Patient Endurance

Posted on October 4, 2021 by wamplerp

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Whoever has ears, let them hear. “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. – Revelation 13:1‭-‬10

The dragon, aka Satan, is spreading mishap and mayhem in today’s passage. This time he has help from a “beast” with “ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” This “beast” is clearly outside of our common experience and the author can only compare it to creatures here on earth like a leopard, a bear, or a lion. This may be because the appearance of this beast was beyond the ability of the author to describe in earthly terms. My sense is that this “beast” is in fact a spiritual entity, or entities, that may inhabit and earthly vessel, but their spiritual form is on some level indescribable.

This is born out by the next part of the passage when one of the beast’s heads is described as having “had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.” Now it is possible that the “beast” is otherworldly in appearance and the people follow it anyway, but the sense I get is that the outer appearance of this “beast” is human and looks like any other person except for this mysterious head wound that has been healed. The spiritual appearance of this beast is what is unlike other humans, but that is only visible to those with spiritual eyes to see this beast’s true form. This beast was apparently a gifted orator, he was given proud words and blasphemed against God for 42 months. I am not sure why the time is specific as it was in yesterday’s passage about spiritual skirmishes.

The beast was also apparently given great power over earthly events, “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation”. This is interesting and also disturbing. From an earthly perspective this beast is given the ability to conquer God’s holy people. This means to me that the earthly vessels in which our souls reside will be subject to some of the mayhem that the beast is engaging in on earth. There will be impacts to our secular existence, but that need not impact our eternal souls. It sounds like it will be difficult to avoid the reign of this terrestrial tyrant “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast”.

Those that have prepared their metaphysical muscles, and remain faithful amidst this spiritual squall, will be fine, but “all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” will not be so fortunate. The tricky part of this passage comes near the end when it says “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” I take this to mean that God’s people will be subject to persecution and even death at this time. Their souls are secure but from on earthly perspective it will look like they are lost and God has forgotten them. Just like it probably appeared to the followers of Jesus He was crucified, but only those followers who stopped seeking failed to find Jesus after He was crucified and resurrected.

This sounds like a disheartening and discouraging time for God followers. It will seem from an earthly perspective that Satan has won this battle. The author acknowledges that this will be hard and “calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.” There will be many that want to give up and transfer their allegiance to “the beast”. I am sure He will be only to happy to accept it and perhaps even provide earthly rewards for those that denounce the Lamb. It will take great spiritual maturity and muscles gained through hard seeking to survive this ontological onslaught.

So what is the take home message from this tale of trials and testing? We had better pay attention to the strength of our souls rather than focus on the health and comfort of our bodies. As I reflected a few days ago, we do not have a soul, we are a soul, we have a body. Better to tend to our soul than our body.

Prayer: God help us to attend to the strength of our souls just as often as we care for comfort of our bodies.

Posted in Angels, Christianity, Conflict, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Heaven, Judgement, Revelation, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged | Leave a comment

Spiritual Skirmishes

Posted on October 3, 2021 by wamplerp
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman clothed with the sun
by William Blake (1805 – 1810)

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. – Revelation 12:1-‬17

This passage begins with fantastic imagery of a woman with child and a red dragon. It is not so clear who the pregnant woman is in this story, unless it is referring in some time-bending way to Mary who gave birth to Jesus. More on this later… This woman is described as being “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” She gives birth to a male child that is/was immediately taken up into Heaven to reside next to God. The woman is/was sent into the wilderness on earth for a strangely specific 1,260 days, roughly 3.5 years. This event triggers some sort of spiritual skirmish between the powers of darkness and God’s angels and followers.

The war of the worlds, which has up to this point been taking place on earth. It is about to expand into the heavens. I assume this means in the spiritual realm, but that is unclear. It involves Michael and his angels fighting what is described as a dragon and his angels. It turns out this dragon is actually the “ancient serpent” also called the devil or Satan. There seems to be some sort of “time bending” going here. I am somewhat confused by the timing and events. It is not clear to me if this passage is describing a past event that resulted in Satan taking over the earth or if this is a future battle. Perhaps both? Maybe this in another example of the author attempting to describe the indescribable. Events that take place in the spiritual realm that are potentially outside of our linear time domain. I do not know.

