FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS: Important events that changed our world
“He is not here: for He is risen …” Matthew 28:6
In October 1347, 12 ships sailed into a European port from the Black Sea. To the surprise of those who greeted them, every ship was full of dead or diseased and dying sailors. And despite the effort of authorities to send the ships back out to see, the damage had been done.
The Black Death had come to Europe, and over the course of the next five years, one-third of the continent’s population was wiped out by this plague. Some 75 million to 200 million people perished. It was the worst pandemic in world history. Yet, let’s be honest. Even if you heard of this plague, you don’t really know much about it.
Fast forward to 1453 when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks, marking the end of the 1,500-year-old Roman Empire. This titanic power shift was an earth-shattering event with dramatic implications for people in some of the world’s most populated areas. But you don’t remember it either, do you?
Closer to home in spring of 1793, Philadelphia was serving as the capital of our new republic when a cholera epidemic broke out. The new congress and President Washington left the city. Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of our founders, described the horrific conditions that killed 10% of the population of the city.
This event didn’t make it to your history education. Nearly 70 years later in April 1865, the worst maritime tragedy in the history of the United States occurred on the Mississippi River when the over-burdened ship Sultana, steaming northward with 2,500 passengers, met disaster. A boiler exploded, then two more followed, causing the giant paddle wheels to break loose. The ship spun backward and the stiff wind blew the flames over the boat, causing a massive inferno. Nearly 1,800 passengers died, about 300 more than the Titanic.
Even though this happened in our country, and occurred just a century and a half ago, this is likely the first time you’ve ever read about it. I could keep going with those critical, influential, defining moments of world history — but you get the point. We think that right now we are living in one of those events and no one will ever forget this time. Really?
Now consider tomorrow: Nearly 2,000 years ago a teacher, Rabbi, was put to death by crucifixion by Romans in a backwater town of the empire. You remember this. You may not even believe that this man was who he was or would claim to be, but you know His story. You probably know the details. Have you ever paused to ask how that is even possible?
Sure, it’s true that people all over the world have been celebrating Resurrection Sunday or Easter for nearly 2,000 years. That is the short answer as to why we know about it. But why have billions been celebrating this day? Why is this so memorable when the collapse of kingdoms, the deaths of untold millions, the colossal shifts of world power have all become footnotes in such relatively short periods of time?
There are, of course, a number of answers that could be given to these questions. Certainly the fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament such as Isaiah 53, Zechariah 11, Psalm 22 and hundreds of others. The spread of Christianity centers around one event: the tomb was empty. Easter canceled? Hardly, because as much as Satan would love to “cancel” this day, the tomb is still empty, and the Lord is still on the throne.
The resurrection of Christ, appearing to thousands, and the witness of the change brought about by the Holy Spirit in our lives has changed the world forever. It forces everyone to ask some basic questions: Where did we come from? Why am I here? Where are we going when we die?
The Bible contains many hundreds of prophecies about the time when Jesus returns as King and provides us with a worldview that puts everything into perspective. Tomorrow is Resurrection Day despite the circumstances and Jesus is still Lord.
The Bible is made up of 66 books written by about 40 authors over millennia and yet it is a unified message that addresses many issues of life and death, of the present and the future. The bigger message goes far beyond the man-centered focus of salvation to embrace the purpose of all time and space.
John Stonestreet, on Breakpoint Daily, made a good point about the need for the church to be back. John said, “Jesus, who is God in flesh, saved us into a larger corporate body which He will make fully into His Bride. We can no more permanently carry on our Christian relationships with God and church over an internet connection, then spouses could carry on a marriage that way. This is the difference between “doing church” and being the Church. While we are unable to meet for worship, the hunger for something more is a sign of spiritual life. We should encourage that hunger, and certainly look forward to coming together, again.
To do so, especially in the midst of the current threats of death and disease, is to ultimately be a sign to the world of that day when Christ will fully bridge all distance between Himself and His Bride, when He heals all sickness, finally restores all things, and makes His dwelling with His people.” His church will survive as it has done through the centuries.
“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.” — Acts 4:33
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Bob Shillingstad’s columns appear Saturdays in The Press. Email Bob: bjshill@mac.com
