Lookahead:  Can you imagine the average Christian experience in Jerusalem when the first 3,000 were converted on Pentecost—and then as the church grew?  Miracle after miracle happening before their eyes…seeing formerly infirmed people, whom they knew personally, walking around 100% whole…hearing testimony after testimony from healed/delivered people…listening to Jesus’ disciples discuss account after account of His Glory!!  Probably every Christian in 35 A.D. had access to a firsthand witness of Jesus—with corroboration—if they had not witnessed Him themselves.  They were all operating on multiple eye-witness accounts. 

Last week, we theorized what Paul’s daily Quiet Time would have looked like in, say, 35ish A.D.?  For that matter, what was your average Christian’s Daily Quiet Time like? 

I was watching the Risen movie last night, which is always such a blessing.  It’s the story of a Roman tribune who’s pursuing the apostles after the crucifixion—and he breaches the Upper Room to encounter the Doubting Thomas incident.  (BTW, the tribune previously saw a dead dead Jesus on the cross.)  This tribune, you could say, instantly becomes a believer when he sees the Risen Christ, and subsequently follows the apostles to Galilee—at first from a distance, but eventually is welcomed into their camp.  In one scene, Bartholomew  explains that Jesus told them that He would arise, but the apostles had doubted Him.  The tribune effectively asks, “So why did you follow Him?”  Suddenly a loathsome leper appears in their line of sight, and Jesus ambles off to feed him some fish…and heal him.  As the tribune stares incredulously, Bartholomew says, with a huge smile, “That’s why!”

Can you imagine the average Christian experience in Jerusalem during the timeframe when the first 3,000 were converted on Pentecost—and then as the church grew?  Miracle after miracle happening before their eyes…seeing formerly infirmed people whom they knew personally walking around 100% whole…hearing testimony after testimony from healed/delivered people…listening to Jesus’ disciples discuss account after account of His Glory!!  Probably every Christian in 35ish A.D. had access to a firsthand witness of Jesus—with corroboration—if they had not witnessed Him themselves.  They were all operating on multiple eye-witness accounts. 

The Risen movie had an interesting take on Jesus’ reaction to Thomas’ doubt.  Rather than the unforgettable, though not necessarily understandable Biblical verse (Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed), Jesus told Thomas, “You have nothing to fear; you are free.”  The screen writer interpreted John 20:29 to mean that people who have no doubt-inducing fear are free—and therefore, blessed.  On the occasions in which I am waiting and wallowing in doubt, for that chronically late breakthrough…I can attest to the fact that I would feel much more blessed if I had a personal appearance from my Savior.  But if I had no doubts during these rough patches, how blessedly free I would be!! 🙂  In 35 A.D., many, many Christians were free. 

Years ago, I read a book by John Bevere which theorized that the setting on the “Glory Meter” was much higher during Christ’s earthwalk and post-ascension…Bevere used the example of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts—the unfortunate couple who (I believe) were instantly turned over for the destruction of the flesh, when they lied to the Holy Spirit, i.e., they fell over and expired before they hit the ground!

Bevere wrote, “There have been many more irreverent acts than that of Ananias and Sapphira in church history, and even in the church today. No one drops dead in services anymore. The whole event seems so impossible today.  The answer is found hidden in the verses immediately following this account…’they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.’ Notice they laid the sick in the streets, not street but streets, just waiting for the shadow of Peter to pass by so the sick could be healed…could it be that God himself had veiled Peter in a cloud of shadow to hide His (God’s) Glory….We know that a very tangible presence of God’s Glory rested on Peter when first Ananias and then Sapphira lied to Peter and fell over dead…The greater God’s revealed glory, the greater and swifter the judgment of irreverence…

“I have listened as leaders connived ways to extract the largest offering possible from God’s people.  I have seen the use of manipulative letters written by consulting firms  containing twisted truths to get finances. Some of these consultants even brag about how they have it down to a science and can accurately project what the response will be.  Peter warned that leadership would arise in the last days who ‘In their greed…will make up clever lies to get hold of your money… and their destruction is on the way.‘ 2 Peter 2:3 If this behavior had taken place in the atmosphere found in the Book of Acts, judgment would have been certain and swift.  However, judgment is delayed today, for the lamp of God has grown dim.  The latter outpouring of God’s Glory is yet to come.” (underline is mine)¹

Regardless of whether there was a Former Glory Outpouring or not happening in ~35 A.D., God was near!  He didn’t need to stir the people up to get them to follow Him.  The people were seeing concrete tangible miracles in addition to hearing firsthand accounts of Jesus.  The Colosseum Martyrs are a prime example.  I don’t care how compelling the evangelist’s sermon is today.  If going forward for prayer means signing up for being publicly mauled to death by wild beasts, the evangelist won’t be bragging about his numbers that night.  The early Christians would not have gone passively to those gruesome deaths unless they were totally sold out for Jesus.  Why? Because God was near!  The Kingdom of Heaven had invaded earth…and they knew that as persecuted Christians, the Kingdom belonged to them. (Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:10)

Side Topic:  Last week, I had skipped to the end while reading an eschatological action/adventure novel.  (I have precious little time to read, so don’t invest a lot of it on Christian fiction—but many of this particular author’s books are about End Time Prophecy fulfillment which I’m a sucker for…)   In his final scene, the hero—wounded in about 50 places in an explosive auto accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife and was instigated by foreign agents…who then kidnapped him and took him to a concentration camp in an enemy nation—escapes from the torture chamber, miraculously prevailing over his arch enemy—unaware of the irony that the U.S. president gave the launch order and nuclear missiles are heading to the very location of the camp. 🙂  But seconds before the hero is nuked…the Rapture happens.  (Talk about ultimate irony!! In less than a minute, I went from yay to oh-no to YAY!!!) 

I bring this up because I believe that this scene really puts things in proper perspective.  We have our heads down in the weeds with an all-consuming worldly existence which is so far/so radically removed from the Glory that awaits us in Heaven—a tiny sliver of which might manifest on earth, for the truly blessed ones.  Not so in 35 AD.  I believe that a lot of people were KO’s just like Paul—and were constantly aware that earthly struggles were highly transitory…and totally trivial and irrelevant when viewed in the Light of God’s Greater Glory. 

Back on original topic, what was a Christian’s quiet time like in those days?  The people were probably so in love with God, yet in perpetually deep awe of Him, that they couldn’t help but praise Him and worship Him 24/7.  They saw prayers and petitions getting answered everywhere they looked, so…you name it, they probably prayed for it, 24/7.  Not only did they love God, but they loved people and were 24/7 witnesses.  My guess is, they didn’t really need a quiet time.  There was nothing wrong with their divine comm links.  God was an absolutely essential, huge part of their lives. 

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¹John P. Bevere, The Fear of the Lord (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group, 2006), pp 99-108