The
Seventh-day Adventist Church was born into a religious world. Its call for
obedience to the Law of God as expressed in the Ten Commandments with a
specific emphasis on the Sabbath and its belief in the soon return of Jesus
Christ spawned a movement that in just over 150 years has become world wide.
While the Church still experiences good growth in the developing world it is in
decline in most of the developed world. Some have described our age as the
post-Christian era. Our society is largely secular. Christianity is seen by
many as ‘a barren “spiritual”
subset’ of the ‘bankrupt
worldview’ of modernity (Roxburgh, pp. 44,45).
In their search for ‘some unified theory that connects and
explains everything in the universe’ (Roxburgh,
p.40) these people are turning to eastern and new age spiritualities. Jon
Paulien states secular people are looking for a cosmic philosophy, one that
explains how ‘everything ... fits together’
(p. 131) and lifestyle direction (p. 134).
The big concern for most young people today is that they do not know what to do with their lives. The amazing openness to the bizarre absurdities of the New Age movement certainly indicates an openness to help from any direction, provided it touches base directly with felt needs and speaks a language that is familiar and meaningful.
Roxburgh (p.p. 19-24) realises that in the North American context the churches have been displaced as the ‘primary value-generating centres of ... society.’ The same is true of Australia – if the churches here have ever been the ‘primary value-generating centres.’ And while we can decry the greed, corruption and exploitation so prevalent around us, Roxburgh sees people striving to make a better world, living out values that counter the destructiveness around them. Care for the environment, a longing for communities where all are treated equally and with respect, and the search for a meaningful spirituality that is in harmony with the universe is at the core of their search. Speaking of the environmental movement Tony Campolo says:
If we in the church do not act, other religious groups, such as the New Age movement, will step in and usurp a cause to which God has called us. We know that the New Agers have already become identified with the call to ecological salvation. Their talk of “Mother Earth” and their theology of Gaia have become part of the dialogue on environmental concerns. We cannot let those who embrace a pagan religion take charge of a movement that will be a major concern of most enlightened people for the next couple of decades.
While a growing number of enlightened voices are challenging the values of the consumer society the Church is largely silent. Too many Christians live with indifference to the suffering in the world around them. Writing in Spectrum Chris McGillion says:
What of cardinal virtues - prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice? Well, as a general rule Christians in Europe, North America and Australia consume more than their fair share of the earth’s resources and they haven’t stopped at tolerating the exploitation, oppression and environmental degradation of weaker neighbours to feed their appetites.
According to McGillion, secularists have ‘pushed religion into the private sphere of conscience so that science, politics and economics could have free reign in determining public affairs.’ Religion, which once had centre stage in determining community values, has become an option, a matter of personal choice. He states:
Religion in its true sense is historical, communal, other-oriented and transcendent. Much of what passes for religion today is the exact opposite: ahistorical and completely self-consuming.
He sees evidence of this in the pursuit of Buddist meditation, feng shui, interest in ‘the romanticised lives of Native Americans for spiritual inspiration’ and astrological charts. In this context he says of Christianity:
But this new focus on the self is also evident among those who stress the God-is-love and Jesus-is-your-best-friend variety of the Christian faith. This is religion as personal therapy, devoid of a social purpose or context, disconnected from history and tradition, lacking any substantive knowledge to communicate, and unperturbed by any of this because none of it affects in any fundamental way how a believer interacts with other members of society.
This failure of the Church to communicate a lifestyle message that challenges people with the choices they make in relation to the world around them raises the following questions:
- Is the Bible unable to provide meaningful lifestyle guidelines for the 21st century? If not, we must conclude it can no longer fully satisfy the human quest for a meaningful spirituality.
- Is the Church, comprised of its individual members, so blinkered by its traditional telling of the story of Jesus that it fails to see there are other legitimate ways to convey the message of salvation? In the Adventist context, are we so focused on the Second Advent that we are unable to communicate an effective, Bible-based message that anticipates the Advent by living out a truly wholistic lifestyle in this world?
- Has the contemporary Western Church become so comfortable with the offerings of consumerism that it is unwilling to challenge the economic and political structures that provide the living standards it enjoys?
The Church will not attract those who are sensitive to issues of social justice and ecology while it fails to communicate through the lifestyle of believers and proclamation of the Word a wholistic lifestyle message that challenges the underlying assumptions of consumerism and its associated philosophy of economic rationalism.
