This post will look at my two acrylic paintings with a handful of vegetation making a layered photograph but first I want to travel with a layered prophecy.
I tried to understand more before this layered prophecy and this is how it went. God sends messages of warning and people don’t listen. Here is an example from prophet Hosea about 753 BC. Hosea’s prophecy is about the destruction of a Northern Kingdom but Hosea uses these words to help the people avoid judgement.
Hosea: ‘ Return to the LORD your God and say to Him ‘
” Take away all sin and receive us graciously.”
Jeremiah, another prophet shocks a population with God’s words:
‘Look/ Behold my anger and my fury will be poured out on this place, on people, on animals, on trees and fields and it will burn and not be put out.’
Why? Because…
God speaking: ‘ Obey my voice , and I will be your God, and you will be my people: and walk in all the ways I have commanded you so that you will do well. But you do not listen!’
And then what happened?
In 587 BC the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the king of Babylon. Jeremiah uniquely predicted that the land would become desolate and a waste for 70 years but that the people would return and build again.
Jesus then looked at the rebuilt city and beautiful Temple and gave a layered prophecy. It is in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21.
Why layered?
Here are two questions the disciples asked Jesus. ( Mark 13:4)
‘ When will the Jerusalem Temple be physically destroyed?’
And
‘ What will the sign of His coming and the end of the age be?’
Jesus gives specific details about the siege of Jerusalem that took place in 70AD.
‘ The day will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on all sides… and they will not leave one stone upon another because you didn’t know when they were coming.’ Luke 19:43
In 70AD at the hands of the Romans a massive five mile wooden wall was built around Jerusalem which cut off food and any way of escape. Titus destroyed the Temple and today we only see the retaining wall not a Temple wall.
The second question the disciples asked is also partly answered in these chapters. Jesus uses this expression ‘ abomination of desolation ‘. What is that?
It is a supreme act of religious desecration that renders a holy space spiritually ruined, bringing about catastrophic judgment.
Here it is used like this:
Jesus speaking: ‘ But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not to be, ( let them that read understand ) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains… ‘don’t go back for anything!
Daniel originally used this expression when in Babylon as a captive and it has a layered meaning that combines an historical event, a first- century prophecy and an end time warning.
Here is the example of the first – century prophecy that Jesus made about the ‘ abomination of desolation.’ The Romans when they took Jerusalem marched with their pagan military banners, bearing the image of the Emperor who they worshipped as a god and then sacrificed to them in the Holy place. This was the abomination at that time.
Then the future End time interpretation of abomination of desolation for many Christians is tied to the arrival of the Anti- Christ. This fits with Paul’s warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:4
‘ Let no person deceive you in any way for that day will come.’
And then Paul describes a person who
‘ opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.’
Now back to these verses in Mark. The people of Jerusalem in this prophecy were told to leave and the Christians all did leave because they remembered. They crossed the Jordan River and went to the mountain town of Pella but what about our times. Jesus gives clear urgent evacuation instructions. Urgency over belongings!
We have been told. Jesus’ directions are to go to rugged countryside/ mountains. We have studied God will prompt us as He did those in Jerusalem. We are calm in His presence
Now for time spent making layers with a few autumnal fox glove leaves and Rudbeckia, and my own acrylic paintings.
Yes, they are both photographs. The leaves and flowers won’t fall off.
Here are some sayings and metaphors with layers.
‘ Life is like an onion. You peal it back one layer at a time, and sometimes you cry ‘
A grown up is a child with layers.
Peal back the layers! Discover the true meaning behind a complex situation, person or problem.
Take care,
Sandy 🙂