The View from Heaven

Heaven Looks at the World So Differently

When the book of Hebrews was written, almost no one could see what really was happening. There was a vast difference in how Heaven viewed God’s people on this earth and how mankind viewed them. Christians were being persecuted everywhere and were seen as enemies of society. Even more amazing was that the Jews condemned God’s children as His enemies. It was only through the eyes of faith that reality was seen. The world of Christians, both those in the first century and in our day, is never understood by the people around them.

Christians have been objects of persecution from the beginning. Hebrews chapter ten described the time when the homes of Jewish Christians were plundered and their possessions were taken from them. This was nothing new. Years before the writing of the book of Hebrews, Luke vividly described how Christians suffered. “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3, ESV). Thirty years later, the same kind of persecution continued. The world rejoiced as they saw the way Christians were being abused.

Jesus had told His followers such would happen, “Now brother will deliver up brother to death . . . you will be  hated by all for My name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:21-22). Paul described the fate of the apostles in these words, “We hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless . . . We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things” (1 Cor. 4:11-13, ESV).  The world saw Christians as the scum of the earth, the garbage of mankind, but Heaven saw them so differently!

What does this have to do with us? If from the beginning Christians were despised, we should not ever be surprised when those around us really wish we were not part of society. If your family members just wished that you would “stop being so religious,” and your fellow workers wished that you would sit silently while they mock God and righteousness, it should not surprise us. It has always been that way! All that matters is how we respond to this situation.

Those early Christians “joyfully accepted the plundering of (their) goods” (Heb. 10:34), and “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). Let us faithfully serve Him regardless of how the world sees us. Just remember that God sees the “scum of the earth” as the greatest treasure in all of His creation. We are not the refuse of the world, but the honored guest in His house. Our worth is not determined by those around us but by those above us!

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The Last Day

The Last Day:  The End of this Universe

The fears of many people today throughout the world are rooted in events that have taken place over the past 60 years. You see back in the World War II days the use of weapons of mass destruction such as poison gases, disease, and the atomic and hydrogen bombs were being developed and were being used in some cases. These weapons of mass destruction were spreading throughout the world from country to country. It was thought by some that the use of these weapons would wipe out mankind from the earth. This was and still is a false expectation on man’s part because God say that HE will destroy the universe in HIS own time. These ideas that man will end his own existence in this universe is impossible because God has said that the destruction of the universe will come as scheduled someday –

1 Thess. 5:1-4 – 1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

The end of this universe, all that God has created and sustained for all these past 6,000 + years will come to an end at the trumpet of God at the last day –

2 Peter 3:9-14 – 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 a New Heaven and Earth but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 but according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, (NASU)

There will be no 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth as is predicted by some religious teachers; there will be no warning, there will be no second chance, no purgatory for some Roman Catholics who are hoping that such a place exists. Indeed, the day will come swiftly, without warning, and the whole event will take place on the last day –

John 6:39-40 – 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (KJV)

John 11:24-26 – 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (KJV)

John 12:48 – 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day

The Bible tells us these things so that we will know that we must make preparations for the after life now. We must not delay our belief and obedience to the instructions of our Lord revealed to us in his Book, the Bible.

You can be prepared for that day that will include everyone that has ever lived on this earth; the last day. You see there cannot be but one last day – will you seek the way of the Lord before that day comes – it is our sincere hope that you will. There will be no survivors to live, work, play, and hope for another day because the end has come!

Therefore, dear reader as God spoke to Israel of old —

Amos 4:12-13, 12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 13 For, lo, he that formed the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

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Interpretation

That’s Just Your interpretation

How many times have we sincerely sat down with some lost sinner to study God’s word, and eventually landed upon a particular passage that hits a little too close to exposing some pet sin which they wish to perpetually participate in, and we inevitably hear some slightly altered version of the following response: “I disagree with you completely; after all, that’s just YOUR interpretation anyway!”?

