An Old Memory About Idle Words

I recently saw a meme about a boy who was resisting the transgender narrative that satanic news sources are pushing to normalize society to accept sin these days...  It bought up this three-decade old memory—

 

My son was 3, maybe 4 years old. He had a remarkable vocabulary for that age, but still, he hadn't been around all that long.
One day he proudly told a childless woman, "I'm a man!" And she laughed in his face. She laughed and said, "You're just a boy."
His expression showed that he had no context for what had just happened. It was obvious to me that by saying "man" he was meaning "male." 

And here is what I realized:
I had to go into spiritual warfare that day. She had opened a doorway that could have given entrance to homosexual spirits if I had accommodated her by laughing along and passing her comment off as "Oh, isn't he cute!" in order to spare her feelings. 

Fortunately, parents are empowered with a special God-given anointing for their own children. (Outside "experts" do not have this, and can be wrong.) Although I was more awkward then than I would be now, at least I had enough cognizance of what was happening to side with my son! I said something about he is becoming a fine man, and his expression went back, not all the way to being proud, but at least to being satisfied with who he was.  

It was awkward. I could tell she thought that I should have sided with her, but at least she had the grace to not say anything more.
But I was distressed all day until I started to pray it out. Why would anyone crush a child's heart like that? For her it was ignorance. But some act on purpose.

It is often these tiny little things that give the devil entrance. They can easily seem insignificant. We need to be paying attention. The Holy Spirit was there to encourage me to protect my son that day, and I was able to receive at least some awareness.  This "what might have been" situation illustrates why  "idle words" will have to be accounted for in the day of judgment.  

But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. Matthew 12:36

Azazel, a fallen angel, gets a goat.

 

 

This is mostly a free ad for Tyler Gilreath's book,  Gospel Over Gods, link at end. No exchange of money or anything of value. It's simply interesting, so I am posting.  

A few things before you get started:  

(a) King James and other well regarded translations use scapegoat instead of the name Azazel, so it could easily be one of those things you read right over and never see.

(b) Gilreath quotes a commentary that calls Azazel "a proper name, probably of a demon." To be clear, we are positing that Azazel is a fallen angel of the watcher class, whereas as demon was once a half-breed nephilim that became disembodied at its death.  Not the same. 

 

AZAZEL, A FALLEN ANGEL, GETS A GOAT ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. Wait?! What?!!

In Leviticus 16, Yahweh (God) articulates a very strange command for Aaron—send a goat to Azazel.

“And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them before Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot for Yahweh fell, and he shall sacrifice it as a sin offering. But he must present alive before Yahweh the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell to make atonement for himself, to send it away into the desert to Azazel. (Lev 16:7–10, LEB)

This head-scratching revelation begs three questions: Who is Azazel? Why is he in the desert? And why does he get a goat?

The Bible Background Commentary states,

“Since verse 8 identifies one goat as “for Yahweh” and the other goat as “for Azazel,” it is most consistent to consider Azazel a proper name, probably of a demon. Early Jewish interpreters had this understanding, as is demonstrated in the book of Enoch…This goat is not sacrificed to Azazel (consistent with 17:7) but released “to Azazel” (v. 26).

Moses and Aaron knew exactly who he was and why he was in the desert. Azazel was the ringleader of the angels who sinned with women in Genesis 6:1–4. This is precisely how he’s described in 4Q180 Frag. 1:7–10 of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

7The prophetic interpretation concerning Azazel and the angels wh[o went in to the daughters of man,] 8[so that] they bore mighty men to them. And concerning Azazel [who taught them] 9[to love] iniquity and to pass on wickedness as an inheritance, all […] 10[…] judgments, and the judgment of the council of […]1

The Jewish Enochic tradition states that Azazel (one of the rebellious sons of God) was punished for his Genesis 6 debacle by being bound and buried—you guessed it—in the desert.

4. And again the Lord said to Raphael: ‘Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein. 5.And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. 6.And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire.” (1 Enoch 10:4–6)

 

Azazel symbolized the totality of sin and evil, and so did the desert. It was the perfect symbol of transporting the people’s sin outside of God’s holy camp, where sin belonged, and transferring it upon the one to whom sin belonged—on one of the key sinister angelic leaders of Satan’s camp, Azazel. This was an annual ritual on the Day of Atonement.

Recovering the idea that Azazel is a supernatural being restores a very important and interesting link back to the angelic rebellion of Genesis 6.

 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736104276   Gospel Over Gods  opens in new window

Pre-Trib Scripture Dump & Surprising Conclusion

#1 You should know that this is a Biased List!


