Tag: christianity

The Coming Judgment (Revelation 11:1-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.

But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.

At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly. (New Living Translation)

There are many people who look upon Christians as oppressors and persecutors in history. And they aren’t wrong. From calls to war for the Crusades, to the Spanish Inquisition, and much more, a great deal of blood has been spilled in the name of Christianity.

The Book of Revelation, however, knows nothing of that history, simply because it pre-dates all of it. Many people forget, in it’s first few hundred years, that Christianity was a persecuted religion by all sorts of people.

Christians were often the scapegoats to many a leader’s problems. From throwing Christians to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, to burning them at the stake because of their faith, many a martyr has faced a bloody death.

The Apostle John’s Apocalypse, which is known to us as the Book of Revelation, was a vision given to John in order to encourage the persecuted Christian Church that God knows their suffering; and that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.

John’s vision had a message of judgment on those who were persecuting Christians for their faithful witness of Jesus. The believers in Jesus who were suffering at the hands of oppressors, cried out for vindication and retribution against their persecutors.

Today’s portion of Revelation is situated between the sixth and seventh trumpets of God’s judgment (which are the second and third woes upon the earth). This interlude has to do with two godly witnesses. And the whole world is able to see them.

The space which the two witnesses occupy is in the outer courtyard of the Temple. The two of them symbolize all the faithful people of God in the world. They are attacked and killed, having carried out their witness for 1,260 days (42 months).

This is a time, related to the Old Testament prophecy of Daniel, appointed for the godless to overcome the city. But this time of suffering and woe will not last.

The two witnesses are not named or identified. The point is that whomever they are, these two maintain their prophetic witness to the Lord consistently to their martyrdom.

Like their Lord before them, the two witnesses lay dead for three days. Their bodies visible for all to see. The godless inhabitants of earth gloat over them, and celebrate their demise.

But again, like Jesus, the two are raised from death and ascend to heaven. This evokes a mass of fear throughout the world. The fact that the event causes fear and terror, instead of repentance  and penitence, speaks to how warped the people of earth have become.

Indeed, the Book of Revelation is highly symbolized reading, and John’s vision is not easy to understand. Yet, there are a few things we can reflect upon in light of this passage; and some questions we can ask of ourselves:

  1. It is important to be faithful and persevere to the very end of our lives. How will we respond to this present darkness in the world?
  2. The way in which we live our lives is the legacy we leave for others when we are gone. What will we be remembered for?
  3. Our lives speak to others about who the God of heaven is. Therefore, it is profoundly important how we go about living our current mundane daily existence. How, then, shall you and I live?
  4. Our short lives have eternal ramifications, not only for ourselves, but for future generations. In what ways will you build into the next generation and help them persevere in faith?
  5. Everything you and I see today will change. There is a Judgment Day coming, just as sure as summer will transition to autumn and then into winter. What will you do today that prepares for the final season of the earth as we know it?

Although much of John’s apocalyptic vision deals with wickedness reaching a ripeness which releases the wrath of God’s judgment; it is also simultaneously the church’s entrance into her eternal inheritance. Systemic sin, structural evil, and devilish deeds shall be no more.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. May peace soon come to this world, and within our hearts. Amen.

Christ the King Sunday (John 18:33-37)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Statue of Christ the King, in Świebodzin, Poland

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 

Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 

Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 

Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Each year in the Christian Calendar, Christ the King Sunday is observed as the final Sunday in the liturgical year. It comes at this time, just before the beginning of Advent, in order to consider an important question.

Since Jesus came to this earth in his incarnation to be a king, we must ask, “What kind of a king was Jesus?”

Christ was not, and is not, a king, a ruler (or any other sort of title one wants to use for an authoritative leader) in the same way as was the Roman Emperor, King Herod, or the regional authority of the time, Pontius Pilate.

Jesus was also not like those in authority such as the Jewish High Priest, the Jewish ruling council of the Sanhedrin, or the local synagogue ruler. And Christ is most definitely not like any sort of present day President, Prime Minister, or petty dictator in any of the world’s nations.

