This was the gospel reading last Sunday. This was one that I thought about and at first didn't see the signifcance in the story. In this verse Jesus asks his disciple" Who do people say that the Son of Man is? They give various answers. Then he said to them "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jessus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
Our Pastor's sermon pointed out that Simon Peter's answer "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." made in public could have put him in danger yet he said it anyway. In those days emporers referred to themselves as Gods. To say that Jesus was a Son of God would have been interpreted as him saying Jesus was of the ruling class. This would have really threatened their ego and their power. Simon Peter could have been arrested for honest answer. Simon Peter showed great faith in proclaiming Jesus as the Son of the living God. And Jesus was saying he will build his church on this rock of great faith. I love that he goes on to say "the Gates of Hades will not prevail against it" To me it's a promise that if we have faith, Hades can not prevail against us. I'm still not totally sure about the last part of the scripture that refers to the the keys of heaven. From my research it seems to be Jesus giving authority to Peter to act in his behalf. Because of his faith he is a trusted servant of God. He is being given the responsibility and power to lead/teach according to the wisdom of Jesus and the Father. Jesus is showing he has great faith in Peter. This scripture came up in my meditation the other day. I thought about the significance of Simon Peter's answer not coming from flesh and blood but was revealed by the Father in heaven. His response was like intuition....knowing that this was the truth, the right answer, without being told. It seems to me that this thing we call intuition, our inner knowing, could just be the Father in heaven whispering in our ear. And when we follow our intution, even when we think it's crazy, it is a demonsration of our faith. I remember Joyce Meyers talking about the day she heard God talking to her. She was just doing everyday tasks when she was told she had a mission. Of course she thought this was crazy. She wasn't qualified to preach. But she had faith that this message, this inner voice, was speaking the truth. I am so glad she followed that voice; having faith in the message and faith that she could do it with God's help. I love her style and find her teachings inspirational and relvent to everyday life. She is helping so many people. Especially those that aren't comfortable in a standard, more formal. church setting. I think our dreams are also whispers from God. When we have a strong desire to create something, a goal we would love to acheive, this may be our opportunity to show our faith in God. Trust in his whisper and have faith he has blessed us with the skills, knowledge, ability and talents needed for the job. Take another look at the dream you keep shoving aside. How could it change your life? How could it change someone else's life? How amazing would it be to finally make it happen? God believes in you. Have faith in his guidance. Faith and belief make all things possible. If you would like to hear the sermon Rev Lauren Cain gave on this scripture you can view it on Grace Lutheran Church of Pottstown's Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/GLCPottstown
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The law of attraction is based on the premise that like energy attracts like energy. Just as Einsteins theory of physics states" Everything is energy and that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality." Here is a more detailed explaination. Quantum physics suggests that at the fundamental level, everything is interconnected and exists as waves of energy. These energy waves can interact and influence each other. When we emit positive energy through our thoughts and emotions, we align ourselves with similar positive energy in the universe, which can then be reflected back to us. I do believe in the theory that like energy attracts like energy. I do not believe attracting what you want is a simple "wish for it and it will appear". Many people believe that is how the Law of Attaction works. All you have to do it be positive, think about what you want and it magically happens. It could and maybe it does sometimes. But I must say it doesn't work that way for me. I would bet there are a lot of people that have thought about something they wanted; were positive in their belief that it would happen; sat and waited.....and were very disappointed that the magic didn't work.
