The Kingdom of God is near

As I completed my service to Zion church, Tomball, TX. last Sunday I read the Scriptures publicly. After the Divine Service, as I shook hands with those attending, one lady remarked,

I love the way you read the Bible. It sounds so personal and clear. 

I responded,

The Scriptures were meant to be read aloud and interpreted by the inflection and use of one's voice.

In support of that I submit the following from the first chapter of John's Revelation:

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. - Rev 1:3 ESV 

Actually, the original Greek does not say "reads aloud." It merely uses a word that implies that those reading were reading aloud since you can't hear what is written in this prophecy unless it is read aloud. The blessing John writes about comes in the midst of this public communal activity of reading and hearing the words of this prophecy. The one who reads is blessed and those who hear and keep what is written are blessed. Notice that the blessing comes not merely from the hearing, but also from the keeping of what is written, as the Lord Jesus said,

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. - Mat 11:15 ESV 

The keeping of the words of this prophecy refers to guarding them. When Jesus was entombed by Joseph of Arimathea (a little town of Judea), guards were placed before the tomb. The concern was that the disciples would steal the body of Jesus away and so claim that he had risen from the dead (Matt. 27:62-66). The Greek word for the guards is the one from which we obtain our English word custodian. Following that lead, I can hear John suggesting that we who hear the Word are to be custodians of it, watching over it so carefully that not a single letter is lost. As we ponder and guard that Word we will be blessed.

Further, what John writes is a prophecy. Prophecy has three meanings.

1. In the strict sense prophecy is foretelling, that is speaking about future events before they happen. The Gospel of Matthew often uses prophecy in this way. For instance, the angel who appeared to Joseph told him not to be afraid to marry Mary, because of what had been spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). - Mat 1:23 ESV
2. The second meaning of prophecy is illumination. Divine light is cast upon what is otherwise secret, unknown or not understood in God's revealed Word. Suddenly there is for the hearers who receive and guard it in their hearts an Aha! So in a recent Bible class I observed that many realized for the first time that "the name" of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is the sacred NAME of God (YHWH - Exod. 3:13-15) and this NAME is shared by all three members of the Holy Trinity. So the Father is YHWH, Jesus is YHWH.  and the Holy Spirit is YHWH. 
3. The third meaning of prophecy refers to interpretation. This is what a preacher or a teacher does for his assembled hearers. He interprets God's Word and applies it to the lives of those gathered. 

As we read (together in this blog) and hear John's Revelation I pray that all of these meanings will be opened to us, because this prophecy does indeed tell of things to come, but it also throws light on things already written and helps us to interpret and apply them to our lives. 

Finally John says, "For the time is near." John uses one of two N.T. Greek words for time. In this case  he speaks of kairos as opposed to chronos. Chronological time keeps changing. It is impermanent. So I may awaken at 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, but a moment or two later it is 7:00 a.m. and so on. On the other hand kairos refers to a specific time whose significance continues forward. So I think of the birth of my children. Each birth changed my life permanently and continues to do so to the present. In a far more profound way the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus has changed everything and will continue to do so forever. So after John was arrested, Jesus proclaimed, 

"The time (kairos) is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (near); repent and believe in the gospel." - Mar 1:15 ESV

Thus let us be very conscious that the reading and hearing of this prophecy brings us to a kairos of decision. The Spirit is a work in these words.  Things foretold are about to be fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand (near). Consider what it means for your life here and now. Now is the time to repent and believe in the gospel. The Kingdom of God is being fulfilled in our midst at this present time.

THE DAY OF REST - Prologue

The Day of Rest
Biblical Teaching About Time
—How It All Began—
By Dr. Al Franzmeier

__________________________________________

This is a manuscript I am publishing for the first time and, as promised earlier, I'm doing it online. Little by little, I'll be adding another chapter. At the end, I'll provide study guides for those who want to use the material for group study. Eventually I hope to develop a separate website tracking life before the multitudinous changes of the last half of century 20 and now century 21.

This current work is from a project I started when a pastor who was about to take a sabbatical—a term derived from the Biblical Sabbath, the seventh day, the day of rest—asked me to help his congregation explore the concept of rest and its meaning for modern life.


The Third Commandment in the numbering by Roman Catholics and Lutherans reads: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8). Few among us have grasped the full implications of that commandment for our lives. Many remember from their religious instruction that Christians no longer observe Saturday, the seventh day, as their day of worship and rest. Followers of Jesus Christ long ago chose to celebrate his resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week, in place of the ancient Sabbath, the seventh day.

The Lutheran Small Catechism says precious little about this commandment other than to instruct believers to hold the preaching of God’s Word sacred and hear it gladly. That’s it. Having correctly honored the Christ by replacing the seventh day with the first as the primary day of worship, we have long neglected the Bible’s other teachings about the Sabbath. This is regrettable since the Bible has much to teach us twenty-first century Christians about rest, how to use our time, how to relax, how to spend time with our families, set priorities in our lives and scores of other related topics.

 Managing time is one of the biggest problems we face today. Despite all our telephones, computers, fast cars, jets and other timesaving devices, things are speeding up. Everything is going faster and everyone is in a hurry to get more done. We are sorely pressed for time. We’re like Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit that jumped down a hole in front of her.  He was constantly checking his watch and saying, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!”

Both Alice and the rabbit ended up in Wonderland. In a sense, so have we. Our world is certainly filled with wonder, but we do not have time to stop long enough to really look in awe and wonder at what is before us. Caught up in some big race, often running in circles, we seldom know where we’re going or what the hurrying is about.

When my children were younger and living at home, my wife constantly reminded me that I too was so wrapped up in the busy-ness of the church that I had little time for my own family. She can provide you with twenty or thirty examples of when I was not there for important family events. As a devoted pastor, everyone else’s needs took priority. I was too busy taking care of the families of our congregations—and neglecting my own.

My pastor-friend knew what I was talking about, as did his church’s leaders. So when I presented my proposal they accepted it and asked me to provide a course of study  that would help them reflect upon twenty-first century life in light of Biblical teaching about the Sabbath. The chapters to follow are the product of those lectures.

I pray my work will help us all find new and creative ways to use the precious gift of time granted to us, based upon the teachings of Holy Scripture. Under the blessing of the Holy Spirit we will grow in our faith and in our sanctified lives. Watch for the first chapter to be posted soon.

DST, Chickens And Christians

Tomorrow morning we all get to sleep in an extra hour. Daylight Saving Time ends for another year. In studying the history of this annual fall and spring ritual I learned several interesting things.


*Chickens don't adapt to the changed clock until several weeks have gone by.

*70 percent of Americans rise before 7:00 a.m.

*There is evidence that the severity of auto accidents increases and work productivity decreases as people adjust to the time change.

*The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784.

*The present time time zones were first used by the railroads in 1883 to standardize their schedules. Standard time zones were established by U.S. law with the Standard Time Act of 1918.

*During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called “War Time,” from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945, but after that confusion reigned as localities chose to observe or not observe DST.

*Since 1986 Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. began at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April and ended at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. However, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time so that from 2007 and on DST begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November.

So . . . this is the first year DST ends in November and that accounts for my confusion about the whole topic.

We Christians have some pointed instructions about light and darkness. Darkness for us is a symbol of what people do when they think no one sees or knows. Walking in the light, therefore, means that we believe we are forgiven in Christ for all our dark deeds and are guided by the light of God's revelation and love. Here's how the Apostle Paul writes about it:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5).