An Earth-Shaking Revolution.

In Franco Zeffirelli's 1977 film, Jesus of Nazareth, we see Mary receiving a revelation from an angel named Gabriel, that she is to conceive without insemination from a father, and she will give birth to a boy, who will be called the Son of God, and who will save his people from their sins. All well and good, so Luke narrates in his Gospel. Except that in the film we see Olivia Hussey, who played Mary, looking out from her window, her face illuminated, but unfortunately we do not see the angel himself. So we are still left in the dark to what exactly did Mary see.

Remarkably, if going by the careful reading of Luke's narration, it was what she heard which troubled her, not what she saw. Perhaps rather unfortunately for the viewer, Zeffirelli was not any further enlightened on this matter, so we are left with the image of Mary looking intensely out of the window, but we remain in the dark to what she actually saw.

Did Mary see Gabriel as the Christmas card version of the angel, a kind of a incandescent transsexual humanoid who is neither fully male or female, but a combination of both, dressed in a Roman toga and with a pair of swan's wings with gleaming white feathers attached to his upper back? Or maybe even the Vatican's version, which is a flying baby with wings. Or mundane as it sounds, did Gabriel appear as a normal man, a human being? Mary was not the first to be met by the angel. About six months earlier, this same entity paid a visit to the priest Zachariah whilst he was ministering within the Holy Place of the Temple. This was an area exclusive to all except the priest himself. So he was alone in the building, offering incense, when suddenly this fellow appeared as if out of nowhere, and therefore startling the priest. I am even wondering, in jest, if the angel appeared suddenly with a loud Boo! Yes indeed, that would certainly put the frights up the priest!

Angels appearing as ordinary humans seemed to be the norm in the Bible. One good example was with Abraham (Genesis 18). Here three men appeared at once, and so human that Abraham pleaded for them to stay and enjoy some food to refresh before continuing on their journey. For a long time I have believed that these men were manifestations of the Holy Trinity, and therefore concluded that Abraham was visited by God. And I'm still open to this interpretation. But whether the two who journeyed on to Sodom to survey it's character were two Persons of the Trinity, or whether they were angels, leaving God himself for further discussion with Abraham - they were certainly human in appearance, even human enough to deceive the Sodomites.

Another classic case concerned Manoah and his unnamed barren wife (Judges 13). The appearance of this character was "like an angel of God" according to the description the wife gave to her husband (verse 6). But in verse 16, the narrator tells us that this couple did not realise that the visitor was an angel of the Lord until he manifested himself at the burnt offering. Therefore he must have appeared fully human, without wings on his back. The fearful couple then became the parents of Samson, probably the most famous Judge in the Old Testament.

Going back to Mary. After Gabriel left her, she gladly made haste to the house of Zachariah, who was by then made dumb by the angel through unbelief of the visitor's announcement. This is one of the most puzzling epics of her story. This is because she was engaged to marry Joseph, and according to Matthew's account, her fiance on having learnt of her pregnancy and knowing that the child was not his, planned to "put her away secretly". That means to send her to exile rather than have her publicly stoned to death according to the Mosaic Law recorded in Deuteronomy 22:23-24. So although she seems overjoyed about her unique privilege of being the mother of the Son of God, I have wondered how fearful she might have been of Joseph, and his God-given right to have her publicly executed. As I see it, her trip to Zachariah's house immediately following the announcement was not to flee from Joseph in fear, but to congratulate Elizabeth for her pregnancy with John the Baptist. Luke doesn't say anything about Joseph accompanying his fiancee to their cousin's house. Instead, to his horror, he must have discovered her condition after she had returned home to Nazareth.

And so, after instructions to go to Bethlehem for tax registration, Mary gives birth to Jesus at a stable and places the child in a manger. And according to such beautiful tradition, the date on the Gregorian Calendar was December 25th. Not that the Gregorian Calendar existed back then, as Pope Gregory XIII was not yet around to initiate his calendar until AD 1582. But then again, the Julian Calendar which preceded it was very close in dating each year. The date was most likely still December 25th. The Christmas card image is of a wooden barn housing the Holy Family with the baby Jesus, along with a couple of donkeys looking sedate as they rest peacefully near the cot. The infant, whose divine incandescence illuminates the interior of the shed whilst an unusually bright star shines directly above. As such, just as a Winter scene is so romantically portrayed, there had been many "misery-guts" who dispute the date, as shepherds don't keep watch over their sheep during the Winter, along with any other explanation at their attempt to discredit Christmas.

But whether Jesus was born on the 25th of December according to the Julian Calendar or not, personally I have never found any problems with the date. Rather, I see the birth of Jesus as a start of something which will be an earth-shaking revolution for the whole Western world. No I'm not talking about his teachings delivered during his earthly ministry. Nor am I referring to the Atonement made on the Cross. Neither am I talking about his Burial, and then his Resurrection on the third day after his death. Neither am I referring to his Ascension into Heaven. Nor am I talking about the free offer of salvation through grace for all believers. Neither am I talking about his Second Advent to set up his eternal Kingdom. Rather, I'm talking about the greatest of all historical revolutions: The invention of the board game Monopoly!

