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Archive for the ‘Eastertide’ Category

Dragons, Beasts, and 666

Posted in Eastertide, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2012| 6 Comments »

Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!

I almost feel like Dorothy trying to navigate her way through the Land of Oz. But where she chanted lions and tigers and bears; we are told to beware of dragons, beasts, and 666. Dorothy and her friends didn’t know what to expect and honestly, either do we.

Revelation 13:11-12a, 18b
Then I [John] saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, . . . Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

Whether these are mythical dragons or early man’s interpretation of dinosaurs, they represent something bigger than we are, stronger, fearsome, and non-human. Let’s just take a Sauropoda or Brontosaurus, an average human next to that one is about as tall as toe to mid-calf of one leg of the dinosaur. That would be like a man next to a mouse, a very small mouse. What do we have in common? What do we share? And if, today, we actually encountered a malevolent creature of that size, wouldn’t we fear it?

According to Revelation, that’s not all, we also have multi-headed beasts and mysterious numbers to fear, or just one number, really, that mysterious 666 which has become synonymous with evil, the devil, and other negative connotations. It’s universally accepted as sinister except for those who relish in sympathizing with such symbolism such as the Aryan Brotherhood, the Growing in Grace Church of Miami who follow self-proclaimed “christ-figure” Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, the Cult of Saturn, and many more.

I remember my first exposure to all of the prophetic tumult in the 1970’s about the end times, 666, the mark of the beast, and so on. I was terrified as more and more people seemed to believe in it and write about it. For many, the last days were identified by many signs like the modern day happenings in Israel, the European Union, and the demise of paper money for e-cash. And of course, more recently, the pathetic predictions of charlatans such as Howard Camping whose rapture was to have happened last year on May 21st.

Just as there are good witches and evil witches in Oz, so do we have the spectrum here in “Kansas.” Good and evil are ever before us with the narrow good road generally appearing as the least likely way to travel.

Wisdom calls out in the market place [Proverbs 1:20] and yet we do not hear her. We are running to and fro looking for signs and wonders and yet do not see the most obvious sign of all: our own biases.

The poor, the orphan, the widow, the single mom, and the homeless are fighting the dragon and beasts every day as well as those humans who behave as though 666 is their motto, withholding what they have out of fear losing it all. Oh God, is that my number after all? Forgive me.

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War in Heaven

Posted in Eastertide, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Of course, this “war in heaven” is raged all the time. Despite the various views of Bible scholars, both Old Testament and New, I cannot eschew my commitment to timelessness to all things heavenly and Godly. And how do I know this? Just look around.

Revelation 12:7-8, 9b
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. . . He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

If the effects of this war in heaven is the hurling of evil forces to earth, then we have had no respite from it. Throughout the ages, earth and human have experienced nothing but travail, fighting against one another for one stupid reason after another.

We have always longed for things we could not have. This is the mark of evil.

“They [Michael and his angels] triumphed over him [the dragon and his angels]
by the blood of the Lamb [the Christ]
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death. [Revelation 12:11]

This is the life of paradox: taking the “strength and power” of the Christ, the lamb, the peace that passes understanding, and doing battle against evil. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Ephesians 6:12]

Oh, if I could just get this in my head and heart and mind and not struggle so much with traditional strength, with my own determination, and my own flappings.

Gandhi got it. Martin Luther King got it. Mother Teresa got it. What about you and me?

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Two Witnesses

Posted in Eastertide, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The two witnesses, as depicted in the Bamberg Apocalypse, an 11th century illuminated manuscript.

I really am trying to plow my way through these final chapters of Revelation, but it’s slow going. Not that I don’t understand what I am reading or appreciate the wonderful images and symbolism. I simply don’t know where the application for me, right now, might be hidden.

Revelation 11:3-5
And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.

I have always liked the story of the two witnesses in its seeming detail and yet, mysterious exclusions. After all, no one really knows who these two are or might be. Some claim they are Moses and Elijah (both seen at Christ’s transfiguration [Mark 9:2-9]) while others say they are two new characters in the end times story. In any case, they stand around for three and a half years prophesying and doing battle with anyone who tries to interfere with them. They are not depicted as particularly benevolent or nice. They are clearly on a mission.

