We went to Augusta Sunday for Lucca K’s birthday party. I had to work Saturday and Sunday nights so I knew this would be fun. I got off Sunday morning and was able to sleep for about an hour. I slept most of the way down to Augusta and back and then for a few minutes before I went to work. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good. But what a night!
A man came in and went to the rest room. When he comes out he stands by the register with his hand down the back of his pants, like he is reaching for something. When I look over at him he says, “I’m looking for my wallet. Didn’t want you to be scared.” I said, being quick-witted despite my lack of sleep, “I’m not scared – but I’m not gonna help you!” He never found his wallet and left.
Then a woman comes in and buys $19.50 worth of gas. A few minutes later she comes back in and tells me she had driven off without pumping her gas. I look at the register and tell her, “Somebody pumped it.” She seems upset at having “no gas and no more money and having to drive back to Charlotte…” We talk about it for a while as I try to discern if she is scamming me and to figure out what to do. After a while I let her pump $19.50 more. I’m gonna wonder all night if this was a scam…
It had clearly been very slow all day. But when I got here BOOM I got people coming out of the woodwork! I can’t leave the register for 2 ½ hours. I am not looking forward to summer and hordes of young people all night every night…
Then a fellow comes in who works at Taco Bell. I see him a lot. He buys several items including a box Marlboros. He leaves but returns in a few minutes: “She wanted a Butterfinger instead of cigarettes. Can I switch?” I was incredulous, “How do you confuse cigarettes with a Butterfinger??” He has no answer so I switched it out for him.
That reminds me of an incident Saturday night. We have Camel Menthol and Menthol Silver on sale for a $1 off. Whenever people ask for either of these I always ask, “Do you want the $1 off pack?” Sounds like a stupid question, right? But I’m having fun and want them to think. Besides, the following has happened a few times: This guy came in and asked for Camel Menthol Silver. I asked my question and he got a confused look on his face. So I asked him, “Do you just want the regular box?” He looked relieved and said, “Yeah, it doesn’t matter.” Since it doesn’t matter to me either I gave him the full price box…
Then I get a phone call which I am too busy to take. But there is a message, “Look outside, the Goodyear blimp is flying by!” I go outside and sure enough, there it is. I call Mary back to let her know I had seen it. We talk about what we saw and then we wonder aloud where blimps go when they go home.
I am seeing a lot of men’s underwear tonight – all these guys with their pants down to their knees. I always wonder, Do girls today find this attractive? One guy comes in with satiny purple boxers. Woo-hoo! Last night some guy came in and while he was at the register, his pants fell off! I don’t have to make stuff up and this is just the stuff I can write about!
All this and it is only 12:30 am – hope I can stay awake till 6 am.
Post mortem report – I made it! One more night and my 7 night stretch is over!!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Pacific Coast Highway
My sister had strongly urged me to go on the PCH, as it is called around here. That was part of our plan. OK, 'plan' is too strong, general outline of what we were going to do when while in CA (that outline was: arrive, stay with my mother, see Bobby and Tracey, hope to get to the beach and up to see Jason and Rebekah, depart; anything else was detail to be taken care of as needed!). When we learned that Fremont was just too far away we thought we would drive the PCH on Saturday.
We got directions and took off.
It was three hours before we saw the ocean at Ventura! The interstate, excuse me, the Freeway as they call it here, was loaded with cars. For many stretches it was bumper to bumper traffic. Never completely stopped, but slow going. Very frustrating. I was thinking, "All these people are on Hwy 101 (which is the PCH), this is going to be terrible." And since it was even heavier on the other side, turning around wasn't an option. All that I dislike most about CA - cars and concrete - was all we were seeing. Mary kept asking, "Who would want to live this way?"
We needed gas so we got off at a town called Monrovia. Mary was ooh-ing and ah-ing. She thought it was a cute town. I was frustrated - this was a fairly populous town and they had no gas stations! Finally, as I was turning around to try another exit Mary asked someone. "Is there a gas station near by?" The lady looked confused, then said, "I think there is one about half a mile that way." We drove all through that town and saw two! Then it was back to the PCH.
We drove through Burbank and North Hollywood and Pasadena. Basically, greater LA. Mary was thrilled. I kept saying, "Los Angeles?! I didn't want to drive through Los Angeles!"
Then we ran into a mountainous area. Interesting, I thought we were heading to the coast and we have mountains.
Finally, we rounded a curve and there it was, the ocean. We almost accidently found Hwy 1, a two lane road that is right on the water. This was really beautiful. There was the water, Hwy 1, a railroad track, higher up Hwy 101, and then mountains! We stopped a couple of times just to look at the water. Then we saw the strangest sight - an RV campground right on the highway! This was a short highway and we had to get back on 101.
We took a short drive through Monticedo and realized this was a very exclusive community and got back on the road.
Eventually we reached Santa Barbara. Out TomTom took us to the very center of downtown. So we parked and walked around. Nice place. Very artsy. We walked around, then ate at Carlitos Mexican Cantina. Pretty good. After eating we drove toward the water and discovered that we had missed three fourths of the downtown area. And Macs Fish and Chips!! We drove around Santa Barbara and discovered that this rich town has its' 'other side of the tracks.' We went up a hill, then down and around the curve and we were in "little Mexico."
With nothing left to see in Santa Barbara we headed south on the PCH. We got to Summertown (??) Beach and walked around for a while. Then decided to head back to Yucaipa, hoping traffic had eased. While it was better, there was still a lot of traffic. The high life in CA seems to be a trip on the freeway! Must have been better 'cause we made it back in a little over 2 1/2 hours.
