What is biblical heaven and what is biblical hell?

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” -
Revelation 22:1-5 ESV 

 
Today we address our final question of our God Questions, Real Answers series. The question was this: “What is biblical heaven and what is biblical hell?”

There are many common misconceptions about heaven and hell in our world today. Many think of hell as some sort of party, where it’s gonna be awesome, and people think of heaven as angels floating on clouds playing harps. People think hell isn’t real. Others think heaven isn’t real. Some think all people will go to heaven no matter what, others believe that there is no heaven or hell and when we die we simply disappear.

Well let’s push past these stereotypes and false conclusions and see if we can understand these issues from an objective biblical perspective.

For us as humans born on the planet Earth, we have two possible destinations after we die. And our lives are very short on this Earth. Most of us will only live 70 or 80 years. But that’s a very short time compared to how long we will spend in the next life.

There are only two destinations available to us. On the one hand, you have paradise, a perfect city of joy, love, and eternal happiness. In communion with God and others, where this is no more death or pain or sorrow. Best possible future imaginable to end up there.

The other option is the worst possible fate. The worst possible place to end up in. Hell, a place described as underneath the Earth, locked away, in pain, sorrow, isolation, and constant pain. No connections with others. No presence of God. Simply flames, and regret, and pain.

I will tell you that both these places are 100% real. You will live in one of them forever. Once you land in one of these places, there is no way to switch between them. Heaven is permanent and hell is permanent.

You will still be you. You’ll be conscious. You’ll have your senses. And you will either experience eternal connection with God in paradise, or eternal disconnection from God in constant suffering. The stakes right now are very high.

The Bible has a lot to say about heaven and hell. Let’s look at heaven first.

Revelation 21:1-5 ESV Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

So when we talk about this idea of quote “heaven” what we’re really talking about is the new heavens and new Earth. This current Earth is a broken mess, God will remove and replace it with the new Earth. And a new city will be there, created by God, called “the new Jerusalem.” It’s a huge city. The bible actually lists the dimensions of the city. It’s about the size of 1/3rd of the united states, if you were to look at a map of the USA, it would be from Florida, up to Ohio, across to Iowa and down to Texas. That’s a pretty big city. And it actually has many levels, because it’s 1,500 miles across, and wide, but also 1500 miles high. Hard to imagine just how amazing this city will be.

If you follow Jesus, have faith in Christ, and have repented and turned away from past sins, you are headed to that city.

But if you don’t believe in Jesus, if you don’t follow Jesus’ lifestyle, and if you are living in your sins, then you are not headed to the new Jerusalem. You are headed to the other place, called hell.

And I would add, if you are a Christian who is living in sin, still getting drunk, using drugs, lying, cheating, stealing, swearing, not tithing, which is stealing from God, etc, you are also not headed to new Jerusalem. You are also headed to hell.

So, let’s take a look at the other place.

And this is what Jesus said about hell, warning all people not to go there, he said, “Mark 9:43-48 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Jesus warns us very severely, don’t go to hell, if your are in sin, cut it off, get rid of it.

Now let’s look briefly at a parable Jesus taught. He said this, from Luke 16:19-25 “19 Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes. 20 There was also a very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores. He was often put by the rich man’s gate. 21 Lazarus wanted only to eat the scraps of food left on the floor under the rich man’s table.

22 “Later, Lazarus died. The angels took him and placed him in the arms of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 He was sent to the place of death and was in great pain. He saw Abraham far away with Lazarus in his arms. 24 He called, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to me so that he can dip his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am suffering in this fire!’

25 “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember when you lived? You had all the good things in life. But Lazarus had nothing but problems. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering. 26 Also, there is a big pit between you and us. No one can cross over to help you, and no one can come here from there.”

So we see that this rich man who cared nothing about poor Lazarus died, and went to hell. And he was in fire, and in torment, and in hell there is no water, yet he still had his senses and desire of thirst. So he’s calling out for just a drop of water, but it’s too late for him. He’s conscious, he’s aware, and he’s in fire, he’s in total suffering. He lived a lavish, rich life, and cared nothing for the poor, or for God, and so he went to the place of outer darkness.

Hell is like a place to quarantine those who refuse faith in Christ. A place to quarantine those who refuse to leave their sins. There is no place for sin in the new heavens and new earth. So those humans who refuse the free offer of salvation found in Jesus, must be quarantined, away from the holy city, in this place of darkness.

In conclusion today, that is a very brief look at biblical heaven and biblical hell. But there are dozens and dozens of scriptures that give us hints and clues about heaven and hell. Do more research on your own.

So today brothers and sisters, please, put your faith in Christ, and set aside your past sins. All you have to do is believe in Jesus, and repent, and you will have eternal life.