As I said I do believe in the Einsteins energy theory and the Law of Attraction, however, I think there is more involvment required; more action is involved in the process. Sitting and waiting simply does not work. This explanation how energy attracts like energy was taken for the MasterMind.com AI GiGi search. "Another perspective is that our thoughts and emotions shape our perception and behavior. When we have a positive mindset and focus on positive thoughts, we tend to notice and attract more positive experiences and opportunities. This can be attributed to the fact that our thoughts and emotions influence our actions and the way we interact with the world around us." This is the way I see the law of attraction. It's still like energy attracting like energy, however, without action, desired results are less likely to appear. I'm not saying impossible just less likely. I do believe in miracles. This is also taken from GiGi. "It's important to note that the concept of like energy attracting is not universally accepted or scientifically proven. However, many people find value in adopting a positive mindset and focusing on positive thoughts and emotions as a way to attract more positive experiences into their lives." In my coach training at iPEC, there was a lot of focus on energy and the importance of positive energy. iPEC students are even certified in ELI which is an assessement that is based on our energetic profile. It gives us, the coach and the client, insight into how a person perceives life, how they respond to life situations and how we might help them raise their energy level in order to improve their outlook, actions and reactions. We can help them to connect more with their higher energy levels so they are successful in achieving their goals. I believe in the law and effects of energy so strongly that I work hard keeping my energy level high to improve my health, overall outlook on life and keep me in a place where I can best serve others and also reach my personal goals. I would like to add a little side bar here. I believe the Chakras and Spinal Cord are a channel for life force energy. This energy flow effects our health, well being and actions. I use regular chiropractic adjustments, crystal energy, affirmations and meditation as tools in maintinaing my energetic profile. So back to Einsteins law of physics and how to use the law of attraction to make good things happen in our lives? Let's look at the steps in manifestation. Here's another definition from GiGi, "Manifesting is the process of bringing your desires into reality by aligning your thoughts, beliefs, and actions with what you want to attract. " Manifesting is a way to raise your energy and attract positive results. This is a suggested process. 1 Set clear intentions. Define what exactly you would like to see happen in your life. Set very specific goals, desires and outcomes. I was always told to be very careful to keep "don't, not, can't, impossible, try and hope"out of the intention, Any negative word can alter your true intention. I was told the universe does not see negative words. So if you say "I don't want to be poor." The universe sees "I want to be poor" 2 Fully believe that the what you want/your goal is possible. Hold the belief that is has already happened and visualize the results. Immerse yourself in what your life looks like now that the goal has been achieved. It is very important to feel the feelings. How you feel about this happening is a huge motivator in making it happen. Where attention goes, energy flows. Keep the positive energy focused on the goal. 3 Use positive affirmations to keep you on track with a positve mindset. I have a whole training/coaching program on positive mindset. It is the building block for making your dream a reality. A positve mindset keeps you motivated. It keep you going when doubt and fear creep in to de-rail you. So use your affirmations. 4 Gratitude for what you already have. Gratitude for all the achievements you have accomplished in life. Remember to acknowledge, show gratitude and celebrate each step you have made toward your goal. Gratitude opens your heart. It makes you feel good about life. It creates positive energy. It makes me feel pure Love. Gratitude always makes me think of the amazing life I have. Most of which I feel was some kind of miracle from God. Maybe God, or whatever you believe to be the higher power, is the whole reason the law of attraction works. Some things can only be explained as a miracle. In this whole process of attracting what you want, never become desperatly attached to your outcome. The universe has a way of bringing you what is best for your highest good. That may not be what you want or think is best for you. But it is most likely what you need. Keeping that in mind, the law of attraction may have worked for you....It was just an outcome that wasn't what you asked for. Be on the look out for outcomes that you didn't expect. Trust in the Universe or God to bring what you need. So I hope this brings some insight into the Law of Attraction and how it works. Everyone has their own belief system. But the fundamental law of energy can not be denied. It plays an importanat part in our lives, We are energy. I believe keeping our energy positive, keeps us in flow. Being in flow is a higher level of energy where we can make good things happen. I found this to be an interesting scripture. There's a lot happening here. Let's start with the way Jesus responed to this womana plea for help. She is shouting, "Have mercy on me Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." First he ignores her. But the woman persists. Then he says to the deciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel". The women was a Canaanite. The Canannite's were definately not of the House of Israel.
