Our Last Battle (19)

Only Aslan, Only Jesus

The Last Battle is the only book of the Narniad in which Aslan does not appear in Narnia. Yes, He is of course in the true and eternal Narnia, but He does not appear in the Narnia of the Shadowlands in the seventh book. Or does He?

As we witness the transformation of Tirian, as we see the wisdom of Roonwit, as we behold the love and faithfulness of the King’s cohort, we can see Aslan’s working within His People. In the remnant of Narnians who remain faithful to Aslan and the King, in their faithful deaths, we see the working of the transcendent Aslan, the Son of the Emperor-over-Sea. 

This is a reminder that we don’t know what the immediate or intermediate future looks like, other than we know that Jesus is always and forever with us. Isn’t this what matters? After all, aren’t we citizens of heaven and aren’t we looking for that City whose Builder and Maker is God? (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:8 -16). 

The Stable was a portal of judgment for some, and a portal of heavenly glory for others. The inside of the Stable was greater than the outside. While the Calormenes thought they were driving Tirian into the Stable as an offering to the fearful Tash, Aslan was waiting to embrace Tirian into heavenly glory. Let us recall that as the rocks were falling on Stephen, beating out his life, that he beheld Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Jesus stands up for those who stand up for Him. The King of kings stood to receive and embrace His brother and His servant Stephen, to welcome Stephen to Stephen’s forever home.

“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one” (Hebrews 10:32 – 34). 

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Peter 4:12 – 13). 

The professing church in America has created a multi-million (billion?) dollar industry out of prophecy, and we have sadly exported it to much of the world. It avoids the Cross of Christ; rather than calling disciples to suffering for Jesus and others, it concocts scenarios in which believers escape from trial, tribulation, and having to faithfully witness for Jesus Christ by laying down their lives as their Way of Life. 

This Babylonian industry often leads to political alliances that soil the garments of believers, teaching them moral and spiritual promiscuity, worshipping Tashlans. 

Jesus is not the center of this industry, but it is too big to fail for it has its claws into the souls of millions of professing Christians. Most pastors (those who are aware) dare not challenge its message, for their people have been seduced by it and they would sooner change pastors than change their thinking. The denominations which are home to these purveyors dare not challenge them because they represent money and membership. Publishers love them because they sell books and other media. They are too big to fail, they are bigger and more profitable than the Gospel. 

If we look to Jesus, if we look for Jesus, then we will learn to see Jesus, and though we may not “see” Him in one sense, we will love Him and we will rejoice with inexpressible joy and glory (1 Peter 1:3 – 9). 

Our message is to be Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and the goal and purpose of every faithful teacher and pastor and prophet and apostle and evangelist is to present the People of God as a pure virgin bride to Jesus, wedded to Jesus, wedded only to Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:1 – 3). 

The purpose of Biblical prophecy is to reveal Jesus Christ, and the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). 

Let me try to illustrate what I’m talking about, here is a quote from the website of a popular teacher:

“Every year, _____ and other renowned Bible prophecy teachers unfold hidden meanings and revelations concerning world events. This conference has become a favorite among prophecy enthusiasts, especially as end-time events continue to escalate at a rapid pace. Make plans to join _____ at the __________ or take advantage of these teachings available online.” 

What in the world is a prophecy enthusiast? And isn’t all wisdom and understanding found in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2: 3)?  And where is the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ in all of this? What is the attraction? Who is the attraction? 

This teacher is too big to fail. He takes in too much money and has too great a following for his denomination to ever question his center of gravity – were that group to wake up.

O dear friends, Biblical prophecy unveils Jesus, it calls us to Jesus, it transforms our lives into the image of Jesus, it makes us more faithful witnesses to Him and the Gospel, it humbles us, it makes us agents of peace, it forms us to live sacrificial lives, cruciform lives, it teaches us to lay down our lives for the brethren. 

Biblical prophecy is not entertaining, and it does not appeal to our curiosity, nor does it call us to form alliances (political or other) with the forces of this world. Biblical prophecy is not escapist, preaching a doctrine of avoiding tribulation and pressure. 

For a thoughtful and Biblical approach to prophecy, I recommend Discipleship on the Edge – An Expository Journey Through the Book of Revelation, by Darrell W. Johnson, Regent College Publishing. You can also find some presentations by Johnson on YouTube.

