Many readers may be wondering why I'm putting such emphasis
on examining the Ten Commandments, why I went point by point through each of
the Four Horsemen and when are we going to start getting to the meaty stuff of
prophecy? In part, we already are
discussing the meat of prophecy but I am primarily laying the groundwork, the
foundations so that when we do begin to discuss specific prophecies in detail
you’ll have the understanding that God would expect you to have and we will all
be, so to speak, on the same page.
Some of God’s prophecies were fairly plainly stated but the vast majority were given in a kind of code.
In order to fully understand the code and be able to analyse the
meanings of the very common usage of prophetic symbols and analogies you must
first have a solid understanding of God’s nature, God’s character and the way
that God operates within the Laws He Himself has set out.
For example in the second of the Ten Commandments God was
speaking to much, much more than just idols, statues, paintings and amulets –
all of which He is firmly against. He
was also speaking of the great, grand and opulent buildings man creates, like the Gothic
cathedrals to use an example. Many
people, in all innocence and coming from a place of deep faith, built those
grand edifices to worship and honour Him.
Yet when you fully understand the nature of God and what He really
expects from us it becomes obvious that He would definitely agree that money
could have been much better spent on the poor and the needy.
God outlined plans for His temple in the Old Testament, which was itself a very grand and very opulent building. Yet
there were two reasons for this plan of God that we must understand so we can appreciate
the difference between then and now.
Firstly, prior to Jesus' earthly incarnation and sacrifice, as God, He
needed a holy and sanctified place to meet, face to face, with His people. Secondly the Temple itself has its own
symbolic meaning that God uses a great deal in later prophecies. The Temple, as a physical building, was
something that was needed at that time but as further reading of the Scriptures
show it is no longer required and is meant to be viewed in a more allegorical
sense. God is happy for us to worship Him in the most simple of dwellings. Remember Jesus preached to the crowds on the side of a mountain - the building isn't important.
For a lot of the Old Testament God worked with individual
people. Only after the Exodus from Egypt did God begin to work with a large
body of people, the nation of the Hebrews, or God's 'Chosen People'. As a group growing into
a nation God took them step by step, showing them what He wanted and expected
and giving physical examples of things that, after the sacrifice of Christ,
would no longer be required in a physical sense but would be critical to having a close, loving relationship with God in the
deeper, spiritual sense.
Vatican city, and the many similar Protestant churches, are
not really houses to honour God, although they claim to be. Yet God tells us clearly that it is more
important to Him that the poor and the hungry, the homeless and marginalized,
be looked after and taken care of than that He is worshipped in a house of
gold, marble, silver and priceless works of art. Should the Vatican choose to sell even half
of their treasures that money could be used to aid people all over the world
who are suffering and dying. It is not
enough to say to your brother who is cold and hungry ‘God loves you’, give your
brother a coat and a meal and SHOW him that God loves him. Be the vessel of God’s love that He wants us
to be and in that way we become the living sacrifice that is so important to
God.
This is why it is so important to understand God’s
character, which we can only do through examining the Laws and Precepts He left
for us. The book of Amos is a condemnation on an entire group of people who were, ostensibly, keeping God’s Commandments. They tithed, kept the Holy
Days, had no obvious idols and yet God commanded Amos to issue them with a dire
warning of coming punishment. Why? Because the people had forgotten that God
cares more for loving Him and loving each other and that is the only true
purpose of the Ten Commandments. God
wanted the people to take care of their poor and their needy and not just
follow His rules to the letter but to understand the spirit behind those Laws. God is love and love is not simply an emotion
but an active practice.
At the last Judgement when Jesus separates the sheep from
the goats the measure He uses is how much of your life has been lived as a living sacrifice for God. Did you visit the sick and
imprisoned, did you feed and clothe the poor and hungry, did you offer
compassion and support to those in need.
As Jesus said ‘whenever you do this for the least of my people it is as
if you do it for me.’ Jesus shows no interest,
whatsoever, in how opulent your church is, or even how well you kept the letter
of the Law. Jesus looks only at those who have understood and kept, to the best of their ability the spirit of the
Law. The Law itself is love. God is love.
And real love sometimes means actually getting your own
hands dirty. There is an expression
called ‘chequebook charity’ and I am in no way condemning those who make
financial contributions to worthy causes; in fact I applaud you, without your financial help many very worthy causes would not happen at all. But there will be times in your life when you
personally may be called upon to show the love of God in a much more personal
way. Prayers are great, without them we
would all be lost, but sometimes prayers are not enough. If the opportunity comes your way to be a
living sacrifice and be a vessel for God’s love, embrace it. Visit the sick, help the needy, follow the
spirit of the Law and yes, it will most of the time be uncomfortable because
this is following God’s nature not our own human, carnal nature, but do it
anyway.
In peace and love.
Tracey
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