Top Ten New Testament Passages

I recently was asked by a Rabbi to share my top ten New Testament passages. It had never really made such a list before. How do you decide?

Top Ten New Testament Passages

These ten are my top ten. I don't think there is any kind of unanimity in Christianity about how one should read or interpret the New Testament. That is why there are just so many different traditions in Christianity. I come from the Wesleyan tradition, so my choices here are both personal, as seen through my theological background, and from my own experience.

Most Christians experience the bible with favorite go to verses that encourage them. I think what you are looking for are passages that get after the heart of New Testament theological ideas.

1) Romans 8

The number one passage for a New Testament worldview, in my opinion, is Romans Chapter 8. This chapter is the climax to Paul of Tarsus' discourse from the beginning of the letter. To get the full impact of Romans 8, one ought to read the argument from Romans 1 all the way through Romans 8. But to save you that time, I'll set up the chapter by stating that Paul is describing the difference between a righteousness gained by obedience to the Law of Moses versus a righteousness that is given to those with faith in Christ. Paul's understanding of this righteousness by faith is that God, in His mercy, pours His Holy Spirit into the hearts of those of who believe the gospel. Cross reference Romans 1:16. Paul asserts that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first the Jew, then the Gentile. In Romans 8 Paul is describing the redemptive work of God through His actions in Jesus. That redemption is from a world that is in bondage to decay (sin and death). Freedom is given to Jesus in His resurrection from the dead. That same freedom is given to believers through the Spirit that dwells in them. The Spirit enables believers with the power of God to become what the Law of Moses intends. No longer hindered by the power of sin, those who are "in Christ" (which I interpret to mean obedient to the influence of the power of God's love) are enabled to be just, righteous and pleasing to God.

My favorite verse in this passage is Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (New Revised Standard Version)

2) Matthew 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount)

Matthew is depicting Jesus as the new Moses, a lawgiver of the new covenant in Jesus. Jesus stands upon a mountain and gives The Beatitudes to open His sermon. The "Blessed are" statements are akin to the blessings in Deuteronomy for covenant faithfulness. The rest of Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 are like the book of the Law in Exodus 20-23. These describe the new covenant morality of Jesus' disciples.

Critics of Christianity have said when reading this material, "The only problem with Christianity is that no one has ever tried it!" The bar is set high here. It takes an act of God's transforming grace (love in action) for one to be empowered to live according to the morality set forth here.

3) 1 Corinthians 13 (The Love Chapter)

This passage is a favorite for weddings. John Wesley, founder of my tradition, said that if one would adhere to the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and this passage in 1 Corinthians 13, one would be living true Christianity. These two passages give a good representation of what Christians are called to become. It only happens through the transforming power of God's love poured into us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. 

4) 1 John 4:7-21

This passage describes God as love. God is love. If God dwells in us through the Spirit of Christ, then His love dwells in us. His love is best illustrated in the gift of Jesus, God's Son, as the ultimate atonement for sin. Cross reference 1 John 3:16. 

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  (New International Version)

5) Matthew 22:35-40 (The Greatest Commandment)

America's Pastor, Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life, gleans five purposes for the church which come from the great commandment and the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). To love God fully is worship. To love neighbor is mission. Jesus taught that the love of God and neighbor fulfills the objectives of the Law of Moses and the just teachings of the prophets. Cross reference Paul in Romans 13:8-10. Love empowering thoughts, words and deeds, creates the kind of holy life God intends for humanity. It must be His love, not our distorted ideas about love. His love is self-sacrifice. His love is a mystical power that recreates the human heart.

6) Matthew 28:18-20 (The Great Commission)

The mission of the United Methodist Church is "to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." We take part of that mission statement from the Great Commission. After Jesus died and was raised again to life, He commissioned His church to go and make disciples.

Rick Warren draws his other three purposes of the church from this passage. The first two purposes Warren gleaned from the great commandment: love God (worship) and love neighbor (mission). In the Great Commandment, the other purposes are as follows: make disciples (evangelism), baptizing them (fellowship), teaching them (discipleship).

Not everyone agrees with Warren's spin, but it's pretty good in my estimation. Much of what we do is pointed at either trying to get people in the door (evangelism) so that they can worship (love God) and serve in church ministries and missions (love neighbor). As participants draw deeper, they become part of small groups (fellowship) that help them grow in faith (discipleship).

7)  2 Corinthians 5:1-6:2

This passage describes our hope in eternal life, a resurrected body. But resurrection is not merely an afterlife experience. Resurrection is experienced now through the Spirit. The death conquering powers of the age to come are present in us through the Spirit. Therefore all who are in Christ are a new creation. We are of the new heaven and earth that God will create. God has begun this new creation in the resurrection of Jesus and all who believe.

8) Ephesians 2:1-22

This passage describes how Gentiles are part of what God is doing to redeem the world through Israel. Through faith in Christ we are joined together as fellow citizens in the kingdom of our God.

9) Acts 1:8

You won't likely find this verse on a top ten list, but this describes the mission of the church, from a different angle. The church is empowered to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. It started in Jerusalem with Jews who believed Jesus is Messiah. The good news of God's love and mercy through Jesus spread throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. I am a Christian because the church has consistently been a witness for Jesus.

But witness is more than words. It is the kind of communities Christ's disciples build. See Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35.

Another way to describe the church's mission of witness is to understand that the church is continuing the ministry of Jesus, that is to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is here (or near at hand), to heal the sick, and to liberate those held in bondage. Luke 6:17-19 illustrates Jesus' ministry.

People from all over... had come to hear him (Teaching)

to be healed of their diseases (Healing)

Those troubled by evil spirits were cured (Liberation)

Any ministry of the church ought to continue the ministry of Jesus by bringing hope through teaching and preaching the gospel, by restoring health, and establishing liberty (setting the captive free) to pursue holiness (one in love with God and neighbor) through the power of grace.

