Developing: Police raid at an apartment in St Denis, Paris turns into a shootout and siege

Developing, from the Friday attacks in Paris.

Sky News Live:



Coverage in more details as the story developed is at UD, I had an open tab that drew my attention with sounds of a shootout. END

Continued coverage of the Paris AK and suicide bomber attacks of Fri Nov 13, 2015

Sky News:



Death toll seems to be 127 or 128 -- the night club toll has been moved from 100 to 87. Sky news 6:25 am sat EC time says 99 critically injured. 1500 extra military on Paris's streets and 120,000 across France.

A Time report seems a useful summary:

Paris is on lockdown Friday night as a series of attacks shook the city, with at least 128 people reported dead in at least three locations.

Explosions were reported outside a France-Germany soccer match at Stade de France, at least 100 hostages were taken during a heavy metal concert at the Bataclan theater, and shootings were reported at the Le Petit Cambrodge restaurant and Le Carillon bar, which are right across the street from each other. Shots were also reported outside the nearby La Belle Equipe cafe. Authorities say shots were also fired at a sixth, undisclosed location. At least 120 people were killed in all.

Developing. END

1 Chron 12:32 report, 122: Some thoughts on Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy

Again, I do not necessarily endorse all that is said by D Paul Beck (and actually have some concerns on points including on sniping asides he makes) but find enough merit and insight to suggest taking time to view:

Daniel's 70 Weeks - Part 1 from D. Paul Beck on Vimeo.

I might as well put up the part 2 also:

  Daniel's 70 Weeks - Part 2 from D. Paul Beck on Vimeo.

Please especially note the care with which interpretation and wider contextual issues are brought to bear, also the needs of the learner. 

And notice, even so, there are points that give pause or more than pause. This stuff is hard to do, it can be influenced by our theological biases and perceptions, and more. 

So we should avoid a false front of overly confident manner.

A benchmark that we need to do at least as well as in addressing not only prophecy but other themes. END

Media Spin watch, 1: Erick Erickson of Townhall tutors the US media on evangelical faith in America, and on Adventism

Erick Erickson of Townhall has provided a handy tutorial for the US media on evangelical faith in the USA.

He notes:

As Ben Carson rises and the media is confronted by some mysterious something called a "Seventh Day Adventist," it is time again to explain American Protestantism to the press. It is amazing how the American mainstream media continues to write about American Christianity with complete ignorance regarding its basic terms, history, and beliefs.

That is already a sad reflection on want of professionalism, and on lack of integrity. 

A major warning flag.

 He sums up:

mainline protestant denominations are Episcopalians, the United Methodists, the Presbyterians (USA), the American and Northern Baptists, the United Church of Christ, the Congregationalists, the Disciples of Christ, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

While evangelical churches are more mainstream in America, they are not considered mainline. Many evangelical churches branched off from the mainline. The Southern Baptists, the nation's largest protestant denomination, branched off from the Northern and American Baptist Churches. The Presbyterian Church in America, Evangelical Presbyterians, and Reformed Presbyterians broke away from the main Presbyterian Church, which is today the PCUSA. Anglicans have come back into the country in response to the ordination of gays within the Episcopalian Church.

I await the United Methodist Church splintering over that issue and the social gospel too. The Methodists are one of the last major mainline denominations not to have a serious split, but it is on the verge of happening. For those of you wondering where Mormons are on this list, I am not aware of any Christian denomination that considers the Latter Day Saints to actually be a part of Christianity.

 (You will want to look at his summary of Adventism, which I simply link. Note the concern on the status of the writings/ teachings of Mrs Ellen G White, despite the formal declaration that the Bible is the canon. CARM, here, is also worth noting -- including here on the signature issue of Sabbatarianism.)

If Mr Carson continues to emerge as a leading candidate [and note there is a gotcha hunt on him focussed on odd views he may have . . . the latest being who built the pyramids why], these issues will become fairly prominent.

 The underlying point of course is to characterise Christians who take the Bible seriously as idiots, ignoramuses or worse, unfit for high office or any responsible position.

