This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
I recently was asked by my 7-year old daughter what it meant to hear from God. She wanted to know what his voice sounded like. Could I actually hear his voice?
Let me say first, in all humility, that it is rare that I hear from God. His word is for me, as it is for most of His children, sufficient enough. The only time I really hear from the Lord is when, in my own stiff-neckedness, I have reached an impass and I need to hear His voice to nudge me beyond it.
So, I tried to explain to her that I don't actually hear a voice, but rather, deep inside, a thought comes to me in a small still voice that I recognize as not being my own. Usually it's only a few words, and with those words comes a deep and complete understanding of God's will in the issue.
I am humbled when I think about the prophets of the old testament and how often God spoke to them. Even moreso when I think about how little and rarely He spoke to some of them - for God to speak to me at all is amazing.
I was trying to provide my daughter with an example, and to my shame, I struggled to recall some of those moments. How could I not remember???
It was then that I recalled the monuments that the patriarchs laid to revisit and recall the great things that God had done. One, because we forget, and two, because the enemy seeks to distort the truth and will make us doubt that which we should be sure of because God as approved it with great and mighty acts.
When God has spoken to us, that event should be so great in our minds and so remembered that we never fall into the same trap we were in when He spoke to us.
So, with that in mind I have decided to start a record of the times and things God has shown me and spoken to me to reaffirm His will and His love.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Genesis 1:1... More thoughts: The implications of being the created and not the Creator.
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
Being the Creator, God knows everything there is to know about His creation. He understands the detailed workings of our planet and the universe around us. He is the architect and has knowledge about the systems around us that we cannot begin to comprehend.
He understands us - mankind - better than we do ourselves. Not just the physical workings of our bodies, but the mechanics of our inner most selves- emotions, psychosis, fears, etc. He created us to emote, empathize, sympathize, and so on.
He even came and dwelt as one of us lest we ever doubt that He can't possibly relate to us or understand us, because we believe Him to be so distant and unavailable. He already understood- but just to prove it to us, He sacrificed it all to be one of us.
He also knows the end from the beginning. He is surprised by nothing and has anticipated everything. He exists outside the limits of our dimensionality and - as is proven in the creation - can manipulate the very cosmos at will.
So what does that mean to us? What are the implications of being the creature in the creation that was created by an infinite, omnipotent, omniscient God? (These aren't enough words to really describe Him, but you get the picture.)
Besides realizing that He is in charge and not us, what it should mean to us is this: There is no one greater that we can trust than the One who made us and made everything around us. His will WILL be done, so the most logical response we can have is to yield to Him and trust Him.
Kicking against the goads and rebelling against God merely shows that we have no real understanding of who He is, who we are, and how it all fits together. How can we, finite and incapable, ever hope to control our surroundings or our path in life? The world is spinning though space at thousands of miles an hour, on a path to... what? Trying to control one's surroundings, destiny, etc. can only lead to madness.
Obedience and trust in God is the only way of living that makes any sense. He made me, loves me, has a purpose for me, and knows my future. He knows the path that our world is on and is in total control of it.
To rest in Him is the only way one can have real peace.
Being the Creator, God knows everything there is to know about His creation. He understands the detailed workings of our planet and the universe around us. He is the architect and has knowledge about the systems around us that we cannot begin to comprehend.
He understands us - mankind - better than we do ourselves. Not just the physical workings of our bodies, but the mechanics of our inner most selves- emotions, psychosis, fears, etc. He created us to emote, empathize, sympathize, and so on.
He even came and dwelt as one of us lest we ever doubt that He can't possibly relate to us or understand us, because we believe Him to be so distant and unavailable. He already understood- but just to prove it to us, He sacrificed it all to be one of us.
He also knows the end from the beginning. He is surprised by nothing and has anticipated everything. He exists outside the limits of our dimensionality and - as is proven in the creation - can manipulate the very cosmos at will.
So what does that mean to us? What are the implications of being the creature in the creation that was created by an infinite, omnipotent, omniscient God? (These aren't enough words to really describe Him, but you get the picture.)
Besides realizing that He is in charge and not us, what it should mean to us is this: There is no one greater that we can trust than the One who made us and made everything around us. His will WILL be done, so the most logical response we can have is to yield to Him and trust Him.
Kicking against the goads and rebelling against God merely shows that we have no real understanding of who He is, who we are, and how it all fits together. How can we, finite and incapable, ever hope to control our surroundings or our path in life? The world is spinning though space at thousands of miles an hour, on a path to... what? Trying to control one's surroundings, destiny, etc. can only lead to madness.
Obedience and trust in God is the only way of living that makes any sense. He made me, loves me, has a purpose for me, and knows my future. He knows the path that our world is on and is in total control of it.
To rest in Him is the only way one can have real peace.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Genesis 1:1... In the Beginning
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
Heaven and earth is all-encompassing.
The Hebrew word for heaven is "shamayim" which is used for all three definitions of heaven or heavens: the sky and the earth's atmosphere; the stars and all the expanding universe; the dwelling place of God. So, when the scripture says that God created the heaven(s) it means pretty much everything the we imagine exists beyond our physical world: the stars, space dust, the other planets - including anything that exists on those planets - and so on. (I don't want to get too specific as we don't really know for certain what exists out there, but suffice it to say that there is a whole lotta stuff out there.)
In regards to the earth, that includes the animals, the plants, the land, the seas, the sky, all the elements, the electromagnetic fields that hold molecular structures together, and just about everything else you might think of, even man.
In a nutshell, God created everything we know, have yet to know, and ever will know. He alone is responsible for its creation (Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Col 1:16), its ongoing existence (Col. 1:17), and ultimately, for its destruction (2Pet 3:10, Rev. 21:1).
