All Israel is Not All Israel

 

When you are discussing the nature of who God’s people really are, the contrast between the people of faith (true Israel) and the people of the flesh (not true Israel), you will have someone chip in, “What about Romans 11?” To which I like to ask, “What about it?” Many people who bring this passage up have not considered it in detail, and how it fits into Paul’s wider argument in both the chapter of Romans 11, the section of Romans 9-11, nor Paul’s wider writings.

I know I have addressed this topic before (you can read past posts here, here and here), but my devotions the other day from Isaiah 59 have prompted me to address this from another perspective. You may be aware that Romans 11 quotes Isaiah 59:20, this is the New King James version of the text,

“25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins” (Rom. 11:25-27).

Verse 26 quotes what Isaiah says in his own prophetic writings. Isaiah is looking forward to the day in which the sins of Israel will be taken away. We know that Jesus did on this on the cross, but we also know that this salvation points forward to a time when he will return to save his people from this fallen world (1 Pet.1:3-5). As I argued in previous pieces, especially this one here, God only temporarily hardened the Israelites so that they would demand the Messiah be killed, and this passage could be fulfilled. God’s calling and election cannot be revoked, therefore, the non-believing Jewish person still has the same offer of salvation under the same conditions as any non-believing Gentile. I am not going to go into detail about this again here. I simply want to show how Isaiah’s own words confirm this reading.

The NKJV breaks this passage into three parts.

Firstly, the recognition that God’s people have gone astray,

“1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

6 Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace” (Isa. 59:1-9).

Isaiah begins this passage by outlining the sin problem. Just like any good gospel preacher would do. Note the tense in this passage, this is Isaiah looking at the wickedness of his people. He is describing a people who are caught in their sins and the result of their sins.

Next, Isaiah speaks from the perspective of an Israelite. He switches from “they” to “we”, this section reads more like a confession, as my NKJV identifies,

“9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey” (Isa. 59:9-15).

This part of the passage says much the same thing, but because of the change in perspective it shows that the consequences of the sins of God’s people are causing them to cry out. They are suffering because of their rebellion. They know their guilt and they are confessing it.

In the final part of the passage we see God’s response to the rebellion of his people, and their being trapped in their sins,

“Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

21 “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore” (Isa. 59:15-21).

God looks at his people and sees them in their rebellion, he sees how their selfishness has turned into them oppressing the weak, he sees how there is no justice, no righteousness, and he decides that he himself needs to save them, so he does, “16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.” The “arm” of the Lord is of course Jesus, as we know from Isaiah,

“1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him…

…12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:1-3, 12).

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the arm of the Lord who made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus rode out of Zion and took away the sins of his people, which is all who believe. And he will return one day out of heavenly Zion to bring judgement for his people, and all who trusted in him will be saved. He will punish evil as he notes in Isaiah 59:17-19. He will ride to victory his people, as Isaiah 59:20 says. And who are his people?

Well, he defines his people for us in verse 21,

“21 As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

They are those who:

-        He has a covenant with,

-        who speak the word of God,

-        who pass the words of God unto their descendants,

-        and who will be his people forevermore.

This can only apply to believers. Isaiah 59:20 is not a promise that God has a plan to save the final generation of Jewish people living in a country called Israel. It is that he will ride to victory for his redeemed, though who are filled with the Spirit, which we know is all believers, “14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). This is the Church, the community of believers.

The very next part of Isaiah also shows that the Gentiles are indeed in view,

“1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa. 60:1-3).

Isaiah is clearly teaching about the work of salvation achieved by Jesus that goes out to all peoples, and that Jesus will again return to judge evil and vindicate his people. Hence, all Israel is simply all who believe. Saying that all Israel will be saved is the equivalent of saying that all believers will be saved.

Indeed, one of the reasons that Pharisees misunderstood who Jesus was, is because they believed the coming of the Messiah would bring their glory and the establishment of a Jewish Kingdom to rule the world. They missed the fact that there were two comings. One to deal with sin, one to take God’s fallen people from this sinful world. Isaiah 59:15-21 points to both these events. The New Testament helps us to see this with more clarity. Jesus took away our sins on the cross. He came out of Zion and achieved victory of our sins. He will one day ride again out of heavenly Zion and take people’s sins away completely.

