Revelation 3:11: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

We cannot lose our salvation; that is not on the table. However, we can lose our crowns. God has promised rewards for those who do certain things, and those rewards can be lost or never earned in the first place. (I have written more about this topic here.)

God cares about our faithfulness and rewards us accordingly. Those who are faithless will not lose their salvation, but they will lose their rewards. As Jesus Himself said, hold onto what you have, “that no man take thy crown”.

In today’s culture, the personality type that commands the most respect is the Alpha. An Alpha is someone who dominates his peers – by sheer force of personality, or by intimidation, or both. He is the center of attention and is able to bend others to his will to get whatever he wants, when he wants it. Alphas are concerned about their own desires and feel little empathy for others; they are experts at taking advantage of people. Thanks to their personality and their high intimidation factor, they can do terrible things and get away with it. Alphas are aggressive, self-centered, and inspire fear in others. They know how to game the system to make sure that they come out on top, and they don’t really care about who they have to crush to get there. Alphas know how to aggressively use strength to get what they want.

These traits are highly prized by the world. People love selfishness and will gladly oppress others in order to enrich themselves. There are a great many people who wish they knew how to push people around and escape the consequences of their behavior. Alphas have seemingly mastered both of those abilities, so they are seen as some sort of hero.

God, however, has a very different opinion. The personality type that He desires is meekness. God has promised to guide and teach the meek:

Psalm 25:9: “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”

He has promised to take care of the meek:

Psalm 22:26: “The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.”

He has promised to protect the meek:

Psalm 147:6: “The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.”

He has promised to give the Earth itself to the meek:

Psalm 37:11: “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

Last but not least, God has commanded us to be meek:

Zephaniah 2:3: “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”

Meekness is even one of the fruits of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Just look at the qualities listed in those two verses! They’re quite remarkable. The Spirit does not produce people who are bullies, but people who are loving. It does not produce people who love confrontations and arguments, but people who seek peace.

The next item on the list is a big one. Today’s culture loves people who are harsh and abrasive, and who publicly mock others in front of an audience of millions. Cruelty and derision are celebrated – but notice that the Spirit produces people who are longsuffering and gentle. Shows that abuse their contestants and heap ridicule on them get big ratings; people love to see others humiliated. God, however, wants people to be longsuffering and gentle. He is seeking an entirely different kind of person! Our culture loves depravity and revels in it, but God desires people who delight in goodness and righteousness. God wants people who believe, not people who reject His Word and publicly mock it.

Finally, God desires meekness and temperance. Our culture celebrates people who have zero self-control and who go off on shocking rampages, but God hates that. He seeks temperance – the ability for a person to control himself and do what is right. The culture may see out-of-control behavior as a sign of power and bravado, but God sees it as sin.

The contrast is quite stark! On the one hand you have the bully – the one who stirs up trouble, who delights in putting down others, who is cruel and heartless, who oppresses the weak, who enjoys depravity, who has no ability to restrain his actions, and who lives for himself. While the world may celebrate this behavior, God condemns it, and is using His Spirit to create a different type of people. God wants His people to be characterized by love, to seek peace, to be willing to suffer, to be gentle and kind, to seek goodness, to control themselves, and to be meek. The world loves those who are proud and arrogant, but God values the lowly:

Ephesians 4:1: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The world hates lowliness. Our streets are full of people who say “Look at me! Look at how great I am! Be amazed at my greatness!” There are even Christian leaders who love to trumpet their “brand”, as they call it; they make much of themselves and want everyone to know how great they are and what great things they have done. No one wants to be lowly or unknown or humble. We want to be Big and Important and Known and Respected.

But God seeks men who are lowly and meek. He hates pride and commands all men to be humble. He wants people to think little of themselves but think much of others:

Philippians 2:3: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

God desires people who seek the welfare of others, not the welfare of themselves:

I Corinthians 13:4: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

God wants people to be kind and not behave in “unseemly” ways. He has no respect for people who trash hotel rooms and destroy people’s lives just to show how “Alpha” they are. God does not want His children to be self-centered jerks; instead He commands us to not seek our own welfare but instead seek the welfare of others. God takes no joy in those who are easily offended, but instead commands us to not be easily provoked. In today’s world many people enjoy depravity and hate the truth; God seeks those who hate evil and love the truth.

Being meek does not mean that you are spiritless and tame, nor does it mean that you are weak. What it does mean is that you are humble. You think much of God and little of yourself. You have fully submitted yourself to God and you seek His will, not your own. It means that you love your neighbor and you seek his welfare – even if it costs you something.

The world will interpret your Christlike behavior as weakness and will despise it; they will see you as an easy target and will take advantage of you. History is full of meek men who were despised and abused by the world. The Bible tells us that Moses was meek:

Numbers 12:3: “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)”

This particular passage records a time when Moses was unfairly criticized by Aaron and Miriam. Now, when this happened Moses did not rail against them or try to avenge himself. An Alpha would have found a clever way to put Aaron and Miriam back in their place and make sure that they never caused trouble again. That is why Alphas are feared.

God, however, said that vengeance belongs to Him; it is not our place to avenge ourselves. Moses did nothing – and so God Himself acted:

Numbers 12:4: “And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.”