God existed before He created anything. Everything He created belongs to Him. It is of, by, and for Him and He can do with it as He pleases. We are in no position to question God, to question His acts, or to question His motives. We are one more piece of His creation to do with as He pleases - completely subject to His will.
God owes us nothing.
He has given us everything.
It's important to gain perspective and remember that "I" am not in control. If anything, "I" should tremble in fear and awe of Him and His creation. This is the building block upon which everything I know and do should be built. Then, when I look at the way He desires to know me, to engage with me, to sacrifice for me, I am beyond words. I am silenced by His amazing mercy and unfathomable grace.
"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"- Psalm 8
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
Heaven and earth is all-encompassing.
The Hebrew word for heaven is "shamayim" which is used for all three definitions of heaven or heavens: the sky and the earth's atmosphere; the stars and all the expanding universe; the dwelling place of God. So, when the scripture says that God created the heaven(s) it means pretty much everything the we imagine exists beyond our physical world: the stars, space dust, the other planets - including anything that exists on those planets - and so on. (I don't want to get too specific as we don't really know for certain what exists out there, but suffice it to say that there is a whole lotta stuff out there.)
In regards to the earth, that includes the animals, the plants, the land, the seas, the sky, all the elements, the electromagnetic fields that hold molecular structures together, and just about everything else you might think of, even man.
In a nutshell, God created everything we know, have yet to know, and ever will know. He alone is responsible for its creation (Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Col 1:16), its ongoing existence (Col. 1:17), and ultimately, for its destruction (2Pet 3:10, Rev. 21:1).
God existed before He created anything. Everything He created belongs to Him. It is of, by, and for Him and He can do with it as He pleases. We are in no position to question God, to question His acts, or to question His motives. We are one more piece of His creation to do with as He pleases - completely subject to His will.
God owes us nothing.
He has given us everything.
It's important to gain perspective and remember that "I" am not in control. If anything, "I" should tremble in fear and awe of Him and His creation. This is the building block upon which everything I know and do should be built. Then, when I look at the way He desires to know me, to engage with me, to sacrifice for me, I am beyond words. I am silenced by His amazing mercy and unfathomable grace.
"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"- Psalm 8
Monday, June 26, 2006
Honor from men.
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
"I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that [cometh] from God only?" John 5:41-44
In our home fellowship, this is the passage we studied on Sunday. It was very timely for me.
Recently, I've been feeling defeated and overcome with disappointment. Several events have brought me to this, the details of which are not important. Let's just say, I'm feeling as though my life hasn't amounted to much, and when I look around me, I am frustrated because I feel that I could do as well, if not much better, than those around me who are "succeeding."
My wife, who is much more of a blessing than I generally understand, faithfully reminds me that success in the eyes of man is not the same as success in the eyes of God and that I should be thankful for God's many blessings and recognize the successes that I have had.
Jesus' words are very timely for me. Our lives are not about the rewards or accolades of men. Faithfulness to God is real success. I must seek His approval, not man's.
I abandoned writing this Blog a long time ago because I didn't think anyone was reading and that what I was writing was of no significance. Essentially, I believed that no one cared.
I was wrong.
If God has called me to write this Blog, then I need to do it regardless of the number of eyes that find it. If one person reads my words and is somehow led closer to God, then that is all that matters. If I am led closer to God in the writing, then it is a valid exercise. God has taught me that, sometimes, it is in the doing of a thing, and not the thing itself, that His will is made manifest.
So, starting today, with this article, I will be posting much more frequently. I wasn't sure that I would have a whole lot to write about - until the Lord gave me a great idea yesterday.
My next entry will be on Genesis 1:1. That will be followed by Genesis 1:2, and so on. Maybe some days will be more than 1 verse. All I know, is that I am beginning a journey and, if you read this, I hope that you'll join along the way.
Yours in Him,
Adopted Son.
"I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that [cometh] from God only?" John 5:41-44
In our home fellowship, this is the passage we studied on Sunday. It was very timely for me.
Recently, I've been feeling defeated and overcome with disappointment. Several events have brought me to this, the details of which are not important. Let's just say, I'm feeling as though my life hasn't amounted to much, and when I look around me, I am frustrated because I feel that I could do as well, if not much better, than those around me who are "succeeding."
My wife, who is much more of a blessing than I generally understand, faithfully reminds me that success in the eyes of man is not the same as success in the eyes of God and that I should be thankful for God's many blessings and recognize the successes that I have had.
Jesus' words are very timely for me. Our lives are not about the rewards or accolades of men. Faithfulness to God is real success. I must seek His approval, not man's.
I abandoned writing this Blog a long time ago because I didn't think anyone was reading and that what I was writing was of no significance. Essentially, I believed that no one cared.
I was wrong.
If God has called me to write this Blog, then I need to do it regardless of the number of eyes that find it. If one person reads my words and is somehow led closer to God, then that is all that matters. If I am led closer to God in the writing, then it is a valid exercise. God has taught me that, sometimes, it is in the doing of a thing, and not the thing itself, that His will is made manifest.
So, starting today, with this article, I will be posting much more frequently. I wasn't sure that I would have a whole lot to write about - until the Lord gave me a great idea yesterday.
My next entry will be on Genesis 1:1. That will be followed by Genesis 1:2, and so on. Maybe some days will be more than 1 verse. All I know, is that I am beginning a journey and, if you read this, I hope that you'll join along the way.
Yours in Him,
Adopted Son.
Friday, February 18, 2005
A Plague of Locusts
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
The Revelation Chapter 9, Verses 1-11
“1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
"7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is ‘Abaddon,’ but in Greek he has the name ‘Apollyon.’”
