Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Sunday, October 4, 2009
I'd Rather Be Left Behind
In short, I want to be "left behind" so that I don't miss the "rapture".
My son graduated from Grandview high school in Spring of 2009. One of the things he brought out with him is an expression I'd never heard before: "You just got left!"
I don't have a solid definition of it, but it seems to mean something on the order of "you just had the wool pulled over your eyes" or "you goofed up so badly that you've been 'left in the dust' as everyone else moves forward.
It always struck me as being close to "You've been 'left behind'" - in the supposed Biblical sense.
In his book, My Absurd Religion (By Which I Make My Living), Pastor Steve Gray, in chapter 12, talks about the "Absurd End Times Ga Ga". Through this, I discovered that Christians have been scaring the hell into other Christians with this so-called 'rapture / end times / left behind' theory.
Pastor Steve notes that John (Nelson) Darby came up with this concept a little over two hundred years ago.
John Nelson Darby is indeed often credited with the "secret" rapture theory. The "Rapture" theory does not appear anywhere in the Bible. It is an English word, coined from the Latin root 'rapio', meaning 'caught up'. Apparently it was derived from the 5th century Latin version of the Bible - the Vulgate - from 1 Thessalonians 4:17. My Blue Letter Bible indicates the Vulgate word is 'rapiemur' - the root of which is 'rapio', meaning 'to seize and carry off'. The Greek root of the Textus Receptus is ἁρπάζω (harpazō) - meaning to 'seize and carry off by force'.
Now the problem. This is at the point, in the Bible, where the dead in Christ have risen from the graves. The people who were still alive on Earth are also there and the entire group is "seized and carried off" to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
In this "rapio/rapiemur/rapture" - get this - no one is left behind! Presumably because all these people being talked about are those who are "in Christ".
Where the people "got left" is in Matthew 24:40-41. More about them later, because to sync these two, we have to take a short trip into the past, relatively speaking.
Okay, so let's go to Matthew 24:29-31, which resembles 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. The shout in the voice of an archangel, the trumpets trumpeting, the Lord appearing in the clouds. So, Jesus appears and then...
The dead in Christ rise from the grave to the Earth and the ones still living are already here. On Earth. In Thessalonians, the people are then taken/seized/caught up - raptured if you must - and "transported" to be with the Lord.
In Matthew, we have a further granularity, because Matthew wanted to share what Jesus said about how quickly this all would happen and how no one knew exactly when this would happen - including Jesus Himself - and how watchful we, in Christ, need to be. Just like in Noah's time, when no one knew what was happening until it happened.
And so we get to who got left and who didn't. Our setting at this point is that the dead have arisen and have their incorruptible bodies on Earth. As to the ones who were still alive, he says:
Mat 24:40 Then two men shall be in the field, the one is received, and the one is left; 41 two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left. (Young's literal translation).
In the King James version "received" is "shall be taken" and "left" is "left".
Since "received" is so much different than "taken", I got curious as to how these and the word "left" were translated. So, I went to BlueLetterBible.com to dig into the Greek.
Boy, was I surprised.
The Greek root word translated as both "received" and "shall be taken" is παραλαμβάνω paralambanō. According to the Strong's lexicon link I clicked, this Greek word can mean many things. None of which exactly match the two English words.
Look up Strong's G3880 and you'll see: sense 1 is 'to take to' and 'to take with one's self' and 'to join to one's self', among others. Sense 2 is 'to receive something transmitted' and 'to receive with the mind'.
It would seem to me that the closest modern equivalent is, then, something like "...the one will accept and not reject that knowledge which they have been given...". The point being that they accept and stay right where they are (for the time being). They do not yet "disappear".
"Left", on the other hand, is from the Greek root ἀφίημι aphiēmi. With a lot more definitions in Strong's G863. Its shades of meaning run from "to send away" through "a husband divorcing his wife" and, running a few random ones together: to "let go/to disregard/leave/give up" and my favorite: "to go away, leaving something behind".
WHOA!
The one that is "left" isn't "left behind" - he actually chooses to "leave something behind"!
It would seem, then, that the one "taken" actually accepts what is happening and stays and the one "left" actually walks away, perhaps shaking his head in disbelief. By doing this, he actually leaves the believer behind.
So, Mr. Darby "You just got left!" and missed the boat on the rapture idea. Me, I want to be left behind by the non-believer, so I can ascend to the Lord in the air and thus remain with Him.
