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AP Prophetic Lit

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AP Prophetic Lit (CaD Dan 11) – Wayfarer

“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.”
Daniel 11:31-32 (NIV)

Throughout my school years, I had various teachers and counselors encourage me to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In many cases, like English and History, I was ready for the challenge and it worked out really well in accelerating my studies in those subjects. In other cases, namely math, I wasn’t ready to make the jump that my teacher insisted I take. I never really recovered. Eventually, I ended up abandoning math as a course of study. I have always regretted this.

In a similar way, I know many who at some point in life, perhaps multiple times, dive in and commit themselves to read the Bible. Since most books contain a linear storyline, it’s common to start at the beginning. But the Great Story, while it does have a storyline, is arranged thematically. Some parts read fairly easily for modern beginners, even if the ancient stories contain head-scratching content. At some point, however, most casual readers give up and abandon it like I abandoned the subject of math. I consider this regrettable.

The truth is that some sections of the Great Story are difficult even for learned readers. Among the most difficult are prophetic, or apocalyptic, passages like today’s chapter. Daniel’s complex and detailed vision is actually quite fascinating, but without a little background knowledge of both history and apocalyptic theories, it could easily seem like a hodgepodge of gobbledygook.

What’s fascinating is that most of today’s chapter is a very accurate prophecy regarding the fate of the land of Israel in the centuries following Daniel. The prophetic vision is like a playbill identifying all of the key players in the historic dramas of the Persian and Greek Empires. It leads to one of the most infamous periods of their history, a period most modern followers of Jesus know little-to-nothing about because it happens between the Old and New Testaments.

A few chapters ago I briefly mentioned the heinous ruler arose to power in the land of Judea before the ascendence of the Roman Empire known to history as Antiochus Epiphanes. He sought to eradicate Judaism in Judea. To that end, he famously shut down Jewish worship at the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and then audaciously sacrificed a hog on the altar in a pagan ritual to Zeus. Hogs were considered unclean by the Law of Moses, and his act was seen as a blasphemous abomination prophetically predicted by Daniel in verse 31 of today’s chapter. As I contemplated this in the quiet this morning, I thought about how I might feel if a Satanic ritual abortion was performed on the altar of my local church.

So far so good, but starting in verses 35-36, the prophetic narrative stops clearly describing actual historic events and rulers. The final section of the chapter has yet to be fulfilled historically in any meaningful way and it remained somewhat mysterious for over 500 years. Then Jesus spoke to His followers about the end times and mentions that there will be another “abomination that causes desolation” (Matt 24:15). History does have a way of repeating itself, and Jesus seems to indicate that there will be another version of Antiochus Epiphanes to come. A few decades later, John received his Revelations on the Isle of Patmos and his visions of an antichrist and an unholy trinity of the dragon (Satan) and two beasts (anti-christ and his prophet). The end of today’s chapter seems to fit hand-in-glove with John’s vision of a blasphemous, conquering anti-christ sweeping in to conquer the Holy Land. And so, scholars contend that the final prophetic writings of Daniel have yet to be fulfilled. They are pieces of a prophetic puzzle regarding the end times.

So what am I supposed to take away from today’s AP Prophetic Literature chapter? What does it have to do with me this Wednesday morning in the 21st century?

The first thing is very simple. Daniel’s prophetic vision so accurately predicts the geo-political events of the next couple of hundred years that I’m reminded of what many artists have found to be true: things are already written. And, this leads to the second thing.

When Paul writes that “all things work together for good for those who love God and have been called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28) it is more true than I can possibly imagine. This sows seeds of peace in my soul, no matter the outward circumstances. I think of a scene in The Lord of the Rings in which Galadriel explains to Frodo that the completion of his mission will mean an end to the power of the three elven rings and an end to the elves time in Middle Earth. When Frodo asks Galadriel what she wishes to happen, she replies, “That what should be shall be.”

Having the desire that “what should be, shall be” on the grand scale of the Great Story affords me much-needed context to the rather minor scale of my own life circumstances.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Golf Dream

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Golf Dream (CaD Dan 7) – Wayfarer

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
Daniel 7:1 (NIV)

The other day I had an unusual experience. All night long I had strange and vivid dreams. Most of them were the typical mish-mash of things both silly, non-sensical, and strange. I woke up, however, remembering one vivid dream about me and an old friend going golfing. This is funny because I’m not a golfer, though I remember playing a few holes with him once. That was over thirty years ago.

