Archive for January, 2010
Magic Kingdom
Isaiah was recently talking to his cousin Evan on the phone and I heard him say dolefully, “I don’t have any friends to play with in Florida.” Isaiah has always been gregarious and the weight of his words lay heavy upon my heart. Uprooting my family from the normalcy of life at home has been one of the more difficult aspects of deputation. The instability that life on the road brings makes the bonds of family all that more important. To ensure this family connection is strong and healthy we take great care in spending quality time together. Of course to build a family bond does not require anything extravagant. Besides our regular family devotion we enjoy such simple things as walks together, playing games and watching videos. The upside of deputation is experiencing things together as a family we might otherwise not have the opportunity to do. My hope is that these special experiences will make deputation a little easier for Isaiah to bear and be happy memories that we can look back on as a family.
Thanks to the generosity and sacrifice of Victory Baptist Temple in Elyria, Ohio, we were recently able to experience Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. As part of their mission conference last October VBT had Christmas for the missionaries. Each missionary was taken to a separate part of the church which was decorated by a team assigned to a specific missionary family. They had sold pizzas in order to raise the funds to purchase gifts for our entire family. The effort they made to make our family feel loved and appreciated was humbling. One of the gifts they presented to us was tickets to Disney World.
Two weeks ago while in Florida we were able to spend a day at Disney World. Magic Kingdom theme park is designed like a wheel with the hub in front of Cinderella Castle; pathways spoke out from this hub into seven fairy tale lands. We began the day with one of the most well-known of Disney rides Pirates of the Caribbean, Isaiah then rode his first roller coaster Big Thunder Mountain, he then opted for something a little more tame as he and Sandy rode Dumbo the Flying Elephant, his favorite ride was driving a race car at Tomorrowland Speedway, the last ride of the night was a bird’s eye view of the park high atop the Astro Orbiter. Pearl sat patiently in her stroller by mamma most of the day watching all the people go by. We had a great time together and we will cherish the memories we made.
Magic Kingdom is advertised as a world of fantasy and adventure that allows you to step through the turnstiles to enter a storybook filled with Disney characters and enchantment. It is one of the top vacation destinations for people all over the world. As we waited in line after line and walked among the masses of humanity I couldn’t help but think of the day when nations the world over will travel to Jerusalem to a kingdom not based on make-believe and a mouse but one foretold of in scripture and ruled by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Most contemporary Christians assume the Bible’s theme is John 3:16 – this is highly inaccurate. The theme of scripture is the Kingdom. From a human standpoint the most wonderful event in history is the day Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died for our sins. From the standpoint of God the Father, the thing He is most interested in is not the day that His Son came to earth to be mocked, spit upon, cursed, and killed by sinful men. The great day on God the Father’s “calendar” is the day that His Son comes back to this earth as KING OF KINGS to take over and posses what rightfully belongs to Him. You know this is true because there are five times as many verses in the Bible concerning the Second Advent of Christ reigning as King from a literal, physical, visible throne in Jerusalem than there are about the First Advent and His suffering on the cross at Calvary. Therefore, the greatest event referred to in the scriptures is the “day of the LORD” when the “kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). This won’t be a magic kingdom but it will be a miraculous one.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 2:2-4
Unsung Heroes
The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who worked together in the rise of Methodism in the British Isles during the 18th century. Their father once wrote to his children, “You know what you owe to one of the best of mothers… above all for the wholesome and sweet motherly advice and counsel which she has often given you to fear God.”
Susanna Wesley did not live an easy life but she met her trials with a faith in God that would leave an indelible imprint upon her children. In nineteen years, she gave birth to nineteen children, nine of whom died as infants. Her husband, a minister in the Church of England, was a poor money manager that had mired the family in debt. Despite his love for Susanna and his commitment to Christ, he was blind to his faults and at times was tyrannical and despotic at home. Once after a minor disagreement, he abandoned Susanna and their children for an entire year. No matter what the circumstances however, Susanna was committed to caring for her family the best way possible. Though resources were limited, she started a daily school for her children. She said her purpose was exclusively “the saving of their souls,” so the rigorous academics never took priority over instruction in the scriptures. Each day before class, she set aside an hour to herself for scripture reading and prayer, and then led them all in singing psalms.
With her family gathered around her bedside during her final illness, she said, “Children, as soon as I am released, sing a psalm of praise to God.” Her grave marker reads in part: “A Christian here her flesh laid down, the cross exchanging for a crown.”
Susanna Wesley never preached a sermon nor founded a church but she richly molded the character of her children. As children consciously or unconsciously will, the brothers applied the example and teachings and circumstances of their home life to ministries that would impact generations to come for the cause of Christ.
