On This Day: The Great Kings of Little Old Bethlehem

   Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh. (Romans 1:1-3)

   I learned from John Piper that our delight in God is worship. It communicates to God and others that God is our supreme source of joy. This means that sometimes the main focus of my sharing is the delight I get from meditating on the words of God and feeling the weight of their glory minister to my soul.

   And so it is today that all the prophecies revolving around Bethlehem have magnified the creative genius of God in weaving promises, prophecies, and fulfillments into his word so the divine tapestry is guaranteed to delight the minds of the child-hearted.

   The reason I ended up traveling down the road to Bethlehem was because of Paul’s introductory statement in Romans that Jesus “was descended from David according to the flesh”. This connected to John’s introduction that told us how Jesus was “the Word” who was “with God” and who “was God” and who “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus “come in the flesh” is a big deal, and it must mesh 100% with everything else said about him.

   Jesus’ connection to David is introduced to us when we first learn of David and his family. After king Saul had been rejected by God,

   The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." (I Samuel 16:1)

Simply because the Messiah must be a descendant of David, it is so significant that Jesse was a “Bethlehemite”. That means, “Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons” (I Samuel 17:12).

   As I did a big of research on this, I was reminded that two well-known figures from the Old Testament, Boaz and Ruth, give us David’s connection to Bethlehem. Boas was from Bethlehem (Ruth 2:4). Boas and Ruth were married in Bethlehem. (Ruth 4:13). Boaz and Ruth’s son, Obed, was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. (Ruth 4:17). So, the book of Ruth may not make any huge theological statements about God, but the events described therein lay the foundation for both David and Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, so fulfilling Scripture, and tightly weaving together the tapestry of salvation.

   Micah’s prophecy regarding Bethlehem was,

   But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2)

And when the religious elite told Herod that the Christ would be born "In Bethlehem of Judea,” it was,

   “for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’" (Matthew 2:4-6).

   When we add to this that it was a Roman census that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem in time for Jesus’ birth to fulfill prophecy, and it was an evil Roman ruler who sent them fleeing to Egypt to fulfill the prophecy that “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15), the children of God have so much reason to delight in the evidence of God’s word that Jesus “was descended from David according to the flesh” just as promised and prophesied.

   For anyone who has never trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the evidence for his life, death, and resurrection, all in fulfillment of prophecy, gives us the most eyes-wide-open faith in the whole wide world. In repentance and faith we can receive Christ and everything God has given us in his Son.

   For those of us who are already children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, the magnificently woven tapestry of salvation as pictured in the word of God gives us every reason to “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

 

© 2026 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

On This Day: The Gift of What Was Written and Fulfilled

   “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. (Acts 13:26-31)

   In the "God works all things together for good" category, my traumatic childhood trained me to listen carefully to why people believe what they believe. I can see why this is still helping me grow in my faith in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

   It’s crazy to think that six decades have passed since I was first aware of God. However, during that whole time, I have never heard anyone present arguments against God's word that hold a candle to the intricate and complex weaving together of divine revelation. What was revealed over the centuries (as “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”) had to be carried out by God’s enemies to fulfill what was written about Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection. Only God could write the script and orchestrate its fulfillment!

   Not only that, but today's gift just happened to come after God helped me accept that I must let go of people and things he is not working in (at least in relation to me), and prepare to fully join him in anything he gives our church to do, while trusting him to provide everything we need to do his will.

   What do we do with such a gift as this? When God shows in the Scriptures how only he could have coordinated 40 different men, over a period of fifteen centuries, to write their puzzle pieces of revelation into God’s word, it calls us to RSVP to his invitation.

   “What invitation?” you ask.

   The invitation to know the Creator through his word.

   The invitation to be raised from death to life in the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.

   The invitation to feel the “faith” that “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). That “assurance” is not speaking of the feeling of assurance, or the feeling of confidence about something.