Recently, I have completed a screenplay based on the book of The Revelation. Unlike many other screenwriters who have previously tackled the material, I have wanted my tale to be a matter-of-fact action/adventure/thriller that adhered more-closely to the original text.
My brother and I have seen just about every movie there is about the end times and have yet to see one done well or one that didn’t stray so far from the source material as to be downright ludicrous. My ultimate goal for the screenplay is to see it made into a professionally done film with quality that is on par with Hollywood's best. I have also hoped to make an accurate telling of the story that will entertain and maybe educate - not merely to convert unbelievers through the medium of fear.
So, I studied a lot. I've already taught the book of The Revelation many times before and I felt I had a solid grasp of the material. But of course, every time I've studied or taught the book, I've discovered something new that alters my understanding of it. So it was, during the time I worked on the screenplay, I discovered many little things in the text that made me pause to consider my then-current understanding. But there is one thing in particular that really stood out.
When I got to dealing with the locusts in Revelation 9, I had no idea where to start or how to work them into the storyline. The passage has always been one of interest. I can hearken back to those who believed The Beatles were somehow connected to Revelation 9 because of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's avant-garde piece on The Beatles' White Album called Revolution 9. They also believed the locusts were The Beatles because of the description found there in the passage: they had long hair like women, but faces of men; their breastplates were interpreted to be electric guitars and the stinging tails were the cables that ran from their guitars to their amps; their loud music affected two thirds of the world and caused pain for 5 months, etc.
This particular interpretation was of little or no use to me. I was quite sure I couldn’t get Paul McCartney to appear in my movie.
I needed to fictionalize the account of the locusts without betraying the original meaning of the text. I didn't want to allegorize them as helicopters, etc. It was obvious, to me, from their description that they were demonic at the least. So I began to meditate on the locusts and who they might be.
What I ultimately discovered helped me put together some of the most bizarre passages of scripture into a clearer picture that I had never seen before.
Genesis 6, verses 1 and 2 read, "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose"
Genesis 6:2 says that the sons of God - the ben elohiym - took whichever women they wanted as wives because they were beautiful. The Hebrew "ben elohiym" is a term that speaks directly of the angelic realm. “Ben elohiym” translates to “Sons of God” and is used only of those beings that are “directly” created by God: Adam and the Angels.
Let's hold our thumb here in Genesis for a moment and look at an interesting verse in Jude. Jude verse 6-7 says, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
I believe that the passage in Genesis 6 speaks of the same angels spoken of in Jude - angels who left heaven, took on a human-like form, and then took for themselves human wives.
Genesis 6:4 reads, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
These unions of fallen angels and humans resulted in numerous mutations - giants that were the “mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” I suggest that this is the historical basis for Greek and Roman mythologies. Apollo, Hercules, and Zeus: these characters were likely based on the genetically corrupted offspring of human women and angels. The giants spoken of in this passage were the ancestors to the Moabites, the Ammonites, and in particular, those like Goliath.
The Hebrew word that is translated as “giants” is “Nephilim” from the root word, “naphal” which means “cast down, or fallen.” “Nephilim” means “fallen ones.” Are these giants the offspring of “fallen” angels, the ben elohiym – those spoken of in Genesis 6:1&2 and Jude verse 6?
Genesis 6:9 reads, "This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God."
Finally, Genesis 6:12 reads, "So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."
It would seem that Noah was pure and undefiled as described above in verse 9. Yet, as indicted in verse 12, the rest of the world had, “corrupted their way on the earth.”
Was God’s reason for destroying the Earth to purify it of demonic corruption and to save Noah and his family from it? There are those who suggest that Satan hoped to corrupt the human race by defiling it and, in so doing, prevent the coming of the Messiah. Although his evil plan was delayed by the flood, it would seem that Satan tried again as indicated in verse 4, where it reads, “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward…”
It would seem that these fallen angels were involved with human-kind not only before the flood, as described in Genesis chapter 6, but also after the flood. Did their corruption of the human race involve not only intermarriage, but also the promotion of godless sexual behavior, like that described in Genesis 19 and spoken of in Jude verse 7? Was the godless hedonism of Sodom and Gomorrah demonically influenced?
Sodom and Gomorrah were huge cities and would be ideal places to concentrate a plan devised to corrupt all of human flesh once more.
Let’s leave Jude for a moment and go to Romans, the first chapter, verses 26 and 27.
“26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
“27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”
In context, Paul is talking about those who have forsaken the self-manifested evidence of God and sought after the lusts of the flesh. God “gave them up” to the basest acts of hedonism, including homosexuality.
A side note…
God is a God of passion and conviction and desires that we be people of passion and conviction.
The Revelation 3:15-16 reads, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
If we love Him, he desires that we love him with all our heart! “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.” (Mar 12:30) As a result, the scripture is clear that if we seek God and love him, He will reinforce that love.
Likewise, if we hate God, it would seem He wants us to do it with our all. In the Exodus story, Pharaoh hardened his heart 7 times before God hardened his heart even more.
It’s as though the Lord is saying, “Do you love me? Then love me with all you have! Be passionate about it. Here, let me help you love me more. Do you hate me? Then don’t be wishy-washy about it- hate me with passion. Here, let me help.”
Now, let me get back to my original point.
In Jude verse 6, we read “kept not their first estate” and verse 7, “going after strange flesh” which reminded me of Romans chapter 1, verse 27, “leaving the natural use.” How are angels related to human homosexual behavior?
It was interesting to me that Jude verse 7 likens “the angels which kept not their first estate” to “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh.” Jude seems to make a correlation between the two.
