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Joshua 1:8-10

Expelling the “Ites”

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 22, 2023

Judah recruits Simeon’s help to defeat their common foe because Simeon’s land is within the borders of Judah’s land. They joined forces as they attempted to clear their inheritance of all the pagan influences that remained after the initial battles. After Judah’s soldiers defeat Adoni-Bezek, they turn their attention to what would become their capital city in the future. Judges 1:8-10 tells us, “And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.”  Fleenor informs us, “Pre-Davidic Jerusalem was a small city located on the western side of the Kidron Valley along the central ridges and was naturally defended by steep terrain on the south, east, and west. Along with the military advantages that came with occupying Jerusalem, the Canaanites had a propensity to build religious cultic centers in elevated and central locations. Although, prior to the temple, the Israelites had not used Jerusalem as a center for religious activity, the military advantage of Jerusalem was obvious. Judah captures the city and, from there, moves to the south and west to capture the Negev and the foothills.”[1] The book of Judges continues, “And afterward, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.”

It appears that the tribe of Judah, with Simeon’s help, had great success in driving out the pagan Canaanites from their various territories. Many take exception to the cruel treatment of the Canaanites by their foreign invaders. They often ask, “How could a good God condone the murder of innocent people?” Much can be deduced from the way the law God gave Moses regarding the treatment of foreigners. We see that there were many of the various Canaanite tribes that found a home under divine rule amidst the Israelites. I think Hamlin is correct when he suggests that any who wishes could be safe in the family of God. He says that to the core of the tribes of the Israelites “were added oppressed Canaanites who were alienated from the city-state system. There were debt slaves, sharecroppers, landless farmers, artisans, and even rural brigands. These Canaanites threw in their lot with the ‘tribes of Israel.’ When, in the covenant ceremony, they took the oath to serve the Lord, they were accepted as ‘descendants’ of the tribal ancestors such as Asher, Zebulun, Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah, and so forth, and became part of ‘the people of Israel.’”[2] This was clearly seen in Joshua’s conquering of Jericho, where Rahab and her whole family were added to one of the tribes. She actually appears in the genealogy of Jesus.

Unfortunately, as we read further in the book of Judges, we see that as the people settled the land, they neglected to complete their task of driving out all the Canaanites. This was to have some devastating effects in the years ahead. Although they had a great start, they did not often finish well. Gingrich applies this to the Christian life we all live today. He says, “If we Christians are to live victorious Christian lives, we must through the power of Christ drive ‘the ites’ (the evil carnal appetites) from our hearts (our Jerusalem) and keep ‘the ites’ from reentering by being so occupied with the things of the Christ life that there is no room in us for the things of the self-life.  If we permit the expelled ‘ites’ to re-enter, they are much more difficult to expel the second time.”[3]

[1] Fleenor, Rob, and Mark S. Ziese. 2008. Judges-Ruth. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company.

[2] Hamlin, E. John. 1990. At Risk in the Promised Land: A Commentary on the Book of Judges. International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

[3] Gingrich, Roy E. 2006. The Books of Judges & Ruth. Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing.

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Joshua 1:8, Various Psalms

Biblical Meditation

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 21, 2023

The Book of Ephesians talks about the armor of God. It lists the breastplate, shield, helmet, and boots, along with the only offensive item, the “Sword of the Spirit.” Since we are at war with spiritual forces, not physical, the sword is also spiritual. God’s Word—the Bible—is described as “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Jesus used this weapon when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. To each of Satan’s efforts to lead Him into sin, Jesus replied, “It is written.” He would then quote from the Bible to ward off the temptations of Satan. It was like a sword fight. The Devil would parry using the scriptures but perverting their intended meaning, and Jesus would answer with a more powerful stroke by correcting Satan’s attempt to pervert the passages he quoted. God’s Word, the Bible, is God’s truth. That’s why it is so powerful and effective in our daily battles. Getting it right, however, takes some focus and study. Sometimes our desire to see it one way might lead us into trouble. I’ve always argued that we need to give it our prime time. Joshua 1:8 tells us to do that as well. It takes time, effort, and focused attention. Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

I’ve had interesting discussions with people who argue that they like to do their devotions in the evenings rather than in the mornings. I’ve always been a morning person. I’ve always argued that the best time to pick up your sword is in the early mornings when you are going out to do battle. You don’t put your armor on and pick up your sword when you’re going to bed. However, in the end, the important thing is that we feed ourselves on God’s Word. It is from God’s Word that we get the nourishment to fight the fight, whether we feed in the morning or at night. As a matter of fact, Joshua instructs his readers to do it both day and night. When he says not to let it “depart” from your mouth, he means you shouldn’t stop talking about it.