A key to that is the use of the term "fundamentalism," and Erickson is right to note, on the underlying history of the modernist controversy:

Evangelical churches overall are growing. The charismatic churches are really seeing strong growth. All of these churches are much more concerned with fundamentalism -- which is, like "mainline" -- a specific term. 

When people talk about "fundamentalists" these days, they usually mean hard line Christians who are no fun. Actually, a "fundamentalist" is someone who subscribes to five specific points within Protestantism: 1) the inerrancy of the Bible; 2) the virgin birth of Christ; 3) the atonement of sins through Christ's death; 4) the bodily resurrection of Christ; and 5) the reality of Christ's miracles.

Of course, this post here at KF marks a new series, on spin games -- likely to get bigger and bigger with time. END

1 Chron 12:32 report, 121: A view on Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue of four great kingdoms and the stone that shatters it

In this emerging series, we have emphasised a foundational principle of the Christian faith, that the concept of Messiah is inherently eschatological -- a manifestation of God's breakthrough power to bring salvation in these last days. 

For, Messiah is the rock cut out without human hands that strikes the proud kingdoms of man with shattering force; growing into the eternal kingdom of God that brings humanity into our ultimate destiny:

Now, I think it helpful to share a video that discusses this vision in insightful ways -- of course without necessarily endorsing every detail, opinion or proposed timeline:

The Dream of Daniel 2 and the Rise of Imperial Paganism from D. Paul Beck on Vimeo.

I am more interested in how this sort of reflection sets a context of understanding how God acts into the circumstances and times of men, including our own times. 

For instance, reflecting on a few striking points made and context:

 1: The whole context of the four kingdoms is one in which a scriptural witness exists, having been established through God's covenant nation and the prophets. (With apostles and gospel to follow, once Messiah comes.)

2: So, we should read all of the arrogance of demonically influenced worldly wisdom and the setting up of a king's college that is used to try to subvert Daniel and friends from Godly heritage and leadership as an attempt by the kingdom of man (under demonic influence) to frustrate and taint the people of God, thus undermine the redemptive purpose of God.

 3: This fails because -- in the teeth of captivity, likely castration (it is the administrator of the eunuchs after all), demonic renaming and intimidation -- Daniel and friends purpose to be true to God.

4: Let us note the effect of their courageous stand:

Dan 1:¹⁷ As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸ At the end of the time [three years -- think, a degree programme], when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king.

²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

5: In this context, the famous dream is one way God broke in on the humanistic, demonically motivated agenda, having already raised up Daniel with the prophetic gifting and insight.

6: In effect, by posing a puzzle to the king and frustrating the demonised wisdom of the Chaldeans, soothsayers, magi etc, the opening was created for the equivalent of David's confrontation with Goliath or Joseph's dream; though the inherent danger is plain from what was happening, a blanket death sentence on the magi in grounds of failure to manifest the power the king demanded -- tell me the dream, that I may have reason to trust your interpretation.

7: Only Daniel could meet the test, and he had confidence in God to stand before the king to answer the challenge of the coded dream.

8: In the face of danger and upending the demonically influenced power factions and influences, God brought forth prophetic intellectual and cultural leadership that spoke to the mountains of influence as the greater mountain of God acted.

9: Where also, it is worth the while to highlight from the electronic NIV Study Bible's Bible Dictionary, a few points on the prophecy:

The widely held view that the book of Daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that long-range predictive prophecy is impossible . . . But objective evidence excludes this hypothesis on several counts:

1. To avoid fulfillment of long-range predictive prophecy in the book, the adherents of the late-date view usually maintain that the four empires of chs. 2 and 7 are Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece. But in the mind of the author, "the Medes and Persians" (5:28) together constituted the second in the series of four kingdoms (2:36-43). Thus it becomes clear that the four empires are the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman . . . .

2. . . . Linguistic evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls (which furnish authentic samples of Hebrew and Aramaic writing from the second century B.C. . . . ) demonstrates that the Hebrew and Aramaic chapters of Daniel must have been composed centuries earlier. Furthermore, as recently demonstrated, the Persian and Greek words in Daniel do not require a late date [e.g., the prior Assyrian Empire was familiar with Greek musicians and their instruments]. Some of the technical terms appearing in ch. 3 were already so obsolete by the second century B.C. that translators of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) translated them incorrectly.

