Wednesday: Heaven’s Gate
Isa: 13:1-14:32
In Isaiah 14 a taunt against Satan, the fallen “Day Star (in KJV, ‘Lucifer’), son of Dawn” (Isa: 14:12, NRSV) is blended into a taunt against the king of Babylon. Why? Compare Revelation 12:1-9, where a dragon identified as Satan (Rev: 12:9) tries to destroy a child as soon as it is born. In Revelation 12:5 the child clearly is Christ. But it was King Herod who tried to kill Jesus as a young child (Matthew 2). The dragon is both Satan and the Roman power represented by Herod, because Satan works through human agents. Similarly, Satan was the power behind the king of Babylon and the prince of Tyre.
Why does “Babylon” later refer to Rome (1 Pet: 5:13) and to an evil power in the book of Revelation (Rev: 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Rev: 17:5; Rev: 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:21)?
Image © John Thompson from GoodSalt.com
Like literal Babylon, Rome and the “Babylon” of Revelation are proud, ruthless powers that oppress God’s people. See especially Revelation 17:6, for it is “drunk with the blood of the saints” (NRSV). They rebel against God, an idea implied in the name “Babylon” itself. In the Babylonian language, the name is bab ili, which means: “the gate of god(s),” referring to the place of access to the divine realm. Compare Genesis 11, where people built the tower of Babel (Babylon) so that by their own power they could rise to the divine level of immunity from any accountability to God.
When Jacob awoke from a dream in which he saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth, he exclaimed: “This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen: 28:17, NRSV). Notice that the “house of God” is “the gate of heaven”; that is, the way of access to the divine realm. Jacob named the place “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
The “gate of heaven” at Bethel and the “gate of god(s)” at Babylon were opposite ways to reach the divine realm. Jacob’s ladder originated in heaven, revealed from above by God. But Babylon, with its towers and ziggurat temples, was built by human beings from the ground up. These opposite ways represent contrasting paths to salvation: divinely initiated grace versus human works. All true religion is based on the humble Bethel model: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” ( Ephesians 2.8-9, NRSV). All false “religion,” including legalism and “secular” humanism, is based on the proud Babylon model. For the contrast between the two approaches, see Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14).
| Even after spending a few years in a Zen monastery, Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen told an interviewer, “I’m not saved.” In the context of today’s study, what do you think his problem was? What did he need to know about salvation? |
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There is no doubt that in the last century man has made great strides in science and engineering. And for many of us that has been a great benefit. I have mentioned before the scourge of Polio that was a serious issue when I was a child. Vaccinations were developed to the extent that we hardly hear of it these days. Many illnesses can be either cured or at least controlled by medical techniques that did not even exist when I was a kid. There is no doubt that many of us are alive today as the result of the miracles of modern medicine. Most of us Christians, faced with an illness that requires medical attention seek our miracles from science first, rather than going to a faith-healing experience.
The consequence of this is that there is the temptation to think that we have reached the point of thinking that science is our salvation. Even secular writers are suggesting that we will always listen to the miracle workers, and our current miracle workers are the medical scientists.
I am not saying medical science is wrong. I have enough bits of technology in and around my body to remind me that the quality of life I experience in my old age is highly dependent on modern medical science. And I am glad that my parents lined us up for the Polio vaccine (particularly seeing a relative had just died from it). The issue that we face is that we are beginning to believe collectively that we are really in charge of everything. There is a subtle shift in our thinking from science as a servant to science as the master and salvation of us all.
We look at the issues that Isaiah is talking about, the notion that leaders and kingdoms followed the example of Lucifer in "playing God!", and we praise God for giving us insight into how apostate Christianity has also followed suit. But we now need to apply it to our time.
The big question for us is this. How do we differentiate between the life-saving benefits of modern technology and the notion that science is humanity's salvation? All too often our response is somewhat simplistic and the only people we convince are ourselves.
