Theology Thursday: Buffet 1

Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him.

Welcome to the first Theology Thursday Buffet! Occasionally, we’ll take a break from addressing one topic in long form and instead answer several reader-submitted questions in shorter form.

If you have a topic you’d like to see included in a future Theology Thursday Buffet, please respond to this email (or any future Theology Thursday email) with your question! And don’t hesitate to ask, because if you’re wondering about something, it likely means somebody else is too.

Let’s grab our plate and dive in.

Question: In the Old Testament, I read LORD most of the time, and Lord sometimes. In the New Testament, Lord is used for Jesus, but the fully capitalized LORD seems to be absent. Why is that?

Short answer: LORD (used mostly in the OT) is another way of writing/saying the very name of God himself, while Lord (used mostly in the NT for Jesus) is more like a title and an indicator of status or position. 

Longer answer: The Hebrews had a divine name used exclusively for God: Yahweh, or YHWH, without the vowels. LORD (all caps) is our English translation of YHWH, called the Tetragrammaton. The Tetragrammaton is the name of God in the Old Testament, written as four Hebrew consonants: Yodh, Heh, Waw, and Heh. The word “Tetragrammaton” is Greek for “the four letters.” In the Bible, the Tetragrammaton is the only personal name used to refer to God.

In the Old Testament, when Lord (not all caps) is used, it usually translates from the Hebrew word adonai which means master or lord. This is also the term used often in the New Testament for Jesus (translated from the Greek kyrios), and has continued usage in more modern settings to denote nobility or status. Think: Lord of the Manor, or Lord Voldemort, or the Lord of the Rings. The word “lord” indicates a person has power and authority, which makes sense in the context of assigning that title to Jesus in the New Testament writings.   

In both the Old and New Testaments, when Lord is used for God the Father or God the Son, the intent is to communicate that God is ruler not just of our hearts, but over all creation and the entire cosmos through all of time.

Question: Are microchip implants the “mark of the beast?”

When Christians (or anyone, really) refer to the “mark of the beast” in the Bible, they are generally referencing Revelation 13:15-18. There are a few other places in Revelation where a version of the phrase is used as well. 

The developments in recent years in medical implant chip and RFID technologies has caused some people to wonder if these are the mark of the beast or are what could become the mark of the beast. There’s good news here: the answer is no. 

The exact nature of the mark of the beast as mentioned in Revelation is debated among scholars, with most honest Bible thinkers admitting that the scripture does not provide certainty regarding what these marks will look like or consist of. What we do know is that the mark of the beast will be something given only to those who worship the Antichrist. 

If you worship Christ Jesus and only Christ Jesus, then you don’t have to worry about it. You can make your own judgment about the wisdom and value of allowing a medical or financial microchip to be implanted under your skin, but these are not what Revelation is talking about. 

The question of what is meant by “Antichrist” is a topic for another time, but it will do today to understand this person/entity as being in direct, powerful opposition to the Kingdom of God. The mark of the beast will be used to identify who is faithful not to God but to the kingdom of the Antichrist. 

Relatedly, the meaning of the numbers 666 in that same Revelation passage has been a source of much debate and disagreement through the years as well. We don’t know exactly what is meant here, either, but we do know the number refers to a person, not a date: This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666 (Revelation 13:18). 

Somehow, the number 666 will identify the Antichrist, and when he is revealed the specific answers to these questions will be made clear. 

For Christians, these passages can be the source of much intrigue and study, but they are ultimately a cause for hope, not fear. We know who wins! 

They shouted loudly, “Victory belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Revelation 7:10). 

Question: I grew up in a church that taught that dancing was a sin, or at least that it was strictly against the rules. Should Christians dance?

These kinds of behavioral or social activity questions (dancing, drinking alcohol, getting a tattoo or body piercing, smoking marijuana, etc.) can be put into one of four categories: 

1) things the Bible explicitly permits, 2) things the Bible explicitly prohibits, 3) things the Bible does not prohibit but to which it prescribes caution or contextual discernment (different answers depending on when, where, and how), 4) things the Bible does not mention, and for which we have to use our best judgment given the other commands of scripture. 

I think dancing falls into category 3. 

No passage of scripture permits or prohibits dancing, but it is mentioned a few times. On the positive side of the ledger: in Exodus 15:20, Miriam and other women danced to celebrate the victory God’s power had brought at the Red Sea, and in 2nd Samuel 6:12-16, David danced before God to celebrate the Ark of the Covenant being brought back to Jerusalem.

On the negative side of the ledger: In Exodus 32, while Moses was up on the mountain talking to God, the Israelites built an idol and danced in worship of that false god. . 

Basically, all of the positive references to dancing in scripture are scenes of God’s people dancing in worship or praise to God (e.g. Psalm 149:3; 150:4). Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is “a time to dance,” and by implication there are times not to. 

I find myself leaning on two principles when it comes to this topic:  

First, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies belong to God; they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, everything we do should honor the one who gave us breath, and nothing we do should dishonor him or his call for us to live holy lives. 

Second, all over our scripture, especially the New Testament, are warnings and commands to avoid sexual sin. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest that many kinds of dancing are designed and practiced purposefully to enable and encourage the very type of sexual sins we’re told to avoid. 

So, the answer to this question (like the answer to most things) is: it depends. Are you dancing in a God-honoring way? If so, go for it! If you’re dancing to bring attention to yourself or use your body in ways that God does not desire, that is sin, and should obviously be avoided. 

Question: Where in the Bible can I figure out if I should vote for Trump or Harris?

Just kidding, we didn’t receive this question. Our scripture doesn’t tell us who to pull the lever for every fourth November. BUT! The Bible does have interesting things to say about how Christians should engage with culture (including politics), and we’ll explore some of that in a sermon in October, a couple weeks before the election. Stay tuned!

To know Him and to make Him known!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to minierccstaff@gmail.com and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.