This Week in Newsweek

I don't normally read Newsweek.

OK. I think this is the first time I've bought the magazine. Ever. But there was an interesting cover. It said, "Heaven Is Real - A Doctor's Experience of the Afterlife." That was enough to capture my attention. Kim started flipping through it and said, "Hey, there's an article about Israel in here." So I skimmed through the article about the doctor and his experience, which was interesting, and spent some time reading through the article about Israel. That's what I want to share with you.

The premise of the article was provoking all by itself. Using a team of people to serve as a mock presidential advisory team, in the aftermath of a pre-emptive Israeli strike against Iran, what would the response of the United States be? The details of the strike are not really that important, though I will give them to you. Israel, under the cover of night, strikes 6 Iranian nuclear sites. It involved covert landings in Ethiopia, India and Saudi Arabia, and a complicated electronic jamming scheme. During the attack, one Israeli plane went down, and the whereabouts of the pilot are unknown.

After spending a lot of time discussing the issue, the team concluded that there was a 100% chance of Israeli fatalities in the Iranian retaliatory strike. Following the retaliation, there is a 50% chance that Israel will strike back. At the same time, this panel of experts determined that there was a 50% chance that the United States will be drawn into the war, either to protect US interests, or to simply show support for Israel. They briefly addressed the issue that it is an election year, and that election is looming big right in front of us, but in the end, they didn't believe it would be a factor.

Honestly, I was surprised that the conclusion of this team was that the US would join the game. There is no doubt that the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu is strained at best, which is indicative of the relationship between our two nations. This fact was also not ignored by the panel, though I don't think they placed enough weight on the lack of trust between us. The bottom line is that in my view, the United States isn't prepared to engage anyone on behalf of Israel any time soon.

There were 5 goals identified by the team that the United States would have to keep in mind. They were, in no particular order,
1. Protect US citizens
2. Avoid war
3. Protect the world economy
4. Prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons
5. Protect Israel and other US allies from Iranian retaliation
When asked to prioritize them, protecting US citizens was number 1, protecting Israel was number 5. The others were interchangeable. Now this was not surprising.

In fact, several of the goals are conflicting. If protecting the world economy comes before protecting the people of Israel, if avoiding war is a higher priority than protecting the people of Israel, well, we can see where this is going. It really doesn't matter what the expert panel says they concluded when the goals that they establish, and the priority in which they are placed, are clearly not in the interest of US-Israeli relations.

I sincerely hope that the conclusions they draw, (which in my mind don't really match the facts presented in the discussion), turn out to be right, and that in the long run, the US would see the benefit to standing with Israel. I am just not sure that it will turn out that way. I am positive of a few things, though.
1. Those who bless Israel will be blessed.
  וַאֲבָרְכָה, מְבָרְכֶיךָ, וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ, אָאֹר  Genesis 12:3

2. Israel will be victorious in the end, because God will fight on her behalf when all others turn against her.
 וְיָצָא יְהוָה, וְנִלְחַם בַּגּוֹיִם הָהֵם The Lord will go forth, and fight against those nations. Zech. 14:3a

3. While we have our responsibilities here, to vote according to our conscience, to stand for what we believe in, and to represent God until His Son returns to make things right, God is still in control, even if we don't understand what He's doing.
 כִּי לֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם, וְלֹא דַרְכֵיכֶם דְּרָכָי  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. Isaiah 55:8

4. We, as believers, must continue to stand in the gap on behalf of Israel. If we don't, no body will.
 וְאַל-תִּתְּנוּ דֳמִי, לוֹ:  עַד-יְכוֹנֵן וְעַד-יָשִׂים אֶת-יְרוּשָׁלִַם, תְּהִלָּה--בָּאָרֶץ. And give him no rest, until He establishes and until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah 62:7

I would love to hear from you. What do you think?

Neal

The Doctrine of Election

This is part of the class that I'm taking right now. There are so many different thoughts about the doctrine of election. But let me try to summarize as best I can. 

Unconditional election - God chooses who will be saved based on His sovereign choice.

Conditional election - God chooses who will be saved based on His foreknowledge of our choice.

Unconditional double election - Not only does God choose who will be saved, but He also chooses who will not be saved.

However, the best reasons I can think of to believe in the doctrine of election as a whole is found in this quote from our text. It is a quote from C.H. Spurgeon, who I don't usually agree with. But this is pretty good.

