2 Peter

1 - God has given you power and promises to escape the corruption in the world and put on His virtues.  Make sure you have this salvation.  I'll remind you of it till I die.  You have the Word, which is more sure than our eye witness to the Transfiguration of our Lord!

2 - But there will be malicious false teachers in your midst.  God knows how to preserve you and deal with them. They are wicked blasphemers who produce no fruit but rather destruction.

3 - There will be scoffers who doubt Christ is returning, since life goes on as usual.  But God's promises are sure: the heavens will pass away with a fiery roar.  So we should live holy lives, and grow in the grace of Jesus until then, heeding Paul's letters and the other Scriptures.

Exodus 39-40; 1 Peter 1-5

Exodus 39 - They make the priestly garments, and bring them and all the tabernacle items to Moses.  As at creation, he sees it and blesses it all.

40 - Moses erects the tabernacle and puts everything in place.  God's glory fills it - the cloud by day, and pillar of fire at night.

1 Peter 1 - Bless God who made you alive to resurrection hope and an inheritance in heaven, though you have to go through troubles here on earth first.  You've seen and heard of the things prophets foretold long ago.  So live like exiles, apart from the passions of this earth, since you've been redeemed by unearthly things: the blood of Jesus.  You were also born again by unearthly seed: the Word of God, which endures, unlike earthly flesh and grass.

2 - As you put off sin and are fed in the Lord, you are built into a spiritual temple and priesthood, offering sacrifice to God.  So keep your conduct pure, honoring authorities, even if mistreated.  Jesus did this, and He bore our sins, healed our wounds, brought us home from straying.

3 - Wives should be subject to husbands, and modest in dress.  Husbands should be understanding and honoring of their wives.  Be kind to each other.  Be ready to suffer and give a reason for your hope in Christ.  Jesus suffered, too, and gave an answer to the imprisoned spirits.  You are baptized, preserved from their judgment, as you appeal to God in sincerity.

4 - be ready to suffer - the world will be surprised you don't indulge as they do.  Love others sacrificially instead.  You will face trials - make sure you only suffer unjustly for being a Christian, not justly for being a jerk.  Entrust your soul to God when it happens.

5 - Elders should shepherd the flock with true hearts.  Humble yourselves before each other, and God, trusting Him with your anxieties.  Resist Satan.  Remember your fellow Christians suffering around the world.  God will establish you.

Exodus 33-38

Exodus 33 - God says He won't go with Israel to Canaan, or He'd consume them in anger.  Israel mourns; Moses intercedes.  

34 - God tells Moses to make new tablets like the first ones, and go up the mountain.  God shows him some of His glory, promises to give them the land, commands faithfulness to Him, keeping the feasts, Sabbath, and proper worship, and He rewrites the ten commandments.  Moses is up there another 40 days and nights, and comes down with face shining.  Moses veils his face before the people, but takes it off when he goes into the tent of meeting to talk with God.

35 - Moses relays to Israel the Sabbath command, calls for offerings for the tabernacle material, and appoints Bezalel and Oholiab to be in charge of making it all.

36 - Moses has to ask the people to stop giving, there is too much!  Making the tabernacle structure described.

37-38 - Making the tabernacle's furnishings described.  How much gold, silver and bronze used is listed.

Exodus 26-32

Exodus 26 - Tabernacle curtains and framing.  Cherubim to be woven in to curtains.  A veil with cherubim, to separate the Most Holy place where the ark is from the Holy place.  Table and lampstand go in the latter.  A screen for the entrance to the latter.

27 - The altar, with the usual tools for a grill or fireplace to deal with wood and ashes.  Framing and size of the court.  Oil for the lampstand

28 - clothes for the priests that are beautiful, the 12 tribes engraved on gems, woven into them.

29 - consecrating the priests: 7 day process of washing, clothing, and sacrificing for the priests.  The point is to show Israel that God will meet with and dwell with Israel there.

30 - altar of incense; census tax; bronze basin for priestly water-washing.  An exclusive recipe for anointing oil to anoint priests and tabernacle items.

31 - two men named to craft all these items.  Keep the Sabbath.  God ends speaking to Moses and gives him the 2 tablets of the covenant, written by God Himself.

32 - Israel gets tired of waiting for Moses, and pressures Aaron to make other gods to worship.  He does.  God sends Moses down, but he intercedes for Israel, appealing to God's promise to bless them.  He breaks the tablets at the foot of the mountain, destroys the calf, and rebukes Aaron, who lies about his role.  The people remain unrestrained, so Moses sends the Levites to kill any who are still sinning: 3,000.

Exodus 22-25; Psalm 6, 146

Exodus 22 - Laws of restitution: any loss, theft, or violation of property or family, where one is responsible, he must repay it.  Forbidden: sorcery, bestiality, idolatry, mistreatment of immigrants, usury, cursing rulers.

23 - Do the right thing according to truth, when you could hurt someone you hate, or benefit from taking advantage of others.  Let your land rest every 7th year.  You rest every 7th day.  Keep the 3 feasts: Bread (Passover), Harvest (Pentecost), and Ingathering (Booths).  My Angel will bring you into the Promised Land and prosper you.

24 - God calls Moses up the mountain, with Aaron, his sons, and 70 elders.  But only Moses can come closer to God.  Israel agrees to the covenant, they sacrifice - Moses sprinkles blood on the people.  They go up, eat and drink and see God.  Moses and Joshua go up further and wait 7 days.  Then Moses goes into "the cloud" for 40 days and nights.

25 - God to Moses: ask Israel for an offering to build Me a place to live among them.

 - an ark with a mercy seat covering, with two cherubim, their wings covering the covering.

 - a table to put the "bread of the Presence" on.

 - a lampstand, holding 7 lamps.

Psalm 6 - God, you've been hard on me in body and spirit.  

I'm weary.

Relieve me, and send away my enemies.

146 - don't trust earthly rulers - they pass quickly.

God reigns and does justice, so praise Him!

The Lord Is Come // Prolife News // Sacred Constitution?

Joy to the World - Fight Laugh Feast

Isaac Watts paraphrased the Psalms, bringing the New Testament meaning into them.  "The Lord IS Come" emphasizes the present and future implications of His coming, not just His nativity.

Prolife news - National Review

The Michigan man just an hour or so from me, who shot an 84 year old prolife door knocker, got 100 hours of community service.

"We Held Those Truths" - Touchstone

What does it mean to call our Constitution sacred?  There must be presupposed, unwritten moral laws underlying a society's laws.  In times of moral flux, the law and founding documents are susceptible to being distorted to fit the new understanding - infinitely malleable.

