Craig Koester's Amil-Preterist Commentary of Revelation (Conclusion)

The Last Cycle of Visions: Revelation 19-22 (Part 2)

The Last Judgment: Revelation 20

So John has just witnessed the final defeat of the false prophet, of the beast, and of Satan himself. In a tremendous display of his might, Christ defeated them solely by his Word. But as John looks again, he sees a vision of a great white throne. As God enters the picture, we sense the dread fear with which His creation regards him. We read that "earth and sky fled from his presence."

The dead are all standing before the white throne, and we see that there are two books being opened - the contents of which are of tremendous importance. In one book are all of the deeds each person has done, and in the other, we have something like "a civic record, in which the citizens of the city of God have their names inscribed." Koester recognizes that this book was written "from the foundation of the world," and rightly recognizes that some readers will sense the helpless approach of Calvin's hoofbeats. "Note that in the judgment, both divine grace and human accountability are important, but God's decision is finally based on the grace that is represented by the book of life." He raises the concern that some have regarding the fact that the names have been written "from the foundation of the world," but seems to sidestep the question by simply recognizing that the rescue is at hand if they will only believe, since that is the path of escape. "[L]eave matters concerning the final judgment in God's hands" (191).

Notice that those whose names are not written in the book of life have plenty of deeds in the other book by which they are judged. I'm so tempted to start making my own comments about the predestinarian elements in this section of Revelation, but I will restrain my tendencies, since Koester himself does not dwell here. But let it unofficially be remembered that the Book of Life is a very counter-intuitive idea to your average modern evangelical Arminian.

The New Jerusalem: Revelation 21

Throughout Revelation, there has been this tension between promise and warning. "To the one who overcomes" is the common refrain which we hear, and now we see those promises fulfilled in the New Heaven and the New Earth. So throughout, from beginning to end, Revelation has consistently hammered the message of enduring hardship and persecution. All those trials, pains, hardships, and martyrdoms are finding their promises fulfilled here. Although at this point in the narrative, the city's inhabitants have been decided, the reader is still offered another reminder of warning: that "the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars" will not have any part in this new creation, but that, rather, their place will be in the lake of fire. The heavenly voice names off these sins - all of which we have broken to some degree " in order to move people to reject sins and to trust in the grace Christ provides." Revelation is in many respects an evangelistic book.

In 21:9, an angel tells John, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." But the next thing he shows him is a city - the New Jerusalem. Some readers might be expecting then, to look into the city and see the Bride, but alas, the city itself is His Bride. Whereas Babylon is associated with the Harlot, the New Jerusalem is associated with the Bride - the same one who was earlier pursued by the Dragon.

When we come to the dimensions of the New Jerusalem, we receive another clue to the symbolic nature of the New Jerusalem, because we are told that its dimensions are 12,000 stadia on each side; this is not-so-coincidentally the same as the number of each tribe in the 144,000. Consider the alternative; if this is not a symbolic representation of the city, then for the first time in human history, we have a city that looks suspiciously like the Borg Cube from Star Trek. Also consider that this cube would cover about half of the United States in its size, since it would actually be around 1500 miles on every side and also extend 1500 miles into space. This is hardly a picture of a literal city. Also, remember that Ezekiel's vision of the restored city pictured it as being only a mile and a half on each side (Ezekiel 48:8-9). The city is the Church, and she is His beautiful Wife (ESV). By referring to its size as being perfectly cubical and 12,000 stadia on each side, "The New Jerusalem's holiness and perfection is expressed." The point is not the quantity of the city, but rather, the quality. (Koester also points out that the city's cubic shape suggests that the city is a sanctuary, much like the inner chamber of the tabernacle and temple, which were also cubical in shape.)

The River of Life/The End Is Near: Revelation 22

In addition to being a city in which there will no longer be any uncleanness, the church is also pictured as returning to the state of pre-fall Eden. Not only will the river of life run through the city, but the Tree of Life, which eluded Adam and Eve at the time of the Fall will be returned to redeemed humanity.

In the New Jerusalem, the barriers of sin and mortality are removed by the grace of God, and the redeemed find themselves again in the garden. Instead of hiding from God's face, they turn towards God's face...The promise that the righteous might one day see the Lord comes to its fulfillment (Ps. 11:7; Matt. 5:8; 1 John 3:2). The night of sin and death is gone; the uncertainty issues into understanding (1 Cor. 13:12). The story of God's people reaches its culmination when they 'rest and see, see the love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end' (Augustine, The City of God 22.30).
(200)

Koester says that there are two reasons why Revelation "can and should speak to people today."

• Christians culturally encounter similar situations to those in the seven churches to whom this letter was written.
• Revelation speaks of the timeless one Who "was and is and is to come." Because Christ is objective and real and does not change, the realities communicated about Him in Revelation are still every bit as true now as they were when they were first written.

The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'
And let everyone who hears say, 'Come.'
And let everyone who is thirsty, come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
Revelation 22:17

I will be writing one more blog post with regards to Koester's book, and in that post I will be offering what essentially amounts to a review of the book, now that I have tried to present Koester's views and basic arguments.

