The Gospel Of Mark, Part 4 - The Temptation Of Jesus

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Mark 1:12-13

In these two verses we read that Jesus, the very Son of God, was in the wilderness for forty days, and He was being tempted by Satan. Have you ever stopped to think about what these verses say? Have you ever considered that Jesus Christ - God in the flesh - was tempted by the devil? That is exactly what we are reading here.

In the Gospel of Mark we are not given any details; here we are simply told that immediately after His baptism Jesus was sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, with the wild animals, for forty days where He was tempted by Satan and ministered to by angels. Here, for example, we are not told that for these forty days Jesus didn't eat anything. Here we are not told that at the end of these forty days Jesus was weak and hungry, or it was at that time that Satan chose to launch his attack. We are also not given any details about the nature of these attacks, nor are we told that Jesus withstood Satan's attacks by knowing and accurately using the word of God in His defense (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). All of these things are important, and we can read about them in the other Gospel accounts, but for some reason none of them is included here.

As we approach these two verses there are several approaches we could take: we could study the Greek to see what it means that the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness; we could speculate on what it means that the angels ministered to Him; we could even do a study of the significance of the forty days and see what forty days means in the Bible, but if we do all of that and miss the point of what the Gospel writer is trying to tell us here we have just wasted our time.

So what is it that the Gospel writer wants us to see here? Could it be that the thing that we really need to understand is simply that Jesus was in fact tempted by the devil just like we are?

In the letter to the Hebrews we read:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

Did you catch that? Jesus was tempted in every way that you or I have ever been (or ever will be) tempted. Why is that ? Hebrews 2:17 tells us that Jesus had to be made like us in every respect so that He could be our merciful and faithful high priest; in order for Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins He had to be like we are (yet without sin).

Verse 18 then goes on to say:

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:18

Because Jesus was tempted He is able to help us when we are tempted. What does this mean? It means that Jesus understands the weaknesses we have because He was made just like us. It means that He knows what it is like to be tempted, because He was tempted. And it means that in temptation there is always a way out (see again Hebrew 4:15; Jesus was tempted yet He remained sinless).

In 1 Corinthians we read:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

There are several important things in these verse:

1. There are no temptations that are unique to you or me; we may all struggle with different specifics, but the specifics all lead back to what is common to man - rebellion against God.
2. God is faithful - this verse promises that He will never let us be tempted beyond what we can endure.
3. God will always make sure that in every temptation we have a way of escape

These are great promises and we would all do well to remember them.

So what have we seen here? In the Gospel of Mark we saw that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. We then went to Hebrews and saw that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, but that He remained sinless (this is an important thing to understand - it means that temptation is not a sin and that just because you are tempted does not mean that you have sinned). And finally we looked at 1 Corinthians where we saw that we have a faithful God who will keep us from any temptation that we cannot resist and that when we are tempted He will always provide for us a way of escape.

So the next time that you face a temptation think about Mark 1:12-13 and remember that Jesus also faced temptation, and that because He faced temptation He is able to sympathize with our weakness. And then rejoice that this same Jesus is our Great High Priest.

A Study Of Covenant - Part 1

Over the next several weeks I am going to post a study that I wrote a few years ago on the topic of Covenant. This is one of the most fascinating topics you can study in the Bible, and it is also one that is often overlooked and misunderstood. It is my prayer that over the next few weeks you will get enough of an understanding of what it means to be in in a covenant relationship with God that you will dig deeper into the Scriptures on your own; I guarantee that when you truly understand and embrace this truth you will never be the same.

Kay Arthur, the first teacher I ever heard teach on this topic, said:

Once you understand and embrace the reality that God is a God of covenant, you will experience a peace, a strength, a security you have never known. The Word of God will take on a whole new dimension—delighting you with wonder as you explore the height, the depth, the breadth of what it means to be in covenant with God. The words lovingkindness and friend will take on new meaning and become so precious as you identify them as covenant terms.

She also said:

Once you grasp the full understanding of covenant—and note that I said full—and begin to understand the character and ways of our covenant God, you will find the answer, the cure for pain that threatens to overwhelm you. And as long as you cling to the truth, you'll find yourself soaking in the love, the peace, the confidence, and the joy that belong to those who live in the knowledge of the covenant that God cut on behalf of every man, every woman, every child—regardless of color, nationality, or station in life. All you need to do is enter into and abide in His covenant.

With an introduction like that you can see that this is going to be a wonderful study. The outline we will use as we work our way through this study is as follows:

I. Define Covenant
A. Hebrew words and meanings
B. Greek words and meanings

II. Look at some examples of covenants in the Bible
A. The Noahic Covenant
B. Covenant between Jonathan and David

III. Study in detail the three major covenants in the Bible

A. The Abrahamic Covenant
B. The Sinai Covenant
C. The New Covenant

As we begin our journey please keep in mind that there are over 300 references to covenants in the Bible and that we will not exhaust this topic in just a few short weeks. When we finish here I encourage you to look up the word covenant in your concordance and check out some of the references that we didn't have time to cover here together.

Let's get started.

I. Define Covenant

Merriam Webster defines a covenant as a:

[F]ormal, solemn, and binding agreement

Or

[A] written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.

