The Faithfulness of Telemachus

 "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Revelation 2:10

Around Christmas in ancient Rome, thousands had gathered at the stadium to watch the gladiatorial contests. The bloodlust was strong as the crowd cheered, not caring as much who won as to see a good fight and abundant carnage. One man though was appalled. The name Telemachus probably doesn’t mean much to you; it didn’t mean anything to the crowd. Yet this man, formed in the desert monastery, had courage forged through the fires of self-denial, daily prayer, and immersion in Scripture. His virtue was not delicate, but his conscience thankfully was.

Visiting Rome on pilgrimage, he was sickened by the murderous games. Seeing the contest he entered the arena and came between the two fighters, calling upon them to put their swords away. “Do not requite God’s mercy in turning away the swords of your enemies by murdering each other,” he said. The crowd turned against the monk, yelling for the battle to continue. He wouldn’t budge, holding the two apart with his hands. The curses of the crowd grew, and the gladiators turned against him, killing him before one and all. The crowed pelted him with rocks, scoffing at the one who would disrupt their entertainment.

But after witnessing the death of this God-fearing monk, Rome would never be the same. The testimony of one who would give his life to stop these games had immediate results. Within a few months of Telemachus’ death the gladiatorial games in the Colosseum ceased. This desert monk of tender conscience and strong courage was used by God to accomplish much. 

May we learn from the example of this godly man who was faithful when it mattered most. 

The Lord of Armies

"The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." Psalm 46:7

It is common in Scripture to see the name "Lord of hosts," ascribed to God. It means "Lord of armies," as in, the armies of heaven and earth (Daniel 4:35). God's people were always a small nation when compared to the others surrounding them. Though they had an army in the time of the kings (Saul, David, etc.), they had to rely on God for deliverance. It was only by relying on Him that they were able to win in battle. You regularly see them victorious when they humbly seek God in prayer first, and usually defeated when they rely on the arm of man alone. It was always the Lord of armies who gave them victory in battle.

It became even more important to trust in Yahweh's protection after they returned from exile in Babylon, and that is exactly when you see this name for God come into much more common use. When God's people returned to their homeland, they had no standing army. They were under the dominion of Persia, sort of a colony. If they faced attack from outside, they had no earthly king who would lead them into battle. They had to rely on the Lord of armies to defeat their enemies. This didn't mean they would not fight (see the story of Esther), but there was no main leader to whom they could trust. It was either God or no one. 

I thought about this recently after the events of this past week: Republicans lost in Georgia, giving the Presidency, the U.S. House, and Senate all to a political party who seeks to increasingly restrict the voice of orthodox Christians from all spheres of life. This is in addition to the decades-long push by the largest businesses in the U.S. to pull down all opposition to the ongoing techno-sexual revolution. The icing on the cake this week was the mob invading the U.S. Capitol building, and the association of those clowns with anyone who opposes the incoming President and his party. 

Before the special Georgia election, some (including me) said that surely at least one Republican would be elected and at least the Senate would be able to block the garbage from the House. But no, there is now no block. Even then, aside from judges, how much good have the so-called "good guys" done when they controlled the Presidency, House, and Senate? Might our hopes have been put in the wrong thing?

God's people in the United States need to learn what our brethren in Nigeria, China, and Iran have known for a long time: our only help comes from the Lord of hosts. Certainly we should pursue the election of godly leaders, men and women who will lead in justice, mercy, and humility, who will speak out against technocracy, sexual perversion, and stand/fight for truth. But never forget that our deliverance, our protection, and our victory belongs to the Lord of hosts.

When we're tempted to become cynical, to despair, and put our heads down, remember He who fights for us is greater than the forces who oppose us. Men have and will fail at times - therefore we don't put our ultimate hope in men. We might not see all our allies, but in God's cosmic commonwealth, the opposition is at His mercy. In the meantime we continue working, praying, standing upright, and pursuing the ground before us. All the while remembering that no matter what happens, the Lord of armies is our defense. 

Owning Our Curse

Genesis 9 tells the story of Noah after his return from the ark. Having retired from zoology, he took up gardening, specifically planting a vineyard. One day after drinking too much, he went to his tent. His son Ham went in, saw his father naked, and scornfully told his two brothers about it. They quickly took a cloth and covered their father without looking at him. Upon recovering from his drunken state, Noah cursed Ham's son, Canaan. 

This story has led to plenty of theories of what Ham actually did. I will not delve into those, but Scripture makes it plain that Ham was wrong. At the very least he revealed the shame of his father, while Shem and Japheth covered their father's shame. Nothing is said about Noah's being drunk. There were no commands about drunkenness at the time and Scripture does not condemn him; for us to do so is to miss part of the point.

There's a lesson for us in this passage. It's become popular to  heap scorn upon prior generations for their sins and blind spots. Those blind spots are real and we should certainly learn from them. But there is a great difference between that learning from our fathers' mistakes and publicly proclaiming their shame. I suspect our reasons for doing so are similar to Ham's: we think if we shame our fathers, we no longer have to submit to them. We showcase their sins (whether real or perceived) and think it frees us from hearing what they have to say. In doing so, we bring a curse upon our offspring. 

We teach them to scoff at the guidance of the past and consider our scoffing virtuous, saying those old paths lead to slavery. In fact, it's only those paths that chart a course out of our dark modern cave. This is no call to ignore the sins of our fathers. But to ignore their wisdom and proclaim their shame, we sin against them. Only by loving and appreciating our forebears can we learn from them. Only by receiving their wisdom can we protect our children and grandchildren from the ignorance of the age. 

In Defense of Real Church

 

The most significant attack on the Church currently is sexual relativism. This infection has been invading for decades and the host has shown little defense. But perversion is not the only attack, just the most significant one currently. There are other lines of attack, and one we must prepare for is the attack on real, local churches.

I don’t necessarily believe churches will be physically attacked. Right now that would draw too much attention and support for them. Our enemy – the one not of flesh and blood – is too smart for that. He prepared the groundwork for this attack through confusing reality and mediated reality over the last sixty years. “Reality” as I refer to it here is that which exists and is true, regardless of our human perception or understanding. Mediated reality, in contrast is what we perceive to be real as mediated by other sources, particularly technological sources.[1]

Attributes of God for beginners

God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God by Mark Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Most wouldn't think of a book on the attributes of God as devotional reading, but pastor Mark Jones accomplishes that task. He writes in a style that is clear and pointed. He takes the attributes of God one by one, describes the doctrine involved with that attribute, explains how it is revealed to us in the incarnate Christ, and finally demonstrates how it applies to Christians individually. It isn't a "soft" devotional, by that I mean it isn't one that makes you feel warm and good about yourself, and I appreciate that. Some of these teachings will clash with our sensibilities, but they are taken from Scripture so when that happens, it's because our sensibilities need correction.