, and 'round us rings the music of the spheres.
This is our Father's world: we rest us in the thought ,
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas-His hand the wonders wrought!

Until natural disasters such as wildfires ravage, tornadoes destroy, and hurricanes blow, we often tend to forget this glorious fact! It is tremendously horrible, even horrifying when houses, animal, and especially people wander into their destructive paths, but we must remember that these are simply God's way of clearing, cleansing, and recycling His landscape!

At this moment, the 7th anniversary of the havoc that Hurricane Katrina wreaked on the cities up and down the Gulf Coast, but especially on Sin City ( New Orleans ), Tropical Storm Isaac ( downgraded from 'Hurricane Isaac' ) is unleashing it's weakening ( but still strong ) powers in the same area of our Father's world.

Also at this time, the Rader Creek subdivision in south-western Montana is on fire, and quite a few homes have been burnt to the ground and many more are under dire threat! Reports have been leaking in throughout the day ( news crews are on the scene ), and while some report that several homes have almost miraculously escaped, others have not been so blessed. There are reports that winds are picking up and not only turning the fire back on areas that had previously escaped, but that the fire is picking up speed toward the North, and our state capitol, Helena!

Many prayers are ascending, and the town of Whitehall has 'battened down the hatches', so to speak, as more and more residents open up their hearts and even homes to help with the aftermath. When word got out that certain of the residents of Rader Ceek were evacuated from their homes; it was not long before offers for housing and whatever other help was needed began pouring in, like blessings from on High!

As these and other natural disasters occur, and the resultant love, care, and concern begin to flow from the communities around them, and even from far off places, we can begin to piece together the 'why?' of these seemingly inexplicable disasters, and take comfort in the fact that this is 'Our Father's World', that He is in full and total control, and that it is though situations like this ( house-cleaning ) that our Father brings His people together, sometimes out of the 'woodwork'!

Let us all endeavor to use times like these as an opportunity to show Christian love to our neighbor, to 'come together' as a community, and to help heal the hurt that is caused, often through our own neglect, by natural events such as this, and let us continue to actively pray that God will continue to be gracious and merciful to us all, His people!

Prayerfully and humbly,

Charles Haddon Shank

144,000; the Dimensions of the New Jerusalem

This is one of the 'gems' harvested from yesterday's sermon;

'And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred [ and ] forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel [ were ] sealed' 

Revelation 7:4

'The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred [ and ] forty-four cubits, [ according ] to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.'

Revelation 21:16 & 17

Too often, I believe, we ( Christians ) get 'caught up' ( enraptured ) in the details, like the dimensions of the tabernacle, Temple, and New Jerusalem, and almost lose sight of the fact that this is a description of the infinite glory of the dwelling of God with His people; as Paul wrote, in I Corinthians 3:16,  'you are the temple of God ', and again, in I Corinthians 6:19, 'your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit'.

I doubt if I'm the first one to make this connection, but listening to my brother's sermon yesterday brought to mind the glorious fact, the covenantally contextual fact that when John saw the 144,000, 12,000 from every tribe in Israel, he wasn't taking note that there was just a certain number from every tribe of Old Covenant Israel that would be saved; he was seeing us, the Israel of God throughout the ages: what a glorious vision!

Later, as he related the dimensions of the New Jerusalem, which, as my brother pointed out, are cubic, just like the Holiest in the tabernacle, and the innermost sanctuary in the Temple, he gave them as the square root of them which were saved from the tribes of Israel, 144,000.

Lost in the details

Details are important, don't get me wrong, else the Author of Scripture would not have been so careful to conceal, then to reveal them, but many times, we get so bogged down in these details, whether it's in trying to physically rebuild, or construct a mock-up of the Temple structure, that we forget to be the glorious Temple that He made us!

These are just a few thoughts that I had, and wanted to share: may God use them for His glory and for our good, as we seek to 'restore the glorious vision' to Hs Church!

Charles Haddon Shank

'Am I my brothers keeper?'

