Author: Martin Scott

Women rising…?

Full tanks for the journey

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

Last year saw the passing of a number of remarkable women, something that Gayle had alerted me to that would take place through the year. Of course it depends where one is positioned as to whether such a series of events were seen as notable: for us, both in terms of the wider circle of world events and the more personal aspect of those that we have journeyed with, it was very impacting. For some while I have been focused on a two-fold aspect of how those who carry a prophetic mantle can end up in the cross hairs and have to be alert so that they are not ‘needless casualties of war’. A double aspect is if those who carry that mantle are female, and perhaps a third aspect might be if they are also of a generation (or two) after those who have held the space but have now passed on, either through their death or have stepped aside to make space.

I woke this morning with a few things buzzing in my head. Nicola Sturgeon stepping aside after so many years might simply be that she has done her stint and time to leave space for others. But I was deeply troubled when I remember reading that Jacinda Ardern at age 42 was stepping down as PM of New Zealand and stated that she ‘no longer had enough in the tank’ to continue. Weariness.

Then for some reason I went to Moldova in my head and looked up who is president there: Maia Sandu. A couple of hours later I was on Zoom, Jenny Dahmann and myself had a prophetic session booked with someone. All we knew was her name; after we finished we followed the usual pattern of ‘so now tell us a bit about yourself’. Second sentence in: ‘I was a missionary in Moldova… and continue to work into Moldova’.

I have political leanings (of course) but I am not mentioning the above because of any political leanings. They are / were women of a new generation who have stepped up, and as far as I can tell sought to lead with a feminine touch.

Someone like Maia Sandu is in one of the most vulnerable places to be visible in the political arena, bordering the Ukraine and Romania; there are vulnerabilities, but I come back to the words that Jacinda Ardern had said. That is probably the sharp end of the work of the enemy against the feminine rising at this time: to wear them down so that there is nothing left in the tank.

There is a time to give way, to submit and simply walk away. There is a time to stand, to stand in the proverbial ‘field of lentils’ until sunset and to hold it, with a ‘God gave me this place and I am not moving’.

In the recent days because of circumstances I have had a bit of a battle against some powers and come to realise in the situation that the enemy seeks first to have eyes to see where to land and be positioned. I have spent some time on the issue of sight, but two days ago I realised that once there had been a landing that the next element desired by any demonic powers is to have a ‘mouth’ with which to speak. (That being a critical advancing stage in the book of Revelation when the ‘beast was given a voice’.) Speaking in such a way to weaken all resolve; speaking perhaps what might be termed ‘containing elements that are true’ but speaking them as if they are the truth. (Falsehoods – a NT measure – can contain elements that are true… as can wisdom, but if we press in will discover that the wisdom is from the earth and is false.)

In this post, I am simply flaggig up that we are in a year when (younger) women leading politicians will be attacked… and that women of a rising generation in all spheres need to know that there are those that have their backs.

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Galatians comments as a pdf

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Biblical Observations

A little while back I put a few posts together on Galatians, commenting on the confrontational writer (with huge respect, not critically I add!!). I have put those posts, with some fresh editing, together as a pdf & also in epub format (most non-kindle ereaders). It is part of a bigger project… I wrote four books in 2020 with the title ‘explorations in theology’. I am now planning to put together various small volumes that extend that series, with the extra phrase, theology ‘and practice’. Maybe 3 volumes per year, anyway this will be Volume 1.

Here is the pdf… read here or choose to download the file.

Galatians Vol 1Download
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Thoughts that can hurt the head!!

The big subject of... money

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

Money and how we respond? Kingdom economics? I only have a few thoughts on this and have no way grasped where we need to go when we think about ‘transformation’. Inequalities are obvious and I am not a non-contributor to the inequality equation (double negative really means I am a contributor, but that has too much of an ‘ouch’ in it).

‘How much is too much?’ does not seem to be a question that the Scriptures directly answers; Jesus himself (the one who said ‘blessed are the poor’) accepted the beyond-extravagant outpouring (waste?) of perfume that cost a year’s income. Let’s start then with what is written for us:

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

A few good practical reminders as to what is truly of value. Maybe if we were to simply quote texts we could add the warnings that are given to the wealthy, the deceit of riches, and the instruction to the rich young ruler to sell everything. It seems wealth is surrounded in signs indicating that there are unexploded mines in that territory so tread carefully.

