Rev 9 20The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues
still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop
worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and
wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21Nor did they repent of
their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their
thefts. "
In the Revelation Satan is at war with Gods kingdom.
The saints on the earth are being persecuted ....some christians suffer
martyrdom. When the christians join
their fellow martyrs in heaven they are struck with Gods beauty that is
unhindered. So the contrast of Gods peace and safety and the dangers in
Satans kingdom cause them to cry out..How long Oh Lord until you avenge
our blood? We must understand that the seals are curses from heaven that
are cast to the earth in the fire from the altar..they are fire balls
or judgements on destructive rulers..nations that make war.This altar in
heaven is where the prayers of saints on earth are collect as they rise
to heaven like the ot burnt sacrifices.. so we are pronouncing the
curses in the Psalms that rise to heaven in unison with the saints who
are demanding justice on earth. This is the character of the opposition
on earth.Ps 141 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;may the
lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.... Yet my prayer
is ever against the deeds of evildoers;6 their rulers will be thrown
down from the cliffs,
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7 They will say, "As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave "
Anyone with any sense knows that our war on earth is won in this direct link with heaven.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Ps 74 20 Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually."
The Psalmist uses covenant language in appealing to God for all his needs. When God created Adam and Eve ,He established a creation covenant that gave man authority over the earth. This covenant was more than a works covenant. It was a covenant of blessing. The purpose of God in creating the garden was not to give Adam a test. If there was a test there would be opposition. Having an impersonal opposition in the serpent is not really a test of works. Man was already compliant and obedient. When we are given something there is no requirement in obtaining or using the gift.
The relationship that man had with God in the garden was more than a test to comply with the law of creation. It was acting as God co-regents over the creation. The principles of government are no different than Gods activity of creating mankind and giving him the ruler-ship. The ten commandments are simply Gods original requirements under the compulsion of the blessing in receiving the gift. Gods intention was to establish a nation through which the blessing and enjoyment would spread across the earth.
Through progressive revelation God established Davids kingdom in fulfilling the promise of the creation covenant. When Adam sinned God had to exercise His authority over the earth by cursing man and the ground. If God would have judged the creation short of death then man would have thrown the whole earth into chaos. God was not pragmatic. A covenant of works is pragmatic. In order for man to meet the requirements of works there would need to be a sliding scale. But God ended the opposition by reestablishing His creation covenant in the pronouncement of death to corruption. When He called Abram , He established His creation covenant by the promise of blessing and cursing. This application of the creation law was worked out until it was established in the Davidic pronouncements of the blessing and cursing. So we see here this language used as the cry to God to reestablish Israel as a nation.
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually."
The Psalmist uses covenant language in appealing to God for all his needs. When God created Adam and Eve ,He established a creation covenant that gave man authority over the earth. This covenant was more than a works covenant. It was a covenant of blessing. The purpose of God in creating the garden was not to give Adam a test. If there was a test there would be opposition. Having an impersonal opposition in the serpent is not really a test of works. Man was already compliant and obedient. When we are given something there is no requirement in obtaining or using the gift.
The relationship that man had with God in the garden was more than a test to comply with the law of creation. It was acting as God co-regents over the creation. The principles of government are no different than Gods activity of creating mankind and giving him the ruler-ship. The ten commandments are simply Gods original requirements under the compulsion of the blessing in receiving the gift. Gods intention was to establish a nation through which the blessing and enjoyment would spread across the earth.
Through progressive revelation God established Davids kingdom in fulfilling the promise of the creation covenant. When Adam sinned God had to exercise His authority over the earth by cursing man and the ground. If God would have judged the creation short of death then man would have thrown the whole earth into chaos. God was not pragmatic. A covenant of works is pragmatic. In order for man to meet the requirements of works there would need to be a sliding scale. But God ended the opposition by reestablishing His creation covenant in the pronouncement of death to corruption. When He called Abram , He established His creation covenant by the promise of blessing and cursing. This application of the creation law was worked out until it was established in the Davidic pronouncements of the blessing and cursing. So we see here this language used as the cry to God to reestablish Israel as a nation.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Ps 79 9 Help us, O God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name's sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
"Where is their God?"
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
by the strength of your arm
preserve those condemned to die. "
The history of the world is a history of Redemption. God has made a covenant with man called the grace covenant. He established Israel by gifting them with His law and provided them with continuous acceptance by His sovereign grace. From before the foundation of the world God planned to provide mankind with all that they needed.But when sin entered through Adam man took the gifts of God and used them in an attempt to destroy the earth and all mankind.
But God even decreed the sin and the destruction of man. All of the history of mankind was decreed by God. God controls all things. When God provided salvation He accomplished the work within Himself. There is nothing that is part of the history of the world that is able to avoid Gods justice. From before the foundation of the world God decreed whatsoever comes to pass under the judgement of His pure justice. So sin or righteousness must receive the just consequence that is part of Gods decreeing whatsoever comes to pass. We could say that the judgement of all sin was already decreed by God before the foundation of the world. Gods attitude toward sin has always been sealed in His eternal wrath.
