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Racing Towards the Finish Line

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Building Up to the Production Phase

Translating the New Testament in Papua New Guinea is, for most, a lifetime endeavor. Angela and I started learning the language and culture of the Somau Garia people in the late 1990s. Life in the late nineties was analog, so language learning was done with a little notebook and a cheap Bic ink pen. Photos were developed from my 35mm Ricoh SLR camera. Evenings were spent reading to our children from printed books, like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. Computer work was done at desktop computers in the city of Madang, at the Barton McElroy Translation Center.

Much has changed since then. Technology has provided better solar panels, batteries, and communications. Life is digital. The cell tower a mile, line of sight from our house on the slopes of Mount Somau allow us to access internet, email, etc. while in the village. Laptop computers last all day on a single charge. Software has made the task more efficient.

Production by the Numbers

After the pandemic we entered the most productive phase of translation we have known in 28 years. In 2022 – 2023 we brought Luke’s Gospel and his history, Acts of the Apostles, through all the checks necessary to print and circulate those books. Those two books comprise about 27% of the New Testament. During those years the Lord added many young people to our team, many of whom revived and pushed the literacy program forward, writing and producing Somau Garia reading materials and primers.

A portion of Acts Chapter 1 in Somau Garia …

In 2024 we brought 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1,2, & 3 John (13 books comprised of 1039 verses comprising 13% of the New Testament) through the checks necessary to print and distribute those books.

By March, 2025, we had checked Matthew’s Gospel, comprised of 1071 verses or 13.46% of the New Testament through the checks necessary to print and distribute that book.

As I write this post, Romans is in process and is scheduled to be checked in June. John’s Gospel is on the schedule for late this year–a further 16.5% of the New Testament.

Giving Meaning to the Numbers

But Bible translation is not simply a matter of managing data and producing material. Bible translation is about building people through education in using the Scriptures. It is about showing them how to follow Jesus as his disciples. This ministry equips local leaders to use the Bible in their churches, communities, and families. Translation is concerned with transformation.

The further we move toward the finish line, the more we see this kind of godly, positive change happening. God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, is raising up a generation of world changers, compelled by the love of Christ, to take God’s word to their people.

For example, two of the young men on the translation team were once, not all that long ago, feared for their violent, murderous behavior. These young men were children when Angela and my children were growing up in the village. Over the years, being exposed to God’s word in their heart language (the various portions made available bit by bit), they began to soften to the message of the gospel. Our head translator confronted them and then invited them to follow Jesus. They both surrendered to the light and life found in Jesus.

One of them is a firebrand preacher. He memorizes Scripture and passionately preaches. The other is meek and gentle and draws others through kindness and grace. Both are deeply committed to helping us finish the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament.

Please Pray With Us

Angela and I would appreciate your prayers as we move toward the completion of the Somau Garia New Testament. As you pray, please pray:

  • Pray that we will be wise and discerning in our oversight of the translation program
  • Pray that we will be well provisioned in the coming months:
    • Spiritually for
      • inner resources to both grow and remain spiritually vital throughout the intensity of the coming months
    • Physically for
      • healthy bodies, protection from sickness or injury
    • Psychologically for
      • flexibility through almost continual transition and travel
      • peace in each situation
    • Financially for
      • adapting to the inflation Americans have known over the last few years
      • travel expenses
      • the coming expenses involved in printing the Somau Garia New Testament (in 2027)
  • Thank God for loving us and providing for our deepest need: to have our sin dealt with and to be reconciled to Him.

Thank You

Angela and I appreciate you giving your valuable time to reading through this brief update. Thank you for taking the time. Thank you also for praying. It makes a difference.

Click here for a Photo Gallery of Uria Village
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A Wedding, a Sign, and the Son of God

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Click Here to Read John 2:1-12

From the very first words of his Gospel account, John has been establishing Jesus’ deity: as God, Creator, pre-existent, eternal.

The first witness he called was John the Baptist, who was baptizing near Bethany across the Jordan River. John identified Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world1” and as “the Son of God2”. He goes so far as to direct Philip and Nathaniel to Jesus, thus beginning to relinquish his influence to the One who rightly deserved it.

A Wedding

John then places the reader in Cana3, about eight or so miles north of Nazareth, at a wedding. It is here that John the apostle says that Jesus performed the very first sign showing that he is, indeed, Messiah. The witness to his deity, in a moment, shifts from external (John the Baptist’s preaching) to internal (a demonstration of his power).

