New Thoughts (9/12/04-9/15/04)
It's interesting, this idea that Simeon may have been the son of one of Israel's most famed rabbis, and father of another who was so instrumental in training Paul, whom we might think of as the educated apostle. Is it conclusive? Hardly. Is it conclusively impossible, or even improbable? Hardly that, either. The arguments around this issue either consider the case closed and don't offer any further discussion, or offer up viewpoints that would appear to be based more on current realities than those of 1st century Judea. It is suggested, for instance, that this Simeon, being so hungry for Messiah, would hardly have trained up a son like Gamaliel. What? Why not? If he was devout, if he was scrupulous in his religious observances, chances are he was a Pharisee. Why would he not raise his son as a Pharisee?
The antagonism felt between the Christian and the Jew developed much later in time. Indeed, by this point in Simeon's life, Gamaliel's parental training is done and over. This is an old man, Simeon, a man already contemplating the end of his earthly days. This idea that being a Pharisee, and expecting the Messiah were somehow mutually exclusive concepts is quite simply wrong.
The other argument given against this idea is that Luke would surely have mentioned who this Simeon was if he were somebody of import. Perhaps. Certainly, Luke is a good historian. Certainly, he mentions a number of important figures of the day to help place events, or because their actions were integral to the story he is unfolding. However, while Simeon's family tree might be interesting to a history of Paul, it has zero to do with the history of Jesus directly. Furthermore, a rabbi in Jerusalem, though he may be famous amongst the Jews, was not necessarily of note to a Gentile audience, which is, so far as we can tell, the audience Luke was writing to. He is a good writer. He writes with a purpose, and does not worry about things that are not to the purpose. Many interesting details are left out of the history, because while they would not contradict what he has written, they do not serve the purpose for which he has written. Luke is focusing attention on this Jesus. He has been building up to that point, and has now reached the first crescendo of Jesus birth. Why would he, at this moment, choose to distract his reader by showing what an important guy this Simeon was? The import of earthly titles pales in the presence of the King of kings! The most powerful of men, when this One is present, is but a 'man in Jerusalem.'
Now, am I willing to say conclusively that he was, indeed, the son of Rabbi Hillel? No. I will say this, though. It would be just like God to do such a thing. After all, he made an apostle of one fierce Pharisee. Why would he not save another? Indeed, could it be that the character of Simeon had some influence in Gamaliel's character, and that Gamaliel's character, as he taught Saul, was therefore such as would allow Saul to be transformed into Paul? Is this, perhaps, Providence in action? Again, I confess that any thoughts I might have along this line are purely speculative, but it does make for an interesting speculation.
That said, however, I find something far more important that can be learned from Simeon. He was, Luke records, righteous and devout. Why both? Others whom God was pleased with were declared righteous in His sight, but they are not spoken of as devout. Why the distinction here? I would say it is for this reason: The time would come, and quickly, when the Church needed to understand that conformance to the Pharisaic codes was not necessarily a factor that required exclusion from true faith. Jesus would teach that unless our righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees, heaven does not await you (Mt 5:20).
Indeed, part of Christian teaching establishes that submission to authority is a requirement for any child of God, so long as that authority does not require what is counter to God's demands. God remains the final judge. It is His standards that must condition our life. It is His standards that must shape our character, and it is to His standards that our actions must conform. That is the very definition of righteousness for the Christian: a life willingly conformed to God's standards in character and in deed. The code of the Pharisees, legalistic though it was, had begun with just that view in mind. It had begun as an aid to help conform the life to God's standards. It had gotten out of hand, but it had started well. To pursue the goals of Pharisaism from a heart seeking to please God was not by any means a bad thing, then. Indeed, so long as their code did not traduce God's code, it would be sinful not to pursue it, especially if one's father is a Pharisee. He is the authority in the household, and if it is over-obedience he requires, then obedience to God requires compliance.
