The Antichrist
1 John 2:21-22
21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
When we hear or read “the antichrist,” we pause for a minute. Not to reflect, so much as stand in fear & awe. We ask ourselves — “Who is THIS Guy?” Will I be able to see him if he were to appear right in front of me? Is he a physical person or a ghost or a figment of my own imagination? The fact is that it is mentioned throughout the New Testament Epistles or Letters, and thus it is vital that we, at least, wrap our heads around the concept. The aspect of the “antichrist” as being ONE individual is correct because he is mentioned in detail in the Book of Revelation. He is to be feared, there is no doubt about that because he will come like a wolf in sheep’s clothing — in other words, he will look & sound like a believer in Christ but his main desire is to lure many away from Christ until the final day of his destruction when Christ returns.
If this does not scare you, then this should — He is One of Us. He is physically, socially, psychologically, & spiritually one with the visible church. He may be a pastor, an elder, a deacon, or a spiritual brother or sister who speaks as if he/she has been saved for a long while. But he/she is not saved, is not a believer, & does not care about the concerns of Christ. Instead, their sole desire is to wreak tremendous havoc upon the church so that many brothers & sisters as well as would-be brothers & sisters would be turned off & turned away from the church.
If this sounds eerily similar to what is happening to the Roman Catholic Church & the many scandals plaguing them, you are on the right track but are naively incomplete. In other words, it is too simplistic to point the finger at the Roman Catholic Church & reflect upon their scandal & conclude that the words concerning the “antichrist” refers to them alone. Rather, there is a secondary aspect to the word, “antichrist” that the Apostle John wants all Christians everywhere to be concerned & forewarned — they are still among us until the day of Christ’s return.
Why is this? Read verse 22 —
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son
Does this phrase refer to only one individual person or entity or does it sound like there are multiple persons? Because the word, “antichrist” here, refers to a collection of people that deny Jesus is the Christ. And these individuals are not outside the church but that they are INSIDE the church. They say they believe in Christ but do not; they say all the right things about Christ but do not believe; they may be in the upper echelons of heirarchical status of the church but fail in themselves that are truly saved. These individuals are whom the Apostle John is warning the church. Immediately, you should feel vulnerable & naked because these persons can do you harm, spiritually.
What can you do about them? Read verse 21 —
I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth
Christian brother, Christian sister, you are fully armed. Armed with, what, you may ask yourself? The truth. Is that some nebulous truth; some type of archaic truth; a truth that is like the wind — here today & gone tomorrow? No. It is the truth that we have already obtained through a power outside human faculty & intellect — a truth that is real & divine & wholly Trinitarian. In other words, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ does not make you naked to the fact that you are now transformed & left to your own devices. Rather, there is a union, a relationship with the Triune God that makes us wholly powerful to stand against these individuals, who claim to know Christ but clearly do not.
How is it clear that these “antichrists” do not know Christ? Because we have the truth & they do not. If they deny the Christ, they are not one of us. And if they are not one of us, they are not as powerfully surrounded like us. And the reason that they are not, is because they are still dead in their transgressions & sins. And their dead souls cannot conspire against us to rip the fabric of our faith away from the Triune God. Not only this, our transformed souls are indwelt of the Holy Spirit & He will preserve our faith in the face of such denial that we can stand firm & resist whatever false truth & lies & denials of Christ that come from their lips.
Take solace, then, that the power to do all this & more unto our preservation for eternal salvation come not from our own human ability or inability, as if, we must contain such rationality in order to stand firm in the faith. This is not the reality of the Christian life that we have believed, dear brother & sister. The reality is so much richer & more glorious, for the divine God-head has assumed His rightful place within the hearts of His believers so that they never stand alone — He always shares their trials & sufferings & torment — He richly clothes us in Himself & He is richly clothed in the vulnerabilities of our human existence.
Being With Jesus
Reflection by Christina Aguilera
Look at me
You may think you see
Who I really am
But you'll never know me
Every day
It's as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
This song is sung by the title character, Mulan, a Chinese girl, who feels nothing but shame because she feels that she will never measure up to the enormous standards set by her relatives. As a result, she feels that in order to feel validated & appreciated, Mulan, must wear a facade — a mask — that will hide her true self, her real identity in order to ingratiate herself in her culture & society & at the same time bring honor to her family. And thus provides the impetus for the story to begin — a girl who dresses herself as a man in order to fight for her family & preserve the only surviving male, her father, from military service.
Mulan has figured out that there is a sense of a dual personality going on — there is on the one hand, her natural self, her concealed self that no one appreciates but herself; on the other hand is the revealed self, the mask, that anyone & everyone else around her wishes that she reveals more naturally. But to Mulan, this revealed character that everyone seems to appreciate feels phony & fake to her. There’s nothing ‘real’ about it — its forgery, plain & simple & Mulan must be imprisoned by it.
This is very striking when we compare it to another story of a reflection —
The Story of Narcissus
Day after day, Narcissus stared at the water, in love with his own reflection.
