Saturday, August 31, 2019

Beginning of the Birth Pains


Matthew 24:4-14; Mark 13:5-13; Luke 21:8-19


The disciples had just privately asked two questions in response to Jesus’ declaration that the Temple would soon be destroyed. The first question was “when will all these things happen?” The second concerned the sign signalling His return and the end of the age or of the world. Both questions indicate their eagerness to know the timing of the destruction of the Temple.

As we saw in the setting of the discourse, the Temple is the key element in the historical setting of Jesus’ reply. “Jesus’ prophecy of its final destruction (Matthew 24:2) follows after His declaring it ‘desolate’ (Matthew 23:38) and dramatically walking out of it (Matthew 24:1).”[1] This mirrors the Lord’s dramatic departure from Jerusalem during the period of the Babylonian Exile as recorded by Ezekiel in chapter 11:23: “Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east.” Jesus too stopped on the Mount of Olives after having left the city.

At this point, we would do well to heed Jesus’ opening warning: “Don’t let anyone mislead you…” This was wise pastoral guidance for His bewildered disciples in unsettling times then as well as wise pastoral guidance for our disciples and us today. We must look carefully at the words used by Jesus in His reply as well as the historical record of 1st Century events.

One word that we should take note of is the word translated “end”. The word used by the disciples in their question to Jesus is sunteleias, but when Jesus referred to the “end” in verse 6 He used the word telos not sunteleias. The same is true for verse 13 and verse 14.  The meaning of sunteleia (the word the disciples used) is “a completion, or a consummation, or an end.[2] Telos, on the other hand, means “an end attained”, with an emphasis on a goal reached or an outcome fulfilled…“a closing act”, as it were. While the disciples’ question referred to a general end of all, Jesus’ reply appears to have been referencing a specific end of something, in this case the end of Jerusalem and of the temple as a fulfilment of His prophetic warnings.

More likely than not, the disciples would have thought that the end of the Temple would signal the end of time as they knew it, but Jesus’ reply indicated that this was not the case. Instead, the end of the Temple announced the beginning of a new era in which both Jerusalem and the Temple would have a non-geographical reality, namely in heaven where Jesus reigned as Davidic King in the new heavenly Jerusalem and also as Head of the Church, the New Temple.

Now, in replying to their request for signs signalling the fulfilment of His warnings, Jesus was at pains to make sure they would not be misled. When reports of the return of a Messiah reached their ears they ought not to believe it. Jesus seemed to indicate that there would be mass deception. As Abba Silver says, “The first century…especially the generation before the destruction [of the temple], witnessed a remarkable outburst of Messianic emotionalism. This is to be attributed…not to an intensification of Roman persecution but to the prevalent belief induced by the popular chronology of that day that the age was on the threshold of the millennium.”[3]

That this happened within the lifetime of the disciples is clear when one looks at Paul’s warning to the Ephesians in Acts 20:30 (false leaders), John’s statement in 1 John 2:18 (antichrists), and again Paul’s warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 about the great rebellion against God and the coming of the man of lawlessness. Heniz Schreckenberg lists at least 16 false Messiahs in the post Herodian period before AD 70.[4]

Jesus also told them that they would hear of wars, rumours of wars, and insurrections. Now, how could this be a sign? Has there ever been a time in the history of the world that this was not true? The answer is yes! The Pax Romana (Peace of Rome or the“Age of Peace”) was started by Augustus in 17 BC. Many Ancient historians refer to this peace as profoundly successful.[5] “…in the Roman Empire proper, this period of peace remained comparatively undisturbed until the time of Nero.”[6] Nero died during the great Jewish War in June AD 68, resulting in the year of the four emperors as leaders struggled against each other for power. This almost led to the collapse of the Empire. To make matters worse, at this point in time the Gallic provinces, Britain, Germany, Sarmartae, and Suebi all tried to leave the Empire, unsuccessfully, but it took a while to re-establish stability. As disconcerting as this instability may have been Jesus indicated that even this was not yet the end!

There were also earthquakes at this time in Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Crete, Rome, Laodicea, Pompeii, and in Jerusalem itself. There were widespread famines (Acts 11:28, a famine during the reign of Claudius, AD 41-54, as attested to by Suetonius, Dio Cassius, Tacitus, Eusebius, and Orosius), but the worst was no doubt the famine that ravaged the city of Jerusalem during the Roman siege where mothers were said to have eaten their children.

But, Jesus insisted, these were but birth pangs, which indicated that He believed there would be a birth, a new beginning, after the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the kingdom of God (Mark 9:1) would become apparent. “As the old Jerusalem and temple era end, the New Jerusalem (Galatians 4:23-31; Revelation 21:1-2, cp. Revelation 22:6, 10) and new temple (Ephesians 2:20-21, 1 Peter 2:5) begin in earnest.”[7] As such, the temple’s destruction confirmed the coming of the Kingdom, the fact that Jesus is presently reigning on the heavenly throne as Davidic King over all the nations of the world.

