Now is come (Bölüm 12)

Ergun Caner, a prominent Baptist writer and professor, lamented a side-effect of the printing press. People no longer felt compelled to memorize the Bible. Muslims know the value of committed sacred text to memory. Throughout the world, pious children spend hours absorbing the Arabic Koran. It does a man good to have noble words ready to reflect upon at any idle hour, or when suffering insomnia. At some point, I really do need to see to it that my girls memorize the Sermon on the Mount, for example.

Today's chapter includes a jubilant hymn of victory that I often recite to myself for comfort and encouragement. Let's see what the first part looks like in Türkçe.

Bundan sonra gökte yüksek bir sesin şöyle dediğini duydum __
Tanrımızın kurtarşı, güçü, egemenliği ve Mesihinin yetkisi şimdi gerçekleşti.
Çünkü kardeşlerimizin suçlayıcısı, onları Tanrımızın önünde gece gündüz suçlayan,
aşağı atıldı.

And now, a brief word list:

• kurtarma -- salvation, rescue, recovery
  
• güç -- power
• egemenlik -- kingdom
• yetki -- authority, jurisdiction
• gerçek -- true, real, actual, fact, realilty, truth
• gerçeklmek -- become true, be realized
  

It's interesting the way different languages use different word orders. In English and Greek, the emphasis is strongly asserted by the way the hymn begins. "Now is come ..." "Arti egeneto ..."and then, the laundry-list of amazing blessings released into humanity's experience by the achievements of our God and His Christ. The Turkish translation I'm using begins with the list, then puts the verb where it belongs (if you are a Turk) at the end of the sentence -- all of these things "now are realized."

In the Book of Job, we see Satan having ready access to God's Throne, where he accuses the man. In the gospels, after our Lord's emissaries return from a successful evangelistic tour, Jesus exults greatly and says, "I saw Satan falling as lightening from heaven." Here, the heavens shout for joy because Satan's access to the higher protocol levels has been canceled.

And when did Satan get the boot? When did God establish His salvation, power, and Kingdom? When is the "now?" of this verse?

Your answer will have a lot to do with how much you enjoy victory in this life.

Esinleme gelen bölümler 7 ve 8

America is a fertile seedbed for novel new heresies. It could be because of a cantankerous, independent streak in our national character. Perhaps, we exemplify Francis Shaeffer's maxim, "the little man with the open Bible can tell the 51%, 'You are wrong.'" There's an anti-intellectual undertow in American Christian culture that glories in re-inventing the wheel, one generation after another. After all (I speak foolishly, here!), Christianity is so simple that any fool can understand all there is to know about it, right? No need to invest whole generations in wrestling with the implications of our faith -- a moment's effortless inspiration can speak directly to the heart of the matter. And Christianity is, after all, a new kind of "feeling" about oneself, and one's universe. Not a challenge to the way one understands "life, the universe, and everything."

Chapter 7 is a favorite among cultists, since it seems to suggest that 144,000 folks have an exclusive claim on God's ultimate favor. Everybody likes the idea of being in the know, belonging to a select group, an ultimate elite. Yet Revelation is a prophetic book, using a specialized vocabulary. In those earlier days, 1,000 often meant "a number too big to bother counting." 12 is of course the numeric designator of God's covenant people. Squared, to make sure all of them are indicated. Times 1,000, to convey the image of a vast, uncountable, number. Note what is happening to these select elect: They are each receiving God's "seal of approval." God's mark of ownership. This chapter echoes chapter 9 in Ezekiel, where the prophet sees an angelic messenger with writing utensils going through Jerusalem to put God's mark on all those "who sigh and cry for the abominations" of that city. As Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

But the comfort may need to wait for the next life. Those who are protected by God's trademark on their thoughts and deeds, His Word bound upon forehead and right hand, will receive their reward. And here's today's selection:

Çünkü tahtın ortasında olan Kuzu onları güdecek
ve yaşam sularının pınarlarına götürecek.
Tanrı onların gözlerinden bütün yaşları silecektir.

And, a few of the words:

• taht -- throne
• Kuzu -- Lamb
• yaşam sularının pınarlarına -- to living waters springs
• yaşlar -- tears
  

Yes, even if we perish in our tribulations, we can anticipate standing before the throne of The Lamb who is also a Shepherd.

