Author: Dan Baker

Did the Sun Stop?

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Joshua commanding the Sun

“Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

            ‘O sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Aijalon,’

So the sun stood still and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.”  Joshua 10:12-13

I watched one of my favorite movies the other day for the umpteenth time.  It is ‘Inherit the Wind’ starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.  I love it for the acting, writing and directing, not the message of the film. 

It is based on the true story of the ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ which is the famous trial of the teacher in Tennessee who broke the law by teaching evolution.  Tracy plays the Clarence Darrow character and March the William Jennings Bryant character.  They both bring a phenomenal performance to the screen. 

It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including best actor for Tracy and best screenplay, but surprisingly won none.  I say surprisingly because not only was it a brilliant film with incredible performances and cinematography, but the message of the movie was decidedly left-wing, anti-Biblical and anti-traditional propaganda, just the type of garbage the Hollywood left loves to promote.

The film portrays the townspeople as backward, ignorant, bigoted hayseeds and the William Jennings Bryant character as a fanatical Bible thumping egotist.  But a critique of the film isn’t what I’m writing about here.  It was the dialogue in a scene that spurred me to write.

In the scene in question, Henry Drummond (the Clarence Darrow character played by Tracy) asks Matthew Brady (the William Jennings Bryant character played by March) to take the stand and testify as a Bible expert.  Drummond is defending the evolution teacher and Brady was brought in by the prosecution to try the defendant. 

Brady agrees to testify.  Drummond proceeds to break down Brady’s ‘radical’ Christian viewpoint and eventually makes him look like a foaming at the mouth fool.  Here is the portion of dialogue I wanted to focus on:

Drummond: You believe that every word written in this book should be taken literally?

Brady: Everything in the Bible should be accepted exactly as it is given there.

Drummond: Now what about this part right here, where it talks about Jonah being swallowed by the whale? You figure that really happened?

Brady: The Bible does not say “a whale.” It says, “a big fish.”

Drummond: As a matter of fact, it says “a great fish.” But, I guess that one’s pretty much the same as the other. Now, what do you think about that business?

Brady: I believe in a God who can make a whale, and who can make a man, and make both do what He pleases.

Lady in the audience: God Bless you, Matthew Harrison Brady.

Audience: Amen, amen….

Drummond: I want those “amens” in the record. Now I recollect a story about Joshua — Joshua making the sun stand still. As an expert, do you tell me that that’s as right as the Jonah business? That’s a pretty neat trick.

Brady: I do not question or scoff at the miracles of the Lord, as do ye of little faith.

Drummond: Have you ever pondered what would actually happen to the earth if the sun stood still?

Brady: You can testify to that if I get you on the stand.

Drummond: If, as they say, the sun stood still, they must have had some kind of an idea that the sun moved around the earth. You think that’s the way of things? Or don’t you believe that the earth moves around the sun?

Brady: I have faith in the Bible.

Drummond: You don’t have much faith in the solar system.

Brady: The sun stopped.

Drummond:   Good! Now, if what you say actually happened — if Joshua stopped the sun in the sky — the earth stopped spinning on its axis, mountains toppling, tectonic plates crashing into one another,  and the earth, shriveled to a cinder, crashed into the sun. Now, how come they missed that little tidbit of news?

Brady:   They missed it because it didn’t happen.

Drummond:   But it had to happen. It must’ve happened, according to natural law. Or don’t you believe in natural law, Mr. Brady? Would you ban Copernicus from the classroom along with Charles Darwin? Would you pass a law throwing out all scientific knowledge since Joshua?

Drummond asked a lot of important questions.  Of course his questions were aimed at trying to demonstrate that the Bible is comprised of a bunch of stories that are ignorant of scientific “facts”.

My point of discussion is if the sun did stop, and the earth does spin on an axis and orbit the sun, then Drummond’s description of what would happen is dead-on.

Try to envision yourself on a cruise liner at sea and you are sitting in the dining room having dinner.  Pretend this cruise liner is traveling at 1000 miles an hour and its giant anchor accidentally breaks loose and sinks to the ocean bottom and lodges fast.  The ship comes to an immediate stop – 1000 to 0 at once.  What would happen?  Catastrophe!

That’s what would happen to the earth if it suddenly went from spinning 1000 mph to 0.  The incredible centrifugal force WOULD cause mountains to topple!  Tectonic plates WOULD crash into each other causing global earthquake devastation!  People WOULD be hurled forward smashing into anything in their path.  The earth, now no longer spinning, WOULD start to be sucked toward the sun, its orbit decaying.  It would be the end of the world.  So why didn’t that happen?

There are 3 possible reasons.

The first is that it never really happened.  It’s just a fable, a myth.  Joshua never ‘stopped the sun’.

The second is that God, in stopping the earth from spinning, used His power to make sure none of the disastrous things would happen because of the earth’s rotation coming to a sudden halt.  It’s a very convenient explanation.  But that’s usually what Christians employ when trying to reconcile the Bible with mainstream science.

The other explanation is that the Bible is true.  The sun stopped, not the earth, as it says.

