Exodus 3:1-12

Moses at the Burning Bush (Ex 6.2-7.7; 11.1-4; 12.35-36)

3:1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." (Exodus 3:1-12, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from May 4, 2008 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from March 8, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), when comments were repeated from April 1, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year Two), which are repeated here. (Compare comments of May 28, 2006, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two; and January 4, 2007, Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One, refs. For Jan. 4; and earlier comments noted in these places).

The main point of today’s reading is Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. With “the bush [that] was blazing, yet it was not consumed,” God got Moses’ attention (Exod. 3:2). “When the LORD [hvhy, YHWH] saw that he had turned aside to see, God [Myh9lox$, ’ ^elōhîm ] called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’” (v. 4). Jeffrey H. Tigay sees in these two different words for God “an artful combination of the two early sources, J and E” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 110 on Exod. 3:1-22), but Rabbi Hertz has a different view, which rejects the theory of sources which Tigay follows here (cf. Hertz, additional note, “Does Exodus VI, 3, support the Higher Critical Theory?” (op. cit., p. 399). Of the phrase, “angel of the LORD” (v. 2) Hertz says, “The angel in Scripture is not to be identified with God. The angel is the messenger of God and speaks in His name, and is often called by the Name of Him who sent him (see v. 4). The speech and action are the work of the angel, but the thought or will is God’s” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2^nd ed., 24^th printing, 1981, p. 213 on Exod. 3:4). Tigay explains the phrase, “an angel of the LORD” [‘the angel . . .” NRSV] as “a manifestation of God” (p. 110 on Exod. 3:2). Judith E. Sanderson says, “The angel (lit. ‘messenger’) will turn out to be the presence of the divine (vv. 4-6)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Exod. 3:2). Of the words, “God called unto him” [‘to him’ NRSV] (v. 4), Hertz says, “The angel is here spoken of as God, because he represents the Almighty (Ibn Ezra)” (pp. 213-214, on v. 4).

Moses responds, “Here am I” (Exod. 3:4) and is warned to “Come no closer! [but] Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (v. 5). “Every spot where God manifests Himself is holy ground” (Hertz, p. 214 on v. 5). God further identifies himself as “the God of [yhelox$, ’ ^elōhê = ‘the God of’] your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (v. 6). In the phrase, “the God of your father” (v. 6), “the word [father] is here used collectively (Onkelos), and is explained by the words, ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’,” says Rabbi Hertz, adding

The Midrash, however, refers the word ‘father’ to Amram, the father of Moses. It was with his father’s voice that the angel of God addressed him, ‘I am the God of thy father, i.e. the God of whom thy father spake, the unchangeable God of Eternity, who is now about to fulfil the promise given to Israel’s ancestors.” (p. 214 on Exod. 3:6).

The divine message is that God knows about “the misery of my people who are in Egypt” (v. 7) and intends “to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (v. 8). God is commissioning Moses, that is, sending him “to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” (v. 10). But Moses is reluctant and begins to offer a series of objections. He first says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” he asks (v. 11), and God responds by assuring him of divine presence. “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (v. 12).

If Moses’s first objection focuses on himself, his second focuses on God. “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” (v. 13). And God’s response is a profound revelation of himself.

God (Myh9lox$, ’ ^elōhîm) said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (hy,h4x@& rw@8x3 hy,h4x@&, ’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh). He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘'I AM (’ehyeh) has sent me to you’.” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD (YHWH), the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever,

and this my title for all generations.” (Exod. 3:14-15)

A technical explanation (skip if you like):

It is clear that a connection is made in the text here (Exod. 3:14-15) between the Hebrew verb which has the stem consonants H-Y-H and the tetragrammaton (i.e. four-letter word) which represents the personal name of Israel’s God in the biblical text. Out of reverence for the divine name, Jews to this day do not pronounce the name when reading the Bible, but substitute Adonay, “the LORD,” for YHWH, usually considered to be the word “Yahweh.” The consonants yhwh could represent the word “he is,” or “he will be” if one set of vowels is supplied, or “he causes to be,” or “he will cause to be” if another set of vowels is supplied. In the statement, “I AM WHO I AM” (’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh), the Hebrew letter aleph (a) is a first-person prefix in place of the third-person prefix, the Hebrew letter yodh (y = y), which results in the translation, “I am who I am.”