WTS Books Moves and We Win

Westminster Bookstore is having a moving sale and is therefore selling all of their staff picks for 45% off. Here are the highlights and best deals from what I can tell...

Tim Keller's The Reason for God for $8. I loved this book and consider Keller's apologetic approach in it to be tremendously interesting.

All four hardbound volumes - around 3000 pages of meat - of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics for $98. The last time I checked with WTS, it was $117, and at Amazon it was even more than that. In other words, this is probably the cheapest you'll find this important set. Also, the shipping is free on this item.

And finally, Cornelius Van Til's Christian Apologetics for $7. If you don't know why you should get this book, then simply know that this is pretty much required reading.

Lebron: the False God Who Disappoints

Will Leitch has written a painfully revealing column in New York Magazine about the psychosis surrounding the Lebron James fiasco. Now, I hate sports. It's unimportant, it strikes me as idol worship, it's boring, it's menial and small, it's unbearable... I could go on and on, as long as I can think of negative adjectives.

Leitch's article is called "Never Has Being a Sports Fan Felt So Stupid", and in the column he transparently discusses the hopes of the audience who obsesses over sports.

Apparently, Lebron had a one-hour special all around making an announcement that takes roughly 15 seconds to make. In the length of this hour he advertised online education and other tacky products. Apparently for Will Leitch, this is where he draws the line. Leitch is upset because Lebron shattered the illusion that sports fans everywhere hope for.

Loving sports, by definition, requires a certain suspension of disbelief and logic. We are all pouring our hearts and souls into cheering for men (and women) who do not care about us, who are not like us, who are not the type of people we would ever associate with (or even meet) in real life. We deify them because it is hard to find people to deify in the real world: Sports spans every age group, ethnic group, political persuasion, and all else that serves to divide us, separate us. We cheer for athletes because sports does not matter, not really. We cheer because sports is, ultimately, harmless.

And we trust that they will at least pretend. We trust that they will recognize the ultimate ludicrousness of this whole enterprise, that these are grown men wearing tank tops, throwing a ball up and around, running on wood, that this all exists because we allow it to exist, that the illusion must be maintained. We trust that they understand how good they have it, how much we give them, against our own self-interest. We trust that they are not laughing at us.

That trust felt broken tonight.

So the audience deifies the man, as Leitch admits and then how does the deity treat them? With disdain. So let me get this straight - you deify someone out of necessity (who else are they going to deify? A window washer?) and then when he doesn't do things on your terms, you spit in his face. Now listen; Lebron only did what he did because he was enabled by his audience to do it. If you draw your water from bitter cisterns, don't be susprised when it tastes rotten. If you've picked Lebron or any other man for your deity, my message is: prepare to be used.

In some respects, I'm reminded of Elijah's run-in with the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. The priests are so sure that their god will show up to do battle with the Hebrew God, but when the time comes, he won't respond to their calls and function as they were hoping he would. They jump around, the cut themselves, they go into a frenzy, and yet they can't get their man-made god to be their hero when they need him. So it is with Lebron. They made this god, and then he shows up, pees in their cheerios, and they're furious and spitting mad.

Perhaps the solution is that they stop worshipping the creation and start following the Creator. But then again, humanity isn't known for making hard choices like that; they'd rather have an uncaring deity who insultingly uses them than no deity at all.

Sam Waldron on The First Resurrection in Revelation 20

My first exposure to Sam Waldron was his book on the 1689 London Baptist Confession. He has also written a book on eschatology called End Times Made Simple. A friend of mine recently pointed me to a terrific preaching series by Waldron titled 'The Coming of the Kingdom.' I've listened to it, and it is a really tremendous discussion of Revelation 20 from an amillennial perspective. In particular, I was helped by his discussion of the verses which discuss what is meant by the "first resurrection."

I had previously held that the blessed "first resurrection" was the resurrection of the soul from sin and death when God regenerates a sinner. However, Waldron takes a simpler approach. He argues that the "first resurrection" with which we should all seek to take part in is Jesus' resurrection. This is somewhat in line with what I had previously held, I think but it was a far more helpful way to understand the first resurrection, and is much more in line with the words of the text.

You can find the sermon series in MP3 format here.

Taking Shelter In the Sovereignty of God

We have some dear friends who have experienced extraordinary tragedy in their lives; sorrow which I myself - having lost two babies as well as my own father - have not even come close to experiencing. Thinking about the weight of sin, death, evil, and God's glory, I wanted to skip my Revelation post today and simply pastorally remember the sovereignty of God, even in the midst of unspeakable tragedy.

"Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. . . . Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?"
-Lamentations 3:32-38

Come rest your head and nestle gently
And do not fear the dark of night.
Almighty God keeps watch intently,
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love, nor power to keep,
He never fails, nor does he sleep.
-John Piper

"I believe, like a child, that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world's finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they've shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened."
-The atheist Ivan Karamazov, from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"His fine-toned heart, like the harp of the winds,
Answers in sweetness each breeze that sings;
And the storm of grief, and the breath of joy,
Draw nothing but music from its strings."
-Octavius Winslow

May our prayers tonight be with the brokenhearted, with the orphan, with they who weep with the deepest sorrows they will ever know in this life. Our prayer will be that God's glory would shine brightest through the dawn which follows the darkest night. Glorify Yourself, O Lord, that You might be our greatest treasure and our all in all.

