Posted by kat on April 10, 2002 at 21:41:15:
In Reply to: Re: vision of future posted by john on April 10, 2002 at 11:43:57:
: We are all starting to get glimmers of this woman rising up out of darkness. We are all called into her mystical train, to wed the Lamb and become his corporate bride.
: I get the distinct image from End of Evangelion where Rei rises out of the earth and then enfolds it into her hands while the crucifix image of the evangelion with the lance of longinus in his side hangs behind.
: I am convinced that the Church is a reality that is timeless for her bridegroom is the Lord outside of time who enters time and space yet is not contained by it. Therefore, sharing in his nature, she is not bound into time like some dispensationalists believe. She does unfold and grow organically throughout time. There are developments and blossomings forth which we can see in her within time. I guess what I'm saying is that while the whole world is focusing on some sort of Orwellian future, and while many in the church are despairing over the loss of our Christian identity, or the passing of Christian principles from the cultural consciousness, nevertheless the Church still exists. She is still kindling the sabbath candles for the world to enter into his rest. We who long for the Church of the future, need to rediscover the Church in her full glory, in her timelessness and original purity. I know you long for it, and so do I. The Spirit and the Bride say COME!
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: A truly beautiful vision. I share it, but couldn't have put it so eloquently. The only thing I find about us is that we see the same thing from two different perspectives. Namely you see this all rising out of the existing church framework, while I see it as a movement that will rise from all over the world, some of course from the established "churches", but only as a remnant still clinging to the spark of real faith. I see this because to me the churches of today are largely dilluted and perverted human faccimilies of what the real "Church" is. They are so full of tradition and dogma that has lost all connection to the spiritual truth which is its origin, save a disconnected rememberance in the minds of a few who read old books. I think at some point Christians will be forced to choose whether they will accept the heritage that is in them, that they always knew deep in their meditations, or retain the superficial framework of broken pieces that they have archaelogically pieced into a system.
: How funny that we see the same things but can't communicate them because our own words and ideas get in the way.
I love both of these ideas of the CHURCH, I think somehow they are both correct and not at all complete. I see that in part the CHURCH of course exists in the congregations of today and perhaps some will tire of gettng fed the 'dogma', but not until each individual member discovers Christ for themself. I feel it is happening it is 'the spark of real faith'. The world needs the CHURCH and I find it oddly comforting that even in the face of persecution that people(who live in far off places) will never the less come into the fold. Those people may not know anything about old saints. inquisitions, christianized pagan festivals or televangelists; but they know truth when they hear it.
I guess a couple thousand years of tradition, false teaching, and self mutilation is nothing a little scripture can't fix. There are Christians all over the world dying and suffering for their faith, if they are not the true body, I don't know what is.
Here, in the land of the free, we think we have a handle on it, we think we can save the whole world. It's the master that chooses the bride in the end, He cleans her up and makes her presentable. It is He who gives her everything she needs to survive until He returns. He won't come until every part of her is given over to Him in word and deed.