God’s promise of being prosperous and successful is not a promise of wealth and fame. It’s a promise of a healthy, happy, and satisfying life. The value of spending time alone with God meditating on His word cannot be over-emphasized.  “It’s more than a spiritual exercise to be checked off as you move through your schedule for the day. It’s a vital part of your growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In Eastern forms of meditation, we’re encouraged to empty our minds.  The biblical idea is different. “Meditation means ‘the act of focusing one’s thoughts: to ponder, think on, muse.’ Meditation consists of reflective thinking or contemplation, usually on a specific subject, to discern its meaning or significance or a plan of action. Some synonyms would be contemplation, reflection, rumination, deep thinking, or remembering in the sense of keeping or calling something to mind for the purpose of consideration, reflection, or meditation.” The Psalmist says a lot about this. Psalm 63:6 says, “When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches.” Psalm 143:5 says, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy doings; I muse on the work of Thy hands.”[1] David sings, in Psalm 119, about the beauty of God’s Word. He says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.” Lift it, and you will see where you’re going. Hold it low, and you’ll avoid things that make you stumble.

[1] Keithley, Hampton. n.d. Hampton Keithly Studies from Bible.org.

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Deuteronomy 1:9-10, Various

Nations Need Wise Leadership

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 20, 2023

Moses reminded the children of Israel that God had kept His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and was now keeping His promise to them, their descendants. Having been delivered from Slavery in Egypt, having received the law, and their constitution, having been disciplined for disobedience for 40 years, and after having been fed and watered in the wilderness, the nation was about to receive the promised land. Moses knew he would not be with them and began to prepare the nation to function without him.  He reminded the nation that they were too much for one man to handle. God had indeed fulfilled his promise to make Abraham a great nation. In Deuteronomy 1:9-10, “At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. The Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.”

I can’t help but believe that Moses was well aware of God’s promise to Abraham to make his descendants as “numerous as the stars in heaven.” When Abraham looked up in the night, he saw only what was visible. When I was aboard the USS WALLER, a Navy Destroyer, we were in the waters of the Persian Gulf. I remember being at sea where there were no lights of a city. We went to “darken ship,” which cut off all the lights that would be visible to anyone else near us. We only had infrared lighting. As I stepped off of the bridge onto a catwalk, I looked up at the sky and was astounded by how many stars I could see. It was the same night sky that Abraham saw. I suppose this is what it looked like to Abraham and Moses as well. Moses suggests that the number of children of Israel that he led from Egypt already matched the number of stars in heaven. He said, “Today” you are as numerous as the stars. Well, we know now that it isn’t true. The stars are actually innumerable, but the point Moses is making is that just as the number of stars in heaven is unmanageable, so too is the number of Israelites.

Moses is preparing the nation to think about the organization of so many people. We’ll see them organized and assigned portions of the land by their tribe and the number of people in their tribes. Moses knew that the people needed wise and godly leaders. Payne observes, “No single individual, however gifted, could personally look after a whole nation’s needs; but God had already given his approval to a careful system of leadership and control. Every generation has its ‘wise, understanding, and experienced men.’ Not even a Moses is indispensable.”[1] With Jesus, the number of people counted in the household of God is increased even more. All those of faith are now grafted in and included in this great number of people. Ephesians includes us in the count of descendants of Abraham. Paul says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” In Acts Chapter Six, when Gentiles were beginning to be added to the church in Jerusalem, it became apparent that the Apostles were going to need help taking care of the flock. Brown recognized this and suggested that the resolution that the Apostles made to manage the increase was one that followed the pattern established by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy.  He writes, “In this case, men were appointed to care for the concerns of the widows, leaving the apostles free to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. When churches grow considerably—and we must pray that they will—and when problems increase—and they usually do, though we hope that they won’t—it becomes necessary to ensure that leaders are not overburdened and that wise and spiritual people are appointed to meet the needs.”[2]

[1] Payne, David F. 1985. Deuteronomy. The Daily Study Bible Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[2] Brown, Paul E. 2008. Deuteronomy: An Expositional Commentary. Exploring the Bible Commentary. Leominster, UK: Day One Publications.

