Seeing the Invisible (3)

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 

“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16).

 

In the previous reflection I wrote that we’d return to 2 Cor. 4:6 in this meditation, but I think instead we’ll touch on the third foundational passage about seeing the invisible, 2 Cor. 5:16, and having done that we’ll then circle back to 4:6. Then we’ll work out way outward into the other sections of Paul’s letter. I hope as we develop this that seeing the invisible will come into focus for you (and me).

 

In 2 Cor. 4:6 we see that when Paul reads the account of creation in Genesis Chapter 1, that he sees through and beyond God creating the physical creation to God creating us in Christ as new creations. He extends this vision to 5:16 when he writes that we no longer see one another based on the flesh, on outward appearance – but we look beyond the flesh, beyond what the natural eye sees, beyond the tent that others dwell in (see 2 Cor. 5:1 – 4), and we see Christ in our brothers and sisters, indeed, we see the image of God in man – even when man is defacing and rejecting that image. “We recognize no one according to the flesh.”

 

This also can mean that when people look good and righteous on the outside “as servants of righteousness”, that they may be Satan’s messengers on the inside (2 Cor. 11:13 – 15). Seeing the invisible can mean seeing Christ in others despite outward appearance; it can also mean seeing evil in others, despite outward appearance. Paul writes of those who have a “form of godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). Things are not always as they seem, they may seldom be as they seem.

 

Why is it that we recognize no one “according to the flesh”? It is because a fundamental change has taken place in our lives – as individuals and as a collective whole:

 

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:14 – 15).

 

Then we have what follows 5:16, with Paul connecting 5:16 with 4:6 via 4:18, “The God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” We are now new creations in Jesus Christ, “the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (5:17).

 

Just as Genesis Chapter 1 portrays a comprehensive creation, so the New Creation in Christ is comprehensive, “Now all these things are from God” (5:18).

 

Our basis for not recognizing others according to the flesh continues in 5:18 – 21:

 

God has “reconciled us to Himself through Christ” (5:18).

 

This reconciliation occurred through the Incarnation, and through it God no longer counts our trespasses against us (5:19).

 

When we ask, “How can this possibly be? How can God reconcile us through Christ? How can God possibly not count our sins against us?”

 

God answers, “He [God the Father] made Him [Christ the Son] who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (5:21).

 

We learn to no longer recognize one another according to the flesh, according to visual appearance, instead learning to see one another in Christ, learning to acknowledge one another in Christ, based on our new identity in Him, as new creations. Jesus Christ has become sin for us on the Cross that we might become His very righteousness. (This is both organic and forensic, both imputed and infused – hence we have Romans 3:21 – 26; 4:22 – 25; and also Romans 6:1 – 11; 8:9 – 30).

 

Now, there is more to this than we might think, much more. While this is an exciting way to live, and while there is no Message as glorious as the Message of Reconciliation, there is a challenge that we’d rather not confront.

 

“That they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (5:15).

 

We may like to talk about being new creations, we may rejoice in our sins being forgiven, we may be awestruck by the idea that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself – but do we really want to confront the results of this? Do we acknowledge the claim this has on our lives?

 

If we have died with Christ (2 Cor. 5:14; Romans Chapter 6; Galatians 2:20; 6:14), then we are no longer our own, we no longer belong to the old creation, but have been raised to newness of life in Christ and therefore must no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf.

 

We would rather do without this. Our pastors dare not teach this, they dare not call us to this, they dare not use this as a benchmark for our lives – either individually, as marriages, as families, or as congregations. We expect, we demand, that our pastors and teachers gloss over this passage and others like it, such as Mark 8:34 – 38, for our lives will always be our own to do with as we please and no one has a right to tell us differently or to expect us to change our self-centered orientation.  

 

If we have pastors who insist on seeing us in Christ, if they insist on calling us to live in our identity in Christ as new creations, then there will be conflict – for they will call us out of the Christian entertainment business and the Christian self-improvement and self-help and group therapy business, they will call us to Biblical discipleship, to return to the Cross as our Way of Life in Christ. They will call us to move out of Christian nationalism to live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20); if we obey the Message then we will become Christians without borders – for we will see others not according to the flesh, but according to Christ. (We have a wonderful example of Christians without borders in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9).

