J Dubya

30+ years of wedded bliss to @BaileyOGrady

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Zechariah part 2 of 2

This is why the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 becomes so significant. Many view that event merely as national tragedy. Biblically it was covenantal transition. The old Temple passed away because the true Temple had already come. The shadows gave way to the substance. The sacrifices ended because the Lamb had been offered. The earthly priesthood ended because the eternal High Priest now reigns. The old covenant administration reached its appointed end because the new covenant Kingdom had arrived in power. The Temple wasn’t destroyed because God abandoned His people. It was destroyed because God had fulfilled everything it pointed toward in Jesus the Christ.
Even Zechariah’s famous prophecy of the humble King reveals this transition.
“Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey.”
Zechariah 9:9 ESV
Most expected a political conqueror. Instead came a King riding a borrowed donkey. Not because He lacked power. But because His greatest victory would not be won over Rome.
It would be won over sin, death, Satan, and the curse itself. His crown would first be made of thorns before becoming one of everlasting glory.
Zechariah closes with a stunning vision.
“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.”
Zechariah 14:9 ESV
This is not a defeated King waiting for permission to reign. This is the victorious Christ whose Kingdom continues to expand through the preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, faithful discipleship, covenant families, and obedient churches. The same Spirit who empowered the rebuilding under Zerubbabel is the Spirit building Christ’s Church today. Stone by stone. Family by family.
Church by church. Nation by nation. Not by might. Not by political power. Not by human brilliance. But by the Spirit of the living God.
The true Temple has come. The true Priest sits upon the throne. The true King reigns over the nations. And every believer, united to Jesus the Christ by faith, has become a living stone in the glorious house that can never again be destroyed.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Zechariah part 1 of 2

Zechariah is not just a collection of strange visions and mysterious prophecies. Horses among myrtle trees. Flying scrolls. A woman in a basket. Four chariots. Golden lampstands. Crowns. Branches. These visions are telling one unified story…God was not merely rebuilding Jerusalem after exile. He was preparing the world for the arrival of Jesus the Christ. The Jews believed they were rebuilding a temple.
God was preparing a Kingdom.
After seventy years in Babylon, Israel returned to a city that hardly resembled the glorious kingdom of David and Solomon. The Temple was in ruins. The walls were broken. The people were discouraged. Everything appeared insignificant. Into this discouragement came God’s word.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6 ESV
He does not promise a stronger army. He does not promise political influence. He does not promise financial prosperity. He promises His Spirit.
From the beginning, God’s Kingdom has never advanced primarily through human strength. Pharaoh’s armies fell before Him. Jericho’s walls collapsed before Him. Goliath fell before Him. And eventually, Rome itself would bow before Him. Not by man’s strength. By God’s Spirit.
Then comes one of the greatest Messianic prophecies in all of Scripture.
“Behold, the man whose name is the Branch…it is he who shall build the temple of the Lord.”
Zechariah 6:12–13 ESV
At first glance this sounds like it refers to Zerubbabel. But it cannot. Zerubbabel helped rebuild the second temple. The Branch builds the Temple. The Hebrew word translated “Branch” (tsemach) had already become a title for the coming Messiah (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5).
Zechariah isn’t merely talking about construction. He’s talking about Jesus the Messiah
“It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
Zechariah 6:13 ESV
Under the Old Covenant the king came from Judah. The priest came from Levi. The offices remained separate. Yet Zechariah sees One who is both.
A King.
And a Priest.
Only Jesus the Christ fulfills both offices perfectly. He is David’s greater Son. He is our eternal High Priest. He reigns while simultaneously making intercession for His people.
What Temple does Jesus build? Certainly not Herod’s Temple. Jesus the Christ Himself said
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19 ESV
John immediately explains that He was speaking of His body. After His resurrection, that body expands. Paul declares,
“You are God’s building.”
1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV
Then,
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Peter agrees.
“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.”
1 Peter 2:5 ESV
The Temple Zechariah foresaw was never merely a building in Jerusalem. It was Christ Himself…and everyone united to Him.
Every believer.
Every local church.
Every covenant family.
Living stones joined together into one holy Temple.
The old Temple pointed forward.
Christ fulfilled it.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

