8-29-2020 Frankenstein

 

           Prometheus                                  Frankenstein                                 up out of our grave

Those who have been around a while or who are familiar with the “classics” may be familiar with Frankenstein.  Mary Shelly’s novel was published in 1818 and then released in 1931 as a film starring Boris Karloff as the infamous monster.  The monster, of course, had no name, but its creator was scientist Victor Frankenstein.

Prometheus was, in the Greek mythology, the god credited with giving humanity fire.  He was supposed to be pretty smart, a champion of humankind and giving man the arts and sciences.  He was supposed to have created clay dolls which he could bring to life.

In the movie Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein collected various body parts from cadavers to create a man which he brought to life by exposing it to strong electrical current (lightening bolt).   The bible tells that God made man from the dust of the earth, ergo the connection.

Father has peaked my interest in the “valley of dry bones” (Ezek. 37:1-4) for six years now, showing multiple applications for today’s church.  Or should I rather say multiple ways to approach the situation.  Around two AM (two days ago), Father started connecting the movie (story, Frankenstein) with today’s church.  What?  How can we connect a classic horror story with today’s church?  Do you see the connection already mentioned?

There’s more.  Read on.

In bible, God takes Ezekiel to a large valley filled with dried bones, bleached by the sun-white bones which are scattered all over the place.  He has Ezekiel walk through the bone yard so Ezekiel can get a ‘right’ perspective.  These bones have been laying there a long time. 

Then God asks Ezekiel a simple question “Can these bones live?”  Ezekiel is no dummy so he replies “Only You know, Lord.”  God can do anything!  After all, He created all that is just by speaking it into existence.  He had to speak it into being for there was nothing there (just a void) until He started creating. 

But then, God does something unusual.  He has three prayers but He wants Ezekiel to proclaim to ‘dem ole dry bones’.

First prayer/commandment.  Bones come together bone and bone.  Ezekiel heard a clatter as the bones started coming together in proper alignment, that is  the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the shin bone, the shin bone connected to the knee bone , then all the way up to the head  , including the arms and hands.  Then sinews start connecting all those bones.  

Next, muscle starts to cover the bones and finally a skin, thke final touch covering it all.

The bones are the basis of the body.  The sinews and ligaments keep the bones from falling apart and being scattered, all over again.  The muscles help the bones to be able to move. To do things.  Finally the skin covering so we can look as we are supposed to – the image of God!  What is the image of God?  love.  we are supposed to reflect God’s love to the rest of the world.

But there’s a problem.  The bones have come together forming a body, many bodies are formed but they have no life.  They just lay there – doing not much of anything.

This prompts the second prayer/commandment.  God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bodies “Breath, come from the four winds and bring breath upon these slain that they might live.”  And breath comes and a mighty army stands up.  A huge army ready to ‘go’, right?  Ah.  Alas.  There’s still a problem.  Everybody cries out “Our bones are dry, we are lost, we are cut off for our parts.”  Say what?  They are walking around like a bunch of old men.  Maybe they should have taken their Geritol or yoga classes?  They are lost.  They don’t seem to know which way to go.  The bodies may still be intact, but the army has been separated (divided in doctrine).  They don’t seem to be very mobile, they still seem to be lost and they are not all on the same page in the playbook (the bible). 

Think about the Protestant Reformation.  It did bring us to an individual awareness of Father.  It was supposed to do that as it drew us closer to Father.  He cares not just about a bunch of people in a building, but He cares about ME (you & me)!  Yet, the body is divided into many segments.  (sigh)     

A little side item.  In the late fourteenth century, God put it on man’s heart to have a bible for the common man.  This carried over into the Protestant Reformation.  A good thing for Father was starting to wake His church up after a long slumber.  Two basic periods of enlightenment were to follow, one in the 1700’s and the other in the 1800’s.  In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Father started stirring up the Holy Ghost again.  

