Sunspots 972

Special edition:

A Conversation writer discusses predictions of the Second Coming (all wrong, so far) based on astronomical phenomena, like the solar eclipse which is coming in a few days.

Christianity Today also considers the coming eclipse and the Second Coming.

How to be ready for Christ’s return

 

Some suggestions on how to be ready for Christ’s return.

 

Sunspots 855

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

The Arts: (or something) Gizmodo reports on an esthetic advance in the design of screws.

Christianity: BioLogos has an article on whether anti-COVID vaccines are the mark of the beast.

A Relevant writer warns against bibliolatry, putting the Bible as equal to God.

Education:  Grammarphobia discusses the "boo" in peekaboo.

History: Gizmodo reports that Vikings had reached North America by 1021 AD.

Science: NPR reports that a pig kidney as been successfully attached to a human, and that it functioned as kidneys are supposed to.

The Scientist reports on another way that plants communicate with other plants.

Sports: (or something) NPR reports on cricket fighting in China.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

The Resurrection of Christ - a theme throughout the Bible

 

A larger version of the graphic above should be available from my Flickr photostream. Use the graphic as a link. The quotation in smaller type is this: "The resurrection isn't just a surprise happy ending for one person, it is instead the turning point for everything else." - N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: HarperCollins, 2008, p. 236.

It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of the resurrection! Thanks for reading. The resurrection is mentioned in many places in the Bible. Here are some of them. All scripture quoted is from the public domain World English Bible. First, from the Old Testament:
Job 19:26 After my skin is destroyed,
    then in my flesh shall I see God,

Psalm 16:10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
    neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me.
71:20 You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles,
    you will let me live.
    You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
    and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 

Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
    I will redeem them from death!
    Death, where are your plagues?
    Sheol, where is your destruction?

The stories of Enoch and Elijah don't mention resurrection, but they must have given the Israelites food for thought about an after-life:
Genesis 5:22 Enoch walked with God after he became the father of Methuselah three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters. 23 All the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 

2 Kings 2:11 It happened, as they still went on, and talked, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

The story of Enoch might be interpreted as God allowing Enoch to die at what, in those days, was a short life. But it can be, and probably was, interpreted as Enoch being taken to be with God, whether the Israelis had a concept of heaven or not.

Elisha raised a boy from death in 2 Kings 4. (Links to scripture are to the English Standard Version.)

These eight references seem to be the only ones in the Old Testament that indicate there will be a life after death. It's no wonder that the Sadducees didn't believe in a resurrection. (According to the Wikipedia article on them -- see the link in the previous sentence -- they did believe in Sheol. That wasn't really a resurrection. According to the Wikipedia article on Sheol, the inhabitants were "entities without personality or strength.")

The New Testament has many more references to resurrection. All four of the gospels tell about the resurrection of Christ. There are also stories about people being brought back to life, which isn't exactly the same thing, since these people must have died again, later in life, but is a strong indication that death is not the end of strength and personality. There are many predictions that Christ is going to return, which would make no sense if He had ceased to exist. The Widow of Nain's son was raised to life in Luke 7.  The daughter of Jairus was similarly raised in Mark 5. Then, of course, there's the raising of Lazarus, in John 11. As part of that story, Jesus told Martha that He was the resurrection and the life, and asked her about her belief in a resurrection. There are other occasions, in the gospels, where Jesus spoke about a resurrection, or His own resurrection. Matthew 16:21-23 is one such example. An examination of the remainder of the New Testament follows. In some of these books, there are several references to the resurrection. Only one from each book is included. This post probably leaves out important scriptural evidence for the importance of the resurrection. Feel free to comment, mentioning more passages, please.

Acts begins with the experience of the disciples with Jesus after the resurrection. There are further references to Christ's resurrection in the book:

This is part of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost: 2:29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.

The religious authorities tried to suppress preaching about the resurrection: 4:1 As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them, 2 being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

But that tactic didn't work: 4:33 With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.

Paul spoke so much about the resurrection that the philosophers at Mars Hill thought he was proclaiming two gods, one being the resurrection: 17:18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. 

