Harold Camping is Wrong.

We survived May 21^st, without the return of Jesus inflicting judgment upon the world's inhabitants. And unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard about Harold Camping a California Radio network (called "Family Radio") owner, who spent a great deal of money to make sure America knew of his prophecy. Harold Camping is not a trained Bible instructor. He also is NOT associated with any denomination, and was punished by the last church he was a part of. He is just a guy who loves the Bible, and thought he had a secret message from his reading of Scripture, that only he understood. That Jesus' return would take place in 1994 (his first failed prophecy), no, I mean May 21, 2011. And this May 21^st prediction was also wrong.

I am not going to jump on the bandwagon of those making fun of him, or make hurtful statements about him. I truly feel sorry for him, and hope that he and his failed prophecies are quickly forgotten. I know of the power of when you feel the Spirit telling to do something, and then learning that this was not from God. So please have mercy on him. Instead, what I want to do with this post, is to review WHY Camping was wrong, and suggest that his failed method of Bible interpretation (looking at Old Testament verses on par with the New Testament teachings) is a warning for those who follow the Pre-Trib / Dispensational method of interpreting the Bible. The Traditional Church method of interpreting the Bible is to focus on the New Testament Gospels for the foundations of all doctrine for Christians. The New Testament Epistles help explain and shed further light on the Gospel teachings. And here is the important part of what I am saying – the Old Testament is read in light of what is taught and said in the New Testament. The teaching of Jesus in the Gospels sheds light and help us better understand what is in the Old Testament, not the other way around.

This is where Harold Camping, and other Pre-Trib Dispensationalists (the poster boy for what I am talking about is Tim LaHaye's 'Left Behind' end-times book series) go wrong. They treat Old Testament teachings as equally instructive for Christian foundational issues. Here is an example. Here is my brief (and too simplistic) explanation of Camping's failed prophecy: The Old Testament story of Noah's Ark took place on May 21^st , 7,000 years ago. For God a day is like 1,000 years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). There are 7 days in Creation, and on the 7^th day God rested. So after the 7^th day (here 7,000 years), God will start something new – and it will start with Jesus' return that initiates God's judgment upon our world.

Here are some similar examples of Dispensationalist / Pre-Trib use of Old Testament verses to support their view of what takes place during the " end-times": Redevelopment of the Roman / European Empire (Daniel 2:32-33); The appearance of a Red Heifer after 2,000 years (Numbers 19:2-7), and ; The Rise of Russia (Ezekiel 38:2,4,8). Now some of these can be read along with what the New Testament books say about the "end-times", like Daniel 12:4, which predicts that during the "end-times" there will be a great increase in knowledge and travel. But otherwise, if we keep our focus on what is taught in the New Testament, then the errors of Harold Camping are avoided.

As an example, Jesus taught that the Day of Jesus' Return will come unexpectantly (Luke 21:34); and "no one knows the day or hour" (Matthew 24:36) when this return will take place. This should end anyone's attempts of telling the world when Jesus will return. And so, my hope is that we learn two things from Harold Camping's mistake of prophesying Jesus' return taking place on May 21, 2011: first, that we read everything in the Old Testament in light of what is taught in the New Testament; and, second that if anyone else predicts a date for Jesus' return, then we will boldly tell others that their prediction is false, and not in line with what Jesus taught. In Christ, /s/Tom Wolff

Law News

Hey, I am a lawyer after all. So I thought I would provide a few news stories involving the LAW. Here are the stories I thought that were interesting:

1. Osama Bin Laden's Will. Just 3 months after 9/11, Osama Bin Laden had his Will drafted. And in his Will, there were a couple of interesting provisions: his wives – not allowed to marry again. And his children – they are not allowed to join Al Qaeda. So much for continuing in the family business…
   

   
    

2. For 1^st time, more women getting advanced degrees than men. Story here. For the first time, American women have passed men in gaining advanced college degrees as well as bachelor's degrees, part of a trend that is helping redefine who goes off to work and who stays home with the kids….Among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million U.S. women have master's degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men. Measured by shares, about 10.2 percent of women have advanced degrees compared to 10.9 percent of men — a gap steadily narrowing in recent years. Women still trail men in professional subcategories such as business, science and engineering.
   

   When it comes to finishing college, roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor's degrees, compared to nearly 18.7 million men — a gap of more than 1.4 million that has remained steady in recent years. Women first passed men in bachelor's degrees in 1996…
   

   
    

3. Betting has gone crazy in the US. But have you thought about betting on whether or not someone will be convicted? You can do it at Intrade – which had as its odds that Raj Rajaratnam to be found guilty of at least one count of insider trading is 94% probable). He ended up being convicted.
   