"I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that doctrine."

No matter what version of election you believe in, Spurgeon has it down. If God hadn't chosen me, and given me the grace to believe in Him, I am positive that I wouldn't be where I am today. Thank you, Lord, for the grace You have given us to believe.

Who is Messiah?

That is the subject of the second class. Who is Messiah? Christology seeks to answer that question. Not just who He is, but what is His nature? Divine? Deity? And how can we know? Class starts tomorrow, and in preparation I just finished 100 pages in the first text, "The Person of Christ." But that isn't really what I am focused on right this minute.

The focus of my thoughts right now are on a passage from the Bible, specifically, Philippians 2:5-11.

     5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It is part of our weekly meditation requirements, to read and ponder over this passage, and let the Holy Spirit speak to us through it. I have read it several times already. What really stands out to me right now is the nature of Yeshua. He had a right to call Himself equal with God. But He didn't.
     How many times in the course of our lives do we have the right to bring attention to a status or a position? I'm the boss. I have such-and-such a degree. I'm whatever. I'm Batman. And whether it is true or not, deserved or not, there was someone who truly had the right to say, "Yeah? Well, I'm God. Top that." And He didn't say a thing.
     We are called in Philippians 2 to "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua." It wasn't even that He didn't claim what was rightfully His. It had never even occurred to Him that it was His right. He "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." I know that I don't have that attitude yet, because I constantly have to tell myself that I am called to give up my rights. I won't be there until I stop thinking it's my right to begin with.
     

Holy Time Warp! It's Wednesday!

Holy time warp, Batman! It's Wednesday!

So I am right now sitting in class on a break, having just completed Exam 2. I feel like I am in a state of academic bulimia. Learn and purge. Learn and purge.

So what's left? Study questions each day, still have to finish the reading for the critical book review that's due tomorrow, and then the final exam on Friday. That's it. Hard to believe. A full semester almost done.

Anyway, more later. Class is starting again.

Pre? Post? A? Huh?

So at the end of last week, I had set out the plan for this coming week. So far, I am actually a little bit ahead of schedule! I know! Go figure. I was able to get the study questions done that are due for today AND for tomorrow last night. That will give me time to study for the next test, which is tomorrow, and possibly get the other book read that I need to finish and write a review on by Thursday.

Last week we covered mostly the differences between some heady theological terms. They are terms that people have probably heard before, but may not really know what they mean. Although, to be honest, it has been my experience that just because people don't know what the words mean, doesn't mean they aren't experts on the subject!! I am talking about premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism.

Before you jump into the water, let me say that these things have nothing to do with the tribulation. That is, pre-trib or post-trib or mid-trib or whatever-trib addresses a different situation in eschatology. They all relate to the rapture and whether or not believers will be around to experience the tribulation. No, those other terms don't have anything to do with the tribulation or the rapture.

Rather, simply put, will there be a 1,000-year reign (a millennium) on the earth, and if so, when does that happen in history? That is the major talking point from the first week here. If you believe that there is going to be a 1,000-year reign of Messiah on earth, and you believe that said reign is still to come, you are premillennial. That is, you believe that we are living in a time, right now, that comes before a millennial kingdom. On the other hand, if you believe that there is going to be a millennium, but that the millennium has already begun and we are living in it right now, you are postmillennial. That is, you believe that we are living right now in a time that is after the start of the millennium. And of course, if you happen to believe that there is no such thing as a millennium, and there will be no reign of Messiah on earth for any period of time, you are amillennial.

Of course, this is a VERY simplified view, and there are scriptural discussions behind each one. I had always said that I was premillennial, though I admit I was probably one of those people who said it and really had no idea what I was talking about. However, I can tell you for sure, 100%, that I now KNOW that I am premillennial, and I can tell you why, though that is a topic for another time. I will simply share with you this fact. The only way that post- and amillennialism works is if you factor out Israel and the Jewish people altogether. I don't believe that, and frankly neither should you. I am not telling you what to believe (or maybe I am) but I know this. If God were able to toss aside the promises and prophecies regarding Israel, then there is no hope for any of the promises that He has made to us. And that isn't the God I serve. 

Anyway, it's just about time to head out for breakfast before class. Please remember us in your prayers, and be blessed!P

Looking Ahead

Shabbat is over, we've just finished a sweet havdalah service with the other students, and we were blessed to have had Michael and Heather join us for it as well. They have headed on back to Twenty-Nine Palms, the other students have retired back to their apartments, and Kim and I have retreated back to ours to get ready for bed.