I remember from my dream that we were standing in line in the clubhouse waiting for our tee time. It was a busy course. There were others in our group, but I didn’t know them. The tee box for the first hole was literally right outside the clubhouse door in a sort of vestibule with the exterior walls of the clubhouse on either side of the tee box extending and creating a kind of alleyway. The fairway went about ten yards in front of the tee and then did a severe ninety-degree dog leg around the corner of the clubhouse.

What was funny about this is that if I try to hit a golf ball straight, it would probably shank at just that 90-degree angle (which is why I’m not a golfer) but I could never in a million years do that on purpose, and in my dream, I knew this. I was perplexed about how to proceed and considered using my putter off the tee to get the ball past the clubhouse wall and effectively lay up for my second shot. I can remember thinking in my dream what a terrible golfer I must be to have to use my putter off the tee.

For some reason, this dream stuck with me that day and it came to mind as I was getting ready for bed. I hadn’t talked to my friend in a long time, so I texted him out of the blue that evening. I didn’t expect him to reply immediately:

Okay, that was wild. Was there anything spiritual about it, or was it just a coincidence? Here’s where my thoughts on the prophetic provide me with guidance. I won’t dismiss it outright, and I won’t obsess about it. I do believe that everything is connected. I will hold on loosely and enjoy the wonder that my spirit, and/or Holy Spirit, seemed to somehow connect that a dear friend was celebrating a big waypoint on life’s road that day (and that I should have been with him at Pebble Beach that day!!! 😂😂😂).

Today’s chapter represents a huge shift in the book of Daniel. So far, it’s been a string of really incredible stories. From here on out, it becomes largely a record of prophetic dreams and visions. The dream in today’s chapter describes four strange beasts that are metaphors for the successive empires that will rule the Near East in the coming centuries: Neo-Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman. Daniel’s dream ends with a vision of “the son of man” (a title Jesus used of Himself) who will establish a kingdom of “all nations and peoples” with dominion that will be eternal.

It is not unusual for the prophetic to be “layered” with meaning. While it certainly points to the coming of the Messiah, the second half of today’s chapter is also regularly connected by scholars to the visions of the end times in the book of Revelation.

As I contemplated the prophetic and the dreams in today’s chapter, my thoughts led me to consider that God was particularly active in delivering miracles, dreams, and visions during this period of the Babylonian exile. That’s one of the themes across the Great Story. There are seasons and periods of time in which the miraculous and the prophetic are plentiful. Then there are seasons and periods of time in which they are rare. I find it fascinating that the seasons of plenty tend to coincide with periods of struggle. The time of Moses came in enslavement and wilderness wanderings. This period of the stories of Daniel and Esther happens during captivity and exile. Jesus’ arrival on the scene and the subsequent Jesus Movement happen as Daniel’s dream predicts, amidst Roman occupation and then persecution.

So I have found it to be in my own spiritual journey. It is in times of struggle, tragedy, wilderness, and exile that the work of God’s Spirit becomes more active and acute. Perhaps it’s because I’m spiritually more needy, focused, and open during these seasons. Perhaps it’s because God knows that I need more encouragement and a reminder of His provision and presence as I traverse the dark valleys on life’s road. Perhaps it’s a combination of both. Either way, there’s wisdom in embracing the reality that I will experience both types of seasons in my story, just as both types of seasons are present across the Great Story.

And, happy birthday to my friend, Matt. I hope Pebble Beach was a blast. It’s probably good I wasn’t there. Me putting off the tee would have only been an embarrassment.

Featured Image created with Wonder AI

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Thoughts on the Prophetic

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Thoughts on the Prophetic (CaD 2 Ki 8) – Wayfarer

Hazael said [to Elisha], “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
2 Kings 8:13 (NIV)

In today’s chapter, there is a fascinating episode in which the servant of the king of Aram sends a man named Hazael to the prophet Elisha to ask if he will recover from his illness. Elisha informs Hazael that the king will recover but he will die. Then Elisha stares at Hazael for an uncomfortable and awkward period of time and begins to weep. Elisha then tells Hazael that he will become king of Aram and will do great harm to the kingdom of Israel.

