On The End of the World ... "Apocalypse"? Not So Much

This post is somewhat of a rant, I'll confess up front.  I've actually been enjoying, in a somewhat perverse way, all the silliness about the end of the world tomorrow (12/21/12).  Most people that I know don't seem to be taking it seriously, but I know there are many who are.  And I suspect that a lot more are actually harboring some secret level of "concern" about it but not letting on.

Whatever. 

When much of the hubub started several months ago, I did about 10 minutes worth of digging and found enough evidence to recognize that the entire thing was based on a misrepresentation of the facts, even if you DID take the Mayan calendars & beliefs seriously. The Mayan's calendar system was, similar to most parts of ours in that it was based on "cycles" rather than "lines".  By that I'm referring to the portions of our calendar that repeats itself - seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months - they all run in cycles which repeat.  There are 60 seconds in a minute and then it starts over.  There are 24hours in a day, 7 days in a week, etc. etc.  To some extent, we even do this with years as we count numbers of centuries or millennia from a given point.  However, in general, our years run in a straight line though ... they'll just keep counting up until ... well until something really big happens. 

The Mayans did this too, but where are largest, named, repeating cycles are probably months, they included bigger cycles called "baktun".  Each baktun was 144,000 days in length (400 years with each year being 360 days in length - yes the Mayans used 360 day years as did most ancient cultures prior to a particular date - but that's another issue. ;-)  The "calendar" everyone is talking about "rolls over" or restarts at the end of each baktun in the same way our months start over at the conclusion of each yearly cycle.  Once you get to the end of December, we start back at January and increment the year.  The baktun cycle has started over 11 times since it was started and we are currently in the 12th baktun. The last time it rolled over (from the 11th baktun to the 12th) in the year A.D. 1618.  It's probably relevant to note that the world didn't end in 1618 ... as far as we know.

Tomorrow, 12/21/12, the same thing happens and the calendar will roll over from the 12th to the 13th baktun and start the counting over again.  That's it.  Nothing else.  About the same amount of excitement as watching the car odometer roll over from 99,999 to 100,000 miles.  Cool to watch, but then you move on.

I find it fascinating that people get so hung up about these kinds of "roll-overs" and believing that they're bringing the end of the world (note I'm NOT using the word "apocalypse" - I'll come back to that in a moment.  When the first millennium rolled over (the year 999 to 1000 back in medieval times, people went berserk too.  We saw some of the same thing at the end of 1999 for the end of the 2nd millennium.  There's probably much to be learned from the very fact that people seem to have a built-in expectation for the world to end at some point ... and they are afraid of it.  All kinds of lessons there, but that's for another post.

Now for my rant.  Whether the context is Nostradamus, or zombies, or Mayans, or any other non-Biblical reference to some end-of-the-world event, the use of the word "apocalypse" is wildly inappropriate.  When I hear it used in these contexts, it produces a strange mixture of annoyance and amusement.  The latter is because I'm pretty sure that if the people using it this way had any idea what it actually meant, they'd run away screaming hysterically, "NO! NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!"  And that makes me smile. :-)

The word "apocalypse" is a transliterated Greek word (meaning it's still pretty much the original Greek word, just "Englishized" in the way it's spelled) that literally means "unveiling" in the way an artist might unveil a newly finished statue or painting.  "Revealing" is a close synonym.  It is the first word of the first verse of the Biblical book of Revelation and, obviously, where the book gets its title.  However, what most people don't know (because they're only knowledge of the contents of the book comes from Hollywood) is that the "revelation" that is being referred to is NOT knowledge about how the world ends.  In fact, contrary to popular misconception, the world does not end in the book ... EVER!  It does go through some pretty rough events for a few years, but this is immediately followed by 1000 years of the greatest peace and harmony the Earth has seen since its creation.  Later, it is replaced by a new Earth ... in fact a whole new Universe, but it continues onward ... forever.

So what IS revealed in the book of Revelation?  Jesus Christ!  His true nature, mission, and glory are revealed - first to Him (by the Father), then to His disciples (us) through the writing and publication of the book.  The first line of the book is, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place."  Although these events are referred to as "the End Times", they do not relate to the end of the world itself, but only the end of the reign of Men upon this planet - the "End of the Age" is a more appropriate understanding, or the end of God's tolerance and patience with Mankind's (and Satan's) rebellion.

So every time the word "apocalypse" is used in some relation to the end-of-the-world (zombies, Mayans, Mad Max, etc.) I have to chuckle because they are inadvertently referencing the "Revelation (apocalypse) of Jesus Christ" and the very idea that God's patience with our foolishness WILL run out.  There will indeed be a resurrection of the dead, but we can be sure that it has nothing to do with zombies! 

