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Waldron Mission Fund |
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Under the oversight of the elders of the Crossville church of Christ, PO Box 211, Crossville, TN 38557 |
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REVELATION QUESTION NO. 4 Jim E. Waldron Give the approximate date for the writing of the book. Irenaeus the well known writer and defender of the faith in the second century AD (120-202), who was an intimate associate of Polycarp (who had himself been a contemporary of the apostle John) said, the Revelation "was seen not a long time back, but almost in my own lifetime, at the end of Domitian's reign" (Eusebius, p. 81). Domitian ruled the Roman Empire from AD 81-96. Based on this testimony we date the Revelation in the latter third of that emperor's reign between AD 91 and 96. As we will note, warnings to the saints within the text make it seem evident that John wrote in the early part of the last decade of the first century probably about 91 and it was in the hands of the churches by 92. Like other emperors Domitian, besides his murderous tactics, used exile or banishment to punish those who opposed him and his policies. In this regard there were two periods of banishment, which stand out. These were in 89 and 93 (Pliny, Book 3, 11). Pliny says about the first date that, "the philosophers were expelled from Rome," and it may have been that some official who was mimicking the Bmperor's tactics exiled John about that same time from Ephesus. We certainly have no evidence as to the date or reason as to why John was exiled instead of receiving worse, but the period of banishment did give God the opportunity to use John to record Jesus' revelation as He had used Paul's imprisonment at Caesarea and Rome. Besides wanting to know the date the book was written it is extremely useful to find certain places within the text where we can ascertain a date for an event-taking place. One such place is chapter 5:7, where the Savior's coronation at the Father's right hand is symbolized. Thus we can write "Pentecost, May 28, 30 AD beside that verse. Again the same event is symbolized in 12:5. There are others, which we will note as the book unfolds. NOTE: The Lamb/The Lion is a commentary on the Book of Revelation by Waldron in question form. The question above is number 4 of 575. |
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RESTORING THE CODE OF DECENCY Neal Pollard While holding a meeting in north Alabama, this writer had the pleasure of visiting in the home of an elder of another congregation nearby. His two teenage daughters were truly refreshing. They did not attend their high school prom, did not swim with boys at the public pool, and positively never wore clothes that were immodest. They were not strange girls, but were pretty, popular and heavily involved in all kinds of school activities. They were confident and courageous. No doubt those young women will live rich, full, and joyful lives. In The Visitor, the Adamsville, Alabama church bulletin, Tim Rice on February 21, 1995 wrote: A substitute teacher I know recently overheard some cheerleaders at school say something like the following: "I feel sorry for Jane (not her real name). She is a member of the church of Christ. She can't wear short dresses. Her parents would not let her go to the prom. Why, even when her family goes on vacation, they don't go to the beach where the action is, they go off by themselves. And she wears spandex pants when she goes swimming there. She can't go to any pool-parties we have because her parents don't think it's right to go mixed swimming. She doesn 't smoke or do any of the fun things. And she goes to church all the time!" Will she be warped or rebellious? Will her parents' strictness cause her to snap or go wild? Or, have we let the voice of the world convince us that chaste, conservative, and wholesome values ruin young lives? The woman which I married was raised like that elder's daughters and like "Jane." She is normal in every way. She has always received great respect from people of the world and the church, male and female! She has no difficulty faithfully believing the truth about the ever-present danger of producing lust through activities like mixed swimming, dancing, or brief attire (cf., Gal. 5:19; I Pet. 4:3; II Cor. 12:21; Webster's New World dictionary definition of "lasciviousness"). She has adopted I Timothy 2:9 as her code of decency, being modest from the inside out and putting her emphasis on wearing the whole armor of God and not the bikinis, minis, tight, and slight attire of the world!