Hazael returns to the King of Aram, murders him, and usurps the throne. I’m left wondering if Hazael’s coup was already in process when he went to see Elisha, and Elisha’s prophecy confirmed for Hazael that it was time to pull the trigger.

An interesting historical side note: An ancient Assyrian inscription records the reign of Hazael “Son of Nobody” in Aram.

What struck me as I read this story was how similar it is to one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. The tragedy of Macbeth basically follows the same plot line. It is prophesied that Macbeth, a relative nobody among the nobility of Scotland, will be king. It so happened that the King of Scotland decides to stay at Macbeth’s place for the night and his wife convinces him that they should murder the king and make the prophecy come true. I couldn’t help but wonder if Shakespeare was inspired by the story of Hazael.

By the way, things don’t work out so well for Macbeth and his wife. Hazael, on the other hand, did quite well for himself. He created a fairly impressive little regional empire in Damascus and reigned for over 40 years.

Prophecy is a fascinating element of life. As I contemplated it in the quiet this morning it struck me, from horoscopes to Nostradamus, how pervasive it is, even among otherwise nominally spiritual people.

As a disciple of Jesus, prophecy is a part of the fabric of life, and the Great Story is chock full of it. Seventeen books of the Bible are the words of the ancient prophets and the book of Revelations records the prophetic visions of John. One of the gifts the Holy Spirit bestows on individual believers is the gift of prophecy.

During my forty-plus years of being a follower of Jesus, I’ve experienced many instances of people who have told me things that have been prophesied to them or for them. In other instances, both Wendy and I have had people speak prophetic words to us. And, on a handful of occasions, I’ve been directly given specific prophetic words from God’s Spirit.

My experience with the prophetic, however, includes individuals who regularly share with me prophetic messages they’ve been given that I’ve noticed never pan out. I’ve also observed instances of individuals who, like Lady Macbeth, go to great lengths to make a prophetic message happen, usually to semi-tragic ends. False prophecy has always been a part of the prophetic experience.

I’ve also had some legitimately amazing, truly prophetic experiences.

I’ve learned along my life journey to take what I call the .38 Special approach to prophecy: “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go.” I’ve come to believe in holding the tension between being someone who frantically chases after the prophetic and those who dismiss it entirely. If a prophetic word is truly prophetic, it will come to pass. When given a prophetic word I listen. I make note of it. Then I place it on the back burner of my heart and mind, and I continue to press on as normal.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Prescience

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Prescience (CaD 1 Ki 8) – Wayfarer

“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near…”
1 Kings 8:46 (NIV)

Prescience noun (Prē-sh[ē]en[t]s): foreknowledge of events
a. Divine omniscience
b. Human anticipation of the course of events

A few years ago I was gifted the book The Fourth Turning. It was written in 1997. In it, the authors William Strauss and Neil Howe document what they suggest to be a generational pattern in history. In general, they submit that human generations have a “seasonal” pattern and historical human events follow that seasonal pattern just as things die each winter and spring back to life in the spring. Writing over twenty years ago, and based on the generational pattern they’d identified, they correctly predicted that around the year 2020 there would be a catastrophic, global event. They even suggested a pandemic fit the bill as a potential catastrophe. Fascinating.

Their book was eerily prescient.

In today’s chapter, King Solomon calls the entire nation and all the leaders of the twelve tribes to dedicate the Temple he’d built in Jerusalem. On his knees before the altar, Solomon prays a rather long prayer of dedication. In the midst of that prayer, he prays for a future generation of his people who sin against God and are taken captive into the land of their enemies.

It was a prescient utterance.

Approximately 400 years after the events of today’s chapter, Solomon’s people will be warned again and again by the prophets to turn their hearts back to God. When they refuse, the city of Jerusalem and the very Temple Solomon is dedicating will be destroyed by the Babylonians. Solomon’s people will be taken captive and carried off into exile. Next to the Exodus out of Egypt, it is the defining event of the Hebrew people. The entire story is foreshadowed in detail within Solomon’s prayer.

