THE LORD SPOKE (September 23)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Isaiah 11-13

The Day of the Lord. Never a very easy subject and especially in Isaiah where it is sometimes presented as a bright shining hope (e.g. chapters 11 & 43) and other times as a day of doom and judgment (e.g. chapters, 2, 24, & 34). The key to unlocking this difficulty is found in understanding the Hebrew concept of a day. Already in Genesis 1, we find the calculation of a day to begin with the hours of darkness. Six times it says, “there was evening, and there was morning - the _______ day”. The Jewish reckoning of a day began with the night and ended with the daylight.

So too “the Day of the Lord”. It will begin with judgment and then turn to the dawning. That is not to agree with the chorus of the well-known hymn, We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations. There it says that “the darkness shall turn to the dawning and the dawning to noon-day bright, and Christ’s great kingdom shall come to earth....” The error of that song is it’s amillennial eschatology. The idea there is that our missionary endeavors - preaching to the nations - will bring in Christ’s kingdom.

But Scripture teaches that Christ’s kingdom will come in with great judgment upon the nations and all who have rejected Him. This is the many-times-repeated message of Isaiah, starting in Is. 2:11 & 17...

The eyes of the arrogant men will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

The book of Revelation confirms this view. Revelation 6-19 speaks of great judgment upon all the earth and her inhabitants before the glorious appearing of Christ (Rev. 9:11-16) and the establishment of His millennial kingdom on earth (Rev. 20:4-6).

Here in Isaiah 11 we read of the mid-point dawning of the Day of the Lord. The messianic introduction (Is. 11:1-5) tells of His judgment in striking the earth but then there follows a description of millennial conditions (Is. 11:6-9) and, in particular, the restoration of the remnant of Israel to the Land (Is. 11:10-16). Twice (Is. 11:10 & 11) it speaks of “that day” which will be glorious.

A most significant phrase is used in Is. 11:11. It says that God would do this “a second time”. Some would say that the first time was from Egypt (prior to Isaiah some 750 years) and the second time was in the days of Ezra (about 230 years after Isaiah). But Is. 11:11 eliminates that possibility when you consider from where the people return! They come from the four corners of the earth.

The better interpretation is that the first return in Isaiah’s prophecy happened in the days of Ezra and the second is that which is happening before our very eyes today. That leads us to the conclusion that the current return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is the not-yet-completed fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Note further, there will only be two such returns according to Isaiah so we should expect this one to lead into the Day of the Lord. We are not to expect or suggest that what’s happening now could all fade away and start over again at some future time - a third, fourth, or more return. No, we are seeing prophecy fulfilled in our time and the next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the return of Jesus Christ to take His Bride before the judgment of the Day of the Lord begins. Are you looking up?


Psalms 13-14

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Like a child tired of traveling in the car, David begins Psalm 13 with a whine. How long? How long? How long? How long? Four times! Should you talk to God like that? Do you?

How do you think He feels about that kind of questioning? Just as we get perturbed at our nagging child, it seems He must grow weary of listening to such whining. If the psalm did not progress and then end as it does, there would be just cause for divine disfavor. If the whining did not stop and then turn to joyful praise, there would be reason for the wrath of heaven to fall.

Psalm 13 is composed like a Richard Strauss symphony. Eine Alpensinfonie is written like a climb up a mountain side, beginning during the darkness just before dawn. The ascent takes you through a forest, by a brook, near a waterfall, and through flowery meadows. From the glacier near the summit you see rising mists and then an approaching storm. The thunder strikes and passes before a swift descent to get off the mountain before nightfall. All that with music.

David does the same with words, expressing a shift in spiritual mood:

I. In the Valley (Ps. 13: 1-2)
II. Starting to Climb (Ps. 13: 3-4)
III. At the Peak (Ps. 13: 5-6)

It describes our common experience, does it not? It’s so important that we follow through in the symphony of life and don’t stay down in the valleys. Just as David turned his eyes to the Lord and called out to Him for help, so must we. This will bring us also to say, “I trust in your unfailing love” (Ps. 13: 5).

Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

                              Edgar P. Stites

THE LORD SPOKE (September 14)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 4-6

You probably won’t have more than one at a time. And you may go through long dry spells when you won’t have even one. But it should be your objective to find that one. Chances are, it will be your mate. In fact, once you have a mate, it will be complicated to have another one of these. A close friend.

Even Jesus had a special friend among many friends. Besides the seventy, he had twelve who were especially close to him. He spent more time and had more intimate contact with three of those twelve but, even then, there was one who was known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. We can do no better. It’s okay to have several, even many, friends. But it’s essential to have one special friend upon whom we can lean. By the way, we also need to have someone lean on us too. Both to lean on us for our correction and to lean on us for our support. We need that. It’s as important to give as it is to take in a genuine friendship.

In all probability, that one special friend will be the mate God gives you. In most cases it would be difficult to have a mate and another special friend who is equally close. We’re just not made that way - either to divide our intimate attention between two or to allow our best friend to have another best friend. That’s a contradiction in terms. Best no longer means best if there is more than one object.

One of the main reasons for having a best friend is explained in our reading today:

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord or three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

When one is down, the other can pick him up. Tomorrow, the reverse may be true. One’s strengths compliment those of the other. A genuine friend knows when to talk to you and when to shut up. A genuine friend knows what you need to hear and how to get you to listen, even when you don’t really want to hear it. A genuine friend doesn’t give up on you. Even when you blow up, he keeps on listening. He loves you enough to confront you. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6, KJV - the NIV says they “can be trusted”).

Take a look at the missionary teams formed in the Book of Acts. Sometimes they’re larger or smaller but they usually include three main components:

• a Paul - the dynamic leader, up front, speaking out, making mistakes, forging ahead
• a Barnabas - the grey-haired counselor, encouraging, calming down, correcting mistakes
• a Timothy - the young disciple, learning by observing, making his own mistakes

Together, they make an unbeatable team. In fact, they rub off on others who do more of the same (II Timothy 2:2). Even 2000 years later.


New Testament: Revelation 20

If something is said once in the Bible, that surely settles it. But if it’s repeated six times, should we not sit up and take notice? So how, pray tell, can an amillennialist look God in the eye and say there’s no such thing as a Millennium?

Nothing could be more clear or more absolute from Revelation 20 than the truth of a 1000-year period during which:

Rev. 20:2 - Satan will be bound
Rev. 20:3 - the nations will be freed from his deceit
Rev. 20:4 - Jesus Christ will reign
Rev. 20:6 - those resurrected beforehand will reign with Him

and after which:

Rev. 20:5 - many other saints will be resurrected
Rev. 20:7 - Satan will be released for a short time (c.f. Rev. 20:3)

So, how can an amillennialist deny that? Only by resorting to a non-literal interpretation. Only by ignoring the prophecies of Isaiah. And Zechariah. And Daniel. And a host of other passages of Scripture. Only by denying the biblical distinction between Israel and the Church. How else can all those prophecies regarding Israel’s future kingdom be ripped out of their context and misapplied to the Church? By spiritualizing, allegorizing, and mythologizing you can make them say anything you want.

But the fact is, they say “one thousand years”. And they say it emphatically.

By the end of the chapter, an awesome crescendo rises before a great white throne. The very earth and sky flee away. Myriads stand before the throne as the Book of Life is opened. The righteous Judge of all creation has the last word. The curse will have run its course and everything is new thereafter. The end of time has come.

When all my labors and trials are o’er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

O that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.