Category: New Testament

Posted in Revelation

The Seven Seals Of Revelation

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Revelation 8:1

If Revelation stood alone, I would conclude that the seven seals are all future as many commentators believe, but the rule of Scripture is that clear truth interprets obscure passages, and not the other way around.

I believe the first five seals of Revelation have already been opened by Jesus. The five seals correspond exactly to what Christ said would happen in their generation before the fall of Jerusalem. (Deception; wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes and famines; death; martyrdom) They were opened by Jesus in the first century; they were already opened when John wrote Revelation from Patmos in 95 AD; and they’re still open today.

The fifth seal is the martyrdom of those who were killed “because of the word of God and because of the testimony they maintained.” John is writing to people that are in danger of being martyred under Domitian’s rule. He writes to them as one who is a fellow partaker “in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus.” He is on the island because of “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus,” the same reason the martyrs were killed. (Revelation 1:9)

He is writing because the Lord’s coming is very near – He ends the book with the words of Jesus, “I am coming quickly.” After the fifth seal has been opened, John sees those who have been martyred and hears their question, “How much longer?” There has been a delay and they are waiting for the coming day of the Lord to avenge their deaths. The answer: “a little while longer until all those who will be killed like you is complete.” (Revelation 6:11)

The second coming is imminent but delayed. Then John sees the sixth seal opened and the very signs Jesus gave for the rapture happen before his eyes. The earth prepares for the wrath of God while the saints are suddenly found before the throne of God. Jews come to Christ as a Spirit of mourning comes upon every tribe when they see the One they had pierced. One Hundred forty-four thousand Jews become evangelists who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” (Revelation 14:4)

Those who were ready for the Bridegroom’s coming are kept “from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world,” (Revelation 3:10) while everyone else must endure it. Let’s live ready!

Posted in Daniel, Revelation

The Beast

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The beast which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come out of the abyss and go to his destruction.” Revelation 17:8

In Daniel 7 the beast has its body destroyed and is thrown into the blazing fire when the Messiah returns to the earth. (Daniel 7:11; 13)   How can Vespasian be the beast when Jesus didn’t return to end his reign?  In fact, after the Jewish war ended Vespasian reigned six more years until his peaceful death in 79 AD.  How can he be the beast when everything that was supposed to happen to the beast didn’t happen to him?

Is it possible that the beast is both the one who appeared in history using Vespasian and the one who inspires and possesses a future anti-Christ?  The beast, according to the text above, is more than a human being; it is a creature of darkness that has been released in the past, now is restricted, and will be released again before the coming of Christ.

The Apostle John writes Revelation after one of the judgment events has already occurred in history (the fall of Jerusalem), and before the final one (after the second coming). John assures us that the beast who comes up out of the abyss, and once was (had already appeared), now is not (is not presently active in the world), yet will appear again before he is destroyed.  

What Daniel sees is a composite of both comings of the beast. Just like Old Testament prophecies about Jesus are sometimes confusing because they don’t distinguish or even see two comings of the Messiah; Daniel can’t see two comings of the beast.  He can only see what God shows him, so what he describes is everything that the beast will do until God destroys him.

In Daniel we’re told that after the beast changes Jewish law (Vespasian did this at the destruction of the temple), the saints will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time. (Daniel 7:25) This is a reference to his second appearance where John sees a future anti-Christ speaking “great blasphemies against God,” waging “war against God’s holy people and conquering them,” and being “given authority to do whatever he wants for forty-two months.” (Revelation 13:5-7)   Revelation 12:14 calls this same period, “time, times, and half a time,” the same words used in Daniel seven.

Posted in Daniel, Mark, Matthew

Daniel’s Seventieth ‘Seven’ – Part Two

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He (a coming prince) will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Daniel 9:27

After the Messiah is put to death, Gabriel says “the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its end will come like a flood.” (Daniel 9:26) The next verse, quoted above, is a description of this event that will happen during the seventieth ‘seven.’ 