Harper's Bible Dictionary says a covenant is:

[A] formal agreement or treaty between two parties with each assuming some obligation.

The Hebrew word that we translate covenant is the word Beriyth meaning treaty, alliance, or agreement. The word Beriyth is often preceded by the verb Karath, which means to cut.

When these two words are used together it expresses the idea of cutting a covenant. This is significant because according to Easton's Bible Dictionary karath beriyth makes:

[R]eference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant.

So literally, the definition of karath beriyth is a compact made by passing between pieces of flesh.

The Greek word translated covenant in the New Testament is diatheke, which has the same meaning as berith. It should be noted that in the KJV this word is often translated as testament, but this word should actually be translated covenant the same as berith was translated in the Old Testament since they have the exact same meaning.

Karat Berith – To Cut Covenant

As stated above the Hebrew term Karat Berith means to cut covenant. To help you get a better understanding of this I though we should look at the process and examine what takes place in the cutting of a covenant before we move on and look at some examples of covenants in the Bible.

The way in which a covenant was cut in the Old Testament is this: animals were cut in half down the spine and the pieces were placed in a line side-by-side with a path down the middle. The parties involved would remove their robes and hand them to each other to put on. They would exchange weapons. They would give the other party their belt. Then in a figure-eight pattern they would walk between the pieces while reciting the terms of the covenant. They would then point to heaven, and to the animals, while swearing an oath "God, do so to me, if I break this covenant."

Next the covenant partners would take a knife and make a cut in their wrists, clasps hands, and let their blood mingle together. Then they would recite to each other everything that they owned and everything that they owed. They would then reach down and scoop up a hand full of dirt and rub it into the cut on their wrists. After all of this they would exchange new names and then sit down to a meal. Lastly they would set up a memorial, a pile of stones, a planted tree, a written contract… something that would be a testament to the agreement they had just made.

From this point on they were forever in covenant with each other; a covenant that could only be broken by death. There is a lot of rich symbolism in this ritual, symbolism that will become very important to us as we go along, so let's take a few minutes to look at a few of these:

The first thing we see is that after the animals were slain and cut in half the parties involved would exchange robes. By doing this they were symbolizing their new covenant identity with the other person. They were in essence saying "I am putting you on, and you are putting me on; we were once two, but now we are one."

Next we see them exchanging weapons. The symbolism here is that they were saying your enemies are now my enemies and my enemies are your enemies.

Then they would exchange belts. This was a symbol of strength and they were saying that from this point forward you do not have to rely on your own strength – you now have my strength and I yours.

Then dressed as the other person, with the other person's weapons in their hand and wearing their belt, they would walk between the animals symbolizing walking into death. They did this for two reasons: first they were showing that from this point forward they were no longer living for themselves; they were now living for their covenant partner; and secondly they were saying that if they ever break the covenant, they should have done to them what was done to these animals. And they call on God to carry it out by swearing an oath, "God, do so to me, if I break this covenant."

The cut wrist and mingled blood would once again show that they were no longer two persons; from this point on they were one. As stated above they would also rub dirt into the cut; they did this so it would scar, and then every time they saw their wrist from that time forward they would remember that they have a covenant partner.

Next they would exchange new names, which symbolized a new identity - an identity based on the covenant. Then they would share a meal, a covenant meal, where they would each take a piece of bread, break it, and place it in their covenant partner's mouth. While doing this they would each say, "you are eating me, and I you."

There is one more thing we need to talk about here before we move on. A covenant is not always entered into by persons who are equals. So what happens when one of the covenant partners is the subordinate of the other? This is a very important question for us since what we are ultimately discussing here is the covenant that God made with mankind. Man is subordinate to God, we are not equals, so we need to understand how covenant works when one of the parties in inferior or subordinate to the other.

In a covenant where the involved parties are not equals the superior party lowers themselves to the level of the lower party and honors them by dealing with them on a more or less equal footing. The superior stipulates the demand of the covenant and the subordinate either accepts or rejects them. The lesser assumes the duties imposed upon him voluntarily and as a result inherits the blessings of the covenant (more on this later). The superior party is the one who assumes the full responsibility for the conditions of the covenant.

This then is a covenant; a solemn, binding agreement, a pledge cut in blood, a walk into death. And that is exactly what our relationship with God is based upon.

Next time we will look at Noahic Covenant and the Sinai Covenant.

What's Wrong with "User Friendly"?

Here is an email that I received from a friend this morning. This is an excerpt from John MacArthur's 1993 book, Ashamed of the Gospel, and although this is several years old it could not be more relevant to what is happing in a lot of our churches today.

What's Wrong with "User Friendly"?

by: John MacArthur

"User-friendly" was first used to describe software and hardware that is easy for the novice to operate. Applied to the church, it describes churches that offer a decidedly benign and non-challenging ministry model. In practice, it has become an excuse for importing worldly amusements into the church in an attempt to attract non-Christian "seekers" or the "unchurched" by appealing to their fleshly interests. The obvious fallout of this preoccupation with the unbelievers is a corresponding neglect of true believers and their spiritual needs.

If you want to know how user-friendly a church has become, the emphasis, or de-emphasis, on biblical preaching is the yardstick. A church that buys into the new paradigm sidelines provocative and convicting sermons for music, skits, or videos– less confrontational mediums for conveying the message. Even when there is a sermon, it is frequently psychological and motivational rather than biblical. Above all, entertainment value and user-friendliness are paramount.

