The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1: 9)
Today, we are living in a new age: with a new way of walking, a new way of talking, and a new way of believing. But this new age does not mean a new dimension of time. This new age, however, is no more than an illusion: because this generation has not seen it before, to them it is new, and therefore it only appears to be something new.
A new used car is still a used car. But in the eyes of the owner the new used car is better than the old used car. For the new used car only appears to be something new.
When I was a kid, we slopped the pigs every day, and there was nothing new about the slop in the bucket than there was in the bucket the day before because the menu never changed. The pigs, however, could not discern the difference between new slop and old slop. Neither did the pigs know that they were being fed for the slaughter, which would bring an end to their lives.
Neither is there anything new about religion; for there is nothing new about a religion today than there was on the day that that religion was made by the hands of men. It is still the same bucket of slop that was stirred on the day of the creation of that religion. The people of religion, however, have no discernment about an old bucket of slop from a new bucket of slop because the menu never changes. To new converts, the religion only appears to be something new, only because they have not seen it before. And like the pigs, the people of religion do not know that they are being slopped for the slaughter, which will bring an end to their lives.
By now, we should be able to see and understand why King Solomon wrote: there is nothing new under the sun.
The birth, death, and resurrection of Christ was something new! For no baby had ever been born to a virgin before. No man had ever died for sin before. And no founder of any religion had ever arisen from death before.
But more than this, Jesus did not come to earth to create a new religion, filled with rites and rituals, dogmas and doctrines, and written by the hands of men. For the apostles and disciples of Christ did not work in Jerusalem to tell people about the newest religion on the block: they told people about Christ and nothing else.
This has remained the story of Jesus for more than two thousand years: people telling people about Christ and nothing else. For Jesus is the only new thing in the whole world under the sun.
As people come forth out of religion and come to Christ, no longer are we prisoners of religion, trapped in stys. As we learn of Christ, we also learn that we are no longer as pigs, feasting from buckets of old slop that have been served for thousands of years. And no longer are we as pigs being fed for the slaughter.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippines 2: 10-11)
So what are you waiting for? Enter into this new age with Christ and see new things that are now as well as new things that are yet to come. For without Him, there will be nothing new under the sun.
Today, we are living in a new age: with a new way of walking, a new way of talking, and a new way of believing. But this new age does not mean a new dimension of time. This new age, however, is no more than an illusion: because this generation has not seen it before, to them it is new, and therefore it only appears to be something new.
A new used car is still a used car. But in the eyes of the owner the new used car is better than the old used car. For the new used car only appears to be something new.
When I was a kid, we slopped the pigs every day, and there was nothing new about the slop in the bucket than there was in the bucket the day before because the menu never changed. The pigs, however, could not discern the difference between new slop and old slop. Neither did the pigs know that they were being fed for the slaughter, which would bring an end to their lives.
Neither is there anything new about religion; for there is nothing new about a religion today than there was on the day that that religion was made by the hands of men. It is still the same bucket of slop that was stirred on the day of the creation of that religion. The people of religion, however, have no discernment about an old bucket of slop from a new bucket of slop because the menu never changes. To new converts, the religion only appears to be something new, only because they have not seen it before. And like the pigs, the people of religion do not know that they are being slopped for the slaughter, which will bring an end to their lives.
By now, we should be able to see and understand why King Solomon wrote: there is nothing new under the sun.
The birth, death, and resurrection of Christ was something new! For no baby had ever been born to a virgin before. No man had ever died for sin before. And no founder of any religion had ever arisen from death before.
But more than this, Jesus did not come to earth to create a new religion, filled with rites and rituals, dogmas and doctrines, and written by the hands of men. For the apostles and disciples of Christ did not work in Jerusalem to tell people about the newest religion on the block: they told people about Christ and nothing else.
This has remained the story of Jesus for more than two thousand years: people telling people about Christ and nothing else. For Jesus is the only new thing in the whole world under the sun.
As people come forth out of religion and come to Christ, no longer are we prisoners of religion, trapped in stys. As we learn of Christ, we also learn that we are no longer as pigs, feasting from buckets of old slop that have been served for thousands of years. And no longer are we as pigs being fed for the slaughter.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippines 2: 10-11)
So what are you waiting for? Enter into this new age with Christ and see new things that are now as well as new things that are yet to come. For without Him, there will be nothing new under the sun.
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