NOTE: THIS POST HAS BEEN REMIXED AND INCLUDED IN GOD’S KITCHEN.
“…who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb?” Job 38:8
As with all good government, important kingdom decisions are carried out in private. This is pictured in many ways, not least in God’s design of our everyday lives.
“…that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” Phil. 2:15
So, acacia wood is at the heart of the Holy furniture. The Tabernacle is a wilderness world glorified by Spirit-filled men and brought into the tent of God,[1] under the wing of Boaz, under the friendly firmament of a new Covenant, under the great tree that grows to shelter the nations.
“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” 1 Cor. 13:8-10
I remember hearing a Southern Baptist pastor many years ago teaching that “that which is perfect” was the completed New Testament. He was forced to find some point in first century history that would justify his belief in the cessation of miraculous gifts like tongues. Well, to a point, I think he was right.
The battle between the Son and the serpent rages throughout the Old Testament. Every time the Lord renews the Covenant, Satan is ready with a counterfeit. God uses the phonies to test and purify His people, wipes the failures off the slate, then starts again.
Aaron and Jeroboam set up patently false worship in their golden calves. But false worship in the guise of true was much more difficult to discern, especially when it usurped the exact location of the true. When the Lord took Ezekiel to the Temple as a legal witness, it was a whitewashed tomb. He dug through the wall and discovered that it was a house of hypocrisy, the synagogue of Satan. All that remained of Israel’s witness to the nations was a thin veneer.
Roderick Edwards on the accusation that those who reject hyperpreterism must rely on creeds for support:
“…the more I look at it, though hyperpreterists try to make it look like eschatology is the most “unsettled condition” of the Church; eschatology is actually probably the most unified doctrine within the Church.
Titus steps over the High Priest into the Most Holy Place.
David Chilton’s The Days of Vengeance gets downloaded from my site over 30 times a day (add that up for three years!). It’s a great commentary, but Jordan’s lectures use the Bible instead of Josephus to interpret Revelation. Chilton was peeping through the keyhole. Jordan throws open the door. These are cutting edge and, I believe, indispensable for anyone with an interest in preterism.
Available here, or from www.wordmp3.com
Days of Vengeance is on this page (near the bottom).
On the way in the next morning, Jesus saw a fig tree that was all leaves and no figs (vv. 12-13). The fig tree is Israel, all leaves, a fair profession, and no fruit. Jesus spoke to the tree and said that no man would eat fruit from it “into the age” (v. 14). And a lot of exegetes have wasted too much time, paper, and ink feeling sorry for the fig tree.
“…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45
Most “Bible contradictions” display our ignorance of literary forms, history, or customs. Further study always vindicates the Bible. Sometimes, however, the “contradiction” is just a misunderstanding of the way God works; a question of timing.
The supposed contradiction I want to discuss is this: if God punishes the wicked, how can He also send rain on the just and the unjust?
The content of this post has been revised and included in Bible Matrix II: The Covenant Key.
__________________________________
[1] Do you think I can find this when I need it?
[2] On the apostolic church as “two witnesses”, see: Slavery to Sabbath in Revelation 5-11
Bible Matrix blog
