It seems appropriate to review the purposes of this blog as a community, including both contributors and readers. This is still the beginning of what will prove to be an important year, and it is my personal desire that this place will continue to grow and see a renewed fire in the hearts of those touched by it, a fire that will give them the energy to interact with the Kingdom in the spirit of children of God.
This blog was begun by Jess, who retired from running and contributing to it. I am sure all of us who had any contact with her are grateful to her for founding this place and consistently exercising a spirit of charity and truthfulness. Her departure was a sad moment – but we all wished her well in her new focus and endeavours.
Chalcedon took over management of the blog from Jess, and he still maintains control. Owing to the busy nature of his work, he is unable to write here as frequently as in times past. Consequently, the day-to-day job of providing posts has been spread among other contributors. While we are not always able to have a daily post, owing to our own personal duties and commitments, we have tried to post frequently here. I give thanks to Scoop and NEO for the parts they have played in supplying this blog with posts and interesting discussion.
It seems to me, however, that we are due for a reassessment of the purpose(s) of this blog: what it is for and how we can better serve the Kingdom in this virtual place. Much of the material on this blog has been concerned with secular politics, politics within the Church, and the interaction between the Church and the world. We have looked at Church history, and at important contributors to Church theology. We have also been quite personal at times, growing as a community and occasionally discussing our personal devotional lives and moral struggles. The love and companionship of this place is found not only in our discussions, but also in our private prayer lives, and I am personally thankful to all of you who have prayed for me, whether about career changes, identity issues, or my broader walk with the Lord. These things are all good, and should not cease – but perhaps we need to seek some clarity of purpose.
This blog has a varied audience, which is why, as a Christian blog, it ought to serve a range of purposes. For non-Christians, it ought to present the Good News about Jesus Christ in a simple, clear format and, if possible, recommend next steps and resources for people who want to find out more or who decide to follow Jesus. Without the permissions to edit the layout of the blog, my way forward on this point is limited for the time being. Ideally, I would like to place some appropriate tabs in the top banner and side bars to meet the needs of this audience.
As for those who are Christians, the pressing needs of these end times require us to focus on certain matters in our efforts to prepare for the return of our Lord. There will necessarily be an overlap between the needs of this audience and those of the former, because the return of Christ is part of the Good News. In particular, the following matters weigh on my heart, and I hope that some of the contributors and readers feel the same way.
- It would by good to explain why this world must end and the reign of Christ begin.
- We need to get more specific about how a righteous government under Christ would look in comparison with how the world is governed today (economics, etc put in the context of morality).
- We need to go deeper in unity, looking more and more at why and how Christians from different denominations can love each other and rally around Christ as our focal point.
- The question of whether all believers will get to participate in the millennial reign of Christ ought to be discussed: if it is contingent upon our maturity, then the discussion of our growth and sanctification becomes pressing.
- The return of Christ is closer than many – perhaps most – in the Church realise. In order to prepare for this in faith, we must first wholeheartedly accept this proposition, on the basis of Scripture, observation, and revelation.
Lastly, it is my desire that this place would become a fellowship where our individual gifts and talents can be put to greater use. As a non-physical gathering, it will not be a forum for some kinds of activity, but I believe we can seek the Lord in prayer for how this principle from 1 Corinthians can be implemented here, and we can pray for each other and email each other regarding the use of our abilities out there in the “real world”. I do believe the kind of supplementary fellowship we have here can strengthen our contributions to our local church communities.
God bless and look up – for your redemption draws near.
All Along the Watchtower 
Although I do not personally expend the same energy or thought to ‘eschatology’, for knowing the day or the hour was not for us to know per Christ Himself. Also, in understanding the prophecies and writings such as found in Revelation one finds a multitude of other factors which depict things that are already a reality: the liturgical and ritual descriptions in Revelation come to mind as things to ponder as well.
Now as to what theologians will prove to be right seems to me a guessing game at best and that I do not play; though please do not take this as a criticism for those who find such things their primary focus. We all have a hierarchy of focus on some aspects of our beliefs.