@BaileyOGrady 🥰

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Hosea part 2 of 2

The entire Bible points to a wedding. It begins with Adam receiving his bride. It ends with Christ receiving His Bride. And right in the middle stands Hosea, a living prophecy demonstrating the kind of Husband God has always been.
Patient.
Faithful.
Long-suffering.
Pursuing.
Redeeming.
Loving the utterly undeserving.
The hero of the story is not Gomer finally becoming faithful. The hero is Hosea refusing to stop loving her. Likewise, our hope has never rested upon the strength of our grip on Christ.
It rests upon the strength of His grip on us. Every believer has moments of wandering. Every believer fights idols. Every believer has seasons where love grows cold. Yet our confidence is not in our covenant faithfulness.
It is in His.
Jesus the Messiah is the greater Hosea. He has never abandoned His Bride. He has never broken covenant. He has never failed to pursue those whom the Father has given Him. He is still seeking wandering sheep. Still calling prodigals home. Still washing sinners clean. Still redeeming those the world says are beyond hope. The story of Hosea is not merely ancient history. It is your testimony. It is my testimony. We were the unfaithful bride. He was and forever remains the faithful Bridegroom. The God whom we abandoned refused to abandon us.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Hosea part 1 of 2

“And the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods…’”Hosea 3:1 ESV

The human heart vs The immeasurable love of God. At first glance, Hosea appears to be the tragic account of a prophet whose wife continually betrays him. God commands Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman who would repeatedly commit adultery. She leaves him. She gives herself to other lovers. She chases anyone who promises satisfaction while abandoning the one who truly loves her. But the story is not really about Hosea and Gomer.
It is about God.
And it is about us.
We are Gomer.
We often imagine idolatry as bowing before statues of wood and stone, yet Scripture defines idolatry much more broadly. Every time we seek fulfillment apart from God, every time we trust ourselves more than Jesus the Christ, every time our hearts pursue comfort, pleasure, money, reputation, politics, relationships, or success above Him…we are walking away from our faithful Husband. Our adultery is rarely physical first. It begins in the heart. Israel continually abandoned Yahweh for Baal. We often abandon Him for subtler idols that fit comfortably into modern life. The names have changed, but the unfaithfulness has not.
Yet notice what God does. He does not immediately replace His bride. He pursues her.
After Gomer had sold herself into slavery, after she had become worthless in the eyes of the world. Hosea was commanded to go find her.
The woman who shattered his heart now stands on the auction block. She has nothing.
No dignity.
No future.
No value left in the eyes of society.
And Hosea does something no one expected. He buys back the woman who already belonged to him.
“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.”
Hosea 3:2 ESV
That is exactly what Jesus the Christ did. Humanity belonged to Him by creation. We abandoned Him through sin. We enslaved ourselves. We became spiritually bankrupt.
Yet instead of abandoning us, Christ entered the slave market of this fallen world and purchased His own Bride with something infinitely greater than silver and barley. He bought us with His own blood.
”…knowing that you were ransomed…not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ…”
1 Peter 1:18–19 ESV
Hosea paid silver. Jesus paid with His life. But the parallels go even deeper. Notice that Hosea never waited for Gomer to clean herself up before redeeming her. He redeemed her while she was still broken. Still disgraced. Still undeserving. That is the gospel.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 ESV
Our culture often says, “Get your life together, then come to God.” The gospel says, “Come to Christ because you never could.” Hosea also reminds us that salvation is not merely forgiveness. it is restoration. After redeeming Gomer, Hosea tells her that she will dwell with him and learn faithfulness again. This mirrors God’s covenant with His people. Jesus the Messiah does not simply forgive our sins and leave us where He found us. He sanctifies His Bride. He cleanses her. He transforms her. He prepares her for the great wedding feast.
”…that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing…” Ephesians 5:26–27 ESV

