BIBLETALK

by Don Hooton

The question of whether miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue today, or whether they continued only until they served their purpose is ongoing in discussions among Bible believing people. I want to outline the several reasons here why I believe that the Bible does teach that miraculous gifts that were given to miracle workers have served their purpose and ceased. First, some clarifications.

God has always worked providentially. Whether miracle or not, God is present. He brought Joseph to Egypt though it was by the hands of his brothers who sold him in slavery (Genesis 45:5). The Bible says that when Judah fell to Babylon, it was by God’s Hand: “The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to [Nebuchadnezzar], along with some of the vessels from the house of God” (Daniel 1:2). These unseen movements, that we call providence, are from God according to Scripture and equally in sync with human choice and Divine sovereignty.

God has worked miracles without human agency. There is Creation (Genesis 1-2), the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4), the writing of 10 commandments on stone (Exodus 31:18; 32:15–16), the talking Donkey (Numbers 22:21–35), the protection of Daniel’s friends in a fire pit and Daniel in the Lion’s Den (Daniel 3:ff; 6:ff), and the Resurrection of Jesus – just to name a few. In other words, God never needs human miracle workers to establish His sovereignty.

God has worked miracles with human agency. Naaman was healed of his leprosy without the presence of the prophet. Still, the Bible says that Naaman dipped in the Jordan seven times, “according to the command of the man of God.” (2Kings 5:14). While not present, the prophet’s involvement was necessary to inform Naaman how God would miraculously heal him. Even when Elijah is sent to the woman of Zarephath (1Kings 17:12-16), he does not touch the bread that multiplies – but his presence at her table is what God commanded of the prophet (see v., 9) and the prophet’s words explain what it is God will do through “the word of Elijah” (15-16).

God has worked miracles selectively. The Bible is abundant with words but every page does not contain a miracle. In fact, the presence of miracles up until the time of Jesus were rare. Some have only counted 86 in the Old Testament. Even in these examples, God does not heal everyone – or even His people; Nor does he feed everyone, or even His people. Jesus confirms this: “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow” (Luke 4:25-26). God sent the prophet to just one man and one woman – but even when selective, the prophet is the miracle worker; God is the power.

The miracles of the first century were extraordinary miracles. Notice that Mark tells us that when miracles appeared by Jesus in His day, it was out of the ordinary: “And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:12 NRSV). Whatever any other so-called miracle worker may have done, it was not anything like the miracles of Jesus. In fact, in the gospels, it is Jesus who is doing the miracles until He summons the Twelve Apostles and “gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2). Note that they was a message too: They were to “proclaim the kingdom” because Christ the King. Later when he sends disciples the Bible says, ‘After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go… [And He said to them] “Now go;… Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you”’ (Luke 10:1-9). These pre-Pentecost miracles were exclusively powers over demons and healings; there is no record of “prophecy, tongue speaking, or interpretations.”

Where miracles cover page after page in the Bible is in the New Testament, and most specifically in the gospels and through the Apostles in Acts. Yet, Jesus did not publicize His healings to create a sensational reputation, nor as an excuse for raising money; rather He at times commanded those healed to “tell no man’ (Matthew 8:1-4, 9:27-31). He healed all sorts of infirmities, with special attention to hopeless situations, for divine power does not fail. And He performed no partial healings. People were “made whole” by Christ. (Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31-37). Jesus never failed to heal a person that He attempted to Heal. None ever questioned the genuineness of His healings – as to whether the patient had actually been ill or was actually healed. Jesus did not heal by faith alone but by divine power. In only one case out of 31 examples did Jesus require faith. (Matt. 9:27-30). In some situations, the healed had no faith at all (Luke 7:11-17; John 5:2-13). But for miracle workers, they needed to have more faith that God could use them. In each case before Pentecost, Jesus appointed and gave them power. Even when John saw another “not following us” working a miracle, Jesus said to not stop him because working a miracle “IN MY NAME” is a sign that he is of me – and will not speak evil and will be of “us” (Mark 9:38-41).

Miracles in Scripture testify to the authenticity that the messengers are from God. When miracles occur, they give evidence that God is truly at work and His Spokesperson speaks truth. In the Old Testament, Moses worked miracles to demonstrate his authority as God’s spokesman (Exodus 4:1–9). Similarly, the prophets were given words to speak from God, and in order to verify their authority God granted them the ability to perform miracles (1Kings 17:17–24; 2Kings 1:10).

Since miracles of the Old Testament age authenticated Moses and the prophets as men of God, the miracles of the New Testament age authenticated in turn Christ and his apostles. Nicodemus, for example, recognized that God was with Jesus because of the miracles he did (John 3:2). In fact, the scope of Jesus’ healings shows the breadth of his authority. He heals the sick, casts out evil spirits, and cures a variety of specific conditions: a flow of blood, a withered hand, blindness, deafness, paralysis, epilepsy, leprosy, dropsy, and fever. He resuscitates the dead and exercises power over nature.