Although it is inspiring to read the stories of Susanna Wesley, Ann Judson, Mary Slessor, Gladys Aylward, and others, we find that the scriptures do not measure the greatness of a woman in the number of her extraordinary exploits but rather in her fear of God and submission to His will as revealed in the Bible. Proverbs chapter 31 gives us a description of a woman whose worth is “far above rubies.” As the kids and I celebrated Sandy on her birthday this past Thursday, I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with a wife who could be described from many of the verses in Proverbs 31 and whose worth is far more than I can measure.
The Bible is very clear that the role of wives in marriage is to “guide the house” (1 Tim. 5:14) and be “keepers at home” (Titus 2:5). Perhaps I am biased in my opinion but I believe that no other area of Christian work is the role of helpmeet more intensified than in the mission field. It has been said that in missions, husband and wife have to live together under circumstances which test to the uttermost every weakness of body, of temper, of spirit, of faith.
I thank God that Sandy makes (and will continue to make on the field) our home a happy refuge. She will never allow it to be Grand Central Station but rather will always ensure it has a family atmosphere. I admire her determination not to neglect her God-given duties of wife and mother even in the face of adversity. She deals with the challenges of home schooling Isaiah (and in the future Pearl) and living a transient life from one part of the country to another while on deputation, in the future she will have to make the effort to overcome the language barrier in Italy, as well as loneliness, a different health care system and adjusting to a very different society. Because her deeds are not in the public eye she will likely never receive her due reward of appreciation and gratitude that she would have received had she chosen the career path she was on when we first met.
I write this in honor of one of the best of mothers who takes great pains in molding the character of her children and to a wonderful helpmeet that supports my work in the ministry.
“The heart of her husband doeth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.” – Proverbs 31:11
Mamertine Prison
When we were in Rome a few years ago we visited the Forum. It is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed. It is located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill. Situated on the northeastern slope of the Capitloine Hill is the Mamertine Prison (also known as Tullianum).
According to legend dating back to the 5th century, the apostle Peter was imprisoned there. Supposedly Peter caused a spring to miraculously well up in the prison so that he could baptize his fellow prisoners (some traditions say his jailers). Although the Catholic Encyclopedia admits there is no reliable evidence that Peter was ever imprisoned at Tullianum, the Catholic Church believes Peter was martyred at Rome. The Catholic Church also claims that Peter was the first bishop of Rome and the famous basilica bearing his name within Vatican City was built over his tomb.
There is no scriptural evidence that Peter ever set foot in Rome, in fact the scriptures would indicate otherwise. He certainly was not the first bishop of Rome (or pope). Since the King James Bible is our final authority let’s conduct a brief survey from its pages on these claims of the Catholic Church.
Paul wrote to the Romans, “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation” (Rom. 15:20). If Peter had organized the church at Rome and had worked there, why would Paul want to preach there? No foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) had been laid in Rome. Nobody had preached there yet. Therefore, Peter had not been to Rome before Paul. The date of Romans is about A.D. 60, so about 27 years after Christ had been crucified, Peter had not made it to Rome.
In Paul’s concluding remarks to the Romans he wrote, “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” (Rom. 16:7). Here are two apostles in Rome, and neither one was Simon Peter. You won’t ever hear any Catholic talk about Andronicus or Junia being apostles in Rome. Yet they were there, and they were mentioned by Paul when Peter wasn’t. Going back to our comment on Romans 15:20, how could there be apostles in Rome if Paul didn’t want to “build upon another man’s foundation.” The answer is found in Paul’s own experience. In Acts 16:6, Paul is in Asia Minor and he is forbidden by God to preach there. Obviously these two men were in a similar situation. They were in Rome but were not allowed by God to preach in Rome since that was the job that the Lord had chosen for Paul (Acts 23:11). If Peter was the first bishop of Rome then Paul forgot to greet or even acknowledge him in his epistle to that congregation. This is quite an oversight since Peter mentions Paul and recommends his writings as scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16.
Peter wrote in his first epistle, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you” (1 Pet. 5:13). Kenneth Taylor’s perversion, The Living Bible, has changed every Greek manuscript extant by substituting the private Roman Catholic interpretation “Rome” for “Babylon.” This is done on the basis that Babylon was “a Christian nickname” for Rome. If “Babylon” is a code name or a nickname for Rome then what is Babylon in Revelation 17-18? If Babylon is Rome in 1 Peter 5:13 then it has to be Rome in Revelation. But if it is Rome in Revelation 17-18, then the Roman Catholic Church is a Harlot Church. Seeing the obvious implications of this reasoning, the Catholic answers, “No, it is not the Church, it is the city. It is pagan Rome under Nero.” If that were true, why would the Roman Catholic Church retain all the trappings of a harlot? The drink of papal Rome is the drink of pagan Rome (Rev. 17:2 – wine). The “Church” has retained the same colors as its pagan predecessor (Rev. 17:4 – “purple and scarlet”). Roman Catholicism decorates its churches just like the pagan temples (Rev. 17:4) and it has the same cup for its “chalice” (Rev. 17:4). The Roman Catholic Church has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Bible believing Christians, many more than Rome under the emperors (Rev. 17:6) and if all that were not enough, the Roman Catholic Church has publicly claimed authority over all earthly governments (Rev. 17:18). If the Protestant Reformation had not broken Rome’s political stranglehold on Europe the Church would still be using armies to enforce its will today. The truth is that the only place in Scripture where Rome is “Babylon” is in the Book of Revelation where it is in its mystery form (Rev. 17:5,9,18). Outside of Revelation, Babylon is always a reference to the city or the country of Mesopotamia. Either of those could be the case here. Peter is writing to Gentile believers in regions of the Roman Empire, not specific cities. If he meant the region of Babylon, there were Jews from that area who were saved at Pentecost (“the dwellers in Mesopotamia” – Acts 2:9). Of course, he could have meant the city of Babylon itself. It still existed in the first century, and it had a large Jewish population.
