Come and learn the secrets of the ministry training system in Yoido Full Gospel Church. More details to come…

Date: 1-3 October 2012

Venue: Vistana Hotel, Kuantan

Jonah 3:4-10
Jonah preached the judgment of God:

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

I think many of our preachers are watering down the gospel instead of preaching the judgment of a holy God on all who refuse to repent of their wicked ways. We mostly promote the benefits of salvation like peace, joy and in some cases, even of financial freedom or prosperity.

In the book of Acts, Paul preached that “in the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30) Look at the verse again. God commands … He does not invite! People can and must be commanded to repent. Preaching the fear of God is very biblical. Maybe human preachers may “invite” people to faith in Christ but God Himself commands. Since we speak on God’s behalf, let’s command people to repent. Eternal destinies are at stake!

Repentance involves a change of heart. But it is not enough just to “repent in the heart.” Jesus says: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Luke 3:8) When Jonah warned the people of impending judgment, they repented. They expressed their repentance by serious fasting and even their king joined in by issuing a decree that all, including their livestock, must fast. They were really fearful of God’s wrath and prayed that perhaps by their fasting God may relent from destroying them.

The king and people of Nineveh must have been really sincere because Scripture tells us: “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” God saw their works. People aren’t saved by works but by the grace of God. Yet it says that God saw their works. God saw their works of repentance. The people of Nineveh produced the fruit in keeping with repentance. God saw their works of repentance and did not destroy them.

Preacher, command your hearers to repent in order to avoid God’s judgment! Ask them to show the fruit of their repentance. Then, and only then, dare we hope that God will relent and not destroy us all.

Voon Yuen Woh

There are many ways one can run a race. To complete his race, the least a runner has to do is to cross the finishing line. It’s a simple enough principle, yet it can be a lot harder to achieve than imagined.

Many Christians are fast off the starting block – but the sad truth is most of us will not make it past the finishing line as strong as we started out, if we do cross it at all.

Well aware of the weakness of the flesh, Paul exhorts us to reach forward and press toward attaining the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:8-14). To put it plainly, the race before us as Christians is not an aimless stroll in the park, but we are to run it well and to finish it strong.

Consider the following points to help ourselves along the way.

1. Start and end with Humility
The proverbial story of the tortoise and the hare reminds us that humility helps to take us farther than we think. Groups function well when members within always consider others better than themselves.

2. Don’t go through life without a philosophy
The objective is to arrive at the real destination. Unfortunately, many of us are like engines that go everywhere, never really knowing where the final stop is to be. To minimize distractions that often tire and wear us out, determine from the onset what our philosophy is – in general, in life, in ministry and in leadership.

3. Beware of Pitfalls in Life
Just as pot holes are hazardous on roads, we can expect the Christian journey to be fraught with pitfalls along the way. Generally, pitfalls can come in unsuspecting forms – a wrong choice in spouse; inability to surrender our will; failure to “survive Church”; or even incorrect priorities in handling career, money, kids, sex and studies.

4. Ensure the Essentials of Christian Life
It helps to constantly check that our spiritual physiology is in order. Do we have a hearing Ear? An obedient Heart to obey the will of God? A generous hand where our wealth not only impresses but touches others? Are our Feet shod with the Gospel, passionate to save the lost? Are we living a spirit-filled life and consistently found in a learning posture?

5. Know our Life Models
The twelve tribes of Israel still exist today in essence and characteristics. It has been suggested that spiritually we each belong to a tribe. It is well worth our while to study the strengths of the tribes and consider which one we may model our spiritual life after.

6. Consider our Ultimate Contribution
Everyone desires to have his or her life count for something at the end of the day. Upon our passing, some of us may leave behind legacies, while others will have lasting testimonies. While legacies are subject to the sovereign will of God based on individual circumstances and gifts, we all have the opportunity to build our own testimonies through our character.

A good testimony usually consists of more than one or two things. When people look at our lives, they should get inspired. Regrettably, many of us are content to live and serve without passion – ending up being uninspiring, perhaps even boring Christians.

In the hectic blur of travel over the past few years, I have developed the habit to stop now and then, to appreciate the scenery. I have since learned it is enjoying the journey that makes it doubly worthwhile to get to my destination. As yet another new year begins, I pray that we will continue to run our race and aim to enjoy the trip to the finishing line.

Run strong, finish well. Not everyone will, but everyone can. May your run be an inspired and inspiring one in 2012.

Moses Vegh is a fourth generation minister of Hungarian descent. He and his wife, Betty, were saved in their early teens and called into ministry shortly after their conversion. They witnessed the collapse of communism while residing in Budapest, Hungary, and were active in planting, equipping, and establishing many new works in the former Soviet block and throughout Europe.

Moses carries an apostolic and prophetic mantle with a deep desire to help pastors and emerging leaders. They draw from 65 years of seasoned ministry of pioneering and planting churches, which include the founding and building of Hope Temple in Findlay, Ohio, where they pastored for 27 years. They minister to many emerging leaders over 78 countries throughout Europe, China, Africa, India, Latin America and other regions.

God’s grace does not give us the freedom to do what we like and get away with it. It releases the power of God’s Word and Spirit to become individuals conformed to Christ.

Over the last few years a number of ministries have embraced a perception of grace that, Biblically speaking, is demonically distorted. True God given grace does not give us the freedom to do what we would like and get away with it. Rather, it releases to us the power of God’s Word and Spirit to become individuals conformed to Christ Jesus. Two passages found in Romans- 8.29 & 12.2 both address the conformity God is after in our lives. Perhaps more directly to the point, however, is Peter’s writing found in 1 Peter 1.14-16, which reads:

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1) The assault of Old New Age Gnosticism

There are three primary sources feeding the current perversion of grace. First is a resurgence of Gnosticism. This, in essence, as with much of ancient Gnosticism, is a false separation between what is spiritual and what is physical. In ancient Gnosticism there was the teaching that the two were completely unrelated. In effect the belief was that what one believed and nourished in the spiritual realm was unrelated and untouched by one’s actions within the physical realm.

The emerging Gnosticism in the contemporary church is not so much due to a deliberate teaching as it is from a growing ignorance and ignoring of the Word of God. In some church circles where things like prophecy, healing, and impartations of the Holy Spirit are valued there is also, unfortunately, a devaluation of the written word of God. This vacuum of ignorance has sucked many into a spiritual climate with a lack of regard for the holiness of God. That holiness is what we were born again to experientially walk in. To reference Peter a second time, 2nd Peter 2.20-22 warns that those who have come to know Christ Jesus but return to practicing former sins are like ‘dogs who return to their own vomit’.

