Ethan R. Longhenry's Blog, page 42

A Terrifying Invasion

The Israelites faced the prospect of a debilitating, devastating invasion. Joel, son of Pethuel, was called to warn Israel to repentance.

All we know about Joel (“YHWH God,” or “one serving YHWH as God”; Joel 1:1) comes from the words of his prophecy; he seemed to prophesy to Judah (Joel 2:1, 3:1), and his message could be dated to any point between the ninth and fifth centuries BCE. Judah and Jerusalem did well to heed Joel’s prophecy whenever it was uttered, for much was at stake.

Joel envisioned a calamity to be remembered for generations: not one, nor two, but four successive invasions of locusts (Joel 1:2-4). This may not sound like such a catastrophe to us in the modern world, but the prospect of locust invasions terrified ancient farmers. They might look out upon a green field of crops: the rains have come at the right time; enemy invaders have been kept at bay. It looks like the family will be able to eat and survive another year. But then, in almost an instant, a cloud over the horizon: millions upon millions of locusts, devouring every green thing in their sight. Within a couple of days they would be gone and the crops destroyed; the farmer and his family would starve. And this is precisely the prospect Joel raised for Israel: a locust horde that not only tore down all the grains but also the fig tree, the grape vines, even the fruit trees, and there is nothing left for offerings or to eat (Joel 1:5-12).

In light of this Joel summoned Judah and Jerusalem to repent, for this disaster would be a day of YHWH, and it would cause great distress for everyone (Joel 1:13-15). There would be no more food for man or beast; the wilderness is burned; seeds have shriveled (Joel 1:16-20). All Joel could do was call to YHWH for aid (Joel 1:19).

Joel then saw the day had come: a trumpet ought to be sounded in Zion, for the horde has come, a day of YHWH against His people (Joel 2:1). The land may be as Eden before them, but it will become a desolation after them; they have the appearance of a frightful army with horses and war chariots, maintaining discipline, inspiring fear in all who see them (Joel 2:1-10). YHWH speaks and His army moved forward; it is the day of YHWH; who can endure it (Joel 2:11)?

Yet again Joel cried out for Judah and Jerusalem to repent, to return to YHWH with all their heart, rending their hearts and not their garments, for He may relent of this disaster coming upon them (Joel 2:12-17).

We are then told that YHWH did indeed have pity on His people (Joel 2:18). The land would receive its restoration; the people would receive back all the locusts had consumed (Joel 2:19-25). The people would not be put to shame again, and they would know that YHWH was their God in their midst (Joel 2:26-27).

Much is left unrevealed regarding this invasion of “locusts”: we do not know when it happened, if at all. The danger was very real, whether realized or not. Joel might have an actual army of locusts in mind; he also may have an army of men, perhaps the Assyrian army, in mind (Joel 2:20). If so, the Assyrians came through in 701 BCE and laid waste to Judah and besieged Jerusalem. The Assyrian horde was prophesied as an instrument of YHWH and His anger to judge Judah and Jerusalem for their iniquity (Isaiah 10:5-6, 28-34). Judah was left desolate; only a remnant remained (Isaiah 1:7-9). It was certainly the kind of calamity a father would tell his children, and his children’s children, and onward for many generations.

Joel’s horde of “locusts” would be seen again in a figure in Revelation 9:1-12: the fifth trumpet, or first woe, featured locusts coming forth from the bottomless pit, not to devour plants, but to afflict people with such great pain as to desire death, but death would not come.

Christians do well to meditate on both Joel’s warnings and his hope for restoration. Granted, we today may not believe we have much to fear in terms of locust invasions, yet Joel warned Judah about a coming day of YHWH. Days of YHWH are not pleasant and are not things to seek out (Amos 5:18). The day of YHWH is a day of judgment, some kind of devastation by natural and/or artificial means, be it a locust plague devastating the land which YHWH had blessed for Israel’s use, or a marauding army leaving nothing alive in their wake. It is never YHWH’s desire to visit upon His people such a day of judgment; it comes as a result of sinfulness and iniquity.

Joel wrote to the people of God to warn them about the judgment YHWH was about to enact upon His people. As Christians we cannot stress this enough: there are times when YHWH judges His people. These judgments may come from “natural” afflictions; they may come from the hands of enemies or persecutors; they may be more physical, or more spiritual. We should not enjoy those days; they are times of great distress, mourning, and lamentation. Yet they unfortunately prove necessary whenever the people of God grow cold, complacent, or compromised with the world. When the devastation ends only a remnant remains; yet from this remnant may come a new flourishing of faith and the advancement of God’s purposes.

While YHWH at times must judge His people, YHWH does not abandon His people or His purposes. After judgment will come a time of restoration, a flourishing just as YHWH promised. Those who humble themselves before YHWH may obtain it. Those who come out in the end know that there is but one God in the universe, and He is YHWH, the God of Israel. Those who trust in Him will not be put to shame. May we serve God through what He has made known in Christ, and obtain the victory in Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Textual Witnesses of the Old Testament

Christians recognize the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, as the repository for the messages God communicated through the prophets to Israel (Hebrews 1:1). They understand the Hebrew Bible is described appropriately, for the Old Testament was primarily written in what is now called Classical or Biblical Hebrew (although sosme portions are written in Biblical Aramaic: Ezra 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26, Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4-7:28). Today we call the text of the Old Testament in Hebrew the Masoretic Text (MT), after the Jewish scribes of the first millennium CE who worked diligently to preserve the text as they had received it; the MT remains the primary witness to the text of the Old Testament, and Codex Leningradensis, an 11th century MT manuscript, is the basis for the vast majority of modern translations of the Old Testament in English.

The Hebrew texts we use as the basis for our modern translations were copied about a thousand years ago. Thanks to the recent discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls we now have copies of Hebrew manuscripts which date back a further thousand years. Yet even the Dead Sea Scrolls were copied between 1300 and 300 years after the original manuscripts were written. Yet by the first century CE the Old Testament had already been translated into at least two other languages; over the next millennium it would be translated into many more. Most such translations were made on the basis of some copy of the text of the Old Testament; scholars call the Hebrew texts which served as the basis for the translation of later texts their Vorlage.

We can maintain great confidence in our overall understanding of the Bible in Hebrew and of the faithfulness of the Masoretic Text; nevertheless, at many points the text seems confused, garbled, or used terms which we do not know how to translate effectively. In these places especially other textual witnesses will be consulted: perhaps their Hebrew text had a different rendering, or perhaps the translation indicates our ancient forebears were encountering the same difficulty. At many such points many Bible translations will note how various textual witnesses render a word or a phrase to provide the reader with a glimpse into the textual challenges surrounding the passage.

