In the last few weeks, I’ve seen the fruit of a paradigm shift in the church that I’ve been attending. Some of the clergy have been moving away from premillennial dispensationalism and toward a more historic understanding of the faith. The new pastor and the soon to be leaving one have been tag-teaming the book of Romans. In the last few weeks, they have been defending predestination as above free will and that God has one people—the church—which is the continuing Israel and true children of Abraham. Today the pastor went out of his way to proclaim that God has one people, not two. He even stated that only via faith in Jesus Christ can anyone be saved. God didn’t have one path for the church and a separate one for Jews. It sounded much like stuff that I’ve been posting here lately.
There are some really hardcore Armenians and Premil folks in the group. The pastor stating that eschatology was a secondary issue, not one that is core to the faith, was followed up by a plug for classic dispensationalism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. He said he had limited copies of a sheet with four views of eschatology for people to get at the back of the church after the service. He encouraged folks to consider views other than premillennial dispensationalism. Bold move. The four views documents were all gone when I went looking for one. I was going to photograph it and leave it for someone else but was unable to do that.
Folks, this is a dicey move to make in a nondenominational church. I think the pastors would only move their flock in that direction if they were convinced that it was true. There is a minority that is post millennial in the church but whether the clergy is heading that direction has not been revealed yet. I think they can move their people a ways down that track, but at some point, their paradigm shift will get some pushback.
A couple of the leaders in the church are what I would describe as old school Baptists. I think they will balk at any move away from Arminianism (free will) and Scofieldism.
Many Christians call eschatology a secondary issue, but the reality is that it is not. Eschatology cannot really be separated from core Christian doctrines. There is a huge difference between playing duck and cover, wait for the Rapture, and taking dominion because Jesus claims to be Lord over every area of life. Premillennial dispensationalism leads to escapism while post millennialism leads to progressive growth as nations are discipled not individuals.
I am very happy to see this change taking place. If America is to see revival, then many congregations will need to experience a similar shift in eschatology.
Tomorrow marks one year since my bride died. She took her last breath about eight feet from where I’m sitting right now. I am reminded of her in random ways: smells, sounds, sights, and seasons.
One thing to know about my wife was that music was important to her. She liked the old Roger’s and Hammerstein musicals, opera, and classical compositions. Heck, her major in college was voice or vocal training if you prefer. She often sang at community events before I came along. She continued to sing during our marriage but got invited less frequently as the years went on. In later years, she sang at many funerals.
She and her children sang a song for me at our wedding.
It was a surprise that they sprung on me after the ceremony. As it was recounted to me, she and the children would practice singing it on the way to school in the morning. The song was, “If You Could See What I See” by Geoff Moore. The song became her ringtone for the entirety of our marriage. We’re not the only people to use the song during a wedding but it was special to me.
Oh, eventually my generic ringtone was “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives. Each of the children earned their own ringtones too. Child #1 got “When the Saints Go Marching In” which was due in part to this child being a band nerd. Child #2 earned “Now that We’re Men” from the first Sponge Bob movie.
As good as my ringtones were, when each child was born, their mother assigned each a song. The song was mostly a bedtime thing. I don’t recall what the songs were. If I guessed, “Baby Mine” from Dumbo went to child #2. Child #3 was assigned a church hymn like “Amazing Grace” or something like that. Child #1, no clue what song it was although the wife was partial to classic Disney stuff.
I have a special place in my heart for the three songs listed below.
“The Warrior is a Child” by Twila Paris
“Touch of the Master’s Hand” by Wayne Watson
“Tell Me Again” by Geoff Moore
During my wife’s cancer and beyond, I frequently listened to “Stand by Me” by Darrell Mansfield.
Darrell has six or seven versions of the song that I have accumulated over the years. My favorite is from his album “People Get Ready” from 2009. It is a slightly edited version of “Stand by Me” from his live concert video released in 2008. Darrell Mansfield owns this song. He reclaimed it as the church hymn that it once was but stays with the tune made famous by Sam Cook. The video version of the concert is worth it just to watch this song and “Tell the Truth”.
One other song that deserves an honorable mention that has some musical hooks and lyrics that get my attention is “Things Left Unsaid” by Disciple. Many lines really sting when I listen to it, but a few don’t/didn’t apply to our relationship.