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

@BaileyOGrady @elonmusk 😭 losing the family antiques and baby albums still hurt

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Isaiah 53 Pt 2 of2…

“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied…” Isaiah 53:11 ESV
The Father is satisfied.
Justice is satisfied.
Wrath is satisfied.
The debt is satisfied.
Nothing remains to be paid.
There is no unfinished redemption waiting on human effort. Jesus the Christ accomplished exactly what He came to accomplish.
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong…” Isaiah 53:12 ESV
This is battlefield imagery. Victorious kings divide the spoils after defeating their enemies.
Christ’s victory came through apparent defeat.
The cross looked like Rome’s triumph. It was actually Christ’s coronation. The empty tomb announced that the true King now possessed all authority in heaven and on earth. The sacrifices of the Old Covenant pointed forward to it, and the Church now looks back to it every Lord’s Day as we gather around Christ’s Table. We do not come offering another sacrifice, we come proclaiming the once-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb who has already secured His people’s redemption. The Lion conquered because He became the Lamb. The crown came through the cross.
And because the Servant was crushed…
His people stand forever forgiven, justified, reconciled, and welcomed into the everlasting Kingdom of Christ the King.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Isaiah 53 Pt 1 of 2….

Isaiah 53:5 ESV
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah did not merely predict that a Messiah would come. He described how He would reign.
Israel expected a king who would overthrow Rome with a sword. God sent a King who overthrew death with a cross. The Lion conquered by first becoming the Lamb.
Isaiah begins by saying, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” Isaiah 53:1 ESV
That question echoes throughout history. Many wanted a Messiah who looked powerful. Very few wanted the Messiah God actually sent.
The Servant had “no form or majesty that we should look at him” Isaiah 53:2. He was not born into earthly luxury. He did not gather armies. He did not sit upon Caesar’s throne.
Instead…
“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3 ESV
The Creator entered His own creation…and His creation rejected Him. This rejection was not an accident. It was covenantal.
Throughout Israel’s history, the prophets had been rejected because they prosecuted God’s covenant lawsuit against His people. Jesus the Messiah became the final and greatest Prophet, and like those before Him, He too was rejected. Only this time the rejection reached its climax. The covenant breakers condemned the Covenant Keeper. Then Isaiah gives one of the greatest exchanges ever revealed in Scripture.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…” Isaiah 53:4 ESV
Our griefs.
Our sorrows.
Our transgressions.
Our iniquities.
Our punishment.
Yet, His suffering. This is substitution. Not merely an example of love. Not merely martyrdom. This is the innocent standing where the guilty deserved to stand. This is the Great High Priest becoming the sacrifice. Every lamb offered under the Old Covenant pointed here. Every drop of blood shed in the tabernacle anticipated this moment. Every sacrifice whispered, “Not yet.” Until Christ declared,
“It is finished.” John 19:30 ESV
Isaiah says,
“Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace…” Isaiah 53:5 ESV
Biblical peace is far more than inner calm. It is covenant reconciliation. Humanity had rebelled against its King. The King Himself stepped into history, absorbed the judgment His justice required, and established peace through His own blood. This is why Paul later writes,
“He himself is our peace…” Ephesians 2:14 ESV
Jesus did not merely bring peace. He is peace.
Isaiah continues,
“All we like sheep have gone astray…” Isaiah 53:6 ESV
No exceptions. Kings wander. Priests wander. Prophets wander. Rich wander. Poor wander.
Religious wander. Pagans wander.
Every one of us has attempted to become our own shepherd. Yet while sheep wandered…The Shepherd came looking. Jesus would later declare, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 ESV
Isaiah had already seen that Shepherd.
“Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter… he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7 ESV
Before Pilate…
Before Herod…
Before the Sanhedrin…
Jesus fulfilled these very words.
He possessed every right to call twelve legions of angels. Instead, the Judge allowed Himself to be judged. The Holy One accepted the sentence of the guilty. The King wore thorns before He wore many crowns.
“They made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death…” Isaiah 53:9 ESV
Executed among criminals. Buried in the tomb of a wealthy man. Centuries before Joseph of Arimathea ever existed, Isaiah described exactly how the Messiah’s burial would unfold.
Yet the cross was never the end.
“He shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days…” Isaiah 53:10 ESV
How can a dead Servant prolong His days? Because death could not hold Him.
Isaiah saw resurrection.
The Servant lives.
The sacrifice was accepted.
The curse was exhausted.
The grave was defeated.
Then comes the victory declaration.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

