If God Were To Remove His Hand

[Jeff Gerke]

I think the scariest horror story that could be written would be an accurate description of what the world would be like if God were to remove His influence from the world.

Lately I've been camped out in Zechariah 11. In that chapter there are three short passages that have chilled me to the bone.

Verse 6: "I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD; "but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another's power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power."

Jeff here: What if God no longer had pity on humans? What if He no longer intervened to uphold justice? What if He simply allowed Darwin's survival of the fittest to go on? We'd each fall into one another's power (bullies and strongmen) and into the hand of the king (a tyrant).

Verse 9: "I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another's flesh."

Jeff here: What a picture of despair and anarchy. Everybody must fend for himself, and always live in fear of being betrayed and consumed by everyone else. It reminds me a little of Will Smith's I Am Legend in how people would have to armor and fortify themselves to survive.

Verse 16: "For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs."

Jeff here: In this dire future no one will take care of the weak or confused (as God does) but those in leadership will instead attack the rich and brutalize them. And if they have no regard for the rich, what will be the fate of the poor and weak?

To me, this is a terrifying description of what the future could be. And this could very well be in the future for the earth. Paul writes this in 1 Thessalonians 2:7: "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way."

Many people believe that "the one who now holds it [lawlessness] back" is the Holy Spirit, who may be removed from the earth if and when the Church is raptured. I don't mean to get into that debate now; I'm just using it as support for the idea that the kind of lawlessness Zechariah foresaw could be in the future for this planet.

Can you imagine a world in which there was no law? Can you imagine what it would be like if there was no justice or peace? Can you imagine what it would be like if there were no higher authority to appeal to--if that higher authority were actually the main perpetrator of the violence and injustice?

The closest analogues I can think of would be Nazi Germany and modern North Korea. In such cultures everyone reveres the tyrant (on pain of death) but the tyrant is the main cause of the misery. The Nazis brutally attacked the rich (the Jews) just as verse 16 suggests. In North Korea everyone fends for himself, betraying his neighbor and even the members of his own household--all in an effort to appear "faithful to our Dear Leader"--and thus avoid the concentration camps--for as long as possible.

Seriously, what would it be like to live in a culture from which God had completely removed Himself?

In a way, it would be like the terrorism and Goth shooting sprees we see every day. But times 20. It would be like the anarchy and petty angers we see played out in online multiplayer gaming. Because people have anonymity and a lack of accountability in online gaming, their lower natures come out.

I actually had a dream last night about falling into the power (v. 6) of a Battlefield 2 gamer who got really mad at me the other day. I imagined him taking a gun to my family because, well, because I'd fallen into his power. And then I turned on foxnews.com this morning and saw a story about a woman and her boyfriend who killed 6 of her own family members--including a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old--on Christmas Eve because she felt slighted.

I'm not saying that the world is without God now. It's true that where God's influence is absent this kind of behavior reigns, if only in the hearts of the godless. But God's Spirit (or whatever the Restrainer is) is still here. Justice is still done. True tyrants like Hitler or Kim Jong-Il don't rule in America. But it is a taste of what could be if God were to remove His hand.

Is there any point in writing a story about a time like that? Could there be hope--or would it be just unrelenting violence and hopelessness?

If nothing else it is a reminder to us to stay current in our relationship with God. I don't know about you guys, but if I go even a day or two without having my quiet time I start feeling unhinged and more fleshly and less like myself. The myself I want to be, anyway.

Jeff

[rwley]

I think the only point in writing such a horror tale would be if that at the end, hope does reappear. The Restrainer would return and hope, love, joy, faith, justice, all those things that had for so long been gone now have a chance to flourish again. If there is no chance of hope returning, then I don't beleive there would be a point to the story; no one wants to read about nothing but hopelessness, at least I don't. You would need the contrast in order for the reader to really understand what being without God is like. You don't understand what you don't have until you see/hear/feel it. For example; I would never miss being warm if all I had ever been was cold. If all I'd ever known was starvation, I could not miss a full stomach. None of those things would have any meaning. If you'd never known hope, you would not know you didn't have any. You would have to be able to experience the other side of the horror in order to know you could escape from it.

Perhaps there is a point to writing it; I'm not sure I could do it. I don't think even my darkest ideas are that dark.

[J Jack]

Everyone has dark ideas, it's faith or sanity that keeps them from coming out. Those sprees are lack of either and if God were to remove himself many of us believers probably would also snap. We see it everyday, the "luck" that some speak of. If I walk up the stairs and trip but catch myself before my face hits a step I thank God. I don't have reflexes so it must be him at work. (Small things amuse small minds of sorts)
Now about the story, it could be written but what would the point be? A man's (or woman's) struggle with losing faith? A preacher seeing so much destruction s/he questions God's power? There are so many, but how would you end it? So many questions so little time.

