Hey, folks! I just wanted to write a quick note to apologize for my delay in posting the next section of the End Times series. It will be up soon, as I am still working on it!
However, at the same time, I have been reading the Scriptures and studying them in regards to Predestined Salvation (typically called Calvinism). Over the last two months, I've been studying the writings of Calvin, I'm studying the ideas surrounding the Calvinistic acronym T.U.L.I.P., but, above all, I'm studying God's Word.
Look, where I am now is firmly in the belief that Predestined Salvation is a very, very, dangerous heresy. More dangerous than I think most of us realize. I do, however, have one desire above all else, and that is to preach and understand the character and nature of God, even if it involves an aspect of Him that I don't typically like. So what I need, right now, is prayer. I need prayer that His Word will be revealed, although I have a pretty strong conviction that His Word is against Predestined Salvation. IF that remains my firm conviction, then I need prayer for another reason:
Opposition to the Truth. There are many, many people who hold to Calvinism, many of them my friends. So the current plan is to write a series refuting Predestination, and why it is a false teaching, and for that, I need prayers. But, I am also open to the Spirit, and if the Spirit is trying to move me away from this plan, then I need prayers that I will be submissive.
Thank you for your prayers, and thank you, as always, for reading my posts! Still not sure why so many of you are. . . .
Friday, March 4, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
The Iron Man
The world tree connects the seven worlds, one to another. In our
world, there was once a hero, who desired to destroy a magical golden
bird. The bird flew higher, and the man climbed the world tree, up and
up. Just when he reached the bird, the bird turned into a great cat,
and the hero was unable to catch him. So higher they went, until the
hero was once more about to lay hands on the great cat, but the cat
turned into a deer, and the deer climbed higher still. The hero
pursued, and just as he was about to lay hands on the deer, the deer
turned into a beautiful maiden. The hero instantly stopped, and was so
overcome with love, that he asked her to marry him.
"I will marry you," she said, "but you must help me, first."
"I will do whatever you ask of me," was his reply.
"My world is too hot in the day, and too cold in the evening. This is because there are two suns, and two moons. You must destroy both one sun and one moon, and then I will marry you."
So the hero climbed the tree, but as he neared the suns, it became too hot. So he waited until nightfall, and climbed higher still, but it grew too cold. The hero knew that he could not do this task on his own, so he climbed down the tree and sought out aid from the sea.
He told the sea about his task, and how he was unable to win the maiden's hand unless he could accomplish this difficult feat. The sea bade him to climb into a cauldron, and the hero did so. The sea heated the cauldron until it boiled inside, and the man was consumed by the heat, melted into many different parts. The sea then took those parts and forged a new man, a man made of iron. In his hand was an iron bow, with iron arrows.
The iron man climbed the tree, unaffected by the heat and cold. When he reached the top, he shot his arrow at the second sun, and it quickly extinguished. When night fell, he shot another arrow at the second moon, and it, too, was extinguished. The iron man climbed down the tree, and returned to our world, where it was now neither too hot nor too cold. He found his maiden, who married him.
-From Siberian folklore
"I will marry you," she said, "but you must help me, first."
"I will do whatever you ask of me," was his reply.
"My world is too hot in the day, and too cold in the evening. This is because there are two suns, and two moons. You must destroy both one sun and one moon, and then I will marry you."
So the hero climbed the tree, but as he neared the suns, it became too hot. So he waited until nightfall, and climbed higher still, but it grew too cold. The hero knew that he could not do this task on his own, so he climbed down the tree and sought out aid from the sea.
He told the sea about his task, and how he was unable to win the maiden's hand unless he could accomplish this difficult feat. The sea bade him to climb into a cauldron, and the hero did so. The sea heated the cauldron until it boiled inside, and the man was consumed by the heat, melted into many different parts. The sea then took those parts and forged a new man, a man made of iron. In his hand was an iron bow, with iron arrows.
The iron man climbed the tree, unaffected by the heat and cold. When he reached the top, he shot his arrow at the second sun, and it quickly extinguished. When night fell, he shot another arrow at the second moon, and it, too, was extinguished. The iron man climbed down the tree, and returned to our world, where it was now neither too hot nor too cold. He found his maiden, who married him.
-From Siberian folklore
Friday, February 12, 2016
Barbecue Sauce
With spring rapidly approaching, I thought it might be fun to have a barbecue rub/sauce recipe. The beauty of recipes like this is that you can adjust to taste: if you like heat, up the cayenne; if you can't stand spicy, cut it altogether.
For the rub, combine:
1 T smoked paprika
2 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 t cayenne pepper
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 year
For the sauce, combine:
Dry rub (above)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c ketchup
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
Apply generously to your favorite meat
For the rub, combine:
1 T smoked paprika
2 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 t cayenne pepper
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 year
For the sauce, combine:
Dry rub (above)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c ketchup
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
Apply generously to your favorite meat
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Seven Seals, Part 1
"The Judgments": twenty-one of some of the most puzzling, often gruesome, events that the Bible reveals. Originally, I wasn't going to address any of them. Then I decided I should address the first four seal judgments, popularly called "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Upon further reflection, though, I think we should discuss all of them, at least to some degree, because while many of them are straightforward (the silence in heaven, for example), some are not so straightforward (see 9:1-6). What I really want to talk about, however, is context, because these judgments - particularly the "Four Horsemen" - are so often taken out of context and misinterpreted, that most people who study this are fed inaccurate information and never realize it. Most often, the people feeding the inaccurate information don't even realize it. There are certain interpretations that are so ingrained in our church culture, that most of us don't realize these ideas are - sometimes - completely unbiblical.
So here's what I would like to address broadly, before we even talk about the first seven "judgments": reading Revelation. Most of us read Revelation in little chunks. We read Chapter 1, for example. Then we move on to the church at Ephesus in Chapter 2 on the next day. Then we read about Smyrna the next day, and so on. What happens is that we read passages that are intimately connected to one another, but we read them weeks, even months apart. It's hard to put Chapter 13 in context of Chapter 5 when it's been fourteen days since you read Chapter 5.
Or, worse yet, we're studying it in Sunday School, and it's months between two related passages. And, truthfully, the person preparing the lesson for Sunday School each week is most likely doing the same thing, reading a couple verses one week, doing a lesson on it, and then reading the next couple of verses for the next lesson. The basic idea here is that everyone, from teachers to students, is, by and large, taking Revelation out of context. This is what often happens with the Seal Judgments.
Now, I'm not trying to dictate how you read the Scriptures, and what I'm giving you is only advice, but I strongly recommend doing five things before you ever start studying Revelation verse by verse. The first is to read the book, in its entirety, in one sitting. Read it start to finish, 1:1 - 22:21. The next day, read Daniel in its entirety. The third day, read Zechariah in its entirety. The fourth day, read Matthew 24 and 25. The fifth day, read Luke 21. The sixth day, read I Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11. Then, lastly, read Revelation again. Truthfully, carve out the time to do this, particularly if you're committed to studying this topic, because it will give you a context for everything you're going to study in Revelation. So here's the basic deal, after one week you will have: read Daniel, read Zechariah, read Matthew 24 and 25, read Luke 21, read I Thessalonians 4:12 - 5:11, and read Revelation twice. I know it's a lot of work, but just as we tend to take passages in Revelation out of context of the book, we also take Revelation out of context of the Bible. The Bible's a big book - it's easy to take things out of context, but I, personally, feel that this preparation will aide you in your studies, so I highly recommend it.
At this point, it's up to you how much you study each day. Maybe you spend one day on Chapter 1, maybe an entire week. Whatever - it's up to you. Here's the key: at the end of Chapter 1, read Revelation in its entirety again, putting the first chapter in context of the entire book, because Revelation was not written in chapters, but as one long letter. Then, the next day, read Daniel again. Then Zechariah on the next day. Then Matthew 24 and 25 on the next day, and so on. Then read Revelation, in its entirety, again. Then you can go back to studying Revelation 2. Then, do the same thing with Chapters 3, 4, and so on. The important thing is that, at intervals during your study, you are putting each chapter within the proper context of the book, and you're putting Revelation within the proper context of Scripture as a whole.
The only other suggestion I would have is that you have a really good study Bible or concordance - one with cross references and whatnot - because Luke, Thessalonians, Matthew, Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation are not the only places in the Scriptures that deal with eschatology. Paul addresses it in other places, Peter addresses it, Joel and Isaiah address it, Ezekiel addresses it, Jesus addresses it in Luke . . . I could go on. There are even what appears to be scattered references throughout the Books of Moses. so cross references are useful. But the bottom line is context,and because it's impossible to literally study the entire Bible in one sitting, we have to break it up in sections. This is, to me at least, the most useful way of keeping everything in context.
Okay, let's get on with the Seal Judgments. The seals themselves appear in Chapter 6, but I want to back up to Chapter 5 first (context!):
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne [see Revelation 4] a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was worthy to open the scroll or even look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding seven bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (5:1-8).
