The New Testament in 90 Days

As we enter Chapter 16 of Revelation, what I notice most is not just the plagues, but the fact that it seems that no matter what plagues are unleashed on the earth, people do not repent.  (This reminds me of the story of the Pharaoh and the people of Israel in Egypt.  God sends many plagues, and yet Pharaoh does not repent.  It also reminds me that the book of Revelation was written during a time of great persecution, and was written for a people who were being persecuted.) (Although I do think Christians have some challenges in the United States, as there are more people who do are hostile to the church or just apathetic, I define persecution in times of imprisonment, abuse and being killed for being confessing faith.) We are nearing the end of the Book of Revelation, and I can't say that I'm unhappy about that.  It's hard to read, for a number of reasons:  1)  the symbolism, some of which is pretty easy to follow, some of which is impossible to discer...

In Chapter 10, the scene shifts to heaven again, and the most awesome angel imaginable appears on the scene.  John is not allowed to record what he hears from the roaring of the voice of the angel.  And he orders John to eat the scroll, and he finds it both bitter and sweet, like the Word of God contains both promises and commands, both comfort and judgment. This section of scripture is filled with strange and fearsome images.  We're no longer talking about famines and wars and plagues, but both worship and wars in heaven.  There are beasts and dragons.  So it's obvious that all of this is symbolic, not literal.  What are these visions about? In Chapter eleven a temple is being measured, and there are prophets.  Many people think this refers to the literal rebuilding of the temple.  other believe the the measuring and rebuilding of the temple refers to the growth of the church, until the end of the age.  Prophets will come who will testif...

In chapter seven, we switch, and again we see visions of heaven.  There are the 144,000 (okay, this is not a literal number, but it is 12 X 12 X 1000, which is a way of saying the fullness of those who will be saved -- and remember that 12 is the number of the tribes of Israel and of the disciples). And again, there is worshipping.  Especially the people who are worshipping are those who have come through persecution. Chapter seven closes with a promise:  "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Remember this.) But back on earth, the seventh seal is broken, and things begin to happen that no one prays for and no one hopes will happen.  Seven trumpets are ready to be blown and each will unleash a new plague on the earth.  The first four plages have to do with things that will happen in creation, and the last three will be plagues on the people.  And incredibly, the plagues do have something to do with the incense, the prayers of the saints. ...

So, in Revelation, chapter 4, we start getting into the nitty-gritty of John's vision.  (One of my friends says that she's not sure what John was smoking, and yes, what he sees is strange, but...) Please note that the vision begins in heaven, not earth.  When we think of the book of Revelation and its visions of destruction, it's important to remember that there are other, alternating visions as well:  visions of worship, visions of the throne of the Lamb.  Those visions are just as important as the other ones (perhaps more so). So the scene opens with the throne of God (and seven of all sorts of things again).  If you can close your eyes and imagine, it's not only strange, but awesome, with a rainbow like an emerald, and a sea of glass.  There are creatures worshipping around the throne, and they are singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" (sound familiar?).  Many of our hymns come from the book of Revelation. In chapter 5 there is a scroll to be opened, and n...

The Book of Revelation (notice the singular) elicits strong reactions -- some people are absolutely fascinated by this book:  its strangeness, the visions and the violence.  Maybe it's the fact that it seems like a code they have to crack is what hooks them; perhaps it's the idea that this book holds keys (sort of like Nostradamus) to the end of the world There are others that think that it's the last book of of the Bible for a reason.  It is the last book they are interested in reading.  A few years ago when I offered a course in Revelation to our adult forum during the adult study, a few extra people showed up, just because it was the Revelation.  But one of our Bible presenters, a retired pastor and great theologian, asked me, "Why are we studying THAT?" Yet, here we are, and I hope that along the way we can clear up a few misconceptions about that book.  There are things to be decoded in it, and there are things that (contrary to what you may have h...

Today we're just getting 3 short letters:  two by "John" one by "Jude."  The letters are so short, there aren't even chapters.  Just a few short verses in each one.  Both 2nd and 3rd John seem to be written to individuals, one to a noblewoman and her children, the other to Gaius.  I'm a little suspicious (might I say) about the noblewoman.  perhaps the reference is to a congregation, as often churches are referred to in the famine.  Just a thought. In both cases, the theme of loving one another continues in both of these short letters.  s well, the letter writer wants to warn of people who don't believe that Jesus really came "in the flesh."  She teachers of the time believe that Jesus  only "seemed" to be human, and therefore could not have really suffered or died, either. Third John also wants to commend on leader and criticize another. Both positive community habits (the habits of love) and warnings about false teachers and...

John's letter ends with these words:  Keep yourselves from idols. It's an intriguing way to end.  He hasn't said anything at all about idols in the letter, until this last sentence.  And there are those that say that John leaves the most important thing until last. What do you think? In the meantime, John continues to talk about love.  "Love one another, for love is of God.  Everyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."  The letter writer makes the case that those who do not love their brother or sister (who they can see) cannot possibly love God, who they cannot see.  In fact, we love God BY loving our brothers and sisters. The letter writer also talks about testing spirits to see if they are from God.  The test is simple:  do the prophets confess that Jesus has come in the flesh or not?  If so, they are from God.  If not, they are not. The other thing I notice, reading this letter again and again, is th...