It’s just a matter of time a few days ago I saw you, you were fine Remembering what you said About the book you read The one I got you The Beginning of the End Oh how we’d talk For hours upon end What I give Just to do it again But you’re lying there In this hospital bed Won’t you open you eyes And let’s talk once again
If you fly away tonight I want to tell you that I love you I hope that you can hear me I hope that you can feel me
Well I’ve been here all night And I’m watching you Breathe in and breathe out Is it really you Or just a machine That’s giving you life And it’s making it seem That there could be hope I could say to your face If it weren’t for you That there would be no grace That’s covered my life You took the time To speak into my mind And my heart Words of life
If you fly away tonight I want to tell you that I love you I hope that you can hear me I hope that you can feel me
So goodbye for now And I’ll see you again Some way, somehow When it’s my time to go To the other side I’ll hold you again And melt at your smile Now all I have Are the ones that I’m with And you taught me not To take for granted The time that we have To show that we care Speak into their minds And their hearts While they’re here And say I love you
If you fly away tonight I want to tell you that I love you I hope that you can hear me I hope that you can feel me
I’m gonna call this post a wrap. I’m feeling spent just thinking about her last few hours of life. Disciple’s lyrics hit close to home and emotionally strike a chord with me as well. I’m sure you can find all the songs listed on YouTube or Amazon Music.
What do Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Mike Hukabee have in common besides being Republican politicians? Bad eschatology. Specifically premillennial dispensationalism.
The attached meme sums it up, or at least half the story.
Facebook Post captured o4-20-2026
Folks, when you hold views in isolation—in your mind anyway—you can simultaneously claim to value two ideals that are in complete opposition to each other.
Illustration: Life or Death
Let me pick on Liberals first and illustrate what I mean. Let’s take the issue of life. Liberals simultaneously value life and death as the highest ideals. They hold both as true and don’t see the inherent conflict. Let’s explore this.
Liberals oppose the death penalty for those that commit murder. They view this as unjust. They claim nobody deserves the death penalty because it is cruel and unusual punishment, inhuman, and discriminates against minorities. Some even quote the Bible stating, “Thou shalt not kill.” Thus, they assert that executing someone is violating the Commandment of God.
Simultaneously, Liberals support death via abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide. Lest Liberals dispute my claim of support for all three: abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide then let me sight a few examples that won’t make your brain hurt should you choose to verify them.
Euthanasia is legal in several states and in Canada. Canada called their euthanasia program MAID. As of my writing, Canada is surpassing the deaths of over 100,000 of its citizens via the MAID program.
The United States has killed upwards of 73 million children via legal abortion since 1973. Contrary to what you would expect, abortions are higher now than when Roe v Wade was the Law of the Land. This is due to the availability of abortion pills being shipped over state lines, mostly from California and New York.
Infanticide is legal in California and probably a few other leftist states, I’m thinking maybe Colorado. In California, if an infant dies, it is illegal for any law enforcement officer, doctor, or other government official to investigate the cause of death. If such an investigation occurs, the person investigating can be prosecuted and jailed for committing a crime; thus, a woman has an absolute right to kill her child purposely or by neglect and she cannot be punished. This has been California law for many years. Thanks Gavin Newsom.
Oh, the time limit of how old a child can be before its death is investigated in California is not defined in the law. It was felt that the mother could choose to kill her baby during a period of at least the first 30 days of life, but such a limit was left to be decided by the courts and not the Legislature.
Thus, killing a human being that is weaker than yourself is allowed in states that oppose the death penalty. One must therefore conclude that life is not valued highly in Liberal states despite protestations that the death penalty is wrong. Life and death are arbitrary and decided on something other than the intrinsic value of human life. Oh, yes, Liberals will cite passages of Scripture in isolation to support ending life and saving life. Their metric seems to be to free the guilty and punish the innocent. There is no single logical proposition to justify both death and life in their worldview.
Scofieldism and the Jews
In like manner, premillennial dispensationalists will proclaim support for Israel and simultaneously believe that Jews only exist to be slaughtered in the largest holocaust in the history of the planet, a yet future even which will make what Hitler did seem like a picnic in comparison.
Huckabee, Cruz, and Graham all hold to this view as do millions of Evangelicals in the West. I hope to illustrate the absurdity of these ideas in what follows.
Some claim that the premillennial dispensational view is orthodox Christianity, but I say that is B.S.