First of all, we might ask, 'who is our brother?' Jesus told His disciples ( Mark 3:35 ), 'whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother'! In this post-biblical era, then, we might ask, 'what is the will of God?' I'm not saying, by using the term 'post-biblical', that the Scriptures are passe'; by no means! The Scriptures, all of them, can and should be applied, to a greater or lesser extent to our lives, but as they were primarily relevant to the lives of Jesus' original audience, we must realize that Jesus' words were spoken to a specific audience, at a specific time in history, and for a specific reason. As to that specific reason, we may speculate, and by the end of this writing, a specific conclusion to this question, as well as others. might well be reached, but for now, we can assume that the people to whom Jesus spoke, and the time in which He spoke to them was in the first century anno domini.

The Scriptures, as we have noted, were written in a certain and specific context; that much is clear! As such then, we can certainly say that, though it is applicable, to whatever extent, to us today, its primary purpose was served in the first century!

Matthew's and Mark's Gospels are probably the two Gospel accounts that are the closest in literary relation to each other, in fact, you may have even heard, as I have, that Matthew patterned his after the existing Gospel of Mark, so Matthew's account of the words of Jesus are very nearly the same, and interestingly enough, but not surprisingly, this event only occurs in these two Gospels!

When reviewing these passages, it is very easy to apply these words to ourselves, and very aptly they should be so applied, but primarily, I believe, Jesus was speaking in a specific context when He uttered these words. As we have seen previously, the words of Scripture were written in a certain specific way, to a certain specific people, at a certain specific time, and for a certain specific purpose. Although we are undoubtedly a part of the family of God today, as well as they were back then ( for, as Jesus said, 'whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother' ); He said this to His contemporaries for a specific purpose, to remind them that it was not simply those who were born 'according to the flesh' that were His family, but that 'whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother'; it was those who were obedient to the heavenly command, to the Covenant, who were counted as family, and just because you had blood ties did not mean that you were His 'mother and brothers'.

So, from this we can ascertain that now, as then, our 'brother', if indeed the same as the 'brother and sister and mother' of Jesus, is he who does the will of God. This is true enough, but we may now ask, 'what is the will of God that Jesus was speaking of?' As important as it is to obey His Covenant, and to keep His Law; I'm not so sure that we can say with any certainty here, that Jesus was saying that in order to be part of the family of God, one must do these things, but that, as we saw above, the point of His words was that it was not those who claimed familial relation because of natural birth ( John 3 ) who were part of His family, but all those who did His will, whether related by blood or not.

The will of God here, had an eschatological aspect to it that we do not have today. This eschatological aspect was that 'He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him'. This was 'the will of My Father in heaven' of which Jesus spoke: it was their acceptance of Him as their Messiah that was the will of God! While some, that remnant who was truly waiting for their Messiah, received Him as their Messiah, and not just their brother 'according to the flesh', it was they who were counted as His true relations, and not those who just called Him 'brother'!

Is it the will of God that we, His people follow in His footsteps, obeying His Covenant, and calling Him 'abba, Father'? Doubtless! Does everyone of His children do this? Are we children of our heavenly Father only if we do this ( cry 'abba, Father' ), or are we His children because He fathered us, created us?

Many of the problems in the world today, and for the past millenia, really, ever since man came to be, are rooted in the development of the 'us versus them' mentality. Men are prone, by their very nature to think that they have all wisdom and knowledge, and if other men do not possess this same 'wisdom or knowledge', they are somehow 'children of a lesser God', and therefore below our station, and possibly only worthy of our negative attentions, if any at all!

Does this sound right to you?! To those who read the Hebrew Scriptures ( Old Testament ) without realizing the covenant context, and that these events, though undoubtedly historic, were simply a shadow of what was to come; as Paul put it, 'a tutor, to lead us to Christ' ( Galatians 3:24 ), it may seem that this God was a vengeful, hateful, and petty dictator, who ruled His people with an iron fist! The God of the Greek Scriptures ( New Testament ), on the other hand, through the Revelation of His Son, was a bit nicer; He was 'full of Grace', and only lost His temper a couple times, before finally dieing for the sins of His people, which sins  had estranged them from His Father! Reading through the Hebrew Scriptures, then, we can almost see the foundation for this kind of mentality, a sort of 'me against the world' mentality that says that we, in some cases, need to do almost the exact opposite of what the world does, for we are to live in opposition to the world!

NO! This is our Father's world, and rather than being opposed to this wonderful creation that He placed us in ( don't get me wrong; we ARE to oppose what is wrong, and stand for what is right! ), we are to be a light and even saviors ( on a smaller, but 'greater' ( John 14:12 ) scale ) to this world which is crossed with so many scars, and full of so many hurting, estranged 'children'!