Before we go further, I want to stop and take a look at an interesting observation I came across on (I know! I know!) the internet. Someone observed that John can't find anyone at all, not even in heaven, worthy to open the scroll. Suddenly, when John is about as depressed as he could possible get, an angel calls his attention to the Lamb, a Lamb who was not visible up until that moment. Get that? Jesus isn't in Heaven while John is looking for someone to open the scroll, but then, suddenly He is, in His slain glory. Not only is He in heaven, though, he's in the middle of the throne, the throne that John studied and described, in detail, in Chapter 4. So John observes the throne of God, sans Lamb, can't find anyone anywhere who can open the scroll in God's hand, but then, suddenly, the sacrificed Lamb appears, and He is deemed worthy because "[He was] slain, and with [His] blood [He] purchased men for God." The comment I came across was that John was observing events in Heaven that happened immediately after Jesus' crucifixion. In other words, John is taken to heaven, but he's taken to a point in the past, the moment when our crucified Lord ascended into heaven, at which point - get this - at which point He opens the first seal: "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals" (Revelation 6:1).
Now, first, this is an excellent reminder that the Book of Revelation means, literally, a Revelation. It does not, in all circumstances, deal with future events. We forget that, I think, and try to "figure out" what each part of the book means in order to identify it when it happens. But as we saw some time ago, part of Revelation deals with the birth of Christ, so events in Revelation are clearly not always future events.
This also means that, according to this interpretation at least, the first seal could already have been opened, and it was opened after Jesus' crucifixion (or, possibly, Ascension). I find this interesting, although it's not without problems, most of which we'll explore in more detail later. But it is interesting, nonetheless.
Regardless of when the scroll is first opened, the breaking of the seals releases events on earth. The first four depict horses and riders that are, enigmatically, straightforward, and yet somewhat unclear:
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures [see 4:6-8] say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:1-8).
Now, popular interpretation identifies the White Rider as the pre-Satanically-empowered Antichrist. The symbols of this rider - the crown, the bow without arrows, the color white - have all been discussed elsewhere ad nauseum. However, since there may be some of you reading this who are unfamiliar with these symbols, I'll discuss them (very) briefly. White almost always stands for spiritual purity in the Scriptures. Even throughout Revelation, white stands for spiritual purity:
"'Come now, let us settle this matter,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'" (Isaiah 1:18).
"He who overcomes will . . . be dressed in white" (Revelation 3:5)
"Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer" (6:11).
"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True" (19:11).
So why is this "judgment," as it were, one of spiritual purity? The key is in the crown, bow, and the fact that the rider is bent on conquest. Much like the lamb/dragon in Revelation 13, this is a spiritual conquest, but is it pure? The crown most likely represents an authority, the bow most likely represents might and strength, and the lack of arrows most likely represents a peaceful conquest. Now, some will contend that this is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a revival that will sweep the globe.
That's fine, but I'm not sure it's true. Nor am I certain that it represents the Antichrist, for one main reason: Revelation never connects the two, not once. If you've read through Revelation in one sitting, you may have noticed that fact. If not, the next time you read through Revelation, pay attention: not once are we told that the First Seal is the same person as the Beast. In fact, I'm not even sure the First Seal represents a man, and here's the reason: none of the other horses represent people.
The second is War, obviously, as the rider is "given power to take peace from earth and to make men slay each other." The third is famine, affecting large numbers of people as "daily bread" becomes almost impossible to buy. A quart of wheat is, roughly, enough for one person in that time period, so a man would have to work for an entire day just to feed himself for that day. There is a possibility that this refers, not to famine, but to inflation, but the fact that oil and wine - crops whose roots grow deep enough to avoid problems during a drought - are untouched doesn't lend itself to that interpretation. The fourth is fairly straightforward: people die, and Hell follows death.
Taking all of that into consideration - that the fourth horse isn't a person, the third horse isn't a person, and the second horse isn't a person - it seems unlikely that the white horse would represent a person. But if not a person, as popular interpretations assert, what, then, could the First Seal represent?
Jesus says some things in Luke 21 that I believe help interpret this passage. Before we get to that, let's see seals five and six:
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
I watched as He opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place (Revelation 6:9-14).
We're told two things within the Fifth Seal: the first, is that the martyrdom of the Saints will continue. This is currently happening. But we're also told that the martyrdom won't just continue, it will continue until a certain number of believers have died. There is, in other words, a set time for this martyrdom to happen. I don't know when that ends, of course, but I do know that martyrdom of Christians has been going on in parts of the world, almost continually, for two-thousand years. We tend to forget this these days, but even the Crusades were largely a defensive attack against the martyrdom of Christians in various parts of the Catholic Empire (I'm not commenting on whether the Crusades were good or bad, just on the fact that even when Christianity was "aggressive" to a fault, there was still martyrdom of Christians). Today, in various Middle Eastern countries, Christians are being martyred. In places in China, India, and N. Korea, Christians are being imprisoned and executed simply for being Christians. In parts of Africa, same thing. Martyrdom is taking place, even today. To say, then, that the Fifth Seal will happen in the future, is possible, but not necessarily true, because the Fifth Seal could have already been opened.
So how does all of this help us to interpret the White Horse? Let's check out Luke 21 (don't worry, we'll get back to the Sixth Seal):
Some of His disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."
"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
He replied, "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."
Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places; and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of My name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your minds not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of Me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the seas. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming to the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:5-28).
What is Jesus saying, here? In verses 8-11, He first tells them about wars, plagues, and whatnot (the part most Christians quote whenever something bad happens in the news). "But before all this," He says, "they will lay hands on you and persecute you" (12). So, first, comes the persecution of the disciples.
This has already happened. All of them were martyred for their faith, with the exception of John, who was exiled. So, Jesus says, first there will come persecution of the early Church.
At the same time, Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies, and its desolation will come (20). This already happened, too. The soon-to-be-Emperor Titus surrounded Jerusalem with his armies, destroying the city and its temple in 70 A.D. (see Luke 21:6). Notice that all of this comes before the events of verses 8-11. Before. So, sometime after this, there will, according to Jesus, be four "signs" to look for:
1) Spiritual deception.
Look at verse 8: "He replied, 'Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, "I am He," and "The time is near." Do not follow them.'"
2) War.
"'When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away'" (9).
3) Famine, pestilence, and death.
"'There will be . . . famines and pestilences in various places'" (11).
4) Earthquakes and astronomical signs.
"There will be great earthquakes . . . and fearful events and great signs from heaven'" (11).
Notice anything . . . interesting? After 70 A.D., but "before the time of the end," there will be astronomical signs and earthquakes, preceded by famine and pestilence, preceded by war, and, preceding all of this, a spiritual deception.
Now, let's go back to Revelation 6. The sixth seal was, what? A great earthquake, the sun turning to the color of sackcloth, and the moon turning the color of blood. The fourth seal? Death by "famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). The third seal? Famine. The second seal? War. Notice the pattern? This would mean, then, that the First Seal, the Rider on the White Horse, isn't a person, but a great deal of spiritual deception that spreads throughout the world. Conquers it, in fact, and it does so with power and authority. I believe that the events of Revelation 6 - the first six seals - outline and give detail to the passage in Luke 21, a passage in which Jesus clearly tells us that these things happen before the time of the end. In fact, Jesus connects them to the martyrdom of the apostles and the destruction of the temple.
This places the seals, not at some point in our future, but partially in the past, as well as right now, in the present. Remember, the Scriptures never once connect the Beast with the First Seal. If the First Seal represents a single person, it's the only seal that does - the rest deal with broad topics and events, but not a particular individual. This is inline with the idea that I stated earlier, that Jesus opened the First Seal fairly soon after His crucifixion/resurrection. This means that for those who are waiting to see "the Antichrist" show up on the scene to make a covenant with Israel and know that the First Seal has officially been opened, you may be looking for the wrong thing.
Notice I said, may. Let's look at some of the issues with this idea. First, the assumption that timing in Heaven is the same as timing on earth. In other words, if Jesus opened the First Seal immediately after His crucifixion, does that mean the subsequent earthly events began immediately after His crucifixion? Not necessarily. Maybe it was, maybe it was a year later, maybe it was half a century later, maybe - just maybe - Jesus opened the Seal, but we haven't seen the consequences yet. We know that God's timing is not our timing, and that God's sense of timing is absolutely enormous compared to ours. He promised Abraham, sometime around 1900 B.C., that Abraham's descendants would possess "the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites" (Gen. 15:19-21). This took anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to be fulfilled. God's timing isn't our timing.
Secondly, believing that the Seal was opened immediately after Jesus' crucifixion is also, technically speaking, still an assumption. I think the Scriptural argument makes sense, but John does not reveal that he was witnessing events in heaven that had taken place in the past. He just doesn't, and reasonable assumptions are still assumptions.
Thirdly, can we say, with any clarity, where we are on the . . . let's call it the Seal Spectrum? IF the First Seal was opened, and IF we have seen the consequences already (a spiritual deception that causes people to believe they are in touch with God, when they are not), has the Second Seal also been opened? This goes back to the timing issue above: how long between seals? Certainly, the world has seen wars - almost continuously - for the last 1,500 years. Certainly the threat of war is increasing, even today. We may be on the verge of World War III, in fact, something only time will tell us. So, if the Second Seal is, as Jesus puts it, a time "when you hear of wars and revolutions," and a time when "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom," then we could very well be in the midst of it, maybe have been for centuries.