Over the last year, I have been reading James Watson's book DNA. It is a challenging read because it delves into the mechanisms of life itself. For those of us who believe that God created life, the challenge is that much of what we thought was a mystery can be explained in terms of biochemistry. It is easy to see how we come to think that we know as much as God (or at least are capable of it within the foreseeable future).
It is difficult to give a simple answer to this issue in a couple of "blog paragraphs", particularly when many of our readership do not have a science background. My one-sentence answer is that science has given us evidence of "how" God works, but not "why". And our salvation is ultimately tied up with "why" God works the way he does. Perhaps, if we can make that distinction in our minds, we can retain our humility before God rather than be accused of "playing God!"
science will NEVER conquer death. death is a destination for ALL of humanity because of sin. eternal life will NEVER exist on earth today or at any time in the future. any other theory is science fiction (which is why i like science fiction). the only salvation from death is the Faith in a New Earth where eternal life is a GIFT of FAITH from The LORD to His Disciples who have FAITH in His Life, Death Resurrection and Advent.
Yes Maurice, with every advancement in knowledge, man tends to believe they have arrived, only to discover there are much higher "peaks" that the new knowledge enables us to see which were hidden before. Man will never know all that God knows, and this will often turn into unbelief, which, in the field of science, has become epidemic. I know of too many who place science above the Word of God.
Example: anyone who has followed the exploration of Jupiter since before the first probes flew by it, has seen that every closer look revealed how wrong the earlier conclusions were. Each new revelation made the scientists confident that they now knew the facts, only to realize that those were also wrong with the next closer look. The current JUNO project is proving the latest prior theories wrong again. Wait until someone actually lands on Jupiter! 😉
My point is: if something so "close" has evaded our understanding, what about those theories concerning extremely distant objects which we will never see closer in this life? Once God presents Himself to everyone, all that knowledge will be forgotten, like Nebuchadnezzar's golden image when the 3 worthies walked out of the furnace that day. Makes me wonder if that image ended up in the furnace to be made into something more practical...or at least less embarrassing?
Quite informative Maurice, and thank you for this beautiful insight on science and how you tie all of this into the lesson. As I was reading your contribution I remembered reading something similar and wondered where did I got that bit of information! But it came back that I remembered you posted this some time ago. Especially the part that you are happy that your parents made you take the Polio vaccine shot.
God's work is uncomparable with none. Even the Scientists and the Scientific Elements themselves were made (created) by God. The Bible clearly teaches us that, the Universe and everything therein were (all) made/created by God. Thus, God's work is miraculous and wonderful.
God's work is miraculous and wonderful only if we let that power work its miracle in our lives. The miracle of a changed life living in harmony with God speaks more about his power than any assertions that he created the Universe or life itself.
Heaven’s Gate
'Even after spending a few years in a Zen monastery, Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen told an interviewer, “I’m not saved.”
What does it means to be saved? Does it means we are ready to go to heaven with Jesus?
'An exultant feeling is no evidence of sanctification. The assertion, “I am saved, I am saved,” does not prove that the soul is saved or sanctified. Many who are greatly excited are told that they are sanctified, when they have no intelligent idea of what the term means; for they know not the Scriptures nor the power of God.' {RH March 25, 1902, par. 8}
What do we teach others what does it meant to be saved?
Truth can't be hidden forever. Thy word is truth. The bible is more than just living in a shell in spiritual things, it also teaches man about his social, physical, mental and psychological well being.
I know I am saved (today) because of my relationship with Jesus. However, that doesn’t mean I will be saved tomorrow if/when I step outside that relationship. It’s the abiding in Him that is my salvation.
Heaven's Gate:
A gate to me means allowing or preventing access.
Right in the beginning after Adam & Eve chose to rebel against the LORD they were expelled from the Garden of Eden and an angel with a flaming sword was set at the gate to prevent them from access to the tree of life.
Who holds the Keys to the Kingdom?
What are the Keys?
Jesus owns & holds the keys, they are His words/teachings and our response to them determines who will enter the gates into the New Jerusalem and have access once again to the tree of life.
