Lost and Found

Yesterday town workers came and cut down the tree in front of my neighbor's house while we pressed sad faces against the window glass and watched.  Someone must have wanted it removed.  But, the tree was not sick or dying .  And, it provided shade, privacy, and beauty to our street.  Now it's gone, and there is a gaping hole in its place.  Changes to the landscape are startling.

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"Can I use this?"  my daughter asked me.  It was an old journal of mine, hardly used, with just a few pages of scribblings at the beginning.  I ripped the pages out and gave the book to her.  Later, after lessons, and laundry, and meal preparations I looked at the pages.  They were from 2005. Did I write these notes?  Were these my thoughts back then?  I scarcely remember.

I want to save these pages, which are now loose and will soon end up misplaced or shuffled into the bin.  Since it's Lent and these are notes from some of my questions about faith, I've decided to post a record of them here. Even if you do not share my religious views, you might be entertained by the crazy things I think about, or then again, you might be bored stiff.  If you're not interested in Bible stuff, definitely skip the rest of this post.  

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Notes on the Revelation:

Who are the 144,000?  They are the companions of the Lord, who bear the name of the Father and the Son on their foreheads--but, what about the name of the Holy Spirit?  The 144,000 are the embodiment of the Spirit--the Church.  Numbers in scripture do not have a one-to-one correspondence the way that we use them today.  They are always used conceptually.  The number 1,000 represents fullness or completeness.  The number 12 represents perfect rule.  12 is the product of 3 (Divine Perfection) and 4 (which represents the four corners of the earth).  In looking at the number 144,000, it strikes me that 12 x 12 is 144.  It is a perfect square.  One could suggest that this 12 x 12 perfect square is formed from the 12 tribes of Israel  multiplied upon the 12  Apostles (144) and expanded by the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the world to every nation 144 x 1000.  The number can be identified as ALL of the saints of God.  Indeed, right after St. John tells us about the 144,000, he "sees" a vision of a great multitude from every nation clothed in white robes.  We know that the 144,000 and the people of this vision are one and the same, because they are dressed exactly alike--both wear white robes. 

What is the meaning of the number of the beast: 666?  In scripture, six is the number associated with man's rebellion:  Goliath was 6 cubits tall, his spear weighed 600 shekels, he had 6 pieces of armor.  Goliath taunted Israel and blasphemed God.  David crushed his head like Christ crushes the head of the dragon in the Revelation.  Goliath had a friend who was 6 fingered and 6 toed.  He too taunted Israel.  Kind David's nephew struck him dead.  The numbers 6+60+600 signify man in open rebellion against God--man asserting himself; blaspheming the Almighty and elevating himself to the place of God.  This number is seen in the OT in 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Daniel, referring to the reigns of Solomon and King Nebuchadnezzar . 

The "mark of the beast" on hand and forehead goes back to Deut. 6:8 where we are told to tie the commandments of God as symbols on our hands and foreheads.  In other words, the law of God is to control what we do (our hands) and how we think (our minds).  In Revelation, we are told that what is bound to our hands and minds goes against God.  

In the Revelation, the devil stood on the beach between the earth and the sea.   He made a counterfeit trinity out of 2 beasts:  political power and false religion.   At the end of it all, this political and religious power is just human--inspired by the devil, but just human.  Human like Goliath, Nebuchadnezzar, and Solomon, prone to failure, death and decay.  This unholy false trinity represented by the number 666 arrogates unto itself the status of God, but it is counterfeit.  Wisdom immediately knows the difference. Above all, the Revelation warns us not to be fooled. 

What is Faith? Faith is acceptance of who God is, but it involves repentance of who we are and demands obedience to be valid.  It is not an intellectual assent, but an actual movement of the soul towards God.  The soul moves toward God, and the actions of the body, at the same time, conform to (and confirm) that movement.  

Salvation is by God alone; it comes by grace...we hear the gospel--the Word--and, God, who is the Word, touches our soul with His grace.  The grace says, "Here am I".  God's word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).  It produces a response.  The gospel, God's holy Word, says, "This man Jesus--died for your sins and was raised up to life--"Here am I"...."Who do you say I am?" He asks.  His word demands a response.  There are only two responses:  belief and unbelief.  We call belief faith and unbelief sin.

In scripture faith is never discussed apart from action (work).  Thus work is an essential element of faith.  Clearly, this faith that works comes from God as a gift through Jesus' own life.  Christ Himself does the work with the collaboration of our bodies.  

*both faith and good works are the fruits of the Spirit and should not be thought of as 'in sequence', but as operating together in LOVE (Christ).  

When the call to faith is isolated from the call to obedience, as it frequently is, the effect is to make good works a supplement to salvation or simply the "evidence" of salvation.  According to the Great Commission, however, they belong to the essence of salvation, which is freedom from sin and not simply freedom from eternal condemnation as the consequence of sin.  

To believe is to obey. (1 John 2:23).  Even faith itself is a matter of obedience to the command of our Lord.  Obedience is the fullness of faith.  To tell sinners, "Believe in Jesus and you will be saved," is essentially the same as telling them, "Obey Jesus and you will be saved."  


Jesus put it this way, "Come, leave everything, and follow me".