   Rather, the word in the Greek means, “title (deed) n. — a legal document to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it” (Bible Sense Lexicon). In other words, faith is our “document” of assurance, the certificate of authenticity, so to speak. If we have faith, that faith is our deed to eternal life and all it entails.

   After examining the claims of professional skeptics like Bart Ehrman, the priests of the evolutionary religion like Darwin, Dawkins and DeGrasse Tyson, and false teachers like Brad Jersak, I now see in all of them the first words of the serpent in the Scriptures, “Did God actually say…?” (Genesis 3:1). They never give evidence against the evidence of Scripture. They only parrot the devil’s own thoughts, to make people question the authority of what God said, so they become pawns in the game of the evil one instead of children of God on assignment from their Father.

   Even though my faith has been growing since childhood, and I believe I am putting into practice Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (I Timothy 4:15), what I am getting out of my campout in Acts 13 makes me feel like I am “building yourselves up in your most holy faith” as Jude encouraged (Jude 1:20).

   If you do not yet know that your faith in Jesus Christ stands up to every claim of skeptics and enemies of the cross, read God’s word and take it as the Holy Spirit teaches it to you. Faith DOES come from hearing, and our hearing DOES come from the “word of Christ”, so listen for Jesus’ voice in his word, the Bible, and follow him where he leads, no matter how many wolves are howling in the distance, or roaring lions are prowling around seeking someone to devour. 

   As our big brother John wrote,

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
(I John 5:4)

  

 

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

 

On This Day: When Friends and Enemies Praise Jesus

   “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Luke 13:34-35)

   Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem has been a long-standing grief for me. It is a thread of heartache woven into the tapestry of God’s work of redemption. It pictures the wonder of God’s longing for his people, and the tragedy of his people’s preference for the world, the flesh, and the devil.

   One of the most beautiful invitations of God to his people is this from Isaiah 30:15, “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”

   When Jesus made his lament over Jerusalem, he associated himself with what God had already communicated about his desire for his people to return to him. If they would return and rest in him, he could save them. If they would quiet their lustful idolatrous hearts and trust in him, he would be their strength.

   However, the sad conclusion back then was a prelude to what the Messiah would face when he came, “But you were unwilling”. And the fact that God would put his heart on such glorious display and the people would be unwilling to attach to him breaks my heart. 

  Which brings us to Jesus’ return. There is coming a time when everyone will declare “‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” The prophets said this would happen; Jesus amened that this would happen; Luke recorded Jesus’ words that this would happen, and Paul explains it even further: 

   Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

   This is what Jesus meant. At his return, EVERY knee will bow before him in acknowledgement that he is “King of kings and Lord of lords”. No one will stand in pride against him any longer. All will bow in submission.

   At the same time, EVERY tongue will “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” No more Youtubers declaring their arrogant atheism, no more science deceivers promoting the evolutionary religion, no more comedians mocking Jesus and his redemptive work. EVERY tongue will confess out loud that there is absolutely no doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord after all. 

   But just as Jesus warned Israel about the judgment coming on Jerusalem, God warns us in his word of what it will be like when Jesus returns to finalize his judgment on the world:

   Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17)

   Jesus is “patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Peter 3:9). However, everyone in this lifetime shows their willingness or unwillingness to receive him. Those who refuse him will receive God’s justice against their sin. It is coming as surely as Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD. 

   As to those who receive Jesus during this lifetime, here is how they will feel when Jesus returns and takes us home:

   After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12)

   We will all praise and glorify Jesus Christ as Lord when he returns. Some will be his enemies who denied and dishonored him their whole lives. Others will be his friends who called on his name and received his gift of eternal life. 

   And God’s gift is in his word that calls us all to know and love Jesus Christ now so we can live with him in love forever. 

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When That’s Not What We Expected

   The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” (Luke 7:18-20)

   I am old enough to have had many of my church scenarios unfold quite differently than I had imagined. I can picture times when I was so clear that God was leading me into something I thought would be one scene of exciting ministry after another, only to find out years later that the real-life story was quite different than I expected. John being in prison at the end of his service to God has a certain ring of familiarity to it!

