If Christ Be Not Raised ...
"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor. 15:-8-9)
The resurrection of Christ is the fulcrum of redemptive history. Everything humanity longs for hangs in the balance of that singular event. Without it, there would have been no hope.
In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul emphasizes the absolute necessity of Christ’s resurrection. As the Old Covenant temple had been destroyed and rebuilt, the New Covenant temple (Christ Himself) had been "destroyed" and had been "rebuilt" if you will.
However, there is a remarkable difference between the type and the anti-type. In Haggai 2:3, God instructs the prophet to tell Zerubbabel, "Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?"
Those who had seen the temple before its destruction gave their all to its restoration. But when the job was done, it just wasn’t the same. Reminders of the destruction had become an integral part of the "new" edifice and they only added to the sense of loss the true people of God felt.
Verse 5 is particularly telling in regard to the importance God placed on the physical temple, "As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!"
Did God need the physical temple? You might want to revisit 2 Samuel 7. David had completed his own glorious residence and lamented that the Ark of God was kept in a tent. He proposes to build God a house and inquires of Nathan. At first Nathan gives his approval, but God pays him a visit and both he and David learn that God is going to build them a house!
God will allow the earthly temple to be built, but it was never His plan that it would be His eternal dwelling place. He would inhabit a temple of His own making: a temple not made with hands. From God’s promise we get a hint that the building of the earthly temple simply prefigured what He was doing in the spiritual realm. Back to Zerubbabel.
Though the rebuilt temple pales in comparison to the original, God promises its glory will return and in verse 9 He says, "The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I shall give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."
Herod’s temple can hardly be considered the more glorious temple. What temple then is God proclaiming in Haggai? None other than the kingdom temple represented by those who believe in Christ. He was the foundation and they were living stones. They had revered the earthly temple, now, as believers, they were the temple.
Which is the more glorious?
In Mark 14:58, false witnesses testified against Christ, "We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands." John makes it clear that the disciples understood (after the fact) that Christ meant His body. In contrast to the temple of the Old Covenant, Isaiah describes Messiah in this way, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him."
Indeed! They rejected and crucified Him because He did not appear as they expected. Nonetheless, the temple that He raised has become the most glorious of all in fulfillment of the promises in Haggai 2.
It is of special interest to note that in John 2:19 Christ uses the Greek word egeiro to describe His return from the dead. At its root is the idea of rousing from sleep or awakening. This is very different from the anastasis which He uses to describe the resurrection of believers "in the last day". As we have noted before, that word literally means to stand again.
Undeniably it was used to describe those who were brought back to life, but Christ has much more in view than a physical resurrection. It is far more glorious than that. Christ died physically, but He never lost standing as Divinity. In His coming He took on human flesh and set aside His rights as God.
Whatever form His resurrected body was, is what we will share beyond this life: but only in Him. His body was resurrected a different body than what was placed in the tomb.
In Christ, we can stand before God again. What was lost in the first Adam was restored in the second Adam. Abiding in Him, we become the temple of God.. The Old Covenant temple was glorious but its glory was temporary and limited to earthly Jerusalem.
The temple of the new Jerusalem is the eternal habitation of God which He raised up in Christ. "If Christ be not raised..." the picture remains bleak. But as Paul gloriously concludes, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." We live because Christ reigns in victory!
In The Glory Of The Father
It was recently our pleasure to participate in the second annual Preterist Pilgrim Weekend in Ardmore, Oklahoma. I’ve previously mentioned Don Preston and his writings. Ardmore is where his congregation meets. Diligent students from a number of states gathered for fellowship and teaching. It’s a weekend I highly recommend.
The keynote speaker had to cancel at the last minute, but Don was quite up to the task of carrying on with the sessions. On Friday evening we viewed a new video and then entered a Q & A period. During that time, Don shared an introduction to a forthcoming book titled In The Glory of The Father. It deals with the nature of Jesus’ coming in a way that is exegetically, dare I say it, airtight.
