The Heart Factory and Poetic Mercy

Hello everyone, it’s time for a theology corner like the Nancy Welch show in the 80s. I think she went to my church. 

This post is about the book of Ezekiel, specifically, the prophecy Ezekiel describes right before the Bible says people will have their hearts of stone “replaced with hearts of flesh.” Well he describes this awesome vision of a sapphire throne, and these carts with wheels, and most interestingly some kind of wall of jealousy near God’s glory. Wow I can’t believe that awesome prophecy. I have had bad jealousy problems, on a supernatural level that is like a 10 hour “pang,” and I am interested in God’s jealousy. Like was he actively jealous for five thousand years before Jesus satisfied his desire for reconciliation with humanity? Or was this wall a shield for God’s peaceful heart that actually always knew who his people were.

In this prophecy there is a man in linen who is told to go slay people and he comes back to God and says he did what he was supposed to. But his weapon is an inkhorn that writers use, like it could be some kind of poetic justice. I personally think that this person is Jesus, as author of life. 

But there is something else. A whole throne made entirely of sapphire? What is that? I believe it is Jesus’s place as savior, and this prophecy is a glimpse of how God creates new hearts for people.  Because maybe each saved sinner has a heart for Jesus to reign in, and the sapphire throne is a gift for each of us. So would it be one throne or a lot of thrones?

It can be confusing and probably has confused some of the people who want to say we are made of God. Because they see the mention of heart of flesh and think Jesus or God himself is the new heart as opposed to the sapphire throne so they tell people they are made of God.

But we aren’t.  There is a heart factory and it is precious stone thrones being delivered on carts with wheels from God’s heart factory, which either is his own heart or near to it. And people miss it because they say, no, the heart of stone was replaced.  But that is not what it is saying.  The stone throne is probably the heart of flesh.

Also this scene is just like revelation.  The crystal throne.  I have another post that is almost just like this, where I speculate if that throne is God’s heart. Why? How did I get to it before? Literally because diamonds are made from carbon, and carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are an element trinity that is interesting to consider.

Man this is kook territory and an off brand theology from what I normally do. But I have heard theories before, out of bounds theories and here I see where they got those, and why they are probably wrong.

Some say Mary is a throne of Jesus, and it is true, but that does not mean she is the sapphire throne. However it is appropriate to go there with the theology, like other wise men at Christmas.

Sci-Fi Theology and Time Travel Theories

 Well everyone, that other post was a nice post for the day and now I am adding something off the wall.  It is about the mystery of where Jesus was for those three days before he rose from the dead.  Here is a time travel theory that he was making his appearances elsewhere in the bible, which include being in the garden with Adam and Eve, wrestling with Jacob, and being in the firey furnace in the book of Daniel. Then maybe he rolled the stone and came back to eat fish with his disciples and coordinate the ascension. It might also create an interesting hierarchy of problems to overcome: actual death, family trauma, and hell. I would agree with that.

I have wondered before if he was somewhere for millions of years during that time and paid the cruel and unsual punishments we all deserve in some kind of jail program, or even in a more literal storyline justice life to endure the exact punishments we deserved. (Think, Nebuchanezzar, not having to be burned alive) And then came back after three days as a way of showing that rising from the dead is a three phase process or something like that. I think what would refute that is that the cross was “sufficient.” And Jesus said “It is finished” before that mysterious three days.

But really I do not know.  He said to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Well I bet the interpretation that no one would ever say is what if he was saying that guy partook of Adam’s sin and Jesus was headed back to that day in the garden and all of humanity was there in some way as part of that disobedience and Jesus told that thief he was onto his little games. Or what if reincarnation is true in some way and Adam and Eve were the other two people on crosses.  And Jesus was between them as the rightful divorce. They were nailed to a tree like they deserved for causing the fall of man.

Wow no one would ever say that but I think at least time travel theories really need to be considered sometimes, as well as reincarnation ideas after Jesus pretty much spelled out that John the Baptist was Elijah.  I mean he basically just stated that and then told Nicodemus that people had to be born again. He was careful with it, though, and kept it simple. It is not coincidence that it was said to a pharisee who probably was a theologian. But anyway two posts ago I said something different and said that reincarnation would really be too tricky and uncharacteristic of God. In fact, family resemblance itself could be an indication of how much people don’t repeat lifespans.  However, I personally don't think the verse, "it is appointed each man to die once," settles it.