Love one another.  This is one of the themes of the first letter of John.  Perhaps it is the ONLY theme of this letter.  Whether or not the "John" of this letter is the same as the "John" of the gospel, some of the themes are the same:  Abide in me as I abide in you;  Love one another as I have loved you.  The gospel and the letters of John are members of the same community of faith.  Some scholars have named it:  "The community of the beloved disciple."  So it makes sense that Love is one of the over-arching themes of both the gospel and the epistles. This short letter says the same thing over and over, and in different ways.  Some of the most well-known scripture passages in the Bible are in 1st John.  Lutherans will recognize verses from the opening chapter as part of their confession of sin:  "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  What does this have to do with "Love one anothe...

The short second letter of Peter begins by remind us what it means to live as Christian people in the world:  moral excellence, self-control, endurance, godliness, affection for others, and love.  But this reminder has a larger purpose:  the author of 2nd Peter knows that we are in this faith for the long haul  The earlier letters of Paul spoke of the imminent return of Christ.  They believed and hoped that he was coming back soon.  but now, well, he's still coming back, but perhaps not so quickly:  so what do we do, in the meantime? We wait.  And we live.  And we live faithfully.  Which means.... we are on guard against false teachers, which are everywhere trying to lead us astray, by by teaching and by life style.  The author speaks about teachers who proclaim that there is no ultimate truth, and therefore no point to living a chaste and humble life. The two other things the author of 2nd Peter does are: 1.  he recall...

The next section of this letter begins by exhorting Christians in community to live in peace with one another.  It is not just about mutual submission of husbands and wives, but also brothers and sisters in Christ.  "Don't pay back evil for evil or insult for insult.  Instead, give blessing in return."  Imagine if Christians were known for just this kind of attitude.   The letter admonishes us to be patient in suffering and to consider Christ as our example as well as our savior. In this section the author also compares Baptism to the journey on Noah's ark, which was salvation and safe refuge for eight people.   He will keep us safe, somehow, even in the midst of terrible times. I have to admit that, as I continue reading the first letter of Peter, I have some discomfort with some of the author's advice, especially his advice to slaves to obey their masters and just keep taking the abuse.  Although this was certainly written at a different time...

The Letters of Peter, James, John and Jude are called by scholars the "catholic" epistles -- because they don't seem to be written to any one church (as Paul's letters were) but seemed meant to be shared among many churches.  So they are not known by who they are to, but by who (supposedly) wrote them.  I say supposedly because not all scholars are agreed that every one of these catholic epistles was written by the person to whom it is ascribed. Aside:  the word catholic means "universal." That being said, there does seem to be a theme for this short letter.  It is written to a church, or to churches, that are experiencing persecution.  So there is a combination of the inspiration, encouragement an exhortation in this letter.  There's the wonderful images of the church as living stones, chosen, gathered up and built into a house by God.  Peter wants the people to remember that God first loved and chose them; this will help them to resist the tempta...

The tone of James' letter gets even more serious in this section.  He exhorts and he warns.  James becomes not just a wisdom teacher, but a prophet as well, warning people about what will befall them if they do not repent and live humbly, as friends of the poor.  He warns as well about conflicts in the church, diagnosing that the source of conflict is our greed and our cravings.  I'm not sure that this is the only source of conflict among us -- but it certainly is one.  And in our particular context here in North America, there is so much to want, and so much temptation! James spends quite a bit of time chiding those who are wealthy, warning them that there is more to life than making a profit, and that "they can't take it with them."  What do you think of James' words? Are they relevant to us today? James ends his letter with instructions about how to pray, and especially how to pray for those who are sick.  "If any of you are sick, they should ca...

Here's a little secret:  Lutherans are not supposed to like the book of James, much.  It might be because the author seems to be arguing with the apostle Paul (someone Lutherans really LOVE) regarding salvation by faith alone.  The author of James (and some people think he might have been James, the brother of Jesus) seems to be picking a fight with Paul, saying, "Oh yeah?  Faith alone?  I say faith plus works!  Faith without works is DEAD!" But the argument is overstated, I think.  If we think of faith the way Luther (and Paul) did, faith in Christ Jesus is what raises us from the dead.  And, people who are alive do things.  They act.  Because they are alive.  But the works do not save us.  They are just what we do because we are alive. At least, that's what Paul would say. Even though I'm Lutheran, and even though I'll grant that the book of James wouldn't be the one book of the Bible I'd take with me if I could only ta...