ARE we our brother's keeper?!

What does it mean to be our brother's keeper? Does it mean to defend and befriend only those, who like us, have reconciled with our heavenly Father,  who keep the Covenant, and have found rest in Christ? Or does our 'brother' include even those who have been hurt, and for whatever reason, have been estranged from our heavenly Father? I would venture to say that, if we are not including the latter; we are not taking seriously our exalted position as the Body of Christ, and as 'healing leaves'.

Does this mean that we are to accept their works by which they have estranged themselves from the family of God? God forbid! We should not walk with them in their flood of dissipation, lest we partake of their consequences, but neither should we shun them, writing them off as 'a lost cause', abandoning them to their folly, and refusing to be Christ to them!

This will not be easy, but I believe that if we are to take seriously our part in this 'Kingdom Project', we must realize, and then act on that realization, that we ARE our brothers keeper, and that our 'brother' is inclusive of all with whom we come in contact, those whom God, for whatever reason, throws in our path!

Keeping in mind the fact that, through the power of the Holy Spirit of God, it is not all up to us; let us go forth in that Strength, loving our neighbor as ourself, and being our brother's keeper!

Charles Haddon Shank

The Resurrection of 'The Last Day'

'I am the resurrection and the life.'

Previously, we studied what Jesus meant by the phrase, 'I will raise him up on the last day'. We saw that Jesus' use of the phrase 'the last day' was no different than all the other uses of this phrase throughout the breadth of the prophetic Scriptures. The resurrection, as we have seen, is one of the most studied, most sought-after, and also, one of the most controversial subjects in Scripture: it is expected by the majority of Christians today to happen in our future, and thus, to individual, biological bodies, and though many, or most of these will readily admit that somewhat of a spiritual resurrection occurred, or occurs, when we receive Christ and are made alive and a new creature in Him, even those who claim to believe that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD70 was *a* ( but not THE ) coming of Christ, and that *a* resurrection of of some sort happened then ( the jury is still out on exactly what and how ), they will vociferously insist that there will *yet* be a resurrection of biological bodies, both of the just and the unjust!

Many other writers, better equipped, maybe, than I, have taken in hand to try to show the nature of this resurrection, how and when it happened, and some have even ventured back into the Hebrew Scriptures to prove that it was not a resurrection of individual, biological bodies that was promised in the Law & the Prophets. The Pharisees of Jesus' day looked at in this way, in the sense of individual bodies, but when they asked Jesus a hypothetical question concerning the resurrection, in Mark 12:18-23, Jesus told them, 'you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God'. He might well have said that they had mistaken the nature of God, for though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive, according to Jesus, they were undoubtedly, especially not at this point, in their physical bodies! These bodies had perished long before this, even millenia before, and had long since become worm-food and blended with the earth, or the land! 

The Lazarus Connection

Something that we must understand when approaching the subject of the resurrection is that, besides not being about individual, biological bodies being raised from the dead, but about the 'anastasis', or resurrection of the corporate, or covenant body of Israel, Jesus was, or is, as God, Himself THE Resurrection! In many of my previous articles, I have greatly emphasized this point, but as simple and over-emphasized as it may seem to be; it is very profound, and yes, it IS simple; simply profound! If only more people would see its simple profundity, much, if not all of the controversy regarding the resurrection would disappear! Oh, if only people would see the simple truth that Jesus embodies the resurrection, and that if one is 'in' Him, they 'also were raised with [ Him ] through faith in the working of God': as part of the Body of Christ, we are 'sons of the resurrection'!

I'm sure I'm not the first to note a connection between Jesus' parabolic story of 'the rich man and Lazarus' in Luke 16 and the death and subsequently typical, bodily resurrection of Jesus' friend, the brother of Mary and Martha, in John 11, but as many as have perused both of these accounts, no one, to my knowledge has put two and two together, and realized why this parabolic story, which tradition has testified as being the clearest picture and proof of the doctrine of 'Hell' in Scripture, is in the Gospel of Luke alone, and why the relation of the death and 'resurrection' of Lazarus is only recorded in the Gospel of John.

