I have been inspired by recently reading over Revelation 20-22 and particular themes that come out in this critically important final chapter of Scripture. And one of the things that has been amazing me is John’s revelation of the bride of Christ. To some the subject might not be new but it’s always worth remembering that for John a lot of this stuff would have been a brand-new way of seeing things. In particular I would imagine that the angelic invitation in 21:9 would have been a striking moment in itself. The angel says, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Why would this have been striking? Because the bride is the wife of the Lamb. Not just anybody! Throughout the book there has been a significant revelation of Jesus as the Lamb of heaven. At the beginning He was seen to be the only one worthy to take the book that was in the hand of the Father and to break its seals to release the unfolding events of the last days. No one else in heaven or earth was worthy. He is revealed as the most unique, wonderful and praiseworthy being in all of history and creation.

And then, John discovers that this Lamb is to have a wife. Now, for such a one to have a wife must say something hugely significant about her also. Suddenly, statements about excellent wives and the like from Proverbs and other places seem a whole lot more meaningful. This is the one who the Lamb has been waiting for! She must be incredible.

Which is where we should begin to be surprised because, if you know anything about the bride of Christ, without doubt the term refers to the church. And you look at the rabble that we see as church today, and you wonder that the Lord would be so delighted over us! And yet He is.

I noticed something exciting too when I continued to read about the heavenly Jerusalem that is the bride of Christ. It says that there are twelve foundation stones to the city, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (21:14). Where does this bride spring from? It springs from the source of His followers, right from the days of the first twelve who gave their lives to follow Him. From that group that came to be known as the church. It is founded right back there when Jesus chose twelve to follow Him. This confirms for us the idea that the bride which is the city is the church.

But furthermore we can actually see Jesus actively sowing the seeds for this heavenly city-bride which comes to earth, way back in the Gospels. Because when John sees the bride, he sees

the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… (21:10).

It comes from heaven to earth – this city founded on the twelve apostles. What did Jesus teach His followers to pray? “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Without doubt His purpose from the beginning then was to raise up a people to become His bride who could see this ultimate goal accomplished, of heaven coming to earth, and He won them by buying their heavenly seat from which to operate in this task (Ephesians 2:6)

One last note about the new heavens and the new earth. There are two words for the word ‘new’ in the Greek – and this is currently second-hand information and I’m no Greek expert so I can’t tell you what they are. But I do know for sure that one of them is new in the sense of: scrap the old one, throw it in the bin: we’re getting a new one! And the other word is meant to convey the sense of something that has been re-newed. Taking something that has gotten a bit bad, and freshening it up. This is the word that is always used in the New Testament with reference to the new heavens and new earth. Even in 2 Peter 3 when everything is (literally) ‘dissolved’ (3:11) the new heavens and earth referred to there (3:13) are re-newed. Because sometimes you need to use a really strong cleaning agent to dissolve all the muck that has accumulated on your once-nice possession!

And Revelation 21:5 spells this out in beautiful and famed words: “Behold, I am making all things new.” And what I love is that to then really back this up, He goes on to say, “These words are faithful and true…. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (21:5-6) It is as sure as He is faithful and true, and is the beginning and the end. As sure as ‘it is done’ – or perhaps, ‘it is finished’ – and the work of the cross 2000 years ago.

And what I especially love is that His very next phrase is an invitation to drink: “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” (21:6) It is amazing how often in Scripture God’s answer to a problem or method to a particular plan involves bringing water in some form, be it rain, floods, a drink…because we need the Spirit! If we want to see this renewing outworked in our lives on our patch of earth, it is done only by the Spirit. He is wrapped up in the whole ‘newness’ of God that is released in the New Covenant; in fact the Spirit is inseparable from the New Covenant. Come to Jesus and you’ll pretty quickly discover that He’s eager to give you His Spirit so you can live in heaven’s life to the full, rather than being stuck on earth having to cope by your own strength.

And together they join their voices at the end:

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17)

More and more I find the way the Lord teaches us is by experience. Have you ever looked at the Bible with its 66 books and thought – how on earth am I supposed to learn about all THAT? Growing up as a Christian that was certainly one of my questions. An entire read-through doesn’t exactly fill you with the confidence that this is going to be an easy ride either – by the time you get to the end you probably realise you need to go back because you forgot some things!

Thank goodness then that the Lord teaches us to understand His ways and His Word in the context of day-to-day life, rather than requiring us to be locked away in a study somewhere poring over pages with no idea what they mean. His book was written to give spirit and life, not simply lawful letters which kill and frustrate.

He knows each one of us and the path we take, and so I find He teaches us according to our experience. So while I may have a grasp on some aspects of what He is like, another brother or sister may have some revelation in a different area. Obviously combined this becomes more powerful and blesses me when I see a new perspective.

This begins already to touch on the area that the Lord has been teaching me about in my experience of late.

I am beginning to witness in my own life and in the lives of others the power that there is in numbers. A Scripture that has been encouraging me is found in the book of Ecclesiastes which says:

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Through events in my own life and through fresh observation of the church and various ministries, I have come to be impressed by the importance of this Scripture. It has over the last two months had some direct consequences in my own life where when I have stood in agreements in prayer with another individual, we have seen the answer come almost instantaneously. It provides striking contrast for me when compared with my years of earnest striving for breakthrough over matters which have taken those years to win for the Lord.