Trying to force this into an end time revival of one ethnic group, when the vision is global, is doing great harm to this passage. It is fair to say it points to the cross and to the end of days, though. What Jesus did on the cross is a picture of how he is going to rescue us with the salvation ready to be revealed at final day, as I noted at the start.

Why limit this passage down to only apply to Jewish people, when it is taken from a much larger argument made by Isaiah that God will save all who trust in him from their sins, make them his people, and come back and rescue them? Thinking that Isaiah was referring to simply their nation, rather than to all peoples, is exactly the mistake the Pharisees made. Paul would not make that same mistake. 

 

 

Every Empire Falls For The Same Reason

 

The ruins of Nineveh lie buried beneath the sands of modern-day Mosul, a silent testament to the fragility of human power and the temporal nature of powerful empires. This reminds me of Ozymandias by Shelley,

“And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”[1]

The Assyrian Empire, the one-time undisputed superpower of the ancient Near East, collapsed with stunning speed. For the biblical prophets, however, this was no historical accident. It was the judgement of God, a divine act. While the world often attributes the fall of nations to economic collapse or military defeat, the Scriptures offer a different underlying cause; empires fall when they become full of themselves and fall into pride in their own strength and abilities.

The Assyrians, for example, were proud of their conquests and their victories. Every empire is. We read in Zephaniah 2:15 about Nineveh, “15 This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.” Zephaniah captures the heart of Assyria's fatal arrogance. What does the statement, “I am” mean? In the book of Isaiah, this almost exact phrasing, “I am, and there is no other,” is the exclusive claim of the Lord God (Isa. 45:5-6). Only he can claim to be the one who is above all others. By placing this divine claim in the mouth of Nineveh, Zephaniah is not just accusing them of idolatry; he is accusing them of Luciferian pride. They aren't merely boasting; they are actively usurping the sovereignty of the Lord Creator. The Assyrians thought they were gods, indeed, they are placing themselves in the position of THE God. Assyria had become proud of its evil, confident of its victories, enamoured with its own glory. They worshipped themselves.

Every empire becomes like this just before it starts to fall and decline. It becomes proud, arrogant, boastful, and overconfident. This overconfidence is part of what leads to its fall. Not simply because they become sloppy in battle, though this often does happen. But because as we learn in the prophets, pride provokes the living God to judgment. Empires do not merely fall as a natural consequence of bad decision-making, God intervenes in their destiny. God actively “cuts down” the towering tree (Ezekiel 31:10-11) because He “opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Empires that lean into their pride face divine resistance to their own strength and prosperity.

The reason this hubris causes an empire to fall is because pride causes people, leaders and nations, to trust in their own abilities and strengths. As Ezekiel notes about the heart of the Assyrians, “10 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,…” (Eze. 31:10). The Babylonian Empire learned this lesson too when King Nebuchadnezzar looked at his kingdom and boasted, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built...?” Immediately, his reason departed and he was driven into the fields to eat grass (Dan. 4:30-33). God will not share His glory with a human ruler or a human kingdom. Many people refuse to learn this lesson.

This pride also leads these powers to think they can do whatever they want. They think they are like God, so why should they not act however they want? Is that not what it means to “be like God”? This is part of what causes them to fall into foolish and evil behaviours, specifically things like extreme cruelty, violence, and the oppression of the vulnerable (see Nahum 3:1, "Woe to the city of blood"). Empires that think they are God will believe they can dehumanize their enemies and treat them however they like. They, of course, set the standards and terms, right? Their fall is judgment for how they treated others, not just how they thought about themselves. But these two things are intricately connected. Pride of position leads to evil action.

This is why every empire falls, because they all fall into these same patterns of strength, pride in their own strength, believing they can act like God as the judge and executioner of all according to their will, and that their cruelty is justified, therefore they can act as they will and not be held to the same account as the nations they vent their fury on. God looks at this, sees a nation, or people, who have sought to usurp his place, and he removes his favour from them, and humiliation and collapse results. From the natural you would look at this and see a corrupted empire, seeking to enforce its will on people and failing. In the spiritual you see the same results of pride that have been recorded since time immemorial.

