The Endless End-Of-The-World Debate

Mayan Calendar Spurs End-Of-The-World Debate : NPR

See! Like I pointed out a little while ago, there are a bunch of new-agers AND, I might add, some Christians who really buy into this stuff. This is but the latest in a long list.

Robert Jungk writes,

"There is, of course, a very real ecological crisis, but corporate and government public relations seem to have successfully numbed public concern. Without the Cold War and the Soviet Union, there is no Evil Empire, no Antichrist, no immediate threat of annihilation. The terrible eruptions of bloody local conflicts do not seem likely to widen into Armageddons; even the Middle East conflict, without the added heat of superpower ideological rivalry, has receded to the status of just another brutal, local idiocy, in spite of the efforts of zealots to make it something more."

He goes on to record the many people in contemporary literature who have written about apocalypse. He concludes,

"In a multitude of texts, genres, and disciplines, then--and this introduction is far from having named all of them--apocalyptic and postapocalyptic sensibilities have helped define the twentieth century. This has indeed been a century full of visions we would like to forget, but which we have nevertheless relentlessly recorded, analyzed, and amplified with uneasy pleasure."

Richard Weinland, prophet of the Church of God, writes, "The year 2008 was pivotal for the end-time as it was the final year of witness/testimony that God has given to mankind for the past 6,000 years.

"Once the Second, Third, and Fourth Trumpet have sounded, the United States will collapse as a world power. When the Fifth Trumpet sounds, WWIII will be ushered upon the scene and will cause the death of billions. Then on the last day of this great tribulation Jesus Christ will return and intervene to stop mankind from destroying himself."

Weinland is not by any measure a Christian teacher in the historical sense of that word. He does not believe in the Trinity nor in the divinity of Jesus. He knows nothing of the Gospel. My point then is simple: apocalyptic prophecies, end-of-the-world teaching, writing and thinking have been alive and well all through the twentieth century. They continue in the twenty-first.

Many winds continue to blow. Those not formed and guided by the Spirit at work in the Word of God can and will be driven like flotsam on the sea. Fears will overtake us or doubt will drive us toward agnosticism and unbelief.

Jesus said of these times, ""Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24).

Climate Change and the Master

Sunset in our part of Colorado

Sylvia and I started the summer in Houston. We arrived here in Colorado the second week of July. Now I write to my friends in Houston about 45 degree nights and 75-80 degree days. The weather is most agreeable when you consider that Texas weather reaches well into the 90s these days, together with 90 % plus humidity.

But it is not the difference in weather that concerns me. What concerns me is what we Christians tend to forget in the midst of all the talk about weather and climate change these days. This is something clearly outlined in Psalm 147. Consider the closing verses of this Psalm of praise:

Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;

praise your God, O Zion,

for he strengthens the bars of your gate

and blesses your people within you.

He grants peace to your borders

and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

He sends his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

He spreads the snow like wool

and scatters the frost like ashes.

He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

Who can withstand his icy blast?

He sends his word and melts them;

he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

He has revealed his word to Jacob,

his laws and decrees to Israel.

He has done this for no other nation;

they do not know his laws.

Praise the LORD.

Notice what the psalmist teaches us about weather, climate and God's blessings. He is directly involved in the climate. He scatters the frost, melts the snow, stirs up breezes and makes waters flow. He, not we, is in charge of the weather! He is not a God who has retreated to some unknown place far beyond the universe and creation. He is present, speaking and sending His Word to control the wind, rain, snow, ice, melting water and flowing streams.

I read much about impending doom, caused by our flooding the earth's climate with carbon emissions. I do not question the importance of these warnings and of the continued study of the earth, the climate and our use of the precious resources put into our hands. What I call for, however, is some humility--and faith.

Ultimately we are not in charge of the weather, the climate and the shifts in climate. He is. The LORD who has revealed Himself as Jesus of Nazareth is the One who spoke to the raging winds and waters of the inland Sea of Galilee. His disciples feared for their lives because the water was filling their small fishing boat. Jesus was asleep, apparently unconcerned. They woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing. He replied, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?"

Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. Mark's Gospel tells us the words He spoke, "Hush, be still." It is a sharp word, but one that the winds and water must obey, for here is their Master.

The sea became perfectly calm at His Word and the disciples trembled in holy fear. "Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him," they said to one another. (Mark 4 and Matthew 8)

We are indeed responsible for how we use the precious resources of this earth. We are stewards of the Master. However, we must not forget who is the Master, Creator and LORD. This loving Master is Jesus. He will not forsake us. He is not asleep while we perish.

US Income Distribution and Christian Stewardship

The L-Curve: A Graph of the US Income Distribution

As you study the graph and info. quoted above, you will note a certain prejudice. Nevertheless, the information is useful. It reminds us that most of the money in the USA is owned and controlled by a relative small percentage. If you and I would think about being a wise and good stewards of the wealth put into our hands we would do well to ponder these issues.

Here are a few things the Bible says about us as we seek to serve our Lord and use what He has given to us. Jesus does, in fact, speak often about this issue:

Luke 18, for instance, has Jesus speaking about a persistent widow who kept pressing a certain judge for justice. Then he goes on to tell a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. Tax collectors were notorious for making money through the Roman system of farming out tax collections. They were, naturally, despised by the Jews for several reasons. Then he is confronted by a rich, young politician or land owner. We're not told the source of his wealth. He was, however, enamored by his wealth. So Jesus had to confront this issue.

When Jesus challenged him to sell everything and follow Him, the young man turned away. This led the Lord to say, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

His point: wealth can become your god. That ultimately leads to destruction and eternal separation from the true God. But God, in His grace, has made it possible to be saved. To those called into the KINGDOM Jesus promises, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

Abortion Debate As A Model For Seeking Common Ground

It may seem strange for those of us who are pro-life to find a proposed federal law with measures worthy of support, but it appears at first blush that we have just that in the new Ryan-DeLauro bill that is currently circulating and seeking support. Look over the TIME report:

Abortion: Can A New Bill End Decades of Post-Roe Conflict? - TIME

So often in our congregations I have seen groups opposed to one another over this or some other issue. The conflict grows and at times threatens to divide the congregation entirely, even though everyone espouses basic Christian doctrines and believes in the Gospel.

Many other conflicts come about from staffing issues. A pastor or teacher or director of Christian education has caused offense in one way or another. One group believes he or she was correct in taking a stand and another jumps to the defense of the injured party. None of the parties talk to one another. People begin to leave the church because they don't want to be involved in such thorny things.

How does one start? In such times is it not possible to review again those areas in which we have common agreement? What is our common ground? Once discovered, there are usually ways to build upon this ground toward a place where all can find a way to move forward toward reconciliation.

The Apostle Peter gives us some directions in this regard as he writes:

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

For,"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (Psalm 34:12-16).

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1Peter 3:8-17)

He Will Keep You Strong To The End

There remains much talk among Christians about the end of this age. For instance, millions around the world have purchased books from the Left Behind series. As I continue my meditation upon the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, I see that from the outset of the proclamation of the Gospel the apostles wanted believers to be concerned about this issue. He writes in chapter one:

"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (1:7-9).

Some of the questions that come to mind:

• What does it mean to wait for our Lord Jesus and to wait eagerly?
• How will He be revealed?
• When is the end? The end of what?
• What is the day of our Lord Jesus Christ?
• Is there to be more than one day?

In that connection I've been reading a few books and doing more surfing of the Net about the year 2012. Soon the movie will be out. My oh my but the trailers are scary. If you are vulnerable to this sort of thing--and the movie folks are counting on it--you will be spending sleepless nights pondering how you might escape the upcoming disaster.

