2 Chronicles 2:1-2, Solomon Builds the Temple
Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. He conscripted seventy thousand men as carriers and eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hills and thirty-six hundred as foremen over them.
//“Conscripted.” It means to draft, or compel, someone into service.
Where did Solomon find all these workers? 153,600 of them? I never wondered, because I had always read the story of the construction of God’s Holy Temple in the book of Kings, rather than the book of Chronicles. Reading the same story in Chronicles, though, we uncover an interesting tidbit. Want to know how many foreigners were living in Israel? That’s recorded in the book of Chronicles, too:
Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600.
Can’t be coincidence. Here we find what sounds like the greatest slave-labor project ever, the construction of the Holy Temple, using about six times as many workers as were required to build the pyramids of Giza.*
(* Note: Most scholars now believe the pyramid construction employed little or no slaves.)
Mark 11:13-14, Cursing the Fig Tree
And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
//Ever wonder why Jesus cursed the tree for not producing fruit, when it wasn’t the season for figs anyway? This seems to puzzle a lot of people, but it wouldn’t puzzle Palestinians. Because the fig tree does produce fruit before its fig season. This fruit is called phage (fah-gay) in Hebrew, and begins to appear as soon as the first leaves appear in the spring. While Mark’s story takes place before the season for sukon (Greek, meaning, ripe figs) and the fact that the tree had leaves at all indicates that it should have also had the edible preseason phage.
After Jesus visits Jerusalem, he and his entourage pass back by the fig tree, and find it withered. This is a literary technique Mark uses multiple times; he sandwiches one story inside another. In this case, his visit to Jerusalem is the time when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple. He says the merchants are making the House of God into a den of thieves … “and the scribes and chief priests heard it,” echoing the language at the end of verse 14. Clearly, Jesus ties the withering of the fruit tree to the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple forty years later, when it literally became a “den of thieves.”
Mark 13:2, Not One Stone Left Upon Another
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
//As the story goes, one of Jesus’ disciples pointed out to him the grandeur of the Temple, and Jesus responded that the day was coming when the Temple would be so thoroughly destroyed that not one stone would be left upon another. All three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) agree on this wording.
A bit later, four disciples approach Jesus and ask about when these times will be. Jesus launches into a discussion of how there will be earthquakes and wars, famine and affliction. False prophets will arise, the Abomination of Desolation will be set up. The sun and moon will be darkened, the stars will fall, heaven will be shaken. Then the Son of Man will come.
Forty years after Jesus died, in 70 A.D., the Temple fell. The Romans so leveled the Temple that not one stone stood upon another. So dramatic was this time of tribulation for the Jews, and so closely did it match the Christian prophecies, that Full Preterist Christians today believe Jesus must have returned back in the first century as promised.
But here’s the fascinating story behind the story. As the legionnaires of Rome set fire to the Temple, they suddenly discovered untold wealth within its walls. But the fire raged and the gold of the treasury began to melt. So intense was the heat that the molten gold seeped between the huge stones of the Temple. As the story goes—and I’m not entirely convinced, but many are—it was the greed of the soldiers and not their desire for revenge that caused them to dismantle the Temple. They toppled all the stones in search of gold.
Ecclesiastes 12:13, The Duty of Man
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
//As a child, I managed to memorize two verses in Ecclesiastes. Today’s verse is one of the two, from the very end of the book. The second one I memorized is at the very beginning of the book:
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
I knew nothing in between. Which is a very good thing. Have you ever read the book? It’s twelve chapters about how meaningless life is, and how every moment should therefore be cherished and enjoyed, for it’s all we have. A live dog is better than a dead lion. You only live once. Ecclesiastes is about as secular as the book of Esther.
However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Oddly, however, a little phrase has been inserted into the middle of this passage to give us pause: “But know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.” Now, where did that come from? It hardly belongs, so I pulled it out. And who added the verse at the end of the book, telling us the purpose of life? Isn’t that exactly what Ecclesiastes is not about?