   One of my early lessons in how the unexpected should be expected was in a journey through the book of Exodus a few decades ago. It kept standing out to me that what God called Moses and Israel to do consistently turned out differently than they had imagined would happen.

   For example, after God spoke to Moses about his role in delivering Israel out of Egypt, and after God had responded to all Moses’ complaining and questions, Moses went to the people, the people worshiped God for hearing their prayers and coming to their rescue, and everyone was united in knowing and doing God’s will.

   That is, until Pharaoh responded to Moses by doubling the workload of the people!!! Suddenly the people all turned on Moses as if he had lied to them! 

   When we follow this through the ten plagues, and on into their early adventures of trusting the Lord on the way to the Promised Land, we see the same pattern. God showed the people what he was doing, he even appeared to them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, but every time things turned out differently than the people expected, they complained that there was something wrong with GOD!!!

   And what exactly was the problem? 

   That God kept putting them in situations they could only face by faith. That is exactly what they did not want then, and it is exactly what so many church folk don’t want now. We want to live in a constant state of sight-based living where everything turns out exactly as wonderfully as we expected. For God to keep putting us in impossible situations where only he could fulfill his word sends us into a tailspin. 

   I will get to Jesus’ reply to John tomorrow. But today some of us need to stop here long enough to attach to the God who is with us in prison. He is with us in scenarios that are painfully different than we thought they would be. He listens to our questions asking whether we got it right in the core issues surrounding our understanding of his will. 

   God’s encouragement to us is that when we are in scenarios like what John the Baptist was experiencing, we should send word to Jesus about it just like John did. Except for us, that would mean pouring out our hearts to our God in prayer and then meditating on whatever he shows us next in his word to see how he is answering the cry of the distressed.

   Psalm 102 begins with this heading, “A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD”. God puts these things in his word so we can come to him with words he himself has given us for the occasion. And when our occasion is feeling weary with how differently things have turned out from what we had once thought God was doing, John the Baptist in Luke 7, and the psalm writer in Psalm 102, may help us bring our own perplexing questions to God. 

   However, no matter what questions fill our hearts, and no matter which Scriptures we read next, God will hear and answer our prayers. Just expect that his replies might be of the unexpected variety.

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

The Bible, the Book of God

I recently found an online claim that we didn’t need to use “a book” to get to know Jesus. The person was referring to the Bible. I was shocked that anyone would post such a thing, particularly since I had decades of experience in getting to know Jesus through his book! 

However, whenever I face such things, I simply keep meeting with God every morning in his word and prayer to see how he leads me. I don’t change where I am reading. I don’t do a word study on the topic being challenged. I just continue my journey through the Bible that began in childhood and for over three decades has focused on God speaking to me through his word. 

One of the things God has done for months is the same thing I have witnessed so often, that my journey through the Bible will lead to one viewpoint after another that addresses the very things I am facing. And it will always fit like puzzle pieces coming together with people in our home church who are also sharing their journey through God’s Book. 

Since I discovered this dissing of God’s word, I have been absolutely amazed at how often God has drawn attention to his “word”, or his “book”. All through the generations of God’s people, they received the “scriptures” as the written word of God. We now have sixty-six “books” collected into one “Book” we call the Bible, the word of God, and the way this book keeps referring to itself as God’s Book is absolutely amazing. 

Yesterday, I finished a journey through the book of Nehemiah. When I was going through Jeremiah, I was mesmerized by God’s promise, “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.’”[1] I realized that Nehemiah was one of these shepherds, and I needed to read his journal like it was mentoring me in what a shepherd after God’s own heart looks and sounds like. I wanted to know how he fed God’s people with knowledge and understanding. Let’s just say I was not disappointed with my journey and what it taught me! 