Don traces the biblical history of God’s coming in judgment and demonstrates how the language of Christ in Matthew 16:27 is a reference to those events which prefigured His own coming in glory to exercise judgment.
The book is yet to be printed but you can get an audio version. Audio tapes (15 tapes) and CD’s are $59.95, and the MP3 version on one CD is $39.95. That’s a bargain for about twenty hours of instruction. You can order directly from Don at (580) 226-7070.
We’re in the process of listening to the entire teaching now and are being richly blessed by it. I think you will be too.
In Memoriam
On June 14, 2003, Dilek Sarafis emerged from the cocoon of this flesh and now stands in the fullness of the glory of the Father. Dilek is the daughter of Charlen Bour who faithfully folds, seals, stamps and mails this newsletter every month. She is known to many on the mailing list and it is appropriate that we remember her here.Dilek and her husband John have been so supportive of our feeble efforts, but that is just a hint of how much they have touched the lives of others. Dilek suffered with numerous health problems for years and the faithfulness of her family in caring for her has inspired and blessed many of us. Even in her protracted illness, Dilek’s life of faith ministered to others in ways too numerous to even mention.
With her family, we share the loss of her physical presence but we rejoice in the assurance that she now dwells with her Creator and King.
A Mother’s Love
Two or three years ago a local story about a family of Cardinals appeared in our newspaper. The article told how the homeowner watched as the pair constructed their nest in the shrubs outside their home. They were delighted the birds had chosen to nest where they could watch them but they were concerned about the chosen location. The birds had built their nest directly under a valley in the roof line of the house.
They hoped the birds could hatch their young and move on before rains came. Daily, they observed the clutch of eggs and waited expectantly for them to hatch. With delight they witnessed the careful attention of the parents to their young which quickly transformed the bald bodies with gaping mouths into more recognizable forms.
Then one night, the storms came. The couple, though concerned for the birds, did nothing. The next morning they anxiously went to check on their wonderful tenants. What they saw saddened and amazed them.
There in the nest was the mother bird dead with her wings rigidly spread over her babies. She had valiantly fought the raging torrent that flooded her home and given her life for her family. Her effort was valiant but in vain - all the baby birds had drowned too.
The article didn’t mention the male bird so I assume he had abandoned the nest. My personal observations tell me that male Cardinals are very nurturing by nature, but in this time of great need, he apparently is programmed for self preservation. I don’t question God’s design, but what we witness can be instructive if we allow ourselves to consider it.
God has so designed His creation that the usual order of things is for parents to protect their young. There are certainly species which devour their own young indiscriminately (the bullfrogs in my backyard are just one example) and we don’t really understand why they do. It may just be God’s way of regulating the population of those particular species but we just don’t know.
However, it is interesting to watch environmentalists interfere with the process to save the eggs and young of the lower creation while, at the same time, most have no problem with the destruction of human young. As the only reasoning animals, we bear the shame of choosing to destroy our children.
We are puzzled when watch some species devour their young or do nothing to protect them from predators. Even if we have a mental awareness that this is the natural order of things our minds want to reject the notion that any species could treat its young with such disregard.
However, as a culture we seem to have little problem seeing human children slaughtered, or even worse butchered to obtain needed materials for medical treatments and research. This horror must be stopped. It is up to us to raise our voice to stop it. Our silence is costing precious lives.
To be sure, some are speaking out, and well meaning attempts to curb the practice of abortion are being made. At the same time, we seem to have agreed making all forms of abortion extremely rare, as they used to be, is not within our reach.
The partial birth abortion ban is a prime example of a well meaning but misguided effort. Because many Christians have not been diligent to consider the implications of such a ban, they have supported it. The end result of that effort, in the opinion of many - including me, will be worse than the present situation.
