Is That Really Love???

God is Love (1 John 4:8).  We have heard this said often because God's Love is the foundation of our faith.  This seems like such a simple concept, yet it can cause problems for some studiers of the Word.  It doesn't take long to flip through the Bible and see by the Lord's hand-pain, suffering, punishment, and the promise of hell for those who reject Him.  The question has been similarly asked by believers and nonbelievers, "Is that really love?"

If you think of love as all warm and fuzzy you are missing a big part of what love is.  It is important to understand that true love is not devoid of pain.  Jesus certainly suffered pain on this earth.  He was not spared rejection, punishment, or hurt, and He was sinless.  He demonstrated the depth of His love by hanging on a cross to make a way for us to the Father.  We call the day Christ was sacrificed "Good Friday". 

All pain may feel bad, but we need to understand that all pain or punishment is not bad.   If you set a good boundary for your child and they cross it, you must follow through with the consequence.  If you don't they will never learn to stay safe and will  continue to test the boundary; crossing further and further until you finally say STOP! When you put your hand on a hot stove you immediately pull it back. Why?  The response to pain is a huge tool to the human body and provides protection individually and corporately. 

If you have ever put a child in time out or imposed a consequence for disobeying, you demonstrated love.  You weighed the 'warm and fuzzy' with the 'tough call' and chose to teach something very important to them.  Ever squirted a cat with a water gun?  Ever taken away the teenager's cell phone or car keys?  If done to teach a valuable lesson, then that is love. 

Before the punishment there should always be a warning.  It wouldn't be fair or loving to just walk into a room, pick up a child, and slam them in the time out chair without so much as a word.  Boundaries must be clearly set and understood for the consequence to be appropriate. 

That brings us to a Scripture passage I was recently asked to explain:

 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 


"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’  and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.  The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Matthew 24: 42-51

Whew!  That is a harsh word and can be a difficult picture to connect with love.....or is it?  These words are Jesus' words.  He said them privately to His disciples (Matthew 24:3) who were the founding father's of the New Testament Church.  He was warning the 'servant in charge of the house' to keep watch and feed the fellow servants of the household.  Who is the servant in charge?  What house?  Let's look at a few words in the original Greek to help us get the whole picture Jesus was painting.


Master-(kurios)-he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.  This title is given to: God, the Messiah.
 
Servant-(doulos) means a Bondman or Bondmaid


House-(oikia) means the dwelling itself


Matthew Henry Commentary says: "Now this parable, with which the chapter closes, is applicable to all Christians, who are in profession and obligation God's servants; but it seems especially intended as a warning to ministers; for the servant spoken of is a steward."


Jesus was speaking to the leaders of the Church.  They are 'in charge' of God's children, the Household of Faith.  They have been entrusted to care for, shepherd, disciple, and feed the people in the House of the Lord. 
 
Jesus tells the servant to give the house food, the King James uses the word 'meat'.   Not fluff and stuff Christianity, but the real preaching of Salvation and Christian instruction from the Holy Bible.  There is only One Way, Jesus.  The consequence to not obeying the true call for Ministers of the Word is pretty clear and it is consistent.
 
James 3:1 says, "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
 
So to answer the question is that love?  Yes it is.  "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  (2 Peter 3:9) 

The desire of the Lord is for ALL to come and have a daily relationship with Him. The duty of the shepherds of the flock comes with enormous responsibility.  The stakes are high, consequences serious, and the success or failure eternal.  God lovingly cares for His children and sets the bar very high for those whom He entrusts with their care.


Footnotes: Strong's Biblical Concordance (master, lord)Greek Strong's Number: 2962 Transliteration: kurios; (servant)Greek Strong's Number: 1401 Transliteration: doulos; (house)Greek Strong's Number: 3614 Transliteration: oikia; Matthew Henry Commentary, Concise and Unabridged texts.  Scriptures from the Holy Bible, NIV.

The End of the World as We Know it?

I am watching the posts on the "End of the World", along with millions of others around the world, and have been asked by several people what I think of it.   So here it is.......I think that Harold Camping of Family Radio isn't helping but hurting.  I have read that he has spent $4 million dollars in this campaign funded by followers and supporters to reach lost souls, calling them to repent.  That tells me Harold and many others believe fully in his prediction, but it also tells me they are misguided. 

Matthew 24:26 clearly states that "NO ONE (emphasis mine) knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

One would reason that if any being would know about the hour it would at be Jesus, the One coming back.  Mr. Camping isn't the first to try and figure out the day.  Here is a rundown of a few famous other date setters (of the 200+ recorded):

*400 A.D.- Hippolytus "calculated that 5,500 years separated Adam and Christ and that the life of the world was 6,000 six full 'days' of years until the seventh the day of rest." His calculations in 234 indicted there were still two centuries left. (from A History of the End of the World, Rubinsky and Wiseman, 1982).

*500 A.D.-A Roman priest and theologian in the second and third centuries, predicted Christ would return in A.D. 500, based on the dimensions of Noah's ark.



*950 A.D.- Adso of Montier-en-Der wrote a "Treatise on the Antichrist" which was a response to a number of mid-century crises that had provoked widespread alarm and fear of an end-time apocalypse. Five years later, Abbo of Fleury heard a preacher in Paris who announced that the Antichrist would be unleashed in the year 1000 and that the Last Judgment would soon follow.   
 