Craig Koester's Amil-Preterist Commentary of Revelation (Part 10)

The Last Cycle of Visions: Revelation 19-22

Christ the Conqueror: Chapter 19

After another cycle of glorious worship in heaven, John sees heaven open and Christ comes riding on a white horse wearing a bloody robe. Once again, we see him brandishing his weapon of choice once again; the sword which comes out of his mouth. Notice that it is by the Word that he slays all of his enemies.

Disturbingly, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb actually begins with the saints worshiping before God and concludes with birds feasting on the corpses of God's destroyed enemies. The birds dine on Christ's enemies who were slain by His Word until they are "gorged with their flesh." Koester points out that this marriage supper is both a promise as well as a warning, depending on who the reader happens to be. The beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Notice again and again that Christ's Word is the weapon which strikes down his enemies.

The Millennial Kingdom: Chapter 20

Having eliminated Satan's partners in evil, Christ only has Satan to deal with, now. The angel sizes Satan and "bound him for a thousand years...so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended." Koester asks two questions with reference to this verse. His first question is, could you identify or find the "bottomless pit" in a geographic location? His answer to this is, no. In the same vein, he asks, could we then, find the timing of Satan's binding on a calendar?

Just as the door of the great abyss cannot be located on a map, the duration of the thousand years cannot be located on a calendar. One does not draw nearer to heaven by means of a space shuttle or nearer to the abyss by digging a shaft into the ground, and one does not enter the thousand-year period by turning a calendar page. John refers to time in order to point readers to a reality that lies beyond time (181).

He then points to other numerical references in Revelation that are non-literal:

• The allies of the beast who receive kingly power "for one hour," referring to a short period of time (17:12), not a mere 60 minute reign.
• The persecution lasting 3 1/2 years (11:1-2).
• The use of 144,000 to denote a perfect number of the redeemed (7:4-8).
• The multiples of "thousand" used to show the dimensions of the New Jerusalem (21:16).

Rather than counting off a thousand cycles around the sun, Koester says, the thousand years is meant to represent a fullness of time which comports with and satisfies the will of God.

What are the actual traits of the thousand year reign? It might seem like somewhat of a letdown to dispensationalists, because they are used to inserting all sorts of promises from other places in scripture and using this section as "a container" for those promises, though they are completely absent from verses 4-6 where we read about the millennial kingdom.

• Those seated on the thrones receive a good judgment from God (he says this is the best translation from the original language in contrast to most modern translations which have the saints judging).
• The souls of the faithful come to life and reign with Christ (we are not told if this reign is in heaven or on earth). John calls this the first resurrection.

These three verse are really quite a disappointment if you're a dispensationalist. The only way to juice up this passage is to bring in texts from other places, such as Isaiah 65 (which don't really find fulfillment until chapter 21). Since we are not told if this reign will take place on heaven or on earth, all we can affirm with the text is that the saints are reigning "with Christ."

The statement regarding the first resurrection in verses 5-6 read, "This is the first resurrection! Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." Koester understands this to be a reference to the general resurrection. The way he sees it, the first resurrection is a way of speaking of the resurrection of the saints, while the second resurrection is a reference to the general resurrection of the ungodly. Koester acknowledges that Revelation is unique among the New Testament books in its referring to the Resurrection in two stages, but he does not see this as problematic. Note that the text says that the one who takes part in the first resurrection is "blessed." Essentially, then, Koester sees the distinction between the "first" and "second" resurrection to be a way of prioritizing the resurrections of the faithful and the wicked, not of actually separating them into completely different events.

We soon discover that the millennial reign "was not the climax of the cycle, but merely one point along the way to the New Jerusalem." The last chapters of Revelation are where we see the unfolding and fulfillment of the prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39. However, Revelation does not picture their fulfillment in the same chronology as Ezekiel does. Evidently, Koester says, we once again see that chronology is hardly a priority for John.

So Satan is released again to deceive the nations. Koester seems as puzzled by this event as the rest of us, but he derives from this the principle that it is not enough for evil to be bound; it must be brought to an end. Ultimately, the faithful saints reside in a "camp" which is surrounded by God's enemies for the last time. As we have seen time and time throughout Revelation, God's enemies are relentless and seek every possible opportunity to devastate the Christian community. As we have also seen, this pattern never ends well for Satan, and 20:9-10 is no exception, as fire falls from heaven consuming them. Finally, Satan himself is thrown into the lake and fire along with his cronies, the false prophet and the beast. It is a happy ending for the saints, as these three enemies of God "will be tormented day and night forever and ever." To the very end, Revelation stays true to its message that we may not ever think ourselves "neutral" with regards to God. Either we are for Him, or we are for Satan. There is no middle-ground. If we side with the Devil and his angels by disregarding Christ, we will share in his fate, and so the fate of the Devil as expressed here is a warning for the ungodly and a joyful promise for the Saints.