So, how was my trip to the Pacific Coast Highway? Once I got to the actual coast, it was very nice. Getting there and getting back is another story. Once again I have proved my theory, When travelling, the joy is the destination, not the journey!
We got directions and took off.
It was three hours before we saw the ocean at Ventura! The interstate, excuse me, the Freeway as they call it here, was loaded with cars. For many stretches it was bumper to bumper traffic. Never completely stopped, but slow going. Very frustrating. I was thinking, "All these people are on Hwy 101 (which is the PCH), this is going to be terrible." And since it was even heavier on the other side, turning around wasn't an option. All that I dislike most about CA - cars and concrete - was all we were seeing. Mary kept asking, "Who would want to live this way?"
We needed gas so we got off at a town called Monrovia. Mary was ooh-ing and ah-ing. She thought it was a cute town. I was frustrated - this was a fairly populous town and they had no gas stations! Finally, as I was turning around to try another exit Mary asked someone. "Is there a gas station near by?" The lady looked confused, then said, "I think there is one about half a mile that way." We drove all through that town and saw two! Then it was back to the PCH.
We drove through Burbank and North Hollywood and Pasadena. Basically, greater LA. Mary was thrilled. I kept saying, "Los Angeles?! I didn't want to drive through Los Angeles!"
Then we ran into a mountainous area. Interesting, I thought we were heading to the coast and we have mountains.
Finally, we rounded a curve and there it was, the ocean. We almost accidently found Hwy 1, a two lane road that is right on the water. This was really beautiful. There was the water, Hwy 1, a railroad track, higher up Hwy 101, and then mountains! We stopped a couple of times just to look at the water. Then we saw the strangest sight - an RV campground right on the highway! This was a short highway and we had to get back on 101.
We took a short drive through Monticedo and realized this was a very exclusive community and got back on the road.
Eventually we reached Santa Barbara. Out TomTom took us to the very center of downtown. So we parked and walked around. Nice place. Very artsy. We walked around, then ate at Carlitos Mexican Cantina. Pretty good. After eating we drove toward the water and discovered that we had missed three fourths of the downtown area. And Macs Fish and Chips!! We drove around Santa Barbara and discovered that this rich town has its' 'other side of the tracks.' We went up a hill, then down and around the curve and we were in "little Mexico."
With nothing left to see in Santa Barbara we headed south on the PCH. We got to Summertown (??) Beach and walked around for a while. Then decided to head back to Yucaipa, hoping traffic had eased. While it was better, there was still a lot of traffic. The high life in CA seems to be a trip on the freeway! Must have been better 'cause we made it back in a little over 2 1/2 hours.
So, how was my trip to the Pacific Coast Highway? Once I got to the actual coast, it was very nice. Getting there and getting back is another story. Once again I have proved my theory, When travelling, the joy is the destination, not the journey!
Friday, May 20, 2011
From the beach to the desert
Wednesday Bobby (he goes by Robert now, but he will forever be Bobby to me) and Judy came down and we (Mary, Lew, my mother, Bobby & Judy) went to the beach. Actually, the Santa Monica pier. It was cold and blustery day. Walked on the pier, had lunch then walked over to Muscle Beach. After that mother and Lew headed back home and the rest of us went on down to Venice. Interesting place. Strange is a better word! then we headed back to Yucaipa, picked up our stuff and went up the hill to Victorville.
We played some pool. I handily won every game . . . well, ok I may have won a game and lost several by sinking the 8 ball a tad early!
Got up Thursday morning and got ready to go off on our hike. Bobby and I played a game of ping pong on his homemade ping pong table. He won, but talk about home cooking! Just before breakfast, he grabbed the orange juice and shook it. The cap flew off and he had orange juice all over him. I said it was his comeuppance for beating me in ping pong! The rest of us ate breakfast while he cleaned up, then loaded the car and headed off for the hike - to a place called Deep Creek.
I has asked Judy how long the ride was to this place. "Twenty minutes." If you are ever hanging out with Bobby and Judy (and I can recommend that!) and they ask you to go hiking with them, don't believe their travel estimate - it was more like 50 minutes! Anyway, we drove til the pavement ended and then on dirt roads for a while. I lived in Hawai'i so long that I still think the roads end shortly after you get off the main road. This one didn't - we went deeper and deeper into the desert. A question we asked, I sall land owned by somebody? Sort of sad to realize there is no more free land in the US.
We finally arrived at our destination, The Bowen Ranch. The sign said Stop but Bobby drove past and stopped. The man at the gate gave him what for for that. We paid our fee and embarked on our hike.
The hike was an 80 mile round trip. Our goal was the deep creek. It was downhill all the way (we were filled with fear and trepidation upon this realization). What a beautiful trip! The desert truly is beautiful, in it's own way, of course. It was also very green and not too hot. We made it to the creek in about an hour and a half. Ok, so it isn't actually 80 miles - but you do feel like it at the end.
It was amazing at the creek. A creek in the middle of the desert! There was a pond at one end and a group of people were hanging out there. They had on swim suits but we never saw them swimming. but they did have to go through the water to get to where they were. That water was awful cold... This national park is considered "clothing optional" and we did see a fellow in shirt and shoes. Only. Despite the appearance (at a distance) of the no clothing man, we ate lunch and hung around for a while. Then we headed back up.
And I do mean up. Just to get back to the trail involved a serious up what seemed like a 45 degree angle. Fortunately, there were some almost level stretches. We all kept wondering where the end of the trail was. Well, except Judy. She took a deep breath and took off! Must have been lonely waiting for the rest of us. But we all finally arrived at the car and headed back to their house. What a great trip. Thank you, Bobby and Judy!