And as children wake up early on Christmas morning, exciting for what awaits them, whilst still in their pyjamas, the children rip open their presents, ignoring the gaily-coloured images of Santa with his reindeer, Christmas trees and snowflakes decorating the wrappers, to see what they have found within. For one boy, its an electric train set - just what Daddy needs to entertain himself over Christmas. Later in the morning, after relatives had arrived, presents among the adults are distributed. Daddy receives another tie for the office, a different colour to the one he received last year, and a new set of socks. Mother opens her box to reveal a new saucepan for the kitchen, and her forced smile hides her temptation to whack it over her husband's head. Then other presents are revealed which are met with that classic but very stale greeting: Oh that is what I've always wanted! - without noticing the youngest child gazing up with the question: Well, if he always wanted that, then why didn't he just buy it himself? It doesn't look that expensive. Smart boy indeed, as he dreads future Christmases he must one day endure as an adult.

The two women file into the kitchen, including Mother with her brand new utensil, and start to busy themselves with the preparation of the turkey. Daddy flings his gifts onto the settee and makes a dive for his son's train set. Before the poor boy had the chance to examine his present and work out how to assemble the tracks for himself, Daddy was all over it, connecting one length of track to another until the oval layout is complete. Then after carefully lining up the wheels of the train onto the tracks, he then starts it up, with father and son both watching the train whizz round and round on the Railroad to Nowhere. Whilst the older one gazes with excitement, the younger of the two looks on with despondency.

As the hours tick away, Daddy leaves the train set to his son and settles for a cigar and a glass of sherry and engages in conversation with the other man who is the visitor. The women minds the turkey as it gently roasts in the oven. In the meantime, vegetables are cooked, and the table is laid out with every festive item one can think of. Especially the crackers. Christmas would never be the same without those crackers which often fails to snap properly, each containing a paper crown, a dreadful joke which brings out the greatest groans from the men in particular, a riddle which nobody can solve without looking at the answer printed on the reverse, and most important, those nasty bits of plastic "toys" which seem to delight Daddy more than the clothing he received earlier that morning. It was during the meal that the spirit of festivities was at its highest, all of then somewhat forgetting that it's Jesus Christ's birthday. Never mind about that. Instead, Mother has to keep encouraging the boys to eat their Brussels sprouts, as all were anticipating the arrival of the Christmas pudding soaked in Brandy and set alight by Daddy, followed by an endless flow of walnuts, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts, chocolate, mandarins with its classy Christmassy smell, and nougat.

Into the afternoon, after the table is cleared up, the boys continue to play with their presents, the two men doze, their wives engaged in both the clearing and the washing up, along with the disposal of the remaining sprouts left behind by two of the boys. And each female being in each other's company was the pacifier which held back any blazing rows with their husbands about "chipping in" - especially with their turn to do the washing up. Instead, with the aroma of cigar smoke filling the air, Daddy's snores becomes raucous, which continues for a while before woken up by Mother, with a suggestion to pass the time with the Monopoly board.

Monopoly! A survey suggest that this is still the most popular of board games, even as high as 80%, especially at Christmas. How these surveys were conducted in the first place beats me. After all, no one dressed in a uniform, displaying an identity badge and with notepad in hand, had ever knocked on my door and asked, What do you do at Christmas? or Do you play any games on Christmas Day, and if so, which? or even, Do you play Monopoly on Christmas Day? So you see, how they collect their statistics remains a mystery, to me at least. And so each player, the two men and two of the older boys sit at table, and with dice tossed into the air, all vying for the two most expensive properties, the dark blue Mayfair and Park Lane. Get a hotel established on both those sites and you are in for a winner, bankrupting any player unfortunate to land on the site. 

And so as the game proceed, each player becomes serious in his buying and trading skills, and each player starts to feel discontent with each other as one player after another begins to buy these little green houses, with the purpose to extort enough rent to bankrupt his opponent, who is trying to do the same thing to you. Greed takes over and at last you buy a larger red hotel for Park Lane, after buying a hotel for Mayfair. Then afterwards as you throw the dice, you land on the "Community Chest" square. You pick up the card and you read, Throw again or take a "Chance". Your opponent has a hotel on each of his three sites only a little way ahead, and the probability of landing on one of these sites is very high. So you pick up the "Chance" card. It is a massive tax for every house and even a bigger one for every hotel you own. To make a payment, you have to put one of your properties, the one with two houses, onto mortgage, which means that rent cannot be collected for it.

It is a momentary relief when you land at "Free Parking" or even "Go to Jail" knowing that you are far safer there than swanning around the board with all these greedy landlords out to get you. It was then when Daddy lands his car token on your Mayfair. That, with the hotel, is done for. He has no option than to hand everything to you and drop out of the game. But in a moment of fury, he swipes the table with his hand, sending the board, all the houses, all the hotels, all the money, all the tokens, all the "Chance" and "Community Chest" cards, and all the Property Deed cards, as well as the two dice, flying across the room. It's not the first time that has happened. Rather, this is a repeat of the same incident three years previously, which was the reason why a stray green house lay undetected under the sideboard for all that time. Now a massive search will now be undertaken in an attempt to retrieve all the lost pieces, with another green house or two and a red hotel tucked away under the edge of the carpet for all perpetuity.

The sudden loss of temper by the host was the signal for the guests to don their coats and prepare to leave for an earlier-than-usual journey home. As they exit the front door, they say their final greetings:

Wishing you the best for the rest of the holiday, and we wish you a prosperous new year ahead.

And let me say:

I wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. God bless you all, and thanks for reading and following this page.