He began to waste away from grief, until one sad morning,
he felt himself dying.
“Goodbye, my love!” he shouted to his reflection.
Do you notice the difference? Mulan & Narcissus are both staring at their reflection but only one of them sees the idealized beauty behind the mask. Is one of them right or are both of them wrong? The answer — they are both right! They are both looking at themselves in the way in which they desire to look themselves — Mulan can only help but to look at the miserable facade & chooses to characterize that facade as ‘ugly’ compared to her real inner self. Narcissus can only help but to look at the facade & see the quintessence of beauty staring straight back at him. Mulan desires not to see the beauty in the facade — Narcissus desires not to see the beauty in his inner being.
And yet we praise Mulan for not being the exact superficial selfish creature as Narcissus evidently presents himself. But is this caricature & characterization a correct one to have?
1 John 2:5-6
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
But whoever keeps His Word, in him truly the Love of God is Perfected! What this means at face value is that obedience to His Word means the perfection of Love in his whole being. Only the person’s inner being or his emotions or is there something else at work? The Love of God exemplified in Galatians 5:22 — For the Fruit of Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control — here, the Apostle Paul spells out in no uncertain terms the exact contra-distinction of those living in the flesh as opposed to those living in the Spirit. Those living in the flesh will exhibit the exact opposite traits from those living in the Spirit.
Thus to be perfected in Love means that both the physical attributes of Love as well as the internal makeup that drives those physical attributes of Love will be perfected. Both the inner self & the outer self will be perfected in Love.
How is this possible & can it be true that we can be wholesome through & through? The answer lies in the very next phrase — By this we may KNOW that we are IN HIM. What this means is that for Christians, there exists a singular oneness with HIM — In Him means nothing less than Christ being indwelt of all the believers in Christ. This is in parallel with the phrase “The Love of God is Perfected.” The machinery that enables Christians to exhibit love that is perfected comes through the 2nd Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. In Him, all the Love exudes from His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, into the very hearts of believers.
Furthermore, the word — Keep & Know — are pairs that are intertwined together; to keep His Word means to Know Him. Thus, in this sense of the word ‘to keep’ refers not simply to obedience but also “to have & to hold” — akin to a marriage vow —
“I [ man ] take you [ woman ] as my wife to have & to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness & in fleshhealth to love & to cherish until death do us part.”
This phrase means obedience — faithful, loving obendience. Yet at the same time a loving obedience that exudes from his heart that has been captured by the woman he loves. In this manner, to keep means, in essence, to take possession. And in relationship with Christ, this interplay between the Bride of Christ, the Church, & the Groom, who is the Christ becomes realized.
In relationship with Christ, we do not become overly enamored with the outer flesh that remains with us nor are overly enamored with our inner flesh. Rather, we recognize transformation & regeneration of both our outer bodies & of our inner self because we have taken possession of Christ & Christ has taken possession over us. We no longer live for ourselves unto ourselves alone for our own glory. Now, In Christ Jesus, we live for Him as He lives in us unto His glory & excellence!
Propitiation - Our Divine Mercy
1 John 2:1-2
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
“I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin”. What does the Apostle John mean by ‘not sin’? The answer will come depending on whom he is refering to when he writes “little children.” He doesn’t mean to be derogatory rather he is placing a certain emphasis on the nature of human relationships with Christ — we are His Children. The submissive nature of children means that we are in a position of receiving whatever goodness that He intends for us & the best good is for our perfection. Perfect moral, ethical, & behavioral transformation that exalts & praises & worships the Maker of our Perfection not in absence of Him nor absent in our transformation.
Thus there are two things going on with this one statement — the first is our whole & complete salvation through the Blood of Christ; His efficacy in our place poured out for us in order to present us as Holy relics before the throne of God. In this once-for-all sacrifice, in which the Perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, has given to us all that we need in the heavenly places so that through Him we have taken possession already of an inheritance that is ours in Christ.
However, we do not presently, in the flesh, have taken possession of it. This is the second implication of this statement — our salvation is ongoing in the pursuit of this possession. On the one hand, we are saved by the Blood of Jesus; on the other hand, so long as we live presently in this flesh, we are being perfected in ever-greater excellence in all the manner of life — moral, ethical, & behavioral — that there will exist imperfections, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, & sin that need to be identified & rectified completely. Therefore, the Apostle John cannot mean to Christians that we need to be saved everyday of our lives in order for us NOT to sin. That would do away with the once-for-all sufficiency of Christ’s death & resurrection. He has died & resurrected once, He will not need to do it over again. Once you’re saved you are saved for all eternity.
But what needs to take place for every Christian is maturity IN the Blood of Chrust. This cannot mean for non-Christians that they can posses this every increasing perfection absent the Blood of Christ upon their life. This cannot mean that non-Christians can do what Christians are expected to do & perform through the Blood of Jesus. That is impossible! Rather, the exhortation of the Apostle John to the church is this :
To non-Christians — do not be blind & ignorant of the sin that surrounds you & indwells you, there is yet still a Savior, Christ Jesus, who has availed Himself for you in your place & have freely offered Himself in order to place upon Him the many sins that surround you & indwells you. Allow Him to change & transform your heart so that you may yet be able to please Him perfectly & completely. I exhort you to believe on Him, who is your life & accept Him into your heart.
