The Season of Advent has a variety of meanings. Because of where it falls in the year, its easy to associate with preparing for Christmas. As the season progresses the readings reflect this theme. But the beginning of Advent always deals with Christ's second coming. When this topic comes up I can't help but think about rapture, pre-millennial dispensationalism, post-millennialism, a-millenialism, and all sorts of understandings. All of these concepts are designed by human beings, trying to make sense of very cryptic passages in Scripture, like the one we have for Advent 1 this year. "Then they will see `the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mark 13:26-27 NRSV)."
When I was a teenager many of my friends would speculate on the rapture, believing that at some point Jesus would return, and that all of the Christians would be snatched up to be with him in Heaven, while everyone else would be left behind. At the time I imagined people standing there with there eyes closed and ecstatic looks on their faces as they floated up into the sky. A lot more goes into this theology but that's beside the point.
A few years ago I read Beam Me Up, Jesus: A Heathen's Guide to the Rapture
by Jim Gerard. While mostly satire, he did point out that the idea of a rapture comes from the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, where he speaks of believers being caught up in the air to be with The Lord and remain with him forever. What this Gospel passage in Mark does describe however is The Son of Man gathering his elect from the farthest reaches of heaven and earth. Viewing these two passages together, we can be convinced that something is going to happen - something. But the details of this something vary depending on who's describing it. (Gerard also mentions that Revelation, the most apocalyptic book in the Bible, never mentions anything remotely resembling a rapture.)
From the point of view of Kabbalah, we can get a different picture. The main difference is that in the millennial/rapture theology a person is removed from our world and placed in Heaven, while from the point of view of Kabbalah a person continues to be in our world, but also has complete access to the upper worlds. Rather than being one or the other, spirituality is integrated into the material.
In an earlier post I wrote about the Four Worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzira, and Assiah. Assiah being our world, and Yetzira, Beriah, and Atzilut being the upper worlds, or heavens. The Apostle Paul spoke of a Third Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2. I can only surmise that this refers to Atzilut, or the world of emanation, or God's initial vision for world. When St. Paul spoke of us being caught up in the air and the clouds, and Jesus spoke of the Son of Man gathering the elect from the ends of earth and the heavens, could this mean that at Christ's second coming people will have access to these upper worlds? Instead of us being snatched out of one world, does this refer to a massive spiritual awakening whereby people continue to live in this world but understand completely God's will and plan and are able to submit to it?
Of course we need to examine this concept from the other angle, the Son of Man coming in clouds with power and great glory (Mark 13:26). First off the Son of Man has been referenced by three different people in Scripture. Daniel spoke of one like a Son of Man (Bar-Enosh) in his apocalyptic vision. In Ezekiel's prophecies, he was constantly referred to as the Son of Man (Ben-Adam). And of course, Jesus spoke of the Son of Man, seemingly in reference to himself. As one aside, at the stoning of Stephen he said that he saw Heaven ripped open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). For me this concept of the Son of Man draws me to Adam Kadmon, or God's original vision for humanity. Obviously this concept exists in the Upper Worlds, and Jesus is the perfect manifestation of Adam Kadmon in our world.
When I was a teenager many of my friends would speculate on the rapture, believing that at some point Jesus would return, and that all of the Christians would be snatched up to be with him in Heaven, while everyone else would be left behind. At the time I imagined people standing there with there eyes closed and ecstatic looks on their faces as they floated up into the sky. A lot more goes into this theology but that's beside the point.
A few years ago I read Beam Me Up, Jesus: A Heathen's Guide to the Rapture
by Jim Gerard. While mostly satire, he did point out that the idea of a rapture comes from the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, where he speaks of believers being caught up in the air to be with The Lord and remain with him forever. What this Gospel passage in Mark does describe however is The Son of Man gathering his elect from the farthest reaches of heaven and earth. Viewing these two passages together, we can be convinced that something is going to happen - something. But the details of this something vary depending on who's describing it. (Gerard also mentions that Revelation, the most apocalyptic book in the Bible, never mentions anything remotely resembling a rapture.)From the point of view of Kabbalah, we can get a different picture. The main difference is that in the millennial/rapture theology a person is removed from our world and placed in Heaven, while from the point of view of Kabbalah a person continues to be in our world, but also has complete access to the upper worlds. Rather than being one or the other, spirituality is integrated into the material.