Jesus said that his miraculous works verify that the kingdom of God has come (Luke 11:14-23). Jesus performed healings, exorcisms, and other miracles as a sign that God’s kingdom had come to earth. As Jesus says in Matthew 12:28: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” So when we come to the miracles of the early church, then, they too served the immediately relevant purpose in redemptive history: verifying the authenticity of God’s revelation and signaling the coming of the new age of Christ’s Kingdom among God’s people.

Miraculous works would follow in these believers of Jesus. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). And at the end of the gospel of Mark, he says, “So the Lord Jesus, after speaking to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:19-20).

These “greater works” confirmed the word through the signs. The “greater works” does not mean greater in number. Though Acts includes more years of time covered than the gospels, the gospels contain the most. Besides, He didn’t say more – He said greater. Second, it was hardly “more spectacular” or “more supernatural” than the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the multiplication of bread and the turning of water into wine; Though blinding Elymas was amazing (Acts 13). Instead, the “greater works” done by those coming after Jesus point to the same kingdom that has been announced in the gospels – established by the fact of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension – but the “signs” and “works” of Jesus could not fully accomplish their true aim until after Jesus had risen from the dead and been exalted. Only at that point could they be seen for what they were: Evidence that the kingdom has come in Jesus; Evidence that the gospel is for everyone; Evidence that Christ is the Alpha and Omega and will come again – triumphantly. That is the greater sign.

The evidence of miraculous gifts were present in the early church those these gifts were a problem in Corinth. Paul dedicated more space to answering this question (12-14) than any other problem in 1Corinthians. The Corinthian church had all sorts of charismatic gifts (Charismata, Greek) (1Corinthians 1:7) and he says, “as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:7-8). The gifts confirm the testimony concerning Christ (1:6) that God is truly among them as they wait for the revelation of the Lord, the unveiling of all that He is. Christ will also confirm them in the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (8).

Paul elsewhere used the same word for more general gifts (Romans 12:6) that are not miracles in the sense powers or healing – but instead common gifts like service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy. In Romans 5:15-16 and 6:23, he also uses the same word gift to describe the gift of redemption and eternal life in Christ. He also used the word to describe offices of the work in the church God gave (Ephesians 4:7,11). These are understood as gifts that have their source from God (a man is appointed an elder by God’s qualifications but he has not been appointed miraculously) but are not inherently lists intended to say all charisma are miraculous. He does include prophecy at the top of the list in Romans 12 – but that is the only one that matches the list we consider in 1Corinthians 12.

Every Christian is said to receive the gift of the Spirit at baptism (Acts 2:38). After Philip worked miracles of healings and powers over devils came to Samaria (8:5-8), they believed and were baptized (8:12), even Simon himself (8:13). They plainly had responded to the gospel as those on Pentecost had (having received forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit), and yet “the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon any of them” (8:16), but had simply been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ as those on Pentecost had been. Though Peter and John had prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit, the Bible says the Samaritans received the Spirit when Peter and John “laid hands on them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.” Simon, who before had been a magician, saw Philip working miracles. But when he saw that Peter and John were passing the Spirit miraculous powers on to the believers, he said to Peter and John, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” He did not want the Spirit to work miracles, he wanted the ability to impart the Spirit’s power through his own laying on of hands. And Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this matter” (lit., word) (8:20-21). This is affirmed by what happened in Ephesus with Paul and 12 disciples of John who said they had been baptized into John’s baptism but had not heard about the Holy Spirit. Paul said to them, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:2-6). They were baptized in the name of Jesus and would have received the promised forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, but they did not have miraculous powers to speak in tongues or prophesy until the Apostle Paul laid his hands on them. Christians received power to work miracles from the Apostles’ who laid hands on them. Not just any Christian was given the power to lay hands on others to receive miraculous ability.

Finally, we come to Paul’s statement in 1Corinthians 13: “but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part and prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror [e]dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.”