Pharisees and Shepherds.

One of the greatest blessing I ever received from God, other than salvation, and my dearest wife Alex, was the privilege of spending time visiting the Holy Land. And what with Christmas coming round, along with carols such as Come all ye Faithful, In the Bleak Midwinter, and Silent Night Holy Night, together with seasonal songs such as Greg Lake's I believe in Father Christmas, even Chris De Burgh's A Spaceman Came Travelling, and what would have been Mum's favourite - Bing Crosby's White Christmas - having stopped at Bethlehem and crouching over a fourteen-prong star set on the floor of a church crypt, has brought new meaning and fresh life to these and many other Christmas songs - both carols and pop alike.

 

The star traditionally marks the spot where the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, the long-promised Jewish Messiah, whose mission was to reconcile the world to himself, and redeeming all believers from their sins. Many Christians dispute the authenticity of the site, but I couldn't help feel the presence of God there. I was fortunate to visit the church during the Summer of 1993, and as a lone backpacker rather than one of a group, there was a sense of wonder as I stood for a while alone in the crypt, with both the star and the manger to myself, before a ranger escorted another tour group in, crowding out the small chamber. But furthermore, avoiding Christmas was perhaps the best thing rather than the worst, for it has always been traditional for Christians from all over the world to gather at the large quadrangle outside the church to worship, without having a glimpse of the star inside. The Church of the Nativity has always been, and will be, the most important edifice in Bethlehem, and maybe second in the Holy Land after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. While the church in Bethlehem is all about Christmas and the one in Jerusalem is about Easter, to visit both had a big impact to my soul, allowing me to thank the Lord for such historical evidence of his grace.

The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

But a far less known edifice sits close to the Nativity Church, and that is the Chapel of the Milk. There is a tradition that Mary was breastfeeding her infant son when the call came to flee to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. A drop of milk fell to the ground, so they say, turning the area around it white. As I stood alone in the chapel, with the gentle instrumental version of the beautiful Roman Catholic song, Ave Maria filling the air with such a peaceful tranquil, I did notice a layer of natural white rock on which the chapel was built. And seeing how the authenticity of the miracle would be discredited by both Science and Protestantism alike, among the paintings and statues of the mother and child, there were also Scriptures on display, exhorting us to feed and grow by the milk of the Word, as found in 1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12-13, and 1 Peter 2:2, all seemingly giving the chapel its rights for existence.

However, in this world of troubles, including the Israeli/Palestinian unrest outside, as well as much of the unrest within my own heart caused by relationship grit within the fellowship, there is something soothing about a mother with her newborn. What is it about the tenderness that a mother has for her child as she breastfeed him, as so expressed in this quiet and relatively unknown chapel? If I had a grief or sorrow, the Chapel of the Milk would have been a perfect place for solace, and an opportunity to shed tears, and maybe even to cry my heart out.

In some ways, I can't blame the devotion Catholics have for Mary, as her motherly nature seems much more softer, more compassionate and gentler than the masculine nature of a father God who is prone much more to discipline. Even among the Jews, God was always perceived as a Creator, holy, and the source of all wisdom, but never as a fatherly being. Perhaps this may be the reason why in Southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, far more shrines are seen which are devoted to Mary than to Jesus. In Siracusa, at the Italian island of Sicily, there is a massive, wig-wam of a conical church, la Chiesa della Lacrima, which was built around a comparatively tiny ceramic statuette of the Virgin, as a result that while hanging in an ordinary home, the statue began to shed tears, declared as an authentic miracle by the Bishop of Palermo. Photos of the weeping statuette were displayed in the front foyer the last time my wife and I went to visit in 2006.

Interior of the Church of the Nativity, Greek Orthodox chapel

But little, if anything has ever been spoken about the tears Jesus shed in public, first over the fate of Jerusalem, then at the news of the death of Lazarus. This demonstrates that for a grown up man to shed tears in public is fine, sadly contrary to our stoic British culture, which considers such actions as wimpish. But whether Catholic or non-Catholic, maybe we tend to forget that as God formed Eve from a rib bone taken out of Adam, it was also he who created the character typical of females. In other words, God is equally compassionate and has mother-like affection towards the afflicted, and for a helpless state of the human race enslaved to sin. And what a wonderful demonstration of God's love, so shown to a group of shepherds whose fields were just outside Bethlehem.

In those days, shepherds were considered pariahs of society, on the lowest rung of the social ladder. As a result, they were most likely looked down upon and treated with disdain. But they were loyal to their work and fully committed to it, as their sheep were about to give birth to their lambs. As discussed by the elder in our recent church service, with the climate of the Middle East being different from that of the British Isles, the lambing season was more likely in December rather than in March or April as it is here in the UK. Hence being out on the watch at night at that time of the year. When the first lamb was born, it was taken to a nearby manger to be inspected by a priest. If it's found without blemish, then it is allowed to dwell with its mother until Passover, four months later, when the lamb is killed and roasted. Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) who was placed in the manger soon after birth, first to be inspected at the Temple (Luke 2:25-35) and then to be sacrificed some thirty years later, on the very same day all the Passover lambs were slain right across Israel.