Certainly, there were things in the Pharisaic code that did actually run counter to God's Law. Jesus pointed out a few of those. But these were not so much in the category of requirements, so far as I can tell. They were more in the category of permissible actions. One could remain devout, scrupulous in ritual observance, without availing oneself of these improper permissions. One could, we see in Simeon, be scrupulous in ritual for the right reasons.
The problem with the Pharisees was not their code, it was their motivation. To seek to live in holiness before God can hardly be an offense to God! But to seek the appearance of holiness, to seek to bring the definition of holiness down to our own filthy level, that's an offense. To where your holiness like some badge of honor, to seek an elixir for your pride in your apparent holiness, that is a stench in the nostrils of the Lord! That was not where Simeon was at. Indeed, Saul at his worst was not in that placed. Even as he sought to slaughter the Christians, he sought to honor God. He was misguided as all get out, but his motivation remained pure; and God was pleased to take this angry young Pharisee and make of him a fierce defender of the faith, a strong proponent of true holiness.
We live in an age that is quick to decry legalism. Sadly, the greater part of those cries do not attack legalism very often. Far more likely, it is the rebellion of the flesh decrying any attempt to place bounds on its actions. The cries for the freedom in the Spirit are everywhere, cries that demand that we accept whatever the flesh may choose to do as being a manifestation of the freedom of the Spirit. Wrong! The Spirit is holiness! There are things that holiness does not allow for. There is dancing, and then there is dancing. We cannot put on any move we like and claim that we're doing it for God, any more than that man in Nevada can claim God told him to open a brothel! It is not even conceivable that God should tell one to promote sin. Sorry!
Part of the problem is that we have lost sight of what freedom is and what liberty is. Freedom without bounds, as we would have our 'in the Spirit' activity be, rapidly devolves into anarchy and chaos. It simply is not tenable to seek a place where rules do not apply. No, our cry ought to be for liberty, freedom within well-defined boundaries, freedom within definite limits. When Scripture tells us that Simeon was 'in the Spirit,' that is exactly the concept we ought to see. He was in the midst of the Spirit, enveloped by the Spirit, engrafted with the Spirit, even empowered by the Spirit, but in all that he was within very definite limits. Had he gone beyond those limits, he would no longer be 'in the Spirit.'
That word 'in' is incredible in the extent of its meaning. All that can be said of Simeon's actions and lifestyle are contained by it: resting, remaining, within definite limits, in the midst of, enveloped by, surrounded by, empowered by, equipped by, by agency of, engrafted with, actuated and inspired by, part of the Whole. All these things can be seen in that relationship between Simeon and the Holy Spirit. All of these things ought to be seen in our own relationship with that same Holy Spirit. When we get beyond the thrill-seeking, and determine to be where He is, to be part of what He is doing, to seek out His purpose and pursue it with a whole heart, then we will truly have become a people 'in the Spirit.'
There is also this one last thing I found in Thayer's definition for this small word. 'In' is "Applied to things not perceived by the senses." What an appropriate word, then, to use of the Holy Spirit's influence upon a life. It's not a matter of senses. It's not that gooseflesh thing we feel every now and then, although there may be nothing wrong with such a feeling. I don't doubt but what Simeon had some goose bumps going when he came across his Savior in the courtyards of the Temple that day. I don't doubt that he was exceedingly emotional and excited. But, that excitement wasn't the Spirit moving, it was the result of a previous move. Simeon had already been moved by the Spirit. That was the reason, we are told, why he happened to be going to Temple that particular day. The excitement didn't come for Simeon because the Holy Spirit had suddenly made the scene. No! They had been resting with each other! That is so key to the whole picture laid out before us!
