I Am Just Not That Big a Fan of Halloween

I have a confession to make. I am just not that big a fan of Halloween. I just don't much care for it. I don't completely reject everything about it. I know of many fine Christians who for reasons of conscience, believe that Halloween in any form is evil. I respect that conviction (see Romans 14). To be honest, I am actually sympathetic to it. But I don't necessarily think total abstinence is the only option for Christians. In my case, my problems with Halloween are two-fold. One is the glorification of death, horror, and evil in the surrounding Western culture. The other problem is how childish the whole thing is.

As to the first, it should go without saying that glorifying death, horror, and evil is repugnant to me and to other Christians. Death is not a good thing. I hate death! I work in Emergency Medical Services. I have seen my share of death. In fact, I once witnessed an autopsy being performed as part of the orientation process at one of my prior ambulance jobs. Death is evil. Death is not natural. Death is something that only exists as part of the curse of sin brought about by the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Why in the world would I want to glorify that!?

Similarly, why would I want to act as if horror and evil was something to be used for entertainment? Why would I find joy in viewing disturbing images and sounds? I for one hate the horror genre of movies. Now I don't mind suspense and thrillers and things like that. Some mild forms of that I have been known to view with enjoyment (think anthology series like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits). But I am talking about horror/slasher movies; film franchises like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or more modern series like Saw or The Nun. In my opinion, those things are energized by Satan.

The other thing about Halloween that bothers me is how childish the whole thing is. Let me explain. Personally, I am of the mind that what can be salvaged about Halloween (which is very little) should be for the kids. My own kids dressed in silly, cartoonish costumes and went and got candy from the neighbors. It was cute. It was fun. It wasn't scary at all. And I think that is just the way it should stay. Hearing about teenagers going trick-or-treating in my view speaks to the massive childishness in Western culture today. And I scarcely need to go into how excited adults (and I use that term loosely) seem to get about going to horror attractions and getting drunk while in costume.

Where I live, trick-or-treating is done on the Friday just before October 31, so we just had it. I did enjoy seeing the joy on my kids' faces when they got to dig in to some free candy (of course, I consider myself entitled to a small candy tax as Dad). I also think they looked cute in their costumes (my son was Spiderman while my daughter was dressed up as a black cat). The bottom line is that other than a little bit of kitsch (cartoonish ghosts, Frankenstein, Wolfman, etc...), I only tolerate Halloween for the sake of my kids.

In my mind, Halloween is something to just get through. Personally, I enjoy the fall season; especially now that I live in the Northeast where we actually have changes of seasons. Fall foliage, pumpkin spice (insert everyday product here), and cool days and nights. But to me, one of the nicest things about fall is that we are getting closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially Christmas. Anyone who knows me knows how positively Clark Griswold I get over Christmastime. I am a true Christmas junkie! I am looking forward to getting on with Thanksgiving and Christmas once Halloween is over. Blessings.

Ye Chosen Seed of Israel's Race, Part 1: Jesus as the New Israel

In my last post, I wrote about how Jesus Christ fulfills and recapitulates the life of King David, and is in effect a "new David". Today, I plan on writing the first post of a multi-part blog series on the theme of "Israel", and specifically how Jesus is the "New Israel". In subsequent posts, I will expand on this theme and show that, contrary to much popular theology, this status as the new Israel is extended to include the Church. The rest of this series will thus be a defense of what is often (and pejoratively) referred to as "Replacement Theology".

Hymns are something that I didn't really experience until my later teenage years. As one who spent most of his growing up years within the "seeker sensitive" movement, I mostly heard modern praise songs and choruses (modern that is, for the 1990s and early 2000s). I still have a great love for those songs. But when I finally got to begin singing and learning classic hymns, I found in them something that had been missing prior. One of these hymns that I didn't really learn until I was into my twenties was "All Hail the Pow'r of Jesus' Name". It took a little while for me to warm up to it, but it has since become one of my favorite hymns. Both Chris Tomlin and Sovereign Grace Music have modernized it and added choruses. Both versions are highly recommended. The second verse, which I really enjoy reads like this:

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race

Ye ransomed from the Fall

Hail Him who saved you by His grace

And crown Him Lord of all

Hail Him who saved you by His grace

And crown Him Lord of all

The thing I love about this verse is that the hymn's author (Edward Perronet) recognizes that with the enthronement of Jesus, it is those who are ransomed from the Fall of Mankind who are the proper recipients of the title "Israel". But before we can really understand the Church's status as the spiritual Israel, it is first necessary to establish that the Church's Lord and Messiah is in fact the One who fully manifests and fulfills that honored and revered name.