10) Philippians 4:4-13

The letter to the Philippians is often called the "Epistle of Joy." Paul's rhetoric is filled with joy. This passage is a favorite of mine because it helps me to remember to cultivate joy in my heart by focusing on the praiseworthy. I can always rejoice because of the nearness of Jesus Christ, my Lord, through the Holy Spirit which He has given me. Through the Spirit, I have heaven inside. I am already right with God through Jesus' sacrifice and already perfected in Christ through His work in me in eternal glory. I am both a fallen man captive to sin and a glorified man transformed by the Spirit of Christ and the Love of God. When I rely upon Him, I am at my best. It is a life long journey to grow up into maturity in Christ, but through His strength I can do all things. It's so important not to get bogged down in despair, grumbling, complaining and frustrations. To quote another favorite passage from Genesis, "God has been gracious to me and I have all I need. (Genesis 33:11) Like Jacob the patriarch learned, when we realize just how blessed we are to be in covenant with God and one another, what else do we really need? We have it all.

Overflowing Joy!

Day 90: Esther 6–10; Malachi 1–4; Revelation 19–22

I am giddy today!  Just the very awareness of finishing the great book of God, the Holy Bible fills me with joy!  This has been a great experience.  I am carried with a fullness and buoyancy.  This must be what it means to have abundant life!  I am happy enough to turn cartwheels!

I am grateful!  I am humbled!  I am pleased.  I am satisfied.  I am thankful.  I am filled with praises for God and for all who have journeyed with me these 90 days.

Thank you, Lord for You amazing grace to carry me through these many hours of reading, reflection and writing.  You are the blessing that scripture intends. I am awake in Your life giving presence! Hallelujah!

Thank you all who have prayed for me, encouraged me, wrote to me, spoke to me or read these posts.  You were the catalyst that kept me accountable.  I so needed you.  You have my deepest gratitude.  May Christ Jesus fill you all with grace upon grace to overflowing joy!

The same night Haman planned to hang Mordecai the Jew for not paying him homage, King Xerxes could not sleep.  So he had the historical records read to him and was reminded of Mordecai's loyal act to thwart a planned assassination of the king.  So the king wanted to honor him.  He asked Haman how the king might honor a man.  Haman expecting himself to be the one the king wished to honor made an exquisite suggestion.

"Have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse the king himself has ridden, which has a royal diadem on its head. ⁹ Put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officials. Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and proclaim before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.' (Est. 6:8-9)"

Haman was instructed to be the very man to carry out the king's plan to Mordecai.  Imagine Haman's humiliation.  He was going to ask permission form the king to hang Mordecai.  He is mortified. As he should be.  The very evil he prepared for Mordecai fell upon him.  Haman was hanged on his own gallows when Esther pleaded with the king to spare her life and the life of her people because of the law King Xerxes had signed under Haman's design. 


The law was overturned in a new law sent out the 23rd day of the third month. That's 70 days after the original decree for a Jewish holocaust. This 70 days speaks of a fullness and completeness, of divine order and spiritual perfection.  Basically the salvation of the Jews through Mordecai and Queen Esther had come in God's perfect timing.  It occurred in 10 weeks.  The horror began at Passover and lasted 3 weeks into the spring harvest after the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost). It is 7 weeks plus 3 weeks. The number 3 represents the sacred, the spiritual, what is eternal, "what was, what is and is to come." 10 weeks is an intensified way of expressing God's complete work. 

On the day the Jews were to be exterminated, the Jews exterminated all their enemies.  The dark day was turned into a day of celebration, a holiday to be remembered of God's salvation for the Jews through Esther.
Purim remembers that Haman the Agagite cast lots (rolled the dice) to set the date for their genocide.  But God made that day a day of great deliverance.  Jews today celebrate Purim with festivity and exchanging gifts.

Malachi is a book written by the messenger (the Malachy).  He confronts the priests at the restored temple during Ezra and Nehemiah's reforms.  The matters of divorce, intermarriage with gentiles, shirking the tithe and unholy offerings are the subject of this short prophetic book.

The priests were accepting blemished, stolen or sickly animals for sacrifice.  There was an bad attitude growing in Jerusalem that Malachi confronts.

You have said: "It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfullybefore the LORD of Hosts? So now we consider the arrogantto be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape (Mal. 3:14-15)."

God warns the priests and the people that they are foolishly falling away from their father. For He is the One who will be revered by all the earth.  Those who have good and acceptable animals in their flocks but give to Yahweh the sickly ones that no one would want are profaning God's altar.

"For My name will be great among the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name in every place because My name will be great among the nations... For I am a great King," says the LORD of Hosts, "and My name will be feared among the nations (Mal. 1:11, 14b)."


Jerusalem is falling into rebellion again by not begin careful to keep the law of God and honor Him.  But happily there are those who remain faithful.


At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name. "They will be Mine," says the LORD of Hosts, "a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. 


Books are opened  before the throne of God in John's revelation.  The Book of Life contains the names of all who have remained faithful and washed their garment in the blood of the Lamb.  They will be welcomed in the the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:27; 22:14)!

Satan, the beast, the false prophet and all who worshipped the beast are defeated by the King of King and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.  They are thrown into the lake of fire, the lake of burning sulfur to be destroyed forever and ever. Evil is completely and utterly eliminated from God' new creation.  The "refiner's fire" envisioned in Malachi burns off all the impurities once and for all (Mal. 3:1-4).

The holy presence of God fills the New Jerusalem with light forever.  There is no need for sun, or moon or stars for the Lamb is its light.  God is with his saints in a way only Adam and Eve knew. No longer separated or alienated because of sin, we will see God face to face and shine with His radiance.

My daughter Amanda gets married in a few days.  I will walk with her to hand her to her husband to be, the love of her life. She will be the wife of his youth.  May God keep them.

As she comes down the aisle dressed in her beauty and radiantly shining in love, we will all shudder because of the purity and beauty of this love and this sacred event.  John points to the wedding ceremony as the way if will feel for the saints when Jesus comes to complete His kingdom.  The fullness of time, God's perfect sacred time will come in completeness and the New Jerusalem will come from heaven like a radiant bride.

I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

    Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:

    Look! God's dwelling is with men,

    and He will live with them.

    They will be His people,

    and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

    He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

    Death will exist no longer;

    grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,

    because the previous things have passed away (Rev. 21:2-4).

As I write, my hear is about to burst with joy.

"Let all people be silent before the LORD, for He is coming from His holy dwelling (Zch 2:13)."

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen (Rev. 22:20b-21).

