Persecution | Open Our Eyes, Lord!

Spiritual growth comes through Spirit-power and direction, applied from the inside out as God rewrites our heart, soul and mind to conform to his righteousness. Revivals of history have come as the result of prayer and the Spirit’s power; most are absent of any persecution as a proximate cause: the Reformation, Great Awakening, the Wesleyan Revival, the Second Great Awakening, the Korean Revival, the Welsh Revival.

From Does it really need to be said? Persecution is not good for what ails us (Part One)

And now, Part Two:

Therefore I propose Viewpoint B:

Tribulation is not a “good” but an evil, albeit one that can be turned to good use in the one who is faithful.
Therefore, Christians should not pray that persecution would come, hoping for a “bank shot” which will lead to revival.
If revival is what we want, we should pray for revival.
And finally: we should pray that persecution will NOT come; and that if it does come, that it will abate.

Here are some key Bible texts: (more…)

Published in:

on April 1, 2013 at 10:14 am Comments (8)
Tags: Bible, China, Christian, church history, persecution, Reformation

Does it really need to be said? Persecution is not good for what ails us (Part One)

Is persecution good for what ails the church? Here’s the word on the street:

Viewpoint A: Everyone knows that persecution purifies the church –

Therefore, if revival is to come, it will be through suffering.
Therefore, persecution is a good, a benefit.
Therefore, the committed Christian should pray for persecution to fall on their country.

Now, I know of no verse where Christians should hope for or pray for persecution. Nor is there a passage that says, “If you pray for revival, you’d better duck, God will send you tribulation.” These viewpoints strikes me as two of these Bible interpretations which are, to use the British phrase, “too clever by half.” It’s similar to the one I’ve heard people say, that we shouldn’t pray for patience – after all, if we do, God will send trials on us! I’m stymied, how a Christian could balk at praying for a fruit of the Spirit, or imagine that God will use our sincere prayer in order to play a trick on us!

The Bible is clear, and 2000 years of history give the same message –

Revival comes with or without persecution.
That is, revival and persecution do not follow a strict cause and effect. Nor are they typically correlated.
If there is correlation, it’s the question of the chicken and the egg – sometimes persecution comes because the church is growing and lively.
Persecution does not necessarily result in purification or vitality.
Persecution may be an impediment to church growth as much as it is a spur to growth.
People who pray for, seek or volunteer for persecution are on thin ice.

The evidence: (more…)

Published in:

on March 26, 2013 at 8:54 pm Comments (7)
Tags: Bible, Christian, Church, persecution, revival, tribulation

Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013

Additional note: Now that the date has passed, and no-one seems to be implanting us with microchips, some bloggers are now saying that as of March 23 the government COULD implant chips. Of course, anyone COULD do ANYTHING – but the original prediction is that it WILL TAKE PLACE as of that date. I invite anyone who has made that prediction to retract it and to rethink their method of predicting the future, based as it was on wild speculation.

Under Obamacare, I keep hearing, everyone will have to have a tracking device planted under their skin. The rumor even gives a date: March 23, 2013! Another version has it that all newborns will receive an implanted microchip. People even quote the supposed page number of the House bill, H. R. 3200.

H. R. 3200 may be read HERE. (This or any bill of Congress may be read here on the official website of the US Government Printing Office: http://gpo.gov/).

[NOTE: readers should also go to this SITE about the persecution of Christians]

Is this chip part of your future?

The relevant paragraph of H. R. 3200 (more…)

Published in:

on October 1, 2012 at 11:30 am Comments (15)
Tags: 666, biochip, Christian, implant, mark of the beast, microchip, Newborn, Obama, obamacare

1 Corinthians and Thessalonians: My New Commentaries now available!

The English versions of my Thessalonian commentary is available from Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Thessalonians-Zondervan-Exegetical-Commentary-Testament/dp/0310243963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343856671&sr=8-1&keywords=shogren

And the English version of my 1 Corinthians is available on Logos software – http://www.logos.com/product/24079/first-corinthians-an-exegetical-pastoral-commentary

Blessings! Gary

Published in:

on August 2, 2012 at 12:22 pm Comments (1)
Tags: Bible, christianity, commentary, Corinthians, epistles, Greek, Thessalonians

FREE Commentary on 1 Corinthians! by Gary Shogren

The epistle was sent to a church stationed deep within pagan territory. In Corinth as in no other place to that date, the God of Jesus Christ was pitted against the god of this world. The church sprang up in a soil that was saturated with idolatry, philosophical posturing and social stratification, all driven by a service economy that provided opportunities for the clever and made many rich off the sweat of slaves and the poor. Here Christianity could show in stark relief how it might transform the arrogant, the oppressed, the hopeless, the corrupted and the dissipated.

In exchange for this free commentary, I would ask that you sign up for an Email Subscription, on the right side of this page (your email is safe with me). If after a day or two you don’t enjoy the blog, feel free to unsubscribe.

