What is the World Coming To?

Anyone with a smidgeon of moral sensitivity must be asking what is happening to the world. Jesus told the people things would get pretty awful at some point in their future. “And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” Some people think He was talking about the end of the world which is still in our future. Others believe He was referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system. If that is what He meant, that is in our past. I think both could be true because there are other instances of dual fulfillment of prophecy in the Bible.

A look at the historical record shows that much of what Jesus prophesied did take place when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem after a seven-year siege. Jesus predicted that there would be wars. Rome waged war on Jerusalem. Historians record that many Jews acted treacherously during the siege, taking advantage of one another, and even going so far as to kill their children to avoid starvation. Jesus said that many would come falsely claiming to be the returning Messiah. That too is found in the historical record. I believe the events around 70 A.D. could be a fulfillment of what Jesus predicted.

I also believe that we are seeing many of the features of Jesus’ prediction in our day. The idea of many false prophets leading people into sin is sad commentary on the state of the church in the West today. One obvious example is the way some so-called Christians label other Christians as hatemongers because they disagree with their biblical interpretation. I have written many articles about the deception being perpetrated by people who call themselves Christians but deny that God forbade homosexual relationships. Another example I have mentioned previously is preachers who deny the existence of hell. They prefer not to recognize that while God is love personified, He is also a holy and righteous judge who will find it necessary to condemn some people to an existence apart from His benevolence: hell.

It is clear that the moral state of not just unbelievers, but sadly, the church fits Jesus’ prediction of the last days – whenever that may be. I will defer to my fellow believers who wish to follow the Darby/Schofield scheme of the end times. I have written about that ad nauseum for many. They may be right. I choose to believe that most of the book of Revelation is in our past. That does not mean that God cannot make similar things happen again to bring about a second fulfillment. Whatever the case, they and I believe that Jesus is coming again to judge the world. The timing of those final events is less important than belief in their finality. God will judge the earth and its inhabitants someday, and what follows will be our eternal destiny based on our earthly decisions.

I have written far too many words as an introduction to my topic. (Yes, that was an introduction.) I have been reading through Jeremiah in my through-the-Bible reading plan. I was struck by the number of times “the earth” is mentioned. There are numerous passages that seem to refer to the earth as the actual, physical ground itself. Here is one example: “For the land is full of adulterers; for the land mourns because of a curse.” Without getting too deep into the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, I will say that the Hebrew word for “land” is broad in its meaning. It sometimes clearly means dirt or earth. It sometimes refers to a land as a country. “This land is my land; this land is your land, etc. – you know the song.”

What got me thinking is that in other verses, Jeremiah uses a different word for “land” that really does mean dirt. “Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors from a long time back and until forever.” The Hebrew word Jeremiah uses for land in that verse is “adamah” which is, as you might see, the same word that God used in Genesis to explain where Adam came from – the dust. If the dirt “mourns because of a curse,” we might need to rethink our understanding of just how sentient our planet really is.

I wrote previously about Peter’s explanation of what happens on “the Day of the Lord.” That phrase is usually interpreted to mean the last day of the earth’s existence. I discovered that Peter’s prediction may not have anything to do with the physical earth. He may have been alluding to the destruction of the evil spirits that influence evil people to commit evil acts. The earth itself may be reserved for another special treatment.

I think of what Paul mysteriously said in Romans. “For the eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation has been subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its servility to decay, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now.” The subjection Paul refers to was initiated by Adam when he sinned. He brought the curse on the whole earth.

The “eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly” makes it sound like creation itself is sentient. We know that Old Testament personification has trees clapping their hands, and stars singing. Jesus said that if He silenced the people on His triumphal entry, the rocks would cry out. What if all that is not just poetic language but reality we have dismissed? What if “creation” is just as anxious for the revealing of the redeemed as we are? I am looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where I will live forever in the presence of God Himself. I believe that is what the world is coming to. Are you as eager as I am?

Related Posts: The Cry of Sin; Alternate Realties; What Happened in the Fall; Selling Heaven on Earth

Love is a Verb

Most translations of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 use adjectives to express what love is. Paul used verbs in his original Greek. The English teacher in me sees this as a significant difference. Paul didn’t just describe what love is; he detailed what love does. This fits perfectly with his theme throughout his writing, as well as all Scripture, that actions display intentions. If I say I intend to wash my car, but never get the hose and bucket out, my intention is meaningless. If I say I have love, Paul says, but never do loving things, my love is meaningless. Worthless.

