Maranatha! (An Aramaic phrase combo meal [loaded with the good calories for energy though- so it's all cool] which translated can be interpreted as, "The Lord has come!" Of course, this is true- this is what we celebrate at Christmas and Easter. At the Ascension, we celebrate His promise to return. At this celebration, the more recent interpretation would be appropriate, "Come, Lord!"
Just as the last verses of The Bible say- "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21) (This of course, being a seemingly Greek equivalent.)
However, though in one sense, from God's view, The Lord has come and come again and everything is finished [since He exists outside of time and can see everything all at once- Yeah, He's way cool like that. I try not to think on that concept too long because then my finite little 3 1/2 pounds of brain explode! But I definitely like to think on the concept that The Lord God is awesome and worthy to be praised- and that's just one of the infinitely many cool reasons!].
But from our limited, time-bound human perspective, though The Lord has come, we haven't seen The Lord come again yet. But He will come in His time- and thus, while we wait and watch expectantly, we must also work wholeheartedly for our wonderful Lord and worry not about such things [or anything] because this is what He commands. (As Jesus summarized- Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. [Matthew 22:34-40] And if you want an even simpler version, Jesus also gave us the Golden Rule- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. Note that Jesus says that this is The Law and The Prophets! And as Ephesians 4:15 notes, speak the Truth in Love. :-))
So, all that was to say- First comes the marathon, then the maranatha. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) But yes- Amen! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
And since Wikipedia just informed me that that phrase only appears once in The New Testament (in Aramaic), and it's in 1 Corinthians 16:22, my last statement is even truer than I realized- lol. [Note: While I would not recommend Wikipedia as a source for research papers for school and such, I do recommend the reference links it provides- there are usually some quite interesting ones and I suggest checking the one listed there for further reading.]
(Also, see this nice article from Compass Bible Church that explains it in more detail.)
Just as the last verses of The Bible say- "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21) (This of course, being a seemingly Greek equivalent.)
However, though in one sense, from God's view, The Lord has come and come again and everything is finished [since He exists outside of time and can see everything all at once- Yeah, He's way cool like that. I try not to think on that concept too long because then my finite little 3 1/2 pounds of brain explode! But I definitely like to think on the concept that The Lord God is awesome and worthy to be praised- and that's just one of the infinitely many cool reasons!].
But from our limited, time-bound human perspective, though The Lord has come, we haven't seen The Lord come again yet. But He will come in His time- and thus, while we wait and watch expectantly, we must also work wholeheartedly for our wonderful Lord and worry not about such things [or anything] because this is what He commands. (As Jesus summarized- Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. [Matthew 22:34-40] And if you want an even simpler version, Jesus also gave us the Golden Rule- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. Note that Jesus says that this is The Law and The Prophets! And as Ephesians 4:15 notes, speak the Truth in Love. :-))
So, all that was to say- First comes the marathon, then the maranatha. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) But yes- Amen! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
And since Wikipedia just informed me that that phrase only appears once in The New Testament (in Aramaic), and it's in 1 Corinthians 16:22, my last statement is even truer than I realized- lol. [Note: While I would not recommend Wikipedia as a source for research papers for school and such, I do recommend the reference links it provides- there are usually some quite interesting ones and I suggest checking the one listed there for further reading.]
(Also, see this nice article from Compass Bible Church that explains it in more detail.)
Maranathan: meaning "Come now, Nathan!" :) Amen to the post!
ReplyDeleteHaha- nice! Thanks, Kevin. If I wanted to call you home, I would use the title of your first album. ;-) ("Come Home Kevin Ludwick" :-))
ReplyDeletehttp://kevinludwick.bandcamp.com/album/come-home