Yes, television and movies have desensitized us with half-clothed, unclothed, and up close men and women, as if such were natural and acceptable. The summertime dress code of the world suggests that we are free to do whatever pleases us. The invitation of the devil's sermon is: "Come unto me, nude and uninhibited, and I will give you popularity, acceptance, and freedom." Woe to the Christian who swallows that lie! P.O. Box 745; Mechanicsville, VA 23HI |
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"THEY WHO TAKE THE SWORD WILL PERISH BY THE SWORD" Jim E. Waldron In the present climate of war our young men are not being taught the above principle which was stated by our Lord Himself (Matt. 26:52). Perhaps the best example of the harsh reality of this law in the history of the Lord's church in North America is the life of James A. Garfield. Garfield was born in Orange, Ohio November 19, 1831. He became a Christian while attending Geauga Academy in Chester, Ohio (1849-51) . In the fall of the latter year he entered Hiram College, which was conducted by our brethren in Hiram, near Cleveland, Ohio. While studying there he covered his expenses by helping with the teaching of ancient languages. He also began to preach during this time. In the autumn of 1854, he entered Williams College at Williamstown, Massachusetts and graduated with highest honors in 1856. When the fall term began at Hiram he resumed his place as teacher of Greek and Latin. In 1857 at the age of 26 he was named as president of that institution. He also continued to preach and was widely respected in the region. One biographer notes that his greatest influence was with young people (www.jamesgarfield.org). The five years from 1857 until 1861 were some of the most politically unsettled years in the history of the United States. The famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 stirred interest on the question of slavery to a fever pitch. The civil war began on April 12, 1861, when South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. Garfield who was strongly opposed to slavery stepped down from the head of the school and from the pulpit. "He petitioned Governor (William) Dennison to give him an appointment. He was soon commissioned (August 1861) as a Lieutenant Colonel and given permission to raise a regiment."
Many of his recruits were Christian young men from Hiram College. In fact Earle West says, "there were two hundred and fifty boys from Hiram College in the Union Army, most of whom fought under Garfield" (Search for the Ancient Order, Earle I. West, Gospel Advocate, 1964, p. 323-325). Brother West also speaks of the horror of Christian boys on both sides, who were caught up in shooting and killing one another without regard to their common citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. Garfield was made a full colonel November 26, 1861 and was given regimental command. He won his first battle at Middle Creek in Kentucky on January 10, 1862 and at the age of thirty was made a Brigadier General. In a rapid March he and his men crossed Kentucky and were with Grant on the second day of the battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) on the Tennessee River just north of the Mississippi state line. Afterwards they fought their way across northern Mississippi and Alabama. He took part in the bloody battle at Murfreesboro (December 31, 1862 - January 2, 1963) in Middle Tennessee. He also fought in the battle at Chickamauga whore 28,500 young men on the two sides died in the two days of battle (September 19-20, 1863). Garfield for his part in that conflict, which the Union lost, was given a field promotion to Major General (September 19th). In December of the same year Lincoln asked him to come to Washington to serve in the House of Representatives as he had been elected to that body from his district in Ohio. (World Book, Volume 4, pp. 490-493; Volume 8, pp. 40-42). Garfield because of his prowess in war and his commanding presence as a leader of men went on to become the 20th president of the United States. On March 4, 1980 at the age of 49 he took the oath of the highest office in the land. He had reach the pentacle of the American dream, but the Lord had said, "they who take the sword will perish by the sword.'' Garfield was gunned down on July 2, 1881 by a disappointed office seeker. He lingered for eighty days in extreme agony as the bullet that had entered his back could not be found by the surgeons and there were no antibiotics. "In the end the doctors (who sought to find the bullet) had taken a three-inch wound and turned it into a twenty-inch gouge that was massively infected" (www.jamesgarfield.org). |
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HOLD FAST THE FORM OF SOUND WORDS J. C. Watkins "Holdfast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (11 Tim. 1:13). The apostle Paul received the gospel he preached by the revelation of Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 1:11-12). That which he taught to Timothy did not come from man, but was the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, he taught Timothy the sound words of the gospel which had been revealed to him. And he gave instruction to Timothy to hold fast to those sound words in faith and love which is in Christ. He wrote to Timothy. "Preach the word..." (II Tim. 4:2). Timothy was to hold fast the words of sound doctrine and preach them to a lost and dying world. That is the same thing gospel preachers must do today! Unless preachers hold fast the form of sound words and preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ, they are not carrying out the work God has given to the church. Paul also told Timothy, "And the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (II Tim. 2:2). There are preachers today who have ceased to be gospel preachers who hold fast the form of sound words in faith and love which is in Christ. Those who refuse to preach the truth on marriage, divorce and remarriage have given up the form of sound words and are preaching a perverted gospel (cf. Gal. 1:6-10). Those who preach salvation by "faith only" or "grace only" and will not preach baptism for the remission of sins are preaching a perverted gospel. Those who advocate the use of instrumental music in worship are preaching a perverted gospel. The apostle said that if anyone, even an angel from heaven, came preaching any other gospel he (or she) would be accursed! We must hold to the sound words of the gospel and live in obedience to it if we want to go to heaven! 2229 Lyndon Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37415 |
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BULLETIN BRIEF
Vol. 6 AUGUST 2003 No. 8 |