This is not to give up praying on your own! I believe in cultivating an intimate place with the Lord where there are secrets of the heart shared between only you and Him, which no one else knows. We can even go for breakthrough. But come the time that there is a matter which requires something to turn around, I know now to seek my brothers and sisters, my close friends, those I am agreed with in spirit, to join with me in prayer. Some of the recent fruit I’ve seen has been amazing, and it comes completely in conjunction with the prayers that I have prayed with others.

Jesus believed in this! He said:

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

He couldn’t be clearer, and right now this couldn’t be a better description of my experience. I’m so excited to see that the word He spoke two thousand years ago have not aged a day, because He is the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

This has implications also I believe when it comes to ministry, not just prayer agreements. A sad example of when this can go wrong is the awful and confusing mess up that happened famously just over a year ago with Todd Bentley at the time of the Lakeland outpouring. (Note – I like to be distinct about the man as separate from the move.) Yes, apostolic leaders gathered around him in one famous meeting during the outpouring but records have shown that it was probably ‘too late’ by that point. They gathered around him because they realised he was an individual away from home, and his ministry base, far out on a limb conducting pretty much the whole revival, with massive world-wide influence – clearly therefore not in a place of substantial apostolic covering. Bill Johnson was most lucid in this area when he was on stage, announcing the danger of sending a man out into battle and then withdrawing the troops from around him – it’s a foolish action reminiscent of David actually seeking to bring death to Uriah. Perhaps this is why some of the critical voices of the revival will sneer when the ‘apostolic alignment’ meeting is mentioned.

For those not in the know there is too much to explain and it is best left as things are moving on a year later. The point is this, that Todd did not have anything like sufficient covering, likely because of the initial golden success of the revival seemingly unmarred by any great affliction, and Todd’s on-the-whole clean record of endurance and integrity. (Again there are elements to explain which can be given if people respond asking for them.) The precaution wasn’t taken soon enough.

Let us learn from history. When one is out on their own, they might well be overpowered, as the Scripture from Ecclesiastes makes clear. But two can resist. We must never allow our soldiers to go out onto the field alone. Jesus sent His disciples in twos. He gave us principles like the one quoted above. How critically important are His words!

Let’s not forget this, especially in the UK, where we can often succumb to the influence of Western culture which is, of course, very much centered on the individual in its (highly flawed) value system. Even some church models and ministries push individuals into the limelight where they can become the centre and focus of our attention. While individuals do have a ministry, the ones to note are the ones that have taken conscious steps to surround themselves with prayer covering and accountability. Billy Graham made pacts with two other ministers whereby they kept accountable in their finances, relationships, and so on. The success of the ministry – and its endurance – is evident.

Bill Johnson again, on the latest podcast refers to a time of great transition in their church when the initiative was taken to surround his family with intercessors – and then to surround those intercessors with intercessors – and then to create a third circle of intercessors again. And he witnesses that the transition season referred to was, despite incredible and challenging circumstances, one of the easiest seasons to ride through.

There are many situations that I believe this principle can apply in. I’ve even been thinking about my small music business which consists of just me – and what might happen if I sought to work in partnership! This is an exciting journey and something that I believe we all need to grasp at some point if we’re going to live fruitful lives for the Lord and see His kingdom come!

I have been struck recently by thinking again about a couple of unique moments in Scripture, as well as hearing about similar experiences from Christians today. The moments I refer to are times when a person of faith in a moment of extreme diversity and tension, chooses to take the action of worshiping in that moment.

There are two explicit instances that stand out to me of this kind of faith. One is Job, the man we associate perhaps most directly with suffering in the Old Testament, alongside maybe Jeremiah. But even more than that later prophet, Job’s one message is about suffering and how a person of faith endures through it. And one of the great keys to the whole book (at least as I see it) is this wonderful moment in chapter 1 where after Job receives all the terrible reports of what has befallen his family and his land, it tells us:

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:20-21)

At this point in the game, the fact that Job will choose to fall and worship the Lord and bless His name – is surely a great demonstration of faith in the face of adversity. Who do we know in life who might be like this should they experience the same things?

It is significant to note that in this place of worshiping in the moment of extreme suffering, Scripture notes that

Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:22)

I believe this is the place that he obtained his victory which became manifest at the end of the book after much revelation, and the reward of a double blessing which outweighed the suffering.

The other individual that stands out to me is David. He is known of course as a worshiper anyway, but there is a moment people are perhaps less familiar with because it is blackened by his sin with Bathsheba. The consequences of his sin brought the judgment of God on the child that was born to them, who God said was to die. David cried out to the Lord to spare the child, but for whatever reason his request was not heeded and the child died.

It was a tragic and somewhat complex situation. I have heard arguments today about whether God was right to take the life of this child as a consequence of David’s own sin. While there are theological answers, I find it interesting that David raises no questions, and takes a different response to today’s theologians:

Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!” But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the LORD and worshiped. (2 Sam 12:18-20)

His actions probably would have surprised his servants, and would surprise us today. But again this attitude, this repentant action demonstrates a different spirit, a faith resident in the heart of David which was anchored in the supernatural – indeed he confessed faith in the afterlife when he said of the child “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” (v.23) And so he prioritised worship – blessing the name of the Lord, in a moment of difficulty.

