To Read or Not to Read

Ok, I admit it. I read fantasy books. I also read other book genres, too, though. I enjoy stories in different formats as well: movies, musicals, and opera to name a few. I was recently asked by a young man in our church how I select books to read and books to not read. In other words, what’s my philosophy on narratives?

To begin with, we need to take a step back. There is only one real story—His Story (sometimes we call it history). If you know history, then you know that there are five key parts that can be represented by the five following words: God, Man, Jesus, Cross, Resurrection.^[1] History starts as every story starts, with a beginning and a problem. God existed timelessly and chose to create the universe, which included us. Our many-great grandparents messed everything up. This crisis needed to be fixed. God sent Himself (God the Son, specifically) to be victorious over our problem, sin. He did this on the cross. In doing so, He secured for us an ultimate happy ending with Him, enjoying Him forever.

It is my contention that all fictional stories beg, borrow, and steal from the real story. (Ok, nearly all stories, but I’ll explain that in a bit.) Think of the common story lines of love, self-sacrifice, heroic victory, powers used for good, good over coming evil, cleverly defeating your enemy, and on and on. All of these themes are rooted in our common shared story—history. It’s no wonder that all of the best selling stories revolve around one of these themes. When stories go against this grain, we often don’t enjoy them. Sure, they are sometimes lauded with “artistic acclaim”, but they leave the common man feeling empty inside (think Matrix sequels or some nihilist Oscar winning film). Even our “dark” stories are rooted in the story—just highlighting the other side of the tale. I believe that we love stories that align with reality, follow the pattern of the story, and present as virtuous God’s attributes.

Troublesome Times Are Here

My pregnant wife woke up with some fluid discharge that didn’t seem normal.  Thinking that it wasn’t anything to worry about, we simply shifted schedules that morning.  I took charge of our youngest while she dropped off our older two at school.  From there she visited her OBGYN.  Bad news—her water had broke at 29 weeks and a day.  From this point forward, our life was turned upside down.  In an instant, Christmas plans were canceled, schedules were altered, and fears were aroused.  She was immediately admitted to a nearby hospital and then transferred by ambulance to a hospital better equipped to care for premature births.  Since that time, she has been under the watchful care of doctors and nurses who have prepared her and our baby for an untimely birth.  That was a week ago.  Thankfully, the baby is still in mother's womb and seems to be doing fine.

That’s it.  That’s the story.  But, I left out one key aspect—the body of Christ.  During this time, our brothers and sisters have been loving us.  Some spoke truth into our lives.  Some showed us mercy.  Some helped us.  Some encouraged us.  Many, many have prayed for us.  Words cannot express my debt of gratitude for how my wife and I have been loved during our ordeal.  One member was hurting, and yet all of the members felt that hurt and responded.

Where to Begin?

I’m interrupting my current interruption (yes, I promised a few more blogs on the tribulation, which I interrupted to talk about Santa Claus) to talk about the tragedy in Connecticut.

There are several questions that come to mind when something like this happens.   We all want to know why.  Why did he do it?  Why did God allow it?  Why does our culture have so much violent crime?  Then we turn to what.  What can we do to get justice?  What could we have done to prevent this?  What can we do to stop it from ever happing again?  What should we do with our own children?  What should we tell them?  What should we do for the families who he so devastatingly affected?

I do not know the answers to all of these questions.  I do have some very well organized thoughts about self defense in general, about guns in particular, and about the public policy that surrounds both of them.

Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Must Have Been Old Santa Claus

I’m not sure when it happened…sometime before I was born…but it did happen.  Santa swooped in and stole the starring role of the Christmas season.  Yes, Jolly Old Saint Nicolas is a thief—at least the Saint Nicolas that I grew up with.  My wife and I have decided not to do “Santa Claus” with our children.  Our decision bewilders many adults, and so I thought it might be helpful to write down our reasons.  Our reasons fall into two categories.  The first is more pragmatic while the second is more theological.  Both of our reasons have the same root cause: Santa Claus is a lie.

There, I said it.  Maybe you thought it was an innocent fairytale.  But when it is cut black and white, it is a lie.  I realize that not everyone who reads this blog will share my worldview.  I trust that no one who reads this blog will believe that Santa is real.  So, when we tell our children that there is a jolly fat man who rides a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, makes toys in the frozen north, and delivers those toys to every child around the world in one night we are distorting reality.  We are bending our children’s perspective in an unhealthy way.

Faith…Working…through Love!

“Wow” is all that I can say.  I just read through Galatians again, studying it for class, and I stumbled on a real treasure of a jewel in this cave^[1]!

⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

For those unfamiliar, I’d like to give a very brief summary of the context of Galatians.  Paul visited the southern cities of Galatia and established churches predominantly made up of Gentiles (non-Jews).  After Paul left, other Jews (most likely non-Christian Jews) came persuading the Gentiles to now take on at least portions if not all of the Jewish law.  The motivations of these false teachers is somewhat unclear.  We know that the Gentiles believed that these burdens of the law were necessary to receive justification.  Paul scolds them to never believe gospel different from the one that Paul first preached to them, even if this new gospel were preached by himself or angels.  That is the basic lay of the land.  It is only six chapters; you can read it easily in one setting to get the rest of it.  Now what I want to concentrate on…

Faith

Working

through Love

On the Second Coming of Christ: 2a and 2b—or not 2b!

(As promised…)

Excluding Revelation, there are three main passages that detail the coming of the Lord.  I list them below:

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55

²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷ For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Matthew 24:24-31

It seems as though all three of these passages are describing the same event.  Further, Revelation clearly states that the martyrs of the Tribulation will receive their new bodies after the Tribulation during the first resurrection.  If this is a separate event from the events described above in 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians, then there are three resurrections: church, tribulation martyrs, and the dead.  Revelation clearly speaks of only two resurrections: living (elect) and the dead (lost).

So if all four passages (Matthew, 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, and Revelation) are speaking about the same event and if Matthew and Revelation peg this event as following the Tribulation, then the “rapture” must really just be the resurrection of the elect. But, if the rapture occurs before the end of the Tribulation, Christ must come back twice.  Nowhere does scripture state that there is a third coming of Christ (or a third resurrection).  Most Pre-tribbers and Mid-tribbers simply break these returns of Christ into part 2a and part 2b.  Part 2a is to be Christ’s spiritual return; part 2b His physical return.

On the Second Coming of Christ: New Bodies?

(Okay, I know that I promised "2a and 2b—or not 2b!".  But when I sat down to write it, "New Bodies?" came out first.  Don't worry, "2a and 2b—or not 2b!" is still going to be written.)

I Thessalonians describes the moment that we are taken to be with Jesus:

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

There is great number of things that I want to say here, but in order to keep these blogs short and concise, I will limit myself to one note—an oddity.