LAST CALL

Last Call

Though some may differ on some of the details of what happens beforehand, Christians are united in the Biblical fact that the risen Saviour will physically return to this earth at some unknown future point. In relation to this I have been asked where Jesus is right now. The answer is that He is seated at the right hand of God in glory. One questioner probed further, ‘Yes, but where is His body?’ I replied with Scripture, that Jesus rose from the grave bodily, ascended bodily, and will return bodily.

Why is it so hard for some to grasp the fact that Christ is risen? As He Himself says, ‘I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death’ Revelation 2:18. Therefore why seek the living among the dead? (Luke 24:5) Jesus’ body is in heaven and is attached to the rest of Him! He lives!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Where is heaven? Above the clouds? Beyond the stars? The resurrected Jesus  ‘passed through the heavens’ (Heb. 4:14), and has ‘ascended far above all the heavens’ (Eph. 4:10). Scripture is unclear on heaven’s exact location. However, we do know that Jesus is going to return to earth from heaven: ‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

The ‘trumpet of God’ is not the final or last call. It is reminiscent of when the LORD descended upon the mountain in fire to give His Ten Commandments: ‘And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder’ Exodus 19:19. Therefore it is nothing like the musical notes that sound at the airport before the final call for boarding is announced. Nor is it like when patrons hear someone shout ‘last call’ so that they can all rush to get more drinks before the bar closes! No! The final trumpet is not the time for everyone still alive to rush to heaven’s gate for boarding! It is not the time when people hurry to get right with God! Rather when the ‘trumpet of God’ sounds it will already be too late – ‘The door was shut’ (Matthew 25:10b). This means that ‘last call’ is right now! ‘Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation’ 2 Corinthians 6:2b.

Jesus will return ‘with a shout, with the voice of an archangel.’ There is only one Archangel mentioned in the Bible: ‘Michael, the great Prince who protects’ the people of God (Dan. 12:1; Jude 9). Luther and Calvin held Michael to be the uncreated Angel of the Lord, i.e., the eternal Word, who in the fullness of the time, became flesh (John 1:14; Gal. 4:4).  If so, it is ‘Messiah the Prince’ (Dan. 9:25) who does the shouting as ‘the trumpet of God’ announces His arrival. Is Christ not ‘Commander of the army of the LORD’? (Josh 5:14) ‘A war broke out in heaven: Michael and His angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him’ Revelation 12:7-9. If Satan has been defeated in heaven by the pre-incarnate Christ and on earth by a Man, the incarnate Christ, then Christ Jesus is stronger than Satan. Therefore He who is stronger is now in a position to plunder the strong man’s house. Thus the Gospel!

The Gospel being announced to all nations is Christ’s ‘last call’ before He closes heaven’s door. He is the door through whom we must enter to ‘sit together in heavenly places’ (John 10:9; Eph. 2:6). The devil and his angels were cast out of heaven, but Jesus says, ‘All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out … No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day’ John 6:37,44.

If it is the Father who gives us to Jesus and draws us to Him, then no one can say, ‘I was saved by the skin of my teeth’! None are saved by a whisker! Salvation is never a close call! It’s as Jonah says, ‘Salvation is of the LORD’ Jonah 2:9b. It is the Father who ‘gives’ us to His Son, not we who give ourselves. The Father has to draw us to His Son in order to give us to Him. Thus the preaching of the Gospel.

The Gospel ‘is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes’ Romans 1:16. Jesus says, ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand’ John 10:27-28. His was the voice that called to Adam in the Garden after Adam rebelled against Him (Gen. 3:9). His was the voice that called to Moses from the burning bush (Exo. 3:2,4). His was the voice that thundered on Mount Sinai. Hear His voice today. Don’t wait for the trumpet of God!

TRUMP, IMPEACHMENT, & POETRY

TRUMP, IMPEACHMENT, & POETRY

Stuart McKinlay:

The President and the Cat:

President Trump is speaking on television and as he speaks my mind drifts away from economic projections and the lowest average unemployment rates in history, wages are rising, are growing faster than management wages, the most inclusive economy ever to exist, the voice is suffused by wandering thoughts, to a willow trailing in a burn, and a breeze shimmering over the water, and the word pellucid comes to mind, it seems right, and is displaced in the mind's eye by the gentle face of a cat, my wee Ruri, bonnie Ruri[1] …

Where the pools are bright and deep,
Where the grey trout lies asleep,
Up the river and over the lea,
That's the way for Ruri and me.
Where the blackbird sings the latest,
Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest,
Where the nestlings chirp and flee,
That's the way for Ruri and me...