Exodus 19-21; Matthew 5-7

Exodus 19 - God states His purpose to make Israel His people.  After 3 days He comes down onto Mt Sinai to speak to them, warning Moses to strictly warn the people not to touch it.  Moses goes up Pharaoh changes his mind again and pursued Israel to recapture them.  God thwarts it, parts the Red Sea for Israel to go through, and brings the sea back down on Egypt.  Moses goes up and down 3 times.

20 - God speaks the Ten Commandments.  Israel begs to have Moses speak instead, God's voice is so overwhelming!  Altars to God should be of earth or uncut stone, with no steps.

21 - slavery is regulated to be a temporary economic safety net, not a harsh, indefinite cruelty.  Capital punishment for intentional murder, hitting or cursing parents (!), kidnapping for slave trading.  When an animal does harm, its owner must pay for it.

Matthew 5 - Jesus gave laws from a mountain, too!

The needy and pure are blessed, for God will reward them.

Let others see your good works, so they glorify God.

God's righteous requirements run deep:

 - to not murder means, don't even be angry with your brother

 - to not commit adultery means, don't even look lustfully at her

 - to not swear falsely means, don't take an oath by anything on earth

Don't retaliate against your enemy; love him.

6 - Don't give and pray and fast to be seen and honored by men.  Do so from the heart, seeking reward in heaven, not here on earth.  Don't be anxious about earthly things; trust your Father to provide and look to His kingdom first.

7 - Don't judge others more strictly than yourself.

Ask God for what you need, as a child does his father.

Do to others what you want them to do to you.

Stay away from false prophets - you'll know them by their lack of fruit.

If you do My words, you'll have a sure foundation for your house in the storm.

Rivalry

I had a fascinating experience after church yesterday.

I wound up throwing a rubber ball back and forth with a 2 year old boy from the church for a couple minutes.  It was going swimmingly - a nice, slow bounce so he could react in time and catch it, and he'd throw it back the same way.

Then big brother (5) showed up.  He wanted to play.  Great, I said, take my place.  

He did.

Little brother had the ball.

He got this mischievous grin on his face, and wound up to clock big brother with it.  A small level of chaos ensued, the ball careening around the room.  Ah, boys.

Conclusions:
When a sufficient level of authority is present, people restrain and behave themselves.  Like when you pass the police on the highway.

When rivalry is present, people tend to do irrational things to justify themselves or attack others.  My catch partner was perfectly happy throwing the ball nicely with me.  But he wanted MORE.  We all do.  Discontent with the happiness God gives us, we chase for more in the wrong ways.

Exodus 14-18; Psalm 90

Exodus 14 - Pharaoh changes his mind again and pursued Israel to recapture them.  God thwarts it, parts the Red Sea for Israel to go through, and brings the sea back down on Egypt.

15 - Moses sings a song in response to the Red Sea parting, looking ahead to the dismay of the Philistines.  They come to bitter water, which God helps Moses make sweet, supernaturally.

16 - Israel complains, having no food, and God sends daily manna.  Twice as much on Friday, so they rest on the Sabbath, for 40 years!

17 - God gives water from the rock, when Israel complains of thirst.  Amalek attacks, but God gives Israel victory when Moses' hands are raised.

18 - In a stunning act of common grace, Moses' father-in-law directs him to delegate to others the lesser matters of judgment.

Psalm 90 - God is eternal; man flourishes briefly like a flower.  But God can establish our work.

Exodus 7-13

Exodus 7 - at their first encounter with Pharaoh, Aaron's staff turns into a snake, but the Egyptians do it, too.  They confront Pharaoh in the morning, and turn the Nile waters into blood, at God's instruction.

8 - Moses announces the second plague to Pharaoh: frogs swarming up from the Nile into their kitchens.  Egypt's magicians also produce frogs, but Pharaoh asks Moses to take them away.  Gnats are the 3rd plague, and Egypt's magicians can't reproduce it.  Flies are the 4th plague, and they come only on Egypt, not Israel.  Pharaoh offers to let Israel worship within Egypt, but Moses says that's not good enough.  When the flies are gone, Pharaoh changes his mind and doesn't let them go at all.

9 - 5th plague: all Egyptian livestock die; none of the Israelites' do.

6th plague: painful sores or boils come on the Egyptians' bodies.

7th plague: hail.  God warns Pharaoh that He could have killed him by now, but is showing him God's power, instead.  Pharaoh promises to let them go, but changes his mind, because not all the crops are destroyed.

10 - 8th plague: locusts. Pharaoh tries to set terms, allowing only the men to go (so they will come back).  Pharaoh changes his mind after begging Moses to remove the locusts, and God does it.

The 9th plague is unannounced for the first time: darkness for 3 days.  Pharaoh again negotiates: all the people, but no animals may go (so they will come back).

11 - God says one more plague will do it.  Ask Egyptian neighbors to give you gold and silver jewelry - they'll do it.  Moses announces the last plague to Pharaoh: death of all Egyptian firstborn at midnight.

12 - Passover instructions: pick a lamb per house on the 10th day, and kill it on the 14th day at twilight.  Spread some of its blood on your door, and eat it with your traveling clothes on.  This will also be the first day of the 7-day feast of Unleavened Bread.  Moses instructs Israel in all this.  The firstborn die.  Pharaoh sends them away.  They take their unleavened bread and Egyptian jewelry, during this "night of watching," 600,000 men, after 430 years in Egypt.  God clarifies that you have to be circumcised to eat the Passover.

13 - Israel keeps Unleavened Bread, and sets apart and redeems all firstborn of man and beast, to remember the Exodus.  God leads Israel by pillar of cloud and fire, day and night.  He doesn't go the short way to Canaan, which would mean war with the Philistines, but to the desert and Sinai.  Moses takes Joseph's bones, as Joseph had requested.

Best Recent Podcasts

Chris Christie on Jordan Peterson.  VERY good on what topics they talked about. I'd take him over Biden or Trump any day, but Christie doesn't want to talk social/cultural stuff like abortion...

American Library Association on Daily Wire.  They have a president who is an avowed Marxist, on the record saying libraries should be centers for "struggle."  Work to get your local library to disassociate from the ALA.

John Stonestreet on "Anti-Racism."  Is the color-blind approach good or bad?

Douglas Wilson on The Theology Pugcast, on Chestertonian Calvinism.  Despite disagreeing on several issues, their worldviews aligned a lot, including reveling in God's good creation.

Joshua Mitchell on the Theology Pugcast, on identity politics.  A Georgetown politics professor.  Heard him live a year ago - VERY good.

Dealing with Unhappiness // What Happens at Death // Kingdom Force

The Politics of Unhappiness - First Things, May 2022

We have tried dealing with our unhappiness with drugs, talk therapy, and now tech like VR.  But it all merely stupefies us and distorts reality in some way.  It will result in a disillusioned and radicalized populace.