The great persecution mentioned here hardly needs explanation as we see the beginnings of this in Acts 8 and references to persecution in just about every New Testament letter. The division, apostasy, and betrayal mentioned by Jesus here can also be seen in passages such as 2 Timothy 1:15, 2 Timothy 4:16, Galatians 3:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 1 John 2:19, Hebrews 2:1-4, 6:1-6, 10:26-31. Tacitus also tells us that “First, Nero had self-acknowledged Christians arrested. Then, on their information, large numbers of others were condemned.”[8]

There were many false prophets as seen in Acts 13:6, other New Testament passages, as well as in the writings of the 1st Century historian, Josephus. Sin was rampant and the love of many would grow cold (see John’s words to the church in Ephesus – Revelation 2:4).

But, Jesus said, the one left standing firm, the one who would endure this test or trial to the end (telos), would be saved. In this context the word “saved” probably refers to the disciples keeping their identity as Christians intact (see Matthew 16:25). “The implied truth underlying this test is that there will be ample time for a full curriculum of trial testing character and sifting the true from the false or temporary Christian.”[9]

But the good news was that the Gospel would be preached throughout the whole world, prior to the end of the old order as dramatically shown in the destruction of the old locations of God’s reign. Other than countries in the Western Hemisphere, this prediction came true fairly quickly (compare Matthew 24:14 (all peoples) with Acts 2:5 (every nation under heaven). See also, Romans 1:8, 10:18, Colossians 1:6, 23).

Now, while these were all events predicted by Jesus to be fulfilled within the 40-year period allocated to a generation in biblical numerology, the principles contained in these warnings remain the same throughout time! When false teachers, prophets, mass deception, wars, global catastrophes, natural disasters, and the like reach our ears, we must stand firm and continue to make disciples of all nations.
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[1] Gentry, Kenneth L., The Olivet Discourse Made Easy, Apologetics Group Media, Draper, VA, 2010, 43.
[2] From the verb, sunteleo meaning “to bring to an end altogether, to finish.” Wigram George V, The Analytical Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1983, 391.
[3] Silver, Abba Hillel, A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel: From the First through the Seventeenth Centuries, Macmillan, NY, NY, 1927, 5.
[4] Cited in Guthrie, Donald, New Testament Introduction, (details unknown)…
[5] Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79), Epictetus (AD 55-135) “Caesar has obtained for us a profound peace. There are neither wars nor battle.” (Discourses 3:13:9).
[6] Reicke, Bo, The New Testament Era: The World of the Bible from 500 BC to AD 100, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1968, 110.
[7] Gentry, ibid, 77. Also see Hebrews 12:18-28, John 4:21.
[8] Tacitus, Annals 15, as quoted in Gentry, ibid, 79.
[9] Bruce, A B, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 2002, 291. 

Friday, August 30, 2019

August Newsletter

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in Southern Africa

The most recent crime statistics tell us that an average of 57 people are murdered a day in South Africa, 46 of which are men, eight women and two children. Seven of the top ten areas for violent killings are in the Western Cape. Up until recently, these were just numbers to us…shocking, staggering, appalling...but just numbers. Now we have a face and name that has changed the statistics from an abstract to a concrete reality. Louise’s step-nephew was brutally stabbed and shot to death at a traffic light on the National N-2 Highway. The motive of this senseless action is yet unknown as nothing was stolen. Johan was 59, a husband and father of four boys, one of which is severely disabled.

This is the reality of life in South Africa at present. Violent protests, riots, stone throwing, petrol bombing, tyre burning, hijacking, raping, stabbing, shooting…

But that is only one side of our reality here. Scripture tells us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). God is moving in the hearts and minds of many people and we believe a time will come when He turns our present topsy-turvy world the right side up again.

For those of you who have not read our report on the Namibian Strategy Training trip, here is the link to our blogsite: http://missionsbloging.blogspot.com/2019/08/namibia-strategy-training-trip-2019.html

Since coming back to South Africa, we have been busy training a local mixed group, mostly made up of young Xhosa speaking highschool boys, holding Bible Studies, and preaching in our local church.



Louise addressed a group of local women to encourage them in the midst of their struggles. She has also continued in her Biblical studies with George Whitefield College and is loving it. Johann has been writing short devotional pieces for J-Life and is currently engaged in recording the Gospels chronologically to be included in a brand new J-Life App. Many of the folks we train do not have their own Bibles and so this will be extremely helpful for them in the future. Johann has been invited to join a group of local Christian farmers in studying God’s Word, but this has yet to materialise. Johann is also currently discipling a remarkable young man who farms and builds while reaching out to farmers and laborers alike. We still follow-up with all those we have trained and hope to train them in the other three modules next year.

We are also part of a planning team called Villiersdorp 4 Jesus. God willing, we will be hosting a weekend evangelism event in the town in November. This is quite a big dream and there are still many things that need to fall in place and it seems quite daunting, but we do believe that this is what our Lord wants us to do here, so we will push on.

