Issue 1259 – Roar – September 27, 2023
This shot of a Tyrannosaurus Rex was taken a couple of years ago at the Log Barn in Armstrong, BC. The Log Barn has operated a fruit stand/gift shop since 1912, offering traditional Mennonite foods, produce and more.
I have always considered it “the goat place” because their raised goat walk has fascinated me since I first visited there as a preteen.
I don’t know how accurate a representation of a T-Rex this model is. Still, it’s a kitschy tourist thing that gets lots of attention, so it serves its purpose. As I looked at the photo, I began to think.
We all know what a T-Rex sounds like. Don’t we? After all, we have probably all seen a movie, a television show or a museum exhibit where the mighty T-Rex lets out a terrifying deep. It roars, and the ground shakes.
The problem is that no one living has ever heard or recorded the sound that a T-Rex (or any other dinosaur, for that matter) makes. It is what some sound engineer thinks they might have sounded like. It may or may not be accurate, but it is based on an assumption, a guess.
In the case of a movie, it isn’t crucial. The problem happens when we begin to add assumptions to our theology or base our theology on the spectacular or on assumptions of others. We can quickly get a distorted picture of our Lord and our faith.
A simple example might be, “What do angels look like?”
You likely picture one of two things: a person with wings (a la the Philadelphia Cream cheese commercial) or a chubby little figure, perhaps with arrows, much like Cupid. The first is a simple but amazing successful marketing ploy; the second has been extant in Christian art for centuries. Those little “cherub” figures are actually putti (or putto) infant boy symbols initially intended as a symbol for profane passions.
Cherubim are certainly not profane infants but a higher class of angels. What do they look like? That’s a good question. We know they appeared at the entrance to the Garden of Eden as guardians of paradise.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24
The living creatures in Isaiah and Revelation are likely cherubim.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:5-8
Could they take on other forms? Perhaps, but that seems the most complete description.
Our images of angels as humans with wings or cute little putti figures have led to a theology that believes we become angels when we die. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have heard people say, “Heaven has gained a new angel, “about a deceased loved one. That’s a nice sentiment but totally inaccurate.
The Bible clearly shows that people and angelic beings are not the same. Only humanity was given the breath of life from God.
Our destiny as believers is to be fully glorified humans living in a world free of sin. That is better than being any form of angel, hands down.
I encourage you to study the Word and not allow preconceptions to colour your understanding.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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