Eclipse is Greek for Abandonment!

You may (or may not) be excited to see the April 8, 2024 Eclipse. You may be concerned about omens and wonder if it’s supposed to mean something, or you may not really care, but how many of us will feel a sense of Abandonment? That’s actually what the word means in Greek. Hmmmm….

The sun has fascinated mankind since the beginning of time. Most of us abhor darkness. Bad things tend to happen in the dark. Some may not think about it much because we can throw on a light switch every time we walk into a room. But just wait until the power goes out!

Many of us love sunrises and sunsets. I have many pictures to prove it. We were recently by the ocean facing West and it seemed that everyone in the pool and beach area were snapping pictures of the beautiful sunset. 

It’s also interesting how fascinated we are with the moon. There are full moons, half moons, harvest moons, blue moons, and blood moons. When I’m outside and the moon is up, it is rare that I don’t look at it. 

Perspective Is Everything

Our individual personal Perspective defines everything we think, say, and do. If you ever wonder why someone would choose to do something you would never consider doing – it is because their Perspective is different than yours. It is really that simple. 

 A. W. Tozer wrote:

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

Every one of us – whether a Born Again Christ Follower or not, have a Perspective of God. Most of us were exposed to God through Religion. Some of what shaped our Perspective is other people and what they had to say about God – or how they behaved.

Hopefully most of our Perspective of God is shaped by His Word. Unfortunately, we don’t know what we don’t know – and many of us have some pretty skewed Perspectives about God. 

I’ve always been curious about Genesis 1 and the fact that God created light (verse 3 – and said it was good) before He created the Sun and the moon (verse 16). It is also interesting that in Revelation 21:23 it says there will be no need for the sun or the moon… “for the glory of God has illuminated it, and it’s lamp is the Lamb.”

I was recently blessed to read a book that has significantly impacted my Perspective of God, His love, and the sun, and the moon, and prayer, and other things, so I thought it would be worth sharing with you. So far, I put it as side by side with Andrew Murray’s 125 year old classic “Humility” at the top of my list of books behind the Bible.

Thirty five years ago the author, John Burke was not a believer and his father was dying of cancer. A friend gave his dad a book about a person who had a near death experience and claimed to have seen heaven. His dad gave John the book so he read it. He decided it was either real and therefore Jesus was real, or he could prove it was a hoax, or caused by lack of oxygen, or a medical condition, thereby proving he was right – that God does not exist. 

John was trained as an engineer and the evidence of his research was overwhelming enough that he actually became a pastor and has researched these events (NDE’s) for the past 35 years – over 1,000 of them. His introduction to the book is very explanatory of the research he has done. I first heard of John when I read another book of his – Soul Revolution which is an excellent biblically sound book. It gave me confidence that he would not publish the book if there was anything contrary to scripture. Nonetheless, I prayed for discernment as I read it, as you should too. He also wrote Imagine Heaven in 2015 which was a best seller. 

His latest book is called Imagine the God of Heaven. Through the book he recounts the stories of 70 people who claim to have gone to heaven – and spent time with God the Father. I have read the book twice and skimmed it a few times. I have given out dozens of copies and the positive comments keep coming. Needless to say, the book rocked me and I have not found anything that conflicts with scripture. 

There are many things to learn from the book – the impact and importance of prayer, the depth of peace and love, the perfect knowledge everyone has in heaven as well as how amazing heaven is.

But the two biggest take aways from every person written about in the book are God’s love – which is way more profound than any perspective we currently hold, and God’s light – which they describe as a million times brighter than the sun, but they were able to look at it. 

It’s is also interesting that every one of them who met the Father had to meet Jesus first – and it didn’t matter their background – atheist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian – they all knew who Jesus was and who the Father was – with no introduction. (By the way, they were not admitted into heaven. They were given a glimpse of it and typically encouraged to change their ways before being sent back. Some even saw hell.) The vast majority made radical changes to their lives – which should also be evidence that these events are real – just like the evidence that the Apostles radical life changes meant they weren’t lying either.

After reading the book and understanding how Jesus gave off a distinct light – but not nearly as bright as the Father, I began to see both the sun and the moon in a new way. The moon reflects the sun just like Jesus reflects the light of the Father! Perhaps that is why we are so fascinated with both the sun and the moon! Yet, like the rest of this planet, all is a mere glimpse of what heaven has to offer.

Interestingly, I was led to look into the origin of the word Eclipse and found out it is Greek for Abandonment. What a fitting word for the feeling if something were to block our being able to stand in the light – and love – of our Father! It’s just adds one more element to the pain Jesus must have felt when He was cut off from that Light – “and darkness fell upon all the land”.

Please do yourself a favor and buy the book Imagine the God of Heaven by John Burke. It is an excellent book for non believers and believers. It will enhance your Perspective of our Heavenly Father – and according to one man – that’s the most important thing about you. I agree.

God Bless!