There are examples of this kind of attitude that I have heard of today. A man who cradled the still-warm body of his wife who had just passed away, and began to worship the Lord in that moment. Bill Johnson who realised the privelege of the opportunity to worship the Lord for always being a good God in the moment when his father died of cancer – a moment he would never have in eternity. That’s a sacrifice of worship I think few people have been able to know how to make.

When Paul wrote that we should rejoice always, and in everything give thanks, he wasn’t kidding. It can be the hardest thing when you’re going through even the tiniest of trials, to turn your attention upon Jesus – and yet, people have done it, because when we step out in faith, it attracts the supernatural, because that kind of attitude is not of this earth, but is anchored in heaven where is our hope. Let’s be challenged to draw near to the Lord in every moment.

Just a little nugget of a thought which has been buzzing round my head quite a lot of late. I find in my own life I’ve started to overcome any sense of the ‘stigmata’ of being a Christian – ie, being afraid to speak up for what I believe because I’m too concerned about what people’s preconceptions about religion might be.

I guess this is due to the fact that I just had to get used to doing a lot of evangelism last year on our church’s training course. It helped me to learn to generally be more bold in my witness, which is just what I needed.

But there’s something else which has really been provoking me in this area now too. Of course, we KNOW that we ought not to be ashamed of our message – so why is it that we feel that way sometimes? That’s not the question I’m out to answer exactly except to say that I’ve now come to a place of more peace where I know in my HEART that I am not ashamed, rather than just in my head. This is the place all Christians need to get to.

And one of the things that has driven me towards this place is the thought that I want to share here.

I have realised, with what I have learnt about history, that the movers and shakers, the world changers, were not people who tried to be inoffensive, culturally relevant/acceptable, or quiet and unobtrusive on other people’s views. Think about anyone who has made a serious mark in history: Ghandi, Mother Teresa…Hitler, Stalin…Luther, Wesley…Wigglesworth, Evan Roberts…. All of these and many others made tremendous impact on their societies and denominations, yet it always came at the price of being DIFFERENT – and quite often offensively so.

Obviously I have included there examples from across the board, including in the same list dictators and revivalists, but I believe they all hit on this same thing. It’s WHAT you choose to pioneer which determines the fruit of the impact you have. Sadly, evil men have stood up and been unafraid to speak out their message, even if it has led to the slaughter of millions.

But He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. And the greatest history changer of all time, as you may know, lived this beyond all others. He was uncompromisingly bold in His message, yet managed to tender it with outrageous grace. His message was clear and simple: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Everything He did and taught, effectively, was to do with the kingdom. He too paid that price. They took such offense at Him that they nailed Him to a cross. But of course the enemy He was after was not even the religious minds of the day, but death itself, and it was death that He conquered.

You may know the Gospel story. But I just wanted to remind the reader of how uncompromising Jesus was in His message. You cannot read the Gospels and believe that He wanted His followers to be culture-pleasing saps who try to weave their whole message to please people according to what the mainstream media is saying.

I haven’t got to the main bit so enough waffle. What I have discovered, what has been most surprising (and would especially surprise those who are sincerely keen on seeker sensitivity and cultural relevance) is this: those who carried uncompromising messages, most especially Jesus, had great followings! Many people wanted to hear what they had to say! They may have been thoroughly dislikable, but that would probably have been to those who were over-comfortable in their cultural context. But when someone springs up with a message that is clear and without contradiction, and is demonstrated by the lifestyle of the one that preaches it, it is amazing how many people want to hear this kind of message!

My point is this: Christians really REALLY ought to stop being ashamed of the good news, not only for the obvious reasons that a) the Bible says so and b) it’s good news, but c) because there really really really are people out there who are hungry for a message, a cause, a lifestyle, which demonstrates absolute conviction and forwardness, and they will flock to one who preaches in this way. Let’s stop being afraid of the threats and the offenses that will be caused by one or two, and look instead at the harvest and see that it is white! I totally believe this was Jesus’ approach, and it ought to be ours also.

Lord help us preach Your good news without compromise.

In what could be the first of a series (I suppose) on hermeneutics (and that depends on whether I find enough time/inspiration springing up to continue on other issues), I thought I’d at least make a little note containing my thoughts on a certain hermeneutic principle which is found to be prevalent especially in the United States and coming particularly in line with (but not exclusively from) Word of Faith ministries.

There is, you see, an understanding ‘out there’ in the world of Bible teaching especially in said areas, wherein we are instructed to take the Bible literally, on its word – what the Bible says, goes. We must completely believe that what it says is what it means – in fact as a principle of interpretation it entails very little requirement for any interpretation at all. That I suppose is a matter to settle in itself – how are we, supposed ‘mere mortals’, to interpret a divinely-authored book?

At this point, a disclaimer and a brief Scriptural statement. First, I believe wholeheartedly, 100%, that the Bible IS a divinely-authored book. From the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation God spoke and is still speaking through those words now so wonderfully preserved for us now in almost every language on the planet. The Bible itself instructs that it is a book to be effectively DEVOURED by the reader in order that life may be given and salvation manifest (Psalm 119 is one beautiful example of a psalmist’s adulation of the Word of God). Further clarification of my stance can be made if necessary (and points of it will obviously in this article).