I once read through a stack of newspaper and magazine articles that highlight a common thread in the user-friendly phenomenon. These observations from newspaper clippings describe the preaching in user-friendly churches:

• "There is no fire and brimstone here... Just practical, witty messages."

• "Services at [the church featured in the article] have an informal feeling. You won't hear people threatened with hell or referred to as sinners. The goal is to make them feel welcome, not drive them away."
  

• "As with all clergymen [this pastor's] answer is God– but he slips Him in at the end, and even then doesn't get heavy. No ranting, no raving. No fire, no brimstone. He doesn't even use the H-word. Call it Light Gospel. It has the same salvation as the Old Time Religion, but with a third less guilt."
  

• "The sermons are relevant, upbeat, and best of all, short. You won't hear a lot of preaching about sin and damnation, and hell fire. Preaching here doesn't sound like preaching. It is sophisticated, urbane, and friendly talk. It breaks all the stereotypes."
  

• "[The pastor] is preaching a very upbeat message... It's a salvationist message, but the idea is not so much being saved from the fires of hell. Rather, it's being saved from meaninglessness and aimlessness in this life. It's more of a soft-sell."
  

So the new rules may be summed like this: Be clever, informal, positive, brief, friendly, and never, never use the H-word.

The pastors and leaders in the church-growth movement certainly wouldn't portray their own ministries in that way. In fact, they would probably laud their success in drawing people into the church without compromising the message. But they fail to understand that by decentralizing the Scripture and avoiding hard truths, they are compromising. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26, emphasis added). If the design is to make the seeker comfortable, isn't that rather incompatible with the Bible's own emphasis on sin, judgment, hell, and several other important topics?

The gospel message is a confrontational message. When you remove the confrontation–or soften, downplay, or bring it in through the back door– you have compromised the message. The modern pulpit is weak, not for a lack of witty messages, but because men fear to speak the hard truths of God's Word powerfully and with conviction.

The church is certainly not suffering from an overabundance of forthright preachers; rather, it seems glutted with men pleasers (cf. Gal. 1:10). But, as it was in the early church, when men are faithful to preach God's Word with boldness, God will give the increase. "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching... then fear came upon every soul... and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42, 43, 47).

When a sinner wanders into the church and sits through skits, mimes, interpretive dances, and the like, and yet never hears a clear, convicting message about his dangerous and tenuous spiritual situation– that he is a depraved sinner headed for an eternal fire because he is a daily offense to a holy God– how can that be called successful? You could achieve the same level of success by sending a cancer patient to receive treatment from a group of children playing doctor. A sinner must understand the imminent danger he is in if he is ever to look to the Savior.

C. H. Spurgeon, facing a similar mindset in his day, once said:

'I fear there are some who preach with the view of amusing men, and as long as people can be gathered in crowds, and their ears can be tickled, and they can retire pleased with what they have heard, the orator is content, and folds his hands, and goes back self-satisfied. But Paul did not lay himself out to please the public and collect the crowd. If he did not save them he felt that it was of no avail to interest them. Unless the truth had pierced their hearts, affected their lives, and made new men of them, Paul would have gone home crying, "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"...

Now observe, brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely in amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wide her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he is on the left hand of the judge, and if still, "Depart, ye cursed," shall be his portion?'" ["Soul Saving Our One Business," The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 25 (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1879), 674-76.]

That is precisely my concern about today’s pragmatic church-growth trend. The strategy focuses on attracting and keeping the unchurched. For what? To entertain them? To get them to attend church meetings regularly? Merely "churching" the unchurched accomplishes nothing of eternal value. That is where their strategy seems to end.

What's worse is when seeker-focused churches baptize the masses with their watered-down gospel, assuring them that positive decisions, feelings, or affirmations about Christ equal genuine conversion. There are now multitudes who are not authentic Christians identifying with the church. The church is literally invaded with the world's values, the world's interests, and the world's citizens. It isn't an invasion prompted by overt hostility; people are simply responding to a survey that came in the mail. Ironically, Satan isn't sowing the tares; church leaders are.
As you set your strategy for church ministry, you dare not overlook the primary means of church growth: the straightforward, Christ-centered proclamation of the unadulterated Word of God. If you trade the Word for amusements or gimmicks, you will not only find that you have no effective means to reach people with the truth of Christ, but you will find yourself working against the Lord Himself.

Adapted from Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World

© 1993 by John MacArthur.
All rights reserved.

I think Dr. MacArthur hit the nail on the head in that last paragraph when he said, " If you trade the Word for amusements or gimmicks, you will not only find that you have no effective means to reach people with the truth of Christ, but you will find yourself working against the Lord Himself. "

I for one don't ever want to be in a position where I am working against what God is doing or be in opposition the the work of the Holy Spirit, so rest assured that as long as I am able to continue writing here the messages will be unashamedly Christ centered and Biblically based. As the apostle Paul wrote in the letter to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvaion to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16).