The woman heard what he said, but, she did not give up and go away. She came and knealt before him saying, "Lord, help me". Jesus did not offer to help her, nor did he respond with any compassion. He says, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Now that's really harsh. However, in this time period many considered the Canaantites to be an inferior people. So Jesus's response would not have been surprising. But that is not an excuse. His response was pretty mean way to treat someone asking for help. Maybe he was just emphasizing the point that the people of Israel were his priority. As our pastor pointed out in her sermon, his response is not even close to what we would expect from Jesus. I can feel a little empathy for Jesus. He had just healed a bunch of people and defended his deciples and his traditions from the outraged Pharisees and scribes who had come to question and discredit him. The man must have been exhausted. We all have experienced a time when somebody ask us to do something, we are tired and cranky so the words that escape our mouths are harsh. But this is Jesus! We put him on a pedestal. He is the Son of God! We expect a lot more from him. Now wait a minute.....Let's ease up on the judgment.... Remember....Jesus was also human. Jesus was also being true to his mission. He stated the facts. His purpose was to save the people of the House of Israel. If he were to help an outsider, that would take his time and attention away from the many people he was sent to help. So....with that mission in mind he did not feel obligated to help this woman. After receiving such a cold repsonse many would just walk away disappointed; maybe even disgruntled. Not this Canaantie woman! She was determined to get help for her daughter. She had faith that Jesus was the answer! She was persistent! She didn't let Jesus off the hook. She says "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." She humbled herself. Her response, her persistance and her faith, caused Jesus to rethink his position ; Maybe even re-think his mission. He realized this woman was determined to find help for her daugher. She believed Jesus was the only one that could help her. She had faith in him, the Son of God. So he answered her! Jesus says to the Canaanite woman, "Women, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish". And her daughter was healed instantly, I love listening to sermons that add some history and real life context to the scriptures. As I listen I begin to see how the lesson from the scriptures can be applied to my life; To everyone's lives. This lesson made me think about the times I was harsh with someone because I was tired or busy. It made me want to do better. Words do hurt people and in more ways then we know at the time we say them. It made me think about all of the judgement in this world. The women was an outsider; considered inferior. Nobody is inferior. Everyone deserves to be seen. The most inspiring part of this story is the woman's faith and determination. She had her own mission. That mission was to get help for her daughter. She gave it everything she had and her persistance paid off. I admire this Canaanite woman with faith. I want to be more like her ..... commited, determined, persistent and having faith. Holding the belief that anything is possible. If you would like to hear the sermon Rev Lauren Cain gave on this scripture you can view it on Grace Lutheran Church of Pottstown's Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/GLCPottstown is John 6: 1-15 The story of the boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
I helped out in Sunday School this morning. It was a fun time with the little ones. The message for our Sunday School class was about sharing. It was about the miricle of Jesus feeding so many people with just 5 loaves and 2 fish. This is a pre-school class and learning about Jesus and sharing are great lessons for our children to learn. I though about this bible story. It's a well know story. One I never really thought about. But I was curious. So when I got home I decided to google the story. I was looking for pther message or lessons from the story of the boy who shared his lunch. This young boy stepped up and did his part. He gave what he could. He probably thought it was not enough but he gave all he had. Jesus took this boys gift, blessed it and shared it with the crowd. Nobody went hungry and there was more than enough for the crowd to eat. The boy's small gift was more than enough. As I read the various articles about this story, it made me think about the lessons from the Own Your Future Challenge hat I particpated in this week. I thought about sharing our gifts. We may feel what we have is insignifican; it's not enough; it will have little or no impact. The boy may have felt that way about is gift of 5 small loaves and 2 fish. It probably seemed like not enough but he gave it anyway. This story shows that what we bring to the table is important. We need to share our gifts and talents even when we feel they are not enough. You never know how God will use your gift and what mpact it will have on the lives of others. You never know who needs what you have to share. You may be surprised by how many people you can help with the gift that you don't think is good enough. Share your gifts and have faith that your gift will make a difference to someone. In parts 1 through 3 I talked about becoming aware of your inner critic and other thoughts that block your success. Accept the challenge of getting your inner voice to work with you. Accept the awesome power you have to take cotrol and flip that script. You convert your inner critic into your biggest cheerleader. As you build postive self talk and retrain your brain, you will see feel much better about life. You will notice a positive change in your overall energy level. This higher energy thinking will keep you moving forward as you contune working through your SMART plan. As you move forward appreciate every step both good and bad.
