Sitting in the Clouds Playing Harps

My daughter and I were talking about the Bible and other religious topics and she asked if I really thought that all we would do in heaven was praise God.  First I had a mental image of the popular view of heaven as seen in my childhood cartoons.  A person sitting on clouds strumming a harp with a somewhat vacant stare.  As ridiculous as it may seem I think that much of "Christian" America thinks of the afterlife in a similar manner.  Since that conception of heaven is silly, groundless and exclusive of any of the biblical writings, I quickly put that image aside from my discussion.  But then I thought about a couple of interesting concepts worth discussing.  Namely, historically speaking from biblical accounts, how do people respond to an encounter with God; and, what can we learn of what God may want us to do after this life.

Terror is the normal reaction to an encounter with God.

Our culture has a lessened sense of respect and awe of God.  Don't you just love Morgan Freeman's portrayal of God in the movie, "Evan Almighty" (not sarcastic, I love his portrayal for entertainment purposes)?  That is just one example in popular culture of an approachable version of God.  We don't really identify with a God as King or Supreme Ruler of all existence.  Theologians, of course, understand that God is not "approachable" in that sense.  He is NOT someone you want to drink a beer with.  Karl Barth and others described the "infinite qualitative distinction" between God and man and of God being "wholly other".

Since few really care what a bunch of historical theologians wrote, besides current theologians, perhaps what is more interesting and relevant is the question, "What actually happened in biblical accounts when men encountered God?"

Moses encountered Yahweh when he investigated a burning bush.  And he "hid his face" for he was afraid to look at God."

Later, as Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments, the people saw the secondary manifestations of  God's presence on the mountain,

that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

The great prophet Isaiah encountered God in the temple in a truly awe-inspiring account in Isaiah 6.  His response?
"Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts

Ezekiel also encountered God in a vision and it is a stunning vision as Ezekiel is one of the most descriptive authors I have read and what he is describing cannot be distilled into mere language and perhaps not even comprehensible by man.  But Ezekiel did see God on a throne as a figure in the appearance of a man.  His reaction?  "I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking."

Luke records an angel of the Lord bringing the good news of Jesus' birth. "and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened."  Merely seeing an angel reflecting the glory of God was a terror to these tough and rough shepherds.

And let us not forget Saul of Tarsus.  His unexpected meeting with God involved a sudden light of heaven and he fell to the ground.

Conclusion:

First, let me say that I did not list all encounters with God.  In many encounters, God used angels to speak to men in non-fearful encounter.  Scripture also describes God communicating to men with no reference to their fear.  But my premise is that every encounter with God must be "filtered" for men to comprehend and to not be overwhelmed.  There is just way too much of God for us to encounter in full and live.  And you thought staring at the sun was bad for your eyes; just try to glimpse God in all His glory.

But the point I am trying to make is that encountering God is much more likely to cause mankind to cower and crawl in the dirt from the realization of man's relatively lowly stature before a being of limitless power and worth and purpose.  The most common descriptive word for those who encounter God is holy.  Holiness is the "rightness" of character of a Creator whose being becomes absolute law.  What is holy?  God is holy.  No other definition is applicable or relevant.  The only real question concerns the character of God.  And from the above encounters, one can only respond to God's holiness by declaring one's self to be utterly unworthy. 

Now, one can indeed be confident in approaching God.  I would be happy to explain this to anyone who wishes to contact me at mobile at sikem dot info.  But even for those in covenant with God and are expecting great things in the life after this one, encountering God will be profound.  This encounter is likely to cause speechlessness and overwhelming awe.  I don't know what our reaction will be exactly, but it won't entail mopping the floor of a warehouse or strumming some inept stringed instrument for mood music.  I do think there will be opportunity for the only appropriate response, acknowledging His greatness in praise.

But I think there will be more for us to do.  I will attempt to offer some conjecture in a follow-up blog.

So, I received a virus warning from a beloved family member. It angers me that people try to frighten others, like my relative, with these hoaxes. Here is the e-mail.

From: J. Steve Bogie
Date: Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 4:16 PM
Subject: Fw: WARNING !!!! WARNING !!!! VIRUS ALERT A VERY BAD ONE !!!! A MUST READ !!!!
To: judy jenkins , Marcia Kilgore


This is a re-do; I typed in your email incorrectly. Sorry for any inconvenience; I TRUELY trust the source of this email. "G" is Glen, and he's an awesome supporter of our Troops SINCE Vietnam, so I trust him with my life; my computer is nada. In God We Trust! -- J.Steve/Maddog

----- Original Message ----- From:
To: "
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 17:39
Subject: Fw: WARNING !!!! WARNING !!!! VIRUS ALERT A VERY BAD ONE !!!! A MUST READ !!!!