And by way of Scriptural statement. First of all Jesus, we believe, came as the Word of God made flesh (John 1), and so if there is anything that we want to understand about God in the Bible we have to look at Jesus, as He perfectly demonstrates the Father and what He is like. That is our view as Christians. Secondly, Peter makes a very clear case for interpretation of Scripture, when he explains how we are to pay attention to the Word in 2 Peter 1:19-21. In it he says that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” In other words the same principle that was involved in the authoring of Scripture – namely that the Holy Spirit was involved – should be the rule for our interpretation of Scripture. That’s why it’s a great idea to pray before you read the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to come and make it alive to you, to breathe on the words, and to, as it were, interpret them to you.

And so, we have laid the ground for what may now seem like a slightly hardened polemical against this certain hermeneutic principle (and it could seem, against those who adhere to it).

On the basis of the statement above, namely that we are to take the Bible on its word, that it means what it says, that what the Bible says goes – I would be likely to come to certain doctrinal conclusions which the reader may be familiar with: 24-hour 6 day creationism, a literal 7-year tribulation, and the everlasting, conscious torment of those lost to hell. All of these doctrines have, it can be without doubt, been approached using the hermeneutic method of taking statements found in the Bible ‘literally’ – at face value.

A couple of the reasons I think that people like to adhere to this kind of reading of Scripture are:
a) it is simple, ie. there are no complications that would arise out of a reading of a verse. Regardless of the natural offense that my inner witness would have about the injustice of eternal, torturous suffering as the cost of seventy years of sin, I must believe that sinners suffer eternally in hell because of the verses which speak of eternal fire, smoke, darkness, punishment and judgment.
b) This view is not subject to the potential problem of human error in interpretation. This appears helpful on the surface because if you simply ought to believe what the Bible says then you are not in danger of putting your own swing on it and bending the meaning of Scripture to your own will and desires. However it can be subtly destructive and become an unnecessary offense among brethren as one who might question the meaning of ‘eternal judgment’ (perhaps – consider – as opposed to eternal judgING?) would be haughtily reproved and challenged that they should have any desire to find a different (or actual) meaning to Jesus’ words, as there is surely no other principle than that we take it as it is. Now, there will always be whacks who want to bend Scripture to their own will and desires, but this principle throws out the baby with the bath water. Jesus interpreted Scripture (Luke 24:27,45). Peter recommended that we do the same, by the Holy Spirit. Many others are recorded as having ‘explained Scripture’ (eg. Neh 8:7-8; Acts 8: 30-35), and so hopefully by the end of this article, we shall have (if we do not already) the same desire to ‘accurately handle the word of truth’ (2 Tim 2:15).

Now my examples (6-day creationism, elements of eschatology, eternal conscious torment) have obviously shown (what I feel are) the extremes that are reached by using this principle in interpretation. If we step back for a general survey of Scripture I’m sure there would be occasions when it would be logical to simply take what it says as its means and unnecessary or even unwholesome to obscure the text with a different meaning. I believe that Jesus really did die on a cross, as the four Gospels witness, as well as many of the epistles. There is no need for me to (initially) believe that the accounts of Him dying are in any way existential, fictional, poetical or otherwise that would extract them from an account of a literal event which, as it happens, changed world history. I then may come to meditate on WHY He died on the cross, who it was who died and how it related to His claims to be God, what He Himself said about His death, what it meant in light of Jewish history with its sacrificial system etc. That will lead me into meaning, but the immediate narrative makes perfect sense: He died on the cross.

Or some of the promises that we know and love. Take them as they are. If God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Straightforward statements such as these from the end of Romans 8 encourage Christians the world over daily. They are easy to understand and mean what they say, clearly.

But in many cases we should and sometimes are required to interpret what is said. Take Jesus Himself. His parables were not understood without explanation and/or revelation, and yet it says that when He spoke in parables He was speaking the WORD [Gr. logos, often used to describe Scriptures] to them (Mark 4:33-34).

We even find occasions in the Gospels where it records that His disciples tried to take Him literally about something and He was trying to speak figuratively. On one such occasion He began speaking about what He called the ‘leaven’ of the Pharisees and Herod, and they began to talk about the fact that they hadn’t brought any bread with them! He sighed and tried to explain that He wasn’t referring to real bread. Therefore ‘leaven’ in this context was MEANT to mean something else.

Similarly in John chapter 11 He speaks of His friend Lazarus sleeping, and it becomes evident that He is trying to infer something by His use of the word ‘sleep’, but when His disciples don’t get it, He has to tell them plainly: “Lazarus is dead.” He didn’t particularly like being taken literally.

You see, we have a problem (forgiveable, but still a problem) when New World American civilisation which has tended to come to view the world rather black-and-white, takes with it across the seas a book written almost exclusively by Jews thousands of years before, a people who were very much more prone to the poetic, the symbolic, and the imagery. Everything about their books cries out that there is meaning and depth to what is described on the surface, and this comes to be no more fully true than when a Man, Jesus Christ, arrives on the scene and unveils a whole new layer, by saying that all the Scriptures testify of Him (John 5:39).