Paul begins Romans in this way: 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God, 2 which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 

1 Corinthians contains Paul's great discussion of the importance of the resurrection, in chapter 15.

2 Corinthians includes this passage, which assumes that there is a life beyond this mortal one, for believers: 5:1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. 2 For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven; 3 if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked. 4 For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. 10 For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

When the Bible speaks of the Final Kingdom, it is also speaking of the resurrection. Christ, and resurrected believers, couldn't have an existence past this life if they were permanently dead. Galatians begins with a statement about the resurrection of Christ, and speaks of an age to come, and of eternity: 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead), 2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Ephesians has this wonderful statement about the power that God used in raising Jesus from the dead: 1:15 . . . I . . . 16 don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 20 which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

In Philippians, Paul speaks of the resurrection indirectly, by pointing out that Christ, who died for us, is, and will be, supreme: 2:5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Paul reminds the Colossian church of how Christ's resurrection shows His power: 2:13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; 15 having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

The Thessalonians evidently had some questions about End Times. Here's part of what Paul wrote, in his first letter to that church, explaining some of what the Risen Lord will do: 4:14 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 tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way 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 God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

In Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, he firmly states that Christ hadn't returned yet, as some thought, but will come. He isn't dead forever! 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you 2: not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul summarizes what the Son did: 3:16 Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:
God was revealed in the flesh,
    justified in the spirit,
    seen by angels,
    preached among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
    and received up in glory. 

Second Timothy includes this reminder: 2:11 This saying is faithful:
“For if we died with him,
    we will also live with him.
12a If we endure,
we will also reign with him.
 
Paul reminds Titus that the Risen Lord is returning: 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; 13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ;

There is no mention of the resurrection, direct or implied, in Paul's short letter to Philemon.

Hebrews speaks of Christ as Risen High Priest, and a Priest who is, Himself, the sacrifice: 9:11 But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption.

James speaks of the second coming: 5:7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Peter begins his first letter thus: 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
 
In his second letter, he looks forward to the Second Coming: 3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

John's first letter also looks forward to the Second Coming: 2:28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
John's brief second letter mentions a reward, but does not directly speak of the resurrection. There is no mention of the resurrection in his third letter, which is also quite brief.

Jude refers to the Second Coming: 1:20 But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

This post closes with the next to the last verse in the Bible, from Revelation:
22:20 He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.

As N. T. Wright put it, "Take away the stories of Jesus’ birth, and all you lose is four chapters of the gospels. Take away the
resurrection and you lose the entire New Testament, and most of the second century fathers as well." 

Thanks for reading. Celebrate the Resurrection. Minor changes were made to this post on March 30, 2015.

"Blood Moons" and Christ's return

I don't know when Christ is returning. As I understand the Bible, no one else does, either. Bible scholars do not even agree on a timetable for His return. Some believe that the Biblical signs of His return have all been fulfilled already. Some believe that the indications of His return are for our spiritual warning only. Some believe that there will be a Rapture, with Christians taken away. Some don't. Some Christians believe that there will be a seven-year tribulation. Some don't. See here for a conservative (in the sense that he takes the Bible very seriously) scholar's take on some of these beliefs. Based on prophecies that the Bible, itself, tells us have been already fulfilled, it seems that interpreting prophecy is a difficult job. The Bible says a lot less about End Times than some people seem to think that it does.

Nonetheless, throughout history, there have been many people who have proclaimed that something or other is a sign of Christ's return, and even predicted the date of that return. See here for a recent unfortunate, and well-publicized, example. The result of all these predictions seems to have been that people take the prospect of Christ's return much less seriously than as if those explicit predictions hadn't been made.

Why do we try to predict the future, when Christ, Himself, said that we don't know what it will be? One reason is curiosity. There was clearly some of that, about end times, in the New Testament church, so it's not surprising that there should be some now. It's not up to me to judge the motives of other Christians, so I won't go further to answer the question.

