Okay, so we've seen that God predestines. We've seen that His plan is eternal. But we've all made plans, haven't we? Plans change. There are intervening circumstances. Well, things just don't always go according to plan, right?

What else does the Bible say about God's plan?

And Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place, from which you may see them; you shall see only the nearest of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there." And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder." And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak." And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?" And Balaam took up his discourse, and said,

"Rise, Balak, and hear;
hearken to me, O son of Zippor:
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should repent.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?
Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them,
and the shout of a king is among them.
God brings them out of Egypt;
they have as it were the horns of the wild ox.
For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
'What has God wrought!'
Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
it does not lie down till it devours the prey,
and drinks the blood of the slain."
Numbers 23:13-24

The LORD of hosts has sworn:
"As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
that I will break the Assyrian in my land,
and upon my mountains trample him under foot;
and his yoke shall depart from them,
and his burden from their shoulder."
Isaiah 14:24-25

"Remember this and consider,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, 'My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
Isaiah 46:8-11

"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How are we robbing thee?' In your tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 3:6-12

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James 1:16-18

As we saw yesterday, God definitely predestines. If He predestines, He must have a plan. What does the Bible say about this plan?

'Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become like plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.

Isaiah 37:26-27

"To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.

"Remember this and consider,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, 'My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.

"Hearken to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from deliverance:
I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off,
and my salvation will not tarry;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory."

Isaiah 46:5-13

Thus says the LORD:

"The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
the LORD appeared to him from afar.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with timbrels,
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
upon the mountains of Sama'ria;
the planters shall plant,
and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in the hill country of E'phraim:
'Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God.'"

Jeremiah 31:2-6

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nought;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Psalm 33:10-12

Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:16

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Matthew 25:31-40

Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

'After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD.
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the LORD who does all these things.'
Known to God from eternity are all His works.

Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

Acts 15:12-21

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:13-21

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Clearly, God's plan is eternal.

What does the Bible say? Does God predestinate? If so, to what extent?

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:7-16

Here, David says that God saw him while he was still a formless embryo. Okay, God is omniscient. But he also says that God did the forming. In God's "book," that is, according to God's plan, he was formed. God had already planned in His wisdom how David would be formed in the womb.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him" -

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Paul says that the gospel is hidden from the rulers of this age (1 Corinthians 2:6). But we do not need to despair of some difficulty in the gospel for us. Why? Because God has decreed from eternity to reveal His gospel to us. This is our glory that we have the gospel revealed to us.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:29-30

Paul shows here that God has determined that all His adopted children will be conformed to the example of Christ. Our adoption and future glory are inextricably linked. Notice they are all in past tense. From God's perspective, they are so certain as to be rendered as good as done.

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory - even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 9:14-24

Paul here says that God has prepared the elect for glory. Before they are ever born, they are already destined to their lot.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14

We did not yet exist, so we could not have any merit, when this predestination occured. Our salvation comes from God alone. God predestined solely because it was His will to predestine us. He did this through Jesus Christ. And the end is the praise of his glorious grace.
Again, in verse 11, God works all things freely by His own will. Man brings nothing of his own to this equation. God looks no further than the counsel of His will.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:4-10

Before we were born, God prepared good works. We cannot live a holy life in our own strength. We must be formed and transformed by God's own hand. God's grace came first, so we have nothing to boast. God owes us nothing. Any good we do is just a gift from God's treasures.
When Peter preached at Pentecost, he said,

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Acts 2:23

God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.

Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet has He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

David was content. His "heart was not exalted." He was humble and resigned to the will of God. (Interestingly, this Psalm chronologically follows "when David was old and full of days" and "made Solomon his son king over Israel" 1 Chronicles 23:1). We act rashly when we exalt our hearts. We presume and act with reckless abandon. We must learn to keep our heart in check, as David did. David knew that "the haughty eyes thou dost bring down," Psalm 18:27. He kept all his senses and heart in check in humility.
David literally says that he did not go among the great ones. He was a prophet, a king. His very life was full of great things. He was even great himself. But this goes with the rest of the verse: nor in wonders above me. He was content to serve God and the Church, and not search into other matters or go higher than he had been given to go. He stayed "in bounds" to his lot. He did not take liberties with his position.
Too many of us busybody ourselves into other things. Things that are none of our business. We concern ourselves with how others do their jobs, whether at work, at church or at home. But it is none of our business. Some of us take on more than we have been given. We take the high seats and step in to make decisions that are not ours to make. Or we puff ourselves up. But it is none of our business. Know your place. Know your duty. Certainly, be diligent and excel within it. But let God give the increase, so you can enjoy His peace and assurance in what you do.
As Paul said in Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
David compares himself to one being weaned upon his mother. As Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). This infant is not consumed with ambition, but satisfied with simplicity. The world runs with wild passions and finds only discontent. David trusts in the Lord and the Lord compensates him with peace.
When we humbly and soberly see ourselves, when we take our passions and direction from God, He gives us peace.

