I just watched Oppenheimer for the first time. To be honest, I was underwhelmed. I mean the story was OK. And the acting really good. But, at the end I was left kinda, ‘meh.’
One thing that did touch my mind and heart was a line at the beginning. Oppenheimer was watching water drop into a pool. In his mind he saw flashes of light. The images switched between his pensive face and the special effects. Then, there was a voice over that said something like, ‘I see things that other people don’t.’ Not like the kid in ‘The Sixth Sense’ way of seeing. Oppenheimer didn’t see dead people. No, he saw the hidden world of quantum physics. The stuff of science fiction and horror stories. And, as we all know, it wasn’t fiction…it was truly horror.
The reason I write this is not to vent my anger at nuclear weaponry or the threat of mutual, global annihilation. That may be the topic of some future post. Not today, though. No, I want to write that I, too, see things that most other people don’t see. I’m sure that we all share to some degree certain insights into how life works. The liquidity of time; the touch of a butterfly’s wing. What I see is slightly different.
Over the years I’ve shared bits and pieces of my life within the religious world. From conservative Evangelicalism through the desert of nothingness to where I am today. I’m labeled Episcopalian. That’s just a label. Kinda like I root for Manchester City in real football. I root for the openness and inclusion that the Episcopal Church waters and cultivates so that the divine seed may bud and flower with the beauty of God’s love. That’s all good. However, it doesn’t reveal the reality of things. True Church is the embodiment of Messiah Jesus in the world. It doesn’t necessarily explain the world. It does offer tools with which to explore it.
I’m truly a contemplative. You can google that if you want. Check out the examples that you find. Even the wiki thing may prove helpful. That is if you’re interested. To me, I see the reality behind the curtain. In biblical studies that’s called ‘Apocalypse.’ To reveal.
Right now we live in a chaotic world. It’s not just a U.S. thing. It’s global. Lot’s of folks are on edge. Even a friend who is a spiritual stalwart shared that she’s afraid.
I see John the Seer’s many-headed beast coming up out of the sea. In that story the beast was Rome. In mine, it is the many-headed beast of the systems that run rampant over the earth. It demands to be bowed to and worshiped. Those who refuse are devoured by the fearsome maw on one of its heads. And we fear. Our fear is our felt reality. We don’t know who will be the next victim of its seeming unlimited power. A power given it by the Great Dragon who exists from the beginning of time. A beast in its own right that controls this beast. Yet, it doesn’t care about the beast. In its great anger simply wants to destroy. The beast is simply a means to that end.
I look behind the curtain and see that which few see. There I see a great light. A prism of colors streaming from it. There are myriad creatures that sing with a great voice. The voices are like the roaring of the sea, yet like the whisper of the summer breeze. They all sing in their own voice, yet they are in close harmony. They sing the praise of the One Who sits in the light. The One Who is the source of the light.
I see also thousands upon millions of people. They stand with heads bowed and beat the breasts crying out, “How long? How long must those upon the face of the earth suffer under the feet of the Dragon and its beast?”
I hear a voice. A quiet voice. As John wrote, a voice “of a lamb which was slain.” I contemplate on that. What lamb? Why a lamb? The voice tells me that this lamb is the One Who was slain by the first beast that was Rome. By His death and His blood He redeemed from death all who were under the foot of the beast.
The beast that I see is not Rome. Nor is it any particular government. I wrote that this beast is the world systems represented by its many heads. From its many mouths it speaks lies and creates fear. A deadly, paralyzing fear. For the Dragon knows that those who live in fear are already his. “Fear is the mind killer,” the Bene Gesserit say. It’s far more than that. Fear is the soul killer. It is the life-ender. It is the prison where the worshipers of the beast are held captive.
John’s vision tells readers that the Lamb and the white-robed army wage a great war against the beast and its followers. We call this war Armageddon. John saw the heavens opened and One on a white horse ride out to meet the armies of the beast. The armies of heaven were arrayed in white linen. They, too, rode white horses. The armies clashed and there was great bloodshed. The beast and the Dragon were thrown into a lake of fire. The ungodly, unholy reign of the Dragon and its minions was ended.
In my sight, I see things differently. There are no white horses and riders. No armies form up to wage bloody battle. No, I still see the Lamb enthroned at the right hand of the Father. He gazes at the Father and says, “Abba! These are all in bondage to the beast and the Dragon. Let my blood be for theirs!” And, it was so.
The beast, embodied in the systems of this world, was destroyed. The beast and its Dungeon Master the Dragon, were chained and thrown into the abyss where they were imprisoned forever. Humanity was redeemed and released!
Behind the curtain God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit waged war. And they won.
This is done. It’s finished. Nothing more can be added to what God has already done!
What, then, is this that we experience in our real world day after day? In my vision it’s the time before the last battle of the Lamb. The battle where the weapons are the sword of His mouth; His Word. Apocalypse is timeless. Meaning that what we see is assured, yet perhaps not yet known. This is the key.
I wrote all of this because of fear. We live in an unsettling time. Chaos reigns. Wars are waged and injustice flourishes like stinging nettles in the garden. Hope seems to be gone from our lives. My vision, however, is one of hope. Nothing that we experience now is cause for fear and anxiety. The Lamb has won! The power of the Dragon has been broken! We are able to stand up and have hope that what we see and experience can, and WILL, end. Does this mean we should sit on our collective arses and complacently wait? For what? The systems to simply implode and disappear? While I don’t see the blood-soaked scene that John saw, I also don’t see the followers of the Lamb sitting idly by. They take the same sword of the Lamb and stand against the systems of hate and greed and power and lust and war. With it they, we, are empowered to stand and seize the victory that the Lamb has won.
Don’t fear! Stand up and rejoice! The other John, John the Elder, wrote, “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
Those with ears to hear, listen.
Leave a Comment
