Monthly Archives: March 2004

Pompey enters the Temple

I have been reading Plutarch’s *Lives* this week. A few observations:

Plutarch interprets Pompey’s actions with regard to Metellus (then praetor of Crete) in terms of Achilles. Plutarch also remarks of the pirates whom Pompey cleaned out of the Mediterranean that they “…knew neither god nor law.” Plutarch is interpreting events in Rome in light of a text (The Iliad) and a tradition (Roman paganism) much like later Western culture would use the Bible and Christianity to view current events. The points of reference were very different but the concern to maintain the old order is the same.

Pompey entered the Temple in Jerusalem after conquering the city while in Judea. Josephus writes of this event:

“Of the Jews there fell twelve thousand; but of the Romans very few. Absalom, who was at once both uncle and father-in-law to Aristobulus, was taken captive; and no small enormities were committed about the temple itself, which, in former ages, had been inaccessible, and seen by none; for Pompey went into it, and not a few of those that were with him also, and saw all that which was unlawful for any other men to see, but only for the high priests. There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money; yet did Pompey touch nothing of all this, on account of his regard to religion; and in this point also he acted in a manner that was worthy of his virtue. The next day he gave order to those that had the charge of the temple to cleanse it, and to bring what offerings the law required to God; and restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus…” (Ant. XIV.IV.4)

Many years later in A.D. 70 Titus entered the Temple as flames were beginning to consume it and again entered the Holy of Holies. Josephus says of Titus:

“…he went into the holy place of the temple, with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted of and believed about it;” (Wars VI.V.7)

An interesting aside: Plutarch says of Caesar and his army: “He himself, with his army close about him, as if it had been his own body…” That jumped out at me. We all know the metaphor of the Church being the Body of Christ. In this case the legions of Caesar are compared to his own body.

community

What a beautiful day it was here yesterday; sunshine, 70′s, clouds in the sky, light breeze. After a really moving time of worship we went to our friends house with several other people and just talked. I see lots of theorizing about Christian community but to me seeing it lived has been a catalyst to pursue it more over the course of my life. It’s very simple in terms of what actions we take, but can be difficult to do when I get wrapped up in whatever other pursuits I have in life.

Dutch church stuff

Is that merger good or bad? A snippet from this article makes me wonder:

The daily newspaper Trouw, which has a large religious readership, reported that small ultraconservative minorities of the two larger denominations are likely to break with the new church and file lawsuits over church funds and real estate.

“Compromises made on ideology mean that the new Protestant Church will be permissive, allowing gay marriages and women priests — things many local congregations have little use for,” Trouw wrote.

Although religious competition played an important role in Dutch history, many people abandoned their churches in the last half century, and now nearly 40 per cent of the country identifies itself as agnostic or atheist.

Roman Catholicism remains the country’s largest religion, representing around 30 per cent of the population. Islam has about 5 per cent. Small but significant numbers of Dutch are Jews, Hindus and Buddhists.

Dutch church again

More news on the merger Sleebos mentioned:

“UTRECHT, The Netherlands/GENEVA, 19 December 2003 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) described the recent agreement on a merger between the Lutheran church and two Reformed churches in the Netherlands as “a far-reaching and important decision, not only for the churches in the Netherlands, but also for the relationship of the Lutheran and Reformed families worldwide.”

The nearly 15,000-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands will merge with the country’s two largest Reformed churches – the 1.9 million-member Netherlands Reformed Church (NRC) and the 660,000-member Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (RCN). The Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN), with over 2.5 million members, officially comes into being on 1 May 2004.

Dutch church

In the latest issue of The Pentecostal Evangel (not online yet) there is an interesting interview with Peter Sleebos, the general superintendent of the AOG in the Netherlands. In it he says:

Recently the Lutheran, Reformed, and Dutch Reformed denominations merged. Their theme for 2004 is “Come, Holy Spirit, and Renew Your Church.” Their leadership met with me recently and said, “Please pray for us. We have tried everything and nothing is working. We need revival.”

(question): What is God doing today in the Pentecostal churches in the Netherlands?

We are experiencing a sovereign move of God. No man could have orchestrated what is happening. For many years, Pentecostals were considered a sect. Even Protestant churches preached against us. But the attitude toward us has shifted.

Several years ago, Dr Jan Willem Ouweneel, a conservative evangelical theologian in our nation, wrote The Domain of the Snake to denounce the gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and healing. The book hurt Pentecostals greatly. Then four years ago Ouweneel’s deaf granddaughter visited Africa where she met an African Pentecostal evangelist. He prayed for her and she was healed. The evangelist did not know who her grandfather was but felt led of the Holy Spirit to say, “I want to speak with your grandfather.” Ouweneel visited Africa, met with the evangelist, and God revolutionized his life. He was baptized in the Holy Spirit and recalled his book. For the past three years he has prayed for many people to be filled with the Spirit. In a youth festival last year, he preached on the baptism in the Holy Spirit to 35,000 youth.