"I Want to Believe!" as they said in film and TV series, X-files. For most of my life, I have wanted to believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, but that always meant that I was trusting someone else's word for it.  I never "owned" my own research and sought out the supporting scripture until...
Well, here's my back-story:

  When I was in high school, I went to a youth group of the pre-tribulation persuasion.  The group wasn't associated with any formal church organization. It began as an ad-hoc thing at a seminary in my town. A couple of the students decided to interview high school kids for a class assignment. Things snowballed and the two friends ended up leading a Bible study which lasted a couple of years until they graduated. During the summer break between those two academic years, we had a short-term lease on a storefront and ran a coffee house right next to the movie theater.  (It did not actually serve coffee; that wound have meant health inspections, and permits, and fees, etc.   But we had a no-markup vending machine for cold Coke, and it was summertime, so that worked.)

   Anyway, my childhood home-church avoided (a) most controversial subjects, and (b) end-time eschatology. Given the double-whammy censorship, it wasn't surprising that I'd never heard much about this "rapture" stuff.  And given my season of life, neither is it surprising that between liking peer acceptance and respecting scholars working on their advanced degree, I was not going to scrutinize anything that wasn't obviously blasphemous.

   So, hearing about 'The Rapture' at this Bible study was incredibly fascinating. I learned that the etymology of the term came from the Roman translation of scripture into Latin, rapiemur, which means 'caught up.' They taught that before Jesus' second return (my childhood church did teach Jesus' second return, but only that 'no one will know' when that will be), there will be seven years of evil, just like in the days of Noah, but that the true church would be caught up to heaven and escape this time of tribulation.

  That sounded good to me!  Later, as an adult out on my own, the next church that I attended taught the same thing as a given, nothing to really question.  But as time went on... where was the proof? There is no hard and fast proof. Then where is the evidence? 

   This—does the Bible speak of the rapture, and if so when—became something that I needed to know for myself.  I'm willing to take scripture for it, but not someone else's opinion.  And that is how this list began. There are two categories of scripture references in this list.

1. Yes, I think this scripture is pretty good supporting evidence of a pre-trib rapture, and 
2. Not a straightforward statement about an end-of-the-age catching away, but it does show either (a) a pattern or type that is likely to repeat, or (b) God's heart is to preserve His people.

   Admittedly, the 2b category forms pretty weak evidence because much of the Old Testament chronicles situations where God's people are so far into rebellion that 'catching away' those with recalcitrant hearts isn't going to achieve His end game; they need correction to come to their senses. But at the same time, these are often the scripture verses that I find most comforting; God's heart is preservation! Where this has left me—for now, anyway—is that I understand the reasoning of those who teach that not all born-again Christians qualify for the rapture, but only those who are looking for His return. That is a position beyond the scope of this post, but I'm leaving it on the table as a possibility these days. 

 So, let's get started. I collected these over the years in several notebooks and on random scraps of paper.  I have yet to find a method to categorize them that I am happy with, so there's no particular order. A few years ago I transferred these notes into a hard-bound journal so that they'd all be in one place.  My original list was a hodge-podge from whatever translation I was using when I discovered the verse. Here, unless otherwise noted, so that I can take advantage of the blessing of copy & paste and save myself considerable time, most verses are from the Berean Bible.  Words in parentheses indicate an alternate translation from the New American Standard Bible or are otherwise identified. 

Note-Dump in Support of a Pre-Trib Rapture

••• The Verse List

…12Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law, 13to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.…  - Psalm 94:12-14

 3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered (hidden) on the Day of the LORD’s anger. - Zephaniah 2:3

I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be handed over to the men you fear. 18For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.”…  - Jeremiah 39:16-18

In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger (storms of destruction - ESV) has passed. - Psalm 57:1

At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people— everyone whose name is found written in the book— will be delivered. 2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake... - Daniel 12:1, 2a

19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead. 20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed (Until indignation runs its course). 21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and no longer conceal her slain. - Isaiah 26:19-21   (responsibility of the people to go, enter, and hide)

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock. 6Then my head will be held high above my enemies around me. At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. - Psalm 27:5 (would enemies be "around" you in His tent? at the rock? the tabernacle?)

For God has not appointed (destined) us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

...and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath. - 1 Thessalonians 1:10

20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes (conspiracies) of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues. 21Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege. - Psalm 31:20,21

13to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage. - Psalm 94:13, 14

Then cry out: "Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise." 1 Chronicles 16:35 (King David is instructing his subjects to ask for this.)

Because you have kept My command to endure with patience, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. - Revelation 3:10

Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him! - Romans 5:9

...devout men are swept away, with none considering that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil (the righteous is taken away from the evil to come KJV). 2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace... - Isaiah 57:1, 2a  (in it's literal context, 'swept away' is death)

"They will be Mine," says the LORD of Hosts, "on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." - Malachi 3:17


••• Precedents in Scripture that have Patterns Consistent with a Pre-tribulation Rapture or a removal prior to judgmental wrath:



Noah's Flood - Genesis 6-8 - Noah had to build his own ark (speaks to individual preparedness), and then God providentially floated him above the destruction. After Noah's miraculous escape, a new era began.