As Adventists we talk of ‘present truth’. What is ‘present truth’ if it is not letting the light of the Word shine on issues of real concern to contemporary society? In ‘How to Reach Secular People’ George Hunter III (p.p. 45,46) comments on the changes in thinking brought about by the advances of modern science. In the developed nations we are no longer obsessed with thoughts of famine, disease and death. We live much longer and in better conditions than our ancestors. He writes:
Alan Walker believes that this shift in secular human consciousness is of such Copernican magnitude for the strategic church that the very motive of evangelism must now change. Once, when the population feared death and hell, the appeal of life after death, understandably, motivated the christian mission. “Religion used to be related to the moment of dying; now it must be related to the moment of living.”
In the Beginning
In Genesis chapter 1 God speaks. Eleven times we read ‘And God said’, ‘Then God said’, or ‘God blessed them and said’. The various expressions commencing ‘Let’ in the New International Version are translated ‘I command’ in the Contemporary English Version. Creation, as it came into existence, was an expression of God’s will. He ‘who fashioned and made the earth ... did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited’ (Is. 45:18). In Genesis 2 we read that Adam was formed of the dust of the earth, made of the same substance as the birds and animals (Gen. 2:7,19). God planned for humans to live as an integral part of this world, working it and caring for it (Gen. 2:15). At the end of the sixth day we read ‘God saw all that he had made, and it was very good’ (Gen. 1:31). The idea expressed in some religious philosophies that the physical world is in some way evil is foreign to the Bible.God’s will is for the earth to teem with life in all its variety. Our first duty to God is to care for that life. To disregard care for the creation is to live contrary to the expressed will of God. While it is true that God will destroy this earth, the world He destroys is one we have already destroyed (Rev. 11:18). Following the destruction of sin and sinners John is shown a new heaven and a new earth. The new Jerusalem comes down from heaven and the announcement is made that God will now live with His people. Every thing is made new (Rev. 21:1-5) – a restoration of the relationships seen in the creation story.
Sin
In the Bible the health of the earth is connected to the spiritual condition of the people. In Genesis 3 the earth is cursed because of Adam’s sin. Thorns and thistles are evidence of the curse (Gen. 3:18). In different places the Bible associates thorns with sin (Is. 7:23-25; Jer. 12:13). God warned His people that unfaithfulness to the covenant would bring suffering and bloodshed to the people and devastation to the land (Duet. 28: 15-68; Lev. 26:14-45). Faithfulness on the other hand would result in fruitfulness of vine, herd and womb (Duet: 28: 1-14; Lev. 26:1-13). (See also Hos. 4:1-3; Is. 24:4-6).
While God warned His people of the consequences of unfaithfulness He also promised that healing of the human/divine relationship would bring healing to the land:
... if my people ... will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14);
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched grounds into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it (Isa. 41:18-20).
The Covenant
A major Biblical theme is God’s covenants, or agreements, with human kind. Generally speaking, God invites humans into a covenant relationship. The continuance of the relationship is conditional upon humans obeying God. Although the word is not used in the creation story we see the first covenant in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam he could eat of any tree in the garden with one exception. Disobedience resulted in expulsion from the Garden and death. We see parallels to the Sinaitic covenant. Faithfulness to the covenant would bring peace, prosperity and fertility to the land. Disobedience resulted in drought, famine, bloodshed and eventually expulsion from the land. In the New Testament those who enter the covenant relationship sealed with the blood of Jesus enter the New Earth where they have access to the tree and water of life. Those who reject God’s covenant are expelled from God’s presence. They forfeit the right of access to that which sustains life and will have no place in the New Earth.Many Christians mistakenly ignore the Sinaitic covenant. While the mechanics of it may have had application to a different time and culture the underlying principles are as relevant today as they have ever been. In fact, we cannot fully understand what it means to live in a redemptive relationship with God unless we understand the Old Testament. I believe the Old Testament provides the basis for a strong appeal to secular people as well as those searching for meaning in the New Age and other spiritualities. It is the foundation on which the New Testament is built. The Church will remain weak and enfeebled, unable to respond adequately to the challenges of contemporary western culture until we rediscover the wholistic spirituality of the Old Testament. Here is the ethic of God. Here we see the human connection with God, community and environment.
The Social Imperative
The Sinaitic covenant provided protection for the little people – the widows, orphans, poor and the aliens. They could not be charged interest, basic rights were protected, they had access to the gleanings from the fields, and at all times they were to be treated humanely. Exploitation of any kind was forbidden. Every seven years all debts were cancelled. Bonded servants – those who had become so indebted they were required to work off their debts – were to receive a generous payment on release. Every 50 years all land was returned to the families it had been originally given to. This was not a free market, free trade economy. The rich had an obligation to care for and protect the poor.The Redemptive Relationship
As part of the covenant the people were required to observe various feasts or religious days. Three feasts were celebrated consecutively in the first month of the year – Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. Pentecost was celebrated in the third month, and Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles in the seventh. No explanation is given in the Bible for keeping the Feast of Trumpets. The Day of Atonement was a day of national cleansing from sin. The other feasts were linked to the agricultural cycle. The first fruits of the barley and wheat harvests were presented to the Lord at Firstfruits and Pentecost respectively. The last festival of the year, Tabernacles, was a weeklong harvest celebration.