Drummond says that if you believe that this story happened as the Bible described, then you deny Natural Law, you deny the solar system.  In the solar system model, I totally agree with him.  So that rules out the second explanation, in my opinion. 

And I don’t believe the story is a fable.

It’s interesting that Drummond linked Copernicus with Darwin.  Mainstream scientism says evolution is a fact – the science is completely valid.  It says if you think that God created man in a day, you are a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. 

Yet we know today, after many years of creation science research, that evolution is a horribly flawed, and frankly, fraudulent theory.  It requires way more faith to accept than Genesis.  But they have all kinds of visual aids (read artist renditions), science babble and mainstream support to help keep it alive as ‘real’ science.

So do you accept Darwin as you do Copernicus?

What do you believe, Christian?  And why?

Related: see my post ‘Every Eye Will See Him’

What God Has Cleansed

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Peters vision

“And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.  And he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.  And a voice came to him, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat!’. But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean’. And again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’.”  Acts 10:9-15

Here is another example of a viewpoint or interpretation I have always accepted as true without really studying it out.  I believe many other Christians are in the same boat.

I was listening to an interview with a Christian couple who are very involved in Biblical dieting.  They were remarking about this passage and said that it has nothing to do with God saying everything is ok to eat now.  They pointed out that Peter realized that the vision was telling him that he should not call any man unclean or unholy.  The couple said that it was never in the Law for a Jew to view people this way.

I have always accepted the contention that in this passage God says that all animals are now ok to eat and that God’s law that forbade certain animals was now nullified.  It was then somehow equated symbolically to the notion that Jews could also now associate with non-Jews. 

So, I decided to study all this for myself.  I found that the aforementioned couple was correct.  However, they did not complete the picture.  There was something much deeper and more profound that God was communicating to Peter.

Peter goes into a trance and sees a vision.  A great sheet comes down from heaven and all kinds of unclean and unholy (dirty and impure) animals are in the sheet.  A voice tells Peter to arise kill and eat.  Peter is appalled and says to the Lord that he never has and would never eat anything unholy and unclean.  The voice says ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”.

Peter is greatly perplexed about the vision.  This is a devout Jew who understands that there is purpose in the law.  God did not create the law arbitrarily.  The law describes and displays God’s righteousness.  How could something God has designated unclean become clean?

Peter continued to ponder the vision and while he was reflecting on it, men showed up at the door asking for Peter to go with them to see the centurion Cornelius.  When Peter is told that God sent an angel to Cornelius, a Gentile, the light went on for him.

Verse 28 is very important.  Peter tells Cornelius and his household that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him.  Yet, Peter says, God showed him that he should not call ANY man unholy or unclean.

The point is this, what Peter realized is that no man should be considered unclean or unholy.   When God said to Peter, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’, He was telling Peter that He had made atonement for all men.  He had not changed the law about what animals were edible!

Atonement is Cleansing

This short statement from God to Peter, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”, sums up what Christ’s death on the cross means to the whole world.  His death was the atonement for all mankind.  It satisfied the debt or the penalty for original sin. 

It’s also important to mention here that the law that Peter was talking about in Acts 10:28 in terms of associating with a foreigner is not found in the Torah anywhere.  But we will discuss that later in this article.

Look at Leviticus 16:29-30.  This chapter is all about the Law of Atonement.  It is the definitive statute regarding the annual ritual for Israel to make atonement for the nation.  It symbolically reconciled the nation to God.  It also foreshadowed the perfect atonement that would be made by Christ for all of mankind (see Heb. 10:10-12).

“And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”

In other words, atonement is a cleansing! 

This is what God was telling Peter.  Christ’s death had atoned for the sin of all mankind.  Peter realized that nothing had changed regarding what is good or bad to eat.  God had not cleansed those things, or made them suitable for eating!  Jesus Christ atoned or cleansed all of man.

This does not mean that all people are saved.  Christ’s death paid for the sin of the world, but individually we are justified by faith.  Faith alone is what determines whether we become righteous in God’s eyes.  Christ’s death, or atonement, is a free gift for all men.  It allows for justification for all men individually by faith (Rom. 5:11-18).

The point I’m trying to make about Acts 10 is that nothing changed from God’s perspective about what is good to eat.  He used that vision to help Peter understand what God had cleansed or atoned for.  God forced Peter’s mind into a quandary so that when the men from Cornelius showed up Peter would automatically understand.

Now, I am not saying that we are still under the law.  I am saying that what God laid out in the law as unclean to eat was still unclean or bad to eat.  In other words, there was purpose behind God declaring certain things bad to eat.  Nothing changed with that.

In Leviticus chapter 11, God details which creatures can be eaten.  At the end of the chapter it says, “This is the law regarding the animal, and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters, and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.”  Lev. 11:46-47

This is why Peter was so perplexed.  He could not understand how something that was bad to eat could suddenly become ok to eat.  Then he figured it out when the representatives of Cornelius showed up.

While we have technology to protect from the hazards of certain unclean animals, there are still good reasons to avoid them.  You can find the exhaustive list in Lev. 11.  Pork, shellfish, rabbits, and fish without scales like catfish are the usual suspects on American tables, but you can do your own research on what’s healthy and not.