Someone, it appears, has taken a secular book of advice about a life well-lived and tried to add religious meaning where none was intended. I guess that’s how Ecclesiastes made it into the Bible.
Luke 24:51, The Ascension
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and
carried up into heaven.
//What’s up with this floating up to heaven bit? Luke is the only Gospel
writer to tell of Jesus ascending. Matthew imagines no such thing,
promising instead that Jesus will remain with his followers always, “even
to the end of the age.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus appears offering peace and
encouragement after the resurrection; there’s nothing there about going
away again. Mark’s Gospel originally ended with no Jesus-sighting at all,
though sometime later, an ending was added matching Luke’s teaching.
Most Bible scholars agree that Matthew and Luke built upon the Gospel
originally written by Mark. Thus, Luke’s Gospel went one direction in its
continuation of the Markan story, Matthew’s Gospel went another direction,
and John’s Gospels can be considered largely independent of the other
three.
Today, the theology of Jesus ascending to heaven and awaiting the proper
moment to return is ingrained to the very core of Christianity. We all
look forward to the day Jesus comes back. But I want you to imagine for a
moment what direction Christianity would have taken if one of the four
Gospel writers hadn’t followed Paul’s theology and steered the Christ
story toward the idea of Jesus leaving. Imagine, as Matthew wants us to
understand, Jesus appearing after the resurrection and never again going
away.
How different would our theology be today? Would it suddenly make more
sense how the risen Jesus could be “seen” only by his disciples? How would
we imagine the resurrected Jesus, if we believed he lives with us today in
the same manner as he appeared to the twelve after his resurrection? And,
most importantly, how different would we act as Christians if we believed
Jesus already inaugurated the final age 2,000 years ago?
2 Chronicles 36:9, That Evil Child
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in
the sight of the LORD.
//Ever wonder if a child could sin? Apparently so, enough for him to be
labeled evil at age eight. Jehoiachin was a chip off the old block; his
father did evil, and the uncle who replaced him after Nebechednezzer
kidnapped him and carried him off to Babylon did evil in the sight of God.
Other prodigies may have been a bit more responsible. King Josiah, who was
also crowned at age eight, reigned for thirty one years. He did that which
was right in the sight of the Lord.
Were these the youngest kings in the Bible? Nope. Joash was seven years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem.
Joash, like Josiah, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
The lesson? If you’re gonna be king, and want to last more than a few
months, do what’s right.
Note: While most Hebrew translations say Jehoiachin was king at age eight,
one Hebrew manuscript and some Septuagint manuscripts say eighteen years in 2 Kings 24:8.
Jonah 3:3, How Big Was Nineveh?
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
//Quite a sizable city for antiquity, right? Three days, it took, to walk through Nineveh! Or so we assumed from the Bible, until excavations showed the size of Nineveh to be less than three square miles. Most of us could meander across the city in less than an hour.
But the King James Version of the Bible was translated before excavations showed Nineveh’s true size, so it rendered the original Hebrew in the most straightforward fashion.
Now that we know the truth, however, Bible translators struggle to relay this verse. The NRSV continues the original tradition: “Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.” Others rewrite the verse, guessing at what the author meant, such as this NLT rendition: “This time Jonah obeyed the LORD’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.” The NIV version tiptoes even more carefully: The 1978 version claims Nineveh was so large that “it took three days to go all through it,” but six years later, the NIV revised its interpretation of the “great city” to emphasize not how large the city was, but how important: “Now Nineveh was a very important city–a visit required three days.”
Mostly, the careful wording of each interpretation reflects a willingness or unwillingness to accept exaggeration within the scripture.
Revelation 22:2, Are We in Heaven?
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
//Big deal, eh? If I want fresh fruit in today’s world, I take a short walk to the supermarket any time of year.
Revelation promises we’ll never thirst again, never hunger again. I can’t say I’ve ever been really thirsty or really hungry in my life.
Revelation says there will be no night in heaven. Electricity has delivered on the promise.