Some tie this in with the global warming issue to point out that the planet is warming up rapidly. The polar ice caps will soon melt and release clear water into the salt oceans. This will disrupt the transporter currents around the world, causing cataclysmic storms and an instant rise in the temperature.

Add to this, the probability that sunspot storms will most likely occur in December, 2012. And what do you have? THE END, friend, THE END!

Let me respond to all of this scare stuff by going back to 1 Corinthians. In v.23 Paul teaches simply and profoundly, "We teach Christ crucified." That means that God loved the world, including you and me, so much that He was not willing that a single one of us should be lost to eternal death and separation from Him. In His mercy he has called us to faith in Jesus, granted us forgiveness and holiness in Christ and the absolute certainty that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We are, when all is said and done, His children. And He completely and fully intends that we will spend endless ages with Him in endless bliss, peace and contentment.

When the doomsayers come at you in books and the media, find your comfort in the wonder producing words of that most familiar psalm:

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

And also take courage from the words quoted above: "He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

The nature of temptation - according to psychology

The nature of temptation - The Boston Globe

Reminds me of the Biblical teaching about original sin. . . and our daily prayer to lead us not into temptation. Luther points out that God indeed tempts no one. The devil, the world and our flesh take care of that and quite well too.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 7 that the good we would do, we do not do and what we would not do, we do.

Thanks be to God, we have a Savior who washes away our sin. That washing does not, of course, permit us to go back to the sin. Lots of things to ponder here.

The Real 2012 Prophecy - Oh My!

I like what Rich Deem wrote in Evidence for God: The Real 2012 Prophecy: Mayans, Nostradamus, and Planet X, Oh My!

In that piece he suggests that somebody should make the ultimate disaster movie. Well, what do you know? It's already in the mix. 2012 is set to come out on November 13, 2009 with a cast of John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton. Who will survive? You?

Stay tuned for the next latest apocalyptic prediction.

The ROH Project

Yesterday was our nation's birthday. In his speech to the nation our president talked about what we have inherited because of the sacrifice and commitment of millions who have gone before us to make this land the envy of people around the world. The USA is to our modern world what Rome was to the world of NT times.

That leads me to another thought: the title and theme of both this Blog and the monthly Ezine posted on our website by the same name speak about heritage. We have inherited so many spiritual blessings because of the labor of those who have gone before us. However, just as eternal vigilance is the price of our national liberty, so vigilance is also the price of our freedom in Christ. This is why several of us began the Reclaiming Our Heritage project, now approaching its second birthday. We believe that the task of Reclaiming Our Heritage in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a never-ending journey. The world we live in is ever at work, under the leadership of the prince of this world, to erode and destroy this wondrous heritage of grace.

This was further driven home by the growing attention being given to 2012 and apocryphal events connected to it in large parts of the Christian community. Consider, for instance, the millions of books sold in the Left Behind series. July 4, 2009, according to some, was to mark the beginning of a 3 1/2 year countdown to Dec., 2012 when the world is to come to an end or the Antichrist is to be elected, etc., etc. We Lutherans have ever had to challenge this approach to Holy Scriptures in the name of the Gospel. In turn, we are being challenged for closing our eyes to the momentous events in current history (1947, the founding of Israel, UFOs in Roswell, NM, planet X, etc.) that all point to the imminent Second Coming, Rapture, Armaggedon, the Millenium, etc., etc.

In Mark 12 we read that Jesus was also challenged on every side for his teaching, e.g. about paying taxes to the Roman government and about the resurrection from the dead. One of the scribe/theologians underlined Jesus' answers by complimenting him for telling the truth. Jesus, in turn, told the scribe that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Jesus' answers shut all the rest of them down for the moment. Then he deepened his answers with a challenging question for them to answer.

I invite you to read that chapter, because it is high time that we Lutherans loudly proclaim clearer and wise answers to the growing confusion about the end times. Such theology ultimately leads believers into the sin of pride for being in-the-know. In days gone by, this was called the heresy of gnosticism. Many others are thereby captured by the giant called Despair and locked in the Doubting castle.