To Christians — do not be blind & ignorant of the sin that surrounds you & indwells you, there is yet still a Savior, Christ Jesus, who has availed Himself for you in your place & have freely offered Himself in order to place upon Him the many sins that surround you & indwells you. Allow Him to change & transform your heart so that you may yet be able to please Him perfectly & completely. I exhort you to believe on Him, who is your life.
What was the difference between the statements? The only difference that you should see is that to the non-Christian, there is an obvious call to receiving the Lord Jesus. For the Christian, such a call is not necessary. Why? Because the very definition of a Christian is that this individual have already received Christ into their hearts already — salvation is no longer necessary. But the sustenance of His Grace & the sanctification of their souls unto excellence must be taking place. The Indwelling Nature of the Presence of the Holy Spirit will not allow Christians to descend into sinfulness into perpetuity. This will end.
There is no doubt about that — if you are saved by the Blood of Christ, the Holy Spirit desires that we mirror & reflect Christ & that can only occur through the presence of His Spirit & the means of Grace He provides through the Scriptures, Prayer, the Sacraments, & the Preaching of the Word. In all of these, He utilizes in order to ensure our progression in the Spirit — that is what propitiation means for us & to us.
Upon the Christ on the Cross propitiation is the wrath of a powerful God meting out divine judgment upon His only Son. But for us, as Christ received the wrath & judgment upon His Body by the Father, His Righteousness for us — Christ’s Righteosuness for us — His Own Righteousness for us, was poured into our hearts. This made us alive once-for-all & keeps us in His divine Favor forever. And yet, that is not all — Christ was the propitiation for ALL our sins : Our Past Sins, Our Present Sins, & Our Future Sins. As we are presently, living this life in the flesh, all the sins we have yet to commit have been forgiven on the Cross of Christ. This is why it is still all the more important to ask the Lord for forgiveness of sins everyday & continue in His Grace through the maturing of our Spiritual Nature.
Where Is The Lord?
Many times in our Christian experience, we want to cry out — “If only I had been there, I would be able to believe far better than my current situation.” There seems to be a quest of attempting to renew our experience over and over again in order to validate our salvation. Thus icons become very meaningful & very powerful. Icons, by themselves, are neutral. We fully understand them to be earthly objects containing nothing whatever of any ethereal or divine material. Yet, we impute in them — or we give to them — the power that these objects do not naturally, inherently, & by themselves contain. We give to them the stature of divine-like essence in order to feel both validated & perfected. This was never the intention of God, that we would displace & misrepresent anything in heaven or on earth of possessing such virtue. We were always & forever to believe in God & Himself alone without having to impute divine attributes that belong to Him alone.
Therefore, we must be careful in our spiritual experiences that we do not displace God; that we do not misrepresent Him in any way by holding to objects & even spiritual experiences as THE object for our sanctification. He mercifully grants awesome experiences for us to have; He allows these feelings & emotions to overcome us & overwhelm us. BUT they are not meant for the chase nor the pursuit. He has granted these things so that in them & through them we may be led to Him. Such is the same as the Cross, the Bread, & the Cup. These are strong powerful icons & images that display the glory of the risen Christ in His fullness & in His excellence. But, lest we forget, they are NOT Christ. They lead us to Christ; they speak about Him; they bring us to the person of whom we are really supposed to be honoring. These objects, themselves, do not have any power to save & contain no power of themselves for sanctification. They are signs & symbols of His most marvelous Grace. And as signs & symbols they point to the person of Christ — He is the One we are meant to celebrate & glorify!
In the light of this encouragement, let’s read the following —
2 Kings 2:14
14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
There are three (3) parts to this verse :
1. Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him
The imagery is evocative. It is meant to stir the imagination as if we were there with Elisha. We are to be whisked away in that moment of pure exhilaration when the joy of seeing with our own eyes the moment Elijah is taken up into heaven & at the same instant feel the loneliness & emptiness of the loss. Elisha is alone. But he has as a possession, Elijah’s cloak. This is the moment; the nexus of Elisha’s ministry begins right here — will he now take the cloak & impute unto it the pure divine quality that we all think Elisha does in this circumstance. Or will he choose to accept the obvious — it is Elijah’s cloak; it is not Elisha’s decision to impute unto the cloak divine powers.
But there is something else that also stirs the Christian Mind — and that is the powerful imagery of Christ, who He, Himself, transfigured on the mount to His disciples, James, Peter, & John. They saw for the first time what Jesus had been saying all along — that He is the Christ the Son of the Living God. It is through His message of His Gospel that we understand that all blessings flow from the Bounty that is IN Christ Jesus. Literally, He indwells believers into their hearts such that we possess Him in our bodies inasmuch as we are surrounded by His presence.
