Freedom

 I believe much of the identity crisis epidemic, which many a young person is experiencing today, is a response to an urge to be free. Free to express any thought or to act on any desire. It is partly due to permissive upbringing by parents who dote on their children. It can also be blamed on the ridiculous excesses of our culture. These can be attributed to people who drive to extreme limits the mantra of the enlightenment: "liberty, equality, fraternity".

But Jesus had another concept of freedom. While his country was under Roman occupation he did not rebel against it. His disciples were hoping he would inaugurate his earthly kingdom in their time but that was not to happen right then (Acts 1:6-7). However, he was anointed to set the hostages free (Isaiah 61:1 & Luke 4:18). He could be likened to a hero risking his life to free us. Who would not despise hostages if they were to refuse freedom after such a daring mission?

The people Jesus came to save are those held captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26). The method of satan was, and still is, to get us all addicted to sin (John 8:34). We can get so addicted that we do not seek the freedom which our innermost beings crave. We seek freedom in rejecting all forms of authority, namely authority of parents, teachers and even laws. Instead of feeling freer, the rebel often ends up feeling depressed. Fear of death is another tool of satan to enslave us (Hebrews 2:14-15). By rising from the dead Jesus proved that there is life after death for those who believe in him (Revelation 1:18).

When Jesus told Pilate that he had come to testify to the truth, Pilate showed no interest in what that might mean (John 18:37-38). But Jesus had told the Jews that the truth would set them free (John 8:32). Paul's instruction to believers in Jesus was that they should remind themselves of the fact that they had been set free (Galatians 5:1). We are freed from the punishment of sin by believing Jesus took the punishment on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2).

But helping an addict to get "clean" is only a first step in the process of rehabilitation. Resisting the temptation to fall back is a life-long journey. Attempting to live morally upright in our own strength is not good enough (Matthew 5:20). But we can please God after a change of heart (Proverbs 4:23; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Then we are as good as dead to the old self who only sought its own gratification (Romans 6:11). We do not need to obey our old master, namely the sinful nature with which we were born (Romans 6:14).

Jesus told his followers to "remain" in him (John 15:4). Paul told believers to "walk in the Spirit" and so exhibit the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16; 5:22-23). He also instructed believers to make their bodies available to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). Our reward for becoming "slaves of God" is firstly that we find purpose in this life and are promised eternal life (Romans 6:22). Like Bob Dylan sang in his first album after becoming a believer: "It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gonna serve somebody" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM149kcmmKk). 

End times 1

There are many theories about the meaning of portions of the book of Revelation. The framework in which one looks at the book makes all the difference. I shall attempt to sketch my point of view in broad strokes.

The Church is not the same as the Kingdom of God. The Church may be regarded as a "school" in which we learn how to behave in the Kingdom. Jesus did not engage in political activity. The Kingdom, on the other hand, is a political entity in which the rightful ruler will be the King. The earth was given to the human race (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:6-8). God does not intend to take it back so that he can implement his righteous laws. Yet he is taking it back in the sense that a Man who is completely dedicated to him will become its supreme ruler.

Jesus instructed his followers to pray "may your Kingdom come". He said all authority in heaven and earth was given to him (Matthew 28:18). He did not start his earthly rule when he rose from the dead. The apostles asked him when he would restore the kingdom to Israel. He answered them by saying it was not for them to know the times or dates the Father had set by his own authority (Acts 1:6-7). Only later did they realise that his Kingdom was to include all the earth and all the nations. When people from other ethnic groups received the Holy Spirit, they reluctantly accepted them (Acts 10:44-48). Even so, there were some who believed that all Jesus followers had to keep all the laws of Moses including circumcision (Acts 15:1-21).

The words "church" and "churches" occur only twice in the gospels and almost 100 times in Acts and the letters of the new Testament. The Kingdom of God/Heaven, on the other hand, is mentioned more than 120 times in the gospels. Is it any wonder that the apostles expected Jesus to set up his kingdom on earth after he was raised from the dead? But he sent the Holy Spirit to enable them to establish his Church (Acts 1:8). He had promised to build his Church but is doing so through his followers (Matthew 16:18).