Come be part of God’s new heavens and new Earth. In the new city of God. It’s the place I long to be, forever. Consider it’s beauty:

Revelation 21:21-25 ESV And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

The Light that touched us & we became Light: Departing Destructive Darkness, Embracing Creative Light

 "So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." -Luke 2:16-19

As supernatural as it can seem to talk about Mary, or the birth of Jesus, or the nativity event, it really came down to ordinary, average sinners, people in the mess of life experiencing the presence of God, and be changed forever.

And that’s what we are, as the church. We’re ordinary people, confusing at times, inconsistent, flawed, sinful, yet something special has happened in each of our lives.  Our lives intersected with God.  God jumped in and changed us forever.

That’s what happened for Mary and Joseph.  God changed everything.  Their lives were exposed to the light that is Jesus Christ. 

Today we continue our Advent series, and this week we look at the coming of Jesus in the gospel of John.  John’s gospel communicates in very poetic terms.  It’s my favorite gospel.  And it begins like this:

“1 Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was there with God in the beginning. 3 Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it.

6 There was a man named John, who was sent by God. 7 He came to tell people about the light. Through him all people could hear about the light and believe. 8 John was not the light. But he came to tell people about the light. 9 The true light was coming into the world. This is the true light that gives light to all people.

10 The Word was already in the world. The world was made through him, but the world did not know him. 11 He came to the world that was his own. And his own people did not accept him. 12 But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God. 13 They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself.

14 The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his divine greatness—the greatness that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace and truth. 15 John told people about him. He said loudly, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one who is coming after me is greater than I am, because he was living before I was even born.’”

16 Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another. 17 That is, the law was given to us through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father.”

Today we are talking about light and darkness.  Light is beautiful. Whether it’s the sun in the sky, or the stars and moon at night, light is amazing.  Even lighting a candle or staring up at the street lamp can give a certain level of awe. 

We see a great deal of the metaphor of light in the season of Christmas.  Many of us put up Christmas trees adorned with lights. Some of us decorate our houses with lights. 

And for us as Christians we know that Jesus is our light.  He is the one who shown his light in our darkness.  We each can remember that beautiful moment, when our lives went from darkness and changed into light. 

Isaiah prophesied, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). 

We used to live in the empty ways of our ancestors.  I recall when I used to live that way, living in the misery and stress of the world system. Public school, grades, anxiety, worry, hopelessness, a sort of rushing about in state of fretting and always angry.  Trying to pull pleasure from sources that could bring little pleasure.  Trying to live the modernist life, go to school, go to college, get married, buy a house, open a savings account, have children, on and on, and it was monotonous and meaningless. Something huge was missing.  It was like walking in an endless overcast gray day.  And you start to operate in a certain level of desperation. A quiet desperation.  Where nothing seems like it’s enough.  Nothing seems to be fulfilling anymore.  You really start to die inside, as you grow more and more hopeless.  And that empty road is what eventually led me to Christ.

And Christ lit the light in me. That’s my first point today. Christ lit the light in you at some point in the past.  A year ago, 10 years ago, whenever it was. Think about your life before Jesus. How desperate it was.  How miserable it was.  And be grateful to Jesus right now.  I’ll wait. 

So we’ve seen the light, and it’s been lit in us.

This light awakened me to hundreds of factors in reality that I never really understood.  Once you understand God, the Christian worldview, the Bible, and begin to see the world through those truths, you really have the road map for what life really is and what it means.  You realize that we aren’t bags of flesh, evolved from apes, we were made by a creator for a purpose. You realize that we have a great problem, that of sin, and we also have a great solution that of Jesus.  You realize that we have a future, the new heavens and new Earth.  You realize that there is objective truth, and there is a fundamental moral framework to the universe.  It grounds you, and expands your thought, and helps you to be seated properly in truth.  You’re no longer floating in the ether endlessly going nowhere. You have knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.  And life has meaning.  Not because we want it to, but because it actually does have real meaning.

Thus begins the battle to live as a Christian in  exile, a Christian outside his or her kingdom, making a pilgrimage from here to heaven.  And we start to have to undo all the brainwashing and old ideas that we had about life, and God slowly removes those old ideas and replaces them with biblical truth.  And it’s amazing and grueling, and difficult. 

And that I think directly references us to the darkness and the light.  We were people who once lived in darkness, and now we have the light within us.  And it’s like right now we are slowly marching out of the darkness, and into the light.  That’s a daily battle.  It truly is.  But it’s a battle worth winning, to see the world as Jesus sees it. 

That’s the second point to remember today, now that we have the light, we’re in that process of claiming the Christian worldview as our own.  We’re slowly walking out of the darkness and into the light, that process of sanctification we talk about. 

Third point I want to suggest to you today is the live consistently in the light.  And this is difficult at first, and then we claim it for our own.  We make a decision inside to say, I’m really going to walk by faith.  This happens at some point in our walk with Christ. 

