Dear family, brethren, and friends,

On Thursday, the 14^th, Jack Jaco took me to the airport at Bacolod City, Negros Occidental to fly to Manila and then on to another flight to Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur.  I had to recheck my suitcase in Manila, but it was nowhere to be found.  Finally, they found it and I had to check in, go through security, and get to the gate ASAP.  About five minutes after I arrived, the boarding started.  So, again, all is well that ends well.  Alvin Miguel met me and helped me get settled in at the hotel.  Since I got to bed a little past 1:00 A.M. last night, I am ready to get a good night’s rest and start tomorrow’s lectures. 

It is a privilege to work with Alvin Miguel and the other saints here in Zambogana City.  A two-day lectureship on began on Friday covering the book of Revelation in a function room near my hotel.  The brethren do not have a meeting house which can accommodate us and 74 attended this first day.  We studied an introduction and the first 11 chapters in four sessions today, followed by an open forum.  Our audience includes all age groups of men and women, and they could not have been more attentive.  Some commented this is the first time in their life to hear such lessons on this book.

The open forum generated 13 questions.  Someone asked how we identify what passages use literal language and which passages use symbolic language.  The answer is by constant study of the context.  First, we learn by the study of Old Testament prophets that there are books and sections of Scripture written in a special style called apocalyptic language, passages foretelling God’s judgments against nations in highly symbolic terms.  Second, we recognize that John is definitely writing in that style.  Third, John tells us in the first verses that he is using symbolic language recording visions, not describing literal people, things, and events.  

Someone asked what promise in the book gives the most hope in times of hardship and persecution.  I believe the answer is the very theme of the book, well expressed in chapter 5:11-12 where myriads of angels loudly proclaim praise to the Lamb of God as worthy because he is the victorious Christ.  We have nothing to fear because Christ has already won the victory, and we are standing with the victorious Christ.  He has already demonstrated his power to defeat Satan, sin, and death.  We can put our total trust in him in spite of all trials and hardships.

Our study of God’s people overcoming persecution and trials led someone to ask about the meaning of Romans 8:28 where all things work together for good to them that love the Lord.  Does this mean that in some way bad things are good?  No, evil is always evil and should never be interpreted as good.  Reading verse 28-30 clarifies the meaning that God rules and overrules all things to fulfill His perfect plan of redemption.  In order to accomplish this, He does not consider or treat bad things as good, but He overrules the bad effect of the evil we suffer in a way that always advances the plan for our final redemption in heaven.

Do the seven churches of Asia still exist and follow the truth?  No, the ruins of the cities can be visited, but the congregations are long gone.  The harvest of souls keeps moving from place to place.  Congregations finally die for a variety of reasons, but the torch of truth is passed on from one generation to another.  

The Saturday sessions were attended by 94 very attentive souls as we completed Revelation chapters 12-22.  It is a blessing to study in an air-conditioned environment so that the teacher and the audience do not suffer so much from the heat.  But, it is still a challenge for me to be on my feet teaching for five hours and for the listeners to keep focused during such a period of study.  We take short breaks between the lessons, but at the end of the day we go straight from the last study into the open forum to maximize our time.

Our open forum lasted about an hour and a half covering a wide range of issues, mostly pertaining to Revelation.  Although we discussed Revelation 13:15-18 in the class, someone asked if is possible some kind of computer chip will be the mark of the beast.  The passage is referring to events in their time, not our time.  The number 666 is “the number of a man,” according to the passage itself.  The man is the emperor who demands to be worshiped as a God, and the mark simply means the people who worship him are identified and recognized as worshipers of the emperor. 666 identifies him purely as a man, nothing more.  One likely explanation is the fact that the number seven is used in this book and in the Bible generally, repeatedly, to refer to that which is divine, but the emperor is no more than 6, and again 6, and again 6 – he is not and cannot be 7, divine.

