Starship Docking

copyright 2000
by
Malcolm B. Mathieson, Jr.
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Most people regard the Bible as an ancient book of tribal or primitive legends,
having little importance for anyone except anthropologists. Would you believe
me if I told you that the Bible contains predictions of now-near future events
which could have been taken right out of the movie Independence Day? I
discovered in the book of Revelation the prediction of an extra-terrestrial starship
due to land on Earth in a few more years. (No, I have never been to Roswell, or
been abducted by aliens, or seen a flying saucer.)

One day in late 1999 I was thinking about the common Christian belief that “the
Church” (all believers in Jesus) is “the bride of Christ”. As a man, being labeled a
bride has always angered me and disgusted me, to put it mildly. I began my Bible
reading on this particular day only to find that the New Testament passage was
Revelation chapter 19. Verse 7 of chapter 19 is the verse upon which most
Christians base the idea that the Church is the bride of Christ: “Let us be glad
and rejoice, and give honor to Him (God), for the marriage of the Lamb (Jesus) is
come, and His wife has made herself ready.” My immediate reaction was anger
(as usual regarding this topic), quickly followed by the urge to read it carefully this
time to see if I had missed something.

Remember the setting of this verse: Revelation is a prophetic vision of the last
years of human history before the return of Jesus the Messiah. This verse
describes part of the very end of the seven-year “Great Tribulation” period, which
is filled with lethal man-made and natural events, and occurs just before the
predicted return of Jesus to Earth. Jesus is about to return to Jerusalem to set up
His thousand-year kingdom. Many nations will have sent military forces to
Jerusalem by this time, and these forces will attack Jesus when He arrives.

When Jesus returns to Earth, the “Beast” (the AntiChrist) and the “False Prophet”
(the Beast’s religious leader/assistant) will be thrown into the “Lake of Fire”, and
Satan will be imprisoned for the entire thousand years in a place called “the
Abyss”. This is the end of Satan’s power over the earth. This moment is therefore
one of wild, tumultuous joy in Heaven, which is described in verses 1 through 9.

Verses 1 through 9 are an interruption, a celebration of the release of the earth

and all its inhabitants from the power of Satan and the demons, and - AND.....a
joyous ANTICIPATION of another event that will not occur for another thousand
years: the marriage of the Lamb! (“The Lamb” is the title given to Jesus in this
part of the Bible.)

Immediately after verse 9 we go back to the narrative of the thousand-year

kingdom of Jesus, which comes before the marriage of the Lamb. It is not until
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chapter 21, verses 9 and 10, that we return abruptly to the marriage of the Lamb.
And that is where we find the truth about the REAL bride of Christ:
“One of the angels who had the seven bowls full of the last plagues came
and said to me, ‘COME, I WILL SHOW YOU THE BRIDE, THE LAMB’S WIFE.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and
SHOWED ME THE GREAT CITY, THE HOLY JERUSALEM, DESCENDING
OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD.” There follows a detailed description of this
“city” which lasts for another 22 verses. There is no indication anywhere that any
person or group of people is “the bride”. There is only the obvious, plain
statement that the “bride” of the Lamb is the city which comes down out of the
sky!

Because the Bible separates the anticipation and the event by more than a
chapter, Christians have lost their train of thought on this subject and have
MADE AN ASSUMPTION! They have assumed that, since the last Christians of
history have just reached Heaven at the time of the event (marriage of the
Lamb), Christians must BE the event! It is also logical to ASSUME that a
marriage involves two people. But the book of Revelation is a book full of
symbolism and UNIQUE EVENTS which have never happened before in all of
history. Nothing can be taken for granted here unless it is obvious and certain.
The plain statement is that the bride of Christ is “the holy Jerusalem” which
comes down from the sky.

Does this begin to make sense? Do you see in your mind’s eye scenes from the
movie “Independence Day”? THIS “CITY FROM THE SKY” IS A STARSHIP!
And IT HAS A NAME, just like “the Starship Enterprise” or “the U.S.S. HALSEY”
OR ANY HUMAN VEHICLE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO SOMEONE!