A recent prediction is that, because of the connection between lunar eclipses and the Jewish festivals, great events, most likely the return of Christ, are imminent. This has been proposed by a Mark Biltz, and also by TV preacher John Hagee. Perhaps. If you do a Google search for "Biltz blood moon," as I did, you will find that there are some people who believe Biltz and Hagee on this matter, and some who don't. In fact, the first web site that came up was a site that said it debunked Biltz's theory about the eclipses and End Times.

I looked at Answers in Genesis, a ministry that, whatever its faults, is steadfast in its belief in the Bible as the word of God. A scientist who writes for their web site has an article, casting considerable doubt on the blood moon prediction, and explaining, in terms understandable by lay people, what causes so-called blood moons. I recommend that anyone interested in this subject read that article.

Thanks for reading! I thank one of my introductory biology students for bringing this topic to my attention.

*    *    *    *    *
Added September 23, 2015: Mr. Hagee is predicting that something important is about to happen, involving Israel, associated with the current tetrad of "blood moons." He mentions September 28, in particular. Perhaps he is right, perhaps not.

You may want to look at the most negative reviews of Mr. Hagee's book, Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change. (The first review, and the majority of other reviews on Amazon, are very positive, but the rest of them from that link aren't positive at all, citing errors, such as in the book's use of history, and scriptural problems, as well.)

How insignificant humans are!

Leonard Pitts, columnist for the Miami Herald, has written a splendid column about, of all things, the Titanic. Yes, the ship that sunk. There is a re-make of a movie about it, showing in theaters now.

His point? We thought the Titanic was unsinkable. Even God could not sink it, they said. We thought we had it made. But we were wrong, 100 years ago, and we'd better not get to feeling too proud now. Even the Titanic was just a dot in an enormous ocean, an ocean so much older than the Titanic that we can scarcely imagine it.

Pitts doesn't mention it, but the building of the tower of Babel comes to mind. According to the story in Genesis, the builders had far too much appreciation for their own ability. Disaster struck. Pitts doesn't mention climate change, either, but that's just one place that the next disaster we aren't prepared for may come from. Or it may come from our dependence on the all-too-vulnerable North American power grid, from the European (and US) debt crisis, from Iran or North Korea starting a nuclear war, from disease germs becoming resistant to antibiotics, or from any one of a number of things I haven't thought of, or, of course, from the Second Coming. But a disaster will come. And we won't be ready, no matter how smart and well off we think we are.

We are recently evolved (or created, or both) inhabitants of a small planet around an ordinary sun in an ordinary galaxy, a very small spot, in time and space, in the grand scheme of things, and we forget that at our peril.

Thanks for reading!

The rapture?

Many Christians believe in a rapture, a time when Christians who are alive will be suddenly removed from the earth. Not all Christians do, however, and there are differences as to the expected timing and mode of the rapture among those who do believe in one.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 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 tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way 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 God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (World English Bible, public domain)

Where does this belief come from? Is that word, rapture, in the Bible? The main, perhaps the only source, is 1 Thessalonians 4:17, given above, which doesn't actually use the word, rapture. The Blueletter Bible gives a number of translations of the verse, here, none of which have this word. The Latin Vulgate uses rapiemur, and, as I understand it, rapture is derived from that Latin word. There's a Wikimedia entry on rapiemur. The Wiktionary entry on rapture supports that, and also indicates that rapture, in English, has another, more common meaning, namely extreme pleasure.

One apparent teaching of the passage above is that the return of Christ will not be like many have portrayed it. There is a common belief about that return, namely that it will be stealthy -- those left behind will not realize what happened to believers. They will just disappear. But that idea is not suggested by the passage above. On the contrary, it seems that Christ's return will be widely recognized.

Some Bible scholars believe that the passage quoted above is a prophecy about the once and only return of Christ. They reject the idea that He will come once, for the church, and then return again to judge.

Here's the Blueletter Bible's Greek lexicon listing for apantesis, which means to meet one. There are four instances in the New Testament, in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and also in Matthew 25:1 and 6, and Acts 28:15.

At least one writer believes that apantesis, based on the other uses in the New Testament, means that 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is describing going up to meet Christ, and then coming down with him. Here's Matthew 25:1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. . . . In this case, apantesis seems to mean meeting, with the expectation of coming back with the person met.  So it's a welcoming committee, not an escape, in Matthew. I'm not sure that that rules out meeting someone, and then leaving, but it casts some doubt on that idea.