To some degree the current hunger for spirituality and spiritual experiences devoid of an appetite for the Person and ways of God is witchcraft. This witchcraft manifests in two essential ways: 1) a hunger for spiritual experiences aside from the Lordship of Christ, and 2) a prevailing of anti authority attitudes. Witches love to move in spiritual dimensions but also despise authority, which is in keeping with the demonic realm. As well, as was with Jezebel, there is usually a fascination with perverse sexuality. To sum up modern day Gnostic traits emerging in the church there is a hunger for spirituality while there is a de-emphasizing of the Lordship of Christ governing one’s attitudes and actions. The false application of grace provides the loophole to continue in doing what one feels like doing and still praying the prayer “bless me, Lord”!

What has also, in a huge way, fed into current Gnosticism is a de-emphasizing of the Biblical mandate to make disciples. In many churches today the gospel is reduced to the two things: 1) free fire insurance, to escape the flames of hell, and 2) consistent teaching from the pulpits that God simply wants to give us formulas for success regardless of our lifestyles. Of course, God does want to bless people, but not apart from our embracing God’s principal of dying to self and living for Christ by embracing Christ’s ways. Galatians 6.7 reads: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

If we sow to carnality that is exactly what we will reap- bondage and death, on many differing levels. The growing mantra today is “it’s okay to do what you like. God will forgive you.” Forgiveness is the result of repentance. Repentance, essentially, means to see things from a higher perspective (God’s vantage point) and to change one’s behavior accordingly.  The remedy is church leaders must return to preaching the gospel of ‘the kingdom’ that Jesus preached and seek ‘its righteousness’ not merely its blessings. Otherwise, when a so-called Christian is continually grieving the Holy Spirit it is the spirit of this age that rules them, not the Spirit of the living God!

2) The Assault of the Fear

As much as the church growth movement has been a help to many leaders for the last several decades, I believe, it has also proven to be a curse for some. It has mandated the wrong measuring stick. God measures the success of leadership by things like obedience, fruitfulness, and the making of disciples. Strictly using the ‘nickels, noise, and numbers formula’ to qualify/quantify one’s ministry is like trying to assess heaven by earth’s standards. By many church standards today Jesus would have to be labeled as a poor leader due to His message of ‘eating His body, and drinking His blood’. Because of that message He went from the multitudes following Him to barely the twelve. It would be a contemporary pastor’s worst nightmare. Jesus, however, measured success by obedience to the Father, not the accolades of man or the size of the crowd!

Proverbs 25.29 states “the fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.” Due to success being primarily measured purely by numbers there has come about a great fear of offending church attendees by saying the wrong thing from the pulpit. That ‘wrong thing’ too often means anything that might cause that attendee to stop attending. Without necessarily intending to we can inadvertently become pleasers of men rather than of God. We must constantly remind ourselves that the gospel message itself (if Biblically preached) is offensive. It is offensive simply because God calls people to die to themselves and change their behavior. Less than a changed lifestyle is less than Biblical Christianity.

When the incomplete message of "it’s okay, God loves you just the way you are" prevails there will be very little room for the Spirit’s conviction for change. The other half of that message is begging to be preached: “He also loves you too much to leave you the way you are”! Yes, by all means let’s be as welcoming and as friendly as the good news itself to all. But a physician who won’t warn a patient about a growing cancer tumor out of fear of depressing or offending that patient is a lethal care giver! There is after all a sorrow the Spirit can release that leads one to repentance. (2nd Corinthians 7.10)

We need to learn to discern between religious condemnation and the Holy Spirit’s conviction. The former wraps people up in the legalism of religion, while the latter opens people up to the potential of healing and abundant life in Christ!

The current statistics of 50% percent of all Bible believing, church going Christian men and 20% of the same group of women being addicted to pornography tell us that something is seriously out of order in the church today.  As if that is not enough of a problem there is almost the same percentage of divorce in the church as there is among non-church goers. If the ancient boundaries that God has established for healthy living are moved then we have managed to learn to graze in the camp of the enemy without fear of consequences! If the foundations are destroyed, or at least obscured, what can the righteous do?

We can begin by proclaiming and praying for a return to God’s standards of ‘grace based holiness’. If judgment starts first with the household of God, then it is probably a safe bet that judgment will start first with the gatekeepers of the church- leaders. We can either fear man, or fear God, but not both at the same time.

3) The Assault of Unsanctified Compassion

Due to past movements, which practiced a focus on the control of individual Christians, the word ‘accountability’ has almost been thrown out the window. Accountability, Biblically speaking, is not so much a thing of control, but rather of encouragement and strength. The truth is all healthy relationships demand some sort of accountability in order to function well. A relationship where there is a fear, or pride, based resistance to honesty is doomed to fail to reach it’s potential.

Out of fear of treading on people rights, or offending people in one’s church, accountability has become neglected. So when problems arise due to ongoing destructive behavior (sin) there is too often the tendency to issue blessings based on ‘unsanctified compassion’. Many church attendees and members want prayers of blessing and breakthrough despite the fact that the hurtful condition they are in may be due to reaping what they’ve sown. To continually bless some one who will not truly repent (change) from destructive behavior is comparable to giving throat lozenges to some one dying of throat cancer and thinking that because the pain is temporarily gone all is well.

In contrast to unsanctified compassion Paul and Jesus were seemingly harsh. Paul wrote,  “if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat” regarding the distribution of charity to poorer church members. There was absolutely no sense of unearned entitlement with Paul! Obviously, he was not speaking of those who simply could not work. When it comes to those who refuse to stop coarse sinning Jesus said to treat them as sinners, not as redeemed members of a congregation. (Matthew 18.17) Jesus also, categorically, without any ambiguity what so ever, stated that a man who leaves his wife to marry another woman is to be treated as an adulterer- a flagrant practicing sinner. (Matthew 19.9) Of course, this is excepting when his wife first committed adultery. Today there is a veritable plague of men and women in church leadership abandoning the ‘wife (or spouse) of their youth’ for a younger version! Truths regarding marriage, such as oneness and covenant, which God emphasizes have been treated as obsolete by many current ministry leaders. God simply sees this as sin on a grand scale. Yet the church has learned to sweep adultery, financial impropriety, substance abuse, and many other sins under a heavy carpet incorrectly labeled ‘grace’.

The love of Christ does not negate accountability. Rather, it gives a context for which healthy accountability can function.