We realize that we’re constantly bending back and forth between the light and the darkness. One day we’re on fire for Christ, we’re super excited, the next day we’re frustrated, angry, depressed and miserable.  The next day we’re close with Jesus again we have faith, the next day we slip into some sin and wander off into the dark again. 

But I’m challenging you today, and indeed myself, to find a more consistent faith.  A rock solid faith in God that doesn’t constantly falter and fail.  And I think inside that’s a decision we make to say yes, I’m all in, I’m totally committed to God, and I’m going to live in that faith day in and day out.  We need a consistency of faith, a faith that is not constantly wavering between two opinions. 

I’ve fought this battle in myself. And it’s a battle I think that happens inside myself, as to where my focus is going to be.  Am I focusing all my time on video games, YouTube, selfish pleasures, or am I focusing in on prayer, friendships, Christian movies, books, and attending church?  Where is my focus?  That is a question to ask ourselves today. 

That doesn’t mean your always perfect. Think of Mary and Joseph, and how their lives were changed by the coming of Jesus.  And think about how they made mistakes, and how Mary was rebuked several times by Jesus in the gospels.  Think about how average they were.  And yet God still worked through them in mighty ways.

Now you may not think it’s so important what you’re doing in Owosso. I can assure you that it is.  Your deeds in this city, I have no doubt, will one day be recounted for thousands of angels and cities of humans in the new Jerusalem, about every time you shared the gospel, or helped someone, or preached, or prayed.  They’ll be recounted like the beginning of John chapter 1.  In the beginning was the word, and the word was with Scott, was with Johnathan, was with Dorothy, was with Shannon, and one day this happened, one day that happened, and lives were changed.  And it matters.  It matters hugely.  So keep doing it.  Merry Christmas brothers and sisters. 

We’ve seen the light.

The light has changed us.

We’re slowly walking out of the dark and into the light.

Our worldview is being changed.

Have a firm unshakable faith in Christ

Share the light with others

Those deeds will be remembered in paradise. 

The Saga of John Wesley: The Originator of Holiness Theology

John Wesley

Few leaders can match the zeal, passion, and commitment of the great John Wesley. He was a man of whom God worked through in mighty ways. He was a dreamer of dreams, and a visionary who dared to believe he could be “a real Christian.” John Wesley though coming a bit after the Reformation is as Hugh T. Kerr put it, “Standing majestically alone, towering head and shoulders above his contemporaries, John Wesley also belongs, theologically, within the Reformation movement, broadly defined” (Kerr, 1966, p. 190). John Wesley brought forward incredibly important doctrines within the church movement of his time, including grace, repentance, sanctification, and Christian perfection. He set his heart and mind to bring about a revival in his time in England and achieved just that. He started the famed holy club, which gathered believers together to discuss in deep ways how to practice their faith. He and his brother Charles developed deep discipleship and accountability in these groups. John Wesley championed the cause of Arminian theology in his time, bringing this theology to millions, helping it to become a common understanding of the Bible, as common as reformed theology. Overall, John Wesley massively shaped the world he lived in and indeed, the world we live in today.

John Wesley was born in 1703 to his parents Samuel and Susanna Wesley. Samuel was a minister and part of the non-conformist movement, a movement that had broken away from the Anglican church of England. John was the second of 19 siblings. Susanna raised the children in a vigorously Christian fashion, teaching doctrine and theology to her children, and engaging in regular prayer with them. As a child John Wesley’s house once caught fire and he was trapped inside and nearly killed, but jumped from the second floor to escape the flames and survived. Later he would refer to himself and this incident as him, “being a brand plucked from the fire.”

John attended Charterhouse school in London and later attended Christ Church at Oxford University. This was in 1720. He graduated Oxford in 1724 and he was later given the title of bishop, and was elected as a fellow at Lincoln college. He assisted his father for a time, and was finally ordained as a priest in 1728.

It was in October of 1729 that John Wesley would join his brother Charles at Oxford, and join Charles “holy club” or what was referred to as “methodism” by detractors of the group. John took charge of the group from his brother and the group grew rapidly. The holy club would practice regularly taking communion, study of the word, daily prayer, and committed to fast twice a week. The holy club members met three hours a day, studying the Bible and other devotional literature. The holy club also would practice social work, such as visiting prisoners and providing food and clothing to those in need.

Following John Wesley’s experiences with leading the holy club, he decided he would travel with his brother Charles to Georgia in the new world, in 1735. Wesley left with high hopes, but unfortunately, he found his visit to Georgia to be largely unfruitful.