The question we are left with then is, well how do we know what to interpret, and what not to? Surely if we are requiring interpretation of the Scriptures, we are making the job harder for people. I have heard people say, you should just be able to take the Bible as it is, and if some teacher or other comes along saying they want to explain it, that you should be wary of it because they’re trying to have their own way. All the Bible, apparently, should be instantly understandable.

I don’t know why, but this just doesn’t hold up. As we have seen, Jesus Himself, as well as others, explained Scripture. I can understand the worry, but let us not allow fear of the false to keep us from the true. Let us not throw out the baby with the bath water. After all it is true, much of what Jesus said can be understood even by children, which is why He and His message are so wonderful. You get the impression from what He said that it was the children who understood before many of the religious leaders of the day, and that it is those who are like children in this sense, who would be inheritors of the kingdom. But if He indeed spoke in parables and then had to explain them, or if He indeed did not particularly enjoy being taken literally, or if we simply acknowledge how openly pictorial and symbolic so much of Scripture is – I would say we have some work to do. And we do that work, as I have explained above, by the Holy Spirit, the One who inspired the words in the first place.

How does this affect some of our doctrines? One little bone to pick as an example of our less-literalistic reading, on the issue of eternal conscious torment. This is the doctrine of hell which says that those consigned there suffer forever, eternally, without end, and their excruciating torment is experienced consciously, and without relief.

One of the Scriptures commonly referred to, to justify this belief, is found in Mark 9:43-48, where three times it describes, not hell, but literally ‘Gehenna’, as being the place where the sinful are consigned, and where according to the description, “their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched.” I have been told that it would be foolish to take any other reading of this verse than to mean that they suffer eternally. The idea is that those who are in hell are perpetually being eaten by worms and being burned by fire, and I have read in a book that when some flesh is consumed by said worm or fire, it grows back again ready to be consumed once more.

Points I would have to make are:

a) already proponents would have had to have done some interpreting beyond taking it literally as it says it, because ‘Gehenna’ to the Jewish listener would have meant, ‘rubbish tip outside Jerusalem,’ where a constant fire was maintained to incinerate the trash. So if we are to believe this is an inference of hell, we are already interpreting. First clue that Jesus is speaking symbolically.
b) Second clue. Jesus is using definite hyperbole. If you read the passage, He instructs disciples to cut off their hand if it causes them to sin, yet not once do you ever read about any of His followers taking such a drastic action – or with their foot or eye, for that matter. Why, in an immediate context of hyperbole, would He suddenly interpolate a description of hell He intended to be taken literally? It would confuse the listener and reader.
c) Jesus is clearly and directly quoting from the last verse of Isaiah (66:24). There too, the words are intended to describe the absolute and inescapable finality of the transgressors, whose CORPSES (NB dead bodies, not alive ones) will inevitably be consumed by the worm and the fire.

There are further objections to be raised against the doctrine as a whole, on the level of Scripture, philosophy, morality and justice, etc. I hope an article dealing with this particular issue will be online soon!

But as for the matter of literal interpretation of Scripture I hope my points have been clear. I believe it is too simplistic in its approach to the Bible and has led to some obscure and damaging doctrines which unfortunately have been too widely assumed. It is time for us to redress the balance, to be diligent to present ourselves to God as workmen who do not need to be ashamed, because we’re accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).

Just a short one. The traditional Christmas-card image of angels holding hymn-books and all singing something which requires their mouths to be thoroughly round (must be O come all ye faithful) – have you noticed that no one sings like that? – doesn’t usually shake anyone’s Biblical grasp too much. Indeed the great penultimate verse of the aforementioned carol rings out “Sing, choirs of angels,” confirming the traditional view that on the whole if a bunch of angels are around, they’re expected to sing.

But, did you know, it is very hard to find any place in the Scripture, anywhere, where angels are actually reported to SING? You go to the places you expect it to say that they ’sang’ and in fact it just says ’said’. Isaiah 6: And one said to the other, “Holy holy holy” etc. Even in Luke and the famous Christmas passage, the gathering of angels is reported to have SAID its message, not sung.

Well, when I heard this I was indignant! What, no angels singing in the Bible?

And then, I read Revelation 5:8-10. This is where the four living creatures and the 24 elders sing a new song which says “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals, for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and that will reign upon the earth.” Wonderful song.

But the fact that you have to observe is that some of the singers were the four living creatures. Now you might argue, that these are not necessarily ‘angels’ per se. But if you combine the understanding of chapters 4 and 5 with similar Old Testament revelations, we would find from both Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1, that these must be almost without a shadow of a doubt the ‘cherubim’ of those passages, who are unarguably angelic beings. They sing the same songs. They have the same faces. Could it be, from Scripture, that angels do – in fact – sing?

What I’m after is the experience to match up with the Biblical understanding. I have heard stories of times of corporate worship so heavenly that many people have heard angels to join in, even within our context in Ichthus in London, on occasion. Oh that we would partake of a heavenly rejoicing, and hear the angels join in as we do so!

