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[andiroo42]

The Investigative Judgment and The Gospel

Let’s face it—many Adventists either avoid the Investigative Judgment or quietly wrestle with it, unsure how to make sense of a doctrine that feels more legalistic than liberating. But maybe the problem isn’t the judgment itself. Maybe it’s our lens. What if our confusion comes not from the idea of a pre-Advent judgment, but from the way we understand the gospel?

New to the Investigative Judgment? Don’t worry—it’s not about God snooping through your record to decide if you’re “in” or “out.” At its core, it’s about revealing who truly belongs to Christ, and that only makes sense if salvation is more than a private, individual decision.

Whether the idea of judgment feels terrifying or hopeful often depends on how we define the gospel itself. So let’s reframe the conversation. We’ll look at three gospel frameworks: Calvinism, Arminianism, and a third option to explore why this uniquely Adventist teaching hinges on how we understand the Good News.

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Calvinism: Judgment as Declaration

In 5-point Calvinism, God has already chosen, before time, who will be saved (the elect) and who won’t. Christ’s atonement is limited to them, and the elect will inevitably persevere. Once you're saved, you're are always saved.

How it shapes judgment:

Judgment isn’t about discovery or evaluation—it’s a formal declaration. God already knows who’s saved. There’s no investigation, no possibility of change. In this view, an Investigative Judgment makes no sense.

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Arminianism: Judgment as Assessment

In contrast, Arminianism, where Adventism traditionally falls, teaches that God offers salvation to all, but each person has free will and must choose to accept it—and can fall away.

How it shapes judgment:

Judgment becomes a thorough review of individual choices. Did this person believe? Repent? Remain faithful? It’s real, meaningful, and carries weight. But it can also become highly individualized—focused on behavior more than belonging.

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Corporate Solidarity: Judgment as Covenant Affirmation

Now enter a different lens: corporate solidarity, a biblical framework that sees salvation not just as an individual transaction, but as being part of a new humanity in Christ. In this view, Jesus as the new Adam represents the whole body of believers, and through union with Him, we inherit His righteousness and destiny.

How it shapes judgment:

Judgment is less about isolated performance and more about relational union. Are you “in Christ”? Are you part of the covenant community? The focus shifts from “Did you do enough?” to “Did you abide in the One who already did enough?”

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So What About the Investigative Judgment?

In Seventh-day Adventist theology, the Investigative Judgment is a pre-Advent, heavenly phase of judgment that began in 1844. It is not about God finding out new information, but about revealing who belongs to Christ before He returns.

Why it fits best with corporate solidarity:

It reviews those who are “in Christ”—not to catch them failing, but to affirm their identity in Him.

It’s not just about individual deeds, but about covenant faithfulness—a collective reality.

It prepares a people to be received by Christ at His return—a united, faithful body.

This concept doesn’t quite fit within Calvinism, where all outcomes are predetermined. And while it shares some ground with Arminianism, it goes further—offering a deeper, relational lens where identity in Christ comes before individual behavior.

For Adventists trying to force the Investigative Judgment into a purely Arminian framework, it’s no surprise we end up imagining a courtroom where every sin must be dragged out in agonizing detail just to be forgiven.

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It’s About How You See the Gospel

If salvation is an individual checklist, judgment becomes a performance review.

If salvation is God picking favorites, judgment becomes a formality.

But if salvation is an open invitation to union with Christ, through faith and shared identity, then judgment becomes a moment of recognition—God declaring, “They are in My Son, and that is enough. These are My people. They are ready.”

Your understanding of the gospel determines how you view the judgment.

And your view of judgment reveals what you really believe about grace.

“There must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement.”

— The Great Controversy, p. 421

[andiroo42]

Bread and Wine: Literal, symbolic or other?

The Eucharist has long been a topic of discussion—and sometimes division—among Christians. Some believe the early church clearly supported the idea of transubstantiation, where the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. But is that what Scripture and early Christian writers really taught? And what does the Bible itself say about the meaning of bread and wine?

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What the early church fathers said:

1. Augustine (On Christian Doctrine, 3:16:24) – “‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,’ says Christ, ‘and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.’ This seems to enjoin a crime or a vice; it is therefore a figure, enjoining that we should have a share in the sufferings of our Lord.”

2. Clement of Alexandria (The Instructor, 1:6) – “Elsewhere the Lord, in the Gospel according to John, brought this out by symbols, when He said: ‘Eat ye my flesh, and drink my blood,’ describing distinctly by metaphor the drinkable properties of faith and the promise.”

3. Eusebius (Demonstratio Evangelica, 8:1) – “For again, He gave Himself the symbols of His divine dispensation to His disciples, when He bade them make the likeness of His own Body… to give them bread to use as the symbol of His Body.”

4. Augustine (Letter 98:9) – “For if sacraments had not some points of real resemblance to the things of which they are the sacraments, they would not be sacraments at all. In most cases, moreover, they do in virtue of this likeness bear the names of the realities which they resemble.”

5. Tertullian (Against Marcion, 1:14) – “…nor the bread by which he represents his own proper body, thus requiring in his very sacraments the ‘beggarly elements’ of the Creator.”

These emphasize the idea that early Christian thinkers view of the Eucharist went beyond the literal/symbolic binary.

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What Did Jesus Mean by “This is My Body, This is My Blood”?

At the Last Supper, Jesus said:

“This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20)

While this could suggest a literal transformation, several key factors indicate a symbolic meaning:

1. Jesus frequently spoke metaphorically – He called Himself a door (John 10:9) and a vine (John 15:5), yet no one takes these literally.

2. The disciples did not react with shock – If Jesus had meant they were literally consuming His flesh and blood, it would have been deeply offensive to Jewish law (Leviticus 17:10-14).

3. The phrase “This cup is the new covenant” is clearly symbolic – The cup is not literally the covenant, but represents it. The same logic applies to “This is my body.”

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Does John 6 Support Transubstantiation?

Catholics often cite John 6:53, where Jesus says:

“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

However, just a few verses later, He clarifies:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Rather than insisting on a literal interpretation, Jesus points to a spiritual reality. Additionally, John 6:51 equates Jesus’ flesh with life, which aligns more with resurrection than death. This supports Paul’s distinction in Romans 5:9-10—we are justified by Christ’s blood (His death) but saved by His life.

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Bread and Wine in Biblical Symbolism

Scripture consistently portrays bread as life-giving and righteous, while wine—when used symbolically—often represents��judgment and suffering.

Bread → Life and Righteousness

• Manna from Heaven (Exodus 16:4) – Symbolized God’s provision of life.

• Elijah’s bread (1 Kings 19:6-8) – Strengthened him for 40 days.

• Jesus as the Bread of Life (John 6:35) – Provides eternal sustenance.

Wine → Judgment and Suffering

• Jesus’ Cup of Suffering (Matthew 26:39) – In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for the cup to pass from Him, symbolizing the suffering He was about to endure.

• The Wine of Babylon (Revelation 17:2) – Represents corruption and divine wrath.

• The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:34) – Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall, a bitter drink associated with suffering.

The contrast is striking: bread is consistently life-giving and nourishing, while wine often symbolizes judgment, suffering, or divine wrath—especially when used symbolically.

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Potential Counterarguments

Some might argue that wine is also presented positively in Scripture:

• Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine (Genesis 14:18) – A foreshadowing of Christ’s priesthood.

• Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) – A sign of blessing.

• The wine at the Last Supper – Clearly given by Jesus to His disciples.

However, these instances refer to physical wine, not symbolic usage. In contrast, symbolic references to wine in prophecy and apocalyptic literature overwhelmingly point to judgment.