My son graduated from Grandview high school in Spring of 2009. One of the things he brought out with him is an expression I'd never heard before: "You just got left!"
I don't have a solid definition of it, but it seems to mean something on the order of "you just had the wool pulled over your eyes" or "you goofed up so badly that you've been 'left in the dust' as everyone else moves forward.
It always struck me as being close to "You've been 'left behind'" - in the supposed Biblical sense.
In his book, My Absurd Religion (By Which I Make My Living), Pastor Steve Gray, in chapter 12, talks about the "Absurd End Times Ga Ga". Through this, I discovered that Christians have been scaring the hell into other Christians with this so-called 'rapture / end times / left behind' theory.
Pastor Steve notes that John (Nelson) Darby came up with this concept a little over two hundred years ago.
John Nelson Darby is indeed often credited with the "secret" rapture theory. The "Rapture" theory does not appear anywhere in the Bible. It is an English word, coined from the Latin root 'rapio', meaning 'caught up'. Apparently it was derived from the 5th century Latin version of the Bible - the Vulgate - from 1 Thessalonians 4:17. My Blue Letter Bible indicates the Vulgate word is 'rapiemur' - the root of which is 'rapio', meaning 'to seize and carry off'. The Greek root of the Textus Receptus is ἁρπάζω (harpazō) - meaning to 'seize and carry off by force'.
Now the problem. This is at the point, in the Bible, where the dead in Christ have risen from the graves. The people who were still alive on Earth are also there and the entire group is "seized and carried off" to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
In this "rapio/rapiemur/rapture" - get this - no one is left behind! Presumably because all these people being talked about are those who are "in Christ".
Where the people "got left" is in Matthew 24:40-41. More about them later, because to sync these two, we have to take a short trip into the past, relatively speaking.
Okay, so let's go to Matthew 24:29-31, which resembles 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. The shout in the voice of an archangel, the trumpets trumpeting, the Lord appearing in the clouds. So, Jesus appears and then...
The dead in Christ rise from the grave to the Earth and the ones still living are already here. On Earth. In Thessalonians, the people are then taken/seized/caught up - raptured if you must - and "transported" to be with the Lord.
In Matthew, we have a further granularity, because Matthew wanted to share what Jesus said about how quickly this all would happen and how no one knew exactly when this would happen - including Jesus Himself - and how watchful we, in Christ, need to be. Just like in Noah's time, when no one knew what was happening until it happened.
And so we get to who got left and who didn't. Our setting at this point is that the dead have arisen and have their incorruptible bodies on Earth. As to the ones who were still alive, he says:
Mat 24:40 Then two men shall be in the field, the one is received, and the one is left; 41 two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left. (Young's literal translation).
In the King James version "received" is "shall be taken" and "left" is "left".
Since "received" is so much different than "taken", I got curious as to how these and the word "left" were translated. So, I went to BlueLetterBible.com to dig into the Greek.
Boy, was I surprised.
The Greek root word translated as both "received" and "shall be taken" is παραλαμβάνω paralambanō. According to the Strong's lexicon link I clicked, this Greek word can mean many things. None of which exactly match the two English words.
Look up Strong's G3880 and you'll see: sense 1 is 'to take to' and 'to take with one's self' and 'to join to one's self', among others. Sense 2 is 'to receive something transmitted' and 'to receive with the mind'.
It would seem to me that the closest modern equivalent is, then, something like "...the one will accept and not reject that knowledge which they have been given...". The point being that they accept and stay right where they are (for the time being). They do not yet "disappear".
"Left", on the other hand, is from the Greek root ἀφίημι aphiēmi. With a lot more definitions in Strong's G863. Its shades of meaning run from "to send away" through "a husband divorcing his wife" and, running a few random ones together: to "let go/to disregard/leave/give up" and my favorite: "to go away, leaving something behind".
WHOA!
The one that is "left" isn't "left behind" - he actually chooses to "leave something behind"!
It would seem, then, that the one "taken" actually accepts what is happening and stays and the one "left" actually walks away, perhaps shaking his head in disbelief. By doing this, he actually leaves the believer behind.
