The Second Fall

 

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”  Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger.  It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath.  And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.  The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”                    Revelation 14:8-11

In Revelation so much is in apocalyptic language, messages of the end of times, and the completion of the Bible’s prophecies, and God’s final judgment over evil.  It’s easy to get lost in the imagery and shadows.  Generally accepted scholarship is that “Babylon” stands for the worldly system which opposes God’s will, including everything from elevating human power to greedily control people and governments, all the way to the basest of ignoring the basic human needs of food and shelter for the poor.  In the end all the grandiose schemes and manipulations of the powerful, controlled by Lucifer’s darkness, will be exposed, humiliated, and defeated.  The image of sulfur, fire, and smoke of torment forever is not lost on our internal compass of God as final justice, and recompense for transgressions.  

This image of the moon passing in front of planet earth is part of a NASA animation of an event which does happen in real life, when the “dark side” of the moon is illuminated by the sun.  You still can’t see it from earth, but the position of the “EPIC” telescope onboard the DISCOVR satellite a million miles into space captures it!  ^(NASA/NOAA) 

Exposing the dark side of this world’s systematic error is Revelation’s purpose in unveiling the Son of Man, Jesus, the one who will stand in judgment of those who give worship to anyone or anything other than the one, true, living God, Jehovah.  The righteous Son of God is alone worthy to judge the nations of all times. 

So, when Babylon is the label, it is evil that is exposed to the light.  It is a picture of an event I once heard (and cannot forget) described by evangelist Vance Havner in a sermon delivered to about 1200 students at New Orleans Baptist Seminary.  He was picturing the classic struggle between light and darkness, or good and evil.  He asked us to imagine a dark room behind the door.  The room is filled with little creatures, roaches.  When you open the door, they’re on high alert; you switch on the light and you know what happens, the creepy, crawly critters scatter!  Light does have that effect.   

As our first parents, Adam and Eve fell from innocence in Eden, so we all follow this inherited nature of sin.  The grace of God was offered to all of us as forgiveness, a gift of Christ’s blood on the cross.  In the end, as Revelation so dramatically depicts, those who reject that grace by clinging to this world’s evil system of power, greed, and estrangement from God, will fall a second time…this time, eternally…into a judgment of suffering, too terrible, unending and unquenchable to imagine.  That suffering has little to do with the fire; it has everything to do with being separated from God our Creator forever.  No light…only dark side.

For You Today

There is not a prophecy of Scripture that has missed the mark…they all come true.  Even this promise of judgment on the darkness.  But God has offered us the choice to reject the darkness and move into the light:

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

Don’t delay; accept Christ and be saved from the darkness of the second fall.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image, Pixabay.com and    W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on God’s Judgment see:  Harvest of the Earth  and  Creator Savior Judge

 

Gathering Up the Sheep

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Wednesday, May 15, 2019

“The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions.  First the king of Assyria ate them up.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones.”  Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:   “Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.  And I will bring Israel home again to its own land, to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan, and to be satisfied once more in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.  In those days,” says the Lord, “no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah, for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.     Jeremiah 50:17-20

No matter how powerful both Assyria and Babylon were as dominant political and military powers in their days, they were no more than tools in the hand of God to straighten-out his unruly children in Zion.  Every despot who conquered Israel lived long enough to regret his actions.  God’s protection over his flock is never in question; neither is his retribution on those who want to mess with the apple of His eye.  One commentator expressed what it was like to be the King of Babylon when God’s hammer fell:

…when the cup of God’s fury went round the king of Sheshach, Babylon, drank last.[i]

Whether you drink last or first, the judgment of God for messing with God’s chosen is a bitter cup.

I think very often, and sometimes for long periods of time, about being born in a privileged land, a country with so many blessings from the hand of God.  I was privileged to be educated in wonderful schools, serve in our country’s military during Vietnam, raise a family, and serve as a pastor…all in freedom from oppressive dictators. 

