I only recently learned that Leon Morris went to be with the Lord in July ’06. He was one of my favorite Bible commentators and authors, who had the ability to pack a lot into a few words, composed in an orderly, pleasant style. That may owe to his background as a science teacher, self-taught Bible scholar and pastor turned academic — a powerful combination. He was also accessible and among my treasures I still have a personal letter he wrote in response to some questions I sent him. I was pleased to find this appropriately thorough, yet simple obituary to a man who wielded such a huge influence on modern Evangelicalism.… Read the rest
bosalisbury.com Posts
The Two Witnesses
In Revelation 11, we meet the two witnesses:
Revelation 11:3 & 4 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
Who are these striking individuals? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the most common identifications.
Joshua and Zerubbabel
Pros
-
- This would be the literal, natural meaning – they are referred to as “men” who prophesy and work wonders.
- In the Greek, the use of the article with the “two witnesses” leans toward the identification of them as individuals.
The Temple
What is the temple spoken of in Revelation 11? Is it an end-times temple constructed by faithful Jews in present-day Jerusalem? Or, was it Herod’s temple which was destroyed in 70AD? Perhaps it is a picture of God’s people. Here are a few (not all) of the pros and cons with each of these understandings.
The Restored End-Times Temple in Jerusalem
Pros
-
- This would be the literal, natural meaning – we see a literal temple, two real witnesses, in the actual city of Jerusalem, the times are literal, etc..
- The linguistic argument – it is called “the temple” using the same terminology consistently used throughout the Bible
- A third temple is prophesied in Ezekiel 40 – 48 and measured in the same way
- Daniel 9 speaks of the Abomination of Desolation taking place during the tribulation, 2 Thessalonians 2 speaks of the lawless one in the temple before the coming of the Lord and Revelation 13 picks up these themes.
Young People Flock To Second-Tier Sites Amid Shifting Tastes
This is welcome news, as far as I’m concerned. I just signed up on Facebook and the interface was noticeably less cluttered and usable. I’m not a huge fan of these new-fangled social networking sites, but from a design perspective things are starting to look up. As I pointed out when Ditty Talk rolled out, the MySpace design is just plain ugly and whenever someone adds a photo or video to their page, it gets pushed all out of shape and the user ends up scrolling in all directions.
These new contenders have some neat features that MySpace lacks:
Among the new social-networking sites is one called XuQa.com,… Read the rest
We immediately replaced the carpet when we bought our house ten years ago — the hardwood (oak) floors underneath were pristeen and beautiful. So, we decided to pull them up some time ago to eliminate the haven for dust mites and provide a beautiful contrast for modern furnishings (which we hope will come later). For now, the floors are beautiful and should be wonderful after they are sanded and refinished. Camille and Sean helped us pull up the old stuff.… Read the rest
Tea-Bag mail Protest Worries Post Office
Illinois’ lieutenant governor is urging people to mail tea bags to two electric utilities to protest rate increases — an idea that leaves the post office cold. The Postal Service on Wednesday encouraged people to make their point instead with empty tea bags, saying lumpy bags could harm its equipment and create security scares by leaking brown residue.… Read the rest
Press Release: Christian Music Singer-Songwriter super-group The Lost Dogs to wander in to Roseville.
On Thursday, September 28th, 2006, Valley Springs Presbyterian Church will host an intimate evening with The Lost Dogs at the Underground Café in Roseville. The Lost Dogs are a collaborative singer-songwriting effort that brings together some of the best musicians from the past 30 years of Christian music. It features the skills of Terry Taylor (of the 1970’s Jesus Movement band Daniel Amos), Derri Daugherty (of both the 1980’s alternative music group The Choir and City on a Hill fame), Mike Roe (of the Sacramento-based college radio favorites The 77’s) and Steve Hindalong (also of The Choir and City on a Hill, as well as the writer of the chart topping worship song, “God of Wonders“).… Read the rest
Yesterday, Denise and I took a day trip up above Sierra City. We found this nice spot overlooking the Sierra Buttes from Haskell Peak — I whipped out my PowerBook and fired it up. And… which one of my dozens of random desktop photos do you suppose came up on the monitor? Yep! A shot of the Buttes from the other side, which I took back in 1978! Those are some impressive rocks!