There are other similar theological questions that beg to be answered. Answers from God's Word must be provided to Christians tempted by lust, pride, despair and doubt and many other modern sins.

This is why I pray that the Reclaiming Our Heritage project grow and expand. In turn I challenge other Lutheran pastors and teachers to join me on this Blog, to lift up the peculiar Lutheran emphasis upon grace, faith and the Word of God. Lutherans also emphasize the correct division of Law and Gospel. More and more it seems that we are among the few who do. Witness the vast confusion of Law and Gospel in the multitudinous teachings about the End Times.

If you relate to what I am writing and would like to contribute to this Blog as well as to the ROH Ezine, please let me know. I can easily change the photos, add more links and bios, share the password and open these pages to those of you who agree with the Lutheran perspective. I'd love to hear from you. I also thank those Lutherans who are laboring diligently in other areas of this vast and complex cyberworld.

Fathers deserve respect, but . . .

A couple weeks ago I was honored by my children on Father's Day. I am always very humbled by this honor and have been reflecting upon it throughout these days following.

Further, as part of my meditation upon the Word, I've been making my way through the Lutheran Confessions, the Book of Concord. And recently I found some thoughts by Dr. Luther on the Commandment to honor fathers and mothers. They are worth sharing and meditating upon:

"In connection with this commandment, we must mention the sort of obedience due to superiors, persons whose duty it is to command and to govern. For all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of parents. Where a father is unable by himself to bring up his child, he calls upon a schoolmaster to teach him; if he is too weak, he seeks the help of his friends and neighbors; if he dies, he confers and delegates his responsibility and authority to others appointed for the purpose. In addition, he has to have servants--menservants and maidservants--under him in order to manage the household. Thus all who are called masters stand in the place of parents and must derive from them their power and authority to govern. They are all called fathers in the Scriptures because in their sphere of authority they have been commissioned as fathers and ought to have fatherly hearts toward their people. Thurs from ancient times the Romans and people speaking other languages called the masters and mistresses of the household patres et matres familias, that is, housefathers and housemothers. Again, their prnces and overlords were called patres patriae, that is, fathers of the whole country, to the great shame of us would-be Christians who do not speak of our rulers in the same way, or at least do not treat and honor them as such," LC:141-142.

A couple points from the above.

1. We owe respect and honor to those who serve as patres patriae, fathers of the whole country. They stand in the place of parents and "derive from them their power and authority to govern." Thus, as we respect and honor our parents, so we owe them the same. This is the first commandment of the second table of the Law of God and with it comes the promise from God that we will live long in the land if we obey it. "In the Scriptures, to have a long life means not merely to grow old, but to have everything that belongs to long life--for example, health, spouse and child, sustenance, peace, good government, etc.--without which this life cannot be enjoyed nor will it long endure," LC:134.

2. However, these same fathers "derive . . . their authority to govern" from parents. I read that to mean that the primary authority and responsibility rests with the parents. We parents cannot turn that responsibility over to the schools, social agencies, government, etc. and then go willy nilly on our way, telling ourselves we've done our duty.

Parents are always responsible for the care and guidance of their children, just as children owe their parents respect and honor. I fear that all too often we parents take too little interest in what is being said and done by those to whom we have delegated responsibility. I speak of teachers, elected government officials and even our church leaders. We have a responsibility to question how they are doing their delegated job. And if they are not, then we must appoint those who will.

This has some grave implications, especially in this nation where we say that government is "of the people and by the people." Those who govern rule by delegated authority, not by divine right. The responsibility for children, home and family still rests with us who are parents and have direct contact with our children. The closer we are to our children, the better this work will be done. The further away those are who are exercising their delegated authority, the less able they are to understand what is needed and to carry out their duties. Needless to say, I am not a fan of big and overpowering government, however it occurs. I invite you to give these matters your most serious consideration.