My response? With all due respect, it certainly is not: “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Ptr. 1:20-21). This is why when Isaiah wrote (about 722 BC), he understood the earth was round (Isa. 40:22), even though some of the best and brightest minds of Columbus’ day some 2,200 years later, reportedly still thought that the world was flat. Isaiah had no way to know, or “interpret” that except to accept what God had told him; in other words it didn’t come from Isaiah’s own private interpretation, but explicitly from Divine Inspiration.

And even though Scripture was accepted, received, and written down without men’s interpretation (1 Ptr. 1:10-12) and should also be believed with a whole lot less “interpretation” than it often is today, let’s try this… How would you interpret the following Biblical verses on baptism: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk. 16:16); “…be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins…” (Acts 2:38); and “…baptism doth now save you…” (1 Ptr. 3:21)? Probably exactly the same way I would: That biblically speaking, baptism is essential to salvation, that it is specifically for the forgiveness of one’s sins, and that it is an element which saves you, right? Unless of course, you were raised with the anti-biblical and Calvinistic doctrines that baptism isn’t essential to salvation, occurs after forgiveness, and doesn’t save a person. In that case you would be faced with the impossible task of seeking to reconcile the irreconcilable. So, as you can see, the problem is not so much about Biblical interpretation, as it is one’s anti-Biblical indoctrination!  And therein the problem (2 Tim. 3:16-4:4)!

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Confession and Repentance

Repentance is a change of life resulting from a changed attitude toward sin. One who has repented has turned from a life of sin toward a life of humble submission to God and His Word. There are many examples of this change of life found in the Bible. Such as the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? ”Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). In other words, they had repented of their past sins. And then, as Christians, when they sinned in their association with and tacit approval of a man who was openly involved in fornication they were rebuked by Paul (1Corinthians 5). Both the man and the congregation repented as we see in 2 Corinthians 7:9-11, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”  True repentance results from godly sorrow because of our sin and leads to a life of renewed dedication toward God.

The New Testament teaches that along with repentance, there must also be confession of sin. James 5:16 states, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” The Greek word, exomologeisthe, here translated as “confess” means, “to openly agree to confess. The confession is not to be only to the elders but to ‘one another,’ i.e., probably to those they have wronged.” (Fritz Rienecker, Linguistic Key to the New Testament). The question then arises as to when a public confession should be made.

First, let us note that there are three categories of sins. In the first category are sins known only to the one who committed the sin and to God, a sinful attitude for example. In that case, simply acknowledging to God through prayer that you have sinned is all the confession needed. In the second category, are sins known to the one who committed the sin, to a limited number of others directly affected by the sin and to God. For example, we lied to friend about something and as a part of repentance we go to them and confess that we lied and tell them the truth (Matthew 18:15). If that sin is known only between a few individuals and God, and confession is made to all parties (including God) involved then it need go no further. The third category of sins are those that are widely known due to their public nature. For example, a brother in Christ is arrested for driving while intoxicated. This is a public sin and in many places published in the local newspaper. When a brother or sister is involved in a publicly known sin, along with their repentance, there must be a public confession of sin before God and the congregation, as well as the community at large (if the community at large has knowledge of that sin). A general “rule of thumb” with regard to confession is, “As widely as the sin is known, so must the confession of sin be made known.”

Public confession of sins before the congregation does not always require that we “go forward” when the invitation song is sung, although there is nothing wrong with that. One can also simply speak to the elders or write a note or a letter to the congregation and ask the elders to read it before the congregation, or to publish it in the bulletin. The confession of sin is a commandment, but the manner in which a confession of sin is made known is an expedient.

