You know that part of your Bible where the gold leaf on the pages still looks pretty fresh? Some of the pages might still even be stuck together. Or, more au courant, the portion you rarely scroll to on your phone or iPad Thats right, for most of us its that part of the Bible starting right after Psalms and going all the way to Matthew. A lot of prophets big and little, and a good bit of Israels Wisdom traditionbut it just doesnt get a lot of air-time in most evangelical churches or personal Bible-reading. Now, Im the first to admit that last claim stems from my own highly subjective internal polling data, and Im glad to be proven wrong; but I dont think I am, because I know a good bit of its true in my own life ...
There are many memories I will treasure of my father, Robert Saucy, but I will write about only one now that has most profoundly impacted meI believe, for all eternity. It was Dads passion for Gods Word.
This post is the substance of a chapel message I gave to the students of Kyiv Theological Seminary on October 14 of last year (2014). At the time Ukraine was (and still is) in the midst of brutal conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the eastern regions of the country. All of the students present had been impacted by the conflict, some profoundly either by burying church members, relatives, and friends, or by answering conscription summons. No one in the country has been left untouched by the crisis. I offer these thoughts here because suffering and crisis and loss may come to those around us at anytime. We need the mind of our Lord to enter into such a house of sorrow or pain and be his instruments for healing ...
... Im all in favor of blood moons (awe-inspiring astronomical phenomenon!), tetrads (rare!), Jewish feasts (our overly Gentilized Church calendars should be more dominated by theseas they are fulfilled in Christ), and apocalyptic (it can be literal tooresurrection is a feature of apocalyptic and we all believe in that one). But put them together in yet another sensationalized, factually crazy, books-flying-off-the-shelf spectacle for the world, and I just shake my head. Were in the same ditch as those who have no hope ...
As a rule, Evangelicals are great defenders of the deity of Christ. Thats not something we mess around with, and anyone who might had better take carebe they Bart Ehrman or the Jehovahs Witness at your door!
So here on the eve of 51蹤獲s Conference Israel the Church and the Middle East Crisis Im flushed out of my long blog hiding (or lethargy). Thats right, my maiden venture to blog-country is urged by some real angst in my heart about neglect of Israel. Now, Israel-angst of this kind is a subgenus to a larger malady Ive seen around me in evangelicalism for some timeEschatolitisa form of the passive neglect of doctrine in general, but in this case, the doctrine of the End Times.
51蹤獲