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What is wrong with this picture (of the Nativity)?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #072 posted December 24, 2018, edited March 10, 2021.

This blog began with an attempt to create a Christmas card. I searched for a drawing or painting that depicted the adoration of the newborn Yeshua (or Jesus) by either the shepherds or the Magi with both accuracy and artistic merit. Surprisingly, my search proved fruitless. What I did find, however, was a picture that I could use as a teaching tool.

The picture shows the Magi in the manger with both angels and the Star of Bethlehem in the sky above. It is a nice composition, with the focus on mother and child despite the power of the star’s light. The painter’s warm tones create a pleasant and peaceful atmosphere which draws one into the scene. Unfortunately, the depiction is inaccurate. The Magi never visited the manger, and the star never stood in the sky over the manger.

Here is what really happened in the Middle East in late 2 BC.

1 – Events Surrounding the Birth of the Christ Child

1A – The Orchestration of the Planets

On August 27th, Jupiter (the Father) and Mars (the Warrior) conjoined, with Mercury (the Messenger) and Venus (the Mother) nearby. Together the four planets constituted what in astrological circles is known as a “massing of the planets” in the constellation Leo (the Lion). At the same time, the Sun was entering the constellation Virgo (the Virgin).

1B – The Annunciation to the Shepherds

On August 28th, which was Tishri 1, the start of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, and which is called Rosh-Hashanah or the Day of Trumpets, a group of shepherds were tending their flocks by night in the fields outside Bethlehem. Suddenly, the Angel of the Lord appeared over their heads and announced, “Fear not, for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Then around him appeared “a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God….”[1]

1C – The Adoration of the Shepherds

Later on August 28th, the shepherds abandoned their flocks and went into Bethlehem to visit the newborn child, whom they found in the stable that was adjacent to an inn. On bended knee, they adored “the babe lying in a manger.” [2]

1D – The Home of the Holy Family in Bethlehem

Soon after the Christ Child’s birth, the Holy Family moved from the inn’s stable to a house elsewhere in the city.

1E – The Star of Bethlehem

During the next four months, Jupiter moved westward from the company of Mercury, Mars, and Venus to a position over Bethlehem, where it stopped for six days (roughly December 22nd to 28th) – having reached a stationary point between its progression and regression with respect to Earth. From the perspective of Jerusalem at dawn, the normal time for astronomical observations, Jupiter (then a morning star) would have occupied the meridian position at an elevation of 68 degrees above the southern horizon, which would have put it in the abdomen of Virgo (the Virgin) and directly over Bethlehem. In addition, the Sun reached the Winter Solstice on December 21/22 and therefore was also standing still in the sky.[3]

1F – The Adoration of the Magi

In the lands to the east of Israel, the Magi (or wisemen) traveled from their homelands in the east to Israel in the West. Armenian tradition indicates that there were three of them – possibly because they were bearing three gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh[4]) – and identifies them as Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of India

Initially the Magi traveled to Jerusalem, where they met with Herod.[5]

The Magi then traveled to Bethlehem, where they probably arrived on December 25, 2 BC. There they visited the home of the Holy Family, where they adored the Christ Child and laid their gifts at His feet.

2 – The Most Appropriate Scenes for Christmas Cards

Thus, in my view, the three scenes that are most appropriate for use at Christmas time are the following:

The Annunciation to the Shepherds on the evening of August 28, 2 BC, in which the Angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds who are tending their flocks in the fields outside Bethlehem. The angel is hovering just over their heads and proclaiming the good tidings of the birth of Jesus.[6]

The Adoration of the Shepherds later on the night of August 28, 2 BC, in which the shepherds on bended knees adore “the babe lying in a manger.” [7]

The Adoration of the Magi on December 25, 2 BC, in which the three Magi present their gifts to the Christ child in a domestic setting, with the Star of Bethlehem in the sky above the house and the wisemen bowing before Him.

Here are three portrayals of those scenes.

2A – Annunciation to the Shepherds

by Anonymous

2B – Adoration of the Shepherds
by Rembrandt van Rijn

Unfortunately, the shepherds are clothed in Dutch dress.

2C – Adoration of the Magi

I have not yet found a portrayal of the Magi in a domestic setting, but here are two illustrations that I find particularly pleasing. They show the Magi en route to Bethlehem. The first shows them accompanied by a retinue that would have been appropriate to important men bearing valuable gifts.


by Anonymous


by Anonymous

If you find a portrayal of the Adoration of the Magi in a domestic setting, please let me know.

3- What is Christmas all about?

Since tomorrow will be Christmas, the day on which Christians celebrate the Birth of the Christ Child, I would be remiss if I did not pose and then answer the above question for the benefit of non-Christians who read this blog.

The Bible indicates that God created our first parents, Adam and Eve, and then placed them in an idyllic setting, the Garden of Eden, which met all their needs and allowed them to fellowship with God and one another in peace and comfort.

Soon thereafter, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, which had severe consequences. They became sinners, alienated them from God, and thereby ensured that all their descendants would be born sinners, also alienated from God – excepting one, whom God would someday send to Earth to repair the breach between God and Mankind.  Then they were ejected from the Garden into a hostile world where the man would have difficulty providing protection and provision for his family, and the woman would suffer pain in giving birth to their children. In addition, henceforth they and all their descendents would experience physical aging, sickness, and death.

The above might be characterized as the Bible’s bad news and good news for all Mankind.

The Bad News: At birth,[8] everyone excepting the Christ Child is born with a live mind and a live body, but a dead spirit, of which he or she is unaware. Thus, everyone enters this world with a predilection to sin – i.e. to dishonor God and to disobey God’s commandments.[9] Moreover,  a person cannot stop sinning or even recognize his or her own sinfulness – let alone provide atonement for his or her sins, which requires the sacrifice of an innocent, unblemished life. Because God is holy[10] and hates sin,[11] a person’s sinfulness and sinning separates him or her from God.[12]

The Good News: “…God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJ21 John 3:16). God sent his Son to Earth the first time[13] in the form of a tiny baby, who was named Yeshua (Jesus in English).[14] He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, lived a sinless life, died on a cross at Golgotha [15] to atone for the sins of His followers,[16] rose from the grave,[17] and ascended into Heaven,[18] where He sits on the Throne of God. God will send his Son to Earth a second time[19] in the form of a mighty warrior, the King of kings and Lord of lords, at the head of the Hosts of Heaven. He will remove His faithful followers[20] from Earth, wreak vengeance on an unbelieving and sinful world, and establish new heavens and a new Earth for His people, over whom He will reign forever.

When a person believes the Goods News, repents, and accepts Yeshua as his or her Savior and Lord, he or she experiences a second birth. His or her spirit awakens. As John Newton wrote in 1779, “I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see” (Amazing Grace).

Dear reader, if you have not already done so, accept the free gift that God offers to every person, regardless of his or her age, appearance, behavior, education, ethnicity, intelligence, occupation, race, religion, reputation, sex, station, talents, or wealth. Your spiritual eyes and ears will be opened, and your heart will be filled with indescribable joy.

© 2018 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Luke 2:8-13.

[2] Luke 2:16.

[3] Martin, Ernest, The Birth of Christ Recalculated, Foundation for Biblical Research, Pasadena, CA, 1980M, pp. 21-23.

[4] Matthew 2:11. These three gifts are highly symbolic. Gold is an appropriate gift for a king – in this case, the eternal King of Israel. Frankincense is an appropriate gift for a priest – in this case, the eternal High Priest of Israel. Myrrh is a substance used in burials – in this case, the burial of the incarnate God-the-Son in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea after His perfect, one-time for all time sacrifice on the cross at Golgotha to atone for the sins of Mankind.

[5] I do not accept the normal date for Herod’s death. I argue as follows: (a) In 40 BC, which was 4 Augustus, Herod was appointed King of Judea by Augustus. Hence, 40 BC = 4 Augustus = 0 Herod. (Finnegan, Jack, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody MA, orig. 1964, rev.1998, p. 230). (b) In 37 BC, which was 7 Augustus, Herod took Jerusalem. Hence, 37 BC = 7 Augustus = 3/0 Herod. (c) In either 5 BC or 3 BC, Herod appointed his son Antipater as co-regent (I prefer the former because there are indications that Antipater reigned for a total of 10 years, 5 as co-regent and 5 as king). Josephus appears to have erred in subtracting three years of this co-regency from Herod’s full reign, thereby arriving at a 37 year reign for Herod.  He may have been influenced by the fact that, after the death of Antipater and Herod, Archelaus and Philip later claimed that their reigns had commenced at the same time as their brother Antipater’s co-regency. (d) After the Magi’s visited him, Herod issued his command that Jewish boys under the age of two be killed – the Slaughter of the Innocents (Matthew 2:16). (e) An eclipse of the moon occurred on the day on which Herod had a man named Matthias executed and another man named Matthias deprived of the position of High Priest. (f) Five days after the eclipse, Herod died (40 years from his appointment as king and 37 years from his investment of Jerusalem).

[6] Luke 2:8-14.

[7] Luke 2:16.

[8] Called the first birth.

[9] See Genesis 6:5, I Kings 8:46, Psalm 53:3, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 53:6 & 64:6, Romans 3:10-12 & 3:23, I John 1:8.

[10] Exodus 15:11, I Samuel 6:20, Psalm 99:9, Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 15:4.

[11] Deuteronomy 25:16, Psalm 11:5, Proverbs 6:16, Zechariah 8:17, Luke 16:15.

[12] Isaiah 59:2 & 64:7, Hosea 5:6.

[13] Called the First Advent.

[14] Yeshua of Nazareth is the Promised Messiah of Israel. The Hebrew prophets predicted His first coming, His rejection by the majority of His people to allow time for a number of Gentiles to enter His Kingdom, and then His second coming to make all things new.

[15] Golgotha is just outside Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate.

[16] His Jewish followers make up the Faithful Remnant of Israel

[17] Called the Resurrection.

[18] Called the Ascension.

[19] Called the Second Advent or Parousia.

[20] God imputes his Son’s righteousness to his Son’s faithful followers. In Romans 11, His faithful followers are represented by the Cultivated Olive Tree. His Jewish followers are represented by the fruitful branches which remain in the tree after the fruitless branches have been pruned out and burned. His Gentile followers are represented by the branches that have been removed from the Wild Olive Tree and grafted into the Cultivated Olive Tree.

 

 

 

 

Was mankind ever primitive?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #068 posted November 26, 2018, edited March 10, 2021.

CREATION

The Bible indicates the following:

      • God created Universe, the earth, and mankind roughly 6,000 years ago.
      • Adam and Eve were perfectly formed physically, mentally, and spiritually to the point that God deemed his creatures “very good.” They began communicating with God and one another from the moment of their creations. Moreover, Adam was sufficiently proficient linguistically that God had Adam undertake a scientific study of all the earth’s fauna by naming them, which undoubtedly included categorizing them.
      • When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, however, God cursed his entire creation, which since then has been subject to disorder, decay, destruction, disease, and death (all symptoms of the devolution which scientists call entropy).
      • Despite the ravages of entropy, Adam and Eve’s immediate descendants set about developing industries: agriculture,[1] ranching,[2] musical instrument-making,[3] metallurgy,[4] ship-building,[5] and undoubtedly others.
      • Thus, today’s mankind and the global civilization which he has created represent the nadir of human history and achievement, and he can look forward to further deterioration in the future.

EVOLUTION

Adam and Eve’s disobedience has had many consequences, one of which is instilling in their descendants a spirit of rebellion. The latter refuse to accept God’s revelation of how and when he created Universe, how Adam and Eve were created, how evil entered the world, how they and we are supposed to behave toward God and one another, etc. Thus, they have concocted an alternative account of mankind’s past which omits any reference to God.