 

So we see, I hope, that the Gospel contained in 2 Cor. 5:14 – 21 has the seeds of conflict within it, for to be a new creature in Christ means that we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ Jesus, it means that we no longer belong to ourselves, it means that our change of identity has brought with it a change in our center of gravity. Faithful pastors will hold their people accountable to this calling. They will affirm our identity in Christ, our righteousness in Christ, as well as call us to live out from that identity – not for ourselves, but for Christ and others.

 

Looking at the things that are eternal, seeing the invisible, not recognizing others according to the flesh – leads us to a higher Way of Life, the Life of the Cross.

 

In our next reflection, the Lord willing, we’ll ponder the words, “even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (5:16).

 

Postscript: I imagine this is new territory for many of us, and I’m pretty sure that this requires time and prayer and meditation. New territory usually requires these things. Even as I have been writing this reflection, I’ve been seeing new dimensions in Christ Jesus, and what I have known, I have only known in a measure…but I think this is nearly always the case…we know in a measure, only in a measure. Jesus calls us to know Him, not to have all the answers, not to wrap up loose ends, not to speak the final word on the glories of His Kingdom and our life in Him. Jesus alone will speak the final word, and He alone will wrap up the loose ends. I hope you will read these passages of Scripture again and again and again – for they reveal Jesus Christ and your life in Him.

Do Not Be Afraid

 

“Darkness had fallen, and Jesus had not yet come to them” (John 6:17b).

 

O yes, O yes, I remember that night. I was thinking about it when I was on the Isle of Patmos receiving the revelation of Jesus Christ. Considering all the darkness I witnessed in the Revelation, up close and personal, it was, I suppose, inevitable that I’d think about that night on the Sea of Galilee.

 

It was after Jesus had fed the multitude and withdrawn to the mountain by Himself. As evening came, leaving Jesus behind we got into a boat to sail to Capernaum. Sailing at night was normal for us fishermen, I’m not sure how the others felt about it, but Peter, James, Andrew, and I had fished many a night in our business – some nights the catch was great, other nights meagre.

 

You may have noticed that I wrote, “Darkness had fallen, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” You see, we expected Jesus to show up – He had that way about Him; He has that way about Him. O my, how He showed up on Patmos…He showed up in a way I never expected, in a way I wasn’t looking for. But then, isn’t that the way He is?

 

Anyway, the thing is that the sea became agitated, the wind was blowing, we couldn’t use the sail and so we rowed, and it was hard going to put muscle to oar. The waves were rising and falling and tossing the boat, and the brothers that weren’t fishermen were wishing they’d stayed behind. We were asking one another, “Where is Jesus? Where is Jesus when we need Him? Why did He send us by ourselves? Why couldn’t we have waited for Him?”

 

That’s another thing about Jesus. Sometimes He says, “Wait for Me.” Other times He says, “Go on ahead.” That’s crazy isn’t it? After all this time I still don’t understand it, I still don’t understand Him. O there is a lot I know, but it doesn’t seem there is a lot I understand.

 

I know He loves you and me. I know He never leaves us or forsakes us. I know He is our Good Shepherd. I know His mercy and grace are without measure. I know His peace passes my comprehension. I know His perfect love casts out all fear.

 

I know all of these things, but I sure don’t understand them. I know Him, O how I know Him, but I can’t say I understand Him.

 

Well, darkness had fallen and the sea was throwing us up and down and there were times we thought our boat might capsize. Then we saw Him, walking on the tempestuous water – and we were scared, just plain frightened.

 

Now go figure, if you can. On the one hand we are asking each other, “Where is Jesus?” Then when we see Him we are frightened. What sense does that make? I don’t know if we were more afraid of the storm or of Jesus. I’m shaking my head as I write this.

 

Storms can be disorienting. Storms in darkness can be especially disorienting and cause you to lose your equilibrium.

 

Notice that Jesus was “drawing near to the boat.” Do you think that lessened our fear of Him? No indeed! The closer He came the more we trembled!