With this in mind, there seemed, to me, to be a tie-in between the homosexual behavior in Sodom and Gomorrah and “the angels which kept not their first estate.” So again, I ask, was the godless hedonism of Sodom and Gomorrah demonically influenced? Were the fallen ben elohiym there in Sodom and Gomorrah encouraging “fornication, and going after strange flesh?”
Remember that screenplay?
I began with the premise that perhaps someone was spelunking in a deep cave when suddenly confronted by escaping winged demoniacs. So I asked the question, “where is the deepest cave on earth.” My research led me to discover that most deep caves have very narrow passages and forcing a thick black cloud of demoniacs through such tight spaces didn’t seem very viable from a story-telling perspective. So, I killed that idea. (After all, I’m claustrophobic and climbing around in caves is not my idea of a good time.)
Out of frustration, I went to my favorite internet search engine and I searched on the phrase, “deepest place on earth.” Every search engine return was about some deep underwater trench. Wet demoniacs didn’t seem viable, either. I tried again.
This time, I entered the phrase, “lowest place on earth.” I was surprised at the returns I received. It seems the lowest place on earth, below sea level, is the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the location of the former Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a place of destruction. Standing there, on its shores, is like standing at ground zero in Hiroshima, or at the World Trade Center.
Needless to say, The locusts from Revelation 9 aren’t locusts as we know or understand. They have a King! “And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
Apollyon appears only this one time in scripture, and it is a proper name. This King of the locusts is named, Apollyon. But, the meaning of that name is closest to the Hebrew word Hebrew word found in Job 31:12, “'abaddown” which translates, “place of destruction, destruction, ruin, and abyss.” His very name means “place of destruction.”
The place where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood is most definitely a “place of destruction.” This is another apparent connection between Sodom and Gomorrah and Revelation 9.
In Jude 6 we read that the angels are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” The word “unto” is from the Greek word “eis” which can be translated “for” or “towards.” The implication is that there is a purpose in the reservation of these fallen angels. They are being held for some future event – in chains which must be unlocked at some point.
I believe the future event is the torment of mankind for 5 months during the Great Tribulation.
I believe that the angels reserved in chains (Jude 6) were in Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed it. I think that they were in the great cities of that day, continuing to do all they could to corrupt mankind and somehow thwart the plan of God.
I believe those same fallen angels have been imprisoned in that very spot, under the Dead Sea, awaiting the moment when an angel from heaven will descend into that “abyss” – that place of destruction - with a key to release them onto mankind during the Great Tribulation.
In short, I believe that Jude’s angels in chains are the locusts of Revelation 9. And those angels have been imprisoned in chains and darkness for 4000 years awaiting their release upon humanity. Imagine their hostility and their rage!
Now, I was able to write the scene in the screenplay. What is the premise I wrote surrounding these locusts? You’ll have to see the movie.
But wait!
Some will argue that none of this is possible because angels are not corporal beings. Yet there is no biblical evidence to support that idea. Are angels spiritual beings? Yes. Are they bound to that dimensional realm? Apparently, they are not. Can they take on a corporal form when they cross into our dimensional realm? Apparently, yes. There is enough scriptural evidence of human and angel interaction to suggest that angels can take on a physical human form.
There are a lot of bible scholars who reject this. They seem to be ashamed of spiritual or supernatural things. Their intellect stands in the way of accepting what the scripture clearly seems to state. To them, for the sake of reason, there must be a rational, temporal explanation for things and anything with the slightest hint of the “strange” or “unusual” is shunned.
What I find strange about this attitude is that we're talking about a religion in which we believe that one man paid for the sin of the entire world by hanging on a Roman cross and that that man rose from the dead amidst angels 3 days later - causing the dead to rise and walk the streets of Jerusalem - and then 40 days later ascended without mechanical aid into the heavens and there, He sits at the right hand of God as our advocate against the accusations of a fallen angel. How much more bizarre can you get?
Many scholars try to explain that Genesis 6: 1-2 is referring to a “Godly line” of Seth that intermingles with pagan women of the line of Cain, etc. How that possibly explains the gigantism described in verse 4 is a mystery to me. Not only that, but there is no indication that there was ever any Godly line and how Godly could they be if they married ungodly women? No, the corruption spoken of in Genesis 12 was far greater than sinfulness. They had corrupted all flesh. There was more going on here than mere disobedience.
The reality is, there are some very strange things going on in the Bible, and Paul states clearly, that our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the spiritual realm. There is real power and activity behind the scenes that must be recognized and appreciated. Our God is greater than all of that, and He resides in us by His Spirit, so we need not fear that realm, but we must also acknowledge that it exists and that it interacts in a very real way with our temporal dimension.
I will not give spiritual minions more prominence than they deserve, but I will not turn a blind eye to it either.
The Revelation Chapter 9, Verses 1-11
“1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
"7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is ‘Abaddon,’ but in Greek he has the name ‘Apollyon.’”
Recently, I have completed a screenplay based on the book of The Revelation. Unlike many other screenwriters who have previously tackled the material, I have wanted my tale to be a matter-of-fact action/adventure/thriller that adhered more-closely to the original text.
My brother and I have seen just about every movie there is about the end times and have yet to see one done well or one that didn’t stray so far from the source material as to be downright ludicrous. My ultimate goal for the screenplay is to see it made into a professionally done film with quality that is on par with Hollywood's best. I have also hoped to make an accurate telling of the story that will entertain and maybe educate - not merely to convert unbelievers through the medium of fear.
So, I studied a lot. I've already taught the book of The Revelation many times before and I felt I had a solid grasp of the material. But of course, every time I've studied or taught the book, I've discovered something new that alters my understanding of it. So it was, during the time I worked on the screenplay, I discovered many little things in the text that made me pause to consider my then-current understanding. But there is one thing in particular that really stood out.
