Editorial

Dr. Reji Johnson

 

Spiritual Excavation

Is.58:12 – Isaiah writes this book during the reign of four kings (spanning a period of 60-80 years). The Assyrian king had invaded Samaria during this time and destroyed the temple while taking many of the Jews captive (Is.7, 8). Here, he says your generations will rebuild the ruins and raise its foundations. Two conditions of the land:

 

1. It is in ruins. Ephesus in Turkey is a tourist attractions for being a ghost city. The tourists do nothing more than appreciate this city of ruins. Isaiah looks back and declares a need to build this city up.
2. Some parts of the city have only reached the foundation level. Frogs cannot jump in a straight line neither can they rest in one spot on land for more than 30 seconds. This is the condition of some of our spiritual foundations.

 

Isaac the Patriarch   was probably the first to be involved in a excavation in Israel  :

 

Gen.26:18 – And Isaac dug again. He was known as the man of the well; his father as the man of the altar; and Jacob as the man of the tent. Wherever Abraham had been, he dug wells but the Philistines stopped them up with mud. Isaac located these again and gave them the same names as Abraham had. In 1820, few people gathered in Dublin, Ireland, and found the truth of the epistles had been covered in mud. They chose to search the Scriptures for pure truth, as opposed to following the rituals of the time. 280 years after assembly movement began and 100 years after it began in Kerala, we’ve shifted doctrines around for our convenience. Wells, in the Scriptures, denote the truth of His Word.
John 17:20 – Those who will believe through the words of the apostles. This is the foundation of how we ought to believe in Him. Christendom today seeks signs but we have no right to change His Word which preaches Christ crucified.

 

As we enter the year 2010, shall we examine if we are in the process of spiritual excavation so as to find the truth in all its originality  and to balance the truth with the works the  Lord want us to accomplish so as to be found perfect in His sight.