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TALE OF THE AGES.
By Jeff Smith.
Beginning
It is night, and the stars are out.
Each one shining brightly.
Ah, but how many points of light can you see?
A thousand? A million?
They have never been counted.
It is day, and here is the sea.
Lapping against the sand.
Take a handful of these golden grains.
They are more numerous than the stars.
They never have been counted.
There was a man, Abram by name.
His Creator asked him,
"Look at the stars, can you count them?
Can you count the sand on the shore?
So shall be your seed."
"Follow and obey me in all you do
And I will make you the father of nations.
Journey to the land I will show you,
That land I give to your descendants
For all time."
So Abram followed God.
In time received a son.
His son received a land
His son's grandsons became a nation.
And God chose them.
His people wandered far,
And for many years hence.
Until they finally rested in the land given to them
And God was their God
But rebellion reared its head.
Prophecy
"Son of Man,
Say this to the House of Isreal:
'You have abandoned me, O Israel,
You have chased after foreign gods,
Gods that you do not know.
You have set up their images in my temple
And perform despicable acts in the precints.'
'Do you not remember the one who saved you?
The one who brought you up from Egypt
Out of the slavery and through the dessert.
I lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey
I give you every good thing, O Israel.'
'But now my anger burns against you.
You have broken my sacred laws,
You have persecuted my prophets,
You have oppressed the poor and needy,
You follow gods that are wood and stone.'
'Therefore Israel these disasters will come to you:
Plague will fall on you,
Famine will follow you,
The sword will strike you down.
Only a few will survive to mourn.'
'But a day will come when I will remember you.
I will gather you from the nations,
I will put a new heart in you, O Israel.
The temple will be rebuilt
You will be my people,
And I, your God.'
'I will send to you
One who will restore your fortunes.
He will come and suffer much
But he will save you, and all peoples
He is my beloved one.
Hear, O Israel, my word."
Coming
See here!
The hope of Israel.
The saviour of mankind.
The Son of God
A baby, in a cattle trough.
From riches to rags, for us.
See now!
A full grown man.
A backwater carpenter.
Man with a mission
Baptised in a dirty river
Come to preach, for us.
He's coming to Jerusalem
On the back of a mule.
His followers cheering
An army of ignorant peasants
A revolution of love.
For this was his message:
Love God with all your heart,
Love your neighbour as yourself,
Do good to those who hate you,
Of this is God's kingdom.
But the leaders didn't like his words.
He made them uncomfortable,
He made them look like fools.
His intellect was a knife
That cut their pride to shreds.
They plotted and they pondered,
For now he was a threat
This carpenter from Nazareth
With fishermen as followers,
He must be put to death!
Dying
He came to his own,
But his own did not recognise him.
He created them,
But they killed him.
Weep, my friend, for today he died.
Betrayed by his own friend
For thirty silver coins.
Abandoned by his closest followers,
Left in the hands of those who hated him.
His trial was a sham,
A travesty of an ancient court.
The witnesses were liars,
And all there knew him.
The charge was blasphemy,
But he had only spoken truth.
The authorities were persuaded
But only by thinly veiled excuses.
He took the place of a murderer,
While himself would only heal.
He was bruised, beaten and mocked
Then led out to die.
He became a sacrifice for us
And God turned away from him.
The only chains he wore were love,
For us he paid the price.
The battle over, he cried,
"It is finished."
He died, becoming a bridge
Joining us once more with God.
Rising
The morning was dark,
The sun not yet risen.
The light was dead,
This was the third day in the tomb.
Women came to his body,
With spices to anoint his flesh.
But the tomb was open,
And there was nothing there!
"Women, why are you here?
Don't look for the living in a tomb.
He's not here,
He is alive."
And he came to them
through locked and bolted doors.
He showed them his wounds
He gave them his love.
He met death face to face,
And threw it down.
He passed through Hell
And released the prisoners.
His light and love
were greater than darkness.
His enemy weak in his sight,
Powerless to resist.
The victory is won
Death has no more sting.
We have only to reach out
And take the Victor's hand.
He returned to the heavens
Leaving his followers behind
With his love and power
To reach all of mankind.
Rebirth
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To bring an end to evil.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To bring a new heart for Israel.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To gather together all his followers.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To defeat the enemy of life.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To heal the broken world.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To bring his new kingdom.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To bring peace from strife.
Waiting,
For the Son to return,
To reveal himself in all his glory.
Waiting,
For the hope that will not fail us.
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