I have previously delt with the idea that the promise in Genesis to bless Abraham has no application to the modern nation called “Israel.” The New Testament makes it clear that the offspring of Abraham are not genetic descendants but those who by faith believe in Christ. Look it up in the New Testament books of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews.
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:6–9.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26–29.
Premillennial dispensationalists deny the plain teaching of the New Testament and instead teach that God will eventually get back to dealing with national Israel at some point in the future. A future when the Church is no longer in the picture. Until the Church is Raptured, they think the Bible teaches that in order to be a good Christian that you must support modern Israel, right or wrong, or God will punish you both personally and as a nation.
Again, the New Testament teaches that Jesus is the true Israel and that his followers are the true Israel—people of God. In Jesus, the promise made to Abraham is fulfilled, Abraham is heir to the whole world and through Christ (Abraham’s seed) all the nations of the world have been blessed. The Bible also promises at a future date that Jesus will be the Savior of the World. The Church will fulfill her mission, and the world will be converted. God divorced Israel in 70 AD and has a new people, a new bride, the Church. He is done with Old Covenant Israel.
What Do Evangelicals Believe is Israel’s Fate
Some Evangelicals even raise money to send Jews to Israel. Isn’t that nice? They are so supportive of modern Israel. Did you ever wonder why?
Evangelicals are supportive of Israel because they want the Jews there to die. No, really. They believe that 2/3 of all the Jews in Israel will die. Some even say that 2/3 of all Jews everywhere on the planet will die.
For Evangelicals, this wasn’t fulfilled in 70 A.D. as Jesus predicted but is the future that Jews have to look forward to experiencing. Isn’t that wonderful? So, for every three Jews you help send to Israel, two will die to usher in the End Times.
Yep, they really teach this as the Gospel; the good news that Jews have to expect in their future. Then after 2/3 are killed, the Jews will be so thankful for what just happened to them that all the rest will willingly believe in Jesus and then Christ will return and set up his Kingdom.
Premillennial dispensationalism demands a literal Kingdom, in literal Jerusalem, with Jesus sitting on a literal throne. The millennium will be so wonderful, Jews will reestablish sacrifices in the rebuilt temple (I’m not sure if this is the third or fourth rebuilt temple) and even circumcise babies on the eighth day. It will be just like old times. In fact, it will be just like Jesus never came and accomplished a darn thing by his death.
Oh, nobody ever asks, if the remaining Jews all believe in Jesus, why do they need to restart the Sacrificial system? Didn’t Jesus say, “It is finished?” Doesn’t the New Testament teach that Jesus was the High Priest and the final and perfect sacrifice for sin, so why a new physical temple?
Conclusion
These contradictions don’t matter to the premillennial dispensationalist crowd. Once you start holding contradictory views in isolation, you get to juggle these views in your head and as long as they remain in isolation, people can hold them all to be true.
This belief system is nuts but that is what is taught within the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible. Millions of people believe this nonsense. Prophecy pimps make millions of dollars printing books teaching these falsehoods. People with itching ears gobble up this teaching and just assume it must be the correct grid to interpret the Bible. Scofield’s system cannot be found within the Bible unless it is assumed before you open the Book. The core of his system is never found in the Bible.
Future Rebuilt Temple – not there
Antichrist as a political figure– not there
Seven years of tribulation– not there
Great Tribulation being Worldwide– not there
Rapture– not there
God not done with national Israel– not there
Kingdom of God put on hold– not there
Mark of the Beast being literal– not there
I could go on but you get the point. Everything that made “The Late, Great Planet Earth” and “Left Behind” sensational is not found in the Bible, at least not if the context of the Scriptures matter.
Final Word
The nonsense coming from Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, and Ted Cruz about Israel is just that, nonsense. If you want to back Israel because you think they are a good ally in the Middle East then have fun with that, but don’t expect God to bless our country just because you believe we must back Israel right or wrong. Sorry, but I get nervous when someone is more willing to back a foreign country than they are the United States. I thought Donald Trump was booting masses of people out of the United States for doing that very thing. Or is the double standard one way for conservatives and another for everyone else?
With a title like that, if you are expecting a post about Jesus’ friendship with Mary and Martha, please stop reading because you’ll be disappointed. No, I’m once again pointing out a failure in the premillennial dispensational scheme.