The first command given to humans was to multiply and have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). The author of the book of Hebrews wrote that he did not yet see all of creation subject to mankind. But he saw Jesus who had become a man (Hebrews 2:8-9). The Man to whom all creation was to be subjected, had been identified (Acts 2:34–35; Hebrews 1:13; Psalm 110:1). But first he had to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

In Revelation 5 a scroll is handed to the Lamb. He was finally going to take possession of the earth. As he pulls off the first seal a conqueror is let loose. This conqueror is seen by some as Jesus conquering with the gospel. If that is the case, the first horse is the odd one out among the four. The other three are destructive and many people get killed. Whatever the first horse signifies, it implies an empire or empires of which there have been many. The Roman, Islamic, Chinese, British, Russian and American Empires come to mind.

In Revelation "kingdoms" mostly refer to evil kingdoms which will become "the kingdom of our God and of his Messiah" (Revelation 11:15).The Church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters of Revelation. They contain messages to the 7 churches of Asia minor. The churches are also addressed by Jesus at the very end (Revelation 22:16).

Most of us are curious as to what is next on God's agenda, just like the apostles (Acts 1:6). We would also like to know the meaning of chapters 4-21 of Revelation. Maybe the Lord's answer to us is not very different from what he told them. We need to be faithful in what he has called us to do and leave the rest to him (Acts 1:7-8). Nevertheless, we are encouraged to read the book, not necessarily to understand it (Revelation 1:3).

Does God change?

Many Christians find it hard to understand how the God of Jesus could be the same as the God who instructed Joshua to kill men, women and children of Canaanite cities (Deuteronomy 7:2; Joshua 10:40). How could the wrathful God of Israel have the same agenda as "gentle Jesus"? We must not forget God's incredible patience with sinful Israel, with Nineveh (Jonah 4:2; 4:10-11) and even with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-32). He offered forgiveness to those who repented and brought blood sacrifices as he had originally prescribed to Adam. This instruction can be read "between the lines": God must have killed an animal to make garments of skin for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). Also, he looked with favour on Abel's "fat portions" of his flock (Genesis 4:4). Neither must we forget how often Jesus spoke about Hell and his promise of eternal condemnation to those who rejected his offer of salvation (Matthew 10:28; 24:48–51; 25:46; Mark 9:43).

Ordinary Christians often don't consider the logical conclusion of their attitude to the "Old Testament God". I had a friend who refused to read the Old Testament because of the way it seemed as if God advocated inhumane laws and genocide. But he loved reading books on World War II. I found books and films on WW II more offensive to my sensitivities than the Old Testament stories. Furthermore, every book is written from the perspective of the author who is often pushing some political agenda. The Bible, I believe, presents God's agenda.

One of the acrobatic mental maneuvers theologians make is to ascribe to God different attributes during different so-called dispensations. In the Old Testament he condemned sin by killing sinners (Dispensation of Law) and in the New Testament by offering forgiveness (Dispensation of Grace). Nevertheless, most of them agree that the God who revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as to Moses and the prophets, is the pre-incarnate Christ - Jesus before he became flesh. But God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Jesus came to show us what God is really like. The eternal agenda of God has never changed. It is found in Ephesians 3:6, 10, 11.

Another heresy is introduced when Bible scholars perpetrate Replacement Theology. According to this view, Abraham's spiritual descendants, namely the Church, have taken the place of his descendants after the flesh, namely the Jews. All God's promises to Israel are supposed to be fulfilled in Jesus. They spiritualise all the portions in the Old Testament which deal with the future of the nation of Israel such as Deuteronomy 30:4-5; Isaiah 43:6-7; Zechariah 12:8-10.

There are Christians as well as orthodox Jews who say the state of Israel and Zionism are not inspired by God. One of their arguments is that modern Israel was founded by non-religious Jews. They forget that God called Cyrus, a pagan king of Persia, by his name, to be his servant (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13). They also don't pay enough attention to New Testament passages such as Acts 1:6-7 in which Jesus did not deny that the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Neither do they seem to take the words of Jesus seriously when he promised the twelve apostles high positions in the coming kingdom (Matthew 19:28). Furthermore, Paul was convinced of the role Jews would play in the last days (Romans 11:25-29).

