The day started as a normal day. But, after just 5 minutes, my day changed. I was given a mission. Sometimes my supervisor gives direction or marching orders, but this was different. It was direction from someone out of the norm, and was unmistakably couched as a divinely appointed mission. So, I have my work cut out for me for the next month and half with this mission.
I was raised in the Church of Christ, so receiving a divinely appointed mission from a charismatic Christian is somewhat out of the norm and comfort zone of my background. But, God has altogether worked with me in a different way since the death of my son. I guess He knew I would be listening more closely to his voice or that I would not be throwing up theological arguments to the way in which He wanted to work with me. And I am certain that he knows I have finally learned the discipline of prayer in my life, so He uses that.
I am the least likely Christian to use in regards to prayer since that has been a Johnny-come-lately discipline in my life. But, from the first hint of my job outside the teaching classroom in Odessa to the present, prayer has been the source of God's direction for my life. It's a more exciting spiritual life I am leading these days. And it certainly depends less on people for the fulfillment of spiritual goals. It depends wholly on what God wants to send my way in His own timing of things. I'm game.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Future glimpse
I'm thinking that all is well. But, I can't see the future. So, life might be just starting to get really messed up. Or it might be on the upswing right now, so that the future might really be something grand. There's no way to know. Or if life is a series of trade-offs, then the future will not be any better or worse than it is now. It will just be different. First there will be one trade-off then another. One door will open while another one will close. One event will need addressing giving rise to arresting the development of other events. So, the future will hold about the same as the present. That's why I'm thinking that all is well.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
2 or 3 more curves
A person can tell when something interrupts the usual way of life. Here it is June 24th and the last blog was June 3rd. 3 weeks of interruption. Part of it is the need to focus on a problem that cropped up that took extra time to fix. Part of it is just wearing out from work-a-day routines. Part of it is being depressed when several fires crop up at the same time and need attention from lack of attention for a somewhat lengthy period of time. After looking back over the last several blogs, I guess the time off was good to get the venom and rage out of my system.
But, there is a little relief from waiting 3 weeks. I don't feel like I need to vent about anything tonight. Oh, there is plenty to whine about. But, much time has gone into fixing problems. At least there has been forward motion started. Hopefully, that will gain momentum as time goes by. Some time on extra teaching has ended. A clearer direction for future physical meanderings is closer than it ever has been. So, much is looking up.
Tomorrow I go to the Revelation class again. But, somehow, I think I have reconciled what my role is and what it needs to be. It is a demon inside of me that wants others to give something that is not in their aresenal. My time needs to be spent on what I have to offer in writing more than anything. My arena needs to be somewhere other than some Sunday morning class in which no one really notices my going or coming. Perhaps, the creater wishes to use the opportunities he has presented me with just to get me over some obstacles in my path home. They're not for anyone else really unless it would be for some other lone traveler on the path.
Next week I return for a full regimen of work. I know what needs to be done and where to concentrate my energies.
The personal stuff in life will get taken care with or without me, so I don't have to fret about that. The personal goals I have will continue to come clear.
The race I am in is not over yet. But, I do know that I might have one or two more curves I can't see around, then the end of the journey will be in sight. May the One who Leads Me Home make me an efficient person at last.
But, there is a little relief from waiting 3 weeks. I don't feel like I need to vent about anything tonight. Oh, there is plenty to whine about. But, much time has gone into fixing problems. At least there has been forward motion started. Hopefully, that will gain momentum as time goes by. Some time on extra teaching has ended. A clearer direction for future physical meanderings is closer than it ever has been. So, much is looking up.
Tomorrow I go to the Revelation class again. But, somehow, I think I have reconciled what my role is and what it needs to be. It is a demon inside of me that wants others to give something that is not in their aresenal. My time needs to be spent on what I have to offer in writing more than anything. My arena needs to be somewhere other than some Sunday morning class in which no one really notices my going or coming. Perhaps, the creater wishes to use the opportunities he has presented me with just to get me over some obstacles in my path home. They're not for anyone else really unless it would be for some other lone traveler on the path.
Next week I return for a full regimen of work. I know what needs to be done and where to concentrate my energies.
The personal stuff in life will get taken care with or without me, so I don't have to fret about that. The personal goals I have will continue to come clear.
