The Prophet

Over the years, I've read the Bible through
several times. I never tire of reading it
over. That does not mean that I understand
everything that I read.


Bible prophecy is tough. It took me
several years to begin to get the prophetic
aspects of scripture into perspective.
There is so much confusion about Bible
prophecy that it is considered
controversial. But is it all that
controversial? I don't think so. I think
the 'controversy' has more to do with doing
what the Bible says than understanding what
it says. In other words, the real problem
is the same today as it always was --
people don't want to change the way that
they live. The message of the prophet was
always a message that included the part
about changing the way that you live. That
part is easy to understand. You don't need
a preacher to rant and rave in order for
you to know that you do things that you
ought not be doing. The prophet makes all
that very clear.


A few years back I watched the movie The
Apostle, with Robert Duvall. I thought it
was an interesting story. It kinda'
surprised me that there was a filmmaker who
had some insight into, and even a little
sympathy for, people of faith. If I were
a prophet, I would say that the
entertainment industry needs a change. I
just don't find most of it entertaining.
Not that there isn't some humor to be found
in places. If I'm watching TV, I'll go
straight to the History channel or another
program like that. But I've seen that
what many find humorous and entertaining, I
find offensive in TV programming.
Sometimes it's because it is just so
stupid, in an irritating way rather than a
funny way. Hey, I grew up on Three Stooges
so I don't have a problem with any of that.
What is most annoying is that there is no
regard for 'morals'. What is immoral is
portrayed as fun, and what is fun is
portrayed as dull. It's part of the
creative quality of art. Whether it's
reading a book or watching a movie, we are
entertained by things that are not of our
routine experience. Problem is, the
industry has taken the low road by choosing
to go for the easy targets outside our
routine experience, and gone mostly for the
portrayal of illicit sexual conduct. It's
a cheap shot. It's boring. And that ought
to be a sin. Just because someone on film
threatens to take their clothes off, does
not have the promise to make an uncreative
film worthwhile. It's still boring.


But the contrast between what we find in
modern entertainment and the ancient
prophets is not as it is often portrayed.
As soon as you begin to understand the
message of the prophets, you'll recognize
that the message is timeless. Whatever
you can say about them, they were not
boring. The message still, is not boring.
And the fact that people do not want to
hear it any more today than they did 2500
years ago implies that the message IS clear
enough to transcend the distance imposed by
time, culture, language and all that. The
prophets still have a non-boring message
for the modern world. Is anyone listening?


One thread of the message is really simple
and should catch your attention quickly --
don't self-destruct. The prophet provides
a choice, turn or burn. That narrows down
the options. We don't like 'narrow', but
Jesus did. He narrowed it down to an
either/or decision. Binary logic.


Matt 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever

ye would that men should do to you, do ye

even so to them: for this is the law and

the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide

is the gate, and broad is the way, that

leadeth to destruction, and many there be

which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and NARROW

is the way, which leadeth unto life, and

few there be that find it.


That last line gets my attention, 'few
there be that find it'. I have to ask
myself, How many are really looking for it?


See, the trouble is that we look for and
pursue those things that we believe will
provide us the greater reward. Like the
posting from yesterday, we want to be the
greatest. And the level of modern art and
entertainment places that 'reward' at the
level of the visceral rather than at the
level of the sublime. We are programmed.
We are brainwashed. We aren't looking.


They were not looking in Jesus' day either.


Matt 15:14 Let them alone: they be BLIND

leaders of the BLIND. And if the BLIND lead

the BLIND, both shall fall into the ditch.


So, at the end of the day, you have to ask
whether or not the message of the modern
church has been influenced by the drifting
and shifting fads of our time. I think it
has. It has become as boring as the appeal
of TV, in its effort to entertain rather
than own up to its prophetic purpose.


There's alot more on this topic. I just
am out of time for today. The Jesus Bus
will have to make another stop here at a
later date.