Westminster Confession 32 - Holy Confessions, pg 364-5

At death, the body goes in the ground and the soul goes to God, conscious and before Him blessed forever.

Forcing our way into the Kingdom - Tabletalk

Kingdom people are willing to do much - anything - to enter the kingdom, while the wicked violently oppose it.

Earthly Love // Secularism // Hoping in the Void

Cruciform Way - "A Love Like Theirs."  Devotions by Rev. Christopher Thoma.

71 years of marriage is quite the contrast to Axl Rose screaming about how many women he can have!  The death of saints and their love together in this life is precious.

"Ruler over All" - Ken Myers - Touchstone

Myers shows how prophetic TS Eliot was to warn us of a coming secularism.  The church must be her own culture, now.

"Searching for Hope" - Calvin Stapert - Touchstone

My old music professor (!) surveys the thought and music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler, finding in each a search for hope.  All were Romantics who believed they would find answers in music.  But since each intentionally left out the person of Jesus, they fell short of their goal.

Reviewing the College Scene

A friend asked what I thought of Grove City College, in western Pennsylvania.

Short answer - I think the school is pretty solid.

I have two sons who each attended for one year very recently, and they also agree, Grove is especially strong in liberal arts and Western canon of literature, art, etc.  One son took several psychology classes but was disappointed with the lack of rigor.  But this may be driven by two things: he's a quick thinker and gets impatient if things are moving too slow.  And some profs were hammering it into them that they cannot legally bring their Christian faith into their counseling and therapy sessions, to keep their state license.  There might be some legal basis for this, but it was often coming from a liberal prof who is faculty advisor for the (small) LGBT group on campus.  He is retired now, though.  I've heard their math and science dept is strong.  Their political dept is good, and conservative.  Prof Kengor has written good books on Reagan and Marxism, and also had a balanced article on MLK recently.  He got Newt Gingrich to come speak last year.

They have a presbyterian background, but try to appeal to more mainstream Protestants, not cranky or ultra-conservatives.  One of my boys got to hear and meet Alistair Begg at a chapel event - very good.

Your typical conservative Christian freshman would fit in well.  Probably the school culture is similar to the private high school your kids are at, but faculty and admin are more conservative - I think.

The year one son attended they had a pretty big scandal: trying to respond to wokeness after 2020, they flubbed it a bit.

 - they had Jamar Tisby, I think, speak at chapel.  In between inviting him pre-covid and the event itself a couple years later, he moved far left and said some atrocious things.

 - a resident director put on a book study throughout campus of an anti-racism book touting it - I saw the flyers up when moving my son in and was disturbed.

 - a pilot education class used only woke texts, and advocated it as part of the curriculum and their ed degree.

Parents were outraged by this.  Many conservatives thought the admin was too tepid in their response, but it seemed to me they got back on course without giving in too much to a counter-cancel-culture impulse.  They brought in Kevin DeYoung and Begg to speak at chapel in response to it all, reaffirmed their biblical worldview policy, and stopped the anti-racism advocacy, as far as I can tell.

The gem of the school in my book is Carl Trueman - one of my boys had him for a class and much enjoyed him, but they speak highly of several other profs, too.

Zooming out from Grove City, Christian colleges are highly susceptible to going liberal.  It seems all the profs and admin staff who come seeking employment are trained in leftist institutions.  Getting an education degree usually requires being immersed in woke curriculum for years, and the hiring school feels they need to hire from these places to maintain a good academic reputation on the outside.  Getting teachers or profs from Hope or Calvin College without closely vetting them is a really bad idea, in my book.  Christian colleges hiring PhDs from Princeton as profs is usually worse.  Though I have seen exceptions in the Ivy League (Robert George at Princeton, Joshua Mitchell at Georgetown, historian Allen Guelzo, etc).  

I know this dynamic personally.  When I was at seminary, profs would drop hints that the left-leaning things they were teaching us wouldn't be accepted by the average (closed-minded, read biblical) church that we aspiring pastors would want to serve.  So, it was hinted or said aloud, you might need to downplay or avoid those issues in the interview process.  If the hiring team at the church or school doesn't know the questions to ask, the church/school can quickly have a faculty supermajority that is opposed to a biblical worldview, which the admin thought everyone was FOR.  Al Mohler likes to say that he asks prospective profs at Boyce College or his seminary, not only if they adhere to their confessional statements, but if they will enthusiastically endorse and teach them.  Thus, a Christian college's PR material looks and reads great, but the real story in the classroom is often quite different.

There are very few colleges firmly holding the line, here: Boyce I think (Mohler), Hillsdale, Grove, New St. Andrews in Idaho (Doug Wilson).  Patrick Henry College in VA, probably.  Cedarville in OH, maybe.  Taylor U. in IN, maybe.  There are probably a few more I'm not aware of, but I hear in the news almost every week of another Christian college that caved to student or faculty protests to remove a biblical policy on some cultural issue.

But then again, in the college classroom, you don't WANT anti-woke indoctrination, any more than you want leftist indoctrination.  You need a thorough consideration of the views, and then hold it up to a biblical worldview.  Work to understand the other position, and be able to articulate it, even if you vehemently disagree with it.  That's education.  Gotta trust the student at that age to read primary sources, and trust the prof to give proper and sufficient guidance.  In our polarizing times people don't want to hear that.  They want to fire the chaplain or prof who tried to critically engage with woke leftism!  Fire the woke advocate who won't present and argue the other side, fine.  I think Grove navigated that decently.

Exodus 1-6

Exodus 1 - Joseph dies.  Israel multiplies.  Egypt enslaves them and seeks to reduce them by killing every baby boy.  They resist and God blesses them.

2 – Moses is born and hidden.  Pharaoh’s daughter finds him, and Miriam shrewdly offers to get an Israelite wet nurse – his own mother!  But he grows up in Pharoah’s house.  He kills an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite and tries to hide it.  But when he tries to mediate between two Israelites, they reject him and say they know what he did.  He flees to Midian to avoid execution.  He protects and helps some shepherdesses at a well, and winds up marrying one of them: Jethro’s daughter.  God sees Israel’s suffering.

3 – God calls Moses in the burning bush to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let Israel go.  God reveals His name for the first time: Yahweh.  He predicts how it will go in Egypt.

4 – Moses doubts they’ll listen.  God gives him 2 miracle signs to prove it to Israel and Pharaoh.  Moses still begs off.  God insists and says Aaron will help.  Moses goes and on the way God seeks to kill him because he hasn’t circumcised his son.  His wife Zipporah does it, and God “passes over.”  Moses tells Israel’s leaders, and shows them the signs, and they believe and rejoice.