Gods eternal judgement from before the foundation of the world is written as pronouncements of the curses. Every thing that God has spoken is only successful because it is satisfied in Himself. This is what the Psalmist means by appealing to God for relief according to His Name. 9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name;" Gods covenant of grace given to His elect is based upon His own work and will. The history of redemption is Gods work as a gift to His Son who has placing all things under His feet. Now listen Gods attitude toward sin and destruction or righteousness is like a scale of the value of Christ work on one side and the judgement of sin on the other side. At all times God marks all destruction and evil that adds up to the weight of judgement that He meets out toward the wicked. There is nothing that happens in this world that is outside of Gods adding and subtracting.
At all times Gods curses are judgements that He accounts to the wicked that are beyond our understanding. Gods justice is His satisfaction of receiving the just consequence of sin and destruction according to the eternal value of Christ obedience and control. Man has his system of justice but Gods vengeful response is far worse.When we speak the curses they are Gods perfect justice and vengeance according to Gods eternal judgement that are enacted on the basis of Gods decrees. At every moment God is satisfied with the curse as the just consequence of sin and destruction. He was satisfied in His eternal counsel according to the entire history of His decrees. The pronouncements are calling from eternity past to eternity future of Gods final judgement and vengeance This is very important because it changes the description of our future bliss in heaven. We will be so accepted and valued that we will be stunned at the abuse that we endured on the earth.
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name's sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
"Where is their God?"
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
by the strength of your arm
preserve those condemned to die. "
The history of the world is a history of Redemption. God has made a covenant with man called the grace covenant. He established Israel by gifting them with His law and provided them with continuous acceptance by His sovereign grace. From before the foundation of the world God planned to provide mankind with all that they needed.But when sin entered through Adam man took the gifts of God and used them in an attempt to destroy the earth and all mankind.
But God even decreed the sin and the destruction of man. All of the history of mankind was decreed by God. God controls all things. When God provided salvation He accomplished the work within Himself. There is nothing that is part of the history of the world that is able to avoid Gods justice. From before the foundation of the world God decreed whatsoever comes to pass under the judgement of His pure justice. So sin or righteousness must receive the just consequence that is part of Gods decreeing whatsoever comes to pass. We could say that the judgement of all sin was already decreed by God before the foundation of the world. Gods attitude toward sin has always been sealed in His eternal wrath.
Gods eternal judgement from before the foundation of the world is written as pronouncements of the curses. Every thing that God has spoken is only successful because it is satisfied in Himself. This is what the Psalmist means by appealing to God for relief according to His Name. 9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name;" Gods covenant of grace given to His elect is based upon His own work and will. The history of redemption is Gods work as a gift to His Son who has placing all things under His feet. Now listen Gods attitude toward sin and destruction or righteousness is like a scale of the value of Christ work on one side and the judgement of sin on the other side. At all times God marks all destruction and evil that adds up to the weight of judgement that He meets out toward the wicked. There is nothing that happens in this world that is outside of Gods adding and subtracting.
At all times Gods curses are judgements that He accounts to the wicked that are beyond our understanding. Gods justice is His satisfaction of receiving the just consequence of sin and destruction according to the eternal value of Christ obedience and control. Man has his system of justice but Gods vengeful response is far worse.When we speak the curses they are Gods perfect justice and vengeance according to Gods eternal judgement that are enacted on the basis of Gods decrees. At every moment God is satisfied with the curse as the just consequence of sin and destruction. He was satisfied in His eternal counsel according to the entire history of His decrees. The pronouncements are calling from eternity past to eternity future of Gods final judgement and vengeance This is very important because it changes the description of our future bliss in heaven. We will be so accepted and valued that we will be stunned at the abuse that we endured on the earth.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Ps 28 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever."
We are always focused on identifying with people by sharing in the same experiencing and traits that they have. In the Psalms we are taught that pronouncing the law, decrees, etc is the way to experience the identity that gives us a greater understanding of God. This exercise is described by the Psalmist as a greater understanding of himself. This converts him to have a greater understanding of who God is.
The pronouncements that we speak to God teach us the reality of who we are. In this Psalm he is stating the differences that he has with the wicked. This is a Psalm that teaches us to be set apart unto God. So its a confession that converts through teaching us to have holy desires for God. This is why he talks in a circular way. He pronounces the Lord as his strength and shield..then uses the past tense words of trusted and helped...with the present response to sing to God a song..or pronounce again this Psalm. In other words the Psalm is a christian desire to be separated from the wicked in eternity. This conversion helps the Psalmist put the events in this world into perspective. He desires to be set apart unto God and he speaks the pronouncements and he converts his desires.
The Psalmist learns to pronounce these Psalms in order to draw near to God so that he might teach his desires. We are what we think we are. Every man has his own view. We need to learn what the proper disposition so that we might be converted to a better view of God. The Psalmist speak the pronouncements then describes the response of God to his desires. This is a normal practice in the Psalms. When we come back to the same meditation we not only revisit the exercise of pronouncing and being converted but we are illuminated as we grow to greater understanding.
