swept

May 13, 2019

The flood destroyed them all (Lk 17:27-17:27)

“They were

Eating

And drinking.

They were marrying

And being given

In marriage,

Until the day

Noah entered the ark.

The flood came.

It destroyed all of them.”

 

ἤσθιον, ἔπινον, ἐγάμουν, ἐγαμίζοντο, ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν, καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἀπώλεσεν πάντας.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that at the time of Noah, they were eating (ἤσθιον) and drinking (ἔπινον).  They were marrying (ἐγάμουν) and being given in marriage (ἐγαμίζοντο), until the day Noah entered the ark (ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν).  The flood came (καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς).  It destroyed all of them (καὶ ἀπώλεσεν πάντας).  There was something similar, at times almost word for word, in Matthew, chapter 24:38-39, thus indicating a Q source.  Jesus said, via Matthew, that they were eating (τρώγοντες), drinking (καὶ πίνοντες), marrying (γαμοῦντες), and giving in marriage (καὶ γαμίζοντες) right up until the day when Noah entered the ark (ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν).  They knew nothing (καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν) until the flood came (ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς) and swept them all away (καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας).  There was a slightly different ending, but the comparison with Noah is the same in both Luke and Matthew.  How important is the flood at the time of Noah to your life?

March 25, 2019

Well organized (Lk 11:25-11:25)

“When the unclean spirit

Came back,

He found

His former home

Swept

And put in order.”

 

καὶ ἐλθὸν εὑρίσκει σεσαρωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that when this unclean spirit came back (καὶ ἐλθὸν), he found (εὑρίσκει) that his former home had been swept (σεσαρωμένον) and put in order (σεσαρωμένον).  This saying about the returning unclean spirit can be found also, almost word for word, in Matthew, chapter 12:44, indicating a Q source.  Nothing had been put in its place, because this unclean spirit found it empty or unoccupied (καὶ ἐλθὸν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα), swept clean (καὶ σεσαρωμένον) and in order, newly decorated (καὶ κεκοσμημένον).  Matthew indicated that the house was empty, something that Luke did not mention.  Have you ever returned to an empty house?

July 1, 2018

The days of Noah (Mt 24:37-24:39)

“As in the days of Noah were,

So too,

Will be the coming

Of the Son of Man.

As in those days,

Before the flood,

They were eating.

They were drinking.

They were marrying.

They were giving in marriage,

Until the day

When Noah

Entered the ark.

They knew nothing

Until the flood came.

It swept them all away.

Thus,

Will be the coming

Of the Son of Man.”

 

ὥσπερ γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Νῶε, οὕτως ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

ὡς γὰρ ἦσαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ταῖς πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ τρώγοντες καὶ πίνοντες, γαμοῦντες καὶ γαμίζοντες, ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν

καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἕως ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας, οὕτως ἔσται καὶ ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.

 

There is something similar, almost word for word, in Luke, chapter 17:26-28, but nothing about Noah in Mark.  The days of Noah in Genesis, chapters 6-11, (ὥσπερ γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Νῶε) were considered to be days of sinfulness.  The Parousia or second coming of the Son of Man (οὕτως ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) would be similar to the end of the sinning days with the flood (ὡς γὰρ ἦσαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ταῖς πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ).  They were eating (τρώγοντες), drinking (καὶ πίνοντες), marrying (γαμοῦντες), and giving in marriage (καὶ γαμίζοντες) right up until the day when Noah entered the ark (ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν).  They knew nothing (καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν) until the flood came (ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς) and hit them by sweeping them all away (καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας).  Thus, it will be like that when the Son of Man comes again at the Parousia (οὕτως ἔσται καὶ ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου).  Just as at the flood in the time of Noah put an end to the sinfulness of men and brought about a new creation, so too would the coming Parousia of the Son of Man bring an end to sinfulness and inaugurate a new kind of creation.

April 26, 2018

The return of the evil spirits (Mt 12:44-12:45)

“Then this unclean spirit says.

‘I will return

To my house,

From which I came.’

When he comes,

This spirit finds it empty.

It is swept.

It is put in order.

Then the unclean spirit goes

And brings along

Seven other spirits

More evil than itself.

They enter there.

They live there.

The last state of that person

Is worse than the first.

Thus,

It will it be also

With this evil generation.”

 

τότε λέγει Εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον· καὶ ἐλθὸν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα καὶ σεσαρωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον.

τότε πορεύεται καὶ παραλαμβάνει μεθ’ ἑαυτοῦ ἑπτὰ ἕτερα πνεύματα πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ εἰσελθόντα κατοικεῖ ἐκεῖ· καὶ γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου χείρονα τῶν πρώτων. οὕτως ἔσται καὶ τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ τῇ πονηρᾷ.

 

This saying about the returning unclean spirit can also be found word for word in Luke, chapter 11:25-26, indicating a Q source.  This implies a failed exorcism or a failed healing, so that the evil unclean spirit would return with more evil spirits.  Thus, the final state of that person would be worse than it was in the beginning.  This unclean spirit said to itself that it would return to its house or the place or person that it had come from (τότε λέγει Εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον).  Nothing had been put in its place, because this unclean spirit found it empty or unoccupied (καὶ ἐλθὸν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα), swept clean (καὶ σεσαρωμένον) and in order, newly decorated (καὶ κεκοσμημένον).  Thus, the unclean spirit went and brought 7 more evil spirits (τότε πορεύεται καὶ παραλαμβάνει μεθ’ ἑαυτοῦ ἑπτὰ ἕτερα πνεύματα πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ).  All these evil spirits entered and lived there (καὶ εἰσελθόντα κατοικεῖ ἐκεῖ·).  Finally, the last state of that person would be worse than the original situation (καὶ γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου χείρονα τῶν πρώτων).  Thus, it would be the same for this evil generation (οὕτως ἔσται καὶ τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ τῇ πονηρᾷ).  Jesus had just called this generation evil in chapter 12:19.

December 10, 2017

The actions of the Chaldeans (Hab 1:9-1:11)

“The Chaldeans all come

For violence,

With faces pressing forward.

They gather captives

Like sand.

They scoff

At kings.

They make sport

Of rulers.

They laugh

At every fortress.

They heap up earth

To take it.

Then they sweep by

Like the wind.

They transgress.

They become guilty men.

Their own might

Is their god!”

These Chaldeans were all about violence.  They set out to gather and capture people, as if they were like the sands of the sea.  They would scoff at kings and ridicule rulers.  They laughed at fortresses, as they swept them away like a wind piling up heaps of dirt.  They were guilty transgressors.  Their god was their own strength.  They were mega maniacs, yet Yahweh was going to use them.