The Holy Spirit rested on Simeon, but we are also told Simeon rested in the Holy Spirit. Both were at rest in this relationship. The Holy Spirit cannot possibly rest upon us if we are constantly running about on our own. The Holy Spirit sets boundaries for us, within which we can safely pursue a life of abandonment, because we will be abandoned solely to His will. We will know our limits. The problem is that we tend to ignore the limits. We no longer look for the pillar of fire to tell us where we are supposed to be. We no longer check with God to get our marching orders. We just march on, and hope maybe He'll catch up with us. What has Pastor been saying? Stop trying to get God to bless what you're doing and start trying to do your part in what God is blessing! In the Spirit! 'Actuated and impelled' by the Spirit! Refusing, like Moses refused, to move one step if that step means the Spirit will no longer be at rest upon us. That's the call. We cannot possibly answer that call if we will not learn to rest within Him, to truly abide in Him.
Here's the problem, if we are not remaining in His presence, it is probably because we feel this need to give our flesh a bit of a vacation from holiness. Perhaps we begin feeling like the work of the Kingdom is a bit of a burden, it's too much for us. Danger! This is the early warning sign that we are no longer resting where we ought. We have wandered from the camp, we've lost sight of the pillar. There is great risk for us, as we dwell in the Wilderness of Sin. The greatest risk is that we will forget our heritage and fall to the temptation of sin. When we no longer sense His presence enveloping us, it is easy to think that perhaps He has closed His eyes, He no longer sees our actions. It will be OK if we indulge the flesh a bit, because He's not here. You've been fooled! You pursue a mirage called pleasure that will fade before ever you find it, and leave you parched and dying with no help in sight.
We can do that in the midst of the Church. We can be there every week, right on schedule, and be completely out in the desert. Why? Because we are not coming as a people already 'in the Spirit,' We are coming to get our fix, to be entertained. We are coming, perhaps, to quite our conscience just a bit by fulfilling our obligations. We'll never make it that way. Simeon, we are told, was devout. He was exceedingly careful to make certain that every rule of religion, every rite and ceremony that he was required to attend to was performed with precision, exactly as the Law required. Simeon was hardly alone in this. That was, after all, the whole Pharisaic model. What made him righteous? It wasn't the fact that he was devout. It was the fact that as he went about fulfilling the requirements of religion, he did so as one 'in the Spirit.' He didn't seek a time out from God, a time away from the eyes of man where maybe he could let his hair down. No, he rested in the Spirit, he abided in the Spirit. Where the Spirit was is where he would be found. Where the Spirit said to go is where he would be headed. When the Spirit said wait, he would be waiting right there. We must learn to so rest within the Spirit! That is our power and strength. That is our security. That is our life and breath!
John was another man 'in the Spirit.' He was 'in the Spirit' on the Lord's day precisely because he was 'in the Spirit' every day. We can't expect that somehow we are going to come into the house of the Lord one day a week and suddenly be moving in the Spirit when we've spent the whole week moving in the devil's camp. We can't expect to be working for God part time with a full-time commitment to working for the flesh. John's whole life was wrapped up in the 'word of God and the testimony of Jesus' (Rv 1:9). Does this mean, then, that we are not to have any means of employ other than to promote the Gospel? No! God has ordained the means of your employment, if indeed you have been pursuing Him. Know without a doubt that whoever may be signing your check, it's God who's providing for you! Now, clearly, if you see that your work requires that you act in ways that are counter to righteousness, if you are required to cheat, steal, lie, or worse, then you need to be upright enough to depart that place, and brush its dust from your sandals. Other than that, though, rather than asking whether it's acceptable to be working, we'll do much better to ask what it is God has us there to accomplish.
We get caught up in the day to day activities of work, and can easily forget that we are called to be just as much 'in the Spirit' there as we ought to be in church. 'In the Spirit' is a lifestyle, not a passing experience. When we get this into us, when we truly determine to dwell in His presence, to abide in Him constantly, then we are going to be noticed. There can be no place for a stealth-Christian who is 'in the Spirit.' The joy of dwelling in Him cannot help but be noticed. There are going to be questions that we will be uniquely prepared to answer. "What is it about you?" "Doesn't this concern you?" "How can you let them do that to you, and not take offense?" Oh! We are uniquely prepared to answer these things, because He is in us, because He informs us. He will give you the words to speak, the testimony that the moment requires. It only needs you and I to be in His presence, awaiting His direction, and instant in pursuing the direction He speaks. Simeon did so, and was blessed to be the first to deliver blessing to the Child King. What blessings await us when we are so attuned to the Kingdom, so attentive to our Teacher? What blessings await us when the testimony of Jesus is our life?