Al Mohler on the Burdens of Young Christians

Friday, July 2nd marked the last episode of the Albert Mohler Program. Al Mohler has written on his blog some parting thoughts and lessons that he has learned over the years of doing his radio program. One of the points that Mohler makes which I particularly connected with was his point that young Christians bear a tremendous burden in many respects:

Just imagine being a young Christian in postmodern America. Everything appears up for negotiation, from sexuality to spiritual realities. In these times, the young are bearing the greatest burden, paying the greatest social costs, and carrying much of the intellectual freight as well.

They need help — and understanding. They desperately need the church to respond with the full witness of Scripture and the full measure of conviction. They are pressed on by all sides, pulled by the vortex of a secular culture, and faced with frontal attacks on the Christian faith. They are on college and university campuses where Christianity is derided as imperialistic and where belief in the supernatural is written off as insanity.

They face moral and cultural temptations that no previous generation of Christians has faced. They need help, and I heard their voices with particular concern and priority.

Most of the men whom we look to right now for leadership - from men like Piper, Mohler, Dever, Duncan, Sproul, Keller, et al are between 30 and 50 years older than us. We won't have these redwoods of the faith around forever to fight our fights for us; eventually, as young Reformed Christians, these fights will be fully our own to fight.

Modern Spiritual Gifts as Analogous to Apostolic Gifts

Below is the abstract for this interesting book (booklet?) by Vern Poythress:

The Book of Revelation is inspired. Modern visions, auditions, and “prophecies” are not inspired, because the canon of the Bible is complete. However, these modern visions and auditions may be analogous to the Book of Revelation, just as modern preaching is analogous to apostolic preaching. Like modern preaching, modern intuitive speech has authority only insofar as it bases itself on the final infallible divine authority of Scripture.

A key distinction here is the distinction between rationally explicit processes, such as those involved when Luke wrote his Gospel, and intuitive processes, such as those involved with the Book of Revelation. One type of process is not inherently more “spiritual” than the other. Both the Gospel of Luke and Revelation were inspired.

Modern preaching is analogous to Luke: in composing a sermon rationally explicit processes dominate. Modern “prophecy” or intuitive speech is analogous to Revelation. Intuitive processes dominate. The general analogy between apostolic gifts and lesser gifts of the present day suggests that rationally explicit processes and intuitive processes can both be used by the Spirit today.

Cessationists argue that New Testament prophecy was inspired and has therefore ceased with the completion of the canon. But there are still noninspired intuitive gifts analogous to prophecy. Therefore, in order not to despise the gifts of the Spirit, cessationists must allow for a place for intuitive gifts in their ecclesiology.

The fact that we have analogy rather than identity means that we must respect certain restraints. Modern intuitive phenomena must be subject to the same restraints that are placed on preaching. Everything must be checked for conformity to Scripture.

J. Michael Theological Books

J. Michael Theological Books is one of the best resources on the web for antiquarian and hard-to-find theological works. JMTB specializes in texts needed by students and professionals alike. In the age of digitized books, some are hesitant to invest in an original copy of a judicious old divine or celebrated scholar from a previous age when they can download a digital copy online. However, it’s the book itself that takes you on the journey, not just the bare text.

Craig Koester's Amil-Preterist Commentary of Revelation (Part 9)

The Harlot and the Bride: Revelation 15-19

Chapter 14, in keeping with the pattern, concludes with worship in heaven. We are again reminded that neutrality in this cosmic struggle is not possible. If we are not God, then we are against Him; we cannot hide ourselves among His enemies and expect to avoid their fate in facing the wrath of God.

Although this worship is happening, we are reminded in the first verse of chapter 15 that the Beast still rages upon the earth. Therefore, God, in Chapter 16, sends seven plagues upon the Beast and his cronies. As stressed with the visions of seven in the previous cycles, these plagues are not futuristic predictions, but rather warnings to move the readers to repentance. This is the common theme which Koester consistently emphasizes with reference to the plagues and displays of wrath which we find throughout Revelation. "When readers are moved to ask where their own deepest loyalties lie, the text has its proper effect" (148).

Armageddon (16:16)

The word "Armageddon" certainly conjurs wild images to the modern reader. In modern english nomenclature, the word "armageddon" is often used as shorthand for incredibly epic and potentially world-ending war involving jets and tanks and bombs and suicide donkeys. However, the name "armageddon" is a combination of two hebrew words: "har," which means "mountain" and the name "Megiddo" - a location in northern Israel. Koester notes that this combination of words is "peculiar... since Megiddo is actually located on a plain rather than a mountain." Based on the fact that John does not use Hebrew names in a literal fashion (they are almost always used symbolically), Koester points out that this Hebrew name is also symbolic. Based on the way that Megiddo occurs in the Old Testament (2 Chr. 35:22; Zech. 12:11; Judges 5:19; these are all places where enemies of the Lord are destroyed), Koester says that Megiddo is symbolic of "a place name that portends the coming destruction of the adversaries of God."