When I got to dealing with the locusts in Revelation 9, I had no idea where to start or how to work them into the storyline. The passage has always been one of interest. I can hearken back to those who believed The Beatles were somehow connected to Revelation 9 because of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's avant-garde piece on The Beatles' White Album called Revolution 9. They also believed the locusts were The Beatles because of the description found there in the passage: they had long hair like women, but faces of men; their breastplates were interpreted to be electric guitars and the stinging tails were the cables that ran from their guitars to their amps; their loud music affected two thirds of the world and caused pain for 5 months, etc.
This particular interpretation was of little or no use to me. I was quite sure I couldn’t get Paul McCartney to appear in my movie.
I needed to fictionalize the account of the locusts without betraying the original meaning of the text. I didn't want to allegorize them as helicopters, etc. It was obvious, to me, from their description that they were demonic at the least. So I began to meditate on the locusts and who they might be.
What I ultimately discovered helped me put together some of the most bizarre passages of scripture into a clearer picture that I had never seen before.
Genesis 6, verses 1 and 2 read, "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose"
Genesis 6:2 says that the sons of God - the ben elohiym - took whichever women they wanted as wives because they were beautiful. The Hebrew "ben elohiym" is a term that speaks directly of the angelic realm. “Ben elohiym” translates to “Sons of God” and is used only of those beings that are “directly” created by God: Adam and the Angels.
Let's hold our thumb here in Genesis for a moment and look at an interesting verse in Jude. Jude verse 6-7 says, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
I believe that the passage in Genesis 6 speaks of the same angels spoken of in Jude - angels who left heaven, took on a human-like form, and then took for themselves human wives.
Genesis 6:4 reads, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
These unions of fallen angels and humans resulted in numerous mutations - giants that were the “mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” I suggest that this is the historical basis for Greek and Roman mythologies. Apollo, Hercules, and Zeus: these characters were likely based on the genetically corrupted offspring of human women and angels. The giants spoken of in this passage were the ancestors to the Moabites, the Ammonites, and in particular, those like Goliath.
The Hebrew word that is translated as “giants” is “Nephilim” from the root word, “naphal” which means “cast down, or fallen.” “Nephilim” means “fallen ones.” Are these giants the offspring of “fallen” angels, the ben elohiym – those spoken of in Genesis 6:1&2 and Jude verse 6?
Genesis 6:9 reads, "This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God."
Finally, Genesis 6:12 reads, "So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."
It would seem that Noah was pure and undefiled as described above in verse 9. Yet, as indicted in verse 12, the rest of the world had, “corrupted their way on the earth.”
Was God’s reason for destroying the Earth to purify it of demonic corruption and to save Noah and his family from it? There are those who suggest that Satan hoped to corrupt the human race by defiling it and, in so doing, prevent the coming of the Messiah. Although his evil plan was delayed by the flood, it would seem that Satan tried again as indicated in verse 4, where it reads, “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward…”
It would seem that these fallen angels were involved with human-kind not only before the flood, as described in Genesis chapter 6, but also after the flood. Did their corruption of the human race involve not only intermarriage, but also the promotion of godless sexual behavior, like that described in Genesis 19 and spoken of in Jude verse 7? Was the godless hedonism of Sodom and Gomorrah demonically influenced?
Sodom and Gomorrah were huge cities and would be ideal places to concentrate a plan devised to corrupt all of human flesh once more.
Let’s leave Jude for a moment and go to Romans, the first chapter, verses 26 and 27.
“26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
“27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”
In context, Paul is talking about those who have forsaken the self-manifested evidence of God and sought after the lusts of the flesh. God “gave them up” to the basest acts of hedonism, including homosexuality.
A side note…
God is a God of passion and conviction and desires that we be people of passion and conviction.
The Revelation 3:15-16 reads, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
If we love Him, he desires that we love him with all our heart! “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.” (Mar 12:30) As a result, the scripture is clear that if we seek God and love him, He will reinforce that love.
Likewise, if we hate God, it would seem He wants us to do it with our all. In the Exodus story, Pharaoh hardened his heart 7 times before God hardened his heart even more.
It’s as though the Lord is saying, “Do you love me? Then love me with all you have! Be passionate about it. Here, let me help you love me more. Do you hate me? Then don’t be wishy-washy about it- hate me with passion. Here, let me help.”
Now, let me get back to my original point.
In Jude verse 6, we read “kept not their first estate” and verse 7, “going after strange flesh” which reminded me of Romans chapter 1, verse 27, “leaving the natural use.” How are angels related to human homosexual behavior?
It was interesting to me that Jude verse 7 likens “the angels which kept not their first estate” to “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh.” Jude seems to make a correlation between the two.
With this in mind, there seemed, to me, to be a tie-in between the homosexual behavior in Sodom and Gomorrah and “the angels which kept not their first estate.” So again, I ask, was the godless hedonism of Sodom and Gomorrah demonically influenced? Were the fallen ben elohiym there in Sodom and Gomorrah encouraging “fornication, and going after strange flesh?”
Remember that screenplay?
I began with the premise that perhaps someone was spelunking in a deep cave when suddenly confronted by escaping winged demoniacs. So I asked the question, “where is the deepest cave on earth.” My research led me to discover that most deep caves have very narrow passages and forcing a thick black cloud of demoniacs through such tight spaces didn’t seem very viable from a story-telling perspective. So, I killed that idea. (After all, I’m claustrophobic and climbing around in caves is not my idea of a good time.)
Out of frustration, I went to my favorite internet search engine and I searched on the phrase, “deepest place on earth.” Every search engine return was about some deep underwater trench. Wet demoniacs didn’t seem viable, either. I tried again.