There are those who claim that it is incorrect to call Christians into account for sin due to a very lopsided view of the grace of the cross. Please note: I am not speaking of those in the process of coming to Christ, but those who claim to be Christians and desire good standing within a congregation, or a ministry.

The grace of the cross is simply not available aside from truth. The apostle John tells us that not merely mercy was realized through the cross but ‘grace AND truth were realized through Jesus’. (John 1.17) Psalm 85.10 tells us “loving kindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” This is a prophetic picture of the grace of Christ. To claim forgiveness, as in one’s sins being washed away without truth (repentance) renders transformation impossibility.

Should we have compassion for victims of sexual and substance addiction? Totally! But Biblical compassion is far more than feeling sympathy for the victim. It is to be moved by God in such a way that we lovingly call the victim into a sense of responsibility for their choices and assist them in reaching out to the power of God’s compassion. It must be stated, however, that God will not violate one’s free will. One must make the decision to reach out to God and trust in His power to change. That power through the Word and in the Holy Spirit cannot be experienced aside from repentance. We must take repentance out of the dusty church closet of shame and condemnation and view it as a great gift that God has given us to move towards wholeness & holiness.

Pseudo Restoration

Due to the onslaught of adultery taking place among church leaders today there has arisen a common scenario of what I call ‘pseudo restoration’. Pseudo restoration is a less than real healing process that in many ways is simply waiting until the dust settles and then reinstating the still fallen leader back into their ministry position. Pseudo restoration has more to do with spinning the message than it does true accountability of the messenger.

Just because an individual takes a short break from ministry does not necessarily mean the root issues have been dealt with! It takes real time to realize God’s convicting truth in one’s innermost being. Merely feeling sorry for being caught and the damage one may have caused by one’s sins is less than knowing truth on a deep, deep level.

Partially the syndrome of quick fix restoration is due to the church not always grasping the importance of Christ like character being the foundation for one’s ministry. But, mainly, it is due to unsanctified compassion. We say ‘look at the high calling’ and ‘well, there under so much stress due to ministry’. Both are an affront to God. How can one claim to be a servant of Jesus and refuse to honor the ways of Jesus? Jesus after all stated that if we truly love Him we will obey His commandments- the Word of God!

True restoration takes time.

As stated it takes time to allow God’s truth to filter past layers of guilt, shame, and bring about deep down change at the root level. It takes time to rebuild equity and trust between a leader and his/her followers and supporters. It takes time to close the doors to condemnation so that the enemy can no longer manipulate one through the memories of sin. It takes time simply to rebuild trust in one’s own self towards one’s own will. When we see patterns over several years of sexual sin, or financial impropriety, or substance abuse some of the blame lies at the church which places greater value on that stumbling leader’s ministry than on the leader as a person in need of true, not false, compassion.

“If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?”

(Psalm 11.3) Edmond Burke is credited to have written “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I believe that God is calling church leaders today to rise up and begin to champion grace based holiness. Grace based holiness is teaching the truth in love, without condemnation!  While the foundation of Christianity can never be destroyed we can quench the Holy Spirit to the degree that we render the church impotent in moving in the fullness of the grace and power He has for us. He is after all ‘the Holy Spirit’. I believe that God is calling the contemporary church to essentially four responses in regards to the plague of misperceived grace, which is afflicting many ministries and congregations.

1)   Pray for a revelation of God’s heart and power to walk, model, and champion grace based holiness especially for leaders. Let’s cry out for a revelation that would cause us to echo the cry heard around God’s throne- ‘holy, holy, holy’. Isaiah 6.3 & Revelation 4.8

2)   Begin to boldly, yet, with love & humility, educate and encourage the church in what the Bible has to say regarding healthy behavior to the point of hating sin! It is possible to hate sin, and yet love sinners- after all Jesus did it.

3)   Become intentional about taking to heart Paul’s admonishment to “not grieve” (offend) the Holy Spirit- the very presence of God in our lives and midst! After all we no longer belong to ourselves. He is the one who is in us to do His will & good pleasure.

4)   When serious sins do emerge in the life of a leader, let’s learn to value them as a person, more than their ministry. Let’s take the time to deal with the source of the issues rather than simply putting on the band-aid of ‘time out’.

In the current ongoing debate, some are of the opinion that Christians should just give in and forego the use of the word “Allah” so that the threats and attacks on churches will stop and Malaysia can continue to enjoy her peace and move on unhindered to developed nation status.

Now, more than ever the country needs clear-minded Malaysians and not “confused” citizens, Christians included.

There are ten salient facts and reasons and I would like to address these to the ordinary man in the street and lay people in the Church.[1].

1. The use of "Allah" predates Islam

"Allah" is the Arabic name for God, and it indeed pre-dates Islam and even Christianity. The pagan Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula called God "Allah," even though they worshipped hundreds of idols in addition. Christians all across the Arab World today use the word "Allah" for God, and if one were to read an Arabic Bible, he would find that God is indeed called "Allah."

"Allah" is also the name that Jesus Christ called God. "Allah" is the Arabic equivalent of "Elohim," which is Hebrew for God. The "im" is a plural appendage of respect, and so the word is "Eloh," which is very similar to "Allah." In addition, the Aramaic word for God is "Alaha," and Aramaic was the language which Jesus himself spoke. Moreover, the word "Allah" is found in the English version of the Bible which we read today. In Matthew 27:46 we read: "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ - which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’" The word "Eloi" is the Aramaic form of the Arabic "Allah."[2]

It is important to know the fact that Christians in Malaysia didn’t start using “Allah” only recently, as some contend.

2. It is used all over the world by Christians.

The Arabic word is commonly used by Christians to describe God in such countries as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation.

So it is not just a Malaysian word, for the Malaysian context only. One cannot just decide to copyright an “international” word and hope to escape ridicule.

And anybody in Malaysia can tell you that it is more than just one word that can be involved. The focus now may be on one word, thereafter the contention will be expanded to include other words, and at a later stage any other word or words that the “authorities” may so decide.

3 “Allah” was used by East Malaysians before Malaysia was formed

The SIB church was formed in Sarawak in 1928, nearly 30 years before Malaysia’s independence, and they were already using “Allah” in their worship and literature.

And some of them don’t even speak BM or English, only their own mother tongue and in their mother tongue, the word used is “Allah.”

So it’s not only the Alkitab, the BM Bible. The other Scriptures which use “Allah” are the Kelabit and Lunbawang Bibles.

Daniel Raut, a senior leader of SIB Church — the largest Malay-speaking congregation in the country — said it will not drop the use of the word "Allah," even though Christians fear for their safety.