God! How I want to be in that place in my own life! How I long to reach that point where You truly are what is seen in me. I know I have a long ways to go before I get there, but You are at work in this life, and I know it. I see the change, though it pains me to recognize how patiently You must work with me. It pains me to know how gentle You must be in changing me. I know, though, that anything more rapid would destroy me, because the necessary changes are so deep within. All praise to You, most perfect Craftsman! All praise to You, my gentle Sculptor. In You alone may I trust, because You alone have the gentleness of touch, the patience, to labor so long and so well upon this flesh. I know, because I know You, that the day will come. I know I will be made like You in Your time, attain to the image of Your holiness in Your time, and by Your hand. Oh, but I would that I could bear Your image better even today! Oh, I would that I could keep Your purposes in the forefront of my mind for more than a few meager hours at a time. That I would bring You to bear on the labors of the day! I know, God! I know there is blessing unimaginable awaiting that mindset, yet it comes so hard to this man. But, You are at work, and I praise You unceasingly for it, inasmuch as I can manage anything unceasingly in this body.
I know, that You are the One who charts my course in this life, and for this, too, I sing out Your praise this morning. You have been so orchestrating these times of study, as You have ever done. Forgive me that I lost sight of that for a time. But, You have been so incredibly evident in the unfolding of these morning times of late. How can I cease to sing my thanks to You! Yet, I note that I neglected to give You Your due thanks for what You orchestrated for me last Sunday! What an awesome word You gave me! What an awesome unity of motivation You displayed to me, as You confirmed what You had shown me both by Lucas and by Pastor's own word. What comfort, seeing a real unity displayed - not a forced antiphonal chant of 'repeat after me,' but the same Holy Spirit, the same You, speaking into each one of us, bringing forth the same message in and through each one of us. Praise to You, Lord! Praise to You!
Now, once more, I ask of You that You would make of me such a man as was Simeon, as was John: one so fully and permanently in the Spirit that it cannot help but be noticed. Make of me, Father, a question in the minds of those amidst whom I work. Make of my life and example a catalyst in their own lives, that they might find You moving upon them, opening their eyes and ears to Your ways. Make of me, Father, a question, and also one willing to give Answer to the question.
Man plans his ways, but it is God who moves his feet (Pr 16:9). That was one of the first verses that really caught my eye as a new Christian. It was one of the first to produce in me one of those 'wow' moments, when things suddenly come together in thought and spirit. This has, as I have noted so often, stood as representative of that aspect of God by which He first made Himself known to me: His Providence - His Sovereign Providence. It is that same Providential care that keeps the timing of my morning studies right where they need to be, though they may feel too fast or too slow to me. It is that very Providence that ensures that what I am dealing with in life, what I am dealing with in His presence, what I am dealing with in His house, all these things converge. In all these things, it is His Providence that sets my pace. It is His Providence, relayed to me by the Holy Spirit though I may not recognize it at the time, that informs my plans. He is so Good! And, what rest and assurance I find in knowing this, that He is charting my course! Liberty! The wonderful liberty of knowing that He is in control, that He is watching over me, that as I lay out my course, He is checking my coordinates, pointing out the problems in my planning, taking corrective actions if I am off a bit this way or that! What wonderful liberty in knowing that, especially in spiritual matters, He is faithful to bring correction, and He does so not with a yardstick to the knuckles, but gently, almost imperceptibly. It would be easy to miss His hand in it when the correction comes. It's incredibly easy to write it off as coincidence, except deep down we know that there is no such thing as coincidence. There is only the God of Providence.