From the list he has given in chapter 12 of nine gifts, Paul specifies three. In that list, there is Wisdom. Though the access to the wisdom of the ages in Proverbs was readable to the early Christians, knowledge and application of that knowledge seems to be the focus of this gift. Paul uses the term “wisdom” (2:6) as a figure of the gospel message revealed to Him as an apostle. And to Ephesus, Paul prayed that God would give them a “spirit of wisdom” and the next gift listed, “and of revelation” (1:17) (cf. Col. 1:9). Connected to that is Knowledge. When considered in light of Ephesians 1:17, this gift seems to be the gift of comprehending the message of the gospel in its sweep. Then there is Faith, not the faith that saves because that faith is commanded (Jn 3:16). Rather, this is the miracle worker’s trust in God’s power to use him to move mountains (cf. Mat 17:20). Healing. The power to heal the sick of disease, to cure the blind, to restore the demon possessed. Miracles. This is a broader term than healing and would encompass healing but also include blinding a man as Paul did. Prophecy. This is the act of being given directly from God His words to speak (Deuteronomy 18:18). It is not merely foretelling, but forth telling God’s will. A prophet is not merely a preacher. As God’s direct mouthpiece to the hearer, he speaks the words that God has miraculously given him. Distinguishing of spirits. This gift seems to allow the gifted to distinguish between truth and error, the true and false prophet. Especially in NT age of demonic possession (1Ths 5:20-21) would this gift serve the church for its edification. Then there is Tongues. This is the gift in the speaker to speak languages unknown to him. The first appearance of this gift is in Acts 2:6, 8 where the Greek is dialectos, “dialects”. They are heard in the hearer’s own language.

WhaT PAUL SAID about himself is that these gifts would cease. We know this is true historically. First, there is little to no appearances in Scripture itself, in writings after the fall of Jerusalem, or late into the first century, of the miracles referred to in Acts, let alone in this chapter. Further, numerous historical figures account that reality to be true. Bishop Chrysostom, by the third century will comment in his notes on Corinthians and say, “This whole place is very obscure; but the obscurity is produced by our own ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as they used to occur, but now no longer take place” (Homilies, 1Cor 12, #29).

He illustrated it the point by three comparisions. 1) The comparison of being a child, who speaks, thinks, and reasons like a child. But when he becomes a man, he gives up childish ways. Or rather, he matures to the point he knows what mature men do – and not what children do. 2) The comparison of seeing dimly in a mirror and then face to face. This latter expression is not a reference to being in heaven. Instead, it is an OT idiom of seeing God in the works and words He has given. In this case it was the words Moses had given them and in those words from Moses, the people saw God “face to face” (Deuteronomy 5:4; see also Ezekiel 20:35). It is describing the process of not seeing clearly what God has said – to finally seeing clearly what God has said. The reason we know this is about what God has said – and not about bring in the presence of God in heaven – is because of the third comparison. 3) I know in part and then, I will know fully – even as Paul has been fully known.

Plus, faith, hope and love abide through the process. And beyond the processes he describes. Hope and Faith will be realized when Jesus comes again. Faith will be sight. He is not pointing the Corinthians to the end of all time.

So what is he pointing them to? Each of these gifts deal with revealing what God wanted for the Christians, or confirming the message from God. And even the three he states. Prophecies; that is what a prophet speaks by inspiration of God – unless of course he is false. Because what makes a prophet a prophet is that God put His words in the prophet’s mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18). It was conveying the message of God. Tongues; the gift of tongues was a sign for unbelievers (14:22) so when the speaker said the words of God in the hearer’s native dialect, the unbeliever could believe. It was conveying the message of God. And Knowledge; This is listed among these miraculous gifts and hence, it is not the knowledge that Christians are commanded to grow in (2Peter 3:18) by handling accurately the word of truth (2Timothy 3:15). This was a Spirit supplied knowledge of God’s message that the recipient had not studied, or learned – but it was given. EACH of these was for the COMMON GOOD of the church. EACH of these was to cause the growth and maturity of the body. Each of these gifts will come to and end. If the end is Jesus’ return, then no church can ever be mature before He arrives because these gifts, as illustrated in all three comparisons, are to take is to maturity from child to a man, the complete vision from shadowy vision to clarity – and knowing in part, and finally knowing fully. If we have spiritual gifts now, we are still a child, we are still seeing in a mirror dimly, and we are still knowing only partly. We cannot have it both ways.

So when the perfect comes, we will be a mature man; we will see in those words that prophecy, tongues and knowledge all bring – the “face to face” presence of God, and we will no longer know partly – we will know fully.  This is why the perfect is the message about the Man Jesus Christ. Even John said that he WROTE what he DID WRITE so that YOU may BELIEVE (John 20:31) and again, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1John 5:13). And Paul said, “if you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5).

Paul said that “prophecies” and the gifts of “knowledge” would be “done away” (katargeo). Vine’s says this word means “to cease, pass away, done away.” Between both of these two gifts, Paul also says that tongues will “cease.”  The word here (patio) means to “cease, leave off” (Vine’s). Hence, it is clear that the Divine plan for these miraculous gifts is that they would cease. But when? According to Paul, they would cease when the part that completed their purpose would arrive.

Paul said that the “perfect” would come. This “perfect” (Gr., teleion) is contrasted to the “partial” (ek merons). The partial things to which Paul refers are the portions of revelation the spiritual gifts provided. If these partial gifts related to the “bit-by-bit” revelation, then it could follow that the “perfect” is the completion of that revelation (e.g. a mature man). And historically, that is exactly what happened (Jude 3). BB Warfield or Princeton Theological Seminary wrote, “there is little or no evidence at all for miraculous working during the first 50 years of the post Apostolic church; and there are slight and unimportant for the next 50 years.”