Be prepared for changes to the plan and maybe some setbacks along the way. The path to your goal is never a staight line without challenges. It's usually more like the picture of the treasure map. There will see twists and turns as you make course corrections. Always rely on the new thoughts from your inner voice to build your energy and confidence. Adjust the plan when necessary. That's why we take baby steps. Keep it doable and don't get overwhelmed. Learn to appreciate the victories and the learning experiences. Every step in your quest for a better future has value. Keep working on the SMART plan. Step by Step. If you find something isn't working Pivot. If you have a good friend who does not judge, use them as your back up cheerleader. Sometimes your inner voice will fall back to using the old dialogue. Stay on top of the script. Don't get Discourage; Don't Quit; Just Pivot If you feel you need some help.... I am running a Special Summer Pricing Event until August 1st. The path to your best self and achieving your goal isn't an easy one. You may find it helpful to hire a coach to work with you. As a coach, I am there to help my clients figure out any blocks they have. I teach them to work through blocks, give them tools to keep their mindset and energy positive and encourgage and celebrate with them as they move forward. The most important thing I do as a coach is to believe in my client until they have the power to believe in themselves. If you try this process and think a coach would be helpful, please contact me. We can get on a phone call or zoom and figure out what is going on and what is best for you. I promise anytime I do a consult, it is not a sales call. There is no pressure. It's simply a call to see if I can help. Call or message me NOW for my Special Summer Pricing Event until August 1st. 610-327-4626 or schedule through my website I would love to help! If you read parts 1 & 2, I hope you have taken time to think about the old narrative of your inner voice/gremlin and maybe dug a little deeper to learn why your gremlin would keep running this script that keeps you stuck. Learning why and healing is an important step. I know everyone is anxious to move forward and this extra step doesn't seem necessary. Typically if the wound isn't healed properly or the lesson is not learned it will pop up again in the future. So if you haven't worked through the gremlin message, just be aware that you may have to revisit it again in the future.
Now this is where the process gets to be fun and exciting. It's time to make a change! It's time to is make a plan. Put it in writing. I like to use the SMART method which breaks things down into tiny baby steps. This keeps you from feeling overwhelmed which will definitely lower your energy level. What is your very first step? Write it down. Set a deadline. Get it done. What is your next step? Repeat the cycle until you have achieved the goal. Get excited about your future as you take each baby step toward achieve your goal. Throughout the process keep feeding your brain positive thoughts. You need to sustain a higher energy level so that you will keep moving forward. A higher energy level is important because it determines how you feel about life and your ability to achieve your goal. Low energy will keep you feeling defeated and stuck. High energy keeps you excited and moving forward. Just think about staying in your current situation and being defeated. How does that make you feel? Now think about creating your best life and achieving your goal. How does that make you feel? Feel the difference? See how your thoughts really do change your energy level. As I wrote in the previous post, affirmations work really well to improve your mindset and raise your energy level. Keeping your goal and your gremlins in mind, decide what your brain needs to believe in order to move forward. What do you need to overcome to achieve your goal? I needed to believe that I deserved to be financially secure and that I had the ability to make that happen. In order to overcome my constant student mentality and my not good enough yet thoughts, I needed to believe that I had all the training I needed to help people change their lives. I needed to believe that it was OK to fail as long as I examined what I perceived as a failure, learned from it and let it go. Create your affirmations and use them to change your energy. Have a chat with your gremlin. Get him or her on board with the new thoughts. Your inner critic/gremlin can become your cheerleader. Nurture a positive energy flow by feeding your bran with new positive thoughts. To keep yourself motivated as you move forward, I highly recommend this exercise. I learned this one from Dean Graziosi. Find your WHY! Ask yourself Why achieving this goal is important to you. Take that answer and ask why that is important? Keep asking why after each answer until you go 7 levels deep. This is a link to a YouTube video where Dean explains the process. He also touches on the inner critic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadv15QQDXs&list=RDLVSv882g7UVQE&start_radio=1&rv=Sv882g7UVQE Change your energy level and Find your Why. Your true Why will make you feel good and keep you motivated as you work to achieve your goal. Use your affirmations to nurture a positive mindset and higher energy level. Stay committed to the plan. Keep moving forward! This is part 2 of the Flip the Script Series. Part 1 was about becoming Aware of the thoughts or your inner voice that stops you from reaching your goals or changing your life. This process of discovery and change can be used in so many life situtations. Reaching goals, changing bad habits, weight loss, new career or staring a business just to name a few. Anytime you find yourself repeating a pattern or just being stuck. Become aware of the thought/gremilin that has you stuck and then Accept the Challenge to make a change.
