A Travel Log Into Eternity

  And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne (Revelation 12:1-5, RSVCE) The Book of Revelation is a work of art. It contains numerous analogies and metaphors that are sometimes hard to understand. One way to get closer to the meaning of the text is to dive into Levantine culture and history to see the parallels that Saint John ha...

 Sola Fide, or the principle of "faith alone", is a core principle of the reformation among other the other sola-principles. It basically states that we are saved because of our faith in Jesus Christ, and our faith alone. No works of salvation needed, no small print, no nothing. There are different notions in the Protestant denominations that argue that faith once is enough and one cannot lose their salvation, while others state that faith has to remain active to have saving power. But how scriptural is Sola Fide? Well, if you take single verses out of context and ignore others, you could get to the conclusion it is a core doctrine.  We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. (Galatians 2:15-16, RSV...

  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:7-10, RSVCE) Jesus is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. I think most people know who Jesus is, but Melchizedek is still widely unknown among the general population. First, where and when can we see who Melchizedek is? The answer is the Old Testament. In Genesis, the author has the following to say: After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-lao′mer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most Hi...

  We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. (Article of Faith 1:12) To some, such a statement might be redundant, to others, it might be a surprise. For the former, this makes no sense to put an emphasis on such a principle because, in our modern world, it is one of the most natural things to be subject to a form of government. So why would someone explicitly have to state that? Well, statements like the Article of Faith number 12 come from a time where the Saints have been persecuted constantly. Some claimed they would be rebels, some said they would want to overthrow the U.S. government and replace them with their own system. Especially when Joseph Smith run for the office of President, conspiracy theorists had a blast.  For some, though, Article of Faith is a surprising statement. There might be different reasons for it. One of them is that the Old Testament almost throughout all books paints a ...

 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8, RSVCE) This intro quote comes from Saint Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. Back in his days, there was no social security system that supported you when you had to go through economic hardships. As a relatively new religious phenomenon, Christian sects had a hard time being accepted by their pagan neighbors. Without being accepted into society, they could not expect any help from their fellow citizens. This means that it was more important than ever to be a community where every member could rely on each other in times of need. But, of course, this...

 When I talk to someone I have just met and we get to the topic of religion, the conversations usually go somewhat like this:     THEM: What is your religion?     ME: I'm a Christian?     THEM: Cool. What kind? At this point, throughout my journey through Christianity, I had to give answers like "I am a Lutheran," or "I am a Mormon (now known as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)". While it technically should have been sufficient to say that I am Christian, it is not. But why is that so? The problem lies in the nature of man and the vagueness of scripture. Let's focus on the latter first. Jesus said a lot of things, but not all of them were written down. And even the ones that were are not discussing a lot of 21st-century problems. So over time, certain discussions about vague passages and their interpretation have occurred. From time to time, these little disagreements got bigger and lead to the split of Christian groups into ...

 In pop culture, being ghosted means that somebody you try to communicate with is not responding to you. They are basically keeping you on "read," as others would call it. This can be pretty hard for some people because they either relied on an answer or feel isolated and ignored. Imagine your future path hangs on one response that you are waiting for. This would make you lose your patience, and it would probably give you a couple of sleepless nights. Now, imagine it would not just impact your future path here on earth, but all of eternity. This would be hell, yes literally hell, because we would be separated from God and his word. Luckily, there is a "response": The Holy Spirit. <<When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of t...

Harry Houdini was an American-Hungarian magician who became famous for his spectacular escape acts. For example, he was tied up with iron chains and put into a water tank. If he wouldn't have freed himself in time, he would have died. People loved him because his acts were a combination of thrill and illusion. Now, let's imagine raising the bar a little bit and putting it to a whole new level. Imagine that the water tank is a stone cave with no hidden switches or exits. Imagine that, instead of chains, the artist would have been nailed to a wooden structure, with actual nails, no fake props. Oh, and by the way, imagine the "magician" is dead. Well, THAT is not just a new level, it's a whole new dimension.  After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His ap...

  While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29, NRSVCE)  As Christians, Jesus' sacrifice plays a major role in our religious life. In fact, one of the main reasons why we go to church is to have the sacrament. Wait, hold on a moment...what is a sacrament? Sacrament is an English word that comes from the Latin "sacramentum" which means "solemn oath". The oath that is talked about here is the promise given by Jesus at the last supper. He promised his disciples (and thereby he promised it to us, too) that whoever partak...

 Jesus is king, Jesus is Lord! That is a pretty bold statement. But is it true? Is this simple man from the countryside truly royal? And even more incredible, could he really be a god? Well, everyone can claim to be XYZ or to be sent by God to perform such and such. This is why we want to take a look at the scriptures to see if something can back these claims.  "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1)  I will spare you the long and very detailed list of his ancestors. For our purpose, the first verse of the Gospel of Matthew is enough to show who Jesus is. Jesus--and this is not just a claim that Matthew makes--is a descendant of the great King David. For the Jews, King David is the archetype of a great leader (despite his questionable behavior with Bathsheba's husband). Early on, the expectation of a great redeemer of Israel had been linked to the Davidic bloodline. The Messiah (or in Greek: the Christ) woul...

He [said], “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:4-9, NRSVCE) The Pharisees, an ultra-religious group in Jesus' time, tried to trick him into making any blasphemous statement when asked on a weird case concerning marriage. But Jesus, the knowledgeable man he is, countered their trickery by showing them how weak human beings are and that t...

"[H]e ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:19-21, NRSVCE) I am sure that Jesus, should he ever work for them, would be Subway's employee of the month for 12 months a year, every year. Just imagine the impact of such an event: You go to a place where you have heard that this new teacher is talking about his understanding of religion. You sit there for hours. Then, when everything is over, you and the people around you notice that you are pretty hungry. And then it happens... They start with five loaves of bread and two fish, but suddenly, they feed the whole group of people. And we are talking about ...

  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:3-11, NRSVCE) Have you ever felt like people are looking down on you? Have you ever felt angry because this world is full of injustice? Have you ever been ridiculed or even persecuted fo...

  "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” (Matthew 4:18-19, NRSVCE) If Jesus calls fishermen to be his first disciples, that tells us something. And no, he did not stop there and call rich people from that point on. Instead, he continued with craftsmen and tax collectors. But why did Jesus do that? Certainly, it was not due to the lack of learned people. The group of the Pharisees (an ultra-orthodox Jewish group in Jesus' days) had many members, and even the Sadducees (the leading Jewish nobility) had considerable members. But no, Jesus wanted men from within society. He did not choose anyone due to their social status but despite it.  God's (and thus also Jesus') message is one of a change of the heart. It does not matter if you drive a Benz or a tandem bike. Jesus is going to ...