The four travelers entered the massive and majestic hall huddled together.  At the end of the hall thunder and smoke circled around a glistening throne.  A voice which shook the rafters bellowed and called out to them.  While they continued to tremble and crouch before the formidable visage of Oz, Dorothy and her companions were given an incredible task.  Yet, when they returned to demonstrate that they had accomplished the task, they were terribly disappointed!  What appeared to be so impressive at first is abruptly dismantled when Toto pulls back the curtain concealing Oz’s true identity and reveals he is anything but the “Great and Powerful Oz”.
            The final book of the Bible is also about an unveiling.  Yet unlike Oz who truly was all smoke and mirrors, the unveiling of Jesus in His glorious state, will be anything but a fairy tale.  God has been revealing Himself to mankind throughout the grand story of Scripture.  In the first chapters of Genesis He has intimately revealed Himself in the garden (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7-8, 15), but that relationship is quickly severed by disobedience and sin (Gen. 3:8).  Consequently God’s revelation of Himself becomes more selective after that.  While some people have a close connection with God (Enoch, Abraham and Moses come to mind), others can “see” Him in the world He created (Rom. 1:20).  During the wilderness wanderings He is visible in a miraculous but tangible way (Ex. 13:21; Num. 14:14; Neh. 9:12, 19).  Later on His glory is seen at the Temple (1 Ki. 8:10-11), and He voice is “heard” through His prophets (1 Ki. 18:1; Is. 6:8-9; Jer. 1:1-7; Ez. 6:1, 11:14).  God however is not satisfied with the restrictive constraints that sin has placed between Himself and His creation.  Once again, He seeks to dwell among His people, but this time as one of them (Jn. 1:14), and through His Son, He does just that (Col. 1:15).
            God Incarnate (lit. God in the flesh) does not appear to be God at all (Is. 53:2) during His sojourn amongst the people He comes to redeem, and only for a brief moment do those who live by His side actually see His glorious personage revealed (Mt. 17:1-9; Mk. 9:1-9; Lk. 9:28-36).  In a fashion exactly opposite of “the Great and Powerful Oz”, the first revelation of Christ is understated and His divine attributes are mostly hidden (Lk. 8:22-25).  But His second revelation will literally pull back the curtain of His humanity and reveal His glorious nature in all its fullness (Mt. 16:27, 25:31-33; 1 Thes. 4:19; 2 Thes. 1:7; Rev. 1:7).
            The Apocalypse, or Revelation of Jesus Christ, is generally understood to be the mass destruction and upheaval which takes place on earth as God metes out His wrath on those who have rejected Him and affirms those who suffer for their faith.  However, that is not the meaning of the word.  Instead, apokalupsis is derived from the verb which literally means “to remove a veil or covering exposing to open view what was before hidden”.  It can also mean “to make manifest or reveal a thing previously secret or unknown” as illustrated in Lk. 2:35 and 1 Cor. 3:13.  It is particularly applied to the supernatural in passages like Mt. 11:25, 27 and 1 Cor. 2:10.          Apokalupsis is one of three words used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ (1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thes. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13).  It is a grander and more comprehensive word than the other two words used concerning this event (epiphaneia- appearing & parousia-coming) because it emphasizes not only the thing shown and seen but the interpretation of the same.  Christ’s first coming was “epiphaneia” (2 Tim. 1:10).  His second is far more glorious!
            A lot will be said at this time of year about the lowly infant child born in humble circumstances to a mother with a tainted reputation thanks to her pregnancy before the betrothal period was over.  The helpless state of that little baby will be compared to Who He truly was.  We will be focused on His first “advent”, His “epiphany”.  Perhaps this year we might remember that His humble birth was only the beginning of the story.  And while He graciously set aside His true nature while on this Earth (Phil. 2:5-11), when He returns to it, He will return in all His fullness.  It is our inclination to think of Christ as “one of us” and to an extent He was and He needed to be (sacrificially speaking- Gal. 4:4-5).  But He is also the Son of God (Col. 1:19, 2:9; Heb. 1:3) and therein He is also greatly different from us!  Instead of a simpering and meek country peddler hiding behind a theatrical machine like the Wizard of Oz, when Christ returns there will be no question as to Who He is and His power.  Perhaps this Christmas it’s time to give Him His proper place in our lives; not as a sweet little baby that we sing pretty songs about, but as the Lord of All who will one day reign over all (Acts 2:36, 10:36; Rom. 10:12) as the Book of Revelation proclaims (Rev. 1:12-18, 5:6-14, 19:11-16, 20:4, 6).