Among other things, the annual ritual
was designed to commemorate God’s mighty redemptive act. Passover,
Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles all commemorated the deliverance from Egypt.
In Deuteronomy 26 the people are instructed to present the first fruits of the
harvest to God. As part of the ceremony the priest was affirm the Lord’s goodness in delivering them from
oppression and bringing them to a land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ The Exodus experience was to live on
in the minds and hearts of Israel from generation to generation. They existed
as a free and independent nation only because God had set His love on them and
because of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A nation of redeemed slaves
was to treat the poor and aliens with compassion. The land they lived in was
not their’s,
it was God’s
(Lev. 25:23). Therefore the wealth it produced was also God’s and they were not to hoard it to
themselves but to be generous in their dealings with the poor and indebted. God
had poured out His generous love on them. They were to be generous in their
dealings with each other. The example of Israel is that grace is not only about
acceptance before God and forgiveness of sin. Those who receive grace become
channels of grace to the world around them. Through generosity of spirit,
through commitment to the poor and social justice, in seeking to build a society
in which all people equally share earth’s bounty, we live out a life of grace.
Trust in God
Three times each year all the men were to appear before the Lord – Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Ingathering (Ex. 23: 14-17; 34:18). Jerusalem became the centre in which these feasts were celebrated. As the men travelled to Jerusalem their borders would be unprotected from their surrounding enemies. As they had taken possession of the land God had driven their enemies out before them. They were stronger militarily than Israel. It was only by His strength that the land had been won. God promised the land would be safe during these annual pilgrimages (Ex.34:24). Every seventh year the land was to rest. In this year the Israelites could neither plant nor reap. God promised He would provide abundantly for them during this time (Lev. 25:20-22).Living by Grace
In God’s plan, the nation of Israel was to show the world what it meant to live in a relationship of grace. It was grace that had redeemed Israel from slavery to become a free and independent nation. As people of grace they were to recount regularly God’s mighty acts of forgiveness, healing and deliverance. As God had been generous to them, they were to be generous to each other. This was to be the ultimate counter culture – one marked by forgiveness, compassion, and care for the weak and the vulnerable. Israel would not be an economically divided nation marked by haves and have-nots. By travelling to Jerusalem three times each year leaving their borders unprotected and resting the land every seventh year, they were to demonstrate trust in the continuing promise of God to protect and provide.The gulf between the rich and poor in our world and our nation is increasing. A small, wealthy minority spends millions on sports, luxury cars, world travel and the like while millions live in abject poverty and starvation. Twenty percent of earth’s inhabitants consume eighty percent of its resources. Over consumption by those of us living in the developed nations is destroying life as we know it. If the living standards of the poor were improved to the level that they could consume as much as the west, the life of our planet would decrease more rapidly than it is already. Much of the ecological destruction occurring in the developing world results from the demands of western money lenders for the repayment of debt and the desire of those nations to emulate the living standards of the west. Greed and exploitation is destroying our world.
Grace provides the only solution to problems of inequality and over consumption. In the beginning God created the world. Into this world He placed Adam and Eve, made in His image and likeness to rule over and care for it. Grace for the human race began here. Humanity had no part in the creation of the world; they had not earned the right to live in it. God placed them there as His representatives, to reflect in their rule His love for all He has made (Ps. 145:13,17). While they lived in right relationship with Him He would provide all that they needed for life and much more. This promise was repeated to Israel. The land God gave them was not theirs by right. It was a gift of love. So long as they lived in right relationship with Him, reflecting His love in their relationships with each other, He would continue to provide for them. As they walked away from this relationship so they and their land suffered.
I work. My income is my reward. I use it to buy consumer goods, to invest for the future, to provide for my family. If I purchase property don’t I have the right to develop it as I choose? Can’t I provide employment for others, regardless the ecological impact or the wishes of others in the community? Hasn’t God promised to bless the faithful and pour out riches upon them? (Mal. 3:10,11) Isn’t my material wealth evidence of God’s blessings? This is the message from some pulpits and some ‘Christian’ publications?