The Samaritan Pentateuch is the version of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, as used by the Samaritan communities in Israel to this day. The Samaritans used their own Hebrew script derived from what we now call “paleo” or “epigraphic” Hebrew which was used in Israel before the exile in 586 BCE; we do not know when it was composed or translated, but it most likely existed before the end of the second century BCE. The text of the Samaritan Pentateuch has been modified in many places for theological reasons, generally to emphasize Jacob and Mount Gerizim (e.g. Exodus 20:17). And yet in many places the Samaritan Pentateuch manifests an original Hebrew text akin to the MT but preserving different, and often more authentic, variants. The Samaritan Pentateuch will often agree with the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate against the Masoretic Text. The Samaritan Pentateuch has been used in textual criticism for almost two thousand years and for good reason.

The Greek Septuagint (LXX) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and many other literary works of Second Temple Judaism. The Septuagint was most likely translated over a couple of hundred years before the time of Jesus by a variety of translators with different skill levels and philosophies. The “original” Septuagint (sometimes called the kaige translation) would also be later revised by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. Some translation decisions by the translators are puzzling; some of their theological biases, especially against imagery portraying God in human terms (anthropomorphisms), are manifest. And yet the Septuagint, like the Samaritan Pentateuch, was translated from a Hebrew text related to but often distinct from the Masoretic Text. Its value was vindicated by the Dead Sea Scrolls; the DSS often agree with the LXX in the few variants it reflects from the MT. The Septuagint remains a powerful witness to the Old Testament.

The Aramaic Targum is a collection of paraphrases and explanations of the Old Testament written in Aramaic, the common language spoken by Jewish people throughout the diaspora. The most important targumim are Targum Onkelos (on the Torah/Pentateuch) and the Targum Jonathan (on the Prophets); they were developed over the first half of the first millennium CE. Various textual matters are discussed and described in the Targum as well as many rabbinic opinions about how the text is to be understood. The Targum stays closer to the MT than the Septuagint or Vulgate; its points of difference are therefore all the more important for consideration.

The Latin Vulgate is the Latin translation of the Old Testament and other works from Second Temple Judaism as preserved in the Septuagint. The Old Testament in the Vulgate used today was primarily translated by Jerome in the late fourth century; he translated it on the basis of the Masoretic Text in consultation with the Greek Septuagint and the Old Latin translations which had been composed before him. Jerome also explained many textual critical issues he encountered in his translation in his commentaries. The Vulgate is thus often cited as a witness in terms of its agreements, whether with the MT against the Samaritan Pentateuch and LXX, or with the LXX and Samaritan Pentateuch against the LXX.

The Syriac Peshitta is the translation of the Old Testament into Syriac, the language which formed out of Aramaic in Syria in the second century CE. The Peshitta was most likely translated out of Hebrew in the second century CE. It tends to serve as a textual witness in ways similar to the Latin Vulgate, as a further witness of a variant, adding weight or credence to one variant over another.

The Egyptian Coptic family of languages (Bohairic, Fayyumic, Akhmimic, Sahidic) provides another set of witnesses to the Old Testament. The Old Testament was translated out of the Greek Septuagint into Coptic, and the translation may date to the time of Christ. As translations of a translation the Coptic dialects are less frequently cited but can add weight to certain variants. Other textual witnesses include the Ethiopian Amharic, Armenian, and Old Slavonic translations, all of which date to the fourth century CE or later, are mostly translations of translations, and are thus more rarely referenced.

The value of translations of the Old Testament to its textual witness is disputed and contentious by its very nature: each translation is at least one step removed from the original text. Textual critics must assess what lay behind each variation from the Masoretic Text: is the difference because of the translator or the Vorlage? Did he misread or misunderstand the text? Did the Vorlage itself contain a spelling error or some other form of corruption? Is the translator trying to smooth out or rephrase the text to overcome its difficulties? Or is it the Masoretic Text which has become confused and these translators are more faithfully representing the original? These are the questions with which textual critics of the Old Testament must grapple.

We should be thankful for the many witnesses we have for the text of the Old Testament: while there are many points of disagreement in the rendering of words and phrases, they agree far more often than they disagree, and give us confidence in the overall integrity of the transmission process. May we come to a better understanding of God’s purposes in Israel in the Old Testament and find salvation in Jesus!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Bible Translations, IV: 21st Century Revisions

The 20th century was a time of great tumult, change, and transformation in general, and it was especially so in terms of Bible translations in English. At the beginning of the century the American Standard Version was released in a world defined by the King James Version; by the end of the century, while many still used the King James Version, many other translations had been developed and were widely used. The work of attempting to provide Bibles that make good sense of the Hebrew and Greek texts while remaining comprehensible to modern English speakers remains in the 21st century; the two newest translations of the century, the English Standard Version and the Christian Standard Bible, represent two different means toward that end.

In 2001 Crossway Books released a new revision of the Revised Standard Version called the English Standard Version (ESV). The ESV used an “essentially literal” philosophy of translation but consciously sought to render the Bible’s text into good, clear modern English idiom and grammar. Throughout the twenty-first century the ESV has gained in popularity, and for good reason: its reading level has been brought down to a more manageable level for the Bible student (8th grade level), and the text is rendered in clear, concise English, more easily understood than many other formal equivalence versions, and the ESV has been distributed freely online and in many Bible programs.

The original rendering of Malachi 2:16 in the ESV raised many eyebrows (“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence”); it is a defensible translation of the text, but has been revised in later editions. Its use of “wife” in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 is interpretive and inconsistent at times. Its confessional leanings are not strongly manifest in translation but prove striking in the ESV Study Bible and similar resources, and ought to be used with appropriate caution. Nevertheless, on the whole, the English Standard Version strikes a good balance between faithful rendering of the Hebrew and Greek texts and rendering the meaning of the text in clear, 21st century English; it provides great benefit in personal study and works excellently in preaching and teaching.

In 2004 the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) was released, published by LifeWay through the Broadman & Holman Publishing Group. The HCSB would be revised in 2010; its most significant change featured the use of the transliteration of the Divine Name (Yahweh) as opposed to the traditional replacement of LORD in many places. In 2017 a new revision of the HCSB was released, entitled the Christian Standard Bible (CSB); among its revisions was a return to the traditional use of LORD for YHWH.

The HCSB manifested some major shifts in Bible translation. It was the first translation named for a Bible publishing company; while its translators may have been cross-confessional, the HCSB itself was commissioned and published by the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Furthermore, the growing popularity of the dynamic equivalent, or “thought for thought” philosophy of Bible translation, led the translators of the HCSB toward a philosophy which they called “optimal equivalence,” their attempt at “balancing” between formal equivalent and dynamic equivalent translation methods.

To this end the HCSB/CSB provide some fresh and compelling translations of many passage that can help the reader get a good sense of what the author attempts to convey; many times the “optimal equivalence” philosophy works. The HCSB and CSB maintain a 7th to 8th grade reading level and are also presented in concise, clear English.

