How God Can Use Your Patmos

Posted on February 3, 2020 by russellmckinney

The apostle John lived into his eighties, perhaps into his nineties, and in so doing easily outlived all the other apostles. And how did he spend his “senior citizen” years? Post-Biblical church history provides strong documentation that he lived and ministered in Ephesus for approximately the last quarter of his life. This explains why it is commonly believed that he wrote his three epistles — 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John — and his gospel of John while he was living in that city.

But he didn’t write The Revelation there, did he? That book was written while he was spending time as a prisoner on the island of Patmos. As he says in Revelation 1:9, he was there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. To find out what he meant by that we again look to post-Biblical church history. There we learn that the Roman emperor Domition, as part of his persecution of Christians, sentenced the elderly John to the Roman penal colony located on that island. Putting it simply, old John was on Patmos because he preached Jesus.

What’s noteworthy about all this is that in God’s plan John couldn’t receive The Revelation while he was in Ephesus. If we are correct in assuming that John wrote his other four books in Ephesus, that obviously indicates that his situation in that city was conducive for writing those books. But when it came time for him to receive and write The Revelation, God said, “To get this one written, John will have to be in a much less comfortable circumstance and setting.” I don’t mean to imply that God caused John’s arrest and sentencing or that God was even pleased with Domitian’s actions, but I am saying that God used Domitian’s sinful treatment of John in His plan to get the book of The Revelation written.

Think about an orange that has all kinds of sweet-tasting juice inside it. How do you get all that juice out of that orange? You squeeze the orange. As you squeeze, you find that some of the juice comes out easily without much pressure being applied, but once you get most of the juice out you have to squeeze really hard to extract those last precious drops. Well, John was kind of like an orange. His gospel and his three epistles dripped out of him while he was living in Ephesus, but to get The Revelation out of him God had to allow him to be squeezed a whole lot harder by life.

The takeaway is that oftentimes God’s deepest spiritual insights are only found on one of life’s barren, rocky islands. I guess I would describe it like this: There are “gospel/epistle” stations in your life, and then there are “Revelation” stations, and those “Revelation” stations usually involve God either leading you to a tough spot or allowing you to be taken there. You see, it’s in those spots that you’ll get squeezed the hardest, and God will be able to pull stuff out of you that otherwise would remain locked deep inside you.

It’s often been said that we learn more from our bad experiences than we do our good ones, and that we grow more in the valley than we do on the mountaintop. With this in mind, if you currently find yourself in a very trying circumstance or setting, you should lean on Jesus all the more and allow Him to minister not only to you but through you while you are there. I realize that what I’m saying doesn’t make for easy application, but the question you need to be asking in your difficulty isn’t, “Lord, why is this happening to me?” (even though that might be a perfectly legitimate question). Instead, the better question is, “Lord, what new spiritual insights do you want to show me here and how do you want me to put them to use?” Trust me, you start asking that question and you’ll start getting some serious answers.

Posted in Adversity, Character, Complaining, Disappointment, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Patience, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Service, Spiritual Warfare, Sports, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

7 Bible Reasons For a Pretribulation Rapture

Posted on February 1, 2020 by russellmckinney

I’m currently preaching a prophecy series at the church and the series has gotten me neck deep in the subject as my study is awash in prophecy books and commentaries on The Revelation. As part of the overflow from all my recent studying, I thought I’d devote a handful of posts to dealing with a few prophetic issues. For this first post, I’ll share the Biblical evidence that supports the idea that the Rapture will take place before the coming tribulation period begins. This interpretation is called “The Pretribulation Rapture.”

Reason #1 has to do with the overall chronological layout of the book of The Revelation. In the first three chapters of the book, the word “church” is used seven times and the word “churches” is used twelve times. However, after the end of chapter 3 neither word is used again until one of the last verses of the book’s last chapter: verse 16 of chapter 22. Even then the word “churches” is used only to refer back to the seven churches to which Jesus instructed the apostle John to write. This means that in chapters 6 through 19, the chapters in which the seven-year tribulation period is laid out in detail, not one reference is made of the church.

Reason #2 goes right along with reason #1. In chapters 4 and 5, The Revelation places the church squarely in heaven before the tribulation period begins in chapter 6. In those chapters, the church is represented as the group called the 24 elders. We know this group represents the church because of the white robes they wear (Revelation 3:5; 19:8), the thrones upon which they sit (Revelation 1:6), and the song they sing to Jesus (The Lamb) in Revelation 5:9:

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign upon the earth.” (N.K.J.V.)

Reason #3 involves the revealing of the Antichrist. In regards to that revealing, 2nd Thessalonians 2:7-8 says:

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (N.K.J.V.)

The term “the lawless one” is clearly a reference to the Antichrist. But who is the one who now restrains and will do so until he is taken out of the way? He is God the Holy Spirit. And since God the Holy Spirit dwells inside each Christian the passage seems to refer to Christians being taken out of the way.

Okay, so how would such a removal take place? The answer is, the Rapture. Notice that the passage plainly says of the Holy Spirit’s removal: “…And then the lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed.” The teaching is that the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, and that means that Christians, each of whom is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, must be taken out of the way.

Reason #4 comes from a certain promise that Jesus made to the church in Philadelphia. He said to them:

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10, N.K.J.V.)

What’s interesting about this verse is that in the days when the church in the ancient city of Philadelphia actually existed there was no “hour of trial” that came upon “the whole world.” Yes, those Christians of Philadelphia were persecuted under the rule of the Roman empire, but that empire didn’t rule over the entire world. Therefore, it seems that Jesus meant for His promise to reach into a future time. When we couple this up with the fact that it is commonly believed that He intended for the seven churches of The Revelation to symbolize all of the churches throughout the entire age we begin to understand how His promise could be applicable to a future time and a future church.

