Encore Post: When Christians think of the Herods, Herod the Great comes to mind first of all of them. He is, after all, the villain of the Christmas story. But the story of the Herods begins with his father, Antipater.
Antipater was an Idumean (Edomite; descendants of Esau) noble. When the Hasmonean rulers of Judah expanded into Edom, they forced them all into converting to Judaism. When the royal descendents fought over the throne, Antipater convinced Roman General Pompey to support Hyrcanus II. With Roman assistance, his prince won the dynastic conflict and reigned in Judea — now a Roman client state. Antipater sent his son to Rome to be educated and then put Herod over Galilee as governor and Herod’s brother over Judah. During Rome’s civil wars, Antipater first supported Pompey, then Caesar, who made him a Roman citizen, then Cassius. The result was to put Judea in the Roman orbit, but as self-ruling, prospering, and growing in size.
At his father’s death, Herod the Great assumed the throne of Judea and married into the Hasmonean family. He became a loyal supporter first of Marc Anthony, then Octavian (Augustus). He kept the peace in Roman fashion — with cruel, violent action. He was an avid builder, whose works enhanced the lives of his subjects, — Jew and Gentile. His unwavering support of Roma brought one advantage after another to Judea. His people both loved and loathed him. In his later years, he had to root out one plot after another, leading him to become quite paranoid about his throne. Convinced his wife Mariame and their sons plotted to kill him, he had them executed.
Hid greatest building accomplishment was to rebuild the Holy Temple into a wonder of the ancient world, beautiful and magnificent. God used him to prepare for his son with the bringing of Roman peace to Judea, improving its infrastructure, rebuilding the temple and by his killing of the infants of Bethlehem, propel the Holy Family to move to Egypt.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Note: This series of blog posts is available as a Kindle book and eventually as a print booklet at: Amazon.com: Preparation for the Gospel. Please note the author makes a small profit on the sale of this book.
Political discourse usually only makes it into our discussion circles when politicians ham-fistedly offer a theological soliloquy. This is one of those times. The politician is James Talarico, a Texas State House Representative of District 52: the Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto. And Georgetown areas of Williamson County.
James is a sitting representative since 2018 and an aspiring pastor, attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He expects to graduate with a MDiv in 2025. He’s active and preaches at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Austin (Politico). Considering that, his theological claims, which come from a mingled existence in the left and righthand kingdoms, are fair game for us to address.
Rep. Talarico recently gave a sermon at his home church, including this clip. (You can also listen here).
“Look around us. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would forgive student debt. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would guarantee health care to every single person. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would make sure every child in the state and in this country was housed, fed, clothed, educated, and insured. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would never make it a Christian nation because we know the table of fellowship is open to everybody including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors. Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy. But, love would never do that. The closest thing we have to the Kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy; where power is truly shared among all people; something that’s yet to exist in human history.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. Much of it is delivered in a shorthand of sorts. So, let’s examine the bits individually. These are predominantly strawman arguments. In the strawman logical fallacy, the arguer creates a position you do not hold and assigns the position to you. Then they proceed to attack you for a position you don’t hold. It’s an error. But, it’s best done and can be effective when the false position is near to or can easily be confused with your own actual position.
“If this was truly a Christian nation…”
It is well established that the Christianness of the US is diminishing rapidly. Have a look at the Pew Research article “Nones on the Rise” here. Both the percentage of self-described regular churchgoers and the number of attendances currently considered regular are falling. Most recently, self-described “regularly attending” church goers consider once a month or more regular attendance. Thirty years ago, people would not identify themselves as “regularly attending” at fewer than three times a month.
The Christian nature of the founding of the US is debatable. We are certainly the product of a Christian moral and ethical culture, as well as a Christian influenced legal system. While morality and legal fairness are fruits of Christianity, they are not the Christianity which produces them.
Look at Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Christian Scientists, and a host of other Christian adjacent heresies. These folks often make excellent neighbors. They are predominantly law-abiding patriots. But, their proximity to Christianity and the values thereby influenced don’t make them Christian. Only faith given by the Holy Spirit causes Christianity.
“We would forgive student debt.”
First, all debts are paid; either by the borrower or the lender. (James Grant) The concept of “debt forgiveness” is a misappropriation of the Christian doctrine of forgiveness. The forgiveness of sins is a free gift for us, received by grace through faith. Our debt was paid by Jesus’s suffering and death. Without His taking on the punishment, there is no forgiveness.
Forgiving a financial debt simply and only transfers the debt to the other party. Consider the commandments. “The Seventh Commandment—You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income” (Small Catechism 1.7).