If the gifts were to be permanent, then it would have occurred in every generation of every century to the present because the power is God’s. But the silence speaks loudly; they have ceased, When they cease, they have ceased.

If the “Perfect” is Jesus, then we are still children and will never be mature (c.f. Ephesians 4:14-16). However, had the “Perfect” been a person, Paul would have used a masculine gender. Instead, he used a neuter. Notice even in the KJV. It says “that which” not “who”.  Therefore, it cannot mean Jesus because faith would be sight, hope will be realized when Jesus comes.

The Spirit gave gifts to men and women through the laying on of the apostles’ hands for the purpose of revealing and confirming the message of the gospel. The work of revelation has been completed and we are the benefactors of it. Therefore, the work of miraculous empowerment is unneeded today and ceased. The message of the gospel has already been credentialed for us.

Though some say differently, I believe there are references in Scripture that harmonize with what little or much we think we know about what is called Dinosaurs. Viewing depictions of them, like seeing drawings of other magnificent creations not seen by own eye, open our eyes to the magnificence of God’s creation. In Genesis, we read of God’s remarkable work during six days of creation. Though the term “dinosaur” may not be explicitly mentioned there or elsewhere, the Bible provides glimpses of awe-inspiring creatures like Behemoth and Leviathan, which some scholars believe could be references to dinosaurs or other formidable creatures of ancient times.

Did God Create Dinosaurs? Some Christians argue dinosaurs could not have existed because God would not create such creatures that could wreak havoc upon human civilization. He created the elements that generate hurricanes, volcanos and tornados. Plus, God appointed by divine fiat a fish large enough to swallow the prophet Jonah. Although no one would want to be ripped apart by a T-Rex, spending several days digesting in the belly of a sea creature doesn’t sound like a great way to go either (Jonah 1:17). And with the enormous data what has been unearthed, we would have to yield to the possibility, if not the reality, that if God created all things, He created Dinosaurs.

“So, God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21).

Are Dinosaurs in the Bible? Some place them before Adam and Eve – but death did not enter into the world until Genesis 3. Some allow them before Noah but say that dinosaurs were too big, or there were too many of them, to go on Noah’s Ark. However, there are few kinds though hundreds of names have been given to small bits of bones. The different sizes, varieties, and sexes of the same kind of dinosaur have ended up with different names just like our dogs, all sorts of them but the same kind! In reality, there may have been fewer than 50 kinds of dinosaurs. God sent two of every (seven of some) land animal into the Ark (Genesis 7:2–3; 7:8–9)—there were no exceptions. Therefore, dinosaurs must have been on the Ark. All others, like the other animals, drowned as raging water covered the land (Genesis 7:11–12, 19). Like Pompeii, the sudden event buried in rock layers (formed from this mud) but in the flood, it was all over the Earth.

But what evidence of them in the Bible? The creatures found in Job are hardly a present creature – except by hideous hyperbole – and best fit the description of a form of dinosaur.

First, there is Behemoth (Job 40:15-24). In Job, this creature is described as having a tail like cedar and an herbivore diet. It also says this colossal beast had large bones like beams of bronze. From the portrayal in those verses, it seems as though the passage indicates a creature similar to a diplodocus. Some commentators try to say God had described a hippopotamus in this passage, but the depiction doesn’t seem to match up. Hippos, for instance, don’t have tails like cedars.

Second, there is Leviathan (Job 41). By the next chapter, another creature is reported which some theologians have labeled a crocodile. However, once one hears the features of the leviathan, it doesn’t appear to add up. The leviathan seems to have armor-plated skin that no hook can pierce. Like the behemoth, the author makes note of the strong limbs this animal possesses. Psalm 104:26 indicates the leviathan lived in water, which could point to why some people say it’s a crocodile. And Isaiah 27:1 describes the leviathan as a twisting serpent: “In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” These may align with a crocodile, but Job (Job 41:18-19) seems to indicate this creature literally breathed fire. Crocodiles and other similar reptiles have not been known to breathe fire. This may indicate a dragon-like species existed during Job’s time.

Even though the exact purpose for which God created dinosaurs may elude us, it is difficult to deny the evidence that they once roamed the Earth. Their existence leaves an indelible mark on the geological record, their fossilized remains testifying to a time long past. As Christians, we are reminded of the vastness of God’s creation, stretching far beyond our comprehension. While we may not fully grasp it all, their presence serves as a testament to His infinite creativity and power. We should embrace the wonder of these ancient creatures, acknowledging that they were a part of the intricate tapestry woven by our Creator.

