Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XVI

Verse 35: “The whole world, earth, and sky will pass away before My word will be proven false.”

Some scholars believe that Jesus’ reference to “these people,” in the previous verse, is actually a reference to the Jewish people and God’s promise of their unending relationship with Him. They take this from the words in Jeremiah: “The LORD says, “I will never reject the descendants of Israel. That would happen only if people could measure the sky above, and learn all the secrets of the earth below. Only then would I reject them for the bad things they have done.”¹ One Rabbi asked: “Has heaven ever been measured? Is the earth tottering on its foundations? From the fact that both heaven and earth are stretched out as in the past, you should draw the proper conclusion and not be afraid.”²

One anonymous writer of the early church gives his explanation of this text: “This generation” refers both to those who suffer temptation and to those who cause it. It refers to sinners among men and to the demons who are at work in them. For neither group will cease being in the world until its consummation. For Christ said, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’³ Moreover, it is necessary that the source of temptation be preserved as long as there is faith which needs testing. It is also possible, however, that ‘this generation’ refers to those mortal Christians who would not pass over into eternal life and be made immortal ‘until’ all the events about which Christ was speaking had taken place. ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’ because heaven and earth were created to serve you, but my words were uttered to govern you. Both heaven and earth are subject to vanity, as the apostle said, ‘Creation is subject to vanity.’⁴ Truth, however, is by nature unable to deceive and can never die.”⁵

One thing that I stress to my students and audiences when speaking of the return of Christ, especially to resurrect the sleeping believers and transform the living ones to meet Him in the air, is not to think of it catching them unawares and in so doing expose them in a compromising situation. Rather, think of it as a possible unexpected cessation to their work here on earth for the kingdom of God. In that case, it will only find them working hard to finish their last project and complete their assigned tasks. But on this we can be sure, it will not come until we have all done what He intends for us to do. So instead of watching the calendar or looking up at the sky, we should have our eyes set on the goals set before us, and am striving with His help to reach them as soon as we can.

Verse 36: “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows.”

This statement by Jesus that only the Father knows the exact day and time is not a new revelation. In fact, our Lord may have only been quoting what was said centuries earlier by another prophet who stated that only the LORD knows the day and hour when the Messiah will come and set foot on the Mount of Olives.⁶ We see this in the prayer of another apocalyptic writer who prayed to the One: “Who causes the drops of rain to rain by number upon the earth, and alone knows the consummation of the times before they come.”⁷

Origen, in the early church period, had this to say about knowing the day and the hour of our Lord’s return. He says: “As long as the church, Christ’s body, does not know that day and hour, the Son Himself is said not to know it in order that He may be understood to learn of that day and hour only when all of His members do. But ‘to know’ is given its own special meaning here (as is customary with sacred Scripture), for only he who remains to meet its arrival will know that day and hour.”⁸ We will find out a little later on that Origen seems to be talking about the moment of death for each individual, not the second coming of Christ.

Origen makes an important point here. The sudden return of Christ to whisk away all those living who believe and are serving Him to join those rising from their rest will be known only the moment it happens, and then alone to those who are ready and have been waiting. Oh yes, there will be signs that scriptures are being fulfilled leading up to that moment, but there will be no prior signal of the exact hour, even to those who await His return. So in Origen’s mind, why should the groom know before the bride knows of the appointed time for their meeting in the sky.

However, Bishop Hilary of Poitiers finds that Jesus may have been speaking for our sake, not His. He writes: “When Christ taught us that no one knows the day on which the end of time will come, not the angels and not even Himself, He removed from us any need to be concerned about its date. O immeasurable mercy of divine goodness! Since the Son said, ‘All things have been delivered to me by my Father,’⁹ we know that the Father did not deny Him the knowledge of this day. If anything was denied Him, He could not have said that all things were delivered to Him. But because the Son has handed on to us everything the Father gave Him and the Word of God does not contain in Himself as much assurance of the future as of things already accomplished, therefore it was established by God that the date of the end should be indefinite. Thus, He could allow us an abundant amount of time for repentance yet still keep us attentive for fear of the uncertain and so as to avoid giving anyone the idea of a particular day by expressing His will. For just as at the time of the flood, in the normal course of our life, in our activities and in our sufferings, that great day will suddenly appear.”¹⁰

This idea that the Son of God, who is one with the Father, did not know at what appointed time His return was scheduled has been a puzzle to many Bible scholars since the beginning. Some think that Jesus was basing His statement on the fact that even as the eternal Son of the Father, that for this period in His existence He had been limited physically to this earth for a specific amount of time. Therefore, since His omnipresence was restrained, then also His omnipotence and omniscience were also curbed for this short period. As such, He was speaking as the Son of Man to men, not as the Son of God. But that is more speculation than explanation. It is more likely that Jesus was saying that just as the Father appointed the instance for Him to come the first time, so only the Father can approve the time for Him to return. Therefore, Christ was identifying Himself with what He as a man was given to know on this subject, not what He as God’s Son knew about the actual date and time.

British theologian Charles John Ellicott touches on this in his commentary. He writes: “The over-eager expectations of some, and the inevitable reaction of doubt and scorn in others, both rested on their assumption that the Son of Man had definitely fixed the time of His appearing, and on their consequent forgetfulness of the ‘long-suffering’ which might extend a day into a thousand years.¹¹ It is obviously doing violence to the plain meaning of the words to dilute them into the statement that the Son of Man did not communicate the knowledge which He possessed as the Son of God. If we are perplexed at the mystery of this confession in One in whom we recognize the presence of ‘the fullness of the Godhead bodily,¹² we may find that which may help us at least to wait patiently for the full understanding of the mystery in St. Paul’s teaching, that the eternal Word in becoming flesh, ’emptied Himself’¹³ of the infinity which belongs to the divine attributes,and took upon Him the limitations necessarily incidental to man’s nature, even when untainted by evil and in fullest fellowship, through the Eternal Spirit, with the Father.”¹⁴

Chrysostom sees it this way: “Jesus spoke these things in order to show that He would return unexpectedly and suddenly and when many were living luxuriously. For Paul also says this: ‘When they shall speak of peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them.’¹⁵ To show just how unexpectedly He uses the metaphor “as travail comes upon a woman with child.”¹⁶ Although there is great interest in wanting to know all the mysterious of our Lord’s return, one thing is crystal clear: be ready.