Later, we took a stroll on the Sand Pond Interpretive Nature Trail, which was lovely and then, on a lark, drove home through Sierraville via Highway 89.… Read the rest
I found a blogger’s home away from home at Panera Bread and it’s habit-forming. Denise likes to do her shopping in Rocklin and I like to spend time with Denise, so we drive down, she drops me off at Panera and she does her thing, while I do mine. Then, we usually get a bite to eat at a taqueria or barbecue joint.
Denise and I learned to love Panera when we visited Emma in Chapel Hill. Because it was overcast or raining the entire time we were there and Emma worked all day, Denise and I spent a considerable amount of time in the comfortable environs that are Panera, catching up on email, eBaying, blogging or just chatting over a hot, caffeinated beverage.… Read the rest
In Chapter 10, John sees an angel holding a bibliridion — a small book or booklet. This was in the day when scrolls were common and small books of flat pages pasted together were just coming into use, so “a small scroll” is an appropriate translation. Some call it the little apocalypse, because it appears to contain much the same message as the entire Revelation. John writes:
Revelation 10:8-11 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”… Read the rest
Recent events in Israel and Lebanon have Evangelical Christians abuzz for a number of reasons. But, when it comes to eschatology, inquiring minds want to know. Is the current Jewish state of Israel the fulfillment of prophecy? Did God promise to return His people to the land in the last days. This is a good question and I’ve assembled some thoughts on the subject. I’ll be throwing around some specialized terms, so be sure to use the resources I’ve linked in the right column if you’re unsure about labels such as futurist, preterist, dispensationalist, etc..
Most dispensationalists such as John Walvoord, Thomas Ice, and Dwight Pentecost would expect to see Israel returned to the land, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham:
Genesis 15:18 – 21 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.… Read the rest
Child molestation cases involving Catholic priests have been all over the news since the 1990s, pointing to serious sexual abuse among the clergy of all faiths and denominations. What makes this such a powerful story is the fact that priests had built a solid reputation as trustworthy advocates for children over the years. When someone my age thinks of children and priests, we are immediately reminded of Father Flanagan and Boy’s Town. But, that has all been undone now. A relative few clergy betrayed that trust and robbed so many children of their sexual innocence, plunging the Roman Catholic church into one of the most costly and devastating crises in its entire history.… Read the rest
This past weekend Denise and I enjoyed a concert by the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir and it was lovely (our 30th wedding anniversary, too). What an ecclectic blend of modern western choral/sacred music, spiced up with some Mongolian folk songs, Taiwanese pop music and even an Australian aboriginal chant! It was different than anything we have heard from the Nevada Union Choir, The Boy’s Choir of Harlem or the Choir of the West.
The big draw, however, was Sam’s boyhood friend, Abe Sitzer, who brought the choir to town. We remember Abe as a fun, outgoing kid who loved to clean and organize Sam’s room… seriously!… Read the rest
Today, I received my copy of the new 77s DVD Collection, featuring seven official music videos by my favorite band, The Seventy Sevens, as well as another disk of “live bootleg” concert footage going back to 1982!
It was just like Christmas in July, as Sean and Emma watched me excitedly tearing the cellophane off the case. They were also very understanding and patient as I rushed to the DVD player and cued up the first video, Mercy Mercy, which I had seen years ago. It was just as I remembered it. I was at a number of the featured concerts and, though they were 20 years ago, it was as if I had seen them just yesterday.… Read the rest
I think these verses are some of the saddest, most sobering in the entire Bible:
The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood — idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 9:20 & 21
This is mankind’s response to the unleashing of the horde of demonic locusts out of the Abyss in Revelation 9, attacking those who have not been sealed by God for His supernatural protection.… Read the rest
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a letter to the editor of The Union, our local newspaper. Here’s the text:
With the elimination of al-Zarqawi, pundits point out that there are hundreds al-Qaida to take his place. This would be the safe bet. However, history demonstrates that Islamic terrorists can change. The Baha’i faith is a good example.