In Simeon, as briefly as he is mentioned in Scripture, we see that Providential God in action. Simeon knew this one thing by the Spirit's revelation to him: He would see the Christ - God's Anointed - before he passed on from this life. This one thing he knew, and this one thing filled all the desire of his heart. If he knew nothing else, this was enough. He would hunger for that day, seek after it. And, he knew his God. He knew that the God who revealed this thing to him would not lie. He knew that the God who revealed this thing to him was Faithful and True, and he knew that the God who revealed this thing to him would, in His own perfect time, reveal the fulfillment as well.
What is played out in these few verses is the fulfillment. It is not told to us how long Simeon had been waiting. Israel had been waiting for centuries. For Simeon, it could have been days, it could have been weeks, it could have been decades. We don't know. But, however long the wait had been, he had remained steadfast in his belief through that wait, and now the day had come. He had been "looking for the Consolation of Israel." He had not been idling away his time, waiting for God to bring this thing before him like some household slave. He had been looking for his Savior, seeking Him with all his heart. God was not about to leave him unsatisfied. "Seek and you will find," Jesus said (Mt 7:7). Simeon sought, having never heard Jesus speak, and God made certain he found. Simeon planned his ways. He abided in the Spirit. He devoted himself to pursuing every requirement of his faith and his religion. The rites and ceremonies of Judaism he was exceedingly careful to observe. No man could fault his ways. He was also righteous in God's eyes, for in his careful ways he was not seeking to please the Temple authorities, not seeking to promote his own wonderful self, he was simply trying his best to please the God he loved, the God who loved him. It was nothing more and nothing less than the response of intimate affection for God and from God. His prayers were full of longing for the Anointed fulfillment of Promise. His eyes were hungry for the sight of the Anointed. God made certain he didn't miss it.
He came in the Spirit into the Temple. So much is said in that brief phrase. It tells us first of all how it happened to be that he was there at the precise moment when Mary and Joseph arrived. He was from Jerusalem. He hadn't likely heard the story of the shepherds in Bethlehem. These two, coming with their meager offering, were unknowns in the big city, Galileans to boot. They were a couple of country bumpkins come to be awed by the Temple for all he knew. Except, the Spirit impelled him to be at the Temple that day. Was there a ceremony to be observed? A rite that needed to be performed? Not that we are made aware of. There was only that irresistible urging to be in the courts of the Lord. This may very well have been a daily experience for Simeon. He loved his God, and if his station in life permitted of such, I'm sure he would gladly be in God's house every available moment. But, life generally does not permit such a degree of devotion. God generally seems to prefer that His best workers be out in the fields. He has plenty to serve in the house. More would just get in the way. But the harvesters are few.
I digress. The point I want to bring out right here is that however hungry Simeon was to see his Savior, unless God was laying out his course, he would not. Simeon was not alone in the Temple that day. Any number of Jews, and doubtless a fair number of Gentiles were about their affairs in the courts as Providence played out. Yet, Simeon saw what almost nobody else there saw. The rest saw a couple bringing their child to fulfill the purification laws. Simeon saw God. The rest saw a rustic couple. Simeon saw the future. The rest, perhaps, felt a concern for social causes, seeing how poor this couple was. Maybe they were stirred to put a bit extra in the offering. Simeon saw how unutterably rich was their blessing. Simeon saw fulfillment where the world saw only lack. All this he saw not because he was looking, although God was honoring that hungry desire after His own purposes. No, he didn't see because of anything in himself. He saw because God Sovereignly charted his course. God spoke into this man of free will, free because he had willingly submitted his ways to his Maker, free in a way unknown and unknowable to sinful man; and moved Simeon's heart and feet to ensure he was in the right place at the right time to speak the right thing. Providence in action!