Like when I hear a good sermon (even though Hebrews is a letter, not a sermon), when I read this section of Hebrews, I sense that we are coming to the peak, the climax, the mountain, of the letter.  Here is where everything is leading, the encouraging and exhorting, the theological arguments for the superiority of Jesus as high priest and sacrifice.  Here we can sense so much the letter writer's desire that the people not give up, not turn away from their faith, even though (it seems) the times are tough and they are not seeing much evidence for the truth of their faith. By faith.  What is faith?  Generations of Christians have used this definition:  "The substance of things hoped for."  We believe in this we do not see, but we believe that they are coming, and we live differently because of it.  But there are things that we do know and have seen and heard about, and they give substance to our faith and our lives. The author of Hebrews recites a wh...

That is what the author of Hebrews also calls Jesus:  the better sacrifice.  He intentionally sets Jesus up against the priests of the old covenant, and the sacrifices of the old covenant, and declares Jesus to be better, more effective, good Forever.  Because he is perfect (unlike any other priest), he is able to save completely, because he died and rose and is now seated at God's right hand, he is able to intercede continually for us.  That is one of his jobs. And this kind of priest, and this kind of covenant was foretold by Jeremiah, who wrote, "Look, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.  I will place their laws on their minds, and write them on their hearts...."  So God always intended for this old covenant to become real. Some people think that this letter is written to Jewish Christians, who were considering abandoning their new faith, and returning to pre-messianic Judaism.  Sometimes the rhetoric ma...

Next, the writer of Hebrews points out Jesus as a high priest:  and not just any high priest, but a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek."  What does that mean?  Melchizedek is a sort of shadowy figure from the book of Genesis, who appears mysteriously to bless Abraham, and then disappears again.  He is not apart of the formal line of priests.  He is prior to the levitical priesthood.  In fact, he does not even appear to be an Israelite.  But he is unique, like Jesus. The other priests -- they were good, make no mistake.  But they had flaws.  There were many of them.  There had to be many of them.  They all died, but Jesus continues for all time as our priest.  As well, unlike the other priests, Jesus is blameless.  He does not have to worry about his own sins or his own standing before God.  He fully sympathizes with our weaknesses, but he himself has been made perfect. Jesus is a priest, our high priest, ...

The anonymous writer of Hebrews begins chapter three by comparing Jesus to Moses -- except Jesus is MORE worth of praise, more worthy of following.    Moses is the house, and Jesus is the builder of the house.  But now, we are God's house, the whole church, and Jesus is the one who has built us and is also our firm foundation. So, the writer continues, it's important that we hold fast to the covenant, don't get discouraged, don't harden our hearts.  He (or she?) reminds them of the story of the Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, and the promise of sabbath rest.  But there's more to the story than meets the eye.  Sabbath rest is about a literal rest from labors once a week, but it's more than that:  it's about entering God's rest, it's about trusting the faithfulness of God, whether in the wilderness or the promised land. So ultimately Jesus is God's sabbath rest -- the One who trusted God perfectly also offers us a Sabbath rest when we tr...

We don't know much about Hebrews. We don't know who wrote it (very long ago it was ascribed to Paul, but his name is never mentioned in the greeting.  In fact, there isn't a greeting at the beginning, although there are some final greetings at the end.)  We don't know who it was written to, despite the fact that the title says it was written to "the Hebrews."  (Some people think perhaps it was written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem; others disagree.) We're not sure when it was written, either. Some people even think it wasn't a letter, actually, but a sermon, an idea which sort of intrigues me.  I am also intrigues by the idea that perhaps Apollos wrote it, or even Aquila or Priscilla.  But don't mind me, I'm also the one who thinks that Lazarus could have been the "Beloved Disciple." Whatever else it is, Hebrews is a hymn of praise to Jesus.  The mysterious author makes the case for the uniques of Jesus as Savior and Son o...

Today we have another short, personal letter:  Paul's letter to a man named Philemon. What I love about this letter is that, just like all good personal letters, we don't know exactly what i going on, because we only have one side of the conversation.  But we know that Paul's letter to Philemon has to do with one of Philemon's slaves, Onesimus.  Onesimus may have run away, or Philemon himself may have sent him to Paul.  But now Paul has met him, and he is sending him back to Philemon.  In the meantime, Onesimus has become a believer, and when Paul sends him back to his master, he asks him to consider Onesimus not simply as a slave but as a brother in Christ. Because of the delicacy of Paul's words (and the fact that it is only one side of the conversation), it's not clear whether he is trying to convince Philemon to set Onesimus free, or simply to treat him more fairly. And of course there's more going on, but this very short letter is a window not jus...

Titus and the next letter we will read are similar in some ways, and very different in some others.  Titus is a church letter.  Philemon may also have been, but that's not why Paul is writing to him.  Paul is writing to Titus in his role as a leader of a church. The letter to Titus does not seem as personal.  It is concerned with church order and everyone's behavior.  Paul does not want the congregation members to give offense in the community, so advices master and slaves, older men and older women, and advises the congregation members to live in peace in the community as well.  Paul seems to be concerned that no one make waves -- he doesn't seem like the same person who once healed a slave girl who was possessed by a demon, because she was following them around and shouting.  He doesn't seem like the same person who made waves everywhere he went, until people say, "These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also!" But somet...