BOOK REVIEW – “A FRESH LOOK AT WHO JESUS IS”

by Nicholas J. Tavani, MD, PhD 12/2/10

Book Reviewed: WHO IS JESUS: The Central Issue of Space and Time by Charles Nestor II

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Here is a rewarding look at the Gospel account and words of Jesus woven with Old Testament narrative, and interspersed with interesting facts, many of which will be new to most readers and useful to preachers who wish to enliven their sermons with fresh insights and attention grabbing nuggets. A core theme is Nestor’s scholarly analysis of the tabernacle structure, contents , functions, sacrificial system, feasts, and more. His integration of scientific knowledge with biblical insights is quite commendable and I hope it starts a trend. Broadly speaking, this book works for both casual perusal and deeper study, for those new to the Bible as well as seasoned scripture scholars. I am going to use this book in a Bible Study class series in the coming year.
I find this kind of in depth and scholarly Bible study personally enriching in many ways: increase in one’s factual knowledge base; review of neglected but crucial scriptures such as the Temple worship of ancient Israel; the deep roots of the New Testament in Old Testament history; prophetic words and symbolism are clearly seen; Christ is seen as central to Old Testment as well as all of history and, indeed, the cosmos – “space and time”; enhances worship as shown by Psalms which draw on nature, such as “the heavens are telling” the glory of our God; grounds Christian belief in more than subjective statements or feelings, making the case for evidence-based faith that much harder for skeptics to discount; challenges Christian believers to think – to use the mind and reason as God intended and expects; to read their Bible more than devotionally but on many other fruitful levels for a lifetime of study and worship; makes a convincing case for unbelievers.

GOD IN THE DETAILS

He writes “the majesty of the story is in the nuance of the text” (p. 17) Such nuance is too ofen avoided by Christians enamoured more with esoteric (i.e., numerology and Bible codes) or popularized (i.e., discovering a cross-shaped protein laminin in the human body) factoids which are little more than entertaining confections; Nestor’s nuanced nuggets nourish the mind and refresh the spirit like a healthy meal builds up the body. It’s good stuff that lasts long after the book is finished and will “pop out” of the text each time you read the Bible. Yes, it’s THAT GOOD.
Here are some examples. On human nature: “Men and women have confidence in the most ridiculous lies, and when the truth is presented in clarity and power with fully qualified credentials, they regard it with extreme skepticism and often reject it out of hand.” (p.21) About God’s instructions to Moses concerning the Tabernacle: “it is precise, exacting” (p.45) – which is just what we see in nature, making the case for creation apologetics all the more compelling for 21st century.
In building his excellent case for Jesus’ role as Creator, he sometimes puts the cart before the horse as when he discusses the meaning of “twinkling of an eye” in terms of Planck time ; this does support the idea of “the least time possible” however his explanation describes the time it takes a proton to travel from the optic nerve to the retina; but the photon’s path would hit the retina first; the photon strikes the protein rhodopsin changing it’s configuration which triggers the optic nerve impulse; also Planck scale is many orders of magnitude smaller than any protein. But the point is well made nonetheless. It is admirable to see Christian writers and pastors desirous of demonstrating the strong concordance between science and scripture, that is, showing how general revelation points to and does not contradict special revelation. I would encourage this trend to continue in both books and sermons and it is refreshing to see him boldly show how it can be done. Perhaps a science consultant as conversant and familiar in the relevant science field as the author is in theology and biblical studies would be an added asset. He is to be commended for adding such material in a theologically oriented book.