Meanwhile, back on planet earth, there's more to do than just "grin and bear it." Chapter 8 presents the church's artillery, the Christian's counter-attack. We can pray. No, not just in the sense of vaporing pious wishes towards an imaginary heaven. When we assemble for worship, we are in the presence of the King, doing business in the throne room of the Almighty, presenting our case to the ultimate Judge, back seat drivers on the bridge of the Star Ship Universe. The leaders of the church (remember, the "angels" we met in chapters 2 and 3?) take our prayers to God -- and stuff begins to happen around us.

No, we didn't lose count. A pattern repeated several times in this book is -- a set of actions, a pause for reflection, then the concluding members of the set. After the business of sealing His chosen is completed, after the church steps up to the plate and fulfills its duty to pray, the pent-up wrath of God against His enemies is released. The leaders of the church are the maestros of history, implementing God's will for the nations by worship, prayer, and faith.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

A colorful American idiom describes apprehensive anticipation as "waiting for the other shoe to drop." This cliche dates back to the days when many people lived in "boarding houses." You go to bed, just start to doze off, when the boarder in the room above you drops one shoe on the floor. Thump! And you are unable to go back to sleep until the thoughtless guy with heavy shoes drops that other one.

Much of İncil was written with this motif, this foreboding mood. A new world had begun when God "put on shoes and walked among us." The ministry of Jesus inaugurated God's Kingdom rule upon the earth with fresh power, fresh visibility. Yet, the new world a-borning was also the death sentence upon the established order. The settled landmarks men had structured their lives around were about to be shattered. And they knew it. They had it "on the best authority" that the clock was running down on everything they took for granted. Time was running out on the "terminal generation," the "this generation" Jesus had warned approximately thirty years before this letter was written.

I Petrus'un mektubu 4 begins with Peter flaunting a suspiciously rich vocabulary on the theme of drunken partying. He is, of course, describing those things believers are supposed to leave behind. He goes on to tell his readers, in verse 7:

Her şeyin sonu yakındır. Bu nedenle, sağduyulu ve dua etmek için ayık durun.

The Turkish possessive construction is a "belt and suspenders" arrangement, that tacks different endings upon the item possessed, and the item possessing. This takes a while to get used to. Look at the first sentence: Her every. şeyin -- thing. sonu -- end. yakın -- near. dır -- is. şeyin takes the -in ending, since it is the thing that owns. sonu takes the -u, the direct object ending, since it is the item owned.

The end of all things is near. The other shoe is about to drop. Therefore, for this reason, sağduyulu (use common sense) and, in order to pray effectively, ayık durun (stay sober). I suspect Peter is dealing with the temptations we all face when things are about to fall apart. When the factory is about to shut down. When major changes are pending.

Cook me that rock, medium rare !

Petrus'un mektubu 2:4,5 is a terrific passage for anyone with a sense of irony and a love of the oxymoron.

İnsanlarca reddedilmiş, ama tanrı'ya göre seçkin ve değerli olan diri taşa, Rab'be gelin. O sizi diri taşlar olarak ruhsal bir tapınağın yapımında kullansın.

And today's words are:

• diri -- alive; fresh; undercooked
  
• taş -- rock
  

How can a rock be alive? The paradoxes multiply. Rock -- immutable, solid, enduring. Flesh -- prone to injury, decay, change. Rock -- inert. Flesh -- alive, growing, increasing.

An oxymoron is a literary device that combines apparent opposites to create a startling new image. Peter begins with an architectural metaphor. Jesus is like "the Rock that the buildrers rejected, which has become the chief corner stone." Something rejected by men, chosen and precious in the sight of God. Of course, our Lord is more than a Rock. More than a cold, rigid, abstraction. Christians assert that Jesus is the Almighty's "graphic user interface" to the universe, the human face of God, simultaneously human and divine. Not just a stone, but a "living" stone. It is as we "connect" to God through Jesus that we experience the hope of eternal life. We become, in our own small way, "living stones," built up together into a habitation for God.

There is a final irony that the original readers of Peter's Greek letter would have enjoyed. Jesus had a habit of renaming His disciples. Peter's parents named him "Simon." Jesus called him "Rocky." Peter, after all, means "stone." Think of "petrified wood" -- wood transformed into stone. Simon, the reckless, fickle reed who paniced at key moments, grew into the name Jesus gave him, and became the man who asked to be crucified upside down, since he was unworthy to die the same way Jesus did.

Jesus has a new name for you, too.

I Petrus@un mektubu, 1:12, 13

Melekler bu gerçekleri yanından büyük ölem duyarlar.

Bu nedenle zihinlerinizi eyleme hazırlayın. Ayık olun.