...in the United States we're building an economy that works for everyone, today I hold up the American model to the world.. working together for the whole nation, China has agreed to remove trade barriers, where we were treated so badly, we went through a very rough patch.. we love each other...true energy security... the natural beauty of God's creation...one trillion trees...

Let's go wee Ruri,
More like a dug than a dug can be,
Up the river and over the lea
That's the way for Ruri and me.

(Poetic apologies to James Hogg.)[2]

Neil McKinlay:

Where the wild cat growls
And the red fox howls
As the moonshine lights up the Ben
When my mind sets sail
I catch a breeze for the Vale
And I navigate the Loch once again.

Stuart McKinlay Snr.'s ship "Fort Spokane" sailing under Sydney Harbour Bridge 1950

Stuart McKinlay:

Where, Ah say, Where did that come from? Suddenly, I'm hearing faither aka Frankie Laine giving quite the laldy treatment to My heart knows where the wild goose goes / And I must go where the wild goose goes / Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? / A wandering fool or a heart at rest?... well, he'd know, of course; at least he spared us Mule Train.

But then, I see a friend, in Norway, reporting on Facebook that he is in the grips of Jack London's The Call of the Wild and, of course, White Fang, the wolfdog whose voice we heard howling so comfortingly over the snows of moonlit Ontario as children, before he retired to domestication. People don't really know, and it is to their loss, the voices of wolves, so beautiful to the ear, friends out there in the vastness beyond the trees, by yonder creek where branches crack like gunshots in the freezing nothingness; we do though (thanks to faither, the wandering sailor, as if you need reminding of our glorious homeland).

Written by faither's own hand

But then this, "Where the wild cat growls/ and the red fox howls / is getting right into the old Yukon blood with Robert Service assailing the inner ear, like this:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

... that unmistakable rousing note of panhandlers perishing in the mess of the mud and blood of their disintegrating dreams. I'm willing to wager the words are your own, and if they aren't, they should be.

Neil McKinlay:

Where did it come from? It was you wot started it! It doesn’t take much to get my mind a-wandering. The Schumer/Schiff Impeachment drivel on television was boring me as I read your wee ditties about you and Ruri walking beside babbling burns and twittering trees and what have you. It was Diamond and me that used to go walk about, every day a new adventure on the western hills above the Vale and Loch Lomond. For me, the “wild goose” was a a greylag down by Drumkinnon Bay. Aye, it probably was dad, with all his songs, poetic recitals, book quotes and travel tales, that brought the wanderlust upon me. I knew he had sailed to Australia, (I have the photo of his ship, Spokane, with him on board, sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge), but I was amazed that he had been to Tasmania before me. But I bet he never camped outdoors on a ranch near Springsure, Central Queensland, listening to an Arizonan recite Robert Service to the crackle of a campfire as its smoke rose like incense to drift among the heavens like the Milky Way! I love life!

Stuart McKinlay:

Yup, the The Schumer/Schiff Impeachment seems to be a dainty affair rather than a merry dance, all the fun of the unfair, they're so diffident. The Democrats are off on a namby-pamby expedition to they know not where, like they've gone and hooked their shark despite themselves, and don't know what to do with the thing with the camera running an' all. Does anyone really want a terribly nice President?

No, when I said "where did that come from", I didn't mean the theme, which I'd established whimsically enough, but the song itself; it's quite appropriate that I had to tail off lamely, interrupted by the persistent yowling of the bonnie Ruri, to get out for another catwalk - as you know, he insists I stalk the streets with him... That's the way for Ruri and me...

Neil McKinlay:

The Impeachment is all that dem Dems have left in their now empty arsenal to try to stop the Donald’s reelection in November. They have a snowball’s chance in sunny Queensland against him. It’s all their bare-faced lies and deception that is really turning Joe public agin them. Everyone with half an eye open can see that this is a complete farce. I’m thankful that at least the Republicans are trying to do the right thing, ie, physically follow the Constitution, rather than just paying it only lip service like the desperate Democrats.