This is some of what Paul says love does in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7:

1. Love perseveres. It hangs in there no matter how tough the going gets. If there is a desired behavior or circumstance one is hoping for, the one who loves waits patiently. My wife loves me so much that she waited patiently (for years) for me to figure out what it means to be a good husband. She didn’t stop loving me; she persevered. (Her perseverance paid off; I’m still not perfect, but through God’s grace and her loving patience, I am much better than I used to be.)

2. Love does the useful thing. Most versions translate Paul’s word as “love is kind.” The root of the Greek word he used is serviceable. That means that to love is to do what is necessary or needed in any situation. My wife had back surgery recently, and she is in a long process of healing. Out of my love for her, I have been doing things that she needs done but cannot do for herself. It would be very unkind of me to sit around and let the dishes pile up in the sink. She cannot stand long enough to wash them; I can.

3. Love does not brag or become self-important. A loving Christian understands what Paul said to the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? But if indeed you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” I don’t go around boasting about my ability as a teacher and writer. My main spiritual gift is teaching, and that is clearly a gift from God. The fact that I learned to write well is a combination of my natural talents (God given) and years of education and experience (ordained by God).

4. In that same vein, love is not self-serving. As with all spiritual gifts, mine is not given to me for my benefit. My gift is to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ. If you read 1 Corinthians 12-14 you will see that the church was making their individual gifts a matter of personal pride. Chapter 12 ends with Paul’s corrective: let love be the most important factor governing the exercise of spiritual gifts.

5. Love does not provoke another or keep an account of wrongs. My wife could have written a book of all the things I did wrong in our early marriage. If she had kept reminding me of them it certainly would have provoked me; one of my problems was pride, and if she had suggested that I was not the perfect husband, had she listed all the ways I failed her, it would not have made for a happy moment. Because she loved me with the love of God, she bit her tongue. I would offer this caution: sins borne must be forgiven and laid at Jesus’ feet or they will fester into a root of bitterness. Again, love is the antidote to bitterness.

6. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices at the truth. Truth is that which matches God’s design; wrongdoing is that which ignores God’s design. Sin is simply that which brings chaos whereas right living brings peace. A perfect example of this is what has happened in America with the chaos of sexual perversion that is being rejoiced over by some. Some are glad that the traditional family is being destroyed in favor of “alternative lifestyles.” They even think that such destruction is a loving thing; they call their opponents hateful. Hello Chaos.

7. Love anticipates good things. Back to my wife: she spent years anticipating my discovery of what a good husband should be like. She hoped I would learn to love her as Christ loved the church. She bore up under the disappointment I caused. This kind of love is what makes it possible to love our fellow Christians despite their unchristian behavior. Church is messy; look at the Corinthians. Someone said that church would be a fine thing if it were not for the people in it. We know that in the resurrection, we will all be glorified; until then we live in anticipation.

The prophet Jeremiah was given a message for the people of Judah: “I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight, declares Yahweh.” If we would be pleasing to God, we must be doing the right things, the things He has modeled for us. Jesus said that love for one another would be the hallmark of His disciples. Jesus was love personified. We are predestined to become like Jesus. Jesus lived love perfectly. He demonstrated that love is a verb. So, in the words of that famous advertisement: just do it.

Related Posts: Don’t be a Poser; Are You Qualified?

What Were You Thinking

I am starting a new full-time job this month. This means I am un-retiring for the third time. It is not because I was unhappy with retirement. On the contrary, I was mostly happy with my situation. My wife and I were living the dream as far as many people would see it. We own a large RV which is stationary in Arizona, and we have a smaller trailer that we travel with during the hot summer months. This allows us to visit friends and family in Michigan and to see the sights across the country.

We are in our thirteenth year of full-time RV living, having taken a one-year break from the road to attempt the creation of a sober living home for women. (For details see “Grace Realized”) When we began travelling, my wife had retired, and I was teaching part-time at a college that had quarterly terms, so I could take one term off during the winter to escape the snow. We went through about forty of the lower forty-eight states in our first few winter excursions. On one of our early trips, we followed Route 66 as far as Kingman, Arizona. (See Route 66 Adventure) We spent the first three winters in Mesquite, Nevada. After one winter in Salt Lake City to help our daughter with her new baby, we settled in the Kingman/Golden Valley area of Arizona as our winter getaway.