By Don Hooton

by Don Hooton

In our own backyard, an epoch event occurred for most of us this week, the 2024 Eclipse. We could look up into the afternoon sky and see this wondrous, amazing demonstration of natural events over which we have no control; and we could see something spectacular God placed in motion by the ordering of His hand at creation. Of course, for me and Tracey, it rained all afternoon in our neighborhood. So, we saw nothing but we felt the darkness.

On Facebook, I shared my immediate reaction which was the memory that when Jesus was crucified, the synoptic gospels say that darkness came over the whole land from noon until three in the afternoon (Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33, Lk 23:66). The ominous lack of light at a time when there should have been light in my own day connected an experience in a small way what it must have been like in Jesus’ day.

On my post, several commented about the connection. Our three minutes compared to their three hours would certainly be vastly different. Others wondered if theirs was an Eclipse for three hours where the moon stood still (He held the sun for longer in Joshua 10). Others wondered if ours was like the darkness of Egypt’s gloom “that could be felt” even though we are told that “all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived” (Exodus 10:23). Though I believe on Jesus’ day, it was a miracle. Yet, what we experienced was not a miracle. It was what God put into motion long ago when He placed the stars, the moon, and the sun in their place. Yet, what we experienced for minutes gave me a “perspective” to help feel what those hours were for them.

Did God hold the moon? Did He darken the Sun? I don’t really know. I do know, however, that it was to be a sign through which they, and we, hear His message. “This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him” were not words just for a mount of transfiguration in light; these words for human redemption and salvation were unspoken in the darkness. For them, that day was a day of the Lord.

Days of the Lord were often signaled with “darkness and not light” (Amos 5:18) where God would establish his sovereignty, eradicate evil and bring peace (Zeph 1:14–18; 3:8–10; 2Th 1:9–10; 2Pet 3:10). It was not a calendar “day;” it was a “type” of time that Scripture called a day for divine punishment (Is 2:12, 13:9, 29:6; 30:30; Joel 2:30–31, Mal 3:19, 4:1). “Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful—who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11). God stressed, “I will bring distress on mankind… because they have sinned against the LORD” (Zep 1:17). Jeremiah and Ezekiel compared God’s punishment with a great sacrifice (Jer 46:10; Eze 39:17, 20–21). Zechariah linked the imagery to the “when” that Yahweh would, through a representative priestly ruler, “remove the wrong of this land in a single day” (3:9; cf. 6:12–13), also connected to the blood of a new covenant (9:9–11) that would save God’s people (14:7–9). This clearly echoes the words of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah (52:13–53:12). So then, in this “day,” there will be both judgment and salvation, but salvation to those who repent and seek the Lord (Joel 2:14; Amos 5:15; Jon 3:9; Zeph. 2:3; cf. Isa. 33:14–16). Also, Joel said that God will save and pour out his Spirit in that Day (Joel 2:11–13, 28–29; cf. Ezek. 36:27; 37:14; Zeph. 3:9) which is what Peter said was happening on Pentecost (Acts 2:16-17) where it is announced that God has fulfilled his kingdom promises to David (Isa. 11:1–10; Ezek. 37:24–28; Amos 9:11–14).

Yet, the “day” can still be future to us because all of the earth “will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30; cf. Acts 1:9–11) where He will judge the earth and reward the righteous (Matt. 25:1ff; 1The 4:16; 2Pet. 3:7-10). Paul also said that “concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him” that “the day of the LORD . . . will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2Thes. 2:1–3). Jesus spoke of this future “day of judgment” where God would judge all (Matt. 12:36; cf. Matt. 7:23; 10:15; 11:22–24; John 12:48) and connected this day directly with his second coming (Matt. 24:36, 42, 50; 25:13; cf. Mark 13:32; Luke 17:24) where Christ would gather all nations to himself and separate the wicked from the righteous (Matt 25:31–32; Zeph 1:2; 3:8). He would punish the former with lasting fury (Matt. 7:21–23; 25:41) and welcome and feast with the latter (Matt. 25:34; 26:29; Mark 14:25).

But back to the darkness. Our Eclipse was not a Day of the Lord, of course. But in that day of the Lord when Christ died on the Cross, what did the darkness convey? I believe was to say that God was working His Day of judgment and salvation. They should have felt that truth to the bones. And many did.

And what has occurred to me since then is not that God had to darken the sun or hold the moon to bring that darkness. Yet, to usher in the Kingdom of Light and to show the earth its darkness His Son would overcome, God’s heart eclipsed the sun so everyone could see His Son in all His glory. “Listen to Him!”

So, for me, those three minutes reminded me: This is My Father’s World. Not just Creator, though He is. Not just Savior, though He is. He is the Lord God – King of the Universe. And us? We are helplessly and hopelessly in need of His light every hour.

by Don Hooton

At a crucial point in his ministry, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Indeed, the answer we give will embody faith in its truest sense – and it matters because faith must know WHO Jesus is.