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Conclusion

While the early church valued the Eucharist highly, the claim that all early Christians unanimously believed in transubstantiation is historically debatable. More importantly, Scripture itself presents a consistent pattern:

• Bread represents Christ’s life and righteousness given to us.

• Wine, when used symbolically, represents suffering, judgment, and sacrifice.

This interpretation aligns with Jesus’ own words and with Paul’s teaching in Romans 5:9-10: we are justified by His blood (death) but saved by His life.

Thus, participation in the Eucharist is not merely about consuming the elements but about allowing the bread—Christ’s life—to take root in the believer. This elevates the believer from simply being declared righteous to being made righteous, a natural progression seen throughout Scripture (e.g., Romans 8:10-11, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 1:6). The believer is called to make Christ’s body their own, living out His life within them, as Paul states:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Rather than a mystical transformation of bread and wine, the true miracle is Christ’s life becoming the believer’s life, forming them into His image.

[andiroo42]

Sin, Atonement and Trauma

I’ve recently been taking a look at how theology has been informing the recent sexual abuse scandals within the evangelical church and how Christians treat others. There are 2 main issues that I see as the problem: views on 1. sin and 2. atonement.

Many conservative Christians interpret sin as the doctrine of “original sin”, that humanity is sinful because God declared us to be corrupt to the core in purely a legal sense. The way we view the atonement also affects how we treat others. If we think that Jesus only died for a select few, then some people will be lost no matter what. The combined extreme of these is that anyone practicing sin is outside the grace of God, and deserves ridicule, distain and being cut off from the body of Christ because God obviously doesn’t care and didn’t or won’t save them.

Yes there is sin, suffering and pain and people who don’t know how to have healthy relationships, but I don’t think that’s what we should be focusing on. What if it’s more about trauma? What if the condition of sin in humanity is just the universal trauma we’ve suffered because of our separation from God that Adam initiated and it’s resulting fallout? We are depraved not because God declares it, but rather because we’ve been separated from the God of love with no sense of how to fix ourselves and reunite with Him. Hurt people hurt people and the cycle of trauma has been in motion for thousands of years.

But no body is beyond help, health and salvation. The Cross is God’s response to trauma. Jesus became the embodiment of trauma and abuse and allowed it to die in Him, unilaterally removing it and reuniting us with God. There is no longer any more separation because it’s cause has been dissolved and now true healing can occur. Christians who blame, perpetuate abuse and don’t care about others haven’t dealt with their own trauma and processed the healing depths of the cross.

The church has hidden God from the world with it’s man-made theology and unwillingness to deal with its own internal trauma, thus perpetuating disfunction on others. For a Christian to disregard those in need, telling them they are lost because of a sinful condition that was perpetrated on them by someone else (Adam) is akin to victim blaming. Jesus gives us freedom from all sin, trauma and it’s effects. Preaching the true Gospel is trauma relief.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” - ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

[andiroo42]

Thoughts on intermittent fasting for weight loss

For the past 3 months now I have been intermittent fasting and have lost around 15lbs (6.8kg). I’d like to share tips, confidence boosters and how to make it as easy for yourself as possible if you’d like to try it too.

About Fasting

The time between your last meal of the day and first one of the next day is considered a fast. That’s why the first meal of the day is called breakfast (btw which doesn’t have to be early in the morning). There are longer versions of fasting that may limit food for longer than 24 hours, but that’s not what I’m discussing here. Intermittent fasting (IF) is extending the length of a daily fast so that more time is spent in a state of ketosis, the body’s process of burning fat for energy. Our bodies will switch over to ketosis after glucose sugars are used up in the blood stream, so less sugar and carbs (which are converted into sugar) means more fat burning potential. IF lengths are noted in 2 numbers: X/Y. X = the length of the fast and Y equals the window you want to eat within. They add up to 24. The following, in my opinion, are the easiest methods for getting started with IF, plus bonus tips!

Fun fact: lb (pound) is an abbreviation for the Latin ‘libra pondo’, or “pound weight”, the English pound. That’s why the constellation libra is a scale.

Level 1: No eating between meals

We naturally convert extra energy into fat to store for later. It’s our body’s default mode, because it never knows when we won’t have access to food in the future. Snacking interrupts the digestion process and tells the body there is more energy coming, so store what is currently going through for later as fat. Snacking, or even eating at inconsistent times, is like trying to study for a test and getting constantly interrupted. You waste time and don’t get any work done. Fasting between meals makes sure the food current in you is adequately digested before eating the next one. Eating a nutritious meal and letting our bodies digest everything in the stomach allows it to get the nutrients we need and then switch over to ketosis. The standard 3 meals a day is around 14/10, 14 hours fasting from say 6pm to 8am with a 10 hour meal window. Generally meals should gradually get smaller as the day goes on. You might try a small 3rd meal in the evening. Fruit and nuts are fine. It’s also a good idea to stop eating 3 to 4 hours before bedtime so a full stomach trying to digest doesn’t keep you up when you’re trying to fall asleep. You especially don’t want to over eat late in the evening when your body is getting ready to sleep. And no midnight snacks! You may want to set meal times so your body knows when to expect food. It’s best to make these decisions ahead of time so that you can more easily say no to bad habits when they present themselves. 

Bonus #1: Cut out sugar

Cutting out sugar found in sweets, breakfast cereals, beverages etc means your body doesn’t have to process it in the first place. Especially avoid high fructose corn syrup, a type of unnatural, super-concentrated sugar that besides being in candy and soda, is used to sweeten many non-dessert items like ketchup, yogurt, cereal bars and juices (read those ingredients!) Some folks are already eating relatively healthy, they just need to make a few adjustments. But I know for others it will be more of struggle as cravings will hit. You may even get headaches as you body adjusts. It could mean low electrolytes. I found water with a pinch of pink Himalayan salt helped. It’s quite similar to a sports drink but without any added sugars or chemicals. Speaking of beverages, cutting out sugar may mean getting rid of soft drinks. If you are drinking sugar soda, this would be the first thing I would recommend to limit and eventually cut out of your diet. How about diet soda? Nope. It’s been linked to increased appetite (sweet foods generally increase appetite), weight gain and obesity. You’ll be glad to save money by switching to water. If you really want something, I like to drink a cup of sugarless black tea before breakfast, some like black coffee. The caffeine suppresses appetite. 

https://usrtk.org/sweeteners/aspartame-weight-gain/

Level 2: Two meals a day

This is my current level. 16/8 fast. 16 hours of fasting might look like 6pm to 10am. For most people this is doable as it’s just a late breakfast and removing a meal. You might do better thinking of it in terms of skipping breakfast because most cereals and breakfast items, at least in the US, are loaded with sugar and the little nutritional value they do have is fortified, that is, added back artificially. When 10am rolls around I’m good and hungry for a big meal. 

Speaking of which, fasting also helps me to be aware of how much I eat. Yes I’ll eat a big meal but I’m more aware of when I’m full. I’ve surprised myself when I had to save some for later. Many have grown up with the idea that we must clear our plates, that food goes to waste otherwise. But truth is that if you overeat you’re gonna feel bad and it’s still gonna go to waste on your body as fat. Save it for later if you’re full and it won’t go to waste. Also, eating 2 meals a day has helped me to be more health conscious. I want those meals to be packed with lots of nutritious vegetables, healthy grains and high quality ingredients. I save money by not buying sweets, soft drinks and junk food.