*968 A.D.-Panic in Otto's army at an eclipse the soldiers took to portend the end of the world (Gesta episcoporum Leodensium, MGH SS IX, p.202)  And when the last Carolingian dynasty fell with the death of King Louis V in 987, many saw this event as a precursor to the arrival of the Antichrist. King Otto II of Germany had Charlemagne's body exhumed on Pentecost in the year 1000 supposedly in order to forestall the apocalypse.
 
*1000 A.D.-This year goes down as one of the most pronounced states of hysteria over the return of Christ. All members of society seemed affected by the prediction that Jesus was coming back on Jan 1, 1000. There really weren't any of the events required by the Bible transpiring at that time. The magical number 1000 was primarily the sole reason for the expectation. During December 999 AD, everyone was on their best behavior; worldly goods were sold and given to the poor, swarms of pilgrims headed east to meet the Lord at Jerusalem, buildings went unrepaired, crops were left unplanted, and criminals were set free from jails. The year 999 AD turned into 1000 AD and nothing happened.




*Both Halley's comet in A.D. 989 and a super nova in A.D. 1006 were interpreted as signs of the end. About the same time, the Moslim caliph, Al Hakim, destroyed the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem prompting apocalyptic fear in the west as well as violent anti-Jewish outbursts.
 
*Pope Innocent III predicted the end would come in 1284

*16th century Mother Shipton declared "...The world to an end shall come; in eighteen hundred and eighty-one."

*A 17th Century Baptist preacher named Benjamin Keach predicted it would be in 1689.

*1715 A.D.-Christ's coming; Isaac Newton, a note in his research on the Law of Gravity (Luther Martin, Date Setters, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994)

*1809 A.D.-Mary Bateman, who specialized in fortune telling, had a magic chicken that laid eggs with end time messages on them. One message said that Christ was coming. The uproar she created ended when she was caught forcing an egg into the hen's oviduct by an unannounced visitor. Mary later was hanged for poisoning a wealthy client.


*1836 A.D.-John Wesley wrote that "the time, times and half a time" of Revelation 12:14 were 1058­1836, "when Christ should come" (apud A. M. Morris, The Prophecies Unveiled, p. 361)

*Jehovah Witnesses have predicted the end numerous times, most notably in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994.
*1953 A.D.-David Davidson wrote a book titled "The Great Pyramid, Its Divine Message". In it, he predicted that the world would end in 1953-AUG.



*1970 A.D.-The late Moses David (formerly David Berg) was the founder of the Christian religious group, The Children of God. He predicted that a comet would hit the earth, probably in the mid 1970's and destroy all life in the United States.   Also, The True Light Church of Christ made its claim to fame by incorrectly forecasting the return of Jesus. A number of church members had quit their livelihoods ahead of the promised advent.
 
*1986 A.D.-(He's back) Moses David of The Children of God faith group predicted that the Battle of Armageddon would take place in 1986. Russia would defeat Israel and the United States. A worldwide Communist dictatorship would be established. In 1993, Christ would return to earth.
 
*The book "88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988" came out only a few months before the event was to take place.  After the passing of the deadline in 88 Reason's, the author, Edgar Whisenaunt, came out with a new book called "89 Reasons why the Rapture is in 1989." This book sold only a fraction of his prior release.
 
*In 1992, David Koresh of the Branch Davidian group in Waco Texas changed the name of their commune from Mt. Carmel to Ranch Apocalypse, because of his belief that the final all-encompassing battle of Armageddon mentioned in the Bible would start at the Branch Davidian compound. They had calculated that the end would occur in 1995. After a 51-day standoff, on 1993-APR-10, 76 members died as a result of a deliberately set fire.
 
*Harold Camping in his book "Are You Ready?" predicted the Lord's return in Sept 1994. The book was full of methods that added up Bible numbers up to 1994 as the date of Christ's return. Sept. 15, 1994: Last Day and Return of Christ; Harold Camping; Book: 1994? (pub in 1992) "Last Day and return of Christ sometime on or between September 15, 1994...and September 27, 1994." (p. 531) "I will be surprised if we reach October 1, 1994" (p. 533) Camping hedged his bets though, by offering a back up date of 2011 if 1994 was wrong.
 
*TOMORROW* Harold Camping's back up date of May 21, 2011, 6pm
 
So here we sit....watching another prediction come and go.  Much time and energy is wasted on books, predictions, false teachings, and advertising.  Money that could go to really help the lost, hurting, or poor is squandered.  Precious time is thrown away that could be spent sharing the Good News that sins are forgiven for those who accept and Jesus really is coming back, someday.  Unbelievers stop and stare at it like a train wreck; reaffirming the lie that Christians are crack pots.  This further attacks the reputation and believability of the Bible and believers everywhere as if Judgement Day Predictors like Harold Camping actually represent the TRUTH at all.

There is one thing that Harold Camping is helping to prove...the BIBLE is trustworthy.  If his predictions of Judgement Day were right the Bible wouldn't be; for NO ONE knows the hour, thus sayith the Lord!!!!
 
The Truth is that the end of the world is nearer today than yesterday.  Jesus died for the sin of the world and WILL return.  He doesn't know the hour and neither does anyone else, only God does.  We would be wise to be about the Father's Business until then.  (More on that in the next blog :)
 
  *Notes taken from: http://www.bible.ca/pre-date-setters.htm  and http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/blogs/Finding_Home/2011/05/19/will-the-world-end-on-saturday)