666 and the Mark of the Beast -- Amillennialism 101

666 and the Mark of the Beast

If you are a futurist and believe that the beast of Revelation 13 is not connected to the Roman Empire of the first century and remains yet to be revealed at the end of the age (i.e., during the seven-year tribulation period, as dispensationalists teach), then you will not look at the mark of the beast through the lens of the New Testament and the historical situation when John was given his vision.  Instead, you will understand this mysterious mark as something still hidden in the future.  And given the breakneck pace of the advance being made in all forms of technology, it is only natural that futurists would see John’s reference to the mark of the beast as somehow connected to the technological advantage by which the beast and false prophet will enslave the inhabitants of the world and deceive them into worshiping the Antichrist.

As futurists see it, when John speaks of the mark of the beast, he’s essentially predicting that some future form of technology will be utilized by Antichrist to dominate and control the world’s population.  According to Peter and Paul Lalonde, “The Bible says that the mark of the beast and its accompanying technology will be installed by the antichrist–not as an end in itself, but as a means of managing the new world order that is even now being created” (Peter LaLonde and Paul LaLonde, Racing Toward the Mark of the Beast,  Harvest House Publishers, 1994, 148).

The futurist approach to Revelation is misguided because it pushes off into the distant future what was already a serious threat to Christians in the first century (emperor worship), by ignoring the historical context for the visions of Revelation 13 and 17.  Instead, John’s comments about the mark of the beast should be seen against the backdrop of the imperial cult and the worship of the Roman emperor.  The emperor’s blasphemous image was everywhere in John’s world (Asia Minor), from coins to statues identifying various emperors as deities in most major cities ( cf. S. R. F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, Cambridge University Press, 1984).  John’s reference to the mark being placed upon the back of the hand or the forehead makes perfect sense in light of the wide-spread first century practice of branding or tattooing slaves–a mark of shame and subjugation (Caird, The Revelation of St. John, 173).

To read the rest of this article, Click here: Riddleblog - The Mark of the Beast

An Article on Christ's Descent into Hell and Other Interesting Things from the Web

Rev. Danny Hyde (pastor of the Oceanside URC) has written a very helpful essay on Christ's descent into hell.  Rev. Hyde covers biblical-theological and historical issues. 

Highly recommended!  Click here: http://www.cpjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hyde.pdf

My list of "The Best of the Christian Classics" would probably not include stuff written by "Uncle Bud," "Anonymous," Arthur Zepp, and William E. Blackstone (who makes the list because he's described as the "Hal Lindsey of the 1800s").  Yes, Edwards and Whitefield also make the list, but for all the wrong reasons.  Click here: Best of the Christian Classics

Here's an interesting admission.  PETA has euthanized nearly 85% of the animals it has "rescued" since 1998.  I thought animals had "rights."  Click here: PETA and Euthanasia | Newsweek Newsweek: Management | Newsweek.com

So, the dreaded T-REX tasted like chicken.  For all of its ferocity and many teeth, Tyrannosaurus was actually a big chicken.  No, not that kind of chicken.  Genetic research has now shown the dreaded beast (and far and away the biggest plastic dinosaur of my youth) is closely related to the "little red hen" kind of chicken.  The wimpy front legs (arms?, wings?) should have given it away sooner.   Click here: FOXNews.com - Study: Tyrannosaurus Rex Basically a Big Chicken - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology

Our church administrator sent this to me.  I wonder if the moral to the story is that I need to buy a hat.  Click here: Balding penguin's wetsuit lets him swim again - Science- msnbc.com

"There Has Been No Day Like It" -- Joshua 10:1-27

The Thirteen in a Series of Sermons on Joshua

From Christopher Hitchens to Richard Dawkins, any atheist worth their salt will appeal to God’s command to Israel to slaughter the Canaanites as the prime example of why they cannot believe that God exists.  If God was truly good, they reason, he would never command such a horrible thing.  But as we have seen during our study of the Book of Joshua, this is a false dilemma.  Throughout the account of what is known as the Conquest–when Israel enters the promised land and defeats the Canaanite tribes living there–it has been clear that the inhabitants of Canaan knew full well that YHWH is the true and living God.  They knew full well that the land of Canaan was YHWH’s to give to his people Israel, with whom he had made covenant.  Repeatedly, we have seen how the Canaanites continued to reject YHWH and his promise to save all those who call upon his name.  Instead, they chose to worship and serve false gods tied to the worship of the earth and its creatures.  The Canaanites were given ample time to repent.  Some did and were sparred and even became partakers of Israel’s covenant with YHWH.  And so when Joshua leads Israel to victory over the Canaanite tribes, wiping them out to the last man, God is warning the whole earth–including people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins–that his judgment is soon to come upon the whole earth.