And yet “optimal equivalence” can manifest the same difficulties as “dynamic equivalence”: the more the translators attempt to interpret to bring out meaning, the more the doctrinal and theological biases of the translators become manifest. For years many have criticized some of the translation decisions of the dynamic equivalent New International Version (NIV), especially in passages like Psalm 51:5:

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

How much more, then, in the HCSB and CSB?

Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Thus the HCSB proves as or more dynamically equivalent in certain verses than many dynamic equivalent translations. There is value in the dynamic equivalence approach, assisting the reader in English to better understand the core meaning and perhaps some nuances of the original which are difficult to render while maintaining the standard of formal equivalence. Nevertheless, the moment a translation departs from a strong commitment to rendering the original word-for-word, the reader must become careful in his or her inferences drawn from how the text reads; the inference might seem valid based on how the text is rendered in such a translation but prove less sustainable based on the way the Hebrew or Greek are rendered in a more literal way.

The HCSB and CSB provide benefits to those who would read it. The reader does well to remember that the translators returned to many conventions in the CSB away from the HCSB on account of reader criticism, and would do well to compare the HCSB and/or CSB to renderings in the ASV, NASB, and/or ESV for comparison. The HCSB and CSB would be good for reading and personal study; while many are beginning to use them in preaching and teaching, uncritical use in proclamation is unwise.

The work of translation and revision will no doubt continue as the 21st century progresses, and it will likely follow the paths trod by the ESV and HCSB/CSB. May we seek to use such translations to come to a better understanding of what God has made known in Christ and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Strong in the Lord

Paul crafted his message to the Ephesian Christians well. He set forth how believers had been granted every spiritual blessing in the Lord Jesus Christ: predestination, election, adoption, an inheritance, the Spirit; all were lost in sin, but God showed great love, grace, and mercy in Christ; in Christ God killed the hostility between Jew and Gentile, and reconciled them into one body; the mystery of the Gospel is the inclusion of the Gentiles (Ephesians 1:1-3:12). Paul had prayed for the Ephesian Christians to have their hearts enlightened to perceive the great love God has manifested in Jesus according to the power at work in them (Ephesians 1:15-20, 3:14-21). On this basis Paul encouraged them to walk worthily and consistently with this calling: uphold the unity of the church, building up the church in love, no longer living as in darkness but manifesting the light of Jesus, walking wisely, living according to the will of the Lord (Ephesians 4:1-5:21).

Paul applied what it meant to live according to the will of the Lord in the marriage relationship, speaking of husbands and wives in terms of Christ and the church, and vice versa in Ephesians 5:22-33. He continued in the same theme, addressing parents and children in Ephesians 6:1-4: children are to obey their parents in the Lord, and fathers must not exasperate their children, but raise them in the Lord’s discipline and admonition. Paul grounded his exhortation to children in the fifth commandment given in Exodus 20:12: honor your father and mother. Those who honor their parents prove more likely to live quality lives as upright citizens; those who dishonor their parents are more liable to end up in ruin and despair. Yet children are to obey their parents in the Lord; if their parents demand anything contrary to the Lord’s will, children must obey God rather than man (cf. Acts 5:29). Children do not raise themselves; they need good boundaries, commending what is good and chastising what is evil. Children without boundaries yearn for them for the rest of their lives. Christians do well to provide those boundaries as the discipline of the Lord Jesus according to His revealed will.

Paul then turned to the relationship of masters and slaves in Ephesians 6:5-9: slaves were to prove obedient to their earthly masters, working as unto the Lord, knowing they would receive good from the Lord for doing so; masters were to treat slaves well without threatening, remembering they all have a Master watching over them in heaven. We today find such a passage difficult: how could Paul countenance such an institution as slavery? We must remember that slavery in the Roman world was not like the chattel slavery practiced in the American South; if a slave can obtain freedom, Paul would have him obtain it, and Paul’s powerful appeal to Philemon for Onesimus shows his concern for slaves (1 Corinthians 7:21, Philemon 1:1-22). The primary purpose of the Gospel is to reconcile people with God and each other in Christ; only in such radical equality can the inhumanity of owning another person become truly manifest. Slavery was pervasive in the ancient world; it was only circumscribed as a practice when Christianity expanded its reach. Whenever people sit at the Lord’s table together it proves difficult to justify the systems of mankind which considers some superior or inferior to others. Nevertheless Paul’s wisdom applies well to employers and employees today: work diligently at whatever you do, and do not exploit or threaten those under your charge.

Paul brought his exhortations together and to a close in Ephesians 6:10-20 by encouraging Christians to remain strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. He explained how Christians are in a struggle not with fellow humans (“flesh and blood”) but with all sorts of powers and principalities, cosmic forces ruling over this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12). To this end Christians must equip themselves with the armor of God in order to stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11, 13). Paul used traditional Roman armor to make his case. A Roman soldier’s armor was held together by the belt; Christians must gird themselves with the belt of truth, which thus holds everything else together (Ephesians 6:14). The breastplate would provide protection for the internal organs; righteousness serves that role for the Christian (Ephesians 6:14). Good shoes proved important if the army would move efficiently and effectively; Christians wear the “shoes” of the preparation of the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). The Roman shield was the front line of defense, made to withstand spears and even fire arrows; Roman soldiers lined up in maniple formation, in which each soldier’s shield protected part of him and also part of the man next to him; Christians use faith as a shield, not in isolation, but in formation together with fellow members of the body of Christ, able to extinguish the fire arrows of the Evil One (Ephesians 6:16). The helmet protects the head; Christians are preserved in salvation (Ephesians 6:17). The offensive weapon for the Christian is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God; the sword is the machaira, a short sword used for stabbing, presuming close quarters in battle (Ephesians 6:17). Battles are won or lost on the basis of effective communication: to this end Christians must always be in contact with “headquarters,” praying at all times, making supplication, watching in prayer for all the Christians, and also Paul himself, that he might speak the Gospel with boldness as he had opportunity, living as an ambassador of Jesus in chains (Ephesians 6:18-20). When all the exhortation is said and done Christians must remember they are in the midst of a war. They did not ask to participate in this war, but the war goes on all around them, and they are all caught up in the conflict whether they recognize it or not. Likewise the Christian must remember it is a spiritual war, not a physical one; far too many have justified horrendous acts of barbarity and cruelty in war in the name of Jesus, something Jesus never commended in life or through His Apostles. Christians are not the heroes of this war; Jesus is. It is not for the Christian to storm the enemy’s gates; as Paul insisted and repeated time and again in Ephesians 6:10-20, it is for the Christian to stand firm, to resist the forces of evil. He is equipped more in defense than offense, and must act accordingly. Christians will not stand because of their own heroic strength; they stand because they trust in the Lord and in His might to withstand the array of evil forces against them.

