Lee Harmon's Blog, page 123

Revelation 6:1-8, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Part I of V

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals.
//In Revelation chapter six, a mysterious scroll is slowly opened, as Jesus removes seven seals from the scroll one at a time. As each seal is removed, Revelation's story directs us to the earth and the events happening there. I briefly introduced this mystery scroll in a post a few days ago.
The first four seals serve to introduce four horsemen. This image of terrifying warriors riding horses of four different colors has fascinated artists, storytellers, and hellfire preachers for two thousand years. But what do you suppose John of Patmos was originally writing about, way back in the first century? Let's take a closer peek at these four horsemen, and see if we can make sense of the images from a first-century perspective.
Scholars have long recognized the unmistakable similarities between the images used here in the seal-breaking and the Olivet Discourse in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, where Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. War, international strife, famine, and earthquakes occur in the same order in both the Gospels and Revelation. Luke specifically names Jerusalem as the city under siege, and nearly all Bible interpreters agree that the Gospels, all written after the war began, "predict" the war of 70 A.D. These Gospel accounts, often termed the "little apocalypse," mirror Revelation in other ways as well:
- The Gospels and Revelation both speak of the Abomination of Desolation.- Both speak of the gospel first being preached to every land.- Both speak of the Great Tribulation.- Both say false prophets will arise.- Both mention the Son of Man arriving on the clouds.- Both mention a trumpet sounding the end of all things.- Both mention a darkened sun and moon and stars falling from heaven.- Both describe birds feeding on the carcasses of the dead.- Both were to be fulfilled "soon."
How have we come to believe the Gospels speak of a different event than Revelation? Surely, as John penned his frightening story of four horsemen, he had in mind the events of his day. The "big apocalypse" of Revelation could only be the "little apocalypse" of the Gospels. Over the next four posts, I'll describe these four horsemen and their role in the first century.

Book review: The Dark Side of Christian History

by Helen Ellerbe 

★★★
This is a  rather discouraging look at Christianity through the last 20 centuries. The book's value is not in the strength of its research (which is one-sided and sometimes shallow) but in its provocative imagery. You won't forget it. "The Church had a devastating impact upon society," Ellerbe insists at the beginning of chapter four as she dives into the dark ages. While historical  atrocities such as the crusades and the Inquisition are indeed embarrassing to the Christian side of the ledger, one gets the sense from this book that Christianity is at the root of racism, illiteracy, poverty, plague, violence, slavery, and everything else wrong with the world.
Do not imagine you are reading a book about Christian faith; Ellerbe's focus is on the human abominations done in the name of religion, not on its creeds or principles. We all know that the example Christ left was one of nonviolence. Ellerbe's take is not that Christianity is evil in itself, but that monotheistic religion is flawed, and simply cannot produce positive results over the long haul. A monotheistic religion naturally leads humanity to the "dark side."
Ellerbe's bias is easily detectible. She does, however, make some intriguing points and provide some graphic examples, not least of which is the treatment of accused witches, whose emphasis within the book is probably no coincidence. Though not clearly stated (or so I didn't notice), Ellerbe's religious sympathies appear to lie that direction; she bemoans Christianity's "alienation from nature."
The horror of witch hunts knew no bounds, she says. "Sexual mutilation of accused witches was not uncommon. With the orthodox understanding that divinity had little or nothing to do with the physical world, sexual desire was perceived to be ungodly. When men persecuting the accused witches found themselves sexually aroused, they assumed that such desire emanated, not from themselves, but from the woman. They attacked breasts and genitals with pincers, pliers and red-hot irons."
Read the book for an eye-opening overview of the topic, but with a little grain of salt.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)

Genesis 49:29, Gathered To My People, Part II of II

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

 

//As described a couple days ago, Abraham held no dream of a  resurrection. His expectations beyond death were to be "gathered to his  people." But no explanation of this phrase is given. If Abraham gives no  hint about his afterlife expectations, then what about his grandson,  Jacob?

 

Today's  verse provides the answer. When Jacob dies, he doesn't look forward to  living with God. Jacob is terrified of heaven. One day, in a dream, he  sees angels traversing a stairway up and down to heaven, and he is  afraid, having discovered the doorway to the realm of God. No, Jacob  just wants to be buried with his grandfather. Until very late in the  development of the Old Testament, that was the best one could hope for  after death; for your bones to be reunited with the bones of your  fathers. Jewish identity, then and now, is rooted in ancestry, with the  desire to be remembered among your offspring.