"Since our forefathers become Christians in the 1920s, we have been using Allah even in our mother tongue," said Raut, who is from the Lunbawang tribe in eastern Sarawak state.

Furthermore, how does one propose that its use be restricted to East Malaysians only? What happens when they come to work in West Malaysia? What about the thousands who are already in West Malaysia? What about our existing West Malaysia Bahasa Malaysia churches?

What happens when an East Malaysian crosses over to Labuan (a Federal Territory) for the weekend?

Some proponents of the “East Malaysia only” concept take it a step further and suggest (to those of us in West Malaysia), “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Though debatable, the new political landscape has all the major political parties, including the key partners of the Barisan, not aligned with Caeser, on this issue.

The Malay equivalent is “Masuk kandang lembu, menguak. Masuk kandang kambing mengembek” (When entering the cattle pen, moo. When entering the goat pen, bleat).

Perhaps it is time the new minority, moo and bleat with the majority.

4. The success of our National Language education policy

Since the introduction of the National Language policy, our emerging generation has become more proficient in Bahasa Malaysia. And with the continued emphasis, the next two generations can be expected to be not only proficient but dependent on the Bahasa Malaysia as the lingua franca in our nation.

Alongside the Allah contention, there are clear intentions to further impose restrictions on other words like “Injil” (Gospel) and “firman” (Word).[3]

So the logical question we all are asking is “how would this pan out?”

Any strategists will tell you that in winning the generational war, ignore the “old diehards” and focus on the future generations.

Our grandchildren and great grand-children, will find themselves reluctant to read Scriptures in a language in which they are less proficient and also not be able to access the Alkitab, and also, perhaps be the first generation who have never heard of “firman” and “Injil?”

I can understand the zeal of the government to Islamize the nation,[4] but I pray that they will do so with honesty and integrity. “Bring all to the table” and aim for the hearts. Malaysians will respect you for that.

But no coercion, no bullying, no media misrepresentation, no scrambling the minds of our children and no re-writing of Scriptures!

But I also pray that by the same token and in the true spirit of religious freedom, the day will soon come, when others, if they so desire be allowed to share their respective faiths with our Muslim friends as is fully acceptable and permissible in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world. Surely Indonesia is a great example to us on what freedom of religion is all about. Sharing one’s faith with another should not be narrowly interpreted as with ‘intent to convert’. Understanding one another’s faith is surely an excellent way of promoting goodwill, peace and harmony among the multi religious population in this lovely country of ours.

Under the present circumstances, the many proposed “inter faith dialogues” and formation of councils to facilitate such dialogues will be nothing but a monologue, as the other faiths are “gagged” in the name of the constitution.

5. Used by others as well

The Sikhs use “Allah” in their Scriptures. Do we stop them next?

What about Hindus, who also refer to one of their gods as "Allah?"

Rigveda is the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, and one of the attributes given to God Almighty in Book no 2 Hymn no I verse II, is ‘Ila’ which if pronounced properly is the same as Allah [5].

So it is not a Christian issue alone. What the Christians are asked to do, the

Sikhs and the Hindus will be asked to do, eventually.

6. Constitutional right to "manage" our own religion

This right must include how we address our God.

Over enthusiastic bureaucrats, consequentially are interfering with the worship & education of Christians – CDs have been confiscated, Sunday School materials are held up by customs, besides the confiscations of the Alkitab.

According to Prof. Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi[6], the Malaysian Constitution provides that Islam is the religion of the federation. But all other religions may be practised in peace and harmony: Article 3(1).

In respect of religion, every person has the right to three things:

1. To profess

2. To practice

3. And, subject to Article 11(4), to propagate his religion: Article 11(1)

Every religious group has the right to:

1. Manage its own affairs

2. Establish and maintain institutions for religious purposes.

3. Acquire and own property and administer it: Article 11(3).

4. Establish and maintain institutions for religious education: Article 12(2).[7]

Our constitutional right, to manage our own affairs, to practice religion freely has been increasingly under threat particularly over the past two decades.

7. Dictating what should be in the Scriptures of a major religion in the world

This suggestion that another word be used is perhaps “the biggest joke.”

Whether one agrees or not about the word is not the main issue.

The basic issue, lest we forget the obvious, is that each and every religious Scriptures is the sacred book – of Christians (including the Kelabit and Lunbawang), the Sikhs and the Hindus. We are not talking about some supplementary textbooks or a "pseudo scripture" just written recently.

Are those who argue for a substitute word suggesting that all these Holy Books be re-written to accommodate a few?

If it is suggested by adherents of the respective faiths, this could perhaps be more acceptable. But when followers of one faith, suggest (and insist) that believers of another faith, re-write their Scriptures to pander to their “unsubstantiated convictions” then we are not too far from the “height of arrogance.”

I know Malaysia is “boleh-land” but this move to “force” the other religious groups to rewrite their Scriptures is preposterous.

8. Prominent scholars of Islam and Muslim organizations have supported the use of "Allah" by Christians

In Malaysiakini dated 13^th Jan 2010, Constitutional Law expert Abdul Aziz Bari contends that it is pretty clear that the use of Allah by Christians has some basis in the Quran.

This is strengthened by the exposition of eminent scholars, including Egyptian scholar Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (Maal Hijrah award recipient 2009) who said that Christians, as part of the Abrahamic faiths together with the Jews and Muslims, can use the word ‘Allah’.[8]

Earlier on, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on 4 Jan 2010, also issued a statement viz -

“With regards to actual and historical practices, Christian Arabs have been using the word “Allah” to refer to God in their religious sources since the inception of Islam, and have never been challenged by private Muslims or Muslim governments on this ground. Islamic law is clear that followers of the Christian faith have the right to practice their religion according to their own religious teachings.

We call on the Malaysian government to uphold the religious freedom of Christians and to let the court ruling stand. We also urge Muslim NGOs to respect Islamic teachings and long-held Islamic traditions, and to withdraw their opposition to the use of the word “Allah” by their Christian compatriots.”[9]

We would like to hear from our government a more coherent and intelligent response to these prominent voices than simply quote “this is Malaysia.”

9. Our State Anthems will take on a new meaning.

How does one sing the state anthems of Selangor, Kedah, Pahang, Johor, Kelantan and Trengganu now, since there are references to “Allah” in these songs, as it is now implied to refer to the Muslim God only?

In schools, about 30 years ago, we were told we were singing to “God.” Now are our children to sing only to one particular God?

See appendix for list of affected State Anthems.

Unless, of course, one is liberal and don’t mind singing to all gods or any god or just the Muslim god.

10. We need to keep in mind that there was "good harmony" in the first 30 years after Merdeka, with freedom to use "Allah."

