CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
October 24, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
RAISE UP IN PRAYER:
God’s will for our congregation Various relatives, friends, and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders Peace
JERUSALEM AND POMPEII
“’Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not on stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down’” (Matthew 24:2).
Whenever there is some disaster, natural or otherwise, we desire to know God’s part in it. Since we have no prophets, it is difficult to directly connect God to a particular event. That doesn’t stop some from trying. We heard it when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans or when the tsunami hit the Indian Ocean. Earthquakes, tornados, and other natural disasters all raise the same questions. We know that God uses natural events to judge nations but is every event a picture of judgment? Or are they a part of the natural cycle of nature? There really is no clear answer. One thing we need to be careful with is speaking for God.
This hasn’t stopped people from trying to connect events to God’s activity. In A.D. 70, the Roman Armies under Titus conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, setting it on fire. According to scholars and archaeologists, this occurred at the end of August. What is interesting is that the Jewish people sit on the floor in their synagogues and mourn the destruction of the Temple at this time; not just the second Temple in A.D. 70 but also the destruction of the first Temple in 586 B.C. While the date is uncertain, late August was chosen to mourn these events.
In an interesting article, Hershel Shanks looks at the destruction of Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. (1). This eruption destroyed not only Pompeii but several other cities including Herculaneum and Stabia. Pliny the Elder died in a ship as he attempted to rescue people from the destruction and whose death was witnessed by his nephew, Pliny the Younger. Archaeologists have dug through the ruins to find some amazingly preserved items including people running, paintings on walls, and the arrangement of buildings. The eruption occurred at the end of August. and Shanks wondered if anyone made any connection between the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome and that of Pompeii in Italy.
He found a scholar who told him about the Sibylline Oracles. Book 4 of the oracles is thought to be mostly Jewish oracles by a sibyl which means a woman who uttered ecstatic prophecies. They were composed shortly after the events of A.D. 79. Let’s keep in mind that prophecy has two aspects. One is that of foretelling the future which is not all that frequent despite what we hear today. The second and majority of prophecy is that of teaching, warning, and ethical instructions. The prophecy found in Book 4 of the Sibylline Oracles is connecting the destruction of Jerusalem with the destruction of Pompeii, and that God was behind it.
The question is whether the destruction of Pompeii was a judgment on Rome by God for the destruction of Jerusalem or just a natural occurrence. We know from Matthew 24 that God would judge Jerusalem because of its unfaithfulness to God, and no doubt, because of the crucifixion of Jesus. God used Babylon to judge Israel for its idolatry and unfaithfulness. Babylon was used to destroy Assyria and in turn Babylon was destroyed by the Persians, who in turned were destroyed by Greece followed by Rome. The prophets such as Daniel foretold these events.
The book of Revelation pictures what many consider the destruction of Rome because of the persecution of Christians. Could the early Christians connect the eruption and destruction of Pompeii as God’s judgment? Yes. Could Rome hear about this interpretation and begin a more systemic persecution of Christians because they would see this as an attack on Rome? Yes. Could it be seen as a judgment of God? Yes. But do we have any evidence that this was the case? No.
Like today, destructive events occur. From one perspective, these are natural disasters that occur from time to time. There are seasons for tornados and hurricanes. Volcanoes erupt and cause problems. Just consider the recent one in Iceland that hindered airline traffic for weeks, the one in the Philippians that covered our Air and Naval Base for some time, and Mt. St. Helens in Washington in the 1980s. Floods like that in Nashville or Arkansas happen, unusual as they may be at the time. We cannot determine what, if anything, God has to do with any of this.
From another perspective, those of us who seek Biblical guidance, understand that God can use such events for a number of reasons such as judgment, or to cause repentance. While we do not know if this is the case in Pompeii or today, as Christians we can look at it. Let’s go back to the definition of prophecy that sees it as teaching, warning, and ethical instructions. It is here that we might be able to draw some lessons for people to consider. Tragic events can draw us closer to God but they can also cause people to leave God as well. Many will struggle through such events asking God why this happened and what can one learn from it. It is here that we can stand alongside them and support them in their lament.
We also must be careful in how we express our views. The non-believing world does not have the Biblical basis with which we work. The press has had a field day mocking believers who expressed something as the judgment of God. They do not understand our perspective which means that others do not either. Rather than pronouncing something as an “act of God” (2), we need to use the time as an opportunity to teach and comfort people.
Shanks doesn’t answer his question. He does discuss the idea that there was a Jewish community at Pompeii and spends most of the article on that. It remains an interesting discussion question though no firm answers can be given.
George B. Mearns
(1) Hershel Shanks, The Destruction of Pompeii -- God’s Revenge?, copied on 6/23/2010 at www.bib-arch.org
(2) An “act of God” is often used, especially in insurance terms, but one can find it interesting that a secular society sees, or blames, God for destructive events, even though they do not recognize God.