 

Yes, as I was experiencing His revelation on Patmos, I truly was thinking about that night on the Sea of Galilee when darkness fell and Jesus had not yet come. I was indeed thinking of the churning of the sea, the howling of the wind, the boat being tossed about like a child’s toy. I saw much darkness on Patmos, I saw churning waters and felt howling winds, and the thunder, the thunder and lightning in Revelation was deafening and blinding – Revelation was, at times, like being in an amphitheater filled with kettle drums whose vibrations shake your very soul.

 

On Patmos, when I first saw and heard Him “I fell at His feet like a dead man” (Rev. 1:17).

 

Then what did Jesus do? Why He touched and said, “Do not be afraid.”

 

That also reminds me of that night on the sea, for He said, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

 

Isn’t He always saying that to us? “It is I; do not be afraid”?

 

When darkness falls but Jesus has not yet come, when the storms howl about us and toss our boats, filling them with water, stretching their seams; when we see images on the ocean that we do not understand, when those around us are panicking, when we wonder what in the world we are doing and how in the world we got where we are…we can be sure that Jesus is coming to us, we can be sure that through the gale force winds and the uncertainty of every moment, when our hearts want to leap out of our chests and we are chasing our breath – we can be sure, we can be certain, we can be confident that Jesus is speaking to us, that Jesus is saying, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

Seeing the Invisible (2)

 

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 

As mentioned in our first reflection, I want to connect 4:18 with 4:6 and with 5:16, having done that we will, the Lord willing, work our way outward into the other sections of 2 Corinthians.

 

“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

 

To what is Paul referring in quoting God?

 

Of course he is directing our attention to Genesis 1:3, “Then God said, “Let there be light” and there was light.”

 

Did you notice that Paul’s quotation is slightly different in form than Genesis 1:3? In Genesis 1:3 we read, “Let there be light.” In 2 Corinthians 4:6 it is, “Light shall shine out of darkness.”

 

I don’t know if someone has tracked down another version or a variant to reconcile the two verses, but I don’t think they require reconciliation because while the form of the quotation may be a bit different, the content is the same. Genesis tells us that there was darkness, that God said, “Let there be light,” and that God separated the light from the darkness. Paul’s quotation, “Let light shine out of darkness,” gets to the heart of the matter.

 

We ought to take note of this, for we want to learn to look beyond the outside of the seed, outside its form, and look inside; we want to learn to look beyond appearances and see the heart of the matter.

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).

 

It should not surprise us that Paul writes, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6) and that he does this in 2 Corinthians, in which he writes that we are not to look at what is seen, but what is unseen.

 

Why does Paul direct his readers’ attention to Genesis 1:3? He does so because the Genesis Creation narrative is our narrative in Jesus Christ, it is our story as new creations in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Word, created all things, He is the Light of the world – He is the very Light that shines in darkness! “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overpower it” (John 1:1 – 5!).

 

As the earth came out of the waters in Genesis, so you and I come out of the waters of baptism as new creations in Christ Jesus.

 

Note that Paul continues the Creation narrative in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; new things have come” (5:17).

 

In 2 Corinthians 4:2 – 4 we see darkness, in 4:6 we see Light. Is it the Light we expect? That is, are the results of the “Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” what a reasonable person might anticipate?

 

Verse 7 begins with a BUT, and what a BUTit is!

 

Paul immediately reminds us that the treasure of the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ is found in earthen vessels, frail vessels, vessels subject to breaking, shattering, cracking, leakage. What does being a New Creation in Jesus look like?

 

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we who live [that is, we who have the Light of Christ and the glory of God!] are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:8 – 12).

 

Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it?

 

Is this not one of many reasons why Paul writes that he and his friends don’t look at what is seen but rather at what is unseen? To read 4:8 – 12 and not to see beyond the outer cover of the seed being sown, is to despair, to be confused, to even perhaps reject the Cross which we are to daily embrace and to love.