As we continue our series on the Book of Joshua, we move into Joshua chapters 9-11, in which Joshua describes the changing military situation in Canaan.  The increased resolve on the part of the Canaanites to oppose Israel is the consequence of Achan’s sin and Israel’s defeat at Ai.  When tiny little Ai routed Joshua’s men, a number of Canaan tribes who had previously feared YHWH and his covenant people were watching.  Five Canaanite tribes now decide to band together in opposition to Israel’s conquest of Canaan.  The citizens of Shechem were simply absorbed into Israel–likely because of their ancient ties to Abraham and Jacob.  The citizens of Gibeon were so afraid of YHWH and Israel’s army that went so far as to deceive Joshua and the leaders of Israel so that Israel would make a covenant with them.  But in Joshua chapter 10 we read of five defiant Canaanite kings (called “Amorites”) who band together to attack Gibeon, because the Gibeonites made a treaty with Israel.  The Gibeonite defection from their alliance with the other Canaanites tribes–who will not bow the knee to YHWH–cannot be tolerated.

The opening two verses of chapter 9 describe the changing military situation in Canaan in these terms.  “As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.”  As we saw last time, this alliance was the bitter fruit of Achan’s sin and God’s covenant curse upon Israel.  The rest of Joshua 9:3-27 describes how the Gibeonites–one of Israel’s neighboring tribes–realized that their people (the Hivites) were about to be wiped out.  Having heard of Israel’s decisive victories over the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, the Gibeonites lie about being Israel’s neighbors.  They pretend to come from a distant land and then make a treaty with Joshua. 

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

This One Cracked Me Up!

This one (from Rod) cracked me up . . .

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk -- even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do?' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car."
 

Shrinking Churches and Other Interesting Stuff from the Web

The statistics are in.  The United Methodist Church has declined in membership every year since 1979.  In the last three years alone, the UMC has lost 185,000 members.  Meanwhile, the "trans-gendered" Methodists held a news conference in during the general conference of Methodists in Fort Worth.  Of course, stuff like that has nothing whatsoever to do with the UMC's decline.  Click here: UMC's membership steadily declining (OneNewsNow.com)

The Southern Baptists have also suffered a numerical decline--the number of baptisms last year was the lowest in a decade.  I'll leave it up to my readers to speculate about the reasons for the decline.  Click here: RNS Feature: "Southern Baptists report lowest baptism rate in a decade"

In the bitter irony department, the Chinese have discovered one of those factories making stuff for Target was also making "Free Tibet" flags!  Yes, capitalism has its downside.  Click here: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | 'Free Tibet' flags made in China

Finally, someone is investigating one of life's greatest mysteries.  Why do ghosts wear clothes?  Especially old ratty ones.  Click here: Why Are Ghosts Seen Wearing Clothes?  

Samples Academy Lecture Posted

Ken Samples' most recent Academy lecture has been posted. 

The lecture is entitled, "Man & Animals."

The MP3 version can be found here:  http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/A20080425-ViewOfMan.mp3

The streaming version here:  http://links.christreformed.org/real/20080425.m3u

Who Said That?

“Beyond these models of reconciliation, a theology of mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God … I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics, especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis. What do they experience in their mystical experiences? Could they have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism?”

You know the drill . . .  Leave your guess in the comments section.  No google searches, please! 

Update on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 08:13AM by Kim Riddlebarger

Yes, the tie that binds is a common experience . . .

This bit of blather comes from Tony Campolo's book, Speaking My Mind, pp. 149-150.

Pelagius--Heretic and Slippery Politician

During our latest White Horse Inn taping, Mike Horton brought in the text (fragments) from the Synod of Lydda (415 AD).  It is truly amazing. I've reproduced part of it for you, along with the synopsis.  The entire document can be found here:  Click here: Pie_Pelagius_Synod_Lydda_415AD

Yes, Pelagius was a notorious heretic.  And he was as slippery as an eel. 

Synopsis: In 415 a second ecclesiastical trial was held against Pelagius, this time being instigated by two deposed Western bishops, Heros of Arles and Lazarus of Aix.  The records are lost with only fragments of it remaining and what follows was taken from Augustine of Hippo's "On The Proceedings Of Pelagius".  The Synod was presided over by Eulogius, bishop of Caesarea and metropolitan and was attended by thirteen other bishops: John of Jerusalem, Ammonianus, Eutonius, two Porphyrys, Fidus, Zomnus, Zoboennus, Nymphidius, Chromatius, Jovinus, Eleutherius, and Clematius. The two accusers were absent from the hearing owing to the illness of one of them, but a document was handed in containing the principal charges.  In the end Pelagius was acknowledged as being Orthodox in doctrine and in full communion with the church.