Another 400 years after the final exiles return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, Jesus and His disciples find themselves leaving the Temple just days before Jesus would be crucified. Jesus tells His followers that every stone of the Temple would be thrown down and destroyed. In 70 A.D., just 40 years (or one generation) after He made this statement, the Romans did exactly that.

Jesus’ statement was prescient.

Along my spiritual journey as a disciple of Jesus, I have come to believe what I once heard U2’s Bono utter in an interview: “I think things are already written.” He belongs to a long line of people who made the same observation using different words. Looking back on my own life journey, I see certain events and relationships that I have no doubt were meant to be. Even if I didn’t have the prescience to see them on the road ahead of me, it is obviously clear in 20-20 hindsight.

As a person of faith, this gives me both comfort and hope as I enter each day, each week on this life journey. I am uncertain of what this day holds. I am uncertain what this week holds. I am, however, certain of who holds both this day and this week. Things are already written. There is a Great Story being told by the Author of Life. My role is to surrender, to follow, and to keep pressing on.

Lace ’em up.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

My Intentions, God’s Design

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My Intentions, God's Design (CaD 2 Sam 7) – Wayfarer

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (NIV)

  • When I was five I intended to grow up and be an astronaut.
  • When I was seven I intended to grow up and become President of the United States.
  • When I was ten I intended to go into the navy and become a naval aviator.
  • When I was thirteen I intended to become a lawyer and politician.
  • When I was sixteen I intended to become a great evangelist like Billy Graham.

It was never my intention to live in Pella, Iowa. It was never my intention to spend thirty years in the research and assessment business or to be a business owner. It was never my intention to be divorced and remarried.

As I look back on my life’s journey I find that there are many things I intended to do that were clearly not part of God’s plan for me. David wanted desperately to build a temple for God, but that was not God’s intention. God intended for David to become the warrior leader who would establish the throne and prepare the way for his son to build the temple. There are many things in my life I never envisioned which I now believe God both knew and ordained for me.

Just last week Wendy and I were discussing a man we have observed who is aggressively striving after his own intentions, who appears to have failed miserably on many counts, and also appears to be in denial regarding it all. Wendy remarked that the man reminded her of Shakespeare’s Macbeth who destroyed his life intending to fulfill what he believed was his prophesied path. But, that’s one of the things I love about following God: He eventually redeems even our foolish wanderings and failures for His purposes.

Today, I am reminded to be discerning between my intentions and God’s designs. I desire to lean into the plan God has for me and follow the path laid before me. I have no time to waste blazing trails that lead, at best, to nowhere or, at worst, to tragic ends. I don’t want to end up thinking along the same lines as Macbeth who concluded at the end of his tragic strivings:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

A Note to Readers
I’m taking a blogging sabbatical and will be re-publishing my chapter-a-day thoughts on David’s continued story in 2 Samuel while I’m take a little time off in order to focus on a few other priorities. Thanks for reading.
Today’s post was originally published in May 2014.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Book Summary List

Revelations (Jun-Jul 2022)

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Each photo below corresponds to the chapter-a-day post for the book of Revelations published by Tom Vander Well in June and July of 2022. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.

Revelations 1: The Rabbit-Hole and the Three Questions

Revelations 2: Hearing the Simple Message

Revelations 3: Spiritual Self-Exam

Revelations 4: Crowns and Surrender

Revelations 5: The Alpha Point and the Omega Point

Revelations 6: “What Do You Expect?”

Revelations 7: “Every Nation, Tribe, People, & Language”

Revelations 8: Ignorant, Mindful, & Ready

Revelations 9: “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking”

Revelations 10: Justice

Revelations 11: Prophetic Pondering

Revelations 12: Not of this World

Revelations 13: My Choice

Revelations 14: Wisdom to Know the Difference

Revelations 15: The Bigger Picture
Revelations 16: Love and Justice

Revelations 17: Rogues Gallery

Revelations 18: The Funeral

Revelations 19: The Wedding

Revelations 20: The Books

Revelations 21: Death-to-Life

Revelations 22: The End is the Beginning

Chapter-a-Day

The Wedding

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The Wedding (CaD Rev 19) – Wayfarer

Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelations 19:9 (NIV)

I mentioned yesterday that Wendy and I were at a wedding this past weekend. The dinner was amazing. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know that Wendy and I love a great meal, especially when it’s the trifecta of a great meal with great people enjoying great conversation.