 

We are going to return to this passage in our next reflection in this series, but for now, I hope we will see that when Paul reads Genesis Chapter One, that he sees beyond the outer, beyond the visible, and he sees Jesus Christ; he sees the story of our becoming new creations in Jesus Christ. Paul sees, in Genesis, the process of transformation into the image of Christ which he portrays in 2 Corinthians, for example in 4:7 – 5:15, what we might term sanctification and spiritual formation. (He introduces Eve and the serpent in 2 Cor. 11:3!)

 

When Paul reads and ponders Genesis Chapter One, he sees the invisible.

 

After God said, “Let there be light,” there was still work to be done. After God says, “Let there be Light in Susan, John, Christine, Pete, Martha, and Patrick, there is still work to be done.

 

As we ponder the invisible and as we learn to see it and live in it in Christ, let us recall:

 

“The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17 – 18).

 

What does this transformation look like?

 

It looks, in part, like 2 Corinthians 4:7 – 18.

 

 

 

Which Direction?

 Here is a quote from T.S. Eliot's Play, The Family Reunion.

Which direction are you taking?

Your family?

Your church?

"In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away."

Seeing the Invisible (1)

 

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

 

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

 

There is a sense in which the Christian life is life lived seeing the invisible. Preeminently, in this sense, it is life lived seeing the invisible God, living in Him as He lives within us. Hebrews 11:27 tells us that Moses “endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.”

 

This can be a hard thing to think about and experience in our materialistic society and church, nevertheless it is the life in Christ to which we are called. It is the life of faith in Jesus.

 

What is it to live “looking at the things which are not seen”? What is it to look through and beyond the visible world? I’d like to explore this with you through the lens of 2 Corinthians, beginning with three verses and working our way outward from them, to see what we can see. These verses are 4:18; 4:6; and 5:16.

 

Let’s read 4:18 again, but this time we’ll add a portion of its immediate context:

 

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 4:16 – 51).

 

It will be helpful if you will read at least 4:13 – 5:10 to better see the immediate context, I have quoted just a few verses since this is a blog and space is limited. 

 

How do you think 4:18 relates to its context?

 

In other words, how do Paul and his friends view the “momentary, light affliction” they are experiencing? How do they “see” the “decaying” of the “outer man,” their “earthly tent which is their house”?

 

To put it another way, how do Paul and his friends view hardship and tough times? How do they think about death, whether it is death due to persecution, or death from their bodies simply wearing down and giving out?

 

We may not need much help in thinking about the good times in life (though how we think of them is more important than we realize), but most of us would likely agree that we can use help thinking about tough times, including that great unknown for many of us – perhaps for all of us in one degree or another – death.

 

If we only see what the natural eye sees and what the heart and mind convey to us through natural seeing, then what might we expect as we approach death? If the experience of our physical senses is our sole experience, then what might we expect when we face sickness or hardship (physical, emotional, psychological)? That is, how do we think about these things? How do we react to them? How do we help others facing suffering and death?

 

We don’t normally think about these things in our society, which is driven by sensuous appetites and pleasures. Paul warns of false teachers in the church who are “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18 – 19).  

 

Regarding suffering and persecution, when Paul looked at them in the invisible, he saw “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul saw through suffering, he saw beyond suffering, to the glory of God which was being produced in him, and which was awaiting him in eternity. As he writes in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”

 

Paul was not hoping what he was writing was true, he knew it was true because he saw it; in a sense he could touch it, taste it, smell it, breathe it. Paul and his friends were not looking at things that were seen, but at things which were unseen – and the things that were unseen by the natural eye were things substantive (Heb. 11:1), more substantive than anything that could be seen by the natural eye for they were eternal.

 

No wonder Paul prays for the Ephesians that, “The eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18 – 19).

 

Of course, this is how Jesus viewed the cross, “Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Jesus saw through the Cross, beyond the Cross, to the joy that awaited Him in the Father’s presence with us around Him – He saw us as the fruit of His suffering and death…and of His resurrection (John 12:24).

 

The mocking crowd, the leering religious leaders, the Roman soldiers, saw the Cross one way, Jesus saw it another way. Even the dear weeping women and other disciples at the Crucifixion saw the Cross one way, while Jesus was seeing it another way. Jesus was seeing the invisible, while others were seeing what their eyes saw – some as a tragedy, others as the successful result of their conspiracy, others as just another day at work.