This time, I entered the phrase, “lowest place on earth.” I was surprised at the returns I received. It seems the lowest place on earth, below sea level, is the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the location of the former Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a place of destruction. Standing there, on its shores, is like standing at ground zero in Hiroshima, or at the World Trade Center.
Needless to say, The locusts from Revelation 9 aren’t locusts as we know or understand. They have a King! “And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
Apollyon appears only this one time in scripture, and it is a proper name. This King of the locusts is named, Apollyon. But, the meaning of that name is closest to the Hebrew word Hebrew word found in Job 31:12, “'abaddown” which translates, “place of destruction, destruction, ruin, and abyss.” His very name means “place of destruction.”
The place where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood is most definitely a “place of destruction.” This is another apparent connection between Sodom and Gomorrah and Revelation 9.
In Jude 6 we read that the angels are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” The word “unto” is from the Greek word “eis” which can be translated “for” or “towards.” The implication is that there is a purpose in the reservation of these fallen angels. They are being held for some future event – in chains which must be unlocked at some point.
I believe the future event is the torment of mankind for 5 months during the Great Tribulation.
I believe that the angels reserved in chains (Jude 6) were in Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed it. I think that they were in the great cities of that day, continuing to do all they could to corrupt mankind and somehow thwart the plan of God.
I believe those same fallen angels have been imprisoned in that very spot, under the Dead Sea, awaiting the moment when an angel from heaven will descend into that “abyss” – that place of destruction - with a key to release them onto mankind during the Great Tribulation.
In short, I believe that Jude’s angels in chains are the locusts of Revelation 9. And those angels have been imprisoned in chains and darkness for 4000 years awaiting their release upon humanity. Imagine their hostility and their rage!
Now, I was able to write the scene in the screenplay. What is the premise I wrote surrounding these locusts? You’ll have to see the movie.
But wait!
Some will argue that none of this is possible because angels are not corporal beings. Yet there is no biblical evidence to support that idea. Are angels spiritual beings? Yes. Are they bound to that dimensional realm? Apparently, they are not. Can they take on a corporal form when they cross into our dimensional realm? Apparently, yes. There is enough scriptural evidence of human and angel interaction to suggest that angels can take on a physical human form.
There are a lot of bible scholars who reject this. They seem to be ashamed of spiritual or supernatural things. Their intellect stands in the way of accepting what the scripture clearly seems to state. To them, for the sake of reason, there must be a rational, temporal explanation for things and anything with the slightest hint of the “strange” or “unusual” is shunned.
What I find strange about this attitude is that we're talking about a religion in which we believe that one man paid for the sin of the entire world by hanging on a Roman cross and that that man rose from the dead amidst angels 3 days later - causing the dead to rise and walk the streets of Jerusalem - and then 40 days later ascended without mechanical aid into the heavens and there, He sits at the right hand of God as our advocate against the accusations of a fallen angel. How much more bizarre can you get?
Many scholars try to explain that Genesis 6: 1-2 is referring to a “Godly line” of Seth that intermingles with pagan women of the line of Cain, etc. How that possibly explains the gigantism described in verse 4 is a mystery to me. Not only that, but there is no indication that there was ever any Godly line and how Godly could they be if they married ungodly women? No, the corruption spoken of in Genesis 12 was far greater than sinfulness. They had corrupted all flesh. There was more going on here than mere disobedience.
The reality is, there are some very strange things going on in the Bible, and Paul states clearly, that our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the spiritual realm. There is real power and activity behind the scenes that must be recognized and appreciated. Our God is greater than all of that, and He resides in us by His Spirit, so we need not fear that realm, but we must also acknowledge that it exists and that it interacts in a very real way with our temporal dimension.
I will not give spiritual minions more prominence than they deserve, but I will not turn a blind eye to it either.
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Two Witnesses (Part 3)
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
I offer one more thought.
If Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses, and they have been witness to the transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension, and the demonstrated wrath of God, then what about being eyewitnesses to the mercy and faithfulness of God. If they are witnessing to Israel just before they are to go into the wilderness to lean on God and trust Him for everything, then isn’t it important that they know and have faith in the mercy and faithfulness of God? Shouldn’t they know that God keeps His promises and is able to deliver them?
I am always intrigued by the appearance of God as a man in the Old Testament. What an amazing and gracious God we have that He would descend from Heaven to fellowship with us. Abraham was so blessed to have known and seen God.
So was Joshua.
One of the other interesting appearances of God as Man - the theophany – is the night before the attack on Jericho. Joshua is alone when he confronts a soldier and, at first, he challenges the man, not knowing whether he be friend or foe. The soldier, who is the Lord, tells Joshua to take of his shoes for the place on which he stood was holy ground.
How often had Joshua heard Moses tell the story of his first encounter with God? As Moses stood before that burning bush, the Lord spoke, saying, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand [is] holy ground” (Ex. 3:5) Joshua is instantly aware of whom it is he faces and his response is one of immediate worship.
My attention is always drawn to similarities in the biblical record. It is there that I look for some correlation that might bind the story together. It is interesting that so close to this appearance of the Lord in human form, just as it was so in Genesis 18, there is also the appearance of two men.
In Joshua, these two men are spies sent by Joshua to survey the land and, in particular, Jericho. When in Jericho, these two men are taken in by Rahab, the harlot. She hides them in the reeds of her roof and later lowers them down the outside wall with a scarlet cord. They report back to Joshua, but offer no information of strategic value. In fact, Joshua is given his “battle plan” by the Lord and the report of the spies is irrelevant. They seem to have had only one purpose: to arrange for the safety of Rahab.
