Chapter 1

CHILDHOOD THOUGHTS

“Look! What is it?” my younger sister, Carolyn, asked me, pointing toward the northern horizon.

I was about seven years old at the time. Looking up in the direction Carolyn pointed caused a fear to instantly come over me. It seemed as if the whole world on the north side of our farm was on fire! I had seen some pretty big fires—especially when my dad would burn off a field of sage grass at the end of winter—but nothing like this!

“I don’t know,” I said to my sister in a voice lacking courage. “Let’s go tell Dad and Mom.”

The location was our family farm in southern Missouri near the Arkansas line. My sister and I had been playing out in the backyard near the chicken house. We had become so preoccupied with our games that we hadn’t looked up into the sky as the evening shades turned into night. The scene was an awesome display of weird scarlet and crimson light across the northern sky.

We ran as fast as we could back to the house and around to the front door. I scrambled through the door and saw Dad sitting in the room. “Dad,” I said as I pointed north, “there’s a big fire back there.” He instantly became concerned, probably thinking a fire had gotten out on his place or our neighbors’ place to the north. He quickly arose from his chair and followed me outside with Mom and the rest of the kids following.

I felt assured once Dad had investigated the situation that he would somehow put things into a more manageable perspective, which should lower my fear level. This was the way it usually happened. But this wasn’t the way it happened this time.

“What on earth is that?” Dad exclaimed, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice.

My fear level instantly doubled! There we all were, the whole family, standing huddled in the backyard, waiting for what seemed certain calamity to overtake us.

It was always Mom who would bring the Bible into a discussion. Dad seldom invoked the scriptures (except in principle). But he rarely argued with Mom’s interpretation of the details. The kids could sometimes see by the look he gave Mom he wasn’t sure her scriptures were all rightly divided. But her kids never ever doubted her interpretation of the Bible. She was Moses the lawgiver as far as we were concerned.

That night as Mom stood there with the light from the north shining on her face, and with a very reverent and somber facial expression, tears began to well up in her eyes. Now when Mom cried, her kids always felt they were witnessing their condition being transitioned from normal to catastrophic. I had no idea what we were witnessing in the northern sky, but I knew it was something bigger and greater than a field on fire.

Dad hadn’t said another word. He just stood there looking at the awesome sight in amazement. Mom was now gently wringing her hands and weeping softly. After what seemed like an eternity Mom finally spoke and announced her scriptural verdict of the mystery we were witnessing. Turning her head toward my dad, she said in a hushed voice, “I think this is the end of the world! The Bible says that before the end comes, the moon will be turned into blood.”

I and my family went to bed with great fear and anxiety that night. But the sun came up as usual the next morning, which made the entire family much happier. We later heard on the radio that the “northern lights” sometimes naturally happened. What a relief to a fragile young mind! So as long as the moon kept coming out at night in its normal way, I felt satisfied the world would go on a little while longer!

THE POWER OF TRADITION

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col. 2:8)

The fearful event of my childhood that I just described now seems a bit amusing. But it points out a very important fact that sometimes gets lost in our busy day-to-day life. When we exist in a low-information environment, we are operating at a disadvantage. And because of this, especially when danger approaches, the situation can only be dealt with to the extent that our knowledge and experience allows. In other words, we cannot deal with a problem or situation any better than we have the knowledge to do so.

During my childhood, and as my story about the northern lights indicate, I was both intrigued by and fearful of thoughts of Judgment Day. I’m sure most kids feel the same way. This is especially true with kids brought up in religious homes. The first reason is that they are subjected to more biblical information. Another major factor is the trust they have in the religion of their parents. Because of these things, they naturally would have a greater interest in God’s judgment. For the most part, and for most people, religious teachings are received primarily as a result of ancestral or religious traditions handed down from generation to generation. These traditions often quench a desire for a more informed truth and can lead to a mistaken way of thinking. Ultimately they will lead to mistaken words and actions.

To be sure, accepting without question the information you are given is the easiest way to obtain information. But it’s definitely not the smartest way. Information can come from unbelievable sources. Some tales and conspiratorial notions are relatively easy to dismiss because of their absurdity. However, information becomes more difficult to dismiss when it comes through a smoothly polished religious system. And when this happens, it sometimes becomes especially difficult to detect the errors. Mainly, once again, this is because the information comes from a trusted source. But no matter the source, secondhand information is a bad way of being informed. If we’re smart, we’ll check it out carefully before we pass it on.

In a letter to Timothy, Paul indicates that looking to “myths and old wives’ tales” can get in the way of seeking the truth of God’s will.

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. (1 Tim. 4:7) (NIV)

Myths and tales take us out of spiritual training for truth. They put our minds into a carnal cesspool of superstition and misinformation. Almost any information will seem plausible when there’s no way to test its validity. The scriptures warn against accepting unproven ideas. Many times, because of our preconceptions, the truth of a matter may seem unreasonable when first presented. A friend once told me that truth is usually received only after a three-stage process. First, it is ridiculed. Next, it is violently opposed. And then, finally, it is accepted as self-evident. Self-evident was the position the writers of the Declaration of Independence took as they drafted the document that became one of our most treasured national literary works. They wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Today, we would hope most Americans do hold these truths regarding being created equal as self-evident, although these truths have been ridiculed and violently opposed over and over throughout the nation’s history and remain so today among many people.

There have always been false prophecies from men whose standards of truth are far removed from the God-breathed language of the Spirit. Paul’s advice to the early Christian church was basically to listen, then test, and then hold on to what passes the spiritual test of God’s inspired Word.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good. (1 Thess. 5:19–21)

Most inherited traditions evolve from the wholesale acceptance of unreliable information. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the primary definition of tradition is “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious practice or a social custom).”

Traditional influence is a very powerful force. Jesus likened the bad influences of tradition to the leaven that would be put in bread dough made of unleavened flour or meal. He taught it takes only a very small amount of leaven to change or leaven the complete lump of dough. He then likened this leavened dough to the religious influences of the Jews, who bound their traditions on the people as sacred law. He once told His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and also the Jewish king, Herod. Most of the time, religious tradition and political affiliation come from the same wellspring of the mind.

Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (Mark 8:15)

The Jewish religious and political leaders in Jesus’ day, by virtue of their lofty positions, had a great ability to influence the minds of God’s people. The same is true regarding the people of God in our day. Beware! Beware of the hypocritical influences of spiritual leaders who prophecy falsely and bind unnecessary burdens on the people. The Lord said these influences lead to traditions of men that make the Word of God ineffective. Listen to Jesus speak about this as He talks to the Jewish religious...