Amos 1:1 - The words of Amos

1:1

“The words of Amos ...which he saw”. It is interesting that it speaks of Amos seeing the word of God. This primarily pointing to chapter 7 onwards. In the earlier parts the prophecies are primarily words of judgement, both on surrounding nations, and on Israel and Judah. In this we see two essential elements of prophecy. On the one hand it speaks to the immediate situation, often pointing out what is wrong, and what is wrong with us. But it doesn’t stop there, it looks ahead, it sees ahead. God is fully aware of our sin, but that is not the end of the story. Where sin abounds, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5:20), but we need both parts. Any message that jumps straight to the salvation without looking at what we are saved from is unbiblical. Likewise, any message that delights in pointing out the sins, but offers no salvation is equally unbiblical. [This is not to say that any single message will not focus on one or the other, but the overall message must include both.]

Amos was not a professional prophet. He was “among the shepherds”, or “maong the sheep breeders”. He prophesied because he was called by God. Today not all preachers need be formally trained. Indeed one could argue biblically that to insist on formal training is deeply unbiblical! Jesus was not formally trained, His disciples were not formally trained. However, this is definitely not to say that formal training is of no value, nor that people should not be formally trained. Thank goodness that many people do devote themselves to deep biblical and theological study, and to learning the Biblical languages, and church history. If they did not, then those of us who are not formally trained would not be able to make use of their work! The point is that we must not make an idol out of it, and God will use all sorts of people in all sorts of ways.

Amos was from Tekoa, a town twenty kilometers south of Jerusalem, ie in the southern kingdom of Judah. And he was going to prophecy to the northern kingdom of Israel. Unsurprisingly, he fairly soon outstayed his welcome (Amos 7:12). He lived in the reign of Uzziah king of Judah (792-740 BC) and Jeroboam the second of Israel (793-753 BC).

An earthquake followed a couple of years after his preaching, and is seen as a sign of God’s judgement. This earthquake is referred to in Zechariah 14:5.

1 John 2:22,23 - Who is the liar?

2:22

John makes several very powerful statements in his letter, and is very direct about what is true and what is false. We could learn a lot from this today! So here he declares that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ (ie is the Messiah) is a liar. So anyone who says Jesus is just a good man is a liar, pure and simple. “This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son”. There are numerous books and websites, most of them complete rubbish, on the last days and on the antichrist. Here John focuses on what matters. The spirit of antichrist is to deny the Father and the Son. The Father and Son are one, not in the sense of being one person (they, together with the Holy Spirit are one being), but in the sense of being completely united in purpose. So if you deny or in any way belittle the Son, you are denying the Father, you are denying God.

2:23

This verse states things very clearly and simply. If you deny the Son then you are denying the Father. In the gospels we see the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. The religious leaders were denying the Son and in so doing they were denying God. Conversely, if we confess the Son then we have the Father as well. In terms of the heresies that John was confronting the gnostics would claim that they needed some special knowledge in order to know God (ie in order to “have the Father”). The truth is that if we have Jesus then we have the Father. As Jesus said, He is the only way to the Father.

Amos - Introduction

Introduction

I am going to start an extra series on some Old Testament books. Maybe not daily, but probably most days.

With all the prophets it is important to be aware of the historical and cultural background. Amos prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 BC), probably towards the end of Jeroboam’s reign, with approximately 760 BC being a favoured date. His ministry only lasted a few months and was to the northern kingdom of Israel. However, although Amos addressed the northern kingdom he was from Tekoa, which was in Judah, the southern kingdom. Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke at times of national crisis (the impending Assyrian and Babylonian invasions, respectively), but Amos spoke at a time of peace and prosperity. King Benhadad III of Syria had died in 776 BC, and Jeroboam took advantage of the ensuing power vacuum. He controlled Damascus and so also had control of the trading routes.