Coming at this issue another way many excellent commentators also interpret the seven churches to be symbolic of the various eras of the church age — the early church (33 A.D. to 100 A.D.) being the era of Ephesus, the next era (100 A.D. to 313 A.D.) being the era of Smyrna, etc., etc., etc. On this topic, J. Vernon McGee has voiced an interesting thought. His contention was that Jesus specifically addressed His promise to keep the Philadelphia church from the hour of trial (the tribulation period) because the Philadelphia era is when the Rapture will occur. This, according to McGee, will leave the Laodicean era (which is the next one after Philadelphia and the last one of the seven) to the apostate church that will be “Christian” in name only. In other words, McGee believed — and I have come to the place where I agree with him — that the Laodicean church symbolized the false church that will congregate each Sunday during the tribulation period. As possible evidence for this interpretation Jesus does say that He will vomit the Laodicean church out of His mouth, which evidently meant that He would have nothing to do with it.

Reason #5 why we are correct in saying that the Rapture will take place before the tribulation period is similar to reason #4. Just as Jesus spoke to those Christians of Philadelphia about a way of escape from the tribulation period, He spoke similar words to His audience in Luke 21:36. In His conclusion to a teaching about the tribulation period, He said to those people:

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (N.K.J.V.)

It doesn’t take much of a leap of logic to deduce that the way of escape to which He was referring is the Rapture. And how much of the tribulation period will Christians miss because of the Rapture? Jesus says, “…that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass.”

Reason #6 encompasses all the passages of scripture that teach that Christians are not under any kind of condemnation from God and will never have to experience any of His wrath. These verses (all from the N.K.J.V.) are relevant to this topic because the tribulation period is described as the time when God will pour out His wrath upon the earth (Revelation 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:10,19; 15:1,7; 16:1,19; 19:15):

  • Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (Romans 5:9)
  • There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
  • For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
  • For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

Again, since The Revelation specifically speaks in no less than ten passages of the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth during the tribulation period it is obvious that the snatching away of Christians must take place before that period begins.

Reason #7 why we know that the church will not go through any of the tribulation period is found in all the New Testament passages that teach that those early Christians were looking for Jesus Christ rather than the Antichrist. The list of such passages is numerous (all of these from the N.K.J.V.):

  • And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. (1 John 2:28)
  • …and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Peter 5:4)
  • Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit from the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7-8)
  • For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ… (Titus 2:11-13)
  • I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing. (1 Timothy 6:13-14)
  • I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ… (1 Corinthians 1:4-7)
  • For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
  • For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
  • When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)
  • For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
  • Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (Philippians 4:5)
  • For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

In conclusion, some sincere Christians say, “But the church (Christ’s bride) must be purged before she can be joined to Christ. She must be made clean and her garments must be made white. And that can only happen if she experiences all or some of the tribulation period. That will be her purging.”

My response to these well-meaning folks would be to remind them that Christians have been dying for 2,000 years now. That means that a large percentage of the church is already in heaven and all those believers up there never got purged by going through any tribulation period. It seems absurd, then, that God would exclusively reserve the purging of the tribulation period for a group of Christians who just happen to be living on earth right before the tribulation period begins. No, as these seven pieces of scriptural evidence prove, the Rapture will occur before the tribulation period begins. That’s what John, Peter, James, and Paul were expecting, and it’s what we Christians today should be expecting as well.

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Having Good Spiritual Leadership Isn’t Enough

Posted on January 30, 2020 by russellmckinney

The pastor is usually the first person who gets blamed when a church takes a downturn. And, admittedly, many times the pastor is the problem. That’s just a plain fact. There are, however, two other facts that are just as plain. Fact #1: The pastor isn’t always the reason for the downturn. Fact #2: Having good spiritual leadership isn’t enough to keep a church from hitting the skids. This brings us to the church of Ephesus.

As the capital city of the Roman province of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Ephesus was one of the leading cities of the ancient world. The city’s massive harbor and coastal roads made it the most easily accessible city in Asia Minor and as such a center of commerce. Furthermore, the great temple of Diana (Artemis), which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located there, and that made the city a religious center as well. At its height, Ephesus boasted a population of over 300,000 people.

The Bible’s first specific mention of Ephesus is found in Acts 18:19. The apostle Paul is traveling with Aquila and Priscilla, a married couple he has recently met in Corinth (18:1-3). Like Paul, Aquila and Priscilla are tentmakers by trade. The group arrives in Ephesus and Paul immediately heads to the local synagogue to teach the Jews about Jesus (Acts 18:18-19). His ministry is well received there and he is asked to stay on a while, but he declines the invitation because he has committed himself to returning to Jerusalem to observe the coming Feast (probably the Feast of Passover) (Acts 18:20-21). As he departs Ephesus, though, he does two things. First, he promises that if it’s God’s will he will return to the city one day. Second, he leaves Aquila and Priscilla there to continue the spark of ministry he had begun.

All indications are that Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus, worked as tentmakers, and housed a church in their home (1 Corinthians 16:19). Scripture never uses the title “elder” (“pastor,” “bishop,” “shepherd,” “overseer”) in reference to either one of them, but they were instrumental in helping an eloquent Jew named Apollos, a man well learned in the Old Testament scriptures, come to a full and correct understanding of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Acts 18:24-28).

Sometime later, Paul made good on his promise to return to the city, and at that time he took over the leadership of the fledgling church (Acts 19:1-10). He remained there for a total of three years and God worked all kinds of unusual miracles through him (Acts 19:11-20; 20:31). In typical Paul fashion, he left the city in the wake of a virtual riot that was stirred up by Demetrius, a silversmith who made his living fashioning silver shrines of the goddess Diana (Artimus).