As I was driving to work the other morning, the car in front of me had a
sticker reading "Join the Dark Side." I thought, we don't need to join
the Dark Side. We're already in the Dark Side. We're all conceived in
sin and born children of wrath. We're dead in our sins and slaves to
sin. What we need is to join the Rebels.

Then I thought how evangelism is true rebellion. You have to rebel
against the sin around you, rebel against your own sinfulness, rebel
against your own pride and self-righteousness, rebel against atheism,
rebel against the humanist mindset, rebel against your own psychological
self-defense mechanisms, rebel against complacency, rebel against hatred.

But then another thought occurred to me. The Star Wars series is a
pretty good proof for the need for two Testaments. Many Christians fall
into the trap of being a one-Testament Christian. They only want to read
the New Testament.

If you only watched the original Star Wars trilogy (episodes #4-6), then
you come away thinking the whole story is about Luke Skywalker. Its just
the story of a farmboy who rises to become a great hero. Its a fun
story, an exciting story, but its not the whole story.

If you watch all six movies, however, you realize that the real story is
about Anakin/Darth Vader. This amazing child goes through training to
become a Jedi, through a series of bad decisions, he turns to the Dark
Side, becomes a Sith Lord, but in the end, he is redeemed. Now when you
watch #4-6, you see him differently. He's not scary - he's sad. He fell
for a lie and lost everything.

How does that apply to Bible reading? There is so much you miss in the
New Testament if you do not read the Old Testament. It is the story of a
Covenant. A Covenant was made between God and His chosen people. Over
and over again, they proved they could not hold up their end of the
bargain. Their history points to a better solution. Their kings point to
a better king. Their prophets foretell of a better age. Then you read
the New Testament. Now you see the Covenant fulfilled. Now you see the
Substitute who stands in the place of His Covenant people. He will
fulfill their end of the bargain for them. And you see that as promised
to Abraham, all nations of the world will be blessed. Now you see Jesus
as He truly is - the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace.

...

Ten days, seventeen hours, fourteen minutes and counting...

It's only been six hours. I hugged her, kissed her, kissed the kids, hugged her again, and said goodbye. I waved as they backed out of the driveway and drove up the road, right up until they turned onto the next road, passed the house on the corner and out of my view.

I've done a load of dishes. Read Jeremiah. Loaded about twenty items onto eBay that I needed to sell. And caught up on about eight or nine messages from Sproul.

I can't believe how much I miss her.

I'm away from her for ten hours everyday. It's only been six so far today. But, by now, I'm usually counting the minutes for 4:30. Then a 35- or 40-minute drive home. Then I'm with her all night. But not tonight. I've got twelve days, twenty-two hours, and fifty-two minutes to go without her. This isn't going to be easy.

Make that twelve days, twenty-two hours, fifty-one minutes, and counting...

On April 8, Michael Marissen started quite a stir with an article in the New York Times, entitled "Unsettling History of That Joyous 'Hallelujah'". (If you do not have access to the New York Times, you can search around a bit and find the article reprinted in several places on the internet. I found it at the PretBlog at PreteristArchive. There is a fuller treatment here with links to read some of the source material).

This prompted several responses on the blogosphere.
Orrin Judd at BrothersJudd Blog - "It's Not Called 'Maybe a Messiah'"
Dispatches from the Culture Wars - Handel's Messiah and Anti-Semitism
Robert Elisberg at The Huffington Post - You Can't Handel the Truth

I like the title to that last one the best.

Marissen's history of "Messiah" is very good and well documented. His theology? Not so good. I have to admit I have a newfound love for the "Messiah." I've always enjoyed it and my wife and I have been listening to it a lot lately.