The warning of Zephaniah and Ezekiel is not confined to the dust of ancient Mesopotamia. Every superpower, from Rome to Britain to the contemporary global powers like the USA, faces the same temptations and falls into the same patterns. The United States is one example of this today. How often have its leaders condemned other nations for invading others and dealing violence, and then turned around and argued its own invasions and violence were thoroughly justified? Like other world powers it often fails to live by its own moral code. This is because of the same pride that other world powers, like Britain, France, and others, have fallen into. This is the consistent pattern. When a nation begins to rely on its military prowess, its economic strength, or its technological advancement as its ultimate security, it has already begun the slide toward ruin. God giveth and God taketh away.

We live in an age of unprecedented human achievement. Yet, the greatest danger facing any modern empire is not a rival nation or a shifting economy; it is the existential risk of believing the lie, “I am, and there is no one else.” Nor, should the nations that oppose corrupted empires be confused with always being the good guys. They might be just as wicked in many ways, and if they walk forward in pride they will fall into the exact same errors.

This is as true of individuals as it is of empires. Behind every abusive man is the same sort of pattern of pride. Behind every abusive woman is the same thing. Wherever we have authority we must never forget that it is a delegated authority that will ultimately be judged by the Lord God. We are never the ultimate authority. Even if you were to rise to the highest place in the world you would still not be the ultimate authority. God is the only one who can rightly claim, “I am, and there is no one else!” All else who fall into the lie of believing they can claim this will bring his ire.

Repent, he is merciful to the repentant who will humble themselves. But the proud, they are in trouble.

List of References

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[1] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias

The NRL Is Anti-Christian

 

You can beat your wife or girlfriend.

You can deal drugs.

You can take drugs.

You can take performance enhancing drugs.

You can have gambling debts in the hundreds of thousands.

You can put a little girl in hospital, while driving unlicenced.

You can be credibly charged with sexual assault.

You can glass someone in a pub.

And the NRL has a pathway to let you play again. This is not theoretical, these are actual situations that the NRL has walked through and let the players come back into the competition.

But if you accurately quote the Bible on the issue of our culture's favourite sexual sins, as Folau did, they will crush you, and exclude you, and act like you are the real danger.

Make no mistake, this is not about Israel Folau. This is happening because Rugby League has the one of highest rates of Christian representation of any sport, as far as I know at least - unless you include dropping verses about free will to bait your Calvinist friends a sport of course 😉 - Particularly because of Islander participation. They are seeking to cow their desire to speak up.

I think these players should consider striking, en masse, until the NRL backs down. Like the Manly players did a few years ago when they refused to wear the rainbow jersey. Otherwise, every single one of these players risks being the next Israel Folau.

The idea that the NRL can claim some kind of moral high ground is as laughable as it gets. I don’t know anyone who watches sport expecting the players to be paragons of virtue. We watch it because we want to see great competition. This sort of social justice nonsense will kill anyone’s desire to watch this sport.

Galatians 5 Bible Study – Do Not Feed the Flesh

 

You can watch the video of this study tonight, the 22^nd of July, at 8pm AEST on YouTube here. Or at any point after that time you can watch the replay.

Passage

English Standard Version

Christ Has Set Us Free

“1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Bible Study: Galatians 5 – Do Not Feed the Flesh

Introduction

The fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians stands as a powerful manifesto of Christian freedom and spiritual transformation. Paul wrote to a church struggling with legalistic teachings that insisted on adherence to Jewish laws, like circumcision, for salvation. Paul stands against this and delivers a passionate plea for grace-centred living instead. The chapter divides into two main sections: first, a vigorous defense of justification by faith alone apart from the works of the law (vv. 1–12), and second, an exhortation to live out that freedom not in selfish indulgence but in loving service and Spirit-led obedience (vv. 13–26).

Paul begins with a memorable declaration, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” This freedom is not merely political or social, but a liberation from the enslaving power of sin and the silly attempt to earn God’s favour through the Mosaic law. He warns that turning back to ritual observance as a means of righteousness actually severs a person from Christ and this causes them to fall from grace. He encourages people that what really counts is “faith working through love.”

