ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
This photo was used, with irony, by Herman Otten, perhaps still being printed today on Otten's front cover.
Otten's back cover for Walter A. Still Speaks, Missouri and the World Should Listen
Justification by Faith is repudiated throughout ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC. One District President said, "Not Church Growth but Church GROWTH!" No wonder St. Paul had so much trouble against the false teachers, slick saints, and strange advocates.
Although the King James Version remains the dominant English Bible, the denominations and sales giants emphasize their attempts.
Threnodies I hear and read the most are -
Congregations are shrinking fast.
Many parishes are struggling to find any pastor.
Gimmicks and new tricks are failing while rejecting the Faith of Jesus.
Synod leaders ignore what they have done.
The great old hymns of the past are replaced by goofy, loud songs of the moment.
I saw my doctor and had a few tests. I soon began to drop off irritation effects - coughing way too much, hardly talking at all, dripping, drying, and solidifying sore nasals.
The little bit of sore source or lengthy coughing will really know how much that grows, doncha?
Zach is taking over the Sunday this service, and I expect to finish St. John's Revelation, final chapter, on Sunday.
Our of difficulties can come bitterness and even more sorrows. However, our Good Shepherd always helps in many ways, and often blesses what was once almost impossible to bear.
But also, bad actors will go out of their ways to polish their souls with crimes, stink-eyes, bitterness, thievery, and worse. A big smile and gesture will do a lot while two bitter people will simply increase their sour looks and soft curses.
I feel a lot better now, with a shot to the hip, pills, and avoiding unhelpful health methods. Pollen really hit hard (lots of ragweed in the air).
I was shocked to find our longest-kept rental home was marked for eviction. Thanks to Alec Satin, I have contacts already with senior resident folks. Our long-time helpers are always ready to remain our extended family members.
I will not broadcast the final chapter of Revelation tomorrow, but I expect to broadcast Tuesday next week.
Abraham and the stars - which the LCMS-WELS-CLC fail to recognize in Justification by Faith. Galatians 3:
Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Note Daniel's Vision 7, Compare to Revelation 21
7:1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
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22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Some photographers collected light coming through dark clouds. They looked great but they seemed tough to capture.
I learned this week that everyone and everything had to be an algorithm. We were once told that we should vary words instead of beating them death. Now I am on the alert for an algorithm I can use with grace, tenacity, and ... what was that name? I will remember later.
The Confession of Sins The Absolution The Introit p. 16
Introit
O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Gloria Patri The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Oh, fear the Lord, ye His saints:
for there is no want to them that fear Him.
V. They that seek the Lord:
shall not want any good thing. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden:
and I will give you rest. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord! Praise be to Thee, O Christ! The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Preface p. 24 The Sanctus p. 26 The Lord's Prayer p. 27 The Words of Institution The Agnus Dei p. 28 The Nunc Dimittis p. 29 The Benediction p. 31 The Hymn #657Beautiful Savior
Today we remember - Walter Boeckler, who supported Luther's doctrine and independent congregations; Gary Meyer, who participated in our first Ustream services; Brenda Kielher, who with her parents Cliff and Cleo Kiehler, helped start Bethany in New Ulm, Minnesota; and Gladys Jackson Meyer, who supported Bethany from the beginning and enjoyed helping out. Carl Roper supported independent congregations from the beginning. Carol Olsen, Lori Howell's mother, who worshiped with us, passed into eternal life on October 8th. 2021. Christina Jackson met her Savior August 22nd, 2021. Besides these, we have many others we name in our hearts, beloved, deeply missed, children, relatives, friends. Randy Anderson asked for more about Luther and Justification by Faith. He passed into eternal life on May 12, 2024. Charkes Kotten, Glen Kotten's father, died recently.
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In Our Prayers
Pastor Jim Shrader. Dr. Lito Cruz and his wife Lynne are having some challenges.
Strive for Saints
I taught a lot of college students who did not understand the words they used. If I said too much, they stormed off to a superior and found out I was correct. They were so cleansed of religion that they did not recognize what they were saying. Christ-mas as in Mass? Holy Communion? Holidays seemed to be neutral to them, until they heard Holy Days!
I grew up on TV dinners, Swanson TV Dinners, spawned in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and remembered as The Swanson House to this day. We were the pioneers and other kids were stuck with eating "dinner table" food. My own age group envied our ability to watch a black and white TV show while eating supper from a folded tray - with wobbly legs.
In contrast, the wisdom of the Beatitudes comes from the Spirit in the Word.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The proud and haughty may create a great impression on others, but God looks upon the soul and already knows the truth.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
We have so manylosses, and accounting is so high. The disadvantage is losing someone, an increasing number. Mourning comforts us, reminds us of the souls in heaven, and realizes sharply - and often with great love - what that means.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. The meek are the ones most likely to be kind, thoughtful, generous, etc. Psalm 37.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Sincere about our faults and sins, God moves us through the Gospel to satisfy our need for forgiveness.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Just as pride dominates the proud, so do the merciful create mercy themselves, a growing habit.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. The only way to see God is to watch, pray, and observe how God teaches us.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Children in their innocence beg others not to hurt and reject others.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If we are punished for knowing and believing the Word of God, then we are aiming at our final destiny.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Attacking God's truth and His teaching will be rewarded wealth, riches, honors, and many perks.
Tom Fisher's sheep teach us about the 500 examples of sheep and shepherding in the Bible.
Boomers grew up with ancient history, limited by texts with tiny print and classes with dreadful movie projectors. Now we can enjoy vast technology topics with all the best information, color, sound, and...that has slipped away.
I decided to warn the entire planet about how little we know about the past, the rise and fall of great empires. Do not read St. John's Revelation if people fail to realize the tapestry of nations - I took English History 101. Those artistic marvels teach England and the world with enormous detail - not accidental.
Once upon a time Ichabod had a big run on a particular post. That involved the concept of Jesus' mother "offering Jesus as a sacrifice" and serving the Holy Mother as a priest. One astute reader complained that I was drawing attention to use for Lutherans.
The Church of Rome is encouraging more Marian interest, doubtless because of the starving mainline Protestants. One can only shake so many pine branches and smoke pots for thrills.
20:1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
[Satan bound for 1,000 years]
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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