There is much speculation about the specific meaning of the act itself—changing the water into high quality wine. Some point to the significance of Jesus starting his public ministry at a wedding, foreshadowing the wedding feast of the Lamb, when Jesus marries his bride, the Church. 

Others speculate that the water, used for the purification rites of ancient Israel, was being replaced by a better purification, that is, by Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. Indeed, Jesus later connects the Passover cup to the blood he would shed on the cross4. 

One might speculate that Jesus turned something common into something remarkable.

However compelling these sound, they are all speculation. But there are things that can be known without speculating.

A Son

First, the relationship that Jesus had with his mother and siblings changed. Mary is mentioned twice in John, here and later while Jesus is hanging on the cross. In both instances, Jesus refers to her as γυνη, “woman”, rather than the more intimate term, “mother”. 

His response to Mary in regards to the lack of wine for celebration reflected that change of relationship. “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not come.” While he is respectful of her, he subtly reminds her that his priorities are now aligned with his role as Messiah, not as her firstborn son.

A Sign

Second, despite what appears to be initial reluctance to comply with her wishes, Jesus quietly does as she asked. Very few in attendance were aware of it: Mary, Jesus, and his disciples. Verse eleven states, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

These words remind us of John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

As the disciples witnessed the sign, which brought to light the glory of the Son, they believed. John always refers to these supernatural occurrences as signs rather than works or miracles. The signs affirmed that Jesus was the anticipated Messiah and is the Son of God. The signs were performed not to impress or gain power, but that you might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John wrote his Gospel for a wider audience, which included many Gentiles who were unfamiliar with Jewish life and practice. He writes the account in such a way as to produce faith in the reader/hearer.

The Son of God

Jesus, affirmed by his Father at his baptism, by triumphing over Satan in the wilderness, and returning home to begin his public ministry, is found to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” and “the Son of God”.

Questions for reflection:

  • What is your relationship with Jesus? Is it constant or has it changed over time?
  • How have the signs written in John’s Gospel affected your belief? Do you believe?
  • Do your acts of obedience show the glory of Christ in you?
  1. John 1:29 ↩︎
  2. John 1:34 ↩︎
  3. Click on “Cana” above to view a map of the area described in this passage. The map is copyrighted by Logos Bible Software, 2014 ↩︎
  4. Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ↩︎

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Behold! The Lamb of God!

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Background

John the Baptizer was out in the wilderness, along the Jordan River, baptizing. He was a child of Torah, having memorized Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy by the time he was ten years old. His father was a Levitical priest.
As he grew, he would have become intimately familiar with the other books of the Jewish Bible, now called the Tanakh1.

Click to Read: John 1:29-34

Identity

The day before, John had been grilled by representatives of Jewish ruling council regarding his identity. “Who are you?” they asked. “If you are not the Christ, what then? Elijah?” The Holy Spirit had indwelled John since before he was born, the Word of God filled his mind and heart throughout his lifetime. Drawing from that well, he responded,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”2

He knew with certainty that he himself was not the Anointed One, sent to take away the sins of the world. He was the forerunner, sent to turn people’s attention to the Anointed One, who was there with God in the beginning; who was God himself.

I presume that he was so certain of this because he had been told by God or one of his messengers, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”

Fulfillment and Diminishing Influence

He testified to this when he saw Jesus coming toward him the next day, declaring, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

To some degree, this signaled the fulfillment of his ministry. While he continued to baptize and preach, his influence increasingly diminished as he turned more and more of his followers to Jesus.3

World System

Perhaps you’ve noticed how much our world seems to be spinning out of control. Year by year natural disasters, wars, intrigues, political movements, and power plays seem to be on the increase. Media outlets are signaling increasing fear of nuclear holocaust in our time, financial disaster, and religious persecution.
The influence of the Roman Empire in John’s day was nothing compared to the power of the world system in our day. While the Roman’s power was distributed and external, the world system’s power is individualized and in our homes, ostensibly by means of ubiquitous technology.

Proactive Action

Now is not the time to allow the spirit of the age to direct us into its pernicious plans. There has never been a more opportune time to bear witness to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The more dark and demented society becomes, the more it needs the Light and Life.
We do well to follow in John’s footsteps by:

  1. Recognizing who we are and who we are not.
  2. Resisting the temptation to make a name for ourselves, instead turning others’ attention to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
  3. Encouraging those who would follow us to instead follow Him.