Hope Filled Word

Day 89: Esther 1–5; Zechariah 10–14; Revelation 15–18

Purim is a holy day not specified in the law of Moses.  Like Hanukah is a holy day celebrating a later event during the Maccabean Revolt, Purim celebrates the Jews deliverance from genocide.  Both of these traditions shows that Judaism is a living faith with newer traditions marking God's actions among them.  Just because the last books of the Old Testament were written in the BC era, doesn't mean God is done working through His chosen people.  God is working on all people all the time to bring them to saving knowledge of Himself.

The story behind Purim may find it's genesis with an age old folly of King Saul's.  King Saul defeated the Amalekites who were to be utterly destroyed per the Lord's command when they attacked the Israelites wandering tin the wilderness (Ex. 17:14-16).  During Saul's reign as king of Israel, he defeated the Amalekites but let their king Agag live.  The prophet Samuel scolded Saul and reported that he lost the kingdom of this infraction (1 Sam. 15:8-33).  Samuel slew King Agag of the Amalekites.

Apparently some of his descendants survived.  In Susa, one of the four capital cities for the Persian empire, King Xerxes  (known also as Ahsuerus reigning 486-465 BC) held a 6 month long celebration of his great city and great power and wealth.  Nobles and officials from all over the empire attended.  In a drunken state the king wanted to show off his beautiful Queen Vashti along with all his other possessions.  Vashti refused to be paraded around like another treasure.  So the king in his rafe consulted his advisors and they advised that her insolence be met with defrock and banishment from the king's presence. For they feared other women would get the idea they could rebel against their husbands' authority.  The law went out to all the empire "so all women will honor their husbands, from the least to the greatest... every man should be master of his own house (Est. 1:20, 22b)."


King Xerxes searched for a new queen (Cinderella?) by having all the beautiful maidens in the land brought to the palace and prepared for a night with him.  It was a year long preparation of oil and perfume beauty treatments. The luxury is astonishing! These concubines were prepared for a year to spend one night with the king of Persia in his bedroom.  Only if he called for them by name did they ever see him again! 


Esther is the cousin of Mordecai, a descendant of Kish of Benjamin, the father of King Saul.  Mordecai had taken legal guardianship of Esther when her parents both died.  She was taken to the King's palace and prepared with the other beauties.  But Esther had spiritual qualities, too.  She carried "hesed" before the man in charge of the harem. She showed faithful love or covenantal faithfulness.  In other words she had the qualities of a  daughter of Zion, a child of Yahweh because she walked in His right ways.  She was favored by the eunuch in charge.  


Her exaltation reminds me of Joseph's in Egypt.  He too became well respected for God was with him even though he was only a Hebrew slave. He became the savior of Egypt and the whole region, including his own family, Jacob and sons.  Esther too is recognized as no ordinary woman.  King Xerxes chooses Esther to be his new queen.


But Xerxes had a man he also exalted, Haman the Agagite, a descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites.  Oops!  Saul botched it.  The king order everyone to bow and give homage when he passed by, but Mordecai refused because he was a Jew.  He is a righteous man who even warned the king of an assassination plot (Est.2:21-23). 


The book of Esther never mentions God, but this refusal to bow before Haman is God-obedience.  Just as Esther has the qualities of faithful love because she is a covenant keeper, Mordecai too will not bow before any other than Yahweh.  His people are in exile in Persia because  they had rebelled and worshipped before idols.  One must read between the lines in order to gather the rich inferences.


Haman convinces Xerxes to kill all the Jews because "their laws are different from everyone else's, so that they defy the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them Est. 3:8b)." The decree went out on the 13th of the first month, the night before the Passover lambs are slaughtered.  All Jews were to be killed and plundered throughout the empire on the 13th of the 12th month, a year away. 


Through Mordecai's urging Esther decides to risk her life and approach the king uninvited.  The sentence for such an act is death unless the king chooses to show mercy by extending his golden scepter (Est. 4:11).  Xerxes does show her kind welcome, accepting her invitation to dine together along with Haman.  Ii is a delightful time.  The king is so pleased with her her offers to grant her anything she wants, even up to half of his kingdom.  King Herod promised the same to the dancing daughter of his queen Herodias (Mk. 6:22-23).
Folly runs in the hearts of drunk powerful men.


Haman is so pleased by his intimate dinner with the king and queen that he struts from the palace only to find Mordecai sitting in sackcloth.  Mordecai does not rise or tremble or show any homage to Haman at all.  HE is enraged and complains to his wife and friends about how blessed his is with the kings favor, riches and authority and eve the queen loves him.  But none of this satisfies him because Mordecai will not bow before him (Est. 5:11-13).


Xerxes seems too busy with Haman to really see what is happening.  They sit down and drink wine together whole the rest of the city is in confusion of over the law to kill all the Jews (Est. 3:15)!  But Mordecai is certain that God will hear their prayers and see their humility before Him in sackcloth.  He advises Esther who hesitates to approach the powerful King Xerxes uninvited.  


"If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father's house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this (Est. 4:14)."


Who knows indeed!

Zechariah is one in the know.  As a prophet he sees the future of Jerusalem and her enemies.  Jerusalem will be restored, the people gathered from the nations where God scattered them.  Jerusalem will be great again and kings will come from them. Their enemies will not be able to withstand restored Jerusalem (Zch. 12:2-9). The people will be like David and the house of David will be like God (Zch. 12:8)!

"Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn (Zch. 12:10)."

The Israelites will grieve because of how their unfaithfulness has pierced God and hurt Him deeply in His emotions.  This very passage was later seen by the apostles as a prophecy describing the crucifixion of Jesus.

Zechariah speaks of a day when all the nations will come out against Jerusalem and He will strike them down (Zch. 14:1).  The Lord will appear standing on the Mount of Olives (Zch. 14:14).  Jerusalem's survivors will flee through a new valley created by the Lord for their escape from the invading armies. And God strikes the armies down with a flesh rotting plague.  Then Jerusalem is restored and temple worship resumes and even the pagan nations come and celebrate the festival of booths, the ingathering of the harvest (Zch. 14:16).  That festival marks the end of the harvest, a time to celebrate God's provision that season and His faithfulness to Israel in the wilderness wandering years under Moses.

John the Revelator uses Zechariah's great day of the Lord and the showdown against the armies gathered against Jerusalem in his Armageddon.  He represents the battle as the great showdown between God and the demonic forces possessing the kings of the earth (Rev. 16:13-16).

"Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe... the angel swung his sickle toward earth and gathered the grapes from earth's vineyard, and he threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath (Rev. 14:15b, 19)." 

Armegeddon is a word dreived from Har Megiddo which is the fortress city on the hill of Megiddo over looking the Jezreel Valley in Gaililee (Northern Israel).  This is where many battles occurred in the days of Israel's judges and kings. According to John, this is where the last battle will occur.  The great whore of Babylon falls, code for "Rome will fall."

It's sad, but this Armegeddon imagery has gotten completely out of hand by Christian interpreters trying to connect the dots between the predicted destruction of the enemies of God and the great city which filled with luxuries and adulteries to events in our future.  They make predictions of when Jesus is coming back to strike the final blow.  They are always wrong.  Even Jesus said He did not know the day or hour.  it is not our business to predict doomsday.  This revelation was never meant for that.  It is our job to witness to hope in Christ.

The rhetoric of John is prophetic and a style used to disguise the plain meaning from state officials  who are oppressing the church.  John is on Patmos as an exile, banished there for preaching the gospel.  His letter to the seven churches was cloaked in imagery. The plain meaning is to encourage the church to remain faithful to the end. If death comes during this tribulation, they should know they will be radiantly blessed.  So hang in there! Trust that God will win the day!  Trust that the people of God will be restored even beyond the grave.

Mordecai trusted that the Jews would be delivered even if Esther chose not to plead mercy before King Xerxes.  Christians under persecution and oppression should also trust.

Even when it seems hopeless we are to choose hope in God's ultimate victory.  That is the enduring message of the Apocalypse (the revelation) of John.  Zechariah contains this hope. John presents this hope again.

So instead of trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back and when the world as we know it is going to end, we should be inspiring hope in others and lifting them to trust in the One we pierced by our transgressions, The Lamb, Jesus Christ who saves!

O Lamb of God, I am not worthy to be protected by Your name, washed clean of the stain of my sins by Your blood, or strengthened by Your grace.  I humbly accept the words of the gospel that eternal life is a free gift we receive through hope in You.  Help You church to lead other to call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus and be saved.  And forgive us when we get wrapped up in superstitious fears and arrogantly flaunt Your hope filled Word to do harm to others.  Amen

Get It Right

Day 88:  Nehemiah 8–13; Zechariah 5–9; Revelation 11–14

Nehemiah finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He lead a great celebration with Ezra the priest (who may would been very old by then).  They marched in procession on too pf the wall around Jerusalem Ezra lead half one way and Nehemiah lead the other half until they had completely encircled the city meeting at the temple of the Lord (Neh. 12:31-43). 

The people had all recommitted themselves to Yahweh and His holy covenant.  They promised, after the Levite teachers lead them in a national prayer of confession...

• not to intermarry with gentiles,
• not to profane the Sabbath day by buying or selling goods
  to provide for all the work of the temple through tithes, temple taxes, wine and oil
• to bring wood and livestock, grain and first-fruits and redeem their firstborn sons
• to keep all the holy festivals, assemblies, sacrifices and offerings

In short the people promised, "We will not neglect the house of our God (Neh. 10:39b)."

To keep the tribes in unity they each gave a tithe of their own people to live in Jerusalem by casting lots.  Those chosen did so happily for Israel of for their God.  The rest reoccupied the cities of their ancestors, the land of their inheritance from the Lord.  "It's all good in the hood," as they say.

Zechariah prophesied this restoration in beautiful terms.

The LORD says this: "I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain." The LORD of Hosts says this: "Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them."

"They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God."(Zch. 8:3-5, 7b)

But the commitment of the people doesn't last.  They get it right for a time, but cannot seem to keep it right. Nehemiah returns to his king in Persia as he had promised.  During his absence some of the people fell into unfaithfulness. Some intermarried and had children with gentile women.  Alliances with their old enemies Sanballat and Tobiah continued.  Eliashib the priest even had a special room set of for Tobiah the Ammonite and his family to stay on the temple grounds! The space had been used fro string grain, incense, win and oil for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers.  The people had stopped supporting them. So the singers and gatekeepers returned to their own towns to keep the farm rather than the Lord's house. In addition people were buying and selling on the Sabbath day. 

Nehemiah corrected all these crimes against the covenant of the Lord.  Men were beaten and their hair pulled out.  Eliashib was thrown out of Jerusalem along with the belongings of Tobiah the Ammonite.  Faithful priests who could be trusted were placed in charge of the storehouses for the Lord's temple.  Tithing was reestablished and the singers and gatekeepers returned to their duties.  Nehemiah acted with righteous zeal for the Lord's house.  It reminds me of Jesus' zeal to His Father's house when He drove the moneychangers and their livestock and doves from the temple courts.

Zechariah prophesied that the Branch (the Christ) would come to Zion in humility riding on a donkey's colt (Zch. 9:9).  Jesus fulfilled this prophecy during His triumphant entry into Jerusalem recorded in all the gospels.  This branch coming from David is the righteous king who will proclaim peace to the nations. Even the Philistines will become a righteous remnant for the Lord (Zch. 9:6-7).


John continues his visions from the Lord Jesus.  This section gives the visions of the woman with child (the Jerusalem church with Messiah Jesus) and the seven headed, ten horned, red dragon (Satan) who wants to devour the child. God delivers her and the child from the dragon.  So the dragon goes to war against the Gentile church, "the rest of her offspring —those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony about Jesus (Rev. 12:17b)."

Then beasts rise from the sea and the abyss. These are servants of the Devil.  The first beast is worshiped as a god (Caesar of Rome). The second beast is supernaturally empowered to trick the world into worshiping the beast.  His name has a number 666. 

The number 666 has been a popular topic in the church, mostly to our embarrassment.  Because we are so far removed from the context in which this book first encouraged the church, we've used the beast to frighten.  We've named the beast "Antichrist" as some kind of son of Satan on earth, the anti-savior. 