Bonus #2: Exercise

This should be a no brainer but I mentioned it here because it does take extra time and effort, but that doesn’t have to stop you. The easiest kind for most people is walking. Many health experts recommend a goal of 10,000 steps, which takes about 2 hours, or 100 steps per minute. I usually get in 2-3k just in daily task and split the rest up into 2 walks. But if you aren’t there yet, shoot for 5,000. No? Then go for 3,000. The point is not about reaching someone else’s lofty goal, but setting one that you feel comfortable with. If it’s smaller and obtainable then you’ll get a confidence boost when you do reach it. It’s the same for weight goals. Start off with 5 or 10 lbs and go from there. You may have a vision for the weight range you’d like to be in but keep the realistic in immediate view for now. The best walks are taken outside in fresh air and sunlight. Sunlight also replenishes your vitamin D which is connected to regulating metabolism which means better fat burning!

For those who feel they are ready for it, strength training will help you lose weight faster. The more muscle you build, the more energy it requires and the more fat you’ll burn, even when resting and not exercising. Body weight exercise and calisthenics are great. I would start on the core to get a strong foundation for everything else. There are tons of resource, workout routines and tip videos on YouTube so take a look.

The paper towel roll effect

Taking one paper towel off the roll when it’s new isn’t very noticeable, but when you get down to just a few sheets, removing one becomes a larger percentage of its total. The same thing happens with weight loss. If you need to drop a bunch of weight, a small amount may not seem to make a big difference. But when you get closer to the ideal weight for your height, those smaller amounts will seem to make a bigger difference. If you don’t know the ideal weight for your height, use this tool: https://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html

This will help you figure out a range so you can set a long term vision to keep in mind. It might be a long way off so it doesn’t have to be a precise number, just a range that you would like to be within. 

Level 3: One meal a day

This is for those individuals who really want to focus on losing weight and have the willingness to do so. I hope to be updating this section, but I am less experienced with this level so I recommend talking with those who have done it on https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/  Users will often post progress photos with these abbreviations: SW=starting weight, CW=current weight and GW=goal weight.

Hangry?

I’ve learned that it’s ok to be hungry, that being ready to eat is good. Western culture interprets temporary hunger as a bad feeling, that it’s wrong or abusive to feel. Some will actually interpret over fullness as hunger when their stomach is actually tired from being overworked. As long as you are having healthy, nutritious food at your meal(s) then it’s not starvation. One meal is enough to get all your nutrients and you can rely on the ketosis to give the rest of the energy you need.

Bonus #3: Go low carb and count those calories

Our bodies essentially treat carbs as sugars but they take the long way to get there. Simple carbohydrates, found in highly processed foods, are digested quickly and thus turn into fat quicker. Complex carbs are found in unprocessed whole grains, take longer to digest and provide more sustained energy. One thing to try: Take all your unhealthy, simple carbohydrate rich foods out of your cupboards and if you can’t give them away, give them a free trip to the garbage can. I’ve found that cutting out processed carbs like snacks, junky breads, pastries etc automatically cuts the majority of added sugars because sugar and carbs are usually paired together. Limiting one usually significantly limits the other. 

Counting calories is a good way to make sure you are only eating the healthy food you need and avoiding junk food. 2000 calories is what most people need to last throughout the day, but you can limit it to 1500 to speed up the weight loss process. There are great apps like MyFitnessPal that are super easy to use, allow you to scan food packages, can track your weight and have tons of free workout videos. I’ve found that after about 2 weeks of counting calories and streamlining my meal choices, I got a good enough feel for things that I didn’t need to continue to count, but that’s just me. 

Dinner is served

So find what works best for you and stick to it. Consistency is how to tell if something works. Eventually you may plateau as your body gets used to your routine so you will need to switch things up in order to see the same results. The things I’ve mentioned here aren’t about punishing yourself, but can be a form of self care that will last for years to come. Even if you put one of these tips into practice, you’ll be bettering yourself. Seeing the numbers on the scale drop always gives me a confidence boost. I’ve gained more time for other activities because I spend less time in the kitchen, dining room and grocery store. If you can, do it with a friend or someone you care about, it’ll keep you accountable and you’ll have someone to lean on during the difficult days. And be sure to check out https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/. It’s encouraging to see user progress reports (some are quite miraculous!), read new tips and have a community that is doing it along with you. Thanks for reading! Stay safe and healthy!

Andrew is a graphic designer currently living in Allentown PA. See his work at 42design.co

[andiroo42]

Free and affordable creative software for photo & video editing, design and illustration.

If you’re a creative and you don’t have a lot to spend on the latest software, you still want decent tools that will make life easier. Here’s a list of free and low cost software options that won’t make you a slave to outrageous pricing schemes and monthly subscriptions. All of the paid products listed here (except one) have retail options for under $50. Try them, see if they fit into your workflow and maybe they’ll find a new home on your hard drive and in your heart.

*Many of the applications listed here are open source meaning that the code base is available for anyone to tinker with and customize to their liking. It also means that fixing bugs and adding new features relies on the willingness of developers and often times the donations of users. Please support your favorite open source projects!

Photo Editing/Raster Graphics

Free:

Gimp (Windows, MacOS, Linux): Adobe’s Photoshop has long stood as the go to for photo editing, illustration and desktop publishing but their bloating app size and subscription based model doesn’t work for everybody. Short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP closely resembles Photoshop and is totally free and open source, nailing down the basic feature set you’d expect for editing photos along with some pleasant surprises.  https://www.gimp.org

Krita (Windows, MacOS, Linux): This app caters specifically to raster or pixel based illustration with unique drawing features, a streamlined interface, a great selection of brushes and customization options. It also has traditional 2D animation features.  https://krita.org/en/

Paid:

Affinity Photo (Windows, MacOS, iPadOS) : Serif’s Affinity line of products do a great job of giving a pro toolset without the pro price tag. Their one-time purchase price is super affordable. At first glance it may not have the same feature set as other packages, but on closer inspection it just does it in a different, perhaps even more efficient way. Kinda like if Lightroom and Photoshop had a beautiful baby without all the bloat. Check out their other entires on this list (Windows, Mac, ) https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/ Note: Affinity will often have discounts depending on the season!

ArtStudio Pro (MacOS, iPadOS): Closest thing to Photoshop on iPad I’ve ever seen, even more so than the newer iPad Photoshop app. Has plenty of pro features without feeling overwhelming. http://www.luckyclan.com/apps

Pixelmator (MacOS, iPadOS): a sleek, speedy alternative that focuses on integration into the Apple aesthetic. Great for editing profile pics and video thumbnails.  https://www.pixelmator.com

Procreate (iPadOS): Procreate for me is the definitive illustration app for iPad. It’s simple, intuitive and has the fastest drawing engine in the west. https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id425073498

Vector Illustration:

Free:

Inkscape (Windows, MacOS, Linux): I’ve always see Inkscape as sibling to Gimp, and certainly as the definitive open source replacement of Adobe Illustrator. The basic tools overlap but with some different terminology. You’ll definitely want to check this out if you’s like to make infinitely scalable artwork for logos, illustrations and mathematically perfect artwork. https://inkscape.org

Vectornator (MacOS, iPadOS): as a new comer, it does things a bit differently but has a super user-friendly interface. What it lacks in features it makes up in style. https://vectornator.io

Paid:

Affinity Designer (Windows, MacOS, iPadOS): Designer is unique in that it mixes vector graphics along with pixel brushes. I’ve used Designer for large scale illustrations and it doesn’t break a sweat. I appreciate it’s ability to handle raster effects like drop shadows, glows and blurs without losing performance. Definitely a game changer if you want to say sayonara to Adobe Illustrator and don’t mind the absence of some features. https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/designer/