God shows up with “the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah”. God’s triumphs over the accuser that rules the earth, Satan, the “accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night”. God ultimately is triumphant over him “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. Jesus’ love for us, including His sacrifice and resurrection, combined with the witness of faithful followers, have resulted in the defeat of the accuser. This is the essence of the Gospel as shared by Jesus and His disciples. He came to provide forgiveness and grace for all of us through His blood and sacrifice. Those who choose to accept this forgiveness and grace are participating in the overthrow of Satan in their lives, and in some sense Satan’s exile from the earth. It is not clear if this exile is from the physical earth or the spiritual space where our souls reside.

The followers being referred to here were attending to the care and feeding of their souls rather than their earthly vessels “they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death”. They were frequent visitors to God’s gym to bulk up their souls so they would be ready for this challenge. Their choices to accept the blood of the Lamb and attend to their eternal souls on earth have prepared them to be present in Heaven. Satan on the other hand is angry and taking it out on the earth and those still dwelling there “But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

Satan pursues the woman who has given birth to a male child in the beginning of the passage and she is given eagles wings and hidden from him on earth. Satan pursues her and spews forth water like a river out of his mouth “to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.” Water, the substance that Jesus used to refer to Himself (Living Water), is being used by Satan to overtake and harm the woman. Fortunately God is bigger than Satan and his plans. God uses the earth to foil Satan’s plan “the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth”. This is a fantastic and complex vision which I am sure holds meaning that I am missing. Many deep pools and undercurrents here that one could spend many days exploring, but alas I need to head on down river so I will be content to look back and wonder.

In the end the Dragon, Satan, gives up his single-minded pursuit of the woman and “went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” This part of the passage almost sounds like the woman is the mother of many like Eve is described in Genesis. The temporal tapestry presented here is very confusing. So many questions. Who is the woman? Who is the male child? How do these events relate to Jesus and His arrival as a Godly condensate on earth? Is this passage describing a past, present, or future set of events? Reading a passage like this makes me feel like a land dweller reading a sea creature’s stories. I feel like my material mind has no context or container for these metaphysical mysteries.

Prayer: God help us to understand, or at least accept, the mysteries of the metaphysical until the time when our souls can see and understand them.

Posted in Angels, Christianity, Conflict, Death and Dying, Discipleship, eternal life, Following God, Forgiveness, God's Love for Us, Jesus, Messiah, Prophecy, Redemption, Revelation, Satan, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged | 2 Comments

Soul Size Matters

Posted on October 2, 2021 by wamplerp
Last Judgement by William Blake (1808)

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm. – Revelation 11:16‭-‬19

Today’s passage begins with twenty-four elders on their faces worshiping God and ends with a severe hailstorm. The elders are giving thanks to the Lord God almighty, the One who is and who was, The Alpha and the Omega. They are doing this because God has shown His great power and begun to reign, presumably through things like resurrecting the two prophets in yesterday’s post. The spiritual battle between worlds has been raging for some time now and it is a chaotic and cataclysmic time on earth.

Apparently this is “judgement day”. The time when the dead will be judged and the prophets, and those who revere God’s name, will be rewarded for their efforts in sharing the truth of God. This is an interesting list for sure. Since God is outside of time itself the meaning of “judging the dead” is complicated. We as humans can point to a time when a body dies. What we can’t know, or perhaps understand, is what happens after we die to our souls. Are we then outside time like God? Do we immediately arrive at this “judgement day”? I do not know.

George MacDonald in his 1867 book entitled “Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood,” wrote “They ought to be taught that they have bodies; and that their bodies die; while they themselves live on … that we talk as if we POSSESSED souls, instead of BEING souls.” C.S. Lewis was fond of paraphrasing this quote and the concept with “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” I take the meaning of “judging the dead” to be speaking God relating soul to soul with those whose bodies are no longer their primary dwelling place – they have died. In “Letters to Malcolm,” C.S. Lewis wrote, “At present we tend to think of the soul as somehow ‘inside’ the body. But the glorified body of the resurrection as I conceive it – the sensuous life raised from its death – will be inside the soul.”. This inversion of the secular and the spiritual is something outside our experience and perhaps our understanding.

