Daily Bread

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

"The Son of David"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Can an ordinary individual enjoy the blessings of the New Covenant even though the majority in "the body" of the church do not?

To answer this question, the Lord in His great mercy has given us the psalms of David. Over and over David cries to the Lord for deliverance when he is alone in his distress. As an individual in the nation of Israel, he is highly significant because the Messiah is declared to be "the son of David"--not merely in DNA physical descent but because Jesus is spiritually "the son of David."

In other words, in His earthly life, in His incarnation, Jesus' mentor was David in his psalms. He lived in those psalms; He saw Himself in them.

We may nod our heads in agreement, but then what about those imprecatory psalms? David prayed that the Lord would punish his enemies, even destroy them; do we have a record that Jesus prayed that His Father would harass and destroy His Sanhedrim enemies who wanted to crucify Him? No; we have the record that He prayed that His Father would forgive them, "for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Are those bitter, imprecatory psalms not inspired, or do they not apply to "the son of David"? Should we follow David and pray down curses on those who oppose us?

One of God's most precious New Covenant promises He made to Abraham was that "I will ... curse him that curseth thee" (Gen. 12:3); David lived under that New Covenant promise.

Jesus did, too. His prayer for forgiveness for those who crucified Him was specific--only so long as they "know not what they do." Behold in the horror of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the fulfillment of that New Covenant "curse" on those who determine to "crucify Christ afresh and bring Him to an open shame" (Heb. 6:6).

Humble, helpless soul, let the Lord defend you in your distress. Don't try to stop Him; He must fulfill His word, and it is both His "goodness and severity" (Rom. 11:22).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 17, 2008.

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Does Evil Need to Flourish in the World?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Has God made the world in such a way that evil has to flourish in it? Many Christian people have all but resigned themselves to believe that the devil just has to have his way in this sinful earth. Wars just have to come, and all we can do is pick up the pieces by massive humanitarian relief efforts.

But maybe this fatalistic idea is not biblical. In Genesis 12, 13, and 15, God made promises to Abraham that in his descendants, that is, in Israel, "all families of the earth shall be blessed" (12:3). And the New Testament makes clear that Abraham's true descendants are those who believe in the Messiah, in Christ, the church (Gal. 3:29). And in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses makes equally clear that God's plan for Israel was that they be the greatest nation on earth, the "head, and not the tail" (28:13).

There was to be no need in God's plan for the rise of such cruel world empire as Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia,Grecia, and Rome, no need for World Wars. The influence emanating from God's people through the Holy Spirit would restrain the evil that is in the world. "The remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass," Micah said, and even Israel would be a disciplinary force among the nations--not because of political or military superiority but because of a genuine, highly respected moral authority (see Micah 5:7-9). To some extent this vision was realized in the time of Kings David and Solomon, and even afterward occasionally in the reign of Hezekiah or Josiah.

In the end of the last century, a little lady with prophetic insight declared to missionaries sent to South Africa that if they had believed and proclaimed the pure "gospel of peace," that is, true righteousness by faith, their influence in South Africa, even upon unbelievers, would have been such that "the Boer War would not have taken place." Let's not give in to the terrible conclusion that Heaven is content for all this massive human suffering to continue! Revelation 7:1-4 indicates that if God's people were to awaken and humble their hearts and proclaim the sealing message, "four angels" could restrain these evil passions let loose in the "four winds."

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 1, 1999.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Elijah's Prayer

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

This weekend millions of Christians around the world are giving special attention to Elijah, the one-of-a-kind prophet to Israel in the days of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He had a problem: every Sabbath he went to "church or Sabbath school" he felt soul-starved. No bread of life; in fact, Israel were borrowing the religion of their neighbor nations, abandoning the truth. They were worshipping Baal. Horrible!

So, what did he do? Leave the "church" and start his own little offshoot "Israel"? Or join an "independent" group? The Bible record says he remained loyal to Israel, but he did do something. It wasn't preaching--his words were few, but "he prayed earnestly," we read (James 5:17, 18). And then we read, "he prayed again." He fought a battle of faith. He had to fight through a very serious issue: would the God of Israel listen to what he was praying? Did God have a healthy respect for Elijah as a person? If not, all his preaching to Ahab and Jezebel would be for nothing! And all his stay-at-home church services would be for nothing.

A very wise and discerning writer has declared frankly that the root problem with the church of today is the same Baal-worship that afflicted Israel, but it's unconscious. It's a constant tendency to slide into the thinking and worship of "Babylon." Some very conscientious people are so distressed by this subtle but lethal modern Baal-worship that they conclude there is nothing for them to do but leave the church. They have tried preaching and it hasn't helped.

But have they prayed like Elijah prayed? (a) "Earnestly"? Is their concern an unselfish one for the honor of God involved in the condition of the church, or is it for their own personal and family spiritual security? Defined simply, Baal-worship is worship of self disguised as the worship of Christ. How can a self-centered worship "condemn" the same thing? (b) Elijah "prayed again." Never stopped until rain came to bless the drought-stricken land. (c) His concern was to save someone in the general confusion. So, go to church with that concern, with a love for some soul. Pray, "Lord, make me to be a blessing today to some unknown person, even if I don't get a blessing for myself!" One humble church member whose prayers the God of heaven can honestly respect is more than a match for both "Ahab" and "Jezebel." God still has honest people everywhere; don't think you're "holier than thou." You may not be.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 16, 2001.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Time for the "Ten Virgins" to Stay Awake

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In many hearts around the world there is an interest in "the Elijah message" which is God's promise in the last two verses of the Old Testament. He says, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6).

That's a clear-cut promise. God's honor depends on its fulfillment.