Lot's Flight from Sodom - Genesis 18, 19 and Luke 17 -   Abraham's counter-argument to God's pronouncement of the destruction of Sodom is to appeal to God's character of justice: Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” - Genesis 18:25 I'm not sure that I would have seen this as a pattern of the righteous being removed before the wrath falls, except that Jesus pointed it out in the Gospel of Luke. Then in hindsight, the curious statement of the Angel stands out about the righteous MUST be removed first. "Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you arrive." - Genesis 19:22

29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:29. 30. Certainly our tendency is to focus on the rain of fire and sulfur being "just like" the destruction, but if it is fully just the same, then the "Lots" must also leave first.


Ruth at the Threshing Floor - Ruth 2, 3 - This example is more about the imagery than about escape from impending judgment, but the typology is worth consideration because it kicks this story to another level. Ruth works at gleaning during both barley and the wheat harvests. Barley is a hard grain that must be ground to release the nutrients in the digestive tract, but wheat is a softer kernel. It can be ground, but in Old Testament times, it was more commonly threshed because it stored better that way.  Here's the typology: During the threshing season following the second harvest, Ruth spent the dark night safely under the covering of her kinsman, Boaz. He redeems her and a marriage covenant is struck. Boaz did not normally spend his night sleeping on the threshing floor, only at teh end of the wheat harvest. Only the generation alive during threshing season would experience that covering.


Absences -  Isaac and Daniel - I found these two examples in materials from Manna-fest, the Perry Stone ministry. Absence does not prove anything, but I got'ta admit it's a pretty cool line of thought in an out-side-the-box way.  Isaac is a Christ-figure in this example, but instead of the groom going to get his bride, she the Rebekah/Church comes to him. It's an odd reversal, and I'm not sure what to make of it, but I added it to my list.  I find the Daniel example to be the stronger of the two, but the typology here has 3/4 of the church missing the rapture and overcoming by going through the tribulation. Daniel is conspicuously absent while Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are left behind to go through trial by fire. Like I said, it's out-of-the-box thinking. Take it or leave it. At the very least, it doesn't hurt to look at old structures with new eyes.


The Lampstands of Revelation -  For this example to count as evidence supporting a pre-trib rapture you have to accept the premise that the Book of Revelation is more-or-less in chronological order. Personally I think it mostly is, especially where the seals, trumpets, and vials/bowls are deliberately numbered. I don't think you can put #5 before #3 to make your pet theory match up better.  But while I think it runs mostly in order, it's also apparent that John's visions were switching points of view, so some things he saw from Earth and other he saw from Heaven. I also think it's probable that at least one scene was a flashback in time so that we'd be able to make more fully informed connections. But enough of that—on to the support for a pre-trib rapture.

In the first chapter, John sees seven menorahs or lampstands, which Jesus identifies as seven churches that re physically and geographically on Earth in present time, first-century.  Progressing to Chapter 11:

  17"We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was; You have taken Your great power and begun to reign. 18The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." 19Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and rolls of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.…

In verse 19 the temple of God in heaven is opened. It is fully furnished; the ark of the covenant has appeared. The lampstands, the church,  must be there; otherwise God has a temple with furniture missing.  Besides, it's the time to judge the dead and to reward His servants. Can we assume the rewards are given out in person and not in absentia? Or is this all metaphorical children of God, who are the Temple of God?  Should the translators have used 'a shaking' or 'a tempest' or even invented the word 'heaven-quake' instead of  'an earthquake' to translate seismós? It's possible to translate that way, but they didn't because this happens at the 7th Trumpet judgment when life on Earth is very shaky indeed.  

   The point is, this passage indicates that the "servants" are in heaven ready to receive their reward while judgment is still occurring on the Earth. Or are these just the servants so far, and the ones who aren't dead yet will have to catch up later?  Are you holding out to be "His child" instead of His servant? Without proof, it is a point of debate.



••• Imagery - Not about the rapture per se,  these verses have imagery that is compatible with it. 

His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. - Matthew 3:12

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock. - Psalm 27:5

You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. - Isaiah 25:4


•••  God's Character - My notes go on, but this last batch approach the evidence more as "Is it the Lord's character to rapture the Church before the Tribulation or to allow his Bride to go through horrible times?" Most of what follows has little or no direct connection to a rapture, but rather are general evidences of protection and ways of escape. Many of the verses that promise deliverance have requirements where it's not automatic just because we exist. These requirements are highlighted below.

So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man. - Luke 21:36   Why would Jesus instruct people to be alert to and pray for something if escape were not possible?