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Numbers 1:20-21, Various

Head By Head

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 19, 2023

The world population clock tells us that there are 8 billion people in the world today. The growth rate is about 67 million every year. Living in a world with so many people, it is easy to get lost and feel very insignificant. The Bible gives us God’s perspective on people, which alleviates the idea that so many people make the individual insignificant. The first census that Moses takes in the wilderness begins with the clan of Reuben. Reuben was Leah’s son and the firstborn of the twelve patriarchs. Numbers 1:20-21 tells us, “The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.” The first observation from the census’ directions is the focus on each individual. God cares for people. God cares for individuals, and just as He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, he knows the struggles and sufferings of every human being, in the womb and out! The message from the numbering and naming of the Israelites that came out of Egypt has another application also.

It is a vivid illustration that God is faithful to keep His promise to people. I know that 45 thousand isn’t a lot in comparison to the current population, but this number represents only the children of one man: Reuben. The number was also taken only as s census of men who have reached adulthood and are capable of going to war. This was important because Israel was about to go to war to secure the land that God had given them as an inheritance. I imagine that there were four times as many people in the tribe as there were men of that age. Also, remember that this count was done, in my estimation, about 4000 years ago.

Now, hundreds of years earlier, God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation and that there would have more descendants than there are grains of sand on the beach or stars in the sky. The estimated number of grains of sand on Earth is around 7.5 x 10^18 (7.5 quintillion). How many stars are there? The exact number of stars in the universe is impossible to know, but astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. This number is so big that it is hard to imagine. In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, there are about 300 billion stars. Stars are the building blocks of galaxies, and there are billions of galaxies in the universe.

Censuses are important because it reveals God’s care for each human life.  God insists that Moses count the children of Reuben “head by head.” That means everyone counted. Rick Warren expresses how much you and I matter to God. If you want to know how much you matter to God, he directs our attention to Isaiah 44:2, which says, “I am your Creator. You were in My care even before you were born.” God scheduled each day of your life before you ever took a breath. Every day of your life is recorded in God’s book. “That’s how much you matter to God.  Do you matter? – Yes.  He made you.  He made you to love you, and the Bible says you do matter.  He sees everything in your life, the good, the bad, and everything in between.  You do matter to Him.”[1] God numbered them “head by head” to be sure to communicate that everyone mattered to God. After a major battle, Napoleon wrote to his wife, Marie Louise, that he had won a great victory. Then he added, “We lost no one of importance.” He lost hundreds, even thousands, of men—but they were of no importance to him. You can be assured they were important to God, however. He cared enough about them—and about you—to give the Son of His love so that all could be saved.[2]

[1] Warren, Rick. n.d. 40 Days of Purpose Series.

[2] Stone, Sam E. 1995. Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Edited by Sam E. Stone. Standard Sermon Starters. Cincinnati, OH: Standard.

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Leviticus 1:6-9, Ephesians 5:2

Sweet Smelling Savor!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 18, 2023

Blood was the main ingredient for the forgiveness of sin in the Jewish sacrificial system laid out in Leviticus. The picture of the throwing of the blood on the altar, along with other references to a sprinkling of the blood on the altar, picture man’s only process by which his sins can be atoned for. There is no forgiveness if there is no blood. So the blood was thrown on the altar to make atonement for the sins of the offerer. But one might walk away from that wondering if God had truly forgiven his sins. That’s what the next four verses deal with. Leviticus 1:6-9 tells us that after the blood was applied to the altar, “Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces,  and the sons of Aaron, the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.  And Aaron’s sons, the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.”