1 Jeremiah 31:37

2 Pesikta De-Rab Kahana, op. cit., Piska 19:5, p. 439

3 Matthew 25:41

4 Romans 8:20

5 Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 49

6 Zechariah 14:1-7

7 2 Baruch 21:8

8 Origen: Commentary on Matthew 55

9 Matthew 11:27

10 Hilary of Poitiers: On Matthew 26:4

11 See 2 Peter 3:3-8

12 Colossians 1:19; 2:9

13 See Philippians 2:7

14 C. J. Ellicott’s Bible Commentary, loc. cit.

15 1 Thessalonians 5:3

16 Chrysostom: Matthew, Homily 77.2

In one of his poems, well-known poet laureate of Vermont, Robert Frost, penned this line: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”¹ There was nothing wrong with the other road, it looked fine. But out of curiosity, Robert took the one few people had chosen.

Most people in life have been presented with similar situations. They are attempting to get somewhere or accomplish something and they see how other people have done it. But they notice there is more than one way to get there and so they must choose which path to follow. When they ask others for advice, they may be told: Don’t take this road, it’s too hard, or it has too many obstacles, other roads are easier. But then, they might be informed: Take that road. It’s harder, but you will be able to prove yourself, and find out just how determined and resilient you are. Besides that, you’ll see things you could never see on that other road, and you’ll have opportunities for experiences you will otherwise never have.

This same is true of our Christians journey. Whether we are building a career, involved in some social activity, driving in traffic, standing in line at a grocery store, being tempted to cut corners, not being entirely accurate, or taking what is not ours. Even when no one else is looking, our God sees it all.

The final decision on which road to take should not be made on whether or not it pleases others or satisfies our self, but does it delight our heavenly Father. One thing has been proven, when God smiles on what you say or do, that is the greatest compliment and achievement any Christian can experience. When you do so, you will often find out that you have chosen the narrow road less traveled. And with it comes blessings that otherwise can never be experienced, because they are eternal. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

LEARNING TO BE A LEADER CAN BE HARD – PART ONE

Back in Jesus’ day, just as it is today, so many leaders had followers whose egos and pride needed affirmation from others as well as their mentor. The disciples of Jesus were no different than you or me in this respect. Take a look at Peter; he was bold and brash, and sometimes pushed back at what Jesus taught, and insisted on doing things his way. On one occasion, he boasted that although the other disciples might quit and give up, he never would. He was in it to the end, no matter what. But that turned out to be all talk.

There were also the brothers Jesus nicknamed “the sons of thunder” – James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Through their mother, they sought to be granted the right to sit at His right and left hand in His coming kingdom. Not only that, but they got upset because some people in a Samaritan village did not want to welcome Jesus the way they thought they should, so they asked the Lord if they could call fire down out of heaven and destroy them. Our Lord reminded them, that was not His way of convincing people of the truth. Furthermore, Jesus often had to take Peter, James, and John aside because they were jockeying for position in who would be number one after He ascended into heaven. So He needed to instruct them that in His realm if you wanted to be first you had to start out being last.

But the real collision of personalities and pride came to a head in one of the most electrifying incidents that transpired after Jesus rose from the dead while visiting with His disciples to reassure them of His future return to set up the kingdom of heaven. It occurred after the turmoil of His crucifixion had died down and people started getting on with their lives.

Some of the disciples had gone back home to Galilee to resume their former occupation as fishermen. After they had been out all night on Lake Tiberias, they returned to shore with empty nets. As the boat neared land, they saw a solitary figure standing onshore watching them. It was early in the morning and the misty fog kept them from seeing the man clearly. But all at once he cupped his hands to his mouth and hollered out to them, “Friends, do you have any fish?” Thinking that perhaps he was a fish merchant, they yelled back, “No, we didn’t catch anything!”

But instead of turning and walking off, the figure on the shore called out again and told them to turn around and go back out to sea; to throw their nets over the right side of the boat and they would have a good catch. There was something about the authority in his voice that convinced them to go back out and do what he said. To their amazement, the net filled so quickly with so many fish that they were unable to lift it into the boat, so they dragged it behind the ship as they drifted back to shore.

As they neared shallow waters and were about 100 yards from landing, the man on the beach came into clearer view. At that moment, the disciple named John turned to another disciple called Peter and said with a hushed voice of astonishment, “I think it’s our Lord!” As soon as Peter, who was wearing only a loin cloth, heard that it was Jesus, he grabbed the long shirt he had taken off, wrapped it around him and embarrassingly jumped into the water, leaving the other disciples in the boat trying to tow the net bulging with fish to shore.

As soon as they neared land, they saw to their amazement there was a heap of burning coals upon which several fish had been laid, along with some freshly baked flatbread. The man that John was sure had to be Jesus greeted them and invited them to bring some of the fresh fish they had just caught and put it on the fire. At this point, Peter came to his senses and jumped back into the boat, grabbed the net and helped drag it to shore. But their lesson on true leadership was not over, it had just begun.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XV

Verse 32: “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is very near.”

With Jesus’ introduction of the fig tree into the conversation, the focus now shifts away from what He said would actually happen to a precursor that would catch every believer’s attention to the signs of the time. That’s why we must not concentrate on the fig tree, but on what happens to the fig tree during its growth and maturation that announces summer is on its way. To this several early church writers had something to say.

Early church Bishop Hilary of Poitiers offers this commentary: “Both this fig tree and this summer are very different from those found in nature. In nature, there is a considerable interval between the onset of summer and the greening of a tree’s branches, which begin to grow tender early in the spring. Consequently, this parable cannot be about the tree. We saw that Adam had covered himself with its leaves to hide his shameful conscience, which is to say that he was bound under the law as though clothed in sin. The fig tree’s branch, therefore, represents the Antichrist, who is a son of the devil, a partaker of sin and protector of the law. When it begins to grow tender and green, then the summer, which here represents the day of judgment, is near. The greening of the tree then refers to the rise of sinners, a time that will be marked by the flowering of slanderers and the popularity of criminals and favor for blasphemers. This signals that summer, the heat of eternal fire, is near.”¹

From my study of early church writings, especially the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers, I have not found many, if any, that agree with this bishop in France. Chrysostom, who comes some fifty years later, gives us this to think about: “The time is ‘immediately after the tribulation of those days.’ After how long a time would it be? They desired to know in particular the very day. So He puts forth the analogy of the fig tree. He indicates that the interval was not great but that in quick succession these things would occur at His advent. He declared this not by the parable of the fig tree alone but by the words that follow. He foretells a spiritual summer, a calm for the righteous that would come on that day, after the storm. But to sinners, on the contrary, there would be winter after summer, which he declares in what follows, saying that the day shall come upon them when they are living in luxury. For these two purposes, He spoke about the fig tree: in order to declare the short interval and to underscore that these things assuredly will come to pass. It was possible for Him to have demonstrated this in other ways, but He chose the fig tree as an example of a necessary series of things occurring in sequence.”² So, in Chrysostom’s mind, the key was noting that Jesus was talking about how one thing would lead to another, thereby sending out signals that the prophesied event was drawing near.