I find it interesting that the passage is specific about God rewarding those who revere His name “both great and small”. The size of our souls matters. Soul “size” has little to do with the outward appearances of our bodies. It is what is on the inside that ultimately determines our spiritual “size” not the material manifestations of success of this world. If we have an obsession with oblivion then that is we feed and nourish at the expense of our souls.

It is also interesting that God also has special judgment for “those who destroy the earth.” This may be referring to the powers that have been have been unleashed to wreak havoc through meteors and earthquakes, but I also wonder if there is a reminder here that we are meant to protect God’s creation and not destroy it. I am not arguing for placing an unhealthy focus on the environment at the expense of our souls, but rather a healthy respect and desire to protect the beautiful things of this world that God Himself conceptualized and created.

The finally is the opening of God’s temple. An event which is accompanied by all manner of earthly events “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm”. I am not sure why this display of power is needed, but I am sure it would get the attention of those present. Perhaps this is a tangible demonstration that in the end God does rule both domains, the spiritual and the secular. He has allowed the earth to be ruled by the dark one for a time and that time is now ending. In the end God wins.

Prayer: God help us to remember that it is the size of our soul, and its connection with you, that matters.

Posted in Angels, atonement, Christianity, Death and Dying, Discernment, eternal life, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Judgement, Redemption, Revelation | Tagged | 7 Comments

Allegiances

Posted on October 1, 2021 by wamplerp
Wicked witch of the West killed by Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz

Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon. – Revelation 11:7‭-‬14

Today’s passage is really connected to yesterday’s passage about metaphysical measurements. The two people standing watch over the measurements and the temple are attacked by the “beast from the abyss”. He overpowers and kills them. Their bodies lie in a city which sounds like Jerusalem, the city where Jesus was crucified. This city is also figuratively called Sodom and Egypt. Sodom was a city of profound disobedience and sin toward God, while Egypt was a place of enslavement and toil for gods not their own. It is interesting that Jerusalem will be spoken of in this way. I am not sure what to make of it, but it does seem that there will be serious problems in that city, both secular and spiritual.

For three and a half days the two prophets killed by the beast will lie in the public square for all to see. It sounds like people from all nations and walks of life will mock and disrespect their bodies in this public setting, refusing them burial. They will even go so far as to send one another gifts. This scene reminds me a bit of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy’s house kills the wicked witch and the people of Oz rejoice that the wicked witch is dead. Of course this account is turned upside down. Almost as if Dorothy’s house had fallen on the “good witch” and the people had rejoiced at her killing so they could be free to follow the wicked witch. Rather an odd picture is it not?

The picture here is equally odd. These two murdered prophets are trying to get people’s attention so they could find God amidst the chaos and confusion that was reigning on earth at time. After three days the “breath of God” allowed these two prophets to live again in their bodies. This probably came as quite a surprise to the people who were busy celebrating and congratulating one another about their passing, “terror struck those who saw them”. Instead of marshaling magical monkeys as the wicked witch did these prophets simply hear the voice of God say “come up here”. Simple and to the point. Time to leave that place and be with Me.

They are lifted on a cloud to heaven while all the onlookers watched, probably filled with mixed emotions. I suspect for many of these people they realized for the first time the injustice that they had encouraged, approved, and were in fact celebrating. I imagine that many people that looked on as Jesus was crucified had similar feeling when they heard that He had risen from the dead. A sense that one has bet on the wrong horse, but it is too late to recover the bet.

The rising of these two prophets is accompanied by an earthly event, an earthquake. This earthquake kills seven thousand people. Based on other earthquakes with similar death tolls perhaps a magnitude 7 or 8 on the Richter scale. This event caused many to reassess their prior allegiances and many survivors “gave glory to the God of heaven”. This was the second woe with more to come.