As to the ‘end times’ anything, it seems to me goes: a coronal explosion from the sun, war, an asteroid a movement of our axis and or orbit closer to the sun and the list could be rather long indeed. So my focus is more of the fact that also neither know the time, the day or the hour that our lives might be required; by war, criminal attack, health issues, accidents or foolhardiness. I may this very day stand at my personal judgement and for me that is motivation enough to try to follow the King and do His Will to the best of my ability. God will take care, in my thinking, to choose the most propitious time for the end of human history; a time when all those have been born who are written into the Book of Life and a time that will draw the optimum of people to Him. The economy of salvation is controlled by His Majesty and He will not make a mistake in when, where or how the end will come to our time of trial and testing. If He loved us to the point where He would have died upon the Cross for even one of His creatures then His mercy, far above human mercy will show forth His Glory and will Bring Glory to God the Father in a most perfect way.
I guess that if each contributor here were to make a list of bullet points about what we would like the conversations to truly be, they would all be different and I’m not so sure that it is a bad thing that we do not have a ‘plan’ or ‘specific’ goal or direction. For, like with conversations with friends, I like the ramblings of various topics and points of theology that spontaneously arise between persons . . . for they are all different and we have differing views on many and at times a common understanding. Still more interesting is when the rational argument of one person overwhelms another and they too admit that perhaps they will have to rethink their understanding.
But all in all, as I’ve mentioned before, we get to know one another at a level that is not afforded anywhere else except in personal face-to-face conversations which is quite impossible on the internet. This seems to me to be the best that we can do. But that is up to the general feelings and wants of those who come here to write, comment or simply read.
I wish the readers would drop us a line and tell us why they do not wish to comment or if there were a format that would draw them in to do so. It might be helpful to some extent. They also can ask permission to publish here as well. Chalcedon has always been open to new authors and its been awhile since we gained a new one.
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Much here that I agree with. I would appreciate comments from readers that would help us know how best to serve them.
Re: the end times, there is much that I believe we cannot be sure of until we see it happen. But there are a few things that are “signposts” and I believe it is our duty to know this so that: (A) we can warn people beforehand; and (B) we can explain things to people when they ask.
I have recently been burdened with the millennial issue. It is something that had been on my mind for some time, but then I came across via a friend a ministry that was saying things I also felt and I had a kind of “resonating moment”. Not a vision (I do not have those, though I do have dreams), but sufficient experience for me to understand God had “put it on my heart”. My view on this is that, as you say, we each have our individual judgments, but corporately God is preparing us to receive the Kingdom (Daniel 7), and we cannot be entirely passive about that. There is an active side to that, a co-operation, we must take part in, just as we individually co-operate with God in general terms by obeying His commands.
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I totally agree with that Nick, but see that from God’s first interaction with men until the present these signposts have never ceased. The signs of the times are important and every age has had its signs. As expected as time moves ever closer to the conclusion the signs may be more obvious and the reactions of men who see them more oblivious to finding them helpful. Our new scientistic world has an explanation for everything it seems . . . or they want us to believe. Our new ‘freedom’ superior to God’s freedom and our belief in God is often just a sense of some random order that developed in our universe: a cosmic mind of sorts.
So when love and explanations and appealing to the world to raise their eyes to heaven have no effect, then the converse is often what follows. Many conversions occur through fear of dying. The battlefields of wars have also been great signs of grace and conversion. As they used to say, their are no atheists in a foxhole.
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I guess I’m concerned by the fact that in the UK society is largely unchurched now (unlike in the US), and most mainstream churches do not have a good track record on preaching the return of Christ. So, at least here, society is in for a shock as certain things begin to unfold. Hollywood doesn’t help either because a lot of films and popular usage of words like “apocalyptic” fall hopelessly short of explaining things. I don’t even mean complex things – they get basic stuff wrong (or depart from it in order to make a plot work etc).
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Its happening here as well. I guess we just keep moving forward and keep raising families that believe. In fact, that is probably the best thing we can do; i.e. families. For the non-believers don’t want children as they are too demanding and financially inconvenient . . . or they are worried that we are overpopulating the world. So they are disappearing and will not be replaced . . . except by groups like the Muslims and other pagan religions. Hopefully, Christians will hear the clarion call to be fruitful and multiply as a means to re-evangelize the world.
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Most excellent points Nicholas and I’d ask readers to bear with my hasty remarks as my ‘free’ time is spasmodic in view of online and home priorities. This week I’ve taken more notice of what’s happening here – or not, and should be because of the site’s name!! Will try to be succinct.:
My contact with the Catholic world has been irregular but I was blessed in 90’s, soon after coming to Christ, to associate with an interdenominational prayer group for healing based in the mid-Thames Valley area. It had been formed by charismatic RCs and was where I was baptised in the Spirit, observed Jesus touching folk and became operative in the Spirit’s giftings.