With reference to this text, Christians have understood Jesus’ statement, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58) as a very strong claim to be divine. But within the limits of the Hebrew Bible, one still senses that one is in the Holy of Holies at this point in the text, “on holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). Rabbi Hertz expounds verse 14 as follows:

I AM THAT I AM. Heb. Ehyeh asher ehyeh–the self-existent and eternal God; a declaration of the unity and spirituality of the Divine Nature, the exact opposite of all the forms of idolatry, human, animal, and celestial, that prevailed everywhere else. I am that I am is, however, not merely a philosophical phrase; the emphasis is on the active manifestation of the Divine existence . . . To the Israelites in bondage, the meaning would be, ‘although He has not yet displayed His power towards you, He will do so; He is eternal and will certainly redeem you.’ (p. 215 on Exod. 3:14)

Some regard a later reference to this name to be a problem. “God also spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the LORD (YHWH). I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The LORD’ (YHWH) I did not make myself known to them. The problem is the fact that this divine name occurs frequently in the stories of these patriarchs in Genesis. But Rabbi Hertz makes short work of the problem. He comments on the words, “as God Almighty”:

Heb. El Shaddai; . . . Note that the text reads ‘as God Almighty’ and not, ‘with my name God Almighty.’ There is here no question of contrasting an old Name with any new Name about to be disclosed. . . . Although the Patriarchs were familiar with, and freely used, the Name Adonay, its import as the everlasting God of faithfulness whose promises, even though they extend over centuries and millennia, are invariably fulfilled, was not fully understood by them. ‘Scripture does not state, My Name Adonay I did not make known to them, but By My Name Adonay I was not known to them; i.e. I was not recognized by them in my attribute of Faithfulness, which is the essential part of the Name Adonay, signifying One who is faithful to give reality of His word; seeing that I had promised them possession of Canaan, but had not in their day fulfilled that promise’ (Rashi). God was now to make the full signification of that Name known to the children of Israel by redeeming them from slavery. Thus would He manifest Himself to the children in a manner that He had not done to the Fathers. (p. 232 on Exod. 6:3)

Hebrews 12:18-29

18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death." 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear.") 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken-that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from relevant comments of February 6, 2010 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when the reading was Hebrews 12:12-29, and comments were based on comments on Hebrews 12:18-29 of February 22, 2009 (the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), and earlier comments as noted there, and they are also based on those on Hebrews 12:12-29 of February 4, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two).

As the writer to the Hebrews does throughout the book, he (or she) compares the Mosaic Covenant with the New Covenant of Christ. When the Israelites gathered at Mt. Sinai and, in preparation for the giving of the Ten Commandments, they met with a fearful sight. “You [i.e., the readers of Hebrews] have not come to [what the early Hebrews came to,] something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them” (Heb. 12:18-19; cf. Exod. 19:16-22; 20:18-21; Deut. 4:11-12; 5:22-27). The writer refers directly to the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai at the time when God gave them the Ten Commandments. He (or she) emphasizes the fearful aspect of that divine revelation with a parenthetical explanation. “For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear’ ” (Heb. 12:20-21). “And not only were the people terrified,” says Bruce;

even Moses, privileged as he was to press up into the thick darkness where God was, was filled with numinous awe at the mysterium tremendum et fascinans. His words, ‘I am filled with fear and trembling,’ are not recorded in the Pentateuchal descriptions of the Sinai theophany; the closest Old Testament parallel is in Deut. 9:19, where he reminds the people of his supplication for them after the incident of the golden calf: ‘For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, which Yahweh bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you.’ Another parallel appears in Stephen’s speech, where in face of the theophany at the burning bush ‘Moses trembled, and did not dare to look’ (Acts 7:32). Our author may have been acquainted with a haggadic account of the Sinai theophany which made explicit mention of Moses’ fear and trembling on this occasion too. (op. cit., opp. 354-355, on v. 21; for the Deut. 9:19 ref., cf. Attridge, op. cit., on v. 21)

The writer describes the Christian counterpart–replacement, if you will. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (vv. 22-24). For the “heavenly Jerusalem,” compare Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:2. For “innumerable angels,” compare Revelation 5:11. for “enrolled in heaven,” compare Luke 10:20. For “God the judge of all,” compare Genesis 18:25; Psalm 50:6. For “mediator of a new covenant,” compare Hebrews 7:22; 8:6; 9:15. For “sprinkled blood,” compare 1 Peter 1:2. And for “a better word than the blood of Abel,” compare Genesis 4:10. “The better word spoken by the blood of Jesus is a message of true and lasting remission of sin,” says Attridge; see 9:14; 10:16-18” (op. cit., on v. 24). According to Bruce, “Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground, protesting against his murder and appealing for vindication; but the blood of Christ brings a message of cleansing, forgiveness, and peace with God to all who place their faith in him” (op. cit., p. 361, on Heb. 12:24).