The song was extemporaneous, inspired by and in response to, your ruminations about yourself and Ruri.

---

[1] Ruaridh Chateaulait (The Ginger Cat from Castlemilk)

[2] https://en.wikisource.org/.../The_Book_of.../A_Boy%27s_Song

SPRING (SEEDTIME)

Spring (Seedtime)

The Bible speaks of seasons in its grand opening chapter, ‘Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years”’ Genesis 1:14. The season of ‘seedtime’ or spring is specifically alluded to a little later, ‘While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease’ Genesis 8:22. This was God’s covenant promise after He had broken up all the fountains of the great deep and had opened the windows of heaven to destroy the earth in the global flood on account of our wickedness. The rainbow is the sign of His promise never to do this again. It is interesting to note that the earth had also been covered with water in the beginning. It was on the third day that God caused the dry land to arise, after which, ‘Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so’ Genesis 1:11. Resurrection foreshadowed?

The earth needs to be watered for the seedtime seed to flourish, ‘He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth’ Psalm 104:13-14. Man depends upon God and His grace to send earth-watering rain in its season.

While in Hawaii one of the locals was saying that God was still forming the islands. The molten lava from volcanic eruptions under the sea was forming solid land even as he spoke. The richness of Hawaiian flora is something to write home about! Their pineapples are delicious! A very apt verse for Hawaii is, ‘As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire’ Job 28:5.

Manitoban farmers depend on melting winter snows to moisten their seedtime soil. The size of their crops is affected by the volume of winter snow. The LORD Himself makes the connection between seed and His Word, ‘For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it’ Isaiah 55:10-11. It is exactly as the LORD says, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ Matthew 4:4. His Word is the true seed. ‘The sower sows the word’ Mark 4:14. ‘Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies’ 1 Corinthians 15:36.

Christ is the Word, the Seed of the Woman (John 1:1; Genesis 3:15). He was washed with water at His baptism (Matthew 3:15) and was planted in the ground after His death (Mark 15:46). He rose on the third day (Luke 24:7). Seed, water, death, soil, and then germination. Note the connection between the seed germinating on the dry land that rose on the third day of creation and the Word/Seed rising on the third day. He is the beginning of the (re)new(ed) creation. He is the firstfruits of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:23). When the sower sows the Word, the Spirit works with the Word and regenerates those in whom His Word has been sown. These go on to bear fruit as the Spirit enables (John 15:5; Galatians 5:22-23). Seedtime and Harvest!

Scripture defines us as already dead (Ephesians 2:1). We move from death to life when the Holy Spirit works effectively with His Word/Seed in our hearts (1 John 3:14). The picture is: The sower sows the Word. The Word lodges (and germinates) in the dead sinner’s heart enabling him/her to believe. The Holy Spirit (who, like rain, has been poured out from Heaven) causes the Seed to grow. ‘According to His mercy He has saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour’ Titus 3:5-6.

Covenant Baptism depicts spring or seedtime (rains included!) In it is depicted God’s covenant promise to His church, (i.e., the believers for whom Christ gave His life), ‘that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word’ Ephesians 5:26. Baptism with water depicts God’s promise to regenerate the recipients in whom His Word/Seed lodges. The water sprinkled or poured out upon the recipient pictures Christ’s poured out blood being applied by His poured out Spirit. ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin’ 1 John 1:7b.

Spring is seedtime. And whether it is a farmer sowing seed or a preacher sowing the Word, both illustrate that God alone gives life.

HUNGRY

HUNGRY

What was Adam hungry for in the Garden? God made him king of creation (Gen. 1:26-28), and gave him Eve, as his queen. Eve got friendly with a talking serpent, who convinced her she would not die, as God had threatened, should she eat the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17).