Upon returning to England, John was struggling with his faith. He felt he had never been truly converted. But then one night to he went to a meeting at Aldergate street where he had a powerful experience. He recounts it this way in his journal:

"In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

Later after this experience John Wesley would join George Whitefield, another previous member of the holy clubs at Oxford university, and they began preaching outdoors to crowds of many poor working-class people of the time. This led to many dramatic conversions. John Wesley took the reigns of the movement but found himself increasingly at odds with George Whitefield who was a firm Calvinist. John Wesley himself was an Arminian and found himself at odds with the Calvinist idea of predestination and the concept that all believers must remain mired in sin in this life. Eventually the two preachers parted company.

As many began joining the movement that centered around Wesley, they at first met in homes, but once these groups became too large, Wesley organized them into band and class groups. Class groups had a total of eleven members with one leader. They would meet once a week to engage in prayer, the study of the word, to gather money to help the needy, and to conduct various social work.

Though John Wesley was always a member of the Anglican church, and an ordained priest of the Anglican church, the Methodist movement began to take on a character of it’s own over time. The movement grew and grew because of John’s constant itinerant preaching, often preaching to massive crowds in open fields. John Wesley in his life traveled over four thousand miles on horseback and preached over 40,000 sermons. Wesley was an astute record keeper, so we know at his death exactly how many pastors, missionaries, and church members existed in England and the United States. According to Christianity Today (2008), “An indication of his organizational genius, we know exactly how many followers Wesley had when he died: 294 preachers, 71,668 British members, 19 missionaries (5 in mission stations), and 43,265 American members with 198 preachers. Today Methodists number about 30 million worldwide.”

John Wesley’s life and thought was extremely important to the reformation because he built and developed the lane of theology through which Arminians would walk into the coming centuries. Without Wesley continuing the work and thought of Jacobus Arminius, there might’ve only been a Lutheran and Calvinist reformation, but there would’ve been no remaining continued lane for Arminian theology to prosper and flourish. Wesley also brought forward the incredibly important doctrine of entire sanctification and Christian perfection. Can one fully imagine a world without these core truths? Wesley changed the face of English Christianity forever, and indeed he also changed the face of American Christianity forever. Today there are over thirty million Methodists in the world. His theology influenced what would become Wesleyan churches, Methodist churches, and The Salvation Army. Anglican churches as well were deeply influenced by Wesley. Wesley was an Arminian, but championed holiness theology, the concept that believers can live lives of victory over sin and could live holy in Christ. These truths are so incredibly foundational to Christianity in the Protestant vein that one can hardly consider what Christianity might be like today without them. Truly, John Wesley changed the world through the holy clubs, the Methodist movement, his many sermons, his organizational skills and his firm desire to be “a Real Christian.”

References

Collins, K. J., & Vickers, J. E. (2013). The Sermons of John Wesley: A collection for the Christian journey. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Green, J. B., & Willimon, W. H. (2009). The Wesley Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

John Wesley. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wesley

Person. (2008, August 08). John Wesley. Retrieved from https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html

Are we in the end times? When is Jesus coming?

Many of us during the last year were wondering, when Covid-19 began striking down people across the world, we wondered, is this the end of the world?  We began wondering if we were nearing the time when Jesus Christ will return to the Earth. We began to wonder if we would see the rise of the anti-christ and the judgments of God against the Earth.  Many of us started reading or rereading the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.

So it seems logical that someone asked this question, in our series, God Questions, Real Answers, the question being: “Are we in the end times? When is Jesus coming back?” 

These two questions are linked when considering the fact of the coming end of the story.  Yes, when we look at Christian worldview, we see a beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth. And we see an end in the future, when God will conclude history and bring about destruction, followed by a new paradise.

So let’s address the first question: Are we in the end times?  The short answer to that question is “yes.”  From the times of the early church, two thousand years ago, they always viewed history as something that could conclude at any time.  In many of the ancient letters of the new testament you see that the early church viewed itself as living in the end times.  So we should always have this mindset that we are living in the end times, that Jesus could return in our lifetime, and so we should be ready to receive him. 

But I know that’s not really what the questioner was looking for.  The questioner was really asking, are we close to, or already in the events depicted in the book of Revelation. 

Now it’s important to mention that Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 ESV “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

So no one knows the exact day or hour when the world will find it’s conclusion. But, we can be wise and discern the times we live in. 

Several factors come into play that can indicate that we are indeed very close to the times described in Revelation.  Note several things in the book of Revelation, one, that during the end times, the great tribulation, everyone will be required to take a mark in their right hand or forehead, without which, they will not be able to buy or sell anything.  Second, notice that in the great tribulation, the anti-christ will control the world under a one world government. Third, notice that anti-christ will require all to worship him, and it says there will be displayed an image of the anti-christ that all people across the world will worship at the same time.  Fourthly, notice that Israel is an established nation during the tribulation. Fifthly, notice, the spread of the church across the Earth.  