Verse 33: “In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is very near, already present.”

When Jesus speaks of these signs pointing to the fact that what is going to happen is near, we find some interesting comments on this. In the Ethiopic Version of Matthew, it reads, “…the Son of Man is near, even at the doors.” The Latin Vulgate renders it, “…the Son of Man is in the gates,” as does Münster’s Hebrew Version of Matthew. In fact, the Rabbis in Europe constructed Hebrew versions of the Gospel of Matthew as part of their polemical debate with the Catholic church. They were the Shem-Tob’s Matthew, Du Tillet Matthew, and the Münster Matthew versions. What Jesus said signifies a warning that He was already on the scene. Thus the fig tree putting forth its leaves is a sign that summer is not only near but has already come, even though springtime has not yet finished.

Those who watch weather reports know the difference between a storm watch and a storm warning. A storm watch is when forecasters track the advancement of a storm as it approaches a given area. This alerts the population that they need to make preparations in case the storm does arrive when predicted and with the expected fury. A storm warning is an announcement that a severe storm will occur and people are alerted to evacuate if necessary or take all precautions in order to make it through the storm no matter how severe. With this in mind, we can see that Jesus was issuing signs for both a watch and a warning of when the end would be near and His impending coming about to take place.

In other words, when these signs appear it will mean that the return of the Messiah is imminent, not just anticipated. But there is another factor to consider here. As Matthew recorded all of what he could remember about the Lord’s teaching on His return, we are not given any specific timeline. The subject we find in verses 30-31 clearly says that everyone will be able to see Him descend from heaven. But starting here in verse 32 there seems to be a shift in what coming He is referring to.

This one will be a surprise to everyone, even those who may be awaiting His return. This gives some scholars the impression that Jesus is now talking about His return to resurrect the believers and transforms those still alive. Others, however, accept this as the period during the Tribulation when those Jews who’ve come to believe are taken into heaven. And to assure His listeners that He means what He says, Jesus tells them that the universe will collapse before His word will be found untrue.

In Isaiah, we find a similar expression about God’s goodness, “Look up to the heavens! Look around you at the earth below! The skies may disappear like clouds of smoke. The earth may become like worthless old clothes. The people on earth may all die, but my salvation will continue forever. My goodness will never end.”³ Or as the Lord told Jeremiah, “The descendants of Israel will never stop being a nation. That would happen only if I lost control of the sun, moon, stars, and sea.”⁴ Certainly, Old Testament prophet Balaam was on the mark when he said, “God is not a man who is prone to lie; God is not a human being who inclined to change His mind. If He says He will do something, then He will do it. If He makes a promise, then He will do what He promised.”⁵ And king David attested to this in his song, “The Lord’s teachings are perfect. They give strength to His people. The Lord’s rules can be trusted. They help even the foolish become wise.”⁶

And, Agur ben Jakeh (or Yakeh) from Massa, who may be a descendant of the seventh son of Ishmael,⁷ made this point: “You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a sure place for those who seek His counsel.”⁸ One Jewish rendition says: “Every word of God is zestful.”⁹ Rabbi Abun the Levite Berabbi took this to mean: “as zestful as pepper.”¹⁰ But here’s how God put it: “In the same way, my words leave my mouth, and they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.”¹¹

Verse 34: “I assure you that all these things will happen while these people are still living.”

On this text, Chrysostom has this to say to his congregation: “All these things. What things? Those about Jerusalem, those about the wars, about the famines, about the pestilences, about the earthquakes, about the false Christs, about the false prophets, about the sowing of the gospel everywhere, the seditions, the tumults, and all the other things which we said were to occur until His coming. Who does He refer to when He says ‘this generation?’ He is speaking not of the generation then living but of the age of believers. For he is prone to distinguish a generation not by times only but also by the mode of their religious service and practice, as when he says, ‘Such is the generation of those that seek Him.’¹ He said ‘all these things will take place,’ and yet the gospel will be preached.’ These two are not inconsistent. The generation of the faithful shall remain through all things that will surely come to pass. The faithful will not be cut off by any of the things that have been mentioned. For both Jerusalem shall be destroyed and a large part of the Jews shall be decimated, but over this generation—the faithful—nothing shall prevail, not famine, not pestilence, not earthquake, not the tumults of wars, not false Christs, not false prophets, not deceivers, not traitors, not those that cause to offend, not the false brothers, nor any other such temptation whatever.”¹³

The interpretation of this verse has been a matter of much debate and disagreement between scholars down through the centuries. One scholar said that the key to understanding what Jesus meant by ‘this generation will not pass away until all these things take place’ is the context. In other words, we must understand the surrounding verses, especially the verses prior to it. Jesus is clearly giving a prophecy; He is speaking of future events. Jesus had already told those living during His earthly ministry that the kingdom had been taken from them. Therefore, it is imperative that this verse must be seen as dealing with a future time.

The generation that Jesus speaks of ‘not passing’ until He returns is a future generation, namely, the people living at the time when the predicted events occur. So, to be clear, the generation Jesus was speaking of was not the ones standing in front of Him. Remember, He was instructing His disciples, not those who would start seeing the calamities He spoke of coming into view. I heard one prophecy preacher lecture that with Jesus’ prophecy of the regathering of the Jews back into their homeland, this was to be understood as the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1949. Therefore, the generation to see that happen would also be the one to see these calamities take place and some of them would live long enough to see our Lord’s return.

Think about this: Had Jesus returned to resurrect and transform the saints within just one hundred years after this statement, the Gospel would have hardly penetrated the darkness of the world to save its inhabitants. Since God paid such a heavy price by sacrificing His Son to settle the price of redemption, He wants as many as possible to benefit from this act of grace and mercy.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XIV

Verse 29: “Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen: ‘The sun will become dark, and the moon will not give light. The stars will fall from the sky, and everything in the sky will be changed.’”