9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not abandoned those who seek You. - Psalm 9:9, 10 

 The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him. - Psalm 37:40

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me. - Psalm 50:15


Perhaps you noticed...
   or maybe you didn't, but some of the 'There's Gonna Be A Rapture!' Biggies are not on the above listing. That is most likely because I haven't found any timing reference in them. If you were looking for those, here you go:
Matthew 24:31 - gathered at the trumpet call
Philippians 3:21 - transform bodies
1 Corinthians 15:52 - twinkling of an eye
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 - caught up in clouds
Mark 13:27 - elect gathered from four winds

Conclusion
   My conclusion is inconclusive. That's sort of disappointing considering that this list took decades to compile— five minutes here, an hour's study there, a stray comment from a cassette-taped preaching...   I don't see very much in scripture that looks like the scenario of millions of people suddenly Poof! Gone! In fact, if I had not been prejudiced by outside teaching and relied only on what I have dug out for myself, I'd have concluded that during the Great Tribulation, believers would be removed on a case-by-case basis, when peril came to them.
  And I like that idea better. It loses the big-screen drama of fleets of airplanes falling out of the sky, but it gains a very personalized situation of demonized zealots going after individuals who are then caught up right before their eyes.  Now, that's a cool escape that allows us to occupy until the last minute! 

It you can find mass-exodus-rapture scripture, PLEASE list it in the comments below.

What I do know is this:
 The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. - Psalm 121:7

Jerusalem Offcially Recognized as Capital and Embassy Move

Last December 6, 2017, President Trump announced that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  Accordingly, he said, "This is nothing more—or less—than a recognition of reality."
On May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of sovereign Israeli statehood in the modern era, action was given to those words when the US Embassy officially moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

I was in Jerusalem that day.

We had had a hint of things to come the first evening in Jerusalem. Before we ever got inside the hotel, we'd been met by this banner on its front wall →

It was late evening, the first time my feet ever touched ground in Jerusalem, and the pressure was on to identify and collect my luggage from among hundreds of suitcases and backpacks being unloaded from the buses. My phone's camera also compensates for low lighting so the true deep-dusky effect is missing, but you can tell that this was snapped quickly without proper alignment and focusing.  I will excuse that this way: Those imperfections only highlight the blur of my first impressions in Jerusalem! I never expected to see my President's picture plastered on the front of the David Citadel Hotel in the center of Jerusalem.
Note the tagline: You Promised. You Delivered. Smaller and harder to see are these sentences: "Thank you for courageously recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's Eternal Capital," and "Time after time, President Trump has sent an unambiguous message to the world: the bond between the US and Israel is strong, and after eight years of the Obama Administration, the days of daylight between our nations are over."  Yes, Obama was openly trashed.

Whether you realize it or not, that bond between the US and Israel goes beyond the political and long ago found a foothold in the spiritual realm. The implications are deep, staggeringly positive, and I hope to scratch the surface of some of them at the end of this post. But first, more pictures!

Although I could not visit the embassy, a sense of the importance of the festivities was still present in the lamppost banners, newspaper headlines, and additional security at checkpoints!  The thought floated through my mind, 'If I could just collect all the security video I'm caught on, I would have great documentation without the bother of taking pictures.' Even so, there was never a sense of fear or imminent threat. Jerusalem was ready to party! 

The next morning I discovered that fringed pennants, banners, and flags were all up and down the main streets. Near our hotel, there would be about three streetlights with the Star of David Israeli flag, and the fourth would sport the Stars and Stripes American flag. (A couple nights later, there was a cool light display with the two kinds of stars coming together.) I began facing the reality that the recognition of Jerusalem is a much bigger deal than the average American realizes.

It may not be readily apparent in the spiritual realm, but the celebratory energy was certainly showing up in pop culture. Take a look at the kippahs/yamulkes sold by this street vendor.

On Jerusalem Day, the tour group had been out visiting historical sites in the morning and we barely made it back by mid-afternoon when they really began stopping and questioning every vehicle entering Jerusalem. A couple hours later, I got this easy-to-understand visual of why they were checking so scrupulously:  The crowds (plural) were massive.  When I stood on a retaining wall for a better view, the street was full for as far as I could see. I tried searching online for an estimate of the crowd size, but to no avail; all I found were estimates of the relatively small groups of protesters. It had to be in the tens of thousands.

Unfortunately, my photo, for all its attempt at nicely framing American flags, just doesn't effectively show HOW MANY PEOPLE were in the street. This shot actually covers four blocks before being obscured by trees, and this is only one direction.

Underneath the dangling leaves on the left is a portable stage with live music. This is as close as it got to what we think of as floats in our hometown American parades. The crowd was actually a slowly  traveling procession made up of smaller units that frequently stopped to dance or sing. There were civic organizations, school groups, small businesses, anyone really, who wanted to participate. I don't read Hebrew, so I missed a lot of who was what, but their espirit de corps came through loud and clear.

I have a couple of cultural observations. First, I have never seen people dance in the street like this unless they were drunk. These youths are not drunk! Secondly, in any corresponding American celebration, there would be an unspoken societal pressure to have co-ed groups. Here, the young men had their arms around each other in a circle dance and there was no trace of LGBT-agenda shaming or promiscuity over it. A few minutes later, a women's group came by with the same differences. Hold that thought for when I get to the spiritual implications at the end of this post.