In the early chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, the author describes how the events surrounding the conception, birth, and early years of Jesus fulfill Old Testament prophecy. In chapter 2, we read of an angel who commanded Joseph to take Mary and Jesus with him to Egypt to escape the wrath of king Herod. As Matthew narrates the story, he references how the flight to Egypt fulfills the words of the prophet Hosea:

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."  (Matthew 2:13-15 NIV)

On the surface of it, this may seem like a simple promise and fulfillment. The problem arises of course when you take a look at the original context of Hosea 11:1 which Matthew quotes. In the original context of Hosea, God is recounting how he had brought Israel out of Egypt, called them his "son" (Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:9), and brought them to himself, but they had instead worshiped other gods. Despite all the fatherly care God had given them, they continually burned incense to false gods and bowed down to idols. There isn't a hint of predictive prophecy in Hosea 11. So how then can Matthew take from Hosea to prove that the Messiah had to go to Egypt and come back out again? Is Matthew playing fast and loose with the context of Scripture?

I believe that an answer can be found in Isaiah, and especially in the Servant Songs of chapters 40-53. In this section of the Hebrew Bible, we are introduced to a character called, "the Servant of the LORD", or just simply, "the Servant". In many cases, the Servant is identified with the nation of Israel (Isaiah 41:8; 44:1-2; 45:4). However, in chapter 49 we find something interesting. The Servant is both identified with and distinguished from Israel. 

Listen to me, you islands;

    hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born the Lord called me;

    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrow

    and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant,

    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

 But I said, “I have labored in vain;

    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,

    and my reward is with my God.”

 And now the Lord says—

    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

    and gather Israel to himself,

for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord

    and my God has been my strength—

 he says:

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

    to restore the tribes of Jacob

    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

This is what the Lord says—

    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—

to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,

    to the servant of rulers:

“Kings will see you and stand up,

    princes will see and bow down,

because of the Lord, who is faithful,

    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

(Isaiah 49:1-7 NIV)

Here in Isaiah 49, we learn of the Servant's relationship to the people of Israel as well as how he will relate to the gentiles. On the one hand, he will restore and bring Israel back to God, and yet he will also paradoxically find himself despised and rejected by the same. Additionally, he will also bring God's salvation to the gentiles. But despite being distinguished from the nation of Israel and having this complex relationship with them, God still addresses the Servant with the name "Israel". What should we make of this? I think that, as it was with the name "David", so it is with the name "Israel". The Servant/Messiah will personify, fulfill, and recapitulate in himself the history of Israel. 

Seeing this helps to make sense of how Matthew could use the Hosea passage and understand it messianically. It also helps us to understand the rest of the early chapters of Matthew. The nation of Israel began in the land of promise, went to Egypt, came out of Egypt, went through the waters of the Red Sea, spent 40 years in the desert, and came to the mountain where the Law was given. Likewise, Messiah Jesus, the true Israel, began in the promised land, went to Egypt, came out of Egypt, went through the waters of baptism, spent 40 days in the desert, and then came to a mountain where the New Law would be expounded. 

This motif of the Messiah as true Israel makes it easier to understand how that concept can then be applied to the Church which is in union with him. It is that issue to which I will turn in the next installment of this series. 

The Significance of Calling Jesus the Messiah, "David"

If you want to undertake a Bible study that is sure to make your head spin, try to understand how the New Testament uses, interprets, and applies the Old Testament. On occasion, you will find a 1-to-1 promise and fulfillment. Micah 5:2 predicts that the Messiah will come out of Bethlehem. A straightforward fulfillment is found in the first two chapters of Matthew. But other times, it is not so easy. Speaking of Matthew's Gospel, Matthew finds the flight of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to Egypt and their later return to Israel as fulfilling Hosea 11:1, even though we do not find a specific prophecy there (Matthew 2:13-15).

To make matters even more confusing, the Lord Jesus Himself seems to speak as if many of the Old Testament allusions he makes are self-evident and self-explanatory;

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27 NIV). 