As King Adam’s cup-bearer, Eve “took of the fruit thereof, and did eat” (Gen. 3:7b). What went through Adam’s mind as he watched his wife eat and not instantly die? How hungry was he as he eyed the forbidden fruit? Did adrenalin start pumping as he was about to take and eat? About to give his crown to Satan and join his battle against God, about to bring the curse upon himself and all humanity, about to covenant with death, was there a drum roll as the tension mounted? Did all the future kingdoms of the world pass before his eyes? Did he quote God’s Word to the Tempter? Alas! Eve “gave also to her husband who was with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:7b).

Adam’s hunger was not for food, but autonomy from God. Not satisfied being God’s feudal vassal, he wanted to judge good and evil for himself. Thus, Adam became the evil king, seeking his own kingdom.

Hungry for power, Adam died spiritually the day he ate the forbidden fruit. Consequences? Subsequent physical death for himself and all humanity (Rom. 5:12). Something physically died that day, a substitute: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). And, “He drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). The self-deposed king cast his crown into the dust from which he had come.

What did the replacement Adam hunger for in the wilderness while being tested by Satan? Adam had food aplenty yet listened to Satan. Jesus had none. Would He heed Satan and make stones bread or do what Adam ought to have done? Victory! “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4b). Thus, Jesus’s food was to do God’s will.

As Abraham used “a ram caught in a thicket by its horns” as a substitute sacrifice instead of his son, so God used the thorn-crowned Lamb of God to take away our sins, and to cover us with the “skins” of His righteousness (Gen. 22:13; John 1:29; Gal. 3:27). “And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews!” (John 19:2-3a).

The Serpent as it were had said to Eve, and through Eve to Adam, “Take, eat”. Thus, when Adam and Eve dined with demons (1 Cor. 10:21), it was the same day they bit the (holy) hand that fed them, drawing the blood of the cross. Christ died in principle on that day (Gen. 3:15).

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:26-28). Jesus, as the new Adam, intended to go back into the Garden.

Hanging on “the tree of life” Jesus said to the repentant thief, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). God turned the Cherubim and flaming sword on His only Son. “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:37-38). Representing the gate to the Garden, the curtain had Cherubim depicted on it (Exo. 26:31). “By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12b).

The first man hungered for his own glory and brought death. The last Adam hungered for God’s glory and brought everlasting life. What are you hungry for? “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

AUGUST

August

I used to wonder why the Winnipeg Ukrainian population got to celebrate two Christmases each year, one in December and another in January. Then I discovered the source of the difference. In 1582 the Pope of Rome, Gregory XIII, introduced a new calendar to replace the Julian calendar. We’d joke about the Manitoban Ukrainians being smart waiting till the after-Christmas-sales before doing their Christmas shopping! Manitoban Ukrainians still follow the old Julian system! However, unlike Ukraine, this new way of computing time was adopted and spread by Great Britain in 1752.

The eighth month in the Gregorian calendar gets its name from Augustus, an Emperor of Rome who gets a mention in the Bible. In 27 BC the Roman Senate gave to Gaius Octavian, the grandnephew of Julius Caesar, the title Augustus. The word means grand, majestic, awe-inspiring, or sublime and apparently comes from a Latin word meaning to increase. ‘And it came to pass in those day that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered’ Luke 2:1. It was on account of this census that Joseph went to Bethlehem ‘to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered’ Luke 2:4b-5. Thus Augustus was used by the sovereign God to fulfil the prophetic words of His prophet Micah, ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephratha … out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting’ Micah 5:2.

The eternal Word became flesh and in the fullness of the time Jesus was born into what is known as the Pax Romana (a lengthy time of Roman Peace). This time of peace had begun during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Augustus has been called a benevolent ruler and a great builder. He made adultery to be against the law, and accepted the title of Pontifex Maximus (Highest Priest). To be sure, though anything but a Christian, in Augustus and his reign we see a dim reflection of Christ and His Kingdom. Jesus too was a builder of sorts, a ‘carpenter’ Mark 6:3, ‘the stone the builders rejected’ Mark 12:10, the One who said, ‘whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart’ Matthew 5:28, of whom Scripture says, ‘We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man’ Hebrews 8:1b-2, ‘and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end’ Isaiah 9:6b-7a. Thus Christ Jesus is the true Augustus, for only He is truly august.

The Roman Senate might have given Octavian the name Augustus but, regarding Jesus, ‘God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ Philippians 2:9-11.