The entrance of Jesus into the world was extraordinary. Angelic beings announced to shepherds and humble parents brought him into the world. Matthew wrote, ‘“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel [Isaiah 7:14] which is translated “God is with us.”’ That is the message of the New Testament.

Others said the same about Jesus’ deity. The Apostle John wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created… [and] The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1,18). In another place, John wrote: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1John 5:20). The Apostle Paul wrote: “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying – …who is God over all, praised forever” (Romans 9:1,5). And again he wrote, “while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The Apostle Peter addressed his letter: “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2Peter 1:1).

Yet, Jesus himself said that he was: At the Feast of Booths in his encounter with the Pharisees (John 8:13), Jesus told them, “if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” (8:24). The Jewish people reacted to his statement by asking, “Who are you?” (8:25). Jesus told the Jews exactly who he is: “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). This “I am” statement was Jesus’ clearest example of His proclamation, “I am Yahweh,” from its background in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 41:4; 43:10–13, 25; 46:4; 48:12; cf. John 13:19) as well as Exodus 3:14 where God’s self-given name is the clear reference to which Jesus wanted his hearers to connect. And they did. It was sufficiently provocative enough for the Jewish leaders to call for capital punishment on that charge of blasphemy.

Even in his trial before Pilate, Jewish leaders clearly understood that Jesus’ use of this term was not just generic: “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7; cf. John 10:36). According to the Law, it was blasphemy to use God’s name (Leviticus 24:16). Therefore, by referring to himself as the Son of God, Jesus was claiming to share “the rights and authority of God himself (cf. [John] 1:34; 5:19–30).” People who say that Jesus never claimed to be God must answer why he was crucified on the Jewish leadership’s charge of blasphemy. How did He prove his Deity?

He proved it in what he said: ‘“Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”’ (Mark 2:5-7).

He proved what he said by what he did: “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true… But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given me to accomplish. These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent me” (John 5:31-36). And again, “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me… I and the Father are one.” (John 10:25-30).

He proved what he said by what he did by the resurrection of the dead: Paul wrote of the “the gospel of God— which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures— concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead.” (Romans 1:4). 

The significance of this is that failure to believe that Jesus is the Son of God brings deprives us of the good news Jesus brought and the salvation that He purchased as well as positioned us for judgment the judgment for our sins (see John 3:18, Ephesians 2:1). But, believing in Jesus as the Son of God brings eternal life (see John 3:15–17, 6:40, 20:31). And as those who were asked what they should do to have that salvation Jesus came to bring, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

After Thomas had heard what Jesus claimed and said, and saw what he had done and after He was raised, Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) for very good reason.

A good friend recently shared a picture with me of the building where the church met in my childhood. I have saved a few of these pictures because it reminds me of the people that shared in the raising I had in the Lord. To me, they are good memories. To others, even others who were raised among those Christians, the sentiment may not be the same. It is that way with people.

In the exchange, I learned that San Antonio had named the building of the Highland Blvd. church of Christ a historic landmark. The criteria that the Commission uses for this citation is for buildings that are “older than 50 years and judged worthy of preservation for their architectural and historical associations.” When it was decided by the commission, they saw the building and its value – but when I see it, I see the people.

Truthfully, God has wanted each of the people who congregate as churches to make a mark in the history of their community. Throughout history, many churches were not in “friendly territory” and for others, that mark would not reflect acclaim and accomplishment. Instead, churches will be historic and a landmark when they publicize the mark God has made in us. To use Paul’s own words, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). What he had in mind was, “as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world” (15).

What I learned from those “historic landmark” Christians to me, which is what I have learned from Scripture, will indeed make us – a landmark – community – that will bear the marks of Christ.

First, we studied the Bible. If the “church of the living God, [is to be] the pillar and foundation of the truth,” each Christian must be devoted to “the Apostles teaching” (Acts 2:42). Elders must “hold to the faithful message as taught, so that [they] will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). Deacons must “hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1Timothy 3:9). And evangelists must “preach the word… with great patience and teaching” (2Timothy 4:2) as they “commit to faithful people who will be able to teach others also” (2Timothy 2:2). As I grew up, there were many challenges that led to departures from the Bible way. There is no time when this charge does not apply. But you must study. And you must study one thing – God’s will in Scripture. Today, every generation and every person have the same charge: know the Book of God so you will know who you are in God individually and collectively. It’s no one’s charge if it is not your charge.

Second, we obeyed God. The teaching of obedience cannot be lost in the teaching of grace and mercy. Paul said, “Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles” (Romans 1:4). Even Peter charged: “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance” (1Peter 1:13). It’s no one’s charge if it is not your charge.