He said to them, "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:44-47 NIV)

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?" (John 3:10 NIV)

"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me..." (John 5:39 NIV)

So you see my problem. It is not always easy to figure out just how and where the OT (and especially the Psalms) so specifically predicts the events of the Gospel we preach. And yet Jesus himself speaks like it is obvious! You can see for example how the Lord rebukes the disciples on the road to Emmaus, calling them "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken".

For the longest time this was somewhat of a mystery to me. But then I began to see something that gave me a clue. I started to find references in the Old Testament referring to this figure whom the Prophets refer to simply as "David". Now I am very familiar with David son of Jesse; the shepherd boy who slew Goliath, won many military victories, fled from Saul, penned Psalms, became Israel's second King, sinned with Uriah's wife, made plans to build a temple for God, etc... I knew of him. And yet these were not nostalgic looks back at the past; these were prophecies of the future. And somehow it seemed (and still seems) obvious to me that these words were not referring to the literal David, but rather to the Messiah who comes from David's line:

"In that day," declares the LORD Almighty, "I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them."  (Jeremiah 30:8-9 NIV)

"I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken."  (Ezekiel 34:23-24 NIV)

"My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever."  (Ezekiel 37:24-25 NIV)

"For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days."   (Hosea 3:4-5 NIV)

So what is so significant about referring to the Messiah as "David"? How does this help me to understand how the NT quotes and applies the OT? The answer to that question is that the Prophets of the Old Testament understood the Messiah to not only be David's descendant and thus David's heir (see 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17; Isaiah 9:6-7), but they see him as David par excellence. The OT is giving us a clue that the Messiah would recapitulate and fulfill many of the elements of David's life. This explains why the NT writers apply many of the Psalms of David to Jesus.

So in what ways does Jesus the Messiah "recapitulate" David? How does David prefigure the Messiah? Space prevents a full examination, so I will only give a few examples. I will show how in the life of David, particularly in the Psalms, the OT predicts the suffering and exaltation of the Messiah.

Firstly, let us consider the betrayal of the Messiah. All of us are familiar with the treachery of Judas Iscariot; how he sold out to the Jewish leadership for 30 pieces of silver and later hanged himself out of sorrow. But did you know that this was already prefigured in the life of David? During the rebellion of Absalom, David's close adviser Ahithophel switched sides and backed Absalom (2 Samuel 15:12). Upon hearing this, David sent a spy into Absalom's circle called Hushai deliberately to counteract the influence and advice of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:32-37). David's ploy worked and Ahithophel's good advice was rejected by Absalom in favor of Hushai's subterfuge. And this is where it gets interesting:

When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father's tomb. (2 Samuel 17:23 NIV) 

Ahithophel obviously surmised that Absalom's revolt was doomed to fail and that David would hold him accountable. So Ahithophel ended his own life. David alludes to Ahithophel's treason in Psalm 41:9, Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me (see also Psalm 55:12-14; John 13:18). Based on this, it becomes easier to see how the Messiah (as the new David) also would have to endure the betrayal of a close friend who would later commit suicide by hanging himself. It also becomes apparent why the Eleven Apostles understood that Judas' Apostolic office needed a replacement (Psalm 69:25; 109:8; Acts 1:15-26).

Secondly, Seeing Jesus as the new and greater David also explains how the Psalms (and through them the Prophets) prefigured the Messiah's death. Concerning the Messiah's death, David said to God, "...you lay me in the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 NIV) and "...though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." (Psalm 23:4 NKJV). These words of David become the words of the Messiah, showing that the Psalms understood that the Messiah would die. 

Lastly, the Davidic One, the Messiah must rise from the dead. David (and through him, the Messiah) says to God just shortly after being laid into the dust of death, "Save me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered me". (Psalm 22:21 NKJV). He also writes, "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life..." (Psalm 16:9-11a NIV; see also Acts 2:25-32), and this, "He asked you for life, and you gave it to him - length of days, for ever and ever (Psalm 21:4 NIV).

There is so much more that could be unpacked here concerning how Messiah Jesus is the greater "David". But hopefully the small sample I have provided suffices to show that this is the case and that we can confidently read the Old Testament as Christian scripture.

