Do you meditate on God, his works, and his testimonies?

Good day, everyone.

Today, I write about something that I believe we have lost in the hustle-and-bustle of the contemporary fast-paced life.  That something is meditation.

Numerous verses in the Bible reference it, and in the Old Testament a few different Hebrew words are used, but they seem to share the elements of meaning that I mean to focus on.

First, three verses which mention the practice:

Psalm 104:34: "My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.";

Psalm 119:99: "I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.";

Psalm 143:5: "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.";

The Hebrew references I have been through indicate that these all refer to 'meditation' or 'muse'.  These terms have similar but slightly different meanings.  Both carry the element of silent thought on a subject.  Meditation, I believe, is more focused on the pondering element while muse tends more toward the inspiration which is received in such silent contemplations.

Why is this important?  I have heard of stories of many artists and inventors receiving their inspirations from quiet contemplation or dreams.  I recall seeing statements that Edison often took afternoon naps, after which he often had inspiration for his inventions; and others of people who, from either dream or sitting in quiet contemplation, proceeded to write out detailed inventions or music that had been unknown to them prior.  Am I saying that meditation is some sort of magic?  Not at all.  However, my perspective will be more clear after visiting this passage about Elijah listening for God, from 1 Kings 19:9-13:

"9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

Carefully note that Elijah did not find God in anything but the voice, here - and, more importantly, verse 12 describes the voice, the only thing not discounted from being God, as being a still small voice.

If we attempt to 'keep up' with today's fast pace, we often fall short.  In trying to do so, our mind is filled with that clamor, so that we can hear nothing else - some people often even go so far to say that they cannot even hear themselves think.  If we are so overwhelmed by such things, how can we expect to hear a still small voice from God?

Similar, from Acts 13:1-4:

"1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus."

God can keep up with the fast paces of these times or any other.  Such things are even easy for Him.  He has the answers, and He wants to give them to us, but He will not force us to hear.  He tries to tell us how to prosper, how to cope, how to overcome.  When we do not listen, we do not know what to do, so we walk in fear the unknown paths we follow.  We often walk these paths alone, and we feel the painful solitude.  This practice consumes us and leaves us empty.

The solution?  Meditate on God, His works, His testimonies, His instruction, and be glad in Him.  How?  You don't have to become some Far East guru to accomplish this.  Set aside a quiet time to be with God, without external distraction.  Some time every day is preferable though God's plan was to set aside a day every week (the day of rest, the seventh day, the Sabbath), and I believe it was to be a blessing not a burden, as from Jesus in Mark 2:27, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath".  If you do not make a choice to do this, it will not happen.  You will not find time if you do not set it aside.

God listens to you and He wants to hear you but He also wants to talk to you.  He wants to walk with you and to fill you with His love, His character, and His instruction.  Why not let Him help you out by giving Him some time to be heard?

Salvation and Holiness by the Lake of Fire?

I'm going to start this off with something I was inspired with this past June 15, 2008. I've discussed it with a few Christians of various degrees of study that I know; all received it relatively well. The most educated of them did raise some concerns about my interpretation of Hell and say that he considered it 'theology and not exegy*' (*I'm not real certain about the spelling, but I'm certain exegy is related to exegesis, deriving meaning solely from the text).

A question came to me, after having recently read through the book of Revelation. The question: 'can Revelation, or at least some part of it, be applied in an individual capacity?'

The first place I was inspired to look to: the Lake of Fire. Why?

Why look at the Lake of Fire? It certainly isn't the most pleasant place, so why focus on it? In my beliefs, our Heavenly Father created us for His companionship. That is, He wanted friends, and I don't use the term 'friend' lightly. Whatever caused separation between us and Him, He wants us all to come to Him and be with Him. However, He gave us our choice. If we choose not to, He will not force us; but if we choose not to, we have done so by choosing not to be safe to be around. To protect all those who have chosen to be with Him (those who DO find truly loving their brethren preferable, who have been written in the Book of Life), those who don't find truly loving their brethren preferable will be cast into the 'Lake of Fire' (Rev. 20:15).

If it is important to our Heavenly Father for us to be with Him then He will show us how. Indeed, it must be important to Him, as He HAS done this time and time again, and in many different ways. In the Lake of Fire sequence, however, I see a road-map; a step-by-step path to re-find holiness and our salvation. In each item that is cast into the Fire, I see a symbolic meaning. Revelation 1:1 tells us that the message is being shown by signs / symbols (KJV/NKJV/ASV translations all use the word 'signified', which does appear to be in agreement with the Greek), so I don't see approaching the text in this way presumptuous.

Each item casted into the Fire appears to be built upon and reliant on the following one. From an individual perspective, each one has to be dealt with, at least in choice, before those following it can be even approached.