The Fall of Babylon and the Great Harlot (Revelation 17-19)

Once again, observe the non-linear structure of Revelation. Just as Babylon was shattered by an earthquake in 16:19, we see it once again in chapter 17.

Recall that John has a particular intention; namely to compel his readers to identify with the woman who is pursued by the beast (that being the Church). Part of his approach is to depict the enemies of God as ten-headed monsters, as prostitutes, as Beasts, as hideous creatures - not only that we might see them for what they are, but so that we would be repulsed to think that we could have partnership with them.

So we're rooting for the church, all the way, and the church is depicted as this woman who is dodging danger at every turn. John presents us with her evil counterpart, the Great Prostitute (ESV). "The women in Revelation 12 and 17 are portrayed in sharply contrasting ways in order to win the readers' allegiance to the persecuted woman, who represents the people of God, and to alienate them from the repulsive harlot, who represents the adversaries of God" (154). Consider the contrasts:

• The church is depicted as "the mother of the Messiah and the faithful (12:5, 17).
• The harlot is depicted as "the mother of whores and of earth's abominations" (17:5).
• The church is depicted as being "pursued by a seven-headed monster."
• The harlot, meanwhile, "happily rides a seven-headed monster and drinks the blood of the saints (17:6)."

When it comes to the somewhat confounding discussion in verses 9-14 of chapter 7, Koester discusses the difficulty interpreters have had attempting to identify who the seven kings who will share in their reign with ten lesser kings and so on. Koester chooses a rather different path by claiming that "John uses evocative imagery that resists decoding." He does suggest that "Picturing an eighth king as a return of one of the seven seems to play on legends that Nero would return, so that one could say of a future persecution of the people of God: 'It is Nero all over again'... Despite the ambiguity in its detais, the end of the story is clear. Evil self-destructs. The beast and its allies begin by waging war against the Lab (17:13-14), but they end up destroying the harlot (17:16)" (161).

When we turn our attention to Babylon's Funeral in chapter 18, Koester suggests verse 4 as the key verse for understanding what is happening:

Come out of her, my people,
so that you do not take part in her sins,
and so that you do not share in her plagues.

As Koester points out, the right reaction to the Fall of the Harlot and of Babylon "is not fatalism, but an 'altered life.'" Again and again, the primary pattern we see in Revelation involves Satanic attempts to destroy the church, with God at every stage demonstrating his superiority by inflicting on the Beast and his followers plagues, disasters, and judgments of all sorts. In the face of reality, of sin, of death, of mortality, of God's obvious superiority, the fallen world continues to worship anything and everything but the God who made all things.

If we are confounded at the unwillingness of most of the earth's population to worship God and turn away from Satan and his idols, we need look no further than heaven, once again, to find the heavenly company singing God's praises. Again, we see "a great multitude crying out."

Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.

The horrors always recede for us to see the universe as it should be, and as it will be. God's superiority is proclaimed at all times, regardless of how violently the dragon might lash out. And an even happier time lies ahead, as we prepare to witness the marriage supper of the Lamb and the millennial reign. This should be an interesting near-conclusion.

So Sugary Sweet, My Teeth Hurt!

The question was asked of attendees at the PCUSA General Assembly, "What are your hopes for General Assembly?"



Fascinating. Revealing. I see a dead and dying denomination, and it makes me sad.

Calvin: "We Believe Above Human Judgment"

No, this is not Cornelius Van Til; but you could have fooled me!

Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated; hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning. And the certainty it deserves with us, it attains by the testimony of the Spirit. For even if it wins reverence for itself by its own majesty, it seriously affects us only when it is sealed upon our hearts through the Spirit. Therefore, illumined by his power, we believe neither by our own nor by anyone else's judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men. We seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as to a thing far beyond any guesswork. This we do, not as persons accustomed to seize upon some unknown thing, which, under closer scrutiny, displeases them, but fully conscious that we hold the unassailable truth! Nor do we do this as those miserable men who habitually bind over their minds to the thralldom of superstition; but we feel that the undoubted power of his divine majesty lives and breathes there. By this power we are drawn and inflamed, knowingly and willingly, to obey him, yet also more vitally and more effectively than by mere human willing or knowing...Yet they who strive to build up firm faith in Scripture through disputation are doing things backwards. For my part, although I do not excel either in great dexterity or eloquence, if I were struggling against the most crafty sort of despisers of God, who seek to appear shrewd and witty in disparaging Scripture, I am confident it would not be difficult for me to silence their clamorous voices. And if it were a useful labor to refute their cavils, I would with no great trouble shatter the boasts they mutter in their lurking places. But even if anyone clears God's Sacred Word from man's evil speaking, he will not at once imprint upon their hearts that certainty which piety requires.

John Calvin
Institutes of the Christian Religion
1.7.4-5

'Glee' in the Land of the Lawless

You would think that having cast off the burdensome weight of Judeo-Christian social ethics would be enough. However, no sooner has this newly 'liberated' culture rejected rules and laws of the old world than they realized the inefficiency of living a 'ruleless' existence.