2 Corinthians 2:14–16 ESV
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Paul is painting a picture of believers marching beside Christ as victorious generals. He is drawing from the Roman triumph, a victory parade after a conquering king returned from battle.
The victorious general rode at the front. Behind him marched his soldiers, and often behind them came the defeated captives destined either for execution or slavery. Along the route, incense was burned in celebration. That same fragrance filled the entire city. Yet the smell meant two different things. To the victorious citizens, it smelled like peace, life, and celebration. To the condemned captives, it smelled like death.
The preaching of Jesus the Christ is exactly like that. The gospel never changes. Christ never changes. His Word never changes. What changes is the heart of the hearer. The same message that softens one heart hardens another. The same cross that becomes salvation for the believer becomes judgment for the unbeliever. This is exactly what the prophets foretold. Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah becoming both “a sanctuary and a stone of offense.” Jesus the Christ Himself said that He came not merely to bring peace but to divide households according to covenant loyalty.
Every sermon faithfully preached carries this double effect. When Jesus the Christ is proclaimed, there is never neutrality. People are either being drawn into life or confirming themselves in death. This also explains why the apostles never measured ministry by popularity. Noah preached for decades and only eight entered the ark. Jeremiah faithfully proclaimed God’s Word while being rejected by his own people. Jesus the Messiah fed thousands, yet many walked away when His teaching became difficult. Faithfulness has always been measured by obedience. Paul’s words also remind us of something often forgotten in modern Christianity…
Our lives themselves become part of that fragrance. People should “smell” Christ in our words, our marriages, our work ethic, our hospitality, our repentance, our forgiveness, and our joy. The Church is not merely called to proclaim Christ with her lips but to embody His kingdom before a watching world. Jesus the Christ reigns NOW. His kingdom is not retreating but advancing throughout history. Every Lord’s Day, the Church gathers around Word and Sacrament as citizens of that victorious kingdom. Then she is sent back into the world carrying the aroma of her conquering King into every job, every home, every neighborhood and every nation. Paul’s final question. “Who is sufficient for these things?”
None of us. No pastor, no elder, no father, no husband, no Christian.
Our sufficiency is never found in our eloquence or ability. It is found entirely in Christ the King, who conquered sin, death, and Satan through His cross and resurrection. The fragrance does not originate with us, it comes from Him. We simply carry it wherever His providence leads us.
Every conversation about Jesus the Messiah, every faithful act of obedience, every shared meal with fellow believers, every Scripture read around the family table, every baptism witnessed, and every Lord’s Supper received proclaims the triumph of the risen King. The world will smell that fragrance. Some will rejoice because they recognize the scent of life. Others will recoil because they recognize the approach of judgment. But either way, Christ is glorified. The Church has never been commissioned to manufacture results. She has been commissioned to faithfully carry the aroma of her victorious King until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of His glory.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

@MrLeadslinger I ALWAYS use my barrel to breach doors…

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

The two cities — part 2

Paul compares Sarah and Hagar. Sarah represents the covenant of promise. Hagar represents the covenant of bondage. Paul then makes a shocking statement.
“Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem…” Galatians 4:25 ESV
Earthly Jerusalem had become identified with bondage. The city that once represented God’s covenant blessings had become a Cain-city.
It possessed all the outward forms of religion while rejecting the Messiah. Paul then contrasts this with another Jerusalem.
“But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” Galatians 4:26 ESV
So there are two Jerusalems.
One earthly.
One heavenly.

One old covenant.
One new covenant.

One persecuting.
One persecuted.

One resembling Cain.
One resembling Abel.