The point is that the readers must take the revelation of Christ very seriously; if the former revelation was so awesome, how much more so is the latter? Bruce comments: “Our author reverts to the contrast already pointed in 2:2-4 between the giving of the law and the reception of the gospel. Awesome as were the circumstances of the giving of the law in Moses’ day, more awesome by far are the privileges associated with the gospel, if they are despised or refused” (ibid., pp. 353-354 on Heb. 12:18-19). So the readers are warned: “See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven!” (v. 25). The writer cites Haggai 2:6, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven” (v. 26), referring to Exodus 19:18, “while the whole mountain shook violently.” The words, “yet once more” (Hag. 2:6 LXX, e[ti a{pax, eti hapax; ‘once again, in a little while’ NRSV for Heb. xyh9 Ff1m4 tH1x1 dOf, ‘ôd ’achat m^e‘at hî’) are interpreted by Hebrews; the phrase “indicates the removal of what is shaken–that is–created things–so that what cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:27). Bruce says of the Haggai passage,

In their context these words declare God’s purpose, in the day when he rises in vindication of his cause, to put down Gentile dominion, to exalt the throne of David, and to make Jerusalem and its temple the center of worship and allegiance for all nations. Our author [the writer to the Hebrews] interprets them of the end of the present world-order; the picture is similar to that in the Apocalypse where earth and heaven flee away from the face of the Judge on the great throne, to be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 20:11; 21:1). (ibid., pp. 363-364 on Heb. 12:26)

The unshakeable kingdom that remains (v. 28), “we are receiving,” so we are urged to “offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe” (v. 29).

The warning against rejecting God’s grace reminds us of the earlier warning.

For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will. (Heb. 2:2-4, NRSV)

The argument is a fortiori, “all the more.” If there were severe sanctions against transgression of the Mosaic covenant “declared through angels,” how much more so through the salvation “declared at first through the Lord.” Similar logic is operative in chapter 12.

Luke 10:17-24

The Return of the Seventy

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:17-20 NRSV; cf. Mark 16:[17-18])

Jesus Rejoices (Mt. 11:25-27)

21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

23 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it." (Luke 10:21-24 NRSV; cf. Matthew 11:25-27; 13:16-17)

The following comments are based on those of May 27, 2009 (Wednesday in the week of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year One), on those of October 18, 2009 (the Sunday closest to October 19, Year One), and earlier comments as indicated there.

On Luke 10:17-20

Just as the report of the Commissioning and Mission of the Seventy is reported only by Luke (Lk. 10:1-12) so is the report of the Return of the Seventy. These narratives come early in what has been called Luke’s Travel Narrative (Lk. 9:51-18:14). This reading from Luke reports the return of the seventy, who rejoice in their recent experiences. “Lord in your name even the demons submit to us!” (Lk. 10:17). Jesus responds by saying, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning” (v. 18). And he adds, “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (v. 19; cf. Mk. 16:[17-18], which is absent from the older and better mss. of Mk.). This apparently represents a battle victory in the war between the two kingdoms (God’s and Satan’s), but Jesus tells them to “rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). According to Marion Lloyd Soards, “Jesus did not regard exorcism in itself as a sign of God’s kingdom (11:19)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 10:20). But Jesus’ emphasis on the long-range value of citizenship in Heaven (cf. Phil. 3:20; Heb. 11:10), is a useful reminder for us.

Eric Franklin comments:

When the missionaries return (v. 17), and rejoice that they have had power over the demons, the Lord bids them to raise their sights and to see that what has happened on earth is a reflection of, and a pointer to, something even more sublime in heaven: ‘I watched Satan falling like lightning from heaven.’ What is ultimately real and final takes place in heaven, and it is this, as it is reflected on earth, that enables the world to be more open to God’s rule. Luke has a strong sense of the transcendence of God’s kingdom. It is the victory in that sphere that enables Jesus to bring about God’s redemption on earth. They are to rejoice that their names are written in heaven (v. 20). (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, on Lk. 10:1-24)

