A Vision For Our Times by Rev Dr Mark Chan

(Source: TRUMPET, Dec 2016, published by Trinity Theological College)

"Images are powerful. They capture our attention. Once we have seen something, it is hard to un-seen it and flush the picture out of our mind. As the philosopher Wittgenstein observes, "a picture holds us captive." Images captivate.

Marketers know this. Push a picture into the heads of people, and you are halfway to winning the battle for attention. Advertisers spend big bucks to conjure up alluring images to seduce consumers into parting with their money. Images persuade.

Modern day terrorists too know the power of the image, and they exploit it for their wicked ends. It is not enough that they mutilate and decapitate; they make sure that their sick acts of violence are uploaded on social media for the world to see. A picture is worth a thousand words, we are told. An image of terror is apparently worth a whole lot more. Who can forget those horrifying images of airplanes ploughing into skyscrapers?

Visions of terror are not the only ones that trouble us. We are haunted by the doleful eyes of starving kids on television. We are greeted by images of drowning refugees, traumatised citizens, bombed-out cities, angry mobs, melting glaciers, smog-covered metropolises, and so on.

Graphics of bleak economic forecasts and signboards of businesses going bust depress both the markets and our spirits. Our anxiety level shoots up as the economic outlook nosedives. What we see affects how we feel.

And it disturbs us to see crude and crooked politicians outdoing each other to see how low they can sink to get to the highest office. It makes you wonder how safe our world really s when people with big egos and bankrupt morals get their hands on the levers of power. The prognosis is not exactly cheery.

Pictures of gloom and doom attack our senses and assault our sensibilities. Even a cursory look at the world today gives us reasons to despair. Anguish mounts as we ponder the dangers unleashed by human folly. It seems like our world is careening hopelessly out of control.

But is it?

If all we see are death, doom and destruction, and if salvation depends on people making sane decisions, then yes, we have every reason to be despondent. But as followers of Christ, we do not merely take our cues from what our eyes tell us. Rather, we look at life from the standpoint of what God has revealed.

If any picture should hold us captive in our troubling times, it is the vision John was given in Revelation 4 and 5. At the outset of this book written to Christians in trying times, we are ushered along with John into the heavenly throne room. The curtains of time and space are drawn back, as it were, and we are given a dazzling vision of God upon His throne.

Glittering gemstones, lightning flashes, thunder claps,fire-blazing torches, prostrating elders in white robes with their golden crowns, and fantastic flying creatures with all-seeing eyes greet us in this kaleidoscopic and awe-inspiring spectacle. The stunning visuals are matched by the sonorous song of praise that resonates around the throne: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Rev 4:8).

The vision comes before the vivid descriptions of cataclysmic upheavals, political convulsions and worldly carnage. It invites John(and the modern reader) to look beyond the intimidating realities of life to see our majestic God on His throne. This is not a preview of something that will happen one day in the future; it is about God's supremacy right now in the present.

Such a vision is sorely needed today to steel our nerves. In a world rocking from political unrests and violent outbreaks, God remains firmly on His throne, in charge and in command. Through the eyes of faith, we see the calming and controlling hand of God in the midst of the chaos of life.

The words of an old chorus come to mind: "God is still on the throne/ and He will remember His own/ Though trials may press us and burdens distress us/ He never will leave us alone." Or as another hymn-writer puts it: "Under the shadow of Thy throne, thy saints have dwelt secure." Here is a powerful antidote to the fears that grip us. In this we take heart.

We can take heart because the God enthroned in heaven is also the God who is at work on earth. He is not the detached deity of the deists. He upholds creation and gets redemptively entangled with the human race. First with Abraham and Israel, and then at the Incarnation and on Calvary.

Christmas and Good Friday are more than just holiday interludes. They point to historical events that are the means by which God redresses all that is wrong with the world. And that divine work of restoration is centred in Jesus Christ. 