If you have read part 1 and done some discovery work, you are Aware of the thoughts and gremlins that stop you. You have become aware of the feelings that came up during your discovery process. You may have accepted the fact that you are done feeling those feelings and thinking those thoughts. It's good to allow some time for self love and healing after the discovery/awareness process. So much can come up bringing all kinds of emotional baggage to the surface. Forgive yourself and others, love, let go of the past and any negative energy that has you stuck. Remember that the past is just that. You can't change it. You only have the power to change the present and your future. Accept how powerful it is to be able to make a change in your life. As Albert Einsten said, "The definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Accept the Challenge to Change. What would need to change in order for you to get different results, reach that goal or change your situation? Think about the end result you are hoping to achieve. You probably already know what steps you need to take to make it happen. Through the discovery process you may have identified the thought/gremlin that is stopping you from taking action. So before you can implement your action plan, you will need to Flip the Script. Reprogram your inner voice so that it is encouraging you as you move forward. The new script can be positive affirmations that will train your brain/gremlin/inner voice to accept this new thought as the truth. The brain/gremlin/inner voice will then believe that it's new mission is to help you reach your goal because that is what you told it you wanted. Think about the new self talk/encouragment you will need to be successful. What are your affirmations/new thoughts for the gremlin? How do you feel when you hear these new thoughts? Some of the affirmations I used to retrain my brain/gremilin/inner voice regarding my lack mentality, fear of failure and not being too enough were: There is plenty of money to pay the bills, save for the future and live comfortably. You are financially secure. You have all the training and life skills you need to suceed. You are good at your work. You are committed to fulfilling your mission and reaching your goals. You can not fail. When I visulaize my life with these thoughts I feel amazing and excited about the future. The new mindset makes me feel so much better than the old gremlin talk. The retraining part will take a little time and a lot of patience but you can do it! I am doing a 4 part series of post about that inner voice that crushes your dreams, keeps you from trying new things, meeting new people and perhaps keep you stuck thinking you just aren't good enough, smart enough or derseving of a great life.
The first step in the Flip the Script Process is to become Aware of your Gremlin/Inner Critic. In order to recognize a gremlin you have to examine your current situation or goal. How are you doing with goals? Are you are finding it difficult to acheive them? What challenges are you facing? Are you are just feeling stuck in Life? WHY? Sit with these type of questions....journal....meditate. Do what works for you but really work to figure out what is blocking your progress. What is the main thought that stops you in your tracks. Have you faced this challenge or been stuck before? What were your thoughts about that? Is there a pattern? Maybe it's a deep rooted thought that has returned for an encore. It is always helpful to look in your past to find where this block comes from. Keep digging and questioning until you find out what is really stopping you and why. What is the major thought or thoughts that interfere with your progress. Just as an example, I always seemed to have issues with money. Things could be great for a long period of time. Then all of a sudden the money flow stopped which left me to figure out what to do next. I always blamed these dry periods on the cyclical nature of real estate. Now this is true to a point, however, I should have prepared for the slow down since real estate has always been cyclical. When work and money flow slowed down I always felt scared and paralyzed. I would wrestle with my options. I didn't know if I should get a temporary job; change careers so this didn't happen again; maybe just get a part-time job; or just do the best I can until the market returned to normal. I usually opted for the last one. I just spun until work started flowing again. I hated the sinking feeling I got when I thought about my work and money situtation. In my discovery work around this situation I found 3 areas where my inner critic was blocking my success and keeping me stuck. The biggest was my Lack Mentality. This goes way back to my childhood. Money was tight in our family. I don't think this was something my parents talked about but I just knew not to ask for things because we didn't have a lot of money. I also had a Lack Mentality when it came to my knowledge, skills and abilities. Now this is a problem when you are faced with getting a job, especially when you think about changing your career. I would look for a job but I didn't feel qualified for any of the jobs that paid enough and that I were interesting. There was a bit of the "I'm not good enough" in this line of thought. My third revelation was my Fear of Failure. What if I made a career change