Conclusion

It is not an easy road to follow. It takes a quality of humility that is rare in our time. John willingly and rightfully ceded his influence to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We must do the same if those entrapped in the world system are to see something qualitatively different in those who follow the Lamb.
The world system is filled with ladder climbers, platform builders, and influencers who seek power/attention/influence for themselves.
Through our attitudes, actions, and words we must consistently trumpet the message of John the Baptist, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

  1. A name made by combining the names of its parts: Torah, Nevi’im, and Kethuvim.⁠ The Nevi’im are the Prophets and the Kethuvim are the Writings. Together with the Torah, they comprise the same books as are in the Old Testament, albeit in a different order and arrangement. ↩︎
  2. Isaiah 40:3 ↩︎
  3. Cf. John 3:22-30 ↩︎

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Creation—Old and New

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I have a box of family photos in the closet. Most are old Polaroids, yellowed and faded with the years. I’m always drawn to candids of my Dad. He was sort of the poster child of Welshness: jet black hair, green eyes, swarthy complexion. In the older ones he sported a flat top haircut. But as the years wore on, as the “top” became more sparse, he slicked the sides back with Brylcreem.


One particular photo fascinates me, a photo taken of Dad when he was five or six years old: enormous, sad eyes staring into the lens, soft focus, black and white. A child of the Depression and dysfunction, he knew more hunger and grief than any little boy should. That photo is a snapshot of his story.


That snapshot orients me in his story. My story is indelibly written with the ink of his experience. The want and pain he knew somehow insured that I would not go hungry or without.

Beginnings


John opens his Gospel with a snapshot, that encapsulates the story of redemption via Messiah.
“In the beginning …” writes John. One finger in John, I flip back to Genesis where I read the very same words. I open the Greek New Testament: “Εν αρχη …” I then open the Greek translation of Genesis (an ancient translation known as the Septuagint, translated from Hebrew in about 270 B.C.) and read the very same Greek words. The similarities are not coincidental.


Genesis tells us that in the beginning the earth was formless and void. Spread over that void was a great darkness. The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the waters. The first creative act in response to the formless, dark, void was … light. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” As the days of creation progressed, beginning with light, God brought form to formlessness, substance to void, order from chaos.

Craftsman


John gives us, what Paul Harvey might have called “the rest of the story.” In the Genesis account, we see God and his Spirit. John reveals to us the creative agent that God used to do his work. Perhaps John was thinking of Proverbs in describing the Son (characterized as ‘wisdom’):


“When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.” (Proverbs 8:27-31, ESV)

Reason

While Proverbs refers to “wisdom”, John refers to the λογος, the Word. Now, this is where the story gets interesting. Bible scholar D.A. Carson says that “the Stoics [Greek philosophers] understood logos to be the rational principle by which everything exists, and which is the essence of the rational human soul.” This idea would have been known among the educated when John was writing down his Gospel. But John takes the concept so much further than the Stoics ever would or could. John reports that this logos, this Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. The Stoics were fixed on an idea. John knew logos as a person, the Craftsman of all Creation. In the Father’s presence he was “daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”
Whereas in Genesis, the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep, in John the Savior made it possible for the Spirit to dwell in us, rather than over us.

New Beginnings


“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:9-13, ESV)

Light & Life

Just as the earth began a formless, dark void, so our lives began. Sin tarnished all of creation, casting its dark shadow across the millennia. Our foolish hearts were darkened, our passions perverse, our intentions turned inward. Into the darkness and death descended Messiah, to bring inextinguishable light, overcoming the darkness, offering spiritual light to dispel spiritual darkness. And that light brought life.


As I dig through the pages of Scripture, I see a lot of images, a lot of photos, not yellowed with age, but vibrant and colorful. I see a brother who gave himself to save me from the pure Hell of my sin. I see a Savior who overcame my darkness with his light and gave me life. I see a family who drew me in when I was an orphan, wandering in the cold, cruel world. I see reason that stands out against a background of foolishness and strife.

Conclusions


John opens his Gospel by reminding us that Jesus not only created the Heavens and the Earth, he created a new people, the believing ones, born of God. The Spirit that hovered over the chaos in the original creation is now given to this new people, to indwell, comfort, and empower them.