And on the way back to their house we saw the most amazing site - a store with a sign that proclaimed, "Propane Liquor." Wow! We took a picture of that sign and the rest of the trip and posted them on my facebook page. We had a great time in Victorville with Bobby and Judy and then headed back down the hill to Yucaipa.
The next day I woke up and saw that there were 20ft waves at the Wedge. I was just at the beach the day before. "Shoulda been here tomorrow."
We played some pool. I handily won every game . . . well, ok I may have won a game and lost several by sinking the 8 ball a tad early!
Got up Thursday morning and got ready to go off on our hike. Bobby and I played a game of ping pong on his homemade ping pong table. He won, but talk about home cooking! Just before breakfast, he grabbed the orange juice and shook it. The cap flew off and he had orange juice all over him. I said it was his comeuppance for beating me in ping pong! The rest of us ate breakfast while he cleaned up, then loaded the car and headed off for the hike - to a place called Deep Creek.
I has asked Judy how long the ride was to this place. "Twenty minutes." If you are ever hanging out with Bobby and Judy (and I can recommend that!) and they ask you to go hiking with them, don't believe their travel estimate - it was more like 50 minutes! Anyway, we drove til the pavement ended and then on dirt roads for a while. I lived in Hawai'i so long that I still think the roads end shortly after you get off the main road. This one didn't - we went deeper and deeper into the desert. A question we asked, I sall land owned by somebody? Sort of sad to realize there is no more free land in the US.
We finally arrived at our destination, The Bowen Ranch. The sign said Stop but Bobby drove past and stopped. The man at the gate gave him what for for that. We paid our fee and embarked on our hike.
The hike was an 80 mile round trip. Our goal was the deep creek. It was downhill all the way (we were filled with fear and trepidation upon this realization). What a beautiful trip! The desert truly is beautiful, in it's own way, of course. It was also very green and not too hot. We made it to the creek in about an hour and a half. Ok, so it isn't actually 80 miles - but you do feel like it at the end.
It was amazing at the creek. A creek in the middle of the desert! There was a pond at one end and a group of people were hanging out there. They had on swim suits but we never saw them swimming. but they did have to go through the water to get to where they were. That water was awful cold... This national park is considered "clothing optional" and we did see a fellow in shirt and shoes. Only. Despite the appearance (at a distance) of the no clothing man, we ate lunch and hung around for a while. Then we headed back up.
And I do mean up. Just to get back to the trail involved a serious up what seemed like a 45 degree angle. Fortunately, there were some almost level stretches. We all kept wondering where the end of the trail was. Well, except Judy. She took a deep breath and took off! Must have been lonely waiting for the rest of us. But we all finally arrived at the car and headed back to their house. What a great trip. Thank you, Bobby and Judy!
And on the way back to their house we saw the most amazing site - a store with a sign that proclaimed, "Propane Liquor." Wow! We took a picture of that sign and the rest of the trip and posted them on my facebook page. We had a great time in Victorville with Bobby and Judy and then headed back down the hill to Yucaipa.
The next day I woke up and saw that there were 20ft waves at the Wedge. I was just at the beach the day before. "Shoulda been here tomorrow."
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The southern California your mother never told you about
I have to be honest, I don’t really know what your mother ever told you about southern California. But I am assuming that in most minds, California is associated with beaches and ocean. Today we went the other direction, into the mountains.
Actually, my mother and I were riding around and came to a road, and just off to the left two mountains came together. I said, “This looks really neat.” We went back to her house, got Lew and Mary, and set off exploring. It was beautiful! You can see pictures of our trip on my facebook.
On our first venture into the mountains, the four of us went as far as a place called Angelus something. Then we turned around to go pick up a rental car for us.
After we got the car Mary and I went back. First we went to Forest Falls. Absolutely beautiful! The road actually dead-ended at a national park. Since we did not have a proper pass we could not park and explore. How I wanted to walk further into the valley. It is different than the mountains back east, but just so beautiful. I was having a blast! Having reached the end of that road we turned around and went back to highway 38.
This was amazing. We just kept climbing and climbing. And what was really neat was the scenery kept changing. We went through a forested area. Then we went through an area loaded with camps. We reached the summit, Onyx Summit, 8443 ft and started going down again. But on this side of the mountain the terrain was much drier, scrubbier and very windy. And no clouds at all. It seemed like it took forever but we finally made it to Big Bear City. Still rather high as it sits at 7000+ ft!
The whole trip felt like fall. And the air looked like fall – so clear. Which was ok with me because I think fall must be my favorite time of year. The sky around Big Bear was so blue and clear. We were just amazed. Awestruck. At one point I told Mary, “This is the west I have always dreamed of!”
The area is so beautiful. You could hike and explore for years. But we can’t as tomorrow we are off to visit the Pacific Ocean. This is a great week so far!
Monday, May 16, 2011
We flew out to California yesterday and it was an experience
We flew out to California yesterday and it was an experience.
Sarah and Jack drove us to the airport so we could catch our plane, and was the airport full!
The first leg was Charlotte to Phoenix, and other than being long it was a nice flight. I mean a full plane, but a good flight. And when I say long I mean four hours. I know, that is not really very long but I confess, I am not a good traveler. But I did have a good philosophical insight concerning the phrase, “the joy is in the journey.” In life, such as marriage or raising children or even work, the joy is in the journey. When you are raising children for example, the joy of life is the raising, not some goal or destination. If you are always aiming at some destination you will miss out on life itself. However, when you are traveling, the joy is the destination itself. Or it is for me. As I said, I’m not a good traveler! Back to the trip…
As we were landing in Phoenix we started talking to my seatmate. He saw my ticket and asked, “You going to Ontario too?” I said yes and asked where he was going from there. He said, “Yucaipa.” Haha! He had been visiting family in South Carolina.