I believe that these two accounts are one and the same, but that Luke, in his Gospel, simply chose, for reasons that may surface later, or be further revealed, to relate this event in the form of a parable, an object lesson, if you will. We are told, first of all, in the Gospel according to Luke, that 'there was a certain beggar named Lazarus', who 'died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom'. A quick note here; 'The rich man also died and was buried', and though we have no record of his being transported anywhere, he was 'in torments in Hades'. Now isn't THAT interesting; he was simply buried, and the it is recorded that he was then in the torments of Hades, or 'Hell'?!

In John's Gospel, we read that 'a certain [ man ] was sick'. This cannot be a coincidence! The further fact that, when asked why He had waited for those several days before coming to Lazarus' aid, Jesus responded, 'that you may believe'. Jesus whole point in raising Lazarus from physical death was 'that they may believe' ( note the switch from 'you' to 'they' ). Jesus true intention is revealed here; it was not His main purpose to 'wake him ( Lazarus ) up', but rather, to rescue, to come to the aid of Israel, she who had died through her iniquitous idolatry!

'Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.' ( Luke 17:37 ) 

Jesus utters the same words in Matthew's Gospel in relation to the coming of the Son of God and subsequent destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. As can be seen throughout the prophetic Scriptures, it was not individual bodies 'in' Israel that had died and needed 'anastasis' ( 'warm up the paddles' ); it was the body ( corporate ) of Israel that had separated itself ( Isaiah 59:, et al. ) from God, and had, in that sense, ''fallen from grace',which needed to be lifted out of her slumber.

'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light' ( Ephesians 5:14 )

Not to belabor the point, but it was not only certain individuals within the body of Israel who had fallen asleep, though many had doubtless perished biologically, nor was it the biological bodies of the Israelites, many of whom Jesus had spoken in much the same way to, who had physically died. Jesus used both the occurrence of the death of Lazarus, and His parabolic reference to that same death to make His point that, as He had physically raised Lazarus from the dead, so He would, as prophesied in places like Ezekiel 37, raise the body of Israel, not from their physical 'slumber', though this happened to an extent, as witnessed in Matthew 27:52, but in restoration to the blessings of the Covenant, so that they could enjoy God's Presence forever!

One more connection to note between Jesus' parabolic story in Luke 16 and the death of Lazarus in John 11 is found in the last part of his parable. 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' Jesus said this in reply to the rich man's plea for Him to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, and though many of the Jews present at the resurrection of Lazarus 'had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him', these words were spoken primarily of His own 'anastasis', and were the final condemnation for the old covenant body of Israel, those according to the flesh!

May this short, by no means in-depth study of 'the resurrection of the last day' clear up some questions in the mind of my readers, as it has in mine, and if it raises more questions, then I have done my job!

In the love of God and the service of His Kingdom,
Charles Haddon Shank

Wiithout Hands; the Circumcision of the Heart

'The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as [ it is ] this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.'

Deuteronomy 10:15 & 16

From the beginning, as we can see from this passage of Scripture; the outward act, whether it was circumcision ( the cutting off of an obstacle to sexual enjoyment ), water baptism, or some other outward sign always and only ever pointed to, or was significant of the inward reality. Moses instruction to 'circumcise the foreskin of your heart' was given after God had told Abraham to circumcise the flesh of the foreskin, as 'a sign of the covenant', and shows to anyone with an understanding 'heart' that God's intention was that the outward action was simply to be a sign of the inward ( spiritual ) reality, the removal of the obstacle to true worship ( enjoyment ) of God, childish rebellion of the 'heart', or from the inmost being. This is why it is commanded, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength'. As we have seen in previous articles on the subject (of 'love' ); it is not enough merely to say 'I love you', even if it is from the 'heart'; one must actually, with all their strength, do something to show, or prove that love! By squelching, or removing that rebellion, we are enabled thus to move past our naturally rebellious instincts and show our love for God by obeying His commands, like good, faithful and wise children!

Although we must keep in mind the eschatological context of this passage, and that of the change in the nature of God's people, it is plain that we are responsible to do what is right and good, and if necessary, to give up our own selfish desires for the sake of the Kingdom.