 

What can we learn about seeing the invisible from 2 Corinthians 4:13 – 5:10?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revelation - Letter to a Friend (10)

 

Revelation – Letter to a Friend (10)

 

“This in-between time [between the first and final comings of Jesus] that John calls “the tribulation” is a battle for “the soul of the world” that will “shock God’s people out of their complacency.” (The Revelation of John, James L. Resseguie, page 72).

 

“Christians are part of a countercultural kingdom that opposes the ways of the dominant culture represented by Babylon.” (italics mine).  (Resseguie, page 73).

 

This can be a difficult message for professing Christians in America to comprehend, indeed, we can react strongly against it – for our core identity is not found in an exclusive and monogamous relationship with Jesus Christ as His Bride, but rather in a culture dominated by nationalism, economic success, pleasure, entertainment, athletics, and personality (as opposed to character). Since we have been raised in this environment, both within and without the “church,” how can we possibly know anything different?

 

Some of us may wonder at the atheism of certain philosophies and political systems, but we do not question our own syncretistic idolatry. Is it better to believe in no god or in a false god? Is an Imperial Cult better than no cult? Does it really make any difference how our souls are poisoned? Babylon has many faces, as does the Beast.

 

I’m not sure about God’s People being “shocked out of complacency,” would that it was so. Those “Christians” who profess a high view of Scripture seem to be leading the way into the depths of Babylon, or else are passive observers – I suppose fearing to speak a prophetic and timely “Word”.  Strangely, when insightful words are spoken, they tend to come from those who are not associated with the Evangelical movement. (Has this movement become a Nehustan?)

 

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

 

It is natural to want to be accepted, to be successful, to be affirmed by others, to avoid conflict, to live in peace (at least for most of us). However, if our hearts and souls and bodies belong to Jesus and to Jesus alone, then it is more natural to desire to please Him, to be faithful to Him, to share Him – regardless of the outcome. If we live for Jesus there will be conflict, there will always be conflict – and the absence of conflict means the absence of faithfulness to Jesus our Bridegroom. “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

 

On page 73 Resseguie writes that “patient endurance” is the “essential virtue” we need in our countercultural lives of faithfulness to Jesus Christ, calling it the “main Christian virtue” while citing seven passages in Revelation to support this thinking; 1:9; 2:2, 3, 19; 3:10; 14:12.

 

“It is not “dumb passivity,” but active resistance to the battle lines drawn by the beast and Babylon who require assimilation to their values, norms, and beliefs” (Resseguie, page 73, italics mine).

 

“Patient endurance is never a miraculous escape from the ordeal but faithful perseverance through troubled times” (Resseguie, page 73, italics mine).

 

Active resistance takes the form of obedience to Jesus. We offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, allowing Him to transform our souls – not conforming ourselves to the world but to Christ and His Kingdom (Romans 12:1 – 2).

 

“Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).

 

Friends, resisting the world, Babylon, and the Beast means that in our obedience to Jesus Christ we are conformed to Him, and Him alone. We are not to be transformed into the image of a Conservative, Progressive, or anything in-between. We are not to be conformed to Fox News, CNN, MSNBC or any other form of media or personality. Nor are we to be conformed into the image of politicians, national or local “leaders,” national or economic agendas (as they are normally expressed). If we are not going against the grain of the movements swirling around us – red, blue, and purple, then we are wearing their colors in some fashion. The only color we are called to wear is the white linen of the righteousness of Jesus Christ – any other color pollutes our souls and destroys our testimony to Jesus Christ.

 

The Son of Man and His Body, the Church, has no political or national or economic or social place to lay His Head on this earth (Matthew 8:20); this was true of Jesus Christ, and it is true of us, His People…assuming we truly are His People.

 

The Scriptures speak of perseverance and endurance, because this is what is required of us to reject the mark of the Beast and follow Jesus.

 

“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Matthew 24:11 – 14).