Matt 16:16-19; John 6:63; 7:24; Rev 1:18; Rev 3:7; Rev 22:14
Hi Shirley - the meaning of 'gate' might also be interpreted as an act; like "the 'gates' of hell, the efforts/acts by the armies of the adversary cannot not prevail against the 'gates' efforts/acts of the armies of heaven and the faithful believers. This heavenly effort/act/condition respresented by the angel holding the flaming sword - gate - also controls the access to paradise.
Yes, I also believe the Keys to the Kingdom of God are the Holy Spirit and our Faith in the Word of God as revealed by His Son Christ Jesus.
Talking with this 17 year-old kid, I was surprised about his answer to the question "why didn't you get baptized yet?", "I do not feel ready". I told him that as long as he accepted Jesus and His commandments he was ready. Deep inside, we may think we are never totally ready! But glory be to God, whom is able to complete what we miss! The honor comes only from His character! May God work in our selfsteem, to the point where we get our confidence in God only!
What does it mean to be saved.
1 The love of God has lead you to desire Truth.
2 We give ourselves wholly to Christ.
3 We seek salvation unceasingly, as though it were the most valuable commodity.
4 We make a total surrender of our bad habits, through the power of Christ who strengthens us.
5 We ask for and accept the Holy Spirit.
6 Through prayer, reading God's word, asking for the Holy Spirit, we see Christ encircled with the glory of heaven, with infinite treasures in His hands to bestow upon all who would turn from their rebellion.
7 Now we go tell our neighbors and friends what Christ has done for us. i.e. gifted us salvation, i.e. When we thus give ourselves wholly to Him, Christ, with all the treasures of heaven, gives Himself to us. We obtain the pearl of great price. Matthew 13:45,46. Christ Object Lessons. Chapter 9.
In our lesson, the phrase "rise to the divine level of immunity" stood out for me. When I see God I always see Him descending - descending to the Garden of Eden to make humans and to walk and talk with them, descending in the incarnation of Jesus, descending to take us back home with Him at the end of this age. God mingles with us freely and never makes Himself "immune" to our struggles (Ps. 34:18) The divine level of immunity we see in 1 Peter 4:13 is suffering. I think God's heart hurts along with ours at the effects of sin on this planet. We are His temples and He lives within us, His Body. He makes choices that will benefit the whole of humanity, regardless of the effects to Himself. When we follow Him, we too make Christ-led choices that are for the benefit of all, not just for our own comfort and well-being.
The other part of today's lesson that resonates with me is:
As I study God's Word more and more, I feel as though He's pulling me out of myself up to Himself. By this I mean prayer and Bible study is so much more abstract and vulnerable than the alone time I've spent in my past with self-help books.
A self-help book might say something like this: "light a candle, breathe deeply, imagine a beautiful spot in nature like under a tree or by a river, and stay there in the stillness, maybe dumping all of your pain into the river." After an hour of an exercise like this I may have felt calmer but not more nourished or settled or at peace deep down. Or we see on every magazine cover ways to improve self. Again, these numbered-step plans do not lead to lasting inner peace.
In contrast, time spent with God talking to Him and wrestling with Him as Jacob did is transformative. There might be a limp forever afterward, but we're never the same. It's about opening to a connection, about falling in love with one's Creator, about saying to God, "no I won't let you go until I am able to receive your blessing", like Jacob did (Gen. 32:26). It's receiving a new name from God (Gen. 32:28), receiving a new mission. It's letting God construct a ladder for me, not by me, where like the angels I can travel back and forth to God's throne in personal and intercessory prayer, bringing everything up to Him, and carrying blessings to share back down. In this model, I am growing not for my own benefit and reward, but as a daughter in my Father's kingdom.
The lesson writer caught my eye with the statement: “ … people built the tower of Babel (Babylon) so that by their own power they could rise to the divine level of immunity from any accountability to God.