ARTISTRY UNEXPECTEDLY EMERGES

The author loves to give the reader brief but pithy word studies which leads him in one instance to take you to one of my favorite places – Panera Bread. I will leave it for you to discover why he does this. Perhaps, next time you are in Florida, you can take him to lunch and feed both body and soul. (p. 52) He even tells us about the thread in great detail which makes you aware that, if that much effort was put into the tabernacle fabric, (p.60) and science shows incredible design on every scale of creation from the cosmos to the cell to the tiniest measure possible (Planck space), how much more must His hand be in every fiber of our body and His Spirit in the very fabric of our being! Our God is truly awesome. If you wonder why, then, don’t skeptics see all this – well, just read about goat’s hair (that’s Chapter 2). God’s beautiful artistry woven into the curtains and built into the architecture by Spirit-gifted skilled craftsmen likewise goes for the musicians who ministered in worship later as well. And this also applies to the artisans and architects who crafted things like the enormous metallic water bowl. He writes “The bronze laver is the one piece of tabernacle furniture that we have no dimensions for.” (p.78). Yet skeptics love to use this very object – the round, or circle shaped, large bronze washbasin- in their attempt to undermine the inerrancy of scripture by pointing out a supposed mathematical error: the number “pi” can be arrived at by using the information given in the text to calculate ratios which give the number “3”. They complain that pi actually equals 3.14… But they fail to point out that all measurements – even those by the most sophisticated of physics instruments such as the Planck probe recently launched to measure the age, size and other pararmeters of the very early universe – have error bars too. These skeptics fail to see that the Bible is indeed accurate by ancient standards with excellent agreement indeed. Not 2, not 4 or 5 but 3 – right on the money. The author, however, is content with the brief statement noted above.
This book made me think – maybe too much, but here goes. How do you know when the Bible is speaking metaphorically? For instance, how do we know that Rev 4:6 “a sea of glass like crystal before God’s throne” (p. 79) is just symbolic imagery yet, in Rev 15:2, Nestor says “we see God’s saints in front of God’s throne standing on a crystal sea; they are standing on the Word of God…The Word of God is literally an inexhaustible ocean of wisdom and that is what you want to be standing on.” Well, two things confound me here: first, how do we know when to take what the Bible writer says as metaphor or as actual (or both?); ie, is the “throne” real? Nestor claims it is “the universe’s headquarters” (p.103) – I don’t have a problem with that, as all the astrophysical evidence such as the cosmic microwave background, and mathematical reasoning such as the Space-Time Theorems of Stephen Hawking is pointing to a transcendent Causal Agent outside of our physical universe which is super-natural. Indeed this alone would make Jesus Christ central to space and time. Yet is the “sea” then metaphorical, which is “like crystal”? Is there something real there before the throne? If so, then later the saints are actually standing on a real crystal sea (now the terms are combined) yet Nestor is telling us they are standing on “the Word of God’ – is it actually then a huge Bible (I doubt that!) or an actual “sea” (whatever that may be – a crystalline floor of some kind?) which symbolized the Word of God? But Nestor then states it is a literal “inexhaustible ocean” and exhorts us believers to stand on it! You get the idea. I am quibbling not about the obvious truth being taught here – that what we are reading is the Word of God. But I am pointing out the challenges to amateurs like me of interpreting scripture text.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

Fulfilled prophecy fascinates me and provides some of the more compelling evidence for the veracity of the Bible. The foreshadowing in the Old Testament priesthood of Jesus, our High Priest, is masterfully explained in this fact-packed chapter. As is, this chapter could easily be a power packed little book unto itself. For instance, guiding us along another hermeneutical adventure, Nestor quotes a verse which, for some reason, only now impacts me with the full force of what Paul is saying in Hebrews3:1. He names Christ Jesus as “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Jesus, an Apostle? I guess I never really thought about that; it sends me scurrying on an adventure of my own to find out just what is meant by an apostle, and why Paul links that with Jesus being High Priest. This is a book somebody needs to write (or, likely, somebody has). See what I mean? The author’s father, Charles B. Nestor, had the same effect on me as I sat under his pulpit ministry years ago – if you are going to mess with a Nestor, you better have at least one good concordance and several solid Biblical studies references at hand, as well as an intact brain. Yes, it will do your heart good too because these men (both Nestors) preach and teach truth in love – a powerful tonic for ailing souls everywhere.
Okay, so as not to scare you off, there is plenty of wit thrown in for good measure. Take this subtitle for instance on page 99: “an Ephod, not an iPod”. Now, that’s good. And if you don’t know what in iPod is yet, don’t worry about it. But you really need to learn all about the Ephod – and the rest of the High Priest’s garments. Nestor takes you there and back again. He relates the meaning behind the connection between the gemstones woven onto the priestly garment with the meaning of the names of the tribes of Israel – the conclusion will surprise and amaze you, I’m sure, as it did me and actually gave me pause for a moment of simply praising our awesome Savior. This insightful gem about the gems of the priest shows the true power of excellent scholarship in contemporary Christian writing. And, our author tells us, “Each tribe was a gem. You are a gem to God. That is how He sees you.” Can there be better counsel, pastoral or otherwise, than this for the beat-up, put-down, stressed-out, done-in persons of our anxiety-ridden society: YOU ARE A GEM TO GOD! Take that and wear it. It takes the concept of the priesthood of the believer to a whole new affirming level. He says “Symbolically, we are included on the engraved stones above His heart. You are a gem to God. He loves you.”
Ah, those Urim and Thummim – the two stones used for discerning and decision-making. Nestor clears up some of the mystery for me quite well but stops short of describing how they actually worked. Yes, I am quite interested in this as it touches on the issue of chance and determination, and how God interacts with His creation – a very hot topic among cosmologists and biologists today. Perhaps, in his next book…..