This morning, I began my next adventure in God’s word, a journey through the gospel account of Matthew. What greeted me was the introductory expression, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” It hit me like receiving the key to a chest full of “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” that are hidden in Jesus Christ our Lord.[2] I could hardly contain myself in what to do with all the wonder-filled thoughts that were delighting my mind. Let me give a summary of how this phrase speaks to us. 

It does something to me to hear Matthew refer to his gospel account as “the book”. We call the Bible God’s “Book”. The sixty-six sections of God’s word we call “the books” of the Bible. Matthew calls his record of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, “the book” about Jesus. Reading this brought to mind God’s encouragement, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”[3] That is certainly the way I felt, that my heart was trembling with awe and wonder at God’s word in this book. 

The message all through the Bible is that God has written us his story (history). My testimony is that we can read this Book every day of our lives and feel like the ink is still wet on what God has written because of how it speaks to us in such real and personal ways that address whatever we are going through. 

“The genealogy” puts Jesus Christ so solidly into verifiable history that even Richard Dawkins (the high priest of the evolutionary religion) had to admit Jesus truly existed and that he (Dawkins) lied in his book, The God Delusion, when he claimed there was virtually no proof of Jesus’ even existing. Not only does the genealogy show that Jesus existed, but Matthew’s gospel account was written so soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection that anyone could talk to people who were still alive to verify the events that took place. 

As an example of the way the genealogy verifies Jesus’ existence, I read about some Bible translators who had just completed their translation of the gospel of Matthew into the language of whatever people group they were reaching. When they presented it to the people to read, they weren’t sure how they would do with the way it begins with the genealogy. After all, so many North American church folk struggle to get through these parts of the Bible!

However, when the leader read the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel to those who had gathered, the most unexpected thing happened. Everyone began talking with amazement at how this Jesus was a real person who really lived. And how did they know this? Because Jesus had a real story of the generations of his ancestors. And they didn’t even know how significant these ancestors were! 

The various “genealogies” in the Bible are given so we can know for certain that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”[4] And Jesus has now accomplished this redemption so it can be applied to us today. 

“Jesus” is the name given to the Savior who was born of the virgin Mary. The name means “God saves”, and God’s angel told Joseph to give Jesus this name, “for he will save his people from their sins.”[5] And it is Jesus who fulfills God’s word that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[6] 

“Christ” is the title of Jesus’ role in God’s redemptive history. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew designation, “Messiah”. It refers to the one set apart by God to carry out the work of reconciling people to God. Jesus came into the world authorized by his Father to be the Savior who saves from sin. And his work of salvation in his death and resurrection makes it possible for him to now save anyone who calls on his name in repentance and faith. 

“The son of David” tells us that Jesus fulfills the prophesies that a King would one day sit on David’s throne and restore God’s people to their God. Again, Jesus’ genealogy back to David could be verified by talking with people who were still alive when this gospel account was written. 

“The son of Abraham” tells us that Jesus is the “offspring” God promised Abraham when he said, “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”.[7] And, while both Jews and Muslims look back to Abraham as the father of their people, only Christians know that Jesus was the “offspring” God promised to save people from all the nations. But it is a special delight whenever Jews and Muslims discover this truth about Jesus and become Christians, born again disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Matthew’s opening statement, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”, invites us to open our hearts to this “book” in God’s “Book” so we can have “the eyes of our hearts enlightened”[8] to what God himself has given us in his Son. And that is enough for all of us to hear Jesus calling, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,”[9] and to answer that call with repentance and faith for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life.