"Torpedo Factory", Alexandria, Scotland

Jesus Christ and the works He did are grand, majestic, awe-inspiring, and sublime. By His cross He has purchased for us everlasting peace, i.e. reconciliation with God. It is a peace begun by the Spirit of Christ in the heart of every believer and it transcends understanding. The Great Artificer begins the work of rebuilding the believer into the true likeness of God, for just like Caesar Augustus, every human being has become but a faint reflection of what we were supposed to be when God first created us. Each of us has become a little Caesar. We are our own High Priest. We are our own god. Like Adam and Eve, like Caesar, we want to pass our own laws without consulting the Creator. But then Jesus comes along and challenges us. He points to the heart of the matter which is a matter of the heart. Though Caesar Augustus passed a law making adultery a crime, he himself was guilty of committing adultery by divorcing his first wife, Scribonia (for producing him only a daughter, Julia, but not a son) and marrying Livia whom he had been lusting after. A wife not producing a son is hardly grounds for divorce! Please don’t be a hypocrite by passing judgment on the hypocrisy of Augustus. It has been said that the Church on earth is full of hypocrites. There may be some truth to this judgment. True Christians are those who have been sprung by Jesus. His Spirit working with His Word in their hearts has convicted them (John 16:8). They know that they have been guilty of setting themselves up as little Caesars, even a Caesar Augustus. But they have been humbled by God into submitting to Him. There is only one Man who is truly august. No matter how polished, all others are tarnished in comparison.

JACOB'S PILLOW

JACOB’S PILLOW

Jacob’s Pillow is also known as the Stone of Destiny, the Stone of Scone, (Scots: Stane o Scuin, Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fàil). For years it sat under the throne at Westminster Abbey upon which kings and queens were crowned.

Photo from Internet

The Bible has many mentions of rocks and stones. Indeed, Jesus Christ is referred to as “the stone the builders rejected” (e.g., Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; 1 Peter 2:7). The Apostle Peter quotes the Prophet Isaiah where he says, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” 2 Peter 2:8. It is clear that that Isaiah verse refers to the LORD (i.e., Jehovah), yet Peter applies it to Jesus. Thus, Jesus Christ is Jehovah!

The Welsh hymnist, William Williams, wrote the hymn with the opening lines: “Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land.” From Adam, through Noah, through Abraham, Isaac and then Jacob and on to Moses and Israel in the wilderness, Jehovah has been guiding His people down through the ages. Of the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Apostle Paul writes, “All passed through the sea, all we baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, all drank the same spiritual drink. For they all drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:1b-4. Thus, it was the preincarnate Jesus Christ, i.e., Jehovah, who was guiding His people.

“Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” Genesis 28:10-12.

It’s a strange thing to use something as uncomfortable as a stone for a pillow! One can only assume that he put some sort of padding on top of it or perhaps it’s just as the text says, notice the word “at” in the following: “Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it” Genesis 28:18. The bottom line is that to Jacob, this stone was very important!

Is Scotland’s Stone of Destiny really Jacob’s Pillow? Or is it just another “relic” story? Of relics, referring to the true cross of Christ, John Calvin says e.g., “if we were to collect all these pieces of the True Cross exhibited in various parts, they would form a whole ship’s cargo” and that there were more relics of the cross “than three hundred men could carry!”

Legends are legion regarding the search for the “Holy Grail”, i.e., cup Christ used at His Last Supper. Speculation abounds as to its supposed whereabouts and even as to whether the “Holy Grail” refers to a cup! However, we can clearly see that Jacob’s Pillow was a real stone. Jacob set it up as a marker stone, a pillar, anointed it with oil. “And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house…” Genesis 28:22. Therefore, this stone wasn’t just one rock among many. According to Jacob it was “Bethel”, i.e., God’s house. Setting up commemoration or memorial stones are important in the Bible.

There is a curious line in Robert Robinson’s 1757 hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings, it goes, “Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home.” It is in reference to 1 Samuel 7:12, “Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen He named it Ebenezer, explaining, ‘The LORD has helped us to this point.’” 1 Samuel 7:12 ESV.  

When Israel crossed the dried-up Jordan river and entered the Promised Land they set up stones. “Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

“And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day” Joshua 4:7-9.