Although the original sin is not as simple as a critique on what we term ‘consumerism’ the language of ‘I saw, I wanted, I consumed’ indicates that consumerism buys right into that original sin, and if we add the oft-repeated warning against trespassing boundaries in the OT, so that we take what is not ours and denies the opportunity for others to have what was theirs / their share, we can understand the critique of unjust trade, such as we read concerning the king of Tyre or throughout the book of Revelation. Not surprising that the mark of the beast concerns being allowed to buy and to sell.

[I consider that animals in creation speak of that which humanity was to name and symbolically represented organised humanity such as we read of with regard to nations. The beasts (wild animals) were those structures that were not tamed – those organised set-ups that were imperial in spirit, that simply wanted a name for their own glory, etc. Jesus, in the wilderness, brought them even to a subdued place – only possible as the three BIG temptations were resisted: the false economic, political and religious temptations.]

If consumerism in all its forms is what dehumanises, then the opposite seems to me to be contentment. On this there are numerous Scriptures suggesting that is the ‘bag’ that we need to carry all our ‘things’ in:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13).

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

This is not a natural process, Paul says he had to learn to be content. I guess that is pretty much life-long.

We are within the world; we are shaped by what is around us; we cannot be ‘pure’… our feet get dirty… but internal attitudes must be the starting point and then from there make some personal decisions. The woman with her two coins might have done so without any knowledge of what would result, but we have the story. With the story we can act by faith… I like that word ‘faith’… not with knowledge… but having sought to hear God and to make a response – maybe not the right response, but a ‘faith’ response, even a tentative faith response.

We can look at what we have lost, maybe through our own stupidity, but I am not sure that a financial adviser would come to Jesus and use very complimentary words when he found out that the thief was the accountant who could act in a way that exploited the loop holes. (It might be worth pondering if those who govern nations but exploit all kinds of loop holes are the equivalent?) Can what we have lost be redeemed… not into our pockets but into true wealth?

How can we push back against the buying and selling with at least some measure of giving and receiving?

And sow where we want the world to go… Maybe we cannot do it completely, but simple questions such as do I want to put resources into some pension pot that invests into what is profitable (I guess in the current scenario, weapons and arms).

Maybe small partnerships that explore alternatives? Small never changes everything… but maybe starts a movement, and by movement I do not mean simply a practical alternative, after all Jesus did not say you cannot serve money and God, he pushed us to another level – mammon.

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Signs? Of course they are

Reading too much into it?

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

Back home – Wednesday 8th February, having left Oliva January 8th… 4 weeks in England (oh yes with one lunch in Scotland – no haggis nor anything too indigenous as we had a pizza! – but I did get a haggis later so did not miss out totally). Our time was mostly tied to Gayle and her work but with a lot of connections outside of that too… but the journey there and back, now that was interesting.

On the way up as we drove through Rouen, the place where Joan of Arc was tried and burnt at the stake we were within centimetres and milli-seconds of being totally broadsided by a massive truck, the driver having drifted off. What made it more dangerous we were in road works and the lanes were narrowed with nowhere to go. Horns, brakes and a last minute adjustment so that we were not ‘broadsided’. We have learnt in these challenging times to pray before setting off and during any journey.

We drove to England in our 13 year old, not very low kilometre-ish van, otherwise known as San Lorenzo’s furgo. It has served us well, particularly in our drive around Spain when we followed the path of the expulsions of the Muslims from Spain… But now, a new journey awaits and so…

The last day of Gayle’s involvement in the Authentic Business ‘Ignite’ conference, I take it upon myself to drive out of Judith’s (daughter’s) drive. I have to give the full picture… left hand drive, the wall is very low to the right, all windscreens and mirrors are covered in frost. I lay that out in honest detail as nothing that follows of course is my fault.

I reverse and totally unprovoked the wall – with a little awkward pillar attached – clearly moves out with a vengeance and takes (literally) the whole front off the immaculate Nissan NV200. Definitely not my fault and I suspect that the bricks in the wall while they were clay had a difficult background (childhood?), hence the venom with which they attacked the van.

So, refusing to acknowledge that I had anything to do with it, I stopped the van to see that the whole front of the van was now on the drive way. Not a good sight! Two hours later and a purchase of some mighty sticky duck tape and it was as good as new, well provided one viewed it in the dark of night and from 40 metres away.

