A Reminder On Halloween

I'm not too hung up on the whole "Should Christians let their kids wear costumes and go trick-or-treating?" discussion. I'm sure true pagans scoff at our Americanization of their holiday and would claim that there's no real connection with Samhain or whatever else defines old-school Halloween.

However, there are two facts I'd like to point out on Halloween. One is that October 31st is also the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, an event widely recognized as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and all it stood for: salvation in Christ alone on the basis of faith alone in the message of Scripture alone.

The other point is this: we do live in a world largely controlled by evil spiritual forces: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12). "The powers of this dark world" is better translated as "world-rulers of this darkness," in the sense of "world-rulers over this darkness." Most commentators believe that such powers affect leaders of worldly governments. Christians, however, need not fear such evil IF they "put on the full armor of God" and "be strengthened in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Eph. 6:11, 10). The armor of God is God's armor given to the believer which allows him or her to stand against the "wiles of the devil," that is, the various schemes the devil works to battle against the kingdom of God (Eph. 6:11).

Now, a subpoint to the point above. Spiritual warfare is nearly always defined as something like "taking the battle to the enemy" or "storming the gates of Hell," using the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) as a justification for making it an offensive, not defensive, endeavor. I think this is incorrect, and I think Ephesians 6 is on my side here. The word for "take your stand against" and the word for "stand" in Ephesians 6:11 and 13 are the same word; "stand your ground" in verse 13 is the same word but has the prefix "anti" attached to it. Primarily these words mean "to stand firm" or "hold one's ground in battle" (BAGD). Harold Hoehner, in his landmark commentary, states that "stand" in this passages means that the church is "only 'to stand,' hold the territory that Christ and his body, the church, have conquered."

Further, "the gates of hell" is a bad translation of pulai haidou. "The gates of Hades" is better, and we need to remember that Hades is the place of the dead, not necessarily the same place as Hell (gehenna in Greek). So when Jesus says, "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it," I believe the "rock" referred to here is not Peter (Petros) but the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16). The word "rock" in verse 18 is petra, a feminine form of petros, which means that Peter is not the rock upon which Jesus will build his church. Though the world "confession" (homologia) does not appear, it agrees in number and gender with the word petra, and it is what Peter just did two verses earlier. What this means is this: the church Jesus has built will not be defeated by death because it is built upon a confession of the one who has conquered death, not because it is built on Peter (sorry, Roman Catholics).

All of this to say that Jesus holds the keys to death (the fact of death) and Hades (the place of the dead) (Rev. 1:18). Therefore, when people in the church (and remember the church is made up of people, not buildings!) die, the church is not defeated because the death of the believer is simply the event that ushers them into the presence of the resurrected, death-conquering Lord Jesus! One day, death and Hades (as well as all who once occupied them) themselves will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14, also another clue that Hades and Hell are two different places). The devil and his angels (yes, angels can be evil - Satan is a fallen angel) will one day be thrown into the lake of fire where they will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).

The devil is not the King of Hell; he is its chief prisoner! He does not torture people in Hell; he is tortured for ever and ever. He does not enjoy Hell; Hell is not the Devil's paradise; it is his punishment!

Don't be afraid of Halloween. Know the facts: 1. Yes, spiritual forces of evil rule this world. But, 2. All evil spiritual forces will one day be thrown into hell to be tormented for ever.

Christian Songs that Inspire Me: Revelation Song by Philips, Craig, and Dean

I'm not a total hater. If you've ever clicked on the label at the bottom of the blog that says "Contemporary Christian Music," then you've noticed that nearly every entry is an installment of Christian songs that annoy me. I want to emphasize some songs that I like, songs that actually connect with me existentially. Today I give you "Revelation Song" by Philips, Craig, and Dean. [My comments are in red]

Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5:12)
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat (Rev. 4:2, 8)
[Repeat 2x]

(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come (Rev. 4:8)
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Yeah!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder (Rev. 4:5)
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King, (Rev. 5:13)
Yeah

(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Yeah!

Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power (Phil. 2:9-10)
Breath, and Living Water (John 4:10-15)
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah...

(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…
---------------------------
This song is based largely on Revelation 4-5, two of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture. The glory! The power and majesty are nearly indescribable. This passage ought to challenge the Buddy Christ, Jesus-is-my-homeboy attitude prevalent in so many Christians' lives and sermons. Jesus is the living Lord of all creation, whose name is above all names, before whom every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. The elders who surround the throne, who understand Jesus' identity better than anyone, cannot help but fall before Jesus in worship, laying whatever rewards they have been given (their crowns) before him.

Thank you, PCD, for reminding us that reverence is always relevant.

What I'm Reading and Stuff

It's painfully obvious that I'm not very good at blogging, and I'm really, really not good at blogging often. I thought I'd share a list of what I've read and what I'm reading these days, and maybe some ideas for future posts.

What I'm reading now:

• The Myth of a Christian Nation, by Gregory Boyd. Boyd is my favorite Open Theist, and he has some provocative ideas regarding evangelical Christianity and its (in his words) idolatrous quest for political power. The Kingdom of God was never supposed to be an improved version of any kingdom of the world (even America's!). It is debatable whether America ever really was a Christian nation, so trying to "take America back for God" and many other conservative evangelical hobby horses are wrongheaded and destructive to that which actually is the kingdom of God. It's pretty interesting so far.
• Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air, by Francis Beckwith and Greg Koukl. Moral relativism is a self-defeating philosophy which is impossible to be consistently and honestly lived, let alone defended as "right."
• Making Small Groups Work, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I'm not very far into this book, but I can tell it will be a gold mine of material for anyone starting, leading, or attending a small group.
  

Some ideas I'm kicking around:

• A Sunday School series on social issues: what does the Bible actually teach about . . . homosexuality (and the Christian's response to it), abortion, multiculturalism (esp. how to react to the growing immigrant population in the US), and any other issue that will probably get a lot of people really mad at me. :) The aim is to use the Bible (and not Fox News, conservative talk radio, or Focus on the Family) as our guide to seeking truth and grace regarding people who behave or believe differently from what we believe. Christians, let's stop being jerks to people who disagree with us. We all know about 1 Peter 3:15a-b ("But in your hearts set apart Christ Jesus as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."), but how many go on to read 1 Peter 3:15c: "But do this with gentleness and respect"?
• Christians Songs that Inspire Me: this would be a counterpart to my several entries under the title "Christian Songs that Annoy Me."