That same writer, basing his argument on Matthew 24, where Jesus indicates that His return will be like the sudden coming of the Flood, in the time of Noah, says that those taken by the Flood were not Noah's family, but the evil people who rejected Noah's teaching. That is true, but not everyone agrees that that means that evil people, who rejected Christ, will be taken away when He comes, and believers will be left behind.

I'm not going to solve the arguments about end times in this post, of course. The important thing about Christ's return, whenever and however it occurs, is to be ready. Thanks for reading. Be ready!

Christ's coming, or heaven? Paul's letters to the Thessalonians

All the passages in Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, which are about heaven, or the second coming, are given below:

1 Thessalonians 1:9b how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 For you are our glory and our joy.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you; 12 and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you, 13 to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. 4 But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5 You are all children of light, and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness, 6 so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober.

2 Thessalonians 1:5 This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you also suffer. 6 Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 giving vengeance to those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus, 9 who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. 5 Don’t you remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The passages above were taken from the World English Bible, which is public domain. I have quoted all the passages, in Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, that refer to either heaven, or the second coming of Christ. The only use of "heaven" that I found was as the location from which Christ will return to earth. There are, as you can see, abundant references to the return of Christ. I guess that somewhere between a third and a half of these two short books deal with that subject.

This post was triggered by a comment, by someone, on the books, saying that the Second Coming was an important theme of both of them. It is. However, one thing that struck me is that, at least in the circles in which I move and read and listen, we emphasize heaven much more than the Second Coming, and, I fear, we talk about heaven as if it were an extended vacation, or an escape from hell, rather than as if it were an opportunity to be with the Risen Lord. That wasn't the attitude of the New Testament writers. God help me, and us.

Thanks for reading.

Prayers in the Bible: John prays for Christ's return

The most important parts of a book, story, essay, and the like are often the beginning and the end. I'm not sure that that's quite true of the Bible, as the beginning and the end don't say much about Christ's life, ministry, death and resurrection. But the beginning, setting forth a powerful God as creator, is important. So is the ending. The next to last verse in the Bible says, in part: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (World English Bible, Revelation 22:20b)

A lot of what is in Revelation isn't clear. But this seems quite clear. John, the same John who was one of Christ's closest followers, prayed for His return. So should we!

A group of Christians (I hope) declared that yesterday was the beginning of Christ's second coming -- that "the Bible guarantees" that that would occur on May 21st, 2011. If you are reading this, presumably that didn't happen. (Here's more on their claim.) Many Christians agree with me that such predictions are, at best, foolish, but about one thing we should be agreed -- we should work for, and pray for, Christ's return.

Thanks for reading. This is part of a series on prayer. The previous post is here.

Sunspots 314

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Humor: Wired reports on a professor's attempt to classify all jokes (A Venn diagram is included). Seriously.

Science: Robots may be subject to selection for  unselfishness, according to  a report in  ScienceNow.

Christianity:  Henry Neufeld on the Second Coming: "The fact is that we’ve been proclaiming 'soon,' in the [sense] of 'just around the corner' for so long, that it no longer sounds very convincing."

Image source (public domain)

May 21, the end of the world? I don't think so.

In the spring of 2011, I discovered that there is an enthusiastic, but misguided, group of Christians (I hope they are such) led by one Harold Camping, who proclaimed that the second coming of Christ was scheduled for May 21st of that year, on billboards, apparently throughout the country. The billboards said that the Bible predicted Christ's return at that time. That was wrong. Camping has since recanted, saying that his prediction was a sin. (This paragraph was redone in early in January 2013. The rest of the post is almost as it was originally published on April 2011, except for two editorial changes.)

Well, I don't think so. Or, if judgment day does happen on May 21st, it won't be because these predictions are accurate. Why do I say so? First, because Matthew 24:36 says that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ's return.

Second, because the calendar Camping presented is based on a number of assumptions, all of them questionable.