So the core issue here is allegiances and where we place our trust. Do we place our trust in God or something or someone else? If we ally ourselves with earthly things and people they are all we have to rely upon when things are difficult here in this land of Oblivion, but if we have a clear conscience toward God and give Him our allegiance we will be able to weather the spiritual squalls to come. I am confident that in the end God does win just as He did here. It is on us to choose wisely before it gets this bad and costly.

Prayer: God help us to place our allegiance in You in good times and bad times so when bad times come we are prepared and ready.

Posted in Born again, Christianity, Conflict, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, eternal life, Following God, Free Will, God's Love for Us, Heaven, Jesus, Miracles, Revelation, The Earthly Realm, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged | 2 Comments

Metaphysical Measurements

Posted on September 29, 2021 by wamplerp
Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. – Revelation 11:1‭-‬6

Well as anticipated Revelations is hard and feels like a continuous series of class IV rapids. Anyone who has ever rafted knows that a few nice rapids can be exiting and exhilarating, but if there are too many all packed together they can transform into tiresome tasks. That is how I am feeling about the passages in Revelations at the moment. The catastrophes unleashed by the seven angels are both confusing and, at times, downright depressing as they describe this future “war of worlds“.

Today’s passage is a bit of a breather from yesterday’s mysteries and mayhem. The author is given a seemingly innocuous measuring rod to “measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers”. Why this sudden focus on cubits? One typically measures something because they want to know its size. Of course that would be if one were measuring a physical object. I am not sure how one would measure a spiritual object. The closest thing would be when we “take the measure” of someone. I am a big Mary Poppins fan and I used to watch the movie all the time as a child. Mary Poppins uses a mystical measuring tape to take the measure of Jane and Michael Banks. She determines not their physical size but that Michael was “Extremely stubborn and suspicious”; and Jane was “Rather inclined to giggle. Doesn’t put things away.”

Mary Poppin’s measurements, and those taking place in this passage, are metaphysical measurements of things unseen – surveys of the soul. One cannot simply count heads to determine who is a worshiper of God. This is true in this passage just as much as it is true in the pews of a church. We do not have the ability to see into souls the way that God does. Nevertheless the author of Revelations has been given the task of “measuring” the immeasurable, just as in many ways they have the task of describing the indescribable.

A distinction is made between the temple of God and the altar; and the “outer court” which is reserved for the gentiles. This sort of distinction would seem to be part of the old system of approaching God rather than the new access provided by Jesus. It seems these “gentiles” are not very sensitive to old traditions and ways and “trample on the holy city for 42 months”. Some sort of guardians are placed to stand guard over the holy city. These guards apparently have power to “stand before the Lord of the earth.” Sort of like a neighborhood watch for souls struggling to survive these spiritual squalls.

These guardians also “have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying”. This is an interesting detail. It could be describing a physical lack of rain and drought that will impact the land, but it could also be alluding to some sort of spiritual disconnection from the Father of the Rain, God. They also have the power to “turn the waters into blood”. I am not sure why these two are given this power and what this really means. My sense from the Gospels is that we all have access to the spring of Living Water that Jesus provides and there is no power that can take that away from those who choose it. Perhaps this section is describing physical events and there is no intended spiritual meaning. I do not know.

I am also not sure what the deeper take home meaning is here. Maybe that the measure of our lives is fundamentally spiritual and other ways that we find and measure our worth are meaningless in the end. Whether we are short or tall, smart or stupid, thin or fat, plain or beautiful matters little in the final analysis and when we meet God. He will be measuring our souls using a metaphysical measuring tape.

Prayer: God help us to focus on the dimensions of our souls rather than earthly measures of our worth.