This aspect of our Christian reality is why the Apostle Paul can write :
Ephesians 4:21-24
as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
To Put Off our Old Self, like a cloak & to Put On our New Self, like a new cloak. This imagery brings us back to that point in Elisha where he is holding onto Elijah’s cloak & the analogy fits the description. Here, Elijah is the Christ-figure fore-shadowing that day when all believers of Jesus would do spiritually that which Elisha is doing physically — to take hold of Jesus as their cloak & reality & put Him on. He is their new mentality; their new reality; their new identity.
2. ”Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
Does He exist in the present? Is He here, right this moment? Is He here with me? Or is He someone that only lives in heaven & cannot dwell with earthly beings? It seems quite innocuous to ask especially for us modern contemporary people where we do not routinely observe large bronze statues of gods in the middle of our cities & town halls. But someone like Elisha, idols were everywhere & every place as routine & as common as the community well to fetch drinking water. So routine & so common in fact that to not have an idol & especially to believe in a god that does not have an image was both ludicrous & preposterous. Why was this so? Because everything in the observable universe is supposed to have an image, including gods, so they reasoned. Their image was important so that the people would know what the gods looked like & to also feel that the gods were with them. It made worship a lot easier & people knew for certain where the gods were living & residing.
On the flip side to this rationale, the people wanted to control persons & circumstances. By creating idols, you can control the gods with the palm of your hand — with one blow you can destroy the idol or through mastery of a craft you can create a pantheon of gods in your image. Elisha knew by watching his ‘father’ being taken into heaven, Elisha was dealing with something totally different — this is THE God you do not deal with in the customary manner. As an Israelite, what Elisha just witnessed was something special & he knew it — after all, in the previous verses, we find that Elisha asked for this grand spectacle as a sign that God would grant his wish — a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
3. And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
Elisha struck the water with Elijah’s cloak — or Elisha hit the water with Elijah’s cloak. What is going on here? The language used here is similar to Moses striking the rock in order for water to gush forth in two (2) situations : Numbers 17 & Numbers 20.
In Numbers 17, God commands Moses to stand on the rock & strike the rock in order to spring forth water. In this circumstance, the Lord God is teaching a powerful & moving imagery of what salvation looks like. God will strike the Rock in judgment & because of that judgment satiated or satisfied or propitiated the anger & wrath of a Righteous God, the Rock will spring forth the blessing of water unto the congregation of the people who believe in this Rock. That Rock is Christ. And it is He that the Apostle mentions in the following :
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
The second situation in Numbers 20 was different. In this passage, Moses strikes the rock twice in disobedience to the Lord’s command, which was initially to stand on the rock with his brother Aaron & to speak to it. The Lord God was furious against Moses for this disobedience & barred him from entering the Promised Land. But why was this so? Was God being petty? Not at all. If the imagery in Numbers 17 was to display how salvation was to occur through the judgment of God upon the Rock, which would then release its purifying waters unto the congregation of the people, then what Moses did was a disruption of that imagery by signifying & teaching the congregation that God would have to pronounce judgment & salvation continuously, not once for all. As a result, Moses displayed that following the Law sufficed for salvation but God was teaching that salvation came through faith. Thus it was Joshua, whose name means, Salvation, that led the congregation of the people to the Promised Land & in this way, God was teaching them that it is God once for all & always that will be leading the congregation unto salvation.
Elisha strikes the water, signifying judgment upon the water on Elisha’s behalf. The cloak signifies the Christ & it is He that strikes the water allowing the water to part in the same way that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. The Exodus narrative is analogous to our Christ on the Cross as the reference point for salvation. And thus, Elisha quite literally crossed over from death to life; from not believing & having faith in Yahweh God to believing & having faith in Yahweh God.
How often do we regard our salvation as the crucial point in our lives that we can look upon that day fondly? And I am not speaking about your day of salvation — that moment in your life that you accepted Jesus. Rather, that moment in Biblical history when Christ died on the Cross & rose again on the third day. After all, this is the moment we celebrate the Bread & the Cup during the Communion. We do not commemorate everyone’s special day when they received Christ. We bring glory, honor, worship, & praise to the One whom we celebrate that saved us & given us the bounty of heaven through His Body.
Thus, contrary to Elisha, we no longer have to ask — “Where is the Lord?” — because we ought to know through the renewal of our hearts & minds to Him that He dwells within us by His Spirit. We have a Fellowship with Him & with the Triune God-head forever both now & into eternity. So how often do we reckon that day for ourselves? We should do so everyday, both as a remembrance & as a reminiscence, for the Apostle Paul writes that we were there with Him on the Cross, when we received Him into our hearts & we were there with Him when He arose, when we received the salvation of our souls unto Him.