or started a new business and found out I wasn't good at it. I didn't want to dissapoint my new boss, my clients or myself. So I was faced with a lot of negative self talk around money and my ability to find other work. My lack mentality around money came from my interpretation of our family's finances when I was growing up. My limiting belief that I wasn't qualified or good enough stems from the rough time I had in 5th grade transitioning to a new school. I felt like I didn't know as much as the kids in my new class. I felt I wasn't qualified to be there. I didn't fail the 5th grade but my grades were much lower than they had been prior to the new school. I failed my own expectations of where my grades should have been. Based on this one year of school, I lost my confidence and didn't believe in myself. The false belief that my knowledge, skills and abilities were lacking, led to the assumtion that I wasn't good enough and I would fail at a new career path. Because of my fears, my gremlin stepped in to protect me from disappointment. He was just doing what I told him to do. I didn't want to feel fear, rejection and dissappointment. So he made sure I didn't! He was always there to talk me out of stepping outside of my comfort zone and making a career change. So... enough about me! After you have your inner critic message nailed down and maybe even discover WHY you have this thought, it's time to attach feelings to these thoughts. When you think about the thought that stops you in your tracks, how does that make you feel? Is it a good feeling? The next question to ask your self is "When I think this thought and feel this feeling, what action do I take?" Do you proceed with the plan? Does your situation improve? Do you continue to listen to your gremlin? How is that helping? Maybe these questions don't bring the best thoughts and feelings but they are what they are. It's a necessary step in the process. Feel the feelings. Decide that you are ready to let go of them and that change is possible. You can make great things happen. The next post will be about Accepting your situation; Accepting the power you have to make changes and Accepting the challenge in moving forward. You got this! Just wanted to add a new post....It's been way too long. I have been drawn to the inner critic concept that was part of my iPEC training. I have been trying to get a new coaching program started and have had constant negative thoughts about this venture. My inner critic had been telling me I should just stick to what I have been doing. My Gremlin/Inner Critic is really making this change difficult. I get caught up in the negative inner voice and start to believe I can't make this work.
Have you ever been really excited about some new opportunity or a business idea that would help others and you feel you could easily make it work? Then all of a sudden that inner voice crushes your excitment. It makes you feel bad or incompetant? Are you stuck because you feel like you don't deserve success? Are you so depressed and confused you have no idea how you could ever make any of your ideas work. The job of your inner critic, or Gremlin in the iPEC world, is to protect you. So the negative messaging is to keep you where you are so you don't get hurt. In the view of this critic if you fail you will get hurt. In order to move forward you need to get that Gremlin on your side. Stop the negative talk. Of course it is easier said than done as they say. At iPEC we did an exercise where we named our inner voice/Gremlin. We examined the message he was sending out, took a good look at what the negative story, and took stock of what our Gremlin was costing us. In order to move past the negative messaging, we had to talk to our Gremlin. First we thanked the Gremlin for all it's efforts to protect us. Then we had to explain to the Gremlin, that we had everything under control. We knew what we were doing and would appreciate the Gremlin's help. We gave our Gremlin a positive narrative and asked that this be the script from now on. Now the Gremlin doesn't just stop. Like everyone, it's hard to break a habit. So when the voice starts with the negative script, a reminder of the promist to help and the new script is necessary. This whole exercise is much the same as using affirmations to quiet negative self talk... but a lot more fun! So try the exercise and see if you can get your Gremlin working for you and not against you. I am always available if you would like to explore how coaching can help you will any block that is keeping you stuck. Oh...my new venture! I love energy work. I took a course on crystal energy healing. Stay tuned for the debut of crystal healing sessions, chakra healing kit for self care, and personalized chakra kits and crystal grids. Message me if you would like to talk about coaching or crystal healing. Does the Book of Revelation Predict the Future? With all the crazy stuff that has been happening in our world, it feels like the whole world has gone mad! This craziness is why I was inspired to write about the book of Revelation. I have seen numerous posts referring to Revelation and the end time. Many think we are in that time right now. I get it....It is easy to think that the chaos of our present world is the very thing John's visions "predict" in Revelation. But does Revelation really predict the future?