At one point between savory bites, Wendy looked at me, her eyes as wide as saucers. “This is not only the best wedding meal I’ve ever had, but it’s right up there with maybe being the best meal I’ve had, ever.”

High praise, for sure. A great meal is always special amidst the love, laughter, joy, and celebration of two lives being united as one.

The metaphors of a wedding, of a bride and bridegroom, are used repeatedly by Jesus. At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the metaphor was even understood and shared between Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist:

[John’s disciples] came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

Sometime later, the same disciples of John asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t religiously fast the way John made them fast:

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.“

Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus was still using this metaphor. He told a parable of ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom to arrive so they could accompany him and his bride with their oil lamps to the wedding feast at the house of the bridegroom and his family. Some of the bridesmaids got tired of waiting and they didn’t have their oil lamps filled, trimmed, and ready when the bridegroom arrived.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the ancients often used weddings and funerals as metaphorical contrasts. John uses this ancient device in yesterday’s chapter (a funeral dirge for the demise of “Babylon the Great”) and today’s chapter in which Jesus, the Bridegroom, having tarried like the bridegroom in His parable for 2000+ earth years (as of today), finally celebrates a heavenly wedding feast and is united with His metaphorical bride, all of His followers whose names are written in the Book of Life.

But the contrasts aren’t over! There’s a feast to come that is a stark contrast to the wedding feast of the Lamb. An angel in heaven cries out to all the vultures and carrion fowl on earth to prepare for their own morbid picnic.

Jesus and a heavenly army then descend to meet the unholy trinity and all of the kings and kingdoms of the earth, those who had steadfastly refused to repent during the great tribulation, gathered against Him. The only weapon brought to the battle is the metaphorical sword of Jesus’ words. The anti-christ and his false prophet are captured and thrown into a lake of fire. Their followers become the entree du jour for the vultures.

In the quiet this morning, I’m struck by the simple roots of these contrasting metaphors. A funeral and a wedding. A death dirge and a wedding feast. The eerie silence of a battlefield when the battle is over and the carrion fowl pick at the corpses, and the raucous cheers of a wedding party, blessedly satiated and maybe a wee bit intoxicated, unabashedly dancing to “YMCA.”

I can’t help but be reminded of what God said to His people at the outset of this Great Story:

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses…I have set before you life and death…”

I made my choice. I sent in the RSVP.

I’m simply waiting for the bridegroom to arrive.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Prophetic Pondering

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Prophetic Pondering (CaD Rev 11) – Wayfarer

The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over [the two dead prophets] and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Revelation 11:10 (NIV)

I have been a follower of Jesus for just over 40 years, a period of time which is used in the Great Story as the number of years in a generation. So, I have spent time over the past couple of years pondering the changes I’ve observed in our society and our culture in one generation. In some ways, the changes seem startling to me.

A generation ago, I watched as Christian fundamentalists with groups like the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition sought to force their religious doctrines on society through political power. What I observed in those days was that a judeo-christian world view was foundational in society around me. Virtually ever kid I knew grew up going to church of some kind. It was just what you did.

A generation later, I find it ironic to observe what I would consider woke fundamentalists who are seeking to force their doctrinal world-view on society through political power. Major institutions of media, business, and academia are offering full support. Meanwhile, my own local gathering of Jesus’ disciples has grown in the last couple of decades, not because new followers are joining the ranks but because so many other churches are dying and closing their doors. Churches are being burned and attacked, social media posts call for violence against Christians.

These are things that I would have never have believed would happen in one generation, just 40 years ago.

In today’s chapter, the interlude between the sixth and seventh “trumpet judgments” continues. Two prophets, or “witnesses” are raised up. They echo the ancient prophet Elijah whose prayers shut-off the rains and brought fire down from the heavens.