Print Design/Desktop Publishing:

Free:

Scribus: (Windows, MacOS, Linux) This entry is on the infrequently updated side and I haven’t used it in a while, but it’s worth a look. From it’s site, it’s “a desktop publishing (DTP) application. Scribus is designed for flexible layout and typesetting, and the ability to prepare files for professional quality image setting equipment.” https://www.scribus.net/downloads/unstable-branch/

Paid:

Affinity Publisher (Windows, MacOS): Publisher is the best replacement for InDesign out there in my opinion. Besides being able to import InDesign files via IDML, one of it’s strongest features is StudioLink: an on the fly, in-app switching to Affinity Photo and Designer (if you own them already), bringing to it all the features of the suite. https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/

Video Editing

Free:

Kdenlive (Windows, MacOS, Linux): Kdenlive is probably the most well-known of the multi-track open source video editors and comes full of features you’d expect from professional software. It’s got a great community and good documentation. It also runs well on aging or low-spec machines. https://kdenlive.org/en/

Shotcut (Windows, MacOS, Linux): Shotcut is an intuitive editor that is frequently updated and feels like iMovie with a Premiere Pro aesthetic. Easy to edit transitions, color grading and above average green screening and compositing effects make it great for someone needing flexibility without the learning curve. https://shotcut.org

Olive (Windows, MacOS, Linux): This one is a newcomer and shows promise. It’s got surprisingly decent text editing features, compositing and animation features. https://www.olivevideoeditor.org

Paid:

Da Vinci Resolve (Windows, MacOS): As non-open source, proprietary software, the free version of this video editor has it all: 8k editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post-production in an easy to use package. While you can purchase the full studio version for a pretty penny, the free version is available with a few limitations. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

HitFilm Express (Windows, MacOS): HitFilm Express is a great tool for aspiring filmmakers who need to incorporate solid visual effects. It’s unique in that they offer a free base app and a sliding pay what you want scale, but spending more gets you extra features and you only pay for what you want. https://fxhome.com

BONUS: 3D Modeling/Animation/Creative Production

Blender: (Windows, MacOS, Linux) Blender is the biggest, most well-funded open source project around with a huge community of users. As an entire 3D-production suite, it includes modeling, sculpting, texturing, compositing, physics simulation, 2D animation tools, video editing, a real-time renderer and host of other features aimed at the creation of 3D artwork for motion and still images. It’s got a steep learning curve but plenty to keep happy for the price tag: zero. Download the current stable version at http://www.blender.org For the latest builds, go to https://builder.blender.org

Opentoonz (Windows, MacOS, Linux): Opentoonz is a dream come true for 2D traditional hand-drawn animators. Based on the original “Toonz” software, it’s been tweaked by Studio Ghilbli and was released to the public as open source in 2016. The original OpenToonz is available here:  https://opentoonz.github.io/e/index.html   I recommend the further customized Morevna branch: https://morevnaproject.org/opentoonz/

Pencil 2D (Windows, MacOS, Linux): If you’re interested in traditional 2D animation, Pencil 2D is a lightweight app that’s easy to use. It has basic features like vector tools and sound import, but I like to think of it more like an animation sketch pad than a pro-level production tool. https://www.pencil2d.org

Andrew Carroll is a freelance graphic designer in Allentown PA that focuses on logo and illustration design for ministries and small businesses. When not pushing pixels you can find him volunteering with Simplicity Outreach, an urban community center and hosting the Adventist City Ministries podcast. See his work at 42design.co  Instagram

[andiroo42]

Transactionalism: How we’ve made the Gospel legalism without realizing it

There is a certain type of legalism that is hard to put your finger on. I don’t mean this in the sense of law keeping and works based salvation the way we usually do when accusing others, but the way we view how salvation works. We know that God is Love. This is the driving force behind the Gospel. It is God’s unconditional, others-centered compassion that allows redemption to work and it is what we strive to reflect in our own lives. But we don’t naturally act in this way and it is something that must be exercised to be strengthened. We are raised to think that when we work hard we can expect to be paid in return for our efforts. In fact everything in our world defaults to this mode; our jobs, time and resources and even relationships become transactional, and if we’re not careful, to the point of abuse. Have we made the Gospel conditional without knowing it? Have we put limitations and our own requirements on that which is meant to free us?

Rather than God being a harsh exacting creditor who demands that His laws be kept, He operates out of principle, chiefly being that He is life and anyone who does not have a connection with Him cannot indefinitely sustain themselves. It’s a universal law that finite beings consume energy and must be sustained by an external source. Adam lost his connection with the Giver of life and the conditions or principles of both life and love were lost with sin taking their place. This condition was then passed down to his children and has compounded in today’s broken world. Instead of freely giving love unconditionally, we behave like Satan, giving but requiring something in return. The Bible uses terms like trading, trafficking or merchandising, and it calls Satan out as the originator of this practice.

“By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, o covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.” - Ezekiel‬ ‭28:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Unfortunately Satan has deceived the world into thinking that God operates like he does, to the point that we use transactional terms or man-made legalese to describe the Gospel. We’ll use language like the penalty of sin, the satisfaction of God’s wrath, justification and imputation. The church has often regarded the Gospel as simply a cosmic legal process, an eye-for-an-eye scheme where the sins of man are paid for by Christ as a trade deal. However, if Christ only died instead of us, it means He goes to heaven, instead of us, which is not to our benefit.

Like vs. In

In order to understand that the receiving of Christ’s righteousness is not merely a looks-good-on-paper-transaction, but is a reality, we must understand how sin spread to humanity. Many have tried to frame the promulgation of sin with terms like imputation but no matter how I look at it, it ends up being an artificial transfer. Deut 24:16 and Ez. 18:20 make it clear that sons cannot be punished for the sins of their fathers, that we must be held accountable for our own transgressions. In other words, we didn’t become sinners just because God said we did. So how is it that we also fell if Adam’s accountability wasn’t transferred to us? We can look at it like this; did the human race sin “like Adam” or “in Adam”? Not everyone has the capacity to sin like Adam, such as babies, to disobey a command. So how then were we “in Adam”?

In Genesis 2:7 when God breathed life into Adam, the literal Hebrew here is plural, as in “the breath of lives”. God created Adam, not just as one man, but to be the source of all humanity, to be fruitful and multiply his one life into the many that would come from him. This is corporate solidarity, the unity of many in one person. The name Adam then becomes nomenclature for all of humanity. We are mankind because we all come from the first man. By us being “in Adam”, his separation from God and the subsequent conditions of ungodliness and unrighteousness is what we have inherited simply through the promulgation of life.

Paul helps us to further understand this by making Adam a type of Christ.

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” - ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” ‭‭- Romans‬ ‭5:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." -‭‭ I Corinthians‬ ‭15:22

How do we then obtain Christ’s righteousness? Do we obey “like Christ” or “in Christ”? Obviously we do not obey “like Christ” or we would not need Him, it would be our own effort that saves us. The reason we can be declared righteous even though we are not is because we are now “in Christ”. In the same way that Adam brought the condition of sin upon the human race, God became a man, a new Adam, and united Himself to humanity so that as He died on the cross, He became the curse of sin and the condition died with Him. All that was left was divinity and righteousness and none of humanity’s sin. This is what faith brings us into. All of mankind’s sins were dealt with not because they were transactionally and numerically placed on Christ, but because the condition which lead us to sin has been dissolved. There’s is no longer any separation between us and God. Outside of Christ, the condition of sin still exists and is attempting to re-enter our lives, which is why we must continually submit to the Gospel every day.