So, consider this, that the technology to put a “mark” in or on someone’s hand or forehead in relation to buying or selling is a very interesting development. Is it possible that this could be a microchip under the skin? It’s possible.  It could also be more symbolic in it’s meaning.  But the indication of right hand or forehead does make it sound like some sort of specific literal mark. And how long have we had technology to perhaps place a microchip in your hand, and have your credit card information on that chip, and you could simply swipe your hand at the checkout at the store.  The technology possible for that, has only been around for the last ten to twenty years.

Second, the idea of a unified one world government would’ve been virtually unthinkable until modern times, where modern forms of communication and high speed travel have allowed for alliances like the United Nations, the European Union, and so on. As globalization has taken hold in society, it becomes increasingly likely for global alliances between groups of nations to flourish and grow. 

Thirdly, the technology to allow for an image of the anti-Christ to be spread around the world that all would worship him would’ve been impossible over the last two thousand years.  But now today, we have global news stations, television, newspapers, and the internet.  It is now possible, that a live streamed image of the anti-christ could be universally display to billions of people around the world to be worshipped. Such technology did not exist until the last 20 to 30 years.

Fourthly, in ad 70 nation of Israel was destroyed by the roman empire. And the Jews spent the next 1,850 years in exile across Europe and the east.  Yet the book of Revelation said there would be a nation of Israel during the end times.  For all those years there was no such nation any longer. But then world war II happened. And as we know the Nazi’s persecuted and exterminated the Jews. And After the war, the allies created a new state of Israel in the middle east, so the Jews would have a nation of their own once again, in 1948.  That was about 70 years ago. And just like that, the book of Revelation was proved to be true, the nation of Israel once again existed.  And exists right now.  Amazing.

Fifthly, the last command of Jesus before he returned to heaven was the command to win all nations to the gospel.  Today, the church has spread across the known world, to virtually every nation on the planet. Every continent, every nation, every language, for the gospel.  We’re not quite there yet, but very close.  Wouldn’t it be logical to say, that at the conclusion of the spread the end times would occur?

So those are five points that indicate that yes, we should consider ourselves to be living in the end times.  We are close to the tribulation and the return of Jesus.  How close?  It could be a few years.  It could be twenty years.  It could be fifty years or 80 years.  We don’t really know. But we should as Christians, be watchful, watching and observing events on Erath.

Luke 21:36 ESV says, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Second question, when will Jesus return?  As we mentioned, no one knows the day or the hour. But we can be watchful and discern the times. 

Certain things must take place before Jesus returns.  Here is what Jesus himself had to say about it:

Matthew 24:5-28 ESV  “For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.”

And I would include the COVID19 pandemic as simply part of the beginning of birth pains.  But no, this is not the terrible time that is called the great tribulation. The great tribulation will make COVID-19 look like a walk in the park. 

So here is what will happen before the return of Jesus.  First of all we have the church age, the time of the spread of the church across the Earth. Then we have the birth pains, where things get worse and worse.  Then we have the great tribulation. This is a time when God judges the Earth. We see all sorts of terrible things happening during the great tribulation, plagues, famines, asteroids hitting the Earth, the oceans being poisoned, lakes and rivers and springs becoming poisoned, hail, and earthquakes, wars, and battles, just all the very worst things you can imagine.

And no I didn’t just list off there the worst things I could think of, everything mentioned in that list is specific to the book of Revelation, mentioned in those pages.

But during the great ribulation we also see “tribulation saints” rise up out of Israel, and they help win millions to Christ during this dark time.  And it also says that those who have the mark of God on them are immune from the various judgments in the tribulation. So while the people of the Earth endure judgment, the tribulation saints are protected from them.  Very interesting stuff. 

The anti-Christ rises up during this time, and defeats the saints, establishing a one world government, and a peace treaty with Israel, but later betrays Israel.  Then the anti-Christ and his kingdom is judged by God, also, “Babylon” in the end times is also judged by God and destroyed. And at the culmination of all these events, finally, Jesus Christ returns, to rule and reign on the Earth. 

So in response to the second question, we don’t know exactly when, but we can watch for certain events to take place, like the spread of the church, a great rise of evil and wickedness before the end, then the great tribulation, the rise of the anti-christ, the defeat of the anti-christ, the judgment of Babylon, and then the return of Jesus. 

In conclusion today, I would encourage you to read the book of revelation, Revelation 1:3 ESV says,” Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

The time is near, we aren’t there yet, but honestly I expect to see it in my lifetime. 

The Messenger & the Messiah in the Wilderness

Today we’re looking at the gospel of Mark. Now, when you open to page one of the gospel of Mark, you may notice, the entire birth narrative of Jesus goes completely unmentioned. We start off immediately with John the Baptist in the wilderness declaring the coming of the messiah. No stable, no camels, no wise men, and no shepherds. But, we see a great deal of advent, of the idea of “the coming.” That’s what advent means, the coming.