We do have a responsibility to provide for our families (1 Tim 5:8; Tit. 3:14). It is reasonable that we provide for our future by careful investment. The level of income we need and the things we provide will be influenced by our cultural context. We remain created beings. The earth, and everything in it, still belong to God (Ps. 24:1). God is still concerned for the poor. His expressed will that life exists on earth in all its myriad forms has not changed (see Gen. 1). Jesus warned of the dangers of storing up earthly treasures. He told us not to worry about tomorrow but rather to seek first the things of God for God is still able to supply our needs (Mat. 6:19-34). That which God has entrusted to us must be used to extend the Kingdom of Grace, to alleviate suffering and, to the best of our ability, to maintain life for future generations. The generosity of grace is best demonstrated in our generosity to others. To hoard wealth, to gather to ourselves an abundance of consumer items in a world of poverty, is a denial of grace.
Modern economics and the free market society operate from a profit motive. Although there are some restrictions, the investor largely has the right to seek maximum return on the investment. Investors take shares in companies, either through direct shares or unit trusts, which may profit from exploitation of third world labour, business arrangements with corrupt, dictatorial governments or environmentaly destructive practices. Western individualism places great emphasis on individual freedom – but not communal responsibility. Individuals have worth so long as they can contribute meaningfuly to the cycle of supply and demand – the more they contribute the greater their value. The executive who increases economic efficiency, often resulting in downsizing the workforce, is rewarded with increased income and prestige. The increased wealth is offered to the consumer god by way of luxury houses, cars, overseas holidays and other things that affirm the success and worth of the individual. Meanwhile, those workers who are laid off and unable to find other employment are relegated to the status of ‘dole bludger’, dependent on the public purse. While they may be given sufficient for the basics of life they find themselves excluded from the mainstream of society as they cannot afford to participate in those activities the rest of us take for granted. Compare the practices of modern business with the following injunction given to ancient Israel:
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this (Deut. 24:19-22).
God places human need before economic efficiency. The economy is the servant of the people. Too often modern economics seems to reverse this, making people the servants of the economy. We see again in the above quotation the injunction to ‘Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.’ In Deuteronomy 8 God warns the people that when they get to Promised Land and acquire wealth to remember that it is He who gives the ability to produce wealth (Deut. 8:18). Some are born into families that value education, model lifestyles of thrift and economy and provide a supportive, nurturing home life. They are born with the ability to excel academically. The vast majority of the world’s population are denied these privileges, born into poverty and denied the basics of adequate nutrition, health care and education. What a difference it would make to the world if those born with the privileges so many of us have in the developed world saw these privileges as gifts from God to be used for the betterment of humankind. Rather than showing off our success in climbing the corporate ladder with a lifestyle that displays our wealth, we would seek to simplify our lifestyle so that we could support organisations working to improve the welfare of the world’s poor.
The Sabbath
The Sabbath was given as a memorial of
creation (Ex. 20:8-11) and redemption (Deut. 5:12-15). By His creative act God
made us an integral part of the creation with a responsibility to rule over it
in a way that ensured the continuance of life in all its myriad forms. God’s will was frustrated by Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Adam’s sin brought a curse on the earth (Gen.
3:17). By His redemptive act God works to restore the harmonious relationships
that existed in the Garden of Eden (see Rom. 8:19-23; Eph. 1:9,10; Col.
1:19,20). The realities of creation and redemption lay at the foundation of God’s relationship with Israel. The land
was God’s.
It was only because of His great redemptive act, His act of grace, that they
lived in it. Their relationship with each other was to be shaped by the way God
had treated them. The land and its bounties were to be shared by all and
preserved for future generations.
Throughout the Old Testament we see the importance of the Sabbath and the need to observe it. As we reflect on the context in which the different statements regarding the Sabbath are made we begin to see its significance.
The Sabbath heads the list of ‘the appointed feasts of the Lord’ which were proclaimed as ‘sacred assemblies’ (Lev.23:2 –
see also Ex.34:18-26). Throughout the Old Testament we see the importance of the Sabbath and the need to observe it. As we reflect on the context in which the different statements regarding the Sabbath are made we begin to see its significance.