3. Several of the fulfillments of prophecies in Daniel could not have taken place by the second century anyway, so the prophetic element cannot be dismissed. The symbolism connected with the fourth kingdom makes it unmistakably predictive of the Roman empire (see 2:33; 7:7, 19), which did not take control of Syro-Palestine until 63 B.C. Also, the prophecy concerning the coming of "the Anointed One, the ruler," 483 years after "the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" (9:25), works out to the time of Jesus' ministry.

Objective evidence, therefore, appears to exclude the late-date hypothesis and indicates that there is insufficient reason to deny Daniel's authorship.

10: As I noted (this is in the Government under God briefing, here on): "these facts so strongly testify to the authenticity of the prophetic element of the Bible that they mean that there is every reason to believe that God speaks through prophets to rulers and people, showing that He rules in the affairs of men – holding rulers and people alike to account before him."

Just so,  God acts in our day. And, I suggest that the stone that hits the feet of the image is likely a case of foreshortening from prophetic mountain top to mountain-top, leading to the compressed "accordion" effect the video notes:

More classically, seeing the peaks together (but not the interleaved valleys):

A real-world illustration, Long Mountain in Kingston, Jamaica viewed from the NW:

That is, the primary impact is the first coming of Messiah, and especially his passion at the cross, leading to the resurrection and the launching of the church on the strength of the witness of the 500 and the out-poured Spirit.

Where, I find in Eph 4 an operational form of the church's discipling the nations charter, commission and global mandate as a manifestation of God's kingdom:

Eph 4:⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 

⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”^[a]

 ⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?^{[b] 10} He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

¹¹ And he gave

[I] the apostles,

[II] the prophets,

[III] the evangelists,

[IV] the shepherds^[c] and teachers,^[d]

¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

¹⁵ Rather,

speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Earlier, we read in the same epistle (likely, we have the Ephesian copy of a circular letter to the churches by Paul):

Eph 1:¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  

²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. [NIV: everything in every way]

Then:

Eph 2:⁴ But^[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And, again:

Eph 3:14 . . . I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[c] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

There is clearly a process tied to the Christ event, that carries on in Gods power through the generations of the church, manifesting the growing fulness of Christ, even as the waves on a beach rise and fall but the underlying tide rises inexorably, irreversibly. And we see in this that the church is Christ's body, the fulness of him who fills all things, transforming them.

That then allows us to better lay the foundations of discipleship and go about the business of discipling the nations. 

Which -- let us recall from Matt 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" -- is actually the great sign of the Last Days.

Let us remind ourselves about foundations in a kingdom context:



In noting that, I cannot but notice that the approach I am suggesting will also help develop our skills and insight "by reason of use," better equipping us to be able to respond appropriately in the time of ultimate fulfillment.

So, let us watch, study, pray and act boldly under the leading of God. END

1 Chron 12:32 report, 120: An info-graphic on Foundations of the Kingdom and the Heb 6:1 - 2 ABC foundational principles

Following up from last time on foundations, here is a PDF format infographic:

Cornerstone-Foundation of the Kingdom

I trust this will prove helpful. END

1 Chron 12:32 report, 119: The Kingdom of God, Jesus as Foundational Cornerstone and the six ABC foundational principles of discipleship

As we continue to ponder the signs of our times and how we are to respond to "the stone cut without human hands" that shatteringly strikes the proud edifice of the kingdoms of man, growing into a mountain that fills the world, I would like for us to look at Jesus as Cornerstone and at the Heb 6:1 - 2 foundational principles.

Accordingly, let me now clip from the NCSTS Unit 10, on discipleship:

_____________

>>In Heb 5:12 - 6:3, the words of the beginnings of Christ -- i.e. the ABC teachings of Christ  -- are  identified, and set in a context of correcting spiritual retardation.
The call is that the original recipients of the letter should move on to long delayed Christian maturity by ensuring the soundness of one's foundations and building thereupon:

Heb 5:12 . . . though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

 6: 1 Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary [= "basic" or "ABC"] instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again:

[I] repentance from dead works and

[II] faith in God,

[III] 2 teaching about baptisms,

[IV] laying on of hands,

[V] resurrection of the dead, and

[VI] eternal judgment.

