The Second Candle of Advent

These candles are too small
the light of our fragile, flickering choice
against cold and angry voices,
lonely, broken tears,
and death -

Against a bleak midwinter that
never seems to thaw.

But we’ve lit the flame of hope
and now we burn for peace.

A Third Imaginary Conversation with a Real Troll: Supermarket Wrestling

     My troll caught up with me on my day off. He had to, obviously. Rule of three, right. That’s how these things work. In folklore, in comedy, in advertising. One. Two. Three. He came first to assault my character. He came again to challenge my doctrine. Now he was back a third time to question my faith as I was buying groceries. Standing there in the produce department, as I picked out onions and peppers, I saw him coming to me.

    “You are common, but you have nothing of the common love in your heart – being of one accord, one mind. You are divided in yourself. There is no eternity in your heart.”

    “Hey, Gunner. What do you think of these tomatoes? They’re not red. They’re pink and pale. Probably mealy too. Winter produce is so…”

    “What will little Satans like you do if loosed upon the world? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations…”

    “Emulations?” I scoffed. “What are you…?” But he rolled on with his list of condemnations. I had my shopping list; he had his.

    “Wrath, strife, sedition, and heresies. That’s your thing. Heresies.”

    “Here? You want to do this here? Now? In the supermarket?”

    “Sure. Why not now? Are you afraid? Now is the judgment of this world and the prince of this world shall be cast down. You should be afraid.”

    “Okay. Okay. But come with me and keep your voice down.” I put the tomato back and moved on towards the baked goods. “I need bread,” I told him.

    “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That’s your real problem. You don’t live by the word of God.”

    “Oh, come on, dude,” I said as I picked up a loaf of sourdough. “I read the Bible every day. Or nearly so.”

    “Yeah. Yeah,” he said as he followed me towards the meat department. “You read it. But you wrest it. Unstable and unlearned. You twist it, distort it out of true. You read it but you don’t believe it. You won’t accept the verbal plenary inspiration that makes it true. Inerrant. Infallible. Authoritative. God breathed, without mistake or contradiction.”

    I chuckled and pointed to the lamb shank behind the glass of the refrigerated shelves. “Behold the Passover lamb. How were the Israelites to prepare it?”

    “What?” He recoiled. 

    “Were they to roast it or boil it? Exodus or Deuteronomy? They don’t agree.”

    “No. Not like that. You’re not going to get me with those proof texts, with those alleged contradictions. You pick and chose the parts you like because you think it’s easier that way. But the whole word is inspired. God breathed. It cannot fail.”

    “God breathed, you say?” I turned my cart down the canned good aisle. I would finish my shopping. “What about Adam? He was inspired. Literally God breathed. But he failed. Yeah? I don’t think inspiration means what you think it means.”

    Just then Gunner reached out and stopped my hand as I was selecting cans of kidney beans. “Who inspires these perversions in you? You’re going to have to learn the lesson. Leave the Bible alone. Get better and get saved.” The flickering fluorescent lights cast on again off again shadows across his face

    “I don’t wrest the scripture, Gunner.” I said as I placed the beans into my cart. “But I do wrestle with it. Like Jacob wrestling through the night. And like Jacob, it’s broken me. Left me limping.”

    “You limp because you’re broken. Because you’re so lame.”

    “Lame as I am, I leap for joy in God,” I said. “And that is the miracle.”

    Gunner stood there, unmoved and blocking my path through the aisle.

    “We can continue if you want,” I said. “But I still have several things on my list. Do you mind?”

    He pursed his lips tight and shoved my cart – not hard, but away. He said nothing more. Just walked down the aisle and out of the store. I returned to my list – getting cheese and milk, and a few other things.

Another Imaginary Conversation with a Real Roll: I Will not Fight the Argument

    Today was as cold as yesterday – though there was a bit more sun. And tomorrow will be colder still with more wind. I was relaxed after work. Tired but at ease. Resting on the couch, massaging my feet when he came back.

    “I do not permit, I will not allow, a woman to teach or otherwise assume authority over a man,” he said without preamble. Jump to. Ready. A surprise attack. “She can have no authority over any man. She must be quiet. Adam was formed first, then Eve. Adam first and he was not deceived. It was the woman that was deceived.”

    So this was the game? Round two? General ad hominem attack on my character and motive hadn’t brought him the satisfaction he expected, so he was back with another hoary old chestnut: weaponized scriptural attack.

    “What of Isaiah’s wife?” I asked in response to his opening gambit.

    “Who?”

    “Isaiah’s wife, the prophetess.”

    “No. No. She doesn’t count. She was only a prophet by nature of her relationship with the prophet Isaiah, and the fact that she bore his children.”

    “Is that what you think Paul meant when he said that women will be saved through childbirth rather than sola fide?”

    “You’re twisting…” He said as he shrank back, but only briefly. He smiled and turned again, smoothly pivoted, ready to flank me.

    “How about Miriam?” I asked before he could launch his next attack. “She was a prophet too.”

    “Yes. Yes, but only to other women.”

    “And Huldah?”