From Golden Valley, it is a short climb through Union Pass to Bullhead City. We did much of our shopping and restaurant visiting there, so we looked for a place to park more permanently. The first place we looked was managed by a thoroughly Christian couple who were endeavoring to build a Christian community in the park. They “just happened” to have a fifth-wheel trailer for sale which would suit our needs for a more permanent winter home. We worked out a deal that very day, but we couldn’t fully pay for the trailer until we closed on the sale of our Michigan sober living house. We drove away thinking the deal would be in limbo, but fifteen minutes later, the manager called to say a small downpayment would hold the trailer for us. We said thank you Lord and signed the deal.

When we returned that October, we were fully convinced that God wanted us in Bullhead City at that park. We visited some churches and eventually found one we believe is God’s place for us. We continued looking for opportunities for ministry, but nothing substantial turned up despite putting our several feelers in local ministries. After four years, we decided that we wanted to move back to Michigan as our “permanent” home with travel back to the area as snowbirds in the future. Our Arizona home didn’t sell. For two years. During our fifth year I offered to substitute teach at a local Christian school. They were happy to have me as qualified subs were difficult to come by. I spent a few days in elementary classrooms as a sub and enjoyed it immensely.

At my sub interview they asked me if I would consider teaching full time, and I said no. After I had subbed a few times, the Assistant Principal asked me again if I would like to take a full-time position in the coming fall. I said no. Again. A couple weeks later, as I was filling out my pay voucher he asked again. I said I just didn’t see how it could work. We were going to Michigan for the summer with numerous plans that could not be changed, and I couldn't imagine how I could make it to a teaching job in August. Shortly after that, I received an email from the Assistant Principal telling me that there would be several openings in the fall, and he wanted to know if I would consider taking one.

At that point, I looked at my wife and asked if we were missing something. Was this God telling us why we were still in Bullhead? We both shrugged, sighed and resigned; this must be why we have been kept here by God. I said I would take a position but there were certain limitations to my availability throughout the summer. I was granted exceptions and offered a contract. When I received my contract, I looked at the salary offering; I had not even considered salary as a factor. I had to lift my jaw off the floor. I had agreed to offer my services as a teacher because I believed that was what God wanted. God, in His inimitable way, would bless us for being obedient to His call.

This has been primarily an autobiographical post. I told this personal story because I believe it has application to many of my fellow believers. I have written several articles over the years about how to know God’s will for us individually. Sometimes it is crystal clear; sometimes it is not. The main idea in what I have written and taught in the past is that we should pray, study the Scripture, and press on knowing that God is in control. Take the next step; as I wrote recently, roll the dice. Our Sovereign will fold our decisions into His will in miraculous ways. (Sidebar: a teacher at my new school has just taken National Institute for Learning Disabilities (NILD) training for helping struggling learners. My wife is a certified NILD therapist. Huh?)

Letting go and letting God take control of my life has always been difficult for me. You too? In my head I know that it is as Isaiah said, “My ways [God’s ways] are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” It still takes a Herculean effort on my part to let go. My flesh wants to rule. This experience has given my wife and I a large-as-life example of what it means to live in the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit. I get it. I’m down with that. But, when I realize that means getting up at 5:00 on weekday mornings, I ask myself, “What were you thinking!?”

Related Posts: Forget Not His Benefits; The Meaning of Sovereignty; Be Careful How You Pray; What’s Your Ministry; Mounting Everest; Grace Realized

 

Slaves and Masters

In twenty-first century America, the average citizen has more freedom than anyone, anywhere, at any time in history. We have the freedom to go just about anywhere, do just about anything (within certain legal limitations), and to be whatever we have the determination to be. I just completed a 2,000+ mile trip across the country, and there was not one border check, no language barrier, nobody questioning what I was doing. (OK, some of my friends thought it was crazy to drive that distance alone in three days.) I witnessed the freedom others expressed with their disdain for speed limits and simple traffic courtesy; I was exposed to a few music choices at extreme volume in the middle of the night at rest stops; I watched people leave their cars blocking the gas pumps while they dallied in the store. These were people doing what they wanted. Regardless.

Maybe they want to be rude, lawless, inconsiderate boors. There are few people who will stop them in twenty-first century America. Fortunately, there are also people who have decided to do something with their lives to improve the condition of their fellow citizens. I was reminded of this by a random post on my Facebook page. The post noted that President Trump has surrounded himself with an entourage of pretty regular folks. He didn’t choose the usual elite snobs and self-important pooh-bahs that most Presidents have surrounded themselves with in the past. They are everyday folks willing to step in and help a President whom they believe has the best interest of the American people at heart.