Posted in Christianity, Discernment, Discipleship, eternal life, Following God, Forgiveness, Prophecy, Revelation, The Earthly Realm, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged | 1 Comment

One Foot on Land and One Foot at Sea

Posted on September 26, 2021 by wamplerp
The Seventh Plague by John Martin

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” – Revelation 10:1‭-‬11

The last few passages have focused on the seven angels of the apocalypse.  This passage sees the arrival of the seventh angel from heaven.  In trying to describe this angel the author is once again trying to describe the indescribable. The angel is robed in a cloud, has a rainbow above his head, a face like the sun, legs like pillars of fire, and roaring like a lion.  This angel “lands” with one foot on land and one foot in the sea.  This description, like others so far in revelation, is oddly reminiscent of Ezekiel’s visions.

I don’t want to sound blasphemous or discount the miraculous and metaphysical, but this description sounds like the arrival of an extraterrestrial entity from outer space. On one level angels are extraterrestrial entities from “outer space”, or at least another space, the spiritual realm that is separated in some way from direct contact with secular world in which we live. The earth is also separated from space by what we refer to as the atmosphere which is a frontier of sorts between the earth and space.

It seems to me there are a few reasons why these descriptions seem so reminiscent of future technology and space travelers: 1) I have watched too many science fiction movies; 2) I am completely misunderstanding or misinterpreting what is being said here; 3) the author is describing something that is outside of his native realm or experience; or 4) there is some connection between what we think of as “extraterrestrials” and at least some of the biblical accounts of angels and celestial beings. Let’s take these one at a time.

I am a big science fiction genre fan. I think the reason I like these kind of movies is that they provide a glimpse of what could be an interesting and incredible future of space travel and exploration. I am convinced that if I had been born in the 1800’s I would have signed up for an expedition to explore parts of the earth that were at that time unexplored like the antarctic. I am not sure where this interest and drive comes from, but it is perhaps derived from a mixture of curiosity, love of nature and adventure, a passion for paths less taken. In some ways this blog, and my multi-year exploration of water references in the bible, is an expedition to explore the “water park” that is the bible.

As an untrained theologian the possibility that I am simply lost in a side channel here cannot be discounted. Although I prayerfully consider each of these passages I may not be listening carefully enough to the Holy Spirit. I am confident that at some point God will clarify this for me if I am in fact earnestly seeking the truth. I am sure there will be many examples as I go back and review some of the earlier parts of the journey where my knowledge and spiritual maturity might lead to different conclusions and interpretations. I am sure the same holds with this passage.

Although the first two contribute it is the third possibility I think is really interesting – the author is describing something that is outside of his native realm or experience. The analogy that comes to mind for me is that of aquatic organism like a fish that spends their whole lives in a different realm and medium than us land dwellers. If a fish were to look toward events on land they would undoubtedly have a difficult time interpreting, understanding, and describing them. Even something as simple and straightforward as walking on two legs would undoubtedly seem confusing, fantastic, and “other worldly”. The fish might struggle to find the words to describe this action of moving across the land. Where are their fins? Why is their movement so jerky and chaotic? What are those long appendages sticking out of their bodies? How do they breath? The spiritual realm in which these angel reside is equally foreign to us earthbound cave dwellers, some amount of confusion and difficulty describing it should be expected.

The fourth possibility is the really heretical one. Is there a chance that some of the celestial beings described here, and at other points in the bible, are in fact what have been described by others and elsewhere as “extraterrestrial aliens” and the spacecrafts that they travel in to reach earth. This idea is not new and has been invoked to explain everything from the statues on Easter Island to the pyramids at Giza, Egypt. Let me be clear here – God is at the center of my understanding of our existence and it is through God that truth and understanding will come. I am not saying that the bible is a work of fiction and these difficult descriptions are science fiction stories. I am merely wondering if there is some connection between our societal stories, biblical accounts of confusing celestial beings, and the way we perceive and understand the spiritual realm. This is deep water to be sure and I humbly submit this idea to God for correction.

The remainder of the passage describes a scroll and a revelation given by “the seven thunders” that the author is given that is not to be shared in writing, “in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Apparently, there will be a revealing of at least some of the mysteries here. The passage then ends with this odd command to eat the scroll. It is sweet in the author’s mouth but turns sour in his stomach. I am not sure what to make of this. Perhaps it is an allusion to the “digestibility” of the spiritual realm while we are inhabiting our earthly bodies. I do not know.