My view on Israel is pretty close to that of Bobby Harrington (https://renew.org/does-god-still-have-a-plan-for-israel). One of the weaknesses of this article is that he quotes Genesis 17:7-8 but ignores Genesis 17:6. Abraham had many children who were not borne by Sarah (Genesis 16:15; 25:1-4) . His descendants include many nations of the Middle east. However God's promises to Jacob (Israel) apply only to his descendants, known today as the Jews (Genesis 28:13).

Ecclesiastes

I have often heard it said: "It is better to learn from someone else's mistakes than from your own". King Solomon has done modern man the favour of making the mistakes we should avoid if we don't want to end our lives with the conclusion that "Everything is pointless". In this book the wisest king who ever reigned calls himself the "preacher".

He set himself the task of finding out what God intended humans to do "under the sun". He found that nothing he did gave him the satisfaction he deeply craved. First of all he explored pleasure including cheering himself up with wine, women and song. He endeavoured to learn as much as he could about nature and human behaviour. This he put to good use by undertaking building projects as well as pursuits in agriculture. He found it all meaningless and his "heart began to despair" because all his "toilsome labour under the sun" might not be appreciated by his successor.

To understand the context of the book it is revealing to read about the "Law of the king" as outlined in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He was not supposed to get horses from Egypt, accumulate much gold or marry many wives. He was to read and obey the commandments of the Torah (first five books of the Bible, written by Moses). But Solomon had more gold than any other king, he imported horses from Egypt and elsewhere (12000) and had 700 wives plus 300 concubines. On top of that he angered the Lord by erecting idols for his foreign wives (1 Kings 10:23-11:10).

Solomon must have known what Moses taught. His father David was very familiar with it and undoubtedly brought him up according to the dictates of the Torah. But, understandably, he wanted to learn for himself what life was about. Not all of us are granted the freedom to explore life in all its facets like he was. But the "Law of the king" was written for a reason. We should not forget that the first sins were committed in Paradise. At the end of his life Solomon concluded that all his energies were spent on that which did not have eternal value, although God had "put eternity in the human heart".

If the successful young man who enquired about eternal life had grasped Solomon's dilemma he might have chosen the "treasure in heaven" above earthly riches (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23).

Ethics and the Middle East

When I was a teenager I enquired from my father whether something was illegal. I cannot remember what it was about but I do remember his answer and my reaction to it. He said that it was not illegal but unethical. I had no idea what he meant by unethical and just wanted to know if it would get me into trouble with the law. The answer was "no" and I did not bother to try and understand exactly what ethics was all about.

In my younger days my studies were in Science. I did not do much reading in Philosophy, of which Ethics is a branch. However, I had my own ideas as to what was right and wrong. C.S. Lewis argued that every human being has an innate sense of good and evil. My understanding of acceptable and objectional behaviour was obviously also influenced by the culture I was exposed to while growing up.

The New Atheists make all sorts of judgements on topics of a political nature, based on an ethic they have absorbed from the culture around them. They deny that this culture, largely shaped by the Judeo-Christian view of the world, is their source of ethics and morals. Many atheists subscribe to Christian ethics but do not like Christians or the Church. One of Gandhi's quotes is: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians". He also said: "It was the New Testament which really awakened me to the ... value of passive resistance."

The church of which I have been a member for more than 50 years used to be quite pietistic. That meant that, in contrast to the Anglican Church, our church abstained from making political statements. However, I clearly remember the time when our minister stated that he was not making a political statement when he referred to some of the human suffering the policy of apartheid gave rise to. Later on some churches declared apartheid a heresy.

In our culture Nazism is associated with evil and the Nazi flag has been banned in some countries. Flags can arouse very strong positive or negative feelings. The old South African flag is a good example of this phenomenon. The word "apartheid" has become associated with the worst kinds of atrocities imaginable, largely due to the machinations of the "Theater of the Absurd"*.

By a master stroke of propaganda the so-called Pro-Palestine lobby has managed to identify the state of Israel as an apartheid state. In South Africa the ANC insisted that apartheid could not be reformed; it had to be abolished. How do the Palestinians intend to abolish the Jewish state?