And Behold, The Lord Passed By
“And if it be thus fit that God should have a supreme regard to himself, then it is fit that this supreme regard should appear in those things by which he makes himself known, or by his word and works, i.e. in what he says, and in what he does. If it be an infinitely amiable [i.e., pleasant, admirable] thing in God that he should have a supreme regard to himself, then it is an amiable [i.e., pleasant, admirable] thing that he should act as having a chief regard to himself, or act in such a manner as to show that he has such a regard: that what is highest in God’s heart may be highest in his actions and conduct. And if it was God’s intention, as there is great reason to think it was, that his works should exhibit an image of himself their author, that it might brightly appear by his works what manner of being he is, and afford a proper representation of his divine excellencies, and especially his moral excellence, consisting in the disposition of his heart; then it is reasonable to suppose that his works are so wrought as to show this supreme respect to himself, wherein his moral excellence primarily consists” (The End For Which God Created The World, Edwards, Jonathan, 38).
What is Jonathan Edwards saying here?
In sum, God must be constant & consistent in both His word & His actions. And in that constancy & consistency in both His words & actions there is of the highest & most excellent quality of God being exhibited. Anything less than the excellencies of God being exhibited in His manifestations of His being & nature would simply be against His being & nature as God. Thus, His being & nature cannot but exhibit the highest quality of His being God no matter the word; no matter the action. In contradistinction, human beings, we inherently cannot dispose of ourselves in such a consistent manner such that our words & actions form the conjunction of who we are, rather our words & actions are a pattern of disjunction that in & of themselves reveal a major & catastrophic short-fall of both our being & essence. We can further elaborate, that the inconsistency of our words & actions reveal our most fallen estate that the disjunction between our words & actions are supremely not like God.
This pattern of quality of both being & essence in human beings reveals the state of who we are & how far we have become since God created Humans in the Garden. And that revelation has been undone through the presence of sin that have taken away the excellencies of that marvelous created aspect in God — The revealing of His glory unto Humankind’s nature & being. It is not in God to perform in words & actions without fore-thought & as if without thinking; it is not in God to speak beforehand as if He has some kind of nature to become spontaneous & reckless at the same time. If He performs any action whether word or deed they have been carefully thought out until the most excellencies of God have been revealed. Because it is unto His glory that His every movement should manifest His divine excellence at all times.
“And if it was God’s intention, that his works should exhibit an image of himself their author and afford a proper representation of his divine excellencies consisting in the disposition of his heart; then it is reasonable to suppose that his works show this supreme respect to himself.”
All of God’s works — His manner of speech & His manner of action — display both the wonder & glory of His excellence! The simple fact that humans do not, reveal, not a mystery, but rather, that there exists a spiritual & divine disjunction. The manner of both being & essence has been tarnished to such an extent that the objects of His glory neither reflect that glory nor is able to shine that glory inherently reverently to the One who had enabled them in the beginning. If in fact we had this ability to reflect that Glory unto ourselves the unmistakeable voice & excellencies of God would be both comforting & securing. As it is, we become like Elijah —
1 Kings 19:11-12
1 And [ The Lord ] said, “Go out & stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD PASSED BY, & a great & strong wind tore the mountains & broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not IN the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not IN the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not IN the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low WHISPER.
Take note of the capitalized words. They reveal both a confounding & startling mystery — the Lord God is present but how He is present is a picture. That image should immediately force us to conclude that the personality & character of God is at stake. The Lord God passed by but He passed by in such a way that He was not IN the wind, earthquake, & fire. In other words, these manner of normal earthly catastrophes, the presence of God is absent. Yet the manner displays a live divine being — the evidence that He is on the move. God’s nature & essence is such that He is not a God of destruction nor a destroyer of worlds. He does not present Himself as the most powerful being in the cosmos — that is the human conundrum coming to reality in us through the person of Elijah.
What was Elijah’s expectation after the battle on Mount Carmel? It would have been the same expectation that you or I would have had — to displace all the abject idolatry; destroy all the enemies of God; supplant everyone that does not bow the knee to Yahweh God. But what was His response? A whisper. In all of the chaos & destruction, they do nothing to present peace. But a whisper does. He displaces our expectations & our thoughts about God & forces us to reckon with His character & personality & nature & being — that He is most excellent in something so simple as a whisper. Take careful note here : He is not acting as if He is powerless like a whisper. Rather, He is demonstrating the irony that like a powerless whisper He will use that meaninglessness & insignificance in the human conscience in order to make a nation unto Himself; in demonstration of the whisper, God will utilize the weakest & the most powerless instrument in order to transform & renew hearts & minds to God; to demonstrate the glories of His most excellent nature & essence of being He will display Himself through the most powerless instrument of the human material universe.
In this way, salvation will come to the weak & to the powerless & the mute & to the stone cold hearts of the One revealed Christ, who is the whisper personified. If God can only display & manifest the glories of His excellencies at all times & everywhere, then what is Christ? That being of eternal excellence of God in human flesh that only those hearts changed & renewed can only fathom Him with such supreme renewal that a miracle must take place. And indeed every salvation unto Christ is a miracle as the words of Him is simply nothing but mysterious noise come into full resonance & melody through the presence of the Holy Spirit, through whom we have received the transformation that God had sought from the beginning. A renewal of hearts & minds unto God displaying the richness of His all encompassing greatness & excellencies of His nature & being.