The angel in this passage has one foot on land and one in the sea. He has one foot in the spiritual and one foot in the secular. It is this spanning of the two realms that allow the author to see something that is both awesome and confusing.

Prayer: God give us eyes to see and understanding of things that are part of the spiritual realm.

Posted in Angels, Christianity, Death and Dying, Following God, Miracles, Prophecy, Revelation, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged | 4 Comments

War of the Worlds

Posted on September 25, 2021 by wamplerp
Illustration by Grahame Baker-Smith from The Folio Society edition of The World of The Worlds by H.G. Wells

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
Revelation 9:1-‬16

Angels killing mankind? Class V rapids warning – grab the gunnel and ready the paddles we are headed for some wild water.  The fourth and fifth angels have unleashed their wrath and now we come to the sixth.  The fourth angel was really connected to the arrival of Wormwood and the cascading catastrophes associated with that extraterrestrial arrival.

Apparently the next three angel trumpet blasts will be even worse than the first four “As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (Revelation 8:13).  The calamities up to this point have been horrible but external.  It is about to get individual and personal for those not possessing God’s seal.

The fifth angel’s trumpet blast heralds the arrival of what is described as “a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. This part seems oddly reminiscent of the other worldly description wheels and rushing waters in the visions of Ezekiel along the Kebar River. The creatures unleashed on the the earth and those unsealed were both interesting and terrifying “On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.”

Wow Hollywood could not devise a more terrifying invasion. It reminds me a little bit of the invasion in the movie “War of the Worlds”. Although I think in most versions of that movie the aliens dispatch their victims rather quickly rather than with a five month torment. This description in consistent with how a person of the authors time might view technology that we have today drones, especially the details like a breastplate of iron, wings sounding like rushing chariots, crowns of gold on their heads, and tails of torment like scorpion tails. This may totally be mythical creatures but it sure sounds like there is a mechanistic component here. On to the sixth angel…

The sixth angel blows his horn and the “four horns” around the altar instruct the sixth angel to “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” I am not sure why there are four angels except perhaps to symbolize the cardinal directions E, W, N, and S. There is a sense that although they are being unleashed from a specific geographic location, the Euphrates River, this will spread in every direction and touch the lives of all those that are not sealed by God. I find it interesting that the ending of mankind is near the beginning of mankind, the garden of Eden, as described in Genesis.

Apparently these four angels will command armies to do their killing work “And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.” Doing the math that sounds like 200,000,000 million mounted troops. That would be a truly awesome army. I am left wondering if these troops are really something mechanistic that was released and the closest thing that the author could relate to was a “mounted soldier”. I could be totally wrong here, but I do find the language interesting and curious.

So what can we take from this terrifying account of scorpion tales and metaphysical mayhem? The events being described here could be an attempt to describe the indescribable spiritual world that our souls will experience someday. The “war of the worlds” in that case would be between the secular and the spiritual realms. The collision between these two worlds would, from our earthly perspective, undoubtedly seem fantastic and terrifying. The take home for me is that we should keep our focus on the window between these worlds, Jesus. We should have hungry and thirsty souls seeking to know and be known by God, and washed clean by the lamb of God before this collision of worlds happens.

Prayer: God help us to focus on preparing our souls and hearts to be with You so that when the time comes we will not have to endure the anguish of Armageddon without You.

Posted in Christianity, Conflict, Death and Dying, Following God, God's Love for Us, Jesus, Prophecy, Revelation, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged | 7 Comments

Wormwood and Bitter Waters

Posted on September 24, 2021 by wamplerp

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. – Revelation 8:6‭-‬11.

Armageddon, the end of the world, hail and blood, meteors as big as mountains raining from the sky. This is calamity and disaster on a scale never witnessed by humans.

The dinosaurs apparently met their demise at the hands of a mountain-sized meteor that struck near the Yucatan Peninsula about 65-66 million years ago ending the Mesozoic Period and the future of most large dinosaurs. The collision and subsequent ecosystem collapse is quite similar to some of the events described in this passage.