For a free pdf file click here – Shogren_1_Corinthians

It is also available on Logos Bible Software; it is fully integrated with other books and Bibles – http://www.logos.com/product/24079/first-corinthians-an-exegetical-pastoral-commentary

I also have a commentary that came out from Zondervan in November; you can order it here - http://www.amazon.com/Thessalonians-Zondervan-Exegetical-Commentary-Testament/dp/0310243963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343856671&sr=8-1&keywords=shogren

Published in:

on May 21, 2012 at 10:18 pm Comments (9)
Tags: Bible, Christian, Corinth, Corinthians, epistle, free commentary, missionary, Paul

Christians and myths

Gullibility is not a fruit of the Spirit. Yes, Paul did say that a Christian “believes all things” (1 Cor 13:7), but what he meant was, “to whatever extent possible, believe the best about other people”.

It’s important to establish this up front, since Christians are regularly bombarded by rumors, many of which are false. Wait ‘til you hear this! someone breathlessly informs us:

They are banning all Christian radio! A guest preacher spoke in our church. “The famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair is leading a movement to take away our freedom!” he exclaimed. “If we don’t act now, then Christian radio programs will be banned!” He gave some details of the crisis, and I signed the petition to the FCC to reject the atheistic petition RM-2493 and keep the gospel message on the airwaves.

The only trouble is, I was fifteen when I put my signature on the petition. Yet decades later, that same warning keeps circulating, given new life by email and then Facebook. (more…)

Published in:

on May 4, 2012 at 4:32 pm Comments (12)
Tags: Bible, second coming, myth, urban legend

An introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians [Studies in Thessalonians]

This is an article on these Pauline letters for a new Spanish-language Bible dictionary. The reader should note that a dictionary article is supposed to be ”descriptive,” that is, the author is expected to describe the state of the discussion, not argue for or against a particular viewpoint.

Zondervan will be publishing my exegetical-pastoral commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians in November, 2012.

Thessalonians CLIE Bible Dictionary Shogren

“Dear Paul: We are sorry, but you are unqualified to be our apostle…” [Studies in 1 Corinthians]

Paul had a precise idea of how to serve God. He worked day and night with his own hands; he risked his life and his health; he “served” the churches and did not exploit them. As a teacher he acted with patience and consideration: when people wanted answers he gave them careful, detailed explanations. He communicated the gospel in a way that anyone could understand (1 Cor 9:20-22).

From what we can glean in 1 and 2 Corinthians, that church wanted a different breed of apostle:

Church at Corinth, Achaia

Wanted: an apostle with style

The church in Corinth is seeking applicants for the position of apostle. We wish to avoid leaders who do not measure up to the highest standards of Christian ministry. Hence we insist that all candidates fulfill the following conditions:

Professional demeanor

We want a man who holds his head high, not one with a slavish attitude of “service.” We want to show the appeal of the gospel for people with ambition.
He should own a vehicle; travel by foot gives the impression that one is a loser. (more…)

Published in:

on November 1, 2011 at 11:04 am Comments (2)
Tags: apostle, Bible, Christian, Corinth, Corinthian, Paul

What comes before the Day of the Lord: the final “apostasy” or the “departure” of the church? [Studies in Thessalonians]

According to 2 Thessalonians, Timothy brought Paul a question from a panicky church: Has the Day of the Lord come? Paul ties together language of the return of Christ from his own oral teaching, the Matthean tradition, Daniel and 1 Thessalonians. No indeed! he says, and I can prove it. Has the Man of Lawlessness appeared? Then no, the Day of the Lord has not come (2 Thess 2:3).

The other marker is more controversial: an “apostasy” or “falling away” (apostasia, ἀποστασία). The word might denote a political rebellion. Nevertheless, “falling away” in Judeo-Christian contexts usually refers to a spiritual apostasy. In the Apocrypha, many Jews apostatized from Yahweh in 1 Macc 2:15 (NRSV) – “The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice” to Greek gods. Paul himself was accused of teaching Diaspora Jews “apostasy from Moses” (Acts 21:21). The verb form also appears in a warning against apostasy in Heb 3:12 and in the Lukan version of the Parable of the Sower to speak of those who fall away because of persecution (Luke 8:13). Paul uses the verb (aphistemi, ἀφίστημι) of the end-time falling away once in 1 Tim 4:1; he uses the noun form (apostasia, ἀποστασία) only here in 2 Thess 2:3.[2] Most Bible versions render the term correctly: “falling away” (ASV, KJV, NKJV); rebel, rebellion (CEV, ESV, GNB, NIV, NLT, NRSV, RSV), revolt (GW, NJB), apostasy (HCSB, NASB).

But wait! A few Bible students have suggested that 2 Thess 2:3 should be translated not as the “apostasy” but as a “removal” or “departure.” That is, the church is taken away from the earth, with the rest of the population “left behind” for the tribulation.[3]

Can this interpretation hold up? (more…)

Published in:

on June 30, 2011 at 9:20 pm Comments (12)
Tags: Bible, Christ, rapture, second coming

Open Our Eyes, Lord!

Gary Shogren's Blog

Studies in Thessalonians series

Does it really need to be said? Persecution is not good for what ails us (Part Two)

Does it really need to be said? Persecution is not good for what ails us (Part One)

Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013

FREE Commentary on 1 Corinthians! by Gary Shogren

Christians and myths

An introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians [Studies in Thessalonians]

“Dear Paul: We are sorry, but you are unqualified to be our apostle…” [Studies in 1 Corinthians]

What comes before the Day of the Lord: the final “apostasy” or the “departure” of the church? [Studies in Thessalonians]

Email Subscription

Blogroll

Follow “Open Our Eyes, Lord!”