Bully's Blog

Unfathomable Depths

“One of the great joys of studying Scripture is that there is plenty of low hanging fruit: food for the youngest and simplest believer; yet, at the same time there are unfathomable depths to enjoy. Let Augustine (certainly brighter than you or me, and a great student of Scripture) spur you on to be Bible crazy:

There is such depth in the Christian Scriptures that, even if I studied them, and nothing else, from early childhood to worn-out old age, with ample time and unflagging zeal, and with greater intellectual ability than I possess, I would still each day find new treasures within them. The basic truths necessary for salvation are easily found within the Scriptures. But even when a person has accepted these truths, and is both God-fearing and righteous in his actions, there remain so many things which lie under a great veil of mystery. Through reading the Scriptures, we can pierce this veil, and find the deepest wisdom in the words which express these mysteries, and in the mysteries themselves. The oldest, the ablest, and the most eager student of Scripture, will say at the end of each day: ‘I have studied hard, but my studies are only just beginning.’

Augustine, Letter 137.”

Pilfered from Matthew Mason’s blog.

Gospel For Asia President Calls India Election Results A Vote Against Extremism

The size of the vote against those advocating violence against Christians amazed the political pundits, who had predicted a close election with perhaps years of unstable and weak coalition governments in India’s future.

“No one expected this,” Dr. Yohannan noted. “The Congress party itself is surprised.”

But Dr. Yohannan said there was a clear explanation.

“Many political pundits are talking about the ‘X’ factor in this election, something unexpected that can turn the results. There was an ‘X’ factor, and I believe it was God.

“There are 1.2 billion people in India,” he explained. “They are very important to God, and He worked.

“So much prayer went up,” he added. “Christians have been praying, and God answered their prayers. That’s what happened.”

It’s interesting that in India a secular state will curb the persecution, while in the West it is the secular state that is increasingly becoming the instrument of persecution by litigation.

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the Land. (Revelation 5:6)

The Bible is the story of the historic battle between the serpent-king and the servant king. Both sit on bloody thrones. Herod slaughters the innocents, and is then slaughtered by God. The innocent Christ is slaughtered, then sends His followers into the world as seven Spirits (Lampstand/Pentecost), but also as lambs among wolves.

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Ted Baehr and Tom Snyder’s review of Angels and Demons points out that in the book, the mad clergyman’s assassin was a rabid Muslim. In the movie, apparently he’s a lapsed Catholic instead, killing for money instead of for Allah. Wouldn’t want to offend any Muslims now, would we?

Mark Hadley comments:

Yes, strangely the ‘assassin’ is one area where the film goes harder at Christianity than the book does.

In the book the Hassassin, as he is called, is clearly a sexual deviant who enjoys inflicting pain. In the film he’s been transformed into a compassionate killer. Sure, he murders cardinals, but that’s just because it’s his job. He actually lets Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra go free because they’re not on his hit list, and he throws them a warning to be careful of those men of God, implying they are the unscrupulous ones. This is a fact carried home by his employers blowing him up moments later.

Yes, I feel that it was pretty clear that the producers thought Islam should be off limits, but why go the extra mile? Why not just make the assassin a bad man, instead of setting him up as an additional witness to the church’s perfidy?

Dan Brown and Ron Howard would be brave men if there was such a thing as Christian jihad. But there isn’t and they are not. So, this alteration reveals both their cowardice and the fountain of their work: not hatred of false religion, but hatred of Christ Himself. They are the ones with the jihad.

“Some things need to be nuanced, and some things need desperately not to be. Those with a sophisticated turn of mind need to talk to an intractable fundamentalist once a week or so — to keep them honest. ‘So how is this not fatal compromise?’ And fundamentalists need to talk regularly with someone who read a book once — to keep them honest too. ‘So how is this not a complete misrepresentation of Calvin’s view?’”

–Doug Wilson, A Vat of Heideggerian Goo

For a blast and a laugh, read all Doug’s penetrating and perceptive posts on postmodernism.

Leaving Wilderness Behind

In Through New Eyes, James Jordan notes that the wilderness was Havilah, the place mentioned in Genesis 2 that was rich in raw materials. Israel stripped Egypt of her gold, then plundered the desolate places of hidden wealth. She came out of the desert with a High Priest clothed in gems, and a new generation of soldiers born of God’s threshing floor.

The manna began to fall just after the Hebrews’ victory over Pharaoh. As with Jacob, the Lord was faithful to provide for His chosen one. But perhaps, in covering the ground, there is also the idea of a firmament (this might sound strange to some readers, but I have found the concept is a frequent one). The wilderness is the place of the humble bread of priesthood, displayed in obedience to God. It was the next generation that would drink the wine of Canaan after obedience under Joshua.

A Memorial

The Lord commanded that some manna be put into the Ark as a memorial. Symbolising manna, the white stone is a memorial of faithful priesthood. Joshua’s crossing of the Jordan was memorialised by large, engraved, white stones.

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The Purpose of the Restoration Covenant

“The restoration period is the last era of Israel’s history as the people of God and the climactic period of old covenant. The kingdom of God has grown beyond Israel and spread to the nations, who are the God-appointed protectors of His priestly people. Israel’s loss of independence and submission to Gentile powers was not a backward movement in the kingdom program of God. Abraham had been chosen by God so that through him all the nations of the world could be blessed (Gen. 12:3). In the restoration era, this was fulfilled more than at any other time in Israel’s history. Through the dispersion Jews had spread all over the world and they brought with them the knowledge of the true God.

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Daily Dose of Doug

“…Another example of [the state] straining towards the divine attributes can be seen in the recent attempts by Obama through the U.S. Treasury to create wealth ex nihilo. But only God can create wealth that way. God spoke the word, and mind-boggling resources were instantly there. And God formed our first parents, and gave them the responsibility for stewarding those resources. That is the authority of the divine — He speaks, and it is. And blinkered statists want to be able to do that. They should be able to speak, and it is “there.” And so they speak, and what was there begins to vanish away. Jezebel brings in the fertility Baal to make Israel lush and green, and the first thing that happens is that Israel turns brown and crispy.”

Douglas Wilson, The Jitney Gods of Washington

Slumdog Millionaire might only be a bag full of clichés in a veneer of contemporary moviemaking, but as with Fight Club, the ending reminded me of the Last Days.

There are two brothers, and the older one resorts to guns and Dutch courage to deal with opposition, which puts him in good stead with the biggest gangster in town. He helps his younger brother rescue the girl, but claims her for himself (for all the wrong reasons).

The film ends with the younger brother rescuing the wounded “bride”. Both brothers end up “in the money”: the faithful younger brother in a miraculous game show win, the older zealot in a bathtub (grave) full of gangster cash (blood money) before a deadly ‘suicidal’ shootout.

It might be “raw, unleavened melodrama” (as one critic put it), but it’s a story written by the Bible into the fabric of our culture, and one we are still hungry for despite our unbelief.

Furnishing the New House

Zechariah’s night visions move God’s furniture around. As we saw, the instructions for the Tabernacle furniture align it with the Creation Week. And the Creation Week corresponds with the seven Feasts. Zechariah’s visions follow the Creation and Feast patterns, but the Tabernacle furniture has been shifted around all over the place.

Now, you will probably ask how eight visions can align with seven days or seven feasts. The answer is that it takes the two visions in chapter 5 to reflect the Day of Atonement. Thus:

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