Teachers often try to express the excitement of laboring for God. Yet, however much they try, the excitement doesn't entirely convey. For the most part, it produces awed responses, it impresses their hearers of the teacher's own accomplishments, of the teacher's own spirituality. But, that's not the point! It's not the point, certainly, that any teacher truly teaching for God is trying to make. Every fiber of their being cries out, "It's not about me! Don't you get it? I am nothing! This thing I'm describing, this excitement that so awes you, it's waiting for you! Get in the river! God's not stingy in His giving! He doesn't restrict this excitement to some super-spiritual few!" No! It's His greatest desire that all His children would know the excitement of working in His purpose! It's His greatest desire that we would delight in Him! It's His greatest desire that we would all come to the place that He can whisper His guidance, that we can recognize not only His whisper, but can recognize the purpose He had in that whisper in the unfolding of events.
Truly, I think He longs for us to stop getting all excited about our spiritual super-heroes, and I think He longs equally for us to stop getting quite so worked up about the power of our enemy. God moves your feet! God sets the circumstances of your life. What can be more powerful than that? What can the enemy do, if we are in tune with Him? If we are walking in the steps He has called out for us, if we are paying attention to His voice and no other, if we are walking with the giver of every good and perfect gift, what reason do we have to even be concerned about this enemy? Yes, he ranges about as a hungry lion, seeking out whom he may devour. Absolutely! Does this mean we should keep our eyes on him? No way! Turn your eyes upon Jesus! Stay tuned to what God is doing! Listen attentively to the voice of your Shepherd and Teacher! He will shut the mouth of that lion. If our hearts are centered on learning His ways, obeying His commands; if our hands are trained to instant obedience to those commands; then who can stand against us? Yes, though I walk through the very shadow of death, though death be so close I can smell it, I will fear no evil, for I know the Lord my God, my Shepherd, my Strong Tower, is with me! There is something to get all excited about! He is with me. He is pointing out every step I should take, if I will just keep my eyes open and watch His finger. GLORY!
Yes, Simeon was impelled by the Spirit to come to the Temple at the moment. However, this was not a sudden change for Simeon. The Holy Spirit was at rest upon him, and he in the Holy Spirit. He had been soaking in the presence of the Holy Spirit, abiding in the Presence. This was the thing that hit me Sunday, and it continues to be impressed upon my heart today. Indeed, it's been a constant theme lately. For many weeks, the sole purpose of our mid-week services was to spend that time, resting in His Presence - not listening to yet another teaching, not filling the air with prayer, just resting. Clearly, teaching, learning, prayer, all of these are good - even critical - things in the life of the Christian, but if we are not at rest in Him, hearing Him, listening to Him speak as much as we are speaking to Him, we're missing out. If our faith has become a one-way street, carrying our joys, our concerns, and our complaints to heaven, then what room have we left Him to answer?
It's another aspect, though, that is holding my heart captive at present. It's the fact that Simeon didn't come to the Temple looking for a spiritual experience to uplift him. He didn't come in cold, hoping something at the Temple might provide a spark to re-ignite him. He came in fired up! He came in to the Temple having been in the secret place. We don't know if Simeon was one who would even be allowed in the Holy Place, have no idea. But, I'll tell you this: He had been behind the veil, in the Holy of Holies all day long. He was still in that place even as he walked in the courtyards of the Temple. He broke no law of the Temple in this, never violated protocol, he had simply gone beyond the types and shadows that were religion, and entered the true temple of fellowship with God. Because he was resting, abiding, in the Spirit, he knew full well that the Temple was, in the end, nothing. It was God who mattered. God required his obedience to the Temple authorities, and for that reason alone, he was happy to oblige. Yet, he knew better than to think that obedience was his righteousness.
Because he was resting in the Spirit, he was hearing God, not just talking to Him. He was intimate with God. As Pastor has said of late, he could hear God's heartbeat, was fully aware of what God was doing in that place and time, and was able to get his marching orders, so that he could be an integral part of it.
