The Riddleblog

“A Little Horn” Daniel 8:1-27 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Fifteen)

Yet Another Vision

Who is Antiochus IV Epiphanes and why should we care?

If we were Jews we would know the answer to this question immediately–Antiochus Epiphanes and the Macabbean Wars (167-141 BC) are the historical background of the Jewish holiday “Hanukkah” (which means “dedication,” or more specifically, “re-dedication”). The reason why we as Christians should care about Antiochus is because the prophet Daniel had another vision which is recounted in chapter 8, this time of a ram and a goat. But the “Little Horn” also reappears (we first read of him in Daniel 7:8) and his role is central in this vision, pointing us ahead to a future antichrist. In this visionary dream, YHWH gives Daniel a prediction of yet another terrible time for the people of God then exiled in Babylon.

This vision informs them that at some point before the dawn of the messianic age, yet after the exiles have indeed returned from Babylon to Judah to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and YHWH’s temple, the rebuilt temple will be desecrated by a “Little Horn,” who, in this vision, is none other than Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The temple will be cleansed and the altar rebuilt by Judas Maccabaeus, the famed Jewish rebel leader who recaptured Jerusalem from Antiochus’ forces and then restored the temple. This event, Hanukkah,celebrated by Jews ever since was foretold with uncanny accuracy by Daniel, and recounted for us in the 27 verses of the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel.

Amazing Accuracy

This vision is important to us for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the accuracy of Daniel’s prediction of yet another terrible desecration of YHWH’s temple in Jerusalem. This desolation will occur long after the Jewish exiles then held in Babylon (at the time Daniel is given this vision), have, in the future, returned to Judah and are once again established in the land of promise. Daniel’s vision predicts the coming of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (some 350 years yet future to Daniel), but it also depicts him as a type (or a foreshadowing) of a series of antichrist figures yet to come. As we saw in the vision recorded in Daniel 7, this series of antichrists includes the self-deifying emperors of Rome (the “Little Horn” of the fourth beast of the visions in Daniel 2 and 7), and which culminates in a final end times antichrist foretold by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerJuly 1, 2024The Little Horn, The Angel GabrielComment

Warfield on the “Conviction of the Holy Spirit”

Below is an excerpt from B. B. Warfield’s sermon, “The Conviction of the Holy Spirit” reprinted in a volume of Warfield’s collected sermons, Faith and Life (Banner, 1974).

We approach now the center of our subject and perceive what it is that the world is convicted of by the demonstration of the Spirit. The Saviour pointedly discriminates between the three elements: As to sin, as to righteousness, as to judgment. Conviction of the world is the work of the Holy Ghost. Conviction as to what? (1) As to sin. The world which as yet knows not sin is convicted of it as the first and primary work of the Holy Ghost. It is not without significance that this is placed first. There is a sense in which it underlies all else, and conviction of sin becomes the first step in that recovery of the world, which is the victory. Once convicted of sin, another conviction is opened out before it. (2) It may then be convicted of righteousness, that is, of what righteousness is and what is required to form a true righteousness, and (3) it may be convicted of judgment, that is, of what judgment is, what justice requires and its inevitableness. These two together form the correlates of sin. It is only by knowing sin that we can know righteousness; as it is only by knowing darkness that we know light. We must know what sin is and how subtle it is, before we can realize what righteousness is. We must know how base the one is before we can know how noble the other is. We must know the depth that we may appreciate the heights.

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B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerJune 29, 2024Conviction of the SpiritComment

Paul on Preaching: A Demonstration of the Spirit and Power (1 Corinthians 1:4)

What follows is an excerpt from episode three of season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast which covers Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

What was characteristic of Paul’s preaching was its content–Christ and him crucified. Even though he was not worldly-wise, nor did he seek to impress the Greeks, nevertheless, in verse 4 of 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of his preaching as accompanied by “a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” Readers of 1 Corinthians have long debated what Paul means by this.