The latter half of the chapter paints a powerful contrast between life dominated by the “flesh” and life guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul lists the obvious “works of the flesh”, sinful actions and attitudes that destroy our fellowship with one-another, lead us to destruction, and reflect a heart alienated from God. Over against these, he presents the “fruit of the Spirit”, a character transformed to reflect the very nature of Christ. He wants us to bring our lives into spiritual alignment with the ways of Jesus, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

Galatians 5 remains profoundly relevant today, how can it ever not be relevant in this fallen world. It challenges any form of legalism that adds human requirements to the gospel, and any license that confuses freedom with selfishness. It invites believers into the dynamic, sometimes challenging, journey of allowing the Spirit to produce His fruit in us, empowering us to love and serve others as the true fulfillment of God’s law.

Study Questions -

1. What does it mean that “Christ has set us free” (v. 1)? How is this spiritual freedom different from the idea of “doing whatever I want”?
   Cross-references: John 8:36; Romans 6:18
2. Why does Paul speak so strongly against accepting circumcision for salvation (vv. 2–4)? What principle does this teach about adding requirements to the gospel?
   Cross-references: Acts 15:10–11; Philippians 3:2–3
3. What does Paul mean that “faith working through love” is what counts (v. 6)? How does genuine faith express itself?
   Cross-references: James 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:3
4. Paul uses the metaphor “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (v. 9). How does false teaching spread and damage a community of believers?
   Cross-references: 1 Corinthians 5:6–7; 2 Timothy 2:16–17
5. In verse 13, Paul warns against using freedom as an “opportunity for the flesh.” What are some modern examples of turning Christian liberty into license?
   Cross-references: 1 Peter 2:16; Romans 6:1–2
6. How does “serving one another through love” (v. 13) fulfill the law, as stated in verse 14?
   Cross-references: Romans 13:8–10; Matthew 22:37–40
7. What is the connection between being “led by the Spirit” and not being “under the law” (v. 18)?
   Cross-references: Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 3:6
8. Examine the list of “works of the flesh” (vv. 19–21). Which of these are more evident as actions, and which are internal attitudes? Why are both dangerous?
   Cross-references: Mark 7:21–23; Colossians 3:5–8
9. Contrast the “works of the flesh” with the “fruit of the Spirit” (vv. 22–23). Why is one described as “works” and the other as “fruit”?
   Cross-references: Matthew 7:16–20; Ephesians 5:9
10. “Against such things [the fruit of the Spirit] there is no law” (v. 23). What does this reveal about the nature of God’s character and His will for us?
    Cross-references: 1 Timothy 1:9; Romans 8:4
11. What does it mean practically to “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24)? Is this a one-time event or an ongoing process?
    Cross-references: Romans 6:6; Colossians 3:5
12. How can we “keep in step with the Spirit” (v. 25) in our daily decisions and relationships?
    Cross-references: Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:5–6
13. Paul ends with a warning against conceit, provocation, and envy (v. 26). How do these specifically undermine a Spirit-filled community?
    Cross-references: Philippians 2:3; James 3:14–16
14. Reflect on your own life. Which aspects of the Spirit’s fruit do you see growing? Which “works of the flesh” do you need to consciously reject by the Spirit’s power?
    Cross-references: Ephesians 4:22–24; 2 Corinthians 13:5

 

Kudos to Trump

 

 

Some are going to mock Trump for failing at this war. But I think we should applaud what he is now doing. The American President has recognized that he cannot use the US military to force Iran to do his wishes, and so he has backed down from those efforts. This is a good move. 

As we all know Trump is a very successful business man. But he has also had a lot of business failures. A lot. Apparently, he has filed for bankruptcy six times. He has had several business initiatives fail and collapse. He has had businesses fail to take off. And yet he still made billions and ended up incredibly successful. This is true of many people who get to his level of success in life, they take a lot of detours through bad projects and ideas. 

In other words, Donald Trump has learnt from bitter experience when to cut his losses. And he is now working really hard to do this with the Iran War. Earlier presidents refused to do this and bogged down the US in foolish, endless, destabilising wars. Trump entered a foolish, destabilising war, but he has wisely been working hard to end it much sooner than these other presidents did. 

Kudos to him for that. Praise God for that. Pray the ceasefire holds and becomes a true peace deal.

Some business ventures just can't succeed. The same is true in politics or war.

