Tag Archives: worship

The Mark of the Beast (1)

04 Sunday Dec 2022

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Sabbath Observance

Have you wondered what the “mark of the beast” actually is? We read of it being the numerical characters “666” (Rev. 13:18), but what does that mean?

According to Sabbatarians it is Sunday worship. What is a Sabbatarian? It is a person who insists the sabbath of the Old Covenant is to be the day Christians worship in the New Covenant.

Sabbatarians are pretty sure of themselves concerning what the “mark of the beast” is. They identify six indicators that help set forth who and what they believe the “mark of the beast” is. They are (1) a “beast” is a nation (2) the “mark” is a law (3) the “mark” goes against God’s law (4) the “mark” is a global issue (5) the “mark” forces worship (6) the “mark” compels worship. They assert “While some think it is very mysterious [mark of the beast] … it is actually very simple to understand” (religious tract: “The Mark of the Beast”).

Based on what they say in their religious tract, their interpretive assertions have nothing to do with the biblical text. Compare their six indicators with what the Scripture says. Revelation 13:18 reads, “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666” (ESV). All that can be said, all that is known is simply this: it is the number of a man; this means it is unknown but has its origin in the nature / creation of man.

Some suggestions concerning what is in view are: (1) pagan Roman Empire, (2) Papal Roman Empire, or the Roman Catholic Church, (3) a man or a certain race of men, and with the Sabbatarians, Sunday worship. The other three have a much stronger case to make than Sabbatarians do!

To make their case the “mark of the beast” is Sunday worship, the Sabbatarians make many historical references to the writings of men long after the time of the first century and couple that with an interpretative framework of the book of Revelation that is associated with premillennialism and the rapture. With these historical references, they assert that men after the time of the apostles changed the worship day from the seventh day to the first day of the week. This is factually wrong.

In the New Testament, from Acts to Revelation, the word “sabbath” is used eleven times. Of those eleven times, six of those are times when the Lord’s apostle went into a Jewish synagogue or setting to reason with those who worshiped on that day. On one occasion (Acts 16:13), Paul and Silas went into a community without a synagogue but found a place where some were worshiping the Lord. Not once in those eleven times is the word “sabbath” used in any New Testament church engagement in worship; it was, mostly, related to Paul seeking common ground with the Jewish community, reasoning from the Scripture.

What about in the Gospels (Matthew through John). The word is used nearly five time more often; let us be reminded that Jesus came unto the Jewish community and preached His message to those who did sanctify the sabbath day as a day of worship, a day of rest. Not once did Jesus command any sabbath day observance for those who identified as His disciples for a New Covenant application. If He did, then one can be sure in Acts through Revelation, an exhortation toward that end would have been mentioned. It is not. Instead, what we have is this: “And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7, ASV).

In our next article on this topic, we will consider how Sabbatarians handle (mishandle) this verse. RT

Do I Have To?

20 Sunday Nov 2022

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It’s Saturday evening, when the mother of the house says to the children, “We need to get to bed because we have church tomorrow.” “Do I have to go?” Suzy says aloud. Younger Mike, boldly says, “It’s boring!” Finally, Beth, a teenager, says, “I don’t want to go. None of my friends are there.”

Something of a common refrain from children; these are not words only from our youth today, but they were heard a generation ago also. I suspect that 50 to 55 years ago they were saying the same things. Rather than fight with the kids, the mother of the house says, “What’s the use? If I make the children go, then they may grow up not liking the Lord and going to church. I certainly don’t want that. Maybe it’s best if they learn of such things on their own.” not realizing how shallow a sentiment this truly is. Not only is this sentiment lacking substance, but it’s a reflection of the heart in the one who said it. In other words, the mother of the house has not the conviction of heart to make her children do that which is right in the Lord’s eyes.

The common, and proper, reply to this way of thinking is associated with what parents do (did) with their children in matters of personal hygiene. I remember when I was a little boy and was told I had to take a bath, and all I could do was groan. I was compelled because of the value associated with being clean. When children groan because of bathing, brushing their teeth, etc., they may complain to high heaven about it, but as they grow older the value of that which was compelled upon was soon realized and roots sunk deep.

