Toy Soldiers

C. S. Lewis on the Coming of Christ to Earth

 

Did you ever think, when you were a child, what fun it  would be if your toys could come to life? Well, suppose you could really have brought them to life. Imagine turning a tin soldier into a real little man. It would involve turning the tin into flesh. And suppose the tin soldier did not like it. He is not interested in flesh; all he sees is that the tin is being spoilt. He thinks you are killing him. He will do everything he can to prevent you. He will not be made into a man if he can help it.

What you would have done about that tin soldier I do not know.

 

But what God did about us was this. The Second Person in God, the Son, became human Himself: was born into the world as an actual man – a real man of a particular height, with hair of a particular colour, speaking a particular language, weighing so many stone. The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a foetus inside a Woman’s body.

 

The result of this was that you now had one man who really was what all men were intended to be: one man in whom the created life, derived from His Mother, allowed itself to be completely and perfectly turned into the begotten life. The natural human creature in Him was taken up fully into the divine Son. Thus in one instance humanity had, so to speak, arrived: had passed into the life of Christ. And because the whole difficulty for us that the natural life has to be, in a sense, ‘killed’, He chose an earthly career which involved the killing of His human desires at every turn —poverty, misunderstanding from His own family, betrayal by one of His intimate friends, being jeered at and manhandled by the police, and execution by torture. And then, after being thus killed – killed every day in a sense – the human creature in Him, because it was united to the divine Son, came to life again. The Man in Christ rose again: not only the God. That is the whole point. For the first time we saw a real man. One tin soldier —real tin, just like the rest – had come fully and splendidly alive.

 

Consequently, when Christ becomes man it is not really as if you could become one particular tin soldier. It is as if something which is always affecting the whole human mass begins, at one point, to affect that whole human mass in a new way. From that point the effect spreads through all mankind. It makes a difference to people who lived before Christ as well as to people who lived after Him. It makes a difference to people who have never  heard of Him. It is like dropping into a glass of water one drop of something which gives a new taste or a new colour to the whole lot.

 

What, then, is the difference which He has made to the whole human mass? It is just this; that the business of becoming a son of God, of being turned from a created thing into a begotten thing, of passing over from the temporary biological life into timeless ‘spiritual’ life; has been done for us. Humanity is already ‘saved’ in principle. We individuals have to appropriate that salvation.

 

(From Mere Christianity, Bk IV, ch.5.)

 

 

 

The God of Forces

 

First of all, here is the first part of an article by Michael Snyder, concerning electronics.

 

Can you imagine a world where your home, your vehicles, your appliances and every single electronic device that you own is constantly connected to the Internet? This is not some grand vision that is being planned for some day in the future. This is something that is being systematically implemented right now. In 2015, we already have “smart homes”, vehicles that talk to one another, refrigerators that are connected to the Internet, and televisions that spy on us. Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and that opens up some wonderful possibilities.  But there is also a downside. What if we rapidly reach a point where one must be connected to the Internet in order to function in society? Will there come a day when we can’t even do basic things such as buy, sell, get a job or open a bank account without it?  And what about the potential for government abuse? Could an “Internet of Things” create a dystopian nightmare where everyone and everything will be constantly monitored and tracked by the government? That is something to think about. Today, the Internet has become such an integral part of our lives that it is hard to remember how we ever survived without it. And with each passing year, the number of devices connected to the Internet continues to grow at an exponential rate. [End quote]

 

The use of electricity, radio, and petrol all began to come about around 1900. But more recently, as the above article points out, the development of electronics has hit the roof. Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Is there a prophecy suggesting this end-time scenario?

 

I believe there is, and it comes from the Book of Daniel. In chapter 11 the progress of the Little Horn (i.e. the Antichrist) is given in considerable detail, though sometimes difficult to understand. However, let’s have a look at verses 36-38.

 

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

The AV says “forces”. Most other versions say “fortresses”, but fortresses have been known for thousands of years. But electromagnetic forces have only been known for just over 100 years, and it fits in well with what we are seeing in the world today, where more cell phones have been sold than world population, to give just one example. And one man has become a billionaire as a result. The Antichrist has the whole world in a stranglehold as a result. Electronics is his new god, one that his fathers knew nothing about.