Third, we loved each other. The 70s were a tough time in America and not everything went right for everyone. It didn’t for me. But I still can reflect on the many expressions of love I had from people of God that bolstered not just my belief in people – but also belief in God. And that is why Jesus said, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). No longer is the standard for love merely “to love your neighbor as yourself”, but instead for the Christian, it is to love each other like Christ loved us. It’s no one’s charge if it is not your charge.

Buildings and their architecture will fade or be admitted to the registrar of historic landmarks. I will not lie that it makes my heart happy that this city has beloved the building of my childhood. But what was truly historic in this landmark that really mattered was the people who filled its halls and occupied its pews. Their hearts belonged to the Lord. And that is what will make any church the landmark to which God has called us.

by Don Hooton

Someone recently suggested we need to do a better job of reviewing and exhorting Christians regarding the dangers of porn. And it is not just dangerous; it is pervasive. A recent Covenant Eyes statistic indicated that 93% of boys will view online pornography before they reach the age of 18. The same source says that 62% of girls will view online porn before they are 18.  This issue for boys, teens and men is enormous; but based on the wide popularity of 50 Shades of Grey (2015), it is clearly an issue for girls and women too. The problem with porn is marriages and families it has destroyed. It warps sexual realities for single man and woman with a fix their dating does not provide and it breeds in young people a false view of sexuality. While the problem is clearly widespread, it doesn’t need to be this way. What do we need to remember?

Viewing pornography denigrates my spouse. This should be a no-brainer.  When we intentionally view porn and/or even “soft” porn, are we not telling our wives that they’re not good enough for us?  When we lock on muscle clad bodies, are we not telling our husbands what they lack? In whatever way we rationalize it away, our actions speak loudest. Job said long ago, “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?  For what portion would I have from God above, or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?… Does he not see my ways and number all my step s?” (Job 31:1-4). If we’re finding pleasure in others other than our spouses, how else do we expect them to feel?

Viewing pornography robs my spouse of my complete fidelity. According to covenant eyes contributor, J.T. Waresak, pornography is a sexual experience for most men.  The passion and sexual emotions tied to it connect us to its addictiveness.  Yet, sexual passion and emotional intimacy that accompanies sex is meant only for one other person–your spouse.

Viewing pornography negatively impacts your children. No one is an island and there is no sin committed that doesn’t impact those around us.  Children are far from being as resilient as people often say.  Marriages are foundational anchors for children. It is the air they breathe as they grow. Pornography poisons that air.  When children discover parents who choose self-gratification over loving the other parent or the whole family as they should, it’s a monumental crash to their system.  By choosing to view pornography, we put our children’s futures at risk to a broken home and a potential ruined pattern in their own lives.

Viewing pornography is a form of adultery.  Jesus stated it simply, “that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). There’s no way to sugarcoat it.  This is not to say that looking is adultery. However, we know this is a forbidden road and we need to stop ourselves.  Our walk with God, our marriage and our family is at stake.  If you are being tempted, pray to God and after you remind yourself that 1) marriage is the covenant He established between you and 2) there is the covenant of your eyes with your spouse you must honor, seek help. In God’s marriage covenant, there is total provision and protection.  As we cling to God and our spouse, God will pull us close and grow our marriages.

Viewing pornography weakens your fellowship with God.  As a Christian, this should be the strongest reason to keep us from pornography (or any other sexual sin). Consider what Joseph said, “So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). As a Christian, our relationship with God needs to define who we are and how we live.  We are called by Christ to offer our body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) which certainly includes how we uphold the sacred covenant of marriage.

We need to address what has become an epidemic in our modern world by remembering what it does. And just as it is our choice what we put in our bodies, it is our choice what our eyes look long upon. And if you need help, several resources are available:

• https://www.covenanteyes.com
• https://www.thefreedomfight.org
• https://www.provenmen.org

by Don Hooton

Followers of Jesus Christ can have absolute confidence that the resurrection of our Savior is fact. Yet much of the world around us rejects the idea of a resurrection.

The only sign that Christ gave to His generation to authenticate His claim to being Messiah was by His resurrection. He said it: ‘Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (c.f. Matthew 16:4, 12:39).

But how did this sign prove it to them?

“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths.^[b] So he went away, amazed at what had happened.“ (Luke 24:12).

In the days of the apostle Paul, some people proclaimed that there is no resurrection (1Corinthians 15:12). A powerful, Jewish group of religious leaders in his day, the Sadducees, also denied it. Yet, as Paul points out, if this were true, then not only would we have no Savior, we would still be in our sins, and we would have no hope (15:17-18)! When he wrote the church in Corinth, Paul emphasized that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an essential element of the gospel (15:1-4). His death and resurrection are vital to the redemption of all mankind—first for those from Abel to Jesus Christ’s first coming (the patriarchs and prophets) and for believers, and then for the rest of humanity in the age to come.  If Christ’s resurrection has been fabricated, preachers of the gospel of Jesus, along with the apostles, are liars (15:15); and there is no real hope for the future. Men and women can continue on with their lives, choosing whatever way seems right.