 

Even  in the second century, B.C., after Jews began to believe in an  afterlife, resurrection didn't mean heaven. A friend asked me a few days  ago when Christians began believing in heaven. Not just an afterlife,  but a belief in living "up there" with God. I just don't know! Part of  the problem is that the Greek word for heaven is also the Greek word for  sky. Our picture of heaven is so far removed from how it was pictured  in Bible days that this is a difficult question to answer. When did  heaven become more than just layers of sky? Revelation, which most  consider the ultimate description of life after death, was not  originally about heaven at all. It was about living again on earth.  Paul, who helped integrate the Greek concept of the soul into  Christianity, dreamed of floating about in the sky like Jesus, but not  as a bodiless spirit. I do wish we had more of Paul's letters than the  few that were collected and preserved; he's an absolutely fascinating  theologian, and could probably shed a lot more light on the topic.

Book review: The Blackberry Bush

by David Householder

★★★★★
I have strong feelings about this book. I just don't know what they are. I must endorse it, because it's unforgettable.
The Blackberry Bush was authored by a Facebook friend, whom I picture as a conservative "Christian teacher-leader" (David's words) living 2,000 miles away. I'm not sure that's how David pictures himself, so I've probably already insulted him. And I'm not much of a fiction reader; this will be my last for a while—I'm burned out. But on a whim, I asked for a copy. David turned out to be quite insightful, and a superb fiction writer besides.
The two main characters, a boy and girl growing up on opposite sides of the world, are quite vivid. You'll identify with one or the other, and possibly both. They are both very real—very real!—and what troubles me most about the book is that I dislike one of them. I don't want to, and I don't think I'm supposed to, but I do.
I can't describe the emotional journey, so I won't try. Just read it, and let yourself be immersed in feeling; it might change your view of life. The book is more spiritual than Christian, so it won't change your life that way. It's certainly not going to talk you into a church building. I'm not really sure "spiritual" is even the right word. Honestly, I can't put my finger on the feelings it evokes, but there is one word at the root of it all. A word with many definitions, all of them lacking. That word is Faith.
I wish the book were true. I wish all that's wrong with this screwed-up world could just work itself out, like a rubber band unraveling under its own pressure, perhaps with a little karma, or predestination, or meddling from above, or an intertwining of energies, or whatever your religious bent is, leaving everybody happy in the end. But life is messier than that, and the kinks don't always get worked out. There's no guarantee of happiness. So where does that leave faith? Faith certainly isn't wishing, nor is it holding hands and singing Kumbaya. But whatever it is, David's book will strengthen yours.
The author thinks this would be a good book for teens and book clubs. Ahh, what do authors know, he's flat wrong. It's for parents and grandparents.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)

Genesis 15:15, Gathered to My People, I of II

And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
//That's God's promise to Abraham, regarding his ultimate end. God promised a long, good life, after which he would "go to his fathers." And that's what happened ten chapters later:
Genesis 25:8, Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Often the statement is made that the Old Testament authors did not believe in a resurrection. This appears to be true; there's little hint about any idea of resurrection (bodily or otherwise) until the book of Daniel, penned in the Maccabean period, about 165 BC. Nor did Old Testament authors dream of living in heaven with God. Heaven was reserved for heavenly beings; not people. Abraham's reward for obedience, like Job's, was on earth, while he still lived, after which he went "to his people" … wherever that is.
But Abraham's "people" would soon develop higher expectations than earthly reward. The mistreatment of Jews in the Maccabean period spurred the rise of a belief in reward after death. If bad things happened to good people on earth, with no hint of justice, then reward must apparently come later, right? This sort of thinking is natural: In 1997 a Gallop poll in America reported that 72% of Americans believe in heaven. That's 1997, when unemployment hit a 28-year low and the Dow reached 7,000. Who needed heaven? Ten years later, the poll was repeated. After 9-11 and a serious recession, belief in heaven had risen nine points to 81%. Thankfully, we imagine, a better life awaits.
Comin' for to carry me hommmmme. More on this topic on a couple days, when we'll learn about Abraham's "people" that preceded him in death.

Book review: Devil's Ink

by Jeffrey C. Pugh 
★★★★★
Is the Devil omniscient or merely opinionated? I don't know. He certainly has lots to say, as he rants for page after page in his "blog from the basement office."
At first, I felt like I just wasn't getting it. I shook my head over the first dozen pages, thankful this lurking evil was all a myth. Then, I considered the many who do take the Devil seriously, imagining him as a sort of personified version of everything wrong with the world, and to them, this book must be absolutely frightful! How does one dare make light of the Evil One himself? The book is edgy to begin with, but as I imagined the dichotomy between believers and non-believers, it became doubly so.
When I came to realize Pugh was just building a little atmosphere, I started to relax. A feisty critter, that Devil. Arrogant, insulting, mischievous, sleazy, often crabby. I stuck my tongue out at the cranky old coot whenever he became unhinged. He does like to rant:
"If someone screws with me, they should pay. I really don't want them forgiven. That's just how I roll. Who is "god" to forgive someone who wrongs me, anyway? It's sheer arrogance, it is."
But my comfort faded when the book took another turn, and began to get serious. A new, not-so-simple image of God began to surface, one you "can't put on a stained-glass window like you can a bearded guy on a throne." Political, intelligent, and relevant, Pugh soon gave me much to think about, if I could keep from burning out by constantly looking at the world through the lens of the gleefully evil.
Suggestion: The blog-sized sections make for a perfect bathroom reader.
(click picture to buy on Amazon) 