Coming with the Clouds of Heaven

Sometimes I think that part of the reason it can seem difficult to understand how the Bible fits together is that the New Testament uses Greek idiom to describe the fulfillment of Hebrew hope. What do I mean by that? Well, it is commonly known that the Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew (with portions of Jeremiah and Daniel written in Aramaic), while the New Testament was written entirely in the Greek language. So what happens is that Greek terms (translated for us into English) are used to talk about Old Testament themes. Sometimes that's not much of a problem. For example the Greek word pascha (πάσχα) translates rather easily into English as Passover (as in John 2:13). But other times it is not easy. For example, the New Testament uses the phrases "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" even though those precise terms are never used in the Old Testament. But these are terms loaded with Old Testament significance as they describe the reign of the Messiah over restored Israel and the nations of the world.

The reason I bring it up is that sometimes it is not immediately clear that a New Testament passage might be drawing heavily on an Old Testament theme or promise, when it was likely more apparent to first century believers. That isn't a slam against modern Christians, it is just sometimes reality. It is the job of the leaders of the Church, particularly its teachers (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11) to help Christians in their understanding of Scripture.

One of the areas where I believe more clarity would be welcome is in connecting specific passages of the Old Testament together with the New Testament to find out how Old Covenant hope is fulfilled in the present New Covenant/Kingdom age. My purpose today is to show how Christ's session at the Father's right hand in the "heavenly realms" fulfills, at least partially, the vision Daniel received in the seventh chapter of the book that bears his name. 

Daniel 7 describes a vision that the prophet Daniel received at the beginning of the reign of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. In it, Daniel saw four beasts which coincide with four empires that would arise subsequent to Daniel. Daniel also saw a vision of the Ancient of Days seated on his throne and the ultimate fate of the Beast and the "little horn" that speaks blasphemies against God. But it is verses 13 and 14 that most concern me here:

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. 

(Daniel 7:13-14 NIV)

On the surface of it, it may seem like this is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled at the second coming of the Lord Jesus. After all, "coming with the clouds" sounds like second advent language. And it comes immediately after the destruction of the Beast and his being thrown alive into the blazing fire (Daniel 7:11; Revelation 19:20). But a closer look as well as an investigation into relevant New Testament texts reveals that actually this portion of the vision has already, and continues to be fulfilled. 

So how do I know that? Firstly let us consider the very words of Jesus. In Mark's gospel, we find Jesus arrested and standing before the Sanhedrin. The council found false witnesses against Jesus in an attempt to find excuse to have Jesus put to death. Frustrated in that attempt and seeing Jesus give no answer, the high priest directly questioned Jesus:

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. 

Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

(Mark 14:60-62 NIV)

Jesus himself tells the Sanhedrin (and us) that Daniel's vision finds fulfillment in him and very shortly. Notice that his "coming on the clouds of heaven" is contemporaneous with his "sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One", which fulfills Psalm 110 (the most frequently cited Psalm in the entire New Testament, and obviously fulfilled). Further evidence is found in Jesus' words to the high priest, "...And YOU will see the Son of Man..." Jesus is saying that those in that very room would see Jesus glorified, sitting at God's right hand and coming on the clouds. It can't refer to the second coming since the high priest and all the members of the Sanhedrin are obviously long since dead. They would "see" the Son of Man glorified when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the fledgling Church and through its preaching.

So how exactly is it fulfilled in the first century in the days of Jesus and his opponents? A careful look at the passage in Daniel and a comparison of it with Acts 1 will make it apparent that it was in the ascension of Jesus that he "comes with the clouds of heaven".

Concerning Daniel 7:13-14, notice the movement of the Son of Man. As he comes with the clouds, he approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. In other words, this scene is not taking place on earth at all. It is an entirely heavenly scene. So how does that work with what we know of the New Testament? Consider first Acts 1:6-9:

Then they gathered around him and asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

That a cloud hid Jesus from the sight of the Eleven Apostles is not a coincidence. It was when Jesus ascended to the Father and was glorified at his right hand that Jesus came with the clouds and received his kingdom. Similar language is found in Ephesians. There, Paul speaks of: ...his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.  (Ephesians 1:19-20 NIV). Much of Paul's descriptions of the blessings that Christians enjoy in Christ in the heavenly places comes right out of the book of Daniel!

Hopefully I have shown briefly that Jesus' ascension to the right hand of God in heaven is the fulfillment of at least part of Daniel's vision. There is still more yet to be fulfilled. The Kingdom of God has come upon us (Matthew 12:28; Luke 17:20-21; Colossians 1:13), but it has not yet come in all its fullness (Luke 22:15-16). Still to come is the day when: the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him (Daniel 8:27 NIV). 

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.

(Revelation 11:15 NIV).