It is a privilege to participate in the Lord’s ministry. We are reminded that it is his ministry, and we, as the disciples, should rejoice in our relation to him. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20). Jesus rejoices in what has happened, not only in the disciples’ mission, but in the insight it has provided for them. He says (v. 22), as noted by Franklin,

in a saying in which Jesus reveals himself in terms that, going beyond what is usually found in the Synoptic Gospels, comes close to his self-revelation in John. The Father has ‘handed over all things’ to the Son to give him an authority that is close to his own. That authority is centered on the act of redemption. The Father alone is the one who really knows the Son. Equally, it is the Son alone who really knows the Father. Such is his knowledge of the Father that he is able to make him known to anyone he chooses. Revelation of God through Jesus is not an idea that is elsewhere embraced in Luke. The section ends by pointing out how blessed the disciples are to have shared in this revelatory moment. The whole section has emphasized the reality of the heavenly Kingdom and its influence upon and future presence in the world. (loc. cit.).

Two thousand years later, we too are blessed! We have seen the gospel of the Kingdom spread throughout the World. Of course, we have seen terrible problems as well, the devastation spread by people under Satan’s control, it seems, and we must continually return to the Lord to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to rejoice in what he can do.

On Luke 10:21-24

The return of the Seventy is followed by a section on Jesus’ Thanksgiving to the Father, and the Blessedness of the Disciples, which has parallels in Matthew and John, as presented in the following table.

In Luke’s narrative the report of Jesus’ thanksgiving follows the return of the seventy and their report that “in your name even the demons submit to us!” (Lk. 10:17), which in Luke separates two sections assigned by scholars to the “Q” source, the Woes Pronounced on Galilean Cities (Mt. 11:20-24; Lk. 10:12-15) and this thanksgiving. Note that here, apart from minor differences in the introduction, the words of Jesus are essentially identical. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” says Jesus, “because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Lk. 10:21 = Mt. 11:25-26). Note that Luke’s narrative supplies a reason for this rejoicing in the positive report of the returning seventy. Jesus affirms his authority as derived from the Father in words shared by Matthew and Luke with echoes in John. “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Lk. 10:22 = Mt. 11:27; cf. Jn. 17:2; 13:3; 7:29),

The blessing on those who have seen what the disciples have seen appears in Matthew’s collection of parables (Mt. 13:16-17; cf. vv. 1-53). The wording is not quite verbatim in Matthew and Luke, but the wording as well as the idea is quite similar. According to Luke, Jesus says, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Lk. 10:23-24). Matthew puts the first part more directly in the second person, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear” (Mt. 13:16). In Luke’s version, it is “many prophets and kings” who have “desired to see what you see” (Lk. 10:24), but in Matthew’s version, “many prophets and righteous people” have so desired; they have “longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Mt. 13:17b; cf. Lk. 10:24b).

Jesus rejoices as much in the experience and insight gained by the disciples as in the results of their ministry. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (v. 21; cf. Mt. 11:25). Jesus’ further comments speak of the Son as revealing the Father (v. 22; cf. Mt. 11:27) and of how his disciples see what the prophets “desired to see . . . but did not see” (v. 24; cf. Mt. 13:17), that is, “the fulfillment of the messianic age” (David L. Tiede, HarperCollins Study Bible, 1^st ed., 1993, on Lk. 10:24). It is a privilege to participate in the Lord’s ministry. We are reminded that it is his ministry, and we, as the disciples, should rejoice in our relation to him. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20). Jesus rejoices in what has happened, not only in the disciples’ mission, but in the insight it has provided for them. He says (v. 22), as noted by Franklin,

in a saying in which Jesus reveals himself in terms that, going beyond what is usually found in the Synoptic Gospels, comes close to his self-revelation in John. The Father has ‘handed over all things’ to the Son to give him an authority that is close to his own. That authority is centered on the act of redemption. The Father alone is the one who really knows the Son. Equally, it is the Son alone who really knows the Father. Such is his knowledge of the Father that he is able to make him known to anyone he chooses. Revelation of God through Jesus is not an idea that is elsewhere embraced in Luke. The section ends by pointing out how blessed the disciples are to have shared in this revelatory moment. The whole section has emphasized the reality of the heavenly Kingdom and its influence upon and future presence in the world. (loc. cit.).

Two thousand years later, we too are blessed! We have seen the gospel of the Kingdom spread throughout the World. Of course, we have seen terrible problems as well, the devastation spread by people under Satan’s control, it seems, and we must continually return to the Lord to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to rejoice in what he can do.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net