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Vatican to the Rescue
Another great post from Dwight Nelson’s blog. The time for business as usual has passed, we must be about the Lord’s work while there is still time! Read and be blessed.
VATICAN TO THE RESCUE?
October 26th, 2011
On Monday Rome issued a bold 18-page response to and proposal for the burgeoning financial crisis engulfing the world. According to the Reuter news agency it calls “for sweeping reforms of the world economy and the creation of an ethical, global authority to regulate financial markets as demonstrations against corporate greed continued to spring up in major cities across the globe” (uk.reutres.com/article/2011/10/24/Vatican-economy-idUKL5E7LO1LS20111024). While a Vatican spokesman clarified that the document is not an expression of the pope or the papal magisterium and does not carry the weight of church dogma, it nevertheless bears “an authoritative note” from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (http://www.newsmax.com/EdwardPentin/Vatican-Global-Finance-Plan/2011/10/25/id/415693).
I have reviewed the document, posted at the official Vatican news website (www.zenit.com). It is laudable that Rome raises her voice over the plight of the economically disenfranchised. In doing so she sympathizes with the populist Occupy Wall Street movement that has gone global over the last few weeks. And it certainly is within the purview of a church body to call the world to economic equity. But central to this Vatican proposal is the formation of a “supranational authority” (also called the “world Authority” in the document) to guide and lead the world toward a more equitable banking and economic policy and practice.
And it is precisely the language of a “universal jurisdiction” and a “central world bank” that concerns me and should concern others who are watching for the apocalyptic endgame. The document proposes that the United Nations become the initial vehicle for economic reform, “on the way to creating a world political Authority.” Who or what that world Authority is beyond the U.N. is not identified in the proposal. But for students of Revelation 13, the prediction that at the end of time there will be a resurgence of the geo-religio-political power of the Dark Ages gives cause for pause. “And all the world marveled and followed the beast” (Revelation 13:3).
Those who suggest the Vatican’s proposal is simply an economic policy recommendation need to reread the document: “In this process, the primacy of the spiritual and of ethics needs to be restored and, with them, the primacy of politics—which is responsible for the common good—over the economy and finance” (Zenit, emphasis supplied). So whose definition of “spiritual” do you suppose Rome envisions for the world, whose “primacy” does she seek to restore?
Cardinal Peter K. A. Turkson concludes this document, surprisingly for apocalyptic watchers, with a discussion of Babel! “The image of the Tower of Babel also warns us that we must avoid a ‘unity’ that is only apparent, where selfishness and divisions endure because the foundations of the society are not stable. In both cases, Babel is the image of what peoples and individuals can become when they do not recognize their intrinsic transcendent dignity and brotherhood” (ibid). But apocalyptic watchers know that Babel is in fact the image of “confusion,” of the human attempt to replace God with itself, of Babylon’s fateful amalgamation of pagan self-worship with a vestige of divine truth. It is that Babylon that Revelation warns will rule the world in the end. And for that reason we who live in the Fourth Watch of history should hardly be surprised with the Vatican’s offer to the world this week. As Jesus warned, “Let those who have ears hear” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 19; 3:6, 13, 22).
The Destruction of Creation
The theory that God created this world in 6 literal days just a few thousand years ago, is a belief that is seen as foolish by much of the world (around 40% of the United States believes in a literal Creation by God less than 10,000 years ago), even many in Christian circles (less 40% have absolute belief in the Genesis creation account but 78.4% claim to be Christians). The attacks to this theory often come through scientific arguments, but I believe that the attacks on what happened at creation are even more visible elsewhere. And that place is RELATIONSHIPS!
Scientists have been blamed for trashing Genesis 1 & 2, but the real trashing of the creation account is ALL OF US, because the great theme of the creation accoun is not how many days God made the earth or how many years ago that was, the great theme of the creation story is: Relationship.
Relationship with God
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” –Genesis 1:26-28
The IMAGE language of Genesis 1 is relationship language. I am a parent and since the day both my boys have been born one of the most common conversations, especially with new people we meet is the conversation of, “Oh he looks just like you!” “He looks just like his dad.” “Oh but I see some of his mom in him too.” Why do people say these things? Why do we have this conversation over and over again? Because we like the idea that someone looks like us, someone is like us, someone is from us. Why do we like this idea? Because it holds with it the idea that there will always be this person to be in relationship with! I believe, and I see the totality of scripture supporting this idea, that God was saying with each statement of image, “this is my child who will always be mine.” So when we do not reflect the image of God by being loving, (1 John 4:8), we are in fact rejecting the creation story and trashing the creation story.
Another area in the creation account where God illustrated the relationship idea between God and man is in what happened after the 6 literal days, it was God’s lack for creation on the 7th day that emphasized relationship with Him.