Exodus 23:1-19
The first nine verses deal with matters of justice and mercy. Verses 10-12 deal with the Sabbath year and the Sabbath day. Then, in verses 14-17 the Lord prescribes the three annual feasts all men were required to attend.Leviticus 23:1-44
Isaiah 58
God is not satisfied with a form of worship that is merely formal. He requires His people not only to act justly, but also to give themselves to satisfying ‘the needs of the oppressed’ (v.10). God’s light will shine through a people who seek to build a just, fair and compassionate society. In this context we see that Sabbath keeping without regard for the poor and oppressed is a sham, an offence to the Lord God Almighty.By creation, the world and all that is in it belong to God. In the creation story humankind had no part in the creation of the world. Just as we cannot earn our right to the new earth, we did not earn the right to life on this earth. A loving God who provided all that we needed for life and much more placed us here. Grace lay at the very foundation of the human relationship with God from the very beginning of human existence. There is more to grace than just getting us ready for heaven. When we accept God’s gift of grace we acknowledge our dependence on Him. By faith we believe His promises to provide all that we need. Recipients of grace acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Creation care and a commitment to a world where all have equal access to the bounties of creation are the natural and logical consequences of the doctrines of creation and redemption. The Old Testament connects the Sabbath to the annual feasts, the Sabbath year and God’s concern for social justice. As we reflect on these we gain an understanding of what it means to keep the Sabbath. Environmentalist David Suzuki believes the answer to the environmental problems we face is spiritual. In ‘Time to Change’ (p.p. 168-188) he speaks of the need for festivals and rituals that reaffirm our connection to each other and creation. The Sabbath is a universal, weekly celebration reminding us of our origins, our dependence upon the Creator, and our responsibility to care for each other and the creation.
Daniel's Visions
In the vision of Daniel 7 a king, symbolised by a little horn that grows out of the last kingdom, wars against God and His people. This power tries ‘to change the set times and the laws’ (Dan. 7:25). Daniel would most certainly have understood this as being the ‘set times and laws’ of the Mosaic covenant. These included the Sabbath, the yearly cycle of religious days – Passover, Pentecost etc. – and the Sabbath and Jubilee years. The little horn shows contempt for God’s covenant and wars against those who remain faithful to it. In many ways this power reflects the character of the Jewish nation taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar.How would Daniel have understood this vision? In Daniel 2:37,38 Nebuchadnezzar is given worldwide dominion, reflecting the dominion given to mankind in their pre-sin state (see Gen. 1:26,28). Israel had forfeited their right to dominion over the Promised Land because of sin and was now in captivity. In the vision of chapter 9 Daniel is told:
Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy (v.24).
The visions of Daniel 7-12 parallel each other. They
have a similar climax. A power wages against the people of God until God
intervenes on behalf or His people.
When
one compares the different visions of Daniel it seems God’s
plan for Israel was that the Anointed One (Jesus) would be cut off after 69 ‘sevens’.
Then:
- a covenant would be confirmed with Israel for a period of one ‘seven’; and
- in the middle of the final ‘seven’ sacrifice and offering were to cease.
Although commentators are not in agreement regarding the individuals and events of Daniel 9:26,27, it seems the coming of the Anointed One, the confirmation of the covenant, and the end of the sacrificial system point to the work of Jesus. The Jewish nation had the opportunity in the last ‘seven’ to reconfirm their covenant with God by accepting the Messiah. A faithful nation would face a short period of intense persecution by the little horn power. This would happen during the last half of the final ‘seven’, a period of three and one half years, or the ‘time, times and half a time’ of Daniel 7:25. At the end of this time the God would restore dominion of the earth to His faithful people. Sadly, the Jews as a nation rejected the Anointed One and the covenant God made with them. God was unable to fulfil His purpose for them. It remains for the Christian Church to fulfil God’s purpose.
Revelation
Following the flood God made a covenant with Noah, his
sons and their descendants and with every living creature (Gen.9:1-17).
Although God promised never again to destroy the earth with water He would hold
humans accountable for the life of their fellows. According to the Biblical
record we are all descended from Noah and therefore party to this covenant.
Later God made a covenant with Abram. Abram was to become a great nation and
all earth’s inhabitants
were to be blessed through him (Gen.12:2,3). The covenant made with Israel, the
descendants of Abram, must be seen in context of the Noahic covenant. As they
lived in obedience to God, living justly and with compassion for the
marginalised, the surrounding nations would marvel at their way of living and
the God who cared for them (Deut.4:5-8). The witness of the nation would be a
blessing to the peoples of the world. Although Israel failed as a nation, it is
Jesus, the descendant of Abram, of the nation of Israel, who came to fulfil the
promise made to Abram (see Gal.3). It is through Jesus that we are freed from
the penalty of our wrongdoing, our failure to act justly and with compassion to
others, and given the power to follow the way of God. Israel rejected God’s covenant. The Christian Church is
now God’s chosen
instrument to reveal the beauty of His ways to the world (1 Pet.2:9).
The covenant theme runs through the book of Revelation. The rainbow, symbolic of the Noahic covenant (Gen.9:17) is seen encircling the heavenly throne (Rev.4:3) and above the head of the mighty angel of chapter 10:1. In the Old Testament the covenant was kept in the sanctuary, or tabernacle. Eventually this was replaced with the temple. In Revelation we see a golden censer and golden altar (8:3), reminiscent of the temple services; the temple and the ark of the covenant (11:19); and ‘the tabernacle of the Testimony’ (15:5,6). The language of the seals, trumpets and plagues reflects strongly the covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Christ as the lamb, one of the animals used in sacrifices under the Mosaic covenant and the emphasis on obedience to the commandments also draw on the covenant theme of the Old Testament. And we see in Revelation 14:6 the ‘eternal gospel’ which is the good news of salvation through the Blood of Jesus, the covenant of the New Testament.
