Moving From Theology To Doxology

An article I wrote for Streaming Faith, adapted from SOTB IV...


The title of the Bible’s last book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, is also translated as “The Apocalypse", or better said “The Unveiling", specifically, the final unveiling of Jesus, the King! This beautiful book, which describes through prophetic symbols the ultimate triumph of the Christ, is not only a message of hope and reconciliation for the earth, it is also an anointed Psalter.

But it has, unfortunately, become primarily associated with doom and gloom and dark, ominous threats of things to come in recent years. This modern concept of The Apocalypse has evolved from a pessimistic paradigm that is the result of a legalistic interpretation of the Scriptures and a misunderstanding of original languages.

But John’s glorious vision of the Lamb’s dominion is actually built around seven joyous doxologies which describe what he saw and heard every time heaven (or the spirit-realm) was opened up to him:

Mass Choirs. Loud, exuberant singing. Orchestras with enormous brass sections. And songs of worship sung in unison by countless saints, martyrs, overcomers, angels and every other created thing in heaven, in earth, and even in “Hades"!

And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in Hades, the place of departed spirits] and on the sea and all that is in it, crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty (glory, splendor) and the power (might and dominion) forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities)! (Revelation 5:13 – Amp)

The word doxology is defined as a liturgical prayer or hymn of praise to God and is from the Latin doxologia (a combination of doxa, meaning praise, glory and honor) and logos (which means speech or “to speak”). The verb that is translated into English as “to worship” is found twenty-four times in The Revelation, far more than in any other New Testament book.


In fact, these references to worship in John’s vision make up almost half of its New Testament occurrences. Also, the word “Hallelujah", which means “to shout the Hallel to Jah” and is the only word that is the same in every language on earth, is only found in The Revelation!

And this brings us to the universal purpose of worship: it is the means by which all people of faith are able to move from theology—from studying God, espousing their ideas about God, arguing and dividing over the doctrines of God, fighting and starting wars over their different concepts about God—and enter into the dimension of doxology, where the top priority is simply to join with all creation in fulfilling its purpose of glorifying God.

In a word, doctrine divides us, but worship unites us, and the “unveiling”—or the place where we behold nothing but the Lamb of God—occurs through our worship!

For Your Consideration

1. REVELATION




2. PERCEPTION




3. INSPIRATION




4. IMAGINATION














5. MEDITATION




















6. ANTICIPATION


















7. MANIFESTATION

Two Thumbs Up!

Happy Monday, bloggers!


I'll be back later today with some good stuff...in the meantime, here are the Beattitudes from the KHABORIS MANUSCRIPT (in Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke) for you to enjoy and discuss...

Matthew 5:2- 10

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those whose home is in Truth; theirs is a heavenly state.
4 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those mourning their wrongs; they shall be comforted.
5 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those with humility; they will gain the earth.
6 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those who hunger and thirst for justness; they shall attain it.
7 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those whose love is without conditions; they will therefore receive unconditional love.
8 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those without fault in their minds; they will see God.
9 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those serving the peace of God; they will be called the children of God (Alaha).
10 A heavenly attitude is theirs, those being scorned because of their justness; theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Also, feel free to continue the discussion from yesterday...

Later...

________________


OK, I'm back now (currently 10 comments)...

Yesterday, after the kids got on the road back to NC, I laid down for a little Sunday afternoon nap on the sofa, with AMC playing in the background. A little while later, I was awakened by this scene playing from the 1962 movie The Miracle Worker:

(If the playlist is playing, you'll need to scroll down to it and pause it)



In case you haven't seen this biopic about Helen Keller, here's a synopsis of it:

The Miracle Worker opens with a doctor assuring Captain Keller and his wife, Kate, that their infant daughter, Helen, will recover from a serious fever. Soon after the doctor leaves, however, Kate realizes that Helen is deaf and blind. In the next scene, Helen is about six years old. She is a wild, undisciplined child. Though they try, her parents are unable to help or control her. In desperation they hire a young woman, Annie Sullivan.

From the moment Annie arrives, it is clear that she and Helen will be gripped in a great struggle. But Helen is not the only problem for Annie. Annie must also convince the Kellers, especially the Captain, that she, Annie, needs complete control of Helen if she is to reach the child. Annie is certain that language is the key to gaining access to Helen's mind, and she constantly spells the names of things on Helen's palm.