Personally, we are well. Louise’s mum is happy and content in the Nursing Home. She is not all that happy that we will be gone for two months though! We leave for the Israel Study Tour on September 7, two days after my birthday! What an amazing gift! From Israel we will go to the US where we will meet up with our oldest and his family before attending the SAMS-USA Missionary Retreat and New Wineskins Missions Conference where Johann will be presenting one (Global Theological Education) of the many Missions Awareness Presentations.

We were hoping to do a Strategy Training event with some of our supporting churches in the Carolinas, but have as yet not heard back from anyone! For some or other reason, folks were not receiving our emails and we were receiving all of theirs…an email would come through asking if we received previous emails, which we did not. Weird. The idea is not only to train folks in the art of disciple making, but also to give y’all an idea of what we do in Africa. So, if any of y’all are interested, please give us a shout…we will be in the area through the month of October.

Spring is in the air here after a mild winter. The rains were fairly good and the dam levels are higher than last year, but the weather is so different from what it used to be.

Thank you all for y’all’s prayers and love and support. You are very much appreciated.

Blessings.
Johann and Louise

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Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. At present, they are mostly working in Southern Africa where they are serving in seven southern African countries, although they continue to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa as well as other southern and northern African countries, through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are partnering with J-Life and other like-minded ministries. This ministry is massive and has the ability to reach thousands.
We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ. 
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Homily for Romilly Neill's Memorial Service

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 35-38, 42-44a, 53-58 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an event that sets Christianity apart from all other systems of belief. It points us towards God’s power over our greatest enemy, namely death. It tells us that through Jesus, death has been defeated, and even though death is inescapable in this life, those of us who are in Jesus will rise like Jesus to a new life beyond the grave. In this sense the resurrection is God’s Good News to the human race. We know that Jesus was crucified. There is enough evidence in the non-biblical historical record to verify His execution as fact. But it is not the death of Jesus alone that is the Good News to us…it is His resurrection…and it is at this point that the voices of dissension and unbelief make themselves heard. “Did the resurrection really happen?” they ask. Well, I believe it did and there is good reason for my statement of faith. Firstly, anyone writing in the 1st Century AD would never have used a woman as a witness. The 1st Century Jews thought that a woman’s testimony was not to be trusted as we can see by the initial reaction of the male disciples on that first Easter Sunday morning. They thought the women were spinning tales. So, if the authors of the Gospels were making this up, they most certainly would not have Mary Magdalene as the first bearer of the Good News. Secondly, no body was ever found to disprove the disciple’s claim that Jesus had risen from the dead. And there were many folks who had very good reasons for finding the body at that time…but there was nothing to show, so they had to resort to bribes and threats and persecution and murder. And lastly, those who claimed to have seen the risen Christ changed into bold and fearless ambassadors for Him. Remember, other than the Apostle John, the men were hiding behind locked doors. It was the women who were at the cross and at the tomb. It was only after they had seen Jesus with their own eyes and heard Him speak with their own ears and, in Thomas’ case, touched Him with their own hands that the men believed. But then, these same men who had deserted Jesus at His hour of need and who had been hiding in the Upper Room out of fear for the Jews, suddenly confronted the same crowds that a few days earlier had cried out for Jesus to be crucified…and they also courageously refused to cave in to the threats of the same council that sentenced Jesus to death. And remember that this was not only a small group of 12…there were 120 of them! Either there was some form of mass delusion or mass hypnosis or mass deception…or something significant had happened to change them from unbelievers into believers. Now, unfortunately, I never met Romilly…I really wish I had. Not only was she an accomplished artist, a loving wife and mother, but from what I have heard in the community she was also a sunshine person…a person who radiated love and life. In this sense, she was and still is like Mary Magdalene…a bold witness to God’s victory over darkness and death. In many ways, her voice can be heard this morning in what Paul had to say in our Scripture reading. Because of the resurrection, we can know where Romilly is today…absent from the body, but present with her Lord. Because of the resurrection, we can share in the hope that is a present reality for her and all who have died in Jesus. Because of the resurrection, we can know that all who share her faith in Christ will be reunited with her when it is our turn to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Because of the resurrection, we can be comforted with the knowledge that death is merely a door to a new reality. Someone recently described death like airport departure and arrival terminals. On this side of eternity, we shed tears as we say goodbye to our loved ones who are traveling…there is a struggle in our hearts and turmoil in our souls. We hate to see them go. But on the other side of eternity, our loved ones are welcomed with joy and happiness and the angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven meet them and usher them into the glorious presence of God. It is the resurrection of Jesus that grants us the confidence to claim this image for Romilly this day. Because of her faith in Christ, she is in a place where there are no more tears…where there is no more pain, no more sorrow…only eternal bliss and peace. And so, because of the resurrection, we do not grieve like people who have no hope since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again…and so we know that in Him Romilly died and entered into eternal life with Him. May the God of peace who raised Jesus from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, grant you comfort and hope with these words. Amen. © Johannes W H van der Bijl 2019-08-23