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

 

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[1] Jeremiah 3:15

[2] Colossians 2:1-3

[3] Isaiah 66:2 (see also Isaiah 66:5 for a similar reference)

[4] Galatians 4:4-5

[5] Matthew 1:21

[6] Romans 10:13

[7] Genesis 22:18; 26:4

[8] Ephesians 1:18

[9] Matthew 11:28

The Victory Cry Above Every Election

While I know that Christians throughout Canada will be voting for any of the political parties, there are things that unite Jesus’ church not only in individual countries, but around the whole world, and throughout every generation. God’s book describes it like this: 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”[1]

While Christians may appear to be small (and diminishing) in number, and powerless against the onslaught of the world, the flesh, and the devil, the truth is that Jesus’ church is “a great multitude that no one could number.” While they may look at political parties, and religious movements, and wars and disasters, through a variety of opinions and concerns, there is one thing Jesus’ church knows with absolute confidence. It is that, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” No country, or religion, or season of history, will take this away from Jesus’ church, or stop Jesus from bringing people into his salvation.

What referrals are available to bolster our faith in Jesus’ work of building his church? How about this: 

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”[2]

The angels have been watching God’s work since the beginning of time. What do they think when the Great Multitude sings the praises of God’s Salvation? They think, “Amen!” This glorious little word announces full agreement with whatever was just stated. This means that they are in full agreement with the declaration that, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” They are in complete agreement that God has provided one Savior to redeem people from every nation.[3] They fully concur that, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”[4]

While the “Amen!” of the angels is enough to spur the church on to hold high the shield of faith,[5] the angels continue with a beautiful expression of praise. They cry out, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever!” These seven descriptive expressions encompass the glorious completeness of God’s grace in providing such a perfect and complete salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how the world applauds anyone else, or any other name, or any philosophy, belief, or religion, everyone will one day see that all the glory goes to the God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of people throughout the world.[6]

This Canadian election, along with the soon coming American election, in harmony with tragic and terrible events taking place around the world, sing a lament of both the present and threatened dangers aimed against the children of God. Some Christians will side with those who say that addressing such tragedies and threats is fear-mongering, while others will side with those who want to stand against all forms of terrorism.

Again, while Christians may not be able to unite in such things on earth, the heavenly viewpoint is one of great agreement. And so, God’s book continues with this clarification:         

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.[7]

Why is it so important for God’s children on earth to see this Great Multitude in heaven? Why do we need to see that there is such a Great Multitude that no one can number, and that they are in full agreement among themselves, and in fellowship with all the angels of heaven, that salvation belongs to their God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb of God who takes away their sins? And, why do we need to see that this numberless multitude “are the ones coming out of the great tribulation”?

It is so that, at least in part, whenever God’s children go through seasons of great tribulation, and they are isolated from the rest of society, and lost in prisons and refugee camps, and treated with the world’s hypocritical disdain, and feel very much alone, and struggle with thoughts of whether God remembers them, they can bring to mind this picture.

What does the Church really look like when it is forced through trials and tribulations? It looks like this great multitude that no one can number, declaring their unified praises to God and the Lamb for the great salvation that has enabled them to stand before the throne. It looks like this numberless multitude from every nation, from every people-group, all with the same distinction from the world, “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

In other words, they have been washed clean by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,[8] and stand before the throne as the adopted children of God,[9] fully accepted in the beloved Savior. Tribulation did not shut down the church. When Jesus kept teaching his disciples that he would build his church, and that even the gates of hell would not prevail against it,[10] he included the clarification that, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”[11]

The church has “been justified by faith,” and so “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[12] These people have unanimously obeyed the call of the gospel, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”[13] The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, as they say, but the whole church has confessed their sins to God,[14] put their faith in Jesus Christ and his salvation,[15] and experienced the justification by faith that makes them fully righteous in God’s sight.[16] Even those presently going through, or soon facing, the greatest tribulation of their lives, will stand as part of this glorious multitude that are just like Jesus.[17]

Now, what awaits this great multitude who have come through their seasons of great tribulation with true and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the salvation that belongs to the God who sits on the throne? God’s book declares: 

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve him day and night in his temple;    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of living water,and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[18]

After God’s children have experienced  all manner of hardship and isolation because of their faith in Jesus Christ, they will one day unite “before the throne of God.”

After the people of God have endured generation after generation of tribulation and suffering under the direction of evil tyrants and leaders, they will come to serve the living and true God “day and night in his temple,” the safest place ever.