It’s important to remember that the picture John’s visions create is an Earth in which there are a mere 144,000 followers of God who are sealed and protected through this time of tribulation. Where are all the followers of Jesus? John’s Revelation does not seem to address this, though the letters of the apostles speak of a “rapture” of God’s people in which they are suddenly and unexpectedly snatched up to heaven in the twinkling of an eye. This leaves the rest of the Earth’s inhabitants who are described as unrepentantly anti-God. Therefore, when the two prophets are killed, the world celebrates their deaths and gloats over their bodies. People throw parties to feast the end of God’s messengers.

In the quiet this morning, I once again find myself pondering the changes I’ve observed in one generation. I could not fathom the anger, hatred, and calls for violence that I witness on both ends of the socio-political spectrum. Though, given the gross failings of institutional churches that I touched on in yesterday’s post, I can certainly empathize with those who were victimized and are crying out in anger.

There are mornings on this chapter-a-day journey when I feel as if I am left with more questions than answers; Mornings when I am more perplexed than inspired. I’ve come to believe that this is not a bad thing. The Twelve who followed Jesus in the flesh for three years were still confused and scratching their heads the night before He was crucified and the day He rose from the dead. Why should I be any different? Along my journey I’ve found that it is often the long stretches of pondering good questions that ultimately lead to new depths of spiritual understanding.

So, two thoughts I continue to ponder as I enter my day today:

First, it would be easy for me to over-dramatize the changes I’ve witnessed in a generation and conclude that the end-times are near. I don’t know that. The pendulum of socio-political thought swings back and forth sending individuals on either side of the spectrum into doomsday thoughts and predictions. What I have observed in the last forty years helps me to appreciate how the events and anti-God attitudes in John’s vision could, indeed, be possible, but that doesn’t equate to thinking they are probable in the near turn.

Second, the pendulum of social, cultural, political and religious thought does often swing back and forth. Some would argue that it is currently doing so. The social and political upheaval of the 60s ushered in a period of rebellion, violence, sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. The 70s then experienced a “Jesus People” movement when many people found themselves aimless and empty, searching for spiritual answers. I consider it possible that a generation of young children who are being asked to question fundamental biological truths about themselves (when they don’t even have the vocabulary or cognitive ability to process it) may very well find themselves confused about their identity and longing for a strong spiritual foothold to help them make sense out of life. This might even lead to a spiritual revival.

I’m posting this much later than norma this morning because I’ve been pondering how best to conclude. I’m still not sure, so I’m just going to leave it here, continuing to ponder.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Rabbit Hole & the Three Questions

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The Rabbit Hole and the Three Questions (CaD Rev 1) – Wayfarer

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
Revelation 1:19 (NIV)

There are three great questions I always ask myself during times of confusion or decision:

Where am I at?
Where have I been?
Where am I going?

Those are the three questions I ask myself every time I finish a book on this chapter-a-day journey and need to decide where the trek should take me next. So, after finishing the book of Jude yesterday I went to the index of posts by book and realized that there’s only one book of the Great Story, written after Jesus’ death and resurrection that, isn’t currently in the index by book: Revelation. The last time I trekked through was in April of 2014. So, that’s where I’m going.

Known more formally as The Revelation of John, this is the last book in the Great Story. Both tradition and the text state that the visions described in the book were seen and experienced by John on the Isle of Patmos while he was exiled there (90-95 A.D). Revelation is well-known for its description of the end times, the climactic final battle between God and Satan, and its description of the eternal city of God.

To be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with Revelation. I love the mystery and the metaphor. It’s fascinating and I find important spiritual truths within. My hate is rooted in the rabbit hole that it becomes for people who fall in and become endlessly obsessed. Along my spiritual journey, my approach to Revelation eventually paralleled C.S. Lewis’ famous caution regarding the demonic. It’s a mistake to avoid or ignore it, but it’s also a mistake to take it too seriously. So, here we go.

In the opening chapter, John writes that he was worshiping on a Sunday and saw the glorified Christ. Jesus tells John to write “what you’ve seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” It’s Jesus’ riff on the three questions I always ask myself.

There are numerous schools of thought when it comes to interpreting Revelation. Some believe that Revelation points to historic events that have already taken place. Others believe that it’s primarily about what will take place in the future end times. A more modern movement of thought interprets the whole thing as political satire.