3 And this is what we intend to do . . .

[NET. Also, let us observe carefully: these six principles are "the elementary [= "basic" or "ABC"] instructions about Christ." So, those who would assign this list of first principles to the Levitical system need to think about that emphasis. A far more reasonable view is that these are first steps instructions about Christ, "ABC's" and "123's" that lay out what it takes to so properly respond to the gospel that one's life of discipleship can have a sound basis.)]

Pulling back a moment, to see the Kingdom of God scale, prophetic panorama courtesy Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel ch 2:

We can then focus on foundations in that context:

The writer to the Hebrews makes it plain that  the mature are well-founded on these six elementary/ABC principles, and so are stable and discerning, having developed the confident ability to discern good from evil (which includes discerning truth from misleading falsity) by reason of practice.

This is not at all a call to empty theorising and speculative argument, but to transformation of life and character through evil acknowledged and turned from, through trust in God through the Christ and through gospel truth learned and lived . . . . the "six principles" foundation of such well-founded discipleship includes:

I: Learning to trust and serve God through repentance: penitently changing our hearts and minds in surrender to God [Isaiah 55:1 - 9; Psalm 51:1 - 17; Matt 3:1 - 15; Lk 24:36 - 48, esp 44 - 48; Acts 10:23 - 48, esp 43 - 48, with 11:1 - 18, esp. 15 - 18]; nb: the word for repentance, μετάνοια (Metanoia -- met-an'-oy-ah) speaks of a heartfelt godly sorrow for sin and more specifically the resulting God-given gift of change of mind, thus thought perception and attitude leading to a right about turn from wrong to right and amended pattern of life.]

(Michelson: "1. (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation) 2. (by implication) reversal (of [another's] decision)," Thayer: "1.  a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done"),

. . . and

II: faith: trusting God based on his Word. [ Rom. 1:1 - 4, 16 - 17; 4:4 - 8 and 10:17; Heb. 11:6. Such faith -- πίστις (Pistis, pron: pis'-tis) -- can be seen as the new attitude adopted by the penitent sinner, that of trusting God who forgives the wicked who turn to him that takes God at his word even in the teeth of impressions and inclinations otherwise.]

(Thayer:  "1.  conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it  a.  relating to God,  the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ   b.  relating to Christ,  a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God  c.  the religious beliefs of Christians  d.  belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same 2.  fidelity, faithfulness  a.  the character of one who can be relied on.")

III: Celebrating death to sin, new life in Christ, eternal hope and the indwelling and empowering Spirit, through water baptism — a symbolic burial and resurrection. [Rom. 6:3 - 7, cf. 1 - 14; Acts 1:4 - 8 & 2:32 - 39; Rom 8:9 - 17; 1 Cor 12:1 - 13 & Eph. 5:15 – 21.]

IV: Learning the principle of service from the laying on of hands: our hands, but God's initiative, control and power. [Acts 8:14 - 23, 2 Cor 4:1 - 11. Also cf. Jn 5:19 - 20, in its context.]

V: Living life from an eternal point of view: Jesus rose, validating the gospel and giving us an eternal hope of resurrection; but this also means that God "has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed," Christ.

VI: Accordingly, we must live as stewards who shall give an account for our lives and service, before the bar of eternal judgement. [Acts 17:30 - 31; 1 Cor 3:10 - 17, 4:1 - 5, 15:1 – 8; Matt. 6:19 - 24; 2 Cor 4:17 – 5:10.]

These, as the writer to the Hebrews stresses, we must lay in our lives and build upon . . .

This can be succinctly and powerfully focussed through reflecting on Eph 2:8 - 10, noting especially the verse we usually do not cite, 10:

Eph 2: 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.[NET]

It is also instructive to see the tension in Heb 5:12 on, as the writer is torn between wanting to move on to more advanced subjects and the slow learner behaviour he challenges. In 5:12 - 14, he therefore comments:

Heb 5: ¹² For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil. [NET]

 This is perhaps a little close to home for many of us, who need to consolidate our foundation and properly build on it. So, let us observe how the writer addresses these slow learners who he warns of the dangers of apostasy, even while saying he has confidence the case is not that bad.

