The lectionary has taken me to Revelations, and I have ended up blogging it. And since, today I am on annual leave, I am thinking why. I have heard too much speculation as to whom is God and Magog: who will be the antichrist, and in what order things will happen.
And I have come to a conclusion. At the risk of offending the three Papist readers, or the five pretribulation dispensationalism who come here, I do not know what will happen. It will be obvious afterwards, but we are under operational security. We know enough to do our duty and to follow our orders. We do not know the whole plan.
In case the enemy thwarts the plans of the Almighty. Because he is going to try, and he is going to try to cheat.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
I am speculating here. I think the passages we have: both the glorification of Jesus seen by the apostles and the Revelation are sent to us for a purpose. That purpose is that the Church will find itself under persecution.
Over and over again. The elite of this world will hate us. They will not submit. They will try to corrupt us. It is possible that any attempts to reform will fail: we will instead by asked to repent of our faith. Even by those within the church. This example is from Australia, and the Reformed remnant.
In 1957 the PFA held its annual camp at Blackheath and Denis was invited to preach that Sunday night at the local Presbyterian Church. One member of the youth group carried a Bible and when Denis asked his help with his sermon preparation, Denis was asked if he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. No one had ever asked him that before. As a result Denis was converted that day and preached the next night on the necessity of the new birth (John 3).
His training in the United Faculty at St Andrews Hall in Sydney University in the middle sixties was predominantly liberal, he was the only student with reformed convictions in his year, there was another in the year below him.
After training he was appointed to Warren in Western NSW where he was ordained. He immediately had problems. The local Presbytery insisted that all parishes use only the Joint Board of Christian Education Sunday School material which denied the truth of the Bible, the deity of Jesus Christ and the bodily resurrection. The material consisted of ethical exhortation without any spiritual power.
Denis refused to use it, using rather the Aboriginal Inland Mission and David C Cook materials. The Presbytery warned him that he could be charged with contumacy if he did not obey the Presbytery’s directive but was also advised that he could ‘dissent and complain’ against the Presbytery’s directive to the NSW Assembly which he did in 1968 according to the procedure outlined in the Code.
His appeal was lost, about twelve people dissented and so, in June 1968 he resigned from the Presbyterian Church of Australia, preached one last Sunday and was given a month to leave the manse. His ministry as an ordained minister of our denomination had lasted 18 months.
He joined the ministry of the Presbyterian Reformed Church of Australia, pastoring congregations in Brisbane, Peakhurst and Epping.
For over 20 years he was Principal of the church’s John Knox Theological College, and has assisted in training ministers in Russia with an overseas training group for 10 years and helped establish an orphanage in South Russia.
Today he spends each Thursday in the Ferguson Library at Presbyterian Head Office volunteering and filing the archives of the church.
A generation has grown up in the denomination to which the intolerant, oppressive, truth denying, life sapping influence of liberalism is not known.
How thankful to God that those days are behind us, but only prayerful diligence will ensure that they stay behind us.
Or outside the church. The reason we are told there is a judgement and that we need to have a saving faith is that we need these facts for our salvation, and our assurance. For we cannot save ourselves: our sins make us dirty as any member of the black gang, but without access to a shower or duty. It is Christ that cleanses us: Christ that allows our prayers to be heard, and Christ that keeps us at our duty. Be it shovelling coal, watching gauges, making shoes or preaching the gospel.
UPDATE.
Mundabor has hit four million views. Congratulations, mate. And he comments truly and well: his post on this event fits with today’s text.
I wish there was no need for this blog, at all. Alas, the clergy has largely abandoned us, and when they are not accomplices of heresy they are too often weak, fluffy and, generally speaking, very bad. Which is why thousands of blogs like this one have been mushrooming all over the Internet in the last decade or so.
The Internet is doing a lot for us. Imagine Francis’ Vatican III, and none of that massive resistance from the vocal and faithful laity that the Internet made possible. This organised resistance not only calls other lay people to join the fight, but also works as encouragement, or warning, for those clergymen who would otherwise be tempted to go with the heretical flow, and who now realise they would lose face, and one day perhaps office, if they did so.
We must continue to be the sentinels in this dark night of the Church. We are little individually, but very powerful taken all together. We say the words too many of those who should lead us do not dare to speak.
We must keep encouraging those willing to stand up to heresy, and motivate more and more to join their ranks. We must put the clergy in front of their responsibility, and equip the laity to do that work of real evangelisation and real defence of truth too many priests neglect, or even despise. We must shame the bad priests, inspire the lukewarm, and praise the good.
In the family, in the office, in the pub, we must continue spreading the counter cultural, completely politically incorrect, so difficult and so beautiful message of Catholicism.
I am under no illusion that worse times are coming. But then again these and no others are the times Providence gave us. Let’s make the most of them.
It seems to me that the true believers remain: the remnant clings to their theologies: the crunchily Catholic and Calvinist, and the stubborn outspoken Orthodox. Those who do not believe have fallen aside. Let us pray that we speak up, and they return. For it is our duty to proclaim the truth, so that the book of life is complete.