We got off the plane at gate A23 and walked to our next gate, A11. While we were eating we heard them announce that flight 618 had been moved to gate A30. Back to where we started! This plane was smaller and thankfully the trip was short. And for some reason the flight attendant was obsessed with whether or not my backpack was shoved all the way under the seat.
We arrived in Ontario at midnight. It was 52 degrees. We went to pick up our bags (which we had to check because the plane was small), which seemed to take a while. Then wait for the shuttle to take us to the car rental place. When we got there we discovered there was no one there! Three other guys were with us to also pick up a car from Hertz. We wandered around trying to find someone for a while. I finally found a number to call and called. “I’m sorry, sir, they close at 12:30.” I did my best to remind them that we had a contract – I pay and show up and you provide a car. I did my part and I expect you to do your. Alas, despite my protestations they did not fulfill their end. “I’m sorry, sir.” I did contact Hotwire and they refunded the money, but I still had no way to get to Yucaipa.
So, I called Lew and told him we wouldn’t be coming tonight but would get a hotel and come in the morning. He wouldn’t hear of it and graciously came to pick us up. So we finally arrived at our destination at 3:00 PDT, which translates to 6:00 EDT. Needless to say, it was straight to bed.
Today is our first day here. It is chilly in southern California and the mountains are green! Oh yeah, Hertz called today and apologized some more. I can get a car at a discount but I would have to go back to Ontario. But I came to see my family and that is going good so far. We are laying plans for the week. Gonna be a good week.
See, I told you, when traveling the joy is the destination, not the journey!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Reading the Book of Revelation
In my last post, I offered three guides for reading the Bible. I wanted to say something about the book of Revelation but didn’t so I could keep it short. So in this post I want to say something about the book of Revelation. I also had a discussion about some of these things with a friend of mine who goes by the pseudonym, DaPanda (author of a blog, Resolved for Christ) - that also got me to thinking.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a difficult book and is very different from the rest of the New Testament. I have often heard people say they are afraid of the book because it is full of symbolic language (“How am I supposed to understand it?”) and has a rather frightening message (For the great day of his wrath is come). In order to round out my guides for reading the Bible I wanted to set forth a few suggestions for reading with understanding the Book of Revelation.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
The book begins: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John The actual title of the book is The Revelation of John or The Apocalypse of John, and he did see and record it for us. But it is actually The Revelation of Jesus Christ. I know this was designed to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass and it does. But first and foremost this shows us Jesus. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not so much a catalog of future events as it is a revelation of the glory and power and victory of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
It does speak about a period known as the tribulation – a time of judgment from God on mankind and the final conflict between antichrist and the people of God. But in it all Jesus reigns: he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. And this book tells us of the coming day when The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Amen! And to reinforce this, every conflict or judgment begins with a scene in heaven, reminding us that Jesus is Lord. God is in control!
The Kingdom of God
Jesus is the soon coming King and we shall enjoy the kingdom:
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood…And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. Hallelujah!
So now, some basic tips for reading The Revelation
- the outline of the book is given by the Lord himself in 1:19
Write the things which thou hast seen (1), and the things which are (2-3), and the things which shall be hereafter (4-22)
- the book consists of 7 visions each introduced by the phrase after this (once by after these things) 1-3 / 4-6 / 7:1-8 / 7:9-15:4 / 15:5-17:18 / 18:1-24 / 19:1-22:21
- we are brought to the end several times before it is actually described (6:12-17; 7:15-17; 10:7; 11:15-18; 14:14-20; Jesus finally comes in 19); then the book backs up and adds more details. In other words, the book is not purely chronological. That being said, it is chronological: it takes us through the last days to the coming of Christ, the kingdom, and the new heaven and earth. Amen!
- a lot of the symbolism is from the Old Testament, so the better you know your Old Testament the more you will understand Revelation. One example, 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars... Who is this woman? Compare it to Genesis 37:9-10 and you will see that it is Israel.
- numbers are significant, especially 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12
- even though it is highly symbolic, the symbolism stands for something concrete. But don’t get lost in the symbolism. Try to take in the bigger picture. For example: chapters 4-5 tell us about living creatures and the 24 elders. Who are they? Different answers are offered, but don’t get lost in that - take in the heavenly worship! (There is a lot about worship in this book.) The mark of the beast - 666. Whatever it is, it tell us that when antichrist makes war on the saints there will be no riding the fence: you will have to choose sides. Chapter 9 - What in the world is this?? I have an idea or two, but it at least tells us this conflict will be intense and final. AND that it is vital to have the seal of God. But not everything is symbolic: 11:15-18 and 19:11-16 are pretty straightforward!
- the seven churches. This is a very practical, convicting, and challenging section. And important. While these are addressed to the church, there is a personal promise in each letter to him who overcometh. It is imperative to be an overcomer!