Hence, my surprise after suggesting that you and Scoop seek and ask Jesus for His mind on your discussions that my point was missed. I presumed professing disciples hear the voice of their master!
He put in mind a couple of verses as being appropriate for your work:
“No-one, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62)
“I (emphasis ‘I’) I will build My Church (upon Me, the Rock) and the ‘gates’ of hell shall not prevail against it.”
I’d add that being open to what He’s doing across His Church enables one to discern what He’s about to do in these end-times. Remember it is written: ‘Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servant the prophets’ (Amos 3:7)
Hope this may help in some small way…
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Those verses…should we be taking from them that we must press on, but also trust that it is Christ who is our strength and doing the building? Is the idea that if we obey he will take care of the rest – so we shouldn’t worry about what everyone else is doing, just focus on Him?
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Yes to both, PLUS learning and testing what accredited prophetical voices who are well-versed in scripture are hearing and bringing from the Lord. And obedience brings the indwelling of Father and Son into our lives, per John 14:21-24.
If we fail to use what we’ve received, to apply Holy Spirit’s gifts and bear His fruit then Jesus will take us to task, as in the parable of the minas in Luke 19.
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As some of you know, I haven’t been as active here as I would wish. Since I write about both Britain and the US, the parallel battles of Brexit and the Trump administration take an incredible amount of my time to stay current, and so, I find little time to do more than my blog. That certainly doesn’t mean I don’t read here, or think about it. I don’t write much about them here, since the goal here is different and more important, and Nicholas and Scoop cover it admirably.
One of the things that I have always liked here is that while we all come from different churches, we are all pretty orthodox, and therefore we are quite good at ecumenism without irenicism. It’s a narrow path and for the most part, we have trod it well, I think.
I tend to fall back on what Jess set as our course, as she said here:
“It is a mark of much contemporary Christian thought that, whilst it searches for new ways to find that unity which Christ commanded, it often ignores the example left us by the Fathers. The great struggle over Arianism led, as all heresy leads, to a need to define more closely that which the orthodox had taken for granted. At Nicaea, and across the next century, the early Church hammered out the definitive statement of orthodoxy – the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
It has been said that what divides orthodox Christians are disputes over the idea of the developing understanding of the Faith ‘once given’ (Jude 1:3). With its Magisterium, the Catholic Church has a secure interpreter of whether a developed understanding is or is not orthodox; this is difficult for others. The Orthodox lack their Newman and have no agreed position on the idea that the Spirit guides the Church to an ever deeper understanding of the Infinite Mystery of the Faith; they accept it, by default, in the early Church; they do not say how it manifests itself now. Anglicans rest on the rickety stool of reason, scripture and tradition, whilst Protestants have variations on that theme; but no one voice speaks with authority which binds others.”
From here: https://jessicahof.blog/2012/05/17/ecumenism/
We’ve been doing that, along with all of what Nicholas limned in the article for almost 6 years now, and I think it an important mission. In fact, as far as I’ve found, we are the only blog to have successfully done it for more than a very short period. All of us who contribute, and I suspect many of our readers as well, read blogs from our various churches, and that is great, much is applicable to us all, and here is where we share that.
I too would like to know what our readers, what we refer to, in blogland, as lurkers, think. The point, after all, isn’t to amuse ourselves, it is to answer questions others have. Chalcedon often spoke of this blog as a lay apostolate, and that is largely what it was, is, and I think, should continue as.
I’d say that was my two cents worth, but I’d be overcharging you.
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Re. your penultimate para NEO, a brief post seeking readers’ opinions/expectations could prove useful and I’d be happy to add to my previous remarks…
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A good idea, I think. I’ll try to get that put together. 🙂
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Scoop, I will answer your email in the next couple of days. Until I can come back in full, Pray for me.
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I am already, my friend and will continue to do so.
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At Richard’s Watch I’ve compiled over 3 dozen contemporary prophecies that have been or are in process of being fulfilled. Also over 2 dozen made before the Referendum on its Brexit outcome. And watcher at The White House, William Koenig lists 22 headlines from last week relating to End-times Bible prophecies re Gog-Magog!!
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