Jesus was a king and a ruler who used his power and authority for those on the underbelly of society, that is, people without much, if any, power or authority.

That means Christ the King is concerned to effect a very different set of values from that of any politically dominant governmental system or society that was or is on this earth.

Whether a person or group of people are seeking to win an election, initiate a coup, or effect a change in government, they want their particular system of governing to be in power. They want to call all the shots in a particular place.

That means there will be winners and losers. There will be people in power, and others without it. Some people will benefit from the system, and others will not. Looking at kingship and/or leadership from that perspective, there is a built in failure rate.

The obsession with winning, at a national level, typically involves securing a strong military. Yet, despite military might, soldiers rarely secure any sort of political solution to anything. All it really does is strongarm others into doing what the powerful want done. It does nothing to change the hearts of people.

People in power can be enamored with their authority to do things. And they don’t like it whenever they are not in control of everything. The kings, rulers, and even religious leaders in Christ’s day, were used to controlling public discourse and even the daily lives of common people.

From that sort of worldly understanding of power, Jesus had no real authority. He was this pathetic person standing before a powerful person. Most people would have been begging for their lives. But not Jesus. Christ knew who was really in charge. And it was not Pilate.

Pilate was flummoxed by the presence of Jesus. From Pilate’s perspective, Jesus was not at all acting like a king ought to. Pilate, in his authoritative role, wanted answers about what was going on. But he didn’t realize that his authority was given to him from a power outside the Roman Empire.

Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, the power politics and authority positions of that kingdom are nothing what people like Pilate were used to. There was no way that Pilate could use the typical tactics of manipulation, lies, corruption, and leveraging power to come to a satisfactory outcome for himself.

The values of God’s kingdom are quite different from any political government in this world, either past or present.

Jesus had no need to try and be at the top of Pilate’s system, or of the Roman world. So, he wasn’t even going to try and exercise that kind of authority within it. And neither were his disciples. Clubs and swords and pitched battles would not be happening. There was absolutely no need for it whatsoever.

For us today, that means we serve the interests of humility, gentleness, respect, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peace. We are not here on this earth to engage in the routine and typical ways of earthly power politics.

For the Christian, Jesus is King. But this king isn’t riding around in a chariot or a limousine; he comes to us on a jack ass and driving a Subaru.

Jesus is the king with all the power of the universe, and yet is tortured and killed by those with the local society’s authority. That happened not because of weakness or inability, but because of a completely different set of values which have to do with love defeating hate, instead of an army winning a victory.

A God who is crucified is diametrically different than any other deity or authority which has ever existed. The power of love is the ultimate power of doing what is right, just, and good; and letting truth have its way, no matter what.

Christians everywhere must be reminded, on this Christ the King Sunday, that we serve a sovereign king whose power and authority is used to be a humble servant who meets the needs of others.

All Christians, therefore, ought to embrace and engage in becoming gentle folk who bring humble service to others wherever they go. Seeking power, position, prestige, and pedigree is in direct opposition to the values of God’s kingdom, with Christ as King.

Any sort of Christendom, which seeks to control both government and society, or a Christian Nationalism which intends to ensconce personal agendas into society, ought to be rejected.

Christian Nationalism is nothing more than Grape Nuts; just as the cereal is neither grapes nor nuts, so the political movement is neither Christian nor concerned for national interests.

This is a day for the church to reassess what is most important, to affirm its true values, and to evaluate how it really ought to operate in society.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by guilt and shame, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Be Ready (Mark 13:9-23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Art by Mark Keathley

“As for yourselves, beware, for they will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. 

“When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit. 

“Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down or enter to take anything from the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. 

“For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. 

“And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’—do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything. (New Revised Standard Version)

The genuineness and strength of one’s faith is demonstrated through the testing of it. A believer’s faith must and will be tried. How will that faith hold up when the world is angry and pours out its hate against them?

Jesus teaching in the Temple, by Willem van Herp (1614-1677)

The follower of Jesus will undergo afflictions and be oppressed by others. They will suffer.