Article 13 of the Covenant of Hamas states, amongst others, "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad" and article 31, "Under the wing of Islam, it is possible for the followers of the three religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - to coexist in peace and quiet with each other. Peace and quiet would not be possible except under the wing of Islam"**. Unfortunately the experiences of Christians and Jews in Islamic countries do not support that statement.

I remember the time when Nicolas Bhengu came from the newly "liberated" Mozambique to speak at our church. The country was embroiled in a civil war from which many were fleeing into South Africa. A refugee gave him a shopping bag full of Mozambican money which was losing value by the day. Pastor Bhengu was urging us to use every opportunity to spread the Good News of Jesus before tumultuous times would make such an endeavour difficult. Our young men were doing military duty on the borders and in the townships but Bhengu warned us saying: "You cannot shoot the devil".

There is a similarity between the treatment received by pre-1994 South Africa and what is doled out to present day Israel from the UN. In the 1970s a preacher in one of our churches said we should not be too concerned about South Africa being in the spotlight at the United Nations. In the end, he said, Israel has to move centre stage in the affairs of the world.

"Prior to 1990, 147 Security Council resolutions dealt with Israel and its actions, which was more than twenty-three percent of the 646 resolutions issued during that time frame. South Africa was the second most popular Entity referred to in resolutions during the Cold War era, considered in seventy-six resolutions. Of the 646 resolutions of the period, ninety-two merely discussed the admission of new Members to the United Nations. Numerous others served merely house-keeping purposes."***

A statement which I believe every decent human being should be bold enough to agree with is the following: "The taking of hostages for political gain is a matter of ethics and a crime against humanity".

________________

*December 12, 1975 Daniel P. Moynihan, the chief American delegate, here, charged tonight in the General Assembly that the Assembly was “becoming a theater of the absurd” and attacked its adoption of reports “riddled with untruths.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/12/archives/moynihan-attacks-colonialism-report-of-un-assembly.html)

**(https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp)

***https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=jil

Jesus the Son of God - 6

Not much attention is given in the gospels to Jesus' relationship with his earthly family. But he was very much part of it for the first 30 years of his life. He was submissive to his parents (Luke 2:51). Before he had done any miraculous sign, his mother expected him to take care of a situation which could otherwise have been an embarrassment for a bridal couple (John 2:3, 5, 11). After this he went to Capernaum with his family and disciples (John 2:12).

When Jesus became popular his mother and brothers must have thought he had become too fanatical and attempted to calm him down (Mark 3:21, 31). In Nazareth he was known as the carpenter who was part of a family (Mark 6:3). On occasion his brothers gave him their advice on how he should go about his ministry (John 7:3-5). Jesus showed concern for his mother even as he was dying on the cross (John 19:26-27).

Jesus would have loved to adopt the nation of Israel as his own family. When he sent out the twelve, he told them to only reach out to the "lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). He used the same phrase when he initially refused to heal the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22-24). When he cried over Jerusalem Jesus was revealing his love for God's chosen people (Luke 19:41-42; Matthew 23:37). This was a sentiment the prophets had attributed to God over and over (Isaiah 40:11). The prophets denounced the "bad shepherds" of Israel (Jeremiah 23:1-2; Ezekiel 34:1-2). They promised that God would send them someone who cared for them (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Micah 5:4). In his denunciation of the Pharisees Jesus used words to the effect that they masqueraded as shepherds of Israel while persecuting the true shepherds (Matthew 23:33-36). He defended his disciples against the attacks of the religious elite (Matthew 12:1-7, Mark 7:1-13).

Jesus had compassion for all the marginalised people he came across, seeing them as "sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Luke 15 has been called the "lost chapter" because it contains the parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. In it Jesus reveals the heart of God towards all who have gone astray. He anticipated that people from other nations would be added to his flock (John 10:16) as prophesied in Isaiah 49:6-7. Probably the first person from another nation to whom Jesus revealed his identity was the Samaritan woman he met at a well (John 4:25-26).