First, the warning:

 Heb 6: ⁴ For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, ⁶ and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.

 It is clear that he has here focussed the first three teachings, repentance, faith in God through the crucified and risen Christ the Son of God (which cometh by hearing the word of God as a heavenly gift from God) and the spiritual aspect of conversion, being born from above by the Spirit. The gospel context of these foundational principles is readily apparent; these are indeed about the words of the beginnings of Christian discipleship.

Of course, in so speaking, a major and too often divisive doctrinal controversy surfaces, can one be saved but so apostasise as to be lost, irretrievably lost as this text seemingly suggests?

That is a worthwhile question for pondering, but it is equally noteworthy that the NT does not go into grand expositions on the nuances and possibilities. Instead, we find an emphasis on making one's calling and election sure, as Peter counsels:

2 Peter 1: ² May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!
  ³ I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. ⁴ Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.
  ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; ⁶ to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. 
  ⁸ For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. 
  ⁹ But concerning the one who lacks such things—he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins. 
  ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. 
  ¹¹ For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you. [NET]

So, while we refrain from a definitive conclusion on a subject where learned and saintly teachers of the scriptures have differed over the centuries, we emphasise the balance of discipleship: growth in grace-filled godliness is the hallmark of one who has justified confidence in his status of discipleship. Living faith, by the power of the Spirit, flows over in transformation. And, soberingly, faith without works is dead. But also while we are saved by grace through the gift of faith, we are saved to walk in those good works laid out in advance for us to do.

So, let us be about the true business and focus of discipleship.

 Such themes are strongly echoed as the writer continues in Heb 6, connecting issues of a life of fruitful service (which itself hints of the sign of laid on hands: my hands under God's initiative, in his power . . .), to themes of the resurrection and eternal judgement:

Heb 6: ⁷ For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God.

⁸ But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; its fate is to be burned.

⁹ But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

¹¹ But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, ¹² so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

 This imagery directly echoes Jesus' parable of the Sower, Seed and Soils:

 Luke 8:⁴ While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one town after another, he spoke to them in a parable:

  ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it. ⁶ Other seed fell on rock, and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ But other seed fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he said this, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”

⁹ Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant.
  ¹⁰ He said, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.
¹¹ “Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away. ¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. [NET]

Again and again we see how important it is to have hearts soft to God's voice and word, which is how the gospel-seed of eternal life with its innate power of fruitfulness can find open deep, singly-focussed soil that then will "naturally" respond to the power of life in that word by the Spirit of Christ, come to spiritual birth, grow and be fruitful.  And of course, we are aware of our stewardship and duty to venture in the ways of God that we may gain more and more treasure for the Kingdom. It is the cowardly, hoarding servant who hides the deposit he has been given who is rebuked.

Where also, the passage hints at our responsibility to watch and address the condition of our heart and our responses to the word of God. Indeed, earlier in Hebrews, we read:

Heb 1:1 After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, ² in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ³ The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ⁴ Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs . . . . 
2:1 . . . we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For if the message spoken through angels proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty, ³ how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, ⁴ while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. [NET]

Heb 3:15, part of a pointed exposition of Psalm 95, cites the Psalm's warning . . . here, in the classic KJV: "To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts . . . "

 The warning is patent.

The culminating words as he returns to the discussion on the priestly order of Melchizedek, point both backwards to the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith and forward to our eternal hope in Christ:

Heb 6: ¹⁷ In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, ¹⁸ so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 
  ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. [NET]

And so, we can see how to fruitfully build on the foundations we have in Christ as we move forward under our great commission, through our eternally certain hope, our sure and steadfast anchor.>>
 _____________ 

Food for further thought as we ponder how we should live and act as Disciples in such a time as this. END

Matt 24 watch, 279: Mark Steyn discusses "After America: get ready for Armageddon" . . . the book after America Alone (2006)

If you have three hours to blow your mind, here's CSPAN Book TV:



Food for sobering thought. END

Matt 24 watch, 278: Mark Steyn on suicidal Western Democracies vs IslamIST radicalism [ often termed "fundamentalism"]