A HARD TRUTH

Chapter Four is hard to read – by this I do not mean the text is poorly written. To the contrary, the writing is clear, concise and revealing. It is hard to read if you give yourself to the content of this precious truth: without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Reading about the blood-spattered altar, the ritual slaughter of oxen and sheep, the twisting off of dove’s heads, and more – one might feel like we are suddenly immersed in a horror movie. Indeed we are – few today appreciate the terrible toll sin has taken on the human race, and the world at large, and the terrible cost of repairing the damage. On the other hand, the details of the offerings can be as mouth-watering as a Memorial Day Barbeque.The fat cooking on the fire, the sweet aroma of specially compounded incense, the finely sifted flour and other ingredients ; the oil, the bread, the drink offerings, and the precise instructions for making and offering them all – each yields insight into how God deals with sin and points clearly to the Jesus, the Lamb of God Who, as both Priest and Sacrifice, brings the entire ancient history with it’s centuries of sacrifices and rituals, to a satisfying and glorious culmination and fulfillment by the inglorious and gory death of Christ Himself upon the Cross. This chapter will make even more sense of both the Easter/Passover season and Communion/Eucharist/Lord’s Supper, each time you celebrate it. If you were to choose just one chapter to read then Chapter Four – A Sacrifice, would be it.

A LOVE STORY

Chapter Five is simply beautiful as our author describes the metaphor of Marriage in great detail and takes us into the (not far distant, I believe) future Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We experience the Jewish wedding – a tradition which is full of joy, significance and intrinsic meaning which only the Bridegroom Jesus can fulfill. This part took me back to my own “huppah” – marriage ceremony – a quarter century ago and to what we called “the marriage supper” ( wedding reception) afterward in which a Messianic Jewish music group helped us celebrate with joyful songs and dances. At one point we were hoisted into the air, my bride and me, and carried around the room to much celebration and merriment. I can’t help but think of the Rapture, and how we will be “caught up”, as author Nestor explains it. But before discussing eschatology, he takes us through all seven Feasts of Israel, a topic of inexhaustible interest to me as it includes not just the biblical descriptions but also astronomical/geophysical (seasons, years, etc.), agricultural, historical, sociological, anthropolical, theological and prophetic components. Anyone who has an overly-sober view of Christianity, really needs to read this section. It can be summed up in the word “JOY!”. It will infuse deeper meaning into Christmas and the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and family life as well as, hopefully, inspire a celebratory expectancy among those who gather weekly in churches around the globe. It reveals the great Love Story that is the Bible – with the happiest ending, ever, for those who are called “The Bride of Christ”. But just who are they? And how will ii end? Nestor deftly delves into these questions, and, in doing so, raises some interesting points along the way. Such as Rom.11:25 – the “fullness of the Gentiles”. He says “In other words, when the total number of Gentiles has come into God’s kingdom, the church will be complete, fulfilled, and the the Lord will come for His church.” Then again later he says “But, when the exact number of people to accept Jesus as Lord have come into the Kingdom, then Jesus will send out the archangel to sound the trumpet to signify the Feast of Trumpets”. The question of election looms large over this statement and would make for some very lively discussion – but not here. All I can say comes from the ol’ spiritual “Lord, I want to be in that number…”
For those who read this book seeking to answer the question, WHO IS JESUS?, the answer is amply and stunningly displayed. It transcends the universe. Ironically, the bigger question is posed by the author in his final section which is where we too will close: WHAT SAY YOU? – N. Tavani 12/2/10