Although Helen can spell them back on Annie's palm, the understanding that the words represent things eludes her. After spending two weeks together in the garden house, Helen finally obeys Annie, but when the time is up and they return to the family, Helen quickly reverts to her former behavior. The Kellers are indulgent, ready to fall back in their old pattern of behavior, but Annie doesn't let them. When Helen spills a water pitcher on Annie, Annie takes her out to refill it. She spells "water" into Helen's hand, and suddenly the miracle happens. Helen understands.

In the scene above, the reason that Helen finally makes the connection with "water" is that, before she lost her sight and hearing, she could say "wa-wa" when asking for water as a baby. You have to see it to get it, but what stood out to me the most yesterday (I guess I never thought about it before, even though I have seen it many, many times) is when she hands her teacher, Annie Sullivan, the keys that she had taken from her when she locked her in her room earlier in the film.

The "Keys of the Kingdom" are what we use to unlock our knowledge of first, eternal things ("Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning")...we still know what we knew ("But you have an anointing and you know all things"), but the knowledge is buried beneath the blindness of logic and human reasoning, and the deafness of religious tradition. But somehow, through the washing of the WATER of the word, we make the internal connection, and remember what we knew about God in the now!

Anyway, I laid there and meditated on it, and I dozed off a little more. When I woke back up, West Side story was playing, and Tony was singing Something's Coming!

Just thought I'd share that with you.

A Meditation on Revelation

Hello beautiful bloggers!

Thank you, again, for having ears to hear...

We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and that “proceeding word”…that revelation in the now, more often than not, challenges most (if not all) of our comfort-zones. The upside is that it empowers us to “work out our own salvation”, but when the revelation is fresh from the mouth of God…when the daily bread comes, piping hot, right out of heaven’s oven…it can be so "other-wordly" that it appears dangerously close to blasphemy...so much so that to receive it we must learn to work out that salvation through that revelation with nothing but “fear and trembling”. We obediently pray “Give us this day our daily bread”, but we know that it always comes to us as indefinable, mysterious Manna (which literally means “What is it?). We need it…we want it…but every morning we still ask “What is it?”

That’s a good question – “What is it?” Do we dare eat the Manna? Can we digest the word of the Lord? Can we eat His flesh and drink His blood without offense? Can we respond correctly to the command that he gave to Ezekiel? (“But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." – Ezekiel 2:8 TNIV )

Indeed…our God is a communicator…a revealer of secrets…but He is also versatile, multi-faceted, moody, complex…the ultimate intelligence…a cloud by day and a fire by night…a Coat of Many Colors...always new…always fresh…always in the now. In Him we move…and we move a lot…always remaining ready to pull up stakes and move with the cloud…always standing on the promise that we can run and not be weary…that we can walk and not faint…

Revelation brings awesome responsibility…to whom much is given, much is required. It is unpredictable…Jesus said that the wind blows where it wills to blow…it forces us to go from glory to glory...and while many choose to set up camps of doctrine and build fortresses of theology, those of us who can only live by the proceeding word are in a never-ending search for that city not made with hands, whose builder and maker is God.

Revelation is always potentially dangerous. It challenges all of our ideas, traditions, heritage, prejudices, limitations, strongholds…it smashes the idols and tears down the icons…it sets up one and puts down another. Often it causes division among brothers, because one man’s revelation is another man’s deception…

As a shepherd, I am instructed of the Good Shepherd to keep ever on the move, in an effort to find green pastures for my flock. If I leave you in one place for too long, you will eat up all of the living grass, and then spiritually starve to death (The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and LEADS THEM OUT. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. – John 10:3, 4). True shepherds are not afraid to lead their flocks "out"…even into uncharted territory...His rod and His staff, they comfort...

I understand why some don’t understand this. A burning bush can be a terrifying sight…it can cause some to run the other way. The recognition of holy ground not only requires the removal of shoes, it also sets the stage for God demanding the impossible, as He reveals Himself as I AM...

So today I bless you, the seekers…the believers…the visionaries...the light-bearers...I pray that you keep your minds and your hearts and your ears and your eyes wide open. You have been given the keys of the kingdom, and what you unlock on earth is unlocked in heaven...let all the dreamers wake the nations...

Our God is an awesome God!