- this is mostly a description of events yet future. So, how can it possibly be of any help to us now? There is hope and comfort offered that will get us through many a trial and tribulation. In the words of a song I heard a long time ago:
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a difficult book and is very different from the rest of the New Testament. I have often heard people say they are afraid of the book because it is full of symbolic language (“How am I supposed to understand it?”) and has a rather frightening message (For the great day of his wrath is come). In order to round out my guides for reading the Bible I wanted to set forth a few suggestions for reading with understanding the Book of Revelation.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
The book begins: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John The actual title of the book is The Revelation of John or The Apocalypse of John, and he did see and record it for us. But it is actually The Revelation of Jesus Christ. I know this was designed to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass and it does. But first and foremost this shows us Jesus. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not so much a catalog of future events as it is a revelation of the glory and power and victory of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
It does speak about a period known as the tribulation – a time of judgment from God on mankind and the final conflict between antichrist and the people of God. But in it all Jesus reigns: he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. And this book tells us of the coming day when The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Amen! And to reinforce this, every conflict or judgment begins with a scene in heaven, reminding us that Jesus is Lord. God is in control!
The Kingdom of God
Jesus is the soon coming King and we shall enjoy the kingdom:
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood…And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. Hallelujah!
So now, some basic tips for reading The Revelation
- the outline of the book is given by the Lord himself in 1:19
Write the things which thou hast seen (1), and the things which are (2-3), and the things which shall be hereafter (4-22)
- the book consists of 7 visions each introduced by the phrase after this (once by after these things) 1-3 / 4-6 / 7:1-8 / 7:9-15:4 / 15:5-17:18 / 18:1-24 / 19:1-22:21
- we are brought to the end several times before it is actually described (6:12-17; 7:15-17; 10:7; 11:15-18; 14:14-20; Jesus finally comes in 19); then the book backs up and adds more details. In other words, the book is not purely chronological. That being said, it is chronological: it takes us through the last days to the coming of Christ, the kingdom, and the new heaven and earth. Amen!
- a lot of the symbolism is from the Old Testament, so the better you know your Old Testament the more you will understand Revelation. One example, 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars... Who is this woman? Compare it to Genesis 37:9-10 and you will see that it is Israel.
- numbers are significant, especially 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12
- even though it is highly symbolic, the symbolism stands for something concrete. But don’t get lost in the symbolism. Try to take in the bigger picture. For example: chapters 4-5 tell us about living creatures and the 24 elders. Who are they? Different answers are offered, but don’t get lost in that - take in the heavenly worship! (There is a lot about worship in this book.) The mark of the beast - 666. Whatever it is, it tell us that when antichrist makes war on the saints there will be no riding the fence: you will have to choose sides. Chapter 9 - What in the world is this?? I have an idea or two, but it at least tells us this conflict will be intense and final. AND that it is vital to have the seal of God. But not everything is symbolic: 11:15-18 and 19:11-16 are pretty straightforward!
- the seven churches. This is a very practical, convicting, and challenging section. And important. While these are addressed to the church, there is a personal promise in each letter to him who overcometh. It is imperative to be an overcomer!
- this is mostly a description of events yet future. So, how can it possibly be of any help to us now? There is hope and comfort offered that will get us through many a trial and tribulation. In the words of a song I heard a long time ago:
We win, we win, Hallelujah we win
I read the back of the book and we win!
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Do you understand what you are reading?
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
This is the question Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53. An excellent question and one we ought to ask more often, as many people are in the eunuch’s sandals: “How can I, except some man should guide me?”
That is what I want to be in this post, “some man to guide you.”
The Bible is a big book and one can get lost in it. But God is good and has provided us many helps for understanding it: the Holy Spirit who inspired it, present day teachers and pastors to instruct and guide us, a whole history of teachers, as well as the Rule of Faith handed down by the apostles. But, are there any guides to help us “understand what we are reading?” I believe there are three.
1. Read the Bible as real history. Using the widest lens, the Bible is the story of the creation of the world, the formation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, the formation of the Church, the restoration of all things when Messiah comes again and brings the kingdom. And the events along the way are portrayed as historical events: creation, the fall, the flood, the tower, Abraham, the exodus, Joshua, Samson, David, Goliath, the virgin birth, the miracles, the resurrection, the book of Acts etc. This way of approaching the Bible (literally, or as real history) is also known as the historical-grammatical method. In other words, "If the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense.”
Of course there is also poetry, prophecy, parables; metaphors and similes. For example, in Matthew 23:37 Jesus says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! You can understand this literally until you get to the chicken part – Jesus is not saying he is a hen and we are really chickens! This is a simile. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Obviously, we are not literally sheep. This is a metaphor to describe our relationship with God. As you can see, reading the Bible literally or as real history does not deny that there are some non-literal parts in the Bible. Of course there are! A picture is created to make the message more vivid. And it is usually obvious when the imagery is introduced and what it is intended to convey.
2. The Bible is a Jesus book. The entire Bible is about Jesus:
+ The Old Testament points to Jesus in type, analogy, and prophecy.
+ the Gospels present the life, ministry and teaching of Jesus, and the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord
+ the Epistles give the apostolic explanation of the life, ministry, and teaching of Jesus, and what the death and resurrection of Jesus mean for us.
+ the Revelation is the coming again of our Lord and King; this is the climax of all the prophecies and promises of as well as the prayers for the coming of the kingdom.
Jesus brightly shines in the New Testament and casts his shadow all over the Old - that shadow is what is called a type. He is not hard to find and even has personal appearances throughout the Old Testament!
3. Start with the New Testament. We need to be firmly rooted in the gospel and grounded in the teaching of the New Testament. The entire Bible is an organic whole and one testament does not present a different God than the other, but we must approach the Old Testament from the light of the New. There is a very ancient saying, The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed. When you know the Gospel and the New Testament then the Old Testament will enrich what you know and help fill in the blanks.
If you begin in the Old Testament you can easily wind up confused. For example, many people start with the Old and read about the Sabbath and dietary restrictions etc, and not realizing that the Law is fulfilled in Christ, they think that we must observe the Sabbath and the dietary restrictions. (Isn’t it interesting that no one ever wants to build their house following the pattern of the Law or wear prayer tassels?)