But while the child lay in the manger, a group of angels held a party within sight of the shepherds, and announced to them that their Messiah had just been born and was lying in the manger. One of the wonders of this story was that the very first people to see the newborn were not the priests, nor the Pharisees, nor even the equivalent of a middle class citizen, but a group of lowly, despised shepherds. When they heard the message, they must have instantly believed in their hearts, because they did not hesitate to go over to the manger in Bethlehem to see the child for themselves, and to leave with their lives changed forever. Were they saved at that instant? Indeed, and the fruit of their salvation was to make the decision to visit the manger.

Bethlehem today, a far cry from "a little town" of the shepherd's era.

There was no hint that they could lose their salvation later in life, as taught today. Those shepherds believed and were regenerated, and basically resumed their living as shepherds. Their status in society may not have changed but their imputation of God's righteousness remains in them forever. What a wonderful demonstration of God's love, which not even the most compassionate mother could match! It s as simple as that. They received a revelation, they believed that revelation and were saved. Exactly the same as Abraham. God told him that he will have children, he believed, and he was acquitted. At present I was told that Jesus Christ was crucified to atone for our sin, was buried, and on the third day rose physically from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). As a result of this revelation I was saved, saved eternally - and so was you. You were saved by believing a revelation, in this case, the Gospel. It did not involve works, merit, or the need to "hang on" to remain saved. So enough of this Cambridge Don culture spewing garbage as discussed in my last blog!

I have found it a temptation to believe that the shepherds lived in a different location in a very different era to us at present, and they had no Cambridge Dons to pester them about not holding out faithful. But actually, they were not that far from Jerusalem, the heart of Israeli worship, and home to a crowd of Pharisees and Sadducees who I see as the Cambridge Dons of the day. These men weren't ignorant, but highly educated scholars at that time. But they would not have allowed the shepherds to come near them, let alone touch them, for fear of "becoming unclean". Their hope of eternal life was bound up in the future physical resurrection on the last day of human history. But only by observing both the Law and the multitude of customs and traditions they dreamt up and imposed on others. They believed that they were successful in obeying every law and custom, therefore they saw themselves as righteous before God, while all others were in their sins. And for the shepherds? To them there was no hope. The average Jewish citizen would bow to the teachings of the Pharisees over above the testimony of the shepherds, with most likely the poor and the down-and-outs, the outcasts, and the decrepit believing the revelation and rejoicing at the good news.

As discussed already, I live in a land and environment where the preaching and teaching of Cambridge Don will always hold sway over my testimony, teaching or blogging. But by reading the testimony of the shepherds, of Abraham, and even the testimony of the wise men, who saw a bright star and believed in their hearts that a King of Israel was born, I feel confident that I too can approach the Throne of God boldly, now the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The wise men saw the star and believed, and acted on their believing by undertaking a long journey and bringing gifts. They travelled because they were already saved through faith, and not working hard to hold on to their faith. Furthermore, they were not Jews, but Gentiles - a proof that salvation is open to everyone who believes.

In the little town of Bethlehem Jesus was born to us that Christmas day. Indeed, Christmas is a time for celebration, for thanksgiving, for rejoicing, and for giving each other gifts. A gift is a good symbol of the grace of God. It is given to the one loved without earning it or meriting the gift. The giver of the present gives it to the one loved. But the recipient has to receive it, and not refuse it. Salvation is a free gift given by God to all who will receive it in faith. And the wonder of it is that it is irrespective of who the recipient is. Whether a shepherd, or a wise man, a Pharisee or a Canaanite woman, one who is highly educated such as Paul the Apostle, or a manual worker such as the Apostle John, who was a fisherman, or one born blind who most likely had no higher level of education than a shepherd. The gift of salvation is given to all who will receive it. It is the very best Christmas gift one could ever receive.

I wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year ahead. God bless you.

Climbing to the Top...

Imagine a pub or bar scenario. Two groups of football supporters sitting side by side. One group support Rovers, and their motif is a striped blue and white scarf. The other are United fans, distinguished by their solid red scarf  - as here in the UK, football, officially known as Association Football, or Soccer for short, is played during the cold Winter months. This particular afternoon, United thrashed Rovers by four goals to one. So a member of the Rovers supporters approach one of the United fans and shaking his hand, congratulates him for being the better team. In turn the winning supporter buys him a drink.

 

Yea, if only.

Rather, opposing soccer fans has been a cause of fierce rivalry over the decades, with a strong Police presence keeping rival fans apart and making sure no violence erupts. Furthermore, at an average football stadium, fans of one team sit on one side of the pitch, the opponents on the other.

 

This is the time within the four-year interval that specific nations of the world are playing qualifying matches for entry into next year's World Cup tournament to be held in Brazil. Earlier in the week, England managed to beat Montenegro in the first of the two playoffs. At this point of writing, they will still have to defeat Poland before a guaranteed entry.

 

England has this habit of defeating rival internationals to qualify, but later, well into the tournament, England gets eliminated during the knockout stages in the selection for the cup final. And that is when I breathe a long sigh of relief!

 

Of course, 1966 will always be a year to remember in English football. This was the year when England defeated Germany at the World Cup final played at Wembley, and the whole nation roared with delight as the golden cup was lifted by the team captain. Afterwards, the open top double-deck bus hardly moved along the streets of London as the road was literally blocked with thousands of cheering supporters. A year later in 1967, the team manager Alf Ramsey, was knighted by the Queen.