For example, they state that the Flood of Noah's time occurred in 4990 BC. (Ussher's chronology, which had its own set of dubious assumptions, but is still found in some Bibles, claimed that the creation of the earth was in 4004 BC.) They further state that Peter's statement, in 2 Peter3:8, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, is to be taken exactly literally. It seems more likely that Peter was simply saying that God's time is not the same as ours, not that one can substitute 1,000 years for a 24-hour period. But that's what they do. They further claim that, in Genesis 7, when God told Noah that in seven days it would rain on the earth, He also meant that in seven thousand years the judgment would occur. Huh? Really? But that's how they come up with the 2011 date. (There is, they say, a 1 year adjustment needed, because of the way a calendar was constructed. Allowing for that, 4990 + 2010 = 7000)

There are also assumptions about eschatology. Christians hold to a number of views about these matters, perhaps all of them at least partially incorrect. But two popular aspects of these views are a tribulation and a millennium. Since those who predict that judgment will be next month also claim that the earth will be destroyed in October, there doesn't seem to be room for either a tribulation or a millennium in their calendar.

Christ will return. I don't know when. I should be ready when He does, or when I die.

Why do people do these things?

Thanks for reading.

"No more sea" -- is John the Revelator telling the whole story?

John begins his description of the new heavens and new earth with this statement: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Revelation 21:1, KJV) This verse has intrigued me for a long time. Is God really going to create a new habitation for humans without the watery environment that covers three-quarters of the earth? If so, why?

I cannot read God's mind, of course. I am also aware that interpreting Revelation is a tricky business. But it sounds as if John meant exactly what he said, and perhaps he did. Possibly there will be no sea, no waves, no tides, no whales, no plankton, no kelp, no sea horses, no sponges in (or around?) the new habitation of mankind with the heavenly beings.

This has always (dare I say it?) disappointed me. I like the ocean, and ocean life. Some have suggested that John wrote this because he was imprisoned on an island, with no escape, surrounded by the sea. But would God allow his Word to be so influenced by the dislike of one man? I doubt it. I just don't know why that verse is in Revelation.

The Old Testament has a couple of passages that seem to modify the picture of a new, sea-less cosmos. One of these is Genesis 1. In verse 10, Genesis says: God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (ESV)

In verses 20-23, it says: 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. (ESV) The description of the fifth day (whatever a day is, in this context) concludes, also, with the phrase about God seeing what he had created as good. So the sea, and the creatures in it, were originally declared to be good.

I recently found another passage that seems to relate, namely Ezekiel 47:6-12:

6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;* when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. 9 And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (ESV) *a text note says that the sea in question is the Dead Sea.
So, in this passage, apparently also describing the way things will be after Christ's second coming -- and, also, as prophecy, tricky to interpret -- there will be a sea, with water-dwelling creatures in it.

The Blueletter Bible has commentaries. Two of them bear on this verse. David Guzik says that, to the Hebrews, the sea represented evil, or God's enemies, and cites Psalm 89:9 and Isaiah 57:20 as proof of this. He also says that the sea has already appeared in Revelation, in 13:1, where the beast comes from the sea, and 20:13, as a place holding the dead. A. R. Fausset says this: The sea is the type of perpetual unrest. Hence our Lord rebukes it as an unruly hostile troubler of His people. . . . As the physical corresponds to the spiritual and moral world, so the absence of sea, after the metamorphosis of the earth by fire, answers to the unruffled state of solid peace which shall then prevail.

If I understand them correctly (and they understand Revelation correctly) John was not speaking literally. Based on the probable symbolic use of the sea by John, on its original goodness, and Ezekiel's statements about the Dead Sea, perhaps there will be some sort of sea in the new heavens and new earth. We'll see, I hope.

Thanks for reading.

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See this post for more on this topic.

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Added February 2, 2015:

In this post, Bible scholar John Walton says, about the Final Kingdom, ". . . there’ll be no sea, which is the place of non-order in the ancient world.

Added November 18, 2015:

In this post, Tim Reddish writes about disorder and order (he agrees with Walton) in the ancient world, and claims that God left chaos in the created world on purpose.