There is debate in the Church today as to whether the gifts of the Spirit remain operational. There is debate as to whether God still speaks in a revelatory fashion to His people. The arguments against it seem to hinge largely on the opening passage from Hebrews: Having spoken to His people in various ways for so many long centuries, in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son, the appointed Heir of all things, and the Creator of all things (Heb 1:1-2). They find in this a finality, a declaration that having done this, God shut His mouth forevermore. I cannot see that, here, and I cannot see that as even fitting with the character of God who does not change. Furthermore, if the ministry of Christ was the end of God's revelation to man, how are we to accept the Scriptures of the New Testament? The book of Acts speaks repeatedly of prophets in the church. All of these came after Christ. How does this fit with the completion of God's Words to man in Christ? The Revelation of John, if this is not a revelatory word from God, come long after Christ's Ascension, then what place has it in Scripture at all? It's either a revelation or a raving madness. Either way, it comes after that which they insist closed God's mouth.
The gifts that they would have us believe are inactive in our day, they say were only promised until the perfect come (1Co 13:8-10). Yet, these who recognize in Augustine such a great understanding of God ought to heed him in this matter as well. They tell us the perfect came in Jesus' ministry. There's a problem with that already. The gifts came later. How then, could His earthly ministry be the end of what hadn't yet started? No, as Augustine points out, we continue to live in that period where we know only in part, and we will continue to live in that period until Christ returns, and takes us home. Until that time, there will always be a need for the word of knowledge, for the prophecy of what God is doing.
Those who are so adamant in believing that these things are inactive are largely brought to that belief because they see so many things that claim to be the gifts in action that are clearly counter to God's Word. Listen! When the gifts of the Spirit are truly active, they will not ever counter God's Word. The Word of God, as contained in Scripture, is ever and always the final arbiter of Truth for us. It is the means given us to test the continued words from heavenly places. It is the very Word that warns us that there will be counterfeits. There were counterfeits in the days of the apostles, after all. Why should it surprise us that there be counterfeits now? The presence of fakes does not invalidate the real. It does require those of us seeking God's voice today, as always it did, to be exceedingly and abundantly careful. Sheep that we are, we need to be careful that it is only our Shepherd's voice we are hearing, and the thief's voice we must be trained to ignore.
Simeon was hearing truly. He had been trained. He knew the voice of his God, and he knew the difference between that marvelous voice, and the voice of deception. Whatever else Simeon may have been, whether he was a priest, the head of the Temple, or just an ordinary citizen of Jerusalem, he was most assuredly a prophet. He had heard from heaven, because he had a long-established, intimate relationship with God. What he heard, he spoke. What he did this day was but a foreshadowing of Jesus' ministry, a forth-telling, if you will, of what Jesus would be doing. "I do and teach the things I have seen My Father doing," He declares (Jn 8:38), "everything My Father told Me, I have told you" (Jn 15:15). What Simeon had seen in heaven, what had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, he was walking out as he walked into the courtyard.
Once more, I am caused to look at that word from Amos, the prophet of old. God does not move without revealing His plans to His prophets (Am 3:7). How many times have I heard that verse, and slipped into thinking, 'yes, but that was before Christ. That was a word for the Old Testament church.' But, God does not change! If He was unwilling to take the people of God totally unawares then, He is just as unwilling now. If He uttered warning after warning through His chosen mouthpieces then, He has not suddenly chosen to be silent about the coming disaster now! He has not decided that Judgment will come as a surprise to every creature on the earth. No! He does not move without revealing His plans to His prophets. Yet, we sheep, we who are not necessarily numbered amongst the prophets, we need to know the true prophet from those who speak only their own vain imaginations. This, too, is unchanged from the Old Covenant.