God saw the unjust criticism that had been leveled against Moses and He acted. It may seem to the world that refusing to avenge ourselves makes us weak, but that’s only because they do not understand. Vengeance belongs to God alone, and there is nothing weak about Him. Any revenge that man could conceive of pales in comparison to what God will do on Judgment Day. God is far more dangerous than any man.

Yet, Jesus described Himself as being meek:

Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Was Jesus weak? Was He spineless? Absolutely not! Jesus, after all, threw the moneychangers out of the temple:

Matthew 21:12: “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

He also condemned the Pharisees using rather shocking language:

Matthew 23:27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. . .
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

How could Jesus be meek and still do these things? The answer is simple: meekness is not a synonym of weakness. God wants us to be meek and to boldly proclaim the truth. The apostles themselves prayed for a spirit of boldness:

Acts 4:29: “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,”

Meekness does not mean that we are to sit in a corner and do nothing. Numbers 12:3 says that Moses was the most meek man on the face of the Earth, and yet he defied Pharaoh himself and led the Israelites out of Egypt. The meekness of Moses did not stop him from leading Israel into battle. Likewise, Jesus was meek but He did not hesitate to proclaim the truth – no matter how much it might have offended people.

Nor does meekness equate to powerlessness. Jesus is meek, and yet all power in Heaven and Earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). Our Lord is not powerless, but He is meek. The key is that Jesus uses His power to glorify His Father. He dies not seek His own will, but the will of His Father (John 5:30). Jesus is kind and gentle; He is merciful to the weak and to the poor, and He lifts up the fallen. He is longsuffering and slow to anger. He sought our welfare and came to die in our place, so that we might be forgiven.

What kind of person does God want us to be? The answer is simple:

Titus 3:2: “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

1 Peter 3:4: “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Having a meek and quiet spirit may not win you many friends and it may not win you the acclaim of the world, but it is highly valued in the sight of God. The Lord wants His children to be quiet and humble, to serve others and to consider others to be better than themselves. He doesn’t want us to dominate other people and force them to do our will; instead He wants us to love and serve one another:

Luke 22:24: “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.”

God does not want us to be like the world. He doesn’t want us to oppress others or find clever ways to take advantage of other people; instead He wants us to serve others with love and gentleness. He wants us to pursue meekness and gentleness.

All of this goes against the grain of our culture, and it is a difficult thing to accept – but it is vital. I suspect that there are quite a few Christians who would find Heaven to be a very uncomfortable place. You see, there are many people who call themselves Christians but who spend their entire lives making much of themselves and making very little of God. Heaven, however, isn’t like that. Heaven is not filled with billions of people who are all saying “Look at me! Look at how great I am!” Instead, it is filled with countless people, all of whom are spending all of their time talking about how great God is:

Revelation 4:8: “And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Heaven is a place where God is glorified, and where people will spend all of eternity honoring and praising Him. It is not filled with self-centered narcissists who spend their time talking about their own greatness, or who spend their lives trying to win the praise of others.

I think it is time we stopped thinking like the world and started seeking to be the kind of person that God commands. The world may prize selfishness, but what the world prizes the Lord holds in very low esteem:

Luke 16:15: “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

The book of Revelation is full of symbolism, mystery, and things that are rather odd (like the time the apostle John ate a book). Of all of its secrets, however, the one that is the most mysterious of all is probably the Seven Thunders:

Revelation 10:1: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”

Notice that the passage tells us that seven “thunders” said something – and that John wasn’t allowed to tell us what they had to say! All we are permitted to know is that they did, in fact, say something. Their words, however, are a mystery.

I have done some research on this passage, and as far as I can tell no one has any idea what they said. All we can do is speculate because the contents of their message is a secret. God simply ordered John not to tell us, and he didn’t.

Some people think that when we get to Heaven we will know everything there is to know – that as soon as we set foot in Paradise we will be zapped with the full knowledge of God. I think this is highly unlikely. There are a number of things that God simply does not share with mankind; He has told us many things, but not everything. The mystery of the Seven Thunders is one example, but it is not the only one. Paul was once given a vision of Heaven, but God would not allow him to talk about it:

2 Corinthians 12:1: “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

One aspect of God that we tend to overlook is that sometimes God deliberately keeps things hidden:

Proverbs 25:2: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

Sometimes God keeps things hidden for millennia. Adam and Eve knew that a Savior would come, but the full details were not revealed until the days of the prophets – more than a thousand years later. There are some things that God chooses to reveal to us, and there are other things that He keeps secret; that is His prerogative as God. As the Bible says:

Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

It is entirely possible that there are some secrets that God will keep for all of eternity. There are other things, though, that God has revealed to us – and those things belong to us and to our children forever, so that we might serve Him.

The Seven Thunders is one of the great mysteries of Revelation, but it will not be a mystery forever. The day will come when it is finally time for the Thunders to speak, and when that happens we will be in Heaven to hear it. We will then know exactly what John was not permitted to reveal.

Revelation 3:7: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The church at Philadelphia represents the Age of Missions (1648 – 1900). Here Jesus calls Himself “he that openeth, and no man shutteth”. In the Age of Missions virtually every country in the world was open to missionaries. God opened a door and the church took advantage of it, sending missionaries all over the world to preach the gospel.

Revelation 3:8: “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”

Jesus has no condemnation for this church. A door was opened for missions, and God was the one who opened the door. He said that this church “hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”. God was very pleased with this church!