I may be more sensitive to this at the moment because of a series of novels I am reading written by Cap Daniels. On the surface the heroes appear to behave like every other shoot-em-up, black ops mercenary team. But Daniels lets his patriotism and Christian belief in giving help to those who cannot help themselves come through loud and clear. Bad guys get dead and good guys get rescued, but Daniels lets the psychological and spiritual struggle come through loud and clear. One of the main characters epitomizes this dichotomy: he is a Baptist preacher when he is not using his sniper rifle to rain judgment on the villains. Daniels writes in his afterward that he detests the evil that is everywhere in our world, but he also lauds the patriots who risk their lives to make our lives a little safer.

Heaven matters most in this because every human being is a slave to something or someone. Paul writes: “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Rom. 6:16-18 NLT) We commonly think of this as referring to slaves to drugs, or sex, or money. Sinful things. Think again. Anything we do with our “freedom” that removes God from the center of our lives is sin.

Whenever we choose to fulfill our desires instead of seeking God’s desire for our lives, we become slaves to our desires. It could be a job, a hobby, or just plain laziness that enslaves us to something that is not God’s best for us. Paul says we choose to be enslaved to sin, or by choosing to give our lives to Christ, we become slaves to righteousness. We must not think of that too narrowly. It does not mean we have to give up everything and become a missionary. It does not mean we have to abandon a secular career and join the clergy. It may be those things for some, but for the vast majority of us, it is something far more mundane and, at the same time, more wonderful.

The “slave to righteous living” Paul applauds is someone who makes the effort to live according to God’s righteous principles. Jesus identified the sine qua non of His followers: that they love one another. If you have been a Christian for more than a minute, you know that the love Jesus recommended is a selfless, sacrificial love; it means caring for the other person more than for yourself. If you want to see it demonstrated, look at the Cross of Calvary. You could translate John 3:16 like this: “God loved the world in this way: He gave His Son so that anyone who believed in Him would be free from slavery to sin.”

Paul said slavery to sin leads to death; God said slavery to Christ leads to eternal life. Those of you who are as old as I am might remember a folk singer named Bob Dylan who came to Christ after a long career in secular music. One of my favorite songs of his post-conversion repertoire is “You Gotta Serve Somebody.” His lyrics list about every imaginable lifestyle and circumstance, and in every case, Dylan insists you are going to serve somebody. His theology is right there with the Apostle Paul. You may serve the devil, or you may serve the Lord, but you are going to serve somebody. And the truth is clear: there are only two choices.

The biblical concept of freedom is foreign to our modern way of thinking. N.T. Wright speaks of the paradox of Christian freedom. “We become more truly human, more genuinely free, when we are giving ourselves away. That, I think, is the clue to a whole new way of looking at the world, and perhaps at freedom itself….  Humans are made for a purpose. Only when we find and follow that purpose will we be ‘free’…. The gospel sets us free to love, to live to God’s glory, to be wise stewards of his creation and wise agents of his new creation. And at this point human freedom and divine enabling mysteriously come together.”

That is the truth, and Jesus said that the truth would set us free. He also said, “[God's]Word is truth.” For the last ten years or so I have had the blessing of “free time” every morning to read the Bible and pray. I could almost say I have become enslaved to that devotional time to the point that I am unwilling to start my day without it. Martin Luther famously said, "I have so much to do [each day] that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." Like Luther, I read to hear God’s will; then I pray for His assistance to accomplish it – whatever it is. He is my Master; I am His slave. And I am free.

 

Want What You Have

Delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. PS. 37:4 KJV

This verse is often quoted to support the idea that Christians can have whatever they want as long as they “delight in the Lord.” That idea always smacked of selfish materialism to me. It seems to fly in the face of the biblical concept of humble submission and acceptance of whatever God wants for us. I took a deep dive into the Greek translation* of Psalm 37:4 recently and learned that it may not be saying what the King James seems to imply. The result of my study led me to this very different interpretation: “If you chase after God, He will produce longings in your heart that are in line with your relationship to Him.” In other words, He will give you what He wants not necessarily what you want.