Bishop John: On the occasion in question (a conference held at Jerusalem at the end of July in the year 415, as described by Orosius in his Apology), when they (others at the Synod) were importunate and exclaimed, 'He is a heretic, because he says, It is true that a man is able, if he only will, to live without sin;' I censured the statement [about being able to live without sin in our own strength], and reminded them besides, that even the Apostle Paul, after so many labours--not indeed in his own strength, but by the grace of God—said, ‘I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me;' and again: 'It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy;' and again: 'Except the Lord build the house, they labour but in vain who  build it.' And we quoted several other like passages out of the Holy Scriptures. When, however, they did not receive the quotations which we made out of the Holy Scriptures, but continued their murmuring noise, Pelagius said, 'This is what I also believe; let him be anathema, who declares that a man is able, without God's help, to arrive at the  perfection of all virtues.' [John possibly made at this point some negative remarks in reference to Heros and Lazarus  (the two deposed bishops who had brought charges up against Pelagius) and Orosius, a Spanish disciple of Augustine who was Augustine’s representative at the previous Synod held under Bishop John.  Orosius left this Synod prematurely due to conflicts with John.  Whatever these statements were-Augustine does not record them-he does note that the other bishops who were present did not feel led to rebuke John over the content of them.]

Synod: [In the sixth chapter of Coelestius' work there is laid down this position:] "Men cannot be called sons of God, unless they have become entirely free from all sin." [In the seventh chapter he makes this statement:] "Forgetfulness and ignorance have no connection with sin, as they do not happen through the will, but through necessity;" [In his tenth Chapter he says:] "Our will is free, if it needs the help of God; inasmuch as every one in the possession of his proper will has either something to do or to abstain from doing." [In the twelfth he says:] "Our victory comes not from God's help, but from our own free will." [Coelestius drew this conclusion in the following terms:] "The victory is ours, seeing that we took up arms of our Own will; just as, on the other hand, being conquered is our own, since it was of our own will that we neglected to arm ourselves."…[Coelestius has noted that in the epistle of the blessed Apostle Peter we read that we might be] "partakers of the divine nature" [and he has made the following argument from this passage:] "Now if our spirit or soul is Unable to be without sin, then even God is subject to sin, since this part of Him, that is to say, the soul, is exposed to sin." [In his thirteenth chapter he says:] "That pardon is not given to penitents according to the grace and mercy of God, but according to their own merits and effort, since through repentance they have been worthy of mercy."

Synod: What says the monk Pelagius to all these heads of opinion which have been read in his presence? For this holy synod condemns the whole, as does also God's Holy Catholic Church."

Pelagius: I say again, that these opinions, even according to their own testimony, are not mine; nor for them, as I have already said, ought I to be held responsible. The opinions which I have confessed to be my own, I maintain are sound; those, however, which I have said are not my own, I reject according to the judgment of this holy synod, pronouncing anathema on every man who opposes and gainsays the doctrines of the Holy Catholic Church. For I believe in the Trinity of the one substance, and I hold all things in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church. If indeed any man entertains opinions different from her, let him be anathema.

Synod: Now since we have received satisfaction on the points which have come before us touching the monk Pelagius, who has been present; since, too, he gives his consent to the pious doctrines, and even anathematizes everything that is contrary to the Church's faith, we confess him to belong to the communion of the Catholic Church.

The entire document can be found here: Click here: Pie_Pelagius_Synod_Lydda_415AD

The failure of the church to anathematize Pelagius, led to the Council of Carthage in 418 in which Pelagianism was condemned.  Click here: Pie_Council_Of_Carthage_May_1_418

Tonight's Academy Lecture

Ken Samples continues his Academy series, "A Little Lower than the Angels:  The Christian View of Man."  Ken's lecture is entitled, "Man & Animals."

The lecture is free of charge, it begins @ 7:30 PM, and refreshments are provided.

For more information, Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Format and Fees

Madame Speaker's Misuse of the Bible and Some Other Interesting Links

You gotta love church bureaucrats.  The more they talk, the less they say.  You'd think that the LCMS bigwigs would seek to put an end to the controversy by finally explaining why they canceled "Issues, Etc."  Instead, they keep trying to obfuscate, and are clearly doing the "CYA dance."  Scroll down to read the last few posts from M. Z. Hemingway.  Unbelievable.  Click here: Augsburg1530

Speaker Pelosi not only presides over a Congress which gets lower approval ratings than our very unpopular President, but she keeps citing a Bible verse to justify her environmental views.  Somebody finally decided to look up the verse.  Surprise, surprise, it doesn't exist.  Not even close.  Nice try Madame Speaker.  Click here: Biblical Scholars Challenge Pelosi's 'Scripture' Quote -- 04/23/2008

Yet another noted Evangelical leader is ashamed to pray in Jesus' name.  Jesus is, after all, the only mediator between God and Man.  What makes this refusal to pray in Jesus' name so egregious, is that this particular prayer was published by the National Day of Prayer Task Force.  Click here: National Day of Prayer Task Force | Stories | 2008 Prayer for the Nation.

 

A Mormon Apostle is to be disinterred so that he can be re-buried next to four of his twelve wives.  I wonder if the other eight are relieved or angry (as they remain barefoot and pregnant in the Mormon after life). 

Click here: FOXNews.com - Mormon Apostle Dead 150 Years to Be Exhumed, Reburied With 4 Wives - Local News | News Articles | Na