I have a lot buzzing round my head. So I thought I’d stop by to get some of it out. Just to give some context:  Just been doing two weeks of intense mission in which God has done more than I possibly imagined might happen, and generally been wonderful. He is really really good!

Thoughts number one and two go together. I was listening to Bill Johnson on a very long drive yesterday, and he said he believed there would be a generation coming who know what it is to see daily advancement of the kingdom. I thought about it, and kinda agreed and said amen.

But later, I suddenly thought of the words of Jesus found in Luke 9:23 – he who wishes to follow Me (says Jesus) must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow Me. Suddenly I realised, Bill was right. Who would die for something not worth dying for?? The cross is the greatest price ever paid and yet what it paid for far outweighed it again in terms of worth. In the Christian life, when we take up a cross, it is not to simply be sacrificialists – that is more Old Testament thinking. We take it up because we see a great goal ahead worth paying that price for. (For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in/to us, Romans 8. Jesus for the joy set before Him went through the cross Hebrews 12:2. etc.)

I believe Luke 9:23 is loaded with potential and God is looking for the generation that is made HUNGRY by the potential of this verse, wherein we might indeed see DAILY kingdom advance. How surely in this life is death followed by a resurrection? (Phil 3:10 the two go together.)

The next point is linked to this. It’s common to read this verse or hear it preached, and to feel crushed and depressed because, how on earth do I die daily? (Didn’t Paul also use that phrase – I die daily? Galatians?) What a challenge! Yet first of all, we ought to be encouraged by resurrection, but secondly, it is worth reminding ourselves that according to John 1:14-17, Jesus brought GRACE AND TRUTH. The Law was given through Moses. They found that impossible. When Jesus came, He did not just release truth to finish us off with impossible holiness, nor did He just release grace without us knowing what we needed it for. He released both. Jesus never speaks a truth without releasing the grace needed to accomplish/fulfill it. Titus 2:11 says the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness! Isn’t that amazing. Translating ‘charis’ as ‘grace’ (normal) in Hebrews 12:28, would tell us to have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably. If you read something that Jesus says (such as Luke 9:23) and you wonder how on earth you can live like that, get into receiving posture and let His grace come.

Final thought, kinda different from the rest. Just a point which came from discussion with a friend. When Christians think about their future they often think geographically – where does God want me? I’m not saying that’s wrong, quite clearly God’s heart is for nations, and that is how we do mission. But perhaps we just need to shift our thinking a little bit and think: with whom does God want me? Who are the people who I know have something I want spiritually? Who are those with whom I have a great spiritual bond where there is something more to develop? I just know that personally and for a few others that I’ve known of, thinking relationally rather than geographically has helped a great deal to fuel people further into their calling and destiny. That’s just a thought, maybe I’ll expand on it sometime.

I’m personally excited that from September, I will be working part-time with Ichthus doing various things including involvement with the worship life of Ichthus. I have many great ideas!! But the best thing will be working with Chris Orange who carries so much of what I want to press into. And being around people this year who have pioneered some incredible things in the faith, like Roger and Faith Forster, and others, has been an incredible experience, the investment I have received has been wonderful, I feel spiritually fat with all the amazing stuff I’ve been learning! So, it’s all about people!

[Note: unashamed Bible Study time. Get in that frame of thinking. This is good stuff.]

The Rock of the Revelation of Jesus Christ

In the first two chapters of Peter’s first epistle, we have a beautiful picture presented to us of the house of God. It takes some work, especially in the first chapter, to discover some of this picture, but I firmly believe it is all there if the reader is in the flow of the whole counsel of God, the whole of Scripture, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Peter’s encouragement to the believers begins very strongly with the theme of looking forward to ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ – that is, His second coming. The terms that Peter uses in this are important to note, as they can be used in reference to Zechariah’s prophecy of the second coming of Christ:

‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’ (Zechariah 4:7)

Here in the prophetic picture of the rebuilding of the house of God, the prophet envisions the victorious conclusion of the rebuilding with the hands of Zerubbabel (who, importantly, had laid the foundation also, Zechariah 4:9) bringing the capstone with shouts of “Grace!”

Now in 1 Peter the apostle begins to speak in these terms, addressing the believers

“who are protected…for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time…” (1:5 emphasis mine)

“so that the proof of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” (1:7 emphasis mine)

“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries…” (1:10)

Arguably Zechariah could be one such prophet. Let us continue to read what Peter has to say about this prophetic inquiry which in the context of the chapter and of the possible reference to Zechariah that Peter is thinking of, would concern the second coming of Christ:

“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things into which angels long to look.
“Therefore…fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1:12-13)

It would seem very likely that Zechariah can be reviewed in light of Peter’s words. He is speaking of the grace to come at Jesus’ return, just as Zechariah declared that “Grace!” would be spoken at the placing of the capstone.

If we venture forwards into chapter 2 of 1 Peter, we begin to see a different, more present picture presented for us. We discover that Jesus is “a precious corner stone” and “the stone which the builders rejected, [which] became the very corner stone” (2:6-7, citing Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22 respectively). Now Jesus is not the capstone but the cornerstone! These two have very different functions. The cornerstone is at the crux of the foundation, without which the builders cannot do. If you steal the cornerstone before they have laid it, they are stuck and must find another! Jesus came as the absolute necessary piece of the foundation for the faith of the people of God. In times past there had been hints and ways for the people of God – one or two of them – to live in real, effective faith. But a way had to be made for all to come to God and to be able to live for Him effectively in the world.