Externally removing a debt from the borrower, without a court’s adjudication, is theft. The money borrowed has been spent; the school received and spent it. The lender here pays the debt. In the case of federally secured student debt, you are paying the debt. There is no such thing as government money. There are only taxes, collected and spent.
“We would guarantee health care to every single person.”
The discussion of debt forgiveness above applies here too. But, there is another issue at play. There are only three things that can affect the distribution of a limited supply, outstripped by demand. Price control, supply & demand valuation, or rationing. The claim about guaranteed health care also ignores the undeniable access everyone has to emergency medicine.
In the case of price controls, we run afoul of the commandments again. “The Fifth Commandment—You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need” (SC 1.5). This is where we understand the evil of slavery. We may not take the life of our neighbor expended in labor without just compensation. The justness of pay is determined by negotiation of the laborer and employer. When that fails, the laborer is free to leave, seeking better opportunities.
When price restrictions are placed universally on medicine, our government seeks to compel labor from medical professionals without just compensation. Without lateral options outside of the employer/laborer dynamic, this takes a form of slavery.
Rationing creates a need for an executioner. Someone has to decide who does or doesn’t receive the limited supply of care. Or, someone has to schedule the limited supply of care so far in the future as to be useless. This is a fifth commandment problem again.
“We would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors.”
Rep. Talarico speaks from a true antinomian* viewpoint. He is speaking in the shorthand of his tradition to demand acceptance and glorification of the LGBTQ lifestyle. Antinomianism isn’t actually against the Law in function. It rejects God’s law and replaces it with a new law. The law of acceptance takes the place of the ten commandments. This new law doesn’t have an atoning savior. You must atone for your sins against “acceptance” for yourself.
(*Antinomianism–a teaching that rejects the Law of God entirely from the lives of Christians. Antinomian, the term is derived from the Latin prefix: “anti-” meaning against and the Greek word: “nomos” meaning the Law. The error pops-up often in Christianity. Antinomians must also reject the concepts of sin and guilt. “What shall we say, then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). St. Paul was speaking against this sort of thing.)
As we’ve heard many other times, that isn’t love. In love, we can never encourage our neighbor in sin. True godly love seeks to warn our neighbor of the danger of their sin. Love is kind, but love doesn’t leave our neighbor to perish in transgression.
“We would make sure every child in the state and in this country was housed, fed, clothed, educated, and insured.”
James Talarico is covering over the state’s wicked role in harming children by ignoring the decalogue. “The Sixth Commandment—You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.
Our rulers have and continue to build a society that encourages divorce and single parenthood. This causes great harm. Children in fatherless homes are four times more likely to end up in poverty (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Children’s Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2011, Table C8. Washington D.C.: 2011). The situation of poverty among children would be mitigated best by encouraging and rewarding marriage and child rearing within that estate. Discouraging divorce would follow behind as a close second.
“We would never make it a Christian nation because we know the table of fellowship is open to everybody, including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors. Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy. But love would never do that.”
James is erroneously attributing Christian Nationalism to a non-specified group, intended to include all Christians. There simply aren’t these people in the US, or at least not in sufficient number to change anything. A Christian morality isn’t the same as Christianity. But, we spook at the accusation of Christian Nationalism. This isn’t an accident.
He is also speaking theologically from his Presbyterian position on fellowship in the Lord’s Supper. On the contrary, the table of fellowship is closed in the growing orthodox Christian traditions. We want folks to join fellowship and be catechized. But, the Lord tells us of the harm to unbelievers and those not instructed.
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22). “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:27).
“The closest thing we have to the Kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy; where power is truly shared among all people; something that’s yet to exist in human history.”
This side of the resurrection, we will never see that perfection. That perfection can only be perfect and perfected in Christ Jesus. Humorously, Ronald Reagan said, “Communism [Socialism/Marxism/Progressivism] only works in two places: Heaven where they don’t need it and hell where they already have it.” The Lord promised us a share in this salvation. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:27-29).
In the resurrection, we have a promise so much greater than the false flag of divisive multiculturalism. We have a promise of no nation, race, language, or culture. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). In the resurrection, all the divisions caused by sin’s corruption will be wiped away. We will be one again, praising with one voice, tireless and free from the corruption of sin.
All are one in Christ,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar – Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: The people of Judah had returned from exile in Babylon. Through the Persian ruler Cyrus, the people had resettled in the promised land. They rebuilt the temple — although not nearly to the glory of Solomon’s Temple. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem — and their lives. And then the people felt forgotten and isolated, a small province of a foreign empire — vast and worldwide. God sent the prophet Malachi. His name means Messenger, Angel.