    “Who?”

    “She was a prophet in Jerusalem. The High Priest came to commune with her. To speak with her. He asked her questions and she advised him.”

    “I’m sure that can’t be…”

    “She’s the one who authenticated the Book of the Law discovered by King Josiah.” I pressed on before he could regroup. “And we can’t forget Noadiah. Though she may not be the best example, as she was condemned as a false prophetess. Still, there are prophets and false prophets and there are prophetesses and false. Remember her anyway. God does.”

    “Are you done yet?”

    “No. No. Never. We haven’t even mentioned Philip’s daughters yet – prophets each one, and none of them married. They held the role without a man.”

    He crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there more?”

    “No. I’ve said enough, I think.”

    “Are you sure?”

    I said nothing, merely rubbed my weary feet.

    “For all your so-called examples from scriptures, you have nothing of the divine nature in you. You misread the scripture to your own destruction. But neither do you have a human nature. You are a void. Empty. Debase. And freely joined with Satan. You are the paradox of freedom. You do what you want. Say whatever comes into your little brain. And anything you say destroys the harmony of the universe.”

    I sighed. “So… I’m evil. You hate me and I’m evil.”

    "Yes and no. But in reverse. I love you. That’s why I confront your evil.”

    “You haven’t listened. And that’s not love.”

    “So argue, then. Stand up and fight. That’s what you do, isn’t it?”

    “That’s not me. I will not fight the argument.”

    “But we do. We fight the darkness. We fight the darkness that is within you. Am I offending you? Do I make you cry? Step up. Step out. When the shock wears off You’ll feel better, but you’ll be screaming in the end.”

    Having made his attack and ignored my response, he disappeared again, departed from me – for a season. I’m sure I’ve not heard the last from him. Him or another one like him. Still, my feet felt better, somewhat, and I was ready to relax before work again tomorrow.

An Imaginary Conversation with a Real Troll

     He came to me from out of the cold, wind and snow outside. I’d worked the day – hauling myself and letters and parcels through the snow, eight and a half miles. A long day and then more. I came home and shoveled my driveway and sidewalks. Tired and worn, I sat down to rest. And he came to me from out of the cold.

    “You’re a false teacher,” he said. Flat. Solid. No doubt, all conviction. “Satanic, even.”

    “We’ve gone over this already,” I grinned. “I’m a Methodist, not a monster.”

    “Whatever.” He waved me off and continued on. “God has a purpose and a plan with no exceptions. God’s authority will be acknowledged.”

    “Yes. God’s universal kingdom…”

    “Render obedience. Give what is due. You are a man and little else. You are a man and nothing more. You’ve come to destroy heaven and earth – jot and tittle. You do and teach the same. What you need…”

    “What I need is the nobler moments. The ideals realized and true.”

    He said nothing immediately so I offered him a drink. “I have some homemade lavender and lemon wine.” He sniffed at the glass I handed him before setting it down.

    “No rebellion – Christ is truth. And as long as sin commands you’re playing the wrong notes. Your lifestyle and pattern are all wrong. Stay away from children. I’ll tie the millstone around your neck myself. You’ve been warned.”

    “Give me grace upon the lips, hope and consolation, realized and true. In the law of love there is no injustice, no loss. The poor are not exploited and the workers enjoy the fruit of their labor. Every man beneath his own fig tree.”

    “Socialist crap. The pipe-dreams of Babylon. God never promised…”

    “Earth shall be fair, and all her people one. Not till that hour…”

    “God never promised that life would be fair. That’s completely unbiblical.” He paused and smoothed his hair into place. “Not only are you a false teacher of false idols and false doctrine, but you are a false convert as well.”

    He turned and went out and it was night.

The Bible and the Future Falling Away: A Forgotten Manifesto in Three Parts

 Yesterday's piece has been updated and expanded: 

The Bible and the Future Falling Away: A Forgotten Manifesto in Three Parts

A Faded Pamphlet:

    It’s already 1973 so we will be brief and to the purpose when describing what the future holds. We don’t have much time left. Let the future prove what the future will be. Dates are set and times are locked. The order of operations is settled and determined, friend.

    Who’s next? The fair and warm-hearted officers, inconsistent of honor. Unreliable virtue. Can you keep a secret?

    Events now past were predicted. Anticipate the same. Expectation leads to mental satisfaction. Psychological stability. The endowed man with a mind for thinking knows of future events and gives praise. In this latter half of the twentieth century, the later days of history, in as many as one hundred countries. Pulled up and returned. Rejoined and purposeful. Howbeit the things to come are difficult to recognize and understand? Do you not comprehend, even now? After all you’ve been shown?

    There have always been wars. There have always been famines and pestilence. Do you understand what this means? We have one week to get this right. There is nothing new about the counterfeits. Using actors to deceive many. Earthquakes, and fearful sights. Give my tongue a new disaster to describe.

    You appear to be a broken man. Meditating on suspense and suspension. You’ve lost your song. Do not interrupt the fear of failure. Unstoppable. Nothing now. Accept it and what will be.

