“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light [Sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [Moon] to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-19

God (who is transcendent and apart from time) created time for human beings to use. He created the sun, moon, and stars for time measurements. Morning and evening as a  one “solar day” has been in existence since before the creation of Adam and Eve.

12-month/4-season Julian agricultural calendar

Around the founding of the Republic in the 8th century BC, the Roman calendar consisted of ten months beginning in spring with March; winter was left as an unassigned (variable) span of days. Feast days marked the passage of time during the year without regard to any fixed date. Julius Caesar realized that his far-reaching empire could not function according to a timekeeping calendar centrally controlled from Rome by priests and astrologers who defined feast days. In 46 BC Julius Caesar created what we know today as the Julian calendar and ordered its use by everyone in the empire. It consisted of 365 solar days with an annual correction. With minor other corrections from time to time, this calendar served the Eastern world for fifteen centuries. Different calendars by new governments proved confusing after the Roman Empire fell and the Julian calendar was finally changed in 1582 AD by the Roman church to add one leap-day every fourth February. God’s original plan since Creation

has been for the heavens to be “signs and seasons, and for days and years.”

“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:5-6

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians  5:15-16

Time in the Bible is more than just counting solar chronology (from the Greek word for time, CHRONOS) in hours, days, months or years. In the verses above, our life (our walk) is to be continually redeeming the limited, finite time we have. The word redeem means to take full possession of something, to hold it and make it our own. The Greek word KAIROS used in Colossians and Ephesians refers to an opportune time, a “moment” or a “season” such as “harvest time.” God will give us opportunities, KAIROS times, this coming year to make His Name known, to testify of His greatness, to tell others about salvation through His Son, and to serve Him in the local church. May we make the most of every opportunity, no matter what God has in store for us in 2021.

“…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,

therewith to be content.”

Philippians 4:11b

The Centurion Chronicles ends this week and this centurion thanks all soldiers who have followed along and given me words of encouragement.

My studies during 2020 have convinced me that I have a lot to learn about how to be content. I would like to share some of those lessons with you in 2021. Our study guide (besides the Bible) will be a little book written by the Puritan preacher, Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) titled, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, published in 1648.

Please join me as we learn about Christian Contentment together.

Michael Vetter

12/30/2020

God’s timing is perfect in all that He does! Starting back in the Garden of Eden, when sin entered a perfect creation, God mentioned a Savior who would come one day to rescue mankind and restore God’s kingdom on Earth. (Genesis 3:15) Since that time millennia ago, the human race has looked forward to that moment when God would send His Son to be born in human flesh. The prophet Isaiah predicted of the birth,

“For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7

But history seemed to drag on for centuries. Hope still kindled in spite of wars, exile, slavery, and a slow return of God’s people back to the Promised Land. Nobody knew when God’s promise would be fulfilled until Daniel received a revelation from God:

“That from the going forth of the command

To restore and build Jerusalem

Until Messiah the Prince,

There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks”

Daniel 9:25a

A “week” here indicates “a group of sevens” and the context interprets it as meaning a time period of seven years and the fulfillment in 69 “weeks”. The prophecy of Messiah’s coming was fulfilled exactly  483 years later. The Greek Empire had come and gone in history and the Roman Empire was at its peak. The Messiah was born in Bethlehem and, by God’s sovereign reckoning, the timing was perfect!

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5

Jesus came exactly when God planned! In His wisdom, the “fullness of the time” was at the peak of the Roman Empire in out-of-the-way province that chafed against the iron hand of far-off Rome. Thus the world that cradled and then crucified Jesus of Nazareth was also the civilization that would help a sprouting Christianity to blossom. By God’s design, the “fullness of the time” was characterized by a wide civilization with a common language (Greek), relative peace (Pax Romana), cross-empire transportation, and enforced laws and rules for citizens and non-slaves.

The baby born in the manger grew up and demonstrated His divine person many times over three and one-half years. The same Roman government—soldiers followed the orders of a governor appointed by another emperor—crucified the promised Messiah. On the cross, God demonstrated “…His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) There, He died for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:2) Jesus explained to his apostles in the upper room at His last Passover, “…whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28)

What about us in 2020? For many, this has been a year of sadness, frustration, and desperation. What are we to do when our world seems to be crumbling around us?  A man so desperate that he was about to end his life asked the apostle Paul and his companion Silas a question and their answer was simple, yet profound: “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” (Acts 16:30b-31)

Jesus the Christ came to Earth to save the world from our sins at the perfect time in history. Wouldn’t now be the perfect time to believe on God’s Son and ask Him to save you? If you do, He promises to save your soul from eternal condemnation. This is His promise:

“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’… For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:11, 13)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21 NKJV)

Readers of Paul’s letter to the Philippians would have appreciated the same term as their citizenship in the city as a Roman colony. Philippi of Macedonia was made a Roman colony after the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. when generals Mark Antony and Octavian released some of their veteran soldiers, probably from Legion XXVIII, to colonize or “Romanize” the area. The Macedonian city was proudly known as “Little Rome” by its inhabitants.