After Jesus’ church has been attacked and beaten, they will enter the presence of God where he will be their shelter forever.

After enduring all manner of hunger, and thirst, and exposure to the elements through disowning and persecution, the whole numberless multitude will hear their eternal Father declare, “No more!” They came to Jesus for rest,[19] and their heavenly home will be their rest forever.

After many experiences of isolation, and feelings of loneliness, and souls hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and sorrows spilling out in bottles full of tears,[20] Jesus’ church will feel what it is like to be in the constant, visible, presence of their shepherd who will take care of them forever. They will see Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,[21] guide them to springs of living water,[22] just as they sang repeatedly in fellowship with the saints of every generation.[23]

All this to say that, no matter what happens in today’s election, or the American election, or the invasion of Europe, or the increase of wickedness God’s book prophesies, [24] the end of the story is written as though it has already taken place.

God’s book is clear. There is no vote required. There is one God who sits on the throne, and one Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.[25]

It is fitting, no matter who gets into power in any election, or what appears to be happening in this chapter of history, that God’s children are “sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”[26] While everything on earth may appear to be against us, we can carry the picture of the great multitude with us for our constant encouragement to faith, hope, and love, in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And, in grand conclusion, I will let God’s book speak for itself: 

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.[27]

© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

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[1] Revelation 7:9-10

[2] Revelation 7:11-12

[3] John 14:6; cfMatthew 24:14; 28:18-20; Mark 13:10

[4] Acts 4:12

[5] Ephesians 6:16; context: Ephesians 6:10-20 describing the whole armor of God.

[6] John 1:29

[7] Revelation 7:13-14

[8] Isaiah 1:18; I John 1:7

[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=adoption+sons&qs_version=ESV

[10] Matthew 16:18

[11] John 16:33

[12] Romans 5:1

[13] Acts 2:38-39

[14] I John 1:9

[15] John 3:16

[16] Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1; Romans 8:28-30; Galatians 2:16; Hebrews 2:10-11

[17] I John 3:2

[18] Revelation 7:15-17

[19] Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:10-11

[20] Psalm 56:8

[21] Hebrews 13:20-21

[22] https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=ESV&quicksearch=living+water&begin=50&end=50

[23] Psalm 23:2; 23:1-6 is the whole Psalm

[24] Proverbs 29:16; Romans 1:18-32; II Timothy 3:1-5

[25] Mark 16:16; John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10

[26] Philippians 1:6

[27] Jude 1:24-25

Considerations ~ I Believe the Bible

I believe the Bible to be the written word of God because it is the only document in the world that completely explains every aspect of life without any contradiction within itself, or with anything in the world in which we live.

God chose to present his book to us through forty different men, breathed-out over a period of fifteen centuries, so that its cohesiveness could be explained only by divine authorship.

In this book, God told us of things that happened prior to the writing of the book, things that have consistently been validated by archeology and scientific testing. He also told us of things that would happen after the writing of his book, things that are also consistently validated by the witness of history.

Throughout the pages of this book are so many examples of prophecy proclaimed, and later fulfilled, that the intricacies and complexities of the descriptions leave no doubt that the same person spoke to the prophets as commanded the prophecies into their fulfillment.

In the present time alone, so many things are taking place as described in this book that was completed over nineteen centuries ago, that we not only see the foreknowledge of the author in seeing what would happen in the coming time, but the unarguable evidence of his ability to carry on to completion the good work he started in his church.

Because of this book’s perfection of thought, and its description of life in complete conformity to all we witness in the world around us, and its revelation of a Savior who “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25), the only fitting response to such a book is to “draw near to God through him,” meaning, to draw near to the God who wrote the book through faith in his Son, our Lord Jesus the Christ.

© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

Pastoral Ponderings ~ Building the Unstoppable Buildingless Church

          While I am very cautious about forcing biblical prophecies into contemporary events (or is it the other way around?), there are things so clearly revealed in God’s book that I have no doubt what to expect.