The language used here is very close to what we find in John’s Revelation. Therefore, it would be reasonable to believe that He was speaking of those days in the future.¹ The phenomenon that will include the sun, moon and stars were also seen by Isaiah, “The skies will be dark. The sun, the moon, and the stars will not shine.”² The Lord shared something similar with Ezekiel, “I will cover the sky and make the stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine. I will darken the lights in the sky over you.”³ Scholars believe that it is important to note that this prophecy does not mean that the light of the sun will go out so that the moon will not be able to reflect its rays. Rather, that the sun will be so obscured it will become almost impossible to see.

On one occasion, years ago, I witnessed an eclipse of the sun in the middle of the day. Everything became dark, and because the sun was behind the moon, the moon became a black sphere in the sky. Also, the original Greek word used here for “stars” actually means “heavenly lights.” We know today there are many such lights that streak across our skies; some that hit the earth have caused considerable damage, and we call them meteors.

At the same time, some Bible scholars take these as symbols that speak of things to be explained in a figurative and metaphorical sense. In the prophetic language of that day, the sun, moon, and stars were often used as symbols of nations, cities, and powerful leaders. For instance, in John’s Revelation, we read: “And then a great wonder appeared in heaven: There was a woman who was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet. She had a crown of twelve stars on her head… Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon there. The dragon had seven heads with a crown on each head. It also had ten horns. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth.”⁴ Yet, some Bible scholars do believe that Jesus was, in fact, referring to actual planets and stars in the sky.

The Jews, on the other hand, saw the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in a different light. In their writings, the Rabbis equated the sun, moon, and stars with their religious leaders. They said: “…from the time that the temple was destroyed, the wise men, and sons of nobles, were put to shame, and they covered their heads; liberal men were reduced to poverty; and men of violence and defamation prevailed; and there were none that expounded, or inquired, or asked. Rabbi Eliezer the great,⁵ said, from the time the sanctuary was destroyed, the wise men began to be like Scribes, and the Scribes like to the Chazans, (or sextons that looked after the synagogues,) and the Chazans like to the common people, and the common people grew worse and worse, and there were none that inquired and asked.”⁶ But this was not our Lord’s focus, it was something else that was coming.

Verse 30: “Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will weep. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great glory.”

Scholars are divided on whether these next three verses are an indication of the rapture or the second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom to rule and reign on earth for a thousand years. It echoes what Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there in front of me was someone who looked like a human being. He was coming on the clouds in the sky. He came up to the Ancient King, and the King’s servants brought him before the King.”⁷

Our Lord’s mention of the world weeping at His appearance in the clouds may have been a veiled reference to the words we find in Zechariah: “I will fill David’s family and the people living in Jerusalem with a spirit of acceptance and supplication. They will look to me, the one they pierced, and they will be very sad. They will be as sad as someone crying over the death of their only son, as sad as someone crying over the death of their firstborn son.”⁸

These words are almost repeated verbatim by our Lord as He stood before the high priest after being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in response to the question: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”⁹ It is also the message John sent in his letter to the seven churches in the province of Asia: “Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds! Everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him. All peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of Him. Yes, this will happen! Amen.”¹⁰

Verse 31: “He will use a loud trumpet to send His angels all around the earth. They will gather His chosen people from every part of the earth.”

All that Jesus speaks about in the previous verses are merely omens of what was really coming – the gathering of all the saints. Even as we find throughout John’s Revelation, trumpets are used to announce an event. It is noteworthy that Jesus will not be the one who comes to gather these saints, but angels. The prophets foretold the gathering of the Jewish people for the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, “He will gather the people of Israel and Judah who were forced to leave their country. They were scattered to all the faraway places on earth. But He will raise the flag as a sign for the other nations, and He will gather His people together again.”¹¹ But this gathering, spoken of here, will be different. Many scholars believe these are those we remained faithful and true during the tribulation, most of whom will be Jewish believers.

As a matter of fact, in Jewish writings we find this: “…in the after redemption (i.e. by the Messiah) all Israel shall be gathered together by the sound of a trumpet, from the four parts of the world.’”¹² The writer may have been thinking about a different redemption, but it sure seems to fit the one described here by Matthew. Then our Lord turns His attention back to His followers to give them a clue on when to expect these things.

The early church fathers sought to find various spiritual lessons in words pertaining to those who respond to the Gospel and grow in the Word so as to be lifted up to heavenly places with Christ.¹³ But they say very little, if anything, about this applying to a rapture of the saints or the return of Christ to set up His kingdom. So these words can be taken as the disciples understood them, as Jesus’ opponents understood them, and as believers today can understand them. But what does not change is the promise that when it happens, it will be seen by everyone alive at the time as the trumpet sounds, and all eyes will behold His descent to earth in power and great glory.

As far as we know, there is no record found in the writings of the apostles or their successors, nor in any documents recorded since our Lord’s ascension, that this event has ever taken place. Therefore, whether it is the sudden return of Christ in the air to catch up those believers who are alive, and resurrect those who are asleep in the grave, or when He returns to set up His millennial kingdom, it is still in the future. Our mission, therefore, is not to try and predict when this will take place, but to work all the harder for God’s kingdom because we know from the signs that it is near and it could happen at any moment.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XIII

Verse 27b-28: “It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. It’s like looking for a dead body. You will find it where the vultures are circling above.”

Jesus does not say there will be lightning, but that the appearance of the Son of Man will be like a lightning bolt suddenly flashing across the sky. In other words, it will catch people unaware that a storm is brewing. The use of lightning and vultures are symbolic and not to be taken literally. Our Lord was just trying to illustrate how when the Son of Man does return, it will be quick, but it will also be at a time when everyone is looking for Him because they see some signs that point to His being near. Then, a new period will be ushered in.

Early church bishop Theodore of Heraclea had his own version of how this lightning illustrates our Lord’s sudden appearance. He writes: “For it is much the same with lightning. Lightning is figuratively compared with truth. It is likened to the coming of the Son of man, which is explained in every Scripture, whether it concerns the law, prophecy, the gospel or apostolic testimony. It flashes out from the east, the region of principalities and spiritual powers, and shines all the way to the west, the realm of darkness and Satan, in the time of the Passion. Note that if the law is rising in the east, the end of the law is setting in the west. But from Jesus Christ to Paul is a rising and setting. He was revealed to Paul last of all as ‘to one abnormally born.‘¹”²

This is another way of saying that some may not see the actual event, but all the signs will point to it as having taken place. You don’t have to see firecrackers to know they are going off. It’s not necessary to see the fire but the smoke in the air will tell you there is one. There’s no reason to see the fire in the furnace because the heat coming out of the vent tells you it’s roaring. I was taught as a child that when you see a flash of lightning you count off the seconds until you hear the thunder and you’ll know how far away the storm center is. So, Jesus says, while everyone may not be able to time the arrival of this sudden event, there will be ample evidence for believers to know it is about to take place.