Revelation 3:9: “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”

Who are those who say they are Jews, and do lie? Well, during this time numerous cults arose – Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and others. One of the odd things about these cults is that they claim to be the “true” Jews, even though they are not. Notice that Jesus says these cults are “the synagogue of Satan”! These groups oppose the real gospel, but Jesus said that one day He will make it very clear to them that He has loved us.

Revelation 3:10: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

This is more evidence that these letters have historic interpretations. The actual church at Philadelphia disappeared a very long time ago; they were never in any danger of going through the Tribulation no matter what they did. However, there are still some remnants of the Church of Philadelphia left, in the sense that there are still churches which are faithful, which are pursuing missions, and which have “kept the word of my patience”. These churches (unlike the Church of Jezebel) will be taken up in the Rapture and thus kept from the Tribulation.

Some churches will be a part of the Rapture and others will not. The deciding factor is whether the church is actually alive or dead. The dead churches – those composed of the lost – will be left behind. This would include state churches, Catholic churches, Mormons, etc. The living churches – churches like the one of Philadelphia – will be a part of the Rapture.

Notice also what verse 10 says. We are going to be kept “from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” If this hour of temptation is going to come upon all the world, and will try everyone who dwells upon the earth, then how will we be kept from it? By not being on the Earth at the time! We will be in Heaven, out of reach; Jesus will come and take His bride away before the Tribulation begins.

Some have claimed that this just means that Christians will be protected during the Tribulation, but that is not the case at all: the Beast is actually given power to overcome the saints, and Christians are beheaded by the millions. What this verse is talking about is the Rapture. The faithful church will be protected from it because it will not be around at that time.

Revelation 3:5: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

Jesus promised that those who repent and believe in Him will be saved. In the Bible clothing is symbolic of righteousness, so those who are clothed in white garments are righteous. Notice, however, that Jesus says these people “shall be clothed in white raiment”. The white garments are not their own, but are garments that were given to them by God. Our righteousness is not our own; it was given to us by Jesus Christ. We are wearing His clothing, as it were.

This is a key point. Our own righteousness cannot save us; our only hope is for Jesus to give us His righteousness. Our works are useless and our efforts are futile. This is yet another reason why Jesus is the only way to be saved: only His righteousness is good enough. We must be clothed in the garments that He gives, or else we will be lost.

The promise here is that he who overcomes (meaning those who repent and believe in Jesus) will not have their names blotted out of the book of life. This means that we will be forgiven and we will go on to inherit everlasting life; our eternal destiny is assured.

This week’s lesson is a look at the book of Job. Since it’s a bit longer than normal I’ve decided to post it as a PDF file. You can find it here:

Job

Thanks!

I once came across an article that said that “chance” was an evil idea that had no place in Christian theology. The author claimed that nothing ever happened by chance, because God governs all things.

While I agree that God is sovereign, I do not believe that “chance” is a bad concept. The word “chance” does appear in the Bible, and the book of Ecclesiastes actually says that random chance has a significant impact on mankind:

Ecclesiastes 9:11: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

Now, in one sense it is true that there is no such thing as chance. God does govern all things, and His control is absolute. As the book of Proverbs points out, even things like the throw of dice are governed by God:

Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”

So, then, from God’s perspective, there is no such thing as chance. From our perspective, though, things are quite different. When we “just happen” to meet an old friend in the supermarket, it may be true that the meeting was foreordained by God before the world began – but the fact remains that out of hundreds of trips to the store it only happened once, and there is no good reason to believe you will see them again on your next visit.

When God looks into our future He sees certainties, but all we can see are probabilities. There is no good reason to believe that on my next visit to the store I will be attacked by a tiger, or find a $500 bill lying on the ground; statistically speaking, neither of those events happen very often. If a cow happens to fall out of the sky and destroys my car while I am inside shopping, we would call that “being unlucky” because, statistically speaking, events like that are rare. The word “chance” is just a way to describe events that happen infrequently. It does not mean that God was unaware of the event or did not ordain it, but it does mean that we had no good reason to expect it to happen.

The point Ecclesiastes is making is that the fastest person does not always win the race, and the strongest nation does not always win the battle. Sometimes unexpected things come up and the faster person loses to the slower one, or the weak overcome the mighty. We like to think that the “best” person always wins, but that is not always the case. Sometimes a good manuscript is rejected while a bad manuscript is published. Sometimes the better candidate gets passed over for the job. Victory simply does not always go to the most deserving person, and the reason is because unexpected events can have a tremendous impact.

From our perspective there is a great deal of luck and chance involved in life. You may have two people who worked equally hard, but one of them might fail simply because they ran into an unusual setback that no one could have foreseen. Very rare and life-changing events (also known as “time and chance”) happen to us all, and they have a definite impact on our lives.

So do not be too hard on the word “chance”. It does convey a concept that is worth thinking about.

Revelation 3:1: “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

Sardis represents the church of the Reformation (1517 – 1648). We can see that Jesus gets right to the point: despite this church’s reputation, they are actually dead. They have the appearance of life but they’re not actually alive.