Famines? Plagues? Lots of those now, too. It's difficult to say - and I'm not sure we can with any real confidence - whether or not they've been happening for a while, whether they've recently started, or whether or not they have yet to start. It's plausible that the Seals were opened some time ago, and we are in the midst of them now, but plausible and definite are two entirely separate things.
Lastly, the text of Revelation itself seems to indicate more of a sweeping event, rather than isolated and continuous instances. The Black Horse, for example, appears to be a massive, sweeping, worldwide famine, not a famine that hits various nations at various times over the course of several centuries. But then again, in Luke 21, that's how Jesus defines it: "There will be . . . famines and pestilences in various places" (21:11).
Here's what I'm trying to get to here: I actually am leaning towards the interpretation that:
1) Jesus opened the Seals immediately after His crucifixion,
2) the first five seals, at least, have been on-going for centuries (the Sixth Seal doesn't appear to have happened yet, though the increase in earthquakes may be leading to it)
3) They do not represent judgments regarding the end, but are, rather, events leading up to God's judgements, which appear to start with the trumpets (Revelation 8:1 - 11:19).
However, while I lean towards it, I also recognize that it is based on a few assumptions. But, in light of Jesus' words in Luke, and in light of everything we see going on, both in Revelation 4 - 6, and in the world, I feel comfortable with this interpretation, so long as we keep one truth in mind, that all of this is about the fact that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead.
Remember, this is not about predicting or figuring things out, but watching events match up and being able to point to the Scriptures and say, "See, what Jesus said is true, therefore we can trust Him." If we can trust what Jesus said 2,000 years ago, then we can trust that He is Lord and Savior. This is not to be an obsession with prophecy, but a proclamation of the Gospel, because Jesus does not reveal these things to us in order for us to obsess about events. He reveals - and this is true of all of Scripture - He reveals His character, His actions, and His motivations in order for us to acknowledge that He is the Alpha and Omega, the He is God Almighty, that He is Creator of the heavens and the earth. God reveals His names in the Old Testament, names which find their fulfillment in Jesus.
God took the open rebellion of man, and made a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
God took a pagan and made him a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
God took a nation, and made them a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
And Jesus made proclamations that have come true - fulfilling His own claim to be God Almighty.
His disciples made proclamations about His resurrection - fulfilling His own claim to be God Almighty. Every promise, every declaration in the Bible, past present and future, point to Jesus.
So when Paul says that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9), we can trust that, because we can trust that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead.
So you can continue to trust in yourself, someone who is selfish and - at best - selfishly-philanthropic, but can you really claim to have fulfilled every promise made by you and about you? You can trust in any of the other myriads of religions out there, religions that fail in so many of their very basic tenants. Or you can trust in Jesus, who has kept many of His promises, and is now fulfilling many of the as-yet unfulfilled ones.
If I could make you trust Him, I would. That is how certain I am of His Lordship. But, alas, I cannot; all I can do is appeal to you to trust in the grace of Jesus Christ. He loves you, even though you don't deserve it, and you can either rejoice at His return, or you can mourn with the nations (Matthew 24:30).
So here's what I would like to address broadly, before we even talk about the first seven "judgments": reading Revelation. Most of us read Revelation in little chunks. We read Chapter 1, for example. Then we move on to the church at Ephesus in Chapter 2 on the next day. Then we read about Smyrna the next day, and so on. What happens is that we read passages that are intimately connected to one another, but we read them weeks, even months apart. It's hard to put Chapter 13 in context of Chapter 5 when it's been fourteen days since you read Chapter 5.
Or, worse yet, we're studying it in Sunday School, and it's months between two related passages. And, truthfully, the person preparing the lesson for Sunday School each week is most likely doing the same thing, reading a couple verses one week, doing a lesson on it, and then reading the next couple of verses for the next lesson. The basic idea here is that everyone, from teachers to students, is, by and large, taking Revelation out of context. This is what often happens with the Seal Judgments.
Now, I'm not trying to dictate how you read the Scriptures, and what I'm giving you is only advice, but I strongly recommend doing five things before you ever start studying Revelation verse by verse. The first is to read the book, in its entirety, in one sitting. Read it start to finish, 1:1 - 22:21. The next day, read Daniel in its entirety. The third day, read Zechariah in its entirety. The fourth day, read Matthew 24 and 25. The fifth day, read Luke 21. The sixth day, read I Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11. Then, lastly, read Revelation again. Truthfully, carve out the time to do this, particularly if you're committed to studying this topic, because it will give you a context for everything you're going to study in Revelation. So here's the basic deal, after one week you will have: read Daniel, read Zechariah, read Matthew 24 and 25, read Luke 21, read I Thessalonians 4:12 - 5:11, and read Revelation twice. I know it's a lot of work, but just as we tend to take passages in Revelation out of context of the book, we also take Revelation out of context of the Bible. The Bible's a big book - it's easy to take things out of context, but I, personally, feel that this preparation will aide you in your studies, so I highly recommend it.
At this point, it's up to you how much you study each day. Maybe you spend one day on Chapter 1, maybe an entire week. Whatever - it's up to you. Here's the key: at the end of Chapter 1, read Revelation in its entirety again, putting the first chapter in context of the entire book, because Revelation was not written in chapters, but as one long letter. Then, the next day, read Daniel again. Then Zechariah on the next day. Then Matthew 24 and 25 on the next day, and so on. Then read Revelation, in its entirety, again. Then you can go back to studying Revelation 2. Then, do the same thing with Chapters 3, 4, and so on. The important thing is that, at intervals during your study, you are putting each chapter within the proper context of the book, and you're putting Revelation within the proper context of Scripture as a whole.
The only other suggestion I would have is that you have a really good study Bible or concordance - one with cross references and whatnot - because Luke, Thessalonians, Matthew, Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation are not the only places in the Scriptures that deal with eschatology. Paul addresses it in other places, Peter addresses it, Joel and Isaiah address it, Ezekiel addresses it, Jesus addresses it in Luke . . . I could go on. There are even what appears to be scattered references throughout the Books of Moses. so cross references are useful. But the bottom line is context,and because it's impossible to literally study the entire Bible in one sitting, we have to break it up in sections. This is, to me at least, the most useful way of keeping everything in context.
Okay, let's get on with the Seal Judgments. The seals themselves appear in Chapter 6, but I want to back up to Chapter 5 first (context!):
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne [see Revelation 4] a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was worthy to open the scroll or even look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding seven bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (5:1-8).
Before we go further, I want to stop and take a look at an interesting observation I came across on (I know! I know!) the internet. Someone observed that John can't find anyone at all, not even in heaven, worthy to open the scroll. Suddenly, when John is about as depressed as he could possible get, an angel calls his attention to the Lamb, a Lamb who was not visible up until that moment. Get that? Jesus isn't in Heaven while John is looking for someone to open the scroll, but then, suddenly He is, in His slain glory. Not only is He in heaven, though, he's in the middle of the throne, the throne that John studied and described, in detail, in Chapter 4. So John observes the throne of God, sans Lamb, can't find anyone anywhere who can open the scroll in God's hand, but then, suddenly, the sacrificed Lamb appears, and He is deemed worthy because "[He was] slain, and with [His] blood [He] purchased men for God." The comment I came across was that John was observing events in Heaven that happened immediately after Jesus' crucifixion. In other words, John is taken to heaven, but he's taken to a point in the past, the moment when our crucified Lord ascended into heaven, at which point - get this - at which point He opens the first seal: "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals" (Revelation 6:1).
Now, first, this is an excellent reminder that the Book of Revelation means, literally, a Revelation. It does not, in all circumstances, deal with future events. We forget that, I think, and try to "figure out" what each part of the book means in order to identify it when it happens. But as we saw some time ago, part of Revelation deals with the birth of Christ, so events in Revelation are clearly not always future events.
This also means that, according to this interpretation at least, the first seal could already have been opened, and it was opened after Jesus' crucifixion (or, possibly, Ascension). I find this interesting, although it's not without problems, most of which we'll explore in more detail later. But it is interesting, nonetheless.
Regardless of when the scroll is first opened, the breaking of the seals releases events on earth. The first four depict horses and riders that are, enigmatically, straightforward, and yet somewhat unclear:
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures [see 4:6-8] say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:1-8).
Now, popular interpretation identifies the White Rider as the pre-Satanically-empowered Antichrist. The symbols of this rider - the crown, the bow without arrows, the color white - have all been discussed elsewhere ad nauseum. However, since there may be some of you reading this who are unfamiliar with these symbols, I'll discuss them (very) briefly. White almost always stands for spiritual purity in the Scriptures. Even throughout Revelation, white stands for spiritual purity:
"'Come now, let us settle this matter,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'" (Isaiah 1:18).