Mark Steyn is a significant voice, and his remarks are well worth pondering as he looks at the suicide of the West . . . already in demographic and geostrategic progress, in the face of rising IslamIST radicalism. A pivotal point on the table is that over this generation, the people of the USA (as leading Maritime global power facing -- in geostrategic terms -- an essentially continental Islamist threat) will determine the result for good or ill:



(I of course take exception to the deliberate smearing and tainting of a term that properly speaks of protestant Christians who, 100 years ago took a courageous and unpopular stand against the rise of apostate, rationalist modernist theology by advocating a return to the historic  fundamentals of the Christian faith. Cf Theopedia here and Amazon here.)

Again, food for thought. END

Matt 24 watch, 277: Matt Drudge speaks out on the new media and perceived corporatist [ ~ fascist] threats to freedom

Matt Drudge, since the 1990's, has run a very influential news aggregation site, which has made him one of the most significant independent media figures in the USA.

Earlier this month, he paid a surprise birthday visit to Alex Jones of Info Wars who runs a somewhat idiosyncratic, generally libertarian independent radio and new media house.

In the visit The two discussed the prospects for independent media, and the perceived threat of corporatism in the media. During this, Drudge stated that a US Supreme Court Judge had told him that copyright law would be used to block even citing a news headline from leading mainstream media houses, effectively breaking his business model.

From the sort of idiosyncratic, "independent" libertarian viewpoint that is fairly common in the USA, this looks a lot like big business joining force with big government to manipulate and control the people, all against the backdrop of the current push to confiscate what such people see as a major symbol of their liberty and check against just such an alliance, the constitutionally enshrined right of the people to keep and bear arms.

The two quite literally speak in terms of deliberate provocation of a civil war by the allied Fascist-Corporatist forces over the US Constitution's 2nd Amendment -- which BTW is an almost unique governmental recognition of the principle that the ordinary man has a right of self defense and community defense with effective means.   They do not use the term Fascist, but the alliance of the popular and somewhat left with major corporations through providing "solutions" to "unprecedented" crises, leading to to domination of the community is a very familiar pattern of thought. And from that perspective the Obamacare takeover of was it 1/8 of the US economy, inserting big Government control at unprecedented levels through a populist messianic politician presenting the issue in terms of a crisis, is a strong and dangerous sign of things to come.

(And, for those who came in late: Fascism is a generally left of centre -- Stalin is the one who termed it "Right Wing" -- statist ideology allied to corporatist forces. As a FYI, Mussolini was a leader of the Socialist International who in WW I turned nationalist, and Hitler's National Socialist German Workers Party was confessedly socialist in an era in which even "Conservatives" thought in terms of the inevitable rise of socialism. A key facet of this toxic brew is that the pivotal and catalytic Nietzschean Superman political messiah figure -- yes that is what is on the table, a demagogue of generally socialist- /progressivist- /"liberal" leanings arises in the face of "unprecedented crisis" (as a man of great ability who is "beyond ordinary morality" as a popular political saviour figure), who then forms an alliance with big business that gives increasingly dictatorial control of governance and government. Echoes of Antichrist and the manifestation of the spirit of antichrist are patent . . . which, is my main point of interest. [In my own view -- I am NOT endorsing Drudge and have a very dim view of Jones -- the critical issue in such a situation is the idolatry of political messianism, which like any other species of idolatry, is demonic and naturally leads to enslavement and the breakdown of civil decency, as say Rom 1 and Isa 5 discuss. And insofar as left, right and centre have any real meaning these days (apart from emotionally loaded, usually toxic labelling), such can come from any quarter. Partial fulfillment of the prophetic dynamics of antichrist to the detriment of one and all and the resulting hindrance or even persecution of the gospel, are therefore my major underlying concerns. We are in Acts 27 at Fair Havens at a dangerous hour, and the manipulative, deceptive rhetorical spell leading to the march of folly is already being woven. Unless something breaks the spell, a wild and dangerous ride driven by a march of folly is ahead.])

Video:



Without endorsement, food for thought -- we need to understand how diverse groups of people are thinking. END