The context tells us that Paul does not mean by this demonstration of the Spirit’s power what we might call “signs and wonders” as contemporary Pentecostals contend. Rather, “the power of the Spirit is linked with the proclamation of the cross.”[1] Or, as Ciampa and Rosner put it, Paul’s stress upon his own weakness being overcome by the power of God in his preaching of Christ crucified, means that “power here is about moral conviction, not miraculous display.”[2] God’s power supplants the preacher’s weaknesses.[3] Paul said much the same thing to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”

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Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 27, 2024The Spirit and Power, 1 Corinthians 1:4Comment

“The Error of Rejecting a Fixed and Definite Plan of Salvation” — The Rejection of Errors, Second Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (1)

Having set forth the orthodox teaching, the Synod rejects the errors of those:

Who teach that God the Father appointed his Son to death on the cross without a fixed and definite plan to save anyone by name, so that the necessity, usefulness, and worth of what Christ’s death obtained could have stood intact and altogether perfect, complete and whole, even if the redemption that was obtained had never in actual fact been applied to any individual.

For this assertion is an insult to the wisdom of God the Father and to the merit of Jesus Christ, and it is contrary to Scripture. For the Savior speaks as follows: “I lay down my life for the sheep, and I know them” (John 10:15, 27). And Isaiah the prophet says concerning the Savior: “When he shall make himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand” (Isa. 53:10). Finally, this undermines the article of the creed in which we confess what we believe concerning the church.

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In rejecting the Arminian errors regarding the death of Christ, the authors of the Canons now turn to the weakest point in the so-called “universal atonement” position. In the Arminian scheme of redemption, the death of Christ does not actually save any of those for whom Christ is said to have died. What many regard as the strength of the Arminian view–its universalism and emphasis upon the assertion that “Christ died for all” without exception–is seen by the Reformed not as a strength, but as a serious departure from biblical teaching. Yes, the Scriptures teach that Christ died for all those given him by the father. The Scriptures do not teach that Jesus’s death makes the entire world potentially “saveable” if only sinners do what is required of them.

Exposing this error is what the authors of the Canons are getting at when they state the error in view is the Arminian notion that God supposedly appointed Christ to die for sinners, yet without any fixed or definite plan to save any one particular sinner by name. Under the Arminian conception of salvation, the death of Christ is said to be “for all,” because the atonement only makes the entire world “savable” upon the condition of faith in Christ. But notice, this means that the death of Christ does not actually save anyone. The atonement is said to be “for all” because it can potentially save all. In fact, as the Arminian understands fallen human nature and prevenient grace (to be discussed in part two), all can potentially believe, despite the fall of Adam.

Under this conception, the death of Christ actually saves no one, nor does it secure anything for our salvation, until such time as it is “appropriated” or “applied” by the sinner to themselves through the means of faith. This is a very important point. This gets to the heart of what many Reformed theologians have pointed out as the most distinguishing characteristic of the Reformed understanding of the plan of redemption, and that which sets the Reformed conception of salvation apart from all other branches of the Christian family. According to B. B. Warfield, “the saving operations of God are directed in every case immediately to the individuals who are being saved. Particularism in the process of salvation becomes the mark of Calvinism” [Warfield, Plan of Salvation, 87].

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 24, 2024Indefinite atonement, Universal atonementComment

Warfield on Christian Hope

I believe that as Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his eternal award: and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when He shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.

From “A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith”

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerJune 22, 2024Christian HopeComment

“An Everlasting Kingdom” Daniel 7:15-28 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Fourteen)

A Remarkable Vision of Four Great Empires—Metallic Statues and Fierce Beasts

In chapter 7 of the prophecy which bears his name, Daniel is given a vision which maps out the future course of the four great ancient Middle-Eastern empires with uncanny accuracy. Daniel’s vision dates from 550 BCE–the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon–but covers historical developments until the rise of the Roman empire four centuries later.

In this amazing vision, Daniel sees four fierce and frightening beasts which represent the same successive empires which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in the vision of the metallic statue which YHWH had given to him (and recounted in Daniel 2): the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire, the Greek empire (under Alexander the Great and his successors), and then finally the fourth and most powerful and frightening beast of all, the Roman empire.