The letter to the Ephesians provides little personal detail about Paul’s condition; Tychicus, Paul’s Asian companion, would provide such detail in person (Ephesians 6:21-22). Paul ended his letter to the Ephesians with a standard conclusion for a letter, that peace, grace, and love with faith may come to all who love the Lord with an incorruptible love (Ephesians 6:23-24). In this way Paul has left with the Ephesian Christians and all Christians throughout time a compelling and majestic explanation of the great blessings with which God has blessed us in Jesus, and how Christians are to live in light of all those blessings. May we prove ever thankful for God’s glorious display of grace, love, and mercy in Jesus, walk worthily of our calling, and stand firm in the Lord and His strength!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Revelation (Apocalypse) of John

John was in exile for the faith. God granted him a compelling vision which would encourage Christians in their faith: what they were experiencing was consistent with the challenges of the people of God before them. Jesus would have the victory.

Revelation, also called the Apocalypse (Greek apokalupsis, “unveiling”), is the twenty-seventh and final book in modern editions of the New Testament. While Revelation is written in the form of a letter, it generally is placed in its own category of “apocalyptic.” The author identifies himself as John (Revelation 1:4); while some have speculated regarding potential other authors, most ancient witnesses consider John as the same person as the author of the Gospels and Letters bearing that name. The specific audience is identified as the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:4, 11). The dating of Revelation is a very controversial matter and often considered determinative for interpretation: some favor an early date in the 60s, others somewhere in the 70s or 80s, and others a late date in the 90s. The text itself does not provide any explicit reference; if the date were so decisive for interpretation we would expect God to provide it, and He has done no such thing. Internal criteria can be understood as favoring either an early or a late date depending on interpretation. Irenaeus, who interacted with men who had seen John in the flesh, claimed John saw the Revelation in the days of Domitian (Against Heresies 5.30.3); Domitian reigned from 81-96, and this evidence would favor the late date, as does most evidence from early Christian witness. In the first few hundred years of Christianity many had questions regarding Revelation’s place in the New Testament canon, less on account of its origin and more on account of its use and abuse by heretics; such a concern is well placed, for not a few false prophets have been deceived by doctrines of demons and have led many others astray on account of their views regarding and emphasis on Revelation. A long treatise would be required to sort out various forms of interpretation regarding Revelation in general and the millennium of Revelation 20:1-6 in particular. For our purposes we understand Revelation to be a vision God gave to Jesus to give to John using imagery consistent with what had been made known through the prophets and Jesus to encourage the Christians of Asia Minor in the late first century to obtain the victory of Jesus in faith in the face of the Roman menace.

Revelation begins as a letter to the seven churches of Asia written by John while in exile on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:1-9). John saw Jesus in terms of the Ancient of Days and one like a Son of Man, and Jesus told him to write what he saw to the seven churches; Jesus began to explain the meaning of the images John saw, suggesting to the reader that whereas John sees the images as described in Revelation, their meaning involved something quite different and more familiar (e.g. candlesticks/lampstand as churches, Revelation 1:10-20; cf. Daniel 7:1-14). Jesus began with specific messages for each of the seven churches, speaking both to them as individual congregations in a specific context and suggesting each as a representative type of congregation (Revelation 2:1-3:22).

John was then summoned up and was granted a vision of the heavenly throne scene, reminiscent of what was seen by Isaiah and Ezekiel (Revelation 4:1-11; cf. Isaiah 6:1-9, Ezekiel 1:1-28). God has a scroll with seven seals, and only the Lion of Judah, the Lamb, Jesus, was worthy to open the seals (Revelation 5:1-14). As the first six seals are opened four horsemen come forth; martyrs are commended and told to wait; great terror comes upon the people of earth (Revelation 6:1-17). In an “intermission” John saw faithful Christians on earth sealed by God while God in Christ was praised by Christians and the heavenly host surrounding His throne, and the blessed state of those departed faithful Christians was pronounced (Revelation 7:1-17).

The opening of the seventh seal introduced the proclamation of seven trumpets: the first five trumpets bring forth judgments on the earth (Revelation 8:1-13). The final three trumpets were also known as the three woes: one brought forth tormenting locust creatures from the abyss, the second brought forth an army of plagues among mankind, an intermission in which John is given a scroll to eat to continue to prophesy, the measurement of the temple representing the faithful people of God, and the proclamation, death, and resurrection of God’s two faithful servants, and the last woe is not described; instead, praise is rendered to God as if the third woe had come to pass and now reigns over all for eternity (Revelation 9:1-11:19).

Revelation 12:1-20:15 seems to present a second “cycle” parallel to Revelation 6:1-11:19, for John saw a woman giving birth to the Christ child who was protected from a dragon, identified as Satan; Satan and his forces fought against Michael and his forces, and were defeated and cast down to the earth; Satan attempts to persecute the woman, but was hindered; he raised up a beast (embodiment of Roman power in the Emperor) and a second beast, a false prophet (embodiment of Roman pagan religion), who spoke blasphemies, overpowered the majority, and made war on the saints (Revelation 12:1-13:18). John then saw Jesus and the faithful saints, and three angels gave pronouncement regarding what would come to pass: a harvest of the faithful and a judgment against the wicked, envisioned as a judgment of seven bowls of God’s wrath poured out on the beast and his people (Revelation 14:1-16:21). John is then introduced to Babylon the whore and her condemnation: her condition is described in ways reminiscent of Rome; judgment was made against her, and he heard the lamentation of many peoples regarding the downfall of Babylon but also the exaltation in heaven over her fall and the impending marriage supper of the Lamb and His bride; in the final “Armageddon” Jesus defeated the beast and the false prophet (Revelation 17:1-19:21).

John was shown a period of thousand years, or a millennium, in which Satan was bound and Christians reigned (perhaps the period since the downfall of paganism; Revelation 20:1-6). After the millennium Satan is loosed to deceive the nations for a time, and then came the final judgment: Satan, his minions, and those not found in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire, the second death (Revelation 20:7-15). John then saw the eternal fate of those whose names were in the book of life in the new heavens and the new earth: he was shown the bride of the Lamb, the faithful people of God, glorified, as a city coming down from heaven encrusted with jewels, in which God dwelt with His people, and provided for them; the scene included a river of life and trees of life, reminiscent of Eden (Revelation 21:1-22:6; cf. Genesis 2:1-23). John ended the Revelation with concluding exhortations assuring Christians of what would come to pass, warnings about altering what is said in the prophecy, and an appeal for the Lord Jesus to return quickly (Revelation 22:7-21). Thus ends not only the Revelation to John but revelation itself; the New Testament is thus concluded.

Christians do well to handle the Revelation of John with care, seeking to understand it in terms of what God has made known in the rest of the New Testament, and not vice versa. Yet Revelation ultimately can provide great encouragement for the Christian: God is faithful, God will have the victory, and we can share in the new heavens and new earth, but only if we remain faithful and overcome in Jesus. Amen! Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Authenticity

“Authentic” has become one of the new buzzwords of the twenty-first century; it would seem that everyone, everywhere is on a quest to manifest greater authenticity. People yearn to find their true, authentic selves, they search for authentic experiences, and they want to exist in spaces which value authenticity. Authenticity in relationships is highly valued.