Let's get it right.  The best interpretation I have seen is that the calculation of the number represents the name Caesar Neron the formal name for Nero.  Each letter in the Greek alphabet has a numerical value in a code. Add up all the numbers for each letter in a name and you get a calculated number for the name. Other manuscripts have the number 646 for the informal version "Nero" which further supports this interpretation. The real monsters are men who want to be worshiped, who want to bend everyone to their own will.  These are servants of the Devil whether unwittingly or willingly for they serve selfishly.



But as with all human endeavor, there is always a fly in the ointment.  It doesn't last.  Corruption remains a cancer on our world.  Jealousy, greed, selfish ambitions, lust and idolatry creep back into our once right ways. 

Set your hope not in humanity to get it right.  Look to the One who is always right, Who can and will make it right.  To quote the English mystic Julia of Norwich, "All shall be well and all shall be well. All manner of thing shall be well."


It would all sound like a fairy tale if it weren't for the living God.

"Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?"—the declaration of the LORD of Hosts (Zch. 8:6)."

Remodeling and Remixing

Day 87:  Nehemiah 1–7; Zechariah 1–4; Revelation 6–10

As I read Nehemiah, Zechariah and Revelation I see that rebuilding and tearing down are all related.  Old Testament history and prophets are revisited in the New Testament vision of hope.  Just as today's studio musicians "sample" sound bites from former hits and mix them into their new song, John the Revelator remixes Zechariah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah and others into his vision of the end of this present age.  Just as carpenters tear out walls, rip up carpets and floorboards in order to remodel a home, God tears down corrupt governments and sinful societies in order to recreate a holy nation and a righteous kingdom that has no end.

The kingdom with no end was promised through prophet after prophet and as the writer of Hebrews has already mentioned, they never saw the promise fulfilled. But now through God's work of salvation in Jesus Christ, the eternal kingdom of the Son of David is the kingdom of the Son of God.  The Son is one with the Father in the Spirit.  The triune God known to classic Christianity is one God: Creator of all things seen and unseen, Redeemer of all creation, and Sustainer of holy life forever.  I include qualifying adjective "holy" to describe the life that God sustains forever.  Unholy lives, unrighteous attitudes and behavior will not live forever.   Remodeling is required.  Only the best bits will make it into the remix of God's  eternal love song.

Nehemiah records the next phase of Jerusalem's rebuilding post the exile from Babylon.  Nehemiah was King Artaxerxes cupbearer.  He was saddened by the news of how bad things were in Jerusalem.  The rebuilding was not going well.  Nehemiah felt great compassion for his people and cried out to God for help.  He confessed their sins and included himself in the guilt (Neh. 1:4-11). 

Here is a great leader.  He so identifies with his beloved people the Israelites that their failings become his own.  

It is likely Nehemiah was born in exile and had never been to Jerusalem.  Many of the returning exiles were 2-3 generation removed from the destruction of Jerusalem.  While some were young men and women when Jerusalem fell, most of the returning Israelites were grandchildren and great grandchildren to the ones who were first taken into captivity.

Nehemiah is given permission to go and rebuild the Jerusalem with the Persian king's blessing. When he arrives he inspects the walls and surveys all the work required.  He then shares his vision to rebuild the city with the elders and leaders of the people.  Nehemiah inspires them and they agree to do the work.

Chapter three is another "boring" list, but the details on who did what to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem is inspiring.  The feeling one gets is that this is something to which the whole community contributes.  Everyone helps.  There is such a blessing on communities when its citizens are of one mind and purpose.  When 9/11 occurred, for a brief moment there was a unity of spirit through out the whole country. We were united in horror, grief and nationalistic pride.  It seemed we all joined in anyway we could to respond with compassion and commitment to our country's aid.  It was and is a beautiful thing.  Crises can bring out the best in humanity... and the worst.

The Israelites were not without resistance.  There were enemies outside Jerusalem and enemies within.

"When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night (Neh. 4:7-9)."

Notice their response to the threat outside their community was both spiritual and militant.  They prayed to God and they posted armed guards.  How often do we face out obstacles in life with only the militant strategy?  Do we forget from where comes world conquering victory? A great leader like Nehemiah knows and leads the people in prayer.  Then the a plan is devised based on what God says.

The enemy within Jerusalem was the same enemy that caused them to lose Jerusalem in the first place.  Ezra had already dealt with their intermarriage with gentiles in the area.  Nehemiah now has to deal with a subtle from of idolatry.  It's called greed.  The rich were oppressing the poor.  They were lending funds and then taking lands and property and people to pay the debts.  But the law clearly states that after 7 years, an indentured servant who is an Israelite is returned to his family.  All debts are wiped clean.  And every 50 years, the year of Jubilee everyone gets back their inherited lands which they have lost to pay debtors (Dt. 15:7-14; Lev. 25:23-28).

Nehemiah confronts them. 


     "I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, "Each of you is charging his countrymen interest." So I called a large assembly against them and said, "We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back." They remained silent and could not say a word. Then I said, "What you are doing isn't right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God [and not invite] the reproach of our foreign enemies? Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop charging this interest. Return their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses to them immediately, along with the percentage that you have been assessing them."
    They responded: 'We will return [these things] and require nothing more from them. We will do as you say (Neh. 5:7-12).'"

By remaining strong in the Lord and in his belief that God had called him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah led Israel to complete the project in only 52 days!  The speed and efficiency by which the task was accomplished caused their enemies great fear. It was a feat performed with half the labor force watching guard against terrorism from the Samaritans, Ammonites and Arabs in the area.  It was obvious to everyone that God was aiding his people.  God was back in Jerusalem!

Zechariah was a prophet during the rebuilding of the temple with Zerubbabel, descendant of David, as governor and Jeshua/Joshua, descendant of Aaron as high priest, and Darius as the King of the Persian empire.  While Zechariah prophesies destruction against the enemies of Israel, his writings are much more focused on restoration.  This is refreshing when the prophetic writings are typically heavy on doom and light on hope.  Hope jumps of the page in Zechariah. 

Zechariah has a series of visions involving angels communicating to him what is coming.

He saw a rider on a red horse.  The rider reported that all is quiet and calm on earth,  but now Yahweh will disturb the quiet by bringing the exiles back to Jerusalem.

"I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made it worse. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I have graciously returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it"... "My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem (Zch. 1:14-17)."