          There is a growing movement to remove Jesus’ church from the map, so to speak. Evolutionists apply their survival of the fittest philosophies to everyone else’s place in the world and hope to eradicate faith in Jesus Christ as our Creator. Lobbyist groups attack businesses of Jesus’ brothers in the belief they can shut down what God is doing to care for his family. Religions attack, persecute, and martyr believers in Jesus Christ under their own belief that they can bring Jesus’ disciples to extinction.

          At times, and in places, there is the perception that such tactics are working. Evolutionary religion has clearly gained preeminence in public school systems. Governments are granting approval to those who declare their abhorrence of God, while erasing the rights of those who abhor sin. Religious hatred and violence in some countries is so extreme that even the internet is becoming comfortable with the torture and murders of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ.

          It is clear in such times as this that God has a distinct purpose in teaching his children to live by faith instead of sight.[1] It is not that faith is blind, but that faith looks to someone other than those who make the noisiest activity before our eyes. The God who owns the universe has proven himself so decisively in creation and redemption that trusting what he says is yet to come is far more secure than even the most terrifying events that threaten our safety in this world.

          Here are some things God has written in his book that give his children absolute security that the true church will not only survive the present age, but will be victorious both now and forever.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.[2]

          This tells me that the church Jesus is building will prevail. Jesus said he would build his church on the “rock” of the apostles and prophets,[3] and so he has and is. Peter later wrote, 

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.[4]

          At the time Peter heard Jesus’ promise of success in building his church, he had no idea that this meant Jesus would be crucified for our sins.[5] He denied Jesus three times out of his fear of what people were doing to his Messiah.[6] However, neither Jesus’ death, nor Peter’s fear, has kept Jesus from building his church. On the day the Holy Spirit came upon the church in fulfillment of another of Jesus’ promises, Peter’s fearless preaching of the good news brought three thousand people into the gift of salvation Jesus’ procured[7] and secured[8] through his death.[9]

          Even in our present time, as evolutionists, lobbyists, and religionists expend great effort to stamp out Jesus’ church, the church is growing as people see the emptiness of man, the ugliness of terrorism, and the fullness of God’s love as revealed through the death of Jesus Christ. The true church, the one Jesus is building, the one that does not require buildings, or crosses, or permanent addresses in this world, is prevailing. 

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.[10]

          Jesus’ words identify that there will be “the tribulation of those days.” Just before his death, he warned his disciples, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”[11] Clearly, what he says about building and returning for his church will not be hindered by worldly trouble.

          What Jesus promises to do at the end of this period of tribulation is return for his church. As all the prophecies regarding his first coming have been verified as true and fulfilled, we have every reason to expect that same with the prophecies regarding his second coming.

          What is of note here is that, when Jesus returns, his angels “will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Later, the apostle Paul described it like this: 

 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.[12] 

          The apostles were clear that, at the return of Jesus Christ, the believers who had already died, “will rise first.” However, there will also be those “who are alive, who are left” on earth at the end of the particular tribulation Jesus identified.  Those who are alive at the return of Christ will be gathered “from the four winds,” meaning throughout the whole earth. Those who have died, will be gathered “from one end of heaven to the other.” It will happen in real-time as the dead in Christ rise first, and the ones who are left will be gathered together with them, so that all “meet the Lord in the air,” and all “will always be with the Lord.”

          While I do not know the exact nature of the sounds and sights of Jesus’ return, the fact is that he will still have a church alive on earth. He will continue building his church on the rock-solid foundation of the apostles and prophets until the moment of his return. The gates of hell will not prevail no matter how much tribulation Satan stirs up on our planet.[13] Jesus will have brothers who have died, and brothers who are still alive throughout the ordeal, and he will gather them all to be with him forever. No one can stop him. 