I give the man credit for recognizing this. A man who had not failed at a very high level, and learnt from those failures might have been more foolish. A lot of people have overestimated America's military might. At least the US president sees its limits.

One of the last things the western world needs right now is another long term war in the Middle East that drives millions of Islamists out of their nation and into the countries of the West. Something else the West does not need right now is for the greatest of western powers to weaken itself any further in the Middle East. 

Trump's efforts to end this war are a great thing. I genuinely celebrate this development. 

Psalm 148 and Praying to Angels

 

I found myself in several discussions with several different Catholic and Orthodox Christians over the last few days about the topic of praying to saints. The discussion began with a friend of mine, and I decided to put a post up on Substack to broaden the discussion and get the perspective of other high Church believers on this issue:

I generally don’t spend a lot of time criticizing Catholicism or Orthodoxy on my blog, in my writings or in my sermons. I only bring it up very occasionally. The reasons for this is very simple; my own denomination and many Protestant denominations, have enough error in them for me to be concerned about. I am far more likely to encounter someone who thinks going to pray at the Wall in Jerusalem is a good idea than someone who believes it is a good thing to ask St Michael to intercede for them. So, I focus on where I can make an impact from the outside.

But every now and then I will get into discussions with those from other traditions.

In a recent discussion I was told how Psalm 148 necessitates the practice of praying to angels and saints. Psalm 148 says this,

“148 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
6 He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He has exalted the horn of His people,
The praise of all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
A people near to Him.

Praise the Lord!”

It is especially verses 1-2 that are relevant. A Protestant believer will read this and immediately think incredulously, “Where on earth does that passage say to pray to saints.” A Catholic believer will immediately read it and say, “Victory is won, I will accept your surrender on this topic now.” How do they get there you ask?

Well, the argument goes, the Psalms are liturgical prayers, and therefore when the Psalmist wrote this prayer he addressed the angels in verse 2, therefore it is legitimate, indeed biblical, to address the angels, and the saints in our prayers. The saints, after all, in heaven are among the “hosts” this prayer addresses.” This is a very simple argument, it has a weight to it, it is seeking to be biblical, and to every single Protestant hearing it is rather jarring. Not because we find it persuasive, but precisely because we do not. So, I want to address it today.

The chief problem with this argument is that it draws a line from a potential reading to then assert a certain conclusion. This is a logical error, and for every Protestant it is one that stands against all the passages in the Bible that tell us to address our prayers to God. Firstly, no not all the Psalms are liturgical prayers. Secondly even if this one is, this is not the only way to read it. The same Psalm also says that animals are being directed to praise God, therefore it is much better read as a general exhortation for all creation to worship God, rather than as a direct address to the angels and saints. It can also be a polemic against idolators who turn all of God’s created beings and things into objects of worship, hence it is an address to idolators and believers alike about where true worship is directed. It is just too long a bow to draw to say that this Psalm addresses the angels therefore we should too in our prayers.

But I want to a give a more detailed response, that encapsulates how the Catholic or Orthodox might read this, and show that even if they are correct in their reading, it still does not support their conclusion. I think looking at redemption history really forces us to challenge the idea of addressing the Angels or Saints in our prayers. So let’s go through my argument, which starts from their premise, the angels are being addressed in a prayer. 

Firstly, angels played a different role in the Old Covenant that they do in the new. They acted as intermediaries between God and his people. Specifically, the Old Covenant, or the Mosaic Law given at Sinai, was mediated by angels. Scripture explicitly states this in multiple places. The law was "ordained through angels by an intermediary" (Galatians 3:19), it was "delivered by angels" (Acts 7:53), and the "message declared by angels proved to be reliable" (Hebrews 2:2).

However, the New Testament does not merely say angels delivered the law; it explicitly states that the purpose of this angelic mediation was to establish distance and unapproachability. In Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19, the angelic mediation of the law signifies that the covenant was indirect, fearful, and kept the people at arm's length from God. Under that system, human priests and angels stood as necessary relays because the people could not draw near. Hence, the angels were in a different active place in the Old covenant than they are in the New. I still think saying we should pray to them draws a long bow from an uncertain interpretation, but the angels are explicitly described as playing a different role.