Ahhh, do I hear you say, “But I thought the early church only had the Old Testament.” And for a short period of time that was true. But they had the apostles, and the Rule of Faith handed down by the apostles. Well, what was the apostolic tradition that guided the early believers in their reading of the Old Testament? Jesus is the Messiah, the Bible is a Jesus book and, Read the Bible as real history!
Praise the Lord, we are not on our own! Of course, we have the Holy Spirit, but we also have a storehouse of teachers who have labored in the Word. We are a part of the Body of Christ. So read your Bible. Then compare your understanding with others. You will enrich them and they will enrich you. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. And when you don’t understand something seek help from others.
So I encourage you, tolle, lege. When Augustine was in deep distress for his soul he heard a child singing, “tolle, lege” – “Take up and read.” So, he did - he read from Romans 13 and was converted. So, tolle, lege, and be blessed and fed and established in the grace of God!
This is the question Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53. An excellent question and one we ought to ask more often, as many people are in the eunuch’s sandals: “How can I, except some man should guide me?”
That is what I want to be in this post, “some man to guide you.”
The Bible is a big book and one can get lost in it. But God is good and has provided us many helps for understanding it: the Holy Spirit who inspired it, present day teachers and pastors to instruct and guide us, a whole history of teachers, as well as the Rule of Faith handed down by the apostles. But, are there any guides to help us “understand what we are reading?” I believe there are three.
1. Read the Bible as real history. Using the widest lens, the Bible is the story of the creation of the world, the formation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, the formation of the Church, the restoration of all things when Messiah comes again and brings the kingdom. And the events along the way are portrayed as historical events: creation, the fall, the flood, the tower, Abraham, the exodus, Joshua, Samson, David, Goliath, the virgin birth, the miracles, the resurrection, the book of Acts etc. This way of approaching the Bible (literally, or as real history) is also known as the historical-grammatical method. In other words, "If the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense.”
Of course there is also poetry, prophecy, parables; metaphors and similes. For example, in Matthew 23:37 Jesus says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! You can understand this literally until you get to the chicken part – Jesus is not saying he is a hen and we are really chickens! This is a simile. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Obviously, we are not literally sheep. This is a metaphor to describe our relationship with God. As you can see, reading the Bible literally or as real history does not deny that there are some non-literal parts in the Bible. Of course there are! A picture is created to make the message more vivid. And it is usually obvious when the imagery is introduced and what it is intended to convey.
2. The Bible is a Jesus book. The entire Bible is about Jesus:
+ The Old Testament points to Jesus in type, analogy, and prophecy.
+ the Gospels present the life, ministry and teaching of Jesus, and the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord
+ the Epistles give the apostolic explanation of the life, ministry, and teaching of Jesus, and what the death and resurrection of Jesus mean for us.
+ the Revelation is the coming again of our Lord and King; this is the climax of all the prophecies and promises of as well as the prayers for the coming of the kingdom.
Jesus brightly shines in the New Testament and casts his shadow all over the Old - that shadow is what is called a type. He is not hard to find and even has personal appearances throughout the Old Testament!
3. Start with the New Testament. We need to be firmly rooted in the gospel and grounded in the teaching of the New Testament. The entire Bible is an organic whole and one testament does not present a different God than the other, but we must approach the Old Testament from the light of the New. There is a very ancient saying, The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed. When you know the Gospel and the New Testament then the Old Testament will enrich what you know and help fill in the blanks.
If you begin in the Old Testament you can easily wind up confused. For example, many people start with the Old and read about the Sabbath and dietary restrictions etc, and not realizing that the Law is fulfilled in Christ, they think that we must observe the Sabbath and the dietary restrictions. (Isn’t it interesting that no one ever wants to build their house following the pattern of the Law or wear prayer tassels?)
Ahhh, do I hear you say, “But I thought the early church only had the Old Testament.” And for a short period of time that was true. But they had the apostles, and the Rule of Faith handed down by the apostles. Well, what was the apostolic tradition that guided the early believers in their reading of the Old Testament? Jesus is the Messiah, the Bible is a Jesus book and, Read the Bible as real history!
Praise the Lord, we are not on our own! Of course, we have the Holy Spirit, but we also have a storehouse of teachers who have labored in the Word. We are a part of the Body of Christ. So read your Bible. Then compare your understanding with others. You will enrich them and they will enrich you. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. And when you don’t understand something seek help from others.
So I encourage you, tolle, lege. When Augustine was in deep distress for his soul he heard a child singing, “tolle, lege” – “Take up and read.” So, he did - he read from Romans 13 and was converted. So, tolle, lege, and be blessed and fed and established in the grace of God!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
I made a fire last night
I made a fire last night and enjoyed it thoroughly. In my delight I got to thinking about fire:
Sometimes you can spend so much attention and energy stoking it that you don’t sit back and enjoy it. I started it then was gathering wood, cutting the wood, feeding the fire… I suddenly stopped and said (yes - out loud, to myself!), “This is dumb, you’re missing the fire!” Anyone remember Mary and Martha?
Sound – fire has different sounds. Crackling, popping, and the hissing of wood that is a little wet or still has sap.
Colors – it’s really cool to see the variety of colors. Some items burn with their own unique color – I pretty much burn everything :-) But even wood can burn with different colors. I often make a fire with Tiernan and try to teach him about the colors of fire: ugly orange, usually accompanied by black smoke; yellow – and the hotter the fire the brighter the yellow; the blue at the base of the yellow flame; the red coals – there is no flame but it is hot, “red hot”; and we often talk about a color we never see, white.