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." -‭‭ II Corinthians‬ ‭5:21‬‬

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” - Romans‬ ‭5:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“consider yourself death to sin and alive in Christ” - Romans 6:11 NKLV

Transactionalism and modern theology

How has transactionalism affect Christianity? We can see it at work in popular theology:

1. Works, rites and sacraments: this is the most obvious; the belief that if you perform a checklist of requirements, God will look on you favorably and bestow grace and blessings. The Gospel is for all and is available to all who will surrender to Christ.

2. Once-saved-always-saved/Calvinism: Based on the notion that God only elects certain individuals. He settles their accounts but not others. This neglects the fact that Christ had to overcome the condition of sin and not just certain individual’s personal sins.

3. Freewill/Arminianism: I like to call this hamburger grace because people find themselves In n Out of God’s favor depending on how they feel. Jacob Arminius had good intentions of highlighting our ability to be drawn to and surrender to the beauty of the Gospel but taken to its extreme, it makes assurance impossible because it is based off our personal resolve to chose not to sin instead of having faith that Christ already freed us from sin. Because salvation is only provisional, a person’s ability to believe is exchanged for the grace of God.

4. The Law and the Sabbath: a common argument is that the Sabbath was only for the Jews, but that would make it something they obtained grace by and that God saves different people in different ways. It’s a universal law that all finite beings need rest once they’ve expended energy to recover and the Sabbath provides just that. By God telling us to rest, He is reinforcing the non-transactional nature of the Gospel and how works cannot save us. The law reveals our own selfish nature, showing that it is incompatible with God’s character, driving us to look to an external salvation that He gladly provides in Christ.

5. The immortal soul and eternal hell: Many have rejected God because He has been presented as one who eternally burns sinners in hell, but in the context of imputation it’s the only option. If we already possess immortality then the condition of sin can’t be transferred through organic multiplication of life. We are unfairly blamed for sinning like Adam. If inherent immortality were true, you could not actually die. Salvation then becomes merely transactional and only deals with sin and not the restoration of life. The only promise for the saved is better housing in the afterlife. The reality is that our ability to live depends on God implanting us into Jesus who is life. We need the eternal nature of Christ in us to give us a eternal life, just as much as we need His death to atone for our sins.

We practice transactionalism in others ways we might not realize, like when we tell people to “just pray harder”, “you need more faith”, or “ask God to make you stronger” as if personal effort will make God notice us more easily and fix our problems. I’ve even heard it in testimonies where folks think that God was good to them because they’ve been faithful members of the church for so long, when really they’re just lifting themselves up, displaying a form of godliness but openly showing their ignorance of God’s power. In what other ways has transactionalism affected our thinking within the christian culture? 

Terminology

While I agree that some legal terms are valuable in explaining the Gospel, at least in parables and metaphors, I don’t believe we should stop there, so I’ll clarify and provide additional terms that may help you communicate these concepts better:

Imputed sin: personally I’m ready to dispense with this term entirely. Instead, use “we sinned in Adam” or ungodliness and unrighteousness like Paul does in Romans 1:18. More simple yet, “the human condition”, how the reality of sin was actualized in each of us, versus the fictional transfer of an act and it’s guilt from Adam to all other humans.

Penalty of sin: I prefer “the principle of sin”. It is death, the natural results of being disconnected from God, falsely taught to be God furiously enacting punishment.

The Wrath of God: This is one of he most misunderstood concepts in scripture. It is the end result of sin, the final separation of those who reject the gift of salvation that has already been accomplished, rather than God’s vengeance due to a narcissistic wounding of his ego.

Justification: to be declared righteous by being grafted into Christ’s righteousness. This isn’t just on paper, but because Christ became the new Adam, all of human life now exists in Jesus. This objective reality becomes ours subjectively, but only as we personally accept it. This is not being “made righteous” which notes a perfection of performance. Righteousness by Faith happens when the heart is changed by God, while the actual performance of righteousness is a lifestyle of continual repentance and submission to God.

Is using these terms a bad thing? Not necessarily depending on who you’re working with and their level of comprehension, but limiting the Gospel by only explaining it in strictly transactional legalese obscures the love of God, creates rebels and perfectionists and has resulted in limiting the growth of the church. I believe the world will not be able to grasp the Gospel if we continue to present it as a hardline legalistic transaction. Grace is a gift, not a mere settling of accounts.

Recommended resources:

⁠Jack Sequiera “The Two Adams” (video)

⁠W. W. Prescott “The Divine Human Family” (transcribed sermons - 1893)

⁠Bill Liversidge “Victory in Jesus” (book and video series)

⁠Tim Jennings “A New Paradigm” (blog post/leaflet)

[andiroo42]

Why God seems hidden (and why it’s the Church’s fault)

The internet is a wondrous place, where the searching ask questions that the modern church is often ill equipped (IMHO) to answer. During my adventures in the land of Reddit I came across a series of similar questions about “the hiddenness of God”, the question of “if God is real, why doesn’t he show Himself?” One individual put it this way:

If a real God exists (non-imaginary), and that God is actually cognizant of humanity, and has any desire whatsoever to communicate with us, then where exactly is that God?

If such a God has any power in the real, physical realm of our existence, then why can we not reliably detect that power/presence?

If such a God is actively hiding it's power/presence from us, what exactly is the motivation for doing so? (And don't just say it would ruin our "free will", because there are plenty of things I know literally exist, and I can still freely choose to try and rebel against any of them just fine.)

If no reasonable amount of evidence of such a God (or really anything supernatural) can be found and confirmed, isn't it more reasonable to conclude that such a God exists only within the realm of imagination?

From the Christian perspective, this concern is answered through the corporate nature of the Church. By this I mean the united body of believers and not just the rinky-dink fundamentalist church down the street. Unlike the Old Testament where God appeared through theophany (a visible manifestation to humankind of God), and then Christ through incarnation to the apostolic church, the last paradigm of God appearing in human form focuses on his Revelation through the Church (hey, isn’t there a book in the Bible about that? Lol). There is sufficient evidence that the New Testament writers believed it was not God in His own bodily form who would show Himself to the world, but rather the Holy Spirit’s presence in the body of the church. It is the transformation of those who act on behalf of Christ, thus revealing God’s character. For those not familiar with the concept, the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to make you like Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ is to live in you.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” - John‬ ‭14:16-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“This message was kept secret [or mystery in some translations] for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” - Colossians‬ ‭1:26-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Ephesians‬ ‭3:10-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”” - Hebrews‬ ‭10:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?” - James‬ ‭4:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” - ‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The next natural question I assume would be: what’s up with God’s church? Why all the denominations, divisions and disagreements? Why are there so few acting how they say God would. If you’re not familiar with Revelation’s seven churches, they were indeed literal churches that John was writing to, but they are also symbolic of periods of church history. See what is said to the last church, Laodicea, which means “a people judged”:

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” - Revelation‬ ‭3:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God’s point is that the church has largely forgotten Him so He is poorly represented. We care more about our arguments and traditions rather than people. We’ve forgotten our first love, meaning we stopped caring about God’s mission of revealing His love to the world. In my experience most people don’t leave the church due to doctrinal disagreements, but because of relationship issues. Some one treated them in a manner that was less than “Christ-like”.

For any Christians reading this, I believe there is hope. Revelation 10:7 mentions that just before Jesus comes, the mystery of God will be revealed, the same mystery that Paul in Romans spoke about in the verses I quoted previously. The Church will change and represent Christ. Many will leave but many more will take their place when they see God’s love alive in a body that had previously been stain by hypocrisy.

Evidence of God is meant to be seen through the Church, but for now the Church is (mostly) sleeping.