Why is that? Well, today when we talk about the Reformation we tend to focus on the fact that Martin Luther accused the Catholic Church of preaching a false gospel. While Luther was exactly right about that, what we overlook is what happened after people began splitting away from the Catholic Church. In each country the newly-formed Protestant churches became state churches, just like the church that they were leaving! In Germany there was the Lutheran Church; in England there was the Anglican Church; and in Switzerland there was the Reformed Church. All of these churches were state churches, which meant that the whole country was required to be a member – both those who believed and those who did not. A state church is not a genuine church, but is a dead one. This is why Jesus was so upset with these churches: by forcing everyone to be a member, what you ended up with was not a living body but a corpse. Although their creeds may have been good, their pews were filled with people who were spiritually dead, so therefore the churches were spiritually dead as well.

Revelation 3:3: “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

Jesus urges this church to repent and become spiritually alive. He points out that if they stay spiritually dead they will be caught by surprise when He returns – and as a result they will be left behind.

In Europe there are a great many grand cathedrals, but few people attend them and even fewer are spiritually alive. Many of these people are not looking for Jesus to return and have no real interest in spiritual matters. When He does come back they will be caught by surprise, and since they are not actually Christians at all they will be left behind.

Incidentally, this is another indication that these letters actually give an overview of church history. The church at Sardis did not see the Lord return; it disappeared a very long time ago. Despite this, Jesus said “I will come on thee as a thief”. However, the dead reformed churches of Europe are still around, and they will remain until the Lord returns – at which time He will indeed “come on thee as a thief”. The promise makes sense if applied historically; it does not make sense if applied to the ancient (and long-gone) church at Sardis.

This week I’ve been working on a new project, and I’m pretty excited about it. Over the past year or so I’ve developed software that can generate character profiles, book titles, chapter titles, and even book summaries. Since all of that worked out pretty well, I’ve decided to take the next step and start writing a program that can generate entire books.

With that in mind, behold the Tom Swift Simulator:

This piece of software isn’t online yet, and it probably won’t be online for some time. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done before it’s ready for prime time. It is coming along well, but it is a huge project and it will take a lot of time to finish.

I think that I’ve found an approach that will work. when I first started thinking about this I thought that I could generate books the same way I generated chapter titles. To generate a Tom Swift title I just use a simple formula:

TOM SWIFT AND HIS $ADJECTIVE $NOUN

Once I had the formula it was just a matter of coming up with long lists of appropriate adjectives and nouns, and then sticking them together at random. That approach works great for titles – but it does not work for books.

So I’ve decided to take another approach: I’m building a simulator. As you can see in the screenshot, it simulates a bunch of different characters as they go about their days. Tom gets up, goes to work, works, and comes home. Each character is simulated (although the user only sees the actions of the character that currently has the focus). Over time, the simulation will get better and more detailed. Random events will occur during the day, and characters will react to them based on their profiles. Adventures will happen.

Once I have a good simulator I’ll be most of the way to a book generator. After all, a book in its most basic form is just a listing of events that happened to someone. Once I have the events, it’s just a matter of generating the right prose to describe those events, and that is a very doable task.

I’m not claiming that these randomly generated books are going to be Shakespeare or win any awards, but I think that if the simulation is good the books will be somewhat decent. It’ll be an interesting experiment.

Ultimately I would like to go beyond books and offer users an interactive experience. Instead of reading a story, you could experience it. You could make choices and see what happens next. Instead of reading the adventure you could have the adventure. What would really be neat is if you could take part in an interactive world that simply Keeps Going On.

All of that is pretty far away, though – but the first steps toward that have been taken. I am hoping that more steps will follow, in time.

Revelation 2:18: “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;”

Thyatira represents the church of the Dark Ages (600 – 1517). These were the days before the Reformation, when the Catholic Church was in power.

Revelation 2:19: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”

This was a church that was characterized by works, to such an extent that Jesus said that was their most notable quality. However, the Lord had a great deal against this church:

Revelation 2:20: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

There is something very interesting going on in this passage. Verses like these are part of the reason why people think these letters are an overview of church history, and not just letters to a few local churches.

You see, Jezebel is a Phoenecian name. By the time this letter was written the Phoenecians had disappeared and been absorbed into the Greek culture. This means it was highly unlikely that there was anyone at that church who was actually named Jezebel. On top of that, this church was located in Asia Minor, not in Phoenecia – which makes it even more unlikely. This rather strongly implies that Jezebel is not an actual person, but is symbolic of something.

Throughout the Bible women are symbolic of religious entities. Sometimes they represent good entities (such as the Bride of Christ) and sometimes they represent bad ones (such as the Harlot that rides the Beast). Jezebel happens to be an especially important character, because she is the one who introduced paganism to Israel. Before she came to power Israel had been worshiping idols, but they had used the idols to worship God (which God hated). However, Jezebel changed that by introducing foreign gods and teaching Israel worship Baal – which is something they hadn’t done before. Jezebel led Israel into total idolatry.

What was taking place during the Middle Ages? Well, by that point the state church had become the Catholic Church, which is dedicated to paganism, idolatry, and false teaching. (I have documented this extensively elsewhere, so I will not go into it here.) It is very likely that Jezebel is symbolic of Catholicism.