Upon Paul’s departure for Macedonia, he turned the reins of the spiritual leadership of the church in Ephesus over to his young protege, Timothy (1 Timothy 1:1-3). Unfortunately for students of the Bible, it is here that the scriptural record of the spiritual leadership in Ephesus runs dry. Timothy most likely remained on in Ephesus for a while, but all we know for sure is that a few years later Paul wrote Ephesians, his letter to the church in Ephesus. That would have been sometime around 60 A.D. give or take a couple of years either way, which would have been approximately six to eight years after his first visit there.

Here is where the apostle John likely comes into the picture. Post-Biblical church tradition consistently states that John ministered at Ephesus into his advanced age and probably wrote his three epistles of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John there. According to the same church tradition, he was arrested in Ephesus by the Romans during the reign of the emperor Domitian and banished to the island of Patmos, where he wrote The Revelation sometime around 94-96 A.D.

By putting all this information together, we learn that the church in Ephesus had a rich background in regards to spiritual leadership. Despite this background, however, what is it that Jesus says to the Ephesian church in The Revelation? After complimenting the church for their labor, patience (perseverance, endurance), intolerance of evil doers, and spiritual discernment concerning genuine and false apostles, Jesus says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4, N.K.J.V.). He then encourages them to repent and get back to doing their first works or else He will remove their lampstand from its place, which means that they will cease to exist as His church (Revelation 1:12-13, 19-20).

At the time Jesus spoke those words the church in Ephesus was only about 40 years old. And while any city’s “church” (singular) in that day was the sum total of all the city’s small house churches (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon verses 1 and 2), surely having the likes of a Paul, a Timothy, or a John serving as the spiritual leaders in a city would ensure that the overall church there wouldn’t lose its love for Jesus, right? Wrong. Just four decades into its existence, the church in Ephesus was already veering off course.

If this proves nothing else, it proves that having good spiritual leadership isn’t enough for a church to avoid backsliding. If all the church history about John and Ephesus is true, how it must have broken John’s heart to hear Jesus utter those solemn words about the church in Ephesus, “You have left your first love.” Surely John hadn’t taught them to lessen their love of Jesus. Neither had Paul or Timothy, for that matter. But it had happened. Somehow, someway, somewhere along the line, it had happened.

So, the next time you hear of some local church backsliding, declining in attendance, or getting caught up in a scandal, don’t just automatically assume that the spiritual leadership there must be the problem. Perhaps it is, but it could just as easily be that the leadership is what has been keeping the problem from bubbling to the surface until now. Any pastor’s leadership is only as good as his church’s followship, and sometimes that followship really does leave a whole lot to be desired.

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The Song of Solomon (post #3 of 3)

Posted on January 28, 2020 by russellmckinney

I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. (Song of Solomon 5:6, N.I.V.)

A honeymoon night that is filled with lustful passion and sexual relations? That’s expected. But a marriage that maintains that level of passion and sex? That’s not expected. So, would Solomon and his wife, The Shulamite, be able to keep the fires of romance burning red hot? Let’s find out.

When last we left the couple, they had just gotten married and consummated their marriage. The wedding feast was in full swing, and the sexual relationship between the newlyweds was idyllic. It is at this point, however, that Solomon (the writer of The Song of Solomon) takes the story in a different direction.

The Shulamite goes to bed one night but Solomon isn’t with her. That night she has a dream in which she hears him knocking at her door, asking her to open for him (5:2). She wants to be with him, but she hesitates to go to the door because she has already undressed for the evening (5:3-4). It isn’t long, though, before her desire to be with him compels her to rise from her bed and open the door (5:5).

As the dream continues, she opens the door only to find that Solomon has already left (5:6). After calling to him and receiving no answer, she ventures out into the city in an effort to find him. Jerusalem’s nightwatchmen, not realizing who she is, mistake her for a spy or an intruder and strike her (5:7). Realizing that she can’t find Solomon on her own, she then asks the young women of Jerusalem to find him and tell him that she is lovesick for him (5:8). Keep in mind now that this is all still a dream.

Her request of the young women prompts a dialogue between her and them. They ask her, basically, “What makes your beloved so special that we should go looking for him?” (5:9). Her answer comes by way of a lengthy description of his physical attributes. He is white and ruddy and has wavy black hair (5:10-11). He has dove’s eyes, attractive cheeks, and lips that drip with liquid myrrh (5:12-13). His hands are rods of gold, his body is carved ivory, his legs are pillars of marble, his mouth his sweet, and he is altogether lovely (5:14-16). Still, though, despite this vivid description of Solomon’s impressive physical appearance, the relationship The Shulamite has with him isn’t just based upon sex or lust. No, he is also her friend (5:16).

Impressed by her answer, the young women ask, “Where has your beloved gone that we may help you find him?” (6:1). In response, The Shulamite tells them that he has gone to tend his garden and feed his flock (6:2-3). This means that he is away on business. Her answer indicates that Solomon has left her in the royal palace in Jerusalem while he has taken a trip to tend to some of his gardens and flocks (Ecclesiastes 2:4-7). It’s probable that he has gone to the hill country of Shunem, the area where he and The Shulamite first met and fell in love.

While this account of The Shulamite’s difficult night, complete with a troubling dream, is similar to a night and a dream she experienced before they were married (3:1-5), it isn’t hard to understand that this section of The Song of Solomon is the book’s depiction of how life can come between a husband and a wife and keep them apart. In the case of Solomon and The Shulamite, the separation was physical, but any marriage counselor will attest that the separation can also be emotional. The potential hindrances to a married couple’s intimacy and sex life are many but one thing is for sure: the honeymoon period in which they can focus solely upon each other is over far too quickly!