His other visions include horns begin cut off symbolic of cutting of the power of the four nations who rose up against Judah and Israel, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon are at least three of the contenders, but by the time of this writing God had already reduced all three.  Many nations have stood against Israel, more than four.  It is likely that four represents the enemy nations of Jerusalem on all four sides: north, south, east, and west.  During the remodeling, God will establish peace by removing the threat of enemy nations.

A third vision includes a measuring line ion the hand of the surveyor which reveals that God is rebuilding the holy city.  Hear the hope filled words!

"Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and livestock in it." The declaration of the LORD: "I will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it (Zch. 2:4-5)."

A fourth and fifth vision establishes righteous, capable and anointed leadership, for the the rebuilt city requires a  rebuilding of the people who will inhabit the city. Jeshua/Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel are depicted as olive trees on either side of a golden lampstand (Yahweh in His temple).  Godly men who will seek the Lord and do His will are required for a remodeled city and remixed people.

John reveals his vision of the Lamb of God opening the seven seals on the scroll.  Jesus Christ, the only One worthy to open the hidden things about to happen at the end of the age because of His victory of sin and death, breaks the seals one by one.  Withe each broken seal the wrath of God is unleashed on the unrepentant earth.  Four riders on white, red, black, and pale green horses are unleashed upon the earth in the breaking of the first four seals.  They bring conquest, war, famine and death. 

The next two seals reveal that more righteous people will die and rest with God, along with those who have already died in the great persecution of the church which John's contemporaries are suffering, and the cosmos will turn grow unstable with stars falling from heaven and "sky rolled up like a scroll (Rev. 6:9-14)."

Before this seventh seal is broken the fullness of Israel is protected with seal from God on their foreheads. The symbolic number of 144,000 represents all the tribes of Israel. And following them are all the Gentiles who hope in the Christ, the Lamb of God.

"These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
    They washed their robes and made them white
    in the blood of the Lamb."

This countless multitude of Jew and Gentile is saved from the terrible day of the Lord and His Lamb.  They stay faithful through the terrible tribulation and persecution. 

Finally the seventh seal is broken.  This reveals the fullness of the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16). Seven trumpets are sounded by seven angels, each blast bringing terrible devastation.  But even with this great tribulation there are some who refuse to repent.  They still have a chance to humble themselves before God and be saved, but do not.

^"The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk. And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts (Rev. 9:20-21)."

In a remix of the former seven seals the seventh trumpet is held from its blast as more works of salvation occur.  Two witnesses, best bits from Zechariah (Zch. 3-4), prophesy for the Lord, but the beast from the abyss kills them.  They are resurrected. Survivors are terrified and give God glory.  Some who were unrepentant now do turn to God.

In glory the seventh trumpet is blasted and heaven is opened revealing the lost ark of the covenant, symbolizing God's presence in the true sanctuary of the eternal realms.

The 24 elders praise the Lord saying,

"We thank You, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was,
    because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
    The nations were angry, but Your wrath has come.
    The time has come for the dead to be judged,
    and to give the reward to Your servants the prophets,
    to the saints, and to those who fear Your name, both small and great,
    and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth (Rev. 11:17-18)."



Reimagined images from the prophets are remixed into John's vision revealing the eternal hope that has always been for the people of God.  While the unrest of this fallen world continues, people of faith hold onto hope in every generation, washing themselves in the blood of the Lamb and trusting in God's love, mercy, sovereignty and authority to deliver them.  They may suffer persecution.  They may suffer disaster along with those who destroy the earth with pollution, war, perversion and greed, but the one who holds onto Christ will know eternal hope.  Hope will lead us to remodel our churches removing what is tired old tradition and no longer serving God.  Hope will lead us to remix our communities, hanging onto the best of what we are and leaving on the cutting room floor the things that do not credit the Name of God.

Lord, all your works are good and right.  Protect Your church from people who hate you and despise obedience to Your right ways. Provide for your church "anointed ones" who will continue to proclaim Your truth leading a people who will stand, "not by human power, not by worldly might, but by Your Spirit (Zch. 4:6)."  Keep us ever faithful to the end so we may shine with You forever in the light of Christ.  Amen.

Gathering

Day 86:  Ezra 6–10; Zephaniah 1–3; Haggai 1–2; Revelation 1–5

One definition for the church is "Those who gather in the Name of Jesus Christ."  The ecclesia (church) is "called out" from the rest of the world much like Israel before them.  They follow the Way of Christ.  They become light and salt for the rest of the world, diminishing darkness and adding flavor to an otherwise bland existence by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the church.  This is the gathering.

Ezra was a priest and scribe giving authority to lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem to teach and to lead the people of Jerusalem who were rebuilding to follow the covenant.  Ezra gathered Levites and priests, servant families who had been appointed long ago under David for the service of the temple to return (Ezr. 8:15).  He was sent by the king Artaxerxes of Persia to "evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God (Ezr. 7:14)."

Ezra's evaluation was immediate.  No sooner than he and his company arrived after a 4 month 4 day journey, he was told that many of the exiles, including their elders and priests, had intermarried with gentiles in the land and some even had children by them (Ezr. 9:1-3).  Ezra tore his robes in utter grief and interceded for Jerusalem.  "Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me [Ezra], because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles (Ezr. 9:4)."

His tearful confession of Israel's sin and intercessions lead the elders to repent.  They called a national day of repentance.  All Hebrews in the land who had returned to their inheritance were called to gather in the temple courts.  The day was pouring rain and the people shivered in the wet and cold, but they also trembled at the Holy presence of God.  The gathering admitted that they needed to repent and agreed to send away their gentile wives and the children they had with through them (Ezr. 10:9-12). This reminds me of Abraham sending away Hagar and his first born son Ishmael.

And so Ezra lead the returning exiles back into covenant faithfulness.

Zephaniah writes much earlier during the reign of King Josiah, another reformer who lead Judah back to covenant faithfulness before the Babylonian exile (640-612 B.C.).   This prophet uses imagery describing the coming "Day of the Lord" that is vivid and total.  It is not simply the Lord coming against Jerusalem, or Judah, or Nineveh.  The Day of God's wrath will be on the whole earth.