Nehemiah 2:19, the Bible's only named Arab

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn.
//Today's verse is the only named Arab in the Bible. Will you let me evoke my right as a book reviewer to quote from David Plotz's Good Book again?
"When Geshem the Arab and his cronies hear that Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall, they 'mocked and ridiculed' him. Nehemiah responds by saying: 'the God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we His servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.' In what can be seen as a darkly humorous divine joke, the only Arab in the Bible turns out to be (1) an enemy of the Jews and (2) at odds with them over who should control Jerusalem. It's 2,500 years later: Has anything changed?"
I've told you thrice, now: Go get David's insightful book. Here it is again: http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/06/book-review-good-book.html

Book review: Nero

by Jurgen Malitz 
★★★★★ 
I'm tempted to simply quote the opening chapter of my book about Revelation. Most of that first chapter comes directly from this book. I begin with a series of short glimpses into the life of Nero Caesar in an attempt to portray the demons within the man named by Revelation as the Beast of the Sea.
Nero was the fifth Roman emperor, and thus the fifth "king" of seven in the book of Revelation. He's one of the most fascinating emperors of the era, sharing the title (in my opinion) with Augustus and Caligula. He's known as a narcissistic tyrant, and the man who single-handedly ended the reign of the Caesars (the original family line) by putting every possible heir to death. He's also known, of course, for his brutal and imaginative persecution of Christians. But Malitz also gives credit where credit is due, outlining Nero's more positive contributions from earlier in his reign.
A short chapter near the end of the book discusses Nero's "afterlife," the enduring legend which sprang up in his name as the antichrist, 666. It was believed by many (including, apparently, John of Patmos) that Nero would come back to life to regain his throne by force. Nero is the ruler who dies and lives again as the eighth king of Revelation.
Mesmerizing and fun, if you have any interest at all in this stuff, you won't be able to put the book down. Admittedly, many of the more sensational Nero stories are of questionable authenticity (such as blaming him for setting the fire that destroyed Rome near the end of his reign) and separating fact from fiction can be a challenge, but for me, writing from a Christian viewpoint, both sides are equally important.
This is a relatively short book, ending officially after 113 pages, but immediately following this is translation of Suetonius' The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)

Revelation 2:13, The Throne of Satan

I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives.
//Ever wonder where Satan lives? Here it is, in black and white, in a message to the church of Pergamum, one of the seven cities of Asia Minor. As Rome had apparently become the center of Satan's activity in the West, Pergamum had become the "throne" of the East.
Pergamum, according to John of Patmos, was far from perfect. They had some among them who "held to the teaching of Balaam," an Old Testament character known for corrupting Israel by promoting idol worship. Pergamum also had some who "held to the teaching of the Nicolaitans," known for their deviant sexual practices and, again, for idolatry. But of the greatest idolatry of all, worshipping the throne of Satan, Pergamum's record remains unblemished.
What exactly was this throne of Satan in Revelation? Some have wondered if it referred to the great throne-like altar in Pergamum to Zeus, a massive structure originally built in the second century B.C. Given that Zeus is the father of Apollo, that Nero Caesar often portrayed himself in the divine image of Apollo, and that Nero Caesar is, by nearly every historical-critical account of Revelation, the original Beast of the Sea, it all comes together, once more displaying John's fondness for parody. As Jesus, the Lamb, is named the Son of God, Nero, the Beast, is named the son of Satan.

Book review: God's Trombones

by James Weldon Johnson 
★★★★★
Excellent! This is a Penguin Classic, reprinted in 2008 from the original in 1927. It presents seven inspiring Negro sermons in verse.
A thought-provoking statement comes from the Forward: "African Americans are the only people in the whole world and history who really practice Christianity." No one else has ever found in their hearts the gift of forgiveness, the Forward claims. African Americans forgave the slave owners who worked them without payment for 240 years. This ability to forgive made many former slave owners uneasy, so incomprehensible was their forgiveness.
These transplanted Africans accepted Jesus as their savior and laid all their worries on him. God's trombones—the old time Negro preachers—were powerful, eloquent figures in their community. A community surviving on hope. When the lyricists wrote, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, coming for to carry me home," neither the singer nor the audience had to tax their imagination to consider death a sweet chariot or to doubt that heaven was their destination. When the folk-sermon was in full swing, a rhythmic dance to the beat of powerful voice, an electric current passed through the congregation.
You don't want to miss these seven poetic sermons.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)