The race I am in is not over yet. But, I do know that I might have one or two more curves I can't see around, then the end of the journey will be in sight. May the One who Leads Me Home make me an efficient person at last.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Finally an early church literature review
If one were to review early church history, one would find that there are also seven letters to churches from Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch.These letters were written on his way through Turkey to face execution in Rome. Four of the letters went to the same towns as found in the seven letters from John's Revelation (Smyrna, Ephesus, Philsdelphia, and Sardis). Perhaps by looking at them, a person could find some corroboration of ideas to what is found in Revelation. Besides the commonality of seven letters and four to the same churches, the time period is very nearly the same. If John the apostle is the author and the date is around 96 AD, then Ignatius' letters come second, being dated to around 110 AD. If John the Elder wrote the Revelation, then the letters could have been written contemporaneously with Ignatius' or even shortly afterward. If shortly afterward, then perhpas Ignatius' letters served as a model or inspiration for the letters appearing in Revelation. Nonetheless, there are several connections between the two sets of seven letters.
First, in Ignatius' letter to the Ephesians, he addresses corruptive teaching forcefully. This matches the vehemence found in Revelation by John's using the term Jezebel for corruptive teaching. Ignatius' words are these, "Do not be deceived, my brothers and sisters. Corrupters of houses will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If a saying about corruptors of houses exists in the fleshly world as good advice, how much more meaningful is it if a person, through evil teaching, corrupts the faith of God for which Jesus was crucified. Such a person, having defiled himself, shall go into the unquenchable fire, as shall the one listening to that person" (Ephesians 16).
Second, if the term in Revelation, Jezebel, a name from the Jewish Bible, refers to a group of Jews, and if they belonged to a "synagogue of Satan" as the Jews were referred to in the letter to Smyrna (Rev.2.9), then the "knowledge of the depths of Satan" would refer to the Jewish teachings from the Jews in Thyatira. If this is the case, then there is a match of thought in Ignatius' letters as well. One of the stongest criticisms by Ignatius is found in his letter to the Magnesians. It states, "Do not be seduced by strange teachings or ancient fables because they are profitless. For if even to this day we live as Jews would have us live, we show that we have not received grace. The divine prophets lived as Jesus would have us live and they were persecuted because they were inspired by His grace. But because of this, disobedient Jews were supposed to have been fully persuaded that there is one God who manifested himself through Christ Jesus His son, who is the message that proceeded from His silence, who in all things was pleasing to Him who sent him... It is monstrous to talk of Jesus Christ and practice Judaism. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity, and on that belief every tongue believed and was gathered together for God" (Magnesians 9, 10).
Ignatius also adressed "deep thoughts." He was speaking about speaking with the same authority as the apostles, but he would not do so since they knew more than he did. Ignatius says, "I have many deep thoughts in God: but I take stock of myself, otherwise I might die (spiritually) because of my boasting... So I crave gentleness whereby the prince of this world is brought to nothing" (Traillians 4).
So, Ignatius' words throw some light on what is being addressed at Thyatira. Hopefully, one can learn that the Jews were causing problems in the area for those wanting to believe in Jesus' teachings. In general, Christians lived among a corruptive forces whether secular or spiritual, and those who were leaders in the churches cared a lot about their flock following teachings that would lead them away from Jesus' teachings. And that sounds like the American environment, in which case I can take to heart the gist of the message—don't take my eyes off of the Jesus of the gospels in which he said, "I am the truth, the way, and the life." End of story.
First, in Ignatius' letter to the Ephesians, he addresses corruptive teaching forcefully. This matches the vehemence found in Revelation by John's using the term Jezebel for corruptive teaching. Ignatius' words are these, "Do not be deceived, my brothers and sisters. Corrupters of houses will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If a saying about corruptors of houses exists in the fleshly world as good advice, how much more meaningful is it if a person, through evil teaching, corrupts the faith of God for which Jesus was crucified. Such a person, having defiled himself, shall go into the unquenchable fire, as shall the one listening to that person" (Ephesians 16).