 

O dear friends, false prophets are not limited to those who make no pretense to follow Jesus, they are of little threat to professing Christians. False prophets include those who outwardly use the name of Jesus, who carry Bibles, who use the language of the Bible, who use the form of prayer to propagate their agendas of death, destruction, and hatred. False prophets are popular with professing Christians for they give them what they want, while blaming others for the world’s problems, while sowing division and hatred and violence and pride and arrogance among their followers.

 

And here is the thing, many pastors who recognize false prophets within the professing church dare not speak about them, dare not warn their people, for they know (or are pretty sure) that their people will reject them while continuing to follow the false prophets. I do not excuse these pastors, but I do feel sorry for them – very sorry. I know the dilemma myself – it is heartbreaking to see people you are trying to serve in Christ rejecting Him and following the airwaves and demagogues and attempting to conform Jesus into the image of political leaders, a nation, and the Almighty Dollar.

 

 I once asked a congregation why we, American Christians, don’t stop kidding ourselves and replace the Cross with a Dollar Bill. They probably didn’t appreciate the question.

 

It is hard to live among a church and in a society that has lost its mind, that embraces moral, ethical, spiritual, national, and international lawlessness. It is hard to see the spirit of the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3 – 12) embraced by professing Christians and our nation. It is heartbreaking to see the disenfranchised, the alien, the poor, the sick, the homeless, and so many others preyed upon by those who manifest the characteristics of the beasts of Daniel and Revelation. What can we say to the “bodies and souls of men” which are sold in the name of commerce and riches and wealth and pleasure? If it doesn’t affect us, we don’t care.

 

But of course it affects us, either we weep for others, or we offer our souls on the altar of the Beast and Babylon.

 

God tells us to flee Babylon (Rev. 18:4 – 5) and yet we justify her sins, making her sins our sins.

 

Either we will be molded into the image of Jesus Christ through the Word of God, or we will bear the image of the Beast and its mark. God’s Word, the Bible, as it is written (not as the false prophets would have us read it!), is our refuge, our defense and our offense – as we actively obey God’s Word in Christ, as we follow the Lamb we resist  the world, the flesh, and the devil – we reject the Beast and Babylon.

 

There is never any neutral ground, never; there has never been neutral ground in all the history of mankind and there never will be. We are either living for Christ and others, either loving Christ and others…or we are giving our souls and those of our families, those of our children, to the fires of Satan.

 

The Lamb or the Beast?

At whose altar are you worshipping today?

 

 

 

 

The King and His Bride...and the Shepherds: Conclusion

 

Months passed into years…and then one cold and snowy night, with the wind howling and the temperature plummeting…in a wooden house with rags stuffed between holes in the walls and small fire in a cast iron wood stove…with men and women and children huddled under worn quilts and blankets…with the Betrothed between two grandmothers to give her warmth…there is a knock at the door.

 

An aged and stooped pastor slowly rises and makes his way to the door…and then…and then…as he opens it…light fills the room, falling on the faces of all and warming them…caressing them with tenderness, and transforming them from weary to hopeful, from hopeful to joyful.

 

The Betrothed has her eyes closed, her face is wrinkled, her pulse weak, she sleeps in sorrow. A resplendent figure enters the room, and the eyes of all but the Betrothed are fixed on Him…and they know…they know who He is. With rising anticipation, they watch Him quietly walk to the Betrothed between the two grandmothers. The grandmothers? Well, they feel like giddy teenage girls again, for they know what is coming.

 

The King nods to the two grandmas and they leave Her side. Gently the King lifts the old quilt from his soon to be Bride.

 

He whispers, “Ishshah, My Beloved.”

 

“Come my dear, we have work to do.”

 

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“Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, they have trampled down My field; they have made My pleasant field a desolate wilderness” (Jeremiah 12:10).

 

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! Declares the LORD” (Jer. 23:1).

 

“I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding" (Jer. 3:15).

 

“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2 – 3).

 

Well pastor, elder, deacon, trustee, teacher, small group leader, which will it be?

 

Which shepherds will you be found among when the King returns for His Bride?

 

Robert L. Withers, May 2, 2026

Ezekiel 33:1 – 9.

 

 

 

 

The King and His Bride...and the Shepherds: Part Three

 

From this point forward every day brought new delegations to the pastors, new offers for them to lend the future queen to various ventures (all of course with the very best intentions, for the greater good; and if the pastors should benefit, well, so much the better.)