Wind – fire needs oxygen of course and sometimes a little breeze can “fan the flame.” I am usually real cautious about starting a fire on a blustery evening, but last night’s wind surprised me and I went ahead. Good thing my fire pit is on the concrete porch because there were times when sparks were flying everywhere! I did stop burning the boxes – cardboard tends to fly all over under normal circumstances.
Warmth – it is especially nice on a chilly night to build a fire, get it going and then sit back and bask in the warmth.
Smoke – different material produces different smoke. Some billows black smoke, ugly. The drier the wood the less the smoke of course, but there is always smoke. And there must be principle behind this, but smoke follows me. No matter where I sit or stand the smoke will find me out! But there is a benefit, after a fire I smell like wood smoke. Best cologne in the world!
Smell – ahhh, there is nothing like the smell of wood smoke! And different wood produces a different aroma. When I had a grill I always cooked with wood and the different kinds of wood gave the meat a different taste. Which reminds me of the time we had Jason and Rebekah over for supper one night. We had hamburgers that I cooked on the grill. Wonderful and strong smoky flavor – great burgers! Made Jason sick. I guess my California-bred friend wasn’t used to such robust food :-)
The best part of sitting by a fire? All the lights are out. It is quiet. The crickets start their singing. It’s relaxing and the flame is mesmerizing. I’ve read a lot of westerns, so I know you’re not supposed to stare at the flame, just in case an enemy sneaks up and you will look up and not be able to see anything in the dark. Despite that, I stare into the flame. I figure if anybody is sneaking up they probably just want to sit with me and enjoy the fire too. Besides, I usually leave the gun in the house!
Sometimes you can spend so much attention and energy stoking it that you don’t sit back and enjoy it. I started it then was gathering wood, cutting the wood, feeding the fire… I suddenly stopped and said (yes - out loud, to myself!), “This is dumb, you’re missing the fire!” Anyone remember Mary and Martha?
Sound – fire has different sounds. Crackling, popping, and the hissing of wood that is a little wet or still has sap.
Colors – it’s really cool to see the variety of colors. Some items burn with their own unique color – I pretty much burn everything :-) But even wood can burn with different colors. I often make a fire with Tiernan and try to teach him about the colors of fire: ugly orange, usually accompanied by black smoke; yellow – and the hotter the fire the brighter the yellow; the blue at the base of the yellow flame; the red coals – there is no flame but it is hot, “red hot”; and we often talk about a color we never see, white.
Wind – fire needs oxygen of course and sometimes a little breeze can “fan the flame.” I am usually real cautious about starting a fire on a blustery evening, but last night’s wind surprised me and I went ahead. Good thing my fire pit is on the concrete porch because there were times when sparks were flying everywhere! I did stop burning the boxes – cardboard tends to fly all over under normal circumstances.
Warmth – it is especially nice on a chilly night to build a fire, get it going and then sit back and bask in the warmth.
Smoke – different material produces different smoke. Some billows black smoke, ugly. The drier the wood the less the smoke of course, but there is always smoke. And there must be principle behind this, but smoke follows me. No matter where I sit or stand the smoke will find me out! But there is a benefit, after a fire I smell like wood smoke. Best cologne in the world!
Smell – ahhh, there is nothing like the smell of wood smoke! And different wood produces a different aroma. When I had a grill I always cooked with wood and the different kinds of wood gave the meat a different taste. Which reminds me of the time we had Jason and Rebekah over for supper one night. We had hamburgers that I cooked on the grill. Wonderful and strong smoky flavor – great burgers! Made Jason sick. I guess my California-bred friend wasn’t used to such robust food :-)
The best part of sitting by a fire? All the lights are out. It is quiet. The crickets start their singing. It’s relaxing and the flame is mesmerizing. I’ve read a lot of westerns, so I know you’re not supposed to stare at the flame, just in case an enemy sneaks up and you will look up and not be able to see anything in the dark. Despite that, I stare into the flame. I figure if anybody is sneaking up they probably just want to sit with me and enjoy the fire too. Besides, I usually leave the gun in the house!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Epiphany
Titus 2:11-14
This is one of Paul’s wonderfully long sentences. Modern translations chop it up into high-school-English sentences and thus rob us in a sense of Paul’s genius. I have been thinking about this passage lately, meditating on it, following the flow of it, noting how the thoughts flow into each other to make the whole. It is an amazing sentence. Here are just a few of my thoughts on this.
For This links it to the preceding section, which is full of instructions on practical living. “This is why you should obey these commands.”
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men Amen! I believe the best way to understand this is, the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared Both the Greek and the context of the pastoral epistles support this.
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world Saving grace is also teaching grace. (It is also enabling grace, but he doesn’t mention that here.) Chrysostom pointed out, “He has not said avoiding, but denying. Denying implies the greatest distance, the greatest hatred and aversion.” See the complete comment on this in my post We ought to preach like this today.
This is important. We should probably spend some time learning what these various words mean (ungodliness, worldly lusts, soberly, righteously, godly).
in this present world World or age. The New Testament divides time into “the present age” and “the age to come.” There is so much that could be said about this, but he is saying, We should live a certain way in this present age while we are
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Awesome! We are WAITING for Jesus to come and also LOOKING for him to come.