Consider the Scriptures used in the "Messiah." In Part Two, #31 is Isaiah 53:8, "He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken." Here we have the Crucifixion. In #33, the Resurrection ("Who is this King of Glory?" Psalm 24) In #36, the Ascension ("Thou art gone up on high" Psalm 68).

Then, the spread of the gospel. #37 ("great was the company of preachers" Psalm 68); #38 ("How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace" Isaiah 52:7); #39 ("Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world." Romans 10:18).

Then the nations rage #40 (Psalm 2:1-2) and in #42 "He that dwelleth in Heav'n shall laugh them to scorn." (Psalm 2:4). Then the last before the "Hallellujah" chorus: #43 "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron" Psalm 2:9.

Yes, the "Hallelujah" chorus is about the destruction of Jerusalem. The text of it is all from Revelation:
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. (19:6)
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. (11:15)
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. (19:16)

The destruction of Jerusalem was the "sign of the Son of Man in heaven" (Matthew 24:30). The destruction of Jerusalem declares that God has "raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named" (Ephesians 1:20, 21). It declares that God "has put all things under His feet" (Ephesians 1:22).

Christ reigns. And as the Temple has been destroyed, no more sacrifice can be made for sin. Christ "appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). The Temple has been destroyed and there is no reason for it to ever be rebuilt. This is all very good news!

Is this anti-Semitism? Has God rejected the Jews? Paul answered this is Romans 11, "By no means!" He explains in verse 25, "a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."

Even though Israel as a whole was cut off, some continue in true faith (v. 1-7).

He says, in vs. 11-12, "So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!" In verse 15, "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" And in verses 23, 24, "And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree." So they will be saved, as the Gentiles are, by evangelism.

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:14-17)

These are grafted back into the olive tree. "For [Christ] himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14) He has "reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility" (Ephesians 2:16). "For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:26-29). To say there is a distinction between Jew and Gentile within the body of Christ is to deny the Gospel.

Israel will not be restored as the Kingdom. Jesus Himself said, "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits" (Matthew 21:43). To the elect, Peter said, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Everyone has equal footing in the Kingdom of God. "In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.'" (Isaiah 19:24-25)

After the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved. Then we will truly see the fulfillment of Isaiah 19:9:

Theologian Douglas Wilson and atheist Christopher Hitchens will be debating at Christianity Today this month. Promises to be an interesting read:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-12.0.html

You've seen how "bad" Piper can be. I think this might be my favorite for a pick-me-up. I know Dave and Ben will appreciate it.

I wanted to let you know about a great article on the Kingdom over at American Vision.

In Matthew 24, Jesus prophecies, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." In case you hadn't caught on yet, I interpret Matthew 24 as a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. So, how was all this stellar activity fulfilled? Glad you asked.

Look at Isaiah 13:9-10:

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.

Is this some "end times" prophecy? Look at 13:1 - "The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw." Isaiah is using cosmic language to describe the fall of Babylon to the Medes in 539 B.C.! This is not an isolated incident. Yesterday, I read in Amos 8:9:

"And on that day, declares the Lord God,
"I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight."

That described the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. Later, in Ezekiel 32, He says,

"When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
All the bright lights of heaven
will I make dark over you,
and put darkness on your land,
declares the Lord God."

Here he is referring to the death of Pharoah (Ezekiel 32:2). None of these stellar predictions literally took place. The prophets use the imagery of sun, moon, and stars to represent earthly authorities and governors. Poetically, however, the lights did "go out" for these nations. If we lived two thousand years ago in Palestine, we immediately would have understood that.
So, speaking prophetically, Jesus is telling his disciples that the lights are going out in Israel. At the end of the Tribulation, the Israel of the Old Covenant will be gone.

Jesus also says that "all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Did anyone see Jesus coming on the clouds in the destruction of Jerusalem? Back to Isaiah we go:

Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

Isaiah 19:1

And what is this? According to the beginning of verse 1, "An oracle concerning Egypt."
Psalm 104:3 says that God "makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind..."
Nahum 1:3 says that "the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."
"Coming on the clouds" refers to His presence, His salvation and His judgment.
In Mark 14, when Caiaphas asks Jesus if He is the Christ, He answers, "“I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Did you catch that? Caiaphas will see it.
When did Jesus come with the clouds of heaven? Paul speaks of God' great might "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:20-23)
Just as Daniel prophecied in 7:13-14:

“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus literally came on the clouds at His Ascension and Israel witnessed His figurative coming on the clouds when He destroyed their nation in judgment.

