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I was reading the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah, and after
reading chapter four, I had a fantasy of author Rick Warren (The
Purpose Driven Church) consulting with the prophet Zechariah. It
went something like this:
"So, Zack," Rick Warren began. "Did you share with Jehovah our
talk about the temple?"
"Well . . . , yes.
"You seem hesitant, Zack. Did you tell Him why I think you're
getting opposition about rebuilding the temple?"
"Yes, I did, but . . ."
Rick, interrupting, said: "You've got to get it through your
head that when people look at the foundation you've laid, they're
going to compare it to Solomon's Temple. Now that was a temple!
You may not like to hear it, but times have changed. Bigger is
better."
Zechariah replied: "I told Jehovah all that you said, but from
the tone of His voice, He didn't seem to like it."
"What did He say?"
"He said, 'Who despises the day of small things?'"
"What did you say?"
"I told Him, 'Rick Warren.'"
Rick frowned. "Now, you didn't have to go and tell Him that!
Look, Zack. It's more than just bigness. I'm talking about putting
together something that's user friendly, that makes people feel
good. For example, you're talking about reinstituting blood
sacrifice. People don't like to hear about that any more. You can
talk about sacrifice, but not blood sacrifice--and needing it to
cover their sins?"
Zechariah sighed and looked away. Rick leaned forward and
pressed his point. "You need to understand how to deal with
controversial things. You're going to run into people with
different ideas. You need to understand the principle of
dialectics. You advance a thesis, the opposition advances an
antithesis, and you come up with a synthesis--a compromise. Zack,
this is the future, and you need to have a vision of the future!"
Zechariah's face was now very somber. He looked sad. After a
few moments of quietness he looked at Rick and said, "Mr. Warren, I
know something about visions. I saw a vision of a golden oil
lampstand with seven lamps on it. An olive tree was standing at
each side of it feeding oil to the lights through seven channels--an
endless flow of oil. The seven lamps were the eyes of Jehovah
looking back and forth over all the earth."
The prophet paused. Tears filled his eyes; he had difficulty
speaking. Finally, he said: "Then I understood what the vision
meant when Jehovah said, 'This is the word of Jehovah unto
Zerubabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith Jehovah of hosts.'"
Rick looked puzzled. He asked: "Zechariah, what is the meaning
of that vision?"
The prophet smiled and said: "Mr. Warren, it means that we
don't need a purpose driven temple. We need a Spirit led temple.
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