This is the time of year when we remind ourselves just what history is all about. We remind ourselves what really matters in life. And its essential that we do this every Christmas season. Because it’s amazing just how off track we can get.

It seems like this whole world attempts to drive our attention off of Christ and onto ourselves. Even history itself, attempts to drive our attention away from Christ. Historians no longer refer to BC and AD. They refer to BCE, and CE. AD is an abbreviation for “the year of our Lord.” While CE is simply “ common era.”

In our world we find ourselves increasingly indoctrinated into worldviews contrary to the Christian worldview. We hear about evolution, how society is always evolving and supposedly getting better and better over time. Of course the facts don’t tend to back that up. We’re constantly told everything is about me, me, me right? We’re even told that holidays like Christmas and Easter are really all about you. It’s about presents and Santa, and Easter bunny and candy, and we completely lose the focus on salvation, God, and Jesus Christ.

So it’s quite fitting that we remind ourselves persistently during this Christmas season, and every Christmas season, what it’s really all about, it’s all about Jesus.

Mark 1:1-4 says, "The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Everything had to be ready for the coming of Jesus. And so there was a great prophet who was born, who would point everyone toward Jesus, and help prepare people for when Jesus would come. This was John the Baptist, a wild man on the outskirts of society, living in the wilderness, calling lost people to prepare themselves for the coming of the messiah. He pointed the huddled and hurting masses to one thing: hope.

One day hope was born into world. And hope had a name, it was Yeshua. Jesus Christ as we call him in English. The thing about hope is, it’s a lot like light in darkness. If I have a candle burning in a bright room with all the lights on, the candle doesn’t seem as bright and beautiful. But if I’m in a dark room at night, and I light a candle, the candle takes my full attention.

Much is the same with the coming of Jesus into the world. The Pharisees and Saducees had a hard time seeing the light of Jesus. They walked in their own artificial light, of good works, and self righteousness. But Jesus appeared so brightly to people who were lost in the darkness, like tax collectors, prostitutes, the sick, the broken, and the lonely.

And as much as that was insanely true two thousand years ago when Jesus came, amazingly, it’s just as true today. It draws me back to my own life before I knew Jesus. I lived in the darkest, most miserable empty life. So when Jesus appeared in my life, it was like the brightest light imaginable. And it shocked my world completely. Some had more subtle salvation experiences, mine was profound. I had become darkness, and the Lord Jesus lit a light in me. It’s so strong, and intense, and Jesus still does that today for people who are miserable, broken, and lost. He gives us hope, he lights a candle in our darkness, and changes it from night to day.

My entire life ended that day, and a new life began. That is what Jesus’ coming is all about. It’s about a hope that appears in our wilderness, that begins drawing us to a mysterious messiah. And it’s outside the bright lights of society. It’s outside the television commercials, the black Friday sales, the busy traffic, the endless work hours, the YouTube videos, the energy drinks, the shopping sprees, and the beau monde holiday parties.

John the Baptist, in the wilderness. A weirdo. That guy everyone made fun of in high school. The band of odd people who just don’t fit in anywhere. The people that have very few friends. Gathered in the wilderness. And then, Jesus appears. The coming. The appearing of the one. The one who changes darkness to light in us.

My savior.

Slow down, and pay attention.

Stop. Right now. Slow down those anxious thoughts. Focus your mind right now. Slow down, focus your mind on Jesus, beautiful Jesus. Your savior. The lover of your soul. The one who has made you new. Remember his coming.

Let’s prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. Indeed he has already come. He’s already been born. But this is our time to celebrate that. This is our time to prepare ourselves once again for the next phase of what Christ is doing in our lives. He is always doing something in our lives, teaching us, molding us, blessing us, loving us, and guiding us through trials.

So that’s my first word to you today, slow down, and focus your attention on Jesus. Celebrate this time, over advent, as a time to draw yourself closer to the reality of the birth of Jesus. We can often view it as some far away historical fact or as a story that seems nice, but change your perspective, view it now as something very real that transformed your own life. Because the truth is, it’s not just historical, it’s personal to you and me.

Secondly, my challenge to you today, is for you to realize that though John the Baptist pointed ancient Israel to Jesus, when Jesus came, now, we are also awaiting the time when jesus will come a second time, to set up his kingdom on Earth.

So in a very real way, you and I are John the Baptists, preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus into the world.

So now, you’re John the Baptist, out in the wilderness, of Owosso, and your mission now should be to point people to their savior Jesus Christ. Repent, and believe in Jesus! Just as John the Baptist, prepared the way, so you must prepare the way, for those around us who still need Jesus.