Then again, back in 1966, when I was a thirteen year old schoolboy, our national culture was different. Despite being at the peak of the hippie age, men were still men and women were grateful! For example, women back then saw nothing amiss about staying at home as a housewife while the husband went off to work, no matter what occupation he was in, to fulfil his role as breadwinner. I recall, during the school holidays, watching Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men, as the BBC back then broadcast the daily fifteen minute Watch with Mother programmes. The very nature of these shows reflected the housewife and mother staying at home to look after their young children while Dad was at work. I guess the way our brains are wired up, along with genetic makeup, we men are simply not happy unless we are productive in one way or another. I also guess that it had all started when God commissioned Adam to maintain the Garden of Eden and to look after it, giving him his wife Eve to be a help meet for him.

 

It has been said that productivity was the result of the Fall, but the Bible does not indicate this. Instead, God told Adam to take care of the Garden and to keep it, before the Fall. It was only after sin had entered the world that our livelihoods depended on our productivity. Yet, for thousands of years which followed, until relatively recently, productivity had always been a male domain.

 

I recall the moment I made a mention in referral to this while I was a volunteer in Israel, back in 1994. Immediately I was taken the wrong way by a couple of feminist-minded women in the Christian Conference Centre where I lived and worked. It was this that led to my final dismissal by the centre director. They thought I was saying that women were "inferior" to men. I told them straight that I was not implying this. What I said was that men and women have different roles to function and both were equally important. After all, does it look natural for a woman to be lying flat on the floor of a mine tunnel, drilling into the coal face, covered in black soot? Or getting equally dirty sweeping chimneys? These occupations seems okay for men, but for women? Then again, pardon my perception, but does it look really natural for a female to drive heavy articulated trucks with their massive steering wheels? Or even buses? For that matter, bricklaying at a building site? Is there something attractive about a female bodybuilder with rippling muscles and bulging biceps and thighs as hard as tree trunks?

 

Maybe I'm old fashioned and a male chauvinist, but I would never allow my wife near a coal mine, although bricklaying has always been something she would have liked to aspire to. Then again, stacking shelves in a shop or supermarket, or even at a factory production line, I might have given my grudging consent, if our household budget was dangling precariously over the cliff. But working in an office? To tell the truth, in such a case my self esteem might have come under threat, although not ever had this experience, I can only speculate.

 

Yet in domestic window cleaning, I came across situations which opened my eyes to what really goes on behind closed doors. I know of five cases where the husband walked out from his wife and family, three of these the wives were dedicated career women, the other two had found new female companions in the office. Furthermore, I knew of three cases where the wife walked out of her husband and in one case, her two small sons as well, to pursue a career. I had men weep with grief on my shoulders. Sometimes I feel that my occupation involves more than mere cleaning windows. To add to this, I recall a TV documentary in the 1980s on why the UK divorce rate was rising rapidly. This programme involved interviews with one middle aged couple, whose grown-up children had flown the nest. After more than twenty years of marriage, they were separating. The reason for this did not become apparent until near the end of the show, when it was revealed that after their youngest offspring had left home to start a new life, the wife and mother had engaged in night school, and managed to gain some qualifications, maybe even a degree, and she wanted independence from her husband's bread winning role. He was devastated, and they both felt their love for each other dry up. Of all TV programmes, this one is as sharp in my memory as if broadcast only yesterday.

 

Only last week, I was sitting in the sauna with two other mates, one of then a commercial window cleaner at another town. He recalls a conversation among fellow cleaners in an office, where one of them overheard a female say to her colleague:

Ugh! He's just a cleaner!

I was told that several male cleaners were brought to the brink of tears by such attitude they come across frequently. Talking of British class divide, I can fully identify with these guys as I have encountered hostility, mainly from school or college-age daughters of customers who themselves are decent people to work for. From these experiences, to others as well as myself, I tend to believe that there is something intrinsically evil about someone, both male and female, pursuing further education and a career for the sole purpose of climbing to the top. Furthermore, I have read the result of a national survey, that employees of both genders prefer male leaders than female. Photos of a model posing as a female boss bullying a male office worker had also appeared in newspaper articles, enforcing my suspicion.

 

But am I being a male chauvinist? Not really. The Bible gives some examples of the lives of godly women, four comes into mind straight away. They were Rahab, Ruth, Hannah and Elizabeth. Reading the lives of these four, all were submissive to their husbands, with even Sarah, who ordered her husband Abraham to rid the house of Hagar and her son Ishmael, submitting to him, referring to him as a lord (1 Peter 3:6).

 

One of the loveliest praises offered to God were from two women, whose praise were very similar to each other - Hannah mother of Samuel, and Mary mother of Jesus. I quote here the praise offered by Mary in Elizabeth's presence, as quoted by Luke 1:46-55:

 

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoice in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on, all generations shall call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inward thoughts.

He has brought rulers from their thrones but lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but he has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and to his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.

 

If you read 1 Samuel 2:1-11, here Hannah goes into greater detail in her praise to God, but essentially her prayer was the same as Mary's. These women show the virtue in having faith in God and to lead holy lives.

Men and women have different roles, but neither one is greater than the other. But pressing for supremacy, I think, is evil. That is the reason why I feel relief whenever England is eliminated during the knockout stage of a tournament, or any competition. If England wins the cup in Brazil next year, the national and imperial atmosphere of pride across the nation will be almost unbearable. Oh, for the nation to collectively humble itself before God in contrition, and to put its faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Not only would there be a dramatic change in culture, but this alone would make our nation really great.