Macro-evolutionists maintain the following:

      • Universe came into existence roughly 15 billion years ago (no one has come up with an explanation of how that happened which makes any sense).
      • The earth was formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago.
      • Mankind emerged between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago, when he made the evolutionary transition from his hominid predecessors to homo sapiens (the first modern humans).
      • Early mankind was primitive – i.e. significantly less developed physically, mentally, and spiritually than today’s mankind. For example, he didn’t develop the abilities (a) to make and use tools until 2.3 million years ago, (b) to control fire until 1.0 million years ago, and (c) to communicate linguistically until 50,000 years ago.
      • Thus, today’s mankind and the global civilization which he has created supposedly represent the pinnacle of human evolution and achievement, and he can look forward to further evolutionary advancement in the future.

You will see immediately that these two accounts of mankind’s past are polar-opposites. The evolutionary account has stood mankind on his head: mankind is not deteriorating; he is getting smarter and smarter, and maybe he will control Universe someday.

You will also see that the godless account requires a primitive period in which primitive mankind spent tens of thousands of years learning (a) to talk, (b) to cook, (c) to design, fabricate, and use tools, (d) to build homes and furniture, (e) to make and put on clothes, etc. During this period, mankind supposedly (a) lived in caves, tents, and finally huts, (b) harvested edible plants, (c) captured creeping things and small animals, (d) protected themselves by throwing stones and pointed sticks, etc.

A QUICK OBSERVATION

Pause for a moment. In addition to their failure (a) to produce any evidence that intermediate or transitional forms between species ever existed[6] or (b) to explain how irreducibly complex forms came into existence,[7] evolutionists believe that mankind took 150,000 to 250,000 years to learn to talk to one another. What rubbish! I regard the fact that hundreds of thousands of scientists promote macro-evolution and hundreds of millions of people accept macro-evolution as prima facie evidence that mankind’s ability to think has drastically devolved in the last 150 years. At this rapid rate of decline, it will not be long before we are as dumb as posts.

CATASTROPHES & THEIR CONSEQUENCES

The bible refers to at least fifteen catastrophes that occurred during the first 3,312 years (3977-665 BC) of mankind’s existence on earth. In addition to the tearing apart of the single land mass in 2221 BC, which created the continents that we see today – a one-time event that must have been terrifying – these catastrophes were responsible for the following woes on a somewhat regular basis:

      • Tectonic upheavals that created rocky mountains over five miles high,
      • Tectonic subsidences that created watery chasms almost seven miles deep,
      • Titanic earthquakes that shook the terrestrial crust, toppling all human structures,
      • Tornadoes and hurricane winds that tore up and flattened all plants and trees in their path,
      • Thunderbolts (electrical discharges between celestial bodies) and raining naphtha that set fire to forests and prairies,
      • Thunderbolts and meteorites that blew open large craters in the land,
      • Tsunamis that swept ashore, destroying everything in their wake, including coastlines,
      • Torrential rains that turned the soil to muck and flooded the land, uprooting plants and trees and carving deep riverbeds and canyons in the landscape, and
      • Tremendous volcanism that clothed the earth in dense clouds of ash and soot, which prevented insolation for decades.

Needless to say, the foregoing woes killed people and animals by the tens of millions with, not only deadly damage, but dementia, deprivation, desolation, despair, despondency, and disease as well.

Also, needless to say, the survivors of these catastrophes had to cope with primitive conditions. Some remained in place and defended their homeland from invaders and some left their homeland and invaded lands inhabited by others. In either case, they found themselves in mortal combat. Wherever they found themselves, they lived in caves and building ruins. They ate whatever they could scrounge from the muck and mire that surrounded them. They replanted fields with whatever seeds they could find, although the lack of insolation inhibited their germination. They reassembled herds of cattle and sheep, but these remained small due to their inability to spare the animals much food.

OUTLINE OF HISTORY

As I have described elsewhere at length, these catastrophes divided the history of the world into two main periods – (1) the Prehistoric Period, which divides readily into three eras, and (2) the Historic Period, which also divides readily into three eras. The eras divide readily into ages and minor periods.

1 – THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD (3977-665 BC)

1A – THE EARLY PREHISTORIC ERA (3977-2321 BC) It divides readily into Creation Week and two ages:

1A-0 – Creation Week in 3977 BC.

1A-1 – The Ancients’ Primordial Age (= the Bible’s Edenic Age) – It lasted less than a year (3977 BC). It was terminated by the ADAM DISTURBANCE, which introduced entropy into Universe.

1A-2 – The Ancients’ Golden Age (= the Bible’s Antediluvian Age) – It lasted just under 1646 years (3977-2321 BC). It was terminated by the NOAH DISTURBANCE (a global flood), which completely destroyed the pre-flood earth. The passengers on the Ark were its only survivors.

1B – THE MIDDLE PREHISTORIC ERA (=the Bibles Postdiluvian Era) – It lasted 857 years (2321-1464 BC). It divides readily into two ages:

1B-1 – The Ancients’ Silver Age (=the Bible’s Early Postdiluvian Age) lasted 451 years (2321-1870 BC). It was divided into three minor periods:

1B-1A – The Ancients’ 1st Silver Period (= the Initial Settlement & Migration) – It lasted 100 years (2321-2221 BC). It was terminated by the Peleg Disturbance, which divided earth’s land mass (a single continent) into several continents.

1B-1B – The Ancients’ 2nd Silver Period (=the Rise of the Akkadian Empire) – It lasted 151 years (2221-2070 BC). It was terminated by the Babel Disturbance,[8] which destroyed the Tower of Babel and confounded mankind’s ability to communicate in a common language.

1B-1C – The Ancients’ 3rd Silver Period (=the Rise of Civilizations) – It lasted 200 years (2070-1870 BC). It was terminated by the ABRAHAM DISTURBANCE, which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, eliminated the Vale of Siddim, and created the Great African Rift or its greater expansion.

1B-2 – The Ancients’ Bronze Age (=the Bible’s Late Postdiluvian World and the archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age) – It lasted 406 years (1870-1464 BC). It was divided into two minor periods:

The Ancients’ 1st Bronze Period (=the Bibles Pre-Job Period) lasted 203 years (1870-1667 BC) and was terminated by the Job Disturbance, which killed Job’s children.

The Ancients’ 2nd Bronze Period (=the Bibles Post-Job Period) lasted 203 years (1667-1464 BC) and was terminated by the MOSES DISTURBANCE, which caused the ten plagues of Egypt, precipitated the Hebrews’ Exodus from Egypt, thereby ending their Sojourn there, and drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, thereby ending Egypt’s Middle Kingdom.

1C – THE LATE PREHISTORIC ERA (= what I call the Turbulent Era = the Bible’s Post-Exodus Age = roughly the geologists’ Pleistocene Epoch) – It lasted 799 years (1464-665 BC). It divides readily into three ages:

1C-1 – The Ancients’ Missing Age (=what I call the Reign of Venus, the archaeologists’ Middle Bronze Age, and the Early Pleistocene Age) – It lasted 456 years (1464-1008 BC). It was divided into four minor periods:

1C-1A – The Ancients 1st Missing Period = Ice Age 1 (=the geologists’ 1st Nebraska=Gunz Ice Advance followed by the 1st Aftonian Ice Retreat) – It lasted roughly 51 years (1464-1413 BC). It was terminated by the Joshua Disturbance, which caused the sun to stand still in the sky during the Battle of Beth Horon.

1C-1B – The Ancients’ 2nd Missing Period = Ice Age 2 (=the geologists’ 2nd Nebraskan=Gunn Ice Advance followed by the 2nd Aftonian Ice Retreat) – It lasted 152 years (1413-1261 BC). It was terminated by the Deborah Disturbance, which destroyed Sisera’s army.

1C-1C – The Ancients’ 3rd Missing Period = Ice Age 3 (=the geologists’ Kansan=Mindel Ice Advance followed by the Yarmouth Ice Retreat) – It lasted 203 years (1261-1058 BC). It was terminated by the Samuel Disturbance, which destroyed the Philistine army.

1C-1D – The Ancients’ 4th Missing Period = Ice Age 4 (=the geologists’ Illinoisian=Riss Ice Advance followed by the Sangamon Ice Retreat) It lasted 50 years (1058-1008 BC). It was terminated by the DAVID DISTURBANCE, which almost destroyed Jerusalem.

1C-2 – The Ancients’ Heroic Age (=what I call War in the Sky, the Mycenaean Age, the archaeologists’ Late Bronze Age, and roughly the Middle Pleistocene Age) – It lasted 254 years (1008-754 BC). It divides readlily into three minor periods:

1C-2A – The Ancients’ 1st Heroic Period (=the geologists’ Iowan Ice Advance followed by the Post-Iowan Ice Retreat) – It lasted 51 years (1008-957 BC). It was terminated by Homer’s 1st Cosmic Battle (=the Solomon Disturbance), which appeared to be a battle in the sky between Venus and Mars.

1C-2B – The Ancients’ 2nd Heroic Period (=the geologists’ Post-Iowan Ice Retreat continued) – It lasted 102 years (957-855 BC). It was terminated by Homer’s 2nd Cosmic Battle (=the Jehoram Disturbance), which appeared to be a battle in the sky between Venus and Mars. It was predicted by Elijah, and it caused the Egyptian priests during the reign of Akhnaton (=Oedipus Rex) to believe that the gods were angry over a royal case of patricide and incest.

1C-2C – The Ancients’ 3rd Heroic Period (=the geologists’ Post-Iowan Ice Retreat continued) – It lasted 101 years (855-754 BC). It was terminated by Homer’s 3rd Cosmic Battle (=the Azariah Disturbance or the Commotion in the Days of Uzziah), which appeared to be a battle in the sky between Venus and Mars. It was predicted by Amos, Joel, Jonah, and Nahum. It caused a titanic earthquake that affected the entire Middle East and caused the submergence of the northern coast of Africa south of Italy, taking with it Lake Triton.[9] It also destroyed the Etruscan city of Volsinium (now Bolsena) and created the basin now occupied by Lake Bolsena with a thunderbolt, thereby weakened the surrounding Etruscan cities, including Rome. The resulting devastation created the perfect conditions for an invasion from Alba Longa, led by Romulus and Remus.

 1C-3 – The Ancients’ Iron Age (=what I call the Reign of Mars, the historians’ Early Archaic Period, and roughly the Lat Pleistocene Age) – It lasted 89 years (754-665 BC). It was divided into the following three minor periods:

1C-3A – The Ancients’ 1st Iron Period – Ice Age 5 (=the geologists’ Post-Iowan Ice Retreat continued) – It lasted 59 years (754-695 BC). It was terminated by the Ahaz Disturbance, which was predicted by Isaiah and Micah and caused the sun’s shadow on the sundial to move forward by 10 degrees.

1C-3B – The Ancients’ 2nd Iron Period – Ice Age 6 (=the geologists’ Tazewell Ice Advance followed by the Post-Tazewell Ice Retreat) – It lasted 15 years (695-680 BC). It was terminated by the 1st Hezekiah Disturbance, which was predicted by Isaiah and Micah and caused the sun’s shadow on the sundial to move backward by 10 degrees.

1C-3C – The Ancients’ 3rd Iron Period – Ice Age 7 (=the geologists’ Carey Ice Advance followed by the Post-Carey Ice Retreat) – It lasted 15 years (680-665 BC). It was terminated by the 2nd HEZEKIAH DISTURBANCE, which was predicted by Isaiah and Micah, destroyed Sennacherib’s army, was recorded by Habakkuk, and terminated the Ancients’ Iron Age, the Ancients’ Turbulent Era, and the entire Prehistoric Period.

2 – THE HISTORIC PERIOD (665 BC-PRESENT)

2A – THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA lasted 663 years (665-2 BC). I have divided it into five non-temporal parts:

2A-1 – The Occident in the Early Historic Era.

2A-2 – The Middle East in the Early Historic Era. I have divided it into four phases:

2A-2A – The Neo-Babylonian Supremacy – It lasted 178 years (665-487 BC).

2A-2B – The Medo-Persian Supremacy – It lasted 157 years (487-330 BC).

2A-2C – The Macedonian Supremacy – It lasted 184 years (330-146 BC).

2A-2D – The Roman Supremacy BC – It lasted 144 years (146-2 BC).

2A-3 – The Orient in the Early Historic Era.

