Biblical Apocalyptic and the Problem of Worry
I’m a little worried these days. I live in a house that’s completely paid for and there is also some income from an apartment on the lower floor. If something were to happen to me, my wife could probably survive quite well on less than a thousand dollars a month, if she had to. But there is a problem with this secure picture. My house is in southwestern Michigan, where housing is relatively cheap. But I’ve just accepted the position of Dean of the Faculty of Religion at Loma Linda University in Southern California. Our comfortable Michigan home will barely provide a down payment on a similar house in Southern California. And while Loma Linda is being very fair with us in light of this reality, the change has introduced a large element of risk for us financially. We will need a huge mortgage in order to get by. It is as if we were starting all over again financially, as a family.
This situation has reinforced for me the reason that I worry. I don’t worry a whole lot about the past. It’s over and I can’t do anything about it (I respect the fact that some readers, on account of abuse or trauma, may find the past a lot harder to shake). I also don’t worry too much about the present. God has been good to me and my family, and I’ve learned to trust that He will take care of us from day to day. When I worry, it is because I don’t know the future. I find it harder to trust in God when I don’t have immediate evidence of how things will turn out. For me, worry is grounded in my inability to know the future.
Daniel, the biblical prophet, had every reason to worry about the future. For forty years he was a hostage in Babylon. As a young man, he had been taken from his home, his family, his temple (and by implication his God), and his land. For forty years he watched as his God communicated with his captor, King Nebuchadnezzar. God seemed to have forsaken him and his people. And the future looked equally bleak. It was in this context that God came to him at night (Dan 7:1) and gave him a dream/vision based on the creation story (Genesis 1-2).
As in the original creation (Gen 1:2) the vision began with a stormy sea over which a wind (spirit) blew, stirring up the waters (Dan 7:2). Then animals came into view (Gen 2:19-20; Dan 7:3-7). Then a "son of man" appeared, who had dominion over the animals (Gen 1:26, 28; Dan 7:13-14). Daniel 7 echos the language of Genesis 1 and 2. In the original creation Adam was given dominion over the animals in the garden (Gen 1:26-28; 2:20). That story is the model for the vision of Daniel 7, but in Daniel the animals represent the nations or empires that were hurting or would hurt Daniel and his people in the course of history.
The message to Daniel was clear. God was telling him that just as Adam had dominion over the animals in the original creation, His "son of man," when he came, would have dominion over the nations that were hurting Daniel and hurting his people. In other words, God was telling Daniel that He was still in control. Even though things seemed totally out of control, God was still in control. And since He is a loving and caring God, he would not allow Daniel to suffer more than he could handle (1 Cor 10:13).
The core message of apocalyptic prophecy is that God is in control, even when things seem out of control. But apocalyptic takes it one better. Not only was God in control of the past, not only is God in control of the present, apocalyptic tells us that God is also in control of the future. And if He is in control of the future of the nations, then He is also in control of my future. I can trust my home, my family and my job to His care.
I guess that’s what I love about biblical apocalyptic. With all of its weirdness and challenging symbols there is an underlying sense of confidence that God can be trusted in everything, even in the future. I kind of needed to remind myself of these things just now. If I make this move in response to His leading, I can trust Him to manage the risk. What about you?
Jon, I feel your pain! My fears of moving out here were quite strong also....9 years ago. Somehow, in a multitude of ways, God has and continues to bless us here. Like you, I'm resting in the faith that he'll keep on with his good work until that Great Day comes! Welcome!
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Good points about God speaking to Nebuchadnezzar for all those years. Lately I've been dismissing worry with a pragmatic quote I came across, "If I worry, I'll die. If I don't worry, I'll die. So why worry?"
I guess that if fears and apprehensions about the future can be dealt with by cute logic like this, then I don't need God. Thanks for the reminder that I can trust that He's in control, even when His plans for me are not clear.
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After being a SDA church member for 30 years and then a member of the Church of God 7th day. I left CG7 returning to the SDA church. I felt Gods call to return to the church of my Childhood. I've made several other moves during my life time. God didn't prommise that they would be easy times. But did say thruogh scripture that he would be with me. I'm now 65 years old and he has not lead me anything that "WE" couldn't handle. Thank you Jesus!
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I don't know if this is the right area to ask this question, but I think that it's a very reasonable question considering the times we might be living in, that of the last days, and it deserves a blog of its own.
What is the general Adventist position of the role of Israel, if any, in the last days? The general Evangelical community has definite ideas about the issue, but I've found the Adventist church to be relatively silent on it.