The Elders Around & Judgments Out Of The Throne - Revelation 4:4-5a

As we continue our study of Revelation chapter four we come to verse four where John next tells us that he saw twenty-four thrones that surrounded another throne and that seated upon these twenty-four thrones were twenty-four elders. John then describes how these twenty-four elders were dressed; he tells us they were clothed in white garments and wearing golden crowns.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

Revelation 4:4 (NASB)

This verse leaves us with one obvious question; who are these twenty-four elders?

There has been much debate as to the identity of the twenty-four elders mentioned here in Revelation 4:4, so let’s look at what several Bible scholars have had to say:

These elders probably symbolize the people of God in heaven, enthroned and rewarded.1

There has been much speculation on the identity of the elders. The two major views are (1) that they represent the church raptured prior to this time and rewarded in heaven, or (2) that they are angels who have been given large responsibilities.2

We cannot say with certainty who the twenty-four elders are. They are variously understood as angelic beings, as the redeemed people of both the Old Testament and New Testament, and as New Testament saints only. 3

Some think that they represent the church or believers in heaven, but it seems preferable to view the elders as angels who comprise a heavenly ruling council. 4

They are not angels, for they have white robes and crowns of victory, implying a conflict and endurance… 5

Their joint rule with Christ, their white garments, and their golden crowns all seem to indicate that these 24 represent the redeemed.6

The twenty-four elders may refer to the twenty-four priestly divisions who conducted the worship of Israel according to the tradition of the Levites. The elders in the vision seem to represent the saints of God in their act of worship, just as the Levitical priests represented Israel in the worship of the temple.7

These twenty-four elders stand for the church from Pentecost to the Rapture. Therefore, I can say categorically and dogmatically that here is the church in heaven.8

As you can see there are as many interpretations of who these elders are as there are commentaries in print, so let’s look at the Scriptures, since that is the best way to interpret difficult passages, and see what we can discover.

In his commentary on Revelation, Robert Van Kampen writes that there are nine things we know from Scripture about these beings, these are:

1. They from a circle around the throne of God (Revelation 4:4a)
2. They are called elders (Revelation 4:4b)
3. They are twenty-four seated on twenty-four thrones (Revelation 4:4c)
4. They wear white garments and golden crowns (Revelation 4:4d)
5. They fall down and worship God (Revelation 4:10)
6. They sing hymns to God (Revelation 4:11)
7. They make comments to John (Revelation 5:5)
8. They have harps and censers full of incense that are said to represent the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8)
9. They explain things to John (Revelation 7:14-17)9

By looking at these other Scriptures where these elders are mentioned it is easy to see that they are not Old Testament saints, or New Testament believers, or representatives of the church; these twenty-four elders are some form of angelic being. We can see this clearly by looking at Revelation 5:9-10 where we read:

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

Revelation 5:9-10 (NASB)

Notice that in these verses, when the elders sing their new song to God they say, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” If these were the redeemed this verse would read entirely differently; it would say, “You have made us to be a kingdom and priests to our God and we will reign upon the earth.” This leaves then as the only possible conclusion that the twenty-four elders are angelic beings.

However, it is not that easy to end this debate, Warren Wiersbe points out:

It is unlikely that they are angels, because angels are not numbered (Heb. 12:22), crowned, or enthroned. Besides, in Revelation 7:11, the elders are distinguished from the angels. The crowns they wear are the ‘victor’s crowns’ (the Greek word stephanos; see Rev. 2:10); and we have no evidence that angels receive rewards.10

John MacArthur also points out several reasons why these elders are not likely to be angels, he writes:

First, the reference to the twenty-four thrones on which the twenty-four elders sat indicates that they reign with Christ. Nowhere in Scripture do angels sit on thrones, nor are they pictured ruling or reigning.

Presbuteroi [The Greek word translated as Elder here in Revelation 4:4] is never used in Scripture to refer to angels, but always to men.

While angels do appear in white (e.g., John 20:12; Acts 1:10), white garments more commonly are the dress of believers.

That the elders wore golden crowns on their heads provides further evidence that they were humans. Crowns are never promised in Scripture to angels, nor are angels ever seen wearing them.11

So, we cannot be dogmatic either way; these elders could be angels, or they could be human. But if they are human, which humans do they represent? The truth is that we just don’t know. As has already been pointed out: they could represent the Nation of Israel, they could represent Old Testament believers, or they could represent the church, but this is one of the mysteries of the Bible where we are just not given the answer. As I have pointed out there is evidence to support many different views, but the bottom line here is that we will just not know until we reach heaven.

Next we see that:

Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.

Revelation 4:5a (NASB)

In Psalm 9:7 we read that “God has established His throne for judgment” and that is exactly what we are seeing here. This is not the throne of grace; this is the throne of judgment.

When we see lightning and we hear thunder we know that a storm is coming. God is preparing to judge the world that has rejected Him, and here John sees the storm of that judgment coming. This picture is reminiscent of God giving His law to Moses on mount Sinai, we read:

So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Exodus 9:16 (NASB)

It is also reminiscent of the plagues of judgment sent against Egypt:

When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

Exodus 9:23-24 (NASB)

We quite often take for granted that God is a holy God and that He will judge sin. The writer of Hebrews warns us that we are not to reject the grace of God, and in doing so he reminds us that we are to serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, because our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28-29). Judgment is coming to the earth, and it is coming from the very throne of God.