2A-4 – The Scared in the Early Historic Era. I have divided it into three phases:

2A-4A – The Final Years of the Kingdom of Judah – It lasted 110 years (665-555 BC).

2A-4B – The Exile in Babylon – It lasted 70 years (555-485 BC).

2A-4C – Daniel’s 69 Weeks of Years – It lasted 483 years (485-2 BC).

2A-5 – Geology in the Early Historic Era. It divides readily into two phases:

2A-5A – The Late Pleistocene Age’s Ice Age 8 (= the geologists’ Manketo Ice Advance followed by the Post-Manketo (Boreal) Ice Retreat) – It lasted roughly 40 years (665-c.625 BC).

2A-5B – The Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age  – It continued for 623 years (c.625-2 BC).

2B – THE MIDDLE HISTORIC ERA lasted over 2,000 years (2 BC-1453 AD). I have divided it into five non-temporal parts.

2B-1 – The Occident in the Middle Historic Era. I have divided it into two phases:

2B-1A – The Roman Age AD – It lasted 477 years (2BC-476 AD).

2B-1B – The Byzantine Age – It lasted 977 years (476-1453 AD).

2B-2 – The Middle East in the Middle Historic Era.

2B-3 – The Orient in the Middle Historic Era.

2B-4 – The Sacred in the Middle Historic Era. I have divided it into three phases:

2B-4A – The Life of Messiah – It lasted 33.5 years (2BC-33 AD).

2B-4B – The Childhood of Messiah’s Bride – It lasted 37 years (33-70 AD).

2B-4C – The Betrothal of Messiah’s Bride – It extended for 1,383 years (70-1453 AD).

2B-5 – Geology in the Middle Historic Era. It consists of the Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued (2 BC-1453 AD).

2C – THE LATE HISTORIC ERAhas lasted over 568 years (1453 AD-Present). I have divided it into five non-temporal parts.

2C-1 – The Occident in the Late Historic Era. I have divided it into three phases:

2C-1A – The Exploratory Age – It lasted roughly 297 years (1453-c.1750 AD).

2C-1B – The Revolutionary Age – It lasted roughly 168 years (c.1750-1918 BC).

2C-1C – The Globalist Age – It has extended for over 103 years (1918-Present).

2C-2 – The Middle East in the Late Historic Era.

2C-3 – The Orient in the Late Historic Era.

2C-4 – The Sacred in the Late Historic Era. It consists of one phase: the Betrothal of Messiah’s Bride continued – It has continued for over 568 years (1453 AD-Unknown date).

2C-5 – Geology in the Late Historic Era. It consists of the Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued – It has continued for over 568 years (1453 AD-Present).

CONCLUSION

Now the important point that I want to make here is that the aftermath of the catastrophes or disturbances that I have described above all look the same. When an archaeologist today examines a cave in which a group of people lived for decades thousands of years ago, he sees the residue of life under primitive conditions. He finds primitive tools and primitive drawings on the wall – all of which the survivors of a catastrophe should be expected to produce. Moreover, the archaeologist would have a difficult time determining if the occupants were survivors of the Noah Disturbance in 2321 BC, the Abraham Disturbance in 1870 BC, one of the ice age disturbances between the Moses Disturbance in 1464 BC and the 2nd Hezekiah Disturbance in 665 BC, or even a violent decade due to a tribal war. Indeed, a single cave might even have housed the survivors of several disruptions, separated by centuries. The archaeologist cannot always tell, because he is looking at the home of normal people who were coping with abnormal conditions, not the home of sub-normal people who were coping with normal conditions. Mankind was never primitive!

© 2018 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Genesis 4:2,3.

[2] Genesis 4:2,4.

[3] Genesis 4:21.

[4] Genesis 4:22.

[5] Genesis 6:14

[6] By this, I mean factual evidence. That evolution lacks evidence has been admitted by many scientists. For example: Darwin himself wrote, “Why is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely-graduated organic chain; and this is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against the theory” (C. Darwin, Origin of Species, 6th ed., London, 1872, p. 413 – reprinted by John Murray, 1902). The celebrated paleontologist and Harvard professor Stephen J. Gould revealed, “The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology” (S.J. Gould, “Evolution’s Erratic Pace,” Natural History, 86(5):14, 1977).  National Geographic admitted, “Illuminating but spotty, the fossil record is like a film of evolution from which 999 out of 1,000 frames have been lost” (“Was Darwin Wrong? No!,” National Geographic, Nov. 2004, Page 25). Richard Dawkins also admitted, “Evolution has been observed. It’s just that it hasn’t been observed while it’s happening” (Transcript @ pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript349_full.html#dawkins, Dec, 3, 2004) – an admission that was regarded by many as “letting the cat out of the bag.”

[7] Irreducible complexity is a term used to describe a characteristic of certain complex systems whereby they need all their individual component parts in place in order to function. In other words, it is impossible to reduce the complexity of (or to simplify) an irreducibly complex system by removing any of its component parts and still maintain its functionality. The idea was well known to Darwin, who stated in The Origin of Species, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” It has.

[8] Originally, I assigned the Babel Disturbance to 2070 BC. I forget all my reasons for doing so, but one was certainly the fact that Kenkenes (E03-01) had broken the Akkadian Dynasty’s hold on Egypt, which would have probably occurred early in his reign. In recent years, I have leaned toward 2020 BC, because there was a severe break at the end of Sharguni (AK-10)’s reign, which would have left the Akkadian Dynasty in a weakened state and thereby created an opportunity for Kenkenes to throw off the Mesopotamian yoke. Changing all my documents, however, is beyond my abilities at this point in my life

[9] Velikovsky connects the disappearance of Lake Triton with the appearance of the comet Venus in the mid-fifteenth century BC (Worlds in Collision, pp. 168-169). I disagree. Lake Triton was extant when the Argonauts undertook their great tour of the ancient world in the mid-ninth century BC. Moreover, the ancients connected Lake Triton with the birth of Venus, not her death. I surmise that Lake Triton was associated with Venus because an interplanetary thunderbolt from Venus created its basin; I believe Venus emerged from Jupiter during one of the cataclysms in the Postdiluvian Era and entered a cometary orbit around the sun which took it close to the earth every 50-52 years until 754 BC, when it moved to its current, planetary orbit. The closest and most damaging near-contact occurred in 1464 BC, which would have been a logical occasion for the birth of Lake Triton.

 

Are you responsible for your own salvation?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #067 posted November 19, 2018, edited March 10, 2021.

Who is responsible for a person’s salvation, God, who exercises his sovereignty over his creation and its creatures, or the individual, who exercises his or her free will by accepting what God offers to all men? Consider the following verses of Scripture:

1 – Jesus said to His disciples, “But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (KJV Matthew 16:15-17).

2 – Jesus also said to His disciples, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 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 6:38-40).

3 – Jesus also said to his disciples, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (KJV John 6:44).

4 – Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (KJV Ephesians 1:3-5).

5 – Paul also wrote, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (KJV Ephesians 1:10-14).

6 – Paul also wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (KJV Ephesians 2:8-10}

7 – Paul also wrote, “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (KJV2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

8 – Paul also wrote, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (KJV Titus 3:5).

The common denominator among the eight passages above is the testimony that the triune God is the prime actor in a person’s salvation. God-the-Father wrote the person’s name in the Book of Life before the foundations of the world were laid. The triune God created the person. God-the-Son died on a cross to atone for the person’s sins. God-the-Father drew the person to his Son. God-the-Holy Spirit cleansed and regenerated the person and then set God’s seal on the person. Although the person will die, God-the-Son will resurrect the person on the Last Day.

After a person is saved, God is also the prime actor in that person’s sanctification. God-the-Holy Spirit enables the person increasingly to resist temptation, turn away from sinning, and move nearer to God.

Creation is a Drama

One of the reasons why so many Christians claim that they responded to the Gospel of Christ by their own free will is that they don’t understand the nature of Creation.

Creation is a drama whose author is God-the-Father, whose producer and stage-manager is God-the-Son, and whose director is God-the-Holy Spirit. Every being who appears in this drama has a part to play – that is, his or her every thought, word, and deed has been scripted.

► Jesus of Nazareth is the protagonist of the drama, and He follows the Father’s script exactly. See John 8:28-29.

► Satan is the antagonist of the drama, and he follows the Father’s script exactly. See Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-6. Note that (a) Satan must appear in God’s throne room, (b) God requires Satan to give an account of what he has been doing, (c) God draws Satan’s attention to Job, and (d) God tells Satan exactly what he can and cannot do to Job.

► Every man, woman, or child in history has a bit part to play in the drama; if both the protagonist and the antagonist of the drama are controlled by God-the-Father’s script, isn’t it reasonable to assume that the lives of the bit players are as well?

Now, imagine a drama in which every member of the cast is free to say and do whatever he or she chooses to say and do. The result would not be a drama. It would be chaos. Consider Othello, The Moor of Venice. Imagine the thought and effort which Shakespeare put into crafting the plot, the action and the lines for Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Cassio, Brabantio, Roderigo, Emilia, and Bianca. They create the drama. If the actors abandoned the script, there would be no drama. Consider what would have happened if Othello had decided to give Desdemona a dozen roses instead of a handkerchief. Or if Desdemona had tried to wipe Othello’s face with her sleeve instead of her handkerchief. Or if Othello had put the handkerchief in his pocket, instead of dropping it on the floor. Or if Emelia had decided not to pick up the handkerchief. Or if Emelia had decided to keep the handkerchief for herself instead of giving it to Iago. Or if Iago had put something else in Cassio’s room instead of the handkerchief. Or if Cassio had failed to notice the handkerchief in his room. Or if Bianca had showed no interest in the handkerchief that Cassio was carrying. Etc. The play would fall apart.

God’s Sovereignty

Another reason why so many Christians claim that they responded to the Gospel of Christ by their own free will is that they don’t grasp the infinite extent of God’s intellect, power, imagination, inventiveness, etc.

► The Scriptures indicate that God designed, created, and manages Universe, which is the theater in which the drama unfolds, and the earth, which is the stage on which the drama occurs. He controls the movement of every atomic particle, every atom, every molecule, every drop of water, every grain of sand, every celestial body, every galaxy, etc. He ordains every sunrise and every sunset, every cloudless day and every thunderstorm, every meteor shower and every volcanic eruption.

► The Scriptures also indicate that God designed, created, and manages the earth’s creatures. He controls every minnow or whale, every ant or elephant, every butterfly or eagle, and every man, woman, or child. He determines when, where, and why a sparrow falls. He numbers the hairs on each person’s body. He selects the members of each family, church, and nation. He ordains when a nation can live in peace and when it will be engaged in war. Absolutely nothing lies outside his purview and control – particularly something so important as the makeup of the bride whom he is preparing for his Son.

The Bride of Christ

Why is the makeup of the Bride of Christ so important? She is important because she is at the center of Creation’s story – the girl for whose allegiance the protagonist and the antagonist are contending.

Consider the plot of the story: God-the-Father is preparing a bride for his Son despite the opposition of Satan and his minions. Just as God put Adam to sleep, took flesh and bone from his side, formed Eve, and then presented Eve to Adam to be his bride on Day 6 of Creation Week, so God put Jesus to sleep on the cross, took blood and water from His side,[1] is currently forming the “Bride of Christ,” and will present her to his Son[2] to be His wife at the Wedding of the Lamb.

Note that the Bible starts with a wedding between the First Adam and his bride[3] and ends with a wedding between the Second Adam and His bride.[4] These weddings are like bookends to the drama. Moreover, note that, just as Satan tried to spoil the marriage of the First Adam, which he was able to do, so now he is trying to spoil the marriage of the Second Adam, which, according to the Scriptures, he will not be able to do. Nevertheless, the tension of the drama for God’s people in the audience derives from the fact that Satan seems to be succeeding in his efforts and only faith in the trustworthiness of the Word of God will sustain her through the trials which Satan has in store for her.