One could almost assume by the silence that Adventists either think that Israel won't play a role or that Adventists don't know the answer.
A couple thoughts come to my mind that either Israel's role is a deceptive one, by being a distraction so that the real issues, like Sabbath worship, can be overlooked or that its role is to merely facilitate the issues in the last days.
However, those are merely my thoughts and aren't necessarily biblical, so any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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At the risk of superficiality, let me simply say that I have not found any role for the modern-day state of Israel in Bible prophecy as grounded in sound exegesis (see future blog on the rapture theory). That does not mean that God's hand could not have provided a place to shelter and protect the Jewish people and place them in a spot that could provoke openness to further understanding. God is never "without witness" and He is active in Israel, even if the nation does not play the kind of decisive role at the end of time that some see.
Having said that, I am intrigued by the possible implications of Hos 3:4-5, which could be understood to predict that Jews will once again have their own "prince" over them.
Most scholars, however, would see that fulfilled in the return from Babylonian exile and particularly the time of the Maccabees (160-63 BC).
Jon
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I agree wholeheartedly with the message that we can trust the future to God and have confidence in His plan. At the same time, I see in the Bible numerous examples of patriarchs and prophets who struggle with God while they are in the midst of strife. One prominent example is Jacob. I refer not just to his wrestling with the angel but also his prayer to God just a few paragraphs before. I have heard such referred to as a lack of faith. Why was he pleading with God when God had already promised? However, looking across the Bible there are many examples of God's servants doing just that! It seems that one may have faith in God AND plead and wrestle with God in times of trouble or worry. The key, at least in my mind, is to never forget the goodness of God. To come to him with our fears, worried, and not feel bad that we lack faith, but to ask for more of that too. None of this is opposed to what you are saying in the blog, this aspect just came to my mind. Like Job, might we plead with God in times of injustice and at the same time have confidence in our redeemer? I say we can and we should. Thanks for the inspiring message for we who are in the already-not yet of the plan of salvation.
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During investigation of Revelation facts, I found information on red rain in India. They attributing this rain to extra to outer space four years ago. They look like cells but have no DNA. It occured 25 July 2001 and lasted over a 2 month period. The "cells" are full of red microscopic particles having the appearance of biological cells. They are made up of carbon and oxygen. You can see the red rain infomation and picture at www.oceanographers.net
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While researching Revelation, I came across a growing problem in the oceans in America. It's known as the "Red Tides" It's killing fish and wildlife along the West Coast, Gulf Coast and East Coast. The Noctiluca algae produces a red color on the top of the water during their bloom stage.
The toxins in these algae sometimes affect fish by interfering with their nervous system. This can effect humans who eat them. Others who come in contact with the area can get sick. It doesn't seem to affect shellfish but it affects those who eat those shellfish with paralysis, amnesia and other neurologial problems.
With the water turning blood red, I can't help but wonder if this isn't the turning of the water into blood as Revelation speaks of.
See a picture and more information at http://whyfiles.org/082ocean_health/4.html
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I think that when it comes to understanding biblical prophecy, the more simplistic explanations are often more accurate than complex ones.
To me at least, since blood is often the symbol of death in the Bible, the more accurate interpretation of the waters turning to blood in the plagues is that the seas, rivers, lakes and oceans will be largely devoid of life during this period.
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Dear Sir,
may i know about "daily sacrifice" and its relation between "Greek"?
i need an answer.... i really need that...please Sir...
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Modrig,
The word translated "daily sacrifice" in Daniel 8 and 12 is "tamid," which means daily or continual. It is most frequently used in Judaism for the daily sacrifice in the temple, in which incense was ministered on the golden altar. The Christian equivalent of this concept is the righteousness of Christ which "hovers" over all the actions of God's faithful people. Nothing we do fully approaches the "glory of God" (Rom 3:23), so we need mercy for our good deeds as well are our bad ones.
In Daniel 8, tamid is one of five references to the Israelite sanctuary and temple. That seems to be the background to the challenging concepts presented in Dan 8:9-14.
At the end of time, I believe, the sanctuary concepts of the Hebrew Bible will find their spiritual completion.
Jon
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Having just read several of your blog entries, I had to respond to the entry concerning worry. Thanks for reminding us (me!) that God provides every evidence for our faith, and that Jesus is still in control. Matthew 6:24-34 is still worth believing and living out, even if I don't always see God's loving hand of providence working for our good.
Great site, Dr. P! And thanks again for the encouragement.
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