Would You Rather …
Admittedly, half the reason that I go to the church Bible study is to get blog ideas, and this post stems from such a study that I attended last night. Towards the end of the session, a question was asked that I found interesting. I don’t recall it verbatim, but it was to the effect of, would you rather be a part of God’s chosen people the Jews coming to Christ as such or part of the New Testament Church?
The respondent thought for a moment and then replied; I guess I would prefer knowing Christ as part of His church.
Bingo. Right answer.
Even one of the stopped prophecy clock guys came up with an orthodox sounding answer. It’s a start.
The guy answering the question is always trying to push every Old Testament prophecy of judgment into the future, but even he seemed content that the book of Amos might actually be something that was fulfilled. He seemed willing to accept the idea that maybe Amos was fulfilled but could be a warning from history that we might learn from. His concluding that God gave us the book of Amos for our instruction is mildly hopeful.
It was a rare time when folks in the group were not trying to make prophecies of judgment into passages requiring double or triple fulfillments. I think the group leader actually teaching the book as history that was fulfilled was satisfying to attendees. Much of the previous books of the minor prophets were concerning the same judgments but the group kept trying to force fulfilled passages into the future to be fulfilled yet again.
Sadly, these moments of lucid theological insight were contradicted by invoking that Christ has two brides: namely, the Church and the Jews. This is not the traditional view of the Church. This crazy idea is part of the Zionist scheme of Schofield which has been adopted without any Biblical warrant by much of the evangelical church.
Does Jesus Have Two Brides
Guys let me not confuse you by quoting the Bible since it’s not your authority as to what the Bible says. Try this explanation.
The purpose of God dealing with the Jews, and Moses, and the Old Testament was to get us to Christ, the Jews’ Messiah.
A recurring theme in the Bible is that at least a remnant of Jews will be saved. Jesus said that only a remnant of Jews alive in the First Century would be saved. In the same passage however, he also promised that hordes of Gentiles would come streaming into the Kingdom.
The illustration that Jesus used was that of an olive tree. Branches of the domesticated olive would be broken off, and wild olive branches would be grafted into the root of the tree. Thus, the Kingdom of God is built from the Jews, includes Jews, and even honors the Jews but access to Christ is also granted to the Gentiles (think rest of us in the world).
Thus, the Jews are never set aside until some future date as Scofield claims. The New Testament Church is built on the foundation of Judaism, and populated with the Spiritual children of Abraham; namely, us.
Conclusion
This is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that the world would be His inheritance (see book of Hebrews). Jesus unites both Jew and Gentile into one new man. There is no separation between male and female, bond and free, Jew or Gentile. We are all the Bride of Christ. This is a forever arrangement not a temporary one. Jesus has only one Bride.
National Israel was destroyed for the sin of adultery in 70 A.D. This is one of the main points of the Book of Revelation. The harlot, Babylon the Great, where Jesus was crucified is destroyed. Burned forever. (Burning with fire is a punishment reserved almost exclusively in the Bible for the daughter of the priest. Leviticus 212:9)
Sorry, this is not a do-over of Jacob working to get both Rachel and Leah by slaving away, working seven years for each bride. The idea that Jesus gets Israel and her little sister, the Church at the end is the ages is syrupy, sentimental nonsense.
On my recent visit to the once golden state, I saw a behavior that I haven’t noticed before. The older folks purposely decided not to raise certain issues just to keep peace in the family. I think this was for their well-being and not mine.
My folks don’t talk about my girlfriend. My mom says she doesn’t want to hear about it but keeps bringing it up anyway. I took the hint and don’t tell her that we will get hitched in a few months. On this visit she kept asking me about my future plans. I gave her an evasive answer since she kept saying she didn’t want to hear about my friend. It was kind of weird.
She also kept talking about women that were previously married not wanting to do it again. No shit Sherlock. I learned that lesson on my trip to Ireland last summer. Somehow, she ignores it when I told her that during my last visit with them, but when she learns it from her friends, more recently, somehow its now true. Keep up with the group mom.
I’m past caring what my parents think about me getting married again. I don’t get why they suddenly care. They wanted me to divorce my previous wife because she was, in their opinion, a “bad mother.”
Essentially, my mom wants me to find a white girl with a bunch of baggage, personal and financial, and somehow that will lead to happiness. Sorry, I don’t want to marry someone that looks like my grandmother—or at least my memory of her. I also don’t want a babe that is Dave Ramsey’s worst financial nightmare.