Do you think that God would leave the composition of his Son’s bride to be determined by the whim of bit players in the drama? Would he allow them to decide for themselves whether or not they will accept or reject God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No. God-the-Son will have to live with His bride for all eternity. She must be perfect. God-the-Father designed her before Universe was created. Now she is being formed, educated, and trained to be a help-mete for her future spouse, to whom she is betrothed. When God-the-Father presents her to his Son, she will be complete[5] and perfect. There will be no surprises.

© 2018 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] God’s tool was a Roman soldier’s lance.

[2] The Lamb of God. (John 1:36).

[3] See Genesis 2:18-25.

[4] See Revelation 19:6 and following.

[5] One of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible is 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (KJ21). Some Christians assume that Peter is referring to all people. He is not. He is referring to the people whose names God the Father wrote in the Book of Life before the foundations of the world were laid. Some believers in Peter’s time had become impatient and had begun to wonder when the Lord would return, as He had promised. Peter is admonishing them to be patient, explaining that many people whose names are written in the Book of Life have not yet come into the Kingdom, for they are yet to be born. Indeed, the Gospel has yet to be preached in all nations, so that, when they are born, they can hear it and respond to it. The Lord will not come until His Bride is complete and therefore perfect. If He did come before then, some brothers and sisters whom God the Father has ordained be in the Kingdom would perish, which the Lord is not willing to let happen.

Theistic Evolutionists

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #066 posted November 12, 2018, edited March 10, 2021.

Theistic evolutionists claim that God used evolution to create the flora and fauna that have existed or now exist on Earth. Many of the scientists among them are undoubtedly competent in their respective scientific fields, but all of them display a weak understanding of epistemology and logic when they start tinkering with the creation story in the Bible, which the half-way house that they have chosen to inhabit requires them to do.

Epistemology

Epistemology deals with the question. How can we judge the truth of statements about anything? One cannot judge what is true in a vacuum. All judgments require a standard. It is an epistemological necessity that one adopts a standard by which one judges everything else. The fundamental question is: “What standard?”

Without going into a long, philosophical discourse, I maintain that there are only two basic standards from which to choose: divine revelation and human inquiry.[1] Obviously, if the issue in question is not addressed in the Bible, one must use human inquiry. If the issue is addressed in the Bible, however, the question arises, Does one rely on the Bible (the only text which claims to be the Word of God) and judge the wisdom of men by it, or does one rely on the wisdom of men and judge the Bible by it? One must choose whether or not to believe the Word of God – just as Eve did in the garden.

Interestingly, one must choose one’s standard by faith. In 1931, the mathematician Kurt Godel proved that every logically consistent system contains at least one un-provable assumption. In order to operate within that logical system, one must accept the assumption by faith.[2] Thus, the reliability of neither divine revelation nor human reason can be proved. Each of these standards incorporates un-provable assumptions. Either one puts one’s faith in the Bible as the Word of God, or one puts one’s faith in the wisdom and works of men. Faith is unavoidable. This should not surprise us, for the scriptures tell us that “…without faith, it is impossible to please [God].”[3] Of course the faith that pleases God is our faith in his Word – both written and incarnate.

Science

One form of human inquiry, of course, is science and both its professionals and the public place an increasing degree of confidence in it. Unfortunately, many professionals and most lay people do not understand the nature of science. Consider the following points.

First, faith and science are not opposites. Faith is actually an ingredient of science. For example, the conduct of science depends upon the un-provable assumption that the cosmos is structured and behaves in an orderly and predictable manner. That is a rational assumption if one believes that a God of order and goodwill created and governs the cosmos. It is an irrational assumption, however, if one believes that the cosmos evolved by chance, which has become an article of faith for most scientists today, for there is then no reason to believe that its laws will not change in the next minute. Not surprisingly, the era of theistic science (the 18th and early 19th centuries) was characterized by confidence, clarity, and coherence, whereas the age of atheistic science (the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries) has been increasingly characterized by anxiety, confusion, and unreason[4] – to say nothing about fraud.[5]

Second, scientific facts and scientific theories are not the same. A scientific fact may be called a scientific truth, because it is incontrovertible – e.g. water in air under one atmosphere of pressure always boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, a scientific theory may never be called a scientific truth, because it will always be open to question and subject to refinement or disproval in the future – e.g. the 17th century contention that phlogiston – a substance without color, odor, taste, or weight – is given off during combustion. Think of the number of scientific theories that were believed in their day, but now lie in the dustbin of history. Thus, one must avoid equating any scientific theory with scientific truth.

Third, there is an important difference between history and science. History describes what happened in the past; it is a methodology for maintaining mankind’s collective memory. Science describes what happens in the present under certain carefully defined circumstances; it is essentially a methodology for observing, recording, and organizing data and for creating, testing, and promulgating theories that explain the data. An historical event cannot be repeated; a scientific event can be. Therefore, the veracity of an historical account cannot be tested in the way in which a scientific account can be and must be if it is to be accepted by the scientific community.

That leads me to the difference between the Bible and science. Much of the Bible is history. It purports to be an accurate account of the real experiences of real people as God acted in their lives. Because it is history, it cannot be tested by science. If scientists dismiss the biblical accounts, they run the risk of being wrong. For instance, the Bible describes rocks falling from the sky during the battle between the Israelites and the Amorites at Beth Horon several decades after the Exodus. Moreover, both ancient and medieval sources describe the same phenomenon as having occurred in their times. Because people in later years didn’t see rocks falling from the sky outside their windows, however, many of them refused to believe these reports. In the 19th century, because such phenomena could not be reconciled with their theories, scientists ridiculed these reports and anyone who believed them. Later, after astronomers discovered that the earth is bombarded by meteorites on a daily basis, they decided that rocks falling from the sky was not impossible and modified their position, but of course they never apologized to the people whom they had ridiculed.

The Bible

Despite Christendom’s historic claim that the Bible is the Word of God and therefore infallible, some Christians today waffle on this issue, claiming that the Bible is “authoritative” or that the Bible contains the Word of God, but does not constitute the Word of God. They have not, however, thought through the implications of their claim. If only some of the Bible is divinely inspired, what criteria are available for discerning between the passages that come from God and the passages that do not come from God? Such criteria do not exist! One cannot escape the necessity of deciding this issue by faith – by faith informed by reason, but nonetheless by faith.

Without apology I believe that the Bible is God’s Word and therefore inerrant – i.e. its original autographs were free of error.[6] I believe that its authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit[7] to write exactly what they wrote – i.e. every chapter, every verse, every word, and every letter in the Bible were determined by God. I believe that God meant the Bible to be mankind’s standard of truth and that the wisdom and works of men must be judged by it. One reason I believe the foregoing is that Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”[8] Clearly, the Bible is more important to Him than His physical creation.

The foregoing has serious implications for those of us who believe that the Bible is the Word-of-God-Written and therefore trustworthy in all its particulars. We must bear witness to its truth. Although the Bible is an historical, not a scientific document, its accounts of what happened in the past impose certain constraints on scientists and scholars. If any scientific or scholarly theory cannot accommodate the chronology and events which the Bible records, then that theory must be either revised or discarded entirely. Needless to say, that is not a popular message, even among many evangelical Christians, who fear being ridiculed by their secular colleagues and friends – let alone by the secular members of the scientific and scholarly academies.

One example is cosmology. On the one hand, most scientists maintain that the world in which we live is the product of billions of years of cosmic, terrestrial, and macro-biologic evolution. On the other hand, the Bible records that the earth and its creatures were created roughly 6,000 years ago in six twenty-four hour days. If the Bible is true, these scientists are spectacularly wrong and scientists like D. Russell Humphrey are closing in on the truth. [9]

Logic

Here logic enters the picture. Genesis 1:1 through 3:24 contains a very carefully crafted, time-specific account of God’s creation of Universe, God’s formation of the earth, God’s creation of the terrestrial flora and fauna, God’s creation of Adam, God’s issuance to Adam of the prohibition against eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God’s creation of Eve from material taken from Adam’s side, Eve’s seduction by Satan, wherein she ate the forbidden fruit, Adam’s uxoriousness in succumbing to Eve’s urging that he also eat the forbidden fruit, God’s judgment, not only on all three persons involved, but on Universe as well, after which all things became subject to disorder and decay and plant and animal life became subject to disease and death (all effects that are captured in the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics), and finally God’s ejection of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, where they had enjoyed daily fellowship with God.

Note the sequence here: (a) God created all living species, (b) these species lived for awhile in a world without disorder, decay, disease and death, (c) Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and then (d) God judged them and their entire world, after which disorder, decay, disease and death entered Universe.

Now the Old Earthers[10] suggest that the six days in Genesis 1:3 through 1:31 actually amounted to eons, with macro-evolution accounting for the development of all living species -from the first organic molecule to mankind. They are burdened with some serious problems here. Among them are the following:

First, many scientists have admitted that evidence for macro-evolution is lacking. For example: Darwin himself wrote, “Why is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely-graduated organic chain; and this is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against the theory.”[11] Darwin was being logical here: no intermediate forms, no evolution. So are there such transitional forms? The celebrated paleontologist and Harvard professor Stephen J. Gould noted, “The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology”[12] (actually he waffled a bit here, suggesting that there are a few, whereas in fact there are none, but he did admit that paleontologists are being less than transparent on the issue).  National Geographic admitted, “Illuminating but spotty, the fossil record is like a film of evolution from which 999 out of 1,000 frames have been lost”[13] Richard Dawkins also admitted, “Evolution has been observed. It’s just that it hasn’t been observed while it’s happening”[14] – an admission that was regarded by many as “letting the cat out of the bag.” Here we begin to see the illogic in the evolutionist position: evolution has been observed, but there has been nothing to observe!

Second, many scientists claim that macro-evolution is simply impossible. I recommend the following books on the subject: Evolution: Possible of Impossible? – Molecular Biology and the Laws of Chance (1973) by James F. Coppedge, Director of Probability Research in Biology at Northridge, CA, Darwin’s Black Box (1996) by Michael Behe, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lehigh University, and Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome (2005) by Dr. J.C. Sanford, a Cornell University Professor and specialist in genetics.

In his book, Sanford claims that modern Darwinism is built on what he calls the Primary Axiom. “The Primary Axiom is that man is merely the product of random mutations plus natural selection. Within our society’s academia, the Primary Axiom is universally taught, and almost universally accepted. It is a constantly mouthed mantra, repeated endlessly on every college campus, It is very difficult to find any professor on any college campus who would even consider (or, should I sat, dare) to question the Primary Axiom. It is for this reason that the overwhelming majority of youth who start out with a belief that there is more to life than mere chemistry will lose that faith while at college. I believe this is also the cause of the widespread self-destructive and self-denigrating behaviors we see throughout our culture.”[15] He then writes: “…every form of objective analysis I have performed has convinced me that the Axiom is clearly false. So now, regardless of the consequences, I have to say it out loud: The Emperor has no clothes!” [16] By the end of the book, I believe that any reasonable and open-minded reader will agree with him.

Third, macro-evolution requires the death of trillions of living forms before mankind arrived on the scene. Yet the Bible consistently states that disease and death were consequences of Adam’s sin, not its prelude. Thus, the theory contradicts the Bible – a contradiction with which any professing theistic evolutionist must deal. For instance, one cannot believe at the same time that (a) death preceded the appearance of sin and (b) death followed the appearance of sin.