As Lisa Miller says in Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife, “Real life has delivered on so many of the Scripture’s promises of heaven. We have glittering cities, blossoming public parks with gushing fountains, libraries filled with books in every language, and a government predicated on justice and equality for all. We have gyms and Pilates classes that keep our bodies youthful, Botox to ensure that our faces remain unlined.”
Our every desire lies before us, and all it takes is a little cash. Far from money being the root of all evil, it appears to be the currency of heaven.
Universalists may be disappointed to learn that not all people attain heaven. Jesus promised many mansions there, and at the height of the housing boom in America, nearly 70% of us lived in homes of our own, homes that would seem extravagant if compared to Bible days. But that leaves 30% still outside the pearly gates. Perhaps hell exists as well? The blessed have money, while the not-so-blessed must be atoning for the sins of a past life.
Yes, it appears heaven has arrived, yet something remains awry. In heaven, says Revelation, there will be no tears. Yet those lives enjoying heaven-like conditions seem just as fraught with tears as those dwelling in hell. Even with all our comforts, it turns out that heaven isn’t so heavenly after all.
John 14:6, Jesus, the Only Way
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
//I was asked recently what this verse means to me, given my liberal Christian stance. If liberal Christians validate other religions on equal footing, then what do we make of Jesus’ claims of exclusivity? I don’t think there’s such a thing as a “typical” liberal Christian, but I can answer this question in my own way.
First, Jesus was unique, with a powerful message of compassion punctuated by an astounding sacrifice. I live in awe of Jesus, and Christianity is my heritage. Even as I recognize that every believer in every religion lays equal claim to the mystery of God, Jesus is still the one for me.
But back to John’s claim of exclusivity. Were there other Gandhis and Martin Luther Kings 2,000 years ago? Were there other humanitarian teachers of enlightenment, of life in abundance? Or was Jesus the only way? Even if there were others, I’m not sure John (or the author of the fourth Gospel, if it wasn’t the apostle John) would have been aware of them. But even if he were, can we really fault John for his loyalty to Jesus, particularly in the arena of religion? Even today, when a person experiences the Spirit, when he feels the presence of God, he tends to proclaim his discovery in exclusive terms. “I’ve found it! The one right way to live, the way of God’s approval!” The first-century Christian claim of exclusivity seems as natural then as it is of today’s variety of religions.
John 11:47, The First Trial of Jesus
Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
//Much is made of the fact that, unlike the other three Gospels, John’s Gospel records no trial before Caiaphas, the high priest, before Jesus moves on to the court of the Romans. But I think such claimants are not reading John carefully.
Space prohibits me from covering this topic in detail, but you may find it an interesting study. Here is the Johannine version of the trial, in verses 11:47-53. Some of the Jews report the raising of Lazarus from the dead to the Pharisees, resulting in a Sanhedrin session, where the high priest, Caiaphas, decides on a course of action to put Jesus to death. As scholar Raymond E. Brown has noted, if we combine this story with chapter 10 of John, where Jesus debates with the Jews, we have a scene virtually identical to the Synoptic trial. There is even concern expressed by the Jews that the Temple would be destroyed.
The significant difference is that, in John, Jesus isn’t present at his “trial.”
Revelation 11:19, What Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
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 great hailstorm.
//In the sixth century B.C., the Babylonian empire, under King Nebuchadnezzar, sacked and plundered Jerusalem, destroying the Temple. Inside the Temple was Israel’s most holy relic: The Ark of the Covenant. But what happened to the Ark is unknown, and has been debated for centuries. If the Babylonians took it, they did so secretly, because the detailed lists they prepared of other vessels taken from the Temple contain no mention of the Ark. Some have wondered if it wasn’t burned down inside the Temple, purposefully melted to collect its gold.