Second, if the term in Revelation, Jezebel, a name from the Jewish Bible, refers to a group of Jews, and if they belonged to a "synagogue of Satan" as the Jews were referred to in the letter to Smyrna (Rev.2.9), then the "knowledge of the depths of Satan" would refer to the Jewish teachings from the Jews in Thyatira. If this is the case, then there is a match of thought in Ignatius' letters as well. One of the stongest criticisms by Ignatius is found in his letter to the Magnesians. It states, "Do not be seduced by strange teachings or ancient fables because they are profitless. For if even to this day we live as Jews would have us live, we show that we have not received grace. The divine prophets lived as Jesus would have us live and they were persecuted because they were inspired by His grace. But because of this, disobedient Jews were supposed to have been fully persuaded that there is one God who manifested himself through Christ Jesus His son, who is the message that proceeded from His silence, who in all things was pleasing to Him who sent him... It is monstrous to talk of Jesus Christ and practice Judaism. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity, and on that belief every tongue believed and was gathered together for God" (Magnesians 9, 10).
Ignatius also adressed "deep thoughts." He was speaking about speaking with the same authority as the apostles, but he would not do so since they knew more than he did. Ignatius says, "I have many deep thoughts in God: but I take stock of myself, otherwise I might die (spiritually) because of my boasting... So I crave gentleness whereby the prince of this world is brought to nothing" (Traillians 4).
So, Ignatius' words throw some light on what is being addressed at Thyatira. Hopefully, one can learn that the Jews were causing problems in the area for those wanting to believe in Jesus' teachings. In general, Christians lived among a corruptive forces whether secular or spiritual, and those who were leaders in the churches cared a lot about their flock following teachings that would lead them away from Jesus' teachings. And that sounds like the American environment, in which case I can take to heart the gist of the message—don't take my eyes off of the Jesus of the gospels in which he said, "I am the truth, the way, and the life." End of story.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Third a language check
It's always worth the while to take time to check the original language and to check manuscript traditions for variants in the text. The check doesn't yield much, theologically speaking, in this letter, but it offers a couple of interesting points.
Verse 24 uses a word for what many translations render "the deep things" belonging to Satan. The word in Greek does mean depths but it is put in juxtaposition with the word preceding it, which is "knowing." At the very least this is a classic case of sarcasm, and at most an obvious contrast or oxymoron. The sarcasm comes from some of the Christians not "knowing" what should be "known" if they would only plumb the depths of Christianity. But, Jesus is complimenting those not "knowing the depths" or having only shallow knowledge. Of course, then shallow knowledge is what Christians should know and knowing the depths is what gets people in trouble. If the phrase is taken as an oxymoron, then knowing something generally implies that one has studied deeply. But, who would want to know the depths "of Satan." The contrast is to take the phrase "knowing the depths" and putting it against "of Satan." The Gnostic group of Christians could have been referred to as Jezebel in the letter, and if that is the case, then using the verb for "know" is a slam against the group whose name derives from "knowledge" because the gnostic group has just been named the Satanic group. Gnostics thought they knew so much more than the regular Christians. But the "less knowing" group is complimented here.
A second tidbit from the language is the variant found in verse 22. Jesus says that Jezebel will be thrown on a sickbed. Three other words are found as variants for sickbed here. All of them are punitive. But each of them has a different slant on what will truly happen to Jezebel. One variant is that she would be thrown into prison; one is that she would be thrown in to a furnace; and one is that she would be thrown into a state of weakness. Whichever one is really right doesn't matter so much as the picture that God is ready to deal with Jezebel because she represents such utter evil. Thus, God is going to come through for the Christians at Thyratira for having such a "simple" faith. He will give the one who conquers (the temptation to know deeply a teaching from Satan) someone to brightly guide him or identify him with brilliance—the morning star!
Verse 24 uses a word for what many translations render "the deep things" belonging to Satan. The word in Greek does mean depths but it is put in juxtaposition with the word preceding it, which is "knowing." At the very least this is a classic case of sarcasm, and at most an obvious contrast or oxymoron. The sarcasm comes from some of the Christians not "knowing" what should be "known" if they would only plumb the depths of Christianity. But, Jesus is complimenting those not "knowing the depths" or having only shallow knowledge. Of course, then shallow knowledge is what Christians should know and knowing the depths is what gets people in trouble. If the phrase is taken as an oxymoron, then knowing something generally implies that one has studied deeply. But, who would want to know the depths "of Satan." The contrast is to take the phrase "knowing the depths" and putting it against "of Satan." The Gnostic group of Christians could have been referred to as Jezebel in the letter, and if that is the case, then using the verb for "know" is a slam against the group whose name derives from "knowledge" because the gnostic group has just been named the Satanic group. Gnostics thought they knew so much more than the regular Christians. But the "less knowing" group is complimented here.