Jesus said that this “abomination of desolation,” spoken by Daniel the prophet (Matthew 24:15) would be fulfilled in the generation that He lived in.  “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mark 13:30) 

Many commentators don’t believe the seventieth ‘seven’ occurred in Jesus’ generation so they put it off until the generation before the Lord’s return.  They treat the fall of Jerusalem as a foreshadowing of the events that will happen again before the coming of the Lord which is why so many are certain the Jewish temple has to be rebuilt. But all this is conjecture and not in the text.  In Mark’s gospel only one question is asked and it’s about the destruction of the temple (not about His coming or about the end times) and the sign they should look for: “the abomination of desolation.” (Mark 13:14)

Yesterday we looked at what actually happened in their generation and the abomination that was set up in the destroyed temple.  Now let’s reread Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven’ in light of this history: 

“And he (Vespasian) will make a firm covenant with many (Galilean Jews) for one ‘seven.’ (The war went from 66-73 AD)  In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. (The temple was destroyed at the three and a half year mark, so sacrifices could no longer be made.) And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation (the Roman ensign was sacrificed to where the temple had been), until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven’ was fulfilled in the first century, just like Jesus said it would be.

Posted in Mark

Daniel’s Seventieth ‘Seven’ – Part One

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?…when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be…then those in Judea must flee to the mountains….truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Mark 13:4; 14; 30

When Jesus talks about the abomination of desolation as being the sign that the temple will be destroyed, he is referencing an event that happens in Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven.’ He says that this would all be fulfilled in the generation He was speaking to. So what happened?

A Jewish rebellion to Rome occurred in 66 AD causing the emperor, Nero, to send his general, Vespasian, to subdue it using whatever means were necessary. Vespasian first went to Galilee where he took some of its cities “by treaties, and on terms.” (Josephus, The Jewish War, Preface 8). Josephus tells us that “Sepphoris, the largest city of Galilee, received Vespasian, the Roman general very kindly, and readily promised that they would assist him.” (III:ix:8)

But most of the Jews dug in their heels, so Vespasian pursued them through war. In 69 AD there were three Roman emperors after Nero’s suicide – Galba, Ortho, and Vitellius who eventually gave way to Vespasian – the fourth emperor in one year. The Jewish war continued with Vespasian’s son, Titus, leading the charge on his behalf. In 70 AD, at the three and a half year point of the war, Titus destroyed and burned the temple so completely that not one stone was left upon another. A Roman ensign with Vespasian’s image on it was set up in the wing of the temple area declaring Caesar to be Divine (the outer wing, not part of the temple itself, was all that was left at the time).

Even though the temple was destroyed and all sacrifices ceased, the war continued for three and a half more years as Titus ran down the Jews to wherever they went. The final siege was in the stronghold of Masada. When Titus broke through in 73 AD almost 1,000 Jews had already committed suicide ending the pursuit, and the war against the Jews. Josephus wrote that over a million Jews died during that seven year span by sword, famine, crucifixion, or suicide.  All this was completed 40 years from when Jesus said, “this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.”

Posted in 2Corinthians, Daniel, Jeremiah, Luke, Mark, Matthew

Two Events of Judgment

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”  Matthew 24:34-37

 I have come to believe that Jesus is describing two events of judgment in His discourse on the future (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 17 and 21) and that they are very different to prepare for.

One event, the destruction of Jerusalem, will happen in their lifetime, or their “generation.”  It is a time of God’s wrath on the Jewish people for rejecting Christ (Luke 21:22-24); it will feature an abomination of desolation being set up in the holy place (Matthew 24:15); and  it will be horrible but “cut short,” otherwise all of the Jewish elect would be wiped out.

  The rescue for the church at this time is to flee Jerusalem when you see these things happening.  “All these things” were to be expected within their generation and they would be as visible as a fig tree budding indicating that summer is near.  There will be a fulfillment of  “all that is written” (Luke 21:22), a reference to Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven’ (Daniel 9:27), and Jeremiah’s allusion to a time of Jacob’s trouble. (Jeremiah 30:7)

   The second event Jesus describes is not just in Judea, it’s world-wide (Luke 21:35); Jesus doesn’t know when it’s going to happen; the elect don’t have to flee, they are taken; and there are no signs to prepare for it, so people have to live ready.  This coming event is not a judgment on the Jews for rejecting Christ (that already happened in the destruction of Jerusalem), but on the Gentiles who have rejected Christ. (Luke 21:24) 

 By the end of their generation this second judgment will be imminent, or “at the door,” (Matthew 24:33-34) because it will occur immediately after Jesus appears in the clouds.  We are now living between the first and second judgment events in a time of God’s favor. (2Corinthians 6:2)  This is the time to respond to God’s salvation!