A couple of days later and we were off to Cumbria – hence a short drive for the lunch in Scotland en route via Hadrian’s wall. What a great time we had there with myself, Gayle, Andrew Cua, Lee Ann and Brian Thompson. Sight and even more sight. And they loved the dog!

Drove home to Judith’s – what a sweet running van I thought. Just before Oxford. What!! Red engine light that means – stop now… and I mean stop NOW, what part of NOW do you not understand light comes on. So intrusive! OK… on the hard shoulder and the engine shut down. But eventually via a few stops on the hard shoulder and we managed to limp home – 25 mph top speed on the slight inclines and 50mph (wow, scary) top speed on the motorway. But home we got.

Phoned the Nissan dealer. We can take it to diagnose the issue in 6 days time. Ah well, postpone our date to come home. One week later, fixed!!!! So off to Bath to spend time with Israel and Catharine. The van has not been running this well in years – what a good job they have done.

Good job? 100miles on the road and that red light shows up, loss of power. Eventually get there and back to Jude’s. The Nissan dealer… yes, we can take it in but will need it here for a week and instantly quote two likely possibilities – either of which to fix is more than the value of the van!! Not a good prognosis.

Back up… earlier we have a voice message left us from a friend in Bristol. A voice message for Gayle with all she is involved in… The latter part is – ‘look to generate direction, do not look to generate power’ – a message that is not with respect to the van but with respect to her work… but signs?

Vehicles have always been symbolic for both Gayle and I – symbolising the phase of our journey through life, work and purpose. We know that there are huge shifts for Gayle that have to come into focus in the next few months.

So we decide we cannot be another week in the UK… and perhaps more to the point decide that we cannot throw yet more money than the vehicle is worth into it. So Monday 6th Feb – exactly 4 weeks after arriving in the UK we drive to the channel tunnel, seeking to submit as we drive to the prophetic word – do not seek to generate power but set direction, acknowledging that the direction is pretty temporary, direction held together by sticky tape!

Day 1 – do not exceed 55mph (power) but set direction. End of Day 1 sleep in Rouen the place that was all but the end of us on the way to the UK. Day 2 – driving likewise and ended the day 20 minutes from the Spanish border in the very cute place that is both French and Basque – St Jean de Luz.

Day 3 – off we go, happy to be back in Spain, even carefully taking some high passes in with snow on the ground on the high places. 220 kms from home on comes the red light. It comes on, I slow, and it just keeps coming on again and again. Leaves us driving up inclines at 40km/h (25mph) with trucks bearing down on us at 60mph. Prayed – come help us earth (Rev. 12) and then realised there is a natural element to help us – we are at 3300ft above sea level (Arragon) – and the road will take us to the coast (Valencia) – we managed to free-wheel for some 20 kms as we dropped. We had not seen such speeds in 4 days!!! Who needs an engine? It saved our engine, and the red light stayed off for all that downhill. Down to sea level – yes added time to our journey, but we limped home, now absolute top speed of 35mph / 58km/h, and made it back to our street!!!!!

[Signs are two-fold in Scripture: they point to the reality that they signify and they are the means by which the reality is unfolded and manifests. Hence we drove in a way that sought to fulfil the sign. Signs by themselves are not enough… If we respond to them like that we are missing it – bit like a dog: point at something and if the dog is alert it looks at the finger (sign) not at the object that is being pointed to… a bit like ‘wars, rumours of wars’… the relevance is not in the sign but in the shift taking place in the heavens; when you see these things, lift your eyes’.]

Home. No question San Lorenzo has come to its end and we need a new vehicle. Practically yes, but it is a sign and a new vehicle is needed, particularly for Gayle. We have set temporary direction – the front is taped up – but we cannot yet generate power.

A sign… yes we figure so. We don’t think we are reading too much into this, and I think if you knew the behind the scenes story you would agree.

Our little adventure… but ready for a more serious adventure, that of finding direction and empowerment for the next phase of two little coins into the system.

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Zoom evening – change of date

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

I have been organising an ‘open zoom’ where anyone is invited to, normally on the first Tuesday of the month. February there is a change of date.

It will now be on February 21st, 7:30pm UK time.