We turn the page, and we're into the New Testament. There immediately, before we are even introduced to Jesus the Messiah, we meet up with "Elijah" in the vision given to Zacharias. God is in a hurry to fulfill that promise! Zacharias' son John the Baptist is to "go before [the Christ] in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of … the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord'" (Luke 1:13-17). Later Jesus tells His wondering disciples not to wait any longer for the promised "Elijah," for he has already come in the message and ministry of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:7-14).

But conscience arrests us at that point: John the Baptist's day was not "the great and dreadful day of the Lord." That's due now! Any lingering doubt we may have is removed by the realization that the "curse" the Lord alludes to in that last verse of Malachi hovers over us. Everything comes together: (a) the "Elijah message" is that of the great "other angel" of Revelation 18:1-4; (b) it's the final "everlasting gospel" of 14:6-15; (c) it's the powerful repetition of "the fall of Babylon" of vs. 8; (d) it's the "witness" of the Lord Jesus to "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans," the last of the seven churches of history (3:14-21); (e) it's the call to "be zealous therefore and repent"; (f) finally, it's the appeal of the Disappointed Lover in the Song of Solomon to His Bride-to-be to consummate the long-delayed "marriage of the Lamb" (19:7, 8). (g) And we add--Elijah reconciles her heart to Him!

It's time for us, the "ten virgins," to stay awake (Matt. 25:1-13), time to "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4, 5), time for a new dimension of closeness to the Son of God.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 3, 2006.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Elijah's Message

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

People around the world are deeply interested in "Elijah" being sent to us. They are realizing that "he" will come as a message, just as "Elijah" came to Israel in the message of John the Baptist (Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 1:13-17).

They see that as John the Baptist prepared God's people of his day for the first coming of Christ, so "Elijah" in these last days will prepare a people for the second coming of Christ (Rev. 14:6-15).

John's message was a clarion call for repentance (Matt. 3:1-8). In these last days, "Elijah's" message is a call to the leadership of Christ's last days' church to "be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:14, 19; the "angel" of the church of the Laodiceans has to be its leadership). In ancient Israel, Elijah zeroed in on the top, the leader of the nation, King Ahab.

Just as Elijah was "zealous" and called on king and Israel to "repent" of their Baal worship and return to the true LORD (just as Jesus calls on Laodicea), so the Elijah message today will call upon God's people to "examine [themselves] as to whether [they] are in the faith. Prove yourselves" (2 Cor. 13:5).

That must mean a close re-examination--do we understand what God's holy Word says about justification by faith? Or have we repeated ancient Israel's century-long slide down the slippery slope into Baal worship--that is, counterfeit ideas of popular Christianity that Revelation says are "Babylon"? "Test yourselves to see if you are in THE faith," says Paul in the Greek; don't be confused and bewildered by Babylon's false version.

That genuine "the faith" will be Elijah's message: (a) He "slays" the recalcitrant, unrepentant modern "priests of Baal" (which is the same as the "perishing" of those who disbelieve in John 3:16; the "should not perish" is in the middle voice of the Greek verb meaning those who disbelieve commit their own spiritual suicide). (b) Elijah proclaims the reconciling, "at-one-ment" message that heals the wounded hearts of those who appreciate Christ's cross.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 29, 2006.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Who Has Delayed Christ's Second Coming?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Has Christ delayed His second coming, or have we? Bible testimony seems clear:

(a) We entered "the time of the end" at the close of the 1260 years of Daniel 8:17; 11:33-35; 12:4.

(b) Jesus specified "signs" in the heavens and on earth that would coincide: Luke 21:25-28.

(c) It was the Lord's intention that the "generation" that "saw" all these events as "signs" would also witness His return: Matthew 24:33-37.

(d) Christ's second coming is likened to "the marriage of the Lamb": Revelation 19:7, 8. The timing has to be contingent on the "bride" "making herself ready." No bridegroom in history forces his bride to say "I do." Christ's sacrifice has given freedom of choice to "every one" including the church, which Christ has "purchased with His blood" (Acts 20:28). If "she" wishes to delay His coming by not "making herself ready" for "the marriage of the Lamb," Christ is helpless. His first coming was established by time prophecies of Daniel 8, 9; His second is in "her" hands--"making herself ready." He cannot, will not, force her.

(e) This is a love story; Jesus has quoted Song of Solomon chapters 4, 5 as "Scripture" (John 7:37, 38); He then quotes 5:2-8 as the story of the "bride's" reticence to submit to Him as a bride (Revelation 3:20). She has clearly rebuffed Him.

But repentance is possible (vs. 19), and the honor and vindication of Christ depend on her welcoming it.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 7, 2006.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

WHEN, WHEN, WHEN?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"WHEN, WHEN, WHEN will this [another] angel come whose message will lighten the earth with glory [Rev 18:1-4]? WHEN will 'Elijah,' long promised, come and 'turn hearts'?" (Mal. 4:5, 6).

These questions were asked by a correspondent who referred to a statement by a thoughtful writer, "When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own" [obviously, a reference to the "marriage of the Lamb" like a bridegroom "taking" his bride].

Our correspondent also asks, HOW can this be accomplished? We cannot save ourselves; only the Savior can save us!

The question resolves itself to this, "Why doesn't Jesus do this for His people? Why delay His return and end the suffering in the world?"

This in turn raises the big question: Whose fault is it that Christ hasn't returned when the last page of the Bible says, "Behold I come quickly"? (Rev. 22:12). One church has been saying it's "near" for well over 150 years. Is this delay the will of Christ? Or have His people delayed His coming?

But there is an even more important question: the veracity of Jesus Himself: He said long ago that His coming was "near." More tomorrow.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 5, 2006.