OT Tuesday: Bow or Burn

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits (ninety feet) and its width six cubits (nine feet); he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3:1)

No one is really sure why Nebuchadnezzar created the image of gold, some say it is a representation of the statue he saw in his dream and that building the statue in 100% gold was an act of defiance, proclaiming his own power. Remember that the dream was interpreted that the gold head of the statue was the Babylonian empire, and that the parts of the statue made of silver, brass, iron, and clay were other empires. By creating the entire statue in gold Nebuchadnezzar was proclaiming that his empire would last forever. 

In addition Nebuchadnezzar then proclaimed that when the people heard all kinds of music played by horn, flute, lyre (a harp), trigon (triangular bell), psaltery (ancient autoharp/banjo kind of thing), and bagpipe they were to stop, drop, and worship the statue. But...

But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” (Daniel 3:6)

And when the king says bow down and worship, you bow down and worship. That is unless you worship the true God whose very first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me" which poses a problem for the Jews that Babylon had in bondage. They could bow, or they could burn. Some chose to burn.

Emergent Monday: The Disaster of Dominionism

The core doctrine of Jesus Christ's second coming, as taught consistently in Scripture, can be summed up in one line: "Jesus Christ is coming again bodily to earth to rule and judge." This is kind of a no-brainer for anyone that's sat down and read the bible. 

For those that haven't read the whole bible - SPOILER ALERT: Jesus is coming back and he's got a whole lot of judging to do. This revelation (which comes from the book of the same name) has lead to many differing doctrines; Pre-Tribulational Rapture, Mid-Tribulational Rapture, Pre-Wrath Rapture, and Post-Tribulational Second Coming (In most versions of postribulationism, the "rapture" and the "second coming" are at the same time. Jesus Christ comes back for His elect, they meet Him in the air and He comes bodily to earth immediately to rule and reign.)

Are these doctrines important to your salvation? No. Do they have anything at all to do with your salvation? No. Agree with them or not, each one of these doctrines is based on interpretation of scripture and what they all come down to is a matter of timing, and since Jesus told us that even He didn't know the exact hour they're all fair arguments. Unfortunately another doctrine has gained popularity in the emergent church and it is not based on scriptural interpretation, or any scripture at all. The doctrine is Dominionism (AKA Kingdom-Dominion AKA Restoration) and its the darling heresy of the emergent darkness church. 

Do You Read Your Bible?

Thanks to The Watchman's Bagpipes

The Rapture Is...

Sometimes it seems that there's a lot of compartmentalization going on in Christianity: Calvinist or Armenian? KJV Only or Inclusive? Full Dunker or Baptism Optional? Traditional Worship Music or Contemporary? Hate The Message or Heretic? All seriousness aside, it probably only seems that way because it really is that way. 

Ever since I started doing Christianity right I've been getting asked over and over "Are you pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib?" It's almost like they're choosing up sides for the post rapture volleyball tournament. To be honest to me the whole question of pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib rapture is confusing at best. However IF I decide which volleyball team I'm on, I will get a T-Shirt, I promise.

To be honest the rapture is not important to my salvation. My salvation is based on grace through faith, my savior only told me to do one thing: repent. My Lord forgives me my sins and guides me and is waiting for me. Never once did He say "I'm only going to save those that believe in a pre-trib rapture" nor did He say "Believers in a mid-trib will roast in hell." Is it a sin to disagree over what kind of rapture there is going to be, or even if there is one? Of course not, as long as it's done with love. I pray that's right because I disagree with a LOT of stuff that's written about the rapture on all sides of the argument. 

My bride is devoutly pre-trib and she finds it confusing that I haven't joined the team. "Chuck Smith and John MacArthur and Hal Lindsey are pre-trib" she'll say, I guess hoping that I'll see the error of my ways with their endorsement. And of course Hal Lindsey is pre-trib, he's made a jillion bucks off of it. What would she say if I respond with "So is Rick Warren." I've done a lot of research on the timing of the rapture, events of the rapture, the systemology of the rapture and one thing holds true: when ever you study research on the rapture, the article you're reading will eventually break down to name calling. It seems that a lot of people who write about the rapture will resort to insulting those that disagree with them because it's easier than changing your opinion when you're standing on shaky ground.

OT Tuesday: Dreams and Visions

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign he had a dream that was most puzzling and very upsetting to Nebuchadnezzar. In the middle east/southwest Asia dreams were highly regarded and the interpretation of dreams was big business for magicians and astrologers. However with Nebuchadnezzar they had a big problem - Nebuchadnezzar couldn't remember a single detail of this very puzzling and disturbing dream. He told his servants "Tell me my dream" to which they replied "Tell us your dream and we'll interpret it for you." Nebuchadnezzar wasn't buying any of that

⁵ The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. ⁶ But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” (Daniel 2:5-6)

The magicians were stalling for time, probably looking for a graceful exit that would allow them to keep their heads attached but the argument went back and forth, the king demanding 'tell me my dream and interpret it for me' and the magicians saying 'sure, just tell us your dream first, then we'll interpret it for you' The king and the magicians went back and forth for some time until Nebuchadnezzar settled the argument with the Royal Compromise: "Off with their heads"