The prophets often described God as the Shepherd of Israel (Genesis 48:15; Psalm 23:1; 80:1; Zechariah 9:16). Jesus' love for Israel proved that he was their Good Shepherd. He encouraged people to come to him to find peace for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30).  He was obviously familiar with the "forbidden chapter" Isaiah 53 and knew he came to fulfil that prophesy. That is why he said that he had come to give his life for the sheep (John 10:15, 17). After he was raised from the dead Jesus instructed Peter to take care of his sheep (John 21:16). Anyone who makes claims like the above is either divine or suffers from delusions of grandeur.

Jesus the Son of God - 5

Jesus started his evangelistic campaign with words to the effect that it was God's timing for good news to be proclaimed. The obligation on his hearers was to change their minds about how they related to their culture, and generally, how they viewed the world. He commanded them to believe that God was in the process of inaugurating his kingdom on earth (Mark 1:14-15). He had sent Jesus to spread the content of this proclamation, starting in Israel. The essence of it was that God loves his creation and wants to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21; John 3:16-17).

Jesus first gathered a team of 12 and later 72 to preach. The Greek word for preacher means herald, public messenger or publisher. Signs and wonders were an integral part of evangelism (Luke 10:17). The "full gospel" includes healing as well as the forgiveness of sins. The teachers of Judaism were scandalised by Jesus' claim that he had authority to forgive sins but they were silenced when he healed the paralised man (Mark 2:5-12). Evangelists in the 21st century still preach forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. In many evangelistic campaigns signs and healings are still witnessed (Mark 16:15-18).

In the beginning of his ministry Jesus did not want much publicity. Several times he got into a boat and went to the other side of the lake to escape the crowds. On one occasion he was so tired that he took the opportunity to have a nap while a storm was raging (Matthew 8:18, 24). Nevertheless many who were healed did not obey his instruction to keep it to themselves and the priests (Mark 1:43-45). After their first round of evangelism, even the apostles were swamped with people wanting their attention (Mark 6:30-31).

But about six months before his last Passover Jesus started to draw attention to himself by publicly, in the temple, making statements which were regarded as outrageous. "He proclaimed that he could provide "wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-4; John 7:37-38). He also claimed to be "the light of the world", that God had sent him, that he could grant eternal life, that he was God's son, that he had existed before Abraham was born and that he was the Good Shepherd (John 8:12, 42, 51, 54, 58; 10:7, 11). The Good Shepherd was a title describing attributes of JHWH in Psalm 23. After this he left Jerusalem for a time because there had been several attempts to stone or arrest him (John 10:31; 10:39-40).

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey in the week preceding the Passover feast, a great crowd accompanied him. They treated him like a king and quoted phrases from the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). The Jews used to sing the Hallel when they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feasts. The phrases "save LORD" (Hosanna JHWH in Hebrew) and "blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" occur in Psalm 118:25-26. These were shouted by the crowd who also replaced "LORD" with "son of David" (Mark 11:9).

There were Pharisees in the crowd who wanted Jesus to stop the jubilation because they thought it was blasphemous. But it was an occasion in which the rightful King was acknowledged and the stones would have praised him if the people had refused. Jesus was overcome with grief that the leaders of Jerusalem did not recognise him, the Prince of Peace (Luke 19:39-42).

During this week Jesus did his utmost to publicise his presence. He was successful. On the road to Emmaus, Cleopas was surprised that anyone in Jerusalem might not have heard about the happenings over Passover (Luke 24:18). About 30 years later Paul was convinced that king Agrippa must have known about Jesus because "these things didn’t happen secretly in some out-of-the-way place" (Acts 26:26). Even pagan historians knew about Jesus (https://reasonsforjesus.com/a-list-of-extra-biblical-sources-for-the-historical-jesus).

Jesus' last words to the Pharisees were that Jerusalem would not see him again until the day they say "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39). Some Bible scholars are of the opinion that the leaders of Jerusalem will come to the realisation that Jesus is their Messiah. Then they will exclaim that phrase in Hebrew: Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai. But before that would happen, Jesus' followers were to continue preaching the good news of the Kingdom, starting in Jerusalem and including the ends of the earth (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).