The Old Testament concerned itself with Israel and her neighbours. Revelation is universal in theme. We see in Revelation the same themes played out as in the prophecies of Daniel – the battle between God and His people and the powers that oppose them – on a universal scale. The Mosaic law required a minimum of two witnesses to condemn the accused (Deut.19:15). In the conflict in Revelation God has His two witnesses (11:1-12). These are opposed by Satan’s two witnesses, the sea and earth beast, for a period of three and one half years, a period equivalent to the ‘time, times and half a time’ of Daniel 7:25.
Who are God’s two witnesses? They can devour their enemies with fire and ‘have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain ... to turn the waters into blood ... and to strike the earth with every kind of plague’ (Rev.11:5,6). It was Moses that called down the plagues in Egypt, one of which turned the waters to blood, and Elijah, through the power of God, called down fire from heaven and sealed up the skies to prevent the rain (1 Ki.1:10,12; 17:1). Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, as one of the prophets, seem fitting symbols of the Law and the Prophets, a term often used to refer to the Old Testament Scriptures in the time of Christ. Jesus said He came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets (Mat.5:17). In the following verse He states their permanency – they shall remain as long as heaven and earth remain. On the road to Emmaus ‘beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he explained ... what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27). And in John 5:39 He says ‘the Scriptures ... testify about me’. It was Moses and Elijah who also appeared to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mat.17:3).
The background to Revelation 13:1-10 is clearly Daniel 7. The Sea Beast is an amalgamation of the four beasts of Daniel. This beast, with its ‘proud words’, its opposition to God, and its warfare against the saints exercises similar power to that of Daniel’s little horn. Just as the little horn wars against the people of the covenant, so does the sea beast. In Revelation 17 a woman, identified as Babylon, is seen riding on a beast with seven heads and ten horns, the sea beast of Revelation 13. In Daniel 2:37,38 Nebuchadnezzar is given dominion over the earth. From the vision of Daniel 7 we see that dominion is passed from empire to empire until finally God intervenes and hands ‘the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms ... over to the saints’ (v27, see also v. 6,12). The woman, Babylon, rides on the beast that receives its ‘power ... throne and great authority’ from Satan, the enemy of God and His people (Rev.13:2). Babylon, who was given authority over the earth through Nebuchadnezzar – including the land of the covenant – is described in Revelation 17:18 as ‘the great city that rules over the kings of the earth’ – the mother of all that is abominable to God.
Who is Babylon?
Babylon first appears in Genesis 10:10 as one of the
first centres of Nimrod, a warrior of renown. It was in Babylonia that humans
attempted to build a city with a tower reaching to heaven in rebellion against
God (Gen. 11:1-9). At the time of Daniel Babylon held dominion over the
Promised Land. She was a world super power.
Jeremiah 50 and 51 give a good insight into the way God saw Babylon. Babylon was a land of idols (50:2); an arrogant, oppressive power that defied God (50:31,16,33,29). She practiced violence and bloodshed (51:35) and had pillaged the Lord’s inheritance (50:11). In Ezekiel Babylon is described as ‘a land of merchants’ (16:29), a ‘city of traders’ (17:4) and ‘the most ruthless of nations’ (30:11). In the following three verses Babylon is described as being destructive of all life – human and non-human:
On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down”' (Isa. 14:3-8).
The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed man’s blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them (Hab. 2:17).
“I am against you, O destroying
mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,” declares the LORD. “I will stretch out my hand against
you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain" (Jer.
51:25).
Incorporated in the Mosaic covenant were principles of
justice, equity and compassion. God was seeking to teach the world through
Israel that the bounty of the creation was to be shared by all and that this
bounty was to be preserved for future generations. Babylon was the antithesis
of all this. She sought to conquer the earth and fill her storehouses at the
expense of others. Hers was the rule of military might. The weak were
vanquished before her. What a fitting symbol of the modern world’s political, economic and social
structures. Multinational corporations exploit third world labour in their
drive to maximise profit. Western shareholders profit from corporations who
enter arrangements with corrupt and oppressive regimes. Governments of third
world nations allow inappropriate development in order to service the debt on
loans to developed nations – the poor are forced from their traditional lands
without compensation, natural resources destroyed and an increasing number of
species become extinct in the name of economic development. While millions live
in abject poverty, suffering from starvation, the Western world is obsessed
with the pursuit of an ever-increasing array of consumer goods. A small
majority whose lifestyle is ecologically unsustainable spends billions on
extravagant lifestyles, entertainment and pleasure. Western Christians enjoy
the advantages of living in the developed nations of the world. They share a
lifestyle with their neighbours that is built on the exploitation of the world’s poorer nations. In their service
of the prevailing socio-economic systems there is little to distinguish their
lifestyles from that of their secular neighbours. In fact, while the Church is
largely silent, many voices that challenge the status quo come from outside her
ranks. God is calling to His people today:
Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! ... Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes (Rev. 18:2-5).