Notice also that verse 22 says that this woman will be cast into “great tribulation”. This is another reason why these churches probably represent different periods of church history. After all, no woman who was alive in the days of John could possibly be forced to endure the Great Tribulation; she would have died millennia ago! However, if Jezebel is symbolic then it makes more sense. The Catholic Church still exists and has not repented of its sins; it still preaches a false gospel and is still leading countless souls to Hell. Because of this the Lord is going to punish it by forcing it to endure the Tribulation.

Notice also that Jesus said “I will kill her children with death”. What makes that judgment so interesting is that for 15 centuries the Catholic Church hunted down and executed people who believed that they were saved by grace through faith alone. The Catholic Church murdered God’s children, so in return God will kill her children. The only ones who will be spared are the ones who had nothing to do with “this doctrine”.

Jezebel is an excellent symbol of Catholicism. Jezebel lured Israel away from the true God by instituting all manner of idolatry; likewise Catholicism lures many away from the true God by instituting all manner of idolatry (icons; images; worship of Mary; salvation by works; etc.). The true Church will be raptured, but the Catholic Church will not.

It’s worth noting that out of all those who call themselves Christians, 1.2 billion are Catholics and 400 million are Protestants. Catholics overwhelmingly believe a works gospel, so it is very likely that hardly any of them are saved. As far as the Protestants go, polling data suggests that less than 10% of them are actually saved. If the Rapture were to happen today, it is very possible that less than 100 million people would disappear – which is less than 2% of the world’s population. It’s certainly enough to be noticed, but the number of people who will be left behind is staggering.

There is one more point that should not be overlooked:

Revelation 2:26: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.

For centuries the Catholic Church ruled over the nations. The Pope actually had armies at his command, and he sent them out to murder all those who refused to bow down to him. This must have been very disheartening to the true Christians who lived at that time, as they were ruthlessly hunted down and slaughtered. Here God is reminding them that He is the one who has all power, and promises that those who believe in Jesus will have the privilege of reigning with Christ. The Pope may have great power, but God has pronounced judgment upon him.

In other words, the Catholic Church, which once reigned over the nations, is destined for judgment. Believers, who were persecuted by the Catholic Church, are destined to reign over the nations with Christ. Those who put their trust in Christ instead of in their own works will inherit the Earth, just as He promised.

Despite what many people have been led to believe, the Bible never commands us to look to Mary (the mother of Jesus) as an example of a godly woman. The Bible also never commands us to praise Mary, worship her, sing songs to her, or pray to her. In fact, the one time someone in the Bible tried to praise Mary, the Lord Jesus Christ immediately stopped her:

Luke 11:27: “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Notice how Christ simply did not allow the adoration of Mary. He immediately corrected this woman and said that the people who are truly blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Jesus was not a fan of Mary worship.

This does not mean that the Scriptures contains no good role models for women. There is someone that the Bible holds up as an example for other women to follow. That person is Sarah, the wife of Abraham:

Isaiah 51:2: “Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.”

The apostle Peter has a lot more to say about this. He explains why Sarah was such a good role model:

I Peter 3:1: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”

What Peter is saying is this: the reason Sarah makes such a great role model is because she submitted herself to her husband Abraham and obeyed him. Women are to submit themselves to their husbands and Sarah did exactly that; therefore, she is a role model for other women. Those who follow her example are daughters of Sarah.

There are two facts about this subject that amaze me. The first fact is that the Bible is very clear about God’s will for both men and women. Neither gender is left guessing about what God wants them to do or how God wants them to behave. The fact is that many modern women are completely opposed to what God has told them, to the point where many pastors are terrified of this subject and avoid it. I’m not just talking about lost women here; many women who claim to be Christians have rejected God’s will for their lives. They know what the Bible teaches and they know what God has said, and they have rejected it. They are not interested. They have knowingly and deliberately chosen a life of rebellion, and they are proud of that choice. I honestly believe that many women would rather die than humble themselves before God and obey His commands. They are just never going to do it.

Before we get off-track, let me be clear that the real issue here is whether we will humble ourselves before God and obey Him. When God gives us a command, the only issue is whether we will obey it or whether we will disobey it and rebel against Him. Are we willing to submit ourselves to God and do what He has said, or are we going to reject His authority and do what we want instead? The issue is not “Women are disobeying their husbands”; instead, it is “God has commanded women to obey their husbands, and women have refused”. The disobedience is to God – as is the case with all sin.

For the record, God has been quite clear about His views on the roles of men and women, and His words contain instructions for both genders. This is what the Bible has to say to husbands:

Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; …
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

Colossians 3:19: “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”

I Peter 3:7: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

Men are commanded to love their wives – even if the cost is very high. Interestingly, there is no organized movement among men to overthrow these verses. Christian men have not formed groups and shouted to the world that they will never love their wives. Pastors do not hesitate to preach these verses and hold men to account. No one is afraid of condemning men for their sins, and no one trembles at the thought of bringing up these passages and publicly rebuking the male sex. For their part, Christian men do try to love their wives as best they can. This is not to say that men are sinless or that all men do this perfectly, but I will say that it is pretty much impossible to find a Christian man who will say “I refuse to love my wife and I am proud of it.” It just doesn’t happen.

The Bible is equally clear about God’s will for wives. They are to submit themselves to their husbands:

Ephesians 5:22: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

Some people claim that this is a “mutual submission” situation, where the husband and wife submit to each other, but that is utter nonsense. These verses are very simple to understand: the husband is the head of the wife. He is in charge. The wife is under his authority, and she is to submit to her husband in every thing and obey him. He is the leader and is commanded to love her; she is the follower (or First Officer, if you would rather look at it that way) and is commanded to obey him.