“1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” –Genesis 2:1-3
The Sabbath was specifically established as a day of relationship, primarily relationship with God to delight in God (Isaiah 58:13-14). When we do what we want on the Sabbath that is not something done in communion with God, or when we don’t keep the Sabbath (both of these are the exact same thing, not keeping the Sabbath at all is just as much a denial of God’s day as doing things that are not in accordance with Relationship to God on the Sabbath) we are trashing and denying the creation story, the creation account.
Basically what I am saying is this. Folk can blame the evolutionists all they want for destroying the validity of the Bible. And people can condemn the certain scientists all they want for weakening the belief in God’s literal creation.
But by being unloving and by not honoring the Sabbath. You and I, we are equal to the evolutionists in the destruction of God as Creator and in creating doubt in people’s minds for the infallibility of scripture.
Protests In the Streets
This post is actually from Dr. Dwight K. Nelson’s blog, “The Fourth Watch” I would encourage y’all to begin reading this blog! Since on his blog there is at this point no avenue by which to link a twitter acount or facebook, I put the post here on my blog, because I felt it was something all of us needed to read! Again all of the following is out of the brain of Pastor Dwight and not my own. If you would like to comment I would encourage y’all to comment at “The Fourth Watch”
PROTESTS IN THE STREETS
October 7th, 2011
Here in the Fourth Watch blog we examine current trends in this nation or the world that I believe are harbingers of earth’s darkest hour (what the ancient Romans called the fourth watch) just before the sunrise of Christ’s return. And while these observations and analyses reflect my personal convictions, I am amazed at the ascendency of voices—secular as well as religious—that are warning of what lies ahead for our civilization.
Take for example the seemingly isolated street protests against Wall Street, that for three weeks now occupied Zuccotti Park in the financial district of New York, railing against corporate greed and economic decline, and blaming US financial institutions and Wall Street for the resultant unemployment. Hundreds have been arrested. But thanks to Twitter and social media sites, the New York protests are now spreading to other cities in the nation. Students now threaten walk-outs from classes in sympathy with these protests. (Though less violent, these homeland demonstrations are not unlike the radical street protests in Athens, as Greeks have turned with vengeance on their government and the European Union for their own financial meltdown—and what now appears to be certain national bankruptcy.)
How could an isolated street protest burgeon into a national movement? Here’s CNN.com’s assessment: “Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless movement made up largely of twentysomethings upset with the economy, the Afghanistan war, the environment, and the state of America and the world in general. In less than three weeks, the movement has become a magnet for countless disaffected Americans at a time when an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults say the country is on the wrong track” (http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/politics/occupy-wall-street/).
But what could morph the Occupy Wall Street protests into an apocalyptic game-changer is the announcement that labor unions are joining the movement. Responding to Twitter calls from Occupy Boston (a sister movement to the New York protests), the Massachusetts Nurses Association is joining the rally. In New York so are the Amalgamated Transit Union, the Transport Workers Union, and the United Federation of Teachers union among others. Is it possible that a nationally diminished labor movement could find new life and impetus in all of this?
How innocuous are labor unions in a Fourth Watch scenario? In a terse exposé of capitalist excesses, the Bible declares: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. . . . Your gold and silver are corroded. . . . You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. . . . Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. . . . because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:1-8). A day of reckoning is coming for the barons and minions of Wall Street who have made their billions at the expense of the paltry savings and investments of a once unsuspecting public. But could a sympathetic labor movement backlash into a prophetic paradigm shift? These words were in a letter written in 1904: “The trade unions will be the cause of the most terrible violence that has ever been seen among human beings” (Letter 99, 1904). Main street, Wall Street, the street protests may not be so innocuous after all.
My point: the headlines we now live through are not inconsequential to a Fourth Watch mindset, are they? NOW is the most opportune time you and I may ever have to freely share the everlasting gospel of Christ with people who need him—family members, friends, colleagues. NOW is the church’s opportunity to seize the moment, rise up and in the panoply of the Spirit’s infilling and hurry to a final civilization with the news of Jesus’ soon return. Our friend Ron Clouzet’s satellite series, “Prophecies Decoded,” to the continent couldn’t be timelier (join us this evening at 7:20). Let him, let her who has ears hear. For the rumble we hear may be the tread of an approaching God.