I present for your consideration the new modern sexual mores. I caught it in its most recent manifestation while watching the TV show 'Glee'. Episode 15 is titled 'The Power of Madonna' and features all songs by - you guessed it - Madonna. In the episode, Rachel decides that she wants to lose her virginity to her new boyfriend, Jesse. (All of this virginity talk is really just a ruse so they have an excuse to sing "Like a Virgin" later in the episode, like we didn't see that coming!) When the big night arrives, she decides that loyalty is the highest virtue and that sleeping with her boyfriend when she isn't ready would be disloyal to herself.

So... loyalty... to yourself... is important? Who says? Where did this impulse come from? Is there Someone behind that belief which gives it validity?

Consider this from another angle; secularized society has taken upon itself the mantle of 'law giver' and in doing so is free to live as it wants. So here we have Rachel; she can do as she pleases. She certainly isn't bound by any old-fashioned, intolerant moral system. She puts herself into a compromising sexual position and yet her sense of morality is pricked to the point that she calls the encounter off. Why? Because of her own loyalty to herself. She has found a way to worship herself while outwardly obeying her conscience. Whereas Joseph, when confronted with temptation by Potiphar's wife, asked the question, "How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" Rachel asks Jesse the rhetorical question, "How could I sin against me?"

When man becomes his own moral point of reference, he becomes the arbiter of good and evil, yet in so doing winds up imitating the Christian God in a demonically twisted way. Rachel knows she shouldn't sleep with her boyfriend, but finds an excuse to not do it which makes her the hero of her own narrative. She does what is right for the wrong reasons, thinking she has done something moral, and yet there is no virtue in this vain act of self-promotion.

Man is incurably religious. He has found the old story of the dying God fulfilling the law on our behalf to be boring and irrelevant to modern society. In so doing, however, he has really just resurrected an old Pharisaic religion and dressed it up in a self-righteous miniskirt.

Craig Koester's Amil-Preterist Commentary of Revelation (Part 8)

The Beast and the Lamb (Revelation 12-15)

The Dragon (Chapter 12)

• Dragon = Satan
• The Woman = The Church
• The Child = Jesus

In Koester's take on this section of Revelation, we see that Satan pursues the church, attempting to overtake Christ and end his rule. Satan believed that he had succeeded in his attempt, in the crucifixion. However, after the resurrection, instead of remaining on earth, Jesus is caught up into heaven and demonstrates that Satan has been defeated in his rising. This is what we see in verses 7 and following; after a war in heaven, the dragon is defeated and is now confined to the earth. He is restricted from again entering heaven. Because of this, Satan is flailing; he knows that he is defeated, and like a beaten animal in an enclosed space, he lashes out in "great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" (12:12) After this, the dragon tries repeatedly to make war on the church, yet is repeatedly foiled in its attempts.

The Two Beasts (Chapter 13)
Satan stands on the shore of the sea "as if to conjure up a new and terrible specter of evil." Satan, as well as his two minions - the beast of the sea and the beast from the land - form a new sort of "Unholy Trinity." The beast of the sea wears ten crowns - emphasizing its desire for renown and power. Revelation presents this beast as something of an evil counterpart to the Lamb. Whereas the Lamb's suffering brings glory to God, the first Beast's apparent suffering brings worship to Satan. The beast is an amalgamation "of oppressive powers from various times and places, creating a composite picture of evil."

While the beast of the sea brings worshippers to Satan, the Beast of the land serves as a false prophet. If the people of the world will not identify with this servant of Satan, then they will face economic pressures (13:17). It would be easy to simply say that Koester takes the typical Preterist approach and names Nero as the Beast from the land right away. However, Koester sees the beast of the Land as something larger and more epically far-reaching than simply one individual who functions in a single moment. He says that this is part of the reason why so many throughout history seem to "fit the bill" of the Beast; because while John does link the Beast with a single individual, the Beast also represents leadership which demands worship over and above that which God deserves. This is a common and persistent enemy of the Church throughout all eras of history.

666

This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666 (13:18).

A couple of observations. First, John believes that his readers in the churches - if they have wisdom - will be able to identify the Beast. 666 "is the number of a man." A historical figure. A literal person whom first century readers would have known.

Koester sets forth Nero as a prime candidate. Several of his traits line up with what we expect from the Beast:

• Nero ruthlessly persecuted Christians of John's time, "making war on the saints" (13:7).
• Nero killed himself by slitting his own throat, though, like Elvis, rumors persisted that he was still alive (13:3, 12, 14).

Koester points out that deducing the identity of the Beast merely by way of gematria is insufficient, since it is possible to spell out many names which add up to 666. For example, if simply adding up 666 were sufficient, one would discover that Barney the "Cute Purple Dinosaur", "Ronald Raegan" or "Computer" were the Beast. Rather, he says that gematria is only one piece of the puzzle. If you already knew somebody's name, you could easily see if their name matched a given number. Nevertheless, he does substantiate the claim that Nero matches up with 666, and in his demonstration he does not disappoint.