John saw in his vision, "a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (Rev 5:6). At the heart of the throne of God is the Lamb of God slain for the sin of the world. This is the grand paradox at the very heart of the universe: the sovereign God who rules over all is also in a profound sense the Crucified One on the cross! The coming together of throne and cross spells the defeat of the sinful creaturely uprising against the authority of God.

In John's vision, "before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal" (Rev 4:6). To the ancients, the raging sea with its churning waves is home to malevolent forces. The vision of crystal-like sea of glass before God's throne points powerfully to the vanquishing and stilling of all the forces of rebellion.

To see the world for what it is, we need to appraise it from the perspective of the throne of God and the cross of Christ. May this picture of God triumphant hold us captive and steady our hearts!"

About The Author

Rev Dr Mark Chan is the Director for the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia (CSCA) which is a research arm of Trinity Theological College that seeks to conduct rigorous intellectual enquiry on Christian life, thought and missions in the geopolitically and ethnic-religiously plural contexts of Southeast Asia. It supports the educational thrust of the college as well as the long-term and strategic needs of the governing churches of Trinity Theological College. He is also a Lecturer in Theology.

April Reflections by Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian

(Source: page 3, TRUMPET April 2014, published by Trinity Theological College, Singapore. Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian is the Principal of Trinity Theological College.)

Once a year we are given license to poke fun at others such as getting people to believe ridiculous things or send them on a 'fool's errand'. Sometimes even the media gets into the act all for a good laugh. The origin of April Fool's Day is uncertain, although it is supposed to be one of the more light-hearted days of the year. Some believe that the switch to a new calendar changing New Year's Day from 1 April to 1 January by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 led people to make fun of those who refused to accept the change or unaware of it. Since then, many people good-naturedly welcome such jests to light up their lives.

Indeed if laughter is to be medicine for the soul, it should not only be humour at the expense of others, but also encourage people to laugh at themselves. Those who take themselves too seriously lose sight of this special gift available to us all. Thus, in our stressed filled lives at school, at work and at home, having a sense of humour restores the equilibrium of our senses. It rejuvenates our mental and emotional health as individuals, and that in turn enhances the wellbeing of our society.

 April also calls for serious contemplation as Christians commemorate Jesus' sacrificial life which ended on Good Friday. The season of Lent is a time of fasting and praying and abstinence from the appetites of human desires in our focus on our relationship with God.But the practice of these spiritual disciplines can become ends in themselves unless they lead us to reflect on our 'trespasses'.

One of the problems we face in this modern era is the tendency to minimize sin and its consequences. Perhaps, the internalized moral authority of our upbringing has become less dominant and as a result, right and wrong are not clearly demarcated as it used to be. So Holy Week should lead us to re-order our priorities, take stock of our value systems and renew our moral standards. To be sure, the grace of God is sufficient to cleanse us from any and every sin, but repentance (that is, confession followed by transformation) is a necessary step towards becoming Easter Christians.

April sounds the bell for the last lap for our graduating cohort. They will press towards the finishing line and expect to receive their degree in theology. It marks the closing chapters of formal theological education. This cohort, like others before them, will be assessed on how well they have integrated their theological studies and how they will apply their learning to the varieties of Christian service. But ministering to this generation will be far more difficult in the face of formidable challenges from the world and its secular offerings.

It is said that when quality of life improves through better education, and there is more equitable income distribution and longer life span, then religion will decline as more people embrace atheism. It is even projected that by 2041, religious people will become a minority with the rise of secularism. Consequently, religion will lose clout as it becomes the minority view in more societies as already seen in Sweden and Japan.

Are these ominous signs? Are 'secular gods' more attractive? Near the end of his life, John Wesley said: 'I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist...but I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having a form of religion without the power". Wesley believed that the discipline, stewardship and frugality of his followers would eventually lead to a better life. But he also knew that economic wellbeing puts Christians at risk of embracing secularism which could subtly hollow out their once vibrant faith. Therefore, it is imperative that our generation be intentional in building up Body of Christ to ensure that our children and their descendants will hold fast the faith.