One way out of this contradiction, of course, is to dismiss the biblical creation story as a fable. That, of course, creates another problem. At the center of the biblical story are two men: the first Adam, by whose disobedience sin entered the world, and the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whose obedience redemption from sin entered the world. If you remove Adam from the story, a host of questions spring to mind. Given the obvious presence of sin in the world, where did it come from? If mankind is the product of evolution, at what point in our development did men and women become sinners? Was there a sinless period in mankind’s history equivalent to the Bible’s Edenic Era? If so, what happened to the Garden of Eden? Perhaps most important, Why is Christ called the second Adam? The  biblical story progresses logically from (a) God finding his creation of mankind very good to (b) Adam and Eve living in fellowship with God to (c) Adam sinning to (d) Adam and Eve  becoming subject to disease and death to (e) to God providing them with an initial covering to (f) God ejecting Adam and Eve from the garden and fellowship with himself to (g) God entering his creation in the person of Jesus to die on a cross to atone for the sins of sinful men, women, and children to (h) God’s future restoration of creation at the Parousia. Without Adam, this story falls apart. Moreover, where do you stop once you start rejecting pieces of this story? With Noah’s flood? With the division of the land in Peleg’s day? With the confusion of language and the destruction of the Tower of Babel? With the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? With Job’s trials? With the ten plagues of Egypt and the Exodus? With the sun standing still in the sky during the battle at Beth Horon? …With Jesus being born of a virgin? With God-the-Father identifying Jesus as his Son at Jesus’ baptism? With Jesus turning water into wine? With Jesus healing lepers and restoring sight to the blind? With Jesus walking on water? With Jesus rising from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion? With Jesus ascending into heaven? I could go on, but you get the picture.

© 2018 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] At first glance, this dichotomy appears to be an over simplification. Traditionally, philosophers have identified (a) six philosophical problems (the theological problem, the metaphysical problem, the epistemological problem, the ethical problem, the political problem, and the historical problem), (b) five ways of knowing about these problems (the testimony of others, intuition, abstract reasoning from universal principles, sensory experience, and practical activity having successful consequences), and (c) six types of logical theory (authoritarianism, mysticism, rationalism, empiricism, pragmatism, and skepticism – the first five of which correspond to the five ways of knowing; the sixth of which was developed because there are many propositions that cannot be proved by any of the first five criteria). Upon reflection, however, one realizes that all these categories are subsumed by the description “human inquiry.”  The revelation of God, although it sometimes uses human mediation, originates with God and cannot be “worked out” by man. It is not the product of human inquiry. It cannot be verified by human inquiry. It can only be accepted by faith –albeit a faith which is informed by human reason and, up to a point, subject to the tests of coherence, lack of contradiction, reasonableness, etc. – I say up to a point because some apparent contradictions, such as the perceived conflict between divine ordination (e.g. predestination) and human freedom and accountability (e.g. acceptance or rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior), cannot be resolved by such tests.

[2] This conclusion emerges from Godel’s “incompleteness theorems” in an article entitled Ober formal unentscheidbare Satze der “Principia Mathematica” und verwandter Ststeme (On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems).

[3] Hebrews 11:16.

[4] A curious corollary of Godel’s Proof is that within any logically inconsistent system one can prove anything. That goes a long way toward explaining why so much of today’s science and scholarship, which assumes the absence of a creator, is both confusing and contradictory. For example: Classical Darwinism postulates that differing classes of living creatures are the descendants of long-extinct common ancestors, and that transitional forms linked each group to those ancestors. The problem: the transitional forms cannot be found.  To plug the gaps, so to speak, paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed a modification of classical Darwinism called “punctuated equilibrium” in which a new species can appear fully developed, thereby eliminating the need for intermediate forms. That is equivalent to saying: The theory of evolution predicts transitional forms, but transitional forms are lacking. Since we know that evolution produced the species that we see, evolution must operate without transitional forms. Under such illogic, the theory of evolution cannot be proved wrong. That is not science; it is unreason.

[5] See Bergman, Jerry, “Why the Epidemic of fraud exists in science today,” Creation Science Ministries, posted July 24, 2013, and Nuzzo, Regina, “How scientists fool themselves” Nature, Volume 526, October 8, 2015.

[6] See Rousas Rushdoony, Systematic Theology, Volumes 1 & 2, Ross House Books, Vallecito CA, 1994, pp. 1-57.

[7] Romans 3:1-2, 1 Timothy 3:16, & 2 Peter 1:20-21.

[8] Just so we don’t miss it, this statement is recorded three times in the Bible: Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33.

[9] You might be interested in my blogs of 2/20, 2/27, and 3/6, 2017 entitled respectively Natural History 1 – An introduction to biblical cosmology, Natural History 2 – An introduction to biblical cosmology continued, and Natural History 3 – Humphrey’s Cosmological Theory. Humphrey provides a good example of a scientist who takes God’s Word seriously and is trying to come up with a scientific explanation for what God says actually happened.

[10] Old Earthers are people who accept the current cosmological and geologic paradigm that Universe is roughly 20 billion years old and the earth is roughly 3.5 billion years old.

[11] C. Darwin, Origin of Species, 6th ed., London, 1872, p. 413 – reprinted by John Murray, 1902.

[12] S.J. Gould, “Evolution’s Erratic Pace,” Natural History, 86(5):14, 1977.

[13] “Was Darwin Wrong? No!,” National Geographic, Nov. 2004, Page 25.

[14] Transcript @ pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript349_full.html#dawkins, Dec, 3, 2004.

[15] Sanford, J.C., Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome, FMS Publications, Waterloo, NY, 2008, pages v-vi.

[16] Ibid, p. vii.

The Parable of the Householder

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #065 posted March 5, 2018, edited March 10, 2021.

Contents

Section 1 – Preamble
Section 2 – The Relevant Passages – Matthew 21:33-45, Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-19
Section 3 – Summary of the Parable
Section 4 – The Traditional Interpretation
Section 5 – The General Pattern
Section 6 – The Parable of the Householder
Section 7 – The Critical Points

Section 1 – Preamble

Many Christians, particularly those raised in churches within the major denominations, believe in supersessionism– that is, the doctrine that the institutional church (overwhelmingly Gentile) has replaced Israel as God’s Chosen People. Many of these Christians cite the Parable of the Householder as evidence for this belief. If you are one of them, I hope the following will persuade you otherwise.

Section 2 – The Relevant Passages

KJV MATTHEW 21:33-45 – Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

KJV MARK 12:1-12 – And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

KJV LUKE 20:9-19 – Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

Section 3 – Summary of The Parable

The above passages describe the following: a householder (owner) leased a vineyard to husbandmen (tenant vintners). At the appropriate time, he sent a servant (agent) to the vineyard to collect the rent due to him, but the husbandmen beat and then drove off the servant. The householder sent a second servant, but again the husbandmen beat and drove off the second servant. Then the householder sent his son, the heir to the vineyard, whereupon the husbandmen killed the son, hoping thereby to seize his inheritance. At this point, Jesus makes clear that the householder himself will visit the vineyard, destroy the wicked husbandmen, and lease the vineyard to other husbandmen who will render the fruit of the vineyard (rent) when it is due.

 Section 4 – The Traditional Interpretation

Traditionally Christians have used this parable to justify the view that God has replaced Israel with the Church. In their view:

► The Householder represents God;

► The unfaithful stewards, from whom the Householder takes the vineyard, represent Israel (or the Jews), and

► The faithful stewards, to whom the Householder gives the vineyard, represent the institutional – primarily Gentile – church (each denomination sees itself in the faithful stewards).

Section 5 – The General Pattern

In order to understand why the traditional interpretation of this parable is wrong, we need to see it in the context of the general pattern which appears in a number of the metaphors or parables in the Scriptures which use the imagery of a garden. The pattern has several elements:

► An owner or gardener or householder who represents God;

► The owner’s property – a tract of land, a vineyard, a garden, or a house – which represents a place belonging to God;

► The owner’s crop – a tree or a vine – which represents a people whom God has planted in the place; and

► The branches of the crop (tree or vine) which represent individuals or groups of individuals within the people.

Now consider Isaiah 5:7 – “…the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant….” Here,

► The owner is the Lord of Hosts – God-the-Son;

► The owner’s property is a vineyard which is identified as the House of Israel – that is, the Old Covenant Household, which is settled in Canaan, the Promised Land;

► The owner’s crop is his pleasant plant, which is identified as the men of Judah – that is, one of the tribes of the Covenant Household; and

► The branches of the crop are not mentioned.

Also consider Psalm 80:1, 6 – “…O Shepherd of Israel….Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt…” Here a Shepherd has brought his flock, which is called a vine, out of Egypt.

► The owner is the Shepherd – God-the-Son;

► The owner’s property is not mentioned, but it is certainly the Old Covenant Household, which is settled in Canaan, the Promised Land;

► The owner’s crop is the vine or Shepherd’s flock – that is, the Jews, the sole members of the Old Covenant Household, whom God brought out of Egypt (the Exodus); and

► The branches or individual lambs of the flock are not mentioned.

Finally consider Romans 11 – A gardener is tending a tree in his garden. He prunes out of it unfruitful branches and then grafts into it fruitful branches from a wild tree (a tree outside the garden). Paul is clear concerning what is going on here.

► The owner is God.

► The owner’s property is a garden – the House of Israel, the Old Covenant Household, which is settled in Canaan, the Promised Land.

► The owner’s crop is an olive tree in the garden which God is actively cultivating, and which represents the Jews.

► The branches of this cultivated tree are of three types:

● Natural branches which are alive and fruitful and which the gardener is letting remain and is tending – that is, faithful Jews who accept Messiah as their Savior and Lord, and who make up the Remnant of Israel;

● Natural branches which are dead and therefore unfruitful which the owner is removing and burning – that is, unfaithful Jews who reject the Messiah;

● Grafted branches which are also alive and fruitful which the gardener is removing from the wild olive tree outside the garden and adding to the cultivated tree inside the garden– that is, faithful Gentiles who accept Messiah as their Savior and Lord.

What remains in the owner’s garden is a “good” tree with some of its original branches (faithful Jews, the Remnant of Israel) and some grafted-in branches (faithful Gentiles). The altered or cultivated tree still represents Israel.

 Section 6 – The Parable of the Householder

Now let us return to the Parable of the Householder. In contrast to the traditional interpretation, which deals with the parable simplistically, the correct interpretation deals with the parable in all its subtlety and complexity.

► The owner is the Householder, who represents God.

► The owner’s property is the Householder’s vineyard, which represents the house or home of Israel, just as in Psalm 80[1] and Isaiah 5[2], but a house or home which undergoes a transformation as the relationship between the Householder and its people ceases to be defined by the Old Covenant and starts to be defined by the New Covenant. At first the house or home is a place of stone: Canaan, the Promised Land, at the center of which is the stone city of Jerusalem and the stone Temple in which God dwells. Eventually the house or home is a place of flesh, the New Jerusalem, the City of God which Abraham envisioned, the Bride of Messiah, the bond-servants or bond-slaves of Messiah, in whom God dwells.

► The owner’s crop is the vines, which represent the people of Israel. These people change.

● During the period when their relationship with God is defined by the Old Covenant, they are exclusively Jews (the fruitful and the unfruitful branches of the Cultivated Olive Tree), but

● During the period when their relationship with God is defined by the New Covenant, they are a consolidated group of (a) faithful Jews (the Faithful Remnant of Israel), the fruitful branches in the Cultivated Olive Tree, and (b) faithful Gentiles, the fruitful branches from the Wild Olive Tree, whom God is removing from the Wild Olive Tree and grafting into the Cultivated Olive Tree. Together they constitute the Body of Messiah. Interestingly, Jesus melds the Body of Messiah with Himself by identifying Himself as the true vine (note: not the vineyard) and the members of the Body of Messiah as vines or branches of the true vine. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (KJV John 15:1-6).

► The unfaithful stewards represent the leaders of Israel during the Old Covenant period. They are the chief priests and Pharisees – unfruitful branches which God has pruned from the Cultivated Olive Tree.

► The faithful stewards represent leaders of Israel during the New Covenant period. They are apostles, disciples, pastors, etc. – either fruitful branches from the Cultivated Olive Tree (the Faithful Remnant of Israel) or fruitful branches from the Wild Olive Tree which the Householder has removed from the Wild Olive Tree and grafted into the Cultivated Olive Tree.

Section 7 – The Critical Points

 Just as the Cultivated Olive Tree in Romans 11 is Jewish, so the vineyard in the Parable of the Householder is Jewish.