1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 4:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
2 Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the scriptures (2:943). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
3 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 4:4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
4 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Re 4:4). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
5 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Re 4:4). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
6 MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Re 4:4). Nashville: Word Pub.
7 Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 35 : 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (152). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
8 McGee J. Vernon (c 1983). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol.5 1 Corinthians–Revelation Pg.931. Nashville TN.: Thomas Nelson.
9 Van Kampen, Robert. Revelation Commentary Ch4 Pg1 (© www.revelationcommentry.org). Orlando Fl.: Sola Scriptura
10 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 4:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
11 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (148-149). Chicago: Moody Press.


Next time we will look at verses 5b -11 and the object before the throne.

Profession And Practice

A few weeks ago I read an excerpt from Legh Richmond's Domestic Portraiture written January 6,1825. As I read this there was one line that really stood out; Richmond wrote:

For the most part, we are a nation of Christians by profession--and a nation of heathens in practice.

As I thought about this line I thought of our nation (and our world) today, and I don't know that I would still say that we are a nation of Christians by profession as Legh Richmond wrote, but I think we can safely say that a good number of those who profess to be Christians today don't live out their profession on a day-to-day basis. Why is that? Why is it that many today feel that it is perfectly fine to go to church on Sunday but live just like everyone else around them the rest of the week?

The Bible tells us that we are to live as exiles in this world (1 Peter 1:17, 2:11) and that we are citizens of another kingdom (Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 11:13). Like Abraham we are to be "looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:10).

We are to be like strangers living in a foreign land; we are ambassadors, we are pilgrims, and we are exiles here. But we don't live like we are. We have made this world our home. We can look at most of the people around us - both those who claim to be Christians and those who don't - and we will not see much of a difference. So again I ask, why is that?

Legh Richmond goes on to write:

There is to be found in the religious world - what may be termed - a pretty, cultured sort of evangelism, which too well combines luxurious ease, and serving of the world, and the flesh--not to say of the devil also. But such kind of religion will not prepare the soul for sickness, death, and eternity. At best, it will leave the soul a prey to the most fearful delusions of false peace. The way that leads to eternal life is much more narrow than many of our modern professors are aware of--the gate is too straight to allow all their trifling, and self-will, and worldliness, and carnal-mindedness, to press through it.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:13-14

Most Christians today would agree that in order to be saved we must enter through the narrow gate. But how many then skip right over the next part of what Jesus said here about the narrow road?

It all goes back to the fact that we are to live here as strangers and exiles; we are not to get so comfortable in this world that we become just like everyone else around us. We are to be different; we are to be people who are Christian not just by profession but also in practice; the apostle Peter wrote:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9

Notice in this verse that we are called a chosen race and a holy nation; we are people who belong to God. And the reason that we are to live like we belong to God and not to this world is clear - it is so we can proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us. How can we tell the world about the wonder and glory of God if we are no different than they are?

Examine your life (as I also examine my own) and see if there are areas where you may not be living in practice what you claim to be by profession, repent of those things, and draw near to God. As we read in the letter to the Colossians:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:1-2

As we do we will find that our witness will become more powerful and our walk with Christ will become more enjoyable.

The Gospel Of Mark, Part 3 - The Baptism Of Jesus

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11

With these three verses we come to the Baptism of our Lord. We are not given a lot of detail here, and in fact are probably left with more questions than answers. But let's look at these three verses, and at the surrounding context, and see what we can learn.

We know from the previous passage that John the Baptist was in the wilderness baptizing and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We know that many were coming to him and were being baptized and were confessing their sins. We know that john said clearly that there was someone coming after him whose sandals he was not worthy to untie and this coming one would not baptize with water as John was doing, but would baptize with the Holy Spirit. It is into this setting that Jesus walks in verse nine where we see that Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the Jordan. This is where the questions start. Why was Jesus baptized? And why by John?

Let's start with the second question first because I think it is the easier of the two to answer. We read Mark 1:2-3 a quote from Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 where we are told that God would send a messenger, His messenger, before the Messiah to prepare the way for His coming. And that is what john had been doing; he had been preaching that the people needed to repent of their sins - that the forgiveness of sins comes through repentance and turning to God. We looked at this in some detail last time (see The Gospel of Mark, Part 2 - Get Yourselves Ready) so we will not get into that again here, but we still must answer the question why did Jesus come to John to be baptized? Jesus came to John to be baptized as a validation of John's ministry.

The message of Jesus was also the message of repentance and faith, and by Jesus allowing John to baptize Him He was showing the world that the message of John was true, that the ministry of John was valid, and that He was the One for whom John had been preparing the way.

This then brings us to the more difficult question to answer, if John was proclaiming a baptism of repentance from sin (and he did) and Jesus was sinless (and He was), why did He need to be baptized?

We read in Matthew's account of this incident that John tried to prevent this saying that he needed to be baptized by Jesus, but Jesus said that His being baptized by John was fitting to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:13-15). This creates a problem that I think is best expressed by James Boyce in his commentary on Matthew, he writes:

Since John’s baptism was a baptism unto repentance and Jesus had no sin of which to repent, how is it that he sought baptism by John in the first place? And why did he seek this, as he said to John, “to fulfill all righteousness”? How could baptism add anything to the already perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ?

