Tuesday, October 29 2024

Urbanization - is not what the Lord has in mind for us

I believe that many (not all) of the social ills of this world are a result of the megatrend towards urbanization - and all that it entails.

Living in large metropolitan centers changes the way people think - and vote.

You can see the results of that in almost every provincial, state, or federal election. Voting patterns are very predictable.

Our Provincial election results yesterday were no exception.

Today, 55% of the global population live in cities. By 2050, those numbers are projected to reach 70%.

Fortunately, megacities are not the solution the Lord has in mind for us at the "renewal of all things".

The number of verses from the OT and NT that describe various aspects of this are too numerous to list here.

It's the reason why Peter said this while addressing the crowd in Solomon's Collonade:

"Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets".

Acts 3:21

It wasn't just a few statements from a couple of them. All of them from Enoch to Malachi - with perhaps the exception of Jonah (which was mostly an account of the Lord's dealing with the city of Nineveh) - include statements describing events leading up to or during this restoration.

What the Lord has in mind for us is quite the opposite of the current megatrend towards urbanization.

You're probably familiar with this one:

Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
     and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—
     the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
     the Spirit of counsel and strength,
     the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what His eyes see,
     and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
but with righteousness He will judge the poor,
     and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth
     and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
Righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
     and faithfulness the sash around His waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
     and the leopard will lie down with the goat;
the calf and young lion and fatling will be together,
     and a little child will lead them.
The cow will graze with the bear,
     their young will lie down together,
     and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play by the cobra’s den,
     and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
     on all My holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
     as the sea is full of water.

Isaiah 11:1-9

Contrary to what you often hear in church today, these statements aren't just metaphors.

Monday, October 28 2024

The first recorded words...

Wouldn't it be cool if you could have access to some of the first words ever recorded? Moses recorded the first five books of our current canon of Scripture - the Pentateuch. There were about twenty generations from Adam to Abraham. And then another six generations from Abraham to Moses: Isaac ->  […]

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Friday, October 25 2024

BRICS Enlargement

The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia ended yesterday. I mentioned earlier this year that in the effort to maintain cohesiveness,  there were plans to limit the number of full members. New countries would be added as partner states. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) were the  […]

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Monday, October 21 2024

the resurrection of the dead

There's this assumption in much of the church that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was something new - introduced by Jesus. Yes, He was the firstfruits of those who have been "raised from the dead". see: The Firstfruits, Sheol, and His coming Jesus became the "Lamb of  […]

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Sunday, October 20 2024

Democracy Index

The Democracy Index published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. Among other things, the index is an assesment of:      […]

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Thursday, October 17 2024

The aftermath of the resurrection

For context, see: "the dead in Christ will be first, then we who are alive" We know from earlier statements given by Paul that at the resurrection event, the dead (asleep) in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the  […]

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Wednesday, October 16 2024

He will dwell with us - on earth

"While angels arguably were designed to spend at least some of their time in the third heaven, humans were not. The first and last chapters of the Bible make it clear that God has come to dwell with us on earth. If your aim has been to spend eternity in heaven, I hope you will give up on that  […]

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"the dead in Christ will be first, then we who are alive"

I have a pretty good idea how beliefs regarding the current state of the dead and the resurrection got so muddled. Greek philosophy and influence permeated the church around the fourth and fifth centuries. If you think the souls of the dead in Christ are currently floating around in some kind of an  […]

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