Hebrews draws an amazing contrast between Abel and Jesus.
“…and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:24 ESV
Abel’s blood cried out for justice.
“The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10 ESV
Christ’s blood cries out for mercy.
Abel’s blood demanded judgment.
Christ’s blood secured redemption.
Yet both testify against covenant breakers.
This is why Jesus the Christ declared that all the righteous blood from Abel onward would come upon that generation.
“Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:36 ESV
The generation that murdered Christ filled up the measure of all previous covenant rebellion.
By the first century, Jerusalem possessed
the Temple, the Priesthood, the Sacrifices, the Festivals and the Scriptures. Yet she rejected her King. The city that should have welcomed her Messiah instead crucified Him.
Consequently, Revelation describes Jerusalem in shocking language.
“…where their Lord was crucified.” Revelation 11:8 ESV
Yet this same city is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt. Because she had become indistinguishable from God’s historic enemies.
Like Cain, she rejected God’s chosen Son.
Like Cain, she shed righteous blood.
Like Cain, she stood under judgment.
In A.D. 70, Jesus the Messiah came in covenant judgment against Jerusalem.
The Temple was destroyed.
The sacrificial system ended.
The priesthood ceased.
The old covenant age passed away.
This was not the end of God’s Kingdom, it was the vindication of Christ’s Kingdom.
The old covenant city fell. The New Covenant City remained. The New Jerusalem. The story that begins with Cain and Abel ends with the New Jerusalem. The final city is not built by man. It descends from God.
It is the Bride of Christ.
It is the Church.
It is the fulfillment of everything Abel’s faith anticipated. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…” Hebrews 12:22 ESV
The contrast is complete.
Cain builds his own city.
Christ builds His Church.
Cain sheds righteous blood.
Christ sheds redeeming blood.
Cain’s city falls.
Christ’s city endures forever.
Cain and Abel are far more than two brothers. They are the first picture of two covenant worlds. Cain represents man trusting in his own righteousness, his own works, his own kingdom, and ultimately rejecting God’s appointed sacrifice. Abel represents faith in God’s provision and trust in the coming Redeemer. The conflict begins in Genesis with two brothers. It culminates in the first century with two Jerusalems. One city kills the Son and falls under judgment. The other becomes the Bride of Christ and inherits the Kingdom.
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14 ESV

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

The two cities — part 1

Cain and Abel are not merely two brothers in an ancient story. They are prophetic symbols that establish a pattern running throughout all of Scripture, a pattern that ultimately culminates in the conflict between apostate Judaism and Jesus the Messiah. Immediately after the Fall, God promised that there would be perpetual warfare between two seeds.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.” Genesis 3:15 ESV
Cain and Abel become the first visible manifestation of these two lines. Abel represents the righteous seed. The line of faith, obedience, and trust in God’s provision. Cain represents the rebellious seed. The line of self-righteousness, unbelief, and man’s attempt to approach God on his own terms. Both brothers brought sacrifices, but only Abel approached God by faith.
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain…” Hebrews 11:4 ESV
The issue was never merely the type of offering. The issue was the heart behind it. Abel trusted God. Cain trusted himself. This becomes the central conflict of Scripture. Abel as a Type of Jesus the Christ. Abel was a shepherd, righteous before God, accepted by God, hated by his brother, murdered despite his innocence. These characteristics point directly to Jesus the Messiah.
“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 ESV
Like Abel, Christ was righteous.
Like Abel, Christ was accepted by the Father.
Like Abel, Christ was hated by those closest to Him.
Like Abel, Christ was murdered by jealous covenant brethren.
Jesus Himself connected His death to Abel’s.
“…so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah…” Matthew 23:35 ESV
Christ presents Abel as the first martyr in a long line of righteous sufferers that culminates in Himself. Cain as a Type of Apostate Israel. The New Testament repeatedly identifies unbelieving Israel with Cain.
“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.” 1 John 3:12 ESV
Cain murdered Abel because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. The Jewish leaders seek to kill Jesus the Christ because God accepted the Son and exposed their unbelief. Just as Cain became enraged when God’s favor rested upon Abel, the religious leaders became enraged when God’s favor rested upon Christ. Jesus the Messiah told them.
“You are of your father the devil…” John 8:44 ESV
The same serpent-seed principle that appears in Cain appears again in first-century Jerusalem. Though they possessed the temple, sacrifices, priesthood, and ceremonies, they rejected the One to whom all those things pointed. After murdering Abel, Cain immediately begins building a city.
“So Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.” Genesis 4:17 ESV
Cain is exiled from God’s presence and responds by building an earthly kingdom.
This becomes the prototype for the City of Man.
Throughout Scripture we see this same pattern…
Babel.
Egypt.
Sodom.
Tyre.
Babylon.
Apostate Jerusalem.
Ultimately the current state of Israel created in 1948.
Each becomes a city built upon human pride, human power, and resistance to God’s rule.
The Bible continually contrasts two cities.
The City of God and the City of Man. The faithful city and the rebellious city. The heavenly city and the earthly city. The New Testament brings this contrast into focus.
“For these women are two covenants.” Galatians 4:24 ESV