This desire for authenticity represents an awareness of how much of life seems fake, contrived, or forced. People easily feel controlled or manipulated in various ways; they seem to become what they would rather avoid. They will believe or do all sorts of things in order to be loved, accepted, or welcomed into a group. Meanwhile, people put on pretense and pretend to be things they are not; such acting is exhausting. All of this reveals a deep, profound anxiety: people fear rejection of their true selves and so put on the pretense of being someone else or go along with the expectations of others. People would like to be accepted while remaining authentic to themselves; in practice they value the former over the latter. Thus people die inside, overwhelmed by hurt, insecurity, alienation, anxieties, and fear, pretending to have everything together, and convinced everyone else has everything together, thus reinforcing feelings of inadequacy. In a world that looks more like “reality” television every day and of “fake news,” people yearn for what is real and to be real about life.

To this end, a desire for authenticity is not unwarranted. Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, for they put on the pretense of being one way, but acted in quite another (Matthew 23:1-35). The Greek word for “hypocrite” originally referred to an actor, and many indeed go through life putting on an elaborate act, pretending to be something other than they truly are. Such acting and hypocrisy are not unique to the world; Christians often succumb to the pressure of putting on a righteous appearance so as to measure up to the rest in their “holy huddles,” never willing to expose any possible deficiency lest their sanctity and standing before God would be up for questioning. Masquerades such as these are effective tools of the Evil One, keeping many in bondage to pretense, often blind to reality, self-deceived (cf. 2 Timothy 2:26-3:9, Hebrews 3:12). God desires to heal people from their pain, distress, anxiety, fear, inadequacy, shame, and such like (1 Peter 2:24, 5:16-17). Christians are called upon to confess their sins to one another, not to pretend they are without sin (James 5:16).

Authenticity, therefore, maintains value. God would have His people manifest authenticity and sincerity, to love without hypocrisy, and speak and live truthfully (Romans 12:9, Ephesians 4:29). Christians cultivate trust among one another and with people in the world through their faithfulness, generating trust on account of honesty and life without pretense. God has loved and accepted us despite our performance and has given of His Son for our redemption (Romans 5:6-11); Christians who trust in God’s love and acceptance find in Him the strength to love and accept others despite their performance. In a sin-sick world people yearn for honest conversation, acceptance without pretense, and an acknowledgement of the difficulties and complexities of life; people can find satisfaction for such desires in Jesus and ought to see it manifest in His people.

And yet, for too many, the goal of authenticity goes well beyond, believing that in finding the “true self” one will be able to locate true satisfaction. Authenticity is thus considered the end, and not a means to an end: if I can find my true self, so the thinking goes, I will come to a place of confidence and rest. I will be everything I am supposed to be. If I can just get past pretense, I can be great.

Let none be deceived: it is important to understand who we really are. We do well to recognize our strengths and identify our weaknesses; we must appreciate how God has made us who we are and dedicate ourselves to serving God in the Kingdom of Jesus according to our abilities (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, 1 Peter 4:10-11). Nevertheless, our “true self” is far from ideal; our true self is really often rather ugly (cf. James 1:22-25). Ironically, searching for our “true selves” as some kind of ideal proves insincere and inauthentic, because all of us have deficiencies, flaws, inadequacies, unhealthy coping mechanisms, eccentricities, etc., which we do not really want to associate with our “true selves.” We want to think of ourselves as well-informed even if we prove quite ignorant in many respects; we want to think of ourselves as fair-minded and non-judgmental even though we prove susceptible to tribalistic thinking and judge others for the same inadequacies we would rather not see in ourselves. Our “true selves” are on display when we think no one is looking, and very few people prove content with what they find in those circumstances.

Therefore, while authenticity and sincerity in understanding who we are and what we are about are essential for character and virtue, they prove insufficient to manifest quality character or virtue. We must strip ourselves of our self-deceptions and pretenses about who we really are; it is not as if God is ignorant of our true condition (cf. James 1:22-25)! Ascertaining our “authentic self” then provides a basis upon which to cultivate greater virtue, trusting in God in Christ, submitting to His purposes, praying for strength to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, and developing the habits which facilitate the manifestation of those character traits (Galatians 5:22-24, Ephesians 3:14-21). Yes, God loves each and every one of us, and will accept us as we are: God does not at all intend to keep us there, but would have us grow to become ever more like Him in His Son (Romans 8:29).

Authenticity is therefore an important means to an end, but it is not an end unto itself. We do well to manifest authenticity and sincerity in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; we must recognize who we are, for better and for worse, and we should stop pretending to be what we are not. Yet just being what we are will never be sufficient, for we are weak and prone to sin (Romans 3:23); we must strive to greater trust in Jesus and manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, dependent on God’s strength and provision, manifesting sanctification through greater development of virtue in Jesus. May we trust in the Lord Jesus and be conformed to His image so we may obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Christian and Marriage

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

For the Christian of any time and place, marriage must go back to the beginning, the first man and the first woman.

God made both the man and the woman in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). In this way neither men nor women are inherently superior or inferior to each other; they are equally created in God’s image, and in Christ maintain equal ability to stand before God, equal worth in the sight of God, and are joint-heirs of the grace of life (Galatians 3:28, 1 Peter 3:7). A husband is not inherently better or worse than his wife, and vice versa; cultural attitudes to the contrary are wrong, sinful, a cause of great distress and grief, especially to women, and ought to have no place among Christians.

While God made both man and woman in His image, He created the man first, and then the woman out of man and for man (Genesis 2:1-23). On this ground Paul set forth roles for men and women in Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1-16, 1 Timothy 2:11-15). Men and women have equal worth and standing, and yet men and women are different. In the beginning their differences did not lead to conflict or disharmony, but proved complementary, and it can be so to this day. While no doubt certain aspects of what people think it means to be a man or woman come from cultural expectations, “masculine” and “feminine” characteristics do reflect actual differences between the genders. Men lack things which women supply; women lack things which men supply. It was not good for man to be alone; woman was made for him, and so men and women continue to have the desire to join together to become husband and wife.

A man clings to his wife, and the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). From the beginning the impulse toward sexual intercourse was designed to be directed and confined to the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. The sexual drive is powerful in humans, a yearning not only for physical but also mental and spiritual connection; divorcing physical pleasure from the mental and spiritual connection anesthetizes the latter and leads to a debased, dehumanized sexuality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Paul quoted Genesis 2:24 and then related it to Christ and the church in Ephesians 5:31-32; Jesus declared the man and woman are no longer two, but one flesh in Matthew 19:4-5. God is one in relational unity, and desires for people to be one with Him as He is one in Himself (John 17:20-23); those of old spoke of this unity as perichoresis, mutual interpenetration without the loss of individuality. We can perceive perichoretic relational unity in a musical performance, yet it is especially manifest in the marital relationship. The man and the woman become one flesh; they remain two people, but one flesh. A man and a man cannot become one flesh, neither can a woman and a woman; no substantive intimate union is present.