Does Revelation 22:18-19 forbid changing only the book of Revelation or does it apply to all Scripture?  John is specifically referring to the book of Revelation, but he is simply repeating by divine inspiration a warning given many times and many ways in both the Old and New Testaments.  Man has no right or authority to change God’s revealed Word.  To do so is to defy God and to incur the wrath of God.  Therefore, the principle John repeated here applies to adding to or taking away from any part of divinely revealed truth in Scripture.  

On the Lord’s Day, 114 souls gathered for the worship service and all-day lectureship.  Two sermons this morning showed that “Premillennialism Undermines the One Hope” and two sermons in the afternoon addressed “Judgment by Christ:  Jerusalem, and All Men” (a verse-by-verse study of Matt. 23:34-25:46).  It is important to clarify that Matthew 24 teaches nothing that advances premillennialism.  It discussed the destruction of Jerusalem down through 24:35 and discussed the second coming of Christ in 24:36-25:46, but there is nothing advancing the premillennial agenda in the chapter.

The open forum received 16 questions and continued for an hour.  A question asked for clarification about the terms premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial.  Premillennial means Christ will come back to earth before (“pre”)  initiating a 1,000-year earthly kingdom.  Postmillennial means Christ’s 1,000-year earthly kingdom will occur while he is still in heaven, but at the end of the 1,000 years he will return to earth to bring his people to heaven (“post” meaning after the 1,000 years).  The letter “a” is a privative or a negative, and when attached as a prefix to millennial, it means not millennial or not believing there will be a 1,000-year earthly kingdom of Christ.  The 1,000 years in Revelation 20:1-4 is a figurative expression for a complete, perfect, and total victory over the Roman Empire, expressed in a vision which is recorded in apocalyptic language (highly figurative language used by Old Testament prophets describing God’s judgment against nations).  

Do the end of the world, the resurrection of the dead, and the final Judgment all occur on the same day?  Yes, John 5:28-29 and other passages teach this clearly. 

If a Christian loses his devotion to Christ, can he be restored to Christ and to the hope of eternal salvation?   Yes, the seven letters to the churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 repeatedly call on saints who have erred in various ways to repent so that Christ will receive and reward them. 

If reference is made to “conservative” and “liberal” brethren, does it mean we are promoting division?  It is possible to use such terms in ways that are not accurate and are abusive, but they may also be used as purely descriptive terms indicating the attitude of a person toward Bible authority.  A conservative attitude tries to adhere strictly to the things authorized by Christ in the New Testament, not adding anything and not subtracting anything (Rev. 22:18-19).  A liberal attitude finds rationales to teach and practice things not authorized because they seem to be more effective or more efficient than what is found in the New Testament.  

For instance, the New Testament clearly authorizes singing in worship.  The conservative attitude adheres to that revelation.  The liberal attitude believes instrumental music enhances the worship, even if no passage directly authorizes it.  

The New Testament authorizes local churches to conduct evangelism, worship, and benevolence to saints who suffer emergency needs.  The conservative attitude strictly adheres to that revelation.  The liberal attitude expands local church work to include such things as social and recreational activities, donating funds to human institutions which offer social welfare services, and distributing benevolence to people who are not Christians.  This also includes creating centralized programs of work in evangelism and benevolence through the sponsoring church arrangement (a big city church gathers donations from other congregations and oversees the funds for evangelism and benevolence programs on behalf of the donor churches).

The Bible ground is the unity ground (Jn. 17:17-21).  Introducing practices not authorized by the New Testament creates wedges of division.  Recognizing the different attitudes driving such division is not the cause of division.  The cause of division is the unauthorized practice, and the underlying liberal attitude.  Eliminating the practice and changing the attitude which cause division restore unity on the Bible ground. 

This is my fourth visit to this region and third time in recent years, and it is a joy to work with these saints!  If God extends my life and health, I hope to join hands with them again in the future.

The moon is in its Waning Crescent phase now, but I have not been able to find it.  Thanks to all who keep an eye out for it because I will catch up with it sooner or later, and it always reminds me that our hearts are in touch with each other even when we cannot be together physically.