One more note. Many people still see a special distinction for the nation of Israel. But they miss the clear message of Scripture. God clearly judged Israel in A.D. 70.

When Jesus was teaching in the temple in Matthew 21, he asked, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits." (v. 42, 43)

And Peter, addressing the believers said, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9, 10)

Paul says that "a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). They will be grafted in, just as the Gentiles, through evangelism. As Charles Spurgeon said:

“I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect the same power which turned the world upside down once will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His holy name that He was not able to convert the world.”

But Israel will never again be a seperate, holy Kingdom. And here is Isaiah 19:19-25:

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

As Paul says in Ephesians 2:14-16:

For [Christ Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And Galatians 3:26-29:

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

The New Jerusalem, the faithful Bride of Christ, has replaced the Old Jerusalem, the unfaithful adulteress. There is only the Church.

My sister-in-law asked me last night if I didn't take the Bible literally. I answered that I take the Bible as the authors literally intended it to be taken. I think this answer might have disappointed her.

But consider that we all do that.

Isaiah 65:22: "for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands." The oldest verified redwood is 2200 years old. Some may be older than that. Does this mean that we should expect to live 2200 years? Or does is it just hyperbole to emphasize that life will be long -- or even a more satisfied or fuller life?

Amos 2:9 (which I just read yesterday): "Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks..." Many cedars grow thirty five feet tall. Should we understand from this that the Amorites were thirty or forty feet tall? Or does this just emphasize their great stature and strength?

Psalm 114:4: "The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs." Sounds like a scene from Disney's Fantasia? Or is it colorfully describing the shaking and trembling of the mountains when God came on Mount Sinai to give the Commandments? Isn't it a challenge to us that the very earth shakes in the presence of God and we are so often unmoved when we read His divine revelation each day?

Don't forget that our Lord Himself said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:53, 54) Don't make the mistake of the disciples who turned back and no longer walked with him. They took him literally, as if He intended cannibalism. He meant that He was giving His flesh to suffer and die. By eating and drinking he meant believing. He uses the physical to illustrate the spiritual, as in the hungering and thirsting of Matthew 5:6. You eat the meat to make it your own, so He must be your Lord and your God (John 20:28). Our redemption and salvation by His crucifixion is our delight. He is our spiritual nourishment.

So, you see, the Bible must be understood as the author literally intended it to be understood.

Please take the time to read the enclosed article by Chuck Colson. Click here.

This law does not define "sexual orientation," leaving open the definition of the term. To see all the behaviors covered by the term "sexual orientation," please click here. Warning! This listing is offensive.

There is still time to make your voice heard. Please call your representative in Washington today. The vote is scheduled for this Thursday. Tell him or her that you strongly oppose the Hate Crimes Act. Mr. Colson rightly refers to it as the Thought Control bill.

You can reach your representative at 202-224-3121. Please ask your friends to call also.
Thank you for caring enough to get involved.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

Did you hear about this? Here's the report from ICC:

4/25/07 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has just learned that the three Christians who were martyred in Turkey last week were horribly tortured for three hours prior to being killed, as details continue to leak out. As difficult and sorrowful it is to learn more, we believe that we must expose the truly hellish nature of this attack for what it is.

On Easter Sunday, five of the killers had been to a service that Pastor Necati had arranged in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.” These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat.

On the day of the killing, the young Muslim men had arranged to meet the Christians at 10:00 am to ostensibly learn more about the Bible. They had gathered guns, breadknives, ropes and towels (they knew there would be a lot of blood), ready for their act of service to Allah.

They arrived, and reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The young men tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs as they videoed their work on their cellphones. What followed in the next three hours is beyond belief.

Details of the torture—warning: graphic content.

They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated.

Meanwhile, another believer arrived at the office around 12:30. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside. He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. “We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,” he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke he heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a strange snarling sound.

He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan. The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene.

Tilman and Necati had been slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear to ear. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive.

After Tillman’s wife learned of the brutal death of her husband she publicly forgave the killers saying “they know not what they do.”

Jeff King, ICC President, stated, “The contrast between the acts of the killers and the forgiveness of Tillman’s wife is glaring and in the end seems to be at the center of this story for us. For in the end, these events serve as a stark reminder of the difference between Islam and Christianity. For the ‘faithful’ Muslims, following their god meant brutally killing three men (“we did this to protect Islam”). For the faithful Christians, following God meant forgiving the men who had tortured and murdered their loved ones.”