American parades are spectator events; we watch a pageant parade by us. President Trump is planning a military parade for November 11th. I think he hopes to release this sort of inspiration and respect for heritage upon the American people. If so, those are grand motives that ought to be supported, but Israeli grass-roots participation has an electricity that is a very high bar to match. We are talking Energizer Bunny longevity here. The photos below were taken from my hotel window. In the first one, taken before a late dinner, over three hours past and three blocks from the views above, many people are still in the street.

In the second one, same intersection, but shortly before bedtime, many are still out and active even after the fireworks and light shows ended. It was an incredible experience, and one that most tourists do not get, to see how Jerusalem celebrated Israel's "Fourth of July" Independence. The following day was the official opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extra Info for Perspective
- No one could get near the Embassy when it opened unless they'd been on the list and vetted weeks in advance. So no pictures of that, but many good one are available online at news and .gov sites.
- The banners in my pictures were not paid for by the Israeli government.
   https://www.fozmuseum.com/  Street banners sponsored by Friends of Zion in Jerusalem 
   rjchq.org   A political lobby group in the US sponsored the banner on the hotel.
-  America, while first, is not the only nation that pledged to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Romania have expressed a desire to move their embassies as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Implications and Observations

These events have significance on multiple levels. I will touch on my personal Top Three.

1. Promises Kept.
    Promised is promised.  It has been only in the past couple of years that I realized how big a deal this is for me.  I don't make many promises; when I do they often have time limits on them.  Keeping promises was ingrained into me unknowingly as a child. If you don't want to do something, tell me up front. I am much happier lowering my expectations than I will be finding out you lied to me, and I can respect your honesty when you tell me no.
   And it turns out that "doing what you say you are going to do" is one of two seemingly universal laws. Anthropologists have found that across all cultures, times, and religions, keeping promises is a universal rule of good behavior. (The second one is don't encroach. No one likes it when you encroach on their space, their stuff, or their authority.)
   So whether by intentional strategizing or inspired happenstance, but either way, definitely by well planned marketing, the English edition of the Jerusalem Post was covered in a advertisement that any civilized person had to respect at a basic level: Promises Kept.

2. God Promises Stuff Too! 
Psalm 122:6
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.
They will prosper. 
 Love is a partner with respect. Love & Respect. If something sort of feels like love but fails to meet the "Doth not behave itself unseemly" qualifier of 1 Corinthians 13:5, then it is hankering or enchantment, but not biblical love. Adulation with no foundation for fidelity.
    After the US officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December 6th, that act of respect opened a flow of prosperity. Over 100 companies gave bonuses of at least $1,000 or more to over a million workers, and 90% of middle class Americans received a tax cut. Public optimism over the economy grew to exceed 50%, a place it had not held in over a decade. Political pundits credited Trump's tax bill, but they missed the reason that the tax bill passed: the breaking of a spiritual curse.
   For the opening of our embassy, many were praying for the peace of/in Jerusalem.  At month's end, the Wall Street Journal ran the headline, "U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since 1969."   Correlation or coincidence?
   Prospering extends far beyond economic benefits. It may be harder to see, and spiritual perception improves when honed in prayer, but look for other extensions of God's favor. I believe that the Lord will show the President ways to deal with world leaders, probably ruffling their feathers, but ultimately advancing the Kingdom of God with a side-effect of prospering the US.

3. Much has been said in the religious media about how "prophetic" it is that the United States has officially recognized Jerusalem. I am not wholly comfortable with using prophetic in that manner.  I prefer the term "tactical."  An honest show of Respect for Jerusalem is a tactical strategy in a spiritual warfare.
   I was stumped on finishing this post for a couple days because, even though I had a sense of the difference between my points 2 & 3, there is an overlap that I was having a hard time writing about. I have finally settled on this: #2 is about our love relationship; it's about human action or response from a heart of love.   #3 is about God's Word; God's is going to do what God is going to do whether or not we jump on His bandwagon. When our love-based choice to be on that bandwagon positions us in a place to hear the music, the distinction blurs.
   But a sizable chunk of what I am talking about in my third point is the harvest of our ancestors.

[Science Time-Out — Let's talk about dormancy! A dormant seed is unable to germinate (sprout) until all the environmental factors for its survival are present. Elements such as moisture, temperature, perhaps the presence of a certain enzyme or even abrasion of the seed coat may be necessary for germination. Until everything is in place, the seed will not sprout. Some cacti will have seeds that lay dormant for decades until there is an unusually wet spring. Some pine trees need the heat of a forest fire to open the seed pods. Date palms have been cultivated after 2000 years of storage at Masada.¹]

   The prayers of our forefathers were seeds lying dormant. During the first half of US history, Jerusalem was under a declining Ottoman rule; a hodgepodge population of  Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian inhabitants totaled less than 8,000. Segments of Christianity believed that the Church had replaced Israel, since there was no formal Israel.  After WWI, the city was under the British mandate and a few Jews began trickling back to their homeland. But for the most part, conditions were not yet suitable for germination.
   Now, in 2018, prayers and labors of past generations have an environment where they can come to fruition.  