Malachi assured Judah of God’s love, called on them to repent — especially the priests. He then lifted their eyes to look towards the future. He would send another Malachi — a messenger — Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord. He would turn their hearts to each other, so that the Lord would not need to destroy them completely. With that, the voice of the prophets fall silent. It would be at least four hundred years before God would again speak through a prophet.
The people would not forget this time. They would bring together all the prophecies and types of the Messiah and his Malachi — Messenger. They came to look for an earthly kingdom and the day of the Lord. And so they missed the return of the Prophets — a Son of Levi and David — a second Zechariah and his son, the last and greatest prophet. But that is another story!
While God was silent, he was not absent or idle. In the time of between the testaments, God began to prepare the ground for his prophets — and for his Son. The next few posts will go into the ways he did this.
Encore Post: A prophet is someone who speaks for God. In the Old Testament, God called many individuals to serve as His voice among the people of Israel. While we think of a prophet as someone who predicts the future, mostly a prophet preached to God’s people, calling them to repentance and bringing a word of comfort to them. Once in a long while, a few prophets would see into the future and tell God’s people what God was going to do.
The Messiah would be a descendant of Eve, whom Satan would kill, but who would defeat Satan. (Genesis 3:15) He would be born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). The Messiah would be a descendant of David and called God. (Isaiah 9:6-6) He would be crucified as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53:4-12)
As important as the prophets were, Jesus is the greater than all of them. He was a prophet like Moses. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) The writer of Hebrews tells us that “in many and various ways, God spoke in ancient times through the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” Prophets spoke the word of God, but Jesus was the Word of God. When we hear Jesus, we hear the Father, when we see Jesus, we see the Father. When we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus.
Encore post: The Book of Esther is unique — it does not use the name of God, speak of prayer, worship or other spiritual topics. Many have questioned its place in the Bible because of that. Both church and synagogue have seen God’s hand in the events of the book and so have accepted it as scripture. The book explains how the feast of Purim was established.
Like Jews — and many others — in ancient times, Mordecai and Esther both have two names — “gentile” names, assigned by their captives and Hebrew names — given by their parents. Mordecai means “servant of Marduk” after the Babylonian god and Esther is the Persian version of the name of the goddess Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. The Bible does not mention Mordecai’s Hebrew name. Esther’s Hebrew name, Hadassah, means “myrtle.”
Considering the fate of the queen before her, Esther showed great courage. When her political skills put to the test, she manages to save the Jewish people from their enemies. More than that, her influence resulted in the king’s favor to the Jewish people. Not long after the episodes of the book, Ezra left for Jerusalem.
In the years that followed, Mordecai served as vice-king of the greatest empire to that time. Many Jews were given positions of power and influence. The king was so pleased with their service that he would allow the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and allowed them to govern themselves as long as he reigned.
Encore post: Daniel lived a long and remarkable life. As a young man, he was carried off into exile by the Babylonians. Because he showed remarkable leadership skills, King Nebuchadnezzar brought him into the court. He lived a long life in the service of Babylon, living until the Persians conquered the empire. He continued to serve the Persians.
Daniel was an honorable official and fell victim to politics in the top ranks of the Persian Empire. His enemies got a law passed that Daniel could not keep. (Daniel 6) The law required that no one pray to any god other than the king for thirty days. Even though he knew the law, Daniel continued his custom of praying three times a day, facing Jerusalem, giving thanks to God. His enemies turned him in to King Darius, who, even though he was Daniel’s friend and didn’t want to condemn him, ordered him thrown to the lions.
Being above reproach, Daniel did not respond as many politicians in his day and those in government even to this day. He did not retaliate, but allowed his innocence to speak for him. Having been thrown to the lions, God rewarded Daniel’s trust and faithfulness by sending an angel to protect his servant. When the king saw Daniel was still alive, he restored Daniel and had his enemies thrown to the lions.
Daniel has become a model for civil service for Christians. His example of faith was praised by the writer of the book of Hebrews, along with his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He shows us the way to love God and serve our nation as well.
Encore Post: Ancient peoples looked upon their leaders as lesser gods, worthy of worship. They built statues to honor themselves and required all people to worship them. This practice continued even in Roman times to the pagan Caesars. It was seen as a patriotic act, similar to saying the pledge of allegiance and saluting the flag. From time to time, kings would enforce public worship of their statues or the statues of their gods to test the loyalty of their subjects.
For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, loyalty to God was more important than life itself. They trusted God could deliver them and placed full trust in Him. Yet they were prepared for God to take them to His side instead. God sent his Son as the Angel of the Lord to protect His servants in the fire. The writer of the book of Hebrews included these men in the great chapter on faith. (Hebrews 11:32-34) Christian martyrs throughout the centuries looked up to these men for inspiration when called to choose between God and country.
