Revelation

For me, Revelation is definitely the most challenging book in the entire Bible and I believe I'm not alone in this.  The events described therein haven't happened yet and, therefore, are subject to innumerable interpretations by both renowned scholars and "hacks" alike.  I'm also challenged by the various descriptions of the "characters" in this book.  If you google "revelation images" and look at the images that are returned, I think you'll be overwhelmed as I am.  Nonetheless, I'm keeping up with completing this reading, praying that someday it'll all be clear to me.

In the meanwhile, here's some historic context to this book:

• the author of the book is the apostle John who is also credited with the gospel bearing his name and three of the epistles
• it is agreed that this is not only the final book in the Bible but also the final book written
• Revelation portrays the "final" end to God's plan
• John "simply" reports all that is revealed to him
• the number seven is prevalent in the book -- seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven scrolls, seven thunders, etc.   Seven is considered to represent fullness or completion (think way back to Genesis and how God created the world in seven days)

Whether you are passionate about prophecy or extremely hesitant and challenged by it (as I am!), I trust you will at least read through it.  God works in many ways and I hope that each time I read through Revelation I begin to learn and hopefully understand more.

Home Stretch!

For those of us who started reading through the Bible chronologically last June, we're in the home stretch!  Just one more month.  We're into what is perhaps more familiar to you than some of the Old Testament books -- Paul's Epistles.  What I'm finding interesting this time around in reading them is that the problems of the "old" church are so similar to the problems we see in today's church -- different denominations convinced they're doctrine is the "right" one, churches competing for membership, and, unfortunately, even sometimes fighting within a single church building.  It's discouraging to think that as simple as Jesus' command to "love your neighbor" that we're not so good at it.  I am thankful for the promises in the Bible which give me hope for the future -- either here on earth or home in heaven.

I have read through the entire Bible before, Genesis through Revelation.  This is the first time I've read it chronologically according to the "schedule" that was distributed in our church.  I'm planning to read through it again, starting anew in June.  Each time I read the book, something new is made clear to me.  So I'm looking forward another year!

Acts

We're quickly moving through the New Testament, into Acts.  This book is accepted to be authored by Luke (of the Gospel of Luke) and details the earliest history of the church.  Imagine if you will, a church made of of (first) predominately former Jews, many of whom continued observing the laws and customs of that group.  Add into this the newly "christianized" gentiles who were outside the "law" and without a history of its customs.  All led by the 12 original disciples (Judas having been replaced by Matthias early in the book) and then adding other leaders including perhaps the most "famous" one for today's Christians, Paul.  Must have been a bit similar to today's denominational "differences" that often surface when we get so focused on being "right" that we forget that most important command -- love your neighbor as yourself.  Sounds simple in theory, but then as today, it's much more difficult in practice (at least for me!).
So here's some interesting facts/information about Acts (written perhaps around 60AD):
From an historical standpoint, Acts provides us a wonderful description of the early church.  Without it there'd be less of a starting point to understand how it developed.  It also allows the "leaders" to be human -- they have questions, they sin, they are not perfect -- they are just as we are.
A good deal of the book details Paul's ministry -- we see this in our chronological reading in that we switch to/from Paul's epistles to/from Acts.  However, we note that the author did not seem to have access to the letters themselves -- no where are they quoted within Acts.  In the days before copy machines, this makes sense!
Another aspect that I find particularly comforting is the assurance within the book that Jesus came for both Jew and Gentile.  Yes, the Jews are God's chosen people, but our God is so loving that he sent his son for the non-Jew as well.
The Holy Spirit is also a primary focus of the book -- it resides within the believer.  It is a comfort to me to know that the Holy Spirit is with me always both for comfort and as a reminder when I am tempted to fall to sinfulness.
In any event, I hope you continue to journey through the Bible and that what little information I can share will help in a small way!