Footnotes
 ¹  https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/051122-old-plant-seed-food/

Curious sidebar - I was looking up Jewish history for the years Americans were fighting for independence. http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?startyear=1770&endyear=1779
1777 - 1836 NATHAN MEYER ROTHSCHILD (Germany-England) Famous for his Waterloo scoop in which he used carrier pigeons between England and Belgium to gain knowledge of the victory before anyone else. He expanded his father's bank into a world-wide firm.

What I Learned at the Western Wall

The Western Wall — let's first correct any false assumptions — the wall was NOT part of the Temple that stood in the days of Jesus.  It is a retaining wall that supports one end of the Temple Mount, which is a human-constructed platform that leveled out the natural topography. The Temple itself was a separate structure that stood closer to the center of the platform. 



The Western Wall earned my Least Met Expectations Award. 🥉  I would stop short of calling it a total bummer, but my up-close-and-personal visit headed toward that end of the scale.  Before I explain why, I want to show my favorite picture, which pulls back and, I think, offers a better context.

From this height, archeological digging can be seen going on right in front of the Western Wall plaza. When down in the plaza, you're almost totally oblivious to this action because you see only a dark nondescript back wall with some advertising signage on it.  In the background of this photo, trees are growing on the Temple Mount. The three very distinct and separate environments are packed in side by side, and a fourth, the Old City, seen as a sliver on the left, continues around and behind.

And don't overlook the crane. Construction cranes were all over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and every other sizable city we visited. Someone joked that the cranes should be nominated for Israel's national tree.  [FYI, since September 2007, that's officially been the olive tree.]

All in all, the new abutting the old, old ways of looking at the new, and new ways of looking at the old, they all fit in here. It is a place where life carries on and the fact that you are steeped in a modern world of ancient history seems pretty... normal!

Which might be a partial explanation as to why the Western Wall seemed so dead. Dead is my word for it.  I guess that I'd expected a place with such a history to be more of a telecommunications portal, a place where living prayers were taking the shortest route to the courtrooms of heaven, filing petitions, and dispatching adjudications. It wasn't like that. Not even close.

One of the first things I was struck by was the discoloration of the limestone by the oils of human hands. It faded out at the level most people could reach. (🤔Apparently I am not as short as I thought I was, when compared to the masses of the world.) One of the next things I noticed was a few men shuffling white plastic chairs around in the women's section. The men's section does not have chairs,* and somehow, the fact that the women did felt condescending—and that is a fairly rare emotion for me. I am not a feminist. I normally like special attention from men, but... no, this was like an unstated lower status judgment. That is not my imagination going wild. And I am rebel enough that you'd have had to pay me a considerable amount to sit in one of those chairs!

But mostly, once I was down at the wall, I could sense spirits of loss and sorrow. I think they hung out there; seriously. I think it would be possible to come away worse than you arrived if one of those things attached itself to your soul. It was not a place of joyful praise. (Well, I did the joyful praise thing, but then, I'm American and not all that typically a wailer.)  As I said earlier, the wall seemed dead. No living stones. Just rock. And not even clean rock.

They offered tours of the tunnels behind the wall. And I bring you this next picture at great personal sacrifice, because I could have been shopping! Joking. Shopping was an option, but choosing the tunnels was better.  A labyrinth of stone archways, tunnels and vaults run behind the wall. It is a first-century version of the pipes, cables, and conduit that run beneath modern cities.

At the bottom of this picture, what looks like a lumpy bench is actually a covered aqueduct, plumbing if you will, which carried water to the mikvah (ritual bath) and for other use.

The rectangular cutouts in the stone and the corresponding protrusion, which our guide called a hinge, had something to with how these massive stones were transported here in the first place. Unfortunately, I'm not quite clear on that, but another place we visited showed how stones were moved by hooking up ropes and pulleys, so maybe they were places to attach them? Anyway, today people stick prayer requests in the niches. 

Some of the vaults were used as cisterns. Rain water was collected and funneled in for later use.  In this picture a catwalk has been added for tours, and the water level is controlled with monitors to prevent flooding during heavy rain. But when they were used as functioning cisterns, the water might reach nearly to the ceiling in the rainy season. 


What I learned at the Western Wall is that the part that is easily seen and highly touted is just that: easily seen and highly touted.  Although it wasn't as miserable a disappointment as going to Disney World, yeah, it came pretty close. What I learned at the Western Wall is that the out-of-sight, less accessible parts are far more intriguing.
That's not a new lesson. It is confirmation of ancient wisdom.

Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the LORD says: Stand by the roadways and look. Search out, ask about the ancient paths: Which is the way to what is good? Then take it and find rest for yourselves. 
But they protested, "We won't!" 