What if one of our parents said to his child, “Okay, Junior, you don’t have to do that, lest you grow up hating the importance of personal hygiene.” If there is a parent guilty of this, that parent could be properly called a bad parent. On the other hand, because the parent didn’t give ground, the value the child didn’t see early on was realized later and continued as the youthful years turned into adult years. This is the point: it’s all a matter of what is valued. When parents don’t value the Lord for themselves, one can be sure this will pass along to the children. It’s a rare case that it does not. Thus, whatever can be said about the children, be sure to look at the parenting applied. Parents justify themselves, to be sure, and perhaps there is much warrant in their justification (was the prophet Samuel a bad parent?). On the other hand, remember the saying, “wisdom is justified by her children” – do you know its meaning? The children are the product of what they are taught and what they observe in their parents. Thus, the apples do not fall far from the tree. Children exhibit the wisdom of their parents; they follow the same thing their parents valued. Let us all do what we can to exhibit the wisdom of the Lord.

Entering the “house of worship.”

23 Wednesday May 2018

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When you enter the church building, do you enter for a time of relaxation, fun and Bible class? Certainly, there is value at being relaxed, and a great value in Bible class, but the word “fun” is a word wherein much caution should be exercised. Do you (or the children) come to the building for fun, or to learn the ways of God to make life in the adult world much more manageable? Surely, it is to learn the ways of God; to learn righteousness and that, ultimately, there is coming a day when we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). Since this is the case, is it not a matter of wisdom to learn here and now how we can prepare for that? “A child knows nothing of such things! Why in the world would you want to lay heavy things like that on her?” I see you who made this remark missed the point. A child may not know now, but in time a child will learn to know. To a child, one teaches to the level of the child; such heavy topics as death, judgment accountability needs to be learned, and starting early is a good time to do so. RT

Your Name is Aaron

15 Thursday Feb 2018

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Your name is Aaron. You have been chosen by the Lord to lead the people of Israel in worship to the Lord. You know your responsibility will be great, but you don’t really know how great it will be. You can’t help but to be impressed with your younger brother Moses, for it was the Lord who chose Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, but you were fortunate to be by him to help and speak for him. Already to this point, you know the Lord.

You were there when the two of you presented yourselves before the king; you were there when you both were reprimanded by the people because the burdened became much heavier for them; you were there when Egypt’s king called Moses before him more than once seeking relief; you were there when Pharaoh sent you and the nation out of NE Africa with haste. You saw all of this, but more than having seen it, you experienced it. Now, the Lord choose you to lead His people. Your name is Aaron.

Through Moses, the Almighty tasked you to head up his priestly family. Moses was of the same ancestry as you, but it was you He chose. Now it begins to settle on you just how great a position of responsibility you have.

Moses calls you and your two sons, Nadab and Abihu, to be set apart for the Lord’s special work. As you look at your two sons, you are a proud father, but the significance of your role is yet before you. Animals are killed on the behalf of you three, and there is much symbolism administered as you three are set apart for a most important work. You are separated from the people at large and from your family for many days. Now it really begins to settle in on you just how important this work is. It begins to settle in, but it has not quite arrived at the point where it will settle in.

Not only are you given special clothing and set aside for a special work with much symbolism, but now you are presenting to the Lord only those things He wants done. By this time, you have come to honor, respect, revere and fear the Lord’s name and power. You are a changed man. Your two sons, you hope, have been changed as you have been. They experienced the same as you; perhaps their experience was not quite the same, but nearly so. Surely, as with your response, theirs is similar.

Now, you come to a part of the Divine service wherein an offering of incense to the Lord is to occur. You, with much devotion and respect, fulfill your responsibilities to this point; now it’s time for your sons to do the same. Before you know it, from heaven came fire and consumed them! Their lives are gone! Your mind is racing, wondering what just happened, and why it happened. Then you hear from Moses and begin to understand what happened. “Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3).

What in the world were Nadab and Abihu thinking that they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord? Some have suggested it was because of alcohol, for the Lord gives guidance concerning that in Leviticus 10. This may be exactly the problem, but I am inclined to think it was simply willful disobedience on their part to the Lord’s expressed way; they were thoughtless and careless. “Surely, the Lord will not be upset with a slight change in the offering of this incense! What difference does it make, anyway?”

Your name is Aaron. While you never met Jeremiah, you have come to learn by experience that which he wrote nearly a thousand years later, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV). You have learned that the Lord knows your heart and the heart of every one of His created beings. LESSON: Never trifle with the Lord and His way, for one can be sure sin will find them out (Numbers 32:23). RT

 

Ex-Church of Christ (7)

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Continuing my evaluation of the following website (http://ex-churchofchrist.com/unbiblicalCoC.htm), it is clear the trend in being against has more to do with “I want to believe….” than it does any biblical exegesis. Below is another illustration of this. 