John the Baptist, this wild-man, out in the wilderness, was paving the road ahead of Jesus. 

And it says in Mark 1:5-8: “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”

As we enjoy this advent season, this Christmas season, remember what it’s all about: It’s all about Jesus. We have life. We’re here today, because of a dark night in AD 0 when the son of God was born to a young woman named Mary, probably about 12 or 13 years old. Poor, no rooms available in town, Mary and Joseph, in a stable, gave birth to the king of Kings. In the wilderness. Rejected by society. Seen as unimportant by society, just as many view Jesus as irrelevant to their lives today, in the same way, there was no room for the birth of Jesus in the little town of Bethlehem.

Is there room in your busy life for Jesus? Or do you have too much to do? Got too many TV shows you need to watch? Too many parties to attend? Too many family get togethers to give Jesus any time?

I’ve got room for Jesus this Christmas, at the end of 2020. It’s been a rough year. Let’s make this Christmas about Jesus. Let’s focus on Him today.

So in conclusion today, let me ask you this question: Are you prepared for Jesus coming this Christmas? Are you ready?

Those going out to John the Baptist in the wilderness, they confessed their wrongdoings. They confessed their sins. And they were baptized to declare a new way in their lives.

Today, I’d like to invite you to pray, repent, and get ready. Is there anything you need to repent of? Do you want to recommit yourself to Christ? Maybe you want to come to declare to Jesus that this Christmas it’s going to be all about him? Please take some time now to think, and pray, and make sure this Christmas season is all about Jesus in your household.

Who is Jacob Arminius? What is Arminianism?

 

At the height of the Reformation era Calvinism became a powerful expression of the spirit of Martin Luther and the views of radical revolt against the prevailing Catholic orthodoxies. Increasingly the views of the Calvinist movement centered more and more thoroughly around predestination and election. A great movement of theological predestination held sway in much of Scandinavian Europe. They gathered around the theology of John Calvin, one logically influenced by Martin Luther, who was influenced greatly by St. Augustine. But another vein of theology was soon to rise up out of the ranks of the reformation movement, who would challenge the precepts and beliefs of the Calvinists. In history there rose one man who would stand against the powerful new Reformation Calvinist empire. And his name was Jacob Arminius. Jacob Arminius was raised up in the vein of reformed theology and once taught it’s precepts (EB, 2020). But increasingly he found himself more and more at odds with what he viewed to be the overreach of predestination into salvation (EB, 2020). This would lead to one of the most important movements in history, as Arminius developed the various doctrinal positions that would become historical Arminianism (EB, 2020).

Jacob Arminius was born October 10th 1560 in Oudewater, Netherlands (EB, 2020). He was once a leader in the Dutch Reformed Church (EB, 2020). But he increasingly found himself at odds with the strict teachings on predestination and election taught by the Calvinists (EB, 2020). He would develop his own system in response to these teachings (EB, 2020). Arminius’ influence would extend for generations to come, and his theological system would be embraced by millions across the world (EB, 2020). Even today his influence is felt in virtually half of modern-day evangelicalism which subscribes to various forms of Arminian theology (EB, 2020).

Jacob Arminius grew up in the Netherlands. Jacob’s father died while he was an infant, but he was later adopted by a man named Theodore Aemilius (EB, 2020). Arminius was schooled in Utrecht (EB, 2020). Later, Jacob’s adoptive father Aemilius would pass away, and Rudolf Snellius would become his new mentor and benefactor. Jacob Arminius gained further education at the university of Leiden, and later at Basel, and Geneva Universities (EB, 2020). Arminius was ordained in 1588 in Amsterdam. Arminius took on a professorship at the university of Leiden where he had schooled previously and would remain there from 1603 until October 19th 1609 when he died (EB, 2020).

Jacobus Arminius was actually regarded as a rather quiet and introspective individual, yet he found himself constantly pulled into controversies with the reformed camp, in regard to his views on election, predestination, free will, and perseverance (EB, 2020). Arminius found himself often at odds with supralapsarian Calvinist faculty member Gomarus, a colleague of his at Leiden (EB, 2020). When a student of Arminius, Willem Bastingius, hosted a public lecture to defend some theses of Arminius, this enraged Gomarus (EB, 2020). Gomarus later gathered a meeting headed by Samuel Gruterus, to attack those same theses and defend the reformed doctrines (EB, 2020). This became a controversy, with enemies of Arminius using the controversy to attack his theology and viewpoints (EB, 2020). The controversy drew criticism from the region of Dordrecht, where a letter of grievance was penned concerned with the serious theological differences of the theology professors at Leiden, to which the theology professors responded in a joint letter explaining that no fundamental theological differences existed, ironically enough (EB, 2020).