This requires a bit of thought, and perhaps a lot of prayer.

 

More on the God of Forces

 Dan.2:43 And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (The Hebrew word for cleave is that which is used of marriage in Genesis 2:24. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”)

All the other kingdoms were METALS. But this kingdom consists of a mixture of METAL and CLAY. Hence Clay must refer to something abnormal in the world of men. The mention of the “seed of men” takes us back to Noah’s day, when fallen angels came to the earth, and the Lord said, “The earth is filled with violence through THEM, and behold I will destroy THEM with the earth.” Gen.6:13. They “mingled” and they “married”.

Our Lord spoke of the days just prior to His return, saying, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.”  Therefore another irruption of fallen angels has been prophesied. But there is now a distinct difference. Before the Flood, the causative factor in bringing the angels down was their desire towards earth women. But now we are told in Daniel 2 that “they will not cleave one to another.”

This is further declared in Daniel 11:37-39.  “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.”

Therefore fallen angels will “mingle” with ordinary human beings, but there will be no “cleaving” in marriage alliances. This time their purpose will lie in a different direction, as shown by the Daniel 11 reference.

“God of forces”.  Plural.  Something new, something never known before. These forces are those of electromagnetism  and radioactivity.  But there is more to learn. . . . .

Rev.12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth.

Who are these stars?  Angels are often spoken of as Stars. The stars in verse 3 are not “fallen” angels, but some of those who were attacked by the Devil (the Dragon) and “cast to the earth.”  They were not rebels. They were the casualties of higher dimensional warfare. But now we must read on.

Rev.12:7  “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Here is the turning point in the heavenly warfare. Michael and his angels cast out Satan and his angels to the earth. So we seem to have this scenario – first of all “one third” of the Lord’s angels are lost to heaven, and have had to live on earth, presumably as ordinary human beings (but perhaps with some difference?). Then sometime later, the counter-offensive removes the whole of Satan’s company to earth. They will also appear as human beings. So a new type of warfare ensues, an electronic warfare, and who knows whether the dire circumstances now prevailing in this world may not be as a result of this large number of beings with us and amongst us? As it was in Noah’s day, when the “earth was full of violence”, so also now we are certainly finding that to be so.

Rev.12:12 “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.”

 The only comfort in this awful scene is found in the words “he has but a short time”. Has that short time just about run its course? If so, then the Kingdom of the Lord is about to begin, and the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings. Look up, for your redemption draws near !

 One burning question – have you (inadvertently?) worshipped electronics?

 

The God of Forces. Final

 Yesterday I posed the question – have you (inadvertently?) worshipped electronics? Well, let me expose the Devil’s subtlety in the matter of digital technology. Allow me to explain what happened to me recently. You see, I use a computer as a very useful tool in communication. I’m glad that electronics engineers have invented something that takes the place of the typewriter, the filing cabinet, much of the postal service, and more. We live in an electronics age, and have grown used to it, and take it for granted. This is today’s normal flow of events. But what happens when it breaks down? In my recent experience, it caused me acute frustration. I called for help from my son John, who knows a lot more than me about these gadgets. He detected my impatience, and tried to cool me. For several days I was left high and dry with no ordinary means of communication by email, no way to check my banking account, no means of keeping up to date with important news, until . . . .  at last it was sorted out.

And then it happened. I accept it as a great privilege to be able to hear God speak on a daily basis,  . . . .but  . . . “Do you love Me more than this?” (referring to that black box on my desk). I was suddenly confronted by my behaviour, my frustration and impatience, to realise what it signified in the sight of the Lord. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The First Commandment reared its awesome head and I was struck dumb. “You shall have no other gods alongside me.” I apologized, declaring my ever-growing love for the Lord. After a few minutes the Lord spoke again. “I am cleansing you with holy fire.” I reacted thoughtlessly, a bit like Peter at the foot-washing, and said, “Lord, not just by fire, but in the precious blood!” But I was corrected. “No. You are washed in the blood. This only requires fire.” Another lesson learned.