I know a good deal when I see it. My girlfriend is someone worth pursuing. As I have said before, she checks all the boxes in what I say I want in my next wife.
My other quiet encounter concerns my father-in-law. It was understood that any discussion of a certain baby was verboten. When others brought the subject up, I just deflected. We both avoided the issue which was fine with me. I’m not a biological relation to the child or its parents so that was easy to take a pass on discussing.
So, there you have it, avoid certain topics and you can peacefully coexist, even when visiting family. The key is not to be totally honest and learn which things need to be withheld. They don’t want to know what’s really going on in my life. Check the things that promote drama at the door. Nobody knows everything I really did on my recent visit to California.
Lastly, unless someone ends up in the hospital or the morgue, I don’t plan another trip to the Left Coast this year.
Eric Swalwell is a Congressman from Alameda County near the Bay Area. At the age of 45, he was regarded as a rising star in the Democrat Party. He had recently picked-up big-time endorsements in the race to be the next governor of California. While folks on the far right will not admit it, when the California Teachers Union endorses you, it’s your race to lose. In recent polling, he was comfortably in the top two to advance to the runoff. Even the mentally challenged will tell you no Republican is winning against a Democrat in the general election.
Swalwell had everything going for him. The left loved him as he ran the impeachment process of President Trump. This guy was going to be the next governor and likely would have been a highly touted candidate to run for the presidency.
Then it all came crashing down.
On April 10, 2026, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story in which a former Swalwell staffer claimed that Swalwell, 17 years her senior, had sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion, including when she was too intoxicated to give consent. A few hours later, CNN published a story in which four women alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell, including a former staffer who said he raped her. Politico also reported that a former Swalwell employee signed a non-disclosure agreement pertaining to employment discrimination when they left his office. Although the agreement was not related to sexual harassment, it directly contradicted Swalwell’s previous claims that no one on his staff signed an NDA.
The California teacher’s union pulled their endorsement, 21 of his colleagues pulled theirs as well. Some of his colleagues are calling for him to leave Congress. A resolution is being put out to expel him from Congress!
This past Sunday he ended his campaign to be governor. Later, he announced his resignation from Congress.
Stick a fork in Swalwell. He is done.
I am not one to dance on someone’s grave, but Swalwell came off as an arrogant douche bag of a human being. Turns out he is exactly what he accused Donald Trump of being. One thing I do question is the timing of these reports. He is suddenly getting major traction in the governor race and wham, these reports drop simultaneously. The fall from grace has been startling, in a span of 48 hours his political career is ending. He will likely be expelled from Congress. There are rumors of the District Attorneys in California and New York are sniffing around these allegations and he could face criminal charges.
Swalwell went from rising star to persona non-grata over a weekend.
The Chief
Editor’s Note: I was on the road yesterday when this was sent to me yesterday morning. Subsequently the story blew-up in the media. I give the Chief two scalps since the guy in Texas quit too.
I haven’t seen a Democrat cancelled this fast since that black guy on the Board of Equalization was tossed under the bus by then Governor Jerry Brown many years ago.
I have been getting a ration of crap lately from a few people asking me why I blog and why I select the topics that I do. As for blogging, blame Hugh Hewitt’s book, Blog.
My answer to why is simple; I blog for me. When I pick a topic, it’s usually for one of the following reasons.
1. I want to research something and keep the information somewhere that I can access it on the fly. I might blog on a computer issue, how I did a home repair, or some issue that caught my attention.
Example: when I went to my wife’s grave a few days ago, I entered one word in the blog search engine and got my last post about my wife. I sat next to her grave and read my post, pausing to wipe my nose several times as I cried.
2. I want to express my feelings about something that I am experiencing. This blog is a personal blog. I am not trying to earn fame or money from the things that I post. I make it a habit not to name names or give out hordes of personally identifiable information. It seems that lots of folks assume that I take them to task by name, but this is not true. I will occasionally mention my relationship to someone but never their name. Often, it’s as vague as “I know a person who did …”
I occasionally blog about kids and relationships. I make it my practice to only use the names of public people or folks in the news. The only exception is an obituary on my wife that was copied from another source and reposted on the blog.
