Erling Thu

We need an eschatology of victory

Too many Christian are suffering because of a negative and very pessimistic view of the end-times. I believe in an eschatology of victory because that is the teaching of the Bible! The entire Bible brings a very encouraging, positive and optimistic message centred in the truth that God is the Sovereign Lord of his world. He who began a good work will surely complete it for his own glory.

A new year of the Lord - Anno Domino

We have entered 2012 with great expectations and strong confindence since we know this is the Year of the Lord. Jesus Christ is in charge. He has been seated on the Throne of Heaven and is ruling the entire universe. He will be ruling until all his enemies have been made subject to him. He is waiting for us to work with the Father to make all his enemies his footstool. There is a war going in in the invisible world, but we know the final outcome will be glorious for the Kingdom of God as the enemy already has been defeated on the cross. This coming year we will see more of the outworking of the victory in many areas of our lives.

I expect the people of God to enjoy fresh anointing day by day in this year of the Lord. This is the only way that we may overcome the obstacles and be able to finish the race well. Fresh anointing every day. Fresh power. Fresh joy. Fresh peace. Fresh hope. Fresh guidance, step by step.

I expect the people of God to enjoy new revelation day by day in this year of the Lord. The Spirit is always bringing fresh revelation of Christ to his people. The fresh revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ will keep us on track and make us strong. A new revelation of Christ will make our hearts burn and cause us to serve his purpose in our generation with great zeal.

I expect the people of Gud to come into a deeper insight of the things of God day by day in this year of the Lord. God will bring a deeper insight of our own shortcomings that will enable us to change to become even more fruitful for the Lord. God will give us a deeper understanding of our brothers and sisters, their struggles and longings, that will enable us to come alongside and be of true help and support for them. God will give a deeper insight to his prophetic work in this generation and enable us to be seeers that can address the root issues and not only the symptoms.

I expect many dreams to come true in this new year of the Lord. I expect prophetic words spoken to us by His prophets to be fulfilled in this year of the Lord. I expect to be carried along by the fresh move of the Spirit and to see the realization of the promises of God day by day.

Everyone – all – anyone

As I was reading in the Book of Acts this morning about the early church I was struck by the inclusive language that was being used. When the Holy Spirit is describing the life of the early church, the new covenant community, he is using words like everyone, all the believers, together, every day, anyone. The kingdom community that was birthed on the day of Pentecost was marked by togetherness and the sharing of a common life and belief. They were all carrying the same passion and love for the resurrected Lord and for one another. Their encounter with the risen Lord by the revelation of the Holy Spirit united them, knitted them together, and formed them into a dynamic community sharing everything.

These individuals from every nation under heaven didn’t have much in common before the day of Pentecost, but after encountering the Lord they had everything in common. What a change that took place. They used to be a bewildered crowd and some even used to be mocking and making fun of others, but the message about the risen Lord Jesus Christ cut to the heart and caused them to repent, believe, being baptised and being added to the ecclesia of the Lord. They used to speak so many different languages not understanding each other, but now they could understand and even speak the language of the Spirit.

After being added to the ecclesia of the Lord they devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles. They committed themselves to one another in a close day to day fellowship sharing everything together. They continued to break the bread of the new covenant meal, eating together from house to house with glad and sincere hearts. Constantly they were praying together, at regular times in the temple and at anytime anywhere they met with one another. They were all initiating this exciting and dynamic community life on a multitude of levels, sharing with anyone in need.

This was a everyday life of a group of people who had been born by the Spirit, filled by the Spirit and formed by the Spirit to be one body, Really they had become the body of Christ expressing his life every day everywhere all the time. Everyone took active part in initiating this flow of life. All the believers were together, everyone was sharing, anyone had his needs met.

It is still happening. Ecclesia is taking place all over the world in small gatherings in homes and in larger celebrations, day to day as believers are sharing their life in Christ with one another and with those who still not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Today ecclesia took place for us in a small hotel room in Colombo in Sri Lanka.

A good and pleasant day

We have spent a full day at the hotel room in Colombo. We have not been able to take a swim in the beautiful swimming pool we are looking at from the room. We have not been on the wonderful beach next to our hotel either. We have not even been having the rays of the sun touching our skin the entire day, because we have been inside all day. Still it has been a good and pleasant day!