Paul made much of the association between Christ and the church and husband and wife in Ephesians 5:22-33. Mutual submission in reverence to Christ proves necessary to make any relationship function, including between husband and wife (Ephesians 5:21). The church submits to Christ because Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:23-25); in a similar way, the wife is to submit to her husband, and the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:22-25). The husband is to treat his wife as his own flesh, just as Christ takes care of His body, the church (Ephesians 5:26-30). In interpersonal terms, the husband must love his wife, and the wife must respect her husband; ideally, according to the example of their Lord, unconditionally (Ephesians 5:33). Such exhortation is widely derided and ridiculed in the modern world and caricatured in its worst possible light. We do well to note how Paul provided no justification for spousal abuse or coercion: husbands are not authorized to demand or compel submission from their wives, and one does not show love to one’s one flesh by beating or otherwise abusing it. The husband will be held accountable to God for his household as its head (Ephesians 5:23); as the one accountable, he ultimately bears the responsibility, and to that end is granted a measure of authority, and, as Christ the church, love his wife, sacrifice, and suffer for her. The wife will be held accountable for how she submitted to her husband and his leadership (Ephesians 5:22-23, 1 Peter 3:1-6); she should give it freely, without compulsion, and maintain trust and respect in her husband. Women need love; men need respect; women communicate in terms of love; men communicate in terms of respect. For this reason women must respect their husbands, something not intuitive once the husband proves disappointing or insufficient in some respect; likewise, husbands must love their wives and live with them in an understanding way, not intuitive once the wife proves disappointing or insufficient in some respect (cf. 1 Peter 3:7). The marriage relationship is not held together by perfect performance, but the willingness to display love, respect, grace, and compassion despite performance, just as it is with God and mankind, Christ and the church.

Having quoted Genesis 2:24, Jesus set forth that a husband and wife are no longer two, but one flesh, and drew the appropriate conclusion: what God has joined man is not to separate (Matthew 19:4-6). God designed the marriage covenant to remain for life (Romans 7:1-4), not unlike the covenants made between Himself and mankind. Man ought not separate what God joined by becoming one with other flesh, committing sexually deviant behavior in adultery, homosexuality, and such like (1 Corinthians 6:13-20, Galatians 5:19). Man ought not separate what God joined in divorce (Matthew 19:9); an exception is granted for those who divorce their spouse for sexually deviant behavior, yet this is an exception, not the rule. Marriage relationships go through trial; it is far harder to endure the trial if one imagines there is a way of escape. A commitment as intimate and holy as marriage ought not be trifled or dispensed with freely or offhandedly.

God’s exalted view of marriage is under continual cultural and social pressure. It does not sit well with our highly individualistic ethos and the elevation of personal happiness as the ultimate goal of life. And yet marriage remains good and holy (Hebrews 13:4); there is a beautiful picture of love, devotion, grace, and mercy in a long lasting marriage which has endured the difficulties of life and has overcome its trials. Weddings manifest superficial beauty; a marriage maintained in sickness as well as in health, for poorer as much as for richer, and in distress and trial as much as success and victory is beautiful through and through.

It is not good for man to be alone; marriage is good, and honorable, but there will be difficulties, and it does require diligent effort. Marriage can lead to the greatest distress and pain, and yet it can also provide some of the greatest love and comfort that mankind can know. May we honor marriage and uphold God’s purposes for it, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Bible Translations, III: 19th and 20th Century Revisions

For over three hundred years the King James Version was the Bible in English. By the nineteenth century many Greek manuscripts had been discovered which preserved more authentic and faithful readings of the original than the Textus Receptus Greek text base of the KJV; English as a language had undergone many changes. In 1870 the Church of England in Canterbury commissioned a revision of the King James Version in light of new textual evidence and understanding of Hebrew and Greek, leading to the 1881 Revised Version (RV). From the Revised Version, and especially its American counterpart, the American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901, all further modern translations would flow.

The major difference between the Revised Version and the American Standard Version involves the Divine Name, rendered “LORD” in the RV and “Jehovah” in the ASV. They both represent substantially the most literal translation designed for use within the churches; in many places in the New Testament a person familiar with Greek can essentially see the Greek text in the RV/ASV since it tends to replicate Greek sentence structure and grammatical peculiarities. The RV/ASV maintain the literal strength of the KJV and are based on more ancient Greek manuscripts. Like the KJV, the RV/ASV are no longer copyrighted, and can be freely quoted without fear of compromising copyright law.

The main strength of the RV/ASV is also its weakness: it is a wooden translation of the text, more “translationese” than English in many places. Its intentional use of archaic language is understandable in its context (to sound more like the KJV familiar to all English-speaking Christians) but a hindrance to understanding. The vocabulary of the RV/ASV expects a higher grade reading level. The use of “Jehovah” as the Divine Name in the ASV is unfortunate (YHWH is more accurate), although it does help to differentiate God’s name from the title “Lord.” Until recently it was hard to obtain access to the RV/ASV: the RV is only published as a part of a RV/KJV interlinear, and the ASV is only in publication as a New Testament by Star Bible. Only now with the prevalence of Bible software have the RV and ASV become more accessible.

The Revised Version and/or American Standard Version are quality Bible versions which ought to be consulted in any significant study of Scripture, especially involving semantics and discussion about language and phraseology. They represent great study versions, but their limited access in publication, archaic language, and wooden translation make them difficult primary versions for preaching and teaching.

In the 1930s the copyright holder of the American Standard Version recognized the value and importance of a revision to that text to modernize its language and incorporate evidence from new findings, particularly the Dead Sea Scrolls. This led to the creation of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) in 1952. The Revised Standard Version, and its later revision of 1989, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), would become the standard Bible of mainline Protestantism and within the community of scholars; in its day the RSV proved to be the first version to seriously challenge the hegemony of the KJV among English speaking Christians.

The RSV and NRSV are quality formal equivalence (“word for word”) translations which generally maintain faithfulness to the Hebrew and Greek texts while presenting them in more recognizably modern English. As with all later offshoots of the ASV the RSV and NRSV return to “LORD” as opposed to “Jehovah;” the RSV maintained archaic forms of address for God (“Thou, Thee,” etc.); the NRSV modernized them. The NRSV alone of all versions has incorporated an addition to the text of 1 Samuel found in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 10:27 NRSV).

This reading has explanatory value and power regardless of what one may think of its placement in terms of canon and theology. The translation of the Hebrew prophets in the NRSV is of exceptionally high quality, effectively capturing the nuances of the message of the prophets.