So, Mr. Darby "You just got left!" and missed the boat on the rapture idea. Me, I want to be left behind by the non-believer, so I can ascend to the Lord in the air and thus remain with Him.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Writing, Acting: I Had Fun
or Pay Attention To Life's Little Gems
This happened to me a few years ago. At the time I was totally blown away by the Monty Pythonishness of a real life event. In these cases, it's a great opportunity for a scene - whether that scene be in a novel, film project or sketch. If you log these moments, you can also go back to them and pull out character traits for use in a role, or in writing. You'll be amazed at the vast library you'll collect in just a short time.
So, I'm working on, like, the fifth or sixth second mortgage on my house. Really serious stuff. So I get to the point where I have to drop off the paperwork. This mortgage company is on the 16th floor of the most secure building in town.
Good thing I'm not a terrorist.
First off, they're remodeling. So instead of all six elevators working, only two are. Sort of. I get in one and it takes me near the 16th floor. Yes. Near. After 20 seconds of doing its best ('almost there... little more.. little more.. oops too much, go back down a hair.. back.. back.. uh.. wait.. up.. up.. no down... up') I stumble out - okay, jump out and vow to walk down the stairs when I leave.
So now I'm at the right suite, in front of the glass door with chicken wire embedded in it, a large card reader for authorized personnel ONLY with the little push button I'm supposed to push for admittance; thick glass panels to the right and on top. Very imposing looking, except for the part where the door is slightly ajar because the latch is resting on the outside of the door frame instead of being snugly ensconced.
So, I pull the door open half expecting a siren, ringing bells and Storm Troopers to rush me. Instead, it is silent except for the multitude of salesmen in 400 3 foot square cubicles pitching mortgages to other poor bastards like me.
Jennifer, who should be the Receptionist, is currently not receiving anyone, let alone me, because she apparently had something better to do than wait for me to use my superior skills to gain entrance. After a moment's pause, during which several ideas bounce around in my otherwise empty head, I decide to use the 'smooth approach'. Not that I thought they'd pull my mortgage if I just yelled out "Anybody here?". I figured why not do a slightly classier act.
Now, if you've ever worked a phone room, you know about 'rollover'. If you haven't, it works like this: the main phone number rings at the Receptionist's desk 2 or 3 times. After that, the phone system is programmed to route the call through a series of 'rollovers' - a succession of poor jerks who have to answer the phone when Jennifer has to pee.
I decided to take advantage of this.
Pulling out my cell phone, I call the main number. Sure enough, Jenn's phone rings 3 times and then quits. Two cubes over a phone starts ringing and someone picks up.
"Blah, blah Mortgage, Mr. R. speaking"
"Hi, Mr. R. I've let myself into your office, but Jennifer seems to not be receiving guests. Would someone be able to come to her desk and deliver these papers to Mr. D for me?"
"What? You're in HERE?"
"Uh, yes. The door wasn't latch.."
"I'll be right up!".
At this point I noticed an envelope with my name on Jenn's desk, so I pick it up, as Mr. R. huffs and puffs his way up to me. Poor guy had to run all of twenty feet, too. The oxygen evidently wasn't making its way to his brain though:
"Are you the guy that just called?"
I could not have looked more stunned if he had been wearing, say, a French Maid costume.
"Uh, yes. I brought these. They are for Mr. D"
"Mr. D? Mr. D? Do you mean Mr. Q?"
"Uh, no. Mr. D. The fifth guy down on the in/out whiteboard over there. With his marker set to 'in'."
"I don't know a Mr. D. I'll give these to Mr. Q"
"Well, okay. And I'm picking these up," I offered as I pointed to my name on the other envelope."
"Oh. Is that you?"
"Yes," I said, attempting to show him my name on he envelope he had taken from me. I guess he really wanted it, because he glared at me and would not let me touch it. "My name's on that envelope, too, if you want to compare them".
"No. I'll get these to Mr. Q. Have a good day."
If he were a snotty butler, he would have pointed his nose to the door at that point and issued a withering look. Since he was a mortgage salesman, though, he sort of waved in the general direction of the door and grunted. Or farted. I'm still not sure which.
So I leave. As soon as I get to my car, I call Mr. D and leave him a voicemail something to the effect:
"I was just in your office and the Receptionist wasn't there. The gentleman who took the paperwork you asked me to bring is going to give it to Mr. Q, since he doesn't know who you are. I hope you know Mr. Q. If not, just look for the puffy, red-faced guy about 20 feet behind Jennifer's desk. He'll have it."
I hope that gave Mr. D a laugh, because almost everyone I saw in that place seemed stressed, puffy and red-faced.
