Dr. Terry Threadwell's Blog

In our world today there is the general pessimism that the world and everything in it is not where God would have us and that nothing but the return of Jesus Christ will change things.  Some refer to the world as being ‘fallen,’ however, such wording has more to do with Greek philosophy that biblical thought. The Christian can put the brakes on this moral, and ethical decline by being ‘salt’ and ‘light.’  With the current political climate, a nationalistic President, Christians are once again hunting the anti-Christ, not knowing what they are exactly looking for.

How much of an impact can we have on this world? Jesus calls us to be salt and light, both preserving and bringing light into the darkness.

Matthew 5:13-16   ” You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

The separation of Church and state had no Constitutional precedence and was nothing more than a casual comment by Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson was not a modern or evangelical Christian, but he was fairly typical of that day. As a Deist, he rejected everything supernatural, the doctrines that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Incarnation, and resurrection. To the Deist, God did not get involved in the affairs of men. I believe that the Word of God shows us that not only do we have a biblical mandate for involvement, but a responsibility to caretake the earth and everything in it.

The primary image of this model is seen in a new heaven and new earth, “Revelation 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea.

Sometimes theologians refer to the already and the not yet.  It means that we may have experienced something like a first installment, but there is more to come. The early Church experienced the ‘already’ of the Kingdom in the life of Jesus and the promise of the Holy Spirit.  The ‘not yet’ for them was the expectation of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter, as he was addressing the crowd said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,  “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,  “whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (Act 3:19-21, NKJ) The early church believed that the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom was just around the corner.

There are four basic features of this model of the Kingdom.  The first characteristic is the looking forward to the judgment and the reconciliation of the world.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

The second feature is not just the end to evil and the restoration of what was pre-fall, but something even more glorious.  This is seen in Haggai 2:9   “’The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place, I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”  In John Wesley’s view, for example; “The whole brute creation will then undoubtedly be restored, not only to the vigor, strength, and swiftness which they had at creation but to a far higher degree of each than they ever enjoyed.  They will be restored, not only to that measure of understanding which they had in paradise but to a degree of it much higher than that as the understanding of an elephant is beyond that of a worm.” “For all the earth shall then be a more beautiful paradise than Adam ever saw.”  An unmixed state of holiness and happiness.

Paul writes, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;  because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

Everything will be restored and made new. That’s the future hope of the Kingdom.

“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” —1 Peter 1:3-4

There is something about being a follower of Jesus Christ that sets you apart from others; it’s the hope that you have for the future. If our future is not safe and fulfilled in God, then we are going to be over anxious. This results either in paralyzing fear or in self, and wanting stuff to fill the void. We end up self-consumed about our future, our problems, and we fail to achieve our full potential.

Life expectancy in America is now the lowest in any developed country; the reason apparently is the number of opioid overdoses, and suicide among young people. When our young people are that hopeless, we have a serious problem.  Share the love, share the hope!

https://www.ajc.com/news/national/sees-drop-life-expectancy-largely-due-opioid-crisis-among-young-adults/vbuYN3H6BD3vHQpXCsngrJ/

The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them, God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:26-27 NKJ)

If you have Christ in your heart and life this morning, you have a hope.  That hope isn’t about the material things of this world; it goes way beyond that.  The hope we have is a Kingdom hope!. The hope that one day soon the Kingdom of God will establish on the earth as it is in heaven.  It’s already here in you and me, and it’s not yet fully established.

The hope that we have needs to be shared.  Judgment comes when we hoard up the blessing and keep the hope to ourselves.  In the Book of Malachi, God warns the people, “Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the constant sorcerers; the chronic adulterers; the habitual liars; those who continue cheating wages from their hired laborer, a widow, or an orphan; and those who always reject the immigrant, not fearing Me.”

Over 5,000 people are at our southern border. They have walked for miles; the one word that describes their plight is ‘desesperación,’ hopelessness.  If we will only open our borders, and our hearts, God will meet every need, overcome the fear and the evil, and truly bless this nation. I have a hope, and that hope is in Jesus Christ, the hope of glory.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. “And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it:`Arise, devour much flesh!’ “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Dan 7:1-7 NKJ)

In my forty years as a Christian, I have heard and read all manner of interpretations of the Daniel text. Often tied in John Revelation in some strange way. Amazon is awash with biblical prophecy books, some dating back to the early seventies, and several containing prophecy and interpretation that proved to be wrong.  These so-called prophets of doom seem to have no remorse or repentance, and just move on to their next best seller.  Thank God for grace! Under Old Testament law these authors would have been taken out back and stoned to death.