The rationalization usually follows the line of reasoning which suggests it is better to save a few lives now than hold out for a much better end in the future. Is the underlying premise even true? Partial birth abortion is a relatively rare procedure even now. It is done primarily to be able to harvest prime material from near term babies and it is sickening to contemplate.
The reality is that most of the babies aborted in this fashion will simply be aborted by some other means. For those seeking abortion, the issue is not so much how it is done, only that it is done. Other forms are less lucrative to abortionists, but they won’t be stopped by the PBA ban presently on the table in Washington.
Given 1) there are few abortions of this type and 2) most of those will be done in some other manner, we must conclude that very few, if any lives will be spared by this legislation.
One may say, "If it saves a single child, it is worth it." But let’s think that through.
Contrary to the conventional wisdom, there is no law which makes abortion legal in this country. Yes, there is a Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, but that does not and cannot make legitimate law. In this country, law requires an act of Congress and that body has passed no law making abortion legal and indeed it cannot lawfully do so.
Our Constitution guarantees the protection of life, liberty and property. Since Roe v. Wade, all those have been increasingly compromised. The Supreme Court based its ruling on their finding that an unborn child was not a person. They ruled that if it could be shown the pre-born child was a person, that person would be entitled to the protection of the civil government. One must wonder at what stage of development the developing baby becomes a person!
Most folks never stop to consider the logical problems that have been created by our advancing technology. Premature babies are routinely put on external life support until they develop enough to survive. Some of these infants are no older than their contemporaries who are murdered by abortionists.
If someone walked into a hospital nursery and killed one of those premature children, they would be charged with murder in a heartbeat. It should shock us that children are more in danger in their mother’s womb than in a hospital.
There is absolutely no difference between the premature infant and its aborted contemporary. Both are the same age and both have developed to the same point of personhood yet one can legally (not lawfully) be killed and the other cannot. This should bring the issue of legislating in regard to this matter clearly in focus.
If the PBA ban passes, for the first time we will have a law on the books that tacitly makes abortion legal. Since the ban only deals with partial birth abortion, the pro-death crowd will press the issue to its logical conclusion that all other forms of abortion are legal.
As Christians, we should be strongly upholding the criminalization of all abortion and the protection of all innocent human life. Compromising with the enemy is not the solution. Those who want abortion on demand will ultimately be very pleased with the pending legislation. Like old Br’er Rabbit, they may be screaming about the briar patch, but they will celebrate when well meaning members of the pro-life movement give them what they really wanted in the first place.
It will be all but impossible to move the line once it is drawn where we don’t want it. If we want all abortion stopped, we should seek that and leave the outcome in God’s hands. As it is we are playing into the hands of our opponents. Of course, this legislation (like virtually everything Congress does these days) will be illegal; but that doesn’t seem to bother many folks any more.
Like that mother Cardinal, we need to be willing to spread our wings and stand against the deluge of popular sentiment. Even if we don’t survive it, the legacy we leave will be one that cannot be ignored. More than that, it will be one that honors our Father.
This Present Moment
The following piece was written by Jill Carattini with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. It is a timely reminder of how important it is to be in touch with the present. However, we must never forget that the present is anchored in the past and charts the path to the future.
This Present Moment
We are profoundly unaware of the present. That is, the here and now, theplace that we always are, is the place that we are least likely to see for what it fully is. Blaise Pascal, though living four centuries ago, keenly diagnosed this human condition. In his work, Pensees, meaning "thoughts," he masterfully articulates our seeming lack of interest in the present. Writes Pascal,
"Let each one examine his thoughts, and he will find them all occupied with the past and the future. We scarcely ever think of the present; and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means; the future alone is our end. So we never live, but we hope to live; and, as we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so."
That is a powerful proclamation, isn't it? The present is never our end. If this is true, Pascal's dour thought is worth examining. Though we hope and toil for life, we never really live. And indeed, looking back many of us can recall a squandered time, a time we wish we were more fully attentive, more fully present. Truly, the now of life is far more significant than we often realize.