To answer this dilemma we must ask another question: what is baptism? By this I don't mean the mode or method of baptism (i.e. sprinkling or submersion), but what does baptism mean; in other words, why do we do it? Baptism is, at its most basic and fundamental level, a means of identification. What do I mean by this? When we are baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ what we are doing is saying to the world that I now identify my life with His life - I am now identified with Jesus in His life, death, and resurrection. In the same way when the people that John was baptizing were baptized what they were doing was identifying themselves with his message of repentance and making a public statement - by the means of baptism - that they had in fact repented of their sins as John had instructed.

Why is this important? Because when Jesus stepped down into that water to be baptized by John what He was doing was identifying Himself with us. Again James Boyce writes:

In Jesus’ baptism by John, Jesus identified himself with us in our humanity, thereby taking on himself the obligation to fulfill all righteousness so that he might be a perfect Savior and substitute for us.

This does not in any way mean that Jesus had sinned or that He needed to repent of anything as the writer of Hebrews reminds us:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

And the apostle Peter wrote:

He [Jesus] committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

1 Peter 2:22

So it was to identify Himself with us that made Jesus go to John, step down into the Jordan River, and be baptized by him. John MacArthur here writes:

Jesus came into the world to identify with men; and to identify with men is to identify with sin. He could not purchase righteousness for mankind if He did not identify with mankind’s sin.

Let me help you see the picture here. When Jesus went to the cross he took upon Himself the sin of the world; He took our sin upon Himself (1 Peter 2:24) and actually became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Jesus not only identified with us He literally took the punishment that we deserved and He paid the price that our sin required.

As I said above, when the people came to John to be baptized by him they were symbolically showing that they had repented of their sin. They would go down into the water, John would submerge them showing their death to sin, and they would come up a new person who figuratively speaking was leaving their sin behind in that water. When Jesus - the sinless Son of God - wend down into that water He figuratively took upon Himself the sin that He literally bore on the cross in our place.

Before we move on there is one more thing that this passage teaches us that we need to see and understand, and that is found in verse eleven where John hears a voice out of heaven say to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Why is it important that God the Father was pleased with Jesus, and does it have any implication for us that this was said at this time when Jesus was clearly identifying Himself with us? The reason that this is so important is because apart from Christ we cannot please God in any way. So we can take great comfort in the fact that God is "well pleased" with Him, because when He sees us who have come to Christ is faith and repentance He sees us as being "in Christ" (Romans 6:11; 6:23; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and many, many more) and since we are now in Christ we are accepted by God, not based upon our own merit but on the merit of Christ (Ephesians 1:6).

So the next time you read about the Baptism of Jesus I hope that you don't just skim over it, but that you stop, think about what it means, and take a few minutes to thank Jesus for His identifying Himself with us. Then take some time to praise God because when He sees us He is not seeing us in our own merit, but in His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

And we can rest because there is nothing we have to do to please Him - Jesus already did it all!

Rushing Wind

Keith Green is one of my all time favorite songwriters, and this song is my very favorite Keith Green song.



I pray that this God speaks to you through this song like He has to me.

Revelation Chapter 4, Part 2 - The Glory of the Throne

Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

Revelation 4:2-3 (NASB)

Verse two begins with the words Immediately I was in the Spirit. Remember that this was the way John described what happened to him in chapter one when he received his first vision. As was said when we looked at the meaning of this phrase there, every time that John uses this phrase in the book of Revelation he is taken somewhere by the Holy Spirit and shown a vision. Let’s look at what a few others have said about this phrase:

John stated that immediately he was in the Spirit meaning that experientially he was taken up to heaven though his body was actually still on the island of Patmos. 1

The Holy Spirit takes possession of John in a special way, and he immediately sees the eternal God sitting upon His throne in majesty and splendor. 2

This was not a dream. John was supernaturally transported out of the material world awake—not sleeping—to an experience beyond the normal senses. The Holy Spirit empowered his senses to perceive revelation from God. 3

There are a few things we can learn from this:

1. This was a vision that was given to John by the Holy Spirit.
   
2. John was actually taken to heaven to see this vision.
   
3. This was not a dream; John was fully awake and fully aware of everything that was going on around him.

The next thing we see is that the place that John was taken was heaven, and he tells us that here he saw a throne, and One sitting on the throne. The Greek word translated throne here is the word thrónos, which is:

A seat, usually high and having a footstool [and is often used] as the emblem of royal authority.4

As we will see as we move through this chapter that is exactly what John is seeing; the One sitting on the throne is the One who is ruling.

As was just mentioned John sees more than just a throne; he sees One sitting on the throne. The One here is God the Father, which we know because of the context of the passage; we see the Holy Spirit before the throne, and we will see the Lord Jesus as the Lamb in Revelation 5:6, so the One on the throne is none other than God the Father. John MacArthur writes:

Though John does not name the One sitting on the throne, it is obvious who He is. He is the One Isaiah saw in his vision: ‘I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple’ (Isa. 6:1). The prophet Micaiah also saw Him on His glorious throne: ‘I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left’ (1 Kings 22:19). ‘God reigns over the nations,’ declared the psalmist, ‘God sits on His holy throne’ (Ps. 47:8). 5

Now in verse three John is going to try to describe to us the One who is sitting on the throne. Notice that in this verse John uses the word like two times. The Greek word John uses here is hómoios, which means a, “similarity in external form and appearance.”6

What John is saying here is this; the One sitting on the throne is similar in form and appearance to things we know; He is not these things but these things will give us a reference point that we can understand. Warren Wiersbe writes:

There is no possible way for human words to describe what God is like in His essence. John can only use comparisons. 7

So in this verse John makes two comparisons:

1. He says the One who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius stone
2. He compares the rainbow he sees around the throne to an emerald.