An unbiblical doctrine, we are told, would be the following point:  

Uzzah (II Samuel 6) is an example of how we will be punished for wrong worship.

See here for an example of this teaching.

The priests were instructed never to approach the ark of the covenant (the Presence of God) without blood and incense (forgiveness and prayer). They were never to touch the ark, but were to carry it on their shoulders. Uzzah, a priest, steadied the ark when the oxen stumbled, and was struck dead.

King David parked the ark in the nearest house, then later moved it the proper way, with the priests carrying it on their shoulders. Sacrifices were made. David leaped and danced with all his might before the ark. (II Samuel 6). There is no record of God asking David to leap and dance. Yet God accepted David’s worship and no-one was struck dead.

RT – This is another account of a desired outcome to reading the Scripture rather than a desire to understand contextual matters. To begin, note how there is no scriptural reference to the points made (or more properly stated, asserted). Is it actually a matter of truth that the priests were NEVER to approach the Ark of the Covenant? No, this is not the case. The priests (certain ones of them) were to approach the Ark of the Covenant at particular times (Numbers 4:5), such as when there was a transport pending (Numbers 4:15), or on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). In both these cases, the “never” is mitigated. Second, within the remarks made, the “never” is contradicted when the remark is made that they were to “carry” the ark on their shoulders (actually, the Ark of the Covenant was transported by a certain Levitical family as they carried the Ark of the Covenant via handling poles).

Uzzah is not identified as a Levite or a priest. One might presume he was (because David would not have been so foolish as to not have at least a Levite to move the Ark of the Covenant), but the Record does not state that he was either. Couple this with David’s words in 1 Chronicles 15:12-15, one might more easily think that David himself was presumptuous in allowing one not of the Levites to transport. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (revised edition, 4:960) identifies Uzzah as a “non-Levite.”

To the larger point, however. If the author of the critical remarks directed at the churches of Christ would have done a little more study, he would have learned exactly why Uzzah died and, furthermore, would have told his audience who read his words. Take note that he did not; all that he said was that David later moved the Ark of the Covenant in the “proper way.” In 1 Chronicles 15:12-15, one reads:

He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. “For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.” So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD. (NKJV)

In the case of Nadab / Abihu, in the case of Uzzah the failings of these men were directly associated with a failing of obeying the express will of God.

We are given to understand that since God accepted David’s leaping and dancing as worship, and that he was not “struck dead,” then it must be the case that there is no requirement of man (from God) to inquire concerning the manner of one’s worship. I guess it must be the case that if one is not “struck dead,” then what is done / offered is acceptable to the Lord? Though the author of the web-piece does not explicitly say this, evidently he wants us to understand him this way. It is true that David exhibited a great deal of exuberance and excitement, though 2 Samuel 6:14-15 does not call it worship; whether or not one thinks it is, is simply a matter of judgment. I will not call it that; all that I can say is that he was exuberant and excited because he was bringing the Ark of the Covenant to its desired “resting” place. Additionally, the sacrifices offered in transport and in the end, that can easily be called / identified as worship (Leviticus 1-3).

 

Ex-Church of Christ (6)

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Continuing my evaluation of the following website (http://ex-churchofchrist.com/unbiblicalCoC.htm), it is clear the trend in being against has more to do with “I want to believe….” than it does any biblical exegesis. Below is another illustration of this. 

An unbiblical doctrine, we are told, would be the following point:  

Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10) are an example of how we will be punished for wrong worship.

See here  and here for examples of this teaching.

Nadab and Abihu were instructed to take coals of fire from the altar to burn incense before God. They took coals from a different fire. The symbolism is clear: The altar represents Jesus’ sacrifice (Hebrews 13:10-12) and incense represents prayer (Rev. 5:8). The symbolism of this passage only teaches that our prayers are unacceptable to God unless we go through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is a teaching in humility. It is not our own obedience that is acceptable to God, but Christ’s sacrifice and Christ’s obedience through which we find access to God. This passage is actually comforting when we realize that our own efforts are not what put us in a right relationship with God, but it is what God has done for us, and our simple acceptance of that fact, that brings us to God.

