Testimonies

Posted on by korgrocker

“If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved.” John 5:31-34 NLT

Jesus was still in the middle of a long conversation with the Jewish leaders. We don’t know if they were interacting with Him, but, so far, Jesus has spoken about His mission, His miracles, His authority to give life to anyone He chooses, His power to raise the dead, His authority to judge, and His relationship with His father in Heaven. A lot of ground covered. But now Jesus must have been responding to a question or comment about His authority. If He can make all these claims, who is there to witness to their truth?

Jesus admitted that to testify about Himself, and who He was, would not be acceptable or valid. But He pointed out that John the Baptist spoke the truth about Him. We read in John 1:5-6, “God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony“. He continued, ” ….. “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:15b-18).‭‭ The Jews considered John to be a prophet, and many people were baptised by him in the Jordan. He was greatly respected by both the Jewish leaders and the people, so what John said was taken note of. Jesus, however, reminded His listeners that He didn’t need the benefit of human witnesses, but if He had one, that would help these leaders to be saved.

At Jesus’ trial before the Jewish High Council, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders tried hard to find someone who would substantiate a capital charge against Jesus. We read in Matthew 26:59-61, “Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days’“”. A trumped up charge hardly sufficient to bring about a death sentence and based on what Jesus said, not on what He did. To an outsider, a statement like that is hardly a crime at all. But before we 21st Century people say that such a thing couldn’t happen today, we should take note that we have to be careful about certain things we say, things that could be defined as “hate speech”, and which are likely to cause other people offence. Street preachers particularly have to be careful about the content of their messages and avoid being drawn into discussions about issues such as homosexuality. As in Jesus’ day, what we say can be misconstrued and lead to prosecution.

There are two things here for us pilgrims. Is there anyone who can testify to our faith, and what is our testimony? An example much overworked is the question – “If I was arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict me?” Would the prosecution be able to produce one or more witnesses who would testify that I was a believer? John testified great things about Jesus, but what would our witnesses testify about us? The second thing concerns our testimonies. What would people say about us? Would who or what we are be identifiable as appropriate for people who believe in Jesus? And do we have testimonies that will lead to people being saved? 

Jesus’ approach to the Jewish leaders was one where He didn’t pull any punches. He told them the truth about Himself, and His life was totally in line with His testimony. No hypocrisy. No lies. No sin. Jesus was the only perfect Man who has walked on this earth, so what else can we do than praise Him?

Dear Lord Jesus. It is difficult to get our minds around the fact that the Son of God left Heaven and came to this planet at just the right time with a plan for the salvation of mankind. We can only thank and worship You today. Amen.

The Two Witnesses (3)

Posted on by korgrocker

“But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.” 
Revelation 11:11-14 NLT

Can you imagine the scene? Two dead bodies lying in Main Street, Jerusalem. The world’s media would have been represented, video cameras rolling, interviews with the locals continuing. There would have been some conjecture about what should now be done with the corpses. But God had a plan. He solved the worldly problem by resurrecting the two witnesses, and they stood up. Can you imagine the ensuing chaos? The account talks about terror gripping the observers. It was the stuff of nightmares. No plot in a zombie film could match what would happen that day.

Then a loud voice from Heaven addressed the two resurrected prophets. Three, easy to understand, words. “Come up here!”. Said with a loud Heavenly voice that everyone could hear. But the terror the people felt was compounded because the prophets were surrounded by a cloud and ascended to Heaven before their very eyes. There was no dispute. This was no optical or magical illusion. This was happening in broad daylight. And while they were staring at this scene before them, the whole place shook with an earthquake so fierce, so terrible, that a tenth of the city was destroyed, and seven thousand people with it. 