The important words in this passage are “pleasing aroma to the Lord.” We saw this same idea spoken by God when Noah offered sacrifices after the flood. The ascent of the Aroma was called a sweet-smelling savor. I always think of my steaks cooking on the barbecue grill in my backyard on the 4th of July. It’s surely sweet smelling, but I agree with Zaspel, “The point here, of course, is not that God enjoys the smell of barbeque. The point is that the sacrifice was accepted by God, ‘pleasing’ to him in that sense. That is to say; the sacrifice satisfied God. Its leading purpose was to appease God with reference to sin. Here is how God could dwell with a sinful people: a substitute was offered who, standing in place of the people, bore the punishment of their sin, thus making satisfaction to God. Mercy through judgment. Now, of course, no mere animal could satisfactorily bear the sin of men and women created in God’s image. But these centuries of sacrifice were intended by God to establish the structure, a picture, by which we are made to think that if an adequate substitute could be found, sinful humanity would have hope.”[1]

An adequate substitute was found for us! Paul uses this same language when he speaks of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. In Ephesians 5:2, he says, “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Mathews rightly summarizes this idea, “Unlike the animal slain on behalf of the worshipper in Leviticus, the sacrifice offered up by our Lord was wholly voluntary. He ‘gave himself up.’ That the Father fully accepted the atonement of Jesus was proven by the resurrection of the Lord. We who have entrusted ourselves to Christ by faith can have the same assurance of acceptance with the Father.”[2] It’s the resurrection that proves God accepted the sacrifice for our sins. I think of Christ’s ascension as the final movement of Christ on earth. Jesus was the sweet-smelling “smoke” that ascended to God as the perfect symbol of God’s acceptance of His sacrifice for our sins.  The author of the book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins as being a “once for all” event. He tells us that our sins will be remembered no more. Richards concludes, “Because we know our sins are forgiven, we can approach God with confidence (Heb. 10:22). We need never cringe from our Lord or try to hide from Him, for Jesus’ death has won a full and complete forgiveness for us. We no longer need to carry the burden of our past failures, for in Jesus, all our sins are forgiven and put away. Because of Jesus, we can forget the past and look forward with hope to the future.”[3]

[1] Zaspel, Fred G. 2015. “The Wrath of God and the Gospel.” Credo: The Forgotten God (April), 2015.

[2] Mathews, Kenneth A. 2009. Leviticus: Holy God, Holy People. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

[3] Richards, Larry. 2001. Every Name of God in the Bible. Everything in the Bible Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

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Exodus 1:11

Heavy Burdens

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 17, 2023

Dealing “shrewdly” with the Israelites in Egypt was the Egyptian plan installed by the Pharoah that didn’t know Joseph. There was no memory of how Joseph and his clan had blessed them in generations past. Joseph made Egypt the greatest nation in the world. Egypt supported the world during the seven years of famine. As is the case with just about everything, we soon forget the past and look to only the benefits that I might accrue in the present.  God blessed Israel over the centuries as they lived and prospered in the land of Goshen.  The new Pharaoh began to entertain bad thoughts about the Israelites and became afraid of them. He was also jealous of them and decided to use and abuse them for his own benefit. The “shrewd” dealing with them began by putting them to work on his projects. Exodus 1:11 says, “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.” Regarding this situation, Hester writes, “They came to be regarded as foreigners, and because of the very rapid increase in their number, they were feared as a potential threat to the security of the government. The Pharaoh, now determined to reduce them to slavery, set cruel taskmasters over them and forced them to do the hardest kind of public work, that of making bricks. Under these conditions, the sons of Jacob were no longer a free people, welcome guests in another land, but were slaves whose lot was one of oppression and suffering.”[1] Stephen tells us in his sermon in Acts 7:6 that the Israelites lived like this for 400 years!