RT – This is poor exegesis; in fact, it is eisegesis! This man does not allow the text to teach us anything except for what he calls its symbolic intention (in a New Testament context). Instead, he inserts what he wants us to understand and then passes it off as authoritative. The “symbolism is clear”? Is there something in the text to teach this is only a figurative matter? Is there something in the New Testament that teaches us this is only to be understood as a figurative matter? One might reply, “He did not say it was only symbolic!” Really? Perhaps, I misunderstood his words then. “The symbolism of this passage only teaches…” If the New Testament did not assign any symbolism to it, then only the presumptive ones do so. Nadab and Abihu did not understand it any exclusive symbolic way; they felt the literal force of the Lord’s wrath. From this, if one is smart (cf. Romans 15:4), we can learn much.

First, when the Lord prescribes something to be done in worship (or in any other context), then that which was prescribed is to be done. Second, for those who do not obey in His prescribed way, we understand how the Lord will respond (or potentially so). Commenting on 1 Peter 1:17, Peter Davids said, “It reminds his readers that it is not their persecutors who need to be feared, but God, who is not to be trifled with nor presumed upon, for his judgment is ultimate” (Peter Davids, New International Commentary New Testament on 1 Peter, p. 71, underscoring added by RT). Third, coupling this with Romans 15:4, those in a New Testament context are to apply the principle.

Moreover, what does he mean by his symbolism when he says we must “goes through the sacrifice of Jesus”? Does he mean we must offer our prayers to the Father “by the authority” of Jesus? I am unable to tell if that is what he means. If he does mean that, then why not understand this idea of going by the authority of Jesus as just a matter of symbolism, and not anything more? Again, he made a plainly false statement when he said “it is not our obedience that is acceptable to God, but Christ’s sacrifice…” Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, never thought of obedience as unimportant. This opinion of our web-article is not a New Testament teaching, but a personal theology of man. Paul wrote, “…and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (Romans 1:4-6, ESV). Note the following things from this passage one learns. 1) the preaching of Jesus and His resurrection was according to the Holy Spirit, 2) this preaching was to bring about obedience from a person who, 3) called upon the Lord. Vincent Taylor wrote years ago, “Unto marks the object of the grace and apostleship: in order to bring about. Obedience of faith is the obedience which characterizes and proceeds from faith” (VWS, on Romans 1:5, E-sword). Peter wrote, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:22-23, ESV). Thus, to say that it is not our obedience that is acceptable to God is false at worse and misleading at best.

Finally, with regard to Leviticus 10, one learns the Lord (through Moses) instructed the High Priest and his associates the importance of hearing and obeying the His express will (10:10-11). The two associate priests offered “strange fire” (Exodus 30:9; unauthorized fire – ESV; from where they retrieved that “fire” is unstated). The point is, they were to offer only that which the Lord authorized; to offer what they did was presumptuous. There is nothing exclusively symbolic about it associated with prayer through Jesus; in fact, there is nothing at all associated with prayer and Jesus.

Is there an application of the principle in the New Testament? Not according to our author (except in a symbolic way). There is, however, from the vantage point of Paul, not only as he stated it in Romans 15:4, but also as he stated it in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.

 

The Expression of a Holy Life

05 Friday Jun 2015

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The sin of Nadab and Abihu is one of those accounts in Scripture that is reasonably well known. It is well known because to the Lord these two men (priests) offered to the Holy One of Israel something that was not authorized by Him. Consequently, the Lord expressed His displeasure by consuming them rather than the offering of the sacrifice as originally designed (Leviticus 9:18-10:2). What is sometimes overlooked in this is the exhortation by the Lord to Israel is that for those who come before the Lord (that is, they come before Him to worship, especially those who are leading), they are to live an expression of a holy life (Leviticus 10:3). The application of this to our day is not to be overlooked. When we stand before the Lord offering to Him our worship, are we living the holy life demanded by the Lord (1 Peter 1:13-16)? If not, then though we are alive physically, it is certainly the case the Lord’s fire will consume us spiritually; it is just waiting to be applied!

A Serious Matter

11 Wednesday Feb 2015

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The occasion surrounding the Lord’s judgment on Nadab and Abihu is one of serious importance. From it we learn that God’s servants much approach Him in holiness. It has been common for the Jewish rabbis to interpret the sin of the brothers to be directly connected to alcohol, but the Lord does not say this. What we do learn from the Lord is that which they offered was profane, or unauthorized (Leviticus 10:1). Gordon Wenham wrote in regards to this situation, “…the closer a man is to God, the more attention he must pay to holiness and the glory of God” (Leviticus, p. 156). It’s a serious matter, and to him who is given much, much is expected.