3. I want to opine about current events. I reserve the right to call people out when I think they are hypocrites or say dumb things. For example, if you claim to be a follower of Christ and defend abortion, transgender folks, or other things contrary to Scripture, I may occasionally say something about you. This includes the Roman Pontiff, a current U.S. Senate candidate in Texas, or someone married to a local church Elder. My solution is to practice what you claim to believe and get a pass from me. I will not fire the first shot but will be happy to return fire if the mood strikes me.
4. I do allow other folks to submit things that they write for publication on the blog. I will even allow stuff to be posted here that I don’t agree with. Occasionally, I have sought out folks that gripe about something that was posted here, but nobody to whom I have offered a chance for rebuttal has been willing to submit a contrary opinion. I try only to edit for grammar and spelling. I don’t always get it right but think my edits improve the understandability of submitted material.
The bottom line is that if you don’t like discussions about religion, politics, or my life then stay away from this blog. If you wish to avoid being mentioned on the blog, try treating me as a fellow image bearer of God, judge me with the same measure that you judge yourself, and if you have an offense against me work it out. As a rule, I don’t hold grudges against people that treat me poorly; however, if you treat others poorly, I reserve the right to call you out on it, perhaps mercilessly.
As I told someone recently, get the beam out your eye first and then we can take a look at mine. I am having way more fun right now blogging on religion than other issues. Lately, if I’m having to take time out to go after you, then you must really be trying to get on my bad side, because I’m not looking for an excuse to take a whack at anyone. I would much rather live in peace with most folks.
I went to the once golden state to attempt to accomplish a few things.
Sadly, a few didn’t materialize. I didn’t visit or have any contact with a person mentioned elsewhere on the blog and the blog staff meeting fell through due to some family issues on their part.
On the plus side, I did get to spend two wonderful days with my father-in-law. He’s a great guy. I also got to pay my respects to my departed wife. It’s a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of her death. While I was in Elk Grove, I visited my wife’s grave and left her a dozen red roses. I read an account of her life which was previously posted on the blog.
Upon reading the post, I did agree to a recommendation previously given to me, to remove a jab at someone that I poked in the narrative. Once I got back to the place where I am staying, the criticism of the individual was removed but their contribution, which was praised, remains in the narrative.
One observation was the high cost of everything under the domain of Newsom. Regular gasoline was $6.25 at a Shell station in Livermore, California. The cost of drive-through food was markedly higher than freedom loving Idaho. Menu choices were fewer as well.
The frogs in the pot of water might grumble a bit but they are generally happy as the water hits boiling. Generally, people think the “other guy” is getting hurt worse than they are. It seems weird traveling through a world built on the pillars of envy and disposability. Seeing masses of people thinking a dystopian world is normal is surreal.
I accomplished another goal; namely, I got my girl the long-promised diamond ring. I was hoping she would want a ruby engagement ring, but I did ask to verify what she expected. Good thing that I did. On the other hand, she already received a gold ruby ring from me last year. Now I just need to pay a few bills and then plan a return trip. Oh, said return trip, if I buy the ticket now, has a $550 fuel surcharge on top of the regular rate for airfare. I might save money if I wait to buy a ticket.
I had an ambitious schedule for this trip and accomplished many objectives. Tomorrow, I need to make a purchase at Ikea and then have another lunch opportunity with a groomsman from my wedding. Once these events are completed, I’m ready to return to north Idaho. I miss my puppy.
I’ve been going to a Bible study on Thursday nights that is sponsored by the church that I am currently attending. The study is completely unmoored from the normal restraints of context, historical relevance, and using the Bible to interpret the Bible. The result is often fantastical and disjointed.
Amos is the third minor prophet that we have been reading since I started attending. Last Thursday, for the first time, the leader actually had done a bit of research on the book and its historical fulfillment. Even after reading the notes related to our reading—chapter one—many in the group were unconvinced that any of it had been fulfilled between the time Amos made the pronouncements of impending judgment and the time of Christ. They kept demanding that Amos must really be about the “end times” and couldn’t possibly be history. Some also invoke the idea of double or triple fulfillment which to me renders the text no better than the ravings of Nostradamus.
Folks, if I could ban three words during the study, most participants would be mute. Those three words are “rapture”, “end”, “times”. Many people say that the Bible is all about Jesus, but this group believes that church is just a cute bus stop while we wait with oil in our lamps for the Rapture while doing nothing in the meantime, so we don’t miss His Return. In their minds, the church has nothing else to do. Somehow that whole “discipling the nations” thing is for another era—probably a future one.
