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O Brother, Where Art Thou? Esau Revisited

Pay attention to Genesis 33 & the story of Jacob & Esau.       It’s the basis of the story  of the Prodigal Son .   Jacob, at a young age, obtains his birthright (via illicit means) & winds up in sorting sheep (slopping pigs) in a far away land (Uncle Laban’s house) returns home & is met by Esau (the Prodigal’s father.     Gifts are exchanged (the ring, turban, etc), $ all is well.       Sometime later Edom (the brother who stayed behind), ie Esau’s offspring, but not Esau himself, gets angry & the LORD cuts them down to size just like the father in the story cut his angry son down to size.     How is it that we all understand the Prodigal Son’s father to be a godly man like Jethro but somehow Esau isn’t understood that way?  It’s so simple, a child can understand it. 
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Ezekiel 18 & Corporate Guilt

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  13  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.  14  Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.  15  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;  16  that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.  17  For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.  ( Hebrews 12:12–17 , ESV) Sometimes people read this text & assume that it means that Esau never repented.  From time to time, they even say that when Esau died, he didn’t know the LORD.  Is that at all true?   No, it isn’t, & here...
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Tackling Tradition 65: Esau & Repentance

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14  Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16  that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17  For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.  ( Hebrews 12:12–17 , ESV) Sometimes people read this text & assume that it means that Esau never repented.  From time to time, they even say that when Esau died, he didn’t know the LORD.  Is that at all true?   No, it isn’t, & here’s why… First, let’s look at H...
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Objections To The Rapture (Part 3)

Objection : 1Thessalonians is deploying a metaphor in which the people leave the city to greet the king & escort him into the city. They do this in a time of great judgment & travail on the Earth.   Reply : It’s hard to see how this is refutes the concept at issue.  According to your own logic, the people leave the city.   They escort the king to his rightful home, the city.  At its core, that’s precisely what the rapture entails. From the perspective of Christ Himself, it’s the Ascension all over again, but this time, He enters the plane of the Earth, returns home to the Earth itself, & moves the seat of His power directly to the Earth from its location above.  Objection : In Matthew 24, Christ refers to people marrying & being given in marriage being swept away in the judgment whereas Noah & his people survived in the ark. Reply :  In Genesis, the difference between Noah & his people & those killed is the ark.   Everyone w...
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Tackling Tradition 64: Revelation 22: 6 - 9

  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7  “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8  I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9  but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”  ( Revelation 22:6–9 , ESV) Many people read this as a lesson not to worship angels, & they are most certainly right about that.  That says, there is more going on here than that.    Throughout the Book of Revelation, angels appear as non-angelic humanity & animal kind’s fellow image bearers who participate in the investigation & ju...
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Revelation 21 - 22

  Revelation 21-22 English Standard Version The New Heaven and the New Earth 21  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.   2  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.   3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place [ a ]  of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, [ b ]  and God himself will be with them as their God. [ c ]   4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5  And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are tru...
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