The Craw

Interesting Reading

I think James Jordan makes some good points in these articles. What do you think?

Pentecostal Fire

Jewish rabbinic tradition and a considerable amount of Christian schlolarship (JA Alexander is one example) say the giving of the Law at Sinai was 50 days out from the Passover. Thus Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks/Firstfruits) stands upon the foundation of Sinai. Here are some observations on that connection:

Ther Fire God falls on the altar of Sinai (God's House: Ex 19:18)

The firey pillar was upon the tabernacle by night (God's House: Ex. 40:38)

Fire falls upon the altar in the Temple of Solomon (God's House: 2 Ch. 7:1)

Fire falls upon the New Covenant Temple, the Church, at Pentecost (God's House Acts 2:3)

From the tabernacle on (including the first Christian Pentecost) the glory of the Lord filled His house and it is there, by the power of the Spirit, to this day.

Pentecost

This is going to be a very big weekend for the church I pastor, St. Andrew's Community Church. We have been growing steadily over the past 9 months and this Sunday we will be welcoming our new pastoral intern as he begins his duties. Also, we like to make the church holidays special and important, more important than secular holidays. Pentecost is the churches equivalent of July 4th (even more so!) and we intend to celebrate it with gusto. We will be having a big picnic with fun, feasting and fellowship. I'll post some pictures of it next week over on the St. Andrew's blog. If you're out this way stop on by!

This is pathetic

Environmentalists are building a wee 10 meter replica of Noah’s Ark to protest global warming. Kinda reminds me of the downsized Stonehenge in Spinal Tap.

An Implicational Case Study

Here on Mark's blog we have a wonderful case study of a Reformed Implicationist and a Roman Catholic Implicationist. The ironic thing is that the Reformed Implicationist is speaking to a Reformed community which is already implicated for being broadly Baptistic.

Definition

Implicationism: The view that every theological view will necessarily extend to the implication one posits. For example: Appreciating or embracing some part (no matter how small) of the New Perspective(s) on Paul (NPP) or the Federal Vision Conversation (FVC) will necessarily entail embracing everything that can be said on the subject, which will in turn cause one to be open to Roman Catholic dogma, which in turn leads one to renounce Protestantism and join with Rome.

People who hold to this worldview are known as Implicationists or “Imps” for short.

Doppelgangers

I finally watched Children of Men tonight. What a sad dumper. The world is going to hell in a hand-basket and the worthy people are all left-wing drug using activists. It’s interesting, however, to observe the coalescence between the eschatological visions of secular-pantheists and pessimistic Christians (Dispensationalist and Amillenialists of various stripes). Both see the world getting darker and darker…against all the evidence. I mean c'mon, just because you want to think that every lake is being poisoned, plagues are everywhere, and jack-booted totalitarians are running everything doesn’t make it so. I for one am glad to be living in a time and place where most men will live to almost 80 and not die from gallstones like John Owen.

To The Moon!

My health Insurance just got raised 16%. The system is out of control. I'm Austrian School oriented so I'm hoping for market-based solutions but know more socialism is around the bend.

The Unconquered Son

Psalm 2 is an interesting psalm with huge implications for us. Notice that it says the Son, the King, has some fulfillment in status: “today I have begotten you.”

Psalm 2:6-7 6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you."

Acts 13:32-33 connects this fulfillment with the Resurrection:

Acts 13:32-33 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, "' You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'

But Psalm 2 goes on to speak of a “rod of iron” that breaks and brings rule:

Psalm 2:8-9 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

This theme of a “rod of iron” is picked up again at the end of the Scriptures in the Book of Revelation:

Revelation 12:5 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

Revelation 19:15 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Where is a cynical view of the world and the church in this? Is the Kingdom of God not forcefully advancing and is the king not crushing His, and our, enemies before us? Is King Jesus not bringing the nations (the church has expanded from 120 to almost 2 billion today!) into submission with his rod of iron?

Fadin'

Some folks would do themselves (and all of us) a favor by just fading away.