The first object that John uses to describe the One sitting on the throne is the jasper stone. According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, a jasper stone, as it is characterized in Scripture, “was most precious, and like crystal.” It then goes on to say:

We may also infer from Rev. 4:3 that it was a stone of brilliant and transparent light. The stone which we name ‘jasper’ does not accord with this description. There can be no doubt that the diamond would more adequately answer to the description in the book of Revelation. 8

Revelation 21:11 says, in speaking of the foundation of the New Jerusalem, Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. By taking the definition from Smith’s Bible Dictionary, and the description that we have here in Revelation 21, we can conclude that it was probably a diamond that John had in mind when he tried to convey what he was seeing. Nelson’s New Bible Dictionary tells us:

The diamond was not identified in the Mediterranean lands until the first century.9

So John would likely not have known that word; the closest thing in his vocabulary would have been the jasper stone.

The second object that John chooses to describe what he saw is the sardius stone. Again, Harper’s Bible Dictionary tells us that this stone was:

[A] deep orange-red chalcedony considered by some to be a variety of carnelian. 10

The sardius stone is most likely what we know today as a ruby. Matthew Henry writes:

The sardine-stone is red, signifying the justice of God, that essential attribute of which he never divests himself in favour of any, but gloriously exerts it in the government of the world, and especially of the church, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”11

The two stones chosen here by John to describe what he was seeing would have had a lot of meaning to those reading this in the first century as these were the first and last stones on the breastplate of the Jewish high priest. William MacDonald and Art Farstad writes:

In the high priest’s breastplate, the jasper represented Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and the sardius represented Benjamin, his lastborn. The name Reuben means “Behold, a son,” and Benjamin means “son of my right hand. 12

By choosing these two specific stones John could have also been making a reference to Jesus, God’s Son who is seated at His right hand.

One other possible reason for John to have chosen these particular stones is alluded to by John MacArthur in his commentary on Revelation; he writes:

It may be that those stones depict God’s covenant relationship with Israel; His wrath and judgment will not abrogate that relationship. 13

In other words, these stones, being the first and last on the breastplate of the high priest encompass all of Israel, the covenant people of God, and the use of these stones to depict the One John sees sitting on the throne is a reminder to us that as the coming judgments unfold the covenants of God will not fail. This can be further seen by the next image we get from John; at the end of verse three John says that encircling the throne is an emerald rainbow.

The rainbow is first seen in Genesis 9:13 where God tells Noah:

I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13

The covenant that God made with Noah (and every living creature) was that a flood would never again destroy the world. There are two important things to see here about this rainbow:

1. The shape of the rainbow
   
2. The timing of the rainbow

John tells us that he saw a rainbow around the throne. The word translated around here in the ESV and NASB is the Greek word kuklóthen, which means a circle and it could also be translated as surrounded (HCSB) or encircled (NIV). However you translate this word the picture that we have is of a rainbow that is a perfect circle surrounding the throne. Here on earth we never see a complete rainbow, we only see a portion of it, an arc, but here in heaven John sees a complete full circle rainbow, which symbolizes the perfection and eternality of God.

The next thing that I want you to notice about this rainbow is its timing, by that I mean the time when it appeared, or when it was shown to John. On earth we see rainbows after a storm, but this rainbow was shown to John prior to the storm of tribulation beginning.

Why would the rainbow appear before the storm? MacDonald and Farstad write that this rainbow:

Is a pledge that God will keep His covenants, in spite of the coming judgments. 14

And Warren Wiersbe adds:

Judgment is about to fall, but the rainbow reminds us that God is merciful, even when He judges. 15

So take some time out today and praise God for His mercy and thank Him for His grace.

Next time we will look at the Elders Around the Throne.

1 Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the scriptures (2:943). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
2 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 4:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
3 MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Re 1:10). Nashville: Word Pub.
4 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G2362). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
5 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (146). Chicago: Moody Press.
6 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G3664). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
7 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 4:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
8 Smith, W. (1997). Smith's Bible dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
9 Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
10 Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (907). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
11 Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Re 4:1). Peabody: Hendrickson.
12 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 4:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
13 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (148). Chicago: Moody Press.
14 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 4:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
15 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 4:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

The Gospel Of Mark, Part 2 - Get Yourselves Ready

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:2-8

In this passage we are introduced to John the Baptist, the messenger who was sent before Jesus to prepare the way. Here we must ask the question, what was it that John did ,and how did he prepare the way for Jesus to come and begin His ministry?

We are told in verse four that John was baptizing and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And in verse five we see that many were going to the Jordan river to be baptized by him and were confessing their sins.

So what we are seeing here is the people of Judea and Jerusalem coming out to John and being baptized by him as an outward public sign that they had repented of their sin and turned their hearts to God. The word Repent here comes from the Greek word metánoia, which literally means to change your mind. What this is telling us is that repentance involves thinking differently about your sin.