Someone wisely said that true peace comes from wanting what you have not having what you want. That sentiment seems to be more in line with what the Bible teaches. It was the Apostle Paul who said that he had learned to be content with what he had. The Hebrew writer said, “Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have.” The Book of Proverbs is laced with warnings about the dangers of relying on material wealth. Paul called the love of money the root of all kinds of evil. Jesus warned that you cannot love both money and God.

None of this should be taken to mean that money/wealth is evil in itself. It is the attitude towards material possessions that must be guarded. “The wealth of the rich is his strong city, and like a wall, it is high in his imagination. (Pr. 18:11) Relying on wealth implies a displacement of God from the calculation. That is idolatry. Proverbs warns, “There is a way that seems upright to a man, but its end is the way of death.” There is no way to hide your true motivations from God. “A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold, but Yahweh will test hearts.” (Pr. 17:3)

But maybe your desires are not for wealth. Maybe you desire some plan to succeed. What does the Bible say about that? “The mind of a person will plan his ways, and Yahweh will direct his steps.” (Pr. 16:9) Planning is a good thing; the Bible recommends it. But the plans must be laid before the Lord. “Commit your work to Yahweh, and your plans will be established.” (Pr. 16:3) This sounds very similar to the promise of Jesus that if we ask anything in His name, the Father will grant it. That too veers from the idea that we can have whatever we want. To ask in Jesus’ name implies aligning the request with the will of the Father.

One wonders what happens when we don’t know what God’s specific will is in a given situation. The wisdom of Proverbs covers that too: “The lot will be cast into the lap,

but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.” (Pr. 16:33) This idea comes from the Old Testament practice of asking for God’s will by casting lots. We don’t know exactly what was used, but it involved something similar to modern dice. Stones, bones, or pottery shards were chosen or painted with different colors. When tossed, the appearance of the items was interpreted as a yes or no answer.

I don’t think God wants us to use physical objects to discern His will today. Our modern phrase, “roll the dice” suggests that one takes a step or a position and waits for the outcome. The advantage we have over the OT Jews is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. When we face a decision that has a go/no go choice to be made, we should bathe it in prayer, search the Scriptures for direction, ask for godly advice, and then proceed unless something leads us to pull up short. In other words, roll the dice knowing the results are in the Lord’s hands.

I must say that this process does not guarantee smooth sailing every time. I can remember many times in my life when I thought I was doing what God would have me do, but the results were far from what I had hoped for. Years ago, I was called to an administration position at a Christian school in California. I detailed that Michigan to California trip in “God’s Little Coincidences.” All I will say here is that we have come to call it “The Ordeal.”

The reason God wanted us in California remains something of a mystery. After only a few weeks, the administrator who hired me as his assistant principal was fired. I was asked to take over the school. I did my best, but it soon became apparent that the board and I had different ideas about what a Christian school should be. They thought I was “too Christian.” I did stop the faculty from leaving in protest over the firing of the former administrator. I did save the school from imminent financial embarrassment. I did handle the day-to-day responsibilities of running a 330-student K-10 school with a faculty and staff of 35 without complaint. Despite all that, the board replaced me with a former public-school administrator after only three months. Needless to say, I did not return for a second year.

My wife and I have asked repeatedly if we were wrong to think the job in California was God’s will for me. Should I have realized sooner that my philosophy of Christian education was not in line with theirs? Or did God get exactly what He wanted from me even though I would never have chosen the experience had I know what was going to happen? With decades of hindsight, the answer seems clear: I didn’t get exactly what I wanted for my first school administration experience, but God got precisely He wanted for the school.

 I believe that anyone who attempts to have a genuine trust in God’s provision will face tough circumstances at some point. If we truly believe in a loving, sovereign God, we can rest peacefully with the knowledge that He will provide what is best for us. The life we live is in Christ, and His Spirit lives in us. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is peace. That’s what I have. That’s all I want.

* Between 250 and 132 BC, a group of 70 devout Jews in Alexandria, Egypt, set about to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek because few people could read Hebrew. This translation gives us a peek into the minds of what those Jewish scholars believed was the true word of God. Their translation has become known as the Septuagint which means “the seventy.”

Dread Not!

                The Dread

He comes to me in the night,

That ancient enemy of my soul.

He whispers in my sleepy ear

That I’m not up to the fight.

 

I tell my heart not to fear

When I wake in the valley of shadow;

I remind myself of God’s promise

Always to be near.

 

In the dark of night, it is good to know

That God has promised to bless me.

 And when I rise with morning light

He’s with me wherever I go.