What exactly did Arminius believe? Well, Arminius was severely concerned with how all-encompassing the doctrine of predestination had become (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). It had become so prominent that Calvinists would assert that God’s predestining decree is what saved, not Jesus Christ and not the gospel (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). So Arminius felt it very important to point to Jesus Christ, and the salvation found in the grace of God (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). He felt predestination had gone too far into the realm of being a decree of God before the foundations of the Earth that saved the lost, instead of Jesus at the cross (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). He argued that predestination mislabeled God as the originator of evil and insulted the character of God (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). Arminius believed strongly in the importance of free will, that humans had free will and could resist God’s grace (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). Arminius believed God foreknew what decisions people would make, but did not force the outcomes, but simply had knowledge of what people would choose in the future (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). Arminius valued prevenient grace, that the grace of God was always at work leading people closer to Jesus but people could resist God’s grace as well (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). He believed God honored human free will and would not violate it (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). He wrote and spoke often against predestination and unconditional election and viewed God’s grace as something that could be resisted (Arminius & Gunter, 2012). These viewpoints left Arminius at constant odds with the Calvinists in the Netherlands at that time.

After his death Arminians would gather under Epscopius an Arminian theologian who would pen the Remonstrant in 1619 stating the five points that Arminians held in contrary to the reformed movement of the time (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). Though Arminius did not personally pen this document, his theology and viewpoints can clearly be seen through the five points cited. Let’s take a look at the five main articles. Article one was conditional election, the view that salvation was conditioned on the believer responding in faith, and God foreknew the individual would respond in faith (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). Article two was unlimited atonement, the view that Jesus Christ died for all people, not just the elect, but that salvation was only for the elect, those who responded in faith (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). Article three was a general point of agreement with Calvinism, stating total depravity, that sinful humanity was lost and could make no effective approach to God without the active work of the grace of God (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). Article four rejected irresistible grace and embraced prevenient grace, which included the concept that man’s free will allowed for resisting and rejecting God’s grace (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). Article five importantly rejected eternal security, the idea that a believer could never fall away, and indicated that a believer could in fact fall away from God, and lose their secure position (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). But it also affirmed the fact that God preserves a believer in a state of salvation to certain extents (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). It is important to note in regard to article five, the Remonstrants were at first uncertain of this point, later concluding that article five was in fact accurate (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). It’s also important to note that Arminius’ view on this was uncertain from his life and writings (Episcopius & Ellis, 2005). But these five points generally indicated the pattern that best represents Arminius’ theology during his life and how it developed after his life into a completed theological system.

As noted previously Arminius’ theology drew him into many disputes and difficulties with fellow faculty at the university of Leiden. Several times these theological controversies spiraled out of control. In particular, Arminius’ disputes with Gomarus were legendary. The controversies and theological disputes grew so out of hand that eventually Arminius and Gomarus ended up in the Supreme Court of The Hague arguing their two positions (EB, 2020). The justices concluded that they disagreed on only minor doctrines and encouraged them to love and be at peace with one another (EB, 2020). But it was not to be. The debate eventually grew into a split within Calvinism in the region (EB, 2020).

After Arminius’ death in 1609 his followers became known as Remonstrants because of a declaration they made in 1610 declaring five points of disagreement with Calvinism (EB, 2020). At the Synod of Dort in 1618 and 1619 the Remonstrants would be condemned as anathema, and Arminian preachers and pastors endured persecution for years after (EB, 2020). But the movement lived on. And the influential 17th century preacher John Wesley would be deeply influenced by the works of Arminius, championing the cause of Arminian theology (EB, 2020). Due to John and Charles Wesley’s influence, much of modern evangelical Christianity in the United States is Arminian in nature (EB, 2020). Such is the ongoing legacy of Jacob Arminius, who stood up to the Calvinist reformation to right the course of theology toward grace, free will, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

References

Arminius, J., & Gunter, W. S. (2012). Arminius and his "Declaration of sentiments": An annotated translation with introduction & theological commentary. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Boer, W. D. (2010). Gods Twofold Love. doi:10.13109/9783666569081

Episcopius, S., & Ellis, M. A. (2005). The Arminian confession of 1621. Eugene: Pickwick Publications. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from http://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Ellis.-ARMINIAN-CONFESSION-OF-1621.pdf

Hampton, S. (2014). Jacob Arminius. Theologian of grace. By Keith D. Stanglin and Thomas H. McCall. Pp. xv 240. New York–Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. £17.99 (paper). 978 0 19 975566 0; 978 0 19 975567 7. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 65(2), 435-436. doi:10.1017/s0022046913002352

Leeuwen, M. V. (n.d.). Arminius, Arminianism, and Europe: Jacobus Arminius. Brill. Retrieved October 22, 2020.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, October 15). Jacobus Arminius. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacobus-Arminius