The “Ancient of Days” and the “Son of Man”

What makes Daniel’s vision so much more than a mere lesson in ancient Near-Eastern history is that this vision is given five centuries before these events actually occur. In this vision, Daniel is also given a glimpse of the heavenly court in session. He sees one whom he describes as “the Ancient of Days” presiding, with one “like a Son of Man” being led into his presence, possessing a glory beyond all human comprehension with thousands and tens of thousand attendants. Daniel sees what so many of God’s people across the ages have desired to see–a glimpse of what heaven is like and what transpires in God’s presence.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerJune 20, 2024The Fourth Beast, The Little HornComment

June Musings (6/17/2024)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

The Riddleblog and the Blessed Hope Podcast are in modified suspended animation as we are celebrating family birthdays, seeing grand kids, doing some household projects, and getting ready for our annual trek to the Eastern Sierras (see my Instagram account if you are curious about any of this).
I’m also hard at work on 1 Corinthians as I get ready for the second half of season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast when we pick up with 1 Corinthians 7:1. There are some important and controversial issues to tackle in the second half of Paul’s first Corinthian letter! Stay tuned . . .

Thinking Out Loud:

My rant against both political parties and their fossilized unfit candidates continues . . . We are slouching toward the worst presidential election of my lifetime. We’ve got MAGA folk using messianic and redemptive language of Trump, yet oblivious to the blasphemy of it all. We’ve got Biden mumbling, fumbling, wandering off during the G-7 meetings, and freezing up like an old, old, man (which he is). Put not your trust in princes has always been biblical counsel. Any temptation to ignore that counsel is long gone.

A full 25% of Americans are now considered “double haters” and dislike (really dislike) both presidential candidates, the highest percentage ever.

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Christ's Spotless Bride -- The Three Marks of the Church Defined (Part Five)

Calvin’s Pulpit in St. Peter’s, Geneva

Continued from Part Four

The First Mark of the Church Is the Pure Preaching of the Word

According to Michael Horton, “the church is the creatura verbi or `creature of the Word,’” in the sense that the Holy Spirit working through the preached word (God’s living and active speech–Hebrews 4:12-13) brings the church into existence. This indicates that the church is “always on the receiving end of its existence.”[1]

Horton continues, the Word . . .

always achieves its purpose (Isa. 55:1– “everyone who thirsts”). The proclaimed word is not simply the sermon, but the faith that is announced, confessed, sung, and witnessed to by the church–by those called to special office but also by the whole body in its general office as prophets, priests, and kings in Christ. Even singing in church is a form of proclamation: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16; cf. Eph. 5:19). Nevertheless, it is especially in its official preaching that this Word is a verbum sacramentale (sacramental word).[2]

Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck offers a thorough and helpful summation of the Word as the primary, but not the only mark of the true church.

That the Reformation rightly sought the key mark of the church in the Word of God cannot be doubted on the basis of Scripture. Without the Word of God, after all, there would be no church (Prov. 29:18; Isa. 8:20; Jer. 8:9; Hos. 4:6). Christ gathers his church (Matt. 28:19), which is built on the teaching of the apostles and prophets, by Word and sacrament (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20). By the Word he regenerates it (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), engenders faith (Rom. 10:14; 1 Cor. 4:15), and cleanses and sanctifies [the church] (John 15:3; Eph. 5:26). And those who have thus been regenerated and renewed by the Word of God are called to confess Christ (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9), to hear his voice (John 10:27), to keep his Word (John 8:31, 32; 14:23), to test the spirits (1 John 4:1), and to shun those who do not bring this doctrine (Gal. 1:8; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9). The Word is truly the soul of the church.[3] All ministry in the church is a ministry of the Word. God gives his Word to the church, and the church accepts, preserves, administers, and teaches it; it confesses it before God, before one another, and before the world in word and deed. In the one mark of the Word the others are included as further applications. Where God’s Word is rightly preached, there also the sacrament is purely administered, the truth of God is confessed in line with the intent of the Spirit, and people’s conduct is shaped accordingly.[4]

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Dad Rod Still Preaches Christ and Him Crucified

Rod’s son Ted recently posted this. Rod is buried adjacent to his beloved father in his beloved Pacific Northwest. I already miss him. We were close to solving the Kennedy assassination, the subject of a great many of our emails.

“The Fulfillment of God’s Plan” -- Article Nine, Second Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 9: The Fulfillment of God’s Plan

This plan, arising out of God’s eternal love for his chosen ones, from the beginning of the world to the present time has been powerfully carried out and will also be carried out in the future, the gates of hell seeking vainly to prevail against it. As a result the chosen are gathered into one, all in their own time, and there is always a church of believers founded on Christ’s blood, a church which steadfastly loves, persistently worships, and—here and in all eternity—praises him as her Savior who laid down his life for her on the cross, as a bridegroom for his bride.