Going back to the law that Peter cited about association with foreigners – it was a man-made law or tradition.  It was not a law of God.  In fact, if you go back through the books of Moses, or the Torah, there are numerous passages that talk about welcoming the foreigners or aliens, and being hospitable to them.

Here are just a few:

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.”  Lev. 19:24

‘There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the LORD your God.'”  Lev. 24:22

‘If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.'”  Num. 9:14

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.”  Deut. 24:14

And don’t forget the one above that I quoted regarding the Day of Atonement, Lev. 16:29-30

There are many, many more.  God has always intended that Israel be a light to the nations.  The Jews were never supposed to treat people with disdain.  They were told not to inter-mingle in marriage or to follow other nations gods, but if a non-Jew was seeking friendship there was no law against it. This tradition of the Jews to not associate with Gentiles was something concocted by corrupt religious leaders.

Guess what? It’s the same with the Church.  We are to be in the world, but not of it.  We are to be just as hospitable to non-believers as Israel was to be to non-Jews.  But we are not to marry unbelievers.  God is the same yesterday and today!

Acts 10 is really about Christ’s atonement!

 

Never Means Never

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The Correct Use of Jamais in French

One of the most repugnant positions that some churches embrace or even tolerate is the notion that a Christian can lose their salvation. 

It is the idea that if a professed Christian engages in grossly sinful behavior (which all sin is with God anyway), or stops living a public Christian life, then they either were not really saved in the first place (which certainly could be true) or they have walked away from God and forfeited their salvation. 

The question is, is it even possible to lose one’s salvation?  To think or believe that you can lose it or have it taken away is not only un-Scriptural, it’s insulting to God.  You are saying that God breaks His promises.

There are many, many passages that I could cite to show that when you get saved it’s permanent no matter what you do.   But I only want to look at 2 here.

The first is John 10:27-30.  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

Jesus is making a very clear and definitive statement.  He says He knows who His sheep are and He gives them eternal life.  Right there is all you need. 

When you are given eternal life, that means you are going to live for eternity…period.

And that’s exactly what Jesus says: “and they shall NEVER perish;”!  Never is Never!  No matter what, not no how, not no way! 

Anyone who believes and receives Christ as Savior will not be judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire and destroyed.  That is the definition of perish (see my blog on Eternal Torment or Eternal Destruction).  Eternal life means you will live forever with the Lord. 

It’s not necessary, but the other verse that I want to include with the previous passage is Romans 11:29, “for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”

Now, I realize that the context for this passage is the promise to Israel that it will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  It doesn’t matter, it is still applicable.  In fact, it demonstrates that the promise of eternal life is an unconditional guarantee. 

God promised that He would send a Deliverer from Zion and that He would remove Israel’s sins.  This was not dependent on Israel’s performance or behavior.  This is an unconditional promise to Israel just as the gift of eternal life is an unconditional promise to any person who receives it.  Eternal life is a gift from God and God says it is IRREVOCABLE!

This is a critically important fundamental Bible doctrine.  A believer, especially a new believer, needs to know that there is nothing that can change their relationship with God.  There is no sin that can put them in jeopardy with the Lord.  They can now obey God out of love and thankfulness rather than fear.  Not only should this be the position a church stands on, it should be taught.

Every Eye Will See Him

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sky

“and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the families of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”  Matthew 24:30

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the families of the earth will mourn over Him.  Even so. Amen.”  Revelation 1:7

“And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.  And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God.  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”  Revelation 19:11-14

God says that when Jesus returns to earth every human being will see Him as the firmament rips open and He appears in the Shekinah Glory.  His army will be surrounding Him filling the sky with all the hosts of heaven and the raptured Church on white horses.  He will be coming down to Jerusalem so His descent will start at meridian over that city.  It will be a spectacle that words cannot even begin to effectively describe. 

The question is, how will every eye be able to see Him?

If Jesus descends over Jerusalem, how will those on the continents of North and South America see Him, since they are on the other side of the globe?  Does anyone ever think about this?  What kind of imaginings must one come up with to answer this question?

I have heard some say that everyone will be able to see it on television.  This really doesn’t even merit a response.   Do you really believe that God is going to relegate the most dramatic entrance in the history of creation to television?

Or maybe He won’t descend from over Israel.  Maybe He’ll start out over Argentina and then do a tour of the world with His entourage until He winds up in Jerusalem.  You know, kind of like Santa Claus.  No, there will be no whirlwind world tour.  He will be coming with urgency to save the elect (Matthew 24:22).

I believe that most people who have even thought about this just think that God is going to supernaturally allow everyone to see the same thing.  In other words, God is going to either use a kind of Jedi hypnosis and trick everyone into thinking they are seeing it, like a vision; or He is going to have a cosmic set of mirrors in place that will create a type of reflection or illusion of the real thing. 

There is no Scriptural basis to take any of these scenarios seriously. 

The great event will be immediately prefaced by the entire world going under sudden darkness (Matt. 24:29).  The sun and moon will blackout and stars will fall.  Everything will go silent and all the attention will be on the sky. 