It never was an issue until enthusiastic politicians promulgated the infamous ISA gazette in 1982, referring to the Alkitab as a document “prejudicial to the national interest and security of the Federation.”

The rest is history.

What an insult! But the Christian community has always been a peace loving people.

For the sake of harmony, Christians engaged in closed door meetings in the past, to negotiate “restricted use” of the word rather than to bring it to the courts. And we were always assured by the government that we could use our Alkitab.

But today, they are saying we cannot use the word and the various government agencies started confiscating various Christian materials, not just the Alkitab. And the claim is we "used to accept it" – but that’s because we have been tricked into negotiating behind closed doors in the name of the Malaysian culture of "talk and resolve quietly." So because “nobody” heard from us, now they take advantage and say, we accepted it all this while. This is absolutely not true. Christians have been moaning, complaining, objecting and writing to the government for years.

Should we concede for the sake of peace alone? Friends, the days of closed door meetings - where our views are deliberately misrepresented[10] and compromised - where the minority is always bullied and threatened into submission for the sake of harmony and in the name of sensitivity, are perhaps over?

It is indeed sad, that after 52 years of independence, the country is still not ready for mature dialogue, and is still struggling to hear the voice of reason.

This is not a race issue, this is not a Malay supremacy issue, this is not even a religious issue. And this is definitely not an East-West Malaysia issue.[11]

Before us are simply constitutional and “human rights” issues, a call to respect the spiritual convictions and Scriptures of other faiths. This is simply a call to exercise common sense and to respect boundaries – ie no rewriting Scriptures!

I hope and pray that the above facts and reasons would help Christians understand that we are not insisting on using “Allah” to "irritate" the “easily confused people” of the land.

We continue to pray for peace and seek a reasoned solution, so that Malaysia can indeed shine as a land so affectionately known as “truly Asia.”

Eu Hong Seng

Pastor

20^th Jan 2010.

Appendix – State Anthems

Selangor

Duli Yang Maha Mulia

Selamat di atas takhta

Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku

Rakyat mohon restu bawah Duli Tuanku

Bahagia selama-lamanya

Aman dan sentosa

Duli Yang Maha Mulia

Kedah

Allah selamatkan Sultan Mahkota
Berpanjangan usia diatas Takhta
Memelihara agama Nabi kita
Negeri Kedah serata-rata

Perak

Dilanjutkan Allah usianya Sultan

Adil dan murah memerintah watan

Ditaati rakyat kiri dan kanan

Iman yang soleh Allah kurniakan

Allah berkati Perak Ridzuan

Allah selamatkan Negeri dan Sultan.

Johor

Allah peliharakan Sultan
‘Nugrahkan dia segala kehormatan
Sihat dan ria, kekal dan makmur
Luaskan kuasa, menaungkan kami
Rakyat dipimpini berzaman lagi
Dengan Merdeka bersatu hati
Allah berkati Johor
Allah selamatkan Sultan

Pahang

Ya Allah Yang Masa Kuasa,

Lanjutkan Usia Duli Yang Maha Mulia,

Dirgahayu, Darul Makmur,

Aman dan Bahagia Sentiasa,

Ya Allah Selamatkan Duli Tuanku Raja Kami

Trengganu

Allah daulatkan Tuanku Sultan,

Terengganu Darul Iman,

Allah peliharakan Tuanku Sultan,

Sejahtera sepanjang zaman,

Allah rahmatkan Tuanku Sultan,

Memerintah rakyat aman.

Kelantan

Lanjutka usia Al-Sultan kami
Sultan Kelantan raja ikrami
Aman sentosa Tuhan sirami
Kekal memerintah kami

Kasih dan taat setia disembahkan
Keriangan diucapkan
Segala kebesaran Allah cucurkan
Bertambah kemuliaan

[1] This article is in response to the many requests for clarification from lay people in churches.

[2] Hesham A. Hassaballa is a physician and writer living in Chicago. He is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday). http://www.middle-east-online.com/English/?id=36608

[3] See the Pahang enactment

[4] I believe every true and faithful follower will want to share their faith, and Muslims are no exception.

[5] Other references to use of Allah :

BOOK 2 - HYMN 1 Verse 11 - Thou, God, art Aditi to him who offers gifts: thou, Hotrā, Bhāratī, art strengthened by the song. Thou art the hundred-wintered Iḷā to give strength, Lord of Wealth! Vṛtra-slayer and Sarasvatī.

BOOK 3 - HYMN XXIII Verse 4 He set thee in the earth’s most lovely station, in Iḷā’s place, in days of fair bright weather. On man, on Āpayā, Agni! on the rivers Dṛṣadvati, Sarasvatī, shine richly.

[6] Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi is a Malaysian Senior Professor of law who has served Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam, Selangor in various capacities from 1971 onwards. He served as the Head of the Diploma in Law program (1979 - 1984), as Assistant Rector (1996-1999), Assistant Vice Chancellor (1999 - 2001) and Legal Advisor (1996 - 2006). He has also served on the faculties of law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, part time at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and a visiting professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia

[7] The Federal Constitution  and the Social Contract by  Prof. Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi – http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:VoCPy4Nb85sJ:cpps.org.my/resource_centre/Prof.%2520Dr.%2520Shad%2520Saleem%2520Faruqi.ppt+Malaysia+constitutional+Article+11&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=my&client=firefox-a

[8] http://national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/2010/01/allah-decree-does-sultan-have-power.html

[9] http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA-Commends-Malaysian-Court-Ruling-that-Affirms-Religious-Freedom-of-Christians.aspx

[10] Muhyiddin said he had been receiving quite a number of messages from non-Muslim friends in Sabah and Sarawak who said there were Christians who felt that things would not have happened in the first place “if we, the Christians, would just not use the word ‘Allah’”. Malaysia Insider 14^th Jan2010 – we disagree with this view, as the leaders of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), the component members being the Roman Catholic, the Council Churches of Malaysia and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia, have met on several occasions over the last few years and have repeatedly affirmed the wishes of the Christians, both in East and West Malaysia, ie we would not compromise on the use of the word “Allah.” The dissenting voice is a very small minority and is obviously being used to portray a misleading view. I would urge all Christians to refer to the “Kuching Declaration” dated Sept 1989, where the Roman Catholics, the CCM and the NECF came together to formally adopt a united stand to use the word “Allah.” See - http://www.necf.org.my/newsmaster.cfm?&action=view&menuid=154&retrieveid=976

[11] Just because a few Christians in West or East Malaysia, don’t understand the issue and voice their ignorance, this does not mean the whole of West or the whole of the East Malaysian communities are against the use of the word. We need to be aware of the sinister aims to make both the West and East Malaysian Christians misunderstand each other. By all means, “share” and educate each other. But beware of answering and correcting in the cyber space and give the impression, that the West or the East Malaysian Christians are ignorant, naïve or disunited. The “Kuching Declaration” clearly shows the Christians in both West and East Malaysia are united. And today, we remain resolute and unyielding in our stand.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

The Church is not about what we want..It’s about what God wants!