"He who overcomes will . . . be dressed in white" (Revelation 3:5)
"Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer" (6:11).
"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True" (19:11).
So why is this "judgment," as it were, one of spiritual purity? The key is in the crown, bow, and the fact that the rider is bent on conquest. Much like the lamb/dragon in Revelation 13, this is a spiritual conquest, but is it pure? The crown most likely represents an authority, the bow most likely represents might and strength, and the lack of arrows most likely represents a peaceful conquest. Now, some will contend that this is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a revival that will sweep the globe.
That's fine, but I'm not sure it's true. Nor am I certain that it represents the Antichrist, for one main reason: Revelation never connects the two, not once. If you've read through Revelation in one sitting, you may have noticed that fact. If not, the next time you read through Revelation, pay attention: not once are we told that the First Seal is the same person as the Beast. In fact, I'm not even sure the First Seal represents a man, and here's the reason: none of the other horses represent people.
The second is War, obviously, as the rider is "given power to take peace from earth and to make men slay each other." The third is famine, affecting large numbers of people as "daily bread" becomes almost impossible to buy. A quart of wheat is, roughly, enough for one person in that time period, so a man would have to work for an entire day just to feed himself for that day. There is a possibility that this refers, not to famine, but to inflation, but the fact that oil and wine - crops whose roots grow deep enough to avoid problems during a drought - are untouched doesn't lend itself to that interpretation. The fourth is fairly straightforward: people die, and Hell follows death.
Taking all of that into consideration - that the fourth horse isn't a person, the third horse isn't a person, and the second horse isn't a person - it seems unlikely that the white horse would represent a person. But if not a person, as popular interpretations assert, what, then, could the First Seal represent?
Jesus says some things in Luke 21 that I believe help interpret this passage. Before we get to that, let's see seals five and six:
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
I watched as He opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place (Revelation 6:9-14).
We're told two things within the Fifth Seal: the first, is that the martyrdom of the Saints will continue. This is currently happening. But we're also told that the martyrdom won't just continue, it will continue until a certain number of believers have died. There is, in other words, a set time for this martyrdom to happen. I don't know when that ends, of course, but I do know that martyrdom of Christians has been going on in parts of the world, almost continually, for two-thousand years. We tend to forget this these days, but even the Crusades were largely a defensive attack against the martyrdom of Christians in various parts of the Catholic Empire (I'm not commenting on whether the Crusades were good or bad, just on the fact that even when Christianity was "aggressive" to a fault, there was still martyrdom of Christians). Today, in various Middle Eastern countries, Christians are being martyred. In places in China, India, and N. Korea, Christians are being imprisoned and executed simply for being Christians. In parts of Africa, same thing. Martyrdom is taking place, even today. To say, then, that the Fifth Seal will happen in the future, is possible, but not necessarily true, because the Fifth Seal could have already been opened.
So how does all of this help us to interpret the White Horse? Let's check out Luke 21 (don't worry, we'll get back to the Sixth Seal):
Some of His disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."
"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
He replied, "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."
Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places; and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of My name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your minds not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of Me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the seas. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming to the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:5-28).
What is Jesus saying, here? In verses 8-11, He first tells them about wars, plagues, and whatnot (the part most Christians quote whenever something bad happens in the news). "But before all this," He says, "they will lay hands on you and persecute you" (12). So, first, comes the persecution of the disciples.
This has already happened. All of them were martyred for their faith, with the exception of John, who was exiled. So, Jesus says, first there will come persecution of the early Church.
At the same time, Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies, and its desolation will come (20). This already happened, too. The soon-to-be-Emperor Titus surrounded Jerusalem with his armies, destroying the city and its temple in 70 A.D. (see Luke 21:6). Notice that all of this comes before the events of verses 8-11. Before. So, sometime after this, there will, according to Jesus, be four "signs" to look for:
1) Spiritual deception.
Look at verse 8: "He replied, 'Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, "I am He," and "The time is near." Do not follow them.'"
2) War.
"'When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away'" (9).
3) Famine, pestilence, and death.
"'There will be . . . famines and pestilences in various places'" (11).
4) Earthquakes and astronomical signs.
"There will be great earthquakes . . . and fearful events and great signs from heaven'" (11).
Notice anything . . . interesting? After 70 A.D., but "before the time of the end," there will be astronomical signs and earthquakes, preceded by famine and pestilence, preceded by war, and, preceding all of this, a spiritual deception.
Now, let's go back to Revelation 6. The sixth seal was, what? A great earthquake, the sun turning to the color of sackcloth, and the moon turning the color of blood. The fourth seal? Death by "famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). The third seal? Famine. The second seal? War. Notice the pattern? This would mean, then, that the First Seal, the Rider on the White Horse, isn't a person, but a great deal of spiritual deception that spreads throughout the world. Conquers it, in fact, and it does so with power and authority. I believe that the events of Revelation 6 - the first six seals - outline and give detail to the passage in Luke 21, a passage in which Jesus clearly tells us that these things happen before the time of the end. In fact, Jesus connects them to the martyrdom of the apostles and the destruction of the temple.
This places the seals, not at some point in our future, but partially in the past, as well as right now, in the present. Remember, the Scriptures never once connect the Beast with the First Seal. If the First Seal represents a single person, it's the only seal that does - the rest deal with broad topics and events, but not a particular individual. This is inline with the idea that I stated earlier, that Jesus opened the First Seal fairly soon after His crucifixion/resurrection. This means that for those who are waiting to see "the Antichrist" show up on the scene to make a covenant with Israel and know that the First Seal has officially been opened, you may be looking for the wrong thing.
Notice I said, may. Let's look at some of the issues with this idea. First, the assumption that timing in Heaven is the same as timing on earth. In other words, if Jesus opened the First Seal immediately after His crucifixion, does that mean the subsequent earthly events began immediately after His crucifixion? Not necessarily. Maybe it was, maybe it was a year later, maybe it was half a century later, maybe - just maybe - Jesus opened the Seal, but we haven't seen the consequences yet. We know that God's timing is not our timing, and that God's sense of timing is absolutely enormous compared to ours. He promised Abraham, sometime around 1900 B.C., that Abraham's descendants would possess "the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites" (Gen. 15:19-21). This took anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to be fulfilled. God's timing isn't our timing.
Secondly, believing that the Seal was opened immediately after Jesus' crucifixion is also, technically speaking, still an assumption. I think the Scriptural argument makes sense, but John does not reveal that he was witnessing events in heaven that had taken place in the past. He just doesn't, and reasonable assumptions are still assumptions.
Thirdly, can we say, with any clarity, where we are on the . . . let's call it the Seal Spectrum? IF the First Seal was opened, and IF we have seen the consequences already (a spiritual deception that causes people to believe they are in touch with God, when they are not), has the Second Seal also been opened? This goes back to the timing issue above: how long between seals? Certainly, the world has seen wars - almost continuously - for the last 1,500 years. Certainly the threat of war is increasing, even today. We may be on the verge of World War III, in fact, something only time will tell us. So, if the Second Seal is, as Jesus puts it, a time "when you hear of wars and revolutions," and a time when "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom," then we could very well be in the midst of it, maybe have been for centuries.
Famines? Plagues? Lots of those now, too. It's difficult to say - and I'm not sure we can with any real confidence - whether or not they've been happening for a while, whether they've recently started, or whether or not they have yet to start. It's plausible that the Seals were opened some time ago, and we are in the midst of them now, but plausible and definite are two entirely separate things.
Lastly, the text of Revelation itself seems to indicate more of a sweeping event, rather than isolated and continuous instances. The Black Horse, for example, appears to be a massive, sweeping, worldwide famine, not a famine that hits various nations at various times over the course of several centuries. But then again, in Luke 21, that's how Jesus defines it: "There will be . . . famines and pestilences in various places" (21:11).
Here's what I'm trying to get to here: I actually am leaning towards the interpretation that:
1) Jesus opened the Seals immediately after His crucifixion,
2) the first five seals, at least, have been on-going for centuries (the Sixth Seal doesn't appear to have happened yet, though the increase in earthquakes may be leading to it)
3) They do not represent judgments regarding the end, but are, rather, events leading up to God's judgements, which appear to start with the trumpets (Revelation 8:1 - 11:19).
However, while I lean towards it, I also recognize that it is based on a few assumptions. But, in light of Jesus' words in Luke, and in light of everything we see going on, both in Revelation 4 - 6, and in the world, I feel comfortable with this interpretation, so long as we keep one truth in mind, that all of this is about the fact that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead.
Remember, this is not about predicting or figuring things out, but watching events match up and being able to point to the Scriptures and say, "See, what Jesus said is true, therefore we can trust Him." If we can trust what Jesus said 2,000 years ago, then we can trust that He is Lord and Savior. This is not to be an obsession with prophecy, but a proclamation of the Gospel, because Jesus does not reveal these things to us in order for us to obsess about events. He reveals - and this is true of all of Scripture - He reveals His character, His actions, and His motivations in order for us to acknowledge that He is the Alpha and Omega, the He is God Almighty, that He is Creator of the heavens and the earth. God reveals His names in the Old Testament, names which find their fulfillment in Jesus.