Apollinaris, an early church bishop, makes this point: “Jesus spoke in a kind of comparison, as in the form of an illustration and example. For, He says, the appearing of the Son of man will be much the same as when vultures and other flesh-eating birds spot a carcass and dead body lying on the ground. They secretly and unnoticed carry them to the heights and by doing so will provide food for themselves. In the same way, He will appear again on the earth a second and glorious time to judge the world. Ranks of angels will be seen serving as an escort with all the saints rising up ‘in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye,’³ according to the last trumpet.… But some attempted to explain this text as teaching that at the second coming of the Lord all who conducted themselves uprightly, corresponding with eagles in their lofty and spiritual outlook, will leave paradise behind and be gathered to that place where the fall of Adam occurred. This is the place where Adam violated the commandment and through his disobedience fell into sin.”⁴

Here the Bishop of Laodicea touches on a belief already apparent in his day during the middle of the 4th century, that this return of Jesus is taken by some as a form of rapture, while others see it as the day of judgment. The word “rapture” does not appear anywhere in the English Bible. It is thought that in a work written in 500 AD by a writer called “Pseudo-Dionysius,” such a word appears in Greek that could be translated that way.

The idea of a rapture comes from the words of the apostle Paul in his letter on the return of Christ and the resurrection of those who died in the faith to the church in Thessalonica where he says: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”⁵ The Greek word translated as “caught up” is harpazó: meaning to seize, catch up, snatch away.

It was not until 1830 that the word “rapture” appeared in English writings concerning this event Paul talks about. This has led some to question why, if the doctrine was so clearly stated in Scripture, did no one refer to it before the 19th century. One answer is that from early church days up through the Reformation, the return of Christ was considered an event over which no one but God had control; and with prophecy being such a hit and miss prognostication, that the leaders of these movement felt it was best to concentrate on salvation by faith rather than working to get everyone ready when He returns.

We find that in the middle 1820’s a religious environment began among a few Christians in London, England which proved to be the catalyst from which the doctrine of the Rapture emerged. Expectations of the soon coming of our Lord were being voiced. This was no new thing, but what was unusual was the teaching by a Presbyterian minister named Edward Irving that there had to be a restoration of the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14 just before Christ’s Second Advent. To Irving, the time had come for those spiritual manifestations to occur. Among the expected gifts was the renewal of speaking in tongues and of prophetic utterances motivated by the spirit.⁶

We also learn that it was more than just one individual through whom this revelation came that initiated the movement that carried the concept of the rapture forward. We also read:

On one particular evening, the power of the Holy Spirit was said to have rested on a Miss Margaret Macdonald while she was ill at home. She was dangerously sick and thought she was dying. In spite of this (or perhaps because she is supposed to have come under the “power” of the spirit) for several successive hours, she experienced manifestations of “mingled prophecy and vision.” She found her mind in an altered state and began to experience considerable visionary activity.

The message she received during this prophetic vision convinced her that Christ was going to appear in two stages at His Second Advent, and not a single occasion as most all people formerly believed. The spirit emanation revealed that Christ would first come in glory to those who look for Him, and again later in a final stage when every eye would see Him. This visionary experience of Miss Macdonald represented the prime source of the modern Rapture doctrine as the historical evidence compiled by Mr. MacPherson reveals.

Many people have thought that John Darby, the founder of the Plymouth Brethren, was the originator of the Rapture doctrine. This is not the case. Darby was a brilliant theologian with outstanding scholarly abilities. Even those who disagreed with his teachings admit that he, and many associated with him, helped cause a revival in biblical learning throughout the evangelical world which has perpetuated down to the present day. All who love biblical research ought to be thankful for what Darby and especially his associates accomplished for biblical scholarship. These early men helped pave the way particularly for the renewal of modern lexical studies in the biblical languages.

This renewal of language studies was not the only thing they produced. The doctrine of “dispensationalism” was also a teaching they brought to the attention of the Protestant world. And then, there was this new doctrine termed the “Rapture.” While many Christians long thought the Rapture doctrine originated with John Darby, it is now known that this was not true. Darby did popularize it. C. I. Scofield and others took it over. But Darby provided the intellectual mantle that helped make it respectable. Many of those in the evangelical sphere of Christianity today are so certain of its veracity that it is accepted as the absolute truth of God. The fact is, however, John Darby received the knowledge of the doctrine from someone else. His source was Margaret Macdonald.

The studies of Mr. MacPherson show that her sickness during which she received her visions and revelations occurred sometime between February 1 and April 14, 1830. By late spring and early summer of 1830, her belief in the two phases of Christ’s coming was mentioned in praise and prayer meetings in several towns of western Scotland. In these meetings some people were speaking in “tongues” and other charismatic occurrences were in evidence. Modern “Pentecostalism” had its birth.

These extraordinary and strange events so attracted John Darby that he made a trip to the area to witness what was going on. Though he did not approve of the ecstatic episodes that he witnessed, it is nonetheless significant that Darby, after returning from Scotland, began to teach that Christ’s Advent would occur in two phases. MacPherson shows good evidence that Darby even visited Miss Macdonald in her home. There can hardly be any doubt that the visions and spiritual experiences of Miss Macdonald are the sources of the modern doctrine. But belief in such paranormal experiences is dangerous, especially when they are contrary to scriptural teachings.⁷

So, just like the word “trinity” does not appear in the English Bible, so the word “rapture” was coined to explain the belief of the sudden appearing of Christ in the sky to resurrect His followers who have died over the centuries and to transform those still living so they could all meet Him in the air and be taken to His Father’s estate where many finished mansions are awaiting them. At this point, it is quite normal for any believer to ask why our Lord did not make this plain and simple while He was here. The truth is, had He designated a specific time, sinners would not have heeded the call to salvation until that time drew near. Jesus wanted His return to remain in the sphere of spiritual faith, not reduced to the level of human logic.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XII

In examining an early church commentary on Matthew by an unknown scholar we read: “Scripture doesn’t say ‘that they might deceive even the elect, if possible,’ but that they might ‘lead them into error.’ Commonly, when the saints encounter hidden works of the devil under the appearance of goodness, they cannot understand the enemy’s boundless treachery. They are troubled in their hearts and appalled, asking, ‘What is going on here?’ Yet they are not easily convinced to believe him, for even if their human reason is overcome, they still stand firm in their faith.”¹ So, for this scholar, the attempts to deceive the elect by these false prophets and messiahs will not be easy since most of the faithful will recognize right away that something is just not right.