The next piece of John’s narrative is interesting. The remaining terrified people “gave glory to the God of heaven”. To give glory to someone, perhaps for a significant sporting event, means that their achievement has been acknowledged. As I write this, the English Women’s Football Team is glorying in their win over Germany in the Women’s World Cup. But to give glory to God is much more than that. The phrase “give glory to God” was an old Jewish oath, inviting the person giving it to tell the truth before God. We see this is John 9:24 after Jesus healed the blind man, “A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. ‘Give glory to God by telling the truth,’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’” But that wasn’t what was happening here. People on earth had just witnessed two prophets give uncomfortable messages about the future for a period of three and half years. Then, to their initial relief, the devil killed them in an act of war. The people thought their troubles were now over. No more rivers turning to blood, or lengthy periods of drought. No more fire pouring from the prophets’ mouths, burning up any who opposed them. Two corpses lying in the street. But the next events – resurrection, ascension, earthquakes and destruction – finally convinced them that God was behind all this and they had no option other than give Him the glory for what had happened. But did they finally repent and turn from their wicked ways?

Do we pilgrims give God the glory for all He has done for us? Sadly, we have a tendency to take our many blessings too much for granted. Do we thank Him enough for the food on our tables, the air we breath, or our health? Do we take for granted our salvation through Jesus’s sacrifice for us. But when things are not quite what we would like, do we, like Paul, always have a thankful attitude, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves? Or do we grumble? In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul wrote, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” He also wrote in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” In everything we are about today, we mustn’t forget to give God the glory for all the great things He has done. And, like Habakkuk, if things don’t go our ways, and we fall upon hard times, we are full of joyful praise, glorying God anyway. We read in Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord ! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!“

Dear Father God. Please forgive us for forgetting to thank and praise You enough. And please forgive us for those times when we grumble and complain. You have truly done great things in our lives and we give You all the glory today. Amen. 

The Two Witnesses (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.”
Revelation 11:7-10 NLT

John’s vision continues. It was much like a video or film, moving from one scene to the next. So the two witnesses brought their prophecies to the people for three and a half years, and no-one could touch them. The vision doesn’t say to what extent their gifts were used and how much grief was caused to the sinful and wicked people of that time but I can just imagine them underpinning their prophetic words by turning the local reservoir into blood. Or bringing on a resurgence of Covid or some other plagues to the population. Stopping the rain would not have been much of a blessing either. And we read in verse ten, that the people had a big party when the devil killed the witnesses. They gloated, gave presents to each other and felt a great sense of relief that their torment had ended – for now. But notice that it wasn’t just the inhabitants of Jerusalem that were happy about the death of the witnesses. This became global news, with parties everywhere. 

Today’s verses start with the message that their testimonies had come to an end. We pilgrims need to make use of the age in which we live, because there will come a time when our testimonies, our messages of hope, will not be required any more. Our messages will be complete. And we read that God then allowed the “beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit” to kill them. It wasn’t a trivial task, it seems, because it involved a war, not just a murder. In the vision, their bodies are just allowed to lie in the street. But who was this “beast”? it can only have been the devil himself. Mankind at that time couldn’t touch the witnesses because they were too powerful and God protected them. And that protection would have continued, even with the devil’s attacks, but their tasks were complete. The bodies were allowed to lie there for three and a half days, which perhaps indicated the lack of respect offered them by the locals. You can just imagine people from all over jetting in to have a look, such was their notoriety with the global population. A damning indictment of mankind at that time.

In his vision, John pulled no punches in his naming of Jerusalem. Jesus wept over this city, but here we are seeing it renamed as Sodom and Egypt. What happened in the city of Sodom? It was destroyed because of the extreme immorality that occurred there. And to the Jews, the country of Egypt would represent their time of slavery. So it seems Jerusalem because a city corrupted by, and in league with, the devil. People living there were enslaved in a place of immorality. John made special mention that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, an act that the devil thought was a win for him, but soon found it was him who was the loser.

To us pilgrims, we must always be on our guards, because the devil will always seek to corrupt and enslave us. And he gets very upset if we continue to share our testimonies with those around us. We must constantly pray for God’s protection over our lives and families. 

Dear God. We don’t really have any idea what this time will be like. But we’re so grateful that You have everything under control. Amen.