Other scenarios have been proposed. According to some sources, King Josiah of the Jews learned of the coming invasion by the Babylonians and hid the Ark. One midrashic source (Maimonides, Laws of the Temple, 4:1). claims that Solomon predicted the destruction of the Temple and prepared a cave near the Dead Sea, in which King Josiah eventually hid the Ark. Another (Yoma 53b) says he dug a hole under a storehouse on the Temple Mount and buried it there. If that’s where it went, then Archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer claims to have found the most plausible spot for its burial. In the precise center of the location where his research places the Holy of Holies within the Temple is a section of bedrock cut out in the dimensions that may match those of the Ark as described in Exodus.
It’s also possible the lost Ark isn’t lost at all. The church of St. Mary of Zion, in Ethiopia, claims to have the ark in their possession. It’s carefully guarded by a monk known as the “Keeper of the Ark.” It’s location, however, is unverifiable, since only this one monk is allowed in its presence.
Today’s verse provides yet another possibility. Apparently, the ark’s location was a hot topic even 2,000 years ago. According to Revelation 11:19, all you ark hunters can give up the search. It’s already up in heaven.
Luke 23:33, The Passover Spit
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.
//Some time ago, a friend laughed when I compared Christ stretched on the cross to the Passover lamb stretched on the spit. We were discussing the Gospel of John, and John’s theology of Christ as the Lamb. In this Gospel, and this Gospel alone, Christ dies before the Passover; he does not eat a Passover meal with his followers. Rather, he dies on the cross at the moment the lambs are slaughtered in the Temple.
I wondered if the apostles, as they shared a Passover meal the next day, would have recognized the image of their master in the lamb on the spit. My friend thought my imagination was running away with me, but my idea was far from original.
It took me a while, but I found the reference I was trying to remember, from second-century apologist Justin Martyr:
The mystery, then, of the lamb which God enjoined to be sacrificed as the Passover, was a type of Christ; with whose blood, in proportion to their faith in Him, they anoint their houses, i.e., themselves, who believe on Him … and that lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb. –Justin Martyr, Dialog with Trypho
Matthew 2:23, Did Nazareth Exist?
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
//Some scholars continue to insist that there was never any such city as Nazareth in Galilee. Today’s verse, rather than bolstering the argument for Nazareth’s historic existence, is actually used to argue against it. Scholars doubt that there is any connection between the Nazarenes and the inhabitants of Nazareth; Matthew should have known better. Perhaps Matthew was trying explain the title “Jesus of Nazareth,” while knowing no such place exists?
Why is there any skepticism in the first place? Skeptics point to the fact that Joshua chapter 19 lists all the towns of the tribe of Zebulun. Nazareth isn’t listed. Josephus gives the names of 45 towns and villages in Galilee. Nazareth isn’t on his list. The Talmud names 63 towns and villages. No Nazareth. You can see why some wonder if there really was a “city called Nazareth.”
One strong argument for the historic existence of Nazareth, however, is a large 24” by 15” marble tablet containing an edict of Caesar (either Tiberius or Claudius), found in Caesarea. This artifact was uncovered in three fragments, the final third being discovered in 1962. It is known as the Nazareth inscription since it’s the first known inscription citing the name Nazareth. It contains a list of 24 priests (see 1 Chronicles 25:7-8 for these priestly orders) with their surnames and the locations of the Galilean towns where they relocated following the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.
The Nazareth inscription is actually famous for a different reason; it contains a strong polemic against tomb robbery, and is thought by some to be a countermeasure taken by Caesar himself in regards to the missing body of Jesus! Had news of the empty tomb gotten back to Rome? Why else would Caesar enforce so severe a punishment for a relatively minor crime?
Sounds a bit presumptious to me, so I’ll let you decide for yourself. Here’s the full text of the edict:
1. EDICT OF CAESAR
2. It is my decision [concerning] graves and tombs–whoever has made
3. them for the religious observances of parents, or children, or household
4. members–that these remain undisturbed forever. But if anyone legally
5. charges that another person has destroyed, or has in any manner extracted
6. those who have been buried, or has moved with wicked intent those who
7. have been buried to other places, committing a crime against them, or has
8. moved sepulcher-sealing stones, against such a person, I order that a
9. judicial tribunal be created, just as [is done] concerning the gods in
10. human religious observances, even more so will it be obligatory to treat
11. with honor those who have been entombed. You are absolutely not to
12. allow anyone to move [those who have been entombed]. But if
13. [someone does], I wish that [violator] to suffer capital punishment under
14. the title of tomb-breaker.