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When concluding the second head of doctrine, the authors make the obvious and important point that nothing whatsoever can thwart God’s redemptive purposes—not human sin, nor the sinful human will. God’s plan of redemption is perfect, and God's purposes are immutable.

As stated above, God has decreed to save sinners whom he has known by name from all eternity (Psalm 139; Ephesians 1:4). God chose to save his elect in Christ, who has now accomplished everything that is necessary for our redemption. The blessed Holy Spirit then applies the merits of Christ to these elect sinners, creating faith, and sealing them until the day of redemption (cf. Ephesians 1:3-14). Since it is the Triune God who acts to save his people from their sins, nothing can frustrate God’s plan of redemption.

Scripture clearly teaches us that the gates of hell can never prevail against Christ, or his church (Matthew 16:18). Scripture tells us that there will always be a church of Jesus Christ upon the earth (Matthew 28:20), though in some ages and places Christ’s church may be small, persecuted, and struggling, while in other times and places, it will be large, triumphant, and prosperous (1 Kings 19:18; Romans 11:4; Revelation 7:9).

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 10, 2024God's plan of redemptionComment

The Other D-Day: Operation Forager, the Invasion of Saipan (June 12, 1944)

Operation Overlord — The D-Day Invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944

The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) was a major turning point in World War 2. It is a battle with which we are well-familiar. We have the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and the HBO series “Band of Brothers” to thank for much of the ongoing interest. As we celebrate the eightieth anniversary of the beginning of the end for Hitler and Nazi Germany, we are also witnessing the last living participants in the battle who made their way this week to the famous invasion beaches on the Normandy Coast (Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword). It is a poignant scene to see these ninety + year-olds return to that horrible place that is forever etched in their memories and for which we are so very grateful.

The scale of the D-Day invasion in Normandy is simply mind-blowing–the largest seaborne invasion in human history. Some 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers took part. The total number of men put ashore the first day was nearly 160,000, with a remarkable total of 875,000 allied combatants arriving on the continent by the end of June, 1944. Allied casualties on the first day were around 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. The Germans suffered between 4,000–9,000 casualties (estimates vary widely) including those killed, wounded, missing, or captured.

The Other D-Day — “Operation Forager” — The Invasion of Saipan (June 15, 1944)

As gigantic as the Normandy invasion was, it is nearly forgotten that the United States pulled off another invasion of staggering size and proportion just over a week later on the opposite side of the world. Operation Forager involved the invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands on June 15, 1944. Saipan was a significant part of the outer defense ring of the Japanese home islands. Once airbases were established there (as well as on the neighboring Islands of Guam and Tinian) the newly deployed B-29 bombers could begin sustained bombing of the Japanese homeland—a game changer in the Pacific War.

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"The Power of the Cross" -- Paul's Declaration in 1 Corinthians 1:17

What follows is an excerpt from episode four of season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast which covers Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

In verse 17 of the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul defines his mission as apostle to the Gentiles. “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

There are a number of points about the cross of Christ we can draw from his declaration.

First, the great commission includes the command from our Lord to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the triune God (Matthew 28:18-20). But as apostle to the Gentiles, Paul understands that his divinely-appointed mission is to preach the gospel and not to become overly involved in the day to day affairs of church life. The office of apostle was centered in the responsibility of preaching in an evangelistic context (establishing churches), with the day to day responsibility for church life assigned to the successors of the apostles–the ministers of word and sacrament, elders, and deacons. The calling of the first church officers begins with Jesus’s call of the twelve disciples during Jesus’s Galilean ministry, and moves on to the establishment of the office of deacon (as recounted in Acts 6:1-6), then to those who hold the office of elder identified in the book of Acts, throughout the letters of Paul, and with the qualification and duties of the church offices of elder and deacon defined in 1 Timothy 3:1-13.[1]

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“The Ancient of Days” Daniel 7:1-18 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Thirteen)

The Scene Changes

The second half of the Book of Daniel is much different from the first half. The first six chapters of Daniel recount the career of the Hebrew prophet including a number of events associated with Daniel and his three Hebrew comrades (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), two Babylonian kings (Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar) and one Persian king (Darius the Mede–also known as Cyrus). The second half of the Book of Daniel (chapters 7 through 12) opens with a dramatic vision given by YHWH to Daniel which maps out the next six centuries of ancient near-eastern history.