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div. 
Week of 12/27/2015          

      Have you ever watched a drop of food coloring dissolve into a bowl of clear water?  I’m sure you can imagine the picture.  As the drop initially hits the water it is clearly visible.  Within seconds the color has lost its distinctive properties, but so has the water.  It too has lost its initial clarity and now is tinted with the color introduced by that one drop.  While the mixture of food coloring and water have no eternal ramifications, when compromise is introduced into Biblical teaching, the result is disastrous.  The final epistle of the New Testament, the Book of Jude, is primarily concerned with the mixture of false teaching which has seeped into the church, just like our drop of food coloring has blended into our imaginary bowl of water.
            The author of Jude, like James, was a brother of Jesus (Js. 1:1; Jude 1:1).  The recipients of the letter are not identified, but most scholars feel it was written to a congregation within Israel during the 1st century A. D. who were familiar with both the Old Testament and Jewish apocalyptic literature.  The former is cited throughout the letter and two references are made to the latter: two direct quotes from The Assumption of Moses, an apocalyptic book written under the pen name of Moses (verses 9 and 14), and another pseudepigraphal book, First Enoch, is alluded to in verses 6, 14 and 15.  Jude does not include these references because he equates them with the authority of Scripture, rather he uses them to demonstrate that even suspicious texts used by false teachers support the truth of God’s Word.  It is the threat of false teachers and their teaching being accepted by the church that compels Jude to write this letter, even though he had originally intended it to be one of encouragement (verses 3-4).
            The lies which comprise the so-called lessons of false teachers seep into the church in the same manner as our drop of food coloring mixes with the clear water in a bowl.  At first it is easy to distinguish what is true and what is false.  But eventually compromise and doubt blend the false with the true and believers do not recognize the difference any longer.  Jude’s aim is first and foremost to clearly show how to determine whether a teacher is speaking the truth or not, and secondly his goal is to illustrate the dangers of adhering to false teaching.  According to Jude there are several distinguishing attributes of false teachers: they flaunt liberality and mock the true nature of grace (v.4), they alternate between criticizing and using others and flattering others to build themselves up (v. 16), and finally they reject the authority of Christ by giving into the evil desires of their own lust (v. 8).
            In conjunction with the descriptions of false teachers there are three warnings to those who are tempted to follow them.  Jude wants his recipients to think very clearly about this, for if God did not spare those people which are cited as examples, why then would God spare those who receive this letter?  Jude states that even though the Lord rescued the Israelites from Egypt, He did not spare those who refused to believe and destroyed them (vv. 5, 11).  Even though angels are created to serve God, God has judged those angels which rebelled and served themselves (vv. 6, 9).   All people are judged when they distort human sexuality and pursue improper passions (vv. 7, 12).  And lastly, there is no escaping God’s judgment for those who usurp His authority and put themselves in His place (v. 14), so it is best to think twice before one decides to follow them (vv. 4, 17)!  We are not left without the ability to avoid this judgment.  By remembering God’s Words as taught through the apostles (v. 17), awaiting Christ’s love and mercy as demonstrated by His imminent return (v. 21), showing understanding and compassion to those struggling against false teaching (v. 22), and taking a strong stance in keeping our faith pure (v. 22), we can avoid the pitfalls and improper influence of false teachers.  Jude concludes with a benediction of praise which is quite appropriate for one whose name means just that- praise (vv. 24-25)!
            While some may think that the church no longer has issues with false teachers like the believers of Jude’s day, I would disagree.   However, in my opinion the false teachers of today are much more insipid and show up more in our lifestyle than in a person.  They are in our cultural values (it’s all about my rights), our day to day behavior (our cavalier use of God’s name as an exclamation) and our readiness to compromise God’s commands against what society says is acceptable (as in premarital relationships).  Why do we think we are going to be held less accountable than our spiritual “ancestors” who are given as examples in Jude?  It’s time for us to apply Jude’s checklist to our lives with the same scrutiny he encouraged his readers to do.  We need to if we hope to make an impact for Christ in these troubled times (Eph. 5:15-17).