Jesus laid a strong, firm foundation for His church. In Matthew 7 He called it a rock upon which we are to build our house. When we build on this rock, no amount of bad weather can knock it down! Very similarly in Matthew 16 He spoke in no uncertain terms of how He would build His church on the rock of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Guess who He revealed this to? Peter!

The capstone, however, is that which crowns and completes the building, which gives it the final and complete perfection, the beauteous finish. It is often observable in the centre of an archway as the stone which slots neatly between those other stones which have been built up to it. It is not the tough, load-bearing, unattractive and probably invisible stone that the cornerstone is; it is a decorative, strong, attractive final touch to impress those who enter.

Wonderful! But what are these stones inbetween the cornerstone, and the capstone?

It’s us! Peter says:

“And coming to Him as to a living stone…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (2:4-5)

What a fabulous place we have in history! Jesus has come, as the cornerstone, to lay a foundation for the church. He has utterly made a way for men and women to live for God. Now we, as living stones, are being built up in Him (see also Ephesians 2:20-22 in which He is again the cornerstone and we are also being built up into a house). At some point, we will reach completion, which is what I believe Ephesians refers to as the “fullness of God” (3:19) and “a mature man…the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (4:13). When we have grown up to this stature, God having completed that good work which He began (Philippians 1:6), Jesus can return for His spotless bride, who has been transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18), and as the capstone crown the whole thing!

Kings and Priests

In speaking of our being ‘built up’ Peter refers to us clearly as priests who have a job to do. I love the Amplified translation here:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 AMP)

Our role here, in the building of the house, is thoroughly and unarguably priestly. Priests were those that took what people had on earth and offered it up as worship. It was an earth-to-heaven direction.

The priestly role is in fact observable if we return to Zechariah, and chapter 3. Here we discover Joshua, high priest at the time of Zechariah, being encouraged in his role as priest in the house of God, given ‘free access’ to minister in His house. So we too as priests have been cleansed and clothed with Christ as Joshua was, because of the atoning work of Jesus, the Great High Priest.

But remaining in Zechariah and looking back into chapter 4 again, we return to the character we have already spoken of: Zerubbabel. Who was he? He was of the kingly line of Israel, who should at that point have been on the throne but for the fact that they were only just returning from exile.

This gives us a lovely picture of how the role of Jesus as Priest and King fits into history and the destiny of the church. When He came first as the cornerstone, as the foundation, He worked as priest unto God, as the Lamb of God offering up that which was acceptable to God on behalf of man, as the Great High Priest. By that work once for all now we can all come as priests before God.

When He comes the second time round however, He is coming as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (significantly it was the kings of Judah, of which Zerubbabel was one, that in God’s eyes held the true throne from David), as the victorious King, to adorn the temple of God (which is us) with the beautiful final capstone, appearing not as a despised, ugly cornerstone, but as the beautiful and completing capstone!

Thank You Jesus!

Watch this space and maybe I’ll find time to give attention to this subject in other places in the Bible, like the book of Hebrews, and the book of Revelation. There is more to be had!

As a Christian to a Western culture, I can speak from experience of a difficulty many of us in the church have with a need held in the necessarily non-Western attributes of Christianity (speaking of its origins) to be a-categorical in our ‘pastoral’ efforts. (I place the word in quotes because I speak not specifically of Pastors but more of our general relation to individuals in a way which hopefully seeks to be edifying.)

If I can elucidate: I have only lately come to the clear realisation that we in the West, particularly through our educational system, have a propensity to categorisation and sectionalisation which, we ought really to find, sucks the life sometimes from whatever articles may be under question – physical or metaphysical. While it may be argued that this is too much a ‘generalisation’ of our complex Western epistemologies, I think it not unnecessarily so. The breakdown may be seen obviously on the social strata of race and class which have each had their bloody wars in our recent history due to the consequent prejudice that finds place in the psychology of one tier over the other.

It may also be seen in much of our academic literature which forever seems to be seeking the proper breakdown of another’s argument as a means to understanding it, and then to establish it’s own proper structure for equal and sometimes prevailing clarity over another’s propositions.

It is recognised too in our business structures, established entirely upon the latest devised models which are in turn based upon sectioned research, providing companies only with formulae for management principles, market trends, customer service, and a host of other attributes – all probably admitting with regret that not every business transaction will fall within the boundaries set in such models. But to such models we must adhere lest we fall behind in the economic rat race.

I do not wish for this to be a polemical against Western post-Enlightenment reason (though I make no apology if some of the shades of my feeling emerge in the above examples). For sure a bit of categorisation is often beneficial toward the progress of certain ventures in life.

But I am concerned that we Christians do not continue with such a tendency into our relationships and our kingdom-church life. Over the last four and a half years of my growth in the Lord I have increasingly discovered through experience that the way the Lord would have us deal with issues and people is anything but categorical. Note how in three specific accounts in the Gospels of His healing a blind man, each records a different ‘method’. Note also how He confessed that He only did what He saw His Father doing in John 5. His only model, offensively, was relationship. Relationship with God, and with people.