 Just as God removes unfruitful branches out of the Cultivated Olive Tree, so he banishes unbelieving Jews from His vineyard. He retains believing Jews who are already there (the Faithful Remnant of Israel) and then He brings in believing Gentiles who were not there. The believing Jews and the believing Gentiles now constitute the Body of Messiah, the Messiah who stated, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Jesus is the Messiah, and believers in Him constitute the Body of Messiah. Both Jesus and His Body reside in the Father’s vineyard, which is the House of Israel – and “…all Israel shall be saved…” (Romans 11:26).

© 2018 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] (KJV Psalm 80:1,6).

[2] “…the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant…” (KJV Isaiah 5:7).

The Gospel – The Hope of the First Christmas

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #064 posted December 18, 2017, edited March 10, 2021.

Although we have entered the season when our cities, towns, buildings, and homes are decorated inside and out with pine boughs, colored lights, and red ribbons and most people shop for presents, revel, and sing songs, not many people actually know what Christmas is really about. What started all this hoopla?

It was started by the birth of a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, Israel’s City of David.[1] Hebrew prophets had been predicting the event for millennia and when it happened, it was surrounded by miracles. God himself entered his creation in the form of a baby, the most helpless of creatures, in order to die on a cross 33.5 years later to atone for the sins of mankind and reestablish the peace between himself and mankind which had been lost when the first man, Adam, disobeyed God’s first – and, at the time, only – proscription: “…of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thou shalt not eat….” [2] Since then, men and women have been deciding for themselves what is good and what is evil, the result of which has been almost 6,000 years of worshipping false gods, crafting idols, blaspheming the name of the true God, ignoring the Sabbath, dishonoring parents, and murdering, lusting after, stealing from, bearing false witness against, and coveting the spouses and possessions of others (all of which are forbidden by God in the Ten Commandments [3] which he delivered to Moses).

The baby’s name is Jesus, and His birth almost 2,000 years ago embodied the hope of a restoration of peace between God and mankind. That hope is embodied in the Gospel.

The Gospel

Every person – regardless of gender, race, nation, or other circumstance – finds himself in the same situation with respect to God – a situation which is captured in the Bad News and the Good News of the Bible:

The Bad News – Every person is a sinner,[4] and, because God is holy[5] and hates sin,[6] every person begins his life alienated from God.[7] Sin is embedded in him, in his very nature, and thus he is a sinner from the moment of his conception[8] and born separated from God. Sin is systemic – that is, it affects everything that he thinks, says, or does. Moreover, sin blinds him to his own sinfulness and deceives him into believing that he can be good – or at least good enough[9] – and therefore deserving of God’s favor. Finally, the sinner is helpless. Sin holds him in bondage. He cannot stop sinning on his own.[10]

The Good News – Every person whom God-the-Father calls[11] can avail himself of the solutions to these problems which God himself has provided:

Salvation – The death of Jesus, God-the-Son, on the cross at Golgotha[12] atones for the past, present, and future sins of everyone who repents of his sins and accepts Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Once a person so repents and professes Jesus as his Savior and Lord, Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to him, and he becomes a child of God and an heir to God’s promises to those who love God. His separation from God has ended, and he can be assured that he has become a member of the company of the redeemed,[13] which is called the Body of Christ.

Sanctification – The infilling of God-the-Holy Spirit increasingly enables the believer to resist the temptations of the Devil and equips the believer for ministry in the Body of Christ.

Both salvation and sanctification are free gifts from God, but they must be sought and accepted by the recipient with the clear understanding that he does not merit them, he cannot earn them or buy them, and his acceptance of them constitutes an admission that he is utterly dependent upon his Savior and Lord for his every need.

The above explains the difference between false religion and true religion.

False religion – All false religion is focused on man and what man can do to render himself acceptable to its god or gods. At its core are man-initiated requirements that man must meet and rites that man must perform. All false religions say: Do this and don’t do that, and you will be acceptable to our god(s).

True religion – True religion is focused on God and what God has done to render his creatures acceptable to himself. At its core is a God-initiated relationship between God and some men. The one and only Creator God says essentially: “Neither you nor any other man[14] can make you acceptable to me. Only I can make you acceptable to me.[15] But rejoice! I have done all that is necessary to render you spotless in my sight. I entered my creation once in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and died on the cross to atone for your sinfulness. If you accept[16] Him – and Him alone – as your Savior and Lord, I will accept you.”[17]

The sole criterion by which God will determine a person’s fate – either an eternity in God’s company (Heaven) or an eternity separated from God (Hell) – is whether or not during this life he opened his heart to and accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord.

Note two important things. First, God is not interested in your – or any other – religion; he wants a relationship with you. Second, God’s invitation to you to have a relationship with him is both inclusive and exclusive. It is inclusive because it is addressed to all persons – all men, women, and children on earth, regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. It is exclusive because it is issued by one person – the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” [18]

If you have not already opened your heart to and accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, do it now – for Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”[19] What a promise from the Lord of Creation!

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Although we currently celebrate this event on December 25th every year, I believe that it actually occurred on August 28, 2 BC (Gregorian calendar), which was Tishri 1, the Day of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and the first day of the 7th month in the Hebrew calendar.

[2] Genesis 2:17.

[3] Exodus 20:1-17.

[4] Genesis 6:5, I Kings 8:46, Psalm 53:3, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 53:6 & 64:6, Romans 3:10-12 & 3:23, I John 1:8.

[5] Exodus 15:11, I Samuel 6:20, Psalm 99:9, Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 15:4.

[6] Deuteronomy 25:16, Psalm 11:5, Proverbs 6:16, Zechariah 8:17, Luke 16:15.

[7] Isaiah 59:2 & 64:7, Hosea 5:6.

[8] A condition customarily referred to as “original sin” or “the inescapable depravity of man.”

[9] People downplay their own sinfulness by comparing themselves to others whom they believe to be worse than themselves – for example, Hitler. Some people cite Hitler as the epitome of evil. From God’s perspective, however, there is not much difference between Hitler and the rest of us. We are all sinners. If, in the final seconds of his life, Hitler repented of his sinfulness and accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord, he will be among the redeemed in heaven. There is no sin that God’s grace cannot cover.

[10] This helplessness is seldom acknowledged, but it is nonetheless an essential characteristic of the depravity of man.

[11] God-the-Father predestined his children before the foundation of the world, and God initiates the saving of a sinner. Unless God calls a person to repentance and faith, that person will remain in his sin and unbelief. There is no aspect of salvation for which the beneficiary can claim credit.

[12] I believe that Golgotha – the Place of a Skull (Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, John 19:17) – was the 1st century AD name for the stone escarpment which is located just over 200 yards north-by-northeast of the Damascus Gate on the north side  of Jerusalem’s Old City. It resembles the face of a human skull. In the 1s century AD, it would have been easily visible from the road running north from the Old City to Nablus and Damascus. It is currently called Jeremiah’s Grotto. Moreover  it is adjacent to the Garden Tomb, where I and many others believe Jesus was buried and which is now maintained by the non-profit Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) Association in the United Kingdom.

[13] Romans 10:9-10, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 5:13.

[14] Such as a priest; excepting the man Christ Jesus, who is the believer’s High Priest.

[15] John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5.

[16] Trust in.

[17] Ephesians 2:8-9.

[18] KJ21 John 14:6.

[19] KJ21 Revelation 3:20.

Outline of World History

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #052 posted June 19, 2017 edited March 9, 2021.

This week I will be starting a series of historical timelines that are based on my view of world history, which in turn is based on my understanding of the Bible and the chronology that it contains. Today, I am posting an outline of this version of world history. Tomorrow I will post the structure of the timelines that will follow.

1 – PREHISTORIC PERIOD (3977-665 BC)

1A – EARLY PREHISTORIC ERA– It lasted 1656 years (3977-2321 BC) and is divided into Creation Week and two ages:

1A-0 – Creation Week – It lasted seven 24-hour days in 3977 BC and ended with God’s Day of Rest.

1A-1 – Ancients’ Primordial Age = the Bibles Edenic Age – It probably lasted less than a year (3977 BC) and ended with the Adam Disturbance.

1A-2 – Ancients’ Golden Age = the Bible’s Antediluvian Age – It lasted almost 1656 years (3977-2321 BC) and ended with the Noah Disturbance.

1B – MIDDLE PREHISTORIC ERA = the Bible’s Postdiluvian World – It lasted 857 years (2321-1464 BC) and is divided into two ages:

1B-1 – Ancients’ Silver Age = the Bible’s Early Postdiluvian Age = the archaeologists’ Stone Age = Egypt’s PDP & Dynasties 1, 2a, 3, 4a – It lasted 451 years (2321-1870 BC) and is divided into three periods:

1B-1A – Ancients’ 1st Silver Period = the archaeologists’ Paleolithic Period = JH’s Initial Settlement & Migrations – It lasted 100 years (2321-2221 BC) and ended with the Peleg Disturbance.

1B-1B – Ancients’ 2nd Silver Period = the archaeologists’ Mesolithic & Neolithic Periods = JH’s Akkadian Supremacy[1] – It lasted 151 years (2221-2070 BC) and ended with the Terah Disturbance.

1B-1C – Ancients’ 3rd Silver Period = the archaeologists’ Chalcolithic or Copper Period = JH’s Rise of Civilizations – It lasted 200 years (2070-1870 BC) and ended with the Abraham Disturbance.

1B-2 – Ancients’ Bronze Age = the Bible’s Late Postdiluvian World = the archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age (Early Helladic & Early Minoan) = Egypt’s Dynasties 2b, 4b, 5, 6, 7a, 11, 12, & 13a – It lasted 406 years (1870-1464 BC) and is divided into two periods:

1B-2A – Ancients’ 1st Bronze Period = the Bible’s Pre-Job Time = the archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age 1 – It lasted 203 years (1870-1667 BC) and ended with the Job Disturbance.

1B-2B – Ancients 2nd Bronze Period = the Bible’s Post-Job Time = the Archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age 2 – It lasted 203 years (1667-1464 BC) and ended with the Moses Disturbance.

1C – LATE PREHISTORIC ERA = what I call the Turbulent World = the geologists’ Pleistocene Epoch – It lasted 799 years (1464-665 BC) and is divided into three ages:

1C-1 – Ancients’ Missing Age = the Early Turbulent World = the geologists’ Early Pleistocene Age (EPA) = the archaeologists Middle Bronze Age (Middle Helladic & Middle Minoan) = Egypt’s Dynasties 14-17 (Hyksos) – It lasted 456 years (1464-1008 BC) and is divided into four periods.

1C-1A – Ancients’ 1st Missing Period = EPA’s Ice Age 1 – It lasted 51 years (1464-1413 BC) and ended with the Joshua Disturbance.

1C-1B – Ancients’ 2nd Missing Period = EPA’s Ice Age 2 – It lasted 152 years (1413-1261 BC) and ended with the Deborah Disturbance.

1C-1C – Ancients’ 3rd Missing Period = EPA’s Ice Age 3 – It lasted 203 years (1261-1058 BC) and ended with the Samuel Disturbance.

1C-1D – Ancients’ 4th Missing Period = EPA’s Ice Age 4 – It lasted 50 years (1058-1008 BC) and ended with the David Disturbance.

1C-2 – Ancients’ Heroic or Mycenaean Age = the Middle Turbulent World = the geologists’ Middle Pleistocene Age (MPA) = the archaeologists’ Late Bronze Age (Late Helladic & Late Minoan) = Egypt’s Dynasties 18 – It lasted 254 years (1008-754 BC) and is divided into three periods.

1C-2A – Ancients’ 1st Heroic Period = MPA’s Ice Age 5. It lasted 51 years (1008-957 BC) and ended with Homer’s 1st Cosmic Battle = the Solomon Disturbance.

1C-2B – Ancients’ 2nd Heroic Period = MPA’s Ice Age 5 continued – It lasted 102 years (957-855 BC) and end with Homer’s 2nd Cosmic Battle = the Jehoram Disturbance.

1C-2C – Ancients’ 3rd Heroic Period [2] = MPA’s Ice Age 5 continued – It lasted 101 years (855-754 BC) and ended with Homer’s 3rd Cosmic Battle and the Azariah Disturbance.