Are you picturing the introduction of the home team at an NBA basketball game?  Multiply that times a billion. 

A mammoth shofar or maybe millions of shofars unseen in the heavens will begin to blow, and then everyone at the same time will see the expanse (hint – raqiya) tear apart and the King of Kings appear in glorious light.  

There is really only one plausible way that this spectacular event can be seen by every person on earth together when it happens.  Do you know what it is?

Let him who has ears to hear, hear; and let him who has eyes to see, see.

Revelation 12 Sign

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From everything I have read, the celestial display that John saw in Revelation 12:1 will be visible this September 23, 2017.  The sign includes the constellation Virgo with the sun visible on her body and the moon under her feet.  Virgo will also be crowned with 12 stars, which are the 9 stars of the constellation Leo plus Mercury, Mars and Venus.  It also has Jupiter, the king planet, in Virgo’s womb and over time it passes out past her feet as if giving birth.  Clearly this display is presenting the virgin Mary pregnant and giving birth to Jesus, which is what verse 2, 4 and 5 describe.  The question is, if this is the precise presentation of the stars that John saw (and all indications are that it is), then what does it mean?

Always, we must go to the Scriptures before we do anything else.

To understand the Revelation 12:1 sign (there is another sign in 12:3) we must consider the context.  If you remove the chapter break, John is continuing his thoughts after describing events in the middle of the 7 year tribulation in Chapter 11.

The Book of Revelation is a chronological narrative with pauses to shed light in more detail on certain periods of the narrative.  Chapters 11-12 is one of those pauses, or side-bar.  These 2 chapters provide expansive details of prophecies focused on the middle of the 7 year tribulation.

We know from Daniel as well as Revelation that the 70th week of Daniel is referred to as two 3 1/2 year periods.  Revelation 11:3 says that God is going to grant authority to His 2 witnesses for 1260 days or 3 1/2 years.  This covers the first half.  Then they are going to be killed.  This will be right before the antichrist takes his seat in the Holy of Holies in the middle of the 7 year tribulation (Daniel 9:27, Matt. 24:15).  Jesus tells the Jews that when you see this, flee Jerusalem into the hills (Matthew 24:15-18).  These refugees will be a major part of the Jewish remnant that will be saved out of the Great Tribulation.  (See my previous post on The Greatest Sign)

Nothing to do with the Church

Here we now come to Revelation 12.  Revelation 12 describes what is going to happen during the last 3 1/2 years.  The focus in this chapter is on the Jewish elect or remnant.  It is NOT about the Church.  The Church is gone!  It was raptured before the 70th week began.  (see my post on The Restrainer).  It is exegetical malpractice to attempt to insert the Church into this passage.

The woman is Israel.  She flees into the wilderness just as Jesus warned in advance in Matthew 24.  There the Jews will be protected and cared for by God for the 2nd half of the tribulation – 1260 days (Rev. 12:6).  It is at this time that Satan realizes his time is short and his rage explodes (Rev. 12:12).  His focus now becomes exterminating the Jews, which he has been attempting to do throughout history.  Why?  Because of the promises to Abraham and David. 

If there are no descendants of Abraham left then God will have failed in his promise regarding the land and the throne of David.  If there are no Jews to welcome the coming Messiah, then there is no kingdom to restore.  Remember, Jesus told the Jews right before He was killed, “You will not see me again until you say ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'”.  If there is no one of the literal Abrahamic DNA, then Jesus seemingly would not return.  Satan wants this domain for himself.  If he can wipe out Israel once and for all, then the Son of David will not be able to restore the kingdom of God as promised.

So Satan goes all out against the Jews.  Rev. 12:15 says that he will literally try to drown all the remnant in the wilderness with a great flood, but God will protect them by opening the ground and diverting the water.  In Rev. 12:17, Satan then becomes even more enraged and goes to make war with all the other believing Jews.  All of the unbelieving Jews will undoubtedly be killed, which is why Jesus warned the believing ones to flee when antichrist declares himself to be God (2 Thess 2:4) in the Holy of Holies of the coming rebuilt Temple.

I believe the significance of the sign being mentioned in Revelation 12:1 is simply to set the context for the rest of the chapter.  I don’t believe the intent in this chapter was to say that this sign will appear as a herald of the immediate return of Jesus. 

In other words, John uses the celestial picture to emphasize that he is summarizing the Gospel story and to preface what Satan is going to try to do to believing Israel after the ‘abomination of desolation’ takes place.  Rev. 12:1-5 is the summary: Mary was with child, she gave birth, Satan (who rebelled with a large contingent of angels – verse 4) was waiting for the birth and tried to kill the child (Herod killed all the males 2 and under), Jesus died and was resurrected and taken up.  Verse 6 fast forwards to mid-tribulation.

The Revelation 12:1 sign evidently was also visible when Jesus was born.  My research says that it appears quite often in history, although perhaps not as precisely as it may this Sept. 23rd.  What the constellation depicts has ALREADY HAPPENED!