The Israelites were foreigners in a foreign land. When they were settling in their own lands, God reminded them of this fact and urged them to treat the foreigners who lived amongst them well. Pharoah, the man with the military might, afflicted the Israelite foreigner with heavy burdens and forced labor. I don’t see much of this from my secure home in West Omaha. Yet all over the world as well as in other places in my country, this still takes place in some ways. Merida says, “The injustice we read about here bears some resemblance to our day. People of power continue to abuse the weak for their own devilish reasons. Some report upwards of thirty million slaves in the world today (NotForSaleCampaign.org). Tragically, human trafficking is now the second-largest organized crime in the world. What motivates this atrocity? Two of the main roots of this evil include sexual perversion and financial greed. Despite the existence of injustice like this, we believe that God remains a God of justice standing on the side of the oppressed.”[2] As we watch the incredible influx of foreigners across our southern borders today, we’re aware that the migrants are not all innocent victims of society’s woes of the day. The modern “Pharaohs” that are enslaving and trafficking the innocent are the Cartels, not the American citizens. They turn their victims into drug mules, sex workers, and slave laborers. God is opposed to this as much as He was opposed to the Egyptians that enslaved the Israelites.

The Israelites bore the “heaven burdens” of slavery in Egypt. It’s somewhat shocking to learn that both England and the United States utilized slaves into the 19th Century. The plight of these slaves has been captured in many of the spiritual songs during the era. Old Man River is one of the best expressions of the life of a slave in the American South, “Dark people work on the Mississippi. Dark people work while de white people play. Pullin’ them boats from the dawn to sunset. Gettin’ no rest till the judgment day. Don’t look up, an’ don’t look down. You don’t dare make the white boss frown.  Bend your knees and bow your head an’ pull that rope until you’re dead. Let me go ‘way from the Mississippi. Let me go ‘way from the white man boss; Show me that stream called the river Jordan. That’s the ol’ stream that I long to cross.” Crossing the Jordan marked the freedom that Israel was to gain when God took them into the promised land.

[1] Hester, Hubert Inman. 1962. The Heart of Hebrew History: A Study of the Old Testament. Rev. ed. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Merida, Tony. 2014. Exalting Jesus in Exodus. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

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Genesis 7:6, Psalm 90:10

The Human Life Expectancy

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 16, 2023

TGod looked down upon the earth (figuratively speaking) and saw that violence was the focus of man’s intentions. This grieved His heart, and He proclaimed a day of judgment coming.  He resolved to preserve mankind by providing a way of escaping the coming judgment. Noah believed God. Because he believed in God, he spent over a hundred years preparing for the coming flood waters as God instructed him. Noah was not a young man when the floods came. Genesis 7:6 tells us, “Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.” Before the flood, people lived a long time. Many argue that in Genesis 6:3 we learn that God was about to reduce man’s lifespan to 120 years. There is still a lot of discussion about this. It could be referring to how long it will be before God sends the flood upon the earth. It says, “Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.’” This did not happen all at once. Those born before the flood still lived long lives. The person who lived to be the oldest is  Methuselah. He lived to be 969 years.  Jared is said to have lived till he was 962 years old. Noah lived for about 950 years. Other similar lifespans are also recorded. But what we see following the flood is a gradual decline in human lifespans.

In later genealogies in the Bible, we notice a big change in the ages of people from Eber to Peleg. At that time, the lifespan of man was cut in half swiftly.  Some attribute this phenomenon to the “dividing” of the earth in Peleg’s lifetime. The argument might be that the flood caused cataclysmic events that removed the earth’s protective canopy of water, which caused a situation on Earth where our life spans declined. Genesis 10:25 tells us that it was in Peleg’s day that the “earth was divided.” Some argue that the receding waters created the continental shift, which made the continents as they are now. There was once one huge land mass, and during Peleg’s day, the cataclysmic event of a drastic continental shift did something to cause man’s lifespan to decrease.”