God took the open rebellion of man, and made a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
God took a pagan and made him a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
God took a nation, and made them a promise - a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
And Jesus made proclamations that have come true - fulfilling His own claim to be God Almighty.
His disciples made proclamations about His resurrection - fulfilling His own claim to be God Almighty. Every promise, every declaration in the Bible, past present and future, point to Jesus.
So when Paul says that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9), we can trust that, because we can trust that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead.
So you can continue to trust in yourself, someone who is selfish and - at best - selfishly-philanthropic, but can you really claim to have fulfilled every promise made by you and about you? You can trust in any of the other myriads of religions out there, religions that fail in so many of their very basic tenants. Or you can trust in Jesus, who has kept many of His promises, and is now fulfilling many of the as-yet unfulfilled ones.
If I could make you trust Him, I would. That is how certain I am of His Lordship. But, alas, I cannot; all I can do is appeal to you to trust in the grace of Jesus Christ. He loves you, even though you don't deserve it, and you can either rejoice at His return, or you can mourn with the nations (Matthew 24:30).
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Qalupalik
Normally, I will take a myth that I have found over the years and retell it. This week, I wanted
to tell the story of Qalupalik, an Alaskan story dealing with the Innuit
version of the kelpie. However, the Nunavut Animation Lab has done a
remarkable video of this same story, and it would be a shame not to call
attention to it. So this week, rather than read my version of a
legend, you can access the Nunavut Animation Lab here. Once you've watched it, I've got a few thoughts on it.
Have you watched it yet? Good. One thing I find most interesting about this myth is that it highlights an age-old tradition in storytelling: that of The Moral.
The Moral has been around for almost as long as storytelling has existed, and even today persists as a means of conveying a message. In Greek plays, the Chorus existed to condense and give the audience something to "take home" - a lesson to learn. In the Bible, we see morals in the parables of Christ, the struggle of Job, even the Garden of Eden. Today, we may find morals in Aesop's Fables and other children's stories, such as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Jurassic Park, one of my favorite novels (and movies), teaches us that we don't have the right to play God.
The list goes on and on; morals abound in literature, and this week's myth all but screams its moral. In the story this week, Qalupalik's hunger for children derives from a child's unwillingness to listen to his or her parents and elders. The moral is clear: obey your parents. It's interesting that there are many versions of the Qalupalik story, and yet most of them contain that simple qualification: Qalupalik snatches children who don't obey their parents.
While it is certainly an important lesson to learn, we must ask ourselves why we even feel the need to put morals into literature. Jonathan Gotschall, author of The Storytelling Animal, argues that stories - particularly moral stories - teach us how to behave in social settings. They encourage us to interact with each other in mutually beneficial ways, creating a stronger society.
Of course, this flies in the face of the ever-popular "survival of the fittest" myth. We are taught that the strongest survive, the ones with the greatest advantages carry on their blood lines while the rest simply die out. Evolution only works when we're selfish.
But that isn't what the literature teaches us. Indeed, when a character in literature is self-serving, he or she is typically the villain in the tale, while the hero acts selflessly for the good of the whole. Whether it's William Wallace dying for freedom or Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of humanity, whether it's Captain America crashing his own plane or Darth Vader sacrificing himself to destroy the Emperor, the popular - the good - stories teach us that self-sacrifice and moral behavior are the best course of action for everyone.
So whether or not Qalupalik actually exists is irrelevant (though the parallels between the Innuit tale and the Celtic tales of the kelpie are compelling). What matters in this tale is the moral: if parents are leading correctly and the children are following, society will remain intact. It is when our roles begin to break down that monsters emerge.
Have you watched it yet? Good. One thing I find most interesting about this myth is that it highlights an age-old tradition in storytelling: that of The Moral.
The Moral has been around for almost as long as storytelling has existed, and even today persists as a means of conveying a message. In Greek plays, the Chorus existed to condense and give the audience something to "take home" - a lesson to learn. In the Bible, we see morals in the parables of Christ, the struggle of Job, even the Garden of Eden. Today, we may find morals in Aesop's Fables and other children's stories, such as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Jurassic Park, one of my favorite novels (and movies), teaches us that we don't have the right to play God.
The list goes on and on; morals abound in literature, and this week's myth all but screams its moral. In the story this week, Qalupalik's hunger for children derives from a child's unwillingness to listen to his or her parents and elders. The moral is clear: obey your parents. It's interesting that there are many versions of the Qalupalik story, and yet most of them contain that simple qualification: Qalupalik snatches children who don't obey their parents.
While it is certainly an important lesson to learn, we must ask ourselves why we even feel the need to put morals into literature. Jonathan Gotschall, author of The Storytelling Animal, argues that stories - particularly moral stories - teach us how to behave in social settings. They encourage us to interact with each other in mutually beneficial ways, creating a stronger society.
Of course, this flies in the face of the ever-popular "survival of the fittest" myth. We are taught that the strongest survive, the ones with the greatest advantages carry on their blood lines while the rest simply die out. Evolution only works when we're selfish.
But that isn't what the literature teaches us. Indeed, when a character in literature is self-serving, he or she is typically the villain in the tale, while the hero acts selflessly for the good of the whole. Whether it's William Wallace dying for freedom or Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of humanity, whether it's Captain America crashing his own plane or Darth Vader sacrificing himself to destroy the Emperor, the popular - the good - stories teach us that self-sacrifice and moral behavior are the best course of action for everyone.
So whether or not Qalupalik actually exists is irrelevant (though the parallels between the Innuit tale and the Celtic tales of the kelpie are compelling). What matters in this tale is the moral: if parents are leading correctly and the children are following, society will remain intact. It is when our roles begin to break down that monsters emerge.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
How It Is That Men Have Stories
Mouse used to go everywhere. Rich or poor, no house was safe from
mouse. She would watch and look with her eyes, seeing everything that
was hidden, even in the most secure treasure chambers.
In the old times long ago, she wove a story child of everything she saw, and to each of her story children she gave a cloak - one white, one red, one blue, and one black. The stories lived in the house and served her, and she treated them as her own children.
Now, as it so happened, a sheep and leopard lived in a village, and the two of them bore children. Sheep had a daughter and Leopard had a son. There was a famine in the land, and Leopard went to Sheep and said, "The only way for us to survive is to kill our children and eat them." Sheep thought to herself, "If I do not agree, she will kill my child anyway," so she answered, "Good."
But Sheep did a deceitful thing and hid her child, took everything she owned, sold it for dried meat, cooked the meat, and brought it before Leopard. Both of them ate together, and Leopard killed her own child and ate that also.
A year passed, and Sheep and Leopard both became pregnant again. The people of the village were hungry, and Leopard once more told Sheep, "Let us kill our children and eat them." Sheep agreed, but, like last time, she hid her child safely away, bought some dried meat, cooked it, and set it before Leopard.
Many years later, Leopard came to Sheep and said, "Come. Let us feast."
Sheep saw a table prepared with a great feast - greater than she had ever imagined. Beside the food were three spoons. Sheep asked Leoaprd, "Why are there three spoons, when there are only two of us?"
Leopard laughed and opened the door to her home. "Come, daughter, and let us eat together." Her daughter came out, and the three of them ate supper. The Leopard explained, "Because I was hungry, I killed my first child and ate him. Then I learned how you had saved your first child, and I thought, 'I, too, will play this trick on Sheep.' So I kept my daughter alive."
Sheep went home and took care of her two children. Over time, her daughters grew, and so did Leopard's daughter. Leopard put her child into the fatting house, and she went to Sheep and said, "Please, give me one of your daughters so that our children may be in the fatting house together."
Now, as it was, Sheep and her daughters were both black, but they had servant Goats who were white. So Sheep took one of the goats and dyed its wool black. She covered her own daughter with white chalk, and sent them to the fatting house together. When they arrived, Leopard thought that the goat was Sheep's daughter, and during the night she entered the room, took the Goat, and killed it.
The next day, Leopard went to Sheep and said, "Please give me your other daughter, that the three of them may be friends in the fatting house together."
Sheep agreed, but she told her daughter to play a trick. When the second sheep reached the fatting house, she took a bottle of rum and gave it to Leopard's daughter, who drank it and fell asleep. When she was asleep, the two sheep took Leopard's daughter and put her in in one of their own beds. At night, when it was very dark, Leopard came in and took her own daughter and ate it, thinking it was one of Sheep's daughters. The next morning, Leopard went out very early to get palm wine.
The two sheep left the house after her. One of them went home, but the other followed Leopard. When Leopard was in the palm tree, the sheep shouted, "You tried to kill me, but you killed your daughter instead!" Leopard jumped from the tree and chased after the sheep, but she got away.
As she ran, the sheep came across an old woman with a Juju tied around her waist. The woman was tired, and Sheep offered to carry her Juju. When they arrived at the woman's house, the woman was tired and her head hurt. Sheep said, "Let me get you some water."