So, my conclusion is that it IS a sign.  David said ‘the heavens are telling of the glory of God’.  I can confidently say it is a sign of God’s glory, majesty and wisdom.  It is a sign that God fulfills everything in His Word down to the tiniest detail, which means it is a sign that Jesus is alive and will return to reign from Mt. Zion.

Dan Baker

Times and Epochs

Times and epochs

“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.  2. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  3. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  4. But you, brethren are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief;” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

There is a lot to unpack in these four verses.  Paul summarizes what is going to happen with regard to 1) the Church and the rapture, 2) those who do not know the Lord at the time of the rapture and 3) the beginning of the tribulation. 

First, what is Paul referring to in verse 1?  To find out, all you do is go back to the preceding verses.  5:1 is referring to when the rapture will take place.  Look at 4:16-18.  Here Paul describes what is going to happen at the rapture, how things are going to happen and the sequence of things. 

In 5:1 he tells the Thessalonicans that they have no need of him writing anything to them about the timing of what he just talked about in 4:16-18.  Paul has most certainly explained everything in extensive detail when he was with them in person (1 Thess. 2:1; 2 Thess. 2:5). 

So, in 5:1 he is referring to the rapture.  In verse 2 he says it will come like a thief in the night.  The ‘Day of the Lord’ is the rapture, but it is also much more. 

The ‘Day of the Lord’ is an idiom.  It means the time when the judgment of Yahweh is going to come to earth.  It is referring to the 70th week of Daniel, or the 7-year tribulation that precedes the physical return of the Son of David to earth.  It is a term that represents the beginning day (rapture – thief in the night), all the events of judgment and wrath throughout the period of the tribulation and the very day that Jesus sets foot on the Mount of Olives. 

It is signaled by the rapture, however, and that is what Paul is specifically referring to in 5:2.  The rapture will happen like a thief in the night.  No one knows when the thief will come.  But when He does, it is the beginning period of what will become the most terrible ever on earth.  5:3 describes what happens next.

Peace and Safety

“While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 

The first thing we need to determine is who are ‘they’? To find the antecedent we must go back to 4:5. In the context, Paul is talking about the Gentiles who do not know God.  You can’t really say he is talking about ‘outsiders’ in 4:12 because the Greek word there essentially means ‘whoever’. 

So, unbelievers would be the general definition of ‘they’ in 5:2. They will be saying that the world has finally achieved peace and safety.  We know that when the Church is evacuated the Holy Spirit will be removed and the antichrist will be revealed (see my posts on the Restrainer). 

When the Holy Spirit is removed and perhaps as many as a billion people disappear, then literally all hell will break loose on earth.  It will undoubtedly be a time of chaos and economic collapse on a scale the world has never seen. But it is NOT the tribulation – yet. 

This is the stage that the antichrist will step up on and the events that will allow him to ascend to total world power.  In 2 Thess. 2:8-10 Paul says he will come with ‘all power, signs and wonders and every deception of wickedness’.  The antichrist will ‘miraculously’ stabilize all the upheaval, violence and economic chaos.  He is going to usher in a golden age and he will be viewed as the savior of the world.  How long this ‘golden age’ of peace and prosperity lasts, we don’t know.

So, the world will be dwelling in peace and safety (physical and economic) such as never before.  This is what Paul is saying in 5:3. Then the tribulation will begin.

Suddenly like birth pangs

It sounds like an oxymoron or paradox – suddenly but gradually.  But this describes exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 24.  The tribulation comes on like birth pangs.  The judgments or wrath of God will be poured out in increasing intensity and frequency over the 7-year period.  It is the first pang that comes suddenly and surprisingly. 

This is the first seal in Rev. 6:1. This will happen after the antichrist has facilitated some grand treaty with Israel, which will be the technical beginning of the 7 years (Daniel 9:27).  When the first seal is opened the peace on earth will end.  And it only gets worse from there.

Remember ‘they’?  Well, Paul says they will not escape.  Why?  Because there is no rescue for those who are not raptured.  The Church escapes.  That’s what the word ‘delivers’ (Greek – ruomai) means in 1Thess. 1:10.

“(We) wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who DELIVERS us from the wrath to come.”  

The word ‘ruomai’ literally means to be rescued by physically dragging someone out of the way. 

Every believer that is alive when the Thief in the night comes will be ‘dragged’ up to meet Him in the sky.  But the remaining earth-dwellers will not escape.

The Thief is coming. 

 

 

The Covert Mission of Jesus

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“…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;”  1Corinthians 2:7-8

The Man Who Never Was

The annals of war are replete with stories of subterfuge.  In WWII there were a number of elaborate schemes designed to fool Hitler about the invasion of Europe.  The most exotic ruse of the war took place before the invasion of Italy, the success of which would have enormous impact on the coming invasion of France.

Before the Allies could invade France they had to get a foothold in southern Europe.  Germany had been shoved out of North Africa and conventional wisdom said the next step for the Allies would be to land an army in Sicily.  Germany knew this as well. 

Winston Churchill famously remarked that ‘everyone but a bloody fool would know’ that the objective was Sicily.  If the Allies could make the Germans believe that they were going to invade Greece instead of Sicily, significant forces might get diverted thereby insuring success in Sicily. 

