Parousia…Look Up!

“And I saw heaven opened”
– John, Revelation 19:11

Go outside. If you’re already there, that’s great. If you’re indoors, move away from your desk, couch, or zafu and head toward the nearest exit.

Once you’ve extricated yourself from whatever edifice you may be in, look up. Tilt your head back and lift your eyes toward the skies. What do you see?

In our postindustrial world, we spend long hours gawking at electronically generated images. Our computer screen, flat panel television, and Blackberry have become the primary items we focus on and through. While I’m grateful for these new virtual worlds, it’s important to understand that they are housed within a more ancient real world: the cosmos.

Traditional western thinking — religious and secular — often depicts the universe as harsh, depraved, and unruly. Popular theologies consider it to have fallen from a primordial pristine condition. Subsequently, the natural world is supposedly in conflict with the spiritual world and in desperate need of an extreme makeover. Modernism saw the planet as a machine to be harnessed in order to meet any and all human desires. The excesses of Modernism have led to the Postmodern critique portraying the world and humanity as being at war with each other — we’re trying to kill Gaia, and she is trying to protect herself by killing us.

There may be bits of truth in all of these viewpoints. The cosmos is an apparently chaotic place. It has vast resources that support human life, and we have habitually treated the planet as an infinite waste dump. Yet the prevailing narratives depicting humanity as separated from the broader universe ignore our mutual interconnection. Even Genesis has humanity arising from the dust of the earth. This suggests integration, not isolation.

In The Great Work, Thomas Berry points out the multiple layers of cosmic reality. Humanity lives on a planet situated within a solar system and “beyond the sun is our own galaxy and beyond that the universe of galactic systems.” Everything is nested within a complex structure of embedded reciprocity.

Because the outside world houses our inner world, we discover profound spiritual inspiration when we contemplate our exterior domain. Berry notes that our “psychic nourishment and support come from the natural environment.” We neglect our place and presence in the cosmos to our own impoverishment.

As a shepherd, David experienced a rich inner life through years of outdoor living. He recognized the changing of the seasons, the flora and fauna, and the soil. He could read the sky, the wind, and the flocks. No wonder when musing upon the glories of his surroundings, he exclaimed in wonder, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). The first step stimulating David to reach this place of enraptured praise was his consideration of the heavens. He looked up.

Centuries earlier, God invited Abraham to lift his gaze. “Look up at the heavens and count the stars” (Genesis 15:5). In looking upward Abraham received the promise of an immeasurable blessing that became realized in John’s vision. When John looked up, he saw heaven opened. Mimicking the rip in the temple veil, the torn sky assured John of unfettered human access to God.

Without reflecting on our environment, we reduce the ways in which we can appreciate God and diminish the ways we can identify ourselves as partakes in the divine nature. So follow the example of the sweet Psalmist, Abraham, and John. Go out and look up. You will discover a deep mystical resonance in your heart as you peer into the limitless heavens.

In taking the physical step of going outside and looking up, you’ll discern a new sense of presence in your place. Our universe just is — a welcoming home for us to live, die, love, and thrive. Popular author Meredith Little reminds us, “The land is nonjudgmental enough to allow us to be our whole selves fully. Nature expresses its wholeness not through words but through its being, and that allows us to remember our own nature and step into that expression of ourselves.”

Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve gone outside to intentionally notice your world and your place in it. You may seem childlike as you stare upward in awe, but Jesus invites us to receive the kingdom of God like little children. Initially you may feel foolish when you go outside and look up, but where’s the folly in appreciating the glory of the physical creation?

Go outside, stretch out your arms, and look up. What do you see? Where do heaven, earth, and sea meet? What specific hue is the sky right now? Notice the clouds. Do you observe any stars, planets, comets? When you look up with the eye of the spirit, feel your heart expanding. Allow your inner self to soar. Let looking up be a living metaphor for hope, optimism, and sanguinity. See the heavens open and look directly into the eyes of God.
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Originally published on July 14, 2008. (c) Presence International. Parousia is a free Transmillennial publication of Presence. To receive Parousia in your inbox each week click here.

Registration for Transmillennial 2008

Maybe you remember the 80s TV show, The A-Team. At the end of every program Hannibal Smith (played by George Peppard) smiled and said, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

So do I — especially when it relates to Transmillennial 2008. The pans for the 20th annual conference are coming together and I love it.

Transmillennial 2008 will be held in Colorado Springs on September 10-13. We still have a few onsite rooms available, but they are filling up fast. To guarantee your onsite room you need to register today if you haven’t already done so. You can register online when you click here.

