Longtime writer, editor, and translator,
Ken Ryland, comments on cultural and religious issues of the day. We
hope you find these commentaries enlightening and thought-provoking.
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It occurred to me the other day that I have
been taking this matter of the Old and New Testaments all wrong... I
had for too long been locked into the belief that we have Israel in the
Old Testament and the Church in the New -- a sort of divine
schizophrenia.
Finally, I realized that it is not that
there is no difference between the Old and New Testaments or the Old
and New Covenants. Differences abound. The problem is that we have
separated the Church of Jesus Christ from Israel. What I failed to see
is that the Church is the promised faithful remnant of the nation of
Israel -- complete with gentiles grafted in. The apostle Paul did a
wonderful job explaining how all this works, but it seems that when we
read Romans, chapters 9 through 11, the veil is over our eyes.
I have always assumed that Jesus was
probably speaking of nuclear warfare when He said in Matthew 24:22
that, at the time of his second coming, unless God were to intervene
in the affairs of men, there would be no flesh saved alive. However,
after reading the feature article by Bill Joy in the April 2000
(8.04) edition of Wired magazine, I have come to realize that
my assumptions were premature and simplistic. It seems that some of
our newest technology - nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and
robotics - is bringing us into a whole new era of weaponry that could
far supersede the terror of nuclear weapons.
Anticipation is in the air. Everywhere
Christians are thinking that ours could be the age that ushers in the
return of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's not
such a bad expectation. The sense of expectancy generates urgency,
and urgency beckons us to preparation.
Unfortunately, such expectancy also
generates lunacy and groundless speculation. I am just as curious as
the next guy (maybe even more curious than most) when it comes to
wanting to know the signs of the return of Christ. That's why I'm
willing to look at and consider just about any prophetic scribbling
or utterance regarding the times and season of the Lord's return.
And, believe me, the speculations surrounding the prophetic
timetable, the antichrist, the temple, the tribulation, and on and
on, are almost endless.
Let's take the subject of the antichrist
for starters.
As we passed that last
week in November, I was lamenting the loss of Thanksgiving from our
national calendar. To be sure, the day is still listed in the month
of November every year, but its importance as a national day of
recognition of the blessings and protection of Almighty God over our
nation and over our personal lives is all but gone. We still get
together as families; the family is the last bastion of
"thanksgiving" to God in our great country. However, in the malls and
public squares, there is not even a shadow of remembrance of our need
of gratitude for the Lord's giving us such favor among
nations.
Have you ever heard of the Hmong people of
Vietnam? Many of them are Christians and daily face privation and
persecution. Yet, undaunted these refugees in their own country have
learned to put their trust in the Lord and drink in of His joy, even
in the midst of tribulation. Read their inspiring story.
There are many theories about who the
Babylon of Revelation 17 and 18 is. Some contend that Babylon the
great of Revelation represents New York City and the United States in
the broader sense. Is that possible?
We have heard many times the scripture
that refers to "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus."
Have you ever thought about what that means? Excellency has to do
with surpassing the current standard, exceeding the norm. But, how
does God's work of excellence translate itself into our
character?
Throughout the Bible we see God acting in
and shaping the affairs of nation states as well as individual lives.
In spite of the scepticism of modern man, it is easy to see how God
has intervened in specific historical events to shape the order of
history. What I want to know is whether God is still directing the
affairs of nations the same way He did in "Bible times." What do you
think? Is God arranging the outcome of events here in the United
States?
One of the most commonly asked questions
among Christians these days is "When will the tribulation begin?" I,
like many others, believe that the return of Christ is imminent,
which means that the tribulation (or "the great tribulation" as some
refer to it) is even nearer. This is a legitimate question for
Christians to ask, but in this land of plenty what is often meant is
"When will my way of life begin to be upset?" I ran across a story
the other day that should shape our perspective on the nearness of
the tribulation.
Recently I had the opportunity to
participate in a prophecy roundtable via the miracle of modern
telecommunications. While preparing for this discussion, the thought
occurred to me that we were not just participating in an academic
exercise.