It's All Coming Together

I've been awfully quiet for the past little bit, since offering some information on the authors of the 4 Gospels. This part of the Bible reading has been particularly humbling to me and I've shied away from sharing my reflections with you.  In addition to this reading, my Wednesday Bible study group is studying Matthew this year in depth, and thus Matthew will be the main focus of this installment.  As one of the books we are currently reading it's helping me with any of my naive interpretations of the other 3.  Be that as it may, here goes nothing.
What I'm finding personally difficult is the chastising I'm feeling along with the overwhelming love of God.  Reading Jesus's teachings to the crowds and the disciples is both loving and chastising to me at the same time.  The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) includes both of these traits, at least for me.  Jesus starts with the beatitudes -- blessed are the meek, blessed are the humble, etc.  While I am no where near able to claim that I am overwhelmingly meek or humble, at times I do see myself this way.  Further on in this sermon Jesus starts talking about murder.  I've never physically murdered a person, nor have I truly felt that I even wanted to murder anyone.  But I'm certainly convicted of being anger and holding grudges which Jesus equates with murder.  He continues to talk about adultery and divorce.  Guilty.  In Matthew 6 Jesus continues with boasting of our righteousness.  Making a big deal out of fasting or tithing or giving thanks before a meal when I can simply accept that God knows my actions and I should not care what the world sees/thinks of me.  Jesus continues with talking about our earthly "treasures" and their worthlessness in terms of eternity.  I admit that I like nice "stuff" -- I want to have it, I'll save money to buy it, or I'll love getting it as a gift.  And I also love having things that were my grandparents' at one time -- again, it's just "stuff" but I cherish it.  We live in an area where hurricane evacuations are relatively common -- what do you take with you?  When Katrina hit, I brought my jewelry box.  More "stuff".  In Matthew 7 Jesus continues to talk about judging others.  I know I do this and I believe it's endemic in our culture -- we compare ourselves to others -- is his salary higher than mine?  is her dress nicer?  are their children better/worse behaved than mine.  We so want to "fit in" when our model, Jesus, was one who so drastically "stuck out" during his time of ministry.  Jumping ahead to Matthew 23 Jesus goes full out on the Pharisees.  He talks about hypocrisy -- I know that I am often guilty of this -- I teach my children what they should do but often don't follow that advice myself.  I succumb to gossip even though in my mind I don't like it.  I rationalize these behaviors -- I'm only spreading "good" news, she wanted me to share her story, whatever.  So I am justly convicted of my sin.
But I am so thankful for forgiveness!  It is not easy to follow Jesus, despite the "my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Jesus teaches in 11:30.  And he challenges the Pharisess (and my!) self-righteousness.  One of the homework assignments for our Saturday Ladies' Bible Study asked a question that brought this home to me.  This study is on Daniel, but I find that the lesson here was similar to that of the ones in Matthew (and the other gospels).  The question was around the topic of have you (the student) ever found yourself turning something "good" into something "bad" -- such as how the Pharisees would fast (a "good" thing) but "parade" around the villages as though they were suffering so woefully, anticipating attention from others (the "bad" part).  Like the Pharisees, I become "self-righteous" in my own behavior -- in particular, for me, it's self-discipline.  Our "world" sees this as a good trait and, as with many things, I take it to the extreme.  Just ask my family!  And I often wonder why others don't just live this way -- for me it's easier and simpler this way and gives me comfort.  Yet I know I become prideful and selfish within this trait.  Sigh.  It truly is a lifelong journey, one day at a time, no?  Let's be thankful that we are able to come to God, repent of our sin, and be forgiven.

The Gospels

I attempted to write a column about fulfilled prophecies regarding Jesus, but was overwhelmed by the data available to research.  And there are wonderful books available by respected scholars who really know what they are talking about.  I am humbly out-classed with regards to any expertise in this area.  So I’ve chosen another topic – the 4 Gospels.  We’re moving into the New Testament and skipping back and forth between these four books as we read about the life of Jesus.  My ponderings today are about the 4 men who wrote these books as well as a bit of background information.  Here we go!

Matthew:

Nowhere in this book does Matthew specifically identify himself as its author, yet it is a uniformly accepted tradition that he, one of the first 12 disciples did in fact write it.  He’d been a tax collector before following Christ – at this time, tax collectors were considered one of the most sinful people – they were often quite greedy and would overcharge people and pocket the extra money themselves for personal profit.  He was a disciple of John the Baptist before following Jesus.  Mark referred to Matthew also by the name “Levi”, but when he lists the 12 together, Matthew is the name given (Mark 3:18).  Matthew’s book is directed towards the Jews, including many citations from our Old Testament.  More than the others, Matthew uses Old Testament prophecy to verify Jesus as Messiah.  Matthew wrote this sometime after the resurrection but before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD (uttered by Jesus himself in Matthew 24:2).  There is some discussion whether Matthew or Mark wrote his Gospel first, but Matthew has always been the first book in the New Testament.

Mark:

As with Matthew, nowhere in Mark’s Gospel is the author confirmed.  However, the evangelist John Mark (a companion and disciple of Peter, one of the 12 original disciples) has the universally accepted as the author by all but a few scholars.  Mark accompanied both Paul and Barnabas for a bit of time on their first missionary journey.  His mother (named Mary) was apparently the owner of the “upper room” where Jesus met with the disciples prior to his arrest for the “last supper”.  Thus it is likely he may have known Jesus, though only his other associations (Peter, Paul, Barnabas among others) is confirmed.  This gospel was also written before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD, though exact timing is unknown.  It is traditionally believed to be directed at Roman believers, focusing on the actions of Jesus which would appeal to the action-oriented Romans.