• Throughout Scripture the Lord makes it plain that He will dwell with His people only where His  name is recorded. And He will record His name only where the meeting place conforms to His high pattern and standard. Exodus 20:22–26.
  
  a) Following Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, God establishes His covenant of law with them through Moses and gives them the acceptable pattern for His dwelling place and their place of worship. His injunction: “And see to it that you make [it] according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain”–– Exodus 25:40
  
  b) In time, the Tabernacle is superseded by the Temple of Solomon, which was to be God’s dwelling place with His people in a new era of peace and rest for Israel. Once again, God gave very specific instructions for the building of the temple. 1 Chronicles 28:10–20. c) When Jesus came He built neither temple nor church for he was now God’s dwelling place with man –– the pattern Son! If any desired to meet with God they came to Christ for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”––Colossians 2:9.

• When Jesus returned to the Father He sent His Spirit to dwell in His people (John 14:16–18). The church is now become God’s dwelling place and anyone desiring to meet with God must find Him in living epistles “known and read of all men”––2 Corinthians 3:2.
  
  d) If God was very particular indeed under the Old Covenant that His dwelling place should meet the divine pattern, how much greater and higher is His standard for the New Covenant church “…written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables
  of the heart––2 Corinthians 3:3
  -> The church of the living God is not called to be a church busy with its own plans and agenda… full of works and activities which God’s Spirit has not called for.
  -> But what God wants is a church without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” ––Ephesians 5:27.
  -> And what God wants is a church (called out ones) for Himself… for He has created us for His pleasure and for His glory.

God’s Heart is for a kingdom of kings and priests…

Revelation 1:5-6 [And from] Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

• That’s what God wants… Kings and priests, again recorded in Revelation 5:10!
  a) God has always wanted a people for Himself… a dear and loyal and faithful and sold–out company who would love Him as he loves them, and be one with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, for all eternity.b) This cry has been on God’s heart from the beginning in creating man in His image and likeness.

1. Adam’s race called to be God’s Kings and Priests

• God created man to this end and set Adam in a garden to be His king and priest in the earth.
• But Adam failed and handed his sceptre and crown to God’s enemy, Satan.

2. Nation of Israel called to be God’s Kings and Priests

• After Adam’s failure, God called out a man named Abraham to be His friend and progenitor of a new race of people… a “holy nation and a peculiar people”

Exodus 19:1-6 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

3. The Aaronic Priesthood

1) Israel rejected God call and so God chose Levi to be the priesthood. Both Moses and his brother Aaron were Levites. Aaron had four sons – Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar – and they became the Aaronic Priesthood.

Exodus 28:1-2 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron
thy brother for glory and for beauty.

2) But this priesthood proved disastrous! Aaron made Israel a golden calf (Exodus 32) to worship while Moses was upon Mt Sinai seeking God.

3) Then Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu desecrated their office with strange fire and God’s judgment fell and slew them instantly:

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the
LORD. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

• Nadab and Abihu offered “strange” or “profane” fire before the Presence of the glory. “Profane” means “to show disrespect or contempt or irreverence for sacred things”. (This was the sin of Shimei whom Solomon slew when he established his kingdom).
• “Strange” = zuwr [zoor] meaning to turn aside in a profane way (irreverent, blasphemous) ; to commit adultery by going after a strange or foreign woman.
• These two priests seized the censers that were set apart of the worship of the Lord and filled them with the fire and incense of their own choosing, not the offering prescribed by God.
• They came carelessly and with irreverence into the presence of the glory, bearing an unacceptable offering and treating as common that which was holy. And being priests they bore the greater judgment.

• A W Tozer: “How can anyone ever worship God acceptably without knowing what kind of God He really is…” –– only by knowing God can we determine what kind of worship He is seeking!

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

• Immediately after this event Moses instructed that the two dead priests were to be taken outside the camp and buried:

Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. (Leviticus 10:3-5)

• “Out of the camp” or outside the camp – disassociation without honour from the presence of God and the “church in the wilderness”.

• And then Moses warns Aaron and his two surviving nephews that they were not even to mourn their dead brethren lest they die as well:

And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your
heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let
your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And
ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the
anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. (Leviticus
10:6-7)

4. The Eli Priesthood

1 Samuel 2:27-35 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father [Aaron], when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? [28] And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? [29] Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

[30] Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

[31] Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm [of strength], and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. [32] And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

[33] And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

[34] And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. [35] And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

1) We Find Here A Curse Upon One Priesthood - And The Prophetic Raising Up Of “An Enduring” Holy-Remnant Priesthood.

-> Eli represents a cursed priesthood, a priesthood of self-centred servants of God. They are called priests, but lightly esteem the work of God. They do not like the ministry of correction. Their spiritual children become wicked because of their lazy life-styles and their refusal to cry out against sin. They “make themselves fat with the choicest of every offering of (Gods) people” (verse 29).

-> Eli saw iniquity in his sons who brought a curse on themselves, “and he did not rebuke them” (1 Samuel 3:13). For this God said, “I am about to judge his house forever.” And his house was judged! The glory of the Lord departed from Shiloh, the ark was captured and he and his sons died.

2) A Holy Remnant Priesthood Prophesied

The unknown prophet who came to Eli prophesied of a new kind of priesthood:

“But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in
My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always” (1
Samuel 2:35).

-> This is an amazing first prophecy of a holy-remnant priesthood, enduring to the end, enduring until Christ returns. It is a remnant, which God says, “I will build!”
-> During the subsequent reign of David, there was a dual priesthood of Zadok and Abiathar who fulfil the type and shadow of this prophecy to the letter.

• Zadok in Hebrew is ‘tsadog’, meaning “one proved righteous.”

• Abiathar is ‘ebyathar’, meaning “at peace with the Lord who is God” .
- These two priests represent the two priesthoods mentioned by the unknown prophet who spoke to Eli - one is of the spirit of Eli, the other is a ministry unto the Lord.

• Abiathar, who was of the house of Eli, in the line of Ithamar, had been the high-priest after the death of Ahimelech his father.