And why just two? Are they symbols for two people groups or two types of ideas? Who knows? I don’t know. But based on the remaining events after their time, they do seem to represent a turning point, a kind of last chance to hear the message. After they finish their business, evil in the world brings out the “big guns,” that is, the Beast from the Abyss. Whoever or whatever this might be, it has the power to destroy the two witnesses and they remain dead for three and a half days. Then, miraculously, they are revived and ascend (or disappear). With their disappearance, there is a great catastrophic earthquake and 7000 people are numbered as dying. The survivors, even at this late hour in the long experiences of woes and angels and death and destruction, “give glory to God in heaven” [Revelation 11:13]. Go figure.

There are many examples in scripture about the number two: Noah’s ark animals two by two [Genesis 7:9] while Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs [Mark 6:7] and of course, there are a number of well known couples like Adam and Eve, Joseph and Mary, Jacob and Rachel. And we cannot forget the friendship pairs either: Ruth and Naomi or Jonathan and David. And like the yin and yang of Chinese tradition, the Judeo-Christians have their alpha and omega (the beginning and the end), light and dark, good and evil, heaven and earth, two witnesses are required to confirm a crime [Numbers 35:30], two lamp stands, two fish, and many more.

Who are the two witnesses in me? Do they speak the same message or are they opposites? Does one begin and the other finish? Is it the good cop/bad cop routine? Is it Abbot and Costello? Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin? The Smothers Brothers? Some duos are opposites while others are the same. Some compliment one another while others grind. Some war against each other while others make love and peace.

Is it possible the two within me are the old self and the new? Or my spirit and the Holy Spirit?

Part of the mission of becoming a follower a Christ is melding the two’s into one. The human model for that is supposed to be marriage where two become one.

I can well imagine that these two Revelation witnesses, once resurrected, also united. The work was finished.

And so, that is my application: two become one . . . eventually. Life is the process. Faith is the process. We don’t experience “one” until we have lived out the fullness of “two.”

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Sweet and Sour

Posted in Eastertide, tagged , , , , , , , on April 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

What will you eat today? What will I consume? I know I am too quick to “eat” gossip, those juicy tidbits doled out by well meaning colleagues and friends. But no matter how sweet the information seems at first, it’s ultimate value is bitter to the soul.

Revelation 10:10
I [John] took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

I have said before that I struggle with judging others but I”m beginning to see that the gossip thing is seriously vying for first place. As a gregarious person, I am always talking with people and the tendency to gobble up unbidden news is always there.

Today, then, just today, I must be aware of this tendency and flee. “Tell me later,” I can say or “Just a minute, I think I hear my cell phone,” or “Hold that thought” and run to the ladies room. Truly, I must flee.

And what about the gossip I long to tell. Lord, help me count to ten before I say another word.

Focus. Focus.

I know this verse from Revelation is not about gossip, but it reminded me of the phenomenon all the same. In reality, the little scroll that John consumed, held an unspoken prophecy, a piece of news that could not be shared with the world. Will we ever know?

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Seek Peace and Pursue It

Posted in Eastertide, Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Photo by James Thobe

Peace is another word for God as is Light and Love and Jesus. I seek and I find and then I must pursue the next seeking and the next finding.

I Peter 3:11
They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. [Psalm 34:14]

Through the course of this Lenten study on seeking, I have discovered that seeking is also asking, it’s an internal process, an acknowledgment of now and a need change, it’s humbling, it’s sowing, it’s trusting in both the process and the results, it’s repentance, it’s persistence and desire (as strong as thirst in the desert), and most of all, it’s learning to recognize the One who is sought. It’s a cycle of findings.

Like any other spiritual practice, it’s a discipline and requires both mindfulness and diffidence. This is a journey for the long haul. This is a lifelong practice.

I lose the sense of process so quickly along the way. My personality is one that prefers projects (beginning, middle, and END). I want to get there. I want to see the finish line so I know I’m going the right way.

But, alas, the walk of faith is not built this way. I know it in my head and yet, I keep trying to change the rules of engagement.

In nature, every season has a new challenge, it’s either too wet or too dry, too cold or too hot. Predators abound as do victims. Disease finds root and spreads. Death appears unyielding and potent, but then new life springs up with even more vigor, like new growth after a devastating forest fire.