Christmas Is About Easter

Yes, it's that time of the year again. The appearance of fir trees, baubles, coloured lights displayed both inside and outside homes, offices, shops and hanging across the main street and shopping malls. Immortal St. Nicholas wakes up and stretches his arms as he rises once again after eleven months of sleep. As he gazes into the mirror, he sees that despite nearly a year of fasting, he had not lost a single pound in weight. Satisfied, he reaches to his wardrobe and dons his familiar red coat. As he feeds his reindeer, once again he could not be bothered to shave. And as the big day draws near, children everywhere feel their excitement build up in anticipation of what they will find as presents once the colourful wrapping is torn to shreds.

Ah, Christmas! A time to down work tools, put up my feet with a glass of sherry and relax as the snowflakes fall gently outside. Other men would also anticipate a box of cigars. Ah, the aroma of cigar filling the air. It certainly brings in the right kind of atmosphere into the home, while the mantle of snow builds outside, the younger children engaged in their new toys, the teenager engrossed in his new Ipad, while no one is at least bothered to check what sort of rubbish programmes and constant repeats the TV will churn out again, year after year. And Mum, constantly busy in the kitchen while the turkey and potatoes bake slowly to the perfect roast. She also checks the medical box to ensure she had not forgotten to buy the Alka Salza, in anticipation of a stomach in pain with indigestion. Remembering this was essential, for not a single shop will be trading at all up and down the land. A vast contrast to Saturday, just three days earlier, when the street was packed with shoppers, each one jostling to ensure that St. Nicholas had his work cut out.

Seriously, I love Christmas. Generally, I see the holidays as a respite from the daily routine of work in the midst of a cold, often wet season. Together with this, enjoying the company of family members, something which does not occur on a daily basis. But for me personally, there is more, a lot more. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ the Saviour. Then again, after hearing about the birth of Jesus, one dear female exclaimed,
Oh please, don't start bringing religion into the festivities!

In a way, she was right. Nothing can be so morose as religious people going about their ways, looking serious, sad even, while giving us that soul-searching look. Last week one of our Elders was sharing with us about one Christmas day while he was an undergraduate student. He decided to spend the day in his room, praying and fasting, with the hope that this will bring him closer to God. The exact reverse resulted, with him being as far from God than he ever felt before, along with the rest of his family displeased and irked with his "spirituality" spoiling their festive day. Yet to many among the religious, he would have been regarded as a pillar of the faith. No wonder the Lord Jesus had something to say to the Pharisees, who had a very similar religious viewpoint.

Bethlehem, I think, is a very familiar location to the Christianised Western population. But I often wonder what is the percentage of the population who had actually visited Bethlehem.  I recall quite clearly sitting on the floor with all the other pupils during school morning assembly in the 1960s, when our strict, cane-wielding Deputy Head telling us about the site of the Nativity being represented by a star in Bethlehem. I often wondered whether he had seen the star himself, or did another tell him of it? I will never know, since he had long passed away, but in thinking about it, his age corresponded to the time when the British Mandate held power over the Middle East. As a serving soldier, he could well have visited Bethlehem. Yet this information stuck, even when I was an atheist during my late teens.

It was in 1976 that I flew to Israel for the first time in my life to try some backpacking, which included a visit to Bethlehem. From Jerusalem, where I was staying, I took an Arab bus to spend the day in Bethlehem. Once inside the Church of the Nativity, I descended some stairs to the crypt, built over a cave which contained an altar over a fourteen-pronged star, with the site of the manger nearby. I then returned to Bethlehem in 1993 to spend even longer inside the church of the Nativity, contemplating as I kneeled over the same star, kept thoroughly clean and well maintained as thousands of pilgrims and visitors pray and gaze over it each year.

The Star at Bethlehem, the site of the Nativity.

Kneeling over the star has given me a new meaning of Christmas. I felt the presence of God there. Whether this was the actual site of the birth, of course, is debatable. The Bible does not mention anything about a cave. Only in Matthew 2:11 we are told that Joseph and Mary were living in a house in Bethlehem at the time of the arrival of the Magi, which could be several months after the birth. With no room at the inn at the time of the birth, indeed the manger may have been housed in a cave. But they did not remain there after the census was completed. By the time of the eighth day after birth, when the baby was presented at the Temple, the family by then might well have been properly housed.

At church we sing carols like Silent Night and Away in a manger, both depicting Jesus as sleeping quietly and then waking up without uttering a single cry. To me that's nonsense. First, during the birth itself, the baby had to cry. This was a necessity in order for his lungs to inflate with air as he left the womb. Then afterwards, to cry for milk was not sinful, but a life-saving message to attract his mother's attention that he needed to be fed. Then not to mention the need for bathing and sanitation (diaper change, whatever was used back then.) Then on the eighth day, the infant was to experience pain for the first time. This was the rite of circumcision, the shriek uttered from the sharp pain resulted of the covenant he himself had imposed on Abraham and his descendants. By the eighth day, baby Jesus was already familiar with pain.

We are then told by Luke that Jesus made annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem as he was growing up, who by then already had younger siblings, each of them crying, making a fuss and I'm sure, testing their parent's patience. Young Jesus most likely had to watch his siblings receive corporal punishment, even though he himself was sinless, this did not apply to his brothers, who were tainted with sin. But on top of all this, I would have been very surprised if Joseph had not taken young Jesus to Hebron, to pay homage to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob buried at the Cave of Machpelah.