Since that is true, the Christian must ensure that whatever suffering they endure is not because they have been obnoxious and unhelpful to people in this world; but that they are suffering because of their commitment to the words and ways of Jesus, because of their humility, gentleness, righteousness, purity, mercy, and peace.

Christians are meant to bear the cross, so that they may be conformed to the image of their Lord Jesus. There will be times when believers are the brunt of ungodly rage and fury, gossip and slander, opposition and injustice.

Jesus was warning his disciples that they needed to be prepared for endurance, to persevere over the long haul for their faith in him. Otherwise, they might be overwhelmed by temptation.

Christ followers are to remain steady in their purpose of living into the words of Jesus, and living out his ways in a world that prizes the opposite of Christian values.

The godly person values humility. The ungodly persons values pride.

The godly grieve and mourn over injustice in the world. The ungodly celebrate getting ahead by any means possible in this world.

The godly are meek. The ungodly are mean.

The godly seek right relationships with God and others. The ungodly leverage relationships to get what they want.

The godly prize mercy. The ungodly champion being merciless.

The godly are pure in heart. The ungodly have spiders in their heart, and garlic in their soul.

The godly engage in peacemaking. The ungodly engage in warmongering.

The godly end are persecuted for embracing the virtues of Jesus. The ungodly are the persecutors of good people.

The godly will be comforted, inherit the earth, receive mercy, see God, and belong to the kingdom of heaven. The ungodly will be judged, inherit the wind, receive condemnation, see nothing, and belong to the kingdom of darkness.

Sermon on the Mount, by Jorge Cocco Santángelo

The Lord wants us relieved of anxiety, and cheerfully living life with our burdens laid upon Jesus, for he gently and ably carries them. We can cast all our cares on him, because he cares for us. (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7)

Whenever we are in the position of being afflicted by others, wisdom shall be granted to the godly who follow in the way of Christ.

The grace of God exists for those who seek to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. But there is nothing for the proud and arrogant, who believe they themselves are sufficient – because they refuse to receive any gift of God being offered to them.

All sorts of false prophets come along to try and deceive the godly into listening and following them. They make empty promises and blame others for unwanted situations. Know that whatever they say about others, is actually true of themselves.

So, when they accuse another of lying, cheating, stealing, murdering, etc. you can be sure that this is precisely what they themselves do to get ahead and get what they want in this life. Therefore, don’t be tempted by any rhetoric which demeans others.

Love of God and humanity is to be kindled hot, and not cooled through ingratitude and treachery. For whenever courage is weakened, a flood of violent speech and behavior follows.

We must strive against anything which harms the whole of humanity, and puts God at a distance. Instead, good news needs to be proclaimed.

The end will eventually come. Yet, we need not wander around in darkness, as if we don’t know what to do or where to go. We will indeed go through testing and many trials to our faith.

The desolating sacrilege, the abomination of desolation, will appear – which will be the sign that the time is short. An abomination, or desolation, means to profane something, to make it unclean or impure, to treat a holy thing as if it were simply not significant nor important.

In other words, whenever and wherever corruption is rife, and people (and God) are treated as disposable, then you know destruction is at hand. Thus, you must flee, because there is danger.

In such a situation, the rule of law will not help you. Services which were once helpful will be abolished and thrown away like garbage. And it could all happen rather quickly. So, don’t run back and try to save pieces of that previous life and existence; it isn’t worth it. You life is on the line.

Malicious motives and meanness of heart have no intention for the common good of all persons on this earth. A few people want what they want, and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process.

None of this awful behavior will go on forever. God’s judgment can and will deal with it. Yet, no one knows the time or date when that judgment will be rendered. For the sake of the godly, those days will be shortened.

Jesus was not attempting scare his disciples, but to exhort and arouse them to beware of the ungodly; and to keep watch, so that they would not fall into temptation and have their faith weakened.

As believers, we may experience troubles, but we need not be troubled.