Once the walls of Jericho fall, these two men are sent in by Joshua to rescue Rahab and her family. The rescue of Rahab shows God’s mercy towards a common harlot and God’s faithfulness to keep His promise.
What if these two men…?
Yes, they could have been anyone. Besides, what could possibly be the connection between these two men and the two who appeared in Sodom?
The obvious connection is that they were both sent on rescue missions. But is there more?
In the opening verses of Matthew’s gospel, we are told the lineage of Jesus Christ. In that lineage is Rachab, or as we know her in Joshua, Rahab, the harlot. Is it possible that these two spies are sent in to protect and preserve the lineage of Jesus Christ by saving Rahab from Jericho’s fate?
Rahab was a Moabite. Over and over again in Numbers, the plains of Moab are described as being by Jericho. Jericho was a Moabite city.
Remember the two men who rescued Lot. God could easily have destroyed Sodom without coming to earth in human form. But, to demonstrate that God is just, Lot, whom God saw as righteous, needed to be rescued. The bartering between God and Abraham over the number of righteous required to invoke God’s mercy on the city is further evidence of God’s justice.
After their escape from Sodom, Lot and his daughters found refuge in a cave. Lot’s daughters conspired to have children by getting Lot drunk and then going in and sleeping with him. Ultimately, the two girls were impregnated.
“And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day.” (Gen 19:37)
Lot is Rahab’s ancestor, and in turn, one of Jesus’ ancestors. Again, the lineage of Jesus was protected when Lot was rescued.
Is it possible that God sent his two witnesses, Elijah and Moses, on these rescue missions throughout history to preempt disaster by saving Jesus’ ancestors from certain destruction and, at the same time, create witnesses to major events that point to the character and qualifications of Jesus to assume the throne?
Is it possible?
Imagine the testimony those two witnesses might have.
I offer one more thought.
If Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses, and they have been witness to the transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension, and the demonstrated wrath of God, then what about being eyewitnesses to the mercy and faithfulness of God. If they are witnessing to Israel just before they are to go into the wilderness to lean on God and trust Him for everything, then isn’t it important that they know and have faith in the mercy and faithfulness of God? Shouldn’t they know that God keeps His promises and is able to deliver them?
I am always intrigued by the appearance of God as a man in the Old Testament. What an amazing and gracious God we have that He would descend from Heaven to fellowship with us. Abraham was so blessed to have known and seen God.
So was Joshua.
One of the other interesting appearances of God as Man - the theophany – is the night before the attack on Jericho. Joshua is alone when he confronts a soldier and, at first, he challenges the man, not knowing whether he be friend or foe. The soldier, who is the Lord, tells Joshua to take of his shoes for the place on which he stood was holy ground.
How often had Joshua heard Moses tell the story of his first encounter with God? As Moses stood before that burning bush, the Lord spoke, saying, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand [is] holy ground” (Ex. 3:5) Joshua is instantly aware of whom it is he faces and his response is one of immediate worship.
My attention is always drawn to similarities in the biblical record. It is there that I look for some correlation that might bind the story together. It is interesting that so close to this appearance of the Lord in human form, just as it was so in Genesis 18, there is also the appearance of two men.
In Joshua, these two men are spies sent by Joshua to survey the land and, in particular, Jericho. When in Jericho, these two men are taken in by Rahab, the harlot. She hides them in the reeds of her roof and later lowers them down the outside wall with a scarlet cord. They report back to Joshua, but offer no information of strategic value. In fact, Joshua is given his “battle plan” by the Lord and the report of the spies is irrelevant. They seem to have had only one purpose: to arrange for the safety of Rahab.
Once the walls of Jericho fall, these two men are sent in by Joshua to rescue Rahab and her family. The rescue of Rahab shows God’s mercy towards a common harlot and God’s faithfulness to keep His promise.
What if these two men…?
Yes, they could have been anyone. Besides, what could possibly be the connection between these two men and the two who appeared in Sodom?
The obvious connection is that they were both sent on rescue missions. But is there more?
In the opening verses of Matthew’s gospel, we are told the lineage of Jesus Christ. In that lineage is Rachab, or as we know her in Joshua, Rahab, the harlot. Is it possible that these two spies are sent in to protect and preserve the lineage of Jesus Christ by saving Rahab from Jericho’s fate?
Rahab was a Moabite. Over and over again in Numbers, the plains of Moab are described as being by Jericho. Jericho was a Moabite city.
Remember the two men who rescued Lot. God could easily have destroyed Sodom without coming to earth in human form. But, to demonstrate that God is just, Lot, whom God saw as righteous, needed to be rescued. The bartering between God and Abraham over the number of righteous required to invoke God’s mercy on the city is further evidence of God’s justice.
After their escape from Sodom, Lot and his daughters found refuge in a cave. Lot’s daughters conspired to have children by getting Lot drunk and then going in and sleeping with him. Ultimately, the two girls were impregnated.
“And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day.” (Gen 19:37)
Lot is Rahab’s ancestor, and in turn, one of Jesus’ ancestors. Again, the lineage of Jesus was protected when Lot was rescued.
Is it possible that God sent his two witnesses, Elijah and Moses, on these rescue missions throughout history to preempt disaster by saving Jesus’ ancestors from certain destruction and, at the same time, create witnesses to major events that point to the character and qualifications of Jesus to assume the throne?
Is it possible?
Imagine the testimony those two witnesses might have.
Two Witnesses (Part 2)
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
But authority must be backed by power or it is impotent.
Peter writes in 2 Peter, chapter 3, that the scoffers of this world have willfully put out of their minds the judgment that God brought on the world long ago: the flood. Nineveh, no doubt, knew of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Jonah cried, “40 days and then destruction,” Nineveh’s king knew what to expect and he repented. Today, many have no regard for God. They neither believe in Him nor accredit anything to His glory. The thought of the return of Jesus Christ and the coming judgment is foolishness to many.