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Hello, Dear Reader. Perhaps you noted that there have not been any new posts for quite a while. It has been a hectic few years, to say the least. Back surgeries, the COVID pandemic, and a return to Papua New Guinea to resume translation of the Somau Garia New Testament have all squeezed our time and resources, leaving little for keeping the website current.

That said, it is time to take up the digital pen and begin scribbling again. It is an important season for recruiting prayer partners and to keep you abreast of each stage as we close in on completion of the New Testament. It is also a time to continually turn our attention to the Lord and his provision.

My prayer is that the coming posts will be informative, motivational, and useful to you and your walk by faith. In order to help make your prayer more informed and specific, I’ll be writing a series of articles about how translation is done, what the aims are, and to what end we are laboring.

I look forward to dialoging with you along the way, hopefully inspiring you to love Jesus more deeply, to know more about how He is providing for the needs of Somau Garia speaking people, and inspiring you to act on what you have either learned or had reinforced.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop by and spend a few moments here.

Blessings!

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Reflections on Revelation

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Do you get that tingling sensation in your stomach as the first words of a new book pass before your eyes? Are you immediately consumed by the story, carried away by the artistry of a master author? John’s Revelation has stirred this in me more than once over the years. John teaches us so much about the real Jesus–Jesus ascended to heaven, Jesus on the throne, Jesus the conquering King. As you read the Apocalypse, you can see Jesus, mounted on a white horse charging into Armageddon bent on vanquishing the enemy of our souls. This is the true Jesus, the Jesus we need in these tumultuous days.

With this post I’ve begun writing down reflections on this important book—not to present a detailed eschatology (study of last things), but to pull back the veil and peek into the shadows of some very challenging prophecy. I do not intend to spell out a system explaining 70 weeks or 7 years or the kind of stuff made into movies. Rather I want to draw out the life found in this cryptic book, like drawing water from a well. Revelation is about more than signs and symbols. It is a letter that can empower us to conquer today. Inasmuch as Revelation is the gospel itself, hidden from enemies, revealed to believers, it is powerful for salvation. As Paul wrote to those at Rome: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes . . .” (Romans 1:16, ESV) John paints on the canvas of our minds images of creatures and thrones and seals and terror and comfort and victory. There is holy war. There is tension and wonder and finally, resolution to the rebellion and sin that led mankind down the path of destruction.

It is my pleasure to share these reflections with you and my prayer that you find something in them to build you up in your most holy faith. Come journey with me through the pages of Revelation as we walk the path together that leads to the throne of grace, equipped and steadfast, following the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts, the first of which is entitled Jesus Among the Lampstands . . .

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Endurance in Adversity

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A Brief Word

When I started shakethegates.org several years ago, my intention was to help believers in Christ not only stand firm in the evil day, but forcefully advance the Kingdom of God despite the overwhelming opposition of society. I’ve been busy living in a developing nation, discipling believers, translating the New Testament, trying to stay afloat. My high aspirations for this website have fallen far short of what I’d hoped to do with it.

Lately, I’ve been feeling increasing urgency to prepare believers for a level of opposition that few have ever known. Intense opposition is the norm for many believers around the world. People in those contexts have endured the unspeakable, yet continue to stand. Not so much in the West.

The best way that I know to prepare believers for what lay ahead is to drill down into the Word of God and draw out the meaning, exhortation, nourishment, and hope found there. After all:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV

I covet your prayer as I step into a new season of study, writing, prayerful thinking, and preparation. I ask you to pray that the Father will grant me sharp focus, a heart tender toward Him, skillful word-smithing, and clear understanding of His word in order that I might serve Him and you well in this endeavor.

A few weeks ago I published an article entitled At Hand which you can read here. The urgency of the New Testament writers (in that case, Paul, Peter, and John) was unmistakable. The world of their time was pagan and poised against the subjects of the King of Kings. Their rulers were notorious for their extreme immorality and their violent reigns.

Imperial Persecution

Emperor Nero was representative of many of the Roman emperors. According to Henry Halley (Halley’s Bible Handbook), under Nero’s persecution “many Christians were crucified, or thrown to wild beasts, or wrapped in combustible garments and burned to death while Nero laughed at the pitiful shrieks of burning men and women. Paul and Peter suffered martyrdom in Nero’s persecution.”