I do not think there to be any level anyone in Heaven or earth can ‘rise to’ which is beyond immunity from accountability to God. Even Lucifer, a powerful ‘Morning Star’ endowed with great authority, was not working his assignment outside of the law of God. Anything which exists does so only by/through the law of God and is held accountable by it.
Like man, Lucifer is a creature with the capacity of conscious, free will and has power only in the *creative* realm of obedience or disobedience to the authority of God, his Creator; these choices made by free will manifest themselves as experiences in the reality of life.
I have realized that the conscious mind of man plays tricks on itself when it considers itself operating autonomously in any way; outside of using its will power to obey or disobey the Will of God, the mind cannot even function without a body, and the body is God-made.
Choices are made by the free will-function of the mind, but inspired/formed through the powers of the realms of the spirit. Man does not ’create’ his own thoughts, we only use reflective function in a world established and government by fixed rules and powers in high places.
We should never forget that the wars between dominions are playing out between the powers of the Spirit of Light and the spirit of darkness. Man is the object of the desire of both, being influenced by and to follow. The believer's engagement with the Holy Spirit of God’s Light and Life has the power to reveale within itself the spirit of the adversary; the followers of the spirit of the adversary are unaware of the darkness of his lies and errors and *perceive* them as light.
Matt.16:15-19KJV –
Jesus asked Peter: “But whom say ye that I am?”
Peter’s answer: “… Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates(assailing forces) of hell(Hades) shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven(the Holy Spirit): and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
All powers in earth originated and are administered in heaven. The gift of Believe and Faith in and by the Spirit of God is the bridge between these two realms; man exists by the Breath of Life given to him by His Creator. This understanding was revealed to Peter and the Apostles, they accepted it by faith. With this acceptance came the responsibility to participate, to work within the established framework assigned to them by their Lord and Master Christ Jesus.
One's Salvation is worked out by one's own, free-will choice; to believe that I AM is the source of all that is, and to hold on to his faith in the Holy Spirit’s power to lead him through and toward his Salvation.
The last question on whether Leonard Cohen was saved and his answer is with out question a good one. Are we saved? Lord knows that I am not saved by myself or any of my works, it is thru my confession of sin to my lord and savor that I pray that my sins are forgiven, that I have learned from my mistakes and do them not again.
It is very interesting to me as to how in Revelation 12:4,5 the child that the dragon wants to devour and that is supposed to represent Jesus is not represented as dying for the sins of humanity at all. It just says that the woman gives birth to the child that would rule the nations with a rod of iron and is taken up to God and God's throne.
Pete, yes, that is why we need to read the whole book of Revelation to get the full picture, read Revelation 5 which tells of the Lamb that was slain and saved us by His blood.
OK Shirley, so I guess that King Herod killing all the 2 year old baby boys and down to try to kill Jesus was more important in Revelation 12:4,5 than what finally did happen to Jesus being handed by His own people to Rome to be crucified, right?
Hi Pete,
On what basis do you state one event was considered more important than another?
Don't stop at Rev 12:4-5, carry on reading and see Rev 12:11 clearly refers to Jesus being crucified.
Rome is called “Babylon” in scripture so that students of scripture will recognize its true roots in the pagan principle: self in the place of God(which anyone can do no matter what they profess to "believe"). Though posing as “Christian” through the centuries, the Roman church is based upon the beliefs, teachings and practices of idolatry. Rome's main work, besides accumulating wealth, has been to destroy any who dare to opposed them with the Word of God, while refusing to accepting the traditions and teachings of men. It was Luther's visit to Rome that opened his eyes to the reality that few others understood at that time. This was only possible because he was a student of scripture(Ps 119:105).
If you have ever had to set up a tall ladder, say, close to 30 feet, you must first set it firmly in place on the ground. Jacob's ladder rested on the earth, where sinners are bound to this world, and if Jesus had never come to earth, there would be no ladder. The good news is that this ladder reaches all the way to God in heaven where Jesus now is, preparing a place for all who believe in Him! The issue with Babel's tower is that it went nowhere. Babylon's gods are myths and fables, so there is nothing to reach, and no where to go but the "pit". Can we understand why it is called "the abomination of desolation"?