He then continues: “Scripture says ‘if possible’ in order to show the greatness of the signs. How prophetic those signs must have been to deceive even the elect! Yet they were not deceived because those whom God has preordained to life cannot die. The power of God was shown forth when He forewarned the faithful about these signs for the sake of their salvation. Nevertheless, these matters are best understood with regard to the rise of the heresies. False Christs are the false truths of the heresies, and false prophets are preachers of false truths. Their signs consist in doing the same things falsely which the faithful do truthfully. They remain chaste and observe the fasts and practice mercy and fulfill every rule of the church. Do not the devil’s signs appear most deceptive when you see him doing the works of God?”² A sermon preached today using these same words would be right on point.

Verses 25-26a: “Now I am warning you about this before it happens because someone might tell you, ‘The Messiah is there in the desert!’ But don’t go into the desert to look for him.”

Bible historians tell us that both during the time of the siege of Jerusalem, and shortly thereafter, such false prophets sprang up and pretended to be messiahs, and Jewish deliverers from Roman power. They had their supporters who would go out and spread the word that the Messiah was in such and such a place, so that the people would be encouraged not to run away, nor to deliver up the city; and also, after the city was taken and destroyed, one after another claimed to be the Messiah. So it was important to our Lord that the early apostles not be deceived before the church could begin to spread. Had this happened, then all our Savior’s suffering and sacrifice would have been jeopardized.

For example, one Jonathan, a very wicked man, led many into the Desert of Cyrene,¹ promising to show them signs and wonders, and was overthrown by Catullus, the Roman governor. In Jewish history we read this story: “And now did the madness of the Sicarii, like a disease, reach as far as the cities of Cyrene; for one Jonathan, a vile person, and by trade a weaver, came there and persuaded no small number of the poorer sort to give ear to him; he also led them into the desert, upon promising them that he would show them signs and wonders. And as for the other Jews of Cyrene, he concealed his dishonesty from them, and put spells on them; but those of the greatest dignity among them informed Catullus, the governor of the Libyan Pentapolis, of his march into the desert, and of the preparations he had made for it. So he sent out after him both horsemen and footmen, and easily overcame them, because they were unarmed men; of these many were slain in the fight, but some were taken alive and brought to Catullus.”⁴

Sicarii was a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 AD, to an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots, who attempted to expel the Romans and their partisans from the Roman province of Judea. The Sicarii carried sicae, or small daggers, concealed in their cloaks, hence their name. At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans or Roman sympathizers, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection. When compared to current acts of terrorism in Israel, this seems to have been the same modus operandi back then.

Then Eusebius tells us about another false messiah, “As the rebellion of the Jews at this time grew much more serious, Rufus, governor of Judea, after an auxiliary force had been sent to him by the emperor, using their madness as a pretext, proceeded against them without mercy, and destroyed indiscriminately thousands of men and women and children, and in accordance with the laws of war reduced their country to a state of complete subjection. The leader of the Jews at this time was a man by the name of Barcocheba (which signifies a star),⁵ who possessed the character of a robber and a murderer, but nevertheless, relying upon his name, boasted to them, as if they were slaves, that he possessed wonderful powers; and he pretended that he was a star that had come down to them out of heaven to bring them light in the midst of their misfortunes. The war raged most fiercely in the eighteenth year of Adrian (also Hadrian), at the city of Bithara, which was a very secure fortress, situated not far from Jerusalem. When the siege had lasted a long time, and the rebels had been driven to the last extremity by hunger and thirst, and the instigator of the rebellion had suffered his just punishment, the whole nation was prohibited from this time on by a decree, and by the commands of Adrian, from ever going up to the area around Jerusalem. For the emperor gave orders that they should not even see from a distance the land of their fathers. Such is the account of Aristo of Pella. And thus, when the city had been emptied of the Jewish nation and had suffered the total destruction of its ancient inhabitants, it was colonized by a different race, and the Roman city which subsequently arose changed its name and was called Aelia, in honor of the emperor Aelius Adrian. And as the church there was now composed of Gentiles, the first one to assume the government of it after the bishops of the circumcision was Marcus.”⁶

Verses 26b-27a: “Someone else might say, ‘The Messiah is secluded in the inner chambers of the Temple!’ But don’t believe it. When the Son of Man returns, everyone will see Him.”

As Jesus was telling His disciples about what was going to take place, could it be that God’s words in Isaiah came to His mind, “In the beginning, I told you what would happen in the end. A long time ago, I told you things that have not happened yet. When I plan something, it happens. I do whatever I want to do.”⁷ We’ve already seen examples of those who claimed to be messiahs and leading people out into the desert, but Jesus also mentions another location called in Greek, tameion, which is translated as “inner chambers” or “secret chambers, in the Temple.”

Jewish Rabbis give this explanation: “There were two [charity] chambers in the Temple, one was referred to as the chamber of the discreet [donors] and the other, was referred to as the chamber of vessels. The chamber of the discreet served those God-fearing people who would discreetly place their gifts in it and the poor, descending from good families, would support themselves discreetly. The chamber of vessels served those who wanted to contribute vessels [to the Temple] they would cast it there. And once in thirty days, the treasurers would open them up. Any vessel found which was able to be used directly for the upkeep of the Temple they would leave. The rest would be sold for their value and the funds would go to the chamber of the upkeep of the Temple.”⁸

So in referencing the inner chambers of the Temple, Jesus goes from open areas to a restricted area in talking about the claims by some on where the Messiah was hiding. Oddly enough, some Jews had the notion concerning the Messiah which was birthed during these times and festered for a long time. They believed that the Messiah was born the day Jerusalem was destroyed, but is hidden, for their sins, in some secret place, and would in time be revealed. It is quite possible that this was the deception Jesus was talking about before it ever occurred.