Nero is most known today for his maniacal fiddling while Rome burned. There were a litany of emperors between Nero and Domitian, who exiled John. Nero committed suicide, leaving the throne to Galba who reigned a grand total of 7 months and 7 days at which time he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. Then came Otho, appointed by the Praetorian Guard who reigned for 3 months and 1 day. He committed suicide after losing a battle. Vitellius followed, reigning 8 months and 3 days before being murdered by Vespasian’s troops. Vespasian replaced him and ruled nearly a decade before dying of natural causes. Then came Titus, Vespasian’s son, who ruled 2 years and 2 months before dying of fever. Finally came Domitian, who ruled 15 years and 4 days before being murdered by court officials.

During Domitian’s reign, John was exiled to the island of Patmos where he penned Revelation, having survived, according to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, being boiled in oil.

Modern Persecution

Though most of us have not suffered under this sort of rule, patterns and trends would point toward the possibility that, as our societies disintegrate and people attempt to cast off moral restraint, people will eventually demand some sort of powerful rule, whether a government system or a strong individual. What followed the October Revolution of 1917? Stalin’s reign of terror. What followed the Wiemar Republic and the stripping of Germany’s military might following WWI? The rise of national socialism and its leader, Adolf Hitler. Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, leaving a legacy of murder. What of Chairman Mao and the cultural revolution in China? Or Fidel Castro in Cuba?

In each of these situations, followers of Jesus have suffered persecution. Stalin instituted the Gulag. Chinese Christians have consistently suffered intense persecution and opposition since the cultural revolution. Hitler’s government not only exterminated 6 million Jews, it imprisoned and executed political opponents and Christians who did not hold with the party’s brutality and extreme evil.

It seems that humanity is once again attempting to set the stage for 20th-century-like upheaval. Creation groans. Humanity is drunk with rebellion and notions of revolution. This generation desires to cast off all restraint. Many of our information sources are merely propaganda machines, spreading dissension and hate toward all that is holy. As we drift along the flow of history (past and future), proponents and servants of the world system increasingly attempt to silence the voice of reason and holiness.

Read more . . .
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The Power of Doxology

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When I was new to the Lord I learned an oft sung chorus simply called The Doxology. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow/Praise Him, All creatures here below/Praise him above ye heavenly host/Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” It was sung after communion or at the end of the church service, in keeping with the Biblical tradition of book-ending a section of text with a “word of glory”, an ascription of value and worth to God. While this chorus is actually a Catholic prayer, doxologies are found throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Lately I’ve been thinking about doxology and this is what I’ve concluded: doxology has a powerful place in daily life. Consider the doxology included in the introduction to Revelation. “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”(Revelation 1:5-6, ESV) This one doxology, if internalized, has the power to revolutionize your life. In fact, this would be a great passage to meditate on at the beginning of each day this week.

This doxology is ascribed to Jesus and begins: “To him who loves us . . .” There are days when it can be a stretch to remember that He loves me. Perhaps I’ve not bothered to confess my sin and I’m feeling estranged from Him. Maybe the woes of walking in this world become heavy and I’ve neglected to release them to Him. Or I read the words and they merely bounce around my mind, never taking root in my heart. But not only did Jesus tell us that he loved us, he showed us. He said to his disciples in the closing hours of his ministry in his body: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, ESV) That is precisely what He did for us. Allow this truth to sink down through the layers of your mind into the depths of your heart. Allow this truth to be a cornerstone to the foundation of your faith.

The doxology continues: ” . . and has freed us from our sins by his blood . . .” His love moved him from the Garden to Golgotha. Bloodied and tortured, he was nailed to a Roman cross in order to provide our reconciliation to the Father in Heaven who, by the way, loves us, too. When we were helpless slaves to our rebellion and rejection of God, he surrendered to the cross to free us to walk from death to life.

Having washed us by his blood, reconciling us to the Father, he ” . . . made us a kingdom . . . “ Not only did we become subjects to the King of Kings, he gave us a place of honor, allowing us to become kings with him, to share in his rule of the nations of the earth in the age to come.

He also gave us the privilege of becoming ” . . . priests to his God and Father “, that is to become mediators between the lost ones and the Father. Having been reconciled to the Father, we represent Christ to the world, appealing to its children to be reconciled to God. We not only intercede for the lost, we do all in our power to bring them to the Heavenly Father, that they too may be freed from their sins and be made new creations.
At this point the John puts hands and feet on the high praise given the King: ” . . . to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” May this never be merely a statement we make by rote before moving on with our day. First, says John, honor God with your life–forever. Second, surrender rule of your affections, attitudes, and actions to God the Father–also forever. That is, give him dominion of your being.