Oh, that we, His people, His congregation, can listen to the voice of Him who died & resurrected — the voice of the whisper that reveals the character & nature of God in human form. A human form that we humans would not have recognized —
Isaiah 53:1-3
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Does this sound like a Messiah? Does this have an appearance of a Savior? Do these words convey hopefulness or hopelessness? Does this speak into the conundrum of our hearts — how do you reveal yourself, oh Lord? The Christ is supposed to be unrecognizable; He is supposed to be concealed; He is supposed to be weak & insignificant; He has no voice nor words — for He is the whisper personified.
The Rainfall
There can be too much rainfall & not enough rainfall as both can create awful & potentially hazardous conditions — too much rain can result in flooding, which by themselves can destroy a complete harvest or seedlings; not enough rain can result in drought, which is a condition where there is little to no ground water in reserve to utilize for plants & other vegetation. Moreover, rainfall is necessary to sustain humans & animals as each require the necessary amount of water in their system to sustain & maintain life. It almost seems inconsequential to us in these modern times to talk about rainfall because we believe there is plenty of it — what is the worry about floods, drought, famine, & groundwater shortage, when we live in a society free of such concerns? Until, the recent headlines in The New York Times & The Wall Street Journal have all cited concerns about the lack of rainfall in recent years.
Furthermore, according to The New York Times article in August 21, 2021 :
“The latest map from the drought monitor shows that 90 percent of what it considers the West — California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana — is in drought. Conditions are “severe” or “exceptional” in about half of the region. Colorado, Wyoming, Southwestern Texas and North and South Dakota are also affected.”
And this from The Wall Street Journal in August 16, 2021:
“The federal government has declared the first-ever shortage of water on the Colorado River, triggering cutbacks in several states that will hit farmers particularly hard during a drought that has punished the Southwest with little letup since the turn of the century. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation made the declaration Monday after forecasting that Nevada’s Lake Mead, the river’s biggest reservoir, would remain below 1,075 feet above sea level—the mark previously set to trigger mandatory cutbacks—through at least early next year. As of Monday, Lake Mead measured 1,068 feet, the lowest since the reservoir was created by construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. The bureau estimates the level will dip further to 1,066 by Jan. 1 next year.”
We are living in unprecedented times, my fellow Brothers & Sisters. And this doesn’t even include the wildfires raging in the West nor the increase in hurricanes we have had in the past two years. What to make of all of this?
First, this is not unusual — there have been times like these in the past; not recent past but Biblical past.
Second, there is accruing evidence of man-made impacts to climate & the degradation of our natural resources.
Third, the answer to those man-made impacts is the result of the sinfulness of humankind — our pride in taking from the earth & believing for so long that that would not degrade our planet; our pride that we could live so long on the earth believing that such natural resources would continue in perpetuity; our pride in depraving other animals of the same natural resources & thereby neglecting & abdicating our responsibility to be caretakers of this earth.
Ever since the Fall of Man in Genesis 3, there have been wanton irresponsibility, carelessness, & human sinfulness that have brought the degradation of our planet with us. And thus, we should not be shocked. We should be ashamed what our actions have wrought upon the earth!
There is a limit to our time on earth & earth itself will not last. Therefore, let us turn our eyes upon Him & unto His Face that will grant some mercy & reprieve from our restless hearts lest we be buried under false hope & devastating news of further destruction & catastrophe.
1 Kings 18:43-45
43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.
This little interlude occurs after the great battle on Mount Carmel between the prophets of Ba’al & the Prophet Elijah. Three times he had the servants pour water upon his altar & three times they acted upon his request. Then Elijah called upon Yahweh God — The God of Abraham ( Our God the Father ); The God of Isaac ( Our God the Son ); The God of Jacob ( Our God the Holy Spirit ) — to call the people of Israel into remembrance & reminiscence. And thus the fire of heaven was such that it scorched everything upon the altar including drying up the water in the trench that surrounded the altar.
The Lord God wanted the people to see not only THAT He alone was God. He wanted to declare HOW He is God — the declaration upon the altar makes plain that there exists no other being beside God. He requires a sacrifice of such divine proportions that could equate to His Power & His Glory. The Fire from heaven is both a demonstration of His Justice & His Mercy all at the same time. It is because of His Justice that forces us to look upon Him as both the reason for our fear & the answer to our fear. His Mercy, frees us from God’s dispensing His almighty wrath upon us & onto someone else who has the power to withstand such divine magnificence.
And thus the water poured upon the altar is that representation of Christ. He is the water that is poured out for us. And He alone stands face to face with God the Father receiving from Him what we justly deserve. THAT is mercy. And with that dawns a new beginning — renewal & recompense. But even better, Newness of Life!