Daniel relays to the king a series of vision; the descriptions used were common in Mesopotamian culture. People have tried to compare Daniel to other sources in the Old Testament without success.  However, similar language and imagery have been found in an extinct Amorite language known through the Ugaritic Texts.  Daniel here is reiterating the original vision that he gave to Nebuchadnezzar,  regarding the coming kingdoms, and has nothing to do with 21^st century America and beyond.

We should be asking God for that same prophetic insight that Daniel had for today.  It is amazing how we seem to have a gift of interpreting the beasts and monsters of yesterday, but can’t see what God is doing today.

Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the constant sorcerers; the chronic adulterers; the habitual liars; those who continue cheating wages from their hired laborer, a widow, or an orphan; and those who always reject the immigrant, not fearing Me, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. Because I am the Eternal One, I never change; as a result, you children of Jacob have not been destroyed though your blessing may have been delayed. (Mal 3:5-6, The VOICE)

The words on the bottom of the Statue of Liberty read, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” Though it is not a direct quote from scripture, it pretty much sums up the general consensus of scripture.

Where did we go wrong?  A country that claims to be Christian, and boasts that in God we trust, now stand opposed to the Word of God. The ‘constant sorcerers; the chronic adulterers; the habitual liars,’ now set our policy, while the widow and the orphan are tear-gassed on our borders.

God will be swift and bring judgment.

So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” (Dan 6:13-16 NKJ)

God had blessed Daniel, and he had found favor with the king, now he was heading for a den full of lions. You might say, ‘well if that’s finding favor forget it!’ The reality is that whenever God blesses and you find favor, the enemy is right there trying to bring you down. Everyone around you isn’t there to cheer you on.

However, every time the enemy attacks is just another opportunity for God power to be shown.  Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, and a stone rolled over the entrance.  It took a ‘night season,’ but God showed up.

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. (Dan 6:1-3 NKJ)

Christians often think that the anointing of God and the filling with the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of receiving and giving a blessing during a church service. It’s that kind of remnant mythology! That’s right! Here we are in the four walls of a building that we call the church, barricading the doors and windows in case the world infiltrates our holy huddle. Is this what God wants? No! Nothing could be further from the truth.
In the story of Daniel, we see four Hebrew boys taken off into captivity in Babylon. You could almost feel sorry for them except for the fact that God had a plan. God’s plan for Daniel, as it was with Joseph, and so it is for you, to put people in places of significance. Daniel started off as a slave, was promoted by God, until he found himself over a third of the kingdom and about to move into a higher position. Daniel distinguished himself because of the excellent spirit within him.

Some Christians do nothing but moan and complain about their jobs. They bearly do the minimum and adopt laissez-faire, kind of easy-come-easy-go attitude. If that’s you, you’re missing out on God’s best. God has placed you were you are to be a person of significance, are you ready?

Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. (Dan 5:3-6 NKJ)

Belshazzar was the son of  Nebuchadnezzar, a new generation that enjoyed the fruits of the previous generations conquests.  When Nebuchadnezzar invaded and ransacked Jerusalem, he took the vessels from the temple back to Babylon and placed them in the temple of his god.  Inscriptions found to show that Nebuchadnezzar was a very religious man and showed respect for those things declared holy.

His son, Belshazzar had no respect for the holy vessels and thought that they should be used in his party.  The finger of a man’s hand starts to write on the wall, and the strength drains from Belshazzar’s body. He calls for Daniel to interpret the writing and offers Daniel wealth, and position, which Daniel refuses.  Because Belshazzar had not humbled himself before God, and had taken the holy things and made them unholy, his kingdom and his life will be taken—he died that night.

Today as in the days of Belshazzar, we have no respect for God or the holy things of God.  Religion has replaced the relationship. The Spirit has been replaced with smoke-machines and flashing light.  We declare that which is vile to be holy and glory in sin. Perhaps it’s time for the hand of God to spell it out to us plain and clear.

Great article: https://peaceaftertrauma.com/2018/10/23/blood-on-our-hands-7-reasons-why-im-a-christian-against-abortion-who-doesnt-vote-pro-life/?fbclid=IwAR3YW3HcjkWCYF3AOqZiDBhS9deNLNQ–nGf3RZjssaBxtgmbhmUq5dO2zU