The fortress over the Cave of Machpelah, Hebron.

The fortress was built over the Cave of Machpelah by Herod the Great before the birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore the very same masonry we see today must have been familiar with Joseph, Jesus and his brothers. In 1976, I had the privilege to not only stand by the fortress, but to actually enter and stand inside, thanks to the help of an Arab local I happen to befriend. Inside I was able to look at the cenotaphs of Abraham and those of his family. I also re-visited Hebron once more in 1994, but this time I was unable to enter, as the fortress was closed to the public during that year. Nevertheless, to look and touch the very same wall that Jesus was familiar with was indeed edifying!

During his adolescence, Jesus most likely worked with his father in the carpentry trade. As he handled the wood, he became familiar with the pungent as well as the texture. Yet, at the back of his mind, he knew that one day he will be nailed to a cross made of the same material. Personally, I believe that much of his life was spent with his father in Nazareth before entering into his ministry. Although men such as William Blake promoted the idea that Jesus as a boy had set foot in England, and many Englishmen believed this, the truth is far more likely that he hardly left Nazareth except on his annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

At the accumulation of his three year ministry, Jesus was taken by his Jewish accusers to be tried by the Roman governor Pilate, who sentenced him to be crucified. When he was led out of Jerusalem, carrying his cross, how possible it would have been for the sweet smell and texture of the wood having revived memories of happier days when he worked under his father's protection? When the Roman soldiers hammered the nails into his flesh, did he have memory flashes of doing the very same thing himself, not in crucifying anyone but in the making of furniture?

On the cross of wood he was so familiar with, he died, atoning for the sins of the world. He was buried, and three days later, was physically resurrected. This was the final proof that this Jesus, born as a helpless baby and placed in a feeding trough, was Almighty God after all, who fully accomplished what he set out to do. Indeed, Christmas is about Easter.

And that is something we can celebrate - even inviting St. Nicholas to the party.

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I wish all my readers and followers a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous year to come.
May God bless you richly.
Frank.

What is Hell? Pt 2 - Rich Man and Lazarus

This blog is the continuation of my last one, What is Hell? - The Fall Of Lucifer - and I recommend reading the first article if you have not done so yet, before reading this one.

The inspiration in writing these two articles was gotten from another blogger on this website who posted an article about the lake of fire, and I felt a confirmation of my long held suspicion over the "one size fits all" theory that the fiery lake of burning sulphur will be the final destiny for every soul of those who had lived and died without the rebirth of his spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. The suspicion originated on basically two issues here, both found in the Bible. The first one is that this lake of fire will be the final destiny of Lucifer and his angels. As pointed out in my previous article, Lucifer and his angels - in fact the whole of the realm, were spirits. They never had bodies. So how would a physical fiery lake affect them?

The second cause of concern I felt was that when Jesus Christ spoke of the afterlife, he referred to two different kind of destinies for the lost. One was the fiery lake or furnace of fire. The other was outer darkness, giving an impression of empty space with nothing tangible nor any source of light. In both cases the lost soul would "weep and gnash his teeth," depicting emotional torment and anger over his decision to reject or ignore the calling of God during his lifetime. Whether his eternal state would involve physical pain is a matter of opinion. Experience seem to indicate that pain causes the sufferer to forget everything else and concentrate on the affected area of his body. For example, suppose you were in debt, and as you were preparing dinner, you also were trying to figure out how to settle the debt. Due to a momentary loss of concentration, you upset a saucepan of boiling water, and you are scalded by it down your chest or across your arm. The sudden intense pain will not cause you to keep thinking about the debt. Rather you call for an ambulance, that is, if you don't fret around the room in frightful panic in the first place. If the lost soul is in intense pain, it would be the pain itself tormenting him, not the realisation of loss of eternal life in Heaven.

And I might add a third reason against the "one size fits all" eternity. That is, that the lost, at Judgement, will be judged "according to their works" (KJV) or "what they have done" (NIV). The Bible makes this clear in Revelation 20:12-13 and Matthew 16:27 that the punishment will be according on how one has lived his life while alive. Therefore a little old lady, who lived and died without ever hearing the Gospel, would not get the same level of punishment as, for example, Adolf Hitler who slew six million Jews in the Holocaust, or Joseph Stalin who had many killed for not adhering to his Communist manifesto. On the other hand, it does look grossly unfair for the little old lady, who was faithful to her husband and had never done anything maliciously wrong, to be immersed in fire for all eternity while at the same time, a strapping trucker, who had pub fights and bar brawls in his younger days, enjoys Heaven for having placed faith in Jesus Christ.

And what about the great many throughout history who lived and died without ever hearing the Gospel (and this would include all in Old Testament times.) It looks to me that in these cases, judgement will be by conscience. Romans chapters one and two seems to say a lot about this, stating that at first, creation itself provides testimony of God's greatness and power. Then Paul writes that his law is written in their hearts, with the conscience being the alarm whenever a sin is committed. But the conscience can be seared and the desire to sin grows with time. The person becomes aware of his wrongdoing, but grows to love this, pushing the truth about God aside. On this basis will they stand before God at the Judgement.

