I have heard about three different things this week, and all of them have made the Bible more alive to me. I may be the only one who thinks this way, but when I see or hear something that underscores a Bible truth, either intentionally or unintentionally, my heart leaps. These three things have nothing at all in common, except that I heard about them all this week, and each of them made me think of scripture. See if you agree.
The dream house that had to be burned down
When I was growing up, my father's dream was to own a travel trailer. With it, we could stuff our family of four and some belongings into 160 square feet of living space on wheels, and drag it to the lake. Little wonder, then, that my dream of the good life was to have a lake house. It didn't have to be big--a lake cabin would have up to 10 times as much space, and would be a permanent structure. It could be a quiet getaway. A little piece of home away from home. A staging area for all the fun things we could do at the lake, like swimming, boating, skiing, and fishing.
Imagine my horror, then, when I heard of a home on Lake Whitney, about an hour's drive south of Ft. Worth, that had been built on a fault line, and was condemned. Built in 2007, the 4000 square foot mansion perched on a 75 foot cliff overlooking the lake. Its construction was based on a geologic survey that said it was solid rock underneath. This was not built on a beach, on shifting sand. No, it was built on shale and limestone common in the area. There are other homes built in the area that are much older.
Reportedly worth between $700,000 and $800,000, this mansion was everything that the new homeowners were looking for when they purchased the property in 2012. They decided to make it their retirement home, so they spent the bulk of their retirement on buying and furnishing it. What they didn't count on was that part of the cliff breaking off and falling into the lake.
The erosion didn't happen all at once. A small crack snaked its way across the neighbor's yard and under the foundation of this dream home. The foundation cracked. Engineers were called, then the authorities ordered the family to get their possessions and move out. The property was condemned. Eventually, the crack will grow larger, and that part of the cliff will slough off onto the lake shore.
To add insult to injury, homeowner's insurance does not cover shifting ground. It also does not cover cleanup costs associated with a house falling off a cliff and into a lake. The authorities notified the homeowners that they would be responsible for cleanup. Incredibly, the most responsible thing to do would be to burn the house down. There would be less debris, less impact to the environment, and it would be more cost effective than taking it apart and hauling it off--especially since a demolition crew would not be safe on the property that could plunge down 75 feet into Lake Whitney at any time.
So today, with news cameras and neighbors watching, firefighters placed gasoline-soaked hay bales into strategic places inside the home. They used back-hoes and heavy equipment to punch holes in the walls for air flow. Then they set it on fire. They had to. There was no other choice.
How do I make a connection with the Bible, you ask? Well, the obvious parallel would be the parable about building your house on sand (or, a geologist could tell you, sedimentary rock). Luke 6:47-48 says, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on a rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." In this instance, the opposite is true: the house was built on sedimentary rock that seemed stable, but when subjected to years of drought conditions, it became brittle and small fissures turned into a larger fault line, causing the house to break apart. The spiritual application is the same: we might find a preacher who "tickles our ears", who tells us what we like to hear, and makes us feel good. But if our lives are not founded on the bedrock of Christ, who is the cornerstone, then one day we will find the way rocky instead of rock-solid. All of our works will be tested by fire on the last day, and the dross will be consumed, and only the gold, silver, and precious stones will be left. "But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." (Luke 6:49).
We all go through storms, and droughts--rich and poor alike. It has always been this way. Thomas Paine wrote in 1776 that "These are the times that try men's souls." Almost 240 years later, those words still ring true.
My father decided to sell our travel trailer when my sister and I were both approaching our teenage years. We probably needed the money, and our family had less time as we were growing up to take those vacations to the lake. I haven't yet gotten the chance to buy the little lake cabin of my dreams. We are blessed, however, to not have seen our dreams go up in smoke.