   
    

4. Elizabeth Taylor Requests that She Will be Late to Her Own Funeral. Story here. True to the sense of humor and flair that defined her life, Elizabeth Taylor knew exactly how she wanted her final starring role to play out… The service was scheduled to begin at 2 pm but at Miss Taylor's request started late. Miss Taylor had left instructions that it was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled, with the announcement, "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral."
   

   
    

5. Most Americans Do Not Have a Will. Story here. The March 2011 survey of 1,001 adults revealed that more than half of all adults (57 percent) do not have a Will, including a shocking 92 percent of adults under age 35 and 44 percent of baby boomers (ages 45-64). Hey, you have to have a Will, so if you do not have one, give me a call or drop me an email at tewolff@aol.com.
   

The Lord Bless You

The cub scouts were out collecting bags of food yesterday for the food shelves. Yes, it was early, cold, raining and windy. But Elijah was a trooper. He kept knocking on door after door to see if people were willing to help the needy. And they were! With two scouts, we were able to collect 86 pounds of food. So it lifted my heart to see the willingness of people and their desire to give.

Today, I wanted to post on the topic of God's blessing. Who doesn't want to be blessed? Yes, and the classic statement of blessing comes from Numbers 6:22-27, which is sometimes called the Priestly (or Aaron's) Blessing. It is a blessing upon the nation of Israel, but it definitely looks as though it can also be claimed by New Testament believers. I say this because of the repetition of the name "Lord" or "Jehovah" three times (and as Matthew Henry points out, each use of Jehovah places a different accent in the original), expresses the great mystery of the Godhead—three persons, and yet one God. The expressions in the separate clauses correspond to the respective offices of the Father, to "bless and keep us" (v.24); of the Son, to be "gracious to us" (v.25); and of the Holy Spirit, to "give us peace." (v.26). This promise of blessing for New Testament believers also bring to mind 2 Corinthians 1:20 (all the promises of God find their Yes in him.) So here is the "Priestly Blessing", which is for everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike:

 

Numbers 6:22-27 (ESV)
²² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus ^zyou shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

     ²⁴     The Lord bless you and keep you;

     ²⁵     the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

     ²⁶     the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

²⁷ "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

 

This Priestly blessing is also the oldest recovered verse of the O.T. and is found engraved on a piece of thin metal foil. Let's do a little unpacking of the meaning of these blessings: Verse 24 asks for God to "bless" and "keep" us. This blessing is upon each person. To receive his blessing of us is doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. For God to "keep" us is God to protect us. Blessed protection is the promise of verse 24.

 

Verse 25 speaks of God making "his face to shine" upon us and that he be "gracious" to us. The analogy here of God's face shining upon us is made to the sun pouring out its light upon. When we are bathed in the warmth and light of the sunshine, it feels wonderful. When we feel God's love upon us, the blessing is even greater: we cannot but be happy if we have God's love; and we cannot but be easy if we know that we have it. God's gracious love is the focus here in verse 25.

In verse 26, the blessing is of God's "countenance" upon us, and His shalom peace. God giving us His "countenance" seems to allude to the smiles of a father upon his child, or of a man upon his friend whom he takes pleasure in. If God give us the assurances of his special favor and his acceptance of us, this will put gladness into the heart, Ps. 4:7, 8. The promise of peace here is the greater peace of completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord. What a wonderful blessing in verse 26 of God's kindness and full peace being given to us.

Finally, in verse 27, because the benediction, though pronounced by the lips of a fellow man, derived its virtue, not from the priest but from God, the encouraging assurance was added, "I the Lord will bless them." It is up to God, and not dependent on anything about us or what we have done.

So here is my blessing upon you, May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. This blessing is for everyone, so please go out there this week and live in God's blessing upon you.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone. Sometimes it is easy for Christians to have our focus be on the "Good Friday" Jesus. The "Good Friday" Jesus is our Savior, who died for our sins. Through faith in Jesus we receive the forgiveness of our sins and Jesus' sacrifice in our place on the Cross, our sins are paid, and we receive our salvation. This is why as John 14:6 says that Jesus is the only "way" to God the Father – because without our sins being forgiven we cannot approach God. And only Jesus can cleanse us of our sins. Without Him, our dirt-filled lives are too wicked to be in God's presence. Until we make Jesus our "Savior" this is when we have our Savior's sacrifice to cleanse and purify us, and providing us our salvation.

But enough about the "Good Friday" Jesus being our Savior. Easter is the focus of our Holy Week celebration, and I hope to encourage you to consider the importance of the "Lord" Jesus. The one who rose from the dead, after three days in the tomb, He arose. Hallelujah! This "Lord" Jesus showed himself to be God the Son through the resurrection. And his appearances after his resurrection to the Apostles turned them from cowardly, simple students into world-changing evangelists, telling others what they had seen and learned. Their message spread like wild fire throughout the world, and the world has never been the same again. So let us also remember the "Lord" Jesus who was resurrected, defeating death (O death where is thy sting?), and providing us with the clear portrait of God – and His love for us. Happy Easter everyone.