Yet in the following chapters, Daniel continues to recount some of the most fantastic and difficult visions in all the Bible. The literary hinge between the two halves of Daniel is chapter 7. As one writer puts it, the nature of Daniel’s dramatic vision makes this “the single most important chapter of the Book of Daniel.”[1] Chapter 7 includes what yet another writer describes as “the key to history.”[2] These are grandiose comments, but after we have spent some time in this chapter, I think you will see why these opinions are appropriate. The vision given Daniel in chapter 7 points us to a mysterious figure–“One like a Son of Man”–who is indeed the key to understanding all of human history.

Daniel’s vision of four strange beasts as recorded in chapter 7, covers the same time frame in human history (the 5th century BC-the 1st century AD) as the vision which YHWH gave previously to Nebuchadnezzar, recounted in Daniel 2. But this vision is YHWH’s revelation of the all-conquering king (Jesus) around whom all of human history ultimately centers. The subsequent visions given Daniel in chapters 8-12 speak of the great empires which arise after Babylon falls (the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires), while also foretelling of the rebuilding of Jerusalem (after the Jewish exiles return home from Babylon), the rise of an antichrist figure (described as a blaspheming “little horn” who is the arch-enemy of God’s people), before the visions take us forward to the end of the age and the general resurrection when all the dead (believing and unbelieving) are raised bodily on the day of final judgment.

Daniel Given Another Vision

This vision was given Daniel by YHWH while Belshazzar was in the first year of his reign as king of Babylon–specifically, the year 550 BC, which also happened to be the very same year that a relatively unknown Persian king (Darius) rose to become leader of the Medo-Persian empire (taking the royal name Cyrus), which will conquer Babylon in 539 BC (as we saw in chapters 5-6 of Daniel). We will explore this vision in chapter 7 in this essay and the next.

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Warfield On An Overlooked Aspect of Calvin's Doctrine of God

In his essay “Calvin’s Doctrine of God” written for the Princeton Theological Review (vii, 1909) on pages 174-175, B. B. Warfield considers John Calvin’s stress upon the Fatherhood of God. Warfield’s important, but often overlooked, point about Calvin’s emphasis on divine Fatherhood, is taken from The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, Calvin and Calvinism (Baker, Reprint ed., 1981),Vol. 5 133-185. The essay can be found in its entirety here: Calvin’s Doctrine of God.

Warfield summarizes Calvin’s comments from the opening section of The Institutes, in which Calvin speaks of the knowledge of God and that God is the source of all good.

And then [Calvin] proceeds (Institutes I. ii. 2) to expound at length how the knowledge of God should first inspire us with fear and reverence and then lead us to look to Him for good. The first thought of Him awakes us to our dependence on Him as our Lord: any clear view of Him begets in us a sense of Him as the fountain and origin of all that is good—such as in anyone not depraved by sin must inevitably arouse a desire to adhere to Him and put his trust (fiducia) in Him—because he must recognize in Him a guardian and protector worthy of complete confidence (fides).

Warfield then quotes Calvin at length from the opening section of the Institutes (I. ii. 2),

To read the rest of Warfield’s remarks, follow the link below:

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerMay 31, 2024Calvin's doctrine of God, Fatherhood and sovereigntyComment

“The Saving Effectiveness of Christ’s Death” -- Article Eight, Second Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 8: The Saving Effectiveness of Christ’s Death

For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son’s costly death should work itself out in all his chosen ones, in order that he might grant justifying faith to them only and thereby lead them without fail to salvation. In other words, it was God’s will that Christ through the blood of the cross (by which he confirmed the new covenant) should effectively redeem from every people, tribe, nation, and language all those and only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given to him by the Father; that he should grant them faith (which, like the Holy Spirit’s other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death); that he should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, both original and actual, whether committed before or after their coming to faith; that he should faithfully preserve them to the very end; and that he should finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without spot or wrinkle.

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The authors of the Canons note that the death of Christ is designed by God to satisfy the demands of his holy justice on behalf of his elect. The Canons also point out that sinners cannot believe the proclamation of Christ crucified unless they are given the gift of faith through the preaching of the gospel. At this point, the Canons tie these two things together.