I will bring distress on mankind,
    and they will walk like the blind
    because they have sinned against the LORD.
    Their blood will be poured out like dust
    and their flesh like dung.
Their silver and their gold
    will not be able to rescue them
    on the day of the LORD's wrath.
    The whole earth will be consumed
    by the fire of His jealousy.
    For He will make a complete,
    yes, a horrifying end
    of all the inhabitants of the earth (Zph. 1:17-18).


But there is still hope for those who gather themselves in humility and repentance before the Lord.

Gather yourselves together;
    gather together, undesirable nation,
    before the decree takes effect
    and the day passes like chaff,
    before the burning of the LORD's anger overtakes you,
    before the day of the LORD's anger overtakes you.
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth,
    who carry out what He commands.
    Seek righteousness, seek humility;
    perhaps you will be concealed
    on the day of the LORD's anger (Zph. 2:1-3).

God has appointed a time to "gather nations" and "assemble kingdoms" for judgment (Zph. 3:8).  After the Lord has poured out His indignation He will "restore pure speech" to the peoples (Zph. 3:10).  This was fulfilled at Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2.  For the people separated by language suddenly heard the Spirit filled disciples proclaiming the gospel in their own languages.  Spirit filled people throughout the New Testament speak in other tongues and Spirit enabled ears comprehend them.

And Yahweh speaks a promise of restoration for fallen Jerusalem through Zephaniah before Jerusalem fell.

I will gather those who have been driven
    from the appointed festivals;
    [They will be] a tribute from you,
    and reproach [on her].
Yes, at that time
    I will deal with all who afflict you.
    I will save the lame and gather the scattered;
    I will make those who were disgraced
    throughout the earth
    receive praise and fame (Zph. 3:18-19).

Yahweh gathers nations for judgment and the fire of His jealousy. He gathers scattered exiles who suffered His punishment for their unfaithfulness, purges them of arrogance, and renews them with meek and humble servants among them (Zph. 3:11-13).

Haggai writes during the leadership of Zerubbabel, son of David, appointed Governor for Jerusalem and Judea under the King of Persia.  The prophet writes at a time when the people has settled in their homes, but had not started rebuilding the temple (Ezr. 2:70-3:1).  Haggai confronts them.

"Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins (Hg. 1:4)?"

He points out that blessing of the Lord is not on the land, nor prospering their work for they have not attended to Him.

"You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought [the harvest] to your house, I ruined it. Why?" [This is] the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. "Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house (Hg. 1:9)."

The former exiles responded and began to rebuild the temple.  They laid the foundation for the new temple and the people gathered there to celebrate.  They shouted with joy but some wept for they remembered the glory of Solomon's temple which was completely destroyed.  50 years had passed since it's destruction (586-536 B.C). Those in aged in their 20's and 30's who were there in Jerusalem when the city fell are now in their 70's and 80's.  They survived. They came back home to see the ruins.  They watch the efforts to rebuild. They know what was lost and they weep.

Ezra records this event (Ezr.3:10-13) and Haggai speaks directly to it as well.  With the gathered people at the laid foundations Haggai cries,



Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?  Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel"—the LORD's declaration. "Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land"—the LORD's declaration. "Work! For I am with you" —the declaration of the LORD of Hosts.

"The final glory of this house will be greater than the first," says the LORD of Hosts (Hg. 2:3-4, 9)."

John, the Revelator, reveals the hidden things that will soon occur to deliver God's church, His gathering.  He writes to seven churches in the western region of modern Turkey.  They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.  Each church is represented by a golden lampstand among which a glorified and triumphant Christ stands with seven stars in his right hand.  The stars are angles for each church.  They are protectors and providers and messengers to Christ's churches. 

Even though this message for churches in late first century Asia Minor, I should note that the number seven means total or complete.  This the message to these seven churches could be interpreted as a message to all God's churches, the complete total of them.  For at the end of this fallen age, all who remain faithful to the love of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ will be gathered into the New Jerusalem.  They will gather with all the saints and angels and worship and serve God forever without evil, in complete and total holiness.

So a message to not listen to false teachers who tell you you can have sex with whoever you want, is a message for all churches everywhere and at any time (Rev. 2:14-16, 20-24).  A message for a near dead church because of laziness and lackadaisical incomplete efforts for God's work is a message for any church that sits on its proverbial posterior and is not diligent about the business of the kingdom (Rev. 3:1-3).

The message of Revelation is clear: "Be Faithful to the death" for Jesus Christ and His church, His  called out people gathered in His Name.

"Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10)."

The seven promise to these seven churches for enduring faithfulness are promises to churches everywhere at all times and forever. These are to the victor, to the one who overcomes.

1. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).
2. I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
3. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it (Rev. 2:17).
4. I will give him authority over the nations—I will also give him the morning star (Rev. 2:26, 28).
5. They will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy...dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels (Rev. 3:4b-5).
6. I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name (Rev. 3:12). 
7. I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21).

John sees in his revelatory vision heaven's own throne room. Gathered around the brilliant throne and the radiance of "the One who lives forever and ever" are 24 elders and four living creatures who worship Him continually (Rev. 4:2-10).  

The angel of the Lord reveals to John "what must take place" in the form of a sealed scroll (Rev. 4:1; 5:1).  But only Jesus Christ, the slain and living Lamb of God is worthy to break the seven seals and reveal what must take place (Rev. 5:3-7). 

And the entire cosmos sang praises to the Lamb.  The 24 elders, representing the twelve tribes of a believing Israel and the twelve apostles for all the gentiles who believed through their message, all these bow in worship. Countless angels, thousands of thousands, join the chorus! And "every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them" cry out in worship.

Their sevenfold, complete and total praise is given to the One who has been victorious, the Slaughtered Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals;
    because You were slaughtered,
    and You redeemed [people] for God by Your blood
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.
    ¹⁰ You made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.

The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy
    to receive power and riches
    and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and blessing!

Blessing and honor and glory and dominion
    to the One seated on the throne,
    and to the Lamb, forever and ever (Rev. 5:9-10, 12, 13)!

Will you be in the gathering?  Will you join the gathering called out to serve the Lamb in worship and faithfulness through love and good works? Will you receive the totality of His great promises to those who are victorious through His grace?

Will you join the gathering in the throne room of heaven and with the four living creatures representing all the created realms of the One seated on the throne and cry "Amen!"

So let it be!
  
"Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7)."