Meditating on these profound truths allows us the opportunity to begin our day basking in the love and gifts of God. As the truths take hold of our hearts, we respond by yielding the right to rule ourselves to God the Father, inviting him to show his glory, character, and majesty through us to draw a rebellious world to himself.

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At Hand

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Late last year I celebrated a half-century walking on this big blue marble. Admittedly some of those years were spent crawling or being carried, but you get the idea. Since turning 50 I’ve had a lot of new experiences: I had two major back surgeries (nearly died during the first one), I discovered why I’m so often tired (severe sleep apnea) and nearly every morning I’ve observed an increasingly gray beard. I point your attention to my beard as there is really nothing on top of the head to see (other than the glare of the sun). Every gaze into the mirror brings to mind memories of my father and my oldest brother–who both passed away younger than I would’ve thought they should. The gray beard, the persistent images, and a few moments in the Bible remind me of the fleeting nature of my time here. However, the Bible emphasizes something beyond brevity: urgency.

Urgency

Urgency is a recurring theme in the New Testament. I remember the first time that it really struck a chord with me was during a study of Romans 13:11-13. This passage greatly emphasizes the urgency of our faith. First, Paul writes, “Besides this, you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake up from your sleep.” He then emphasizes, “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” Indeed, it is. Finally: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand.“ He builds tension here that leaves the believer asking, much as thousands did on the day of Pentecost, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Paul’s Thoughts

Paul continues: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” He defines his terms so as to not leave any ambiguity. “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Mankind has been fallen since that fateful day in the Garden. Paul warns the first-century believers against the very same kinds of sin that plague humanity today. Western society, specifically, plunges further and further into this cesspool as it rejects the very faith that was so influential in establishing the best parts of Western society. We dare not sit idly by and watch the world burn. Why?

Peter’s Thoughts

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17, ESV) There will be a day of reckoning when we all must give account for what we have or have not done. Paul, Peter and even John agree that this time of judgment is at hand.

John’s Thoughts

John introduces Revelation this way: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:1-3, ESV)

Kinds of Time

One might read the passages above and wonder how, after 2,000 years, anyone can say that salvation is “at hand” or that “the time is near”. A little bit of Greek might help our understanding. There are two words in Greek that are frequently translated “time”. The first word is chronos, from which we derive our English words like chronicle or chronic. It means what we typically think of as time–minutes, hours, days, etc. The second word, kairos, has a different vibe. It indicates an opportune time, decisive moment or crisis. Writes Bible scholar and commentator Robert H. Mounce in his commentary on Revelation:

“The Greek kairos (“time”) was commonly used in an eschatological [last things] sense to indicate a time of crisis or a decisive moment. The statement seems to have come from the standard Jewish messianic expectations of the day. In Mark 13 Jesus warned his disciples that many would come in his name claiming to be the promised Messiah (v. 5). A bit later in the chapter he spoke of the time of his return, telling them to be on guard because they did not know when that time (kairos) would come. The critical moment for the fulfillment of all that John had seen in his visions had drawn near. Hence the urgency of hearing and obeying the words of the prophecy.”

*Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 43–44. (Emphasis mine)

In other words, the next big thing on God’s timeline is Christ’s return and we don’t have a clear idea of just when that will be. We have general information but no specifics as to the time. Henceforth, we are warned time and again by Jesus himself to live in anticipation, as if he could return any moment. As you read above, his apostles echoed his sentiments. How do we do that?

Warnings and Exhortation

Paul exhorts us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We can’t do that by our own strength. When Jesus ascended to heaven he sent his Spirit to indwell us. It is by the Spirit that we are able to overcome the works of darkness, to cast off sin, and to walk in newness of life.

Peter warns us that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) He encourages us to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, cast all our anxieties on him, to be sober-minded and watchful.

John promises that if we read aloud the words of his prophecy and who hear and keep what is written there.

Our Decisive Moment

I suggest to you that our generation has come to a decisive moment in our time. The nations are raging against the Lord Jesus Christ. The enemies of Christ are call good evil and evil good. As followers of Jesus, we face a time not unlike what Israel faced in the time of Joshua. Joshua reminded Israel of the deliverance and bountiful material blessings God had bestowed upon them. They knew how often they had turned away from God even in the midst of his deliverance. Aware of both the blessing and the chronic disobedience, Joshua says to them, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15, ESV)

There is an urgency in our day, in our generation, that drives us to the point of decision. What might we think or do that will most prepare us for His coming? How might we pursue the kingdom of God faithfully with complete sincerity? What would prevent us from being ready? What must we ruthlessly remove?