5 - Pharaoh refuses to let Israel go, accusing them of idleness.

6 - God promises deliverance, but Moses doubts it.

Death // Christmas // Mustard Seed

Holy Confessions - Death is not the end - God sustains our souls beyond death.  At death, the souls of those in Christ are His, forever.

FLF - Does the Regulative Principle of Worship forbid any celebration of Christmas?  Puritans thought so, but more becaus of the decadent practices accompanying it in England.  Calvin and others on the continent had no problem with it.  Jesus is found in John 10:22 celebrating Hanukkah, an extra biblical holiday, so Christmas is fine, too.

"Growth of the Kingdom" - the mustard seed shows us that the kingdom grows, not only from small beginnings to something large, but also that as a 'sturdy weed' it can pop up anywhere and multiply.  Tabletalk, Nov 2021, pg 21.

Inheriting the Kingdom // Equity Woke-ness

"Possessing the Kingdom" - Daniel 7 shows Christ receiving, possessing, and sharing the kingdom of God.

Tabletalk, Nov, 2021

"Defeating the Equity Regime" - America is living in an unconstitutional equity regime.  SCOTUS can claw it back with a few decisions on race-based admissions, hostile work environment, disparate impact, etc.

"The overrepresentation of the characteristics of any historically European population - heterosexual, white, and Christian.  The demand for reduction in the power, status, and representation of such Americans we may call the "principle of equity."

"Achieving diversity means discriminating on the basis of race and ethnicity - the very practice Americans thought they had outlawed with the 1964 Civil Right Act."

"The practitioners of affirmative action control every powerful institution in America."

Galatians

Galatians is both an important message, and one that needs qualification.  There are plenty of OT laws that God still wants us to follow.  Faith should lead us to do so, as James 2 says.  But Paul had the requirement of circumcision in mind throughout this letter - we should not insist Christians keep the ritual law: clean foods, feast days, and circumcision.  We should trust God's promise in Christ for His favor, not any of our keeping of ritual or moral law.

Here's a short blow-by-blow of each chapter.

Galatians 1 - I'm shocked that you are leaving the Gospel I taught you so soon.  Don't listen to them!  My message came directly from Jesus.

2 - When I went to the apostles with Titus, and the Judaizers pressed for him to be circumcised, the apostles agreed with me.  I even corrected Peter in front of the church when he caved to them once.  They key is that we are justified by faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile the same, not by being circumcised or any such thing.  We died to the law's demands with Christ at the cross, and now He lives in us.

3 - You can't finish by works what you started by faith.  Believing in Jesus by faith makes you a son of Abraham.  Relying on your law-keeping lacks faith, which is how the blessing of Abraham comes.  The law didn't annul the promise to him - it was given for a time, to restrain sin, until the promise was fulfilled in Christ.

4 - we are no longer under the law, but adopted sons of God.  Why go back?  I’m worried about you!  We are not children of Hagar (law – old Israel), but of Isaac (promise – Jerusalem above).

5 – if you accept circumcision, you’re trusting the law, not Christ, and have fallen from grace.  Use your freedom to love each other.  Live by the Spirit, bearing His fruit, rejecting the sinful desires of the flesh and its fruit.

 

6 – help each other when you sin, and seek to bear your own burdens.  Give to those teaching you, and those in need, and it will bear fruit.  The Judaizers are boasting in how many of you they can circumcise; I boast only in the cross of Christ.  Peace upon the latter, the true Israel of God!

Genesis 48-50

Genesis 48 - Jacob blesses Joseph's sons, putting the younger before the older.  Joseph objects, but that's what God did for Jacob over Esau.  Jacob also puts Joseph above his brothers - for now.

49 - Jacob gathers his sons and rebukes the 3 oldest, giving Judah the ruling scepter.  Jacob dies.

50 - They bury him in Canaan, Egypt honoring him.  Joseph's brothers fear retribution and beg for forgiveness.  Joseph gives it, pointing to God's providence.  Joseph dies and promises God will take Israel up from Egypt.

Children in Worship // Consider Robert George // Nihilism

Polish pastor Pawel Bartosik hits a home run in this article on children in Christian worship.  Way to go, Pawel!

Andrew Walker has a good commendation of Robert George here.  It's a bit hagiographic, but George's work and tenure at Princeton has been a boon to the kingdom of God.

"Nothingness Rules" - we have a sense of dread in our politics today, because we have abolished truth and are left with nothing.  We want the freedom to decide that whatever works is fine ("true"), to do and be what we want, regardless our given reality.  Good authority, law and order is based on this reality, and with it gone we have only the power and force of totalitarianism.

Touchstone - July/Aug 2023.

Tech Addiction // Hope amid Ruin // Israel Typology

"Ensnared in the Web" - tech products like Facebook are designed to hook us and learn from us.  They win, and the more you use, the more you lose.  We used to (200 years ago) take in information with context: Bible, classics, sermons.  Now, it's a barrage of random data.

First Things, May 2022, pg 12

"Hope among the Ruins" - These days people are either angry or despairing.  Instead we need hope.  If God can bring ruin to a culture, He can also bring restoration.

First Things, May 2022, pg 16

"The Place of God's Kingdom" - The land of Israel was promised, prosperous, populated, and had God's presence.  Each of these describes the Christian life.

Tabletalk, Nov 2021, pg 16.

Genesis 42-47

Genesis 42 - Famine forces Jacob to send the brothers to Egypt for food.  Joseph recognizes and tests them.  They seem to pass, telling each other they are being judged for what they did to Joseph, when they don't know he can understand them.  He tests them further: will they work to protect and save a brother in distress, when before they sold him into slavery?  Back home, Jacob is bitter and refuses to carry out the plan to take Benjamin to Egypt to free Simeon.  "He is the only one left."  What about the other 10 brothers!?

43 - Judah later gets Jacob to let Benjamin come with them.  Joseph eats with them and weeps when he sees Benjamin.

44 - Joseph tests them by getting Benjamin in trouble, to see how they will respond.  Judah intercedes, more for Jacob in his grief than for Benjamin.

45 - Joseph reveals himself, and they are freaked out at first, but he assures them they're good - God did this.  He sends them back with food and clothes to bring Jacob there.  He doesn't believe it until he sees the wagons of stuff.

46 - 

The 50s // Lying // AI

"American Graffiti at 50" - Lots of movies were made in the 70s about the 50s.  Which world would you rather live in?

National Review, June 12, 2023

"Living without Lies" - A review of a streaming show, "Poker Face."  The main character can tell when people are lying.  She makes friends and solves crimes, bother, with this ability.  Though she can't usually brings perps to legal justice, she often finds ways to bring informal justice.