Meditating in this way is compared to the circumstances of God leading the Israelite's through the wilderness. They were completely dependent upon God for everything in their traveling. So we learn to be converted by preaching to ourselves. God is doing every thing to us from His word and Spirit. Living life is obeying in the full reality of who we are. Its not obeying like the Pharisees. Its having the right disposition.
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever."
We are always focused on identifying with people by sharing in the same experiencing and traits that they have. In the Psalms we are taught that pronouncing the law, decrees, etc is the way to experience the identity that gives us a greater understanding of God. This exercise is described by the Psalmist as a greater understanding of himself. This converts him to have a greater understanding of who God is.
The pronouncements that we speak to God teach us the reality of who we are. In this Psalm he is stating the differences that he has with the wicked. This is a Psalm that teaches us to be set apart unto God. So its a confession that converts through teaching us to have holy desires for God. This is why he talks in a circular way. He pronounces the Lord as his strength and shield..then uses the past tense words of trusted and helped...with the present response to sing to God a song..or pronounce again this Psalm. In other words the Psalm is a christian desire to be separated from the wicked in eternity. This conversion helps the Psalmist put the events in this world into perspective. He desires to be set apart unto God and he speaks the pronouncements and he converts his desires.
The Psalmist learns to pronounce these Psalms in order to draw near to God so that he might teach his desires. We are what we think we are. Every man has his own view. We need to learn what the proper disposition so that we might be converted to a better view of God. The Psalmist speak the pronouncements then describes the response of God to his desires. This is a normal practice in the Psalms. When we come back to the same meditation we not only revisit the exercise of pronouncing and being converted but we are illuminated as we grow to greater understanding.
Meditating in this way is compared to the circumstances of God leading the Israelite's through the wilderness. They were completely dependent upon God for everything in their traveling. So we learn to be converted by preaching to ourselves. God is doing every thing to us from His word and Spirit. Living life is obeying in the full reality of who we are. Its not obeying like the Pharisees. Its having the right disposition.
2 Cor 5 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that
one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that
those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died
for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
When we are saved we receive all that Christ has obtained. We no longer live on the principle of works. Before we were saved we lived to be accepted by fulfilling our responsibilities. But the apostle is saying that our salvation was more than offering of ability to act according to the law. This is more radical than that philosophy. He is really saying that you are no longer your old identity. You are becoming someone else. This is why he is teaching that in the christian community we look at each other with an eternal view. Our failures and successes are not the primary focus. We are looking at the person as becoming complete by understanding their potential of what they will be like when there is no remembrance of them as they were like in their old life.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
When we are saved we receive all that Christ has obtained. We no longer live on the principle of works. Before we were saved we lived to be accepted by fulfilling our responsibilities. But the apostle is saying that our salvation was more than offering of ability to act according to the law. This is more radical than that philosophy. He is really saying that you are no longer your old identity. You are becoming someone else. This is why he is teaching that in the christian community we look at each other with an eternal view. Our failures and successes are not the primary focus. We are looking at the person as becoming complete by understanding their potential of what they will be like when there is no remembrance of them as they were like in their old life.
The apostle is saying that our salvation was more than a moral change.
We became like Christ by dying to what we were. So our growth is
obtained by reckoning ourselves dead to all the opposition.You see our
eternal mindset forces us to give up our confidence in breaking our
lives down into parts. In eternity there are no parts. Parts are the
measurement of time. There is a beginning and ending when we view this
life in parts. But God is sovereign over time. This becomes a conflict
of wills. You see God not only created all things but He orders all
things by speaking them into existence from nothing. Gods creation is
the display of perfect unity. The very existence of a thing is the
display of Gods perfect will. So all things are a display of Gods will
working in unity outside of time. So the apostle is saying that we must
die to our confidence in viewing life under the control of time.
We cannot be confident in changing under the control of time. We can only be confident that all of our opposition has been cursed. We do not live in a time oriented world. We have been made citizens of another kingdom. This kingdom is perfect worked out by Gods commands. You see in the ot that when the scripture says that God commanded the people it is reflected in the next sentence that they obeyed those commands. Gods elect are given Christ righteousness .They are seen as perfectly obeying Gods commands. This is why the ot distinguishes between national rebellion and Gods success with His remnant. We live in an eternal kingdom in which we experience change by God ordering all things from before the creation of the world. God cannot fail.
We cannot be confident in changing under the control of time. We can only be confident that all of our opposition has been cursed. We do not live in a time oriented world. We have been made citizens of another kingdom. This kingdom is perfect worked out by Gods commands. You see in the ot that when the scripture says that God commanded the people it is reflected in the next sentence that they obeyed those commands. Gods elect are given Christ righteousness .They are seen as perfectly obeying Gods commands. This is why the ot distinguishes between national rebellion and Gods success with His remnant. We live in an eternal kingdom in which we experience change by God ordering all things from before the creation of the world. God cannot fail.
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