THAT is what the interlude in 1 Kings 18:43-45, means — take note that after this climactic battle the rains began to fall upon Israel once again. The rain signify new life that will be created upon the water’s flow. And they demonstrate to us how salvation works in the sight of this awesome spectacle. The power that withheld the rains from falling; the power that engulfed the altar & the water that surrounded it; the power that sent the rains to begin falling again upon the land, is & always shall be the same power that transforms hearts of stone into hearts of flesh; that transforms dead souls into live souls; that indwells every believer through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is the same power & the glory of the same power that dwells inside of us. And that glory is demonstrated refreshingly upon the believers, who hold onto this truth for themselves individually. But it becomes an ever-increasing glory that engulfs everyone when the believers join heart to heart with each other & with their Christ to hold to the responsibility to be responsible caretakers of all that God created upon the face of the earth. And to do for it that which cannot do for itself because of the dawning of the Fall of Man, the entire creation is groaning for the Sons & Daughters of God to show themselves at such a time as this & to speak for creation upon the Lord God, who created it in the first place.
That we should love & be compassionate toward our spouses, our families, our loved ones, our career, our places of business, & our church — these are generally what we pray & think about foremost. But I plead as an extension of the lesson of 1 Kings 18:43-45 — to pray fervently with our hearts content that the rains will fall to bring renewal & the newness of life — both figuratively & literally. To restore our hearts with joy of new rain but also to restore our livelihoods through the rains that are so badly needed both in this country & throughout the world.
The True North Of Our Being
“THERE IS NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HAVE AN ENDLESSLY CHANGING HORIZON, FOR EACH DAY TO HAVE A NEW & DIFFERENT SUN”
( Christopher McCandless )
Christopher McCandless was a wilderness explorer, who graduated from Emory University in Goergia. Upon graduation he gave away his trust fund, which had accrued to $24,000, burned whatever money that was remaining in his possession, & disappeared into the vast expanse of the unknown. In September 1992, a hunter found his dead & decomposing body inside an abandoned bus. Among the items that was discovered was his journal that detailed his travels as well as the food items that Chris ate that may have contributed to his death. In 2007, Jon Krakauer, a noted adventurist, journalist, & author, wrote a book, “Into The Wild” chronicling the life & journeys of Christopher McCandless.
For whatever opinion we may have concerning his life, one thing is for certain — his quote above chronicles the mind of every person. His, is not unlike many of us, indeed, we all wish some type of inexpressable joy everyday of our lives. And it is certainly true that we seek adventure of the mind & heart as well as the physical audacity of going into the wild.
Take note then, how many parents chronicle the first moments of their newborn infant or how mothers & fathers wish to document & film every “first” that the newborn accomplishes. It is rich in joy — as much as it is for the infant, it seems even more so for the parents. Does this not prove some deal of merit to the chase? The chasing after that rich joy of the “endelessly changing horizon”? Does he mean that literally? Obviously, there is only one horizon with one sun, thus this is an example of metphorical hyperbole — you cannot have more than one horizon & more than one sun.. unless.. You change your perspective & change your trajectory time & again.
Experiences with different people; experiences in different climates & weather patterns; experiences with different traditions & cultures; experiences with different food items & food tastes. There is a myriad of ways in which humans can engage their world & seek the different in such a degree that certain joys of immense proportion can certainly arise. But not many of us would be bold enough to venture past our front porch in search of it.
Which begs the question? Why Alaska, of all places? This is the location of Chris’ last moments on earth. There are many theories on the web & they all make sense. But I think, Chris was in search of something far more than simply experiencing the journey of this material human existence. Certainly, he wanted to escape abuse & flee the hurt & evil that he had experienced during his precious time prior to graduation. And indeed, that hurt & evil was as real an experience as he wanted to obtain joy to the very opposite degree.
But Chris could have obtained all this traveling as far south as he could go. Yet, he was determined to go north. That determination led him to that abandoned bus & it seems that he wanted to live out his days in that bus seeking whatever joy that will come after. Seeking whatever joy that will come after.. Think about that for a second. What joy that will come after? It seems to me that Chris was seeking something far more than material — he was seeking something more ethereal; something beyond him, his life, & this material universe. He was seeking a place beyond. He couldn’t describe what it was or what, in fact, he was seeking. Yet, he was seeking something that existed beyond the temporal spectrum of living & seeking an idea, a concept, or even a thought of a universe that existed beyond this one.
In my opinion, what Christopher McCandless was seeking — true north.
To discover that the moral compass of every human being lay elsewhere beyond the horizon; that the moral compass that he wished to obtain was obtainable through meditation & the right mindset; that the moral compass he wished to have was the same moral compass that everyone wished to have. Except that that is not true. Not everyone travels to Alaska to bask in the glory of finally obtaining their moral compass. No. We travel to Alaska to bask in the glory & riches of the beauty of the natural world. And in that richness we find ourselves & glory in ourselves of having found it. Chris was not seeking that. He wanted more than that. And he was willing to die for that which he wanted to seek — die until he found what he was looking for.