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Many of us have been taught to read Revelation primarily as a roadmap to the end of the physical world. Yet the book itself tells us something different from its opening verses.
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” Revelation 1:1 ESV
And again:
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 ESV
Throughout the book, Christ the King repeatedly declares that His coming judgment was near. “Behold, I am coming soon.” Revelation 22:7 ESV
Revelation is primarily a covenantal prophecy concerning the judgment of apostate Israel, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the passing away of the Old Covenant order that reached its climax in AD 70. It is not about the end of the cosmos, but about the end of an age…The age of shadows giving way to the age of fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. Just as the Lord judged Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Edom in the Old Testament, so Christ the King came in covenant judgment against Jerusalem, the city that rejected her Messiah and crucified the Lord of Glory. Revelation is therefore not first a book about fear. It is a book about victory. It is the unveiling of Jesus the Christ as the enthroned King of kings who reigns over history, judges His enemies, vindicates His Church, and establishes His kingdom throughout the earth. Years before John received this vision, Jesus the Messiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple:
“Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2 ESV
The disciples then asked…
“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3 ESV
Revelation serves as Christ’s expanded answer to that question. The book was written to seven real churches in Asia Minor that were facing persecution, temptation, and pressure from both the Roman Empire and unbelieving Judaism. These believers needed assurance that Christ the King was truly reigning even when circumstances seemed to suggest otherwise. The message to them was simple.
Remain faithful. Jesus the Christ reigns.
The Lamb sits upon the throne. Judgment is coming upon His enemies. The Kingdom of God will prevail.
John’s vision begins not with beasts or plagues, but with the risen and glorified Lord Jesus the Christ. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 ESV
John sees Christ clothed in priestly and kingly glory, walking among the lampstands that represent His churches. This is not a defeated Savior. This is not a King waiting to rule someday. This is Jesus the Messiah enthroned.
“the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” Revelation 1:5 ESV
The resurrection and ascension were not merely preparations for a future kingdom. They were the inauguration of His kingdom.
As Psalm 110 declares.
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Psalm 110:1 ESV
Revelation is the story of Christ the King’s enemies being progressively placed beneath His feet as His kingdom advances throughout history.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Revelation is not about the defeat of the Church. It IS about the vindication of the Church.
Revelation is not about Satan taking over the world. It IS about Christ the King inheriting the world.
Revelation is not about believers escaping history. It IS about Jesus the Messiah ruling history.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

Revelation Is a wedding story
Revelation is not about beasts, bowls, lamp stands and future apocalypse. It is actually about a marriage. The book begins with judgment upon the unfaithful bride. The book ends with the faithful bride descending from heaven.
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”Revelation 21:2 ESV
Old Jerusalem…Harlot.
New Jerusalem…Bride.
One is destroyed. One descends. One drinks wrath. One inherits glory.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