1 Kings 22:38, A Bloody Bath
… and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken.
//Ewww!
Did prostitutes really bathe themselves in the blood of King Ahab? Various translations reach different conclusions.
The story runs like this: God, sitting on his throne in heaven, is having trouble coming up with a plan to entice Ahab into a war that will be his demise. All the hosts of heaven are standing around the throne, bantering ideas back and forth. Finally, a “lying spirit” offers to deceive Ahab. God approves the plan, and the lying spirit makes his exit. He speaks through the mouths of Ahab’s prophets, promising Ahab victory.
Though warned that his prophets had spoken a lie, Ahab decides to enter battle anyway, cloaked in disguise. It doesn’t work; a random arrow finds him, and he spends the battle propped up in his chariot, bleeding to death, watching his army suffer defeat.
The bloody chariot is taken to Samaria, and there it is washed in a pool where prostitutes bathe. Perhaps while prostitutes bathe. The text is unclear.
Psalms 147:4, The Names of the Stars
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
//This is why mathematicians get a headache when they read the Bible. If we estimate 100 billion galaxies of 100 billion stars each, that’s a lot of stars to know by name!
They’re big names to remember, too. If you create random names from letters, half vowels and half consonants, you’ll need star names 19 letters long to name them all. And God’s calls them all by name? If he started at the beginning of the universe 13.7 billion years ago, and pronounced 2,300 19-letter star names every second, he’d be about caught up.
Now you know why it’s so hard to understand when God speaks. Nobody can listen as fast as he talks.
Genesis 3:4-5, Thou Shalt Surely Die, part II of II
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
//Two days ago, I speculated about whether God told a little white lie to Adam and Eve. Today, we hear the serpent’s opinion on the matter. God is bluffing, he promises; not only will the fruit of the tree of knowledge be delicious, it’ll open your eyes.
But did the serpent misunderstand? Perhaps God did mean a spiritual death, and the serpent was misrepresenting the spiritual promise of God, confusing the issue by speaking in terms of base, physical facts. You shall not surely die.
I grew up in a form of Christianity which encouraged abstinence from any form of religious reading other than the Bible. Such books were the work of men, not God; only the Bible is holy. But I stumbled; I ate from the tree of knowledge, and found myself outside Eden. Outside the protective fence of a belief system which shielded me from seeing the real world around me, and having to think for myself.
Did I die in that day? Yes.
But did I die in that day? No, of course not. It may be that I was born again.
Genesis 2:17, Thou Shalt Surely Die, Part I of II
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
//We all know the story. After God promised Adam he would die on the day he ate the forbidden fruit, the serpent showed up, contradicting God’s promise. “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” So Adam and Eve ate, and their eyes were opened, and nobody died.
I’m often accused of reading the bible too literally. Face value is best, unless there’s reason to think otherwise, right? God said they would die, they called God’s bluff, and nobody died. What confuses me is, why does this story need reinterpreting? Early Hebrew writers certainly found no evil in deception. On the contrary, God bestowed his blessing on several acts of deception, from Jacob deceiving his father to steal Esau’s birthright, to Jael pretending kindness before pounding a nail through Sisera’s temples as he slept.
God told a little white lie, it worked for a time until the serpent showed up and exposed the truth, and mankind fell. But by the time of the New Testament, even subtle deception seemed immoral, an activity that could never be attributed to God! Titus 1:2 even promises that God cannot lie.
So what do we do with the story of man’s downfall? We gloss it over with wordplay. We pretend God didn’t really mean “in that day,” or we pretend God meant a spiritual death, not a natural one. We ruin a great story by denying God a personality. Be honest, now: wouldn’t you find it much more interesting to meet the God that walked in the Garden, toying with his humans?