Remember, the idea of being baptized in the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues started back in Acts chapter two, or prior to 100 AD.  Somewhere along the line, for whatever reason, it was decided that this gift, and other operations of the Spirit, were no longer needed.  The decision was made that when the “Perfect was come” these gifts were no longer needed.  According to the thinking, the Perfect had already come.  I’m not going to discuss what they considered the perfect to be, save the second coming of Christ.  The church has been falling away ever since. The Protestant Reformation and the following ‘enlightenments’ were Father starting to bring His church back to is former (earlier) glory.

Now, despite the Charismatic movement of the 1960’s & 1970’s Satan has continually taken efforts to take, not only prayer, but other references to God out of the public awareness.  Over the years since then, the enemy has been very successful in removing man away from any knowledge of the Creator of all things.  But Father always has His remnant and the spark is being kindled, now.

Today, Father is not only renewing our knowledge of Him, but also, in how He operates.  He desires us to fulfill the words of Jesus “you shall do that I have done and even greater.”  Father has been renewing our relationship with Him. So we can truly live in His love.

This brings forth the third prayer/commandment.  Ezekiel is commanded to tell the people “Listen up, my people.  I will open up your graves and cause you to come up out of those graves.  And I will bring you into the land of Israel (Spiritual).  I shall put My Spirit in you and you shall live and I shall place you in your own land.  Then you will know that I, the Lord, said it and did it.  Thus says the Lord”

Today’s church still has a foot, maybe even up to the knee, or perhaps, up to our necks still in the grave.  We just can’t seem to let go of all the old ways.  We still haven’t yielded all that we need to, to the Lord.  But He will help us to get our acts together so we can serve Him to the fullest.  We can be doing the things Jesus did – and greater. 

Our own land?  We will come to realize the reality of “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!”  At least, where God’s people are prevalent and relevant.  Jesus asked Father, not to take us out of this world, but to keep us (from harm) while we are still here.  We can live in this world.  We just don’t partake of its activities.  We live like the children of God.  A light in a dark place.

Have you caught the connection between Frankenstein and the church?  Victor Frankenstein is compared to the Greek god Prometheus.  Prometheus played with clay dolls and purportedly gave them life.  Victor created his monster (from dead body parts) and gave it life.  God gave us life by breathing breath into our nostrils, then coming Himself in the personage of Jesus (Emmanuel).  Frankenstein used lightening to bring life to his creation.  Interestingly, the monster never really came to his full potential but died.  Maybe because he wasn’t the sweetest looking guy in town but his life did come to an end.  Our enemy desires us to meet the same fate as the monster.  Father says “I don’t think so.”  He is bringing one more shot for His church (us) to get our act together.  Our life is in Jesus.  Not only here on planet earth, but throughout all eternity! 

We are getting ready to enter into the final year of a seven year season of growth and equipping.  Father is preparing to send out His army to minister to the world as the world has never seen, evangelism like none before.  A Spiritual Explosion!  Father is focusing on “living in His love.  Jesus berated the scribes and he Pharisees for ‘doing’ the right things but for the wrong reasons.  Their hearts were far from God.  This trip, hearts will be in the right place – grounded in God’s love as true servants so we can serve with all our heart.

Being grounded in God’s love means we are a reflection of Him (His love), in what we say and what we do.  We should love God with all our heart and our heart is expressed through what we say and what we do.  Do we honor Father with our words?  Do we honor Father with our actions (what we do)?  Those things do reflect where our heart is.  Living like the world indicates at least one foot is still in the grave.  We cannot serve God and mammon at the same time.  So, are we are continually realigning ourselves with Father (when we mess up – confess & repent)?  Or do we still show too much of the world in our own lifestyle?

The passage in Ezekiel ends with God getting ready to pull us up out of our graves.  This is the season we’re getting ready to enter – Father pulling us fully out of our graves.  That is knowing how to yield all of ourselves to Him and doing it.  Then going out helping others to do the same.  

This IS the Spiritual explosion that it coming.

So, are we like Frankenstein’s monster, still stumbling around in the dark because of our ignorance?  Or are we drawing closer to God, living in His love, that light which pours out from His heart?   I’m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine .

The choice is ours