ULDAH MINISTRY

No,109　　NOVEMBER . 2004

【CLEARANCE FIRST, THEN, WORSHIP】

King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. …I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. …: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. "In the visions I saw …I looked, and there before me was a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He called in a loud voice: 'Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. … But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. " 'Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his minds be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him. " 'The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.' …Belteshazzar, tell me what it means.
…you, O king, are that tree! …You will be driven away from people and … The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.
DANIEL 4:1-27.

One of the wettest summers in England brought forth an abnormal growth of trees, grasses and weeds. I came back to England after 4 months to find not only that multiple nettles had flourished in our rear garden but also that one of the trees had grown abnormally big, extending its branches in all directions as if maximising its exposure to the sun. The shape of the tree was like a bowl that had been turned upside down and underneath it was a huge mound of dead leaves and bark. From afar, the tree seemed magnificent; tall, large and strong, positioned in the middle of the garden, dominating space and glorying in its prosperity, exactly like the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. However, as I got nearer, I began to notice the buzzing of wasps and I eventually found the whole place (the entire tree, the space around and even the ground beneath) to be completely infested by swarms of wasps. The whole tree had become a dwelling place of wasps, nestling numerous other insects as well. In spite of its impressive outward appearance, the real condition of the tree was far from healthy; indeed, it was wasting away. Some leaves were fused with other leaves like glue because of the honey, and most leaves were sapped of their strength and blackened, likened to the process of "necrosis" in the human body.
A glance at a close distance was enough for me to realise that the condition of the tree was serious, and that with the presence of buzzing wasps all around the tree, it was completely out of my hands. I immediately called the tree surgeons and without hesitation they cut down all the branches until only a bald, vertically standing trunk was left behind. They pushed the branches and leaves into a special tree shredder together with the swarms of insects. This whole process was surprisingly quick, and all that was left was a tree, miserably deprived of its boasted fortune. This event left a deep impression on me, helping me to draw a parallel with the present age where imperfect kingdoms are flourishing over God's Kingdom. Such imperfect kingdoms have to be removed from the land and should be replaced with the perfect and eternal one sometime in the future.
The Scripture clearly declares the limit of man-made kingdoms and their destination, however mighty, powerful, prosperous, attractive and desirable they would be in man's eyes. Their destination is destruction unless men would repent of their sins before God and would accept Jesus as their Saviour, the ultimate deliverer from sin and death. A tree is symbolically used in the Scripture as a national power and the following three trees especially, (including a vine) consistently symbolises Israel; (1)'grapevine' concerning her spiritual blessing, (2)'olive tree' concerning her covenant relationship with God, and (3)"fig tree" concerning God's national witness to the world.
Jesus taught in His "parable of the fig-tree" (Lk.13:6-9), of the patience and mercy of God the Father in heaven towards His people Israel; how he has responded to Christ's earnest intercession for her and thus, extended the duration of survival time for them, even for the unrepentant and those who failed to produce good fruits. However, their probation period is limited and in the end, if the "fig-tree" bears no fruit, it is to be harshly cut down. There is another narrative of "the instantly withered fig-tree" in Matthew21:18~22. This is taken as an extension of the parable in Luke 13 and is frequently regarded as an "acted parable" or "allegory" of the immediate judgment of Israel. Given such vivid semblance of God's rejection of Israel, despite Paul's teaching that God won't completely cast Israel off in his epistle to the Romans, the church has traditionally taken the stance that God has finished with Israel and thus the church has replaced Israel as the 'spiritual Israel' so as to inherit the blessing once granted to her. However, in the first parable, Jesus left an implicit hope of survival of Israel by leaving a stump behind. As long as there are stumps left, there will be a chance to sprout again and survive. In the second parable, some point out that the Greek term of the word; 'forever' (v.19, 'never' in NIV) used in the text is Aion (an age), and accordingly, the text implies only a certain duration of time, and not eternity. Consequently, the parables might be interpreted as meaning that even if she does not produce fruit, or she is not a good witness of God in the present kingdom, Israel will again start bearing fruit, or become God's true witness sometime in the future. Of course, it is God's foremost will to let Israel revive as His witness again and it would be in the millennium kingdom on earth that this materialises. These parables of Jesus illustrate that a merciful God will give her opportunities again to repent and return to God as a nation although the nation of Israel first has to experience His rejection and is to be removed out of the land, as symbolised in the first parable [witnesses of God (branches of a fig-tree cut down) would be removed out of their land (vineyard)]. Only after that will restoration take place for her and actually, looking at Israel's history, the first stage of these parables has already occurred. Nevertheless, Israel rejected God's opportunities and finally a turning point has come, when God set her aside and turned to the Gentiles. He appointed the Gentiles as the witness of Christ and thus, the hardship of Israel will continue until the fullness of the Gentiles so that the second stage of the parables may be fulfilled. The same stages would be applied to Christ's followers as well.