We have been broadly looking at ‘where are we?’, ‘what is going on?’, ‘what responses should we be thinking of?’. The normal format is that we have someone who holds the evening with an initial interaction with one person… This provokes discussion. There are no definitive answers, but the evenings are not simply interesting but also inspiring and provocative.

A few months back we had Rosie Benjamin with us and she has agreed to come back I think her perspectives will be very helpful as we navigate our way forward.

Here is the link:

Topic: Open Zoom
Time: Feb 21, 2023 19:30 London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5728039267?pwd=NEozVVM0Z1NJSDFKKzNwdG9KUDc5dz09

Meeting ID: 572 803 9267
Passcode: 5GkMTA

Gayle and I are just about to finish 4 weeks (FOUR!!!) in the UK. Driven from Spain, and complete with vehicle breakdown on the M40… Vehicles have always been a sign for us of our ‘journey’, so we are responding to that. At least the garage who sorted us agreed that it was downhill to Spain so take handbrake off and should get there. Leaving probably on Monday with a weekend in Bath and the Reading.

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What do you see?

Where do you live?

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

I have posted on Revelation 21 and Galatians over previous days and in those chapters we have the phrases ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth’ indicating the renewal of creation in totality, and Paul’s stark statement that ‘new creation’ swallows up all other (old) distinctions. All of this is tied of course to Jesus who is the firstborn of all creation; the one who in his resurrection gives us a hope for the future: our resurrection and the renewal of all things (could be translated as the ‘re-genesis’ of all things, the rebirth, re-start of all things – Matt. 19:28).

A future reality? What is the process to get to that future reality? The second question is not easy to say; my conservative nature means we await the parousia in a fairly classic sense: those who have died in Christ return with him (all the language used is the language of the then current empire and all the activity of the Emperor visiting the city is parallel, where he would come with his own into the city for the imperial visitation). Perhaps like those of the OT era who were waiting expectantly a coming Messiah we will get a lot of surprises. However, the easiest way I have found to tie it all together is that we are supplying the material (every cup of cold water given to big wonderful acts of kindness / creation investment) for the age to come.

John saw the whole of creation renewed; Paul says in Galatians:

For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation is everything! (Gal.6:15).

That last phrase is somewhat abrupt, with it being simply: ‘but new creation‘. In contrast to that basic divide between covenant people and non-covenant people, Paul simply says (I imagine him with a megaphone), BUT NEW CREATION!!! That statement changes everything, every human relationship, every value system. Everything is redefined.

It is the same phraseology in 2 Cor. 5:16, 17:

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!

Again ever so succinct – if anyone is in Christ, NEW CREATION, with the next part could equally be translated as ‘everything from a former era has passed away’.

I think the megaphone concept works well. The contrast is so great that there is a dramtic before and after. It is the same shock as we get when we read Rev. 21 about the new heavens and the new earth. Same shock and with John we might be able to simply say ‘future… and until then nothing really is different’, but Paul does not let us make that mistake. It is NOW. The only qualification is that we are ‘in Christ’.

It is that location that affects our sight. How we see ‘everyone’. All are called and invited to live in the new creation where we all make a contribution to the future where there is no more sorrow, tears, indeed no more death.

It does not mean we cover our eyes to what is damaging (there is enough of Paul in the various letters where he confronts all damaging behaviour), but the reason for confronting is that the contribution to the fulfilment and appearing of that new creation is hindered every time we fail to live out our lives humanly (this I think gets to the heart of ‘sin’, to fall short of the glory of God). We are not blind to issues but we see through eyes that, in the words of one who has already made a contribution to the future, ‘I have a dream’.

When teaching on the prophetic I like to describe the seeing aspect as being similar to driving a car where one can see the outside physical world, but if there was a piece of paper on the dashboard and the light comes in a certain way one can also see the distracting piece of paper. If driving best not to look at the piece of paper, or to remove it! If prophesying it is best to focus on the piece of paper. Two realities vying for focus. That is the reality Paul writes about. He is well aware of over-realized eschatology that denies living in a fallen creation, but that awareness is placed in the context of ‘new creation’.

Sight. ‘What do you see?’, is a question God asks, e.g., Amos or Jeremiah; one that Jesus asked of Simon the Pharisee.

It is one that we also have to respond to. It is that sight that motivates us in our relationships and causes people to work for the renewal of creation. Ecological problems do not exist in the new creation, and if ‘new creation’ is here…

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Story or text?