I was visiting a nursing home recently and saw a gentleman wearing a t-shirt that said 104 on it. I asked if that was his age. I was told that yes, it was, but the shirt is two years old! He was 106. He moved on his own. He was in the independent living section and seemed to be intelligent. The record for long life is in the 120s. I recently read that the oldest woman lived in Nebraska until last year (2022). She passed away at 122. You could say that the prophecy of Genesis 10 seems to work out to be true. However, in Psalm 90, we read that Moses limits man’s life even more. Psalm 90:10 says, “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” But this has been recognized as the average, not the limit. When I looked this up on Google, I found that the average lifespan for people on the whole earth is 69.9 years. That includes some third-world countries that have a low life expectancy. The lifespan of those living in the United States is closer to 77 years. However, we’ve been seeing a decrease in our lifespans. One report says, “Life expectancy at birth in the United States declined nearly a year from 2020 to 2021, according to new provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). That decline – 77.0 to 76.1 years – took U.S. life expectancy at birth to its lowest level since 1996. The 0.9-year drop in life expectancy in 2021, along with a 1.8-year drop in 2020, was the biggest two-year decline in life expectancy since 1921-1923.”[1]

[1] Life Expectancy in the U.S. Dropped for the Second Year in a Row in 2021 (cdc.gov)

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Revelation 1:3

The Certainty of Christ’s Return

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 15, 2023

John promises a special blessing for those who read the Book of Revelation and those who hear the book read aloud. In the midst of great persecution, the new believers in Jesus were frequently threatened with death or torture if they refused to renounce their faith and offer incense to the gods of Rome. But John wants them to “keep” the faith because although they appear to be losers now, they will win in the end. He says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” I disagree with Osborne, who suggests that “The focus is not just on eschatology but on ethics. In other words, in light of the fact that ‘the time is near,’ we are called to live decisively and completely for God.”[1] No one lives decisively and completely for God. That’s something that’s not in the capacity of fallen human beings. When the Israelites decided to live completely for God, they promised to keep all of Moses’s laws. Then Moses tells them that they won’t do it. Again, Joshua charges the people to choose this day which God they will serve, and when the people say they will serve the one true God, Joshua says in Joshua 24:9, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God.” The focus is on eschatology. In Jesus, we will have the ultimate victory!

The last phrase of this verse, “for the time is near,” has caused great confusion in every generation since it was written. Keener points out how every generation from the beginning has looked for the victory of Jesus to come during their lifetime or at a certain point in history. He spends several pages of his commentary on Revelation explaining each one of the prophecies of the past. Each of these prophecies has failed. Jesus made it clear that no one knows the time of his return to set up the kingdom. Only the father himself knows the “when.” At Jesus’ ascension, the apostles asked him if now was the time, and he instructed them not to focus on that but to focus on “keeping” the faith until he returned. Keener’s conclusion is right when he says, “Setting deadlines—or predicting the signs that suggest such deadlines—misses the point. With or without such signs, we should always be ready.”[2]

Richison rightly understands that the issue isn’t as much “nearness in time” as much as it is concerned with the imminency of Christ’s return. He writes, “The idea is that of imminence. Imminence does not necessarily mean near in time. The word ‘near’ means impending. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before the Lord comes. He could come in the next few minutes or He might not come for another hundred years. This is the next event on God’s prophetic program.”[3] Wrapped up with the idea of imminency is the idea of certainty. It was John who told us about Jesus’ words assuring the disciples that he would go and prepare a place for them but would return to take them to be with Him. He assured them that he would not have told them so if it were not true. John is, again, in this last book of the bible, reminding his readers, as well as all throughout history who hear and read this prophecy concerning Christ’s return, that they can take this truth to the bank. This certainty is accompanied by the assurance that Jesus will take us to be with himself. He has already prepared a place for us. We might fail in life in many ways, but Jesus will not go back on His promise. The realization of this truth will affect how we live today. Underwood writes, “Yet the certainty of Christ’s return is to influence the entirety of our lives. As a result, we don’t cheat on exams, we don’t throw out our used motor oil in a way that pollutes God’s creation, and we demonstrate Christian patience (and maybe even evangelism) while in a long checkout line to pay for our new socks. Living life in view of Christ’s return is a lifelong discipline. It starts with being convinced of the certainty of that great event.”[4]

[1] Osborne, Grant R. 2002. Revelation. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

[2] Keener, Craig S. 1999. Revelation. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[3] Richison, Grant. 2006. Verse by Verse through the Book of Revelation. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems.

[4] Underwood, Jonathan, and Ronald L. Nickelson, eds. 2006. The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2006–2007. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing.

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