Hope and faith are the fuel of seeking.

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How Forgiveness Works

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on June 11, 2011| 3 Comments »

It’s important to seize and exercise forgiveness; otherwise, the whole point of the Christ/Messiah sacrifice is lost. It’s God’s forgiveness and intentional dis-remembering that manifests in the crucifixion and renews our direct access to God.

Hebrews 10:17-18
Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

It’s big: forgiveness. There is more power in forgiveness than any other aspect of faith. Forgiveness works for both believers and non-believers. It’s like gravity. If it’s genuine, it generates freedom.

But here’s the part that took me a long time to truly understand. Forgiveness is for the giver moreso than the receiver. It is my act of forgiving that frees me from the results of unforgiveness.

I did not say that this makes forgiveness easy. But it’s benefits are not lessened or increased by its difficulty.

Forgiveness begins with a choice, not with a feeling.

When I forgive, I can begin to let go of the expressions and allies of unforgiveness like anxiety, anger, distrust, bitterness, hardness of heart, worry, conversations and images stuck in replay, negative expectations, disappointment, and even ill health.

To withhold forgiveness is a direct assault on the heart that the Holy Spirit is mentoring within.

I begin each day now with my acknowledgement and need for forgiveness — specifically! I name everything that comes to mind. Sometimes, those things are from yesterday and sometimes, I’m surprised to find a piece of old baggage cropping up, a hidden room who’s door must be opened, a pebble that is not a pearl at all, but a stone of that has been secretly growing within a shell of resentment. God reveals as I am able.

Some people are slow to forgive because they believe this sets the other person free. Nothing could be further from the truth. Once we let go, the judgment lands at the feet of God. While I hold on to any pain that someone else has caused me, no matter how unfairly, I hinder the work of God.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord [Deuteronomy 32:35.” [Romans 12:19, Amplified]

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Second Coming

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 8, 2011| 3 Comments »

The second appearance of the Christ is critical to the faith. But I must say, it’s been an event a long time coming. No one can really imagine what the Second Coming might look like. Scriptures are fairly vague at best.

Hebrews 9:28
. . . so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

There’s Revelation 1:7 — “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him. . . ” and Matthew 24:30 — “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” and II Thessalonians 1:7b — “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

So what do we have here: clouds, flames, and signs with the Son of Man manifesting in the midst of it all. Artists have rendered this idea/image as either the Bible School Jesus all in white, robes flowing, or some kind of King image, all in gold, often times on a horse, and full of majesty (whatever that means). In either case, he is recognizable. Me? I don’t think so. I don’t think we’ll understand the Second Coming any more than we understand the ways of nature. We may be able to describe its properties, but not its essence.

Some people talk about the Second Coming of Christ as their chance to say to unbelievers, “See, I told you so,” “I warned you!” They act as though they wouldn’t be in the same shock and terror and wonder! Face it. How many times do things appear out of nowhere in the sky? I have to laugh as I consider whether all the spaceship movies are getting us ready for that appearance.

Of course, not everyone believes this can even happen. I remember standing at a bus stop every day to wait for the public bus that would carry me to high school (this is pre-school buses in Indianapolis). On the corner was a church of some type or another and on their sign, it always said, “Jesus is coming soon!” From my limited understanding of Christianity in those years, I thought they were really stupid. How could Jesus come again if he had already come. This was a teaching I never got (or understood) in Vacation Bible School or the more formal Latvian Lutheran church services. I don’t think I was alone.

A Second Coming is not something which we can prepare for in any way. When Harold Camping touted his May 21st forecast of judgment day (now pushed back to October 21st), he made it sound like people could actually do something in time for that day. That’s not the purpose of Christ’s coming. It’s the end of the age. Whatever happens next will be new, different, not recognizable. It may mean death or it may mean transformation. It’s a nexus moment. When the Christ comes, and if indeed, it’s “in the sky,” then the universe has changed dramatically. Both things cannot co-exist and be the same as before.

And why do the scriptures say that people will mourn? Is it because they didn’t believe or is it the loss of what we know. Our children and our children’s children will not know life as we know it. Everything must change. Everything will change. And if we don’t like change now, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

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