@dom_lucre Apostasy

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8 ESV
Most Christians speak often about Jesus the Christ forgiving sins…and rightly so. But we often forget that Christ the King came not merely to rescue individuals out of the world, He came to conquer the world. Many of us think Jesus the Messiah came only to save souls for heaven. But Scripture says something far larger. Jesus the Christ did not come merely to make salvation possible. He came as the victorious King. Through His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and present reign, He has begun the destruction of Satan’s kingdom. The devil’s works are not limited to personal sins. His works include rebellion, death, false religion, broken families, injustice, idolatry, and every attempt to overthrow God’s created order. Christ came to crush all of it. This is why the Church is not a retreat center waiting for evacuation. The Church is Christ’s advancing army. Every baptism is a declaration of conquest. Every Lord’s Day gathering is a covenant renewal before the throne of the reigning King. Every faithful family, every Christian school, every act of obedience, every proclamation of the Gospel is another blow against the kingdom of darkness.
The Cross was not Christ’s defeat. It was His victory. The Resurrection was not merely proof He lives. It was the announcement that the true King now reigns. The devil is fighting a losing war. Christ is enthroned. The nations belong to Him. The gates of hell are not advancing against the Church, the Church is advancing against them.
The Son of God appeared for this purpose…
To destroy the works of the devil.
And He is still doing it.
Every.
Single.
Day.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

“for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””
Ephesians 5:14 ESV
There was a time when I thought I was alive, but in reality I was only moving. I had plans, opinions, desires, and ambitions, yet spiritually I was asleep. That is the condition of every man apart from Jesus the Christ. Scripture does not describe the unbeliever as sick or merely misguided…it describes him as dead.
Paul’s command is striking. “Awake!” The call of the Gospel is not a suggestion to improve ourselves. It is a royal summons from the King of kings. Jesus the Messiah speaks into the tombs of dead sinners just as He spoke to Lazarus…“Come forth!”
Notice the order. We do not clean ourselves up so Christ the King will shine on us. We awake because He calls us. He commands us. We rise because His grace gives life. Then His light shines upon us. Salvation is not man climbing toward God, it is God raising dead men to life.
Yet this verse is not only for conversion. Christians can drift into spiritual slumber. We become comfortable with sin, distracted by entertainment, consumed by worldly concerns, and forgetful of our calling. The covenant people of God are continually called to wake up, repent, and walk in the light.
Awakening is not merely a private spiritual experience.
It affects our homes.
Our marriages.
Our work.
Our worship.
Our communities.
Our culture.
A man awakened by Jesus the Christ CANNOT remain the same husband, father, employee, citizen, or church member. The light of Jesus the Messiah exposes darkness and transforms everything it touches. The same Savior who exposes sin also forgives it. The same Lord who calls you from darkness welcomes you into His marvelous light.
So arise…
Leave the grave clothes behind. Refuse to return to the darkness Jesus the Christ delivered you from. Walk as a child of light, for the risen King has called your name.

Awake, O sleeper.
Christ is shining.

[J Dubya @Wade_OGrady]

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV
The most dangerous place for Satan in Oklahoma isn’t the Capitol Building. It’s not a political rally, not a protest and definitely not a social media argument. It’s a faithful church gathered around the Lord’s Table on the Lord’s Day. Every Sunday, ordinary Christians assemble in the presence of the risen King. They confess their sins. They hear God’s Word proclaimed. They sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. They baptize their children into the covenant. They partake of Christ’s covenant meal. They renew their allegiance to the King of kings. The world calls this weak. Heaven calls it warfare.
The enemies of Jesus the Christ do not tremble because Christians complain online. They tremble when Christian families worship faithfully week after week…
Year after year…
Generation after generation.
Empires rise and fall. Politicians come and go. Cultural trends fade like grass. But Jesus the Messiah is building His Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Want to change the world?
Start by showing up on the Lord’s Day.
Gather with God’s people.
Receive His gifts.
Worship the King.
The kingdom advances one faithful Lord’s Day at a time.

[Peter Leithart @PLeithart]

Jesus plunders the synagogue. Who does He get?

Jews who are looking for the kingdom, who are willing to leave their nets and risk all to follow a controversial Messiah, who are, eventually, ready to die for Him.

Who's left in the synagogue? The timid, don't not-rock-the-boaters, the powermongers.

This is an important dynamic for understanding the NT. The church battles with a depleted synagogue, whose attacks are all the more vicious and desperate for its being depleted.

The same happens at other times in church history, for good and ill. How many of the best and brightest Catholics moved into the Protestant camp?

-thanks to Jeff Meyers for sparking this line of thought.