Jesus taught the other parable of the "fig-tree" as a sign of redemption in the end of the age in Mark 13:28~37: 'Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. …no-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. …Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back whether in the evening, or at midnight, or …If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone:' Watch (Lines added. Pay attention to His repeated warning). As Jesus predicted, the Jews were scattered out of the land in 70 C.E. when the Jerusalem temple was destroyed, with the stump of the fig-tree barely, but certainly remaining. Concerning events far after that, Jesus prophetically referred to the future restoration of the nation Israel in Matthew24, Luke21, and Mark13, quoted above. His warning is very relevant now. Witnesses of Christ are urged to keep watch of the affaires of the world to discern the time until His return to the earth. When twigs of the fig-tree start getting tender enough to sprout after a long enduring time of the state of a stump for Israel, we will know that we are in the final countdown stage before the 'Lord's Coming,' in other words, before the 'fullness of the Gentiles,' or the 'final restoration of Israel.' The international recognition of Israel by the UN as a nation on 14th May 1948 has historically marked her new start and henceforth we have been witnessing ominous signs of the age predicted by the Lord; depravity of the world and of the church, likened to the days of Noah and of Lot. There will be spiritual perversion, world-wide wars and rumours of them, revolutions, great earthquakes, famines, pestilences, celestial signs, persecution and the great tribulation accelerating towards the end. While the wickedness of this world flourishes, with immorality, lawlessness, greed, violence, idolatry, apostasy and coldness of man's heart prevailing in the whole earth, the remnant will be more and more purified and built up through hardships and unprecedented trials.
Today, quite a few witnesses of Christ are under attack by the enemy, or put in a different way, in the midst of paying-off period of hidden sins, which Peter declared: 'Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. …For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome before those who do not obey the gospel of God? ...So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good.'(1Pe.4:12~19). Peter's message is very encouraging because it strongly assures us of the awareness and control of the sovereign God even in the midst of hardships and trials. The Lord perfectly knows His follower's present suffering and difficulty. Even so, he would let them go through all the courses of trials to cleanse and to build up His true witness, i.e., His bride for the preparation of His return. Things that seem extreme that have never happened before are happening to quite a few Christians today. This fact, added to the sign of the "fig-tree" examined above, might be another proof that the time of Christ's Second Coming is very close. As the "fig-tree" finally had to be relentlessly cut down because of God's people Israel's rejection of their Messiah after extended probation periods, by the same token, a drastic remedy will have to be raised against persistent apostate Christians after repeated warnings from the Lord.
Setting non-believers' and such apostate believers' issues aside, if Christians cannot solve their own problems, causes of which are sometimes deeply hidden under sub-consciousness, it is God alone that is able to uncover them, the ultimate purpose being that God wants to rescue us from being thrown into the darkness as ineligible servants (which as I understand figuratively means ejection out of the coming millennium kingdom of God but not out of eternal life). Although it is totally impossible for us, mere created-beings to fathom the heavenly Father's plan completely, this might be a major reason why even pious Christians often need to go through difficulties, as king Nebuchadnezzar's example shows (quoted at the beginning). Through these times of trials when he was driven away from people, and lived with wild animals like cattle until he finally acknowledged the sovereignty of God, he learned to repent of his wickedness, to humble himself and to change his view of other human-beings and also his ways of dealing with his people. He also learned to praise and worship God in heaven with a completely regenerated, purified heart (Da.4:33~37).
Concerning the suppressed negative emotions that cause the majority of relational problems, we are reminded of Jesus' warning about animosity in the narrative Matthew5:21~26. The threat of judgment was part of the Mosaic Law to deal with murder. However, when it comes to the definition of the term 'murder', whether it refers to a mere action, or involves premeditated thought, or who and what is blamed and so on, it is quite difficult to know God's heart behind the Law. Therefore Jesus authoritatively presented the real direction towards which the Law pointed by negating erroneous traditions and man-oriented understanding. Picking up the major cause of relational problems, animosity, what Jesus insisted here was that both the murderer and anyone who is angry with his brother were to be subject to judgment. He confronts His hearers by letting them weigh their own heart condition: If you, morally speaking, claim never to have been a murderer and yet if you have ever hated your brother or even wished it, you should be aware that all such harbouring anger lies at the root of murder and hence any who reacts with indignant, wrath, contempt and other negative emotions cannot remain un-condemned. Jesus is indeed recorded to have sometime got angry with those who confronted Him for legalistic and hypocritical reasons but He never became angry for His personal ego. In contrast to Jesus, when we are offended, by and large, we react with anger out of personal relationship to defend our own ego, yet justifying ourselves as if rightfully defending the truth. Hence Jesus stresses the prior importance of reconciliation with the person who he has offended before engaging in religious duty. Reconcile first and only then is he eligible to worship God. God's Law does not allow man to substitute his evasion of clearing of offence towards others for religious service and rite. Personal animosity is a debt and once thrown into prison because of the debt, one won't be able to get out until he has been reconciled to others.
Knowing that judgment is inevitable and justice needs to be done, why is it that we don't often endeavour to pay off our debts as our foremost priority, i.e., to reconcile to others whom we have been offended by, instead of covering ourselves with religious devotion? This might be the Lord's warning to each of us today. Time is running out and we are witnessing the signs of the age more so than before. While we are in our probation period and before we may have to lose what we have, or before it becomes too late, we are urged to return to the Lord with a regenerated, purified heart and motive. We are to drastically deal with sin; to hate it, dig it out and to put all negative drives within our hearts to death. Otherwise, it will lead us to hell (Matt.5:29f).

