(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
How do we respond to “too big to fail?”
Intro:
Hey, shoutout to listener Linda who likes the ways numbers fall…this is episode #1234 (and yes, that’s 1200 programs of reading the Bible into a microphone). So, happy Monday to Linda and all of you, keep the cards and letters coming, and thank you for joining me on this journey to know and love Jesus more deeply.
One phrases popularized by the POTUS back in the recession of 2008-2010 was, “Too big to fail,” and I remember thinking, “Name one anything — company, country, kingdom — that’s ever been too big to fail. That’s poppycock for people who don’t know history.”
Today you’re going hear going to get a little history, in this case about another country 2600 years who once thought that they were too big to fail. And you’ll get a biblical response to today’s focus question — How do we respond to the idea of “too big to fail?”
New Testament segment:
If we were sitting and reading Revelation all the way through in one sitting, one thing we’d notice is that John inserts, figuratively speaking, parenthetical statements, interludes if you will. He did that between the first six seals in ch6 and the seventh seal in ch8 to “convey assurance of the protecting hand of God over his people during the Messianic judgments.”(1) Now we see him do the same thing between the sixth and seventh trumpets for a different purpose.
First, a solemn declaration is made of the certainty and nearness of the end… secondly, John’s commission to prophesy is freshly affirmed and… extended…, and thirdly, the task of the church in the time of tribulation is made plain, namely to bear witness to Christ before the opponents of the gospel…
Here for the first time the figure of the antichrist appears (11:7), and the dual nature of the last tribulation becomes apparent, namely judgments of God upon those who oppose him and war against the church by the followers of antichrist.(1)
The bad news is that the church isn’t promised that we’ll avoid said war against the church. The good news is that we’ve read the book and know how it ends.
Passage: Revelation 10-11
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 34
Words: ~775
And that my friends, is either a wonderful or fearful thing…time for judgement.
Old Testament segment:
The next couple days we’re going to hear oracles against Egypt…which Ezekiel delivers more of than any other prophet. At this point in history, ~605BC-587BC, here’s whattup:
Egypt…was a superpower in slow decline. At the height of power her sphere of influence had extended the whole way up the eastern Mediterranean, embracing Palestine and what is now Lebanon and western Syria. When the Babylonians replaced the Assyrians as the dominant force in Middle-Eastern military politics, Egypt allied herself with the Assyrians in order to stop the advance of the Babylonians. The result was a complex power-struggle, and the smaller states in the region—such as Jerusalem/Judah—had to choose their friends carefully.
…Egypt had much national pride… She…(had) considerable resources, …a marvelous imperial history, …sizeable army, and widespread political influence throughout the Middle East. Yet her confidence in her glorious past was misplaced. Her fate was to be humbled.
Passage: Ezekiel 29
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 21
Words: ~613
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 21:1-12
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 12
Words: ~191
The bottom line:
So how do we respond to the idea of “too big to fail?”
First, check our hearts. Jesus himself said “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Mt 24:44, ESV) The question “if?”, but “when?” How much more do you need?
Second, get an eternal perspective. We don’t have to read much in the Bible to figure out that Solomon and all his wealth wasn’t too big to fail, the Romans and all their might weren’t too big to fail.
Third, pray. Pray that you’ll not get complacent in your wealth or job or current lack of conflict. Pray for the opportunity to share.
Finally, when you do share, just ask questions? In what do you place your trust? What do you think the Bible’s story about difficult times ahead?
The only way to live, my friends, is in the moment is with an eternal perspective. What God has already done should give us confidence in His promise of what He will do. And that should give us the courage to love and, dare I say, a whole pile of hope.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) George R. Beasley-Murray, “Revelation,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1439.
(2) L. John McGregor, “Ezekiel,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 735.