Guardianship

Day 85:   Ezra 1–5; Nahum 1–3; Habakkuk 1–3; 2nd John; 3rd John; Jude

It looks like I read a lot today!  Selections from 6 different books of the Bible.  In fact read 5 books of the bible in their entirely today!  The truth is even though is looks like a lot of reading, it was only 14 chapters.  Nahum and Habakkuk have only 3 chapters each.  and the 2nd and 3rd letters of John have only one chapter.  The same is true for Jude.

Each writer composes their document at different times for differing purposes.  Ezra records the rebuilding of the temple after Cyrus the Persian King sent the Israelites home to do so.  Nahum writes to announce God's wrath on Assyria and the restoration of Jacob (northern Israel).  Habakkuk announces the destruction of Babylon and the restoration of Jerusalem.  John writes to warn about false teachers and good manners.  Jude also warns of false teachers in the church.

What occurs to me in the multifaceted selection of readings today is a theme of "guardianship." 

Ezra records that Sheshbazzar lead the first set of returning exiles from Babylon (Ezr. 1:8,11).  They brought back the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem. Chapter two includes a listing of all who returned.  You will recognize many names, but they are descendants of names we have encountered in the annals of the kings of Judah, of David and Solomon and their dynasty.  They include priests, officials and the king's household servants.

You have to respect that during the years teetering between good king/bad king, Yahweh worship/pagan worship that someone took it upon themselves to maintain these records.  Someone took responsibility to be guardian for these names.  It is a testimony to the glory of God's promise to restore Jerusalem.  Now we can point to names like Shephatiah of King Solomon's house or Barzillai the Gileadite and know they are coming home in the bodies of this descendants.

You may remember that Barzillai showed King David kindness and provided for his people as they fled Jerusalem from Absolom's forces (2 Sam. 19:31-39).  David urged Solomon to show loyalty to Barzillai's family from then on.  His descendants return with the exiles is something to celebrate about God's faithfulness and the faithfulness of those within His kingdom who will look after others.  Barzillai was a guardian to the king and the sons of David kept watch of Barzillai's family for centuries.

Zerubbabel, Jeshua (that's Jesus folks, but not Jesus of Nazareth), are the new king and high priest. Zerubbabel is the grandson of King Jehoiachin and the messianic figure who watches of over the people of Israel. Jeshua is the grandson of Jerusalem's last high priest Jozadak. Jeshua too will guard the holy things of God and restore temple worship and the daily offerings and sacrifices.  They do so even before the foundations are laid for the new temple (Ezr. 3:6).

When the inhabitants of the land notice that sacrifices are being made and the temple is begin rebuilt in Jerusalem, they suggest that they too have a say in what happens in Jerusalem (Ezr. 4:1-2).   they have worshiped Yahweh too since they were imported into the region by the Assyrian King Esar-haddon. (You may remember his father Sennacherib was murdered by his brothers as an act of Yahweh's justice. [2 Kg. 19:36-37])

Zerubabbel and Jeshua maintained that the task of rebuilding the temple belonged to the Jew alone as decreed by the Persian King Cyrus.  They even made sure that would be priests and Levites who could not prove their lineage were restricted from the holy things of Yahweh (Ezr. 2:59, 62-63).  How much more would they keep the foreigners imported from other lands by the Assyrians (these are the ancestors to the hated Samaritans in 1st century A.D.) from coming near the temple?  Governor Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest were passionate about keeping watch over the restoration of the people. They were to be strictly covenant faithful.  These men were guardians of the holy covenant of Yahweh and His temple.

Nahum and Habakkuk agree that Yahweh their God is the guardian of His people.  He will crush their enemies even when He uses them to correct His wayward sons.

The LORD is good,
    a stronghold in a day of distress;
    He cares for those who take refuge in Him (Nah. 1:7).

You come out to save Your people,
    to save Your anointed.
    You crush the leader of the house of the wicked
    and strip [him] from foot to neck (Hab. 3:13).


It is worth noting that Habakkuk the prophet is one who is willing to take God to task.  He calls on God to be the awesome One from old who delivered his ancestors (Hab. 3:2).  He asks God "how long?" like so many of their psalmists had prayed.  And he waits like a watchman, a guardian over Jerusalem waiting to hear a response (Hab. 2:1).  Even though God does not act to save Jerusalem, Habakkuk remains loyal and keeps his faith (Hab. 3:17-19). 

John writes to "the elect lady and her children (2 Jn 1:1)."  John warns the church in her home to watch themselves. They are to keep on loving one another as Christ loved. they are to walk in love (2 Jn. 1:6).

"Watch yourselves so that you don't lose what we have worked for, but you may receive a full reward. Anyone who does not remain in the teaching about Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God (2 Jn. 1:8-9)."

So the apostle watches over the church with sound doctrine, guarding against heresies, and the church follows the guidance of their guardian apostles by watching themselves and not welcoming persons who claim to be teachers by preach falsities.

John writes a personal letter to Gaius in his 3rd letter in the New Testament, thankful for his faithfulness to the truth and for his welcome to John's fellow missionary evangelists (3 Jn. 1:3, 6-7). John so identifies with the church that he doesn't think of them as "wards" but as his own children.


"I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth (3 Jn. 1:4)."

He encourages Gaius to not be like Diotrephes, "who loves to have first place (3 Jn. 1:9)."  This power hungry Christians are not from God.  John must help the church guard against such arrogance which is so damaging to the body of Christ.

Jude, the half brother of Jesus (tradition says), writes the church also to guard against ungodly men who are "turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jd. 1:4b)."  He exhorts the to "contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all (Jd. 1:3b)."

Jude gives them a quick review of what happens to sexually immoral  and rebellious people by reminding the church of those who perished in the Wilderness with Moses, of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the angels who fell from heaven and slept with the daughters of men.


"Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for profit, and have perished in Korah's rebellion (Jd. 1:11)."

The "blackness of darkness" is reserved for these "scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires. These people create divisions and are merely natural, not having the Spirit (Jd. 1:18b-19)."


Jude writes wise counsel and asks the church to"keep themselves in the love of God (Jd. 1:20-21)."

For the Guardian of all those who love Him is the One who will present them before Himself without blemish!  I end with Jude's fantastic contribution to the bible: the Benediction to the Chief Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ.


Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now, and forever. Amen (Jd. 1:24-25).