    Everyone knows the devil breaks the law. Unjust laws. Subordination and the suspension of habeas corpus. They did the work of dictators. Stand down and release the hostage. Throw off shackles. Let liberty ring throughout the land, even if the founders never mentioned it.

    Interpret the words literally. By the letter and the word. History has proven the failure of the symbol. Adequate reason exists. Intermingled times and double reference. Repeat fulfillment. Purified, refined, and made white. This is how we know.

    How much was added in 1967? Remember Nixon? Worldly power. Street fighters and covert field agents. Confidence gives the people what they want. Confidence and whiskey. Normal people doing normal things in the normal way.

    Listen: some time may elapse – which will wreak havoc. This is expected. Has to be done. No way to get around the destruction. Logical deduction. Logical. Perfectly reasonable. The audible voice of the archangel has spoken. Every man in his own order. Open graves and sleeping corpses killed by the Beast. Not just possible. Probable. Expected.

    All major eschatological events are here. Are you good with computers? Do you listen to talk radio? Five crowns to be saved and the Eight of wands. Seven dispensations and seven swords. Speed. Come quickly. Never like and nevermore. Tomorrow’s world is real and will not wait. Friend, we don’t have much time left. Be warned. Be watching. Be wary.

***

Undated:

    How did it come to this? Why have I been allowed to linger? The threat was imminent, the disaster at hand. We were so sure. Nixon! Then Ford? And Carter? Reagan, maybe, but Carter? My wife has left. My car’s been repossessed. All that remains is a pile of unpaid bills and parking tickets. Listen: the general truth of things is clear and has been for some time, but opinion is divided. We know all about the rivalry of love and I don’t want to talk about the government right now.

    I saw the marks in the stone, ancient engravings. I read the words and I prayed. “Reveal the truth to me.” The stones were fused, without joints. No visible light between the cracks. No light, only silence. And then a whisper: “I’m not going to let this happen.” This was not a direct answer, but a statement implied. And if I have to explain it …

    Be warned. You will be subject to spiritual attack if you write or speak about this. Strange spiritual activity. People have died and been struck by lightning. Satan himself will come after you. You will need to be covered in prayer.

    Enter thy chambers and shut thy doors. Hide for a little moment until the indignation be overpast. Here – beneath the church basement, eating canned meat. I know God is over science, and math, and logic, and language. God is over secular humanist history. Be patient. Keep waiting for the indignation to pass. Such wonders. Such worry. Broken seals and blown out gaskets. Poured out bowls of vinegar and wrath. With sword. With hunger. With death. Weapons of fire. Weapons of dissipating smoke.

    What is it you want? What is it you pray for? Go away! Depart! The church, the true church is gone anyway. Lifeless as the blood of a dead man. Political signs and lying wonders. Grievous wolves from the gates of hell. Marvelous things and I’m all messed up. Turned from the desire of women. Forced to embrace the god of fortresses.

    Our hearts have to be pure. Remember this and look for the Antichrist on or about July 18^th.

***

Uploaded Three Hours Ago (548 views):

    We need to talk about a great opportunity. An investment to be made in the future – your future. An offer only extended to the elect. Pay attention. It is the gospel of multi-level marketing, and these words will change your life. Today is the day of your salvation.

    Mistakes were made in the past. No question. Admitted. Previous discussions were disappointing. As disappointing as people. The audience failed to understand. But now… Now is the time.

    The war with the saints wore on and on. Little was resolved. But the remainder of the Antichrist’s authority will still obtain power over all kinds of tongues. Names unwritten anywhere. Taking people away. Out of the earth. Out of the sea.

    Here’s the key – the mystery was and is not. But will be again. And soon, ascending out of the bottomless pit. The man of sin appears only once (this was the previous mistake) and then at the beginning of the end. This person has not yet appeared, but be assured – he is coming. With keen insight and boastful blasphemy.

    What is the beast? And what is his horn? Tell me what you know of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Russian realignment. Tell me what you know of the financial opportunities in the middle east. Offshore drilling? AI technologies? Rare earth mineral rights? Think bigger. Empire data? Bigger...

    We looked at Gorbachev. We looked at Saddam (but only briefly – no one took him as a serious candidate). We considered Pope Francis, who for a time seemed to be hitting all the marks: Marxism, liberalism, acceptance of the gays, et cetera. But our attention has turned and turned again.

    Now we have these important post-time indicators. We have the stock reports. We have seen the signs. We have read the times. We understand now and better than before. Seen. Heard. Understood. Viewed through naked windows on the world. Watch the news. You’ll see it. Expensive sacrifices will cease. And their absence will validate the lack of evidence.

    International treaties and loans will be made. Military expenditures do not cease. Ask yourself: who is selling secret aircraft technology to Saudi Arabia? And why? The overspending of abominations will not cease. Capitalism thrives here. A rising tide. And the temple remains desolate. Better translated, consumed. The Syrian government hardly fits. Won’t last.

    So now is the time to invest. Gold. Silver. Crypto. A 401Kingdom economy. That’s the future.

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*For entertainment purposes only. Not intended as financial advice.