 

The pastors formed their own company, King and Queen Enterprises. They had a marketing department, a fashion department, they launched a music industry, a construction company, an entertainment division, an investment firm. They used the images of the King and Queen to be on their letterhead and marketing material.

 

They kept the betrothed so busy and in motion that she could no longer think, all she could do is what she was told to do, with the learned pastors saying, “We know best. Trust us, we know best.”

 

Her ladies-in-waiting, who served out of love for both her and the king, were replaced by women from the City of Fashion, the City of Marketing, the City of Politics, and the City of Dollar. Her food was laced with sedatives one meal and stimulants the next meal. She was never allowed to rest. She was never allowed to contemplate the return of her beloved King. Her heart was never permitted to behold Him.

 

As the pastors’ wealth and power accumulated, they became convinced that the king would not return, at least not in their lifetime. Why not align themselves with the political and national and military powers of the region? Why not endorse them – of course endorse them in the name of the King – why not insist that all people give their hearts to power and might and national identity – rather than allegiance to the King of kings?

 

Well, dear reader…again, my heart breaks.

 

Now to be sure not all pastors and shepherds got caught up in the insanity, but if you had traveled to this land you will not have found them at the royal court – which had become an Imperial Court with an Imperial Cult, with its leader from the City of Dollar and its council from the cities of the World.

 

The faithful pastors could be found walking the streets and looking for the disenfranchised, the hurting, the sick, the refugee, the hungry, and those who remembered the good and kind and gentle King (Matthew 12:18 – 21). These pastors were binding up wounds and carrying the hurting to the inn for healing at their own expense (Luke 10:30 – 37).  These shepherds were giving their lives for the sheep (John 10:1 – 18).

 

And the bride-to-be? She was cast out of her royal lodgings in rags after she was used up by the faithless pastors (they had no shortage of women to replace her as a figurehead). She wandered the streets, eating from dumpsters, sleeping under bridges in cardboard boxes.

 

Yet, as the Father of the Great and Good King would have it, she was discovered by some nondescript faithful pastors in their search for the untouchable and unlovable, and they and their little flocks brought her in and clothed her and fed her and gave her shelter and love and care. Most importantly of all they spoke of her beloved, of the Great and Good King…for they loved Him with all that they had and all that they were.

 

The King and His Bride ...and the Shepherds: Part Two

 

Soon a delegation from the great city of Dollar arrived to speak to the pastors of the royal court. The rulers of Dollar had heard of the betrothed’s appearances at regal balls in the surrounding lands and they had a request. They were not requesting the beloved’s attendance at a ball, but rather a trade festival, for their city was all about commerce and making money – they loved money. They thought that if the queen-to-be would attend their upcoming trade festival that it would attract people far and wide.

 

They also had another request; they had brought with them various products their city was known for and wanted the young woman to try them and to endorse the ones she liked. In return, the leaders of the city would make a payment to the pastors.

 

By this time, the pastors were accustomed to displaying the betrothed to others, and they were enjoying the attention they received when they brought her with them to grand functions. Furthermore, compared to the pastors she was a child, and a trusting child at that. She was convinced that these learned men whom her beloved husband-to-be had entrusted her to meant the best for both her and the king.

 

The pastors saw no problem with the offer from the City of Dollar, instead they saw opportunity!

 

Needless to say, the Festival of Dollar was a great success for the merchants and manufacturers and…to the pastors. Within days of their return to the royal residence in the land of the great and good king a delegation from another city arrived to seek audience with the pastors; they were from the City of Fashion.

 

The City of Fashion was having its annual grand festival in just a few weeks and having heard of the astounding success of the City of Dollar, they had an offer for the pastors that shouted of innovation and opportunity. They would triple the payment the pastors had received from the City of Dollar, plus give the pastors a percentage of the profits from the sale of every dress and gown the betrothed modeled at the City of Fashion.

 

Furthermore, in order to ensure that the young woman displayed fashion in its best light, they brought make-up artists with them, and dress designers, modeling coaches, and dance instructors.