Like any other sinner, Leonard Cohen needs only to “repent...and believe the gospel”(Mark 1:15) by exercising faith. Keep in mind John 16:8.
We sometimes need to remind ourselves that one of the big issues with the Papacy in the period from roughly 400AD to 1500AD is that they used Christianity as a political weapon. They did not just persecute those who followed the Word of God. They persecuted everyone, Jews, Muslims, pagans and even one another in pursuit of power, wealth and control. We sometimes look for pagan roots in doctrine, where their really big sin was the repudiation of the very principle - love. Any individual or organisation calling itself Christan, when it has replaced love with coercion has essentially lost the plot.
With Christ no where to be found in their teachings or practice, could we say they used the pretense of "christianity" to deceive others? Even then their actions were thinly disguised to all but those armed with the Word of God and knowledge of Jesus. No other group exposed the papal errors like those who used the test of scripture for every teaching, and these received the lion's share of the dragon's wrath through the Church.
Yes, where iniquity abounds, love waxes cold, as Jesus taught.
For much of my life I have despised people for being wicked, treacherous, immoral, etc, but the longer I live and go through different life experiences, I realize the best place to be is with the publican and proclaim, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
We are saved by faith, period.
Galatians 2:8,9 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
It is that same faith (belief in Christ and His sacrifice to redeem) that allows us to surrender our all to Him and allow His Spirit to transform us into a reflection of Him.
Romans 3:22-26 “ Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Galatians 2:22 “ But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
Galatians 3:11 “ But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Philippians 3:8,9 “ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:“
To be ‘saved’ is to accept the gift of righteousness that God gave us freely in Christ. Acceptance of the gift means we surrender ourselves totally to Him, are covered by Jesus, are given His Spirit, Who changes us into His likeness.
Nanci, thank you for pointing out that it is the faith of Jesus which saves. This has been so important to me and I am encouraged to find it in the many quotes you shared with us regarding the Faith *of* Jesus.
Rom.3:25KJV states "Whom God has fore-ordained to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to delare his righteousness for the remission of sins ... .
I have always wondered about the wording 'through faith in his blood'. How can we *have faith in His blood* unless it is used as a metaphor, the sign of His willingness of His all-relinquishing Faith, the giving up of His Life's blood? Life is contained in the blood; God required the ultimate price of sin which is loss of life/shedding of blood as demonstrated in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
Like so many words/things meant as a metaphor in Scripture to stand in place for teaching a spiritual Truth, like 'blood', and 'having faith in the blood', become an object of veneration, whereas the focus should remain solely on Christ Jesus' Faith, strong enough to lay down His Life to mitigate for us the punishment for our sins - to loose our life.
Thank you Brigitte,
Yes, I do believe we can have the faith of Jesus only if we are in a totally surrendered relationship with Him. It is that faith that will take us through and make us victorious in the end.
There are innumerable phrases and even deep spiritual concepts open in scripture for our contemplation and discussion. Our salvation doesn’t hang on those things.
You are right, the most important thing to me, is remaining loving God with a genuine heart, being authentic with Him in our moment by moment relationship. Total surrender to Christ is our only hope for restoration and salvation.
No, not just faith, period, but "Grace," also. Faith is our part and Grace is God's part to save us.
Brother Villarreal,
When I speak about salvation, as a child of God, I must have faith in God. As His creation, I cannot change or become righteous by myself. My part in salvation is having faith in God. God is ever merciful. He will fulfill His promises. It is I, His creation, who must choose to believe in Him, His sacrifice and surrender to His Spirit.
His grace cannot make me whole if I like Ahaz, reject Him, His grace and His long suffering mercy. That’s what I meant by we are saved by “faith period”. As God reveals Himself to us, we must believe in order for God’s grace to cover us.
Hebrews 11:1,6
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”