Thought of the Month……….

'When we as believers come to verses of Scripture that are hard for us to accept, it is very easy to invent clever ways of avoiding their cutting edge. This is especially true when we are faced with the stern demands of Christian discipleship. We argue, we rationalize, we evade; we come up with sixty theological reasons why the Bible does not mean what it says….': William McDonald says. Some examples of the arguments, which he presented on the article of TBC for August '04, may be helpful to examine your own standing point. Because such man's sinful propensity having been taken advantage of, quite a few Christians have without realising been already influenced by false teachings that satisfactorily and reasonably would respond to their heart desires. Be on alert against 'a Jesus other than the Jesus we (Paul and the apostles, i.e., the first century Bible preachers) preached, or …a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted'(2Cor.11:4)!
1. It couldn't mean that literally. Why not? One of the basic rules of Bible interpretation is, "If the first sense makes sense, don't look for any other sense."
2. We've never done it that way. This is the argument of tradition. Jesus warned that it is possible to make the Word of God of no effect through our traditions (Mark 7:13).
3. I know that's what the Bible says, but in my case, God wants to make an exception. No. He doesn't. He wants you to obey Him. There is no blessing for anyone who handles the Word with such specious reasoning.
4. That was just for Paul's day (or the days of the early church). This is the argument from culture. It is man's attempt to bend the Bible to fit the culture. It won't work. Better to bend the culture to fit the Word. Once you adopt the culture argument, you can explain away …anything you don't like. Paul's teachings are now considered culturally irrelevant. Really! Then why does he go back to creation to justify them? Why does he say, "Because of the angels?" Just the angels of some specific culture? Nonsense. Bible teachers should be able to do better than that.
5. You have to be prudent (to use common sense). There is something better than prudence and common sense, namely, divine wisdom. God's ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Obey his Word, even if it doesn't seem correct, and you will find that His way is prefect.
6. You shouldn't do it if it would offend someone. How can people invent such idiocy? If we must avoid offending, then we must stop preaching the cross. The entire gospel offends man's pride. It tells him he is a sinner, that he is lost, helpless and hopeless, that he cannot save himself, and that there is only one way of salvation.
7. Those teachings, like the Sermon on the Mount, are for the kingdom. Of course they are. And we are in the kingdom. The kingdom exists now in mystery or in interim form. This is seen in the parables of Matthew 13. It is true that the King is not bodily present, but we acknowledge His rule, and we are His loyal subjects nonetheless.
Enough rationalizations! Enough excuses! May the Lord forgive us for so often explaining away the clear teachings of His Word. May we have a single, pure desire to stay as close to the Bible as possible and not try to tone down its radical demands.