Where Truth walks, the enemy of Truth seeks by his cleverness to deceive. Where the real move of God is, expect also the counterfeit. Expect it in the same church at the same time. The enemy wants nothing so much as to dissuade the faithful from pursuing the true course. Jeremiah had to deal with this. Isaiah had to deal with this. Doubtless, every prophet of God had to deal with this in his own place and time. There are ever and always those false prophets about, pandering to the people, rather than feeding them the true Word of God. Jesus, Himself, had to deal with this. So many were in doubt about Him for the simple reason that there had been so many others who claimed to be Messiah, and following them had led to nothing better than massacre. Is it any wonder that He demanded that those who knew be silent? Is it any wonder that he commanded the demons to silence when they tried to confess their knowledge of who He is?
Odd though it may seem, the Truth very rarely shouts and gets worked up about proving itself True. Jesus didn't spend a whole lot of energy arguing with those who claimed He was other than what He was. He simply pointed at His record and moved on. Jeremiah didn't expend a whole lot of energy arguing with the false prophets. He did not allow them to go unchecked, but he was not overly troubled about them. The God of Truth would take care of it. He is a Jealous God, and will not long allow His Name to be maligned by these imposters. Truth will prevail! It doesn't need to fight loudly for its right to succeed. "Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord." The wise man of God leaves it with Him to whom it belongs. I was listening to R.C. Sproul yesterday, as he spoke of the example of Jonathan Edwards. That fine preacher, so mightily used in bringing revival to New England, was the victim of prodigious lies from some member of his community. The deceiver came to disturb the Truth, and thought he had the victory. The man of Truth was chased from his pulpit, and departed without so much as a word in his own defense. Vengeance was with the Lord, and the Lord saw to it that Justice was served. Years later, the liar confessed. The church never regained what it had, but the true man of God was shown true, and his reputation continues to be a source of awe today. Truly, God exalts the humble. The man who brought those charges? The record shows that generations of his family after him were men of infamous character, felons and ne'er-do-wells almost to the man.
There will ever be counterfeits where God is in action, but He has provided us with all we need to know the real from the fake. Intimacy, time in His Word, resting in His Presence, these are our defense. The better we know His voice and His heart, the harder it will be for those who try to look and sound like Him to disguise their own poisonous souls sufficiently to fool us. Paul warns that Satan's laborers will even disguise themselves as angels of light, as messengers of God, in hopes of turning the faithful from their course. Don't we see that in our day? Don't we see that in pulpits that proclaim that God is pleased to be served by sexual perverts? Don't we see that in priestly abuse of children? Don't we see that in prophets for profit television? But in all this deception, the Anointed continues to be revealed to those God chooses.
He is still there, and He is not silent! He still speaks to those who are willing to listen to Him. He still reveals His plans to those who will become intimate enough to hear Him, who will sit still long enough for Him to explain, who will be careful enough to hear Him alone. He still prophesies to His children through the mouths of those who are careful to speak only what they hear from Him. Are we still a people who will listen?
How shall I conclude this thought, then? I think it must be thus: We dare not despise the prophet, for to despise the prophet outright is to refuse God's own voice. At the same time, we dare not blithely accept every word of prophecy, every apparent outflow of the gifts as genuine. However the gifts may flow, they flow through us, and we are imperfect vessels however far we may have progressed in Christ. We remain in the flesh, however we may move in the Spirit, and our flesh cannot help but corrupt all it touches. Me must not despise, but we must be careful. We must test the spirit to know if it is the Spirit of God or the spirit of darkness. We cannot, I think, simply listen for that 'Jesus is Lord' to come out, for the spirits of deception are deceptive. They are using unwilling mouth-pieces, and may allow that mouth-piece a moment of Truth to put the seal of approval on the deceit that pours out around it. No, the Word is our sword and our shield. Knowing God as He has revealed Himself, knowing that He is consistent and does not change, gives us the power to discern Truth. Truth walks in step with Truth. Truth will not be one thing today, and something else tomorrow. It will remain True, because it is the essence of Him who remains - unchanged and unchanging, God of all, Faithful and True. Listen to Him!