If [ any ] of you are driven out to the farthest  [ parts ] under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Deuteronomy 30:4-6

The subject of water baptism, to me, has always been one of interest, not solely because I was brought up with a hearty appreciation for it, and its effects, whatever they might be. I remember at one point in my early adult-hood ( maybe more like early to mid-teens ), thinking, 'whose work is it, ours or God's?' You must understand that I was brought up in the Reformed Baptist Church for the earlier part of my life, and then in a Reformed congregation, in both of which a fairly hefty emphasis is placed on the importance, if not necessity, of water baptism, not so much, maybe, as a salvific issue, but as an ordinance, a command.

This is where the eschatological context of these words comes into play, especially concerning water baptism! It is fairly well-accepted, I believe, by most Reformed theologians, and maybe even non-Reformed theologians, that this form of baptism is the New Covenant 'replacement', if you will, for circumcision under the Old, or first covenant. This, although it almost sounds reasonable, is not quite true!

Circumcision ( cutting off of the foreskin ), as we saw in the first quoted passage, was a symbol, or a sign for the metaphorical 'circumcision of the heart'. Just as water baptism was simply a sign of a 'good conscience' ( I Peter 3:21 ), so the circumcision of the flesh was merely to be a sign of one's covenant faithfulness to God. 

With the 'passing away' ( I Corinthians 7:31, 3:7 ( Hebrews 8:13 ) I John 2:8 & 17 ) of the Old Covenant ( Mosaic ) and the transition, or re-birthing of the Church, as the Body of Christ, the true 'Israel of God', the signs which pointed to that greater spiritual reality in Christ ceased to be necessary. When one has reached the destination, the reality to which all signs have pointed; signs are no longer necessary, and can even be detrimental!

'I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'

Mark 1:8 ( Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5, 11:16 )

Baptism is necessary to one's 'salvation', there can be no doubt of that! If one has not been baptized with, or by, the Holy Spirit of God, then one still has that 'heart of stone' the prophet Ezekiel talked about ( Ezekiel 36:22-38 ), and will not be sensitive to the things of God, but having a hard ( immature, rebellious ) heart, will be unwilling to yield to any but their own selfish desires.

As with the sign of circumcision, which is no longer in general practice, save in some more barbaric societies, so water baptism, which was a sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was for the 1st-century Church, during the 'birth pangs' ( Romans 8:22 ( Micah 4:10 ), or the transition period between the final sacrifice of the Old Covenant ( Christ on the cross ), and the Final end of the Old Covenant economy, with the subsequent Revelation of the New Covenant in Jesus the Christ!

We have noted before, in a previous article ( a few years ago, actually ) that this baptism of John was simply a carry-over, or continuation, of the priestly baptism which was to be performed when one entered the ministry, so, for now, we won't rehash all that. We will, however, take a brief look back at certain of the references in the Hebrew Scriptures where God promised this 'baptism of the Holy Spirit'.

First of all, though not necessarily in chronological order; we have the above-mentioned passage in Ezekiel 36;

'Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.'

First, we must note that this 'sprinkling' ( literally, 'startling' ) occurs after the Israelites have been brought back from Exile and deposited back into the Land  As in the first Exodus ( a type of the True ), Grace was first shown, then the 'change' was instituted! First deliverance ( Grace ), then, through that deliverance, Law was revealed!

And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on [ My } menservants and on [ My } maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Joel 2:28 & 29

Peter quoted this passage to an assembly of Israel ( Acts 2 ), and told them that this prophecy was fulfilled in the tongues of fire that appeared over the heads of certain typical and representative individuals among them. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit which had been promised by the Prophets! 

 'Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you;I will make my words known to you.'

Proverbs 1:23

Though this promise, much the same as the one in Joel, is given by 'Wisdom'; we can see, looking through the  'eyes of wisdom', and the covenant context of Scripture, that 'Wisdom', as such, is personified in Jesus the Christ ( Exodus 31:3, Deuteronomy 3:9, I Kings 10:24, Psalm 104:24, Proverbs 2:10, etc. ) All this, which was prior to the Revelation of Jesus the Christ, was, in type, and even in actuality, a baptism of the Holy Spirit, though not the one prophesied, and promised by God, where 'We will come to him and make Our home with him.' ( John 14:23b ).

'As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord,                    'from this time and forevermore.'