You’ll want to stay onsite in order to maximize your time with all of the amazing people who will be attending. So far, people from several countries — including Australia, St. Maarten, South Africa, the UK, and even Iraq — will be participating. This cross-section of cultures will be coming together to celebrate the reconciliation of all things.

Plus, the scenery and setting are spectacular. You’ll encounter natural beauty, pristine walking paths, impressive big-horn sheep, and countless serene places to sit and have wonderful conversation. The air will be clean and the aspens will be turning their breathtaking golden hue.

Because this is an anniversary conference, we want it to be extra special for you. You’ll experience inspiring music, groundbreaking teaching, and some of the most fascinating people you’ll ever meet.

For weeks, I’ve been telling you about some of the folks that will be on the program. People like Frank Spencer, Sonnyboy Skosana, Eunice Maselana, Fred DeFalco, and B. J. Marowitz. One of our musical guests will be the lyrically gifted Redding Brothers.

But you haven’t heard the half of it yet.

This conference will blow your mind! We’ll be releasing the full schedule very soon, and this will be the first Transmillennial Conference for many of the speakers and musicians. You’ll hear fresh perspectives from the ever-expanding network of people who are plugged in to Presence.

Of course, you’ll see and hear from several of our long-time friends and partners too.

Because the theme for Transmillennial 2008 is All Things New, we couldn’t hold the “same old conference.” All Things New must be comprehensive. We want you to explore what’s so new about the New Heaven and Earth!

You’ll have several opportunities to attend grace shops (not workshops) and participate in open conversations. You’ll hear the latest cutting-edge theology and discover Transmillennial Life Practice.

Best of all, you’ll meet people from around the world. People like you. People who are actualizing their transformation by incarnating this powerful Story. You’ll likely make new life-long friends.

On Friday evening, best-selling author Brian McLaren will deliver the keynote address. We’re so honored to have Brian speaking to the group. You may have read his books including his trilogy A New Kind of Christian and his book about the kingdom of God called The Secret Message of Jesus. Now you’ll get to meet him and be moved by his great passion for God and people.

You’ll have opportunities to meet and talk with Max King. Max’s current work will contribute to the complete transformation of Biblical theology and countless lives. Also, you’ll hear the Presence Board of Directors talk about the vision they have for taking this message global.

I know gas prices are high, and you may be wondering about travel expenses. We’ve worked hard to keep costs down in order to make this an affordable conference. I believe that coming to Transmillennial 2008 is an investment in your self and your world. The first Transmillennial Conference I attended ended up being a “pearl of great price moment.” I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I can’t emphasize this enough. To guarantee your onsite room you must register immediately if you haven’t already registered. If you have any questions, please email me at kevin@presence.tv.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in September.

You can read the brochure for Transmillennial 2008 when you click here.

You can register online when you click here.

Allies for Armageddon

I just published a review of Victoria Clark’s excellent and important book Allies for Armageddon: The Rise of Christian Zionism.

This book details the historical development of Christian Zionism dating back to early modern England and the Puritans. She discusses Christian Zionism in colonial America, it’s reinvention in the 19th century, and it’s growth in the 20th century.

Regardless of your theological or political views, you should check this book out. Christian Zionism is a major player as the political wing of Premillennial Dispensationalism. It stirs the drink of people like John Hagee, Jack Van Impe, Tim LaHaye and others. It is not a peaceful movement, as it anticipates and works for a global war to bring about what it considers to be the Second Coming of Christ.

The Transmillennial view is diametrically opposed to Christian Zionism. Transmillennialism does not hold a “God-at-war” mentality. Instead, it seeks to help people realize that God loves all people and is not planning to wipe out the majority of humanity. Ironically, Dispensationalism says it loves Israel, but it predicts that 2/3 of all Jews will be killed in Armageddon and all Jews who don’t convert will be sent to Hell. That doesn’t sound very pro-Israel to me.

You can read my review when you click here.

New Book

We intend to release our newest book in short order. This will be a short introduction to all things Transmillennial. This is not a “doctrinal statement” or anything like that. Instead, it’s a communication device, a way for you to start friendly conversations about some complex ideas.

This will be a great opportunity to help people who know nothing about the fulfillment of all things to begin to see the big picture. It will offer some explanations on Biblical language and ideas. It will discuss things the judgment, resurrection, and the millennium. It will offer a glimpse into what fulfillment means for us today.

I know you’ll find this to be a great way to introduce your friends and family to the fulfillment of all things. It provides an introduction to things like the language of the Bible, the transformation of the ages, the meaning of the millennium, and life in the new heaven and new earth.

As soon as the publication process is complete, I’ll let you know.