Apparently, Solomon somehow receives word about his wife’s nightmare and acts quickly to reassure her that he still finds her wildly attractive. He does this by sending her a fresh round of praise for her beauty (6:4-10). He praises her eyes (6:5), hair (6:5), teeth (6:6), and temples (6:7) and calls her his “dove” (6:9) and “perfect one” (6:9). Clearly, he wants her to know that him being separated from her hasn’t diminished his attraction to her. If anything, it has made him desire her all the more. And what does The Shulamite do when she receives Solomon’s message? She promptly leaves Jerusalem and makes her way — no doubt traveling by royal escort — to where Solomon is (6:11-12). Solomon responds to the news of her coming by encouraging her to get there so that he and his friends can look upon her beauty (6:13).

Once The Shulamite arrives and she and Solomon are reunited, he takes his praise of her looks to an even higher level. Reading his praise through the lens of The New King James Version translation, we find that:

  • Her feet are beautiful in sandals (7:1).
  • The curves of her thighs are like jewels, the work of a skilled craftsman (7:1).
  • Her navel is a rounded goblet (7:2).
  • Her waist is like a heap of wheat (7:2).
  • Her breasts are like two fawns, the twin offspring of a gazelle (7:3).
  • Her neck is like an ivory tower (7:4).
  • Her eyes are like pools (7:4).
  • Her nose is like a tower (7:4).
  • Her head crowns her (7:5).
  • The tresses of her hair hold him captive (7:5).
  • Her stature is like that of a palm tree, the branches of which he wants to climb (7:7-8).
  • Her breasts are like clusters of fruit that he wants to grab (7:8).
  • Her breath is as sweet as apples (7:8).
  • The roof of her mouth is like the best wine (7:9).

Most any wife would be sexually aroused by such praise, and The Shulamite is no different. She invites Solomon to go with her out to the field and the vineyards (7:11-12). Once they find the best location, she will give her love to him (7:12). It will all be reminiscent of the romantic times they had shared outdoors before they were married (1:7-10; 16-17).

Another reason The Shulamite wants to take Solomon out to the field and the vineyards is because she is frustrated that she can’t shower him with physical affection in public. In those days, public displays of affection between family members were the only such displays deemed socially acceptable. This explains why she says to him, “Oh, that you were my brother…If I should find you outside, I would kiss you…” (8:1, N.K.J.V.).

Next, she talks about his left hand being under her head while his right hand embraces her (8:3). Previously when she mentioned him holding her this way they weren’t married (2:6), which explains why she followed it up by warning the young women of Jerusalem not to stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time (2:7, N.L.T.). Here again she offers that same warning (8:4) even though she and Solomon are now married and can sinlessly engage in sex.

Upon the return of Solomon and The Shulamite from their romantic day in the outdoors, the next voice we hear is the voice of a relative of The Shulamite. The relative asks, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved?” (8:5, N.K.J.V..). The Hebrew word translated as “wilderness” in the N.K.J.V. and many other translations is midbar, and it can refer to a pasture or an open field. It’s the same Hebrew word that is used in verse 6 of chapter 3 in reference to where Solomon and his wedding entourage came from to retrieve The Shulamite for the wedding between her and Solomon. Therefore, the picture here is one of The Shulamite being hugged up to Solomon as they approach the house together following their day of alone time together. The relative then talks about being present when The Shulamite had been born (8:5), the implication being that the girl who had once been a baby has now obviously grown into a mature woman.

In the closing passages of The Song of Solomon, The Shulamite begs Solomon to set her as a seal upon his heart and continue to love her with a love that cannot be quenched or drowned (8:6-7). The Shulamite’s brothers then chime in with a word about how they will treat another sister of theirs, a younger one, when she comes of age. If she is a wall who resists the sexual advances of men before marriage, they will bless her, but if she is promiscuous they will keep close tabs on her at home (8:9).

The Shulamite, in looking back upon her own youth, affirms that she herself was such a wall and that her chastity was rewarded in her adulthood by how Solomon now looks upon her (8:10). She mentions Solomon’s vineyard at Baal Hamon, which might indicate that the two of them had first met at that site (8:11). Finally, the book closes with Solomon requesting to hear The Shulamite’s voice (8:13) and her requesting that he come to her with the speed of a gazelle or a stag (8:14). After being temporarily separated for a time due to the business of life, the two have now come back together and are as eager to be with each other as ever.

Isn’t that a perfect way to end such a love song? After all that praising of his wife’s looks, Solomon has now reached a level where he simply longs to hear her voice. And that’s a very important level to reach in marriage because, let’s face it, looks fade over the years. As for her, the song concludes with her encouraging him to make haste to get to her. Is this a reference to her desire to have sex with him? It could be, but it might just mean that she merely wants him by her side whatever she is doing. After all, the two were friends as well as lovers (5:16).

So, it’s here that we will leave Solomon and The Shulamite. Like all good fairy-tale romances, their relationship ends with a “happily ever after.” While it’s highly doubtful that in reality the couple’s relationship remained on such a lofty plane, we should let The Song of Solomon stand as it is written. After all, with the scores of accounts of bad marriages out there, it’s good to find one that depicts God’s ideal for marriage. Can you imagine what our world would be like if all our marriages were like the one described in The Song of Solomon? Divorce, adultery, and spousal addiction to pornography would be virtually non-existent, marriage counselors would be put out of business, and our societies would revert back to a time when marriage was the foundation upon which they stood. Will we ever reach such a state? I doubt it. But that doesn’t mean that all of us married folks should ever stop striving for it. Even if we never attain it, our marriages will surely be all the better for the effort.