The translation of ‘almah as “young woman” rather than “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 in the RSV prompted much controversy, as did the the mandate for gender-inclusive terminology in the New Testament of the NRSV. The strong acceptance of the RSV and NRSV within mainline Protestantism and its prevalence among scholars led to great suspicion and skepticism of those versions within Evangelicalism. The gender-inclusive terminology in the NRSV often borders on the ridiculous (e.g. “friends” for “brethren,” Galatians 6:1, etc.). While the RSV and NRSV have more modernized English and better English style than its forebears, they still are translated at a twelfth grade reading level.

Despite their reputations the Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version remain quality English translations of the Scriptures and are worth considering in study. The high level of language and adaptations with gender neutral language hinder them from effective use in preaching and teaching.

By the 1960s many within Evangelicalism desired a revision of the American Standard Version which would remain theologically conservative, rather literal, and yet more modern in idiom. The Lockman Foundation thus developed the New American Standard Bible (NASB; also known as New American Standard Version, or NASV), published in 1971. In 1995 the Foundation published an updated version, the New American Standard Update; the update, sometimes called NASU or NASB95, has essentially replaced the original, which itself is now often known as NAS77.

The NASB is as advertised: it is the most literal of the modern offshoots of the ASV but in more modern language. It does not incorporate gender inclusive language, and its translation does not provoke concern regarding theological liberalism. The NASB usefully italicizes English words added to the translation not explicit in the original Greek and renders quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament in small caps. The NASB95 handles the future perfect of Matthew 16:19 accurately.

Yet, as with the ASV, so with the NASB: its commitment to literalism means its English style and structure often prove awkward. It maintains a twelfth grade reading level and thus proves inaccessible to many. Its theological commitments occasionally get in its way, as with depersonalizing Azazel as the “scapegoat” in Leviticus 16:8-10, and speaking of a father and not a betrothed prospective husband in 1 Corinthians 7:36-38.

The New American Standard Bible remains a high quality Bible version, valuable for study, and often used in preaching and teaching. May we use all such versions to come to a better understanding of God and His purposes in Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Walking in Love

Paul had related to the Ephesian Christians the great and glorious works of God: every blessing has been given to believers in Jesus, predestination, election, adoption, an inheritance, the Spirit; all were lost in sin, but God showed great love, grace, and mercy in Christ; in Christ God killed the hostility between Jew and Gentile, and reconciled them into one body; the mystery of the Gospel is the inclusion of the Gentiles (Ephesians 1:1-3:12). Paul had prayed for the Ephesian Christians to have their hearts enlightened to perceive the great love God has manifested in Jesus according to the power at work in them (Ephesians 1:15-20, 3:14-21). On account of all this Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians to walk worthily and consistently with this calling, striving to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, building up the body of Christ, the church, turning aside from the ways of darkness, renewing the spirit of their minds, dedicated to honesty, kindness, patience, and forgiveness toward one another (Ephesians 4:1-32).

Paul continued his exhortation to the Ephesian Christians: imitate God and walk in love as Christ has loved us and gave Himself as a pleasant offering before God (Ephesians 5:1-2). God has given us of His image in Jesus, and the love we are to share is not abstract or disembodied but manifest in what Jesus did for us, understood by Paul according to the sacrifices offered before God according to the Law of Moses (cf. Leviticus, John 14:6-9, Colossians 1:15-21). To this end Christians can no longer participate in sexually deviant behavior, reckless behavior, greed, foolish talk, or any kind of unprofitable talk, since they are now saints; they ought to give thanks to God instead (Ephesians 5:3-4). Indeed, those who participate in such forms of wickedness have no inheritance in the Kingdom of God in Christ; anyone who would suggest otherwise attempts to deceive Christians, for God’s wrath comes upon the disobedient on account of these things (Ephesians 5:5-6). Christians must not share in such ungodliness, for they must walk as children of light, not of darkness; Christians ought to expose such dark and evil deeds to the light of God in Christ in the Gospel (Ephesians 5:7-13). Paul then quoted a declaration known to the Ephesian Christians, perhaps as some part of hymn to Christ, exhorting the sleeper to awake and arise from the dead so Christ can shine on him (Ephesians 5:14). Thus Paul warns the Ephesian Christians against participation in the common transgressions of the Gentile world around them, encouraging them to recognize such behaviors as darkness and to resist them.

In order to imitate God and walk in love Christians must watch how they walk, and walk wisely (Ephesians 5:15). Christians must redeem, or make the best use of the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16); life is short, and we must make the most of what God has given us. Christians must not be foolish, but to understand the will of the Lord: to not be drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in song, giving thanks to God, submitting to one another in reverence for Jesus (Ephesians 5:17-21). God does not intend for the Christian to be filled with distilled spirits but with His Spirit; Christians manifest the Spirit when they speak to one another in song, communicating the message of God to each other as the people have God have done since time immemorial, thanking God always for what He has done in Jesus, and considering the needs of each other as equal or greater than one’s own needs in mutual submission (cf. Philippians 2:1-4, Colossians 3:16-18).

In what follows Paul will speak of husbands and wives in terms of Christ and the church, and Christ and the church in terms of husbands and wives (Ephesians 5:22-33); the beginning of the discussion is dependent on Ephesians 5:21, and we are to understand that Paul continues to speak regarding the will of the Lord and in light of the imperative of mutual submission. The wife is to submit to her husband as to the Lord just as the church submits to Christ (Ephesians 5:22-24). People today bristle at such instruction, imagining its abuse and distortion. These verses have unfortunately been used to justify abuse; we must emphasize that Paul does not command the husband to make his wife submit, but that the wife’s submission is a freewill decision and offering which ought not be coerced. Ephesians 5:21 does not contradict Ephesians 5:22-24, and vice versa: wives are to submit to their husbands while both mutually submit to one another in reverence toward Christ.

While people bristle at the suggestion of wives submitting to their husbands, few bristle at the prospect of the church submitting to Christ: it is understood to be natural and expected, since Christ deeply loves the church, having given Himself for her, and has rescued her from sin and death (Ephesians 5:22-24); in a similar way husbands are to love their wives, as Christ has loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Any discussion of the wife’s responsibility to the husband without noting the husband’s responsibility to the wife is incomplete and distorted; the husband is called upon to sacrifice himself, to absorb whatever hostility or invective comes his way, and to willingly give himself for the wife of his youth. Paul presumes a level of self-care: no one hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it, and thus the husband should nourish and cherish his wife as his own flesh (Ephesians 5:28-29). Paul summarizes his instruction by exhorting the husband to love his wife and the wife to respect her husband (Ephesians 5:33). In this way Paul identified the woman’s greatest need as love and the man’s greatest need as respect; the husband who loves his wife as himself and gives himself for her does well, and the wife who submits to her husband and respects him does well, and those who resist such things will struggle and fall short.