Please sir can I have some more? 

What! More?! eh...ok, why not?

Listen to this great presentation on the Mystery of God from my friend Jeff

More on what the church can do to represent Christ

Photo by Raj Eiamworakul on Unsplash

[andiroo42]

The Gospel, Forgiveness and Entropy

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” - Psalm 103:10-12

The Gospel is inclusive. God has already justified, or declared righteous, everyone, including you. You are already forgiven. Confused? Let me explain.

Corporate solidarity*, meaning the common unity of humanity, is what caused the problem of sin to spread, but it also allowed it to be solved. In the same way that Adam fell and was separated from God, Christ reversed this mistake and reconciled us to God. God is said to be holy and that sin cannot exist in His presence (like those Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark). God allowed Adam ('adam is Hebrew for humanity) to experience limited separation so we could survive. But this brought with it the problem of entropy. Originally, God’s presence and eating from the tree of life kept disorder in check, but being separated from God caused everything to fall into decay. The curses in Genesis 3 are essentially God explaining how the world will change now that He has taken a step back. In order to save humanity from eventual death, God’s plan had to reinvigorate us with life. He did this by reuniting Himself to us, but it means He also had to reverse the effects of entropy. This was accomplished by God becoming a man, and experiencing our condition as a new Adam. At the cross Jesus allowed the condition of our separation from God to come to its ultimate conclusion in Him: complete death; non-existence. He overcame every state of being that is a result of disconnection from our Creator: death, guilt, shame, violence, hate, character defects, etc. Because humanity was in Christ at His death, it also means we were in Him at His resurrection. Every person in history, every child of Adam, is already saved and forgiven and has resurrected with Christ. It is now the individual’s choice to reject what they’ve been given. Those who choose not to accept Christ will come to an end because they cannot sustain themselves. Immortality is not an innate quality, and is only granted through connection to that which is already eternal, that being God. This is why Jesus is the only way. He is the only man who has the eternal life we need in order to exist. By asking God’s forgiveness, we are not pleading with God to change His mind, but accepting what Christ has already accomplished, that He has already done the hard part and brought us back into the circuit of life.

‬‬"...when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." -‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:10 *More on corporate solidarity here

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I’ve been doing #redditgetsdrawn as a way to keep my skills sharp! Someone posted the picture of their cat asking the folks to draw it. #procreate #procreateapp #ipadart #digitalart #adventure #cats #cat #drawing #art #sketch #tarasbrushes #soar https://www.instagram.com/p/BroCsyWFsx9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12mjcjz5m2goe

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Teaser for my upcoming video essays on what it means to be “in Christ”. #teaser #gospel #jesus #christ #jesuschrist #secondadam #lastadam #salvation #thegospel #love #bible https://www.instagram.com/p/Bokch1LgUef/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17xjd8m4thdd1

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Does the Bible permit chattel slavery? Leviticus 25:44-46

It does seem like chattel slavery is supported at first glance but we must remember that these statements are within a larger context. I don't believe Christians need to resort to thinking that it was like modern slavery, which leads to unneccesary apologizing and attempts to get rid of the OT. Hebrew slavery was debt bondage for everyone and not like what we commonly think of in the west.

How did people become slaves? They sold themselves. Israelites were allowed to do business with neighboring people and if they fell into debt to a Hebrew, God allowed that foreigner to sell themselves into labor to work off the debt. Kidnapping foreign people for enslavement was absolutely unlawful, as well as mistreating a slave, whether Jewish or foreign.

“He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.  - Ex. 21:16 

Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. - Deut. 24:14

"Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. - Ex. 22:21

The Jews were also allowed to buy the children of these debtors so that the family wouldn't become destitute by the absence of their father. Remember, these are folks who lived with the Israelites, no one was imported like the modern cattle trade.

"And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property." - Leviticus 25:44, 45

The main difference between a Hebrew servant and foreign slave was the duration of their mutual agreement, not treatment. The foreign slaves were not released automatically on the 7th Jubilee year. To be a permanent slave meant they had to work until the debt was paid off. If they still owed debt when their master died, ownership would be passed down to the master's inheritor so that the slave could continue working off the debt until complete. These verses are contrasting the idea that the Hebrews automatically go free on the 7th year, not that they work for them with no hope of release by paying off the debt. All the other stipulations that applied to the Israelites also applied to the foreign ones. It's adding a clarification, not overruling every previous statement.

"And you may take them [like the child who was sold by their parent to pay off the debt] as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor." Leviticus 25:46

To summarize, a slave was a foriegner who did business with an Israelite and fell into debt which they then paid off by working until their arraignment was complete, an alternative to monetary compensation.

[andiroo42]

[andiroo42]

The Pain of Searing Loss: The Seven Last Plagues Poured Out

The word wrath appears 256 times in the King James version of the bible. Webster’s dictionary defines wrath as “1: strong vengeful anger or indignation 2: retributory punishment for an offense or a crime : divine chastisement”. Today we’ll focus on the second definition, and how the seven last plagues revolve around “the wrath of God” being poured out as a response to Satan’s attacks.

Giving up the Holy Ghost

Paul in Romans 1 reminds us that God’s wrath is poured out on the ungodly and unrighteous (v.18). Several times throughout the chapter he tells us what will happen to those individuals who continually say no to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. God “gives them up” to their own devices and cannot work with them. Because He is a gentleman and does not force His love upon anyone, His only choice is to depart from them. God’s wrath is synonymous with the unpardonable sin and the reality that He must eventually separate Himself from those who continue in their rebellion against He who is the source of Life.

The 7 First Plagues

We can see this play out as the seven last plagues are foreshadowed in the Exodus experience. Pharaoh was given multiple opportunities through Moses and Aaron to surrender his heart, but rather than admitting that he and the gods of Egypt are powerless, we are told that “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he harkened not unto them, as the Lord has said” (Ex. 8:19). Pharaoh’s defiance stands in stark contrast to how God’s end-time Church will react. They have believed the Gospel saying “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints” (Rev 15:3). They sing the song of Moses because similarly to how the Israelites rejoiced with singing when they were brought out from the bondage of a cruel Pharaoh, God has delivered His children from the oppressive regime of an evil king, the adversary of God.

Paradise Lost Forever

The seven last plagues describe what will happen to those who fully reject the Gospel; the life, death and resurrection of our Passover lamb Jesus Christ. Because they refuse the Light, they come under judgement. “And this is the condemnation (or judgement), that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19). They will be “tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels”, not because God is malicious or sadistic, but because of God’s righteous presence in His people. In contrast to the darkness of sin, the light of Christ will be like a burning fire, convicting the lost of their transgressions. Yes, there will be physical manifestations of destruction but it is all a result of a corrupt spiritual condition.

Each vial/bowl/cup of wrath that is poured out shows us how deep the condemnation is felt by the lost. Vials one through four tell us that to some the weight of unresolved sin becomes a “grievous and noisome sore”. No matter what human means are tried, like the Egyptians they cannot scrape away the sickness of their sin. To others Christ is discarded like a lifeless “dead man” who has no power. They forfeit ever being remade into the image of God a.k.a. “living souls”. Those who have violently rejected the Gospel, shedding “the blood of saints and prophets”, now despair at their impending doom. Even those who claimed loyalty to but misrepresent the name of Jesus, the sun of righteousness, will also suffer this fate. They have cursed and “blasphemed the name of God...and they repented not to give him glory.” (Rev. 16:9).