Sacred Worship

31 Friday Jan 2014

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                In the four previous articles we have written about the church in relation to what “church history” has recorded. We have paid some attention to the structure, the leadership, persecution, and whether or not church councils are proper avenues to set forth doctrine. Today we want to give our attention to the worship of the church and its relationship to what  man has altered through the years.

                In brief, let us begin with the teaching of the New Testament. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman that those who worship God must do so in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The meaning of this phrase “describes the two essential characteristics of true worship: in spirit, as distinguished from place or form or other sensual limitations (4:21); in truth, as distinguished from the false conceptions resulting from imperfect knowledge (4:22)” (Vincent Word Studies, E-Sword). “True worship must be in harmony with the Nature and Will of God” (Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary). Thus, acceptable worship to God is from the spirit of man in accordance with the truth of God.

                In the New Testament we learn that those who implemented this holy standard did so by the authority of Jesus (Colossians 3:17) and, moreover, that which was taught by Paul, the same was taught by Peter (1 Corinthians 15:11). It is important to also note that what Peter, Paul, or John taught, whether in Jerusalem, Rome, or Ephesus, it was the same in every church (1 Corinthians 4:17; cf. Romans 15:18). On the occasion of Pentecost, those who accepted the Holy Spirit’s doctrine “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42, ESV). The four things mentioned in this single verse are of note. The apostles’ doctrine is simply the teaching of God’s word (1 Peter 4:11), fellowship pertains to the gathering together of the saints (Hebrews 10:25), and the breaking of bread would be communion (or the Lord’s Supper, Acts 20:7).

                The first century can be called the “apostolic age;” after the first century it is commonly called the age of the “apostolic fathers” (Kuiper, p. 44). “The apostles were followed by the Apostolic Fathers. From their writings [the apostolic fathers] we can see that the signs of deterioration were disturbing the Church. In the course of the next four hundred years that deterioration increased steadily” (Kuiper, p. 44). Though there was much moving away from the teachings of the New Testament, there were some who tried to stay faithful to the Lord’s way. It cost them dearly, but the glory associated with the Lord’s name was greater than the glory associated with any man (cf. Hebrews 11:35-40). About the time of the thirteenth century and following into the seventeenth century the great protestant reformation started and anchored itself in place. Unfortunately, this commendable effort went only so far as to attempt a reformation, that is, a reforming of the church. When this did not work, men tired of the corruption and started their own church, trying to adhere to Scripture. this, however, produced man-made creeds, that is, teachings that did not necessarily conform to God’s revealed word.    It was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that some denominational preachers started taking a stand on the New Testament exclusively, and thus was coined the term a restoration movement. In other words, they determined to say “let us speak where the Bible speaks and let us be silent where the Bible is silent.” This motto soon became a mission statement because it corresponds exactly with 1 Peter 4:11 and Romans 15:18.

                The Highway Church of Christ, therefore, is a local religious body that seeks to restore (in relationship to man-made churches) and elevate the teachings of Scripture to its rightful place, as the supreme godly document that declares unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Our worship is simple, but godly. We teach what the Scriptures teach (and nothing else), we offer our prayers to the Lord continually, we observe the Lord’s Supper weekly, we give of our means for the cause of Christ, and we sing our songs of praise without the use of the mechanical instrument. We do these things on purpose because this is what the Lord said in His word. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth’” (John 4:21-24, NKJV).

In the Mail Yesterday

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

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In the mail that came yesterday was a catalogue that promotes the selling of musical equipment and all things related, dedicated toward “worship sound.” On the inside cover is this remark with regard to their goal: “…saving you time and hassle by allowing you to keep your attention on your ministry rather than sifting through page after page of irrelevant products.”

Whatever is to be said about good intentions in the selling of products – and I am of the persuasion this applies here – whatever is to be said, I wonder if it ever enters into the mind of these product sellers that there seems to be something wrong with selling products in the worship of God? I suppose, if so, it is not lasting, because it continues on.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I don’t recall anything along that line in the New Testament concerning things to make or purchase in the Christian’s worship of the Almighty. New Testament Christianity is such a great thing when one thinks about it.