In an earlier post I wrote about the Four Worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzira, and Assiah. Assiah being our world, and Yetzira, Beriah, and Atzilut being the upper worlds, or heavens. The Apostle Paul spoke of a Third Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2. I can only surmise that this refers to Atzilut, or the world of emanation, or God's initial vision for world. When St. Paul spoke of us being caught up in the air and the clouds, and Jesus spoke of the Son of Man gathering the elect from the ends of earth and the heavens, could this mean that at Christ's second coming people will have access to these upper worlds? Instead of us being snatched out of one world, does this refer to a massive spiritual awakening whereby people continue to live in this world but understand completely God's will and plan and are able to submit to it?
Of course we need to examine this concept from the other angle, the Son of Man coming in clouds with power and great glory (Mark 13:26). First off the Son of Man has been referenced by three different people in Scripture. Daniel spoke of one like a Son of Man (Bar-Enosh) in his apocalyptic vision. In Ezekiel's prophecies, he was constantly referred to as the Son of Man (Ben-Adam). And of course, Jesus spoke of the Son of Man, seemingly in reference to himself. As one aside, at the stoning of Stephen he said that he saw Heaven ripped open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). For me this concept of the Son of Man draws me to Adam Kadmon, or God's original vision for humanity. Obviously this concept exists in the Upper Worlds, and Jesus is the perfect manifestation of Adam Kadmon in our world.
On the literal level of our text, it says that the Son of Man is coming in clouds. Since clouds are in the sky, and from an ancient Hebrew viewpoint, there was little to no distinction between the sky and Heaven, this text is indicating that Jesus, as the Son of Man, is breaking back into our world from the upper worlds. People will see humanity as God originally envisioned, and there will be a wedding together of upper and lower worlds.
But not everything is positive at this point. Jesus tells us to be ready, because we don't know when this is going to happen. He doesn't even know. And for some, this will be a very unpleasant experience. Again from Rabbi Jacobson's work at The Meaningful Life Center, he describes spiritual energy in terms of electricity. Electricity can be very good and useful in its proper place. When the voltage is correct and its connected to a device that can handle that voltage electricity can run a refridgerator, television, lights, etc. But suppose you connected your toaster directly to the lines outside at their full voltage - your toaster would explode! When Jesus admonishes us to be ready, it could mean that we have to be prepared for the intensity of the experience. It will be unlike anything you've experienced before
This concept of the end of time, I believe is more consistent throughout scripture. The Book of Revelation ends with an image of a New Heaven and a New Earth, and Jerusalem being prepared as a bride for her groom. Even here we see a marriage of the spiritual and the material. But this isn't something you have to wait for. By following Jesus' teachings and trying to live a Godly life you create connections to the upper worlds here and now. The sacraments of the Church are designed bridge the gap between our world and the upper worlds. The view of the end of times shows us where we're headed - the ultimate goal. But that doesn't mean that we have to sit back and wait for it to happen, we can connect to those experiences now. As Jesus said, be prepared.
But not everything is positive at this point. Jesus tells us to be ready, because we don't know when this is going to happen. He doesn't even know. And for some, this will be a very unpleasant experience. Again from Rabbi Jacobson's work at The Meaningful Life Center, he describes spiritual energy in terms of electricity. Electricity can be very good and useful in its proper place. When the voltage is correct and its connected to a device that can handle that voltage electricity can run a refridgerator, television, lights, etc. But suppose you connected your toaster directly to the lines outside at their full voltage - your toaster would explode! When Jesus admonishes us to be ready, it could mean that we have to be prepared for the intensity of the experience. It will be unlike anything you've experienced before
This concept of the end of time, I believe is more consistent throughout scripture. The Book of Revelation ends with an image of a New Heaven and a New Earth, and Jerusalem being prepared as a bride for her groom. Even here we see a marriage of the spiritual and the material. But this isn't something you have to wait for. By following Jesus' teachings and trying to live a Godly life you create connections to the upper worlds here and now. The sacraments of the Church are designed bridge the gap between our world and the upper worlds. The view of the end of times shows us where we're headed - the ultimate goal. But that doesn't mean that we have to sit back and wait for it to happen, we can connect to those experiences now. As Jesus said, be prepared.
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