Posted in 2Timothy, Revelation, Romans

The Puzzle of the End Times

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.”  Revelation 1:3

The God who helps us with our smallest problems is the Ruler over history.  History will one day be seen to be His story, and knowing that brings a blessing to our lives especially at times when they seem pointless or chaotic.  John wrote Revelation from Patmos, an island prison where the emperor, Domitian, had sent him because of “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 1:9)  As God revealed His bigger plan, we can imagine John’s comfort in the soon coming of the Lord and the assurance of His ultimate victory.

The evil and darkness of this world will be short lived.  As surely as Jesus came the first time to save us from our sins, He will come a second time to secure His bride, judge the world, and set up His kingdom. (2Timothy 4:1)  Just how these events will unfold is unclear.  There are many pieces to the end times’ puzzle and no one but God knows exactly how they fit together, yet John tells us in the text above that there’s a blessing in just contemplating the mystery.  What exactly is the blessing?  I believe it’s more of the fear of the Lord.  Let me explain.

Paul tells us to “behold both the kindness and severity of God” in Romans 11:22.  Our tendency is to only behold His kindness because it’s pleasant, but it’s in beholding His severity that we grow in the fear of the Lord and stay in a place where we will only experience His kindness.  The end of Romans 11:22 goes like this: “…to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”  Jesus wants nothing for us but kindness, but to ensure that blessing, we must have the courage to behold His severity.  When someone warns me of danger I feel love, not offense. 

 Jesus came the first time as a Lamb to save the world; He’s coming a second time as a Lion to judge it.   At that time it won’t matter how close our theology about the end times matches what actually happens, but only that we are in a right relationship with God.  May God engage both your mind and heart as you join me in contemplating the end times’ puzzle over the next few days.

Posted in Ephesians, Luke, Romans

The Generosity of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” Romans 8:32

Any sense of entitlement in us will undermine our faith. God never gives to us because He has to; He gives because He wants to. The gospel starts by revealing to us that God owes us nothing but hell because of our sins, and then proceeds to show us His kind intention of adopting us as His sons and daughters. (Ephesians 1:4-6)

I was speaking in Uganda about entitlement and told a story where God revealed to me that I had been waiting for an apology from Him. I felt I had been mistreated just like Job and the older brother did (Luke 15:26-31), and that attitude was keeping me from experiencing the generosity of God.

After I was done speaking a woman found me and said I had to talk with her friend, Annette. Annette was laying on a mat on the floor of the church and was unable to get up because of crippling pain in her back. Through an interpreter, Annette told me that God spoke to her through the message. She had experienced a number of setbacks and had been angry with God. Now she was free because God showed her she needed to let go of her bad attitude.

I felt in my heart that God now wanted to heal her body, so I asked if I could pray for her back. After a brief prayer, I told her to move her back around and eventually told her to stand up. As she did, tears started to pour down her face.

“Ask her why she’s crying,” I said to the interpreter.

The answer was what I was hoping: “She says God is healing her back.”

Before my next teaching, she came to the front with the joy of the Lord on her face and gave testimony to what God had done in her heart and then in her body. Everyone then rejoiced in the generosity of God.

Sometimes we become focused on the outward miracle we need while having the wrong attitude in our heart. Do you feel God owes you something because of your obedience, sacrifice, or prayers? Why not lay down your disappointment, acknowledge that God is not in your debt, and focus on His generosity?

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not, also along with Him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)

Posted in 2Corinthians, John, Luke

The Joy Serving

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed (happy, joy-filled) if you do them.” John 13:17

When people arrived at a feast in that time, it was customary for a slave to wash everyone’s feet as they entered, but in all the preparations for the last supper the disciples had missed this detail. Each of them apparently felt that this job was below them, so it appeared it would go undone. Then the unthinkable happened. One far above them went lower than they were willing to go. Not only did Jesus wash their feet, He called them to wash each other’s feet (willingly serve each other), and in the text above said this was the key to their happiness.