----- Original Message ----- From: G
To: J.Steve Bogie
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 14:37
Subject: WARNING !!!! WARNING !!!! VIRUS ALERT A VERY BAD ONE !!!! A MUST READ !!!!


WARNING !!!! WARNING !!!!


VIRUS ALERT A VERY BAD ONE<<< A MUST READ !!!! TO ALL. Dave's brother is a very advanced programmer who does computer work for aliving and has a high up status with Microsoft. He doesn't send these if they aren't real. If he says this is for real, it for sure is. Be aware. VIRUS COMING ! Checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus! Checked Snoops, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP. PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS! You should be alert during the next few days. DO NOT OPEN any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK, 'regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'BURNS' the whole Hard Disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.. If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.. FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US... No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1498/3532 - Release Date: 03/26/11

My opinions:


I do not intend this blog to criticize anyone but those who try to cause fear through e-mail hoaxes.

I encourage everyone to read an article about this at http://www.elder-computers.com/virus-hoaxes.htm

This is a pretty suspicious message. First, it appeals to an expert.
"Dave's brother is a very advanced programmer who does computer work
for aliving and has a high up status with Microsoft.
He doesn't send these if they aren't real. If he says this is for real, it for sure is. Be aware."

I have no idea what "a high up status with Microsoft" means. And, um, Microsoft does not have the best history in finding viruses and security vulnerabilities. But it sure sounds like this is a guy we should listen to.

"Checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!"
I am not sure how they would "gear up". Their business is to put out definitions of these viruses that allows their software to block malware.

"Checked Snoops, and it is for real."
A red flag for sure. I guess they are trying to say Snopes. Regardless, Snopes is one couple. Just like you. Snopes does not have vast tools or resources to determine hoaxes.

"PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!"
If you have worked in a corporate environment, your System Administrators have probably given strict instructions to not forward such messages. Believe it or not, the mass forwarding of these kinds of messages is almost certainly more destructive to a network that the actual virus. For one thing, NetAdmins can fight viruses. It is MUCH harder to counter human behavior. By the way, I am a System Administrator who focuses on Network Security.

"It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.."
Completely false. But they sure make it sound logical, don't they?

"It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever."
Um, yah, right.

" which 'BURNS' the whole Hard Disc C of your computer."
Thermite burns hard drives, viruses do not. But they sure make it sound scary, don't they?

"This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.."
I wonder just what "vital information" they are speaking of? But this sentence is vague, but then they throw in a technical term "Zero Sector" to make it sound all official.

By the way, malware in the form of an e-mail attachment is not a virus. It is a Trojan Horse.


THE FACTS
Malware is indeed a danger to be cautious of. But don't let these e-mails scare you. And please do your network a favor and never forward these e-mails. First, it is probably a hoax and the hoaxers are laughing as their warning goes viral (as in spreading around exponentially, like a virus). Second, the mass forwarding of e-mails is harmful to networks and use up resources that you would rather use to watch youtube, or netflix or, I dunno, read my blog. But for me the biggest reason is to not alarm innocent people of a false report.

DO use anti-virus software. I like PC Tools Spyware Doctor, especially since it is free. But there are many available.
DO avoid opening e-mail attachments from anyone you do not trust; that is anyone who you are not willing to place the life of your harddrive in their hands.
DO pay attention to reports of malware from legitimate sources. Forwarded e-mails are NOT legitimate sources.
DO avoid questionable sites. Pornographic sites are notorious for being full of malware. Sites offering free stuff can also be full of it, malware that is. And torrents can have malware.
DO update Windows regularly.


This also reminds me of a passage in scripture. It speak of the tongue, as in human speech. But I think it applies to typing fingers too. [This passage is also more specifically referring to cursing men. But I am confident my application is also applicable.]

(New King James Version)

James 3

The Untamable Tongue

1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed,we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203&version=NKJV

A fresh look at Psalms 1

         Psalms 1. I have been aware for some time of the Hebrew use of parallelism. But I saw this in a new light. Doubtless a preacher or teacher has mentioned this to me in my past, but it really hit me with a new strength.          The chapter begins with blessing those who: Do not walk with the wicked. Do not stand in the way of sinners. Do not sit in the company of the scoffers.         And then it ends with warning that the wicked: Will not stand int he judgment Sinner Will not stand in the assembly.        It is an interesting use of parallelism that speaks the same truth in reverse and with visualization of very different scenes.        And in the middle we have two great metaphors, also very different. One of of a tree that is next to a stream, with a continuous supply of water so that it always bears fruit in the right season. [As an aside, compare this to the fig tree in Matt 21:19] The second metaphor is of the chaff of wheat being blown around, all dried up and empty of the fruit of the grain.