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“Christian Verses” Podcast: Psalm 119:105

Posted on January 25, 2020 by russellmckinney

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (with just a handful of passages written in Aramaic), and the New Testament was written in Greek. So, unless you can read those languages, you need an English translation of the Bible. But which translation is right for you? After all, there are several of them out there these days. In the new podcast, Malcolm and I engage in a very down-to-earth, practical discussion regarding this topic. If you are serious about Bible study, or even if you are simply wanting to get started with Bible study, our conversation can help you. Here’s the link to the podcast:

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The Song of Solomon (Post #2 of 3)

Posted on January 24, 2020 by russellmckinney

Come out to see King Solomon, young women of Jerusalem. He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day, his most joyous day. (Song of Solomon 3:11, N.L.T.)

The Song of Solomon gives us King Solomon’s God-inspired account of his courtship and marriage to a woman he calls The Shulamite. The term “Shulamite” likely indicates that this young woman lived in Shunem in the hill country a few miles north of Jerusalem (6:13). King Solomon owned a vineyard there at a site called Baal-Hamon and leased it out to workers (8:11). He also owned land in that region, land upon which he grazed a large flock (1:7). The Shulamite’s family had vineyards and a flock there as well (1:6; 1:8; 8:12), and it was in this hill country that Solomon and The Shulamite first met and fell in love.

As the book begins, the couple have just met. 32 of the book’s first 39 verses are spoken by The Shulamite. For starters, she wants Solomon to kiss her over and over again (1:2) and draw her away unto himself (1:4). As she says, “Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers” (H.C.S.B.). She is beautiful, but she worries that he will be turned off by the fact that her skin has become too tanned and dark from working in her family’s vineyard (1:5-6). She expresses this worry by comparing her own appearance to a vineyard and saying, “They (her family) made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard (my appearance) I have not kept.”

Next, she wants Solomon to tell her where he feeds his flock and where he lets it rest at noon. Why does she want this information? It’s because she wants to come see him in innocence rather than acting like one of the prostitutes of the time who veiled themselves to hide their face (1:7). Solomon answers her question by playfully telling her to find him as she grazes her little flocks in the footsteps of his large flock (1:8). It is also at this point that he extends to her the first of many compliments by comparing her to a beautiful mare standing among Pharaoh’s chariots, chariots that were always pulled by stallions rather than mares (1:9-10). I myself wouldn’t advise a man to compliment a woman by comparing her to a horse, but, hey, it worked for Solomon.

In verse 12, The Shulamite poetically speaks of how she will send forth the fragrance of her perfume to entice Solomon while he sits at his table. In other words, she hopes that he will remember the sweet smell of her perfume even after he has returned to his palace in Jerusalem. Then she compliments him by describing him as “a bundle of myrrh” (N.K.J.V.), “a cluster of henna blooms” (N.K.J.V.), and a man she wishes would lie all night between her breasts.

On and on the love-struck banter goes like that. Solomon tells her that she is fair and has dove’s eyes (1:15), and she responds by telling him that he is handsome and pleasant (1:16). Then she figuratively refers to the grassy sites where they rendezvoused for their romantic meetings. She calls those sites their green “couch” (N.A.S.V.) and adds in that the sites are surrounded by cedar trees and fir trees that she calls the “beams of our houses” (1:16-17, N.K.J.V.). It is as if she is imagining how wonderful it would be to reside in an actual house as Solomon’s wife. The fact that she says “his fruit was sweet to my taste” (2:3, N.K.J.V.) shows that they kissed at those outdoor sites up there in that hill country.

With all this romantic rendezvousing taking place, it isn’t long before Solomon formally invites The Shulamite to dine with him in the banquet room of his palace (2:4), and it is following that meal that their intimacy gets perilously close to the sin of premarital sex. As Solomon places his left hand under her head and embraces her body firmly with his right hand (2:6), The Shulamite feels the inner temptation to let things go too far. This prompts her to warn the young women of Jerusalem: “Do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time” (2:7, N.L.T.). She herself has now experienced firsthand just how difficult it is to stop the lust train once it has built up steam.

Following the meal in Solomon’s palace, The Shulamite returns to her home and the winter months fall upon the land. The indication is that the couple don’t see each other during those days. But once the winter is past it doesn’t take Solomon long to make his way back to The Shulamite’s home. Sure, he’s returned to the hill country to check on his flock but he’s also come to see her. Verses 8 and 9 of chapter 2 quote her describing him as a young stag who comes leaping and skipping to her house. Once there, he asks her to come away with him and enjoy the pastoral wonders of Israel in the springtime as he feeds his flock (2:10-17). The renewed romance once again flames the fires of passion within The Shulamite and causes her to spend a terrible night in bed alone longing for Solomon to be with her. She even dreams of going into the city of Jerusalem, searching for him, finding him, and taking him back to her family’s home (3:1-4). That long night prompts her to repeat her warning to the young women of Jerusalem: “Do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time” (3:5, N.L.T.).

This time around, though, she won’t have to wait long for the word “marriage” to enter the relationship. One day not long after that wistful night here comes King Solomon, decked out in his royal regalia, smelling of myrrh, frankincense, and fragrant powders (3:6). He is escorted by sixty of his most valiant men, each of whom carries a sword and is an expert in warfare (3:7-8). Solomon himself is seated upon a wooden chair that is covered in silver, gold, and the color purple (3:9-10). This, of course, is the royal procession by which Solomon has come to take The Shulamite to Jerusalem to officially become his bride. This explains why the following verse (3:11) quotes The Shulamite as encouraging the daughters of Zion (Jerusalem) to come out and see King Solomon on his wedding day as he wears his royal crown.