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Biblical Observations

At the end of the last post I wrote that we need to recover ‘the story beyond the text’. In writing that I am suggesting that there are diverse ways of approaching Scripture. One way would be to view the various texts as somehow dropping out of the sky in a timeless fashion, for surely the Bible is inspired in such a way that each and every text is ‘the word of God’. That would seem to be a way in which we were respecting the authority of the book we consider is our sacred Scriptures. Not my approach.

Story. It seems hard to get away from that. The books of Moses – the ‘law’ – do have some ‘do this / do not do this’ that could be classified as giving us (actually them not us) a set of laws, but the majority of the first five books (the law) are in the form of narratives recounting what took place – story. So much historical reflection in the other books… not a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ without a historical context. The Gospels – narrative. Yes there is teaching and instruction within them but all four essentially present us with ‘Jesus did this, he said this in this setting’ and so on right through to an account of the last days of his life; far more narrative than a set of teachings. Acts – story. The letters – most are in response to ‘in this setting and time with what they are facing I will write this to them’… historical context (so for example even the BIG doctrinal letter of Romans instructing us to pay our taxes is not a simple instruction, but is written into the context of Rome and street protests that were about to erupt over, within months, the taxation situation). Revelation – a context of observing Rome’s policies and values with a wonderful intersection then of earthly observation and apocalyptic vision that interprets and explains what was visible to one and all.

Story is what makes up the majority of our book.

And cos there is story we don’t have to defend all of it as ‘this is literal’. Maybe Jonah was a historical character, probably not though… and probably not even if Jesus thought he was (though I don’t think Jesus thought he was). Certainly I see no reason to suggest an ‘Adam and Eve’ in the sense of six / seven day creation and happened in this way (literally). What I think we need to think about is not the literalistic nature or not but more what would be the story being told. The story of creation would certainly adjust many eschatologies… the ‘first word’ and the ‘last word’ should surely be better aligned than ‘everything will burn up’. Probably the seven days resonate with the seven days of preparation for the Temple before it was filled with the glory of God. Somehow that would align those ancient stories more with the stories of the day from other cultures (and totally transcend them all) and give us (as Christians) a major connection between Genesis 1 and 2 with our comments on Revelation 21, with the whole of creation as a Temple. I think the only burning up in the end will be the various iterations of the ‘left Behind’ type of literature!

Story is so challenging. What if – hold on to your seat belt – Paul planted ekklesiai in each place as he knew that was essential, essential as the first phase of his activity, but that once he had done that maybe there would be a second phase, one that we do not read of in Scripture? We might try and copy phase 1 with our claims of being a biblical church because we read what was done, but fail to understand the why of what he was doing?

Story… and an uncompleted story. I am not suggesting we can continue to write the Bible… but we can and must continue to tell the same story, but it would seem to me that we are not in the same ‘chapter’ of where the Bible brings the story up to. If we do something different that tells a story that is incompatible with what has gone before we will prove to be truly unbiblical; likewise if we simply line up texts and align to them without consideration to the story it will also result in us being unbiblical.

So much could be said about the levels of story that are in our Scriptures – the detailed explanations as to why David (and Solomon) were God’s choices in the earlier historical books of Samuel but once we come to Chronicles no need to ascertain that (abnormal) choice of David and Solomon was from God as those nasty northern kingdoms have gone and only the faithful to David remain, would be one example.

And conflicts within Scripture – now we come to another area of great richness. Take the ‘wisdom books’. Proverbs is clear, there are no exceptions. Job… in some ways an exception… then Ecclesiastes, with the only human who has value is a dead one! Three contributions that we wrestle with so that we come to a level of wisdom that one monolithic approach would not help us get there. Life is complex and the intra-canonical dialogue (probably disagreement) serves us well.

Story, and with the interpretive centre being in the story of Jesus for God has spoken in ‘the Son in these last days’ in a defining way. The Jesus story – now that transforms the whole story.

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Babylon… a strange land?

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Biblical Observations

Babylon becomes the place of Exile for the people of God and as with so many biblical themes / passages there are different approaches we can take as Scripture seems to swing one way and another on it… either indicating that a multiplicity of interpretation is the best way to go, or (my preference) there is continual intra-canonical debate (disagreement?) which we are invited into, with the question being ‘so Martin how do you respond?’. Ultimately I have to give my answer… an assessment of my life (then) will not be on what had discerned about the various texts but how my life had been lived out.

