Posted on 06/08/2003 7:24:09 AM PDT by TenthAmendmentChampion
Before the “Left Behind” series catapulted to the top of the bestseller list, the idea that Christians could be lifted bodily into the clouds during the Rapture was an idea that only obscure theologians studied. These days, of course, lots of people believe that's what will happen the day the world ends.
Now a new novel is forcing people to confront another biblical puzzle. The DaVinci Code, a thriller by Dan Brown, tells the story of a Harvard professor summoned to the Louvre Museum after a murder there to examine cryptic symbols relating to DaVinci's work. During the course of his investigation, he uncovers an ancient secret: the claim that Mary Magdalene represents the divine feminine, and that she and Jesus had a sexual relationship.
Is it possible Jesus had this kind of relationship with her or that they were, as some suggest, married?
Karen Leigh King, a Harvard professor who is the world’s leading authority on early Christian texts about Mary Magdalene, gives “The DaVinci Code” a thumbs-up--but only as fiction. (“It’s a good read but historically way off.”)
“The book certainly fits our times…. Since the 1960s there has been a hostility toward traditions in Christianity that are anti-sexuality,” says King, adding that the novel also plays to interest in women’s issues.
But, she says: “there’s no historical information whatsoever that either of them was married, let alone to each other. When there’s an argument from silence, you can jump either way. On one hand, why not? Why shouldn’t they have sex? On the other hand, why every time you put a man and woman together do they have to have sex?”
The possibility of Jesus’ marriage fascinates people; biblical scholars say they are often asked by audiences and readers about it. In general, only the most liberal scholars even bother to entertain the question.
Here is what we can say about Jesus’ sex life:
Most mainstream biblical scholars do not believe Jesus was married to anyone, because the Gospels don’t mention it.
A few biblical scholars argue it’s likely Jesus was married--even though the Bible doesn’t mention it—because Jewish men at that time nearly always married. These scholars tend not to care one way or another whether his wife was Mary Magdalene.
(Excerpt) Read more at beliefnet.com ...
According to this "logic," the vast majority of men are not president; therefore George W. Bush is not president.
Particularly in the Gospel of Mary, Mary Magdalene is depicted as having special knowledge of Jesus: "Peter said to Mary, 'Sister, we know that the Saviour loved you more than the rest of women." In the Gospel of Philip, she is described this way: "There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion." Some scholars point to these passages as possible proof of the Jesus and Mary Magdalene relationship.
So even though there is NO mention of a relationship between Jesus and Mary in the canonical New Testament or even in the apocyphal "Book of Mary," Jesus had a relationship with Mary.
Nevertheless, popular culture continues to grab at bits of biblical text to answer perplexing questions. How will the world end? Left Behind takes a piece of I Thessalonians to answer. Those who are “left” alive on earth when the Lord “comes down from heaven” will be “caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The word rapture doesn’t even appear in the text.
So even though the book of First Thessalonians says specifically that we'll be caught up in the air with Jesus, it's not real because Paul didn't use the popular word "rapture." And notice the sneering quote marks in the passage.
Forgive me if I don't understand Biblical scholarship. And the modern media panders to the most liberal of them.
Sure it does -- just not in the English translations. The Latin word from which we get "rapture" is translated "caught up" in the above verse.
According to Strong's Concordance, the Greek word translated "caught up" is "harpazo". The Greek word suggests the idea of "force suddenly exercised". The various places in the NT where the word is used suggest sudden movement from one place to another: Philip leaving the presence of the Ethiopian by the act of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:39); Paul being "caught up" to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2,4) (By the way, in answer to your question, Paul himself is not sure whether or not his trip was made in bodily form, but he does not rule it out); the living believers being caught up into the clouds "to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thes 4:17); the "snatching up" of the child to God's throne (Rev 12:5).
All of these cases considered together suggest a pattern of being suddenly moved from one place to another (with the emphasis on the suddenness).
Please understand that I'm not arguing for or against any particular doctrine of the rapture. I'm just looking at the meaning of the word forming the foundation of the doctrines.
The DaVinci Jesus or The Real Jesus?
In the book the DaVinci Code, the author has written untrue statements about Jesus. The author states that his book is fiction; nevertheless, these statements have been written and now must be answered.
Was Jesus married and did He have a child?
Jesus is a man and while on earth, He certainly could have enjoyed the blessings of both marriage and descendants. However, Jesus is also the Christ, the Messiah, and it was necessary for the Christ to suffer much for our sakes. Yet another suffering of the Christ, this man of sorrows, was that He would not take a wife and that He would not have descendants.
The Holy Scriptures define the Christ, so that we will clearly know who He is. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible takes care to say that the Christ would not have descendants. This is simply one more definition of who Christ is.
In the Old Testament:
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.” (Isa. 53:8 NIV)
In the New Testament:
“In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” (Acts 8:33 NIV)
What about marriage, could Jesus have been married and not have had any children? Jesus often spoke of Himself as the bridegroom. He even made it clear He would leave the earth still a groom.
“And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom [Jesus Christ] is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.’” (Mark 2:19–20 NKJV)
However, whom would Jesus marry since He is a bridegroom? Again, Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus Christ kept Himself for His spiritual bride, the Church, not just one individual within the Church.
“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:32 KJV)
When people publish untrue statements about Jesus, whether or not they claim it is fiction, it is really their intention to say that Jesus is not the Christ. When people do this, we need to remember that the Holy Scriptures also provide us with a clear definition of who they are:
“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.” (1 John 2:22 NASB)
If you would like more insightful Bible truth about The Real Jesus, please see the books: Tabernacle Gifts, Our First Day in Heaven ISBN 0970454813 and Pray Like This, God’s Secret to Answered Prayer ISBN 097045483X, by Michael Zarlengo, to order go to amazon.com or call 1-877-323-4550.
By Michael Zarlengo & Steven Zarlengo. © Copyright Pray Like This. www.praylikethis.org
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