Time as Psychological Order
When the
earth was without form and blank, Christ was the concept
of Order in the mind of
God before He became a spoken Word.[1]
When the Concept became a Word, Christ was that Word. When God spoke that Word,
the Word issued forth as Light. This was the process of the birth of the Firstborn from the mind of
God. Christ is not only the Light of the World, but is the universal and
primordial Light that initiated Time.
The
impression of Light created Pattern, form and order in the earth. Moses was to “make all things according to the Pattern.”
Just as God had created form and order in the earth through Patterns of Light
from the heavens, so was Moses to copy that Pattern in all of the works which
God instructed him to do. Although this Pattern is a much more comprehensive
concept than what we call “time,” it includes it. It is the influence of the
ideal order of things, the force of irresistible power, and the impress of
heaven upon earth.
The Pattern is manifest by
order in all things, for example, time, (i.e. the calendar), the order of
space, (i.e. cartography), the social order of law, the mental order of wisdom,
the bodily order of health. This Pattern of creative Light is Christ, the mystery hidden until the New Testament era.
Logos: The Greeks aspired to this world view through their
concept of logos, but logos falls short of the full impact of
the Biblical unity of Time and Light. This Unity of Light and Time is expressed in the term Urim ve Thummim
and that term becomes one word in the written form ‘oth, (aleph ve tau),
Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. (See
“Alpha and Omega,” Commentary on Revelation 1:8.)
There are
some facts about light which will illustrate why it is such a fitting symbol of
Christ. Light has physical and
spiritual qualities as well as psychological effects. The physical properties
of light are the creative forces of the material world; the spiritual qualities
are faith, hope and love; the psychological effects are those of orientation in
time and space. The Book of Revelation shows Christ in
these roles.[2]
In the
physical sense, all that is created was created by light, and all
energy or power comes ultimately from light in some form. For example, as the
source of photosynthesis, light causes plants to grow, develop and produce
after their kind; plants, in turn, feed animals and human life. Past ages of
light have generated the energy of fossil fuels by which we now have electric
lights.
The
psychological effects of light are for orientation in time and space. For
orientation in space, sight, the faculty by which we navigate and understand
our world, is made possible by light. Sight may be physical or intellectual.
Understanding and wisdom are the internalization of the physical phenomenon of
an experience of light. Commonly, the term “I see” means “I understand.” A wise
man who understands the higher mysteries is called a “seer.” The spiritual
effects of Light orient us to the
immaterial world which is seen by faith, grasped by hope and experienced by
love.
Orientation: Orientation in time and space requires a
center or focal point. Christ is not only that
Light that proceeds
forth from God, but is also that Point of Light which remains steady throughout
the ages and which, therefore, can serve as a reference point in regard to all
else in this shifting universe. “Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today, and
forever.”[3]
From the
perspective of the earth, the natural point of light which appears to remain
constantly in place while the entire universe turns about it is the pole star.[4]
The pole star has served as the point of reference for orientation in time and
space since the dawn of history. Charts of the apparent heavens use it to mark
the meridian lines from which the whole heavens and earth can be described.
Navigators on land, sea and air have guided themselves by it. Architectural and
engineering projects have been oriented by means of it. Surveys of the earth’s
surface use it as a prime reference point.
But the
heavens are in an apparent, ordered, constant motion that continually circles
the pole. Other celestial objects might be said to have their “year,” that is,
their period of time in which they go forth and return to their same apparent
position in regard to other celestial positions. For example, there is the sun
year of 365+ days, the moon year of 354+ days, and the various “years” of the
stars and planets. It may be said, however, that the “year” of the pole star is
eternal, for it remains in the same place constantly. It is both the constancy
of the pole star and the regularity of these circlings that make counting of time
possible.
Only
recently have the universal dimensions of time become popularly known through
publicity surrounding the space programs. But the view of the cosmos as a
mechanical process must be surrendered if we are to interpret Biblical time correctly.
We must rather view time as universal Patterns of Light, declaring the glory of God to the world.
Biological Order: There is also a biological aspect of time and light, a
subjective, innate awareness that is both physical and psychological. The
effects of time and light upon the biological creation are incalculable
although poorly understood. We can speak of our “body clocks” that determine
our sleeping and waking patterns and which are disturbed, for example, when one
suffers “jet lag” after a long journey by plane. Insects, birds, and other
animals navigate and migrate by reference to light and the changing light of
the seasons. Plants, too, blossom and set fruit according to the patterns of
light they experience. The whole range of the effects of time and light upon us
is not yet known.
So Christ, too, was “made flesh” and became subject to the
earthly biological experience of time. In doing so He revealed the profound
hidden mystery of Time, the unity of heaven and earth.
[2] See my Commentary at 1:11-20 "Visions of God.” In this vision of Christ, He is at
the center of the universe, holding the "seven stars" in His hand.
[3] Malina, Genre and Message, 266. He sees Christ as the polokrator,
the power that turns the universe (ibid. 73). He suggests that moderns who face
an ever-expanding cosmos can find wholeness and "at home-ness" in the
idea that God is the center of the universe.
[4] The pole star has been known as the aleph
star since the earliest records. The letter aleph
in Hebrew is also used as the numeral one. In late Hebrew the aleph with a mark over it is the
number 1,000. The term "thousand years" may well be the translation
of the Hebrew aleph with the mark
over it, meaning 1,000 eternal, or aleph
years. Since each of the aleph
years, or, that is, the years of the pole star, are eternal, the phrase means
'forever.' Christ will reign for 1,000 eternal years. This is
consistent with many other Scriptures; for example, Luke 1:33b: "And of His kingdom there shall be no end." Isaiah 9:7a: "Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end."
This view makes the millennial question irrelevant. (See Commentary at 20:2
“Thousand Years.”)
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also online at www.Amazon.com and www.xulonpress.com