This week looks something like this. Tomorrow is going to have to be a reading day. There are study questions that are due on Monday, and there is another exam that we are taking on Tuesday. There is a book report (critical book review, actually) that is due on Thursday, for which I need to read a complete book, and that will take up a lot of any "extra" time that might creep into the schedule over the next few days.

The focus for this past week has been on eschatology, that is, a study of the last things. End times prophecy kind of stuff. And I have really had the opportunity to consider what I believed about it. My thoughts on the matter haven't changed. In fact, I am more confident of my position now than before I started. And that is a good things. To have your beliefs challenged, be required to defend them, and come out with an increased confidence in your belief is a good thing, especially when your defense is found in the Scripture. I am not saying that everyone will agree, I am simply saying that I know what I believe and why I believe it.

This coming week, the focus I think is shifting from eschatology to ecclesiology, which is a look at what the body of Messiah is supposed to be. I am really looking forward to it. I am also very grateful that the research paper that is due for this class, which was originally supposed to be due this coming week, was postponed until later this summer. This will give me the chance to be able to really put the time and effort into it that I think it deserves. And of course, when it's finished, I will try to make it available to you.

Kim's plans this week, if I can speak for her, I think are to spend some time with her friend Misti early on, perhaps even go over to Harvest Church with her tomorrow. Later this week, Michael is due to have another test to evaluate an ongoing medical concern, so Kim may end up heading back out to Twenty-Nine Palms mid-week. And in the meantime, I will have MORE than enough work reading, writing study questions, and a critical book review to keep me busy if she goes away.

Kim and I both are going to try to commit to a more regular video blog, and those will be shown at KSS on Shabbat, I believe. We will also try to make them available here, though I don't think I have ever tried to do that before. It should be interesting!

Kim and I really appreciate your prayers. Please continue to lift up Michael and Heather, Kim, me, the other students here, and the Feinberg program. For now, I need to get some sleep. Have to start reading right after breakfast. Good night.

Shabbat Update

Well, I guess that the last part of this week got away from me a little. There was a lot of reading, had to finish that Scripture reading paper on the restoration of Israel, and then there was our first exam that we took yesterday. So here is what's going on.

The professor had given us a study question list for the exam. The other students and I divided them among us and we answered 1 or 2 questions each. Then we got together to make sure that we understood each others' answers. That was on Wednesday. After that, which went until about 8:00pm, I finished the reading that due for Thursday and the paper that was due. That took me straight up until 1:00am. Fun!

Thursday evening, Kim helped me and another student to study. I have always found that the small group environment, where I can just talk about a subject, has helped me prepare for an exam better than any other kind of venue. And that was how the other student felt, as well. So for about 3 hours, Kim served as a moderator of a discussion that spanned the subjects of the purpose of God's creation, the covenants of God in the Old Testament and how they have been developed in the new, and the overall purpose of Israel and how she accomplishes that purpose both now and in the future. It was really a great conversation. And Kim was amazing!!!

Friday morning we took the first exam. There were 19 true/false questions, 3 multiple choice, and 6 short paragraph answers (not really short answer questions and not really essay questions, but somewhere in between). Following the exam, I asked the professor about his policy on returning papers and grades. He said that we should have the grades back Monday. Funny that about 3 hours later, sitting at lunch, one of the other students blurted out, "Hey. Did you see that the grades are posted?" So I went and checked. And while I don't like to be boastful, in the interest of keeping you up to date on how I'm doing, I should tell you that I received a 100 on the exam. (Which I did.)

So the pressure is off, at least for the day. Last night, the Talbot students had a nice little Kabbalat Shabbat service to start the Sabbath off right. A little bit of singing, a challah, some grape juice, and bunch of theology students kicking their shoes off and just celebrating God and each other on His day of rest. It was really nice.

Michael and Heather drove down last night, as well, and will be hanging out with us today, driving back tonight to Twenty-Nine Palms. We are going to visit Shuvah Yisrael Messianic Congregation in Irvine this morning for Shabbat, and then not sure what we are going to do. I do know that we are planning on having lunch with Steve and Misti Wiggins, friends of ours who also happen to lead the worship at Shuvah. So that's our plan, we are going to stick to it as much as the Lord will allow, and I will check back in either tonight or tomorrow.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!