Think of it this way, when you repent you no longer view sin as being a minor stumble or as just being a mistake; you actually have a change of mind whereby you now see your sin as God sees your sin. In other words you now see your sin as the hideous, ugly affront to God's holiness and sovereignty that it truly is. You have a change of mind which then manifests itself in a change of direction - you turn your back on your sin, and you walk away from it, but more importantly you don't just walk away from your sin, you walk toward God.

We can see this concept more clearly spelled out in the following verses:

Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

Acts 14:15 (Emphasis added)

And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 26:15-18 (Emphasis added)

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (Emphasis added)

This is what John was teaching the people of that day, and the text tells us that he was preparing the way for the Lord; he was making the paths straight and calling the people to repentance (which, as we will soon see is the same message that Jesus preached). But this is not the only thing that John did; he did not just call the people to repentance (as important as that is) - he glorified Christ. Notice verses seven and eight; here we see that when John preached he said:

After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

John did not live his life to gain popularity, prestige, or power; he lived his life for one purpose only - to glorify Christ. That is an example we would all do well to follow.

There is one more thing that I want to point out in this passage that we might otherwise miss; verse two begins with the words "As it is written..." This is a good reminder to us that what we read here in the gospels regarding the life and ministry of Jesus was prophesied hundreds of years before it actually happened. For example, what we are reading right to the beginning of Mark's Gospel is the fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah had written 700 years earlier. Several times throughout the gospels we read things like "as it was written" and this is to remind us that God does what He says He will do. We can take great comfort in the fact that God does what He says He will do and that all of His promises will be fulfilled. But we can also take this as a warning and and be assured that just as He fulfilled the prophesies concerning the birth and ministry of Jesus He will also fulfill the prophesies concerning the Second Coming of Jesus and His final judgment against sin; the Bible clearly teaches:

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Hebrews 9:27

And it says:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

All prophesy will be fulfilled.

Yes, God will judge sin; each of us will either experience God's wrath ourselves, or we will come to Him through Jesus Christ who died on the cross and became sin for us. He took the wrath of God in the place of everyone who comes to Him in repentance and faith. As I have said before, This is the Gospel! That is what John preached, that is what Jesus preached, and that is what this book is all about.



Next time we will cover verses 9-11 of chapter 1 as we look at the baptism of Jesus.

Shaping The Modern World - By Chuck Colson

Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday - it is also Charles Darwin's birthday. Here is what Chuck Colson had to say about the occasion on today's Breakpoint...

Shaping the Modern World
Mendelssohn, Lincoln, and Darwin

February 12, 2009

Two hundred years ago, three boys were born a few days apart in Germany, England, and the United States. All of them would become renowned and affect the lives of not only their contemporaries but of generations to come.

One would produce great works of art and revive interest in long-forgotten artistic treasures. One would lead his nation to a “new birth of freedom” and pay with his life. The third would be responsible for an idea that, intentionally or not, would rationalize the worst cruelty and oppression the world has ever seen.

Whose birthday is getting the most attention? Of course, the third one.

The three boys were the composer Felix Mendelssohn, born February 3, 1809, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, both born on February 12, 1809.

In his time, Mendelssohn was regarded as a kind of second Mozart: a child prodigy who, in an equally-short life, single-handedly revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Hopefully, you don’t need me to tell you about the importance of Abraham Lincoln. Still, judging by the way the 200th anniversary of their births is being covered, maybe you do.

For instance, the cover story of this month’s Smithsonian magazine purports to tell readers “How Lincoln and Darwin Shaped the Modern World.” According to the article, Lincoln and Darwin had “midwifed” a new world where “the hierarchies of nature and race and class that had governed the world” had been, if not overthrown, brought into question. In this account “evolution” and “emancipation” are co-laborers in this transformation.

Tell that to the tens or hundreds of millions of people murdered in the name of ideologies that cited Darwin’s On the Origin of Species as justification for their acts. The perpetrators of the gulags and the death camps didn’t hum “The Reformation Symphony” or recite the Gettysburg Address as they went about their grim tasks. But they did see themselves as acting in concert with the laws of nature: specifically, nature according to Darwin and his acolytes.

Likewise, “Social Darwinism,” far from weakening the “hierarchies of . . . class that governed the world” was employed to justify those hierarchies.

These social consequences are portrayed as after-the-fact corruptions of Darwin’s thoughts. Darwin’s ideas, we are told, is “humanism in flight” and “roomy enough for ordinary love to breathe in.”

But, as writer Peter Quinn has documented, that’s nonsense. Darwin’s own notebooks make it plain that he anticipated his ideas’ influencing “competition, free trade, imperialism, racial extermination, and sexual inequality.” He endorsed his cousin Francis Galton’s ideas about eugenics.

Yet, while we still debate whether Lincoln himself was a racist, little mention is made of the pernicious social consequences of Darwinism and even less about his complicity in these consequences.

Intelligent, secular, scholars argue about whether Darwin was right regarding the origin of species. What they can’t reasonably disagree with, however, is the destructive impact those ideas have had one particular species: man himself.

So for me, I’ll celebrate Lincoln today.

I couldn't agree more.