Thought for Today
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Mark 13:7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.
Acts 2:17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Last night our Bible Study discussed the passage from Mark of which the verse above is a part. Our discussions are almost always spirited, Spirit-led and fascinating. Last night was no exception. I always leave our discussions with new insights to consider, new thoughts to ponder.
I often state and firmly believe that Genesis 1:1 is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible. Every other verse must be considered and evaluated in the light of Genesis 1:1. God preceded the beginning; God created the beginning. That is the truth of Creation. Or, as we might have said when we lived in Texas, ‘it’s God’s football and God’s backyard; when we play, we play by God’s rules.’
Equally important for us to always remember is the truth of Genesis 2:15, especially when we think about a preceding verse, “2:7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” We were created by the Creator of Creation. We live because the Creator breathed life into us. We live for the purpose of tilling and keeping the garden of Eden. We know that due to the actions and failures of our earliest ancestors we no longer live in the garden of Eden. This means our duty is expanded beyond the bounds of that garden to encompass all Creation.
A fundamental precept of Judaism and Christianity is that at some point God will call “game over.” The technical term for that is eschaton, “(Gr. ‘the last thing’) The final event of history, considered by many theologians to be the return of Jesus Christ to earth.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 93) In Greek, the word is ἔσχατος (eschatos) and basically means “the end, the farthest point, the last.” Of course, that definition of eschaton is offered from a Christian perspective.
Implicit in the idea of an eschaton is that there will be a last or final judgment, “God’s or Christ’s ultimate judgment of nations and peoples at the end of history.” (ibid, pg. 159) We did not dwell on that specifically last night, but we did ponder some of what we currently see and hear in the world all around us. After our discussion, and again this morning, I cannot help but wonder about humanity’s report card at that final judgment.
Last night, as we talked about “the end is still to come,” we discussed about the timing of it all. Part of our discussion also involved Jesus’ warning in Mark 13:5-6, "5 Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray.” We looked at Eugene Peterson’s paraphrasing in The Message, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One.’ They will deceive a lot of people.”
Either way we word that warning, it is a true and serious warning of a real issue for us all. There have always been and still are ‘doomsday deceivers.’ There have also always been those who warn us of real and present dangers. The prophets of the Old Testament immediately come to mind. They diligently warned God’s children of their straying from God’s path.
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. We celebrated God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s gift of the inspired words of the Bible and God’s gift of the Holy Spirit offer us a pathway of discernment through the wilderness of the doomsday deceivers and the false messiahs. We can test everything we hear against Jesus’ own words in Luke 10:27 or Micah’s words in 6:8. The Spirit will remind us of Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8. We have God’s words and an Advocate. We just need to read and to listen.
Stay safe, study and listen, trust God,
Pastor Ray