National Review, June 12, 2023, pg 40.

"Who Died and Made AI King?" - We didn't vote for it (Monty Python!).  Yet it's going to happen anyway.  Still, small acts of resistance are worth it.

National Review, June 12, 2023, pg 44.

How to Start Tithing

I’m going to start by assuming several things:

 - You go to a church regularly.

 - You want to support its ministry because it is benefiting you spiritually (1 Cor. 9:11, 14; Rom. 15:27).

 - You believe that Scripture calls you to give 10% to the church (Deut. 14:22; Numbers 18:21).

 - But you don’t have a good system and haven’t been consistently giving.

 

What do you do?  Here are the baby steps, Dave Ramsey style:

 

1. Start by doing a budget.  How strapped are you, really?  Would giving 10% right away leave you unable to pay basic bills?  Why?  Streaming and subscriptions multiply these days - do you really need them all?  Cut spending elsewhere until you can start giving something, any amount, weekly.  It doesn’t have to be 10% right away.  But you should seek to move toward that as rapidly as possible.

2. Tithe your take-home, net pay, after taxes and benefits.  This is usually an easy number to spot: the cash direct-deposited in your account every other week, or the check handed to you on Fridays, etc.  Move the decimal over one digit to the left – presto!  $498.00 income = $49.80 tithe.  If you are self-employed, this is trickier.  I'd recommend doing your books monthly or quarterly: gross income minus taxes and expenses to figure your net income.

(As an aside, also try to save an equal amount, another 10%, for retirement/savings.)

 

3. Start considering your benefits.  God wants us to tithe on all our increase, any compensation we receive:

a. Retirement.  For Social Security and any 401k type of accounts, I recommend NOT tithing on retirement contributions when you are working.  Instead, tithe on disbursements when you receive them at retirement.  This gives you a break now, it accounts for any increase your 401k makes over time, and it has you tithe when you can afford it later.  This is only a recommendation.  You could also opt to tithe on your contributions now, and give above and beyond the tithe whatever you can, later.  There is no need to tithe on both your contributions now, and on what you receive later.

b. Medical.  If you get health benefits, these are notoriously complicated and difficult to figure out how to tithe on.  The simplest way is probably to find the amount on your check stub that your employer is paying to your insurance company, and tithe on that.  Of course, if you are self-employed and buy your own health insurance, that is not "increase" an employer is giving you, but an expense, and you don't need to tithe on it.

 

4. Consider tithing on your gross pay, instead of the net, take-home, after taxes.  In principle, God gets your first 10%, not the government.  Our devious and duplicitous payroll withholding system gives the government the first cut, and makes the exorbitant taxes it confiscates from you feel painless.  We should not let this happen.  God should get the first and the most of our income, not the state.  (Which means the state should get less than 10%!  See 1 Samuel 8:15 and its context.)

I'm not sure there is a clear biblical case for tithing on gross income instead of net income, though.  It can also be argued that government over-taxation lowers your increase.  So maybe stopping at step 3 is fine, even if step 4 is true in principle.  An alternative is to tithe on the most the state SHOULD take - 10%: take your net pay (say $500) and divide by 90%, .90: ($555.55).  So you give $55.55 instead of $50, even if your gross was $700.

Note that tithing this way, you should ignore any tax refunds or payments from April 15.  If you usually get a refund, a simpler alternative than all of the above is to tithe on your net, ignore the gross, and then tithe on your refund, too.

 

Closing comments:

1. Is this getting into the weeds?  Yes, a bit.  But remember that Jesus commends the Pharisees for tithing on the growth of their spices (Luke 11:42).  It is a lesser thing than justice and love, but something that shouldn't be left undone, He says.

2. Financial advisors like to talk with young people and get them in the habit of saving money for retirement early.  The compound interest really does add up, when you start early.  In the same vein, young people should get in the habit of tithing as soon as they start making money.  It pays huge spiritual dividends in life to tangibly prioritize God's people.

3. If you are in a dire financial situation, it is better to seek financial help from your church, AND continue tithing any income you receive, than to say nothing and not give much or at all.  It may seem odd or intrusive, but many church leaders, especially lay elders and deacons, have a great deal of financial wisdom to share with you.  Ask them.

4. Doing these tithing baby steps will require fiscal restraint.  But it is a healthy spiritual exercise, and it will also result in a church that is well provided for.

Genesis 37-41; John 20-21

Genesis 37 - Jacob favors Joseph, who dreams of ruling over his family.  His brothers sell him as a slave, and lie to Jacob that he died.

38 - Judah marries a Canaanite (!) and has 3 sons, but the first 2 die.  Judah doesn't give Tamar, the first son's wife, to the 3rd son, when he is old enough.  (Which he should have done, codified later in Deuteronomy 25:5ff.)  So she pretends to be a prostitute and gets pregnant by Judah.  (That she thinks of this plan, and it succeeds show his sexual morals were loose, at best!)  Judah accuses her, but not himself.  She calls him on it, and he repents.  She has twins, the "noble" line of covenant succesion from Abraham to Jesus (Matthew 1).

39 - Joseph's competence as a slave to Potiphar promotes him to chief of the house.  Potiphar's wife frames him for attempted rape when she can't seduce him.  "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  In jail Jacob also gets promoted, and put in charge of everything.

40 - in jail Joseph interprets dreams of 2 servants to Pharaoh.  They come true.

41 - when Pharaoh dreams and no one can interpret it, the cupbearer tells of Joseph's success at this.  He predicts 7 good years, then 7 bad, and advises Pharaoh to save 20% of the crops to use in the lean years.  Pharaoh makes Joseph his second-in-command over all Egypt!  Joseph has Manasseh and Ephraim by an Egyptian wife, and sells the saved grain when the famine starts.

John 20 - Mary finds the tomb empty.  Peter and John rush there, and leave unsure what to make of it.  Mary stays and Jesus appears to her.  He appears to them that night, though they had the door locked.  Thomas wasn't there and doesn't believe until Jesus appears to them again the next Sunday.  He calls Jesus his God - John wrote this book so the reader would believe this, too.

21 - Back in Galilee, the disciples go fishing but catch nothing.  Jesus appears on shore and miraculously gives them a boatload of fish.  When they get to shore, he already has breakfast ready for them.  Jesus restores Peter with 3 questions, as he denied Him 3 times, and predicts his death.  John identifies himself as the author of the book, and says lots more could be written about all Jesus did.

Bud Lite // WFB's life // Liberal?

"None the Weiser" - Bud Lite should tank its brand and start over.

National Review, June 12, 2023

"At the Helm" – William F. Buckley traveled a lot, and his last book, " Getting About," is full of amusing anecdotes.