• Zadok, who succeeded him as high-priest, was descended from Aaron by the line of Eleazar.
- Both Zadok and Abiathar served jointly as priests in David’s kingdom - and both bore the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders as it was returned by David to Jerusalem.

3) Let Us Look First at Zadok

I. SAUL: Zadok rejected Saul and gave his hearts and allegiance to David. Not once did he ever look back. He proved to be righteous because he proved to be faithful! He was there when David needed him!

II. ABSALOM: And when so many others were being carried away with the rebellion of Absalom, Zadok remained faithful through it all.

III. ADONIJAH: And when David lay dying and succession to the throne was passing to Solomon, Zadok remained true to David and opposed Adonijah’s bid for the throne.

• All the while, God was building Zadok an enduring house, a priesthood that fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God who prophesied to Eli. This is that “faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul.”

4) Now Let Us Look at Abiathar

I. SAUL: Abiathar chose to be faithful to David, like Zadok.

II. ABSALOM: Abiathar wanted nothing to do with Absalom’s rebellion. He appeared to be just as faithful as Zadok. He appeared outwardly holy, blameless, and faithful.

III. ADONIJAH: But here Abiathar failed his test, siding with Adonijah over Solomon, and thus betraying David

1 Kings 1:5, 7-8 “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king…
.And he had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and
following Adonijah they helped him. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men, who belonged to David, were not
with Adonijah”.

o He remained true to God in the test between Saul and David
o He remained true to God in the test between Absalom and David
o He failed God in the test between Adonijah and David

-> This rebellious company mocked the “old and worn out” ways of David. They were crying for a new kind of kingdom, a new kind of priesthood!

-> There was rebellion, the spirit of adultery, a demonic realm of pride and self-esteem. A new wave of self-exaltation was sweeping through the land deceiving the masses, and Abiathar was one with them.

• Abiathar fell under the curse of the house of Eli because of the latent sin of pride and rebellion in his heart. The self-exalting preaching of Adonijah appealed to something in him - and he cast aside his suffering past to be successful and accepted with the new wave gospel.

• Because his heart had not been cleansed, he joined Adonijah and Joab and Shimei in the fall from grace and loss of reward in the coming kingdom of Solomon.

• Solomon was going to build a new temple and God required a new priesthood for it! The ascension to the throne of David was a Divine test for the priesthood.

• King Solomon knew all about the curse upon the house of Eli. And he recognized Abiathar as being of that kind of priesthood in his siding with Adonijah.

1 Kings 2:27 “So Solomon thrust out [dismissed] Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh”.

• What an amazing fulfilment of prophecy! A man who once been faithful in two major tests of God and shared the sufferings of his Lord - now dismissed, rejected. He is told to go his own way, for he is of no more use to God’s kingdom!

5. The Zadok Priesthood Read Ezekiel 44:15-19, 23

Ezekiel 44:15-19 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments… Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

• Ezekiel prophesied That the Priesthood Of Zadok and Levi Would Become More Pronounced in the Latter Days.
  • Ezekiel saw the ministry of Zadok as a ministry unto the Lord, not unto man. He saw the Zadok remnant as a priesthood called out of a priesthood!

  Ezekiel 40:46 “These are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to Him”

• This anointed and holy priesthood is to be the fulfilment of God’s desire for a nation of kings and priests––a glorious temple and dwelling place for God Himself.

• The Zadok ministry is separated from the world and has one mission in life; to be at the Lords table to minister to Him!

. This priesthood is clothed in the pure, unmixed garments of holiness!
. They walk in absolute obedience to the Lord.
. They teach Gods people the difference between right and wrong.
. They are not afraid to denounce sin.

Ezekiel 44:23 “ And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.”

• Their only true possession in life is the Lord Himself.

Ezekiel 44:28 “…and you shall give them no possession in Israel - I am their possession“

The New Temple, the dwelling place of God - the Church!

In the 40th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet is taken by spirit-flight from Babylon to Jerusalem.

• In the 25th year of the Babylonian captivity - The 14th year after the fall of Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel’s name in Hebrew means ‘in the strength of God’.

Ezekiel 40:1-2 “In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the
tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day
the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me
into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city
on the south”. *

• He is spiritually transported to a high mountain, and he is shown an unfamiliar city (“something like the structure of a city on the south”).

1) Ezekiel, coming from the north, is set down upon “a very high mountain” which portrays Mt Zion on which Jerusalem with its temple stood.

2) But this mountain is not the literal Zion, nor any other actual mountain. It exists only in vision, it is “the mountain of the Lord’s house” described by the prophet Isaiah and speaks of the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 2:2-3 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

The apostle John was taken up in the Spirit to the same “great and high mountain”

Revelation 21:9-11 “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal”

• Standing on the mountain, Ezekiel and sees the city-like frame of the new temple stretching southward.

1) The temple structure is so vast and varied that it bore the aspect of a city - far larger than the site of the former city of Jerusalem!

In Ezekiel 40:3 God brings him close up to it, so as to inspect it minutely.

2) He is in God’s holy temple-city built by the Spirit of God… the New Jerusalem

3) This is the same city Abraham had spent his life seeking… Hebrews 11:10 “For [Abraham] looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

4) John likewise was given a vision of this same temple-city in Revelation 21:

Revelation 21:2-4 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”

5) The apostle Peter describes this spiritual temple in his first epistle:

1 Peter 2:5, 9 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. [9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

• On this mountaintop Ezekiel encounters a Christophany (an appearance of the preincarnate Christ in the Old Testament) – “Whose appearance was like brass” and who held a line of flax and a measuring rod.

Again, the appearance of Christ is similar to John’s Christophany in Revelation

Revelation 1:13-15 “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”

1) In Scripture, brass (or bronze) speaks of Divine judgment. It was the substance of the brazen altar in the Tabernacle and Temple where the sacrifice for sin was offered before God.

• Ezekiel sees the King is standing in His Kingdom – come as Judge to measure His temple.

• John was given the same “measuring reed” in Revelation and commanded to measure the temple:

Revelation 11:1-2 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is * given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

• The line and the reed were instruments for measuring the trueness and straightness of buildings in Old Testament times.

o Line: used for longer measurements:

Zechariah 2:1-2 “I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.”

o Reed: used in measuring houses. It marked the straightness of the walls.

Revelation 21:15 “And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof”. *

2) The Man’s words to Ezekiel were very succinct:

Ezekiel 40:4 “And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart [focus intently] upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.”

• i.e. “Ezekiel, give this your full attention for you were brought here so that I might show these things to you!”