Luke:

Luke also never mentions himself by name in either this book or Acts with which he is also credited with authoring.  Again, it is universally accepted that he authored both books.  Luke was a contemporary of the apostle Paul who mentions him by name in his epistles a few times (I believe it is 3 times – once as a “beloved physician” in Colossians, and in Philemon and 2 Timothy).  Luke is believed to be the only Gentile author in the entire Bible, although there are a few who believe he may have been a Jew of the dispersion.  Luke travelled with Paul on some of his missionary journeys, and he completed his writings before Paul was executed.  The best-guess estimate of the time Luke wrote his book is around 60AD.  Luke addressed his book to a man named “Theophilus” who was evidently a man of some culture and influence, though nothing else is known of him.  This fact also provides some evidence that the book, written mostly in Greek, was written for the Greeks, stressing the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ.  Research confirms that Luke was an historian which is evident in this book.  His primary focus is to focus on Jesus’ mission to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

John:

John’s Gospel is quite different from the other 3.  It was written probably 30 years after the others, directed at a different audience and with a different purpose.  At the time he wrote it, John was the only one of the original apostles (including Paul, who was not one of the “12”) still living.  John’s purpose in writing was evangelistic and his message is directed at “whosoever believeth” (John 3:16).  With regards to the evangelistic purpose, the familiar words “believe”, “life”, “love”, “truth”, and “grace” abound in this book.  Again, as in the other 3 gospels, John does not identify himself as its author, but the early church believed it to be written by him and this belief continues today.  John emphasizes that Jesus is God – the creator, the judge, and the rewarder – was well as confirming his true and perfect humanity.  John’s book contains what are frequently called the seven great “I am” statements made by Jesus. 

I hope this brief information helps you in your reading, to enable better understanding of why things are often recorded differently – just as we speak differently to children versus educated adults, so each of the Gospel writers seeks to teach his readers according to who they are.

Order of Books in the Bible

Yesterday as I was doing the day’s reading, I was noting how the same story was being told in several places scattered throughout various books – Chronicles, Kings, and the prophetical books.  I’d seen this before in reading the Gospels in the New Testament, but hadn’t recognized it (aside from Chronicles and Kings) in previous readings through the Old Testament.  As an aside, I’m a structured person.  The times I’ve read the Bible through before had me start at page 1 and work my way through to Revelation.  Reading it in the chronological manner we’ve been following since June is a challenge for me in the sense that it’s not pages 1 – the end.  But, it has shown me to a greater degree the time-line and pathway leading to Jesus.  In any event, it raised the question of why the Bible is organized as it is – why not in a chronological order or something like that.  So I brought the question to Google and found these answers.

First, I learned that the Hebrew Bible isn’t organized as our Old Testament is.  Instead of 39 books, there are only 24.  However, the same information is included, just arranged differently.  Their structure is as follows:

The Law of Moses:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers

The Prophets: 

                The Former Prophets:  Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings

                The Latter Prophets:  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, “The Twelve” (minor prophets)

The Writings: 

                Poetical Books:  Psalms, Proverbs, Job

                The Five Scrolls:  Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther

                The Historical Books:  Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles

Our Christian Bibles divide the Old Testament into the following structure and order:

The Pentateuch:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers

Historical Books:  Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles,

2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Poetical Books:  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Prophetical Books:  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,

             Obadiah,Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Our New Testament Is also grouped by subject manner.  The early church adopted the current order of the Gospels (although Matthew and Luke were sometimes interchanged).  It also arranged the order of the epistles with the Pauline ones first divided by those to churches and then those to individuals, according to length.  The other epistles follow, again in order of longest to shortest.  Finally the writings by various men concluding with Revelation. 

Historical Books:  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts

Pauline Epistles:  Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,

Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy,

Titus, Philemon

Other Writings:  Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

I recognize that our chronological reading has us “skipping around” to read the events in chronological order.  It is also possible (not really surprising!) to order the books of the Bible in order by which they were written.  There are variations based on the scholars who have determined these timelines, but here’s one:

1440-1400BC:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

1400-1000BC:  Joshua, Judges

1000-586BC (pre-exile thru mid-exile):  Psalms, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Job, Proverbs,

Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

931-686BC (Rehoboam to Hezekiah):  Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,

                Micah

686-586BC (Hezekiah to the exile):  Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 1 Kings, 2 Kings,

                1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

516-400BC (post-exile):  Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

40-45AD:  Matthew

45-50AD:  1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Luke

50-55AD:  Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Acts, 1 Timothy,

2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews

55-60AD:  1 Peter, 2 Peter, Mark, James, Jude

60-68AD:  John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation

In any event, hope this holds some interest for you!