Once the wedding has taken place, the next chapter (chapter 4) is a full chapter about the honeymoon night of sex that Solomon and The Shulamite enjoy. In verses 1-5, he lavishes praise upon his new spouse for her exquisite beauty as few body parts from her upper torso escape his glowing report. He mentions: her dove’s eyes (4:1); her dark hair (4:1); her white teeth (4:2); her scarlet lips (4:3); her lovely mouth (4:3); her pleasing temples (4:3); her regal neck (4:4); and her soft breasts (4:5). Following all this sweet talk, he describes her virginity as an enclosed garden, a shut-up spring, and a sealed fountain. (4:12). The Shulamite, for her part, expresses her readiness to lose that virginity by saying, “Blow upon my garden that its spices may flow out, and let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruits” (4:16). Is all this racy stuff? You bet. But it isn’t sinful. These are simply two newlyweds who are about to enjoy the God-approved intimacy of holy matrimony.

Not surprisingly, the next passage brings past-tense language from Solomon as he says, “I have come to my garden” (5:1). He then tells his friends who have attended the royal wedding and stuck around to enjoy the wedding feast, “Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!” (5:1, N.K.J.V.). And it is here that we will leave the couple until next time. The courtship, the marriage, and the consummation of the marriage are now finished, and the only question left to be asked is, “Will the couple’s fires of romance continue to burn red hot or will the tedious days of marriage turn those fires into dying embers?” That’s the question that I’ll answer in my next post as we finish up the book by walking through chapters 5-8. So until then, I hope you’ll stay tuned……

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The Song of Solomon (Post #1 of 3)

Posted on January 22, 2020 by russellmckinney

While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts. (Song of Solomon 1:12-13, N.K.J.V.)

God never intended for “sex” to be a dirty word. As a matter of fact, sex was one of His primary reasons for giving the bodies of Adam and Eve different parts. Seriously, when He said to that married couple, “Be fruitful and multiply” He meant for them to do that by having a lot of sex. That alone should be enough to make the case that God is pro sex.

However, it should also be understood that God never intended for sex to be exclusively for the purposes of reproduction. No, the experience of pleasure comes into play, too, as sex provides an outlet for the physical lusts and desires that are part and parcel to the human experience. If you need more proof that God meant for sex to be about more than procreation, let me introduce you to The Song of Solomon.

The Bible tells us God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding that made him wiser than all men (1 Kings 4:31). To go along with that wisdom, He also gave him “a largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29, N.K.J.V.). By combining all that wisdom with all that largeness of heart — to say nothing of his untold wealth — Solomon was able to live life to the fullest more than anyone in history.

Out of all his wisdom and largeness of heart, Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs (hundreds of which have been preserved in the Bible’s book of Proverbs) and wrote 1,005 songs. Of those 1005 songs, it seems he considered the love song The Song of Solomon his best. This would explain why the opening words of the book read: “The song of songs…” That phrase is also why most modern translations of the Bible entitle the book The Song of Songs rather than The Song of Solomon.

Whichever title you prefer, the book is a love song Solomon wrote when he ruled over the united nation of Israel that had been left to him by his father, King David. Writing under the divine inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), Solomon fills the book with poetic language, metaphors, and imagery from that part of the world. If the book held no other value, it would be significant in that it mentions 21 species of plants, 15 species of animals, and uses 49 Hebrew words that occur nowhere else in the Old Testament.

While the book mentions a few other groups of lesser characters who play minor roles in the story, first and foremost it is centered around two people: The Beloved (Solomon) and The Shulamite (Solomon’s wife). In passage after passage, the couple passionately and lustfully pine for each other in a manner that is sensual and even downright erotic. But there is no sin involved at any point. Despite the fact that the couple obviously like each other’s looks, they restrain themselves during their courtship and only engage in sexual relations once they are married.

It strikes many people as odd that a man such as Solomon, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:1-3), could write so beautifully about a monogamous relationship. Primarily, two possible explanations have been offered for this apparent contradiction:

  1. Many believe The Shulamite was Solomon’s first wife. If this was the case, his relationship with her would have come before he took up with all those other women and allowed them to turn his heart away from God. The Shulamite would have been the wife of his youth he speaks of in Proverbs 5:15-20 and Ecclesiastes 9:9.
  2. Others believe the book’s reference to 60 queens and 80 concubines (Song of Solomon 6:8) indicates that Solomon already had 140 other sexual partners before he married The Shulamite. While the language used to describe these 140 other women doesn’t explicitly say they were Solomon’s women, it is easy to make that leap of logic. If the 140 women were indeed Solomon’s wives and concubines, it would likely mean the courtship and marriage he experienced with The Shulamite was the most pure, idyllic, and innocent he ever knew. This theory is bolstered by the fact that many of Solomon’s marriages were nothing more than political arrangements to foreign women, alliances that helped him expand his empire (1 Kings 3:1; 11:1-3).

In the next post from this short series, we’ll begin our walk through The Song of Solomon. By devoting a few posts to this book, I trust we will be brought to a new appreciation of what God’s plan for sex in marriage looks like and sounds like. It’s a shame the church has allowed the world to have all the “fun” (for lack of a better word) with sex. God isn’t nearly as staid and boring as He is made out to be, and if The Song of Solomon is any indication, He wants husbands and wives to not only have sex but look forward to it and enjoy it. So, does that pique your interest in this book? If it does, then please join me for the next couple of posts as we do a closer examination of this typically unexamined book.

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The Baptism For the Dead

Posted on January 20, 2020 by russellmckinney

Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? When then are they baptized for the dead? (1 Corinthians 15:29, N.K.J.V.)

In Mormonism, living members of the Mormon church who are in good standing with the church can be baptized by proxy for their deceased relatives who were never baptized into the church. This practice is known as “the baptism for the dead” and Mormons find their justification for it in our text verse. The practice also explains why the Mormon church operate one of the world’s biggest ancestry websites.