National Review, June 12, 2023

"A Man and His Adjectives" - A liberal professor writes a short book calling for decency in politics.  But what does liberal mean?  It "tempers the dogmatic or absolute.  It allows for difference."  Sometimes we want this.  It makes him "anti-woke" after all.

National Review, June 12, 2023

Genesis 33-36; John 18-19

Genesis 33 - Jacob meets Esau humbly, and diplomatically avoids closer alliance.

34 - A daughter of Jacob is raped by a Philistine.  Her brothers avenge her deceptively, using circumcision!

35 - God sends Jacob to Bethel, and reaffirms His promises.  Benjamin is born as Rachel dies at Bethlehem.  The 12 sons are listed, and Isaac dies.

36 - Esau's descendants listed.

John 18 - Judas takes a crowd to arrest Jesus.  The power of His word makes them fall.  Peter swings a sword to resist, but Jesus stops it.  Taken to Caiaphas, Peter denies to the servants knowing Jesus, to stay out of trouble.  Caiaiphas sends Jesus to Pilate, who tries to get Him off, but the Jews demand insurrectionist Barabbas instead!

19 - Pilate has Jesus flogged to satisfy them, but they use every leverage point they have with Pilate to get Him crucified.  They crucify Him, but don't break any bones, which fulfills prophecy.  Joseph and Nicodemus bury Him.

Greens Fight Efficiency // Trump Lost // China

"The War on Things that Work" – radical Green New Deal advocates have redefined efficiency from most bang for the buck, to mean using less energy at all.  It’s an “assault on the dignity of personal choice.”  Gas stoves, leaf blowers, gas engines, the list is long, and it needs to stop.  

National Review, June 12, 2023

"Sorry, Trump Lost" – excellent rebuttal of D’Souza’s 2000 Mules documentary.  He asserts that data from phones show people going to drop off locations multiple times a day.  But it can’t be proven that these weren’t just Uber or UPS drivers driving PAST the drop offs.  There is only an implication here, no proof.  I find D’Souza a sickening demagogue, making money off a crowd that wants to believe Trump won.  Giving them just enough “evidence” to make it plausible.

National Review, June 12, 2023

"Rightsizing China."  Chana is not the powerhouse it claims to be.  It is in long-term decline and we should not be intimidated when interacted with it.  

National Review, June 12, 2023

John 14-17

John 14 - Jesus comforts the disciples while telling them He is leaving.  He is the Way to the Father.  He will send the Spirit to help, teach, and comfort them.

15 - Abide in union with the vine, Jesus.  Love and obey Him.  Love one another.  Let the world hate you, as it hates Jesus and the Father.

16 - the Spirit will convict the world, and remind disciples of the truth.  Jesus is going to the Father.

17 - Jesus prays for His disciples who will remain in the world to be kept from evil, to be unified and sanctified, and to be with Him and see His glory.

Genesis 25-32

Genesis 25 - Abraham has more children by another concubine (!), but sends them away and gives Isaac his inheritance.  (This causes problems for Jew-Arab relations for centuries.)  Abraham dies.  Ishmael's descendants are listed.  Isaac has twin sons, and God chooses the younger and weaker, according to the world's standard.  But Jacob the younger is also willing to exploit and grab for the birthright himself.

26 - Isaac repeats the sins of his father, but God prospers him among the Philistines, making them hostile to him, but wanting peace with him.  God repeats promises he made to Abraham, to Isaac.  Esau marries a Hittite, to the grief of his parents.

27 - Isaac want to bless Esau, against God's plan.  Rebekah thwarts it by deception: Jacob pretneds to be Esau, and Isaac blesses Jacob to be the heir, when he meant to give it to Esau.  He doesn't (can't?) undo it when he realizes it.  Jacob flees to Laban at Rebekah's suggestion, Esau is so mad at him.

28 - Isaac, corrected by Rebekah, directs Jacob to a wife from Laban's clan.  Jacob dreams and sees angels going up and down on a ladder between heaven and earth.  He promises to be faithful to God, if God will be faithful to him.

29 - Jacob meets Rachel at a well, and is lured into employment with Laban for her.  As he tricked his father pretneind to be a sibling, Laban tricks him with a sibling substitute at the wedding.

30 - God gives Jacob 11 children by Leah, Rachel, and their two servants.  God prospers Jacob, despite Laban's efforts to thwart it.

31 - God tells Jacob to go home.  He persuades Rachel and Leah apart from their father.  They flee, Laban pursues, and a bitter encounter ensues.  Laban insists all that is Jacob's is his, but God said not to harm Jacob.

32 - Jacob prepares to meet Esau, trying to appease him.  God (a "man") wrestles with Jacob and blesses him.

God's Redeemed // Trans Liars // Evangelical Fear

At first glance, this article is just another summary of redemptive history, from Genesis to Revelation. But it focuses at each point just on the people God is redeeming.  Tabletalk.

Great piece on how in Europe doctors and psychologists are questioning the value of affirming trans tendencies with surgery.  While in America, it is still being ideologically and irrationally defended, against the science.  Best quote: our trans Surgeon General Levine “has said that ‘there is no argument among medical professionals about the value and the importance of gender-affirming care.’  This is a blatant lie.”  Trans America, by Kearns.  National Review, June 12, 2023.

Holy Fear – First Things – growing up the child of Intervarsity missionaries, you learn to distinguish harsh fundamentalism from the true faith of evangelicalism.  Many young people rebel against the rules, and need a lot of help recovering.  They need to find true faith, and realize it leads to the fear of God, and rigorous obedience.

Genesis 21-24; John 12-13

Genesis 21 - God keeps His promises and Sarah has Isaac.  Abram sends Hagar and Ishmael away, but God preserves them.  Abraham is officially recognized by the establishment at Beersheba.

22 - God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but stops him at the last second, and promises to bless him for his willingness - the very thing God will actually do 2000 years later, on the same spot!  Abraham hears his clan is growing - potential wives for Isaac.

23 - Sarah dies and Abraham takes the opportunity to buy land to bury her.

24 - Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac from Nahor's clan.  With everyone serving and hospitable, the mission succeeds, and Isaac marries Rebekah.

John 12 - Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, an act of deep submission - Judas objects because he embezzled.  Jesus enters Jerusalem acclaimed as the King of Israel.  Some Greeks ask to see Jesus, but He says it's time for Him to die now.  The Father confirms it with a voice from heaven.  Many still don't believe Jesus, confirming Isaiah's prophecy.

13 - Jesus washes His disciples' feet to show them He is about to serve them in a deep way.  He predicts Judas' betrayal, and Peter's denial, calling them to love each other.