Isaiah 59:21

This is God's work; this is the baptism of the holy spirit! As we shall see in the following conclusions of the matter, and as you can ascertain from a studied reading, with understanding of the context of these passage, this is not to say that we have no part to play in this story of redemption! We have a part to play, and though this part meshes perfectly with God's plan; we have a responsibility, nay, the privilege, to act upon this Grace that we have received! Because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which we have received as part of the Body of Israel, and through this baptism, we have a 'heart of flesh', one that is moldable, and receptive, sensitive to the 'things of the Lord', and to His people!

The Myth of Individualism

Much importance, as mentioned earlier, especially in certain parts of the Church, or Body of Christ, is placed in the sign of water baptism as a means of Grace. Also as mentioned earlier, this baptism was a transitory sign for the first-century Church, 'the Church in short-pants', as one brother of ours so humorously puts it.

Reading through the prophetic Scriptures, as has been hinted at, through the lens of covenant context; it should be clear that, though as part of the Body of Christ, and like the resurrection ( which I have written about previously ), individuals are undoubtedly involved, and have received baptism of the Holy Spirit, much as we partake in the resurrection ( these two are closely related, and are very nearly interchangeable ); this baptism, as the resurrection, was of the corporate Body of Israel, a baptism ( and thus resurrection ) into new life ( II Corinthians 5:17 ), a lie where, as we saw earlier, God once again dwells in the midst of His people!

Having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and as His corporate Body, the circumcision of the heart; let us go forth with a renewed confidence and conscience, loving and serving God and His Kingdom, and our neighbor as ourself!

Charles Haddon Shank

The Kingdom Project ( A New 'Kind' of Christian )

There are plenty of examples already out there, both in history and in this blog, of how Christianity has been its own worst enemy throughout the ages, so I'm not going there again! And, please don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that, as 'a new kind of Christian', we should no longer be followers of Jesus the Christ, or lovers of God, just that, as fellow-workers with Him in this 'Kingdom Project', we should be ready to flout much of the orthodoxy that much of Christianity has stubbornly held to for these same 'ages'!

As partners in this building project, as has been intimated; we, as followers of the Christ, little Christs ourselves, must be prepared to think, say, and do things that much of what is known as 'Christianity' would balk at!  Although I say 'a new kind of Christian'; this is really nothing 'new': think of Martin Luther.......think of John Huss..........think of many in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, for instance.....Through the ages, so many good followers of Jesus have been horrifically and tragically murdered because they dared to challenge the established orthodoxy!

It is abundantly clear, through the inspiration of the Spirit of God in His people, that regardless of the harm that has inadvertently or stubbornly ( blindly ) been caused by the actions or in-actions of many 'Christians' throughout the ages; the Kingdom has been prospering, and as Daniel prophesied through this same Spirit, has become 'a great mountain and filled the whole earth' ( Daniel 2:35c )! This Kingdom is always expanding, as more and more, every day, through 'random' acts of kindness and the power of God, people are entering into the City, and into a right relationship with their Creator and Father!

So, as we begin to exercise our rights as 'a new kind of Christian' and as Kingdom-builders; we must remember that, while we will likely be frowned upon by the 'establishment', and likely even persecuted for our 'stand', everyone, and I mean EVERYONE with whom we come in contact is a child of our heavenly Father ( though not necessarily in a living relationship with Him ) and is thus a potential inhabitant of the City of God ( Hebrews 12:18-24, Revelation 21:1-4, ( 22:14 & 15 ). I am NOT saying that we must call homosexuals, lesbians, transvestites, and those others who live in direct contradiction to the Law of God as that which is laid out for us in Scripture, brothers and sisters, but we MUST treat them kindly, as for who they really are ( whether they like it or not ), as children of our heavenly Father, though estranged!

Beginning, in the past few decades, and really taking notice ( and action! ) in the past few years and months; I have come to the startling, though not shocking, realization that there is a lot of hurt out there in the world, and much, if not all of it can be traced back to its roots in 'Christianity'! This is not to say that Christianity is something that must be shied away from, or totally discarded, but we must be prepared, if we would partner with God in this 'building project', to get our hands 'dirty', to think, say, and do things that, in ages past, and even in much of today's 'Church', would be regarded as unconscionable, unthinkable!