I wrote this poem because recently I have been waking in the wee hours with an unexplainable sense of dread. Occasionally, the feeling might stem from a dark dream I have awoken from, but not always. When I find myself cowering under the covers, it is a seriously unpleasant feeling. Once I remember the promises of God that He will always be near; His angels keep watch over me; no weapon formed against me shall prosper, then I begin to pray against the darkness, and it recedes – as it must. John said, “There is no fear in love,” and I know absolutely that God loves me. That means fear – the dread – comes from somewhere else.

The Old Testament is full of admonitions to fear God. Often, teachers will insist that “fear” in many contexts means “respect,” rather than dread. And yet, the Psalmist wrote, “My flesh quakes for dread of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.” I think the OT saints had a better understanding of God’s judgment than we do. They knew that their standing before God was dependent on their obedience to His law, the Torah. Torah taught them there were blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Their history held many examples of both.

Under the OT law, they were not entirely without comfort. The Psalmist also wrote, “Trouble and anguish have found me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. This is not unlike my nighttime dread. There are things in my world that might cause me trouble and anguish. However, I must not dwell on them; I must delight in the Word of God and recall this: “My help comes from Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth.” The “help” the Psalmist refers to is found in this: “If you should keep track of iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you is forgiveness, so that you may be feared.” There is the “fear” again, but in this case, it is not a bad thing. Godly fear leads me to worship. Fear that causes me to dread is from my enemy, not God.

There is another aspect of our New Testament position that should help to relieve the dread. God had intended the nation of Israel to be, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Sadly, they failed in their duty to represent Yahweh God to the other nations. They became insular and self-important. Peter understood that the church is the priesthood God ordained, under the high priest Jesus, which has become what Israel was supposed to be. He wrote to believers, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” This is affirmed by what John saw in his heavenly vision: “[The Lamb] made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

There will be those who disagree with what I am about to say, but I believe it is true. I am not waiting for a future millennial kingdom to reign with Jesus. I am royalty now; I am a priest of the Most High God now; I am seated with Christ at the right hand of God now. There are those who read the future tense, “will reign,” in what John saw as still in our future. I disagree. Like the Greek language, we also use future tense to refer to a present reality that extends into the future. For example, President Trump will be in the White House next year; that does not mean he is not there now. I may not be in the position of royalty in the kingdom of this world, but in the kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus initiated during His earthly ministry, I am all that Jesus re-created me to be.

When I was buried with Christ in baptism, the old me died, and I rose from the water as a new creature. I may still live in the world for a time, but I am not of the world. I am of the Kingdom of God. My citizenship is in Heaven. Peter said that: I am called out of the kingdom of darkness into the light to proclaim the virtues of my King, Jesus. More than that, I am commanded to invite others to join me in the Kingdom of Heaven. We pray God’s will be done on earth now as it is in Heaven now. Jesus told Peter that things they prayed for on earth would already have been done in Heaven according to the Greek verb tenses He used. Present and future are one with God.

Even King David expressed fear in the light of God’s judgment but declared his delight in God’s law. In my royal position, I no longer need to have any fear – no dread. The washing of regeneration Paul mentions mirrors the washing the OT priests experienced to make them acceptable for God’s service. The blood I am washed in is not of bulls and goats but of the precious Lamb of God. The anointing of the Spirit echoes the anointing of God’s chosen kings. The sword I carry is the invincible Word of God. My King and Commander is the Lord of Hosts with ten thousand times ten thousand mighty angels at His side. Instead of being afraid when I wake up each morning, I should expect the devil to say, “Uh oh! Clair’s awake. Run for it!” If you belong to Jesus Christ, you should get the same reaction – and no dread!

Related Posts: On the other hand: Fear God Much?; The wrong fear: Scaredy-cat Christians; The greatest fear: I’m Not Afraid to Die

The Grand Simulation

I just finished reading A Voice in the Dark by Barbara Nickless. The primary antagonist is a computer genius who develops a simulation game which he uses to compel troubled teens to commit murder. The premise of the game is that the world the teens inhabit is not real, but the world of the game is. The teens are convinced that the only way to enter real life is through death. This makes their act of murder or suicide a saving one because the victim is released from the horrors of this world and delivered into the true life of the game. If you can see in this the hints of another familiar story, you will understand why I found the book both fascinating and frightening.