The gematriatic method of communication has a historical basis. For example, in Pompeii a man proclaimed his love for a girl in graffiti by writing, "I love her whose number is 545." This was a known method of communication. In many respects, Nero did, in fact, fit the bill for the Beast. When written in Hebrew, "Caesar Neron" transiterates as "nron qsr."

• nun (50) + resh (200) + waw (6) + nun (50) + qof (100) + samech (60) + resh (200) = 666

One interesting textual variant found in some manuscripts lists the Beast's number as being 616. This is exactly what the name "Caesar Neron" adds up to if you dropped the second "n" from "Neron" and simply transliterated his name as "Nero." This variant is tremendously insightful as to what the earliest scribes understood to be happening here in this section of the text. It shows that the earliest textual scribes understood Nero to be the Beast.

This is as far as my own demonstration goes, since I know next to nothing about Hebrew or gematria. Even though I was public schooled, I do know enough about math to know that those numbers do equal 666 when added together.

In his conclusion of this section, Koester seems to appreciate other historical interpretations. For example, some identify the beast of the sea as Rome, with the beast of the land standing for "the local Asian supporters of Rome." He says, however, that the difficulty of identifying a single historical figure to identify with these enemies of the Lamb is not a problem.

Rather, it shows that the imagery depicts threats that cannot be limited to a single time and place. On the one hand, the portrayal of the two beasts does not convey coded information that will allow readers to know when the end of time has come. On the other hand, the visions may have called first-century readers to resist Roman practices...The summons to persevere is not simply a message for a generation living in the first century or at the end of time; it is a message for all generations that are confronted with idolatry and violence.
(Pg. 135)

The Unprofessional Book Review: Calvin by Bruce Gordon

I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed, really. I've been a Christian for over 11 years, and a Calvinist for 9 years. And yet I've never read a biography of Calvin, let alone done anything more than peruse the Institutes and occasionally stick my head into his Commentaries when I needed a little wisdom. The deepest I've gotten into Calvin's life was studying up on what really happened during the Servetus affair. Part of my reticence stemmed from my early years as a Calvinist. My own self-consciousness caused me to desire a self-righteous platform from which I could proudly declare that my doctrine came from the Bible, and not from a man, and that I had never even read Calvin.

Fast forward to today; I've been a Calvinist for almost a decade. I'm now at that place where I feel like if I haven't read a proper biography of Calvin, then it's just a little bit sad. That's why I initially picked up Bruce Gordon's biography, which, as it turns out, is a very good starting place for a Calvin rookie like myself. Part of my take on this book is that it is very helpful to have a rough understanding of the Reformation before reading, because a lot of references are made to Calvin's contemporaries, and Gordon simply assumes that you know who the big players are. While I'm aware of Zwingli, I don't really know much about him. Similarly, with Luther and Bucer, though I have decent background on them, it wouldn't have hurt for me to be up on my Reformation history before diving in.

Beginning in Calvin's childhood (of which we know little) and moving through his years in the university, we see Calvin's journey from the ground up. Doubtless, Gordon avoids more trivial facts for the sake of moving along the narrative. For this, I was thankful.

Gordon takes us through Calvin's tumultuous and adventurous life. One of my favorite quotes from Calvin came after he was first thrown out of Geneva. After a few years away from the Genevans, Calvin's friend Viret essentially told Calvin he may have him return to Geneva. At this, Calvin responded, "But it would be far preferable to perish for eternity than be tormented in that place. If you wish me well, my dear Viret, do not mention the subject!" Basically, Calvin would have rather gone to hell than to Geneva.

What I want to do, instead of retelling the narrative that Gordon gives us, is to share the things which I personally gleaned from reading this life of Calvin.

1. Don't self-righteously preside as judge over the tough decisions Christians had to make in times which were different from our own
When I first learned about the Servetus affair, I stood as a modern, liberal, freedom-loving westerner. In many respects, it is very easy for us to look down upon the Genevans' decision to execute the man. While it may have been the wrong decision, we act as though the answer is obvious. The more I learned of the precarious times in which Calvin lived, the more intensely I appreciate that at the time, it was not obvious what to do with heretics such as Servetus. Most of society stood and fell upon matters of theology. Every major city really needed theologians around which society could build its metaphysics. These were times in which harboring heretical ideas could cause one city to go to war with another. This is so foreign to us in the 21st century west that we almost think that we're hearing a bad excuse without taking seriously how difficult the times they lived in were.

2. The importance of friends
This might seem like a given, but we often think of the giants of the Christian faith and think of them as monoliths or as solitary figures. However, as I read Calvin, I time and time again encountered a man desperately in need of dependable men who would stand back to back with him. The greatest disappointments in his life appeared to have been failures of friends to remain by his side during his toughest trials.