A second tidbit from the language is the variant found in verse 22. Jesus says that Jezebel will be thrown on a sickbed. Three other words are found as variants for sickbed here. All of them are punitive. But each of them has a different slant on what will truly happen to Jezebel. One variant is that she would be thrown into prison; one is that she would be thrown in to a furnace; and one is that she would be thrown into a state of weakness. Whichever one is really right doesn't matter so much as the picture that God is ready to deal with Jezebel because she represents such utter evil. Thus, God is going to come through for the Christians at Thyratira for having such a "simple" faith. He will give the one who conquers (the temptation to know deeply a teaching from Satan) someone to brightly guide him or identify him with brilliance—the morning star!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Second an Old Testament allusion
A short excursion to the Old Testament reveals a little more meaning to the letter to Thyatira. Revelation in general is rife with Old Testament allusions. The 7 letters are no exception. Three OT allusions are encountered in this letter to Thyatira.
First is the reference to Jezebel from 1st and 2nd Kings. Ahab had to be the most wicked king in all of Israel's history. He had help, though. He married someone whose father carried the name of Baal, God's competitor in Sidon. After marrying this lady, he instituted her false religion in Israel. In other words he prostituted Israel's religion, figuratively speaking. Because of her influence, prophets uttered oracles against her, one of which was that she would die in Jezreel and another saying that her sons would be cut down and her royal line would come to an end. So, in Revelation Jezebel is the sybolic name for a prophetess who prostituted Jesus' religion and whose symbolic children would be cut down or caused to suffer great grief. God would not stand for a verse 2 of Jezebel to happen with the religion surrounding his son.
Another reference is to Psalm 2.8-9. This Psalm touts the overcomer to rule powerfully over his enemies. This definitely offset the legend of Thyrimnos with his double sided ax and his alliance with the Roman power. Jesus, in effect, says that his followers would be every bit as powerful as the local icon. Thus, the praise of verse 19 was reinforced with the Psalm portion in order to give encouragement to worn-out hearts for the love, faith, service and patience they had shown in their community.
A final reference seems to echo Jeremiah 11.20. The prophet is asking God for revenge on his enemies or at least observing that God would avenge him since he was God's prophet, so he says that the Lord of Hosts would judge fairly because he tries or searches the heart and mind. In Revelation the echo serves the same purpose. God would judge the Christians' enemies because he can search their minds and hearts for the evil they have in them.
The OT allusions have an identifying and encouraging role to play in the letter to Thyratira. Christians' hearts should have been encouraged because God was going to put evil in its place. The first centruy Christians needed to hear such a message. They understood it plainly and stood up as Christians against the backdrop of paganism starkly.
First is the reference to Jezebel from 1st and 2nd Kings. Ahab had to be the most wicked king in all of Israel's history. He had help, though. He married someone whose father carried the name of Baal, God's competitor in Sidon. After marrying this lady, he instituted her false religion in Israel. In other words he prostituted Israel's religion, figuratively speaking. Because of her influence, prophets uttered oracles against her, one of which was that she would die in Jezreel and another saying that her sons would be cut down and her royal line would come to an end. So, in Revelation Jezebel is the sybolic name for a prophetess who prostituted Jesus' religion and whose symbolic children would be cut down or caused to suffer great grief. God would not stand for a verse 2 of Jezebel to happen with the religion surrounding his son.
Another reference is to Psalm 2.8-9. This Psalm touts the overcomer to rule powerfully over his enemies. This definitely offset the legend of Thyrimnos with his double sided ax and his alliance with the Roman power. Jesus, in effect, says that his followers would be every bit as powerful as the local icon. Thus, the praise of verse 19 was reinforced with the Psalm portion in order to give encouragement to worn-out hearts for the love, faith, service and patience they had shown in their community.
A final reference seems to echo Jeremiah 11.20. The prophet is asking God for revenge on his enemies or at least observing that God would avenge him since he was God's prophet, so he says that the Lord of Hosts would judge fairly because he tries or searches the heart and mind. In Revelation the echo serves the same purpose. God would judge the Christians' enemies because he can search their minds and hearts for the evil they have in them.
The OT allusions have an identifying and encouraging role to play in the letter to Thyratira. Christians' hearts should have been encouraged because God was going to put evil in its place. The first centruy Christians needed to hear such a message. They understood it plainly and stood up as Christians against the backdrop of paganism starkly.
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