Neil & Dorothy, Clava Stones near Inverness

The Celtic peoples carried on this tradition, after Stonehenge, the Standing Stones of Callanish being the most famous. I recently viewed the Clava Stones, near Inverness. Theories abound as to purpose and meaning of these and the other standing stones. However, just like those memorial stones mentioned in the Bible, the general consensus is that they hold some sort of religious function. Why not? But what religion? That of the Bible sort, or some aberration? Who are the Celtic peoples anyway?

The Stone of Destiny was removed from Scotland by Edward Longshanks after he had invaded Celtic Scotland from his own England in 1296. The Stone had been used by the Scots (and their Irish forefathers before them) at the coronation of their kings. But where did the Stone come from? Could the Celts not have brought it with them as they travelled to their present destination?

The Preamble of the 1320 Scottish “Declaration of Arbroath” says,

“Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner.

“The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles -- by calling, though second or third in rank -- the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter’s brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.” Thus The Declaration of Arbroath.

“They journeyed from Greater Scythia.” The Scythians were a nomadic people who dwelt roughly around the area of the Black Sea. How did they end up with Jacob’s Pillow and how did they end up dwelling in Scotland? Well, the Scots have to have come from somewhere, as does the Coronation Stone. So what’s wrong with the Scythians bring the Stone with them in their travels? Keep in mind that The Declaration of Arbroath was a plea to the pope of the day for protection against the invading King Edward I. Why blatantly lie to the pope about your origins if you are desiring his favour? To be sure, there is no mention of the Stone in the Declaration. However, it is referred to as Jacob’s Pillow.

Would an analysis of the type of rock found in Bethel against that found in Scotland confirm or deny that the Stone of Destiny is Jacob’s Pillow? Perhaps, but we need to keep in mind that there is still confusion as to whether the Stone we have today is the original, and that it is not hidden away somewhere as may have happened when Edward invaded! Is that block of red sandstone really Jacob’s Pillow?

Guesses as to the whereabouts of the real Stone are many. There’s even a pub in Glasgow, The Arlington, that claims to have the original Stone built into its own brickwork!

Regardless whether the Stone on view is the original Jacob’s Pillow or not, let it and every other stone and rock be a reminder that points us to the THE Rock, THE stone the builders rejected, Jesus Christ! Like Jacob's Pillow, Christ has had oil poured on His head (Mark 14:3). For He has been anointed, for He is THE Anointed, i.e., the Messiah, the Christ! He has been crowned as King of Kings! He sits on His throne and rules all creation. Therefore, let us bow the knee before Him and swear fealty to Him! 

SCOTLAND & THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

SCOTLAND & THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

The Federalist Papers (and the Anti-Federalist Papers) were written in 1787-88 regarding the proposed United States Constitution.

Neil & Stuart, Loch Lomond

Neil McKinlay: Scotland will inevitably (re)gain her independence. When she does, (excuse my ignorance here), will she revert to the pre 1707 Constitutional Monarchy? Or will Scotland become a republic, and, if so, what type of a republic, like Ireland or France or USA? Or do we have wait till after the next referendum before we start talking about this? Which way is the wind blowing with regard to these things?

Anti-Federalist Paper #5, (1787), “It must be obvious to everyone, the least acquainted with English history, that since the union of the two nations the great body of the people in Scotland are in a much worse situation now, than they would be, were they a separate nation. This will be fully illustrated by attending to the great emigrations which are made to America.”

Stuart McKinlay: I thought I might reserve comment until I had finished the book, but I was struck immediately by breathtakingly current parallels. I have here, I thought as a natural secessionist, a copy of the unionist battle plans. Here is a persuasive prospective for the integration of the nations of the United Kingdom if pursued with sagacious good will; and just as surely the key to such a confederation's collapse. 

There are many observations applicable to today's constitutional tensions in the UK, not least the role of propaganda in nourishing the conviction that “the prosperity of America depended on its Union”. That has been the final argument here - then, now, and always - hammered relentlessly in repairing the British project. 

The economic case for union is risky as a positive argument because the figures unravel when resources are measured against the direction of returns. The partiality of the figures is marked annually by assessments contested, but never challenged to the point of fissure. People believe what they choose to believe according to conclusions they have reached regardless. 