Comment at “The Fourth Watch” blog
Tomorrow…
Tomorrow is actually today, since I am now writing this at 12:02 a.m.. So today I am preaching three times…it will actually become the norm of my Sabbath’s. I will be preaching twice at our main campus on Woodland in the 93277 zip code and once at our newest campus The Ark in the 93291 zip code. On top of that I am preaching a prophecy series, for those of you who may not be aware, prophecy series are often reserved for night time meetings, and many believe that is where the non-touchy-feely material of scripture should be relegated to. God convicted me to preach this stuff though so I am preaching it, but it is not easy. Trust me any preacher that chooses to preach prophecy at the main service over John 3:16 without being told to by the Lord is a masochist, this stuff is just a challenge to preach. That said I am learning a lot and really enjoying it…yes that may seem like a contradiction, but it is what it is. So where was I? Oh yeah I am preaching three times later today, prophecy stuff, and I wasn’t thinking when I decided to start our second service (third for me) tomorrow or I mean today, which is obvious, because my wife is out of town, but not with the boys, the boys are with me. Which I love! Normally 🙂 But this weekend…the thought of getting up earlier so I can be completely ready and get the boys completely ready for the first service is a ‘bit daunting. Once church starts I have help, but ’till then…oh boy. Then after first service, since C (short for Christina) is gone I will need (I usually do anyway, but on ultra busy days I am able to have a pass) to take the boys to their Sabbath schools. Oh did I mention my sister and my mom who are my life savers all the time and Christina’s too are gone. My grandma J.J. is here and she’ll help, which is awesome, but with just one to handle both my boys…yes my grandpa and my Dad are here too, but my dad is built like me, high-stress so if I hear one of their distinctive cries during the first service I am going to have to pray with all my might for the A.D.D. to stay in check, because losing your place in the book of Daniel is not like losing your place in the book of Proverbs.
Oh yeah and I’m still not asleep which is kinda buggin’ me too! Thanks for the prayers and I hope y’all aren’t reading this ’till tomorrow…or rather later today!
Happy Sabbath! May our Lord’s Kingdom Grow on His Holy Day
Why I’m Back…
So I’m back on Facebook…how on earth did this happen? Especially after this post? You will notice at the end of that post I did say, “I may be back someday…” but I didn’t expect to be back, in fact my return to Facebook was quite by accident. Our church has a Facebook page, well in order to have a Facebook page there must be another account, a personal account that has set it up. I had that account set-up but had never used it and therefore no one ever asked me to be their friend. Well, I don’t know how, but one day I received an invite from a church member through that account when they invited me to be their friend suddenly I was receiving messages, “We thought you weren’t on Facebook anymore?” “Your name just popped up on my account saying I should be your friend.” “Is this you pastor, there is no picture and I don’t want to ask a stranger to be my friend?” Then I started getting messages as well, folk asking me questions, or just wanting to say “hello”. I finally responded to something and the next thing I know I had 10 or more friend requests and that was that.
So what am I doing so that Facebook won’t once again become a vacuum of my time. Two main things:
- On days that I at work and am in the office, I am only checking Facbook in the morning and in the evening.
- I am not adding a Facebook app to my iphone. I found this to be the largest contributor to wasted time of anything. I became available 24/7 to the Facebook world because of my phone. So now if I’m not at a computer I am not accessing Facebook and this is saving me lots of time.
What I missed about Facebook while on my hiatus & what I found to be the great benefits of Facebook while I was away:
- I missed connecting with a few friends that I found I never am able to connect with in any other way. That is really all I missed.
- I found that Facebook is literally the easiest way to communicate with a number of folk in my life, including church members.
- Facebook greatly increases my blog activity and I am grateful for that.
- Facebook provides greater access to getting the word out about events and happenings going on in the church, and this is very needed especially as our church grows!
So I’m back, but hopefully not as imbedded in Facebook as I was last time.
You Don’t Do It, Why Should They?
Did any of you ever hear the words, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say!” What a dumb statement! The other day my colleague Pastor Carron Kuns made the statement to me, “We ask kids to do things we won’t even do.” I began to think about that statement and realized how true it is.
Let me give you a few examples:
At our church we start with an announcement time, this time is casual, but still in the sanctuary and part of the Sabbath morning activities. For this time it takes a lot to get the ADULTS to settle down and pay attention, they love to gab (which I have to say I have been in churches where no one talks to each other, so I would rather have our problem). Here is the thing though, I was taught as a kid and I see most adults at least that I am around still teaching their kids. When someone else is speaking, whether it be in a small gathering or a large gathering with someone up front, the kids are expected to be quiet and listening. We ask the kids to do it, but we don’t do it very well ourselves.
Here is one I really struggle with. Looking at folk 100% of the time in the eye when I am talking to them. Today, I said to Dayton (my almost 3 year old) two times, “Dayton look at them when you answer.” We ask kids to do it, but we don’t do it very well ourselves.
Another one is that I see a lot of parents encouraging their kids to be friendly, to make friends with other children. I am around young parents all the time and I hear this statement constantly, “Go say ‘hello’. Be nice. Tell them what your name is.” We love to encourage our kids to make small talk and to try and develop friendships or at least acquaintances. Very few adults will randomly introduce themselves to a stranger on the kids playground, but we encourage our kids to. We ask kids to do it, but we don’t do it very well ourselves.
Some others. “You need your sleep.” “Don’t eat that, it’s not good for you.” “Say please.” “Smile.” Respect your parents. “You’ll never know if you can do it ’till you try.”
We ask kids to do it, but we don’t do it very well ourselves!
What are some other things you could think of?