I am certainly not an expert when it comes to the bible, but lucky for me, Our Pastor is pretty good. I have been attending a bible study group led by our interim pastor. When the Covid stuff started, one of our members was concerned that this was the end time that Revelation talks about. Pastor Christian said he did not get the feeling that we should be concerned that the end was near. Since there have been many plagues throughout history, he didn't think this pandemic was much different. But he did ask if we would like to study the Book of Revelation. What a great idea! I would love to understand the mystery of the book of Revelation. An Apocalyptic Prophecy The last book of the bible is of the apocalyptic genre. In Greek apocalypse means "lifting the veil" or revelation. The book of Revelation is "lifting the veil" or revealing, divine messages to John so he can relate them to the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. Let me start by saying Revelation is a very confusing and scary book. It's a tough read. It is important to understand that Revelation is of the apocalyptic genre. It uses highly symbolic visions to reveal events that will take place. John's visions are cryptic and can be very frightening. This type of writing does get the readers attention and makes for a more captivating read. Captivating the readers attention may be the best way to get the reader to pay attention, realize the importance of the message and take action. Are John's visions a continuous history of the church? Are they a template that can be applied to any time in history? Can we use his writings to be aware of past events and use them to truly see what is happening in our world today? There are so many events, Past and Present that can be tied to visions in Revelation. Were they meant to warn the existing churches of event that were happening at that time? It may seems that way since Jesus directed John to send his writing to the seven churches. Was the point of the text to inspire Christians to have faith in trying times? Do they represent the constant struggle between good and evil? Each vision seems to represent evil forces, even when they are disguised as typical behaviors or events in society. Are his visions a prediction of what is yet to come..... The end days in the future that will lead to Christ's return? Many of the visions demonstrate the need for faith and the promise that God is with us in difficult times. Four method of interpreting Revelation I was flipping through radios stations the other day and I heard a man talking about Revelation. Yet another reason I was inspired to write this. This book seems to be grabbing my attention lately. His talk was about the different ways people interpret the meaning of this book. 1.Some interpret the book as a historical view of the church's history from the beginning to the coming or Christ. In the "historicist" view, the visions are describing actual historic events, nations or people throughout time. Some interpret each chapter as a time in church history. However, many relate the visions in Revelation to their current time in history. For example, the reformers would say the Roman papacy was the anti-Christ with it's false doctrines and deceptions. 2.A second method says the visions represent things that happened during the time of the author. This "preterist" method supports the idea that the prophecies have been fulfilled and represent what was happening in the churches during the first century. The full preterist view is that Jesus's return to earth was a spiritual return not a physical return. Since John is describing current events, it is written in code to hide the criticism of the Roman government. For example, the state/government's demand that people worship the emperors was in conflict with church law. 3.A third method sees these visions as the ongoing struggle between good and evil in the church until the time of Christ's return. This "idealist" method of interpreting Revelation does not tie the visions to any specific events in history or in the future. They are poetry and symbolism...remember it's written in the style of the apocalyptic genre. The book is just showing the struggle with Satan which continues through time until the second coming. The book of Revelation assures us that God will conquer evil and make things right. 4.Then there is the forth "futurist" method which says these visions represent the future. They are things to come immediately before Christ's second coming. Does this book of the Bible predict the End Days? So do the visions represent history or are they a prediction of the end time? Are the end days going to be like a horror movie? It's really hard to say. I know you read all this for the answer. When you read and interpret the symbols, images and text, there are so many discrepancies that show up when you try to fit it into any of the four methods of interpreting Revelation. I don't think any one method fully explains the Book of Revelation. I think it is a combination of the four methods. In order to form your own opinion, research is necessary to interpret the crazy visions of Revelation. I found some bible study and commentary sources on line that were helpful. I am grateful for our church bible study. Our pastor has such a great knowledge of history and the bible. He is also a great teacher! He is able to take the confusing text, relate it to what was happening in the world at that time (history), clarify the biblical meaning of words used in the text, reference text from the gospels of the old testament that use the same or similar language and imagery and somehow it starts to make sense to me. I have had so many AH-HA moments during our bible study. I will be posting more about the book of Revelation. Our journey through the Book of Revelations has only just begun but my biggest take is this subject.....No matter what crazy, scary or heartbreaking events may happen in life......always, always always keep your faith. Jesus loves you and he will always be there for you. And all will be well (made right) in the end. |
AuthorKathy Kissinger is very focused on helping others get back to a more aligned life as their true self. Coaching through life's transitions is her specialty. Archives
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