In article 8, the authors state that the cross was ordained by God for the express purpose of actually and effectually redeeming the elect, i.e., those chosen by God in Christ from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). There is not a hint anywhere in Scripture that it was God's intention to make people savable, if only they use their free will and natural ability to come to Christ.

As the Canons put it, “For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son's costly death should work itself out in all his chosen ones, in order that he might grant justifying faith to them only and thereby lead them without fail to salvation.”

According to the Reformed understanding of the plan of redemption, God has decreed to save his elect in Christ, then in the fullness of time God sent our Lord to accomplish what was necessary for his elect to be saved. Jesus came to die for our sins, thereby satisfying God’s justice which requires payment for our guilt. Through his personal obedience, Jesus fulfilled the demands of God’s law during his messianic mission, so that the elect can be provided with the perfect righteousness of Christ. And then Scripture teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to call all those whom God has chosen and for whom Christ has died, to come to faith and repent of their sins through the proclamation of the gospel.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMay 29, 2024The efficiacy of Christ's crossComment

"Flee from Sexual Immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) A New Episode of the Blessed Hope!

Episode Synopsis:

It has been said that prostitution is the world’s old profession. In reality, tending a garden and naming animals is. But if you lived in first century Corinth you lived in a city well-known for its prostitutes and rampant sexual immorality. This creates a difficult situation for Christians who live there and who have been taught by Paul that sexual relations are limited to marriage.

Paul has learned that some in the Corinthian church justified using the services of prostitutes by contending that Christian liberty allows it–the same excuse some were giving for eating food sacrificed to idols. Yes, the temptations Christians faced were real and many engaged in such behavior before their conversion. But as Paul has taught them, Christians must break with their pagan past and resist the pressure to continue to give into all bodily desires and urges. Yes, Christians are free from law-keeping as a means of justification, but such freedom entails freedom to obey the commands of God, not freedom to indulge in seeking to satisfy every bodily urge.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that they have been bought by a price (the shed blood of Jesus Christ) and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. A Christian is no longer a slave to sin and now is a bond servant of Jesus Christ. Their bodies belong to their creator-redeemer. Paul asks, “how can someone in union with Jesus Christ unite themselves in a sexual union with someone who represents pagan religion and spirituality?” Such a thing is unthinkable for Paul.

To read the show notes and listen to the episode, follow the link below

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerMay 27, 2024Paul on sexual immoralityComment

May Musings (5/24/2024)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

The Blessed Hope Podcast will take a short break now that I’ve completed the first eleven episodes of season three, which covers the first half of 1 Corinthians (1:1-6:20). Lord willing, we’ll pick up where we left off at 7:1.

As we head into Summer, the Riddlebargers will do some traveling which means that Riddleblog activity will be a bit intermittent.

Thinking Out Loud:

How long before Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race? Bill Maher said the President looks like a cadaver and walks like a toddler with a loaded diaper. After a recent short speech, the White House press secretary issued nine corrections. Hardly what you want from your party’s presidential candidate. It is not like he can fix any of this—Biden will not get any younger and as the quip goes, “father time is undefeated.” I know, Biden’s thinking he’ll show everyone his fitness to remain in office when (or if) he debates Trump. But, it is more than likely that Biden will have more moments of senility. My guess . . . he doesn’t survive the Democrat convention.
The Yankees are playing great baseball. But it is better to play great ball after the all-star break and go into the playoffs with momentum. The Yankees haven’t done that since 2009, their last world series victory.
A court has recently ruled that tacos and burritos are considered sandwiches. I know the courts are dealing with limits on specialty restaurants in malls, etc., where certain types of food are excluded. But a taco is not a sandwich! Neither is a hot dog!

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Christ's Spotless Bride -- On the Marks of the Church (Part Four)

Reformed Confessional Teaching on the “Marks of the Church”

The discussion of the marks of a true church is important—especially in our day and age—because of the competing claims of various religious bodies and organizations to be “Christ’s church.” There are a myriad of churches who make such a claim–some associated with recognizable church bodies. Other groups who identify themselves as “churches” are more the product of the American entrepreneurial spirit, possess a trendy name, and an undefinable identity. They see themselves as radical and relevant, not stale and stuffy.