1C-3 – Ancients’ Iron Age = the Late Turbulent World = the geologists’ Late Pleistocene Age (LPA) – It lasted 89 years (754-665 BC) and is divided into three periods.

1C-3A – Ancients’ 1st Iron Period = Respite – It lasted 59 years (754-695 BC) and ended with the Ahaz Disturbance.

1C-3B – Ancients’ 2nd Iron Period = LPA’s Ice Age 6 – It lasted 15 years (695-680 BC) and ended with the 1st Hezekiah Disturbance.

1C-3C – Ancients’ 3rd Iron Period = LPA’s Ice Age 7 – It lasted 15 years (680-665 BC) and ended with the 2nd Hezekiah Disturbance.

2 – HISTORIC PERIOD (665 BC-Present)

2A – EARLY HISTORIC ERA = the historians’ Early Antiquity – It lasted 663 years (665-2 BC) and is divided into five non-temporal parts.

2A-1 – The Occident in the Early Historic Era

2A-2 – The Middle East in the Early Historic Era – It was divided into four ages:

2A-2A – Neo-Babylonian Age – It lasted 178 years (665-487 BC) and ended with the Conquest of Babylon by the Persian king Darius I.

2A-2B – Persian Age – It lasted 157 years (487-330 BC) and ended with the Conquest of Persia by the Macedonian king Alexander-the-Great.

2A-2C – Macedonian Age – It lasted 184 years (330-146 BC) and ended with the Conquest of Macedon by the Roman praetor Q.C. Metellus Macedonius.

2A-2D – Roman Age BC – It lasted 144 years (146-2 BC) and ended with the BIRTH OF MESSIAH.

2A-3 – The Orient in the Early Historic Era

2A-4 – The  Sacred in the Early Historic Era

2A-4A – Kingdom of Judah’s Final Years (665-555 BC). It was ended by the Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.

2A-4B – Babylonian Exile (555-485 BC). It was ended by the Fall of Babylon (487 BC) to the Persian King Darius 1 and the Proclamation of the Persian King Cyrus-of-the-Bible (485 BC) that commanded the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls and its Temple.

2A-4C – Daniel’s 69 Weeks of Years (485-2 BC). It (a) began with the Proclamation of Cyrus (485 BC), (b) lasted 483 years (485-2 BC), and (c) ended with the Birth of Messiah.

2A-5 – Geology in the Early Historic Era.

2A-5A – Pleistocene Epoch’s Late Pleistocene Age’s Ice Age 8 (665-c.625 BC).

2A-5B – Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age – (c.625 BC-2BC)

2B – MIDDLE HISTORIC ERA – It lasted 1,454 years (2 BC-1453 AD) and is divided into five non-temporal parts.

2B-1 – The Occident in the Middle Historic Era

2B-1A – Roman Age AD = the historians Late Antiquity – It lasted 477 years (2BC-476 AD) and ended with the Conquest of Rome by the Germanic General Odacer.

2B-1B – Byzantine Age – It lasted 977 years (476-1453 AD) and ended with the Conquest of Constantinople by Ottoman Sultan Melmed II.

2B-2 – The Middle East in the Middle Historic Era

2B-3 – The Orient in the Middle Historic Era

2B-4 – The Sacred in the Middle Historic Era

2B-4A – Messiah’s Life – It lasted 33.5 years (2 BC-33 AD) and ended with the Death, Resurrection, & Ascension of Messiah.

2B-4B – Bride of Messiah’s Childhood – It lasted 37 years (33-70 AD) and ended with the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman General Titus.

2B-4C – Bride of Messiah’s Betrothal – It extended for 1,383 years (70 AD-1453 AD) and ended with the Fall of Constantinople.

2B-5 – Geology in the Middle Historic Period

2B-5A – Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued – It extended for 1,454 years (2 BC-1453 AD).

2C – LATE HISTORIC ERA = the Modern World – It has lasted over 568 years (1453-Present) and is divided into five non-temporal parts.

2C-1 – The Occident in the Late Historic Era

2C-1A – Exploratory Age – It lasted roughly 297 years (1453-c.1750 AD) and ended with the Harnessing of Mechanical Energy (c.1750 AD).

2C-1B – Revolutionary Age – It lasted roughly 168 years (c.1750-1918 AD) and ended with the catastrophe of World War I (1914-1918 AD).

2C-1C – Globalist Age – It has lasted 103 years (1918 AD to present) and will end with an unknown event at an unknown date.

2C-2 – The Middle East in the Late Historic Era

2C-3 – The Orient in the Late Historic Era

2C-4 – The Sacred in the Late Historic Era

2C-4A – Bride of Messiah’s Betrothal continued – It has lasted 568 years (1453 AD-Present) and will ended with the 2nd Coming of Messiah (date unknown).

2B-5 – Geology in the Late Historic Period

2B-5A – Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued – It has lasted 568 years (1453 AD-Present).

 

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] The Akkadian Empire was founded by Ukusi (Cush of the Bible) c.2298. It started in Mesopotamia and then, during the reign of Sargon, his son Mannis-tusu (also known as Menes), extended its control into the Indus Valley, then Egypt, and finally as far as the British Isles. It suffered a fatal blow from the Terah Disturbance, which destroyed the Tower of Babel and devastated Babylon and its surrounding region. The dynasty’s decline ended c. 1958 BC. Originally, I dated the Terah Disturbance to 2070 BC, but now would probably choose 2020 BC, 50 years later, roughly at the time that Sharguni’s reign ended and there was a break in the dynasty’s rule. That would alter the dates of the Ancients’ Middle Silver Period to 2221-2020 BC and the Late Silver Period to 2020-1870 BC.

[2] This was the time of the Greek exploits (the Labors of Herakles (c.855 BC), the Slaying of the Minotaur (c.850 BC), the Voyage of the Argo (845 BC), the 1st Theban War (832-831 BC),the  2nd Theban War (821-820 BC), the Trojan Wat (812-802 BC), the Voyage of Odysseus (800-790 BC)) and the Trojan exploit (the Voyage of Aeneas (800-790 BC)).

Russell Vought and Bernie Sanders

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #051 posted June 12, 2017, edited December 2, 2020.

The exchange between Mr. Russell Vought and Senator Bernie Sanders during the Senate hearing on June 7, 2017 concerning Mr. Vought’s appointment to Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget perpetuated and to some extent legitimized two erroneous ideas: (1) that the U.S. Constitution permits the application of a religious test for federal office and (2) that Christianity maintains that people are “condemned” for not believing in Jesus.

The first issue is straightforward and simple. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states, “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” That a US senator was ignorant of or – worse – chose to ignore this proscription is stunning. He should apologize to Mr. Vought or be censured by his colleagues.

The second issue is also straightforward, but more complex than the first. The Bible indicates that people are condemned by their sinfulness – not their unbelief in Jesus. In order to demonstrate this, I need to explain mankind’s predicament and God’s solution to it.

First, mankind’s predicament: Every man, woman, and child is born a sinner. King David wrote, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (KJ21 Psalm 51:5). That applies to Mr. Vought. That applies to Senator Sanders. That applies to me. That applies to you. There are no exceptions. Every person begins life condemned. Moreover, every person remains a sinner in God’s eyes. King David wrote, “…there is none that doeth good; no, not one” (Psalm 14:3, 53:3) and Paul wrote, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (KJ21 Psalm 14:3, KJ21 Romans 3:10). Finally, the penalty for sin is death – physical death and spiritual death. Paul wrote, “…the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). The foregoing is what I call the “bad news.”

Second, God’s solution to mankind’s predicament: The following is what God’s Word, the Bible, calls the Gospel or “good news.” In fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Tenakh (Old Testament), God sent his Son into the world in the person of Jesus, the Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, to save people – i.e. to die on a cross to atone for the sins of anyone who accepts Him as his or her Savior and Lord. As Isaiah prophesized, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (KJ21 Isaiah 53:6). God did not send his Son into the world to condemn people. “For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (KJ21 John 3:17). Moreover, salvation is a free gift from God – not something a person can earn. “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God – not by works, lest any man should boast” (KJ21 Ephesians 2:8-9). It cannot be earned. It cannot be bought. It can only be received with humility and gratitude at the feet of a gracious sovereign.

Third, the universality and the exclusivity of the Gospel: The Gospel is universal, because it offers salvation to everyone. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [or Gentile]” (KJ21 Romans 1:16). The Gospel is also exclusive, because the only source of salvation is faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. Referring to “the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (KJ21 Acts 4:10), Peter said to the rulers, priests, and scribes of Israel, “Neither is there salvation in any other [name], for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (KJ21 Acts 4:12). God insists that sinners approach him through his Son, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…” (21KJ 1 Timothy 2:5).

The difference between the approach to God advocated by the Gospel and the approach to God advocated by the world’s religions is that the Gospel focuses on what God has done to make people acceptable to himself whereas the approach to God advocated by the world’s religions, including Judaism, Islam, and even much of institutional Christianity, focuses on what a person must do to become acceptable to God. He or she must ascribe to certain creeds, wear certain clothing, eat or not eat certain foods, perform certain rites, undertake certain works, etc. A person can exhaust himself or herself doing all these things, but in the end he or she will fail to please God. To repeat myself, acceptance by God cannot be earned or bought.

If you sincerely want to be acceptable to God, start seeking Jesus. Start reading the Bible, for Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; …it is they which testify of me” (21KJ John 5:39). As you search, keep in mind the following verse: “…without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (KJ21 Hebrews 11:6).

I wish that my brother Russell had countered Senator Sander’s attack on him with a proclamation of the Gospel, not the refrain “I am a Christian,” which explained nothing. Perhaps next time.

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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Homily on mission

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #050 posted June 5, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

In lieu of a devotional, I delivered this homily at the March 18, 2011 meeting of the Diaconate of the New Lebanon Congregational Church in New Lebanon, NY.

Christianity is all about relationships. Consider the life of a church. It can be divided into three general categories: worship, community, and mission.

We relate to God through worship

We relate to one another through activities which build up the church community – that is, education, fellowship, and pastoral care.

We relate to others outside the church through mission activities – that is, evangelism, service, and the financial support of Christians who are doing evangelism and service elsewhere.

Of course, the life of any church depends upon someone attending to the activities which sustain the life of the church – that is, the support activities of administration, finance, property management, and communication.

Most churches in America divide their leadership into two groups. In Congregational churches, we call them elders and deacons. Other denominations use different titles. Whatever the titles, however, the normal understanding is that the elders attend to spiritual matters and the deacons attend to practical matters. Thus, the deacons tend to focus on the support activities which I identified above – administration, finance, property management, and communication. That is not biblical.

In the Bible, deacons focus on mission – that is, evangelism and service. Evangelism consists of the spreading of the Gospel of our Lord by word. Service consists of the spreading of His Gospel by deed. They must be undertaken together. Tim Keller calls service “doing justice.” It is the sign that convinces unbelievers that the faith which motivates us is worth investigating. What we do authenticates what we say.

(As an aside: I believe that the church in general might be better off having three categories of leaders: elders who focus on worship and community activities, deacons who assist the elders in attending to community activities, but who focus primarily on mission activities, and administrators or stewards who focus on support activities. That would clearly indicate the nature and importance of mission.)

Now, let us consider “doing justice.”  Tim Keller divides it into three categories or layers of help – relief, development, and social reform – all of which require believers to disadvantage themselves to advantage others, particularly the most vulnerable in society – that is, the poor, the oppressed, the ill, the handicapped, the infirm, the imprisoned, the widowed, etc.

Relief is directed at meeting the immediate needs of people who are suffering – that is, providing them with food, clothing, shelter, emergency medical aid, basic counseling, legal advocacy, etc.

Development is directed at helping people move beyond dependency to self-sufficiency. It includes education, job training and placement, home-making and child care training, and simple friendship.

Social reform is directed at attacking the root causes of failing communities – inadequate police protection (often the result of corruption), inadequate education (often the result of under-funded schools), housing (often the result of red-lining by banks), inadequate justice (often the result of judicial bribe-taking), and inadequate attention by the responsible levels of government (precinct, city, county, state, and federal).