The Three Angels
The fall of Babylon is first announced by the second
of the three angels of Revelation 14. These angels also announce the hour of
God’s judgement,
call people to worship the Creator, and warn against the worship of the beast
and his image or receiving his mark. Babylon is all that is hateful to God in
this world – systems of
oppression and exploitation. Those who worship the beast are those who honour
the beast through adherence to the principles of Babylon. What does it mean to
worship the creator?
Worship the Creator
In the beginning God created male and female in His image and likeness (Gen.1:26,27). Lance Armstrong, writing in ‘Good God, He’s Green’ states: ‘In the ancient world it was the practice of a powerful earthly king to claim complete dominion over all his empire by erecting images of himself in the provinces where he could not personally appear.’ He refers to the work of Gerhard von Rad who claims this is the background to Genesis 1:26,27. He quotes von Rad when he says humankind ‘... is placed upon earth in God’s image as God’s sovereign emblem. He is really only God’s representative, summoned to maintain and enforce God’s claim to dominion over the earth’ (p.p. 152, 153) The books of Daniel and Revelation remind us that God does not presently exercise dominion over the earth. In Daniel dominion is exercised by earthly powers until after the judgement, the destruction of the little horn, and ‘one like a son of man’ is led into the presence of ‘the Ancient of Days’ to receive dominion of the earth (Dan.7:13,14,27). In Revelation God begins to reign at the time He judges those ‘who destroy the earth’ (Rev.11:16-18). This follows the sounding of the seventh trumpet. In Revelation 17 Babylon is identified as ‘the great city that rules over the kings of the earth’ (Rev.17:18 – see entire chapter). It is the sea beast who receives a ‘throne and great authority’ (Rev.13:2) from the dragon – ‘authority over every tribe, people, language and nation’ (Rev.13:7). Satan, through his agents, currently exercises a usurped dominion over the earth. As the dragon ‘who leads the whole world astray’, (Rev.12:9) he is worshiped along with the sea beast by earth’s inhabitants (Rev.13:4). The worship of the sea beast and his image is enforced by the earth beast (Rev.13:14-17).Worship is an acknowledgment of God’s power and authority – power and authority based on His acts of creation and redemption. This acknowledgment must necessarily be accompanied by lifestyle choices. Twice in Revelation Gods judgements are said to be ‘true and just’ (16:7; 19:2). The language of the seals, trumpets and plagues in Revelation contains strong parallels to the covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. In the book of Revelation God is saying to the people of the world ‘If you want to know the consequences of unfaithfulness to me, learn from the experience of Old Testament Israel.’ Rebellion is destructive of the created order, bringing disease, famine, bloodshed and environmental degradation. Those who truly worship the Creator will live in harmony with His ways, seeking to preserve life in all its forms, and challenging the structures of inequality, oppression and exploitation that are the ways of Babylon.
The Three Angels in the Third Millenium
The Christian message is one of hope. Our world is
marked by strife, bloodshed, greed and inequality. The earth still produces
enough food to feed all humankind yet millions live with constant starvation.
Earth’s natural
resources are plundered with little regard for the needs of future generations – or the welfare of many of the weak
and vulnerable whose traditional lifestyles are destroyed in the name of
economic development. The Bible assures us that one day all this will end. God
will intervene in earth’s history to bring an end to evil. His rule over
planet earth will be restored. It will be made knew. Those who chose to follow
God’s way will
live in this new earth where the harmony that originally existed in Eden will
be restored. Those who are unfaithful to God – all those who continue to oppress, to exploit, to
live indifferently to the needs of others – will be excluded from the new earth. Today we are
asked to choose if we will serve God or that which is opposed to Him. We must
never loose our hope in the message of the judgement and the return of Jesus.
Lifestyle
True Christian lifestyle will anticipate the return of
Jesus by living out the principles of God’s kingdom in this world within the constraints placed
on us by contemporary culture. We must continue to provide for our children’s future and provide them with a
living standard that helps them take their place in the broader society. It
takes money to do this. Within these constraints we can begin to make choices
that reflect concern for creation and the earth’s poor. We can become involved with humanitarian and
environmental groups, support recycling programs, use public transport whenever
it is a viable option, find ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels etc.