Although I doubt Nickless had any biblical intentions, allegorical fiction which depicts Bible truth through imaginary characters and settings is not at all unusual. C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles is one of my favorites. Lewis’ deep Christian faith coupled with an amazing imagination allowed him to create an entertaining and thoroughly biblical imaginary world through which his characters present God’s truth. An older allegory, John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, has long been revered for its depiction of the struggles common to anyone who wants to live as a Christian. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien echo the biblical truth that the battle of good against evil is the inescapable reality that every one of us faces daily.

The pervasive influence of artificial intelligence has created a whole new sub-genre for the development of allegorical characters and plots. It has also opened a floodgate for Satan to twist the thinking of people who become immersed in computer simulations. When I wrote “Artificial Intelligence?” I commented, “We can expect that the enemy of our souls will use AI to further his ends just as he has with many technologies.” Search for “Christian books about AI” and you will get hundreds of examples, most with dire warnings. Nichole J. Suvar shared insights from her book, “I Don't Have to Hold It All Together,” on Moody Radio recently. One of her greatest concerns is that Gen Alpha is going to be drastically influenced by AI. She fears they will be changed elementally the same way cell phones affected Gen X to an even greater degree.

We know from neurological studies that human brains grow and change by doing mental “work” much the same way muscles are built by exercise. We also know that children who have excessive amounts of screen time develop a different brain architecture than those who pursue other activities. As a teacher, I have expressed my concern that AI is removing the need to do meaningful research. The development of critical thinking skills is essential for making logical decisions whether in a secular or religious context. Combine AI with the common teaching technique of providing answers rather than encouraging students to seek out the best answer and you have a recipe for dull soup. It is a prime factor in the dumbing down of American students.

I mentioned earlier that I was both fascinated and frightened by the premise of Barbara Nickless’ book about AI simulation games. I am frightened for all the reasons I have just mentioned. But I am fascinated by how thoroughly the concept of a simulation fits the truth we have revealed in Scripture. Follow me carefully. Read the Bible from cover to cover and you learn that a Being of superior intelligence created an alternative reality apart from His own. He then created players who were given rules and responsibilities to navigate the created reality. The first two players broke a cardinal rule and subsequently lost full access to everything the created reality had to offer. The Creator then began a sub-program that would eventually provide a way for players to regain full access.

Stay with me. Jesus came preaching the coming of an alternate reality, the Kingdom of Heaven. He told Pilate His kingdom was not of this reality. If it were from here, He said, His disciples would fight to free Him. He knew that His freedom was going to come from an exit strategy planned in the ages before this reality was even created. His death and subsequent resurrection and ascension reunited Him with the Creator with whom He had lived in that other reality, commonly called Heaven, prior to becoming a player in this reality.

There’s more. The Apostle Paul said this reality is passing away to be replaced by another reality. This one, he said, is temporary – temporal – time-based. The other reality is eternal “in the Heavens.” Soon after He was invited to play the role the Creator had planned for him, Paul was transported to the heavenly reality and given insights that were so incredible he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about them. He did say he believed that when he died, he would immediately be in the presence of Jesus in the heavenly reality. He also said that those who trust Jesus in this reality will be given a new kind of body after their death – a body suitable for the reality that would be their eternal home. In that place, the Creator and all His chosen players would once again enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities that were forfeited in the original simulation.

I just pictured life for humans as a grand simulation. That is an analogy; it is so close to what is happening in today’s AI simulation games that it is spooky. There is one huge difference between AI sims and life as we know it: the Creator of the “game of life” is a Person who loves His creation so much that He literally died to save it. We also know that God created the earth perfectly good, and one day, He will banish sin and Satan from His creation. Then He will recreate it as He originally intended, and we will spend eternity there with Him.

Satan, the Great Perverter, has been luring people with his own simulations since the Garden of Eden. He convinced Adam and Eve that there was a better reality than what God had ordered. He infected early Christian thinkers with Platonic ideas that flesh is evil and only spirit is good; this allowed the Gnostics to believe that fleshly sin was acceptable as long as one’s spirit was pure. Some people still act that way today. By way of a lying spirit, he gave Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, an alternative reality that sounded biblical, but was deceptively evil. There are other similar deceptions. Peter’s roaring lion has become today’s AI “friend” seeking someone to devour. Peter’s advice is still sound: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.” If you fall for one of his simulations, there is no coming back.

Related Posts: On the dumbing down of America: Read This or Die; Who is Jesus: Nailing Down Jesus; The true purpose of life: What Did You Do Today? What about when the “game” gets tough: Driven to the Cross