To which I can only say, Duh! Why wouldn't you?


* If an elderly or handicapped man needed a chair, they would be available, but I did not see any in use at the time. 


EXTRA ~ 
Here is a chronology of the Temple area that will help sort out the sequence of many Bible stories that you may already be familiar with:
~ 2000 BC Abraham is challenged to sacrifice his son Issac on an altar. A ram is substituted at the last minute, but the altar's location on Mt. Moriah would be the future home of the Temple Mount.
~1440 BC Moses is instructed to make a Tabernacle for worship. This portable building has a floor plan that will be adapted to construction of future Temples. After the times of the judges when Israelites conquer the Promised Land, it eventually ends up in Jerusalem.
~ 1000 BC King David  returns the Ark of the Covenant to the tent-like Tabernacle in Jerusalem and desires to build a stone & wood Temple as a permanent structure. But God says that job will have to be done by David's son because David had been a man of war. So David purchases Araunah's threshing floor on Mt. Moriah as the site for the Temple.
950 BC King Solomon employs 183,600 workers for seven years to build the First Temple.
910 BC The Temple is plundered by Shishak of Egypt. Over the next 324 years, there is serial plundering, restoration, and stripping of the temple vessels and furniture to pay extortion threats. 
586 BC, 9th of Av. Nebuchadnezzar burns the city, and destroys the Temple. The Temple vessels that are left are shipped off to Babylon. (The Second Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av.)
539-538 BC Cyrus captures Babylon and issues an edict allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem.
538 First return to build the Second Temple and lay the foundation, then a 16-year construction delay.
515 BC Second Temple completed but vulnerable to attacks.
458 Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem in late summer and rebuilds the walls of the city in 52 days.
Another 300 year period commences where Jerusalem is repeatedly attacked, besieged, or captured. But in  166 BC, the Maccabean Revolt regains Jerusalem. Temple is cleansed and sacrifices are restored. 
38 BC Herod the Great begins a massive reconstruction and refurbishing project of the Temple and courts, expanding to the city and city walls. That continues another four decades, throughout his lifetime.  The massive stones of the Western Wall date to this time.

Pigeons in the Pan

The title probably won't make sense until the end.
The Pigeons are real birds; they are in the final photo below.
The Pan is the caprine (goat-like) god of the ancient Greeks.
I have to lay a lot of background before connecting the dots; fortunately it's not too boring. 

Unlike most Grecian gods who had temples dedicated to their worship, Pan was a bit on the wild side and was usually worshiped—and sacrificed to—in caves or grottoes. In Greek art, he is usually depicted with horns, playing pipes that resemble a harmonica made of reeds, and walking upright on his goat hindquarters. 

For now,  I am going to ask you to accept without proof something that both my childhood Sunday school teachers and my high school Latin teacher probably would have disagreed with: Pan was/is not wholly a myth. He is based on a real spiritual entity of the fallen sort, a lower-case-g god who was created immortal.  This is different than a demon, but that technical distinction is not critical here; just realize that Pan is real in the spiritual realm, and not a figment of mythology.

 The picture above was taken at Hermon Stream Nature Reserve in northern Israel. You are looking down the rock wall of a natural cliff. Paved courtyards were built at the foot of the cliff during the time of Roman occupation of Israel. In the foreground is what's left of the red and white paving stones from the  Court of Nemesis, goddess of vengeance.

Further back and more intact is the stepped Courtyard of Pan & the Nymphs. In mid-picture is an artificial cave or niche carved into the rock. A statue of Pan was once placed there. Later, other niches, five in all, were carved to hold a sculpture of Echo, a mountain nymph, and Hermes, (other small-g gods associated with Pan).  At the far end is a natural cave, the Grotto of Pan. (In this photo, two tourists are looking down into the grotto from the observation rail.)

The cave and one of the niches are also shown below in this head-on view taken from the trail head:

 Here you can get a better sense of the size of the cliff. The opening of the grotto is roughly 20 meters wide. The trees are growing around the nearby Banias Spring that forms the headwaters of the Jordan River.

I will get to the pigeons' story shortly, but it is important to establish the setting.¹ The first reliable written history dates to 200 BC when the Selucids and Ptolomies fought for control of the area. By the end of the first century BC, the Romans had annexed this area to the kingdom of Herod the Great, who began building a temple to Emperor Augustus near the springs, and built temples to Pan and Zeus in front of the existing niches in the cliff.  These were relatively new and still standing in the days of Jesus. After the death of Herod, his son Phillip renamed the place after himself: Caesarea Phillipi. The worship of Pan was still going strong.

Jesus was in the vicinity of this place when he made the statement about building His church, which was recorded in Matthew 16:17,18, 

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

... well, for me, matching this place with Jesus' statement was like the sounding of a gong.