In reading this anecdote, someone may reasonably comment, saying, “Your frustration was based on the failure of electronics because you were focusing on the god of forces. But we all get frustrated when things go wrong, as when the car breaks down, the fridge stops working, heavy rain causes damage to property, and so on. Why was the Lord cautioning you in this particular matter?”  A good question. Attitudes of frustration and impatience need to be attended to however and whenever they arise. But I sensed a particular importance attached to the Lord’s question, because of the way in which electronics is beginning to take over the world. I saw that we are being held in a technology trap of our own making.

What would happen if the electricity supply suddenly ceased? I don’t mean a local power failure, but a full-scale shut-down due to an “electromagnetic pulse” (EMP). Just before noon on September 1st 1859, the British astronomer Richard Carrington witnessed the largest solar flare ever recorded. Within hours Telegraph systems worldwide went haywire. Spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set the telegraph paper on fire. A sun storm of this sort today could cause billions of dollars of damage to Earth satellites and terrestrial power grids. So far there has been no repeat of this huge EMP. But in March 1989 a geomagnetic storm knocked out power across large sections of Quebec.

A rogue nuclear device set off tens of miles above land by terrorists would have the same effect. Not pleasant to contemplate just before Christmas, but we need to be kept informed of what we have invented and flooded the earth with during recent years, and what it would mean if the power grid was fried. No checkout operators, no petrol pumps, no freezers, no electric ovens or storage heaters, no lights, no TVs, no computers or cell phones, all the things we take for granted. We have made no preparations to return to horses and carts, self-sufficiency holdings, and dozens of other things of yesteryears.

Yes, I think I understand why the Lord spoke dramatically that day. Perhaps the “god of forces” may explain some of the strange things of the Book of Revelation, once we unlock the symbolism. The Devil may be subtle, but he cannot ultimately win.

May God be with us all this Christmas. The Babe of Bethlehem will soon be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

 

 

The House with Many Mansions

 

A reading from C.S.Lewis’s Problem of Pain, chapter 10.

 

 

Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you. The mould in which a key is made would be a strange thing if you had never seen a key, and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you – you, the individual reader, John Stubbs or Janet Smith. Blessed and fortunate creature, your eyes shall behold Him and not another’s. All that you are, sins apart, is destined, if you will let God have His good way, to utter satisfaction. The Brocken spectre ‘looked to every man like his first love’, because she was a cheat. But God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it – made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.

 

 

 

New Year Greetings

 

It is customary to send the formula A HAPPY NEW YEAR! to all our friends and relatives. Much as I would like to do the same, I sense the impropriety of doing so. From a Christian perspective, happiness is not something that is always on God’s agenda for our lives. Granted it comes, with gratitude, in small doses, but usually sandwiched between times of stress, anxiety, pain, and suffering. I have noted with sadness the passing of some friends and acquaintances through the month of December, and it is always more trying when this happens near to Christmas.

 

Instead, I should like to wish all my readers A RICH AND BLESSED NEW YEAR! full of examples of God’s mercy and love, His discipline and teaching, His joy and enlightenment, and a willingness to accept all that befalls us as coming from His tender hands, allowing Him to train and prepare us for His coming Kingdom.

 

One who suffered greatly was Annie Johnson Flint, born on Christmas Eve 1866 in the little town of Vineland, New Jersey. Her first twenty years were of normal development, and as a Christian she trained to become a teacher. But after only two years of teaching she began to suffer from arthritis, which developed into a chronic condition from which she never recovered. The rest of her life, from about 1892 to 1932, was spent in a wheelchair. In order to obtain a meagre living she wrote poems which were published by magazines. Having an indomitable spirit she never succumbed to misery or wretchedness, but grew strong in spirit and the knowledge of her Lord. The following poem not only shows her own steadfast faith, but is a sermon on life for us all.

 

God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know Toil and temptation, trouble and woe; He hath not told us we shall not bear Many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide; Never a mountain rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

 

May God be praised for such an example of steadfast faith in the face of a condition that would crush many.

 

We have now reached the end of the current series of Wayside Pulpits. Next year I shall begin a new series, with a new title, as the Lord gives leading.