To summarize, what I have seen is that each of these must be 'cast into the Lake of Fire'. In this, the Revelation has shown us the path to salvation and holiness:
1) choose to turn from our rebellion (against God);
2) turn from the twisting, deceit, adultery;
3) release and starve the envy and enmity/hatred;
4) accept the life and fullness of our Heavenly Father, that we be empty no longer;
5) be willing to see and remember the goodness that is in our Heavenly Father and in His gift;
6) be approving of others and accept our Father's gift.

For those who feel the need to be pedantic, I am NOT saying that 'accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior' is not the way to salvation. Rather, I find this to be the path as to *how* to 'accept Jesus Christ'.


I will now show the list of the six items cast into the Fire in Revelation, the reference verse where each occurs, what I believe they symbolize, and what I base that interpretation on.

1) the beast, of Rev. 19:20. I believe that 'the beast' symbolizes 'active rebellion'. The Greek equates to 'wild beast' or 'dangerous animal'; the idea of the beast recalls us to the beasts of the prophecies of Daniel, which some tend to believe represent various major pagan nations including and following that point in history. Pagan nations representing 'active rebellion' against our Heavenly Father seems to be straightforward enough. Such 'rebellion' generally results in the sort of destruction one could expect out of 'dangerous animals'.

2) the false prophet, also of Rev. 19:20. I believe that 'the false prophet' symbolizes 'adultery', i.e. apostasy, the twisting and perversion of ideas, of doctrines, of agreements (not limited to the carnal sense of the term which is, technically, a perversion of the marriage agreement). The Greek equates to 'false / deceitful prophet', where prophet is one who 'interprets hidden things', 'solemnly declares what he has received by inspiration' (especially divine), 'one who speaks forth', related to 'light' and 'shining'. I tend to think that the 'light' represents truth and faith / faithfulness. When you corrupt that with fraud and deceit, you get adultery.

3) the devil, of Rev. 20:2, 10. I believe that 'the devil' symbolizes 'envy and enmity (hatred)'. The Greek and Hebrew (at least one name appears transliterated from Hebrew) for the various names equate with 'slanderer', 'lier in wait', 'adversary'. Enmity/hatred appear straightforward; it might be that I am taking liberties by seeing envy, as well, but I see envy as one of the primary motivating factors behind enmity/hatred.

4) death, of Rev. 20:13-14. I believe that 'death' symbolizes 'stasis, oblivion, emptiness'. The Greek means literal physical death as well as spiritual darkness (ignorance, etc.). As not much goes on in death (life is change; even the rotting of the dead is due to presence of microbial life), reading it as emptiness appears straightforward.

5) hell or hades, also of Rev. 20:13-14. I believe that 'hell' or 'hades' symbolize 'blindness, forgetfulness'. The Greek is based on the negative form of 'to see' or 'to know'; some believe that it is merely a translation of the Hebrew 'She'ol', the exact interpretation of which is a bit more argued over. At least one reference likens it to also be 'nothingness' (similar to death) and relates it to 'hollow'. It comes from a root 'to ask' said to be for that it demands all; this askance would seem based on a complete lack. Whatever the case, it appears that 'death' and 'hades' are intimately connected and difficult to entirely distinguish between.

6) whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, of Rev. 20:15. I believe that this symbolizes 'refusal of the gift / denial of approval'. Our Heavenly Father requires only that we be willing, truly willing, to approve of Him and of each other (love thy brother/neighbor/stranger as thyself: Leviticus 19; Matthew 19, 22; Romans 13; Galatians 5; James 2; and 1 Corinthians 11 rebukes a church for not being sufficient in this) and, through this, accept the gift that has been given.

If we reverse the list, we see the path of the fall:
1) denying approval, refusing the gift of our Heavenly Father;
2) becoming blind and forgetful of that gift, purity, holiness;
3) becoming empty, and having the feelings of that emptiness;
4) becoming envious of those that are not empty in the ways we are, 'filling' that emptiness with enmity and hatred;
5) adulterating and twisting ideas put in front of us into rationales (not reasonings, as they lack the reason of truth) that are more agreeable with that hatred;
6) actively using these twisted rationales in our rebellion.
Each step builds upon those before, its greater weight and obscurement burying each prior stumble.

Returning to the original list, which I will recap in summary:
1) beast (active rebellion);
2) false prophet (adultery, NOT limited to carnal forms);
3) devil (envy, enmity/hatred);
4) death (emptiness);
5) hades (blindness, forgetfulness);
6) those not written in the Book of Life (denying approval and refusing the gift).

As always, intelligent and/or non-negative feedback is welcome, in agreement or otherwise.