Can you see why God is angry? The Father, Son and Spirit are not only infinitely saddened by those who will miss out on the New Earth for all eternity, They are infuriated by a system that has existed for the sole purpose of corrupting that Gift which has the power to save. In the fifth and sixth plagues, God is ready to take action by pouring out his vials on the counterfeit trinity; the corrupt dragon, beast and false prophet. As Cyrus the great once sieged Babylon by diverting the Euphrates river away from the city, it will be clear that Jesus, the Living Water, and all the blessings that He once offered freely to the lost, will now be out of reach. The enemy’s kingdom will dry up and fall. Everyone’s choices will be solidified but Satan will use this one last opportunity to deepen the deception. Just as a frog catches prey with their tongue, Satan will continue speaking lies to trap the lost and rally them one last time against the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed is he that watcheth

Finally, in verse 15, Jesus assures us that it is the lost who will be caught off guard suddenly when He comes as a thief. We are given a sobering warning to watch our garments, not of cloth but of His Righteousness, so that we may not suffer the same fate as those who are left in a naked, fallen state without Christ. Satan may try to exploit our human weakness and shame us into identifying with our past guilt, but we can know that Jesus has rescued us. May we take hold of the life giving power of the Everlasting Gospel so that we’ll never have to suffer separation, the bitter cup that Christ has already endured on our behalf.

Questions:

1. What is the difference between human wrath and God‘s wrath?

2. What other similarities can you see between the plagues of Egypt and the seven last plagues?

3. How do we avoid being among those who receive the seven last plagues?

[andiroo42]

What Christians get wrong about ministering to the LGBTQ+ community

In my university experience around 2008, I encountered Christian protestors who were less than courteous in their evangelism efforts on campus, especially towards the LGBTQ+ community. They engaged in loud shouting, waving signs, and using poorly constructed metaphors to convey their views on certain lifestyles. While I acknowledge personal growth in my Christian journey since then, even at that time, I understood the wisdom of the saying, "you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar." The image of Jesus I encountered in our campus fellowship group was one of compassion, a listener to your problems, and a friend. Why do some Christians resort to a tactic of hostility, essentially conveying, "if you're doing something we don't like, we hate you," when sharing the message of Jesus? How can the church more effectively witness to a modern audience of varying preferences and persuasions? How can the church become a healthy and trauma informed center or healing?

Misinterpreting Paul

"I've noticed that many Christians often quote the writings of Paul to argue against certain lifestyle choices, but they seem to miss the central theme of Paul's writings: the concept of being 'in Christ' and its transformative power. For instance, they often refer to a passage like Romans 1:18 (KJV), which mentions 'ungodliness and unrighteousness,' treating them as synonymous. However, I hold a different perspective. Paul's words describe a process, where unrighteousness follows ungodliness. Ungodliness, as Paul later explains, is when people willingly turn away from a relationship with God and His intended path. This separation from God, which began with Adam's choice in Eden, is the root of ungodliness, and unrighteousness is its fruit. Well-meaning Christians sometimes focus on the outward actions of others instead of addressing the core issue: humanity's separation from God. This separation leads to unrighteousness because, like a child without an active father figure, we struggle to comprehend God's fullness and His loving example.

"1 John 4:16 declares, 'God is love,' and it seems that everyone is searching for an intimate connection. The longing for eternal things is ingrained in our hearts, but attempting to satisfy that desire with anything other than God goes against His design. God desires our complete devotion. If you've experienced the emptiness that comes from trying to fill it with temporary things, you're not alone. While material possessions can provide temporary satisfaction, only God can truly fill that void.Paul's message in Romans 1 is that if we reject the relationship God desires with us, He, being a gentleman, respects our choice to remain distant. However, this choice can lead us to dark places when we are disconnected from Him, providing context for 1 Corinthians 6:9. Those who reject God demand their freedom from Him, and in sorrow, He allows it. Unlike human anger, God doesn't lash out at those who reject Him but against those who misrepresent Him. We are deceived when we cease to believe that we are unlovable, even by God, despite all that He has done through Christ's incarnation, life, death, and resurrection. Eventually, a time may come when He must bid a tearful farewell as the giver of life and depart from them forever." 

I wrote this paraphrase of Romans 1:18-32 to help clarify the above points.

 Jesus died for our LGTBQ+ friends too

The heart of the Gospel as Paul describes it is to be “in Christ”. This is the concept of corporate solidarity. Some Christians teach that Jesus died instead of us, but a more nuanced explanation is that Christ died as us. Just as we were all “in Adam”, God gathered all of humanity and put us “in Christ”.

“For He made Him who knew no sin [separation from God and it’s consequences] to be sin [separated] for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2Cor 5:21

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” - Rom 5:12 

“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” – 2Cor. 5:19

You can read more about corporate solidarity here 

The Good News, the Gospel, is not that God will save you if you believe, but that He has already justified, or declared righteous, every human being who has ever lived through the Cross. No one is left uncovered. God remade us “in Christ” destroying our position “in Adam”. Jesus has brought us close to God again by becoming our curse Himself and He died the death we should have. It doesn’t matter what condition we feel we’re born into, what orientation we are inclined towards, because Christ’s life overrides the old and brings us something new and better.

By becoming not only our personal sins but the abuses of others, Jesus was able to identify as our perpetrators, our abusers and as such He does what they have not or could not: apologize. He says to us “Beloved, I am sorry for what this world has put you through”. Jesus knows the weight that abuse and trauma have inflicted upon us because He felt it being put on Himself. Because Jesus rose from the dead and put us into Himself, He gave us His life; His perfect thoughts, feelings and attitudes. God now sees you as perfect and whole. The former things have passed away and every part of you is new. We start a new life in Christ simply by saying “thank you” for what He has done for us.

The Gospel is not about us asking God to make us stronger so we can overcome life-long struggles, it’s about coming closer to Jesus. When we say yes to a relationship with Christ and trust in Him, Jesus is the one who overcomes. He gives us His perfect life and our former history is erased, no matter how much we personally want to cling to it. Believing in the Gospel means acknowledging that you have a relationship with God due to His actions, and that He is actively manifesting His life within you. Do you see how the Gospel is good news for all, including the LGBTQ+ community?

What can the church do better?

The church can move forward by joining together, and asking God for forgiveness for how we have treated the LGBTQ+ community. Besides all the name calling, shaming and bashing, many in the church have given bad advice by condemning individuals to a life of a Christ-less struggle. Instead of saying that Jesus gives new life, we’ve made people believe that God rejects them automatically and will only accept them if they overcome their struggles in their own strength. No one has ever been able to do this. It’s impossible. It’s the Gospel that gives hope and peace because we’ve already been accepted by God and reconciled through Christ.

As individuals, believers can come to the Gospel with new eyes. If Jesus says that He is light and life and we are not experiencing that promise as it is in Him then it could mean we don’t fully understand the implications of the Cross. We need to search our own hearts and expose our fears. From my own experience, it seems that if we are afraid of telling others about the freedom that Jesus offers then we have not come to terms with the Gospel for ourselves. When Christians speak to an LGBTQ+ individual about Jesus, it’s no different than interacting with any other person. Our testimony is the same: Jesus brought me close to God and it has changed my life for the better.

For our local congregations, help each other to grow into the truth, maturing to the stature of the love of Christ. Before the church can reach out, we must be a healthy body. A church that has infighting and can never agree is no place for a heart that needs healing. So often we invite people into congregations like this and what they hear is, “We just can’t seem to get along. Come, be a part of all the misery and confusion.” Instead become a place of refuge that attracts the outcasts, rather than rubbing the salt of rejection in the wounds of a distraught soul. Become the church that you want to see in the world.