So, a ruse was concocted.  The audacious plan became the basis for a film entitled, ‘The Man Who Never Was’, in 1956.

The idea, thought up by 25 yr. old RAF Flight Lieutenant Charles Cholmondeley and developed by British Intelligence, was to drop a dead body off the coast of Nazi occupied Spain complete with identification papers, photos of a girlfriend, love letters, a London bus ticket and most importantly, a personal letter from Lt. General Archibald Nye. 

The chosen courier was a deceased 34-year-old alleged homeless man named Glyndwr Michael who had supposedly been found in an abandoned warehouse (there is controversy about whether he was a homeless person).  For this mission, designated Operation Mincemeat, he was given the name Capt. William H.N. Martin. 

The letter from General Nye outlined several sensitive topics.  One of the topics was Allied plans in the Mediterranean, specifically the invasion of Greece.  It described plans to embark troops from Egypt and Libya under the command of General ‘Jumbo’ Wilson for the landing in Greece.  It also mentioned a simultaneous landing on Sardinia by forces under the command of General Harold Alexander currently in Tunisia.  

The letter was personally written and signed by General Nye.  Nye added the finishing touch in the letter saying ‘we stand a very good chance of making the enemy think we are landing in Sicily’.

Next, the British had to make the dead man look as if he had drowned.  The plan was to make the Germans think the body had washed up from a plane crash at sea.  To make the death look as authentic as possible, the British stored the body in dry ice in a sealed container.  As the ice evaporated the lungs filled with liquid. 

The body, dressed in Royal Marine battle dress, was found on the shore of Spain near a town called Huelva with the briefcase of papers attached.  He had been dropped in the ocean a mile from shore by the submarine HMS Seraph. 

Within days, the contents of the briefcase were in German intelligence hands. 

Of course, the Germans would want the British to think that the documents had remained secure so as not to tip the British that the Germans were now in on the Allied plans.  So, the Germans had the Spanish return the contents just as they had found them.  But British intelligence examined the documents and they could tell they had been tampered with. 

The plan was working. 

A few days later, German reinforcements were moving to Greece, Corsica, and Sardinia over the objection of Italian dictator Mussolini, who still believed the invasion would be in Sicily.  Panzer divisions were sent from France and Russia and Germany’s greatest field general Erwin Rommel was sent to Greece to command. 

The great deception worked magnificently, so much so that two days after the invasion of Sicily, Hitler refused to budge from Greece, believing the main invasion was still to come. 

How did this ruse affect D-Day? 

After the invasion of Sicily, Hitler eventually realized he had been duped.  Two days after the D-Day invasion of France, Germans confiscated documents from a landing craft on the shore of Normandy. The documents were real, and they detailed inland targets of the Allies. 

Hitler refused to believe they were real, convinced it was another ruse and that the main invasion was still to come at Pas de Calais.  When the Germans needed the Panzer divisions the most at Normandy, Hitler kept them frozen inland off the northern coast of France. 

The invasion of France may well have been saved by the lasting effects of ‘The Man Who Never Was’.

In a way, Jesus played a ‘man who never was’. 

Yahweh the Greatest Con Artist

God tricked Satan, plain and simple. 

The Jews were looking for a political and military leader which was precisely what God took advantage of.  Jesus intentionally allowed and even fostered their belief that He had come to restore the kingdom of God on earth. 

Jesus executed his mission flawlessly, gathering and training believing followers while conning Satan and the unbelieving Jews.  Turning the entire nation of Israel’s attention on Himself, He was able to keep His true mission cloaked – to be killed.

Jesus drew crowds of thousands in empty areas near tiny towns and villages.  There He preached messages of hope laced with fiery, revolutionary rhetoric.  “The kingdom of God was coming”, He said repeatedly.  He rebuked, chastised and humiliated the reigning authorities, the oppressive religious overlords who bowed to the pagan conquerors from Rome. 

And God spoke from heaven and all who were present heard it – “This is My Beloved Son!”  This was the One sent to restore the kingdom of God back on earth to where it belongs – in the hands of the Messiah King reigning from Jerusalem!  This was the One that would throw off the oppressors!

What was Satan hearing? “The kingdom of God is near”; “The gates of hell will not prevail”; “I saw Satan falling like lightening”; “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!”. 

John the Baptist called them out, “Who warned you of the wrath to come?”.

Satan heard what the Pharisees and scribes were hearing – declarations of war and vengeance!  

The Pharisees were the imagers, the mirrors, of Satan.  Jesus called them sons of Satan.  How they reacted is how Satan was reacting.  Their authority and power were threatened as was Satan’s power and authority as ruler of this domain earth. 

The hook was set.  Jesus had to die.

He spoke in parables for the ears that could hear.  He knew that only a very few were understanding any of what he said.  He knew the crowds would turn on him.  But he also knew that in the end He would find the few followers that would commit their lives to Him.

The mission was to die.  But it was also to lay the foundation for the Church. 

He made sure that His disciples knew He was God in the flesh.  He trained them how to become fishers of men.  He taught them the message of salvation and how to spread it; to love one another and to live for eternity. 

He did this all the while provoking Satan with impending overthrow of his reign on earth. 