Comfort over Conviction // Wedding Gift // Gaelic

America’s current decline is due to pursuit of shallow happiness and comfort, instead of wisdom.  Even China’s state-centric worldview is more compelling than this!  We do this because we have lost faith in the Gospel.  Excellent reading.  Archbishop Chaput, First Things

In a short article, Justin Hall lists 20 great works of literature, summarizing some of them and why they are great.  He gave them as a wedding gift with this article – great idea!  Touchstone, July/Aug, pg 20. 

Gaelic is almost gone.  Even in the Outer Hebrides.  Learning it on Duolingo isn’t the same – the real Gael culture is dying.  Listening to Gaelic Psalm-singing on Spotify is worth it, but it doesn’t compare to being there.  Touchstone, July/Aug, pg 18.

Humility // Incarnation in the big picture // Constitution

Touchstone - Patrick Reardon on humility: it isn't thinking of yourself as humble, but not thinking of yourself at all.

FLF - the Incarnation shows the war between the darkness and light.  The darkness seems invincible, but our great Christmas holiday and hymns declare the victory.

Claremont - Constitutional law is complicated!  Judicial review (courts claiming the authority to decide whether any law passed is constitutional) did not start with Marbury (1803).  But neither did Jefferson think America had adopted the whole common law of Britain, over any legislation passed currently.  Regardless, we've set aside the Constitution for an administrative state, today.

Genesis 17-20; John 10-11

Genesis 17 - God promises Abram many descendants, and commands him to seal this covenant by circumcision.  He promises him a son to 90-year-old Sarah.

18 - Abraham extends hospitality to 3 "men" who again promise a son to Sarah.  They tell him of the judgment coming on Sodom, and Abraham intercedes for it.

19 - Sodom insists on perversion with the "men."  They send Lot's family out, but his in-laws don't want to go, only his wife and daughter leave with him.  They live alone, so the daughters get Lot drunk and have children by him: Moab and Ammon.

20 - Abraham lies about Sarah to protect himself - again!  He assumed unbelievers would be wicked, but God's common grace was at work.

John 10 - Jesus is the true Shepherd and gateway for the sheep, who lays His life down for them.  He gives them life and is one with the Father. They try to arrest Him, but He quotes Psalm 82:6, and goes down east past the Jordan river and Jericho.

11 - Their good friend Lazarus near Jerusalem dies, so they go back.  Martha's hope is the last-day resurrection.  Jesus corrects her - HE IS the resurrection!  Mary runs to Him and He weeps at all their grief, then calls Lazarus out and he comes.  The Jews plot to kill Him, else they see regime change coming, and they will be out.

Christian Liberty // USA a Mission Field // Guns

Christian liberty is for freedom from sin, not for license.  "Those who are earnest in their repentance will trend toward a decreased degree and frequency of their offenses.... The degree of rebuke [from the church] is to be proportional to the offender's resistance to being corrected... If rebuke is resisted further disciplinary action is to be used, up and to the point of excommunication."  Holy Confessions, pg 362-363.

"The Christians [in Madagascar] consider the United States to be a slothful and ungodly nation... making the U.S. a prime mission field."    "The Cruciform Way" by Thomas, pages 156-7.

Enforcing gun laws better would reduce crime.  "A buyer fails a background check... 1% of transactions.... Crime is densely concentrated in specific social networks such as gangs as well as in specific locations... send more officers to the problem areas."   "Our Unenforced Gun Laws" - National Review, June 12, 2023, pg 17.

Genesis 12-16; John 8-9

Genesis 12 - God calls Abram, to give him descendants and a land, as a blessing.  He goes by faith and builds altars to God in the land.  But in Egypt, he lies about his wife to preserve himself, and Pharaoh rebukes him for it.

13 - Abram and Lot separate.  Lot chooses better land but the wicked live there, in Sodom.

14 - Lot is taken captive in battle. Abram rescues him and tithes to Melchizedek when he blesses Abram.  But he stays apart from Sodom's king.

15 - God promises Abram many descendants.  He believes and God seals it with a bloodbath rite.

16 - Abram agrees with his wife's plan to have children by a servant woman.  Egyptian Hagar conceives Ishmael, but Sarah drives them away.  God sends them back to Abram.

John 8 - the Pharisees try to trap Jesus, using a woman "caught" in adultery.  He accuses the accusers, and gives her mercy.  He claims to be the light of the world, prompting debate about who He is.  Many believe Him, but many resist His claim to be sent from the Father.  It gets bitter: they insinuate He is a bastard; He calls them sons of the devil.  He claims to be greater than Abraham: "I AM."

9 - Jesus heals a blind man on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees press the man to denounce Jesus as a sinner, but he won't.

Genesis 8-11; John 6-7

Genesis 8 - After 150 days the ark lands, but it's 7 more months before God calls them out.  He promises not to do that again, and Noah sacrifices some of the few animals still alive.

9 - God says man can eat any animals but not the blood.  Killing a man should bring capital punishment.  The sign of this covenant is the rainbow, for us to know that God remembers us.  Noah plants a vineyard and gets drunk.  Ham mocks him, but Shem and Japheth cover and honor him.

10 - Descendants of Ham, Japheth and Shem are listed - the nations of mankind.

11 - They try to make themselves great with a tower, but God confuses their speech - the beginning of multiple languages.  Shem's descendants listed down to the 10th: Abram.

John 6 - Jesus feeds 5000, walks on water, calls all to believe on Him as the bread of life, to eat of Him or die.

7 - The Jews are divided about Jesus - even His own brothers don't believe in Him.  He teaches at the Feast of Booths, claiming to have God's authority.  They try to arrest Him but the officers are amazed at His teaching.  During the water ritual He claims to be the water everyone needs!

Art // History // Kingdom

FLF - We have to take the arts to the people, but our Christian elites protect their empires instead of giving to artists.  This piece turned out to be an ad for LOOR.tv.  But it is true that the common man is persuaded in part by aesthetics.  Fight Laugh Feast, Winter 2022, pg 22.  "There's No Luther without Lucas."

Claremont - Historian Allen Guelzo critiques a woke history of America.  Lots of good history tucked into the critique!  "The Puritans and Pilgrims were, in the eyes of polite British society, nothing more than religious nuts with guns; two centuries later, the Mormons looked much the same."   "We deserve something better than a critical narrative of dreariness and despair."

Richard Pratt summarizes the Kingdom of God well.  God is its King, creation is its place, people are its servants.  God "chose to use people over the course of history...  redeemed, faithful human beings are the primary means by which the kingdom of God will come."  Tabletalk, Nov 2021, pg 4.