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.[14]

          Long before Hollywood movies popularized the stereotype of the good guys wearing the white hat, or riding the white horse, God had already written in his book that his church, the righteous, would be like a rider on a white horse. This rider, the church, would go out “conquering, and to conquer.”

          How can I believe that, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us,”[15]when professing Christians are being jailed, disowned, tortured, raped, beheaded, burned to death, shot in the head, and their buildings vandalized and destroyed?

          I can believe it because Jesus’ church is built of people who confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ died and rose again for their salvation.[16] Jesus promised that, even where only two or three of his brothers gather together in his name,[17] that he would be there “among them.”[18]

          Since I know that the church is people, not buildings, I know that the demolishing of a church-owned building is not the demolishing of the church. Since the church taking up the cross of Jesus Christ does not require one physical cross to prove we have done so, the destroying of crosses is not the destroying of the church. Purifying, yes; destroying, no!

          Because the church Jesus is building leaves behind no artifacts, and because the word of God is hidden in our hearts, the destroying of religious artifacts, and even the burning of Bibles, neither destroys Jesus’ church, or the word of God we live by.

          I do not claim that our home churches are exemplary of everything to do with the Christian life. We are the brothers of Jesus Christ growing up to be like him. It is his work; and somehow he will complete it.[19]

          However, I can testify that, having had experience in both the institutional and home church settings, the most spiritual growth and maturity I have witnessed in people’s lives has taken place without church buildings, crosses, pews, choirs, Sunday schools, youth groups, boards, business meetings, or budgets.

          In fact, in one situation where I was doing some teaching on discipleship with an institutional church family, when I asked each of them to share the most touching experience of ministry they had ever received, every one of them told about something someone did for them outside of the building, and programs of any organized church.

          My aim is not to convince people to disband any particular form of gathering together as Jesus’ church in favor of doing things the home church way.[20] Rather, I seek to remind all God’s children that the church is a spiritual body of people who belong to God the Father through his grace bringing us to faith in his Son.[21] “The one who endures to the end will be saved,”[22] simple as that.

          And, because it is Jesus who is building an enduring church, there will still be a church all around the world that is enduring when the end arrives. Wherever Jesus’ disciples are when his angels come to gather them, they will be gathered into the joy of their Savior forever.

© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

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[1] II Corinthians 5:7; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38

[2] Matthew 16:18

[3] Ephesians 2:19-22

[4] I Peter 2:4-5

[5] Even after Jesus repeatedly told his disciples he would go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and rise again, they had not been able to absorb these truths into their minds and hearts. When they took place, they were shocked, surprised, and delighted to realize that Jesus had not only accomplished such a great salvation through his death, but that he had spoken to them about these things while they were traveling with him and thinking they would never happen.

[6] Matthew 26:30-35 shows Jesus’ foretelling what Peter would do, and Matthew 26:69-75 shows Peter’s denials, much to Peter’s grief.

[7] Obtaining something, especially through particular effort. Jesus brought our salvation into existence through the effort he expended in laying down his life for our sins.

[8] Jesus not only created our salvation, but he secures it as ours forever. It is fixed, and settled, and guaranteed, and permanent. John 10:28-29 speaks of both the Father and the Son holding us in their hands, with the promise that no one can snatch Jesus’ sheep (brothers) out of the hands of the Triune God.

[9] Acts 2:1-41

[10] Matthew 24:29-31

[11] John 16:33

[12] I Thessalonians 4:16-17

[13] Revelation 12:1-17 gives descriptions of the ways Satan will stir up tribulation against God’s people.

[14] Revelation 6:1-2

[15] Romans 8:37

[16] Romans 10:9-10; Philippians 2:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:14

[17] A very important truth for home churches on some Sundays!

[18] Matthew 18:20

[19] Philippians 1:6; II Corinthians 3:18

[20] Although I certainly encourage home church fellowship and ministry when the institutional forms are either taken away, or drift too far from the worship in spirit and in truth the Father is looking for (John 4:23-24).

[21] Ephesians 2:8-10

[22] Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13