A compass, I learnt when I was surveying, it'll... it'll point you True North from where you're standing, but it's got no advice about the swamps and dessert and chasm that you'll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp... What's the use of knowing True North? ( ‘Lincoln,’ 2012 )
If there is a moral compass that exists in every human, then this quote should give rise to some hair-raising exclamations. Because knowing true north does not help you in the immediate necessities of living — indeed the swamps, obstacles, & deserts that lay in the path as we know the direction of true north does not manage our affairs of actually getting there. In this case, there is something value-less of knowing true north — what is the purpose of moral compass if in the possession of it that compass cannot lead us to where we want to go?
Oftentimes, this is almost equivalent of our understanding of Christianity. In some ways, religiously, we seek that compass, our true north by attending church & becoming as religiously adept as possible. We are often confused as to why that does not change our behavior or change our mentality or change or disposition. We forget & we must be reminded always — the object is Christ. Not our change; not our transformation; not even our good, moral compass that we all want to obtain.
Revelation 22:16
16 “I, Jesus, have sent MY Angel to TESTIFY to you about THESE THINGS for the Churches. I am the ROOT & the Descendant of David, the BRIGHT MORNING STAR”
There is nothing wrong with wanting change, transformation, & a moral compass, but in, & of themselves, they are of no value to us. They can present barriers to the true object — immortality & eternal life. And who can provide these but Christ, Himself. In the everyday menial boredom, we can soon forget that the advancement of the human life is nothing more than the pursuit of the betterment of ourselves. But Christ is the Morning Star! Lest we forget & better still that we will be reminded as often as we may dare that it is He that is the true object.
In all the ruminations of humankind; in all the thoughts that we may have concerning a moral compass & true north, the life that Chris McCandless sought is right within our grasp. There is not a chasing after the wind or attempting to journey off into the forgotten wilderness or lend yourselves to a ceaseless mind into the vast reaches of the subconscious. In all these objects the chase is the same — finding our compass. And THAT compass is Christ. It never changes. The thought remains the same — Always Christ!
Believe on Him & what He has done for you — died on the Cross for your sins & resurrected to eternal glory so that you & I can possess the object of our lives. The richness & the joys of living in this material universe can be found. In the Christ, He enables in us that thought & mind of seeing the world in the way in He wants us to see the world. The observable universe is filled with His glory & excellence! Why would He want to hide that from us? Only in the Son Of God, the Christ, can we be filled with the enourmous expanse of the created world.
He emboldens us to share in that richly, for it is not unto us & for us individually but for all to share in the wonders of this world. This enormous expanse however temporal is nothing but a morsel of the infinite joy we will possess on the other side of eternity. The Christ sharpens our minds & renews our focus in Him, that in all we see are but the glimpses of His Face.
He empowers us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is His restorative power; the transforming grace; the renewal of our hearts to Christ. We are not at this alone, there is a real presence & a real power dwelling inside every one of us, who calls Jesus as Lord. It is why all things are for Him & to Him because it is from Him we have all the things that are in the fullness of Him. What this means is that in possession of Christ, we will have all the joys of the immensity of Heaven. The glory that spills out from the bosom of Christ comes to us into overflow because of the Christ we have in us.
Therefore, Brothers & Sisters, the object is Christ. Receive Him, Know Him, & Love Him with all adoration! And see what Joys He may instill in us all!
Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
( Abraham Lincoln )
Prophet, Priest, & King -- Why Do I Need It?
Very rarely, if ever do we really seriously consider the attachments & relationships that we encounter throughout all our days. This means the most significant attachments as well as the least significant, which we call, acquaintances. Normally, we think of these attachments & relationships to arise out of thin air — a pure happenstance or luck even. Never do we realize how organic they are; that they occur mainly because we have shared & common interests; shared & common ideas; the same & common mindset concerning life. These attachments & relationships are important, we know that, and yet our experiences are filled with poor to even really bad relationships — why? Is it because we do not think through well enough? Or is it more simply the result of our DNA that links to bad & terrible people in our life that cause us harm? Or maybe its even simpler than that really — we assume a lot of relationships as being organic. This means we assume a lot about the other person, as if, they are organically like us in some real way. But they are not.
There is a saying — “opposites attract” — why is this true of our human experience? Because we know in some sense there is an in-organic way attachments & relationships arise. In some meaningful way, attachments & relationships do not occur out of thin air but are worked out gradually over time such that in that real time & space we come to realize how organic two people have gotten together for so long. But that doesn’t answer the corollary — why do we yet experience terrible relationships & terrible people in our life that care not for our well-being & livelihood? Certainly, we do not walk around looking for terrible people that do us harm; nor do we wake up every morning in search of relationships with such people. We assume that whomever we engage with that the other person shares the same thought, mind, & attitude. And the sad reality is that sometimes they do not, and when we realize that, oftentimes, it is almost too late to escape from the hurt that will arise.
Thus, attachments & relationships do matter & they matter a lot — so much so, that it should be mind-boggling to all of us why we do not pay closer attention to all the people we meet & engage with on a daily basis.
Consider all the necessities that human relationships require — they depend on three (3) most important & vital objects or else all relationships will fail — Security, Communication, & Affliction.
SECURITY