The woman was thankful. When the young sheep had done as she promised, she went into another part of the house. There she saw the woman's medicine, which she rubbed over her wool. The next morning, the woman asked Sheep for the medicine. Sheep answered, "Last night, I used that medicine!"
The old woman sprang up and chased after the sheep. In her hurry, the Sheep ran into the door of Mouse's house, which broke. All of Mouse's stories ran out, and Mouse could not get them to come home. Now, all of the stories of earth roam up and down the land and all over.
-From the Ekoi people of Africa
The most interesting part of this story is the belief that all men, all cultures, share a common source for their primal stories. What I think is also interesting is the fact that the overall story makes no sense. The bit with Leopard and Sheep really play very little part in the bit with the Sheep and the Old Woman with the Juju. It's almost as if the belief in a common origin for stories (a pre-Tower of Babel world, perhaps?) remained, but the means of dispersion for them was lost to this culture. So, somewhere along the way, they made up an entirely different story. I can't prove this, of course, but it's just an observation.
In the old times long ago, she wove a story child of everything she saw, and to each of her story children she gave a cloak - one white, one red, one blue, and one black. The stories lived in the house and served her, and she treated them as her own children.
Now, as it so happened, a sheep and leopard lived in a village, and the two of them bore children. Sheep had a daughter and Leopard had a son. There was a famine in the land, and Leopard went to Sheep and said, "The only way for us to survive is to kill our children and eat them." Sheep thought to herself, "If I do not agree, she will kill my child anyway," so she answered, "Good."
But Sheep did a deceitful thing and hid her child, took everything she owned, sold it for dried meat, cooked the meat, and brought it before Leopard. Both of them ate together, and Leopard killed her own child and ate that also.
A year passed, and Sheep and Leopard both became pregnant again. The people of the village were hungry, and Leopard once more told Sheep, "Let us kill our children and eat them." Sheep agreed, but, like last time, she hid her child safely away, bought some dried meat, cooked it, and set it before Leopard.
Many years later, Leopard came to Sheep and said, "Come. Let us feast."
Sheep saw a table prepared with a great feast - greater than she had ever imagined. Beside the food were three spoons. Sheep asked Leoaprd, "Why are there three spoons, when there are only two of us?"
Leopard laughed and opened the door to her home. "Come, daughter, and let us eat together." Her daughter came out, and the three of them ate supper. The Leopard explained, "Because I was hungry, I killed my first child and ate him. Then I learned how you had saved your first child, and I thought, 'I, too, will play this trick on Sheep.' So I kept my daughter alive."
Sheep went home and took care of her two children. Over time, her daughters grew, and so did Leopard's daughter. Leopard put her child into the fatting house, and she went to Sheep and said, "Please, give me one of your daughters so that our children may be in the fatting house together."
Now, as it was, Sheep and her daughters were both black, but they had servant Goats who were white. So Sheep took one of the goats and dyed its wool black. She covered her own daughter with white chalk, and sent them to the fatting house together. When they arrived, Leopard thought that the goat was Sheep's daughter, and during the night she entered the room, took the Goat, and killed it.
The next day, Leopard went to Sheep and said, "Please give me your other daughter, that the three of them may be friends in the fatting house together."
Sheep agreed, but she told her daughter to play a trick. When the second sheep reached the fatting house, she took a bottle of rum and gave it to Leopard's daughter, who drank it and fell asleep. When she was asleep, the two sheep took Leopard's daughter and put her in in one of their own beds. At night, when it was very dark, Leopard came in and took her own daughter and ate it, thinking it was one of Sheep's daughters. The next morning, Leopard went out very early to get palm wine.
The two sheep left the house after her. One of them went home, but the other followed Leopard. When Leopard was in the palm tree, the sheep shouted, "You tried to kill me, but you killed your daughter instead!" Leopard jumped from the tree and chased after the sheep, but she got away.
As she ran, the sheep came across an old woman with a Juju tied around her waist. The woman was tired, and Sheep offered to carry her Juju. When they arrived at the woman's house, the woman was tired and her head hurt. Sheep said, "Let me get you some water."
The woman was thankful. When the young sheep had done as she promised, she went into another part of the house. There she saw the woman's medicine, which she rubbed over her wool. The next morning, the woman asked Sheep for the medicine. Sheep answered, "Last night, I used that medicine!"
The old woman sprang up and chased after the sheep. In her hurry, the Sheep ran into the door of Mouse's house, which broke. All of Mouse's stories ran out, and Mouse could not get them to come home. Now, all of the stories of earth roam up and down the land and all over.
-From the Ekoi people of Africa
The most interesting part of this story is the belief that all men, all cultures, share a common source for their primal stories. What I think is also interesting is the fact that the overall story makes no sense. The bit with Leopard and Sheep really play very little part in the bit with the Sheep and the Old Woman with the Juju. It's almost as if the belief in a common origin for stories (a pre-Tower of Babel world, perhaps?) remained, but the means of dispersion for them was lost to this culture. So, somewhere along the way, they made up an entirely different story. I can't prove this, of course, but it's just an observation.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Antichrist, Part 3
I realize that at the beginning of this series, I said it would be "quick." I also realize that it has not been "quick." I had no real intentions of misleading anyone, but I truly did not believe I would have to spend three posts on just the Antichrist (wait until we get to the Rapture! Ha ha! Just kidding.). However, it would be a great disservice to gloss over the Scriptures in an effort to give a quick summary of the Beast. Why? Because there is so much information out there - there is so much misinformation out there - that things can get really confusing if we're presented with a quick summary, and then left to wade through massive amounts of interpretation; it's how we end up becoming convinced that Jesus specifically named Barak Obama as the Antichrist.
With that being said, I want to wrap up this part of the series with a closer look at the personality of the Antichrist, as well the world religion that he enforces. And, yes, there is some speculation involved, due to the very nature of apocalyptic literature. Again, though, I'm trying to keep this speculation out of the realm of prediction, and more in the realm of recognition. This is not an exercise in naming the Antichrist, but a record for posterity, so that when he arises, people can see it. Remember: there is a resurrection ahead, and it is by this, I believe, we can truly know who the Beast is. Because a lot of the characteristics we're going to look at in this post can easily be applied to Obama. Or the Pope. Or the French President.
Or the Queen of England.
Or John F. Kennedy.
Or Hitler.
But none of these people have been killed by a fatal sword wound to the head (bullet, yes; sword, no), and none of them have died and been resurrected. At least not yet. I truly do not believe we can point to anyone today and say, "This is him." I do believe, however, that when the events begin to unfold, we will be able to look at those events and say, "Now, this is him."
To be fair, Jesus did tell us to watch and be ready:
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42).
When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time (Mark 13:14; 23).
"Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him (Luke 12:35-40).
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near . . . For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:29-31; 35-36).
What I don't believe Jesus meant by "watch" was for us to stand in the middle of the street and stare at the sky all day. He clearly gives us signs to watch for (e.g., Matthew 24-25; Mark 13). However, I don't think that is for us to spend our time trying to "solve a puzzle." Jesus' final command in Matthew 28 and Acts 1 is to be His witnesses: witnesses to His life, death, and resurrection; witnesses to how He has changed our lives. It is not to sit at our computers and scour the internet for the latest "Could-CERN-be-the-opening-of-the-Abyss-in-Revelation-Nine" theory. Part of the above passages that I didn't include involved Jesus telling His disciples that the servants who are busy doing their work when the master returns are the good, honest, and elected servants. Those who are wasting their lives doing nothing because they don't take the master of the house seriously will be cast out with the unbelievers. Jesus' point in giving these signs - even the ones in Revelation - are not for us to sit around and try to predict what's coming next. Rather, they were for us to be able to see and say, "Yep, this is what He talked about, so His return must be soon."
Look, I've had to repent of trying to "figure things out" myself; I've gotten caught up in it, too. But the Scriptures are not given to us in order that we may focus on the world, but on Christ. And, truthfully, that's the point of the book of Revelation. We'll see in a few posts that things get bad on earth. We've already seen that things get bad. But the common thread throughout the book is that, no matter how bad things get, God is still God, and Jesus wins.
And the Beast is not Jesus, though he very well may claim to be.
Jesus says that many will come, claiming to be Him, and over the years we've seen a few. But there will come a time when someone resurrects from the dead and begins a faith of self-worship. He appoints a prophet to perform miraculous signs, he has an idol built in his image that also performs miraculous signs. It is probably not a stretch to say that he will claim to be the long-awaited Messiah.
Do not believe him, for his claims are built on lies and deceptions:
[The angel] gave me this explanation: . . . The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most high and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time (Daniel 7:23; 24-25).
While it's unclear what "the set times and the laws" specifically refer to, the gist is clear: he will attempt to change the very nature of life. He will, at the same time, by the way, also be committing genocide.
The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of His sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground . . . In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes (Daniel 8:8-12; 23-25).
Notice the arrogance. Notice the lies. Notice that, once people begin to feel secure under his reign, he turns and destroys many.
The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard of things against the God of gods . . . He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price (Daniel 11:36; 37-39).