"Armageddon" is another one, but I'll not go into details here except to say that it is a Hebrew word which refers to the specific location (the Valley of Meggiddo in Israel) where the final battle will take place between Israel and the other nations of the world that initiates the Return of Jesus Christ (aka "Second Coming").  So here again, when secular people and media use the term "Armageddon" to refer to the end of the world, it's just another testament to their own ignorance as they inadvertently reference Second Coming of Jesus Christ to defeat those who have aligned themselves against Him and to usher in the Millennial age of His own Kingship over the planet Earth and all its peoples and nations. 

As Christians, while there is that certain "perverse" sense of amusement that comes with watching people who have no idea what they're talking about inadvertently bear testimony to the Bible's prophecies about the Return and Preeminence of Jesus Christ, it's also an incredibly sad testimony to the ignorance of the general population and the media in particular of God's Word and what the near future holds in store for Mankind.  We Christians should see this as opportunity to proclaim what the Bible teaches us about these things.  The next time you hear or see someone misuse "Apocalypse" or "Armageddon", you can jump in with a friendly, "I was just wondering - do you know what that word really means?"  After all, THEY brought it up! :-)

Grace, Peace, and a very merry Christmas to all;

- Tim -

Appreciating Christmas Hymns - Hark, The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!

Since becoming a Christian as a senior in high school, I've held a deep appreciation for many of the great, classic hymns.  Those we sing at Christmas time are all the more special, not only because of the feelings and memories which which they are associated for me, but but also, like so many others, because of their profound theological content.  It is unfortunate in some ways that we know these songs so well because we tend to recite them without even hearing the words anymore.  Their meaning is reduced to traditional recitation because ... well ... "we always sing these songs at this time of year!"

Yet many of them hold deep, rich truths of our faith packaged up in their concise verses and are in fact a miniature theology lesson if we would take the time to reflect upon them - personally, or with our children.  I hope to comment on a few here in this blog before Christmas gets here, but I'm already late getting started as there are SO MANY that say so much.  So let me encourage you this season, as you sing or listen to these great traditional hymns of the season, to let your attention be drawn to the lyrics - and be blessed by them.

This year, I've been particularly taken (again) with the depth of the lyrics in the hymn / carol "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley.  Each verse is powerfully laden with Biblical Truth about the nature of the Kenosis and Incarnation of Jesus Christ.  Can you count the names of Christ, or His Godly "attributes" listed here?  The second verse especially is one of the most profound and concise descriptions of the "Kenosis" to be found anywhere in my opinion.  The "Kenosis" is the theological word given to the event of Christ "setting aside" some of his Godly attributes and "humbling" Himself to become (and remain) a human man.  It is taken from the Greek word that describes this in Philippians 2:7 - often translated as "emptied" in the phrase "but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men,and by sharing in human nature."

This concept is contained in the 3rd verse also as well as the concepts of Salvation, Regeneration, Sanctification, Justification, healing, Universal Atonement, Resurrection of the Dead, the Millennial Reign, the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Kingship of Christ. We could also identify half a dozen or so attributes and names of Christ all in just the 3rd verse!  It turns out all of the Wesley brothers' hymns are this powerfully packed with doctrine as they found it was a powerful way to get it across to people and have them remember it!  Indeed, we remember their lessons to this day ... if we stop long enough to listen to what it is we're singing anyway.

Won't you join with me this Christmas season in really listening, appreciating, and perhaps even learning from these timeless classics we have handed down to us such as "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" ... and even better - make time to do it with your children to help them appreciate not only the wonderful traditions, beauty, and "magic" of the Christmas season, but also the "why".  Reading the "Christmas Story" from Matthew or Luke is good and right and most certainly should be done.  But take note that if our children only hear WHAT happened (the history part of the story) they may well still have no idea WHY it happened - the significance of the Incarnation.  And while there are many excellent resources and ways to communicate this, you might also find that our favorite Christmas Hymns are in fact powerful teaching tools that our kids may even already have memorized!!

If you're not familiar with some of these concepts, I encourage you to dig in.  There's lots and lots of great content to be found on the Internet (though it's sometimes difficult to separate it from the not-so-great content!), or of course I'm sure your pastor would be THRILLED to answer your questions :-).  Or (shameless plug here), I'll actually be teaching a 10 week introductory course in Christian theology this January for beginners if you'd really like to dig in!  (stay tuned for further details).

Grace and Peace to all in this wonderful season,

- Tim -


The following introduction was taken from http://www.carols.org.uk 

“Hark the herald angels sing” Christmas Carol was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A sombre man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald angels sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing” already written by Wesley.


Lyrics:
Hark the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled".
Joyful, all ye nations rise; Join the triumph of the skies.
With the angelic host proclaim: "Christ is born in Bethlehem".
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored: Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come: Offspring of a Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity.
Pleased as man with man to dwell: Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!  Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by; Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth.  Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"