To counter those who denied the resurrection of Jesus, Paul called upon two forms of witness. First, he presents fulfilled prophecy: the fulfillment of the Holy Scriptures concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (verses 3-4). The details of the prophecies would have been impossible for Jesus’ disciples to fulfill on their own! Second, Paul presents witnesses by names of those people who saw and spent time with the resurrected Jesus (verses 5-8).

There is a long list of people who were his witnesses. These individuals included Peter, who had denied Christ when accused of being one of His followers (Luke 22:61-62); the Twelve, who had all deserted Jesus when He was taken by the guards (Matthew 26:56-57); 500 brethren, many still alive at the time Paul was writing (1 Corinthians 15:6); James the half-brother of Jesus, who had earlier been a skeptic of His messiahship (John 7:3-5); and finally by Paul, whose place in the story as persecutor to proclaimer is significant. He was a zealous Pharisee, well known for his loyalty as a Pharisee and his prosecution of those who would follow Jesus of Nazareth. Prior to his conversion, he was definitely not someone you would expect to support the existence of the resurrected Christ (Acts 8:2-4; 9:1-7)!

Another witness is Luke “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14) who traveled with Paul on several of his journeys. Although he never claims to have seen the risen Lord, he recorded the actions and events in fine detail and in logical order (Luke 1:1-3) from those who had. Sometimes on a journey he was the lone human support for Paul (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke records that Jesus proved He was alive “by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). In his Gospel account and the first chapter of Acts, Luke recorded what Jesus did and taught right up to the time of His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:2).

Yet, even in the preaching of those who were witnesses, they anchored their claims in those prophecies that were fulfilled in what transpired so long ago on that first Sunday after the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul knew that the Holy Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament today, was God’s words to Israel. If Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection had been prophesied and fulfilled what God had foretold of Israel’s Messiah, that would have set the seal of approval on Jesus Christ. It would also prove God’s existence and trustworthiness.

Here are some of the quotations in the New Testament and the scriptures they fulfilled. Consider the indiscernible probability that all of these seventeen prophecies could have been fulfilled by chance, or even by Christ’s followers if they were trying to orchestrate these events themselves.

1. Matthew 21:5 (John 12:15): “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey’” (Zechariah 9:9).

• Matthew 21:9 (Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13): “Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” Hosanna in the highest!’” (Psalm 118:26).

• Matthew 26:31 (Mark 14:27): “Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered”’” (Zechariah 13:7).

• John 13:18: “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me’” (Psalm 41:9).

• Matthew 27:9-10: “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me’” (Jeremiah 32:6-9; Zechariah 11:12-13).

• Matthew 27:26 (John 19:1): “Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified” (Isaiah 53:5).

• Acts 8:32-33: “The place in the Scripture which he read was this: ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth’” (Isaiah 53:7-8).

• Matthew 27:35 (John 19:24): “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots’” (Psalm 22:18).

• Mark 15:28 (Luke 22:37): “So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors’” (Isaiah 53:12).

1. Matthew 27:46 (Mark 15:34): “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Psalm 22:1).

1. Luke 23:46: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, “into Your hands I commit My spirit.”’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (Psalm 31:5).

1. John 19:33-37: “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced’” (Psalm 34:20; Exodus 12:46; Zechariah 12:10).

1. Matthew 27:57, 59-60: “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. … When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed” (Isaiah 53:9).

1. Acts 13:35 (Acts 2:25-28): “Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption’” (Psalm 16:8-10).

1. Matthew 12:40: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Jonah 1:17). (See more about this in the article “Sign of Jonah: Did Jesus Die on Good Friday? Was He Resurrected Easter Sunday?”)

1. Hebrews 10:12-14: “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Psalm 110:1; Daniel 9:26-27).

1. Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Daniel 9:26-27).

But there are other prophetic statements that point us to the Messiah – and the fulfillment that can be attested in Jesus.

The famous 70 weeks about which Daniel prophesied (Daniel 9:24-27) also pinpointed when the fullness of time would come and the Messiah would be made known, counting from the order to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. It also tells us He would be “cut off,” His life ended, for the sins of all mankind. Jesus’ death ended the need for His followers to offer animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin, as His life paid the penalty for all of us (Hebrews 10:4-14).

Further, Psalm 110:1 states that the resurrected Jesus would sit at the Father’s right hand, awaiting the time to return and finally put all enemies under His feet. Then there will be no hiding from or denial of the resurrected Savior and Messiah. It was the centerpiece Scripture of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2) from which he concluded, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (2:36).

With all the eyewitnesses of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His resurrection could not be denied, then or today. The testimony stands. Will you believe?