At this point I must confess, I’ve had to repent of my views on this verse. Ever since I can remember I have heard and believed that blessed hope referred to the coming of Christ. George Eldon Ladd wrote a book, The Blessed Hope, and everyone knew it was about the second coming (and specifically the rapture question). When I read Chrysostom’s sermon on this passage I was shocked that he understood blessed hope as referring to eternal life! “What, doesn’t he know anything?” But as I studied this I learned that hope is used three times in Titus. Here and also:
1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Ahhh! The light came on. The blessed hope is our hope of eternal life. We are looking for the full realization of the promise of eternal life! Of course, this is received at
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ This is cool, he mentions the first advent in v. 11 and the second advent here. The word used both times is Epiphany. It was used by the Greeks of the appearance of the gods. In the pastoral epistles it is used for the Incarnation (2 Timothy 1:10, Titus 2:11) and for the second coming (1Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8, and here).
Now concerning this Epiphany of our Lord. There are those who tell us he will come secretly, he will sneak in and take His people and no one will see Him. That teaching sounds good until you compare it to what the Bible actually says! We are looking for the “glorious appearing.” When our Lord Jesus comes he will not sneak in or slink in or come unobserved. No, every eye will see Him as He comes with power and glory! Trumpets will sound and angels will shout. There will be enough noise to wake the dead! Maranatha!
Notice what he says about who is coming, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Just who is Jesus of Nazareth? He is God. Not a god, not a little god. The Great God! (see also Deuteronomy 10:17; Nehemiah 8:6; Daniel 2:45; Zechariah 14:3-5 – the Great God is none other than Yahweh)
Jesus is the Great God. He is Yahweh!! And he is our God: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1). Amen!
As Daniel Amos of old sang,
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity What does it mean to be redeemed from iniquity? Another way to look at it is, What does iniquity do? It separates me from God so that I can’t know Him or live for Him. Jesus gave Himself for us so that we might know God and serve Him. Since He redeems us from all iniquity that means there is no iniquity that can keep me from knowing God, having peace with Him, and then living for Him. This is awesome, but is this automatic? No, but if I confess my sins, believe His Word, and place my confidence in His blood, I can be redeemed from ALL iniquity! Now that’s good news!
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The previous portion is comforting. This portion is convicting. Am I zealous for good works? Do I spend as much energy finding out what God considers good works as I do studying the epiphany?
The whole passage is awesome. The grace that brings salvation has appeared! The incarnation brings redemption from all iniquity; the glorious appearing brings our blessed hope! Hallelujah for the Epiphany!
This is one of Paul’s wonderfully long sentences. Modern translations chop it up into high-school-English sentences and thus rob us in a sense of Paul’s genius. I have been thinking about this passage lately, meditating on it, following the flow of it, noting how the thoughts flow into each other to make the whole. It is an amazing sentence. Here are just a few of my thoughts on this.
For This links it to the preceding section, which is full of instructions on practical living. “This is why you should obey these commands.”
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men Amen! I believe the best way to understand this is, the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared Both the Greek and the context of the pastoral epistles support this.
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world Saving grace is also teaching grace. (It is also enabling grace, but he doesn’t mention that here.) Chrysostom pointed out, “He has not said avoiding, but denying. Denying implies the greatest distance, the greatest hatred and aversion.” See the complete comment on this in my post We ought to preach like this today.
This is important. We should probably spend some time learning what these various words mean (ungodliness, worldly lusts, soberly, righteously, godly).
in this present world World or age. The New Testament divides time into “the present age” and “the age to come.” There is so much that could be said about this, but he is saying, We should live a certain way in this present age while we are
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Awesome! We are WAITING for Jesus to come and also LOOKING for him to come.
At this point I must confess, I’ve had to repent of my views on this verse. Ever since I can remember I have heard and believed that blessed hope referred to the coming of Christ. George Eldon Ladd wrote a book, The Blessed Hope, and everyone knew it was about the second coming (and specifically the rapture question). When I read Chrysostom’s sermon on this passage I was shocked that he understood blessed hope as referring to eternal life! “What, doesn’t he know anything?” But as I studied this I learned that hope is used three times in Titus. Here and also:
1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Ahhh! The light came on. The blessed hope is our hope of eternal life. We are looking for the full realization of the promise of eternal life! Of course, this is received at
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ This is cool, he mentions the first advent in v. 11 and the second advent here. The word used both times is Epiphany. It was used by the Greeks of the appearance of the gods. In the pastoral epistles it is used for the Incarnation (2 Timothy 1:10, Titus 2:11) and for the second coming (1Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8, and here).
Now concerning this Epiphany of our Lord. There are those who tell us he will come secretly, he will sneak in and take His people and no one will see Him. That teaching sounds good until you compare it to what the Bible actually says! We are looking for the “glorious appearing.” When our Lord Jesus comes he will not sneak in or slink in or come unobserved. No, every eye will see Him as He comes with power and glory! Trumpets will sound and angels will shout. There will be enough noise to wake the dead! Maranatha!
Notice what he says about who is coming, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Just who is Jesus of Nazareth? He is God. Not a god, not a little god. The Great God! (see also Deuteronomy 10:17; Nehemiah 8:6; Daniel 2:45; Zechariah 14:3-5 – the Great God is none other than Yahweh)
Jesus is the Great God. He is Yahweh!! And he is our God: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1). Amen!
As Daniel Amos of old sang,
“Jesus is Jehovah to me
He's Lord and He's King of Kings
Almighty God is He
Jesus is Jehovah to me”
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The previous portion is comforting. This portion is convicting. Am I zealous for good works? Do I spend as much energy finding out what God considers good works as I do studying the epiphany?
The whole passage is awesome. The grace that brings salvation has appeared! The incarnation brings redemption from all iniquity; the glorious appearing brings our blessed hope! Hallelujah for the Epiphany!
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