He explained that this attitude was also the key to their greatness: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-26)

Our level of joy is not to be a victim of our own sense of entitlement. In other words, we don’t have to wait until we are treated in a certain way to have joy. Our joy can be found in God’s delight in us regardless of how other people are treating us. I found out this truth the hard way while pastoring in northern Minnesota.

A group of thirty wanted me out of the church and had started a secret campaign of visiting members in their homes to try to get the necessary votes to remove me. God was moving in the congregation and so was the enemy. There was a deacon who represented the thirty, but whenever I tried to meet with them it got postponed. It finally occurred to me that they didn’t want to be reconciled, they wanted me gone. This was their church and they weren’t going to leave, so I would have to.

How do you pastor a church Sunday after Sunday when this is happening? The Lord made it clear that they didn’t have to like or respect me, for me to serve them. I wasn’t to defend myself or be offended by their attitudes.  I was to serve them for His sake. (2Corinthians 4:5) His affirmation was better than theirs anyway!

Emptying ourselves, rolling up our sleeves, and serving whoever God puts in front of us is the key to lasting joy.

Posted in Colossians, Isaiah, John, Philippians

Are You Willing?  

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“If you are willing and obedient you will eat the best from the land.” Isaiah 1:19

A minister in the 1950’s was complaining to God saying, “God, you said if I was willing and obedient, I would eat the best of the land and I’ve been obedient.”

He had been a pastor when God told him to start traveling because he wasn’t really a pastor, he was a prophet and a teacher. Even though it was difficult to leave the security of a pastorate, he obeyed God. The problem was that he wasn’t making it. His shoes were worn out, his wife and kids were barely surviving, and there was constant financial pressure on his home. All this when he had only obeyed God and stepped out in faith.

The Lord answered this man with a whisper: “You’ve been obedient, but you haven’t been willing.” When he told this story, he said that he instantly became willing in response to God’s prompting, and it started to change everything in his life.

Did you know you can be obedient and not be willing? You can do the will of God and carry out your responsibilities as “have tos,” but that’s not good enough for God. He only releases His full blessing over us when we “want to.” It’s not enough for Him that we serve Him; He wants us to be happy about it.

The sweet Spirit of God was given so we would have both power to God’s will as well as the “want to.” Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you to will (the want to) and to act (the power to do) according to His good purpose.”

The way we change all of the “have tos,” in our lives into “want tos,” is by embracing the cross and doing them for God instead of for man. Jesus said that no one took His life from Him; “I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18). You and I have the choice of resenting our “have tos,” or of making them “want tos,” by doing them for God.

How we do what we do changes everything and puts us in the place of God’s full blessing. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Posted in Matthew

A Tale of Two Cities – Part Two

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Many began on the narrow path the king’s son had made but then became discontent. Some began to doubt if this was really the right path because they were sure that the right path would be easy, yet the son’s path had many turns in it as well as high mountains and dangerous valleys.

Others didn’t like the humility required to stay on the son’s path. They wanted to make their own way and have their own following. Many set out on their own and took others with them often with promises of pleasure and wealth people could have “right here” in Worldly Values. 

Some resented the king, and his son for making only one path and one bridge over the chasm of fire. Why couldn’t he make more bridges? Why shouldn’t all paths lead to Eternal Joy? These people accused those on the path of arrogance and self-righteousness. “Who do you think you are,” they would angrily yell, “to maintain your path is the only right one?”

Some began to shoot at those on the path, while others made laws which made it illegal to encourage anyone new to get on the path. A new religion formed which said there was only one sin and that was the sin of intolerance, therefore every path was to be tolerated except the son’s path because of its claim to be the only way to the city of Eternal Joy.

Yet even in this climate of hostility, more and more were drawn to the path and willingly gave up their pride to embrace the son’s way. The more they were shot at, mocked, or ignored, the more joyous and confident they seemed to become. No one stayed on the path perfectly, yet those who had walked on it for a long time seemed to instinctively know when they were off the path and quickly returned to it. 

The king’s son gave them writings and inspired songs from Eternal Joy that became well known to those on the path. The more these writings were proclaimed, and the more these songs were sung, the brighter the path became. In fact, one of the songs had a verse that went something like this: “Oh how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms.”