The Good Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, is watching over us so that we don’t need to become distressed and discouraged.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  (John 10:27-29, NRSV)

The permanence of our deliverance from guilt, shame, sin, death, and hell does not depend on any of us. It is relies firmly upon the grace of God in Christ. And none who have been given to God shall perish. (John 17:12)

Be encouraged. But also be ready.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Beware of Your Fear (Mark 13:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 

Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. (New Revised Standard Version)

In my undergraduate college days, decades ago, springtime brought a regular staple of sidewalk preachers calling for people to repent, because the end of the world is imminent.

That was in the days of the Cold War; the specter of a nuclear holocaust was a real fear among many. The outdoor preachers got a serious hearing with some.

Although religious end times preaching gets little attention anymore, the idea of a cataclysmic apocalypse is still very much a part of the culture. Dystopian novels are widely read; and stockpiling for a zombie apocalypse is a real thing.

End of the world stuff is, at the least, interesting and/or fascinating to many; and, at the most, there are folks fully prepared for an apocalypse of the world to happen in their lifetime.

Christ’s disciples asked him a question. And Jesus went directly to talking apocalypse.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus takes on demons and all sorts of other-worldly opposition. Christ is certainly presented by Mark as one who discerns there is much more going on – and will go on – in this world than what it may seem on the surface of things.

Jerusalem and Herod’s Temple, by James Tissot, c.1890

The disciples saw large and wonderful stones which were part of the temple. They marveled at what their physical eyes perceived. But Jesus saw further, into the future, and was not at all impressed; he saw a time of apocalypse. All of those stones in a heap. No one marveling over the temple.

Christ’s disciples wanted to know when such a time would happen. As was often the case with Jesus, he didn’t answer their question, at least not directly. He used it as an opportunity to teach about things to come.

The gist of Christ’s words to his disciples was to communicate that things are going to get worse than what they already are. The Roman occupation they were experiencing is nothing compared to what’s coming.

The apocalyptic language had been around in ancient Judea for a long time. There had been centuries of people talking about the world’s end.

Apocalyptic stuff is nothing new to contemporary folk, as well. Just mention the Book of Revelation and heads pop up, eyebrows raise, and imagination goes to seed.

We as biblical readers, however, need to observe that Jesus didn’t answer the question of his disciples. Which is perhaps something we must become more alert to.

Nobody knows when the end of the world will come. Not even Jesus. But that doesn’t seem to stop folks from asking anyway. Perhaps we need to ask a different question. Instead of asking “When will these things happen?” maybe we ought to ask, “What must I watch out for?”

The change of question orients us in a different way. Rather than end times speculation, we begin watching for things which are dangerous to humanity, things that bring upheaval to our world.

We start valuing awareness and observance, listening and contemplating. We learn to place our energies wisely into the things we believe truly matter in this life for the common good of all.

God is up to all sorts of kingdom business that is beyond our purview, and frankly, even beyond our ability to perceive or understand.

When we accept the exhortation of Jesus to “beware,” then we watch and look for things that are already here among us, and not get lost in a future we cannot predict. That type of future orientation only produces the kind of worry and anxiety that leads to fear.

And when fear takes root, it spawns the evils of hate and injustice. We become vulnerable to selfish incompetent leaders who make promises to take our fears away. We end up doing terrible acts against others, like imprisoning political opponents, denaturalizing and deporting citizens we don’t like, and creating fascist states that oppress others.

Fallen stones from the destruction of the Temple

But if we will wake up, hear the call of Jesus to beware, and awaken to our true commitment to the kingdom of God, we will then forsake fear-based tactics, and courageously help others in both body and soul.

It also means that, at times, we are off somewhere in centering and contemplative prayer, just like our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that the real source of power and authority is outside of us.

A true biblical view of the end times is about God working out divine purpose on behalf of all humanity. It isn’t about us and all of our fears and anxieties getting worked out in harmful ways.

The realization of a coming apocalypse must lead us toward faith and trust in the God who holds justice, righteousness, and mercy in good divine hands.

God has no limitations because of our questions. God will be God. God is who God is. Our task is to watch, remain faithful, and persevere until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

May it be so, to the glory of God.