Who will we choose?

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Authentic Weaponry

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Introduction

I’ve read a lot over the years about spiritual warfare–out of necessity, of course. I’ve been hip-deep in it more times than I’d like to remember. While some thinking in circulation rings true, other thinking is just zany. It takes more effort than expected to separate the zany from the true, searching the Scriptures and testing the “spirits”.

Most discussion (sound or unsound) includes the topic of spiritual weaponry. Yet to rush into talking about spiritual weapons without laying a solid Biblical foundation is folly. Weapons are useful only if you know how to use them. Their effective use implies the use of solid tactics, which themselves are employed within thoughtful strategies.

Warfare or Paintball?

We have been guilty in the 21st century church of treating the war for the souls of men and women like a game of paintball. We wage an ersatz war which we often don’t truly believe has consequences. Sure, maybe in some theoretical existence, but day to day? After all, what’s really at stake in a game of paintball? A little soreness? A loss of face if your team loses? You have a little fun then go back to “real life” when it is over.

Rather than rush into an overly familiar treatment of spiritual weaponry, permit me to turn your attention to a more foundational facet of spiritual warfare: authentic relationship. Real soldiers, trained and armed, move into harms way. Imitators play paintball on the weekends.

Sceva and His Sons

Acts chapter 19 illustrates this well. Sceva was a Jewish high priest during the earliest days of the church. His seven sons were itinerant exorcists. Lexicographers Johannes Louw and Eugene Nida* define an exorcist as “one who drives out evil spirits by invoking supernatural persons or powers or by the use of magic formulas“.

Though these sons were well respected, religious and active in engaging the enemy, they were nameless in the realm where demonic spirits traffic. They had a religious reputation without accompanying spiritual power. They saw Paul doing miracles in Jesus’ name and wanted in on the gig. So they treated His name as a mantra, a talisman, a magical word of power wedged into an empty formula.

I live and work in a culture where magic formulas are the religious norm. Rites and rituals are expected to control spiritual entities and bend the course of society. They are used for revenge or evil. They are also used for good (healing, fertility, fruitfulness in gardening, etc.) But much like the sons of Sceva, practitioners find that the mantras don’t transform, power words don’t stop suffering, and use of talismans don’t delay the inevitable.

Appearances

Paul warns Timothy that in the last days this sort of thing will become common in the church. Consider 2 Timothy 3:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

2 Timothy 3:1-5, ESV

What was it in Paul’s use of Jesus’ name that was different?

Authentic Relationship & Delegated Authority

Paul lived in authentic relationship with Jesus. That relationship resulted in Paul using delegated authority as he confronted Satanic powers. This is not unlike a military chain of command. In the U.S., Congress declares war. The general staff utilizes strategy to draw up orders which are given to their subordinates. Those subordinate officers give orders to officers subordinate to them and it goes all the way down the chain to enlisted men who carry out orders–orders which are based on an ultimate strategy (at least ideally). The gunnery sergeant giving an order to a subordinate is analogous to a general giving an order to a subordinate. The gunnery sergeant is operating on the delegated authority, ultimately, of Congress.

Sceva’s sons were not in relationship with Jesus. They had no delegated authority. The evil spirits had no obligation to respond to these men at all. And so rather than obeying a bunch of imposters throwing “magic” words at them, they did quite the opposite.

“The evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Acts 19:15-16, ESV

Any use of spiritual weaponry must begin with an authentic relationship with Jesus. If we are to operate in his delegated authority, we must be in subjection to His authority over us. Does this mean that we must be perfect? Of course not. Does it mean that we are living according to works? God forbid. It does mean that we operate on Jesus’ authority and command. He is the head, we are the body. He is the one given strategy, we carry out his strategy.

Results of Authenticity

What results when we act on delegated authority derived from authentic relationship?

“And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord was extolled. Also, many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices . . . So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

Acts 19:17-20, ESV

Next Post . . .

In the next post, let’s unpack what it means to walk in authentic relationship . . . See you there!

References

*Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (Louw and Nida)