One historian defined a colony as:

“A community of people who share common roots, pursuits, meanings, and values. Even though colonists settle in a distant and sometimes hostile place, they continue to live under the control and in the spirit of their home country. No matter how far away the residents of a colony may be planted, they continue to remember, respect, and repeat the standards and stories of their native land.”

James Moffatt, in his commentary on Philippians 3:20, suggested that Christians should think of themselves as living in “a colony of heaven.” Paul’s application seems to be this: Because of our new birth in Christ we have a new citizenship. We are heavenly colonists placed here by God to live a certain way even though we are in the midst of an unholy culture that is hostile to all that we believe and hold dear. As representatives of another “country” we are ambassadors called to represent the Lord Jesus Christ before our neighbors, coworkers, and anyone we meet.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” II Peter 3:10-13 

Believers are citizens, colonists, of heaven now. Our heavenly passport is genuine, stamped, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Are we ready to travel as soon as God calls us to our real home?

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world…Jesus answered [Pilate], ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’” John 17:14; 18:36

Roman citizenship ceremony

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

He said, “Yes.”

The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”

And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” Acts 22:25-28 (NKJV)

During New Testament times there were many ways to become a Roman citizen (civitas) with the most common being acquired by birth if both parents were Roman citizens. Emperors and generals could also grant citizenship and especially for a price. Soldiers who were not citizens (either conscripts or foreign-born auxiliaries) were awarded citizenship, a land grant, and an annual pension after twenty-five years of service. The official document certifying citizenship was called a diploma, a bronze tablet, composed of two parts, sealed together. On the outside of the front panel was written that the individual had obtained citizenship and on the back were notary seals with the names of witnesses. Inside, to avoid counterfeiting, both tables carried the text of the outside of the plate. Only a magistrate could break the seals and any tampering invalidated the document. A copy of the diploma, also in bronze, was sent to Rome and kept in the Campidoglio archive.

Roman diploma

Beginning in the reign of Julius Caesar (c. 48 B.C.), Roman colonies and free cities were established outside the Italian peninsula and all residents were granted citizenship. Roman civitas had also been extended to provincials of client states who swore allegiance to Rome. Finally, granting Roman citizenship to soldiers and native populations in provinces hastened the pace of Romanization in the Empire.

The Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen by birth, and Tarsus in Cilicia, where Paul was born, was a free city (Acts 21:39). The Emperor Pompey made Cilicia a Roman province in 64 B.C., and the capital, Tarsus, was a free city from the time of Augustus. Although it is unknown exactly how his parents became citizens of Rome, Paul was a Roman citizen by birth, which was a privilege many did not have. Some could buy Roman citizenship, but it was pricey (see Acts 22:28). The privileges of citizenship explain how Paul escaped flogging in Acts 22:25–27 and was able to appeal for a hearing before Emperor Nero in Acts 25:10–11.

Acts 22:25–27

God used the Apostle Paul’s background for His glory, and Paul testified that “God . . . set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace” (Galatians 1:15). With his Jewish upbringing and knowledge of Greek culture and philosophy from his time in Tarsus, Paul was prepared for ministry to both Jews and Gentiles throughout the Roman world. Paul’s status as a Roman citizen by birth benefited him greatly as he traveled on his missionary journeys to fulfill Jesus’ words that he would be a “chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15).

As believers we have dual citizenship – an earthly domicile where we have temporary residence and a heavenly home where Jesus promised that we will spend eternity with Him.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3

NEXT WEEK – Heavenly Citizenship

Fight the good fight of (the) faith

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

II Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)

“Fight the good fight of [the] faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

I Timothy 6:12

Whether or not the Apostle Paul meant a military metaphor in the verses above is debatable. He often uses the Greek word “fight” for a literal conflict or struggle. Clearly he means it in both verses above in a figurative sense, but the verse in II Timothy likens the Christian life to a wrestling match because the second half of the verse is about running in an athletic event. The verse in I Timothy is also figurative, but the allusion is less clear.

I believe it is possible for “fight” in both verses to be interpreted as military conflict or battle if Paul is mixing his athletic and military metaphors. An example where he does exactly this is Ephesians 6:12-13:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:12-13

The writer of these verses in Ephesians, Paul in his own words and literary style under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, compares spiritual warfare to wrestling (v. 12) and in v. 13 tells his readers to take up belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword to wage this warfare. Two metaphors are used to convey the same idea.

Spiritual warfare is a struggle which requires all our energy and strength. God has given us defensive and offensive weapons to fight such as truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. Paul tells Timothy how to fight the good fight of the faith  in I Timothy 6:12 when he follows his command with, “lay hold on eternal life…” Our eternal life began when God saved us by faith alone in His Son. That is a static truth and the result of faith.  But it’s not enough simply to possess eternal life. To fight the good fight, and wrestle our foe to the ground, we have to grasp hold of eternal life with both hands.  “Taking hold” requires faith plus obedience ( 1 Timothy 6:14).

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” I Timothy 6:17-19

Stay alert! Lay hold of eternal life! Fight the good fight!