The Church did not need X-ray vision on Pentecost, 33 AD. Have we offended the Holy Spirit that much?
A
Statement of the Problem
The nature of the problem is such that I cannot approach it without the severe
risk of offending someone or everyone.
However, I have no desire to offend anyone: not Orthodox, not
Pentecostal, not Protestant, nor Roman Catholic. The reality is that I have no solution to the
problem. My hope is that by attempting
to state the problem, no matter how crudely I do so, eventually, other, better
minds will be drawn into the discussion, refine the problem statement, and find
the way through the maze to that unanimous Church decision that resolves every
issue and brings peace to the Church and to our world. The reality of our world is such that such
resolution will probably not take place until Christ returns. Still, we Christians have an obligation to
Christ to work at this and make the situation better, until He does come. The problem is that we do not commonly see
the Holy Ghost among us today: on Pentecost, 33 AD that was a conspicuous and
undeniable public event.
The
Orthodox Claim
Every year, at the Pascal Vigil in Jerusalem,
the Orthodox claim that, the officiating priest’s candles are lighted by a
miraculous act of God. This is a celebration
of the light of the world, especially in the coming of the Holy Spirit to the
Church. Every Pascal Vigil, and every candlelight
service, Orthodox or heterodox, memorializes the coming of this light. The light then spreads from the officiating
priest’s candles, six of them (I believe) to the rest of the whole congregation
present.
The problem is that this light does not
spread to all the rest of the world, except as a memorial. I have no reason whatsoever, other than the ordinarily
lack of faith that besets us all, to doubt this Orthodox claim, it may very
well be true, and I would be overjoyed to prove that it is true. However, I have no way of substantiating this
claim. No matter how much I wish this
claim to be true, I cannot find a way to resolve the issue. Nor can I find a way to spread this flame to
all Christians everywhere around the world.
The presence of the Holy Spirit must be universal, and today, that
presence is evidently invisible.
The
Pentecostal Claim
Pentecostals, by and large, together with
some other groups claim that they retain the gift of ecstatic utterance
(speaking in tongues). There are several
problems with this claim, but I cannot say that it is untrue either. It does bother me that there is much evidence
that this practice often seems to be conducted without the controls required by
Paul. What bothers me even more, is the
fact that there is no claim for the presence of that Pentecostal Holy Light so
visibly obvious on Pentecost, 33 AD. If
this is the manifest gift of the Holy Ghost, why isn’t the Light of His Glory
attendant, and why doesn’t it spread to all.
To give everyone the benefit of the doubt, this appears to be a Bath Kol.[1] I cannot resolve this issue either.
The
Protestant Claim
The general Protestant claim is that the Holy
Ghost is invisibly given to all Christians.
Most Protestants also believe that the Canon is closed. Furthermore, there seems to be a suspicion
that except for serious exposition of Scripture and careful investigation of the
Created Universe, that Bath Kol are mostly impossibilities, the delusions of
overactive imaginations. It would be
nice to say that the Canon is closed and the only possible Bath Kol are
rational investigations of Scripture and Creation. This cannot be substantiated either, nor can
I resolve the issue.
Many Protestants resolve this tangle by
asserting the Spiritual unity of the Church.
I cannot make this wash either. I
am my brother’s keeper. I am responsible
for the physical welfare of other Christians.
As a Christian, together with the whole Church on earth, I am
responsible for the physical welfare of non-Christians as well. I cannot escape this reality. When I say, “Peace be with you,” to the folks
in the next pew, I am vowing the vow of all believer-priests to put away every
debt and trespass that I may have with anyone around the world. When I, “take the cup of salvation,” I’m
taking that cup with all of heaven, as well as with every Orthodox, Protestant,
and Roman Catholic brother and sister around the world. When I go forth into society, it is to treat
those Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters as what
they are: namely, my family.
The
Roman Catholic Claim
The Roman Catholic Church claims that such
authority stems from the Apostolic seat of Peter and Paul, is continued in the
Papacy today, and works its way out in the Magisterium of the Church, even
though the Holy Ghost is not visible. I
wish I could prove that this were true, it would solve a lot of problems, and I
would become a Roman Catholic today.
Here again, I am frustrated by things that I don’t know how to
substantiate, and try as I might or wish as I may, I can’t get there from
here. It would help a lot if every Papal
Pascal sermon were attended by the evident heavenly light. I still cannot resolve the issue.
The
Reality of Bath Kol
Unfortunately, Bath Kol are an undeniable
reality. While Moses talked with the
Glory in the desert, seventy others of the leaders of Israel experienced the
presence of the Holy Ghost at the same time.
While Saul was sinning, he fell among the prophets who were not
substantiated, and prophesied. While the
Tabernacle prophets recorded the authenticated revelation of God in Scripture,
a boy named David was singing songs to God while tending his sheep. David’s private songs would not be
authenticated until later. When we are
overcome by a hymn or a prayer, we are experiencing the mysterious hand of God
upon us. All Christians have this
experience. It is undeniable. They burst into tears for no rational reason
at all. Their work explodes into
marvelous flowers of creativity. By what
right do we conclude that these things are sourced in mere man? Yet, we habitually fail to give God the
credit for these works and we arrogantly claim them as our own. These are Bath Kol. They really come from God; they do not belong
to us. However, the wonder of these
blessings is extremely private and personal, we have no way of substantiating
them, and we will be thought insane if we claim to hear voices.
Verification
Unfortunately, this proves that Scripture is
not closed, at least not in the ordinary sense that we speak of
Canonization. God has not stopped
speaking. God has stopped authenticating. We are left without means of verification
because we do not see the Glory of God.
However, the Glory of God will one day be seen again. “Every eye will see Him, even those who
pierced Him.” The lightening will flash
across the sky from the east to the west, and around the world. The Glory of His coming will light up the Universe,
and then we will have the resolution to the problem.
Until then, I cannot confess, “We believe in
One Holy Catholic[2] and
Apostolic Church,” and not do something about it. I hope that I have done so without offense. Wherein I have offended, I beg forgiveness.
[1]
Daughter of Voice, a private or secondary revelation that cannot be authenticated
or substantiated and of benefit to the individual recipient(s) only. Also, an interpretation or serious exposition
of Scripture, which is a primary revelation.
It must also be conceded from this concerning observations of the
Created Universe, a primary revelation in its own right, that careful investigations
of the Universe are Bath Kol as well.
[2]
Catholic means Universal, not Roman Catholic, not Orthodox Catholic, only that
Heavenly Catholic Church of which all Christians on earth are also members.
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