I also think that Presbyterians especially should really make the effort to at least rule out time travel, because they have expressed a belief in God’s total authorship of reality. Like it is a fixed and unalterable play, so if you get to heaven and ask to help out in a war a long time ago, maybe God would send you there and assure you that it is a done deal and already woven into history. One more relevant verse: "the kingdom of heaven is within you." 

This post is too long because it is probably full of stuff that is not true. But if we are going to read sci fi with those ideas then maybe we should apply it to other categories of thought, too. 

Extra credit: read this post and then go back and read those chapters in Genesis. You can see how lovable "the Lord God" is.  And then Deuteronomy, where he lists the things that will happen if we don't obey the law.  Is that not a possible list of punishments? It also could cure some fundamentalist focus on excessive fire torture. I mean you really could consider hell and heaven happening in realms that overlap earth. But you can also see how nice "The Lord your God" is, and how sweet. It is Jesus from the New Testament, who cares about people knowing him.

Wrath yourself before God has to

Hello everyone, I have a theology post for this blog, and it really is theology.  I also think it is cutting edge revolutionary thought that is the best of the best.  I should not say that, but I am because there is a difference in ace pastor bible references at just the right time, which I am really bad at, and theological breakthroughs that change how we understand reality.

So this is in the latter category.  It actually can be applied to life but could be scary, especially if mishandled.

So here it is, I think God both loves and hates us.  Everyone is mad now! That is why it is cutting edge.  Because no one else has figured it out.  The way I figured it out was to feel the holy spirit backing up something true I wanted to say and couldn’t.  There is an abuser who has hurt me on purpose in a job role and I wanted to say to her, “God doesn’t love you and wishes he had never created you.”  And I felt the truth of it but questioned how it could be true, when she is actually a professing Christian.  I do also believe her abuse is severe disobedience that God is not pleased with. She is truly a servant of Satan.

And I think the verses that most back up this theory and can also be understood better in their context is the Jacob and Esau story from the Old Testament.  The bible says that all the Jews with be saved.  Romans 12 is the chapter that most helps with that issue.  But a lot of people use the Jacob and Esau story to explain the difference between heaven and hell.  And they say Esau’s destiny is exactly like the way people choose hell for themselves.  Some people take it all the way to say Esau was in fact one of the first hellbound people.  But I don’t think he was.  I believe God blessed him with a life different than the blessing that Jacob got, which isn't salvation itself, as close as it may be to that. (it actually could be salvation itself in some ways, but would include Esau on that level.)

In that famous story, God says these shocking words, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated.”  And if you really care about people, you wrestle with that, like Jacob wrestled with God. Because they were brothers. So here is what I think the deal is.  I think God both loved and hated both guys. 

I have never heard anyone say that before, it is original.  God could have said, I love and hate Jacob and Esau, but he didn’t. Because he was giving us a conundrum to think about, as some philosophical food, which includes a literal bowl of soup.

What I am thinking is that we have a shell of death that we will shed in heaven. And God can hate that part of us and still be a loving God. It goes deep into our mind and life and could include part of our soul. This corresponds to new testament teaching about the old man and new man, the flesh and the spirit, and a few other dualistic explanations, which I will also point out are not the only descriptions for how the mind body and soul are constructed. "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" -St. Paul

I also think there could be a death narrative attached to our sinful nature, which gives power to people and principalities who accuse us of things. So it can be seen as attached to all of human history as a web of lies that ruined the world.

But our true saved self will triumph no matter what weird defeats play out.  Some Christians take on new names when they convert, and people could use their new name and say God loves that person and hates their old self.  I do not mean that chronologically of course, I only mean it if you were truly using those names to accurately label the life self and death self.

This is just a theory I have. The regret of God is also questionable but found in the story of Noah’s ark.  And wouldn’t God be allowed to hate what is evil, cling to what is good, like he told us to do?  Well I think so.

There is no need to be scared and look back at your death story like Lot’s wife. Or forward, how awful! I am not naming the name of the bad person whose abuse caused me to reckon with this.  But I believe I am right that God does not love that person and will burn her worthless carcass in hell no matter what she professes or pretends to believe. And as for her risen self, it will probably have a new name and soul that I won’t recognize. God won't be chuckling to himself about it, it is not a funny topic.