To be clear, Mormons do not equate such a baptism with the automatic “salvation” of the deceased person. It’s more correct to say that the baptism merely gives the deceased person the opportunity to join the Mormon church in the afterlife and achieve spiritual advancement there. Obviously, even in the most ideal of situations, a living Mormon can never know whether or not a deceased relative has taken advantage of the opportunity.

Under Mormon belief, the dead initially go to what we might think of as a “spirit prison.” Mormonism’s scriptural basis for this belief is found in Luke 16:19-31, Christ’s story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. As is often the case with Mormon doctrine, the Mormons begin with a legitimate portion of holy scripture and proceed to deviate from mainstream Christianity by applying a different interpretation to the text.

In that story, Jesus describes “hell” (K.J.V.) as being the general realm of all the dead, saved believers and lost unbelievers alike. The Greek word translated as “hell” in the passage is Hades, which is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Hebrew’s Sheol. Hades and Sheol are the same place, the realm of all the dead. As such, the site has two sections to it: a paradise section and a torment section.

Evangelical Christians interpret Ephesians 4:8 to mean that Jesus, as part of His post-resurrection ascension back to heaven, emptied all the souls from the paradise section of Hades/Sheol and transported them to heaven with Him. This event permanently closed the paradise section of Hades/Sheol and allowed for the souls of deceased Christians to from then on be instantaneously transported to heaven at the moment of death. This is how the apostle Paul could rightly teach that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:21-23).

As for the torment section of Hades/Sheol, evangelical Christians consider it as being still very much open for business to receive all lost souls at the moment of death. Simply put, it is the “hell” that everybody thinks of when they hear that word. Actually, though, even that section will one day be emptied of all its souls as each of them (along with the lost person’s version of a resurrected body) will be called forth to stand before Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment and be sentenced body and soul to an even greater “hell” known as the eternal lake of fire (Gehenna, in the New Testament Greek) (Revelation 20:11-15).

So, that covers how evangelical Christians interpret Luke 16:19-31. But now let me get back to Mormon belief. The Mormons take 1 Peter 3:19-20 to mean that the dead souls — they refer to them as “spirits” — of the afterlife “prison” are taught by other spirits and that even Jesus Himself teaches them. If a spirit responds to the teaching, believes the Mormon version of the gospel, and thereby gets “saved,” he or she can move from “prison” to “paradise” to await the final judgment. Consequently, it is through the baptism of the dead that lost people, who didn’t heed the Mormon gospel in life and thus become a part of the Mormon church, can do so in death. Furthermore, the baptism of the dead helps Mormons to account for the problem of what to do concerning someone who dies having never heard the gospel.

Still, though, the fundamental question in all this is: “Is the Mormon understanding of the apostle Paul’s reference to ‘the baptism of the dead’ correct?” And the answer to that is, no, it isn’t. For that matter, Mormonism’s entire “gospel” (with its contention that Jesus was the firstborn of God’s “spirit-children,” that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, and that human beings can literally become “gods”) is seriously whacked. But if the Mormon take on “the baptism of the dead” is wrong, just exactly what did Paul mean by the term? Various interpretations have been offered. Here are three plausible ones:

  1. Some interpret the term to mean that despite the fact that the intensely persecuted Christians of Paul’s day were oftentimes martyred shortly after their public baptisms, this threat of death didn’t stop new Christian converts from being baptized. In this way, these new converts were baptized “for” (in place of, to replace the ranks of) the dead Christians who had been martyred. Under this interpretation, Paul’s argument is that it would be foolish to replace the ranks of Christians martyred in the immediate wake of baptism if there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead. As commentator William MacDonald, who favors this interpretation puts it, “It would be like fighting on in a hopeless situation.”
  2. Some interpret the term to mean that Christians who submit to baptism view themselves as being symbolically “dead with Christ.” Baptism, of course, symbolically depicts not only Christ’s physical death and resurrection but also the Christian’s. Also, it is the Christian symbolically saying, “I am now dead to sin and raised to walk in the newness of life in Christ.” All of this symbolism regarding death fits the interpretation nicely. This interpretation is lent even more credibility by Romans 6:3-11, a passage where Paul uses terminology such as “baptized into His (Christ’s) death,” “buried with Him through baptism into death,” “united together in the likeness of His death,” and “died with Christ.”
  3. Some interpret the term to refer to people who were converted to Christianity and subsequently baptized on the basis of the testimony of martyred Christians. Under this interpretation, the words “baptized for the dead” would more accurately be translated “baptized with regard to the dead.” The gist of this interpretation is that Christians who were bold enough and obedient enough to be baptized, even though they knew that martyrdom awaited them when they came up from the water, were powerful role models that helped draw others to Christianity. Any religion that could produce such devotion surely had to be something special.

The fact is that any one of these interpretations is far better than the notion that a Christian can be baptized by proxy for a deceased person and have that baptism somehow mean something to the deceased in the afterlife. Even if some of the Christians of ancient Corinth were actually engaging in this strange practice, as some commentators contend, Paul certainly wasn’t advocating the practice. Under this scenario, he was simply pointing out the uselessness of such a practice if there is no resurrection in which any Christian will be rewarded for doing anything.

In conclusion, the main thing to keep in mind about 1 Corinthians 15:29 is that it definitely does not mean a dead person can be saved by another person being baptized on his or her behalf. We know that it can’t mean that because baptism plays no part in salvation anyway. Baptism is merely an outer object lesson a saved person undergoes to publicly evidence the salvation that has already occurred on the inside. Paul himself even said that Christ didn’t send him to baptize but, instead, to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:14-17). That’s a bizarre thing for him to say if baptism plays any role whatsoever in salvation. It would be like him saying, “Jesus sent me to preach the gospel, but I only preach half of it because I don’t make a big deal about baptism.”