Peter’s ministry stretched from Corinth in the west (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:22; 9:5) to Babylon in the east. There is no indication, historically or scripturally, that Peter ever made it to Rome, much less became a bishop of the church there. The Roman Catholic apologist, Karl Keating, has propagated the idea that Peter’s bones (or his grave) were discovered under the Vatican in 1962. But what he has not disclosed is that two Roman Catholic priests, P.B. Bagatti and J.T. Milik, discovered the bones of Simon Peter in an ossuary (a bone box) at the Mount of Olives, twelve feet away from the bones of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. All the ossuaries were clearly labeled in Aramaic, and Peter’s bore the name Shimon Bar Yonah: “Simon Barjona” (Matt. 16:17). That discovery was made in 1953 and published as Gli Scavi del Dominus Flevit in 1958. A man from Fort Wayne, Indiana named F. Paul Peterson, confirmed the discovery by visiting Jerusalem and interviewing the priests and viewing and photographing the ossuary. He published his account in 1960 as “Peter’s Tomb Recently Discovered in Jerusalem.” The pamphlet is no longer in print and for sale but it can be found on the internet here. Why did the Catholic Church ignore this archaeological find? Because it was historical evidence available to anyone that the Bible was right and that Peter did not die in Rome or pastor in Rome or even visit Rome.
Peter was not the first pope. The Catholic view is that Peter is the chief of the apostles or “Prince of the Apostles.” In 1 Peter, the apostle does not elevate himself over any other apostle as he writes, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1:1). Notice that he does not write “the apostle;” he counts himself as one of several apostles whom Jesus Christ chose (“an apostle”). Peter is merely “an elder” among “elders” (1 Pet. 5:1). When the leadership of the church meets to define a doctrine in Acts 15, Peter is not the “presiding elder;” he is merely one of the witnesses who gave his testimony. Peter is a Jewish bible teacher, not a “vicar of Christ” who sits on a golden throne wearing a papal crown while demanding respect, reverence, and obedience from the entire Body of Christ (1 Pet. 5:2-3). In the epistles of Simon Peter, it is “the word of God” that is the final authority, not tradition or any church (1 Pet. 1:23-25; 2:2; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; 3:16). In 1 Peter, Jesus Christ is the “Rock” on which the church is built, not Simon Peter (2:4-8). In 1 Peter, every saved person is a priest (2:9). In 1 Peter, the Pastor over all pastors is Jesus Christ (5:4) not the pope. Moreover, Peter acknowledges no office higher that that held by Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is called “the chief Shepherd” (the word “pastor” means shepherd) and “Bishop of your souls” (2:25). There are no archbishops (one rank higher than Jesus Christ).
There are some basic differences between Peter and any Pope:
1. Simon Peter was married (Matt. 8:14; 1 Cor. 9:5). Popes don’t marry.
2. Simon Peter doesn’t “lord himself” over the flock (1 Pet. 5:3). He doesn’t sit on a throne in a mansion wearing a crown. Can you imagine Peter the commercial fisherman dressed up like the Pope?
3. Simon Peter doesn’t fool with literal sacrifices (the mass). The only sacrifices he recognizes are “spiritual” ones (1 Pet. 2:5).
4. Simon Peter doesn’t allow people to bow down to him (Acts 10:25,26). People bow to the Pope and kiss his ring as a symbol of submission.
5. Simon Peter was occasionally caught in heresy. Paul had to straighten out Peter’s doctrine in Galatians 2:11. A Pope thinks he is immune to doctrinal correction.
In summary, Peter wasn’t called to Rome. Peter didn’t write to the Romans. The scriptures never state that Peter was in Rome. Paul was the one called specifically by the resurrected Christ to go to Rome (Acts 23:11). To believe otherwise is to allow the traditions of men to usurp the authority of the Bible. God forbid.
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” – Colossians 2:8
(The Bible Believers Commentaries on Romans and 1 Peter were referenced for this entry.)