These days I muse a good bit on my country’s place in the world as an economic and political force.  As a nation, America is powerful in commerce, military might, political stature, historic leadership, and the natural resources to back just about any mountain we choose to climb.  The pensiveness that rumbles around in my soul about all that blessing comes in a sense of questioning the purpose of all that blessing, as well as on which side of God’s plan and history we actually stand.  Is it true, as our currency proclaims, that we trust in God?  Or have we turned to trusting more in ourselves?  At the risk of being cynical, I must say I fear it’s the latter.  But, risk or not, here’s why I think that; it’s happened because we have trained our children to live by the mantra of personal choice over ethical and moral higher ground, or sacrificial living.  I hear it frequently, and, frankly, I said it to my children when they were young, you can be anything you want.  Now, when I said those words to my kids, I was thinking of that higher aspiration of children becoming wise, industrious, marvelous paragons of virtue, models of fearing God, and loving all people.  But, (can we talk here?), what do children hear when we say such things?  The immature mind of a child hears:  life is a platter at the buffet line, and I’m gonna grab whatever I want. 

Despite the best efforts of the likes of Hallmark and Dr. Seuss (and many others) to convince us that children are altruistic and idealistic by nature, and only learn war from adults…the fact is that human nature (possessed by every human child) is warlike and selfish, grabbing like Jacob gripped Esau’s heel coming out of the womb!  When children are in charge, so is selfishness, anger, hitting-back, prevarication, and churlish pouting when they don’t get their way.  If you doubt that, you’ve not watched our government at work.

For You Today

Well, really, for all of us today, it’s time to train our children, rather than turn them loose at the buffet line.  And the best training is for adults to BE adults, setting as the standards of our homes what God has laid out for all of us in His Word, to be the sheep of His pasture, His very special possession.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com  
             Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

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[i] Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Jeremiah 50

Taking Down the Tower

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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words.  As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.  They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.”  (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)  Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky.  This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”  But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.  “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language.  After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!  Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages.  Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”  In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.  That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages.  In this way he scattered them all over the world.     Genesis 11:1-9^(NLT)

I despise having to admit that the easiest way to get me to do anything is to tell me I can’t do it.  But, human nature being what it is, and I, being a card-carrying human person, how could I deny that nature?  I want to be in control of my decisions.

It was no different for the early Babylonians.  They wanted to make a name for themselves, so they began to build their empire, strengthening their hold on that region.  They were digging-in for the long haul.  But twice before God had laid out his plans for humankind to spread-out over the whole earth.[2]  King Nimrod and the Babylonians had different ideas.  They were out to consolidate their holdings in a Nimrod Tower; they forgot Who was in charge.

The Babylonians, under Nimrod’s leadership had forgotten (as we all do at times) that they were the creatures, not the Creator.  If you’re designed to cooperate with God, but your mind is settled on what you want to do, you’ve got a problem!

With words God had brought complex order to the chaos of an unformed universe, creating every species of plants, animals, natural habitats and laws; then God formed his jewel to crown the lot – humans.  Just a few generations later those humans exhibited the temperment of a spoiled three year-old refusing to obey God’s command to spread out and replenish the earth:  but I don’t wanna!

So God did what God does – He took down their Legos™ tower. 

With words God had brought order to chaos in the universe; when humans rejected God’s words, God responded by bringing confusion to their words.  Unable to communicate, the people had no choice, but to scatter and move out.

One way or the other – through cooperation or conscription, God’s created order will correspond with God’s will.  That equation will always balance.  Free will means God has given us a gift to correspond with His design; those (like Nimrod) who attempt to challenge God with impugnity, imposing their will over His, eventually find out their tower is nothing but a house of cards.

For You Today

It’s a good thing to check on your progress regularly.  We need to remember what building projects are going to last, and what projects are wood, hay and stubble, to eventually be consumed in the fire of judgment.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy Pixabay.com

[2] To Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28), then to Noah after the flood, (Genesis 9:1)

Forgotten

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Friday, December 29, 2017

Sing for joy, O heavens!  Rejoice, O earth!  Burst into song, O mountains!  For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.  Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”  “Never!  Can a mother forget her nursing child?  Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?  But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” 

Isaiah 49:13-15^(NLT)

When our family gets together there are (by actual count) more than a dozen IPhones on the loose.  And when we’re trying to coordinate four households showing up at a theme park at the same time, in the same sector of a huge parking lot…well, let’s say the texting wars sound like the bell-ringers have arrived!  Someone will do a “fat-finger” goof, so OTW (On-the-way) becomes OTB, and the translation puns start to pile-on:

Ding…OTB – you On-The-Beach?

Ding…OTB – I didn’t know you were into Off-Track-Betting J

Ding…OTB – Where-r- you parked…Omaha-Transportation-Booth?  

It happened again this week, although I’m happy to say there were no death-threats this time.  But when I went to delete the whole thread there were 168 texts; I’m surprised there were no death threats, especially from me!