I think we know this a little bit in the church, but it makes us uncomfortable when it comes to our day-to-day application because it requires something of us that we don’t have without asking the Lord for it and having to exercise faith. (‘We’ being the general rather than the total.)

As indicated in the example of Jesus, relationship in the life of God requires by necessity seeing and hearing, communion, contact. What earthly relationship is there in which we do not have speaking, hearing, seeing contact? At the very least one of these attributes must be in place to classify relationship.

And so in our engagement with people in the life of God I believe we must be seeking to be more and more prophetic in our helping deal with issues and work through situations. This makes us nervous probably because we are still not familiar with how to use the prophetic practically. And because of our cultural position, we crave the right model, the best method, for dealing with these things. But can we step out in faith? Can we dare to say, “Lord speak”? Every individual has individuals needs and issues, personal histories unique only to them, and deserve treatment corresponding in its nature. I believe we in the church can offer this, if we will exercise ourselves to think outside of the box in this matter. The answer is not one overriding model, it is a push for diversity of method and even abstraction from method in favour of hearing from God and thereby strengthening our emphasis on the only true ‘model’ – relationship.

“‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)

I believe the church has an unbelievable moment opening before her with the sliding economic situations in the West. I do not want to state too much presumptively, but I must write what I feel prophetically the Lord is saying about this season.

For a while I have seen a kind of ‘Daniel season’ coming upon us but I did not necessarily know how much it would manifest corporately, or whether it was just for me or our church in London.

Well now, hopefully, I see it a little clearer. Perhaps you can guess what I mean by a Daniel season. It is a time when things seem on the whole pretty bleak, and yet a remnant are raised up to have favor with men and those in authority in order to bring about restoration and change. Daniel was an incredibly godly man (one of my absolute favourites in the Old Testament) and yet he was honoured with incredible position in the Babylonian empire. I find him comparable also to Joseph and Esther. When he and his friends received persecution for their godliness, they were delivered and then actually raised to have greater esteem than before! Both their intercession and the administration of their roles in a godly fashion influenced Babylon heavily with the leaven of the kingdom and ultimately led to great spiritual breakthrough which triggered the movements of Israel to return to the land and fulfill the Lord’s many promises of restoration throughout the prophetic Scriptures.

How much do we, the church, need to understand the book of Daniel and how it pertains to us today! Surely the rearing head of Babylon in the book of Revelation ought to remind us that though the empire may no longer exist in the natural, it very much rules the world’s way of thinking. At some point, she is going to crumble, and those in the world who depended on a Babylonian mindset for life will weep over her.

There is a Scripture I have been chewing over quite a bit of late which I believe SO pertains to this season that we are in:

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-9)

Is this ‘the shaking’? I would be too narrow minded to say THIS IS IT! But it is a part of it I am sure, we are certainly of the kingdom that cannot be shaken, therefore let us have grace and gratitude whereby we may serve God acceptably (Heb 12:28). Because the world of course does not serve acceptably, except to the spirit of mammon and of Babylon, in extortion and injustice. True enough we the church are warned of the problems of mammon and the danger of worshipping riches in the book of Matthew, but in the book of Luke we are exhorted to be wise stewards of that which has been entrusted to us financially (16:1-13). Surely the Lord wants more than just for us to be individually responsible with making sure we tithe and give to charity. What if we too might be raised into positions of authority as Daniels of this age, to administrate wealth justly and through that to express the Lord’s heart? Just as with so many sacrifices in the Bible, so there is a resurrection, I believe, for our attitude to money; for once we have put away the desire for us to be rich in this age, recognising that the true treasure is that which is to be stored up in heaven, and that mammon is a god to be despised, THEN we can be entrusted with more because the Lord knows that we personally have no desire for it but that we do know how to handle it effectively and justly.

Our church is presently considering ways of financially supporting the community of London that we have direct contact with, as the credit crunch really crunches. I was so pleased when I heard this because we, the people of heavenly citizenship and heavenly focus, ought to be absolutely able to do this in all faith that Yahweh Jireh can provide abundantly in order that the world may witness that there is a God whose dwelling place is with men in the church. No glory comes to us. We do not keep any riches for ourselves (if our desires are right of course and we are accountable). Simply all the glory goes to Him and every help to the world as a witness that ours is the Everlasting God whose supply does not run out.

I was blessed also when I received a personal gift I was very much in need of, of quite considerable sum. For one it was an answer to prayer, but for another I knew that those who gave it were really sowing in faith, rather than just giving out of their surplus. It is a testimony to me more than of just a prayer-answering God, but that His people are starting to be equipped in the area of faith for what is about to be brought to our door – the ability to give generously, hilariously, and sometimes beyond our ability because of the wonderful provision of the God we serve.

This is not the prosperity gospel. This is simply a prophetic evaluation which I humbly submit to you, praying that the Lord will bring to light all that is truth and do away with anything unnecessary.

Scriptures (for reading/meditation along these lines): Genesis 41; Esther; Daniel 1, 7, 12; Haggai 2; Matthew 13:24-43; Luke 16:1-13; Hebrews 12; Revelation 18.