On Monday I’ll discuss another way of reading The Original Sin.
Ezekiel 8:14-15, Weeping for Tammuz
Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
Here’s a puzzle. Why is it such an abomination to sit and weep at the gates of the LORD’s house?
It isn’t that the women are weeping, it’s who they weep for. They aren’t weeping for a friend or relative; they’re partaking in a widespread annual ritual, in which cult members mourn the death of the Sumerian god of food and vegetation.
The summer solstice marks the period of declining daylight hours, and this annually recurring cycle of the beginning of death was “celebrated” in Babylonia with a six-day funeral for the god, Tammuz. Tammuz is one of an array of dying-and-rebirthing gods, whose story is told in nature itself.
These women are honoring a Babylonian god, and doing so at the very gates of the Temple.
Revelation 4:4, The Twenty-four Elders
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
//Revelation paints a magnificent picture of the throne of God and, around it, twenty-four elders. 1 Chronicles 24 describes these twenty-four elders in detail. They comprise the governors of the house of God, of the tribe of Levi. King David gave them their priestly duties a long time ago, and the Chronicles list their names.
Ezekiel also experienced a vision of twenty-five men, representing the heads of these twenty-four orders and the high priest. Jesus, of course, serves as high priest in Revelation’s version.
In Revelation, the actions of these twenty-four elders form a couple of sly innuendos. These innuendos can only be appreciated in the light of Revelation’s denunciation of Nero Caesar, whom it refers to as the Beast of the Sea.
The elders are all wearing crowns, so the first thing they do (Revelation 4:10) is lay their crowns down at the feet of Jesus. First-century readers would be reminded of the Parthian prince Tiridates, whom Nero crowned king of Armenia. Tiridates once fell down before Nero publicly in worship, saying, “I have come to thee, my God, to worship thee as I do Mithras.” Then he laid down his crown at Nero’s feet. So, the twenty-four elders make a point of laying theirs at Jesus’ feet.
Then in the next chapter (Revelation 5:8) the elders are seen holding a harp in one hand and a bowl of incense in the other. An image of the Greek god Apollo in a similar libation stance, holding a lyre (harp) in one hand and a bowl in the other, would also be known to Revelation’s first readers. Nero, as you might guess, played the lyre and thought of himself as the god Apollo. In Revelation, immediately after mimicking Nero, the elders fall down and worship Jesus.
The lesson, of course, is that Nero Caesar is not to be worshiped; Jesus is. Revelation is a fascinating book of deep symbolism, much of which is lost on current-day readers.
Matthew 4:19-20, Follow Me
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
//This is the Gospel call given by Jesus: Follow me. It’s a precious offer, repeated by ministers and evangelists everywhere.
The question is, how? When Jesus said the words, he meant them quite literally. Drop everything, separate from your family, give your wealth to the poor, and join my entourage. We’re going to spread the Gospel news, and then we’re going to Jerusalem for a little sacrifice. Follow me. But today, there ain’t no bearded, sandaled philosopher to follow to Jerusalem anymore, so we can no longer take Jesus’ words literally.
So, as Christians, we guess at what Jesus would have meant, had he been speaking directly to us. Then we argue over our guesses, condemn other religious interpretations, and humbly pride ourselves on knowing the Truth … what Jesus really expects of us, 2,000 years later.
I grew up in a strict Christian sect which interpreted many of the teachings of Jesus and the early church quite literally. We believed the ministry must give up all and be homeless; we believed the Gospel must be freely given, taking no pay; we believed church buildings were an economic hindrance, so we gathered in private homes or rented halls when necessary. We looked down our noses at other Christians who interpreted the words “follow me” in any different manner. Somehow, we knew what Jesus would have meant, had he been talking to us instead of to a cluster of backwoods fishermen in the first century.
And while I have no argument with the teachings I grew up with, neither do I any longer have any argument with the various denominational teachings around me. How could I, after reading the Bible for myself? We can’t follow Jesus the way he really meant it, so the best we can do is … the best we can do.
Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
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The God Show
Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
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