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The Days of Antipas

"The days of Antipas" means not only a period of persecution but a period of perseverance as well. It signifies the days of believers who withstood the pressures from outside to surrender. In the church in the city of Pergamum, there were some people who remained faithful to Jesus in the days of severe persecution. Apostle John calls these days of persecution "the day of Antipas" (Rev. 2:13). The Antipas mentioned here should not be confused with Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas was a wicked ruler whom Jesus called "fox". He is the one who offered the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter to his daughter. He might have tried to kill Jesus and presided over Jesus' trial. However, the Antipas mentioned in Revelation 2 was the bishop of Pergamum, a pagan city in the first century AD. The name means "against all." There is a great con trast in the names -- Herod was against all that was good, however, Antipas th

Israel-Palestine conflict: Where is Christ in this?

The developments of this week in the centuries-old Israel-Palestine conflict has created a lot of clashes of opinions. Christians have taken sides, mostly on the Israeli side. The media is divided but mostly are on the side of Israel. The reasons for the support for Israel are many. First sympathies. Historically, they had been a persecuted minority except in India and probably in the United States. Who can ignore the six million Jews who died under Hitler’s gas chambers? The sorrowful part of their history, along with the propaganda in favor of them has created lot of sympathies for them. In addition to the popular sympathy for Israel, some Christians also find that what happens in Israel is fulfilment of Biblical prophecies. These Christians think that all Palestinians are Muslims, though a significant number of them are Christians. Many Christian Holy places are in Palestinian territory (including Bethlehem, Jericho, Hebron, etc.). Many Christians think that the Jewish nation

The Demon in the Synagogue: The Power of the Word of God

The synagogue is the place where the Jews worshiped their God. But do you know that the first exorcism that Jesus performed was in a synagogue? It sounds paradoxical: casting out demons in the house of God! In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark it says that ‘ there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit’ (Mark 1:23). How can a demon-possessed survive in a religious place as a synagogue? Why nobody dealt with this evil-spirit in the synagogue until Jesus walked in? Probably he appeared perfectly normal so that nobody knew he was a demoniac? Or did they just let him be there since they were not able to do anything about it? This story tells us three things about the nature of demon-possessed people. 1. First, they may look and behave like normal people. 2. Don’t expect to find them only in weird places like grave yards, dark gullies of down town areas, or mental asylums. 3. They can look very n

Personal Worship and Corporate Worship

Worshipping together is one of the salient features Christianity which it shares with its predecessor Judaism and is followed by its successor Islam. Most of the religions have individualized worship experience. Worshippers visit shrines on their own to pray to their deity and does not necessarily need the company of others. However, gathering together for worship in the church, synagogue or the mosque is important for the above religions besides the private time of worship. So the two terms: "Personal worship" which signifies the individual's act of worship and "corporate worship" which is the worship which individuals offer in the company of other believers. Some people are very keen on corporate worship but at the expense of the personal worship. They are regular at church services, praise and worship meetings etc but may not pour out their devotion and adoration to God when they are alone. These people find it difficult to meet God alone; they need the co

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

" Confidence to pray stems out of the realization that God is in control of our situations. He can control and conquer the situations that we go through." Why do we pray to God? As all our actions must have some explanations, we must be able to explain why we pray to God. The prayer of the Psalmist is "Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless" (Psalm 108:12). One of the reasons for this prayer is the confidence in God, which is reflected in verse 13: "With God we will gain victory, and he will trample down our enemies." The second reason is the realization that the human power is worthless. The psalmist cannot trust in human power in order to win the battle that he is engaged in. However, the most important reason is a realization of the sovereignty of God over the nations. The divine oracle cited in verses 7-9 is the basis of the prayer in verse 10. In this verse God's authority over the nations around Israel is spelt out. Israe

On Storks and Steadfast Love

Most parents at least once in life have to answer this question their curious little ones toss at them: ‘Where did I come from?’ The child is too young to understand the complex biological activity that brought the child to this world. Embarrassed and bashful, parents resort to explanations that they might have got from their own parents. A white stork that flew over their roof carrying a little cute baby in a sling hanging from its long beak dropped it through the chimney! They found the cute little baby by the fire-side in the morning! The children are usually happy with that explanation and may watch for storks flying across their rooftops with babies in slings hanging from their long beaks, until they grow up to find out the truth for themselves. The storks don’t carry babies in their beaks nor deliver them to couples longing for children. It is all

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