Oh, and here’s something else we shouldn’t forget: The Bible teaches that there is absolutely no second chance at salvation in the afterlife. As Hebrews 9:27 says, “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (N.K.J.V.). Going back to Christ’s story about the rich man whose soul ended up in “hell” (the torment section of Hades/Sheol), that man surely would have embraced a second chance at salvation if one had been offered. But it wasn’t. The best he could do was plead that his five brothers would be sent a spiritual messenger persuasive enough to keep them from joining him in that awful place of torment. And in the end even that request wasn’t granted. Let this be a lesson to each of us regarding the finality of the decision we make in life concerning whether or not to believe in Jesus as Savior or reject Him. Eternal consequences ride on the back of that decision, and there won’t be any changing those consequences once we leave this life and head out into the next one.

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“Christian Verses” Podcast: Hebrews 9:27

Posted on January 19, 2020 by russellmckinney

After you die, is there any chance of salvation? Religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation. Catholicism speaks of a place called Purgatory. Mormons actually get baptized for ancestors who died lost in an effort to get those ancestors saved in the afterlife. But does the Bible align with any of these doctrines? That’s the question Malcolm and I tackle in the week’s podcast. Here’s the link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/no-second-chancecv2020002

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New Stuff

Posted on January 17, 2020 by russellmckinney

Regular readers will notice that I’ve recently tweaked some things about the blog’s appearance. I changed the background color from a shade of blue to a shade of maroon, and I also changed the font to something a little different. I added in a more recent picture of myself, too. These cosmetic updates simply serve to keep the site looking fresh. Nothing about the blog’s content has been changed or deleted.

On the subject of new stuff, the church I pastor — Roan Mountain Baptist Church — now has a website up and running. The site is still a bit of a work in progress, but we’re off to a good start with it. You can access it at roanmountainbaptist.com. The site provides information about the history of our church, a statement of our beliefs, some pictures of our folks, a schedule of our service times, etc. It also features a link to this blog and will soon provide a link to our new You Tube channel where the videos of our Sunday morning services will be archived for viewing. If you are interested in watching the two videos we’ve already done (for our January 5th and 12th services), just go to You Tube and search “Roan Mountain Baptist Church.” You shouldn’t have any trouble locating the videos or playing them.

As for my family and myself, we are plugging along just fine. I’m now in my seventh month at Roan Mountain Baptist and things are going well. Tonya is still teaching math to the 7th graders at Bowman Middle School. Ryan is teaching Physical Education at Harris Middle School and will be serving as the head baseball coach for the season that will be starting in a few weeks. Royce is currently in his second semester of the General Education program at Mayland Community College. He’s also working at Ingles supermarket three days a week.

As usual, my desk looks like a landfill as it is covered with tons of little notes and papers that have to do with upcoming sermons, blog posts, and whatever else I’ve felt compelled to jot down a note about at some point and time. (By the way, that spotless desk I’m sitting at in the new picture is my desk at church, not my “real” desk at home.) Malcolm and I are still faithfully doing a podcast each week (more or less) even though we’re about as far from professionals as it gets. Our whole goal is to build solid spiritual meat into our discussions and trust God to use the whole endeavor in wonderful ways. I’ve also recently been trying to do a better job on Twitter. Yes, I do have a Twitter account, but for the most part I’ve only used it to advertise new posts on the blog. Lately, though, I’ve also been using it to share some of the zillion quotes that I’ve collected over the years. The plan is to keep doing this, but that’s been my plan before only to have it dwindle away to nothing. We’ll just have to see how it goes this time around.

People sometimes ask me what preachers I listen to each week. The truth is that I go through different seasons of my life, fixating on one preacher for a while and then moving on to another. Currently, I have the television broadcasts of two preachers set as timers on my D.V.R. One is the Love Worth Finding broadcast of the late Adrian Rogers, and the other is The Urban Alternative broadcast of Tony Evans. Rogers has been dead for 14 years now, but they are still showing his sermons. I don’t know how long they will be able to continue doing that because there comes a time when the whole setting looks dated — think back to my opening paragraph — but I’m certainly enjoying the broadcasts now. I’m enjoying the sermons of Tony Evans as well, and for Christmas I received The Tony Evans Study Bible and The Tony Evans Bible Commentary as gifts. That’s just what I needed, right? Another study Bible and another commentary.

In regards to Roan Mountain Baptist, this past January 1st I began a Wednesday-night series of studies in the book of Genesis, my favorite book in the Bible. This series isn’t a verse-by-verse type deal but will still require several months to complete. My Sunday-morning sermon this coming Sunday will cover what the Bible teaches about abortion. I’m preaching this in honor of this Sunday being National Right to Life Sunday. The following Sunday, January 26th, I’ll begin a ten-sermon prophecy series entitled “Things to Come.” If everything goes as it should, we’ll get the abortion sermon and the prophecy sermons posted onto the You Tube channel for any and all to hear if they so choose.

Well, I guess that’s about it for now. I hope you haven’t been too bored by this personal update. I offer this type of post periodically merely as a way of letting you folks know what’s going on with me. Believe it or not, people do ask every now and then.

As always, you have my heartfelt appreciation for reading this blog, and I trust that God will continue to use it as a source of blessing in your life. Please pray for me that He will lead me as to what to write. There’s no magic here, no fairy dust, no “Wile E Coyote Super Genius” at work. (Boy, I’m really showing my age with that reference). It’s just me, the Lord, a Bible, and a laptop. I’ve already written 984 more posts than I ever planned to write, and the jury remains out as to how many more I have in me. If this thing keeps going, that guy in the picture in the upper-right-hand corner will surely start looking more and more older. I guess the best I can hope for is that I’ll be like Adrian Rogers in that by way of technology I’ll be able to keep ministering long after I’m gone. That would be nice. Either way, it’s already been a fascinating ride and I sincerely thank you for joining me for it.

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