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 12/20/2015

            Whenever Peter is described he often appears larger than life.  We can glean from the Gospels that he was out-spoken, impetuous, passionate and yet contrite and remorseful when confronted with his own failures.  He came from a family of fishermen who operated their business on the Sea of Galilee from the town of Capernaum.  While his brother Andrew was the first to follow Jesus (Jn. 1:40-42), Peter eventually took a prominent role among the disciples, even being named as one of the “inner three” who witnessed the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:2-8) and the miraculous healing of the synagogue leader’s daughter (Mk. 5:21-42).  His emphatic statement that he would follow Christ against all odds (Mk. 14:22-31) was followed by the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy that Peter would in fact deny Him like the rest (Mt. 26:69-75).  Yet as far as he fell, the Lord still had great expectations of him (Jn. 21:1-17) and history bears out that Peter rose to the challenge.  He not only became the spokesperson for the newborn church in the early chapters of Acts (Ac. 2-8), tradition says that when he was martyred circa 68 A. D. he was crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as the Lord he served.
            We have two letters in the Scriptures whose authorship is attributed to Peter.  And although many scholars and preachers have assigned Peter the role of “apostle to the Jews” (in contrast to Paul who was “the apostle to the Gentiles”), his letters are clearly addressed to a mixture of the two (as are most of Paul’s letters).  Peter’s letters are written against the backdrop of a turbulent time.  Claudius is emperor and his desire to return to the Roman state religion has stirred up hostility against all “foreign” religions.  Persecution of Christians has risen out of this movement and will reach its peak under Claudius’ successor, Nero.  But for the present suffering and persecution for the faith is most certainly on every believer’s mind.  Peter’s concern then is to encourage the faithful to first expect the suffering to come, but also how to live a life that reflects Jesus Christ in spite of the turmoil in the world around them. 
            Four grand themes emerge in Peter’s first epistle.  The first is “New Birth” which produces a living hope thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:3).  This hope enables believers to endure suffering (1:4-9) because they know what lies ahead.  The second is submission which is illustrated through a number of relationships: to those in secular authority (1 Pet. 2:17-18), by those in a marital relationship (3:1-7) and within the church (1 Pet. 5:5).  The third is suffering.  Peter observes that in general a person who does what is right may not suffer (3:13), but that we live in a world that crucified Christ, so it should not surprise us if we do suffer (2 :18-21; 4:12-19) and if we do suffer, our goal is to endure it because this finds favor with God (2:20).  The last theme to emerge in this short but powerful letter is the example of Christ.  He endured suffering as well and has become the example of how we should approach our own suffering should we experience it (2:21; 4:1-2).   Peter admonishes the recipients of this letter to live this way because “the end of all things is near” (1 Pet. 4:7).  Living a Christ-like life is a strong testimony to those who are lost in the throes of their own sinfulness (1:13-16; 2:11-12; 4:14-16).
            The second letter of Peter turns its attention to the topic of false teachers and the impending judgment upon those who promote false teaching and those who follow it.  Peter underscores these themes by citing OT precedence and by looking forward to a judgment that is to come (2 Pet. 2:5-9; 3:1-13).  As a result of this impending judgment, Christians are encouraged to be on the alert for false teachers (2 Pet. 1:3-21; 2:1-22) and to resist their influence by living under the grace of God (2 Peter 3:14-18).  The Teacher’s Outline and Study Bible notes, “2nd Peter is an epistle stressing the importance of knowledge.  The words know and knowledge are used 16 times in this short letter.  Knowing the truth is the answer to false teaching.”  No truer words could be written or spoken.  With this in mind it adds to the impact of Peter’s words concerning the writings of Paul (2 Pet. 3:14-15).
            I am often struck by how many Christians I know that read the latest “how to” Christian book, but not the Scriptures.  I confess it annoys me when I see their enthusiasm over what I call the latest “Christian fad book” without holding its author up to the measuring stick of false teachers in 2 Pet. 2:1-22 or its pop culture subjects to the entire teaching of the Bible.  Like the believers in the early church we live in tumultuous times.  Therefore it is even more important that we stand on the truth of God’s Word, not on what someone thinks or feels about it.  Take a close look at what you’re reading these days.  Then consider Peter’s letters as if he has written them to you.  Ask yourself, “Am I following the right teacher?” as you view the author and subject through the lens of 1st and 2nd Peter.