This happened to me a few years ago. At the time I was totally blown away by the Monty Pythonishness of a real life event. In these cases, it's a great opportunity for a scene - whether that scene be in a novel, film project or sketch. If you log these moments, you can also go back to them and pull out character traits for use in a role, or in writing. You'll be amazed at the vast library you'll collect in just a short time.
So, I'm working on, like, the fifth or sixth second mortgage on my house. Really serious stuff. So I get to the point where I have to drop off the paperwork. This mortgage company is on the 16th floor of the most secure building in town.
Good thing I'm not a terrorist.
First off, they're remodeling. So instead of all six elevators working, only two are. Sort of. I get in one and it takes me near the 16th floor. Yes. Near. After 20 seconds of doing its best ('almost there... little more.. little more.. oops too much, go back down a hair.. back.. back.. uh.. wait.. up.. up.. no down... up') I stumble out - okay, jump out and vow to walk down the stairs when I leave.
So now I'm at the right suite, in front of the glass door with chicken wire embedded in it, a large card reader for authorized personnel ONLY with the little push button I'm supposed to push for admittance; thick glass panels to the right and on top. Very imposing looking, except for the part where the door is slightly ajar because the latch is resting on the outside of the door frame instead of being snugly ensconced.
So, I pull the door open half expecting a siren, ringing bells and Storm Troopers to rush me. Instead, it is silent except for the multitude of salesmen in 400 3 foot square cubicles pitching mortgages to other poor bastards like me.
Jennifer, who should be the Receptionist, is currently not receiving anyone, let alone me, because she apparently had something better to do than wait for me to use my superior skills to gain entrance. After a moment's pause, during which several ideas bounce around in my otherwise empty head, I decide to use the 'smooth approach'. Not that I thought they'd pull my mortgage if I just yelled out "Anybody here?". I figured why not do a slightly classier act.
Now, if you've ever worked a phone room, you know about 'rollover'. If you haven't, it works like this: the main phone number rings at the Receptionist's desk 2 or 3 times. After that, the phone system is programmed to route the call through a series of 'rollovers' - a succession of poor jerks who have to answer the phone when Jennifer has to pee.
I decided to take advantage of this.
Pulling out my cell phone, I call the main number. Sure enough, Jenn's phone rings 3 times and then quits. Two cubes over a phone starts ringing and someone picks up.
"Blah, blah Mortgage, Mr. R. speaking"
"Hi, Mr. R. I've let myself into your office, but Jennifer seems to not be receiving guests. Would someone be able to come to her desk and deliver these papers to Mr. D for me?"
"What? You're in HERE?"
"Uh, yes. The door wasn't latch.."
"I'll be right up!".
At this point I noticed an envelope with my name on Jenn's desk, so I pick it up, as Mr. R. huffs and puffs his way up to me. Poor guy had to run all of twenty feet, too. The oxygen evidently wasn't making its way to his brain though:
"Are you the guy that just called?"
I could not have looked more stunned if he had been wearing, say, a French Maid costume.
"Uh, yes. I brought these. They are for Mr. D"
"Mr. D? Mr. D? Do you mean Mr. Q?"
"Uh, no. Mr. D. The fifth guy down on the in/out whiteboard over there. With his marker set to 'in'."
"I don't know a Mr. D. I'll give these to Mr. Q"
"Well, okay. And I'm picking these up," I offered as I pointed to my name on the other envelope."
"Oh. Is that you?"
"Yes," I said, attempting to show him my name on he envelope he had taken from me. I guess he really wanted it, because he glared at me and would not let me touch it. "My name's on that envelope, too, if you want to compare them".
"No. I'll get these to Mr. Q. Have a good day."
If he were a snotty butler, he would have pointed his nose to the door at that point and issued a withering look. Since he was a mortgage salesman, though, he sort of waved in the general direction of the door and grunted. Or farted. I'm still not sure which.
So I leave. As soon as I get to my car, I call Mr. D and leave him a voicemail something to the effect:
"I was just in your office and the Receptionist wasn't there. The gentleman who took the paperwork you asked me to bring is going to give it to Mr. Q, since he doesn't know who you are. I hope you know Mr. Q. If not, just look for the puffy, red-faced guy about 20 feet behind Jennifer's desk. He'll have it."
I hope that gave Mr. D a laugh, because almost everyone I saw in that place seemed stressed, puffy and red-faced.
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