So perhaps, part of Moses and Elijah’s testimony is about the power of God and His judgment. Maybe, part of their testimony is as to the ability of Jesus to punish the wicked and destroy those who oppose Him. Jesus spoke of cosmic world-ending events and the Revelation prophesies coming judgments of fire and hail. What might Moses and Elijah have seen that would give them credibility as witnesses when it comes to God’s judgment?
Let’s take a moment to think about the eternal nature of God. It’s easier for us mere mortals to imagine time as a unidirectional dimension, or as a half dimension; in other words, we can go forward in time, but not backward. God, however, inhabits eternity and is not constrained by our dimensions – including time. He exists outside time. Therefore, where He exists, there is no passing of time as we imagine. Therefore, being unconstrained by time, it is possible for God to know the end from the beginning as He exists at both places on the time line at once. The great “I AM,” is eternally “present.” There is no beginning or end for He encompasses all of time. Imagine then, if it were His will, that God could open a door anywhere in the time line and interject Himself into it. If such a thing is true, then couldn’t the Lord interject Himself and any one inhabiting eternity with Him into any place along the timeline?
So back to the original question: What might Moses and Elijah have seen that would give them credibility as witnesses when it comes to God’s judgment?
Genesis 18:2 speaks of Abraham saying, “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground…”
“And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.” (Genesis 18:16)
“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” (Genesis 18:22)
“And there came two angels to Sodom at even;” (Genesis 19:1)
“And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” (Gen. 19:12-13)
“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” (Gen 19:15-16)
“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (Gen. 19:24-25)
Perhaps, by some supernatural miracle beyond our comprehension, these 2 men are Moses and Elijah, now witnesses to the destructive power of God’s judgment? These two men are also eyewitness to the Justice of God. Lot, who was considered righteous because he was grieved by the decay all about him, was saved by God. God proved he would not destroy the righteous with the wicked.
Again, I would never teach this as doctrine, but is it a possibility? Of course it is. Is it important? That’s up to you. To me, it further magnifies my God and is further proof of the divine nature of God’s Word. I can’t and won’t believe that the details are insignificant. Why 2 men and not 1, 3, or 4? I believe God has given us all the information we need to put the puzzle together, we just need to find the pieces and recognize how they fit.
If one begins with Moses and Elijah dressed in white atop the mountain with the Lord, then how far a stretch is it to assume the two men in white at the ascension are also Moses and Elijah? And then, how far a reach is it to think that the two men at the tomb are also they? Soon, these things seem to be oh-so-connected.
End Part 2
But authority must be backed by power or it is impotent.
Peter writes in 2 Peter, chapter 3, that the scoffers of this world have willfully put out of their minds the judgment that God brought on the world long ago: the flood. Nineveh, no doubt, knew of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Jonah cried, “40 days and then destruction,” Nineveh’s king knew what to expect and he repented. Today, many have no regard for God. They neither believe in Him nor accredit anything to His glory. The thought of the return of Jesus Christ and the coming judgment is foolishness to many.
So perhaps, part of Moses and Elijah’s testimony is about the power of God and His judgment. Maybe, part of their testimony is as to the ability of Jesus to punish the wicked and destroy those who oppose Him. Jesus spoke of cosmic world-ending events and the Revelation prophesies coming judgments of fire and hail. What might Moses and Elijah have seen that would give them credibility as witnesses when it comes to God’s judgment?
Let’s take a moment to think about the eternal nature of God. It’s easier for us mere mortals to imagine time as a unidirectional dimension, or as a half dimension; in other words, we can go forward in time, but not backward. God, however, inhabits eternity and is not constrained by our dimensions – including time. He exists outside time. Therefore, where He exists, there is no passing of time as we imagine. Therefore, being unconstrained by time, it is possible for God to know the end from the beginning as He exists at both places on the time line at once. The great “I AM,” is eternally “present.” There is no beginning or end for He encompasses all of time. Imagine then, if it were His will, that God could open a door anywhere in the time line and interject Himself into it. If such a thing is true, then couldn’t the Lord interject Himself and any one inhabiting eternity with Him into any place along the timeline?
So back to the original question: What might Moses and Elijah have seen that would give them credibility as witnesses when it comes to God’s judgment?
Genesis 18:2 speaks of Abraham saying, “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground…”
“And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.” (Genesis 18:16)
“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” (Genesis 18:22)
“And there came two angels to Sodom at even;” (Genesis 19:1)
“And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” (Gen. 19:12-13)
“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” (Gen 19:15-16)
“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (Gen. 19:24-25)
Perhaps, by some supernatural miracle beyond our comprehension, these 2 men are Moses and Elijah, now witnesses to the destructive power of God’s judgment? These two men are also eyewitness to the Justice of God. Lot, who was considered righteous because he was grieved by the decay all about him, was saved by God. God proved he would not destroy the righteous with the wicked.
Again, I would never teach this as doctrine, but is it a possibility? Of course it is. Is it important? That’s up to you. To me, it further magnifies my God and is further proof of the divine nature of God’s Word. I can’t and won’t believe that the details are insignificant. Why 2 men and not 1, 3, or 4? I believe God has given us all the information we need to put the puzzle together, we just need to find the pieces and recognize how they fit.
If one begins with Moses and Elijah dressed in white atop the mountain with the Lord, then how far a stretch is it to assume the two men in white at the ascension are also Moses and Elijah? And then, how far a reach is it to think that the two men at the tomb are also they? Soon, these things seem to be oh-so-connected.
End Part 2
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