Baptism and China’s Faith

G'day everyone. I am a proud papa today. I just came back (on Saturday) from a Baptism class at Hosanna led by Pastors Larry and Susan Fannon. Our daughters Asia (age 16) and Olivia (age 13) have chosen to be baptized and attended the class as part of their baptism which will take place today. The class was great and I learned another great verse that supports Baptism of all Christians. Take a look at Matthew 3:15, where Jesus asks John to baptize him, and John says he's not worthy to. Here is Jesus' response – " But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.^*" So John agreed to baptize him". (Matthew 3:15 - NLT). So baptism is a requirement from God for the Christian life. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded it, God requires it, so we should do it!

 

Second, I found what I thought was a really interesting article in the Washington Post on China's religious explosion. What's going on in China? Here are portions from the article: Constitutional changes in 1982 led to greater freedom of religion, all this is very sudden. It was barely 25 years ago since the Amity Press, the official press for the Patriotic Church, started printing Chinese Bibles. Only three years since Hu Jintao, president and general secretary of the Communist party told the Chinese Politburo:"We must strive to closely unite religious figures and believers... to build an all-around...prosperous society while quickening the pace towards modernization and socialism". These are sentiments supported in public statements by Premier Wen Jiabao.

This has resulted in more Muslims in China than in the whole of Europe. There are more practicing Protestants in China than in Britain. More practicing Catholics than in Italy. And an estimated 100 million or more people who consider themselves Buddhists. … Official Chinese surveys show that nearly one in three Chinese describe themselves as religious. This is not where they were 30 years ago.

Tom's thought: China is now an open field where different religions are staking their claims to a country with over 19% of the world's population (see Wikipedia). With over 1.3 billion people, it is difficult to expect that China will continue to allow the expansion of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Something's gotta give.

Link to the article is here.

IBM Helps in Fight against MRSA

A great e-letter sent out by K-House news (April 5, 2011), on IBM's development of tiny, degradable plastic "nano-particles" that tear down the walls of MRSA cells. Here is their article:

When superbugs attack, get out the plastic nano-armies. Engineers in San Jose, California have created a new form of antibiotic out of manmade nano-particles 50,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. According to researchers, these microscopic soldiers of germ warfare are able to search out and destroy even the scariest of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When their job of slaughtering the bacterial enemy is finished, the nano-particles harmlessly biodegrade away.

Misuse of standard antibiotics has led to the rise of drug-resistant "super" bacteria. If antibiotics don't quite kill off all the bacteria in their host, the most drug-resistant ones are left to reproduce after their kind, producing virulent strains that refuse to die through normal treatment. Typical drugs also kill the beneficial bacteria that bodies need to function well.

Bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infected at least 94,360 people in 2005, according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. About 18,650 died during their hospital stays due to this serious staph infection that has been busily defying common antibiotics.

IBM is behind a technology to use nano-particles to take over where antibiotic drugs have failed. These newly developed plastic nanoparticles use a different method of attack, as reported in this week's issue of Nature Chemistry. The engineers have given the nano-particles a charge so that they are attracted to oppositely charged bacteria. In this way, they can be used to target infected cells, reportedly eradicating bacteria like MRSA while leaving beneficial bacteria alone.

According to the IBM researchers, these nano-particles also take a different approach to killing the bacteria. Rather than attacking the bacterial DNA, these brutal plastic machetes beat down the cell walls, destroying the bacteria from the outside-in.

"These are designed to slice the cell membrane, to rip the membrane up and eliminate the contents," explains James Hedrick, advanced organic materials scientist at IBM Almaden Research Center. "It's kind of like the way a virus would work - a virus drills a pore, empties the contents and hijacks it. This is drilling in little holes, and all the contents leak out."

IBM's technology "goes outside the scheme of current antibiotics to something that physically destroys bacteria", said Mario Raviglione, chief of the World Health Organisation's Stop TB department. "If this is proven to work in humans, it will simply revolutionize the way we deal with antimicrobial treatment."

While the technology sounds promising, it has yet to be tested on humans. IBM declares that the nano-particles harmlessly degrade into an "innocuous byproduct." It is encouraging that these microscopic machines can attack harmful bacteria without any threat that they themselves will reproduce or remain forever in the blood stream. Yet, a great deal of testing needs to be done to make sure that the nano-particles only attack the cells of the organisms they are intended to attack.

Humankind continually presses upward in its technological advances, offering promises of wonder cures. An awareness of possible unforeseen results needs to keep us cautious in our biotech race.

The article provides several links about this story, and here is a good one. One of the statistics it mentions is that 25,000 people in the European Union are dying each year from infections like MRSA! Let's hope that this technology really works.

