Coming or Going?

cloud
Sometimes we assume something because we don’t know all the facts and we don’t take the time to investigate. We often read scripture and make the same mistake — especially when we’re dealing with the end-times.

Consider this passage:

“And the high priest arose and said to (Jesus), ‘Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?’ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, ‘I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!’

Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’

Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!’”
~Matthew 26:62-65

It’s easy to think that Jesus is talking about His second coming here. But look at how offended the high priest was at what Jesus said. The high priest knew nothing of Jesus’ second coming. But, the high priest knew very well what Jesus was saying here. And it offended the high priest so much that he tore his own clothes — something he was commanded not to do (Leviticus 21:10).

Jesus was quoting two Old Testament passages, and the high priest would have known exactly what Jesus was saying as he, the high priest, was an expert in scripture.

“The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (Jesus),

‘Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’

The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.

Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”
~Psalm 110:1-2

“‘I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, One like the Son of Man (Jesus),

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days (the Father),

And they brought Him near before Him.

Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,

That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

Which shall not pass away,

And His kingdom the one

Which shall not be destroyed.’”
~Daniel 7:13-14

Jesus “coming on the clouds” is not referring here to His second coming, but rather His ascension and coronation as King (He came to the Ancient of Days, not to the earth). And notice what was given to Jesus at that time: dominion, all peoples, all nations, and all languages. That happened two thousand years ago. Jesus rules now as King at the Father’s right hand.

And how long will He rule in heaven as King?

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His (second) coming. Then comes the end, when He (Jesus) delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He (Jesus) must reign till He (the Father) has put all enemies under His (Jesus’) feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For ‘He (the Father) has put all things under His (Jesus’) feet.’ But when He (the Father) says ‘all things are put under Him (Jesus),’ it is evident that He (the Father) who put all things under Him (Jesus) is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him (Jesus), then the Son Himself (Jesus) will also be subject to Him (the Father) who put all things under Him (Jesus), that God may be all in all.”
~1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Jesus is ruling in heaven now and will continue to rule from heaven until God the Father puts all of Christ’s enemies under Christ’s feet. And the last enemy will be death itself. And it is at Jesus’ second coming when all people, saved and unsaved, will be resurrected and judged (John 5:26-29). Then Jesus will hand the kingdom over to His Father.

Work Out Your Salvation

obedience

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
~Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV

“Sin is what bubbles up unbidden from the depths of the human heart, so that all one has to do is go with the flow. That has the appearance of freedom, but is in fact slavery, as Jesus himself declared. True freedom is the gift of the spirit, the result of grace; but… it isn’t simply a matter of being forced now to be good, against our wills and without our co-operation, but a matter of being released from slavery precisely into responsibility, into being at last to choose, to exercise moral muscle, knowing both that one is doing it oneself and that the spirit is at work within, that God is doing himself that which I too am doing. If we don’t believe that, we don’t believe in the spirit, and we don’t believe in Paul’s teaching.”
~ N.T. Wright, “Justification~God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision”, pg. 164

The Edict of Intolerance

OKCupid Mozilla
A wise man once said, “All we know from history is that we don’t know from history.” In AD 311 emperors Constantine and Galerius signed an edict of toleration ending the persecution of Christians. The other religions were not done away with, but Christianity was allowed into the pluralistic worldview of the time.

The agenda of this edict was not to usher in some golden age of toleration. It was a transitional time where one worldview was replaced by another. The pluralistic worldview was being replaced by the Christian worldview. The time of tolerance was only temporary.

Today in the west we see something similar going on. One worldview is being replaced by another. All this talk of tolerance is, again, just a temporary time of transition. Anyone who thinks that this time of tolerance is a permanent thing is fooling themselves. In fact, the time of tolerance has already passed, and the incident with Mozilla shows that.

With Mozilla you have a situation where a man holds to traditional beliefs and he was punished for it. He was punished because his beliefs don’t conform to the new worldview.

Some would say that the Mozilla incident is simply the free market working as it should. That is true, but it is only true as a secondary issue, it is only true because of everything I mentioned above. In a true free market capitalist system no one would care what the CEO’s personal beliefs were. They would only care about how much money he could make the company.

As a Christian I am not tolerant. I don’t defend tolerance and I stand for what I believe in. I am very intolerant regarding abortion for example; in fact I am guilty of hate crime when it comes to abortion. That does not mean I am going to go around planting bombs in abortion clinics or anything–I have no desire to hurt anyone. But, if possible, I won’t support a business, or a politician, or a special interest group that supports abortion.

If, in this day and age, a CEO is punished for not celebrating gay marriage, so be it. But don’t tell me that is tolerance–that would be akin to doing something like pissing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.

image credit:
http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/mozilla-ceo-steps-down/

The Morning Bike Ride

banner 001

The heat in Poipet these days is so intense that it penetrates everything. I put my hand on my laptop and worry about the heat it’s giving off, but then put my hand on the desk’s surface to discover it’s radiating the same amount of heat. The brick walls project heat. The feverish wooden doors. Lying on the couch is like dipping into a sauna. My pillow feels like bread freshly taken from the oven. Heated toilet seats are overrated.

So, the favorite part of my day has become the early morning just after the sun comes up and hasn’t had a chance to infiltrate anything yet. This is when I can jump on my mountain bike and hit some trails before our students start showing up for school at 6:30.

I live on the northern edge of the city so I don’t have to go far to be in the bush. Once the rainy season really kicks in I’ll probably be forced to head south onto the city’s pavement. But as long as it stays dry I’ll keep riding on what was not too long ago Khmer Rouge mine fields.

Here are some pictures…

Once a mine field, this land is now cleared and is sectioned off for future sale. Soon it will be full of houses and shops.
Once a mine field, this land is now cleared and is sectioned off for future sale. Soon it will be full of houses and shops.
Once off the roads, it’s easy to find some small trails used by the locals on their motorbikes.
Once off the roads, it’s easy to find some small trails used by the locals on their motorbikes.
No shortage of cellular towers in this country. Cambodia is the first nation in the world to have more cell phones than land-line phones.
No shortage of cellular towers in this country. Cambodia is the first nation in the world to have more cell phones than land-line phones.
It’s beautiful and peaceful.
It’s beautiful and peaceful.
I carry a retractable baton with me. Not to use on people, but on dogs. It’s not unusual to be riding along and have four or five dogs spring out of the bush with teeth flaring. They usually stay back, but if they do get too close I have the means to put the fear of man into them.
I carry a retractable baton with me. Not to use on people, but on dogs. It’s not unusual to be riding along and have four or five dogs spring out of the bush with teeth flaring. They usually stay back, but if they do get too close I have the means to put the fear of man into them.