12 Tribes of Israel – locations in modern times

I received a request to show where, in modern times, the 12 tribes of Israel are located.  I was hoping to find a present-day map of Israel and its surrounding areas with the tribal areas superimposed on it, but no such luck.  I’ve taken the following two maps from Wikipedia – the one on top obviously shows the tribes, the one on bottom is present-day.  With words, I’ll try to further describe.

             

Reuben was the first-born son.  His land allotment was to the east of the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan.  It included Mount Nebo, where Moses was given a view of the promised land --  "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1), although there is apparently some dispute among scholars of whether this is, in fact, the “same” Mount Nebo.

Simeon, the second-born son, had his allotment fully enclosed within his brother Judah’s to the west and heading south of the Dead Sea.  Simeon is seen as one of the lesser tribes.  However, the fairly well-known city of Beersheba is located within the territory.  Today, Russian and Ethiopian Jews immigrate there, making it the 7^th largest city in Israel.

The tribe of Levi was not allocated a specific territory as they were not allowed to own land due to their status of serving in the priesthood.  The Jewish Encyclopedia includes the following cities as being those allocated to the Levites:   Hebron, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh within Judah’s land; in the territory of Benjamin their cities were Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon; from Ephraim they took Shechem, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon; from Dan, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon; from the tribe of Manasseh, Tanach, Gath-rimmon, Golan, and Beeshterah; from Issachar, Kishon, Dabareh, Jarmuth, and En-gannim; from Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob; from Naphtali, Kedesh, Hammoth-dor, and Kartan; from Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal; from Reuben, Bezer, Jahazah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath; and from Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.

Judah received a large portion of land in southern Israel, west of the Dead Sea.  Bethlehem and Hebron are perhaps the most familiar city-names for us today.

The tribe of Dan received land in southern Israel along the Mediterranean Sea.  The city of Jaffa (today incorporated into the city of Tel Aviv) is an ancient port associate with the story of Jonah.  The port was also that in which the cedars for Solomon’s Temple were delivered.

Naphtali was allotted land in northern Israel, immediately west of the Sea of Galilee (not marked on either map, but the smaller blue body north of the Dead Sea).  Today this area is known as the Upper and Lower Galilee.  The most important city was Hazor (currently called “Tel Hazor” or “Tell el-Qedah”) which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 as one of the Biblical Tells (a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries).

Gad was allocated the land east of the River Jordan just north of the Dead Sea.  The borders between Gad and Reuben were tenuous at best, but the cities of Ramoth, Jaezer, Aroer, and Dibon are usually associated with Gad.  Today this area is located in the country of Jordan.  Modern-day Dhibon is chiefly Islamic and a fairly prosperous Jordanian city.

Asher’s allotment was just west of Gad, in northern Israel along the Mediterranean Sea.  The climate was such that the land was fertile and produced olives in such quantities that the tribe of Asher was fairly prosperous.  The cities of Tyre and Sidon are today in Lebanon.  They are perhaps best-known to us as being locations where Jesus went and healed a Gentile (Matthew 15:21 and Mark 7:24). 

The tribe of Issachar was allotted land just south of the Sea of Galilee and west of the Jordan River.  According to the books of Kings, the royal palace of King Ahab was located in the city of Jezreel, part of this territory.  In modern times, this location is an archaeological site, having been excavated in 1987 when ruins were first discovered.

Zebulun’s land lies just west of Issachar and surrounded by his brothers’ Manassah, Naphtali, and Asher’s allotments.  It is possible that the city of Nazareth was located within this area, although I’m certain others would claim it elsewhere.  Nazareth is visited by many Christians today as Jesus resided there during his life.

Joseph, the allotter of the land, isn’t traditionally attributed with having a portion.  Rather, the portions of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.  These lands are west of the Jordan River and go west to the Mediterranean Sea.  Ephraim’s portion was the southern part.  Tel Aviv is probably the most-well-known current-day city in this region.  It is the second largest city in Israel and is often considered the capital by foreign countries as Jerusalem is (sadly) in dispute.

Benjamin, the youngest son of Israel, received a portion of the land between Ephraim and Judah, just west of the Jordan.  Within its small boundaries lie both Bethlehem and Jericho, with which we are quite familiar.  Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site in the world and may be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world.  Bethlehem, of course, is where Jesus was born.  Today the population is mostly Islamic, although it is also home to one of the largest Palestinian Christian communities.  Tourists flock to the area at Christmas and Jews and Christians alike visit Rachel’s tomb which is located at the northern entrance to Bethlehem.

I would personally love to visit Israel some day and am certain that I would be overwhelmed both with awe and the amount of history surrounding me.