And Yahweh chose the perfect time to insert His Son into the world. 

Knowing He would be rejected, He rightfully claimed the throne of David.  But it was never His intent to take it at that time.  His intent was to be killed. 

It was a brilliant plan, laid out in Eden and flawlessly managed all the way to the cross.  From the beginning of creation it was determined – Yahweh would restore man and earth back to Himself by sending His Son to die. 

And He rose from the dead to seal the victory.

Satan would not have laid a finger on Him had he understood Jesus’ real mission.

Dan Baker

copyright 2017

Who or What is the Restrainer?

Holding back

In my previous post I dispensed of the notion that the restrainer (2 Thess. 2:6-7) is the archangel Michael, as many incorrectly believe.  Daniel 12:1 is the only Scripture reference that I know of that is used to support that contention. 

So, who or what is it?  

Of all the other possibilities the only one that makes sense, considering all the requirements of restraining the evil one, is the Holy Spirit.  Here are the ways the Holy Spirit fulfills the role:

  • The Holy Spirit is God, and is therefore stronger than Satan
  • The Holy Spirit operates in the spiritual realm as does Satan.
  • The Holy Spirit dwells in His Church, which is His body. The Church is the salt of the earth, or preservative.
  • The whole world lies under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), yet the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church (Matt. 16:18).
  • 2 Thess 2:6-7 Paul uses the word what and he to describe the Restrainer, which rules out Rome or government. The what is the power of the Holy Spirit and the He is the person of the Holy Spirit. 

Again, Michael has been ruled out – it is not that person.  Nor is it Caesar, or any other political figure or earthly government, because they can not transcend the centuries nor do they have worldwide power.

No other possibility makes as much sense.  That being the case, the only way the Restrainer can be removed is if the Church is removed.  This supports a pre-tribulation rapture.  Why?

The tribulation, otherwise known as the 70th week of Daniel, begins when a covenant or treaty is forged with Israel facilitated by the antichrist (Daniel 9:27).  Therefore, the antichrist is revealed at minimum at the time of the treaty/covenant.  Which means he is revealed at the beginning of the tribulation, not in the middle. 

Since the antichrist is revealed at that time, that means the Church has been evacuated prior to the 7-year tribulation.  The antichrist is not revealed until the Restrainer is taken out of the way.

When the Church is removed the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way and the antichrist will be revealed.  The Church will thus be raptured prior to the 7-year tribulation.

 

Michael the Restrainer?

Michael archangel

Recently I watched a video by a pastor by the name of Dean Odle.  He was teaching on a subject I was interested in hearing about.  At the outset of his teaching he laid out 4 principles of proper Bible interpretation. 

In a nutshell, those principles are reading the Bible literally unless it’s clear that a passage is metaphorical or allegorical; context; grammar and historicity.  I was encouraged to hear this from the pulpit because my experience tells me that this is a glaring weakness in the Church, at least in the U.S.. Most Christians simply do not know how to study the Bible.

Anyway, I continued to listen.  At one point in his teaching he said that he believed that the archangel Michael was the restrainer in 2 Thess. 2.  His basis for this position was Daniel 12:1. 

“Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.  And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

Mr. Odle said that Michael is going to arise and get out of the way and by doing so will allow God’s wrath to pour out on the earth.  According to him, as I understood it, this will happen after the 6th trumpet and this is when the antichrist is revealed.

Not withstanding the fact that the antichrist is revealed long before the 6th trumpet (he is revealed at least at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel when he spearheads a treaty or covenant with Israel; Dan. 9:27), Mr. Odle violated all of the principles of interpretation that he said he believed were essential to understanding Scripture.  I wrote him the following email:

“Hello Dean,

I watched the video of your message on the coming great deception.   Prior to watching that I watched the video of your message on the firmament and the ‘skyfall’, which I enjoyed immensely. 

One of the things I appreciated was your walk-thru of how to study the scriptures accurately.  Most churches do not teach their members how to ‘rightly divide’ the word, which is a genuine shame. 

Along those lines of good hermeneutics that you spoke of, I wanted to challenge you on something you said, namely that the restrainer is Michael the archangel.  You cited Daniel 12 and I believe you are in error in your interpretation of that passage.  The context is key.  What you did is what many Christians do which is put the Church (and in the case of your teaching, the Church and the rest of the world) into passages where it doesn’t belong.  

The context is referring to Daniel’s people.  Michael is standing guard over them as it says in vs. 1.  Michael is not standing guard over the whole world.  What Michael is there to do is protect the righteous Jews – whose names are written in the book.  The verse says they will be rescued.  This verse is referring to Jacob’s Trouble, the Great Tribulation, which is the 2nd half of the tribulation (little t) or 70th week of Daniel (Chap. 9).  The passage says it will last a time, times and a half of time, which we know is 3 ½ years (Dan. 12:7). 

Notice it says it will be a time such as never occurred for a nation.  We know that a remnant will be rescued.  Jews will flee into the Judean hills east of Jerusalem the moment the antichrist takes his seat in the Holy of Holies, and be protected there for the 3 ½ years. (cf. Matthew 24:15-22 and Rev. 12:6)  Jesus speaks of the same thing regarding the last 3 ½ years in Matthew 24 with respect to Jacobs Trouble/Distress.   