Genesis 4-7; John 4-5

Genesis 4 - Cain envies Abel because God accepts Abel's sacrfice but not Cain's.  So he kills him!  God rebukes, exiles, and marks Cain, as he complains.  Cain builds a city, a clan, and culture.   The 7th from Adam is Lamech, who takes 2 wives and brags about killing a man for insulting him.  Seth is born to Eve, to replace godly Abel.

5 - Seth's line is listed, down to Noah.  All die except the 7th, Enoch.  God takes him after only 365 years.

6 - Evil comes to dominate on earth and in the heart, so God decides to wipe out all life with a flood and start over.  Noah pleases Him, though, so God tells him to build an ark to save all the animals and his own family.

7 - They go in.  The rain starts 7 days later and lasts 40 days.  The water rises to 22 feet higher than the mountains, so everything dies.

John 4 - Jesus offers a Samaritan woman His living water, though she's on her 6th man (Jesus is the 7th!).  Jerusalem is the right place of worhsip, but she and all can worship the true God in spirit from anywhere now, through Him, the Messiah.  Many Samaritans come to faith.  Jesus heals a prominent man's son, from a great distance.

5 - Jesus heals a lame man on the Sabbath.  The Jews challenge this, and He appeals to His close relationship with His Father, who has given Him power to judge everything and to raise the dead!  John, Jesus' miracles, the Father's voice, and the scriptures all testify to the truth of this.  "If you believed Moses, you'd believe Me."

Go to Bed // Teachers // Children

Magazine reading

Insidious, undermining evil is at work in the world, but God is sovereign.  "It's Your church, Lord, I'm going to bed" - Pope John Paul II.  In "The Cruciform Way" by Pastor Christopher Thoma

National Review, "Pay Teachers" - we could pay teachers more if we cut back on admin and benefits.

First Things - "Mirrors of Perfection" - children show us the image of God, not so much in their innocence or potential, but in their dependence.  Apr 2022.

Genesis 1-3; John 1-3

Genesis 1 - God creates the heavens and earth, fills them with creatures, and makes man to rule and tend them.  God rests on the 7th day, making it holy.

2 - God made man from dirt, breathed life into him, and put him in Eden garden to keep it.  He tells him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam names the animals and God makes Eve for Adam.

3 - Satan lies to Eve and gets her to eat of the forbidden tree.  God finds out and holds Adam responsible.  He blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent.  God curses the serpent to ultimate defeat, Eve to pain in childbearing, and Adam to frustrating toil in his work, and death.  God clothes them in mercy, but exiles them from Eden, keeping them from eternal life for a time - (until the resurrection of Christ, when He harrows Sheol?).

John 1 - the Word, with God and God from the beginning, made all things, came into His world, made flesh, but was rejected.  Those who didn't He gave life.  John testified to this Lamb of God.  Jesus gathers disciples and heads for Galilee.

2 - Jesus turns OT purification water into excellent wine, showing that something better than the OT is coming with Him.  He cleanses the temple, calling it His Father's house.  Challenged, He says He will raise up the temple in 3 days - His body!

3 - Jesus tells Nicodemus everyone must be born again and look to the Son of Man in faith.  God loved the world by sending this Son to restore life.  Rejecting Him condemns you.  Jesus and John teach and baptize in the same area, but John wants people to go to Jesus.

Pronouns // God's Kingdom // True Liberty

Magazine reading

World's Sept 9 issue was good.  Best was Lynn Vincent's critique of pronouns these days.

Tabletalk, Nov, 2021 - The Kingdom of God is His reign over all.  But it doesn't entail victory at every step, as the suffering of Jesus showed.

True Christian liberty doesn't mean license to sin, or to ignore the authorities - WCF 20 - Holy Confessions by Kuehl.

Revelation summary

1 - Jesus gave John a vision of Himself in all His glory, walking among His churches.

2 - Ephesus no longer loves Jesus, as at first, but hates evil yet.

Smyrna will suffer soon, and needs to be faithful.

Pergamum went through martyrdom, but has false teachers she tolerates.

3 - Thyatira is working hard, but some there tolerate Jezebel. If you don't, hang on until I come.

Sardis thinks it's alive but it's dead.  But some there are pure and worthy.

Philadelphia has Jews dominating her, but I will subject them to you soon.

Laodicea needs to let me back in to her life.  She is lukewarm, because she think she doesn't need Me.

4 - John sees God's throne room, with 4 cherubim and 24 humans continually praising God's holiness and glory.

5 - God holds a scroll no one can open, so John weeps.  But the slain Lamb takes it and can open it, so all praise Him like they do the One on the throne.

6 - The lamb opens 6 seals, and 4 horsemen appear bringing conquering, killing, and pestilence.  Saints by the throne cry out for justice.  The sky goes dark and earth's rulers cry out for mercy.

7 - God's elect are sealed before destruction comes on the earth.  John sees the saints glorified, standing before God, praising Him.

8 - At the 7th seal, an angel offers up the prayers of the saints while heaven is quiet.  Angels blow 4 trumpets, bringing destruction to earth.

9 - Trumpets 5-6 bring torment and death on 1/3 of humanity.

10 - An angel with a scroll appears, and John is told to eat it.  He needs to receive and then proclaim God's word about many people.

11 - John measures the temple, and 2 of God's witnesses testify, and then are martyred.  The 7th trumpet blows, and Jesus takes His kingdom and power.

12 - John sees a woman about to give birth, and a dragon seeking to devour the child.  Archangel Michael defeats the dragon, but he pursues the woman on earth.

13 - The dragon brings forth beasts from sea and land, who pressure men to worship the beast instead of God.

14 - John sees the Lamb and His elect.  Angels call for all men to worship God, they proclaim Babylon's fall, and warn that worshiping the beast will mean eternal punishment.  Jesus calls for His angels to harvest the earth.

15 - 7 angels appear with 7 bowls of wrath and judgment - they praise God with the Song of Moses.

16 - The bowls are poured on earth, bringing death and destruction.  Men don't repent, but instead gather to fight against God at Armageddon.

17 - John sees a prostitute drunk with the blood of saints, given honor and glory by kings who worship the beast and war against the Lamb.

18 - An angel exults over Babylon's fall, while kings grieve it.

19 - The saints praise God for destroying Babylon and bringing the marriage of the Lamb to His bride to pass.  The Lamb is a warrior who conquers the wicked with His mouth/sword/word.

20 - Satan is bound for 1000 years - martyrs are resurrected to reign with Jesus for 1000 years.  Satan is released and gathers his forces to fight God (!) but is defeated.  All the dead are judged - any not in the book of life go in the lake of fire.

21 - John sees the new Jerusalem, the bride and wife of the Lamb.

22 - John sees the river of life flowing from the throne - the Spirit and Bride invite you to it!  Jesus will come soon...