“Where have I been?”

Looking back at the life of Jesus and the ancient prophecies about Him, one thing becomes clear to me: Very smart people over a long period of time were completely wrong about how they interpreted the prophecies. So, from where I’m at, I tend to approach the prophetic with a huge dose of humility regarding what it might mean for “Where are we going?” in the future, and a heart that’s simply open to what in means for me “Where am I at?‘ in the context of today.

So, in the quiet this morning, I embark on this chapter-a-day trek through Revelation with humility and an open heart. I think I’ll take Jesus up on reading and meditating on John’s visions with the three questions in mind. I’m also determined not to fall down the rabbit hole.

Here we go!

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Women and Prophets

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Women and Prophets (CaD Jud 4) – Wayfarer

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.
Judges 4:4 (NIV)

One of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter epic is poor Professor Trelawny, and not just because my sister is a dead ringer for Emma Thompson’s portrayal of her. Professor Trelawny teaches divination at Hogwarts. The problem is that she’s terrible at it, and none of her prophesies come true. Only once had she uttered a true prophetic word, a critically important prophecy about Harry and Voldemort, but she didn’t even know or realize that she’d uttered it. Dumbledore hires her in case she ever has another one (which she eventually does). The students are stuck with a poor teacher who is terribly inept at her subject.

Prophecy has a bit of a mysterious role in the Great Story. In the law of Moses, God said that He would raise up prophets and gave instruction on discerning if they were truly a prophet of God or not. In the ancient Near East, prophets were common across religions. Kings and Pharaohs had official prophets on their courts. Interestingly enough, in Mesopotamia, the profession was predominantly held by women.

Today’s chapter is one of the most unique in all of the Great Story. In what is a predominantly patriarchal culture, God uses two women to respectively lead and deliver the Hebrew tribes from their enemy. The chapter opens with Deborah, a prophet, leading the people. When she prophetically tells a man named Barak that God wants him to raise an army and march against the Canaanite army he agrees, but only if Deborah will accompany him. She agrees but prophetically tells him that because of his lack of faith, the victory will go to a woman.

That woman was Jael. It’s hard for a modern reader to understand just what Jael had done. She invited a man (the fleeing general of the Canaanite army) who wasn’t her husband into her tent. This was a huge social taboo. By killing him, she broke a covenant her husband had made with the general’s superior which would have brought shame on her husband, another cultural no-no. She also invited him into her tent, and he was therefore her guest. To this day, Near East culture has strict cultural rules that place honoring guests, even above one’s own children. Jael’s assassination of the Canaanite general was a blatant violation of multiple cultural rules.

But Deborah’s prophecy was true.

Before Jesus, prophecy just was. It appears in the story with little or no explanation. God raised up prophets and utilized prophets, but there’s no understanding of how that exactly happened. After Jesus, the spiritual gift of prophecy is recognized as one of the important gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows on certain followers of Jesus. Paul even hailed it as being the spiritual gift of prime importance.

Both Wendy and I have, along our spiritual journeys, had the experience of receiving prophetic messages. We even have some fairly dramatic experiences of God speaking prophetically through others. I also have a number of prophetic words given to me that might as well have come from Professor Trelawny. Along my spiritual journey, I’ve learned to be discerning. I listen carefully. I hold it loosely. If it means something, I’ll know. If it doesn’t, I let it go.

As I sit and ponder today’s chapter in the quiet, the larger lesson for me is the fact that God raises up and uses women to get the job done. This is one of several examples within the Great Story in which God uses unlikely people for His purposes. It’s a reminder to me 1) never to prejudge a person since with God, all things are possible, including using unlikely tools and means. It also reminds me 2) never to think or say “God could/would never use me.” God did, after all, speak through Balaam’s ass. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You can read it in Numbers 22:28, btw).

I also see in Deborah and Jael a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do in raising the status of women within the early Jesus Movement. Paul writes to the believers in Galatia: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

And so, I enter another day of the journey with a couple of good reminders. I’m afraid I have no prophetic word for you. It’s not my gift. When it comes to prophesy, I’m afraid I’m about as capable as Professor Trelawny.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.