So why did God need to send a prophet in a time of prosperity? Well the rich and powerful were neglecting God’s law. There was increasing injustice in the land, and a lack of concern for the poor. A merchant class was building up and a shift in population from the country to the city. Wealth was being concentrated in the hands of the few. Before the socialists among you get too excited, there was also increasing centralisation and increasing taxes. Obviously, we see some of these things in our own society. The gap in pay between those at the top and those at the bottom, indeed those in the middle, has increased enormously. There are serious problems in the legal system.

Outwardly there was an increased interest in religion, with shrines being erected here and there (eg Bethel, Dan, Gilgal and Beersheba). Yet if there is no concern for justice or the poor, then our religion is worthless. So Amos was sent to rebuke the people, in particular the leaders.

Little is known about Amos himself. His name means “burden” and he was a shepherd. However, the word used for shepherd is rather unusual and he may have been a relatively wealthy shepherd, but one with a concern for the Lord and for justice. He was not “a prophet nor a prophet’s son”.

The book is one of judgement for the most part, but it ends in hope. This is a pattern repeated in much of the Bible. Our human nature is to deny or ignore sin and hope for the best. God’s nature is to face up to the full reality of our sin, deal with it, and bring true life.

Amos speaks of the “Day of the Lord”. This is not a specific day as such, but a time when God’s will is done, when His justice is manifest.

Bibliography

Joel and Amos - D A Hubbard, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 1989.

1 John 2:20,21 - You have been anointed

2:20

The gnostic type teachings talked about special knowledge and would seek to make their prey feel inadequate, and to be offering them something special. John is countering that here. We have been anointed by the Holy One, we have received the Holy Spirit. He has come into our lives and is working to direct us evermore towards Christ, and changing us to be become evermore like Christ. We have the knowledge that we really need, no hidden knowledge is needed. We know that Christ is Lord, we know He died and rose again for our sins, we know that we have been adopted as children of God.

2:21

John again emphasises that he is writing to encourage them. He is not writing to them because they lack something, but to assure them, or to remind them, that they already have the truth. This does not mean that they have nothing more to learn, or that they do not need to mature and grow, but all our growing and learning is built upon the one foundation of Christ. We already have all we need in Christ, it is a matter of appreciating the full extent of the truth of that. Earlier he has shown up the failings of the gnostics, and how their approach and teaching is a lie, in particular in relation to sin. Any teaching that belittles sin, or even promotes sin, is a lie and has nothing to do with the truth.

1 John 2:18,19 - It is the last hour

2:18

Why does John say “this is the last hour”, when that was 1900 years ago? The coming of Christ, the cross and resurrection, the ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit ushered in a new era. We are now in the final phase of human history before Christ returns. John is the only New Testament writer to use the term “antichrist”, though the concept can be found in 2 Thessalonians, and in Revelation. There will be precursors to the antichrist, the “many antichrists” referred to here by John, are examples of this. They are not the antichrist, but they have antichrist like features. So the battle demonstrates that it is indeed the last hour.

2:19

The antichrists had been part of the church, but they were not really Christians, for they left the church. Now this does not mean that a person must never leave a particular church (though if someone never stays anywhere, they are either not a Christian or need to get their act together). Someone who is genuinely saved will remain in the church. This does not mean we are saved by persevering, but that persevering is a sign or a fruit of our being saved. This verse gives support to the notion of the invisible and the visible church. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is a Christian, we cannot “self-identify” as Christians. Rather we are chosen by Christ, adopted as children by the Father, filled with the Holy Spirit.

On this day two thousand years ago - Part 3 He is Risen

On this day everything changed, and everything changed because of what God had been doing on Friday when it looked as though things couldn’t get darker, and on what God did on this day. But at first it was a day of confusion. Some of the faithful women followers of Jesus had gone to the tomb with spices they had prepared, but the stone had been rolled away! Then an angel appeared to them saying that Jesus has risen. Yes, he had said something about that hadn’t he, but at the time it made no sense. Yet he was the tomb empty. So they ran off to tell the other disciples. Peter and John went to the tomb and Peter ran in, and yes the tomb was empty. A little later Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. She thought someone had taken the body of Jesus away, she had just wanted to mourn. Then Jesus revealed himself to her. He was alive! In the evening the disciples were in a room behind locked doors, full of fear and now of confusion. What was going on? Then Jesus appeared to them as well, locked doors being no obstacle to him. Jesus was indeed a live!