In the play Our Town, Thornton Wilder brilliantly depicts the magnitude of the present, the fullness of each moment amidst the fleeting nature of time in our lives. Emily, a young mother who died in childbirth, is given the opportunity to go back and observe a single day in her life. She is advised to choose an "ordinary" day, for even the least important day will
be important enough, the dead remind her. True enough, Emily chooses a day and quickly finds herself overwhelmed by it. Her ensuing lines are fascinating.
"I can't go on. It goes so fast… I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back—up the hill—to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look."
"Goodbye, Goodbye, world… Mama and Papa. Goodbye clocks ticking… and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths… and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you."
Upon returning Emily wonders if anyone ever realizes life while they live it—life as it is, "every, every minute." The response she receives is pointed. "No… The saints and poets, maybe they do some." (Footnote 1: As quoted by Barry Morrow in Heaven Observed (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2001), 321.)
The image is powerful and the lesson clear. And where this is a fitting reminder to seize each day, we should ask why the present brims with significance, lest it lead us to the Epicurean's philosophy, observed by King Solomon, cautioned against by Jesus, noted by Dave Matthews, and largely embraced today: Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.
(Footnote 2: Ecclesiastes 8:15, Luke 12:13-21) It is written on our hearts that the present holds much more still.
C.S. Lewis once asked, "Where, except in the present, can the Eternal be met?" This is why the present is so profoundly important. You see, God is always nearest to us "now." Where Jesus says, "Follow me." Where He pleads, "Come to me," there is urgency and immediacy in his voice. Now is where He asks us to draw near; now is when we must decide to follow or not to follow; now is where we rejoice in this day that He hath made. So indeed, seize the day, for the promises of the One who came in the fullness of time are boldly written upon every moment.
Copyright(c) 2003, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries www.rzim.com .
The old Gaither song, "We Have This Moment" is one of my favorites and it echoes through my memory as I consider the thoughts above. "We have this moment to hold in our hands, and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have this moment today."
The essence of life in Christ is living in the present moment. "Redeem the time wisely."
The Apprentice’s Journal
It’s the dog days of summer here in Texas and this old dog is staying out of the heat as much as possible. The garden (such as it was) has just about played out and hopes for a better fall are starting to emerge.
Earlier in the summer we finally bought a hummingbird feeder and were doubly blessed when our daughter gave us another one. Now the little critters show up regularly to do battle with the bees (the one’s that took over the woodpeckers’ nest). It seems the bees like the nectar just as much as the hummingbirds and its amazing how much they consume.
If you’re into the backyard nature thing, you may want to visit . You’ll find all the Audubon Society Field Guides online there. They also allow you to set up a list of all the flora and fauna in your area of the world. I set up a list called "My Backyard" and its surprising the large number of species that I’ve encountered in just a few months.
On the financial front - We just refinanced the house at 4.5% and shortened the loan term too. That’s two points lower than our first home loan over 30 years ago. A few folks have asked how the banks can afford to do that. It’s simple really.
Thanks to fractional banking, they are allowed to loan the same money to ten people at the same time. That means they are really making 45%. True it’s a lot less than what they were making, but wouldn’t you like to get that on your savings account? Study up on the Federal Reserve and see just how you are being robbed by the world bankers while your representatives pad their pockets and look the other way.
The study of this subject is both eye opening and infuriating; nevertheless, I encourage you to be diligent in this regard; good citizenship demands it.
On a brighter note, Sharon is off to Peru again in November, the Lord willing. This will be her second medical mission there and she’s really looking forward to it. For more details, see the enclosed letter from her. Some of you have already contributed to the effort and we so appreciate your sharing this ministry with her.
Finally, thank you for taking the time each month to read my ramblings. The fellowship that we share is something I truly cherish. Most of our relationships are long distance ones, but that only increases the value of our communication. I’d love to hear what happening in your life. Write soon! ~ Jim