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [the Day of the Lord] will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
"The king will do as he pleases," sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship. He'll also destroy you if you don't worship him (yep, dictator) He will be a self-worshiping, murderous, arrogant, prideful, Satanically-empowered dictator. Do not fall for his lies, do not buy into his religion, no matter how impressive he may seem. I'm telling you right now so you can identify him when he shows up: he will come back from the dead.
But he is not God, and there is only one Messiah. He will set himself up as such, but he is not. Wait, you may ask, Jesus set himself up as God, and he supposedly "rose from the dead," so what's the difference?
Jesus never forces anyone to worship Him. He invites: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
He loves: "No one will die for a good man, though for a righteous man, some might possibly die. But God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8).
The same cannot be said for the Beast. Let's take a closer look at the religion and world government that the Beast institutes.
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
He who has an ear, let him hear.
If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the
sword,
with the sword he will be killed.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon (Revelation 13:1-11).
We've seen the arrival of the first beast, but now we see the arrival of a second beast. The "two horns like a lamb" indicate an appearance of innocence - perhaps even holiness - but his words are lies coming straight from Satan ("like a dragon").
He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men (13:12-13).
His fire trick is not an illusion. It's not some sort of Chris Angel-like camera trick (you do know that Angel uses mostly camera tricks, right?). It's a supernatural event that convinces people to worship the Beast.
Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed (13:14-15).
Idolatry. Most people today (Hindus and Buddhists excluded) would scoff at the idea of worshiping a statue. But idolatry has been around for centuries, and it hasn't truly gone anywhere. There is no real reason to think it can't make an even bigger comeback. In fact, we're told it will. And we're also told that failure to worship this image receives the death penalty.
If you don't convert - from your Buddhism, your Hinduism, your atheism, your Scientology, your Islam, your Judaism, your Catholicism, your Protestantism - you die. That's the kind of "peaceful messiah" the world is going to deal with.
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls [see Revelation 16] came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and with the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead:
I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished (Revelation 17:1-6).
Greatly astonished is right. Pretty weird stuff, eh? A whore on a beast. She's drunk with blood. She's obviously wealthy (business is good, I guess). Kings of the earth sleep with her, and everyone else gets drunk off of the blood in her cup. On the surface, this is gruesome and . . . baffling. Now, fortunately, the rest of the chapter goes into more detail for us, but for now, let's just look at the Old Testament for a second.
Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is equated with prostitution. In Exodus 34, God tells Israel not to marry with the nations around her, because they will "prostitute themselves to their gods" (34:15-16).
In Ezekiel, God compares the nation of Israel to a woman who prostitutes herself to "male idols" (Ezekiel 16). Yes, you are interpreting that correctly. In chapter 23, He compares the two kingdoms of Israel to young girls who allowed "their breasts [to be] fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed" (23).
The book of Hosea, which tells of Hosea's marriage to an adulterous wife, acts as an allegory for God's relationship with his idolatrous Israel. In chapter 3, God even tells Hosea, "'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes'" (3:1, and, sorry, I'm not going into "the sacred raisin cakes" right now). There are other examples, and even in the New Testament, idolatry and temple prostitution were sometimes connected (e.g., I Corinthians).
For John to use this image of a prostitute on a beast, he is undoubtedly referring to a religion of idolatry. Couple this with the fact that her nature is a "mystery" [which probably refers to the "mystery religions" of ancient (and modern-day) cultures], and her title is Babylon the Great (see Daniel 3), John is no doubt referring to the religion we read about earlier in chapter 13. At the time, however, he had no idea what he was seeing.
Luckily for him (and us), it's explained:
Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers."
Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth (17:7-18).
Okay, so maybe "explained" is too strong of a word. Defined is a more appropriate word, I suppose. Now, I'm going to have to speculate some, but I'll try to remain as close to the text as possible.
First, it seems a fairly safe assumption that the beast the woman rides is the same beast in Revelation 13. Both have ten horns, both have seven heads, and this beast "once was, now is not, and yet will come," while the beast in chapter 13 had a fatal wound that was healed. Also, in both cases, the world is astonished at these beasts, and follows them. So while John does not explicitly state that they are one and the same, I think it's fairly safe to assume that they are.
One thing of interest to note is that the beast has seven heads, which stand for the "seven hills upon which the woman sits." Most scholars believe this refers to Rome, because Rome has long been referred to as "The City on the Seven Hills." To be fair, there is also a city in Ohio that has the same name, but I doubt Ohio will be the headquarters of the Antichrist and his false religion.
I could be wrong.
According to some, the city itself is called "Babylon the Great." While Babylon was a city, it was also a nation and an empire. Revelation 17 also connects the name, not with a specific city, but with the prostitute, or false religion. Let's be clear: she is called "Babylon the Great," but she sits on the City of the Seven Hills. Go back and reread the whole chapter if you need to.
Now that you've done that, you'll notice something. The last verse calls her "the city." And you thought understanding this would be easy. . . .
This has caused lots of people to speculate that the ancient city of Babylon will be rebuilt (in fact, Saddam Hussein was actively rebuilding the ruins during his reign). But here's the thing: Babylon doesn't sit on seven hills, nor has it ever been called "The City on the Seven Hills." Rome, on the other hand, does sit on seven hills. And while the prostitute does represent a city, her nature is one of an idolatrous religion full of greed, opulence, and violence, as we've already seen. So while she represents a city, and her name is "Babylon the Great," I don't think that's meant to be the name of the city. Rather, the city is Rome, but it's very heart is a callback to the occult religions of Ancient Babylon, most notably idolatry. This makes sense in light of the "image of the beast" set up in Revelation 13. Again, though, keep in mind that this is speculation, and Babylon could be rebuilt (but then we still have the Seven Hills Problem, so . . . no).
All of this has led some to speculate that "Rome" actually refers to The Vatican, and that Catholicism will morph into an openly Satanic, occult religion whose "savior" is the Beast. There's some circumstantial evidence, to be sure. The Pope, for one, has taken a solemn charge to uphold the Scriptures, and yet he undermines them at every opportunity. Part of Babylonian religion involved sun-worship, and the sun is an image found throughout a vast majority of the Vatican. The last thing we need, however, is an anti-Catholic crusade, so hear me well: I certainly disagree with Catholicism on more than one issue, I certainly disagree with Pope Francis on just about every issue, and the Vatican may very well be a large part of this New World Order/Antichrist system that is coming.
But we don't know that. Not for certain.
So please don't begin persecuting Catholics because you think they may be secret Satanists. Please don't burn down local Catholic churches because you want to stop the Mystery Religion of Revelation. It's not our job to persecute, and we can't stop this from happening. It is our job to be and to make disciples of Jesus. There are many in the Catholic Church who love Jesus. They may have some heretical theology, but we all have some of that to varying degrees. If you have Catholic friends who love Jesus but have some "off" beliefs about the Scriptures, do you know what you should do?
Disciple them.
Not sure if some of your beliefs are Scriptural?
Be a disciple.
Certain that all of your beliefs are Scriptural?
Be a disciple, anyway.
Our job as believers is not to look down on the world, but to reach down and lead them to Jesus. I don't care if your friends and family are atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, or even fellow disciples, our job is twofold: to follow Jesus, and point to Him with everything in our lives in order that others may follow Him, too. This is the essence of the Great Commission, and the core of Jesus' last words to His disciples: "And you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
With that being said, I want to wrap up this part of the series with a closer look at the personality of the Antichrist, as well the world religion that he enforces. And, yes, there is some speculation involved, due to the very nature of apocalyptic literature. Again, though, I'm trying to keep this speculation out of the realm of prediction, and more in the realm of recognition. This is not an exercise in naming the Antichrist, but a record for posterity, so that when he arises, people can see it. Remember: there is a resurrection ahead, and it is by this, I believe, we can truly know who the Beast is. Because a lot of the characteristics we're going to look at in this post can easily be applied to Obama. Or the Pope. Or the French President.
Or the Queen of England.
Or John F. Kennedy.
Or Hitler.
But none of these people have been killed by a fatal sword wound to the head (bullet, yes; sword, no), and none of them have died and been resurrected. At least not yet. I truly do not believe we can point to anyone today and say, "This is him." I do believe, however, that when the events begin to unfold, we will be able to look at those events and say, "Now, this is him."
To be fair, Jesus did tell us to watch and be ready:
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42).
When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time (Mark 13:14; 23).
"Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him (Luke 12:35-40).
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near . . . For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:29-31; 35-36).
What I don't believe Jesus meant by "watch" was for us to stand in the middle of the street and stare at the sky all day. He clearly gives us signs to watch for (e.g., Matthew 24-25; Mark 13). However, I don't think that is for us to spend our time trying to "solve a puzzle." Jesus' final command in Matthew 28 and Acts 1 is to be His witnesses: witnesses to His life, death, and resurrection; witnesses to how He has changed our lives. It is not to sit at our computers and scour the internet for the latest "Could-CERN-be-the-opening-of-the-Abyss-in-Revelation-Nine" theory. Part of the above passages that I didn't include involved Jesus telling His disciples that the servants who are busy doing their work when the master returns are the good, honest, and elected servants. Those who are wasting their lives doing nothing because they don't take the master of the house seriously will be cast out with the unbelievers. Jesus' point in giving these signs - even the ones in Revelation - are not for us to sit around and try to predict what's coming next. Rather, they were for us to be able to see and say, "Yep, this is what He talked about, so His return must be soon."