The calamities begin with the first trumpet being sounded and “a rain of hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth”. Hail I get. It has shown up before as a divine judgement. Large chunks of ice falling from the sky would get one’s attention.

The fire mixed with blood is less clear. Perhaps it is metaphorical rather than meteorological. I do not know. From a scientific perspective this sounds like meteorites or numerous meteor or comet fragments raining down on earth. The “blood” could have been red dust (oxidized iron) that was part of a metallic meteor that broke apart and scattered itself around the globe causing fires and “burning” trees and grass.

The second trumpet sounds and a blazing mountain is thrown into the sea. This sounds very much like the source of the previous fire and blood. A mountain of a meteor blazing as it enters Earth’s atmosphere and crashes into the ocean. The result of such an impact would be immediate vaporization of large amounts of water, a potentially massive tsunami, and widespread chemistry changes in the oceans. These would certainly give rise to the sea turning into “blood” (perhaps toxic algal blooms), creatures in the sea dying, and ships destroyed. Even a modest sized meteor or comet (>100 meters) would create this type of calamity if it impacted in the ocean. As of September 24, 2021 there were 2,212 potentially hazardous asteroids being tracked greater than 100 meters in diameter.

The third trumpet heralds the arrival of “a great star, blazing like a torch”. This “star” even has a name, Wormwood. The description here sounds like an even larger meteor or comet that will be visible for some time as it approaches earth. The “torch” would be either gasses melting off a comet as it approaches the sun or the blaze of friction as a rocky or metallic meteor enters Earth’s atmosphere.

This impact sounds like it will happen on land rather than in the ocean. It will fall on “rivers and on the springs of water”, both of which only occur on land. The water will turn bitter, meaning there will be widespread contamination of water making it undrinkable. This contamination could be a result of acid rain created by sulfur or other elements vaporized during an impact. Many will die as a result of this bitter water.

All of the events described here are completely consistent with a future encounter with several extraterrestrial objects. We know that such collisions have happened before and we know they will happen again, we just don’t know when or where the impacts will occur. We may have warning of their arrival or we may not depending on their approach direction and speed.

It strikes me that the calamitous events described here are a rapid and irreversible change to the physical world we know through the arrival of external objects. Perhaps a similar spiritual calamity occurs when our physical bodies cease to function, when we die and our souls enter the spiritual realm.

The changes our souls encounter may be even greater than the earth shattering events described here. The spiritual shattering will happen as our souls see, perhaps for the first time, the “real” world we have been living in here on earth. Our ability to cope with this transition may be impacted by the attention we have given, during our earthly existence, to the eternal so that when the end to our earthly life arrives we are spiritually prepared.

Prayer: God help us to attend to the eternal in our lives so that when the end to our earthly life arrives we are spiritually prepared.

Posted in Christianity, Conflict, Death and Dying, eternal life, Following God, Heaven, Prophecy, Revelation, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hungry and Thirsty Souls

Posted on September 23, 2021 by wamplerp

Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” – Revelation 7:13‭-‬17

It is interesting that the elders asked the author about the people in white robes. Perhaps it was a rhetorical question intended to provoke reflection in the author. The author answers in a way that suggests he is thinking what I am thinking, “sir you know…These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” So basically they are the ones who have forded the great river and are now on the other side with “the lamb” who has helped them cross over and made them clean with his own blood. This “robe washing” is unlike any earthly endeavor and includes a spiritual spin cycle for the soul.

These ones who have been washed clean by the lamb are 1) before the throne of God, 2) they serve Him day and night in his temple; and 3) they are sheltered by God’s presence. The first item on the list is pretty straightforward although for a Jewish listener potentially blasphemous that we could site in God’s presence. That is what the arrival of Jesus was all about; sitting in God’s presence, whether it was along the lake or beside a cross He was there – Emmanuel – God with us.