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.                                                                                                   
Week of 12/13/2015

          The streets of Jerusalem were buzzing with people moving to and fro as they went about their daily business.  Over by the Temple the people of “The Way” seemed to be in a quandary and Justin was curious to see what the fuss was all about.  He stood on the edge of the gathering and listened.  “The question has been raised concerning the Gentiles” an older man said.  Justin recognized him.  It was Yakov*, a highly respected man in Jerusalem who was known for his devotion to the Law and yet a pillar of this new sect which worshipped the man Yeshua* (Gal. 2:9), recently crucified and then resurrected (or so they said!).  He wanted to believe as they did; was even convinced more than not that what they said was true.  But the thought of “becoming Jewish” in order to believe was confusing to him and “Perhaps not worth the trouble,” he thought.  Yakov spoke thoughtfully and deliberately.  He quoted the Jewish Scriptures.  He reiterated the report brought by Paul and Barnabas and concluded with a simple yet concise requirement that all believers should follow.  It was if a barrier had been removed from Justin’s heart and in that moment he knew he’d found the answer to all the questions that had plagued him in life up until this moment (Acts 15:13-29- Justin however, is purely fictional!).
            It is hard for us to understand in the 21st century just how radical it was for the first Christians to embrace the Gentiles which had come to believe in Jesus Christ.  Like Jesus, they were for the most part Jewish, with a rare exception or two.  But while Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey an exciting twist of events occurred when increasing opposition to the Gospel from Jewish quarters opened wide the doors of Gentile evangelism.  When it concerned God the Jews understood they had a unique relationship with Him.  It was documented in the Mosaic covenant and demonstrated through circumcision and the keeping of God’s commands.  Gentiles were outside of this relationship, although they were not completely barred from worshipping God if they believed in Him.  When it was obvious that God had worked among the Gentiles and brought them into the community of faith, the natural human reaction was to incorporate these new believers into the practices and rituals of the Mosaic Covenant.  In the early believer’s logic, it was the only thing that made sense.  In order to be in the “Covenant Community”, one had to keep the commands of the Covenant.  But Jesus was the author of a New Covenant (Lk. 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:1-6; Heb. 9:1-15) and as James rightly interpreted this meant keeping “some” of the “old” but not necessarily all of it.  Instead of picking and choosing what TO and what NOT TO keep from the Mosaic Covenant, James goes back to the commands which God gave pre-Mosaic Covenant which satisfies the Jewish believers, the Gentile converts and above all- the Lord Himself.
            The Book of James fleshes out what it means to “live the Law”.  It was probably written during the early years of the Church and while some will debate as to the exact date, it appears from the book itself that it was written before all of Paul’s epistles and to a general audience.  Therefore it is broad in scope and principal but reading through it will reveal that James is both rooted and grounded in both the heart of the Mosaic Covenant and the teachings of Christ.  These features can be seen in the way James reflects on God’s character and who we are as His children (Js. 1:13, 16-18, 27; 2:5; 3:9; 4:4, 6,12, 14; 5:4), and how He incorporates teachings such as The Sermon on the Mount into his letter (Compare Js. 2:5-Mt. 5:3; Lk. 6:20, Js. 1:12-Mt. 5:10-12, Js. 1:12 and 2:14-17-Mt. 7:21, 25:31-46 for example.).
            I have heard many Christians express disregard for the Book of James.  They eagerly agree with scholars like Martin Luther who looked down upon this lowly epistle due to its lack of acknowledging Christ’s death and resurrection or God’s gracious act of salvation through them.  However, keeping the author and his intended recipients in mind erases the major component of this argument.  The question at hand in the early church was not salvation, it was inclusion!  One commentator wrote, “James seems to think his readers basically know and  believe the Gospel, but they don’t understand its implications for living.”  This makes James truly a book for today as many of us desire to translate what we know Jesus has done for us into how we live our lives.  And that is exactly what James wants us to do.  He wants us to take a magnifying glass and intently examine every inch of our lives using Scripture as the lens.  James instructs us to look at the way we treat the less fortunate (Js. 2:14-26), how we respond to the “haves and have nots” (Js.2:1-13), and what governs our behavior (4:1-6; 4:13-5:6).  If you took a magnifying glass to your life this week, how would you do?  Read through James and see!
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.                                                                                                     
Week of 12/6/2015

* Yakov and Yeshua are the Hebrew names of James and Jesus.  These names were Anglicized when the Bible was translated into English.
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