GENERAL RANT (for those who might inquire)
I understand my views are rather abstract. Even extremely counter intuitive. And admittedly, perhaps not accurate. If it stands out clearly to me this way, I’d be very willing to admit it. Sometimes it feels like maybe I am trying to help my own views survive on life support. But 5 things keep me still working through it all.
- 2017 – Jerusalem affirmed for Israel
- 2019 – Golan Heights affirmed for Israel (on Purim)
- Abraham Accords
- Saudi Lean Toward Normalization
- Ez 38 Dramtically Falling Into Place
Everything else to me is theater (in a way). I kind of mean that tongue-in-cheeck. Because its not exactly theater to me. But next to those five items, it can tend to be more like window dressing. Those 5 things to me are a steam roller that demolishes any view that massages those things to mean what they may not mean. Even here, yes I can be wrong about where it goes (as any of us mortals…amen). But those 5 together are demonstratively, to me, an iron clad silhouette pretty much for…everything else.
The reason I believe this to be so is the following:
- Ez 38 is the biggest portion of prophecy in the bible on any one subject
- It makes sense that all its detail is likely meant to give us a heads up and where to look
- Although there is fascination with Ez 38, we see most don’t articulate its exact “at pace” current stance
- Since its in His word, the biggest prophecy portion, has most detail, and about Israel who brought us prophecy (not the church), it would seem to overrule whatever else the church tries to define outside of its rippling genre
. . . . .
Whatever Trump is about, the above would be the rubric I use. Not trends, current events, or political mood swings. If the above is a solid, I simply force EVERYTHING ELSE under it. When I do that, to me, it seems not only to make more sense to me…but reveal quite a bit more along the way potentially.
For example:
This was a recent post from our beloved brother Dennis. If the silhouette5 where not dropped in our laps, I’d tend to see of course with how Dennis understandably feels. Without the silhouette5 the danger we may tend to run into is the following, i believe:
- We are all looking in the word and trusting God’s word is true
- We want it to be true (and it is)
- We don’t want to be tricked and see beyond imagery
- On that last point, so do New Agers
And that last point is where I would see the silhouette5 transcend a church mirror practice of New Agers. I don’t believe we can discern “best” Gods unfolding end of age of grace plans struggling to see through a similar matrix device the New Agers use. They, above all, don’t want to be decieved either.
If the silhouette5 is a plumb line spilled effortlessly into our laps, then narratives we tend to create (regardless of how convincing) will likely contain error. Like American collapse, non-accountability, and no real potential economic upswings. Without the silhouette5, I would be a mere boy holding a balloon saying, “Yeah but things will likely change or get better.” And i would be…a boy holding a balloon saying that.
. . . . .
We all have our hobbies. Mine is spending 10% to 40% of each and every day challenging my own narrative. I believe it is not only healthy today to do so, but almost crucial in light of how we all got so postmodern like in our age. We are a product of our age. I don’t believe the answer is in being a contrarian. But i do believe that the answers will likely challenge our biases at the gut level. Look at church history from the standpoint of our tendecy to hold to group think. We might tend to be too rigid in places for our own good. If God “transcends” then we might expect Him to in how we view things as well. 
is more than a Tshirt…in my book. And one of the most loved attributes i find attractive about Pastor JD.
If we merely sun tan under the waring ideologies of our day and dig our heels in on one, it will likely need for us to turn over and tan the other side, would be my general view. Our concerns with Trump are not without merit. Amen. But if the right placement of the irony piece in our jigsaw puzzle is in proximity to “story” vs “bias” this is what we might see:
Might God use the superhero comic book dumb down version of lazy stupid Trump loving America to be the thing its not (1 Cor 1:27-31)? If we take into account silhouette5, yeah. I think so. I’m not proud of that view, but if God transcends…superhero is not only cheesy but foolish. However, Ez 38 and the silhouette5…not so much. That blend tends to challenge our otherwise church wise senses. …in my humble opinion. Blessings.