While Paul speaks regarding responsibilities within the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5:22-33, his primary concern is Christ and the church. The church submits to Christ in all things, for He has proven Himself loving and faithful, the Savior of the body, suffering and dying for her, having cleansed her through the washing of water (baptism) with the Word (Gospel), presenting to Himself the church in splendor, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:22-27). The purity of the church does not derive from its own effort but the cleansing received from its Lord; nevertheless, the church must preserve that purity, and have excised from itself all those who would remain in sin without repentance (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). Christ loves the church as His own body, and thus nourishes and cherishes it; the life of the church is sustained and upheld by Jesus (Ephesians 5:28-30; cf. John 15:1-7). Paul quoted Genesis 2:24, in which Moses establishes God’s purposes for marriage, and called it a profound mystery, referring to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32): as a man and woman join together and become one flesh in marriage and intercourse, no longer two, but one flesh, so Christ and the church are to be “married” and become “one flesh,” to share in full relational unity (cf. Matthew 19:3-6, John 17:20-23). Paul envisions marriage and its intercourse as a dim physical shadow of the relational unity which is manifest in God Himself and which God not only desires to have with the redeemed in Jesus but expects the redeemed to have with Jesus in the church (cf. Revelation 21:1-11).

Paul has much to say about imitating God, walking in love, and understanding the will of the Lord, and we should pay strong attention to it. We must avoid the works of darkness, love one another, be filled with the Spirit, singing the songs of the people of God, thanking God for all He has done for us in Jesus, submitting to one another in reverence for Christ, serving the Lord in the church as His bride and in our marriage relationships accordingly. May we walk in love as Jesus has loved us, suffering with Him so that we may be glorified in Him, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Letter of Jude

He would have rather written an encouraging letter regarding their shared faith; nevertheless, many false teachers had infiltrated their ranks, justifying immorality, denying the Lord. Such people always had existed among the people of God; they all would share in the same condemnation, as Jude set forth in his letter to his fellow Christians.

The letter of Jude is the twenty-sixth book in modern editions of the New Testament; it is often categorized among one of the “catholic” or universal letters or epistles. The author identifies himself as Jude, brother of James (Jude 1:1); this James is generally believed to be James the Just, the brother of the Lord, elder in Jerusalem, and author of the letter of James, and so Jude would also be the brother of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 13:55, Acts 21:18, James 1:1). The Scriptures reveal nothing else about Jude. Many in scholarship consider the letter of Jude as a pseudepigraphal work of the second century; while the letter was reckoned among the disputed books in early Christianity, many early Christians testified to its legitimacy, particularly Clement of Alexandria (Comments on the Letter of Jude; also featured in the Muratorian Canon). The letter provides no information about the location of its author or its specific audience beyond those called loved in God, and kept for Jesus (Jude 1:1), but according to historical accounts Jude’s family remained in Palestine for at least three generations after him (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.19-20; his great-grandson Judah Kyriakon as an elder in Jerusalem, Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 1); thus Jude may well have remained in Palestine, and wrote to Christians in his association or in general. No date or time reference is found in the letter of Jude, but it is most likely to be dated between 70 and 90: the text betrays no continued existence of the Temple or its services, and seemed to reflect Gnosticizing tendencies among some of the disenchanted, likely consistent with Palestine in the post-destruction period. Of all the New Testament authors Jude proved most conversant with apocryphal and pseudepigraphal traditions, alluding to and explicitly quoting the Book of Enoch and referring to the Assumption of Moses (Jude 1:6, 9, 14-15; cf. 1 Enoch 1:9); whether he considered these entire works to be inspired and profitable cannot be decided with any degree of confidence, but these particular allusions have certainly received full affirmation as legitimate, and we do well to respect the judgment of the brother of the Lord in these matters. Jude wrote to encourage Christians to stand firm in the faith which had been delivered to them and resist those in their midst who taught and lived in ways contrary to its message.

Jude identified himself as the slave of Jesus and brother of James, and spoke of his audience of Christians as called, beloved by God the Father, and kept for Jesus; he then provided a slightly modified epistolary greeting, speaking of mercy, peace, and love (Jude 1:1-2). Jude immediately set forth his reason for writing: he wished to speak about their common salvation, but felt compelled to write to encourage them to contend for the faith delivered to the saints once for all (Jude 1:3).

Jude then condemned false teachers who had gained entrance among the Christians (Jude 1:4-16). Their condemnation was foreordained; as ungodly men, they turn the grace of God into lasciviousness and deny the Lord Jesus (Jude 1:5). Jude rehearsed God’s judgments of the past: unfaithful Israelites perished in the Wilderness; angels who sinned were cast into prison; Sodom and Gomorrah gave themselves over to sexually deviant behavior; in a similar way these false teachers defile the flesh, despise authority, and revile glorious spiritual beings (Jude 1:6-8; cf. Genesis 6:1-4, 19:1-29, Exodus 14:1-Deuteronomy 34:12, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12). Yet even Michael the archangel refused to revile Satan, but pronounced God’s rebuke on him; these false teachers revile things they do not understand, and what they claim to understand they abuse in sensuality (Jude 1:9-10; a reference to the Assumption of Moses, based on Deuteronomy 34:6). Jude pronounced woe on the false teachers, speaking of them in terms of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, decrying them as stumbling blocks in their assemblies, self-serving leaders providing no profit to others, unstable, about to be destroyed, their shame manifest, condemned by Enoch in prophecy, gossips, slanderers, showing favoritism to their own ends (Jude 1:9-16; cf. Genesis 4:5-14, Numbers 16:1-35, 22:1-24:25, 31:16, 1 Enoch 1:9).

Jude then encouraged his fellow Christians based on what they heard from the Apostles (Jude 1:17-23). The Apostles foretold the coming of such ungodly, sensual false teachers (Jude 1:17-19; cf. 1 Timothy 4:1-4, 6:1-10, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Peter 3:3). Christians, nevertheless, were to build each other up in their holy faith, pray in the Spirit, keep themselves in God’s love, and look for the mercy of Jesus unto eternal life (Jude 1:20-21). Christians should have mercy on those who doubt; some were to be saved from the fire, and others they should have mercy with fear, hating the corruption of the body (Jude 1:22-23). Jude concluded with a declaration of praise of God in Christ (a doxology), glorifying God as the Savior who can guard Christians from sin and make them stand in His presence in cleanliness and joy, and who deserves majesty, dominion, and power from before time until forever (Jude 1:24-25).

Jude’s letter may be short, and full of parallels with 2 Peter 2:1-22, yet has been cherished for its exhortations. To this day Christians must contend for the faith, given to them once for all by the Apostles; they must be on guard against those who introduce worldly influences; and yet judgment is to be rendered by God, and it is for Christians to encourage one another and do all they can to rescue those who have fallen prey to the doctrines of demons and the forces of the powers and principalities over this present darkness. May we contend for the faith and be strengthened in God’s love and Jesus’ mercy and be saved!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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