 

Second, Here is another article on the "super-bug" MRSA-like infection known as NDM-1 (named for New Delhi metallobeta-lactamase, because it is widespread in New Delhi, India). The World Health Organization (WHO) called for action in fighting NDM-1 and warns that it is posing a global health risk. Currently, it is spreading through India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Great Britain. New research published Thursday in a U.K. medical publication shows the source of NDM-1 is widespread in sewage and drinking water outside the hospital environment in Delhi, India, circulating because of sewage contamination in bacteria that inhabit drains and tap water.

How serious are drug-resistant infections? The article cites statistics that in the US, hospital-acquired, drug-resistant bacterial infections kill 63,000 patients each year and cost $34 billion. Wikipedia reports that for a study done on New Delhi water samples studied, 20 strains of bacteria were found to contain NDM-1 gene in 51 out of 171 seepage samples and 2 out of 50 tap water samples. Although there hasn't been many deaths yet from NDM-1, this is one to keep your eyes on.

Give us this Day our “Daily Bread”

Happy Sabbath and Lord's Day (or weekend, if you prefer) to everyone. We have started Spring Break here in Burnsville. And Ohio State and Wisconsin both got knocked out of March Madness, leaving us with no Big-10 teams in college basketball's final tournament. But all is good in our home this day – everyone is healthy, bills are paid, relationships are good, and if it weren't for my oldest two daughters learning to drive (Asia is set to take her driver's license test, and Maggie her permit test), I would be at real peace with the world. Which brings me to today's topic the Lord's Prayer.

This isn't such a big jump in topic as you may think. I like to regularly pray the Lord's Prayer, after I read in the early Christian writing called the Didache (written around 150 AD) that we should pray the Lord's prayer three times a day (Didache 8:3). In today's post I wanted to talk about the Fourth Petition in the Lord's Prayer that we be given this day our "daily bread". In our men's group we discussed Martin Luther's description of what is meant by "daily bread", and here is what Luther wrote:

Fourth Petition – Luther's Small Catechism - Give us today our daily bread.

What does this mean?

God surely gives daily bread without our asking, even to all the wicked, but we pray in this petition that he would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What, then, is meant by daily bread?

Daily bread includes everything that we need for our bodily welfare, such as food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, land and cattle, money and goods, a godly spouse, godly children, godly workers, godly and faithful leaders, good government, good weather, peace and order, health, a good name, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

Martin Luther makes the claim that "daily bread" covers not only our food, clothing and home, but also the weather (?), health, peace and order, good government, good friends, etc. So I wanted to see why Martin Luther makes such a broad description of what is meant in the Fourth Petition in the Lord's Prayer for our "daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). Here is what I found (all verses are from the ESV):

Food:

Psalm 132:15 (for Zion) I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

All Food - Genesis 3:19 (ESV) ¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

And meat, and all that they craved; - Numbers 11:18-19 (ESV) ¹⁸ And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days; and, Psalm 78:27-29 (ESV) ²⁷ he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; ²⁸ he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. ²⁹ And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

Who provides food for all living creatures? Job 38:41 (ESV) ⁴¹ Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?

(Do not worry) Matthew 6:25-27
For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:31-32
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Clothing: Genesis 28:20-21 (ESV) ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,

Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (ESV)
³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.

Matthew 6:28-29
²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

God provides whatever there is a desire for - Psalm 145:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. ¹⁶ You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. (this looks to include food, shelter, job, love, companionship, friendship, etc.)

For he who walks in righteousness, a promise of defense, food and water, and peace - Isaiah 33:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, ¹⁶ he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. (See, Isaiah 32:15, 17-18);

Food for our children:

Psalm 37:25
I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.

Spiritual Life-
Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

 

OK, and here is where it gets really good. Check out these promises:

(All sufficiency in everything so that we may do good deeds) 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;

(All needs) Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want… (also peace, see Psalm 23:2-3).

(Relation with God/A.S.K.) - Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

(Our prayers are heard and answered) 1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

Matthew 6:8
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Psalm 84:11
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

(Seek His Kingdom) Luke 12:30-31 (ESV)
30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

 

(God's Grace gives all things – which means we don't deserve it) Romans 8:32 (ESV)
³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

(All sufficiency is given so that we may be generous) 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." ¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

 

And now three verses to take away with you this week – Proverbs 30:8-9 (ESV) ⁸ Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, ⁹ lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

2 Corinthians 1:20 – all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

CONCLUSION: Yes, Martin Luther correctly described the portion of the Lord's Prayer asking for our "daily bread" as very broad. It includes for believers not only food, clothing and shelter, but our protection, blessing on our children, everything we need, including relationship with the Creator of the Universe. And God provides for our needs so that we can be generous with those in need around us. The Lord's Prayer is an amazing prayer, so let's get out there and pray the Lord's Prayer and place our trust that what we pray for will be given. Amen, /s/Tom Wolff