You are a prince of God among us

I have been reading in Genesis recently and was struck by the words used as a title of this entry. These words were spoken to Abraham when he approached the Hittite elders to buy a burial ground for Sarah, his wife who had died.

Abraham was a stranger and a foreigner among the Hittites. He was sojourning in their land. He was a Hebrew - a man from beyond. He did not belong to any of the etnic groups of the land of Canaan. He had no property. He had no house to dwell in. He was not part of any city or community. He was only sojourning in the land God had promised to give to him and his decendants. He had no public function or position among the people of Canaan.

Everything about God is glorious

One of the first things I discovered when I took to searching the scriptures again was that honour and glory are closely interrelated, are often two sides of the same coin and very often connected to God. The Psalmist says that honour belongs to God and everything within his temple says, "Glory! (Psa.29, 3.9); Jesus Christ is the King of glory and the King of honour (Psa.24 0.7 to 10) and the Lord of glory (Jak.2, 2); God is the God of glory, and also Father (Apgj.7, 2; Ephesians 1, 17); the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of glory (1.Pet.4, 14); Jesus is the very emanation of God's glory (Hebrews 1, 3); the apostles saw His glory, a glory that the only-begotten Son has from the Father, full of grace and truth (Joh.1, 14).

There are a number of Bible passages dealing with the glory and honour of God and of Jesus Christ. The triune Deity is that glorious and honourable God. Therefore all God makes bears the mark of His glory and honour. The expression “the glory of God” is often used in the Old Testament as a technical theological term for God's visible presence and the radiance of his honourable and glorious nature.

Explaining some words

The Hebrew word “kabod” is translated “honour” and “glory” more or less interchangeably in the Bible, the basic meaning being “weight” and “gravity”; another sense is “sheen”. It is the “weight” or “heaviness” of a person that makes up his honour, i.e their personal characteristics, position in society or their wealth.

The Hebrew word “hadar” is translated “splendour”, “glory” and “honour” and “showing honour” or “honouring”. The Hebrew word tifæræt / tifara comes from pa'ar (meaning beautification or glorifying) and translated “decoration”, “splendour”, “glory” and “honour”.

In the New Testament we find the Greek words timé / timan meaning “glory” and “honour” and “to honour” or “pay respect to”. We also find doxa / doxazein which is translated “honour”, “sheen”, “splendour” glory, and “to praise”, “laud”, “to honour” and “glorify”.

On the basis of these and other words from the Hebrew and Greek texts we may say that honour is what gives a person weight, clout and status. It can be associated with external criteria such as position in society and wealth, but also with inner qualities. It has something to do with the nature and being of Man. It is something one has received and owned and that radiates out through an inbuilt dignity and healthy self-respect arising from a person’s grasp of who they are, and is acknowledged by the people around them. So where there is a culture of honour and a climate of appreciation, glory and respect are qualities that exude from us and yet something people give to us.

Change of climate

I have just arrived home from a very exciting World Watch conference in Cardiff, Wales. We have had inspiring reports from many parts of the world of what God is doing. But to me the welcome session and concluding session by my longstanding friend Keri Jones, who is also an outstanding apostle of Jesus Christ, were the most important. His words inspired me to write this entry on my blog. I trust God will use these words to stir you in your spirit and provoke you to creative acts of love!

Prophetic flower pictures

It is spring time in Norway. It is late this year because of a cold and very long winter season. But now flowers are springing forth everywhere. It is like a resurrection of life from the dead ground. Restoration is taking place in front of our eyes. We can see the glory of God covering the ground everywhere!

Leave a comment on what prophetic message you hear from God when you look on these pictures!

God is able

This morning I read, that God is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or image, according to his power that is at work within us, in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Tithing and legalism

A few days ago two good young men visited me in the house in the forest to talk about tithing. They had been practising tithing for many years, but now they had reached the conclusion that tithing was not a biblical principle. Tithing was no longer a practice they had to follow as believers who lived in the grace of the new covenant. The main reason for reaching this conclusion was their personal experience of a legalistic way tithing had been taught and practised. And of cause they had read some books saying that tithing no longer applied to Christians. We had a very good talk about tithing and generous giving, but we reached no common agreement on the biblical ground for the practise in new covenant communities today.