 

The offer was immediately accepted.

 

However, this time there were questions from others within the royal court. While there had previously been murmurings, now the questions were louder, the concerns more forcibly expressed. Why were the pastors doing this? Why were they putting themselves and their agendas ahead of the king and his beloved bride-to-be? What were they doing to her? Why were their bank and investment accounts growing? Why were they not being transparent about their finances? Why were they not paying attention to the welfare of the people? The poor, the widow, the immigrant seeking refuge, the sick, the prisoner, the hungry?

 

The pastors had a stock response, “You don’t understand. These things are best left to us” (John 9:34).

 

To those who continued to protest, the pastors and their servants paid them special visits and suggested that perhaps they would be better off moving to another land, to another kingdom; they need not think about returning.

 

Well, dear reader, my heart breaks as I write this, the visions in my head make me sick as Daniel was sick (Daniel 7:28; 8:27). For by the time the betrothed walked down the runways of the City of Fashion you could not recognize her as the innocent young woman who had once faithfully endured the imprisonment of the evil prince, she no longer looked and moved as the bride-to-be of the great and good king – I will venture no more description – considering our own society it probably would not shock us, but it should.

 

The King and His Bride...and the Shepherds: Part One

 

The King and His Bride…and the Shepherds

 

There once was a great and good king who was engaged to be married.

 

When his betrothed was younger, she had been kidnapped by an evil prince, taken to a far-off land, and imprisoned and tormented in an effort to force her to marry the evil prince. However, the great and good king disguised himself, traveled to the far-off land, and after many trials and privations, fought the evil prince and his wicked servants, freeing his beloved betrothed, and bringing her safely back to his Kingdom.

 

Before the wedding date, the good king had to leave on an urgent matter on behalf of his people. Keeping in mind the horror of the kidnapping, he called together a cohort of trusted servants, known as shepherds or pastors, and placed the safety and welfare of his bride-to-be in their hands. The great and good king was confident that these men would faithfully care for his beloved and that he need not be concerned for her well – being.

 

As for the betrothed, as she looked at the kindly faces of the shepherds, she was certain she had nothing to fear and that she could spend her days and nights looking forward to the return of her husband-to-be and preparing herself for that great wedding day and their marriage supper.

 

After the king departed, the first few weeks were quiet and restful. The betrothed enjoyed spending time with her ladies in waiting, gardening, walking in forests and by waterfalls and gently running brooks; and of course she was preparing, always preparing for the return of the king and the much-anticipated wedding day.

 

As for the pastors, at first they were content with fulfilling the king’s charge to them, but the longer the king was gone, the more restless they became.

 

“How long will he be gone? When will he return?” they asked one another.

 

As the weeks became months and as the months multiplied, they asked, “Why hasn’t he returned? Perhaps something happened to him? Maybe he is ill. He could have died of sickness or even been killed in battle.”

 

At one time these pastors spoke of the king and only the king. They talked to the bride-to-be of the king, they talked to the people of the king, they taught the children of the land about the king.

 

Then one day a messenger arrived from an adjacent land. The ruler of that land was giving a ball and was extending an invitation not only to the pastors, but also to the king’s betrothed; he wanted the pastors to bring her with them.

 

Such a thing was unheard of in all the history of the land of the great and good king. From time immemorial kings would only dance with their spouses or their intended spouses, and queens and queens to be would only dance with their husbands or husbands to be. The eyes of kings were only for their queens, and the eyes of queens were only for their kings.

 

The pastors thought, “Even though such a thing is unheard of, the king has been gone far longer than we thought he would be. He may come back, or he may not. The young woman must be bored waiting for him, we certainly are. If the king does return, would he not be pleased to know that we had brightened his betrothed’s life by taking her to a grand ball where she could shine before others? He would certainly appreciate our efforts.”

 

And so it began, for as word spread abroad that the beautiful betrothed of the good and great king was being escorted by the king’s pastors to balls and festivals invitations deluged the royal court. The shepherds convinced the young woman, after prolonged argument with her, that even though such a thing had never happened before in their kingdom, that these were exceptional times and that the king would not only understand, but that he would approve.