Faith is trusting God to keep his promises. It holds on to the fact that God kept the most important of his promises to his people in the Old Testament. In the person of the Son of God, he became a man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life for us, suffered and died at the hands of a pagan government, rose again from the grave and ascended to heaven. Because he has done these things, we are certain that he will keep the rest of his promises — to bring us to be with him forever when we die and raise us from the grave on the last day. It is that faith that sustained Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, their friend Daniel, all the martyrs for the faith who obeyed God rather than man. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.
Encore post: King Josiah was unique. He was king at age eight. He loved the Lord and vowed to keep God’s covenant with Judah when he began his reign. Few of his royal ancestors were faithful to God and His law, most of them worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. His grandfather Manesseh was among the worst, sacrificing his own sons on their altars. His father continued the pattern, letting the temple fall into disrepair, placing idols within its walls, encouraging the people to practice the religion of their neighbors.
During these evil years, it appears that the priests removed the scrolls containing the Book of Deuteronomy from the open areas of the temple and hid them in the storerooms nearby. King Josiah ordered the temple renovated and placed the High Priest in charge. As they were cleaning and repairing the building, the priests rediscovered it.
When King Josiah heard the words of this book read, he reacted with great sorrow. He realized that God’s people had wandered far from the Lord and spent the rest of his life destroying the false gods of Canaan and calling God’s people to serve their Lord. Josiah remains an example of how a devout leader can live to serve God and His people.
Encore Post: Prior to King Josiah, there was another king who followed in the commandments of of the Lord. His name was Hezekiah. His story is covered in 2 Kings 18-20. There, the author of Kings tells us that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, cutting down the Asherah poles. He recognized the idolatry which ran rampant among the people. Judah was actually bowing down before the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness! Hezekiah broke it into pieces. He was zealous for proper worship of the Lord.
The Rabeshakeh, that is a spokesman for the king of Assyria, spoke to Hezekiah, telling him that no god had saved the other surrounding countries. So, would Hezekiah’s God save Judah? The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, speaks of himself as a god, able to give a land that is good as if not better than what God had promised to the people of Israel way back in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to the people as they were coming into the Promised Land.
Hezekiah, though afraid of the impending doom for Jerusalem, does what a faithful Christian ought to do in time of distress. He spoke with Lord’s servant Isaiah and inquires of the Lord with prayer. God has been mocked in the speech of Sennachrib, and Hezekiah pleads that God hears it. He does and gives peace to Hezekiah, promising that Sennachrib will die by the sword in his own land.
We learn from Hezekiah to rely on God alone when we are in distress as well as times of plenty. Isaiah the prophet and this story of Jerusalem being under siege tells us to rely on God, who gives us our daily bread. For he also gives us the blessed forgiveness of sins in the saving work of Jesus on the cross who took upon the siege of the devil at the cross and won for us the true promised land, the promise of the new heaven and new earth that is to come.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana
Encore Post: Every year, Jewish people celebrate Passover. This festival remembers the time when God freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and led them through the Red Sea to safety. It remembers the night when God commanded their ancestors to sacrifice a lamb, place its blood on their doorposts, roast and eat the lamb with unleavened bread and prepare to leave Egypt. That evening, God sent the Angel of Death through the land to kill the firstborn son of every Egyptian from the Pharaoh to the lowest slave. When the Angel saw the blood on a doorpost, he passed over the home.
When the father of King Hezekiah died and he became king of Judah, he resolved to restore the worship of God according to the traditions of his ancestors David and Solomon. (2 Chronicles 29-30) His father had neglected the worship of God and allowed the people to worship the gods of other nations. King Hezekiah ordered the priests and Levites to perform the rituals commanded by Moses to make themselves holy, to cleanse the temple and make it holy according to the rules set down by Moses, Solomon and David. He ordered a large scale sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people and restore regular prayers and sacrifices there. Because the priests were caught by surprise by this, not enough of them were ready.
Eager to celebrate Passover again, Hezekiah and the people decided to celebrate it late — in the second month rather than the first (April into May) They invited everyone in Israel, including the survivors of the invasion of Assyria in the conquered northern kingdom of Israel. They people celebrated so joyfully, they decided to extend it to a second week.
For Christians, Jesus is the Passover Lamb, whose blood saves us from eternal death. In the Lord’s Supper, He gives us His body with the bread and blood with the wine. In it we receive the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. So we celebrate it with joy, because God set us free.
