what is the wrath of God – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

Understanding the Bible 54: New Heaven, New Earth!

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

What is heaven like? For centuries that question conjured within the Christian imagination images of a glorious “elsewhere” – a place very unlike earth where the souls of the saints dwell in a sort of dreamlike bliss. Such a vision was part and parcel of the larger belief that the very goal of “this life” was to escape it, to be delivered into the paradise of “the next life” (a goal far more in keeping with the philosophy of Plato than the narrative of the Bible!).

By contrast, what the book of Revelation actually describes is not an afterlife in “heaven” (as in clouds and winged babies with harps hovering at the pearly gates), but of God’s renewal of earth! Human souls do not ascend to heaven, rather God makes his home amongst mortals – a renewal of creation described in the metaphor of the New Jerusalem.

God’s intent – indeed the entire project of salvation – is to redeem the world of God’s good creation, and to include within it the product of human creativity as well. That is to say, a truly Christian understanding of heaven is not one in which the world as we know it is judged and destroyed, but rather refined and renewed – a world in which our human creations are brought to their fulfillment and their contribution to the cosmos finally and fully revealed. Such a vision explains why human creativity is so important – why our work matters. We exercise our gifts not only for utilitarian/instrumental purposes (to get us through until tomorrow). Our gifts and talents are the means by which we share in the divine work of creation, expanding the sphere of goodness that will endure forever!

Thus our work is not to withdraw from “the world” so as to be saved from it! We – as Jesus himself clearly demonstrates – are to engage the world at it’s deepest levels that we might share in it’s restoration. In short, we are not hoping for escape from earth, but to make it fully the home God intended from the beginning, the home in which we will dwell with God unto eternity…

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), October 5, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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Understanding the Bible 53: Judgment Day!

December 7, 2014December 3, 2014Kirk Winslow2 Comments

Throughout the biblical story the final establishment of the kingdom of God has been described in terms of both blessing and wrath. In the Hebrew scriptures, “the (great and terrible) day of the Lord” is one in which the true allegiances of both Israel and the nations are judged. Those who have proven faithful to the king (YHWH) will be welcomed into his eternal presence, celebrating and endless feast, while those who remain in the category of “sinners” are destined for some sort of destruction. It is no wonder, then, that so many across church history have sought within scripture the key to being counted among the saved and not the damned!

But perhaps the picture of judgment is not quite so clear… In this episode our pal, Rev. Mike Regele, explores Revelation’s depiction of Jesus’s second coming and the final judgment of God.

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), September 28, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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Understanding the Bible 52: Whore of Babylon – Evil’s Seductive Power

December 3, 2014December 3, 2014Kirk WinslowOne Comment

Revelation has now granted us a look at the very nature of evil itself, as well as the means by which it exercises power in creation – namely violence and deception. The question that remains is: Why does humanity so willingly (and repeatedly) ally itself with such powers of destruction? Why do the false promises of war and power hold such sway?

Revelation’s answer – in short – is: seduction. We return to false gods because, while they cannot deliver true shalom (peace, rest, sufficiency…), they can – at least on the short term – provide creature comforts (luxury) that serve to anesthetize us from the pain of a broken world. There are times, indeed many of them, when the restoration of creation feels like a pipe dream – a fool’s hope. And when the struggles of existence become too much to bear, we turn towards momentary gratifications.

Here in Revelation 17-19, the seductive power of luxury is portrayed as the great whore of Babylon (always the symbol of the enemy of the faithful). She rides the back of the beast – a clear allusion to the Pax Romana (Roman peace secured by military violence) forming the necessary foundation for Rome’s economic expansion (much of Rome’s wealth was acquired by conquest and taxation). Humanity is willing to accept the beast (army) for what it provides (the harlot). And for a while, it seems the party will never end.

But it is always the nature of evil to turn even upon itself. And thus the, by means of John’s vision, the church is reminded that the only way to true joy is by means of the coming justice of God.

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), September 21, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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