The second part, about serving Him day and night, riled the rebellious sheep in me a bit. I have always been a bit of a doer and it is hard for me to imagine focusing 100% of me on God and His needs. Perhaps that is the point. In reality His needs include loving us so it should not be so much to ask to love and serve Him in return. I don’t think this means a zombie-like devotion with no heart or soul. I am thinking this is more like the way we would lovingly serve and care for an aging parent who needs our help. Not that God needs that sort of help from us, but He needs us to be willing to provide it for Him nonetheless. Most of us would do this without question. The payoff for our devotion and service is protection.

The last item on the list is shelter from all those things that tend to separate and distract us from being able to be in God’s presence here on earth like hunger, thirst, the sun beating down on our shoulders, and scorching heat. All of these are part of our toil here on earth and things that can distract us from the larger spiritual world around us where God dwells. We will be cared for my the Lamb who is also a Shepherd. He will “lead them to springs of living water….and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Wow what a beautiful picture of the care that we can look forward to if we allow our robes to be washed clean by Jesus. The Spring of Living Water is Jesus and it is at this spring we can have true refreshment and get truly clean. So not only will be be made clean and new but the tears will be wiped from our eyes. I take this to mean that all the messiness that we worked through here on earth will be washing away with the Living Water and the tears. We will be new creations free of this spiritual baggage. We will be ready to be the sheep that are content to rest beside quiet waters and allow God to feed and restore our hungry and thirsty souls.

Prayer: God help us to prepare our souls and hearts to be with you with the knowledge that you will make all things new and cleanse all the messiness from our souls.

Posted in Ceremonial Cleansing, Christianity, Death and Dying, Following God, Forgiveness, God's Love for Us, Healing, Heaven, Jesus, living water, Revelation | Tagged | 3 Comments

Seals and Seas

Posted on September 21, 2021 by wamplerp
Revelation by Ronnie Landfield

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. – Revelation 7:1‭-‬4

Well we floated right by the opening of the seven seals without any water-related passages. Lots of interesting imagery, just no water. So this passage follows the scroll opening by the Lamb and the events that followed involving horses and pale riders bringing all sort of chaos and calamity upon humanity. This period of time is referred to as the “great day of wrath” (Revelations 6:17).

After all this calamity and chaos come four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. These angels were “holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree”. This is an interesting word picture. These angelic beings are preventing air from moving around the earth, i.e. wind. As I understand it wind is the result of differences in atmospheric pressure. Wind actually is an important part of a properly functioning earth. It moves gasses and water vapor around to keep the whole earth system running smoothly. The angels holding it back would result in a collapse of the earth’s normal functioning.

A fifth angel joins the scene. This angel has the seal of the living God. I am not sure what this means but this angel, instead of acting on the earth and its air movement, acted as an advocate for the servants of God. This angel asked that the wrath of the first four angels be stayed until “we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” So many seals and scrolls here in revelations. I am not sure what to make of this protection of the “chosen” of God, but apparently there were, or will be, “144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” This would seem to be at odds with the message of Jesus that there is place in Heaven for all those who confess that Jesus is Lord.

The seal of the Living God would be what Jesus had it would seem to me. He was certainly the Living Water for His disciples and served as their, and our, advocate before God. I am not sure how this “angel” relates to Jesus and His role as our advocate.

This is one of those passages where I feel like I am missing something. Why would the inclusive message of Jesus be transformed into this exclusive sealing of a limited number, 144,000, people? I do not know. Perhaps there is a difference between those still toiling the land of oblivion and those who have already crossed over into the afterlife? I am not sure. Maybe this particular message was meant mainly for wayward Jewish people still clinging to the old treasures while the new ones were slipping through their fingers?

This passage is some of the turbulent water that I anticipated I would find here in revelations. I am not sure what to make of it and I pray that as I continue down the river passages like this will make more sense.

Prayer: God help me to understand the meaning and importance of passages like this one in light of the love and Grave articulated by Jesus.

Posted in Angels, Christianity, Discipleship, Following God, God's Love for Us, Heaven, Jesus, Revelation | Tagged | 1 Comment