I am surprised that in the first colloquy you did not perceive the snares in which you threw yourself. The method you adopted always displeased me, namely, making half of your cause rely on the testimony of antiquity. On this matter [of images] the agreement between us is like that between fire and water. But because you committed this slip not from error or want of reflection, I leave that decision free to you. The wound, however, which was beginning to form a scar is evidently bleeding again and compels me to profess how greatly I differ from you.
(Pg 319-320)

The friendship which I most enjoyed observing was that between Calvin and Pierre Viret during Viret's time in Geneva after Farel's departure. Calvin clearly believed that Viret balanced him out. He saw Viret as crucial to his own ministry and almost could not imagine leading Geneva without Viret's help. When the time came for Viret to leave, Calvin wrote to Farel regarding his fears:

Therefore, should Viret be taken away from me I shall be utterly ruined and this church will be past recovery. On this account it is only reasonable that you and others pardon me if I leave no stone unturned to prevent his being carried off from me. In the meantime we must look for supply to the church of Lausanne, according as shall be appointed by the godly brethren, and by your own advice. Only let Viret remain with me.
(Pg 154)

By Calvin's estimation, his friend kept the peace in Geneva by his calm and soothing approach. Though the two men differed in no way theologically (at least for many years), their different approaches to dealing with error created a formidable and effective collaboration. I have a relationship that reminds me a great deal of Calvin/Viret, and friendships like this are irreplaceable. No man is an island, as they say. Gordon put Calvin's understanding of friendship in these terms: "All his life Calvin would define friendship in terms of a commitment to a common cause; it was within that framework he was able to express fraternity and intimacy" (29). Exactly. Who is a closer brother than the one who stands back to back with you in the matters which matter most significantly and eternally? Similarly, what greater betrayal can a man who loves truth experience than when his brother who stood with him in a common cause later abandons that cause?

3. The importance of a single-minded pursuit of the knowledge of God
How easy is it for we modern men to luxuriously talk about pursuit of God from the comfort of our air conditioned homes, our soft beds, with our indoor plumbing. Yet in the meantime I consider it a challenge to spend 30 minutes a day writing on my blog which 50-100 people a day read from the comfort of their living rooms or laptops. How easily we murmur and complain, and yet I don't believe that I have had one day in which I devoted myself as fully to the cause of Christ as Calvin did. He wrote without aid of typewriters, in a medieval setting with quill pens and dirty houses, in a city battling the plague and with constant threats against his life - if not from his enemies within the city, then from neighboring cities like Berne who - for all he knew, might just go to war with Geneva if they didn't like something Calvin said about predestination.

Under threat of war, against the physical odds, the man wrote prolifically and taught publicly at least three times a week, all the while training men to be pastors and trying to root out the bad ones. And when he did root out the bad ones, they would be permitted to live in neighboring cities and spread vindictive lies about him, many of which were difficult to stop from spreading. In his death, one biographer manufactured pure lies about him, calling him a sexual miscreant, a sodomite, and claimed that he died in the grip of genital lice. These were the sort of problems and pressures under which the man lived, wrote, and eventually died. Our challenges are tame by far, in comparison.

4. The importance of embracing the sinfulness of our leaders in the faith
If we want to only take our cues from sinless men, then we need look no further than the example of our Lord Himself. However, we need heroes in the faith who are fallen and sinful like we are. These are men with the same sin nature which we also suffer with, and as such, we need them, so that we can see how they fought for joy in God, and also so that we can learn from their failures.

I could write a lot about Calvin's own vices; about his pridefulness, about his uncharitable words against his opponents (he still pales in comparison to Luther in terms of sheer colorful expression), or about his treatment of dissenters within Geneva. He was quick to remember betrayals and to repay them in his own way, often years later.

But at the same time, he was keenly aware of his own wickedness, and this compelled him to cling to Jesus even further. In his final confession before he died, he expressed that "alas, my desires and my zeal, if I may so describe it, have been so cold and flagging that I am conscious of imperfections in all that I am and do." Bruce Gordon observes, "It was his acute sensitivity to the gap between what was and what should be that distressed him." While he held others to high standards, he did the same for himself. He was not willing to judge others by a standard which he was not also willing to apply to himself. It is this way of living in the face of sin from which I take great encouragement.


Conclusion

The only shortfall in the book, by my estimate, is his discussion of the affair with Westphal. At first I wasn't going to mention this, thinking that I simply hadn't properly understood Gordon. However, in Paul Helm's review of this same book, he mentions that Gordon almost entirely omits discussing the details of Calvin's struggle against Westphal. This omission caused a great deal of confusion for me over the course of about ten pages, as I simply tried to reconnect with the narrative, wondering what I had missed. While Gordon does mention that their disagreement was regarding the Lord's Supper, and he does give the blow-by-blow of Calvin's polemics against Westphal, what is largely missing from the narrative was the substance of their disagreement and why it was that the Lutherans generally supported what Westphal was saying.

Overall, I am grateful for Bruce Gordon's work in this book. I recommend it wholeheartedly as a very readable, somewhat brief (though about twice as long as T.H.L. Parker's biography). I can't help but think that Bruce Gordon's Calvin paired with Paul Helm's book John Calvin's Ideas would be an incredibly potent reading combination. In fact, Helm's book is the next book that I've started, having now finished Gordon's largely historical overview of the man's life.