How then do we “do justice?”  John M. Perkins identified three basic factors: relocation, redistribution, and racial reconciliation.

Relocation or “neighboring a community” is the concept that service providers to a community should live in it.

Redistribution or “reweaving a community” is the concept that financial, social, and spiritual capital must be directed into a community – not out of it, which is what happens when residents find jobs elsewhere, when local businesses are owned and staffed by non-residents, when health facilities are located outside the community or, if located in the community, staffed by non-residents, and when residents attend churches outside the community.

Financial capital refers to the presence in the community of employers that not only provide goods and services to the community, but keep the wealth of the community in the community.

Social capital refers to the presence in the community of trained leaders who can run businesses, schools, clinics, etc., thereby obviating the necessity of bringing in such leaders from outside the community.

Spiritual capital refers to the presence in the community of churches and ministries which convey to their members Christian faith and morals, thereby strengthening the members of the community as they attempt to build strong and healthy individuals, families, and communal institutions.

Racial reconciliation is the concept that skilled outsiders work with unskilled insiders to empower the latter to assume the leadership and control of the community’s development. Where failing communities are concerned, the skilled outsiders and the unskilled insiders are usually of different races and cultures, as well as educational levels, wealth, etc. Blending them into a partnership is difficult, but not impossible when the outsiders maintain a clear vision of the objective and behave humbly, tactfully, and lovingly. Such a partnership across racial boundaries is one of the signs of the presence and power of the Gospel of our Lord. It indicates that the bond between believers in Christ is stronger than the bond between members of any racial, cultural, or political group.

What practical steps can we take to start “doing justice?” There are at least two:

Ask community leaders what they need? They will be startled to discover that we are interested, let alone that we are motivated to do something to help.

Ask local ministers what they need? They too will be startled, because too often they find outsiders setting up alternatives to their own ministries.

There are a number of policy issues that we need to address before we plunge into “doing justice.”

How much should we help? Relief costs money. Development costs a lot of money. Social reform costs more than all but the largest and richest churches can afford. Moreover, in every situation, there is more need than hands to help in meeting the need.

Whom should we help? …individuals? …families? …neighborhoods? …communities?

Under what conditions should our help proceed or end? To what extent will we put up with disruption, ingratitude, intransigence, misuse of our financial assistance, obscenity, recidivism, etc.?

In what way should we help? …providing relief? …fostering development? …working for social reform? …a combination of two or all three?

From where should we help? …from the church; that might be appropriate for relief? …from an existing local ministry, …that might be appropriate for development? …from an existing community development organization? …from a community development organization which is formed by our church and operates independently of our church so as to leave our church’s elders unencumbered by its day-to-day problems? …from a local, state, or national advocacy organization; that might be appropriate for social reform?

There is nothing simple or easy about “doing justice,” but there is no question that Jesus commands us to do it. Jesus told His disciples to feed and cloth the poor, to welcome and show hospitality to the stranger, to provide care to the sick and infirm, to look after the widows and orphans, to visit the prisoners in jail, to befriend the friendless, to comfort the comfortless, to find and carry back to safety the lost. He did not say that doing any of these things was a means of obtaining salvation, but rather a sign that they possessed salvation already.

I gratefully acknowledge my debt in preparing this homily to Tim Keller’s new book, Generous Justice.[1] I will close with a couple of quotes from it.

When a city perceives a church as existing only for itself and its own members, the preaching of that church will not resonate with outsiders. But if neighbors see church members loving their city through astonishing, sacrificial deeds of compassion, they will be much more open to the church’s message (p. 142).

Don’t shrink, says the Lord, from spending yourself on the broken, the hurting, and the needy. I’m good for it (p. 185)

Read Keller’s book!

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Keller, Timothy, Generous Justice – How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, Dutton, New York, NY 2010.

 

Church governance

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #049 posted May 29, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

The Bible has a great deal to say about Church Governance.

Image of Messiah’s Church

Because so many Christians have grown up within denominational churches which have institutional structures, I must start with the Bible’s image of the Lord’s church.

The first chapter of the Book of Revelation gives us a clear picture of the church. Messiah or God-the-Son is standing in the middle of seven candlesticks or lamps, each of which is attached directly to Him. Here is the source of and reason for the seven-branched, gold candlestick that stood in the Holy of Holies in the original tabernacle and then in the Temple (see Exodus 25:31-37). The seven branched candlestick represents the Body of Messiah. Its stem is Messiah Himself. The seven lamps on its branches are seven individual congregations. The seven stars or messengers in Messiah’s right hand are the pastors of the congregations. Several things about this picture are worth noting.

Congregations are the only source of light in this fallen world. At the center of the image stands Messiah. His eyes are like “flames of fire,” his feet are like molten “brass… burn[ing] in a furnace,” and his countenance shines like “the sun.” Clearly He is a tremendous source of light to believers, of whom John is one. But He is not a source of light to unbelievers. After His resurrection, Messiah appeared only to believers, never to unbelievers. Not one unbeliever saw the risen Lord then, and not one unbeliever sees the risen Lord now. The light that the candlestick sheds in the darkness of the world radiates from its lamps, not from its stem, which is invisible to unbelievers. There is a principle here: A congregation is the physical presence of Messiah in its community and needs to shine His light into that community.

Congregations are independently connected to Messiah. In the image, each lamp or congregation is upheld and given life and energy by Messiah directly. The congregations are not connected to one another, and none is higher than the other. Thus each congregation is responsible only to Messiah – not to an association of other congregations or to a hierarchy of bishops, archbishops, cardinals, or pope in a denomination. Yet the congregations are mystically united in Christ and, as such, they together are the complete manifestation of the Body of Messiah in any given region. There is another principle here: A congregation should be independent.[1]

Pastors are teachers, not rulers. In the image, the stars or messengers are in Messiah’s right hand, not in or adjacent to the lamps. Messiah dispatches a pastor to a congregation with His Word (the Bible), bearing the responsibility to proclaim and explain the Word to its members so that they will be equipped to minister in Messiah’s name.[2] There is a third principle here: Every pastor must resist the temptation to see himself instead of Messiah as the head of his congregation. He must continually remind himself and his congregants that he is responsible for ministering to them – i.e. explaining the Holy Scriptures to them – but they are responsible for ministering to one another and to the world in Messiah’s name.

Roles in the Congregation

The Scriptures add to what the above image shows us.

First, Messiah is the head of both the church universal and every individual church.

…Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body (Ephesians 5:23)

Second, the Holy Spirit, who is also called the Comforter, is the guide of both the church universal and every individual church. Messiah said,

…it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment….Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you (John 16:7-14).

Third, the elders are the leaders of each individual church. After prayer and fasting, the members of the congregation elect them and ordain them.

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (Acts 14:23)

In submission to Messiah and to one another and under the anointing and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the elders, of whom the pastor is usually senior, govern the church.[3] A critical aspect of elder leadership in the church is that the elders govern as a board,  not as individuals. No elder must “throw his weight around” in the church. This mode of governance is commonly called “rule by a plurality of elders.”

The elders are charged primarily with praying, preaching, and teaching. They feed the members of the congregation by proclaiming and explaining the Gospel of Messiah to them and opening up the Word of God for them.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)

As overseers, the elders are also responsible for everything that transpires in the church, whether it be the church’s core activities (worship, education, fellowship, pastoral care, evangelism, service, and mission support) or the church’s support activities (administration, finance, property management, and communications).

Not surprisingly, the elders of the Church in Jerusalem found themselves overwhelmed by the amount of work involved in attending to both the core functions and the support functions of the church. To solve this problem, the Lord led them to create the position of deacon. The elders would focus on worship, praying, preaching, teaching, and pastoral care and the deacons would focus on ministries such as preparing and serving meals and caring for widows and orphans.

…there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. (Acts 6:1-6)

Clearly the deacons were called to direct the church’s ministries to the needy inside the church and presumably outside the church as well.

Confusion over the Deaconate

Unfortunately the role of the deacons proved to be more complicated than it appeared to be at first. The existence of two types of leaders in the church led many people to draw a distinction between the responsibilities of the elders and the responsibility of the deacons: the elders should attend to “spiritual matters” and the deacons should attend to “practical matters.” This erroneous distinction caused some serious problems.

First, because the handling of money is usually regarded as a “practical matter,” the deacons were given control of the money, which quickly translated into control of the church. The deacons decided how the congregation’s money should and would be spent.

Second, it prevented people from seeing that every matter in a church is a “spiritual matter” – including the manner in which money is raised and the manner in which money is allocated and spent. Money must be raised by teaching members of the congregation the importance of tithing. Tithing is a primary means by which Messiah teaches individuals to trust in and depend on Him. Moreover it is fully capable of providing all the funds which a congregation needs to sustain its activities.

Third, it led the deacons to focus on the support functions of the church (administration, finance, property management, and communications), not on ministry to the needy both inside and outside the congregation, which was and still is their primary calling. In how many meeting of diaconates over the years has discussion concentrated entirely on support functions and neglected ministry to the needy. One antidote to this mistake would be for the congregation to establish a third position of leadership: that of steward. The stewards would focus on the support functions, discharging their respective duties under the direction and supervision of the elders.

Fourth, it prevented people from seeing the proper relationship between the elders and the deacons. The elders are responsible for seeking Messiah’s will, establishing the congregation’s policies, supervising the execution of those policies by the deacons and other members of the congregation, and finally correcting the wayward when such correction is needed. The deacons are responsible for following the lead of the elders and executing the church’s policies that apply to them. They must not determine policy and they should not undertake actions without ensuring that their actions conform to what the elders have asked them to do. A simple way to obtain that assurance is to talk to the elders.

 Biblical Polity

The Kingdom of God is hierarchical, which people in this age of democratic civil government have a hard time understanding, let alone accepting.[4] Authority flows downward, first from Messiah to the elders, who must devote considerable time and effort trying to discern what the Lord and the Holy Spirit want, second, from the elders to the deacons, who must devote some effort to seeking guidance from the elders, and finally from the elders and deacons jointly to the members of the congregation, who must devote some effort to discerning what the leadership of the church is calling them to do.

The church is not a democracy! The full onus of leading the church falls on the elders, which is why the members of every congregation should assemble regularly to bathe the church in prayer, asking the Lord to give the elders clear direction and the pastor clarity of understanding and expression concerning what the Bible actually says.

Because the elders bear such momentous responsibility, the Scriptures admonish the members of a congregation to accord their elders the honor, submission, and obedience which is due to them.[5]

One last thought. While the elders are primarily accountable to the Lord, they will profit by an association with other elders who share their beliefs and commitments. They may find themselves confronting a significant problem which is new to them, but perhaps not new to older and wiser elders elsewhere, who are usually willing to provide advice and counsel and might even be willing to help out directly. The working out of this principle can be seen in the Presbytery with which the Presbyterian churches in a particular region are associated and in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) with which many independent Anglican Churches in North America are associated.

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Hierarchical denominations are probably abominations in God’s sight. There may be an association of pastors and elders who come together to wrestle with doctrinal issues (e.g. the Jerusalem Council), to evaluate a candidate for ministry (most lay people are not competent to do this), to install a minister in a congregation that has called him to pastor it, to mediate between a pastor and his congregation in the event of a dispute, or to pass judgment on a pastor or congregation that is behaving in an ungodly manner. Such an association might even be institutionalized (e.g. the presbytery in Presbyterian churches), but it must not be regarded as a superior body which rules a subordinate body (a congregation).

[2] Ephesians 4:11-12 indicates that the role of the pastor is to equip the saints for ministry.

[3] Acts 20:28.  Interestingly, John Carver proposes this model for the board of any organization which adopts his “policy governance.”  Individual board members do not possess any authority in the organization. Only the board as a whole exercises authority over the organization by establishing its ends and policies and by hiring, supervising, and firing its CEO..

[4] Despite the fact (a) that they are educated in hierarchical schools whose teachers specify what they must learn and then determine how well they are learning it and (b) that they work in hierarchical businesses whose executives specify what they will do and then determine how well they are doing it.

[5] 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13.