The holidays we take and the consumer goods we buy all affect the degree of
support we can give to the poor. Holidays are an important part of family life,
and we can’t live without
consumer goods, but we can live without world trips and top-of-the-range
models.
God claims that ‘the world ... and all that is in it’ is His (Ps.50:12). All property is therefore communal. All human beings are part of the one family descended from Adam and Eve. Although sin has alienated us, turning sister against sister and brother against brother, through Jesus God seeks to reconcile the human family, to heal the broken relationships that now exist. Paul likens the Church to a body. ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it’ (1 Cor. 13:26). The Church must be an inclusive community. The suffering of poverty stricken believers in the third world must become the suffering of the Western Church. Christians in lower socio-economic groups in the Western world must be fully included in the life of the Church. Barriers created by designer labels and affluence must be broken down. We must recognise that that which has been entrusted to us is to be used for the common good. And this commitment to the common good must extend beyond the family of believers to those who are still alienated from God. His prodigal children will best understand God’s love when they see it lived out in supportive, caring and inclusive communities.
Proclamation
Old Testament prophets told the people where they had departed from the Law of God, warned them of the consequences and called them back to obedience. Among other things we find constant rebuke for their mistreatment of and lack of concern for the poor. Luke’s gospel in particular reflects the concern for social justice found in the Old Testament. Jesus announced His ministry with the following words:The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18,19)
In Luke’s version of the beatitudes we read:
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. (Luke 6:20,21,24,25)
Ezekiel was made a watchman over the house of Israel. He was to relay God’s warnings to the people (Ezek. 33:7) God said to him:
When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. (Ezek. 33:8,9 c/f Ezek. 3:16-21)
Although time and culture may change, God remains ‘the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Heb. 13:8 c/f Ps. 102:27, Mal. 3:6; Jas. 1:17). The call to live justly and with compassion for the poor and dispossessed is an integral part of the gospel. If the Church is to fulfil its prophetic role it must challenge injustice and oppression in all its forms. While millions continue to live in poverty Sydney welcomed the year 2000 with a fireworks display reported to cost six million dollars. This extravagance was repeated in many places around the world. At the turn of the century the Australian government continued to resist calls for it to forgive the 95 million dollars owed it by the world’s most indebted countries. Crippling debt forces these countries to spend money on debt repayment that could be spent on health, education and other things to improve the lot of the poor. Australians spend more than 95 million dollars on Easter eggs each year. The Old Testament recognised both individual and corporate sin (Lev. 4:27,13). If the Church fails to challenge the systems of oppression and greed so prevalent in the world it condones these systems by its silence. God will hold the Church accountable for its failure to warn the people of the world of the consequences of their continued unfaithfulness to His covenant.
The Bible has a message for today. God’s love is seen in justice, fairness, compassion and grace. If earth’s people followed Biblical principles all would have sufficient to eat, access to health care and education, and a reasonable standard of living. A commitment to the welfare of the individual would be accompanied by a commitment to conservation of earth’s resources for future generations and the preservation of life in all its variety. A growing number of people are concerned over the increasing unfairness in the world and the destruction of its natural beauty and resources. By drawing on the principals of the Bible the Church can spell out to the people what the world would be like if they followed God’s way. Perhaps if people could see the difference these principals would make to the world of their children and their grandchildren they would be more receptive of the gospel.
(1) Although the Jews returned to Jerusalem at the end of the seventy years of captivity and rebuilt the city and the temple they remained a vassal state of the empires that succeeded Babylon. Although they had a period of independence during the time of the Maccabeans, for most of this time Judah was more Hellenistic than Jewish.
Written circa mid 2001
References
Unless indicated otherwise, all
Biblical quotations are taken from the New International Version, Copyright
1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society.
Contemporary English Version, Copyright
1991, 1995 by the American Bible Society
Armstrong, Lance, 1997, Good God,
He’s Green!, Pacific Law Press, Australia
Campolo, Tony, 1992, How to
Rescue the Earth Without Worshipping Nature, Word Publishing, Milton
Keynes.
Hunter, George G. III, 1992 How
to Reach Secular People, Abingdon Press, Nashville.
McGillion, Chris, Jesus the
Sequel, in Spectrum, an insert in the Sydney Morning Herald, Friday, Dec.
24, 1999.
Paulien, Jon, 1993, Present Truth
in the Real World, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Boise.
Roxburgh, Alan, 1993, Reaching a
New Generation, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove.
Suzuki, David, 1993, Time to
Change, Allen & Unwin, St.Leonards