Look, I've had to repent of trying to "figure things out" myself; I've gotten caught up in it, too. But the Scriptures are not given to us in order that we may focus on the world, but on Christ. And, truthfully, that's the point of the book of Revelation. We'll see in a few posts that things get bad on earth. We've already seen that things get bad. But the common thread throughout the book is that, no matter how bad things get, God is still God, and Jesus wins.
And the Beast is not Jesus, though he very well may claim to be.
Jesus says that many will come, claiming to be Him, and over the years we've seen a few. But there will come a time when someone resurrects from the dead and begins a faith of self-worship. He appoints a prophet to perform miraculous signs, he has an idol built in his image that also performs miraculous signs. It is probably not a stretch to say that he will claim to be the long-awaited Messiah.
Do not believe him, for his claims are built on lies and deceptions:
[The angel] gave me this explanation: . . . The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most high and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time (Daniel 7:23; 24-25).
While it's unclear what "the set times and the laws" specifically refer to, the gist is clear: he will attempt to change the very nature of life. He will, at the same time, by the way, also be committing genocide.
The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of His sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground . . . In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes (Daniel 8:8-12; 23-25).
Notice the arrogance. Notice the lies. Notice that, once people begin to feel secure under his reign, he turns and destroys many.
The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard of things against the God of gods . . . He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price (Daniel 11:36; 37-39).
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [the Day of the Lord] will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
"The king will do as he pleases," sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship. He'll also destroy you if you don't worship him (yep, dictator) He will be a self-worshiping, murderous, arrogant, prideful, Satanically-empowered dictator. Do not fall for his lies, do not buy into his religion, no matter how impressive he may seem. I'm telling you right now so you can identify him when he shows up: he will come back from the dead.
But he is not God, and there is only one Messiah. He will set himself up as such, but he is not. Wait, you may ask, Jesus set himself up as God, and he supposedly "rose from the dead," so what's the difference?
Jesus never forces anyone to worship Him. He invites: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
He loves: "No one will die for a good man, though for a righteous man, some might possibly die. But God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8).
The same cannot be said for the Beast. Let's take a closer look at the religion and world government that the Beast institutes.
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
He who has an ear, let him hear.
If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the
sword,
with the sword he will be killed.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon (Revelation 13:1-11).
We've seen the arrival of the first beast, but now we see the arrival of a second beast. The "two horns like a lamb" indicate an appearance of innocence - perhaps even holiness - but his words are lies coming straight from Satan ("like a dragon").
He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men (13:12-13).
His fire trick is not an illusion. It's not some sort of Chris Angel-like camera trick (you do know that Angel uses mostly camera tricks, right?). It's a supernatural event that convinces people to worship the Beast.
Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed (13:14-15).
Idolatry. Most people today (Hindus and Buddhists excluded) would scoff at the idea of worshiping a statue. But idolatry has been around for centuries, and it hasn't truly gone anywhere. There is no real reason to think it can't make an even bigger comeback. In fact, we're told it will. And we're also told that failure to worship this image receives the death penalty.
If you don't convert - from your Buddhism, your Hinduism, your atheism, your Scientology, your Islam, your Judaism, your Catholicism, your Protestantism - you die. That's the kind of "peaceful messiah" the world is going to deal with.
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls [see Revelation 16] came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and with the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead:
MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished (Revelation 17:1-6).
Greatly astonished is right. Pretty weird stuff, eh? A whore on a beast. She's drunk with blood. She's obviously wealthy (business is good, I guess). Kings of the earth sleep with her, and everyone else gets drunk off of the blood in her cup. On the surface, this is gruesome and . . . baffling. Now, fortunately, the rest of the chapter goes into more detail for us, but for now, let's just look at the Old Testament for a second.
Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is equated with prostitution. In Exodus 34, God tells Israel not to marry with the nations around her, because they will "prostitute themselves to their gods" (34:15-16).
In Ezekiel, God compares the nation of Israel to a woman who prostitutes herself to "male idols" (Ezekiel 16). Yes, you are interpreting that correctly. In chapter 23, He compares the two kingdoms of Israel to young girls who allowed "their breasts [to be] fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed" (23).
The book of Hosea, which tells of Hosea's marriage to an adulterous wife, acts as an allegory for God's relationship with his idolatrous Israel. In chapter 3, God even tells Hosea, "'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes'" (3:1, and, sorry, I'm not going into "the sacred raisin cakes" right now). There are other examples, and even in the New Testament, idolatry and temple prostitution were sometimes connected (e.g., I Corinthians).
For John to use this image of a prostitute on a beast, he is undoubtedly referring to a religion of idolatry. Couple this with the fact that her nature is a "mystery" [which probably refers to the "mystery religions" of ancient (and modern-day) cultures], and her title is Babylon the Great (see Daniel 3), John is no doubt referring to the religion we read about earlier in chapter 13. At the time, however, he had no idea what he was seeing.
Luckily for him (and us), it's explained:
Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers."
Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth (17:7-18).
Okay, so maybe "explained" is too strong of a word. Defined is a more appropriate word, I suppose. Now, I'm going to have to speculate some, but I'll try to remain as close to the text as possible.
First, it seems a fairly safe assumption that the beast the woman rides is the same beast in Revelation 13. Both have ten horns, both have seven heads, and this beast "once was, now is not, and yet will come," while the beast in chapter 13 had a fatal wound that was healed. Also, in both cases, the world is astonished at these beasts, and follows them. So while John does not explicitly state that they are one and the same, I think it's fairly safe to assume that they are.
One thing of interest to note is that the beast has seven heads, which stand for the "seven hills upon which the woman sits." Most scholars believe this refers to Rome, because Rome has long been referred to as "The City on the Seven Hills." To be fair, there is also a city in Ohio that has the same name, but I doubt Ohio will be the headquarters of the Antichrist and his false religion.
I could be wrong.
According to some, the city itself is called "Babylon the Great." While Babylon was a city, it was also a nation and an empire. Revelation 17 also connects the name, not with a specific city, but with the prostitute, or false religion. Let's be clear: she is called "Babylon the Great," but she sits on the City of the Seven Hills. Go back and reread the whole chapter if you need to.
Now that you've done that, you'll notice something. The last verse calls her "the city." And you thought understanding this would be easy. . . .
This has caused lots of people to speculate that the ancient city of Babylon will be rebuilt (in fact, Saddam Hussein was actively rebuilding the ruins during his reign). But here's the thing: Babylon doesn't sit on seven hills, nor has it ever been called "The City on the Seven Hills." Rome, on the other hand, does sit on seven hills. And while the prostitute does represent a city, her nature is one of an idolatrous religion full of greed, opulence, and violence, as we've already seen. So while she represents a city, and her name is "Babylon the Great," I don't think that's meant to be the name of the city. Rather, the city is Rome, but it's very heart is a callback to the occult religions of Ancient Babylon, most notably idolatry. This makes sense in light of the "image of the beast" set up in Revelation 13. Again, though, keep in mind that this is speculation, and Babylon could be rebuilt (but then we still have the Seven Hills Problem, so . . . no).
All of this has led some to speculate that "Rome" actually refers to The Vatican, and that Catholicism will morph into an openly Satanic, occult religion whose "savior" is the Beast. There's some circumstantial evidence, to be sure. The Pope, for one, has taken a solemn charge to uphold the Scriptures, and yet he undermines them at every opportunity. Part of Babylonian religion involved sun-worship, and the sun is an image found throughout a vast majority of the Vatican. The last thing we need, however, is an anti-Catholic crusade, so hear me well: I certainly disagree with Catholicism on more than one issue, I certainly disagree with Pope Francis on just about every issue, and the Vatican may very well be a large part of this New World Order/Antichrist system that is coming.
But we don't know that. Not for certain.
So please don't begin persecuting Catholics because you think they may be secret Satanists. Please don't burn down local Catholic churches because you want to stop the Mystery Religion of Revelation. It's not our job to persecute, and we can't stop this from happening. It is our job to be and to make disciples of Jesus. There are many in the Catholic Church who love Jesus. They may have some heretical theology, but we all have some of that to varying degrees. If you have Catholic friends who love Jesus but have some "off" beliefs about the Scriptures, do you know what you should do?
Disciple them.
Not sure if some of your beliefs are Scriptural?
Be a disciple.
Certain that all of your beliefs are Scriptural?
Be a disciple, anyway.
Our job as believers is not to look down on the world, but to reach down and lead them to Jesus. I don't care if your friends and family are atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, or even fellow disciples, our job is twofold: to follow Jesus, and point to Him with everything in our lives in order that others may follow Him, too. This is the essence of the Great Commission, and the core of Jesus' last words to His disciples: "And you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
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