Secondly, you could argue that under that Old Covenant system, it was entirely appropriate to revere and recognize these angelic mediators, and the Psalms, including Psalm 148, but also Psalm 29, and some others, reflect this old order by calling on angels to join in praise. But we cannot stop there, we have to acknowledge the change.

The heart of the New Covenant promise is direct access to God. Hebrews 4:16 commands us to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace”, not through an angel, not through a saint, but through our great High Priest. Ephesians 2:18 declares that "through Him [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." The "one mediator" of 1 Timothy 2:5 is not merely the mediator of salvation, but also the mediator of access. If Christ is the sole conduit of prayer to the Father, introducing angels or saints as a required or even recommended way of anpproach implies Christ's access is insufficient. We have gone from needing priests to being priests (Rev. 1:6). Our access to Jesus is as real and as direct as anyone in heaven. This is foundational New Testament teaching.

The New Testament explicitly declares that the Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) and has been replaced by a New Covenant. The order of things has changed. Jesus said the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than even John who was the greatest of the old order (Matt. 11:11). We have to be careful in how we read the Psalms, as the fulfilment of the Old order in Christ has changed much of how we should approach the Old Testament.

Thirdly, a defining feature of the  New Covenant is a radical change in mediation. We no longer have a mediated, tiered system requiring angels or human priests to bridge the gap. Instead, Scripture declares unequivocally: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). Christ is the "mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 9:15; 12:24). To take a disputed text and use it to change this access to requiring or encouraging other intermediaries can be described as nothing but a backwards step, indeed, almost a Judaizing of the New Covenant. It is at the very least unnecessary, and that is being charitable.

I understand that the Catholics and Orthodox believe when they speak to saints in heaven, it is the equivalent of asking living friends to speak to Jesus on their behalf. To them these people are as alive as us, and they are correct, the dead in Christ are alive with him in heaven, they do not face the second death. They believe they are simply talking to living friends or believers. I get that, and I will admit I find that argument interesting, but it is also unconvincing. When Paul commands intercessory prayer for one another in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, he is commanding living believers on earth to pray for other living believers on earth. The New Testament never commands, models, or prescribes a single instance of a living believer directing a prayer or petition toward a departed saint or an angel. The biblical pattern for intercession is horizontal believers in fellowship asking other believers in fellowship to pray for them to God, through Christ, not vertical, that is not believers asking deceased believers to intercede on their behalf. To invoke the departed is to cross a jurisdictional line that Scripture never authorizes.

Of course, the Catholic or Orthodox might just call me a hypocrite here, because I ask living friends to pray for me all the time. Why then not the living in heaven? They are as alive, maybe even more alive than we are, of course. The answer to this is simple: I know when I ask a friend at church to pray for me that he hears me and I am confident he will pray. I have no such confidence that the dead in Christ are listening to me. I know they are in heaven praying as Revelation 6:9-10 and Revelation 8:1-5 clearly indicate. But these passages also tell us what they are praying for, not the requests of believers on earth, but the for God to wreak his vengeance on those who persecuted them. Revelation 8:1-5 should be read as the answer to the prayers in Revelation 6:9-10.

When I pray, I want to pray with confidence, and the only way to do that is to pray to the best saint, the best mediator, the best man for the job, Jesus,

“13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:13-14).

I fully accept our need for someone to put a good word in for me with the Lord on his throne, and we are told that Jesus is the best man for the job,

“1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

Fourthly, but Matthew the Bible explicitly says we are in the congregation with the angels and the saints in heaven. This is what Hebrews 12:22-24 says,

“22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”

I love this passage. And it does teach that.

However, I would contend that the Catholic appeal to Hebrews 12:22-24 actually proves the opposite of their point. Because, remember what is one of the points of Hebrews, our access to Jesus Christ has been made direct. Yes, the New Covenant brings us to "an innumerable company of angels" and "spirits of the just men made perfect" but look at what is happening in the passage. It is not telling us that we gain access to them to ask them to intercede for us. It is saying that we have joined them in direct access and worship to the Lord God and his Son. This is what Jesus achieved for us. Our access to God, through Jesus, is direct. Yes, we come to them, but they are passive observers, not active recipients of our prayers. The angels and spirits are in the vicinity, but they are not the object of our address. The text explicitly reserves the role of "mediator" exclusively for Jesus in that very same verse (Hebrews 12:24). Therefore, it does the opposite of saying we should address them.