Go to the nearest marina. How many boats do you see without a name? In World
War Two, pilots named their aircraft. American frontiersmen used to name a
particularly accurate rifle. This phenomenon arises from people’s lives being
intimately bound up with these objects, in some cases even dependent on them.
Why should we be surprised that Jesus has named His Starship when the Bible
says that humans are “made in the image of God”? Should we not expect that,
being “made in His image”, we would exhibit what might be called “genetic
similarities”, including behavior patterns?

There are other places in the Bible that use the marriage metaphor concerning
people, but it is obvious from the context that it is only a figure of speech. For
instance, in Hosea 2:19, God says that He will “betroth” Israel to Himself forever,
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but in chapter 11, verses 1 and 10, He also calls Israel “My son”, and in chapter
1, verse 10, He says they shall be called “the sons of the Living God”.

In Isaiah chapter 54, verse 5, all ENGLISH translations I know of say, “Your
Creator is your husband”, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE HEBREW TEXT
SAYS! In Hebrew, the word translated “husband” is “baal”. This was a generic
name for the pagan idols of the region. The Israelites were heavily involved with
those religions at the time this was written. God was saying, ”I am your God, not
these pieces of wood and stone!” In chapter 62, verse 5, God says “thy SONS
shall marry thee” and He also compares Himself to a bridegroom. In the famous
23rd Psalm, David says that the Lord is his shepherd, but I wouldn’t advise you
to call David a sheep to his face. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus said, “I am sending
you out like sheep among wolves, so be as wise as serpents, but as gentle as
doves.” Ignoring for the moment the fact that serpents aren’t wise and doves
aren’t gentle, this is certainly the ultimate example of a mixed metaphor. No
Christian believes that he is expected to grow wool or feathers or be as ignorant
as a snake. We understand these things to be figures of speech, and the context
of these instructions tells us that they are only figures of speech. Sometimes
we’re not so sure, and then it’s time for caution and serious Bible study.

Remember that Jesus Himself said that in the next world, those who are
resurrected “do not marry, nor are they given in marriage...they are the
children of God.” (Luke 20:34-36) Remember also there are very few verses
which compare any nation or group of people to a bride or wife. There are,
however, many verses that STATE that Israelites and Christians are or will be
sons, daughters, or children of God. For example: 1st John 3:1, John 1:12,
Romans 8:14-17, 2nd Corinthians 6:18, Galatians 3:26 and 4:5-7, Philippians
2:15, and Hebrews 2:11.

I have no idea why the landing of the Starship “Holy Jerusalem” on Earth is
described as a marriage. My best guess is that it indicates that some kind of
cybernetic interface will be established between the Lord and the Starship, such
as science fiction authors have been writing about for years. I have no idea why
this would be necessary or why it hasn’t already taken place. I would like to
emphasize that this only a guess. But I’m no longer guessing about the identity of
the Lamb’s bride.

This leads me to an interesting speculation. The Bible teaches in many places

that a Christian’s salvation is free, a gift from his or her loving Heavenly Father.
However, the Bible teaches that Christians earn their rewards. I wonder if we are
earning our own starships!

And this leads me to another speculation. In the book of Genesis, at the

beginning of Earth’s history, God put Adam and Eve into the Garden of Eden and
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instructed them to be governors over Earth. In the next life, will believers in Jesus
be given starships and told to proceed to certain planets and be governors over
them? Why not? The Bible does say that believers will judge angels. (1st
Corinthians 6:3)

I have recently been planning my next vehicle purchase - I’m trying to decide
which truck has enough power for me. I want something that is UNSTOPPABLE
by anything less than two feet of snow or water, something that will laugh at
loads of less than two tons. I have been comparing Ford F250s, Ford
commercial trucks, Dodge Rams, the new Toyota Tundra, Triton V8s, diesels
with 500 foot/pounds of torque.... I’m starting to hyperventilate just thinking about
it.

What if there is a STARSHIP waiting for me? YEEEHAA! I CAN’T WAIT!

This leads to a highly motivating thought: if I am earning my starship, will I be

flying a Warp-9 cyberbeast out of “Star Trek: the Next Generation”, or a rusted-
out spacejunk relic that Han Solo would sneer at? Hmmm.....maybe I’d better
take being a Christian more seriously.

I can’t decide what to name mine. I’m torn between Louie Louie and Thunder
Lizard.....