I prefer the latter (entering the dialogue / disagreement) as Scripture in all its inspiration is first of all described as ‘useful’ (2 Tim. 3:16) and when we read further about the usefulness it is not so that we come to some level of correct beliefs at a head level but ‘correct’ responses and actions so that we can be involved in ‘every good work’. Behaviour over belief.

Babylon and the Exile. The place where they felt they could not ‘sing the songs of the Lord in a strange land’ so they ‘hung up their harps on the willow trees’. Away from the ‘promised’ land. Jeremiah is an interesting character. Not one who followed the pattern that was common, but suffered at the hands of his compatriots because he could not bring them a positive word about God’s deliverance, and refused to say that the Jerusalem temple would be the guarantee that all would go well (a clear forerunner of Jesus, who takes a similar line some 600+ years later).

Babylon the place where the synagogue develops. Ever so practical for how can a people remain distinct in such a place? Meet weekly, focus more on the scrolls than the story. Safety first. Safety – we so desire that, but it can prove to be something false that hinders us… after all the people of God are like the wind – a level of unpredictability to them.

The level of dislocation that Jeremiah’s compatriots experienced means we cannot be very critical of how they journeyed in the land of Exile, but we have a great advantage over them. After all they understood that their destiny was tied up with a specific land – ours is not. They understood that there was something distinct about their Jewishness, we understand that God is pulling a people from every tribe and nation together. Any criticism must be a critique of us in the light of their situation, and as with so much of Scripture if we allow the critique to come our way we can develop along a good path.

Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord (Jer. 29:5-9).

Seek the shalom of the city (translated welfare but the word is shalom… that rich Hebrew word that does not mean the absence of unrest / war, but the positive presence of well-being because everything is ordered in a godly way, where everyone can find a path to their destiny); pray on behalf of Babylon; fulfil there the creational command to ‘multiply’.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls
    and security within your towers.” (Ps. 122:6,7).

Pray, peace (shalom) and security (verb is ‘to prosper‘)… for Jerusalem. Same sentiments as for the place of Exile. Jerusalem held a special place in their hearts, and this Psalm is one of the pilgrims travelling to the city… But Babylon likewise has to hold a special place!

We might be able to suggest that the place of exile is temporary with the hope of returning to Jerusalem. Temporary for them, but for us? Jerusalem to the ends of the earth… Matthew (the Jewish gospel of fulfilment) indicates with his genealogy of Jesus (somewhat ‘manipulated’ to fit a nice pattern of 14’s, and even after the rather creative choice of who he lists it is still a little challenging to get it to be strict pattern of 14’s – ah well, Scripture is to be ‘useful’ for life!) that the exile is coming to an end with the amazing phrase that ‘Jesus will save his people from their sins’ for he will be ‘Emmanuel’ (God with us – at last after the Exile is finally over). Exile was because of their sins, but in Jesus it was ending. So maybe here they are back in the land of promise, and the temporary exile is over? But the end of Mathew’s Gospel is wonderfully provocative with the well-known ‘Great Commission’ sending the disciples to all nations (Gentiles) being a contrasting parallel to Cyrus commission to restore Jerusalem and the temple. Maybe the exile was temporary for the Jews of Jeremiah’s day; it seems permanent for us, but not simply permanent, it is transformed. There is no place that we are exiled from in the sense of one day we will return to a land… we are permanently placed in Babylon with the knowledge that we carry a passport from another place – ‘our citizenship is in heaven’. This ‘citizenship’ is not even close to meaning that ‘heaven is our true home’ but in the fulfilling sense that wherever we are we are to ‘seek the prosperity of the city’ so that ‘shalom‘ (an environment where people can enter successfully on their path to their destiny).

Seems that is in line with what I have posted on Revelation 21.

Babylon, our Babylon is indeed a strange land. But our goal is not to escape, to ‘go’ somewhere else… but to see some measure of ‘heaven on earth’ in that place. No Temple there… and even any synagogue pattern has to be a stepping stone to recovering the story beyond the text.