If the saints are alive, and they most definitely are, they are in the presence of God, eternally beholding His glory. Their focus is entirely upon the beatific vision, not upon monitoring the daily prayer requests of billions of humans on earth which would require them to almost have omniscience, or a much higher access to our lives than the Bible confirms. In fact, Revelation 6 and 8 show their focus is towards God asking him to avenge their blood. Revelation 15 confirms their focus is on God,

“2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”

The saints are alive. They are in communion with God. They are indeed praying to God. Yet, we don’t have any indication of them running messages back from earth to heaven. Their focus is on God, and they are praying directly to him. Furthermore, if they are alive in Christ, and they most certainly are, they follow the New Covenant practice of praying to the Father through the Son, by the Spirit. There is no biblical evidence that they hear our verbal petitions; that is an assumption that grants them a divine attribute. It is an inference in which you can have no confidence in.

Psalm 148 is a beautiful Old Covenant poem that calls angels to praise God in their own celestial context. It provides zero instruction for how New Covenant believers are to direct their prayers. The New Testament explicitly frames the Sinai angelic mediation as a temporary, inferior, and distant system, and explicitly replaces it with the singular, sufficient, and direct mediatorship of Christ. Therefore, even if we were to concede to that Catholic or Orthodox reading of the Psalm, something that is not required of the text, and which we are only doing in a spirit of charity, using Psalm 148 to justify invoking angels or saints is not just a minor exegetical error. It is a fundamental failure to recognize how access to the heavenlies has changed because of Christ’s work for us. In the New Covenant the Mediator descended to us, and through Him, we ascend directly to the Father. To add angelic or saintly invocation is to demote Christ from "sole" Mediator to "primary" Mediator, a completely unnecessary step.

I do not expect this article to immediately cause my Catholic of Orthodox friends to change their minds. However, it cannot be said that we have no response to their perspective.

 

God is Solving the Divorce Issue As We Speak

 

How can we solve the divorce issue in Australia? Someone asked this or mentioned this in the comments the other day. Perhaps it is beyond our abilities to solve this. But while we are discussing the situation our nations are in, things are changing in the culture for very practical reasons,

“Rising living costs trap couples in shared homes after separation

Financial barriers to leaving: Nearly half of Australian women say money pressures delayed their separation, with many unable to afford rent or legal costs.

Living with exes: 42% of separated couples who stayed under one roof did so because they couldn’t afford separate housing.

Emotional toll: Prolonged cohabitation after separation hinders emotional recovery, with many reporting stress, lack of privacy, and ongoing conflict.”[1]

The economy is turning against people. We westerners were rich. Richer than we realized. Our ability to live far above the historical average was incredible. Not too long ago an unskilled man working a simple job could afford to have a home, a stay-at-home wife, a family and would do alright. Leisure opportunities were abundant. Travel opportunities were taken advantage of in great numbers. But things are changing, they are changing hard and they are changing quick.

A lot of divorce culture was and is just a product of people having it so good in our society that the temptation for people to leave and "find themselves," or their secretary, or their tennis coach, or Bob from accounting was just too high. The same with mid-life crises. Have you noticed that Gen X and Millennial men in their middle age have been much less likely to get a sports car, drop the wife, and pursue a life of frivolity? The reason this is so is because these generations cannot afford the midlife crisis to the same degree as the boomer generation. This is just an economic reality. Wealth is shrinking in the West, and we are seeing this have all sorts of sociological effects.

Good times lead to a morally weaker society. A morally weaker society leads to hard times. Hard times make people have to work harder to get along. And as hard times multiply, as they will in coming years, people’s self-interest will move in large numbers move them towards what we would call traditional values.

There are upsides of hard times. And make no mistake that our nation is moving into harder times. Relative to where we were a few decades ago.

There is a lot of talk about how many leisure activities past generations took for granted are becoming hobbies for the rich. This is partly true. The fact is they always were, we are just no longer as prosperous in the West as we used to be.

List of References

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[1] https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/rising-living-costs-trap-couples-in-shared-homes-after-separation/ss-AA25DM7a#image=1v