Why is this the case? Because women were actually created for men:

I Corinthians 11:7: “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”

This goes back to Creation itself: women were created from men and for men. Few people would dare say this today – even in churches – but it is the truth. (The fact that some truths are no longer welcome even in church is a very bad thing. When did the truth become unacceptable to the people of God? Do we not realize that He is greatly dishonored when we view His Words with distaste and unease?)

God repeats the idea that wives should submit themselves to their husbands:

Colossians 3:18: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”

And He repeats it again – this time through the apostle Peter (lest anyone say “It was all Paul’s idea”):

I Peter 3:1: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:”

God commands wives to have a meek and quiet spirit; they are to honor Him by obeying their husbands. The commandment is clear, simple, and direct. There is nothing murky or uncertain about it.

The Lord is also clear about women’s role in church:

I Timothy 2:11: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

Inside the church, women are not allowed to have positions of authority over men; it is strictly forbidden. They may not be pastors or deacons. Once again we see that God has given the authority to men and has commanded women to submit.

Many women, however, will not obey these commands. They utterly and passionately reject them. They are not concerned about God’s will for their lives; instead, they want their will and their way. They want their husbands to keep their part (“You have to love me the way Christ loved the church!”), but they would rather die than keep their end of the deal (“I will never, ever submit to you. Ever.”). In fact, their rejection of these commands is so strong that many pastors avoid this topic entirely – and if they do teach on it, they water it down beyond recognition or preach it on a night when no one is there.

Women have come up with many ways to attack these verses, but none of their arguments have any merit. Some people claim “I can’t obey my husband! What if he asks me to kill someone?” This is nonsense – for a host of reasons. First of all, it is an absurd corner case. There is not an epidemic of husbands out there who are trying to lure their wives into a life of crime. Colossians 3:18 makes it quite clear that this submission does not include committing crimes. Besides, this is a false argument. When women say this they never mean “Well, I’ll obey my husbands in everything except committing crimes”. What they really mean is this: “How dare you suggest I should submit myself to my husband! No one has the right to tell me what to do.” What really upsets women is the idea that their husband has authority over them. Corner cases like this are just a cheap excuse to reject a very clear and direct commandment.

There are other people who say “Well, the apostles were wrong. They hated women. Besides, their views on relationships are old and outdated.” This is also a false argument, because the people who are making it don’t actually believe it. How do we know this? Because the very women who say these things still demand that their husbands love them. They never say “Since I’m rejecting what Paul says to wives, it’s ok for my husband to reject what he says to husbands”. While they reject their part of the deal, they still claim that Paul’s commandments to their husbands are binding. Once again, the real issue is the fact that they don’t like these commandments. If the apostles had said something more to their liking then the argument would never have been made in the first place.

It is utter madness to reject the authority of all of the apostles just because you don’t like what they taught. Not only did these apostles have Jesus Christ’s personal stamp of approval, but God used these men to do incredible things like raise the dead. There are no grounds for claiming that God wasn’t with them or that their writings were not inspired. The Bible is the Word of God and its every word (in both the Old and New Testament) is perfect and infallible; those who reject it are in rebellion against God, and God does not take that lightly. You simply do not have the right to go through the Bible and toss out the parts you don’t like – nor do you have the right to throw out the commandments of God that are distasteful to you.

If we were all honest with each other, the issue really boils down to this: some people don’t like some of the things that God has said and so they’ve rejected those things. It’s really not any more complicated than that. When they had to choose between what they wanted and what God commanded, they chose themselves over God. That decision, however, is a very momentous one. It is a frightening thing to look God in the eye and say “I refuse to obey You”. The apostle John explains why:

I John 2:3: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

As you can see, one of the hallmarks of a true Christian is that he obeys the commandments of God. This doesn’t mean that he always obeys them perfectly or that he never sins; instead it means that he has wholly submitted himself to God’s authority and is always seeking to obey God more perfectly. When he sins he repents and seeks forgiveness and grace; he loathes his sin and fights it and longs to be made more like his sinless Savior. He is always on guard against sin, and as he comes to understand the Word better he changes his life to more perfectly honor God. All true Christians have the same point of view: “Yes, Lord Jesus, you are in charge. You are my king. You call the shots; I will do as you say. I have no will of my own; my only will is to serve and honor You.” Those who refuse to do this – those who stand up and say “I refuse to obey You” – do not know God. They are not of Him. This type of rebellion comes from a heart that has rejected the lordship of Christ, and that rebellion is fatal. As Christians you cannot tell God no. You do not have that option. In fact, as Christians, that very thought should be unthinkable and should fill us with utter horror. Those who live a life of casually dismissing God and doing their own will simply do not know Him at all. They are not His.

Now, I am not saying that our works save us; that is not the issue at all. The real problem is that we can only be saved if Jesus is our Savior and our Lord. If we utterly reject His authority then we are lost. If we say “I know the commandments of God and I reject them; I am going to do what I want instead”, then we are lost. That road leads straight to Hell. Our sins cannot take away our salvation because our salvation cannot be lost; however, if we have never humbled ourselves before God and submitted to His authority then we have never been saved at all.