This Israel is not that Israel
I hear a lot about Israel and how all those nations mad at Benjamin Netanyahu will get punished by God because to disparage the modern nation of Israel is to attack God’s People.
Benjamin Netanyahu
If you point out that the modern nation of Israel is not the one in the Bible and that the current nation calling itself “Israel” is not based on the teaching of Moses, you get crickets. It doesn’t matter because we just have to be living in the “end times.”
If you dare to point out that only the followers of Jesus are part of the true Israel, they look at you like you have a third eye or rebuke the comment in the name of Jesus. Just because that is what the New Testament teaches matters not because Scofield doesn’t agree.
All of these abuses by Israel have happened in the last week as most people are looking only at the war with Iran. I guess other guys don’t let a good crisis go to waste either.
Folks, my California editorial staff is correct that nothing will change for the better in this country as long as the Baby Boom generation is running the show. The so-called adults running this place are broken as are lots of their offspring.
Judgment begins on Us not the Pagans
The other theme that people in the group keep saying is that God will Rapture us out of this world and then punish the wicked. My gentle contribution for the last two weeks is this, the Bible says judgment begins with the house of the Lord. 1 Peter 4:17.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Judgment does not begin after the Rapture, or on the heathen, but on the Church. This concept does not compute in this group. It has no pigeonhole in their theological system. It seems to be a good wedge to drive into Scofield’s theological system. Hopefully it will take root and expand the understanding of some in the group.
There is a still small voice in some corners of the Reformed camp saying the American and Western Church’s failures are due to unbelief. Dear Church, the Devil can only take what you have voluntarily given to him. Most of this is due to the poison of Scofield’s premillennial dispensationalism heresies. Yep, I said the “H” word. It is a lie to say Scofield’s views on eschatology are valid for Christians to hold. The more I see it up close and personal, the more I wretch when I hear it. Yes, I once believed that way but no more. God heard my prayer in the litany, “… from such as these, good Lord deliver us.”
Final Thoughts
There is sometimes a fine line between seasoning a conversation with salt and casting pearls. God is having me examine the idea that a few insurgents in this congregation can coax it towards orthodoxy. I am not alone in my views but clearly in the minority in this congregation. In the plus column, they do practice weekly Communion and at least one teaching Elder rejects the “sinner’s prayer.”
As Dr. Kenneth Gentry pointed out when commenting on this verse, the training in this verse is not that of following God but the opposite; it is the child deciding how he shall go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus, if a child is not taught to obey but is allowed to stay in his rebellion, when he is old then he will not depart from his wayward ways. Thus, such a child will not follow God’s Law but will be ruled by his belly. When he is old, he will decide based on his personal morality which is arbitrary and situational.
When a three-year-old behaves wrongly it might be cute or laughable but when that same three-year-old is thirty and acting the same way, it is a tragedy. It is worse when such a person has family members that make excuses for them as to why they don’t have to grow up during the intervening years.
As stated often and elsewhere on the blog, the Bible teaches that the compassion of the wicked is cruelty. Sometimes parents would rather enable the rebellious child than correct them. They make excuses and justify why Johnny doesn’t have to behave in age-appropriate ways. In our society, enabling bad behavior is often called a disability. With the right form or diagnosis, people get exempted. This pushes them off to the side and out of the way of society. They get to play the sympathy card whenever they are called out for improper behavior.
Once such rebellious children move out of the house, they still expect their family to make excuses for them. They weren’t expected to grow up when living at home so why is that different once they are living on their own.
♬ It’s All About Me ♬ It’s All About Me ♬
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind …
Leviticus 19:14.
In my own experience, it was the violation of this Biblical Law that was the straw that broke the proverbial back of the camel. My wife had fallen at work and hurt her back. She was only able to move around the house in a walker and with great difficulty. Her adult child claimed that it was too difficult to put her crap in her room and generally keep her stuff picked up. Instead, she threw stuff in the common areas of the house and didn’t care about where they went. She demanded the right to put obstacles in the pathway of her injured mother. When told of her lack of consideration, she threw a huge tantrum. She was OK with putting hazards in the way of her mother and causing her mother to trip. Which did in fact happen.
This child refused any correction and repeatedly rebuffed expectations to act in age-appropriate ways. She demanded to do only the things that she felt like doing, which was close to nothing, and be exempted from all else. Her excuse was that “it was too many rules to learn.” NO, it was common courtesy for others.