For the leadership: Just allow it to happen. Make it possible for the members to grow and reach out. The attitude we need to have is this: if a current leader is not making it possible for others to share the Gospel, then let God bring along the person who will, even if it challenges our cultural habits. Leaders who do not fulfill the Gospel commission will naturally be phased out by God’s hand. This will happen if the church body understands the power of the Gospel.

You may be worried about the current state of the Church and concerned with the amount of growth that will be needed in order to make it a place of hope and healing. It’s a tall order but it is God’s work and we are simply the tools if we allow Him to move.

There’s an amazing promise in Ephesians 3:10 concerning “the mystery of God”, aka the Gospel: “He did this (revealed the mystery) so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm.” God’s plan is to use His people, the Church, to show the universe His character of love – the wisdom of God. He wants to use all kinds of people to do this. Everyone matters to Him, and He wants all to know what He went through so that He could be reunited with all the people He loves. It all can happen because we’ve said yes to a relationship with Him and share it with others, no matter who they are.

Listen to this testimony about how God can change the life of someone struggling with same-sex attraction:

https://youtu.be/zN5MrKnAONg

[andiroo42]

Why does God allow natural disasters?

If you’re like me then your eyes have been glued to the recent hurricane coverage. We’ve seen the weatherman estimate its path of destruction, heard the call for evacuation and seen the mad rush to the grocery stores and gas stations. With all this, many question God’s part in it all. “Why doesn’t he care?” “Why doesn’t he intervene?” Interestingly enough God answered my ponderings in a completely unrelated way, at least that’s what I thought.

As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed Saturday morning, I came across an article by a popular Reformed pastor concerning salvation. I read through the comments and found someone who was having trouble reconciling 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and Romans 9:22. He saw that God “desires all men to be saved” but it seems that He forces others to be lost because some are “prepared for destruction”. The latter says:

“What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:22, 23)

How do we reconcile these two concepts that seem to be contradictory? Let’s tackle wrath. We are inclined to think of it as active anger but this is likely what psychology calls projection. We take the way we feel about a situation, our perspective, and experiences and imagine that someone else feels the same. When we’re angry we get mad and lash out, and our human nature prompts us to think that God is the same way. The Apostle Paul in Romans 1 explains that God’s wrath is a result of someone’s continual willingness to remain separated from Him, despite His attempts to reconnect with them through the sacrifice of Christ. For these people, “God gives them up” or leaves them to their own devices. What follows ungodliness is unrighteous.

Jesus tells us the same thing in John 3:19: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Those who reject the gift of God’s love in Jesus, “the light”, will only be left with who they are apart from God, meaning the reality of the darkness of their own hearts.

God is Love and Life

This next part may be hard to hear. If we were completely separated from God, we would not be able to sustain ourselves and therefore we would die. God is the source of life. He is our creator. Without Him we cannot exist. Even though we are separated from His direct presence we still experience temporary life through the provision that God made through Jesus. The Bible makes it clear concerning what will happen to Satan, the one who rejects God in every possible way: 

“All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” Ezekiel 28:19

To reject Christ is to reject the ultimate gift of life:  “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

Those who reject God and persecute His people will come to an end: “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.” Obadiah 1:16

Finally, Jesus tells us that there are only two possible outcomes for the human race, to live or perish: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Romans 9:22,23 Revisited

“What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory”

The fact is that God wants all our pain and suffering to end. He sees how sin has marred his once perfect creation and longs to be reunited with those he loves. But He’s in a difficult situation. When He comes, he knows the power of His presence will be displayed and disrupt the systems of this world. It’ll be like when your parent suddenly bursts into the room unsuspectingly. You maybe doing something wrong but whatever it was, everyone freezes.

God’s judgment on those who reject Him will be final: whoever does not have the son, will not have life. In order to save as many as He can, He works patiently with everyone so none can say that He didn’t try. By working in our lives He makes sure that everyone who will say yes to the gift of salvation, does. When they see God’s kindness to even the most ungrateful, hateful person, some will recognize the gift and accept Jesus.

The writings of Paul make it clear that Christ died for everyone, that “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) Christ has provisionally saved everyone, there’s no one who cannot receive His grace. The “riches of His glory” have been prepared beforehand for everyone, not only those who will accept Him. It’s those who reject God that will be condemning themselves and God must comply because there is no other way for them to be saved.

As I sat in Bible Study later in the day, hearing about God’s love, it all clicked. When we see all the natural disasters around us, we don’t have to wonder if God cares but can know with certainty that He is doing everything possible to save those who will accept Him. The longer He allows these sorrows to go on, the more we can be certain that there are still lost souls who will eventually say yes and become part of a body that fully represents the mystery of Christ (see Ephesians 3). He wants to make sure that when He does intervene and everyone’s decisions are finalized, all who could have said yes to His wonderful gift will. He doesn’t want to lose anyone. As the storms intensify we can know that God is hard at work, pleading with those who do not yet understand His unconditional love. May we the Church be His hands and feet so that those flooded with the guilt and shame of sin may find relief and shelter in Him.

[andiroo42]

The Order of Melchizedek: a King and Priest

It was only a priest who could enter the sanctuary and read the law. No ancient king was allowed to be a priest, he had to personally ask one to retrieve the scroll of the law so he could make his own copy:

"And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them." – Deuteronomy 17: 18-19

...but Christ fulfills both of these roles as he was both a king and a priest, of the order of Melchizedek:

"And speak to him, saying, So speaks the Lord of hosts, saying, Look the man whose name is The Branch (a creeping root that pops up away from the initial stalk); and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord: Even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne, and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." - Zechariah 6: 12-13

"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil; Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisadek. For this Melchisadek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him." – Hebrews 6: 19 to 7: 1

In heaven's sanctuary, no priest was found to open the scroll, not even one from the Levitical system that had been done away with at the cross. Only Christ being both a King and Priest was able to enter the presence of God and open the scroll!

"I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” – Revelation 5:4, 5

[andiroo42]

A Paraphrase of Romans 1:18-32

God separates himself from those who refuse to acknowledge him and act like he doesn’t exist, a deliberate silencing of the plain truth that they need God. This truth is easy to see because God describes it many ways. We see God’s power to give life and love through all the systems of the natural world that He made (like how we need the sun), so anyone who rejects Him is doing so on purpose. Even thought they know they need God, they deny it, refusing to thank Him for the better things He is offering. In turn they had to come up with alternate theories on how the world works and by rejecting God’s light they were only left with darkness. They foolishly thought the systems they created were enlightened, thereby refusing the eternal love of God.

Because God could not force His love upon them, He left them to their own devices. Their dark hearts constantly searched for something to fill the emptiness, but all they found was meaningless pleasure that never lasted. All of this happened because they rejected God’s love and believed that they didn’t need Him, the same argument that the serpent used to deceive Eve in the garden. Instead of living a life of gratitude towards God who created them, they became more concerned with the things they had created, ironically all based on the things that God had made.

God let them have their own way, and they only sank deeper into darkness. His influence was removed, all they had left was themselves. Their useless search for belonging led them to use their bodies in ways that God had never intended. They attempted to ascribe meaning to these acts but only dug the hole deeper, leaving them physically and emotionally abused. They rejected God, and the void that His presence left could only be filled with things that God could have no part in: lust, hate, greed, murder, fighting, lying. This condition leads people to gossip, deceive, backstab, invent new ways to hurt others, disregard their parents. They are faithless fools who are heartless and unable to show mercy, incapable of compassion. They know that one day their own habits will kill them and they have no place in God’s system but they don’t care. They have no concept of how to be and do real good, and can only encourage the same in others.