Baha’is trace their lineage to the Bab, a 19th century Muslim terrorist who called on world leaders to repent and join him under the flag of the Mahdi. His followers carried his message through armed conflict, beheadings and murder until they were brutally suppressed by the Persian government.… Read the rest
Yes, it’s true. Denise and I have other children. Besides our children in the US, we have two more families in Uganda. I met their fathers on my first trip there in 2000. Since that time, we have kept in touch and helped them with tuition for their education. In Uganda, education is valued very highly and private school can be a real advantage.
Shammah is about 10 years old and, though we have never met, she loves us dearly and we love her. She is the oldest and has three little brothers. Her letters and photographs portray her as a smart, confident and patient young lady.… Read the rest
The other day at work, I was following my usual routine… performing menial labor, while I listen to talk or opinion on the radio. One of my customers, who would probably consider herself progressive, tolerant and erudite, came to the counter and asked, “how can you listen to so much hate?” I was taken aback and then responded, “man, you should have heard the hate I was listening to this morning driving up here. I had NPR on the radio!” Then, it was her turn to look surprised.
So, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on what I listen to and why; then blog about it.… Read the rest
What is the relationship among the seals, trumpets, and bowls? Do they follow one another in sequence, do they overlap or do they follow any sequence at all? This is a question that many have wrestled with and the different answers to this question span all methods of interpretation.
There are three options… ( I should learn by now to say, “at least…”)
- They are sequential, just as they appear in Revelation.
- The seals, trumpets and bowls conclude at the same point in time, so that each group of seven takes us back to the beginning of the previous seven, describing the same events using different symbols or pictures.
Write Fink! has been blogging about old VWs and it conjured up a few memories of — believe it or not — young romance. When I met Denise (she was 17 and I was 18), she had a blue 1966 Volkswagen Beetle much like the one in the photo. Technically, it was Brian, Denise, and Diane’s VW, but when Brian was off to school Denise had seniority and it would eventually be handed down to Diane. My heart still thumps when I think of Denise, long blonde hair blowing through the window, leaning into a turn, cranking the wheel with her left hand, while down-shifting with her right, and depressing the clutch with her Dr.… Read the rest
This weekend, I’m cleaning up all of my eMail SPAM and webforms on my sites. So far, success! The highlight is this anti-SPAM plugin for WordPress that really works. It’s called Did You Pass Math? and requires the commenter to solve a simple arithmetic problem before the comment is submitted. Fortunately, robots aren’t smart enough to know that 2 + 2 equals 4… yet.
Next, I’ll be checking out some spell checkers… The last one I tried didn’t work.… Read the rest
I found a professional writer (or, he found me), who loves John Wayne more than I do (T-Bone Burnett and C.S. Lewis, too) and he’s got a new blog. Check out Write Fink! and then follow his profile to his pro-site. Great stuff!… Read the rest
How consistent and effectual are your prayers? Do your prayers even matter? After all, God will do as He pleases anyway. Do you ever wonder if God even hears you when you pray, because you approach Him so half-heartedly? In Revelation 8, we encounter a scene that should hit us like a splash of cold water in our faces and sober us up to the reality that our prayers are powerful, crucial to the execution of God’s plan, impacting the world in which we live.
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.… Read the rest
I just finished the redesign of our Overcoming Necrotizing Fasciitis website. It is now leaner, faster and easier to navigate. I’ve also added some new features and resources. Join the hundreds of thousands of visitors, who come to the site each year to find information, solutions and hope for those suffering from necrotizing fasciitis.… Read the rest
Today I called into the Rush Limbaugh radio program and made my talk radio debut to approximately 15 million listeners. The really cool part is that my remark about the film Mars Attacks became the inspiration for Rush’s parody, Mahmoud Attacks in his regular feature, See, I Told You So… (“You can stream the audio of the call segment here)
I am the caller identified as “Arthur from Nevada City.” I used my middle name, in case I totally embarrassed and humiliated myself. I pointed out that, while the press is receiving the letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Bush as some sort of diplomatic overture of peace, the text of the message actually sounds like a religious authority claim by Ahmadinejad, calling Bush to repentance and the recognition that the Qaim, the messianic figure in Twelver Shi’ism, is at the door.… Read the rest