Concerning the idea of hiding the Messiah until the time was right, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra gave this interpretation of a verse in the Song of Solomon: “You hold your head like the Karmel, and the hair on your head is like purple cloth — the king is held captive in its tresses.”⁹ Rabbi Abraham said: “Your Head”, King Messiah, who is of the sons of David, “the hair on your head,” Messiah, the son of Joseph. “The king is held captive,” these words indicate that the Messiah, the son of David, is meant, who is bound till the appointed time comes, for he was born on the day when Jerusalem was laid waste.”¹⁰

I also found another interesting comment on the Messiah that reads: “Holy Scripture speaks of the Messiah in two different ways, that is, sometimes it speaks of an ordinary, poor, humble man who will eventually die, sometimes of a glorious, powerful, and exalted man. So too, they have two Messiahs. They call one of them Messiah ben Joseph, the son of Joseph. He will be poor and ordinary, but still a powerful warrior. The other they call Messiah ben David, the son of David, who will be the real Messiah and king over Israel, and rule them in their land.”¹¹ This should give everyone a better understanding of how the Jews viewed the coming of the Messiah, especially after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and why the words of Jesus were so relevant. But Jesus has more to say about what was coming. With all of this, no wonder some early church scholars thought the end was near even in their day.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XI

Verse 23: “Someone might say to you at that time, ‘Look, that’s the Messiah!’ Or someone else might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them.”

We find a similar warning in what one Rabbi taught. He cautioned: “If someone tells you when the day of redemption is coming, don’t believe him, for it is written, ‘The day of vengeance is in my heart.’¹ If the heart does not tell its secrets to the mouth, how can the mouth tell anything?”² In other words, Jesus warned about those who would go around saying they know where the Messiah is, but they are only speculating, so why should you believe them. Jesus warns that during these days there will be many who will try to take advantage of people’s confusion. The subtle deceptions of these false messiahs and false prophets will be great, even to the point of confusing and deceiving many who are not firmly rooted in the Word of God.

Early church scholar Jerome provides some insight as to the way this advice was seen in his day. He writes: “At the time of the Jewish captivity by Rome, many Jewish elders claimed to be the Christ. There were so many, in fact, that there were three distinct camps of them when the Romans besieged Jerusalem. This saying [of Jesus] is better understood as referring to the end of the world, however. ‘False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect might be led into error… This passage is to be explained in one of three ways. It either refers to the Roman siege of Jerusalem or to the end of the world or to the war waged by heretics against the church and by Antichrists who oppose Christ under the pretext of false knowledge. If anyone were to tell you that Christ dwells in the wilderness of the pagans or in the doctrine of the philosophers or within the inner chambers of heretics who promise to reveal the secrets of God, do not follow or believe them. And lest false prophets find an opportunity for deceiving you at a time of persecution and anxiety, you should not trust just anyone who claims to speak in the name of Christ.”³

Unfortunately, these remarks by Jerome were also aimed at those who began to question the Roman Catholic interpretation Scriptures and their tendency toward rites, rituals, and use of the sacraments as a source of grace. A lot has happened since Jerome wrote these words some 1,600 years ago, but that would be like looking into the rear-view mirror. We must take it as he saw it in his day. Whatever the case, these false Messiahs have continued to sprout and pop-up down through the centuries since. You can certainly find many from the time of Jesus’ ascension until now. Let me mention a few.

For instance, in 1973 a man named Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda claimed to have received the divine revelation that he was both the Antichrist and the Messiah. He even had the number 666, a symbol of the Antichrist, tattooed on his arm. Miranda was the leader of the Growing in Grace church, a movement that is based in Miami, Florida. He was a very charismatic person who held a strong influence on his congregation. In 2007, 30 members of Miranda’s church decided to have the number 666 tattooed on their bodies as a sign of their devotion and love to him. Miranda also taught the doctrine that sin and Satan don’t exist. According to him, “his followers…literally can do no wrong in God’s eyes.”

In 1978, a female member of the Witnesses of Jesus Christ Church of God in Korea claimed that through a chain of scriptural eisegesis that she was “our mother who has come down from heaven, and that Ahn Sahng-hong, the founder of the church was Jesus Christ.” Sahng-hong died on February 25, 1985. His wife followed him on September 4, 2008. Next to the grave is a single marker that reads: “The grave of the prophet Elijah Ahn Sahng-hong.”

In 1979, a man named Inri Cristo, who lives on farmland outside of Brasilia, claims that God spoke to him revealing that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Since then, he has been to 27 countries to publicly declare this “truth.” In his efforts to convince the lost that he is the “savior” they need, he has been arrested by the police a couple of times and has even been expelled from the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and the United States. He not only claims to be the Messiah but dresses very much like he believes Jesus dressed. But instead of walking, the 66-year-old rides a motor-scooter wherever he goes.

Then, there is a certain man named Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop who on August 18, 1990, claimed to have received a revelation from God, a revelation that changed his life and the 10,000 people who believe in his teachings. Also known as “Vissarion,” or the Teacher, Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and has founded his own church called the Church of the Last Testament in Petropavlovka, Russia.

There is a former Seventh-Day Adventist pastor named Wayne Bent, also known as Michael Travesser to his followers, is the leader of the Lord Our Righteousness Church, a cult based in New Mexico. Bent founded this group in 1987. It was in 2000 that, according to Bent, God showed him a divine revelation that he was Jesus Christ.

We also have Apollo Quiboloy, the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ the Name Above Every Name Church based in Davao City, Philippines, who on April 13, 2005, declared that God has entrusted him with the Kingship. This Kingship that God has supposedly given to Quiboloy gave him the authority to govern God’s Kingdom and execute His laws throughout the world. He also claimed that since 2005 he has been living in a state of “sinless” existence.

Also, we have David Shayler, a former British agent who worked for M15, who got into trouble and was dismissed. But these misfortunes led him to begin meditating and then explore Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, and Jewish Kabbalah. So, by 2005 the more he studied the more he became convinced that he was in fact the Messiah, but not Jesus Christ. Yet, he does claim to have been crucified with a crown of thorns and nails then incarnated as Astronges, a Jewish revolutionary put to death by the Romans. He strongly claims that he has supernatural powers and that he can control football results, affect the weather, and even stop terrorist threats. But surprisingly, this self-proclaimed, powerful Messiah admits that he uses marijuana He justifies his use of drugs by saying that marijuana “makes you more spiritual…and takes you closer to the light.”