Imagine what Pilate was thinking, I thought I’d solved that problem. So he sought out the guards for an explanation. Would there be riots? Actually there weren’t any riots because of this, but a revolution had indeed begun, one which would before too long envelop the Roman empire.

What about the priests? Problem solved, or so they thought. But now? If we only we could produce the body we could squash this nonsense. But there is no dead body, all we have is an empty tomb. It was there days that were now numbered.

Resurrections don’t happen, or so the sceptics say. In a sense they are right. The resurrection of Jesus was a unique event, it had never happened before, it has not happened again. Yes, one or two people have come back from the dead, but just to continue life as before and then to die again later. This was different. Jesus was still Jesus, he had a body, but it was different, and he would never die again. How can this happen? Let me reply with another question, how can the universe happen? God did it. Once there was nothing, then there was a universe. Jesus was dead, but God raised him from death. One day we will die, but God will raise us from death in the same way that he raised Jesus from death. One day the resurrection will not be a unique event, but one repeated millions of times over.

But what about now? Do we just wait for that day? No! The disciples needed to be convinced of the resurrection, and Jesus gave them many convincing signs. This was no illusion, no matter of wishful thinking, no conspiracy story. Then the disciples had work to do. They had new life to live, starting to live life as we were always meant to live life, in relationship with God. We are forgiven, we are cleansed, a work of transformation has begun in our lives, and we have work to do. Work done in partnership with the risen Lord.

He is risen and that is good news!

1 John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world

2:15

John uses the term “world” in a variety of ways in his writings. The most famous is, no doubt, John 3:16 where he says “God so loved the world ...”. Here he tells us not to love the world or the things of the world, and if we do then the love of the Father is not in us. So how do we reconcile the two? Quite easily. In John 3:16 world is referring to mankind as people, and God so loves mankind that He sent His Son to save us by dying on the cross. Here world means the world system, mankind in rebellion against God. So worldly thinking is anti-God thinking, and we must not love the world in its rebellion. Today we see this demonstrated most starkly in the LGBT issue. The conclusion from this verse is quite clear, if someone claims to be a Christian, but advocates a sin-affirming position on LGBT issues, then the love of the Father is not in them. However, this applies much more generally. We need to guard against being taken in by the world in any way. John tells us not to love the things of the world. That does not mean we cannot enjoy the beauty of creation or the good things of creation, but we must not worship wealth or fame. Something the church has all too often been prone to do at many points throughout history.

2:16

The world is in rebellion against God, and has been ever since the fall. Therefore if we want to know God it is utter foolishness to love the world system. In this verse John outlines what he means by the world: “the desires of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life”. Man in rebellion is guided by fleshly desires (and this does not just mean overtly sinful desires). The godly man is meant to guided by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Sinful man’s eyes see things and are guided by what he sees, again rather than being guided by the Spirit. “The pride of life” is perhaps not a very good translation, though it is a very old one and so well-established. The word used for life here means “life in its present concrete manifestation” (Westcott, as quoted in Stott). The word translated “pride” refers to boasting or bragging. So it means glorying purely in the here and now, purely in the material, thinking that our material self is all there is, and boasting about it. And this is precisely what the materialistic worldview does. But we are not just material creatures, we were created as spiritual beings. We are meant to live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. So all the thinking criticised here has nothing to do with God, and everything to do with man in rebellion against God.

2:17

Moreover, it is absolute folly to follow the world. If you choose to follow the world, then you are choosing to follow a system that is passing away and is destined for destruction. Who would want to invest in a wasting system? But if we instead do the will of God then we are choosing to obey the eternal Father, and we will abide with Him forever. The choice really should be blindingly obvious.