One of the most insidious elements of the “end-times movement” is that it creates a false sense of security among its adherents. It has folks convinced that they will be removed from earth before things get bad, whatever “bad” may mean. This shallow thinking could only gain traction in an affluent society, for our brothers and sisters who are already in difficulties know better. This cotton candy thinking trains people to avoid the Cross, to avoid suffering for Christ and others, to avoid Biblical discipleship.

A poisonous fruit of this thinking is that when the time comes for tough decisions, we take the easy way out – rather than witness for Jesus we align ourselves with the pragmatic, with what we foolishly think is the lesser of evils – perhaps because we cannot conceive that we are called to suffer with Jesus and to suffer on behalf of others. 

If our lives are not formed by the Cross as our Way of Life, then we need not deceive ourselves that we will be faithful when severe times of testing come, we will have become like frogs in a kettle. 

Tirian and his cohort were faithful to Aslan though He did not appear, they loved Him even though they did not see Him…or did they?

What about us and Jesus? 

The Holy Spirit - Revealing and Convicting (3)

 

“I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

“All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:12 – 15. 

What do you see in this passage? What questions do you have? How is this passage living in your life? How are these words of Jesus living in your local church? Your denomination? Your particular tradition?

This passage is a reminder that Jesus deeply desires to reveal Himself to us. He wants us to know Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit intimately – He wants us to know the very koinonia of the Trinity; this is where chapters 13 – 16 are leading us, into the Holy of Holies of Chapter 17. 

Sadly, most of us have the notion that God puts barriers between us and Him, when in fact Jesus came to break down all barriers, in fact He became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Jesus died on the Cross the veil of the Temple was rent in two, signifying that the way to God is now open to us all through Jesus Christ. 

How do you view Jesus? Do you view Him as a God who is distant, or as one who is revealing Himself to you? Do you view the Father as an aloof parent, or as one who loves His children and enjoys being with them? 

Do you view the Father as a parent who is reluctant to give to you? As a parent who thinks you never measure up? As someone who keeps raising the bar of approval?

Or do you see our heavenly Father as a parent who loves us with all of His heart and who embraces us every moment of every day…who yearns for us to know Him as He truly is, and not as He has been caricatured within much of Christianity? Do we not cry to Him, “Daddy! Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). 

If you have never truly called your heavenly Father “Abba” or “Daddy,” why not give it a try? I promise it won’t hurt you. 

We can trust our Father that He will respond to us, we can trust our Lord Jesus that He will be with us, we can trust the Holy Spirit that He will speak to us. The essence of the Trinity (if we can use such language) is loving koinonia – this is to be our experience now in this life, and we anticipate its fulness yet to come in eternity. 

Consider these words in our passage; guide, speak, disclose, glorify, take. What do they portray? They portray relationship, communication. We see the Holy Spirit guiding us, speaking to us, hearing from the Father and the Son, disclosing Jesus to us, glorifying Jesus. 

Three times Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will disclose to us. The Holy Spirit will disclose things to come, and twice Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Jesus and disclose these things to us. The coming of the Holy Spirit entails us living in a relationship with Him in which we experience a life of the continuous unveiling of Jesus Christ. Jesus is always the focus on the Holy Spirit in our lives, always, always, always. 

Jesus says in Matthew 28:20 that He is always with us. When we arrive at John Chapter 17 we’ll see that we are called to live in the Trinity. Can we imagine a moment (if such imagination is possible) when communication in the Trinity ceases to be? When love and joy and delight and acceptance stop? 

(Let me acknowledge Jesus’s cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” While we can touch, in some measure, the depth of this holy cry, because it occurs in the Holy of Holies, in the depths of the Trinity, behind the veil that then existed, we cannot not truly understand or comprehend it – we can only fall on our faces.)

John writes in his first letter that he wants the recipients of his letter to have koinonia with him and his brethren because John and his brethren have koinonia with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3). In other words, to have fellowship with John and his friends is to have fellowship with the Trinity. This is not hubris from the Beloved Apostle, it is simply stating a fact of life. 

If I am a member of a family, and I invite you to our family’s table, then you will experience (let us hope) the koinonia of our family. Since we will not talk politics, but since we will speak of Jesus, let us hope you have a refreshing time!

To know Jesus is to know the Father; and let us hope that to know the People of God, the Church, the Temple, the Bride of Christ…is to know Jesus. Of course, we can hardly know others if we don’t share life with them. 

As we ponder John 16:12 – 15, let’s ask ourselves, “What do I see Jesus saying about our Way of Life, how we should be living, what we should be expecting?”

Are we seeing and hearing Jesus today? Is the Holy Spirit our breath of Life?