Michael is charged with protecting Daniels people whose names are written in the book – they will be rescued.  The people in this passage are Daniel’s people – the Jews.  Rev. 12 says that during the last 3 ½ years Satan is going to try to wipe out Israel and the Jews, but he will fail.  Michael is not the restrainer in 2nd Thess – the context in Daniel 12 denies that.  That is NOT Michaels job. 

Thanks and blessings to you,”

Dan Baker

I haven’t heard back from him as yet.

What’s in the Water?

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Water

1 John 5:6-8  “6. This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not in water only, but in the water and in the blood.  7. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.  8. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

Before I get into this, I want to state that I quoted the New American Standard that has ‘in’ in the margin as the literal translation for the 2nd and 3rd segment of verse 6 (“not IN water only” as opposed to “not BY water only”).

This is a fascinating passage and the commentaries are varied in their interpretations.  So hang in there and do your best to follow me as I put forth some things to consider that I have not found to be suggested as yet.

Most commentaries say that the water is referring to Christ’s baptism.  One commentary by someone named Wetstein said it is referring to Christ’s manhood meaning that he “he had all the properties of a human being–a spirit or soul, blood, and the watery humours of the body”.  I strongly believe it goes far deeper than baptism or the human body.

What is curious about this is that John says that Jesus did not come in water ONLY.  I wonder why he said it that way.  In other words, it seems John recognizes that someone would easily accept that the Messiah Son of God might come in water only.  John is emphatic that he came in water AND blood.  I think Wetstein is getting warm.  But why water only?

Here’s what I’m thinking about…

First, let’s look at where Yahweh lives and where Yeshuah came from.  Gen. 1:6 says “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 

Psalm 104:3 says that He “lays the beams of His chambers in the waters”.  In the same psalm it says in verse 13, “He waters the mountains from His chambers”.

Psalm 148:4 says, ‘Praise Him, heaven of heavens and the waters that are above the heavens”.

Amos 9:6 says “The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, the Lord is His name.” 

God dwells above the firmament above the earth in waters.  That seems clear from Scripture.  I realize that Amos is not describing the waters above the firmament, I included it because it goes along with the verse that says His chambers are there.  And God is spirit (John 4:24). 

Ok, He’s spirit, what’s that got to do with it?  Well, maybe everything.  Again, I’m just exploring this, I haven’t formed any conclusions.   Let’s bring in another verse to consider.  Stay with me.

Luke 11:24 says, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’”

What this verse seems to indicate is that these spirits (granted they are unclean or demons) must find habitation made up of water.  Remember when Jesus exorcised a man of the demon Legion (Luke 8:27-33)?  That demon begged to be sent into a herd of pigs rather than the abyss. 

The abyss is the lowest part of the earth where evil spirits are imprisoned and there is no water (1 Peter 3:18, Jude 6).  It wanted to be in a living creature.  All life is water based.  We are 70% water.

Now, these were unclean spirits but spirits nonetheless.   See where I’m going?

Now I want to bring in the Book of Enoch.  This book is credible reliable spiritual history.  The reason I can say that is because the Bible quotes it.  That means God affirms it.  I’m not saying it’s Scripture, but I believe at minimum it is as close as you can get.

In Enoch 22: 9-13 it says this: “9. At that time therefore I inquired respecting him, and respecting the general judgment, saying, Why is one separated from another? He answered, Three separations have been made between the spirits of the dead, and thus have the spirits of the righteous been separated. 10. Namely, by a chasm, by water, and by light above it.  11. And in the same way likewise are sinners separated when they die, and are buried in the earth; judgment not overtaking them in their lifetime.  12. Here their souls are separated. Moreover, abundant is their suffering until the time of the great judgment, the castigation, and the torment of those who eternally execrate, whose souls are punished and bound there for ever.  13. And thus has it been from the beginning of the world. Thus has there existed a separation between the souls of those who utter complaints, and of those who watch for their destruction, to slaughter them in the day of sinners.”

What Enoch is saying is there are 3 things that separate the unsaved from the saved who are dead (that was pre-cross; now the saved go straight to heaven).  There is a chasm, water and light above the water.  (As an aside, Enoch also affirms the destruction of the lost) 

Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-26)?  It says the rich man asked if Lazarus could dip his finger in the water and put it on the rich man’s tongue.   Abraham said there was a chasm that may not be crossed.  Both passages describe the chasm and water.  Jesus is actually affirming Enoch in his telling of this story.

Getting back to Jesus and 1 John 5:6, what I’m wondering is if John understood that God’s dwelling is in the waters as Spirit.  Please do not understand me to be saying that God MUST reside in water, it may just be that He chooses to.  We too are spirit and reside in water, just as the unclean spirits seek watery residence.  They have no rest without water.  It seems that our spirit must, as well.

Was John saying that Jesus did not come in just water – as he understood God to reside in – but he also came in blood as a man?  I think it could very well be the case.

To be continued…

Dan Baker