Then we need to consider the judgement Jesus himself makes right here on Earth, found in Matthew 25:41-46. This involves the hospitality shown to the 144,000 Jews of the seventh chapter of Revelation, of whom Christ refers to as "my brothers" (v. 40). Those on his left hand were sent to the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, just as the heavenly judgement of the lost of Revelation 20 were sent to the same place. Showing hospitality is something anyone can do, whether he has faith in Christ or not. It is tragic, as I see it, that here in Britain, which calls itself a Christian country, hospitality does not rate high in our culture as it does, so I read, in Hindu India. So I believe that this judgement, the way the Jews were treated, will be the fulfilment of the edict God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 where God will bless those who bless his descendants, and curses those who curses them.

Therefore, in my last blog, I suggested that both the eternal fire and total darkness may be illustrations of the eternal state of the lost. Much of this is to make sense of the Bible rather than swallow everything the Vatican dictates. But I, as a believer, have elderly parents who, by their own admission, are agnostics. Lately, my father, in his mid eighties, have been in and out of hospital, after suffering a series of strokes and heart palpitations. My mother struggles as she tries to take care of him. The thought of eternal fire gives me grief, believe me, it is a burden impossible to bear. But I have approached this issue with caution. I accept that I could be wrong. The lake of fire could well be a literal place. Then again, with this idea there are further problems - and this concerns the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31.

The rich man lived a sumptuous life, feasting everyday and enjoying life to the full. Outside his home was a beggar Lazarus, placed there so he could enjoy some hospitality from the rich man. Instead, the rich man's heart was like solid steel while the beggar starved. Eventually, both dies. The soul of Lazarus is taken to be comforted by Abraham, while the rich man falls asleep - and wakes up being tormented in Hell.

And here are three inconsistencies if the rich man was tormented in literal fire. One is on how he could hold an audible conversation with Abraham right across a wide gulf or chasm separating them. The other is why a drop of water placed on his tongue should bring such lasting relief if he was immersed in flames. And thirdly, after his death he was buried. This means that the rich man is suffering Hell as a discarnate spirit, without a body. And why was the tongue such an important organ for want of relief, if the whole of his soul was immersed in fire?

The tongue was his organ of taste. With it, he enjoyed such delicacies during life. But more important, his tongue was the organ of speech. With it, he cursed Lazarus as being wicked due to his poverty, and spoke of himself as righteous, his riches being proof of this. But as another blogger had pointed out, all this is a prophetic parable. After doing some research, I think we are able to identify who this rich man was, and prove how divinely the Bible is in being the true Word of God, and furthermore that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah and the risen Lord!

The rich man was Joseph ben Caiaphas, the High Priest at the time of Christ. He married a daughter of Annas ben Seth, also High Priest and one of the members of the Sanhedrin. Annas also had five sons, whom the historian Josephus was able to identify:

Eleazer ben Ananus
Jonathan ben Ananus
Theophilus ben Ananus
Matthias ben Ananus
Ananus ben Ananus

Caiaphus became son-in-law of Annas, and in Jewish custom, were as close as birth father and son, and his brothers-in-law as actual bloodline brothers. Therefore, through marriage, Caiaphas was a member of Annas' house, and his five sons became actual brothers.

Lazarus in Luke 16 was the brother of the two sisters of John 11, Martha and Mary. John tells us that Lazarus died and was buried at a nearby tomb, where he lay for four days. Jesus deliberately withheld himself for this duration to convince all that not only was Lazarus truely dead, but decomposition had set in and the corpse started to smell with decay. Caiaphas the High Priest knew this, and the Pharisees came to comfort his two grieving sisters, including Caiaphas' five brothers. Jesus was to perform a miracle that would change everything and seal his fate. After rebuking the two sisters for their lack of faith, he ordered the stone seal to be rolled open. He then called to Lazarus to come out, which he did. The miracle caused tremendous commotion among those who watched it. The common people were ready to hail Jesus as King and their Messiah, and they greeted him in this manner on his Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, by laying palm leaves on the road in front of his donkey.

But the Pharisees, despite witnessing such a miracle, refused to believe in Jesus as their Messiah and instead, they made plans to have him executed by crucifixion. John also tells us that many of the Pharisees as well as the common people went to see Lazarus as well, who must have told them over and over again what it was like beyond the grave, and how Jesus raised him up, proving that Jesus is the Christ. The five brothers of Caiaphas must have also seen Lazarus but refused to believe. Rather, according to John 12:9, they planned to execute Lazarus along with Jesus.

Christ before Caiaphas

In anwser to the rich man in Hell, by God's grace, Lazarus was sent to the five brothers by Abraham. Abraham, according to the parable, was right in predicting that the five brothers of Caiaphas' household would not believe even if he was raised from the dead.

The miracle of Lazarus was to show the population that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, foretold by Moses and the prophets, such testimony about Jesus which the five brothers also refuse to believe. But John assures us that all who believe that Jesus is the Christ has eternal life and is born of God.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus was a prophetic story told by Jesus Christ as he ministered to the Jews, and in the company of the Pharisees, who constantly monitored and questioned his teachings instead of believing in him. Jesus performed many miracles throughout his ministry, all of them to prove that he was their Messiah, yet the Pharisees remained in stubborn unbelief.

The rich man in Hell pleaded for the wellfare of his five brothers, that they may not enter this place of torment. His request was refused. I too plead for my parents. Will my request be refused too?

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

Trusting in God's goodness is all I can do.