The whole point of sharing this is, with today’s abundance of communication tools, there’s no place to hide.  And nobody gets left out.  And that’s a good thing for a family, because there are so many ways to feel left out, left behind, or forgotten!

Israel felt that way, collectively-forgotten in a strange land.  The Babylonian captivity was like being forgotten in back of the tool shed for decades.  Every never-ending day drags-on like someone forgot to wind the clock and nobody cares whether you’re alive or dead.  There is no slower time than time-out; just ask a six-year old who has sinned egregiously by kicking his Dad in the shin because he doesn’t like carrots, and he’d rather be outside playing, but has to stay at the table until he at least tastes the hated veggie.

The nation of Israel had sinned a lot worse than that.  They collectively had forgotten their covenant with God and had fallen into idol worship.  When God sent prophets to warn them to either turn back, or prepare to suffer the consequences, the prophets were ignored, or, even worse, the prophets were killed.  The subsequent overwhelming judgment God sent was at the hand of Babylon’s King, Nebuchadnezzar, and lasted for 70 years.  It was easy to feel they had been forgotten by God.

But punishment is never to be confused with being discarded.  God had not forgotten His beloved Israel, the jewel of His covenant.  They were being purified, cleansed, and straightened-out, not discarded. 

It’s called discipline:

Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.  Deuteronomy 8:5^(NLT)

For You Today

If you’ve been through a time when you felt forgotten by God, know that discipline doesn’t last forever; the perfect loving embrace of God awaits those who repent and turn to their father…even if you’ve kicked Him in the shins!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Living Wisely and Boldly

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Friday, January 8, 2016

Devotion VIDEO here

Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”  

Daniel 2:24^(NLT)

So be careful how you live.  Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.   

Ephesians 5:15-19 ^(NLT)

Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man on earth, had a bad dream.  He summoned all his magicians and soothsayers to interpret the dream.  But, to make sure they weren’t faking an interpretation, he demanded they first tell him what the dream was.  Well, they couldn’t do that, so the King was going to have them executed.

Enter Daniel…Hebrew slave, born in captivity to the Babylonian empire.  To make a longish story short, Daniel was minding his own business, and the whole mess got dropped in his lap.  He went to prayer and boldly followed God’s leadership to disclose the king’s dream and what it meant.  Daniel was rewarded with the king’s favor, wealth and position in the kingdom’s hierarchy, along with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 

End of story…we all lived happily ever after; right?

Not so…Daniel and the three Hebrew boys didn’t have entirely smooth sailing.  It was still an adventure living in Babylon, avoiding the intrigue and sub-plots of palace life in a hostile land that was not their own; especially that fiery furnace event!

In the New Testament Paul understood that kind of messy, vague life, where you’ve got a clear vision to serve God, but there are plenty of temptations and trials to throw you off course.  His advice to us is to live, not as fools, but wisely, keeping sober and on our knees, so we will know what God wants us to do, as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and lives with purpose, leading us to follow God’s will.

The key to living wisely with boldness is never to do a bold thing without God’s direction, and never hold back from boldness when God has said to do something.  When Jesus turned his disciples loose to go minister he warned them:

Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.  So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.  Matthew 10:16^(NLT)

Daniel understood that; he didn’t go to the king until he’d spent time on his knees before God.  You need that for developing both shrewdness and harmlessness.

Before he was renamed Paul, he was a persecutor named Saul – more of a zealot to eradicate the church than anyone.  Saul found out just how painful it can be to go against God’s will.

So did I.  I once preached a very bold sermon to a congregation; actually, I only thought it was bold – it was really just a stupid reaction of anger that I hadn’t prayed over, and let God direct me.  I wound up alienating half the church and confusing the rest. 

And I believe that is where the difference is to be located between living wisely and boldly as opposed to living as a fool – anger and selfishness.  If you have a passion to do something for God, and locate any bit of anger or self-righteousness in your own heart over what you’re contemplating – don’t do it…you’re not following God, you’re just being foolish.

For You Today

When you find yourself tempted to do something foolish…take time to pray, sing a song of praise; make some music in your heart to praise the Lord.  Then ask your closest friend, God’s Holy Spirit, what it all means.  He just may give you the words your Nebuchadnezzar needs to hear.

You chew on that out on that Rocky Road today…and have a joy-filled and blessed day!

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[1] Title image:  By Internet Archive Book Images, via Wikimedia Commons