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Revelation 21:22-27

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Biblical Observations

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The New Jerusalem… no Temple. Such a contrast to the Jerusalem that John had known. That city was renowned throughout the Roman Empire, and noted for its Temple, occupying around 20% of the entire city. Jerusalem was not a city with a Cathedral (Canterbury, for example)… it was a Temple with streets and houses outside of it, hence at Passover time it could host all the pilgrims, many of whom sleep overnight outside the city on the Mount of Olives (hence the need for Judas to show the soldiers where Jesus was located). The contrast could not be greater. A Jerusalem without a temple could not be computed, and of course 70AD prefigures the New Jerusalem with the destruction of the Temple. How many mourned for the passing of the Temple, here however John helps us understand why the Temple had to go. There can be no Temple where there is the presence of ‘the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb’. Any ‘temple’ is temporary. Tie this to the opening verse of the chapter and we have a vision (understatement!):

I saw a new heaven and a new earth – but no sea… I saw a New Jerusalem – but no Temple.

Today is shaped by what we see for tomorrow; we might work with stepping stones toward tomorrow, but stepping stones are not marking the finish of the journey simply the pathway. Again the vision is of the total transformation of all things, to work with the one who makes all things new.

And wonderful confusion is thrown our way. This city / Temple that fills everything, that is the bride provides light for the nations to walk in a healthy / holy direction (‘disciple all nations’), with its gates never closed (so what is outside the city?) and allowing the glory from the nations to come in, but not allowing anything unclean to enter… Is the bride the city? For sure… Can others enter? Seems that way.

I appreciate what we have here is visionary, apocalyptic imagery; but such imagery is present to communicate what we might term ‘reality’.

The identity of the Bride is for sure those who are ‘in Christ’; there seems to be those who do not get to participate in this future (‘second death’) and there seems to be room for some kind of extremely blurred edges with gates that are closed only to that which is unclean.

I am glad for the confusion! Does me good.

I am challenged by the scale of the vision. A transformed world. If John on Patmos, in captivity could communicate that kind of vision, maybe I in my small world can hold in some way to it too, along with all the ‘what will that look like?’ questions. The future, even when a little blurred to sight, is more than enough to shape me… and the rest of humanity.

Thank you John. Thank you MLK… The dream is alive.

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Revelation 21:9-21

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Biblical Observations

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names that are the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites: on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.. The city has four equal sides, its length the same as its width, and he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

We come to the identity of the bride that has been prepared. ‘In the spirit’ is the fourth time we read this phrase in the book of Revelation. First time is in the opening chapter that sets the whole book in motion: a vision of the resurrected, glorified Jesus… second time is a big overview vision of the throne room of God, a vision that stands in total contrast to the throne of Caesar with his 24 advisors around his throne; third time is a vision of Babylon and her judgement… and here is the final ‘in the Spirit’ marker. Jesus – throne – the battle and opposition – and the eschaton.

Twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve apostles, twelve tribes, twelve foundations. Twelve… always symbolising government, understood not as ruling over in a dominion sense but being the means through which the ‘kingdom’ of God comes. ‘Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ is now fully fulfilled.

Two remarkable aspects are noted about the ‘size’ of the city. It is cubic – length, breadth and height are the same. That points us back to the only other shape in Scripture that is cubic – the very holy of holies; and the size is the size of the then known world – more or less the size of the oikoumene, the Imperial kingdom that was offered to Jesus by the ‘devil’. The Temple in Jerusalem was a compromise… courts for women, for Gentiles, and ultimately a ‘holy of holies’ marked out as sacred. All exposed (exploded) by the death of Jesus, with a curtain ripped in two. And here the ultimate – no more courts, only a holy of holies, the presence of God in fullness throughout all of creation. Truly a parousia (an appearing) of God, a making visible of the reality that is hidden. Little wonder we will read ‘I saw no Temple’ in the city!

The measurement used was of gold – symbolic of wealth that comes from creation – and the measurement was both a human and an angelic one (I think a better translation would be ‘by human measurement, which is also an angel measurement). Angels and humans at last in harmony; both servants of God working together. We tend either to ignore the angelic, or we colonise their activity. Imagine if both are free to work their side of the partnership!

The one story of Scripture comes together. The foundations from the apostolic work; the gates from the call of the twelve tribes. Gates that protect, that allow for prosperity and release; foundations that are for the total transformation of the world. Again we come to see that the work of the kingdom is not to be reduced to ‘hands up for salvation’ and then we ‘plant a church’ but to work for the total transformation of the world, with a focus on the foundations.

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