I have written quite a few articles in the past several years on the subject of 'healing leaves', and in fact, if you'll notice at the top of my 'blog' here, this theme is based on a verse from the Revelation of Jesus Christ.As the passage implies, we as followers of this Jesus, and His Body on earth, His Bride, ARE ( whether we like it or not, whether we act like it or not ) the 'leaves of the tree' that ARE 'for the healing of the nations'! This is NOT an option! Yes, we each, as individuals, have the choice as to how we are going to live, what fruit we are going to bear for our Lord, but we must always remember that, as we make our decisions, and bear the consequences of those choices, for good or evil, pleasant or not-so-pleasant; we are ALL God's children, and as our Sovereign Lord and Father, the Creator and Sustainer of ALL; it is His will that is done, not ours!

May we ALL realize this, and as realization begins to set in, may we do what is right ( though not necessarily 'orthodox' ), loving our brethren as ourselves, and God and His Law ( personified ), most of all!

In the love of God,
Charles Haddon Shank

The 'Last Day' of Jesus Christ ( John 6 )

Many have taken Jesus' usage of the phrase 'last day' ( John 6:40 & 54 ) as meaning something almost totally different than that of similar phrases used of the imminent expectation of 'the Day of the Lord', such as 'the last hour' ( I John 2:18 ), 'these last days' ( Hebrews 1:2  ( II Timothy 3:1 ), and 'the Judge is standing at the door' ( James 5:9 ). Clearly, though, and maybe more clearly to some than to others, Jesus is speaking in the same vein, and of the same 'Day' as elsewhere in the prophetic text. You may have heard that Jesus was speaking of individuals throughout the ages, telling them that if they believed on Him, and partook of His Body and Blood, though they died, He would raise them up to life everlasting, on 'the last day'. Even here though, there are variations; Jesus either meant, as Martha clearly thought, that He would raise her brother 'in the resurrection at the last day' ( John 11:24 ), or that He would raise their souls to 'Heaven ( spiritually ) on their 'last day', when their biological bodies quit functioning. Neither of these explanations is quite satisfactory! Why would Jesus leave His context and begin speaking of those far of in the future, when His main concern was that generation?

Looking at the wider context of Jesus' words in John 6, and reading further in John 11, Jesus also told Martha that 'whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die'. He was obviously not telling Martha that if one were alive ( biologically ) at the time that he believed in Jesus that he would never lose his biological life! In that case, we could easily say that no one living at the time believed in Jesus because no one from that era is biologically living. Obviously, He was saying that those who put their trust in Him had eternal life, not physically or biologically speaking, but spiritually speaking, as in 'neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord' ( Romans 8:38 & 39 ).

Here the covenant context, and the fact that Jesus is not referring to individual bodies must be taken into consideration. The covenant context, as we have already discussed somewhat, requires that the meaning of Jesus' words of comfort here, must be sought in the wider context of His dealings with those covenant people, 'His people' ( Matthew 1:21 ) that He came to save from their sin. The sin that He delivered ( saved ) them from was the sin of their covenant head, Adam. In our Covenant Head, whom Paul calls 'the last Adam' ( I Corinthians 15:45 ), we never die, for unlike the first Adam, He kept His Father's command perfectly!

As we have discussed previously, although the corporate Body of Christ, or Israel is no doubt composed of individuals, as a symphony is composed of many notes but is one symphony, one piece of music, there is but One Body in view here, or rather, I should say, two. That is the Body of Adam, or Moses, those under his covenant headship, as were those up till the first century, and those who came under the Headship of the Son of God, the Body of Christ, the Church! Paul discusses at great length in Romans 12, then I Corinthians 10 & 12, how this individuality works in the one body; so we will go no further on that subject here.

Back now to the immediate context of John 6; in the surrounding passages ( remember, no chapters or verses in the original? ), Jesus was discussing the 'bread from heaven' which Moses, in a type, had given to the children of Israel ( covenant children of Adam ) in the wilderness, and how He was the true 'bread from heaven'. Again; Jesus' primary concern was with that generation, not one 2,000 plus years in the future!

More could be written here, but what has been written is presented so as to engender in its readers a Berean mind, who searched the Scriptures for themselves to see 'whether these things were so'. Let us all be as they, and search out the truth of these things for ourselves, not just being satisfied to take someone else's word for it. Once we have found the truth of these matters, and with the freedom that we have in Christ, our covenant Head, and in God our Father; let us put this freedom into action, knowing that we, as the Body of Christ, will never die! There is no 'last day' for us!

Exulting,
Charles Haddon Shank