One other aspect of repentance and confession must be noted. Confession of sins, by itself, does not equal repentance! Many are those who “confess” sin in their lives, ask for the prayers of the saints and then never make the requisite change of life. How often have we seen people “go forward” for sins such as “forsaking the assembly,” only to quietly slip back “out of duty”? Quite often, when the preacher reaches the conclusion of his sermon, a church member will be struck by their own guilt and “walk the aisle” to make confession of sin, but when the emotion of guilt fades in a few days, they all too often go right back to where they were before. Notice what God, through the prophet Jeremiah said to the nation of Judah:

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD. Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.” (Jeremiah 3:6-11)

In other words, having seen what happened to “backsliding Israel” (the northern ten tribes), Judah gave the pretense of repentance by their confession and reforms under the godly King Josiah, but it was not a genuine repentance. They “confessed” their sin of spiritual adultery, but did not change their ways. Their confession of sin, without a change of life to go along with it, was empty and led to their downfall.

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Heart of the Matter: Consider Courtship

Cultural historians point to the late 1800s and early 1900s as the introduction of “dating” in America. Prior to this, courtship was the normal practice. (There were even still remnants of prearranged marriage—rooted in European culture—in some pockets of America.) Dating during this time was not a separate and distinct custom, but rather it was an “evolution” of courtship practices. Prior to modern dating, young men would come to a young lady’s home—and under the watchful eye of parents (and maybe siblings), a young couple would get to know one another for the intent of getting married. Dating pulled this system out of the young lady’s home, away from the watchful eyes of the parents, and multiplied the number of suitors significantly.

Sadly, during this transition from courtship to modern dating the church remained quiet—taking the position that dating was a private matter. But that silence came at a very high cost. Mix into that silence the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and one can quickly identify the recipe for disaster. It was during those silent years that millions of Baby boomers were sexually active before marriage. They dated around and then finally settled down and got married. However, many of those marriages did not work and sadly ended in divorce.

The knee-jerk reaction from the church was to flood our teen classes with material on marriage, abstinence, and dating. The pendulum had already swung so far away from courtship that most congregations never even gave it any thought. Thankfully, many congregations are now waking up realizing that the old way of doing things is not working. As such, some parents and congregations are reanalyzing the notion of courtship.

Here’s what I intend on teaching my children about courtship.

First and foremost, I want you to know that your mom and I desire that you marry someone who will help you get to Heaven. This is the second biggest decision that you will make during your lifetime (the first being the decision to become a Christian). The Bible doesn’t give specific commands regarding finding your mate, and as such Christians must look at Biblical precepts and use common sense. While we don’t believe in “arranged marriages” (even though it is awfully tempting! J), we do want to help and guide you through the selection process. In Colossians 3:17 we read, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This includes selecting a mate. It does not make any sense for us to watch over your souls in every other aspect of your life, but then send you out by yourself and “hope you find a good one.” As I’ve said many times, “hope” is not a strategy for success.

Merriam Webster defines courting as engaging“in social activities leading to engagement and marriage.” It entails a single man going through the father of a single young lady. Notice that it has marriage as its end goal. Courtship entails a different motive than dating—the motive is to find a spouse. If marriage is the end-goal, then we should ask why anyone would get involved in a relationship with someone if they were not candidates for marriage? For young men this means they have secured a job that will allow them to provide for himself and his future spouse.

Courtship also entails a different mindset.Rather than looking for someone based solely on external features, having a checklist of qualities you desire, and judging how someone makes you “feel,” you search for a godly spouse. This needs to be someone you can love, and yes are attracted to, but more importantly someone who will help you serve the Lord and will help you get to heaven. Abraham loved his son so much he sent his servant back to his home country to find a wife (Genesis 24). Notice that Rebekah agreed to be married to Isaac having never seen him. Likewise, Isaac had never seen Rebekah prior to the day he was walking in the field.

Finally, courtship entails a different method. In courtship the young man goes through the father—who vets the young man as a possible suitor. The father approaches the daughter to discern if this is someone in whom she has an interest. And then after clearance is given, the young couple use group/public situations to get to know each other and their families. While there is not a “paint-by-numbers” detailed method, the process is one that everyone feels will protect the heart and purity of both individuals.

Please understand that your mom and I don’t have all the answers in this area—and there will be some trial and error. But we are committed to helping you walk down the aisle honorable before God and finding someone who loves your soul as much as we do. We continue to pray for that person.

Love,

Dad

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