It was during this period that her mom decided that since her daughter would not abide by the rules of our household that she needed to move out. I allowed myself to be the villain in this drama. I did in fact oppose the daughter moving out but whenever it was me or the children, I always lost, even when I was right. Note to readers, it’s more important to save the marriage than be right.
Allowing the child to move out was pivotal in destroying the relationship that we once had with her. Sadly, too many years of enabling bad behavior by excusing it had created a firestorm that could no longer be contained.
Emboldened by the newfound independence that she experienced, it was not too long before the pastor of the church summoned me to Nouthetic counseling with said child. I attended several sessions with both the pastor and this child. Oh, with Nouthetic counseling please understand that it was decided ahead of time that I was in sin and had committed some grave error that only they could correct. The weird part was that never once during these sessions was I told why I was there. Neither my wife nor I ever knew. Believe me, I asked my wife more than once.
Anyway, towards the end of these sessions, I was expected to apologize for whatever I had done to said child to cause offense. Again, I was never told, it was just assumed. Folks, I gave her the most sincere and heartfelt apology that I have ever done in my life. I verbally did what the Japanese used to do in real life, I fell on the sword, disemboweled myself, and then removed my head.
In a normal reconciliation situation, once a party apologizes, the other person is expected to confess their sins as well and then having been forgiven, we turn over a new leaf and try restoring the relationship; however … not this child.
Crickets.
One thing this child will not and never has done is apologize for anything. Oh, and for the record, “I’m sorry” is not a proper or biblical apology.
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luke 15:21.
When her turn came to apologize, nothing. In her mind, she has no faults, shortcomings, or sins. She judges everything by the measure of herself, thus there is no fault. Error is only found in the rest of us for falling short of her glory.
It was the outcome of these counseling sessions that my wife and I forever lost our daughter.
Why Vent now
Oh, why am I venting on this now? Said child recently had a baby. I was hoping to offer an olive branch to her and her husband and go visit the child next week. Nieve me. I was hoping this would be a chance to begin again. However, I was informed via email last night that I am an evil influence and can’t be allowed around her child until such time as she is convinced that I have been rehabilitated and found worthy.
I fired off a response a few hours after I returned home last night. Essentially, I quoted Scripture and said take the beam out of your own eye and then we can attend to mine.
When people think their shit doesn’t stink, there’s not much you can do.
Only when you treat others as fellow image bearers of God can you hope for reconciliation. Scripture wants us to walk a few miles in the other person’s shoes and acknowledge our faults. Some people aren’t willing to do that.
Reconciliation is her choice and it always has been. She is unwilling to forgive. She would rather be angry and offended. I can only conclude that she doesn’t know what love is.
In her letter last night, she mentioned that I talk about her on the blog. I do but only because she doesn’t allow communication with her directly. Please note that I do not use the names of any of the children—all adults—on my blog.
I don’t need a relationship with her, if I had one it would enrich my life just a little but again, it’s not my choice.
Hatred of Mom
What does really grate on me is the lack of love that she showed to her mother. Her mother bent over backwards to do things for her, but all mom got in return was to be despised and discarded. Seeing my wife go through that was inexcusable. There is a verse in the Bible that talks about God saving all our tears in a bucket, if that’s really true then my wife has a whole room of tears in buckets. There were so many times that she wept bitterly over the despicable treatment that she was given by her daughter. So many sleepless nights. So many prayers to God to repair the torn relationship. Sadly, it never got better.
Mom went to her grave without properly reconciling with her daughter. It was mom’s hope and mine that maybe if her daughter became a mother that she might see how horribly she treated her mother. It’s been a year since mom died but her daughter hasn’t changed. The motherhood thing is new for her, but I doubt it will be a catalyst for the hoped change.
My wife died hoping that somehow her death would cause her children to seek God and healing for the things broken in their lives. One year later, I’m still hoping that wish would be reality.
Conclusion
Apparently, some people would rather cling to their trespasses and sin, even some that claim the name of Christ. Love is dying to yourself and putting others first. So is being a parent. Loving a child requires sacrificial love. When your child despises the sacrifices made on their behalf, it’s tragic.
I love my wife’s three children. They all need God’s healing touch but in very different ways. The truth is that we all do.