I share this story to be able to share this update with you:

The Protestant Church in Smyrna is requesting Christians to pray for the families of the three believers killed on April 18, 2007, in Malatya, Turkey. According to a press release, the church urged Christians to pray that someday the perpetrators of the gruesome murders would receive Christ and for God to use the testimonies of the martyred brothers to draw others in the knowledge of Him. II Corinthians 1:3-7

My Bible reading today included Isaiah 1-8. When you get a chance, compare Isaiah 1 and the letter to the church at Sardis, especially Revelation 3:3, 4. Both speak of the Remnant and threaten judgment. Historicists interpret the letters to the churches as representing ages of the Church (post-Ascension). I have great difficulty with this, as it requires constant re-interpretation. Each generation has to extend the Laodicean age further. Frankly, everyone has claimed to be Laodicean. I've yet to find anyone claiming themselves to be Ephesus or Philadelphia or any other. Everyone thinks he is in the last age. However, I do think there is something to the church-representing-an-age theory. The ages, though, are the ages of the Old Covenant: Ephesus - the Fall in the Garden, Smyrna - the Egyptian captivity, Pergamum - wilderness wanderings, Thyatira - the kings, Sardis - the prophets, Philadelphia - post-Exile, and Laodicea - AD 30 to 70. Why would this matter? Because these confirm the Lord's working in history for His people.

Moving on, though, in Isaiah: In 1:2, the Lord says, "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me." In v. 3, "Israel does not know, my people do not understand." Clearly, He is speaking to Israel. In v. 10, He says, "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!" Did you catch that? He calls Israel Sodom and Gomorrah. Also in v. 21, "How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers." On into chapter 3, in verse 9, "For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves." We will see this language again in Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 16. And, of course, we see it again in Revelation 11: "And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified."

As I just mentioned 1:21, so also in Jeremiah 2, Ezekiel 16, and Hosea 9, Israel is called a whore. Israel broke the Covenant of marriage with her God and went whoring after idols. I just finished reading the two books of Kings. Even the "good" kings, who would tear down the Asherah or the temples of Baal, would leave the high places or the golden calves. Generation after generation ran after idols. It was a depressing read. I would find myself cheering for a king, just to have my hopes dashed as he left one thing undone. And that undone things would be the undoing of Israel. But it all points to the Christ, the King who leaves nothing undone, who fulfills all righteousness, and who thoroughly destroys His enemies. Consider Revelation 14:4a, "It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins." Not literal virgins, but in the language of 2 Corinthians 11:2, "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." The army of the Lamb is faithful to Him. Unlike the Great Prostitute, Isreal, "with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." (Revelation 17:2)

Compare Isaiah 2:1-5 with Revelation 14:1-5. The two mountain visions.

Compare Isaiah 4:4-5 with Revelation 7:15-17. This is the Church of the New Covenant.

Oh, one last thing: Compare the Vineyard of Isaiah 5:1-7 with the Parable of the Tenants. Then the fulfillment in the Sixth Seal and the Harvest (grapes of wrath).

Remember the Barbie dolls with poseable legs (I have a wife and daughters)? When you posed the legs, it felt like there was a gear in the knees that locked them into position. I've been describing the feeling in my knees for the last few weeks as similar to that.
In the last few days, however, I would describe it simply as pain.
Since all the kids were congested and I was feeling light-headed this weekend, I went to the doctor yesterday morning. While I was there, finding out I had fluid in my ears, I asked about my knees. The pain had been radiating into my shins and hips, too. I suspected it was my fibromyalgia again and they would try to put me on antidepressants again -- they can try, but they can't make me take them.
The doctor took one look at my kneecaps and said, "There's your problem. You have a condition called patella alta." I'm one that's always relieved to find out I'm not crazy.
Patella alta is literally "high kneecaps." My kneecaps do rub against my shin and thigh bones, hence the Barbie effect. And as I've been trying to compensate for the pain, my shins and hips are taking more pressure than they usually do, so they are painful, too.
Well, he could go in and take a Dremel to shave off the parts that are rubbing, but then its just a matter of time before the kneecap starts rubbing again. So, for now, he's given me an anti-inflammatory and told me to exercise my quads.
In the meantime, I'm back on my cane and getting a nice little handicap placard to hang in my car.