The union case proceeds, in my not uncommon view, on the premise that the UK is a union of equal nations acting to their equitable benefit; a United Kingdom. This is an illusion. It is a unitary state governed to the benefit of its greatest constituent; England forged the union and holds it fast. It does this not out of love but of necessity. It holds it by control of the resources of its satellites, a rapacious necessity which it has the power of superior propaganda to defend. It accuses protesters of divisiveness while sowing useful division among them: it tells Scotland it is poor in resources and must be subsidised by English taxpayers. It tells English taxpayers they must carry the burden of Scottish subsidy junkies. The impoverished English must bear the weight of this imposition with their seasoned generosity of spirit, for the comonweal, the spectre of past wars, the whiff of wartime solidarity evoked. (“A torrent of angry and malignant passions will be let loose.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #1.) This cynicism of management is a desperate business but effective, the more so with a Scottish Government, actually a limited executive, acting as an Aunt Sally and useful idiot, a lightning rod for discontent. 

How is the wind blowing and how will this turn out? Whatever the Scots seem to indicate by a majority vote for the Scottish National Party or by turning out for popular independence rallies, let us remember that the nature of the independence desired is not agreed, never mind monarchical, Republican or other; the Scottish National Party despite the claims of old socialist detractors is not a nationalist party at all, but a reliable constitutional movement subject to the coils of legalistic niceties and now fixated with the displacement activities of repetitive referendums. 

The trouble is that you can lead a horse to water, but... My feeling is that Scots like their own individualistic independence far too much to unite to achieve it as a nation, and there is always much more to a thing than is said.

England is an ancient hand at realpolitik: it will attend to its interests behind a charming veneer of generosity. The British unionist experiment has been running only for 312 years and in the judgment of history might be said to have run its course, but on the scale of generations it is still a young thing. Anti-Federalist Paper #5 is on the money, but the more things change... I'll read on.

Neil McKinlay: Stuart, you wrote, “England forged the union and holds it fast. It does this not out of love but of necessity.” And, “My feeling is that Scots like their own individualistic independence far too much to unite to achieve it as a nation, and there is always much more to a thing than is said.” 

The eternal Trinitarian one and the many problem springs to mind, England being the one, and Scots being the many. England wants union. Scotland wants individuality. America, pre-Constitution, was a confederacy. Each of the thirteen States was essentially, like Scotland pre-union, an individual country. If I have understood correctly, the Federalist Papers wanted what England wanted for Scotland in 1707, i.e., control of the union. The Anti-Federalist Papers warned of the dangers and future outcomes of this Federalism as opposed to status quo Confederation. The bottom line is that an independent country of Scotland could form a confederation with England, modelled on pre 1777 America.

How do you get individualistic Scots to vote for independence? Well, you mentioned that England wants union with Scotland out “of necessity”. Therefore, each Scot would need to be convinced of what is to be gained for them as individuals by independence from England. Abstract things like dignity and freedom spring to mind, things that the Americans fought for in their war with England, in their War of Independence. The heart of it was taxes, unfair taxes. England is an economic burden to individual Scots, oil, whisky, textiles, tourism etc., taxes, aye, taxes!    

Anti-Federalist Paper #5 – Scotland and England – A Case in Point (1787) also says, “It is a certainty, that when the union was the subject of debate in the Scottish legislature, some of their most sensible and disinterested nobles, as well as commoners (who were not corrupted by English gold), violently opposed the union, and predicted that the people of Scotland would, in fact, derive no advantages from a consolidation of government with England; but, on the contrary, they would bear a great proportion of her debt, and furnish large bodies of men to assist her wars with France, with whom, before the union, Scotland was at all times on terms of the most cordial amity.” Robbie Burns, in his Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation, referring to the same, springs to mind:

O would, ere I had seen the day

That Treason thus could sell us,

My auld grey head had lien in clay,

Wi’ Bruce and loyal Wallace!

But pith and power, till my last hour,

I’ll mak this declaration;

We’re bought and sold for English gold-

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!

Scotland has good grounds for divorcing England, wilful neglect being a major one.