Then, an IT specialist for an Australian company whose name is Alan John Miller, a former elder in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, suddenly made claims that He was Jesus Christ and publicly declared that he has vivid memories of the crucifixion. But he says that it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. He also claimed that his partner, fellow Australian Mary Luck is, in fact, Mary Magdalene. His cult is named “Divine Truth,” which was started in 2007. It has become very popular not only in Australia but also in other parts of the world. For instance, Louise Faver, a 39-year-old British woman, left her job as a neuroscientist in the UK to go to Australia to live near AJ. Aside from Faver, other people, just like George Hamel who abandoned his family and business in California, are forsaking their “earthly” lives to be near their “savior.”

It was in 2013 that a South African man appeared on the eNews Channel Africa to declare publicly that he is the black reincarnation of Jesus Christ. This man whose name is Moses Hlongwane also claims that he is immortal. In that TV interview, Hlongwane said that he was “getting ready” to perform miracles like curing the lame and blind and even resurrecting the dead by “opening the graves.” Although it seems so obvious to many how ridiculous these claims may be, yet they have fooled many into following such self-appointed messiahs.

Verse 24: “False messiahs and false prophets will come and do great miracles and wonders, trying to fool the people God has chosen, if that is possible.”

The tense and context of the original language used here infer that the elect will not be deluded. The idea of the verse is to show the cleverness and influence of the false Christs and prophets. The signs and wonders will appear so real that if it were possible (which it will not be) even the strongest, most mature believer could be disillusioned and quit. Here we see a dual phenomenon: the power of the false prophets and the steadfastness of the true believer. Jesus said the faithful and true believer will be strong enough not to be misled.

Then, speaking from their perspectives in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, several early church writers give us their interpretation of what was thought to be the understanding of these false messiahs and prophets. For instance, Epiphanius writes: “We are warned by the Lord so that if anyone were to come to us falsely in His name, none of us would believe in such a person, having already been prepared. Henceforth, how great will be the signs by which the faith of the elect is demonstrated! But whoever builds his house on the rock, that is, establishes his faith on Christ, cannot be destroyed by winds or rains. The rock represents Christ, the floods are the kings, and the winds are the kings’ orders to persecute the servants of God.⁴”⁵

So for Epiphanius, the key to being safe from deception was by being anchored in one’s faith in Christ and whose life is built upon the solid rock of Christ’s teachings. He goes on to address his readers: “You see then, beloved, what great love the Lord displays toward us. He carefully instructs each one of us individually regarding the future so that even if we see all these signs come to pass (having been forewarned by him) we will be wise to the enemy and accept nothing contrary to Christ and the catholic faith. In the Acts of the Apostles, Simon declared himself to be the power of God.⁶ Likewise, in the last days, the Antichrist will declare himself to be God, as the apostle says, ‘Thus he will sit in the temple of God, calling himself God … whom the Lord Jesus Christ will kill with the breath of His mouth.’⁷ The day of judgment will come upon the Antichrist also, and the Lord will kill him with the sword of His mouth.”⁸

Ralph Ellison (1913-1994), was an African-American scholar and writer. In his novel, “Invisible Man” he makes this statement: “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” But as all of us know, discovering who we really are is tough to do. In fact, sometimes we learn more about ourselves from others than we do ourselves. But Ellison was talking about introspection. In psychology, this is defined as informally examining our own internal thoughts and feelings. By that it means, when we reflect on our thoughts, emotions, and memories and examine what they mean, we are engaging in introspection.

King David went through this process, but when unable to satisfy his doubts he went to God and prayed: “Examine me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is in me any hurtful way, and lead me along the eternal way.”¹ It wasn’t that David sought for God to tell him he was better than everyone else, but that David wanted to see more clearly why he was saying and doing the things he did, and how if affected others.

In that vein, I would take what Ellison said and render it this way: “When I discover the great I AM, then I’ll be free.” This was a promise that Jesus made: “If the Son makes you free, you are really free.”² So the first step is getting to know the Son. And we can get to know Him better by examining what He said and how He interacted with others.

A renegade seaman named John Newton made this same discovery and wrote a song about it: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” So, if you have any family members or friends who have not yet surrendered their lives to God, and made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, it may be because they have not yet discovered who they are so they can see that only God’s Son can really set them free. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ALL THE LIGHTS WENT OUT?

On Wednesday, February 6, 1788, James Madison wrote in the “Independent Journal” to the people of the State of New York an article titled: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments. In that piece, he stated the following: “In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger.”¹

What he meant by “state of nature” was that when law and order in a civilized society breaks down so that a certain segment of that society no longer feels that they are included in the laws that are supposed to protect them where they live, so that they can freely go about their work and lives like everyone else. Then, of necessity, and for survival, they will revert to the “state of nature.” To put it another way, they will return to the “law of the jungle.”

In that case, since the police can no longer be counted on to protect them, they take up arms to protect themselves. When the normal rules of society are no longer practiced and those who break such laws are not prosecuted, they write their own rules which they enforce. This is the way creatures survive in the jungle.

For instance, most parents like for their children to watch the National Geographic Channel when it shows colorful animals, fish, and birds in their natural habitat, living in peace. Some of these creatures are beautiful and majestic. But these same parents are not as eager when these same animals are shown in which a pride of lions attack a herd of gazelles and pull down one of the younger or most vulnerable ones, and rip them apart with their teeth in order to feed themselves and their cubs. You never see this in a zoo where order is maintained, but you will see it out in the wild.

In our own world and society, many of those who can financially afford to do so, move to gated communities, where they hire private security companies to keep them safe. Meanwhile, those who are under-educated, living on minimum incomes, and working mostly in level-entree jobs, must take what is left and try to make the best out of it. This creates a vacuum in which the rest of society struggles to exist in peace and maintain order. One internet blog recently reported that a police union stated that there are sections of their city where police officers are scared to do their job.²

Some say this malaise comes from politicians providing only 1% of what the promised in order to get elected. Others point to the growing conflict in our society between those who want a Constitution interpreted with the acknowledgment of God and others who want God completely taken out of the Constitution. And then there are those who see it as a deterioration of respect for authority meant to protect the rights of society, in favor of the establishment of an authority that only enforces the right of the individual.

Did James Madison have a valid a point? Whatever the case, there has been no better time for the light of Jesus Christ to shine through believers into the darkness than now. The question is, are there enough Christians with sufficient light to make a difference? God forbid the chaos if all the lights go out. – Dr. Robert R Seyda