True believers act very differently when they hear the words of God. King Josiah is a great example of this. When he heard the commands of God he responded with repentance:

2 Kings 22:11: “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
13 Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.”

When King Josiah heard the Law he trembled and was afraid. He was greatly upset, because he knew that his people had not kept it and he knew that God was not to be trifled with. Josiah quaked before the words of God. The Lord honored this, and spoke comforting words to Josiah:

2 Chronicles 34:27: “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.
28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.”

When we tremble before God and humble ourselves, He will hear and forgive us. He will change our lives and make us His. However, there are many who refuse to humble themselves before God. They have a very different reaction to His Word, as we can see in the case of King Jehoiakim:

Jeremiah 36:22: “Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.”

When God, in His great mercy, sent a warning to King Jehoiakim, the king did not humble himself as Josiah had. No, this king was not concerned. He didn’t care what God had to say and he placed no value on His words. He just cut up the scroll and threw the pieces into the fire, as if they were some kind of garbage. Needless to say, God was not amused:

Jeremiah 36:27: “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
30 Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
31 And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.”

God honored King Josiah, who humbled himself and submitted to the Lord, and He cursed King Jehoiakim, who trashed His Word and treated it like garbage. God has not changed; that is still His policy.

The real issue here is not a wife’s rebellion against her husband; instead it is an individual’s rebellion against God. No Christian has the right to tell God no, and no Christian is allowed to remove from the Bible the passages that they don’t like. Any time a person stands up and rejects the words of God, they are in trouble. When a person has made the decision that they will not obey God – that they will knowingly and deliberately reject the express commandment of God and do their own thing instead – then they are doing exactly what King Jehoiakim did. It is one thing for a Christian to strive to obey God and fail; it is an entirely different thing to look at God and say “How dare you tell me what to do!” That is a very serious matter.

Those who humble themselves before God and submit to Him will find mercy, as Josiah did. Likewise, those who trash His word and reject it will face His wrath. Those are your only two options.

After a great deal of work, the next stage of my online book generators is finally up and running. The Tom Swift generator used to give you book titles and book summaries, but it now has an extra feature: book excerpts! If you run the generator you will get a book title, a book summary, and a list of excerpts from it. It’s actually kind of cool.

You can find the generator here:

Tom Swift Summary Generator

It’s written entirely in Javascript and should run on just about anything, anywhere. Here is an example of the output:

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC EXOSUIT
by Victor Appleton II

An unmarked bus attacks Washington D.C. and vanishes before Tom can track it down. Shortly after comes the terrible news that an Umbriel rocket, carrying priceless artifacts, has been lost in space. Tom is confident that with his latest invention — the electric exosuit — he can avert a catastrophe. But a series of disasters threatens his plan. A cryptic warning prompts Tom to accept an invitation from a Scottish barber named Maxwell to visit him in a forgotten canal in Lebanon.

Tom finds himself facing an exciting challenge – hunting for a lost race of aliens that is rumored to be on Umbriel. The technical challenges and environmental hazards are enormous, so the young inventor plunges himself into building his electric exosuit. He soon realizes that the environmental dangers are the least of his problems. Powerful rebels have arrayed themselves against him, and are determined to stop him at all costs!

Every scientific detail of this exciting story has been carefully checked. Tom Swift’s inventions may be years ahead of the time, but they are all plausible and some day you may see them in use.

==================================

Here are some exciting excerpts from the book!

“Dad!” cried Tom in a stricken voice, as he rushed to his father’s side.

Doc Simpson followed. “Your dad must have been jolted off his feet and knocked out,” he said, examining an ugly bruise on the scientist’s forehead. “Help me carry him to a bunk.”

The young medic worked over Mr. Swift for several minutes but failed to restore him to consciousness.

“What do you think the trouble is?” Tom asked anxiously.

“I’m afraid that he may have a concussion,” Doc replied gravely. “I’m hoping I’m wrong, but we’d better get him to a hospital as quickly as possible.”

. . . . .

“How’s Lyons coming?” Tom inquired.

“Not too good. I’m forced to keep him under sedation. When I don’t, he becomes violent.”

“What’s your diagnosis?”

The medic groaned. “Hard to say exactly. He shows definite schizophrenic symptoms.”

“Does that mean that he was mentally unbalanced even before this happened?” Tom asked.

“Not necessarily. It could have been brought on by drugs, such as lysergic acid or one of the adrenalin derivatives. I have a hunch someone may have doped him, in order to give him enough courage to smash your invention.”

Tom asked how soon the effects of such drugs would wear off.

“It should be fairly soon now,” Doc replied. “Perhaps within the next day or two.”

. . . . .

One day Tom looked up from his work and smiled. He had just heard the sound of a booming voice and high-heeled cowboy boots.

“Well, brand my three-toed bronc, what kind o’ doo-funny you workin’ on now, Tom?”

The speaker was Chow Winkler, a bowlegged, weather-beaten, roly-poly former range cook from Texas. Now the head chef for all Swift expeditions, he had been vacationing since the last trip.

“Hi, Chow!” Tom grinned. The sight of the lovable, good-natured Westerner always cheered him up when he was troubled by tough, scientific problems. “I just got a brilliant idea!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“We’ll take out a patent on that shirt you’re wearing and put it on the market as a sure cure for color blindness!”