• Note: Ezekiel is the only person in the Bible, other than Christ Himself, who is addressed as “Son of man” with a capital ‘S”. There is one reference to Daniel as “son of man” with a small ‘s’ in Daniel 8:17.

• Following this special admonition, great detail is taken to familiarize Ezekiel with the measurement, gates, common areas, windows and directions of passage in this great temple of worship.

• Although Ezekiel served in the former temple, he was to be familiar with the new temple and understand how different this worship and its edifice would be from the one to which he was accustomed.

3) This true spiritual temple shows Ezekiel how far away the old temple is from the real things of God.

• The Spirit points out the necessity of familiarizing oneself with this new Temple, focusing upon its structure and being like Ezekiel in noting its particulars.

Ezekiel 40:46 “And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.”

• The Spirit declared that the Sons of Zadok must know this temple like the back of their hands. They must prepare themselves for making this temple their life and ministering there, their work.

4) With the Coming of a New Temple God is Raising Up a New Priesthood.

• Ezekiel shows a contrast between two kinds of ministry: the sons of Zadok and the ordinary Levites. Not all Levites were Zadokites, but all Zadokites were Levites.

• Vast differences between the ‘Eli’ system and the ‘Zadok’ priesthood:

• Between hype and hypocrisy in religious circles – and high calling and holiness in spiritual circles.

• Between what proceeds from God – and what emanates from the heart of man.

• Because what man touches he corrupts

Ezekiel 43:10-12 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. *

2) What Characterises Those Who May minister to God as opposed to those who may not?

But I will make them [the defiled and unholy ministry] keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. (Ezekiel 44:14)

• This penalized ministry were to be identified with a straying congregation (vs 10-14).

• An unholy congregation would be ministered to by an unholy clergy.

• Both ministers and people were worshipping idols alongside one another.

• God showed Ezekiel the secret idolatry and adultery and blasphemy of the priesthood and the people.

• The holiness of the Zadok priesthood was evident to all.

Psalms 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of
all them that are about him.

“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints” (Commentary from The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon):
“Those saints of his who walk close with him, have a daunting power in their appearance. Sometimes when you come into the presence of one who is truly godly, whom your conscience tells you walks close with God, does not even the very sight of such a one terrify you? Does not the very lustre of that holiness you see strike your conscience.
“Ecclesiastical stories tell us of Bishop Basil of the early church: when the officers came to apprehend him, he then being exercised in holy duties, that there was such a majesty and lustre from his countenance that the officers fell down backward (as they did who came to apprehend Christ), and they were not able to lay hold of him. When Basil died in 379AD he was mourned by the entire city, and the weeping crowds at his funeral included Christians, Jews, and pagans.

• This is a far cry from the Lord’s complaint through Isaiah:

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men”

• The Significance of the Zadok Priesthood:

-> Zadok comes from the Hebrew word Tsodek meaning ‘to be right’. The Hebrew word for ‘a righteous one’ is Tsadek = one who is righteous.

In Biblical thought, in the Hebrew language – which Paul tries to communicate to Greeks in Philippi – one cannot be righteous unless one is right. If one is not tzodek, one cannot be a tzadek.

• The Rejected Priesthood –– Ezekiel 44:1–9

• Self–elected, never saved and never called.

• The Penalised Priesthood –– Ezekiel 44:10–14

• Look at verse 10: ” . . . the Levites who went astray from Me when Israel went astray”.

• Isaiah begins by castigating the clergy for leading the people astray. Jeremiah begins in the same way.

• Earlier in his ministry, Ezekiel begins also by following the examples of his predecessors, Isaiah and Jeremiah. However, in the second half of his book, Ezekiel reverses it. He no longer says that it is the leaders leading the people away; the problem becomes the people leading the leaders astray.

• In other words, the blame of the leaders here is not that they are misleading the people, but that they are failing to be leaders. Instead, they are letting the people dictate what should be done.

A Levite will always give the people what they say they want; the Zadokites, on the other hand, will give the people what God says they need.

• Today the big philosophy in church growth is, ‘find out what the people want and give it to them.’

• The church will therefore become more and more like the world. ‘Oh, they want \Christian rock music and smoke machines, so we’ll give it to them’. So instead of having worship services, you basically have rock concerts in church, based not on the worship of God but on the worship of worship.

• But the righteous clergy give the people what they need. They were the minority. Let us look further, to understand how this works.

3) A Change of Priestly Garments

Ezekiel 44:17-18 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

• Notice that the high priest could not have a mixture. The Levites had a mixture, but the Zadokites had none.

• The Zadokites could also not wear anything that would make them sweat. Why? Let’s begin by looking at the mixture: they were forbidden to make a garment of flax and wool. God hates and despises mixture.

Revelation 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

• A Zadokite wore pure linen; his deeds were no mixture, so there would be no sweat. The Levite had a mixture, so there would be perspiration. In other words, a Zadokite would rest in the Lord, whereas the Levite would strive in the flesh.

Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

• A Zadokite will teach discernment. A Levite will be politically correct; he will not teach discernment.

• Only a righteous leader will teach discernment. When you see churches that will not deal with error, will not teach the people what is wrong with what’s being shown and espoused on popular ‘Christian’ television – when you see people who will not take a stand and warn people when they go to a Christian book shop what kinds of books to keep away from – when you find that discernment is not being taught in a church – that is a Levite, not a Zadokite.

• A Levite will always compromise truth. Once people begin compromising truth, it won’t be long before they are compromising morality.

Ezekiel 44:24 “And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.” *

• A Zadokite, a righteous minister, will take a stand in a dispute and judge Biblically. Again, a Levite will be politically correct. He will come down on the fence.

• Remember that Ezekiel prophesies not only for his own day or even for the first coming of Jesus, he also prophesied for the last days.

To which priesthood do you belong? Zadok or Abiathar?

• God is even now raising up the royal priesthood - sons of Zadok!

1 Peter 2:5, 9 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.[9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”

• We are called to a ministry to the Lord. All direction comes to this priesthood while we minister to the Lord.

Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

• There is a sure word that will come forth to all those who love the Lord and who know their ministry is of Him and to Him. All other ministry springs out of that ministry to Him.

• Is the Spirit purging you? Are you being refined by fire? Do you hunger for Christ’s holiness? Do you sigh and weep over the abominations in the church and in the land? Are you casting down the idols in your life?

1 Peter 4:17-19 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it
first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let
them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well
doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

• The Lord is coming in this hour of judgment to cleanse His temple a second time - to raise up a new priesthood of believers who can minister to Him in the new Temple!

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