[Science Time Out — Most percussion instruments, when struck, have an initial sharp sound that then diminishes. A high quality gong, however, as the energy is distributed across its curved surface, develops sympathetic vibrations with a sound-on-sound effect whereby the volume builds in a rolling crescendo before it falls. Similarly, I experienced a building intensity of revelation that multiple levels of "stuff" was happening simultaneously. It's a different sensation than having a light come on all at once.]

In Matthew 16:16, Peter had just declared, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!"
A coming messiah had been prophesied for years. Mary must have sensed Jesus' messianic qualities at some level, especially in light of her direct meeting with Gabriel in Nazareth before she became pregnant, and Joseph's subsequent dream with the angel of the Lord where each were told what to name him. Jesus himself had been fulfilling scripture and dropping clues that are obviously messianic in hindsight.  But now, Peter's statement, replete with full-assurance faith, counted for the first time that a Man-being proclaimed, "Jesus is the Christ," and those words from the lips of a human ripped into the unseen realm.

I have a sense that this is what Jesus had been waiting and watching for—a sign from his heavenly Father. The Father had revealed Jesus' true identity to mankind; Peter's realm-ripping announcement was the green light that Jesus had been looking for. It was Show Time for the Church Age.  

(Is it too much of a stretch to imagine Jesus with a Clint Eastwood swagger: Go ahead, Make my Day!  Hmm... you decide. But when Jesus went back Jerusalem, he'd be riding that donkey home in his Triumphal Entry.)  

Anyway, here at the base of Mt. Hermon in the midst of goat-god worship, Jesus says, "On this rock I will build My church."  (a) There is a literal, physical rock that can still be photographed. (b) There is revelation knowledge from the Father to Peter; revelation so profound that Jesus made a pointed issue of calling Simon son of Jonah by the name Peter, [Πέτρος, Petros, Greek for rock or stone]. (c) There is Jesus speaking a new Creative Word, not unlike words spoken at the foundation of this world, a new foundational rock on which He will build His church. (a) body, (b) soul, (c) spirit.
Pretty Awesome Stuff.  

Jesus did not make this declaration during his moment of dazzling transfiguration. He made it in the enemy stronghold of pagan worship.  'Probably a foreshadowing of what he'd do in Hades after the crucifixion. The thing to remember is that it's all real. As I said earlier, Pan was not a figment of mythology. Jesus was addressing more than the eye could see. 

♦ ♦ ♦

And so, when I was there at Banias (Hermon Stream Nature Reserve), taking in this multi-dimensional history, two pigeons flew into the Grotto of Pan. There is nothing overly remarkable about that. Pigeons are common in that area. They were a little bluer than the grey ones I commonly associate with bespoiling city fountains and plazas, and a bit more playful in their interaction, but nothing out of the ordinary. Except that in the English version of the printed literature published by Israel's Nature and Parks Authority,² they are not called pigeons; they are called Rock Doves.

Pigeons are Rock Doves. That puts a new spin on things.

First, there is the Rock part. I've already mentioned the foundation quality of rock, solid to build upon.  And although these are obviously not the same rock doves that were flying over Pan's altar 2000 years ago, their descendants are still active here and not crumbling in the ruins. That's endurance.

Secondly, Doves have symbolism that filthy pigeons just can't live up to! It was the dove that Noah sent out to see if the waters were abated from off the earth. It was the dove that the psalmist of 55:6 alluded to in his quest for finding a place of rest. 
Okay, maybe Hosea wasn't so complimentary, calling doves "silly" and "without heart." (7:11)

But all four Gospels redeemed that foul fowl reputation when a dove was used to describe the Holy Spirit's descent upon the newly-baptized Jesus.  
Today, and consistently since Greco-Roman times, the dove has been a symbol of peace.

So my takeaway from this pair of rock doves showing up, these pigeons in the cave of Pan, was that despite the heavy history of the place, life continues. God's plan is still rock-solid. The Holy Spirit still desires to perch upon mankind's hearts, and the light of peace is still meant to triumph over darkness.






Footnotes
¹ This information is paraphrased from the Hermon Stream brochure published by Israel Nature and Parks Authority
² Banias Nature Reserve website (English) the web version differs from the print edition, calling them rock pigeons instead of rock doves. Either way, the family is Columbidae.

Haitus

Life Along the Rabbit Trail was always intended to be a journaling experience about...  as the names says, Life's Rabbit Trails — things I learned and found interesting as I came upon them.

It was an 'as the Muse moves' kind of thing. A serendipity thing.

Well, a couple of years ago my Muse started getting preachy and political...
 ... and I didn't want my Life Along the Rabbit Trail to be all that.

Eventually I began another blog, Bootcamp Planet.

If there is nothing new here for a while, I am probably there.  I'll give you a LINK


It has some politics.
I will also be dumping my notes for my Pets-in-Heaven project over there, (since a couple of spiral notebooks, a wall of post-it notes, and an envelope of scribbles on scrap paper is not a real "book" and never will be if I don't organize them).