Chow chuckled as he looked down at his loud red-yellow-and-purple Western-style shirt. Far from taking offense, he was proud of his spectacular shirt collection.

. . . . .

That evening a farewell party was held at the Swift home, attended by Bud and the Newtons. There were bright decorations and rousing songs. But there was an underlying note of sadness.

“Do you think you can be home by Christmas, son?” Mrs. Swift asked, trying hard to keep her voice cheerful.

“I’m afraid not, Mother,” Tom replied. “But you can be sure of one thing-I’ll come back just as fast as I can!”

. . . . .

Mr. Swift was shocked. “Tom, this is outrageous! The results might have been fatal for every American!” After a worried pause, he added, “The State Department has made a protest to Brungaria but so far has received no reply.”

“What if they shoot at us again, Dad?”

“Don’t start a war at any cost!”

To read more of this thrilling adventure, go to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC EXOSUIT! It’s available wherever this book is sold.

==================================

Today I’m going to look at a few oddities that deal with angels. Angels are mentioned more than 200 times in the Bible and are a fairly popular subject. Despite their popularity, however, much of what the Bible has to say about them is ignored. A lot of the popular “common knowledge” regarding angels is actually wrong – for example, all of the angels in the Bible are men (there is no mention of any female angels), and no angels sang at the birth of Christ.

My aim is not to make an exhaustive list of everything that the Bible has to say about angels, but instead to mention a few bits of information that tend to get overlooked. For example, angels have a sense of curiosity:

1 Peter 1:12: “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”

The angels are quite interested in our salvation! That subject grabs their attention. This does make sense, if you think about it: mankind has been given a gift that the angels have not received. When Lucifer fell and brought down many angels with him, God did not launch a plan of salvation for angels. It is impossible for the fallen angels to be saved – Christ died to save the sins of man, not the sins of angels. The angels do not have a redeemer. All of the angels who have sinned are lost forever, with no hope of salvation. (I am not saying that the demons are looking for salvation or desire it; I’m simply saying that it is utterly impossible.)

In other words, salvation is an experience that no angel will ever have. The gospel is something special that is only for mankind, and angels are very curious about it.
 

As it turns out, the angels were also interested in the apostles:

1 Corinthians 4:9: “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”

Paul points out that the apostles are a spectacle to the world, to men, and to angels. Since angels are interested in the gospel, it only makes sense that they would be interested in the ministers that God appointed to preach the gospel. God used the apostles in mighty ways and yet they were despised, persecuted, abused, trampled upon, and (in many cases) executed. These church leaders (appointed by Jesus Christ Himself) were set forth as being the least, appointed unto death.

Christ warned His disciples that it would be that way. He told them that “he that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11), and he warned them that the highest positions of authority in the kingdom were purchased through immense suffering and pain (Matthew 20:22). Those who suffer the most for Christ will be rewarded the most.
 

The Bible also tells us that one day we will judge angels:

1 Corinthians 6:3: “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”

Some people have tried to argue that this verse is talking about human messengers, not angelic beings. However, the whole point Paul is making is that since we will one day judge angels, then surely we can judge matters between one another!

I believe Paul is saying that one day we will be given authority over the angels. Christ said in Revelation 3:21 that “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne”. Christ certainly has authority over the angels; if He is going to share that authority with us then that would confirm the idea that one day we will rule over them.
 

Another odd fact is that apparently there is angelic food. When talking about Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan the psalmist said this:

Psalm 78:24: “And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25 Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.”

Do the angels really eat food, or is the psalmist just being poetic? It’s hard to say based on just that one passage, but there’s also the curious experience of Elijah:

I Kings 19:5: “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”

It would seem that while Elijah was sleeping, a being from Heaven cooked him a meal that was so potent that it not only revived him, but it gave him enough energy to travel for 40 days and nights! That angelic food is pretty powerful stuff.
 

We’re not done yet though. The apostle Paul tells us that the Mosaic Law was ordained by angels:

Galatians 3:19: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”

This seems rather astonishing, but it’s not the only place we find this idea in the Bible. Paul is echoing what Stephen told the Pharisees right before he was killed:

Acts 7:52: “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”

In other words, the angels were actually involved in giving the Law to mankind! They played a role that is pretty much never talked about.
 

There is one more point, and I have saved the most bizarre one for last. Paul says that women should keep their heads covered in church because of the angels:

1 Corinthians 11:10: “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

I don’t think Paul is talking about messengers between churches or anything like that; I think he really does mean angels. There may be more going on here than you might think.

Back in the Old Testament, in the days before the Flood, there was a time when some angels became enraptured with the beauty of human women and actually had children with them (Genesis 6:1-2). This, however, was an awful sin, and God imprisoned the angels who were responsible (Jude 1:6; II Peter 2:4). Angels are not permitted to marry women – but as odd as it may seem, some angels actually find women tempting. I think that Paul may be saying that when women wear hats (or some other symbol of authority), they are reminding the angels that they are under authority and are not available.

Does that seem strange? You bet it does! However, we often forget that angels can be tempted by sin. The fact that 1/3rd of all angels chose to join Satan’s rebellion is a sober reminder that even angels can fall (Revelation 12:4) – and once they fall there is no going back. We can obtain forgiveness through Christ, but angels cannot.