Let's look at a few more words.

• melek -- angel
• ölem -- longing, yearning, aspiration
• duymak -- to hear, feel, sense
• zihin -- mind, intellect
• eylem -- action, operation
• Ayık -- sober
  

We are those for whom the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. As Hebrews 1 points out, the Incarnation was not into angelic form, but into human. The angels had to sit this one out, for the most part. Stuff is going on today, in our lives, that they eagerly long to participate in, but it is our privilege, not their, to have God the Holy Spirit living within us.

Therefore, we need to get our brains in gear. The King James Bible translates this phase "Gird up the loins of your mind." The Turkish phrase commands us to "prepare your minds for action." This mandate starkly distinguishes real Christianity from mushy mysticism. It is a Hindu practice to endlessly chant a few nonsense syllables, until the brain checks out and direct experience checks in. Yes, you can generate apparently supernatural experiences by this means. Some scholars suspect that this is happening in various Christian circles. Get a few thousand people together, then saturate/marinate in the excitement, repeating endless simple-minded choruses until the brain goes offline, and Shazam! People have amazing experiences!

But are these experiences from the God Who strongly recommends wisdom? Who requires us to think through what we're doing?

Presuppositional apologetics asserts that Trinitarian Christianity is the ultimate basis for sanity. We, who experience a renewal of God's image in us, are equipped to think straight. The unbelievers need to steal our presuppositions to get anywhere.

Which reminds me -- I really do need to get a grip on where I'm going with my dissertation, this week!

Fussy, fastidious, nit-picking

The fun of reading one's scriptures in a different language is -- you see things with a slightly different perspective. For example, let's look at Yacub mektubu 3:1:

Kardeşlerim, biz öğreticilerin daha titiz bir yargılamadan geçeğimizi biliyorusunuz. Bu nedenle, çoğunuz öğretici olmayın.

My friends, you know that we teachers are subject to a stricter judgement. For this reason (bu nedenle), many of us (çoğunuz) teachers (öğretici) should not become (olmayın).

Daha titiz was the phrase that caught my attention this morning. Daha, of course, means "more." Titiz, "fussy, fastidious, particular." I'd been thinking for 38 years that the "stricter judgement" teachers struggled with was God's severe restraints upon those who would be shepherds of His flock. This morning, though, I got to wondering -- are would-be teachers and guides also setting themselves up as targets for petty sniping from other people?

In either case, painting a target on one's chest may not be the wisest course of action.

The problem in American Protestant culture is, the notion that the vocational ministry is somehow a superior calling, the badge of true and total commitment to the Lord and His Kingdom. I was talking to a young man the other day who is earning a four-year Batchelor of Divinity degree. Joining the ranks of those two freshly minted preacher boys who graduate every year for each available pulpit. If you are a guy who is lacking in tact, you ask such an one, "But what can you actually do? What kind of useful work are you trained for?"

My ambition is to remind folks that God's Kingdom is at least as big as His universe. Every worthy vocation, every honest line of endeavor, contributes to the honor of His Name, when we do it well.

Vincent Van Gogh would have been far happier had he realized that he could be more fruitful as a good painter than as a lousy preacher.

Exegeting humble pie

Many amateur linguists use John’s gospel as their first extended text in a target language. John’s imagery is concrete, the language simple, and the repetitive, poetic style makes it easier to master new vocabulary words. You reach the end of Yuhanna, finding yourself able to comprehend more and more entire sentences, and pat yourself on the back. "Wow! I’m actually able to read this new language!"

For a dose of reality, turn the page. Luke, native speaker of Greek, master stylist, author of the longest gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, and perhaps of the Epistle to the Hebrews, promptly punctures pretensions. The percentage of readable sentences plummets, the dictionary gets a workout, and all the new words create severe speed bumps.

Why does Luke have to use so many synonyms?

Then, there’s the problem of word usage across three languages (Luke’s Greek, your English, and the target language). For example, in Acts 18:26, we encounter the word biçim, which is defined as "form, shape, manner, way." Then, in Acts 18:28 we meet şekil, which is defined as "form, shape, diagram, illustration."

Say what?

A quick look at the original text reveals that, in both cases, the word in question needs to be combined in thought with the verb immediately following it to approximate the meaning of a single Greek verb.

Oh. Young reader, you have much further to go than you had planned on!

Bit of trivia thrown in just for fun. There is only one Malay word that got adopted into English. It has two correct spellings, and is always combined with the English verb run.

The word? amok/amuck.