Be blessed. Be content with what you have. But whatever you set your mind to do, remember the transience of earthly things. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
Leviathan--the great monster of the deep
When I was younger, I heard Bible stories about Jonah and the Whale. Bible skeptics came out and said that it was impossible for a whale to swallow a man whole. Marine biologists insisted that the esophagus of a whale was only about the size of a grapefruit, and that it fed on plankton and shrimp and other small sea creatures. Preachers at the time were careful to point out that the Scriptures actually say that "a large fish" swallowed Jonah. The Bible did not actually say that it was a whale--it could have been any of a number of sea monsters large enough to swallow a man, and then to have an air pocket inside sufficient to allow Jonah to breathe while he repented. Conservative Bible scholars also pointed out that the Bible said that "God prepared a large fish" to swallow Jonah, so that He could have altered the whale or shark or guppy so that it could accomplish the task. More liberal Bible scholars started saying that the whole Jonah story was a fable, an Old Testament fiction foreshadowing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
So this week news surfaced of a nine-foot shark off the coast of Australia that had been tagged with a tracker. The device gathered and stored data such as temperature, depth, and direction. This tracking device washed up on shore, sans the shark. When analyzed, it showed some amazing things. It showed that four months after being tagged with the device, this healthy female shark suddenly plunged at a high speed to a depth of 1900 feet below the surface. The temperature spiked from 46 degrees Fahrenheit to 78 degrees. Evidence suggests that this shark got attacked and dragged down, and then was eaten by whatever attacked it--the temperature suggests it was not a bigger shark that cannibalized the female; it was more likely a killer whale. According to The National Geographic website, a killer whale has a core body temperature high enough that it would register that warm inside its body.
Hmm. So a whale actually could have eaten a nine foot shark? And if not a whale, then some other super-predator that we know nothing of? Then it is actually possible for a five foot nine inch man (of average height) to be swallowed whole. And since whales are air-breathing mammals, the man could have access to air during his ordeal. And since the core body temperature of a whale is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the man would not have suffered hypothermia.
I'm not saying this proves anything. I'm just saying it is possible. "With God, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26). It just helps that a little faith does not counter natural laws, at least not in this instance.
The wailing wall and temple mound may be misplaced
Many Christians interested in eschatology (the study of end times) have interpreted the Bible to say that before Christ returns, one of the things that must take place is the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. Right now, the Jews believe that the archaeological site of Solomon's Temple, and Herod's Temple later on, is on what is called the "Temple Mount" which is bordered by "The Wailing Wall". Many devout Jews pray at this wall, believing it to be the only remaining structure left after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. They believe that the Temple cannot be rebuilt, because since 691 AD, there has been a Muslim shrine there called The Dome of the Rock.
Historically, the Crusades were centered around European Christians who marched on Jerusalem to take it from Muslim control, ostensibly to tear down the Dome of the Rock so that the Jewish Temple could be rebuilt. And history records this was a colossal failure.
This week I was listening to Christian Radio (I think it was Family Talk, the radio program Dr. James Dobson has now that he has left Focus On The Family) and they were interviewing an author (I think it is Rabbi Jonathan Cahn talking about his book, "The Harbinger"). Anyway, this author, who has done some travel shows about the Holy Land on cable (you may have seen him on your favorite cable channel) says he has done some research into archaeological records and done some forensic history on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. His conclusion echoes the research done by Ernest L. Martin in the 1994 book "The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot".
Their thesis is that what is now known as the Temple Mount was not the Jewish Temple at all. It was a Roman fort. The present Wailing Wall was a part of that Roman fort. Parts of the Wailing Wall have fallen down, and under the stones there have been found Roman coins dating from 20 AD. If the coins below the wall were minted in 20 AD, then the wall could not have been constructed when Herod was alive. Instead, they believe that the site of the actual Jewish Temple was about 1000 feet to the south, near the Gihon Spring. The water from the spring would have been used to wash up the blood of the animal sacrifices made there.
There are other pieces of evidence that were cited, but the one that stuck with me was the prophecy that Jesus made that "not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:2) Today, Jews will say that Jesus was wrong, that the Wailing Wall was left as a remnant of the Temple. They use it to "prove" that Jesus, while He may have been a good man and even a Prophet, was not right all of the time, therefore He was not God. But if the wailing wall was NOT a part of the original Temple, then the Jews are wrong and Jesus was right.
We know that when Herod rebuilt the Temple in about 20 BC, he laid hammered gold on the dome which capped the building. When the Romans burned it in 70 AD, the gold melted and flowed down the walls, into cracks between the building stones and the mortar. So to get to all of the gold, the Romans took it apart, brick by brick, so that the prophecy of Jesus could be fulfilled.
The point of the book was that the Jews could rebuild the Temple tomorrow if they wanted to--if they accepted the premise that the Temple Mount, where the Muslim shrine stands, is not the location of either Solomon's Temple or Herod's Temple. Perhaps the Antichrist will persuade them, because the Bible says that he will stand in the Temple and proclaim himself to be God.
This, of course, is speculation, but it is exciting to think about. When you start looking at current events through the filter of the Word of God, you see the signs of the times coming to pass. Lord, hasten the day of Your return! I'm ready.