Reformed theologians have understood the marks of the church to be an especially important matter since multiple church bodies claim to be the only (or the true) church, yet their various claims are questionable in terms of biblical teaching and doctrine. This raises the question under discussion here: “how do we distinguish valid claims to be a true church from invalid claims?”

Louis Berkhof points out that there was not much of a need to consider the marks of the church when it was clearly one (i.e., during the apostolic church), but after heresies arose it became increasingly necessary to speak in the terms of a true/false, biblical/unbiblical dichotomy of any assembly of people professing to be Christians and followers of Jesus. Responding to heresies requires a response and doctrinal explanation. Oftentimes these explanations lead to further division.[1]

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EcclesiologyKim RiddlebargerMay 22, 2024The marks of a churchComment

“He Is the Living God” Daniel 6:1-28 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Twelve)

Babylon Has Fallen

The sign on the door of the royal palace read “under new management.” The Persians (Medes) have displaced the Babylonians (Chaldeans) as the occupiers and rulers of Babylon. The Babylonian king, Belshazzar, is dead. Darius the Mede (Cyrus) is now in charge, ruling as Persian king over the former Babylonian empire. The Hebrew prophet, Daniel, now an old man, is immediately recognized by Darius as a wise and gifted man and an effective supervisor. Daniel is given great authority as one of three “presidents” (counselors) to supervise the satraps (or regional governors), who handled the day to day affairs of local government. It is a position of great honor, respect, and influence. But Daniel’s appointment to such high office creates much jealousy among the Persians, and even perhaps among former Babylonian officials who were passed over for the prestigious job which instead went to a despised Hebrew. A plot is soon hatched to remove Daniel from his new office, and it will not be long before Daniel finds himself forced to deny his faith in YHWH, or face being thrown to lions. But God preserves his people in such a way as to unmistakably reveal himself to be the sovereign Lord of all–even to the Persian king Darius.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den – More Than a “Bible Story”

The story of “Daniel in the lion’s den” is one of the best known and most loved of all the so-called “Bible stories.” This is a great story in its own right. But to make full sense as to why this incident is included in Daniel’s prophecy, it must be considered in light of the larger redemptive-historical context, which is the victory of YHWH, his prophets, and his exiled people over the false “gods” of Babylon, and now Persia. YHWH is sovereign over all kings and nations and is directing the events of which we have read throughout Daniel’s prophecy to his own ends. Daniel’s trial and ordeal in the lion’s den in chapter 6 are part of YHWH’s larger sovereign plan to ensure that the Jewish exiles in Babylon will be allowed to return home to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and YHWH’s temple. This comes about because YHWH moves Darius (Cyrus) to issue a decree to bring this to pass (recounted in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah). But the one incident which seems to truly motivate Darius to release the Jewish exiles is when the Persian king sees firsthand the power of God in rescuing his prophet Daniel from a pride of hungry lions.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerMay 20, 2024The Lion's Den, Cyrus's DecreeComment

Mike Horton's New Book -- Shaman and Sage

Here’s the publisher’s blurb:

The first volume of Michael Horton’s magisterial intellectual history of “spiritual but not religious” as a phenomenon in Western culture
Discussions of the rapidly increasing number of people identifying as “spiritual but not religious” tend to focus on the past century. But the SBNR phenomenon and the values that underlie it may be older than Christianity itself.

Michael Horton reveals that the hallmarks of modern spirituality—autonomy, individualism, utopianism, and more—have their foundations in Greek philosophical religion. Horton makes the case that the development of the shaman figure in the Axial Age—particularly its iteration among Orphists—represented a “divine self.” One must realize the divinity within the self to break free from physicality and become one with a panentheistic unity. Time and time again, this tradition of divinity hiding in nature has arisen as an alternative to monotheistic submission to a god who intervenes in creation.

This first volume traces the development of a utopian view of the human individual: a divine soul longing to break free from all limits of body, history, and the social and natural world. When the second and third volumes are complete, students and scholars will consult The Divine Self as the authoritative guide to the “spiritual but not religious” tendency as a recurring theme in Western culture from antiquity to the present.

Mike’s been working on this for some time. I was privileged to read an early draft. This a profound and an important work. This is the first of three volumes. You can order it here: Michael Horton, Shaman and Sage

History and Culture, Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerMay 17, 2024Spiritual but not ReligiousComment