A Little Leaven...

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:9 ESV)

As a writer, words are extremely important to me.  Many times I am at a loss to find the right word.  When studying Scripture, however, I am keenly aware when a change in just one word distorts God’s Word.

For example, today I was listening to an audio version of Luke 22. 

When the speaker got to verse 31, he said:

“Simon, Simon!  Listen!  Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff.” (Good News Translation, emphasis mine)

Immediately I thought, “That doesn’t sound right!”  I looked up the same passage in the King James Version:

 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

Then the New International Version:

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.

And the New King James Bible:

 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

Then the New American Standard Bible:

 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;

Satan “desiring” to take Simon down is far different from “receiving permission.”   I cannot help but think of Genesis 3:1, which offers evidence of Satan’s first leavening of God’s Word:

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (KJV, emphasis mine)

Several years ago I watched a DVD of pastor Mike Hoggard, who profoundly and powerfully illustrated how Satan works.  Hoggard was standing on a stage and he took a tiny step to the right, then another tiny step, and then another.  Satan has been subtly corrupting God’s Word since the beginning of eternity past, and will continue until he finally leavens the whole lump (read this previous post if you have been taught to believe that leaven represents something good concerning the Kingdom of God in Luke 13:21).

Satan has deceived man so effectively that we are seeing more water-downed translations of the Bible — or paraphrases like “The Message” — that are being used to support whatever man wants to believe (read this article, which highlights numerous deceptions within "The Message"). 

I did a quick search for “Bible” on Amazon.com and a few titles that jumped out at me were: the Everyday Life Bible, True Identity: The Bible for Women, The Life Recovery Bible (for people in 12-step recovery), The NIV Pink Bible: An Invitation to Hope, A Cup of Comfort: Women of the Bible Devotional, Bible by Anonymous, NIV Faithgirlz Bible (“Connect more deeply with God, the Bible, and your friends!") and the God Girl Bible.  To be fair, I could only view a few pages of most of these titles.  But they appeared to be subjective self-help missives wrapped inside a Bible, rather than the systematic revelation of God’s plan for ruling and reigning with His bride in the millennial kingdom. 

When I read Scripture today, it is only through the lens of Christ Jesus' coming kingdom and what is revealed about it.  I run from Bible studies that are slanted toward making my life better now because my sole focus should be preparing for that future day when I will stand before my Lord at the judgment seat of Christ:

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15, KJV)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

He Has Risen and He Will Return!

This Easter, many will hear that Jesus died for our sins, and that He has risen.  But how many will shout with joy that He is coming again?

What would you do if the Lord were to return tomorrow to rapture His church?  Would you be ready to stand before Him at the Judgment seat of Christ?  Would you hear Him say, "well done, good and faithful servant?"  Would He would put you in charge of many things in His Millennial Kingdom? 

Christ Jesus IS coming.  I feel compelled to say it again and again because the Word of God boldly proclaims it!  Yet the world has practically shut up the message of Christ's return and His visible Kingdom. 

A.W. Pink sums it up so eloquently in his wonderful book The Redeemer's Return:

"...this Age began with a ringing testimony to the truth of our Lord's Return.  Each of the apostles, of whose writings we have any inspired record, taught their converts to look for their Saviour's appearing.  Alas! that this testimony was not maintained.  Alas! that this Blessed Hope should ever have become dim.  Alas! that it should, for more than a thousand years, have been almost totally lost to the Lord's people.  Yet so it was.  The immediate successors of the apostles turned their attention to other things: as it was with the Pharisees in the days of our Lord, so these tithed anise and mint but omitted the weightier matters. 

Instead of expounding the Prophetic Scriptures and setting before the Church its one great Hope, the early 'Church fathers,' for the most part, spent their time in wrangling among themselves.  Even before the apostles themselves had left the earth, false teachers crept in and began to devour the flock, and within three centuries the whole professing Church had become paganized.  Then followed the Dark Ages—aptly named, for the lamp of Prophecy had ceased to shine and the prospect of the speedy return of the Morning Star had completely disappeared.  As our Lord Himself had foretold, the virgins all slumbered and slept: no longer were His people looking for the Coming of the Bridegroom.

...There are still great numbers of the Lord's people who know next to nothing about this precious theme.  Notwithsanding the fact that the Second Coming of Christ occupies a prominent place in the Holy Scriptures, notwithstanding the fact that this subject is a most practical one having, as it does, some bearing on every phase of our present and future life, and notwithstanding that it is calculated to awaken a deep interest in "things to come" and lead to definite heart-searching, nevertheless, the vast majority of our pulpits entirely ignore the subject and in consequence great numbers of our church-members are in almost total ignorance concerning those things which God's Word declares will shortly come to pass."

This Easter, I pray that you have ears to hear that He is coming!  Christ's return is our blessed hope, in fact our only hope in this dark and sinful world.  May this knowledge fill you with great anticipation and much joy.