[Jeff Gerke]

Good thoughts, you guys.

It could be a fantasy or dark future story in which a young person discovers ancient writings that depict a world in which there was justice and compassion--and most of all, God. This could set him off on an epic quest to find this God again and possibly return that hope to the world.

Or if not to the world, then at least to himself.

Such a mission would inevitably attract others, much like the children's crusade or those who followed Don Quixote or even the people following the Wendy's guy away from the pit. Soon a small army of followers would be heading across the country (or the galaxy) to the last known outpost of the dead religion of hope.

When they get there, they find nothing but ruins. But they realize that along the way the faith has been reborn in their hearts and in their community. They settle in the ruins and vow to restore the worship of the One True God.

Anyway, it could be fun. Zechariah's dark future could simply be the backdrop against which a parable of hope is played out.

Someone go write that story!

Jeff

[J Jack]

What if there was a warrior preacher of sorts, trying to spread the word of Hope among the masses. Maybe it's galaxies and this lone prophet of Truth and Hope is the last of a dead line of chaplains. He could be a John the Baptist of sorts. Just a thought really, I've always liked religious warriors, they always seem to be the best.

[Jeff Gerke]

I'm with you, sabre. In fact, the holy warrior has become my favorite kind of character.

Samurai and Jedi and Knights Templar and Sir Galahad. In D&D it's the mace-weilding cleric and the high-minded paladin.

Even my Firebrand team was essentially a group of holy warriors.

Love it.

Jeff

[J Jack]

Well if I am not mistaken (rare as it may be it happens as told by the Left Behind series Christians who are not in the right with God are not taken during rapture (right?) What if they fought against those with the mark of the beast (right?) and they were like corrupt officials. They might be tearing people from their homes in mass executions after saying "denounce Him or die." Just an idea I hope it's right. Been a long time since I read the bible (sad, yes I know)

[Jeff Gerke]

Sounds cool.

[strangewind]

Another biblical example of a God-fearer awash in godless, totalitarian chaos:

There are some passages in Jeremiah where Jeremiah (with his scribe Baruch) tells the remnant of Judah who has returned to Israel from a bunch of different countries to not fear the invasion of the Babylonians, and definitely not to flee to Egypt. Guess what: they flee anyway, and compel Jeremiah and Baruch to come with them. Basically, they are the only righteous members of a Godless troupe of Ishtar worshippers, who set up shop in Egypt.

Of course, Egypt is then invaded, and, in keeping with Jeremiah's prophecy, nearly everyone is killed by sword, famine or dragged into slavery. Baruch's reward for maintaining his righteousness in an unrighteous age, for staying with his master Jeremiah through thick and thin?

Survival. That's it. At least, in that passage, that's all he's promised. His homeland has been razed to the ground, his people commit atrocities and adulteries to foul the nostrils of their Lord, foreign rulers lord over his nation, he's maintained his service to a master taking a highly unpopular stance, and his only reward is that he doesn't die.

That's a compelling story. God's providence over the few Christian dissenters in North Korea is a tale of great faith and meager rewards. This sort of story can be a survivor's story with a subtle theme that "to live is gain and to die is Christ."

Let me look up the passage in Jeremiah real quick.

Here you go:

Jeremiah 42 net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Jer&chapter=42#n13 -- (This is where the people ask Jeremiah what to do - stay or go. He says "stay" so they go!)

And

Jeremiah 45:5 net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Jer&chapter=45#n9 -- (This is where Baruch receives his only consolation: "But I will allow you to escape with your life!")

[Jeff Gerke]

Awesome message, strangewind. Thank you for your comments.

By the way, my most recent novel is about the struggle of North Korean Christians. Check out Operation: Firebrand--Deliverance at www.jeffersonscott.com.

Jeff

[scintor]

Your description of life without God's Hand describes life amoung tribal societies quite well. In these societies people attached themselves to the local strongman in hopes that he could save then from any rival local strongmen.

Family ties were often the only restraining influence which lead to the attitude that you could do anything you wanted, as long as it was not in your home villiage.

Forming a gang of thieves (raiding party) and robbing and killing anyone you came across was considered the normal way to get wealth. This is the way most of the world opperated before they came in contact with Christianity (and still is the way in some isolated areas.)

This was true wherever you went in the world: American Indians, African Tribes, European Clans, Asian nomads, it didn't matter.

It was Family against family, tribe against tribe, city against city in a constant state of conflict for who had power and who could subjegate everyone else. Genocide was the norm and enslavement was considered the kinder option.

This is the world without the Hand of God, and for the most part, it used to be the world!

Scincerely,

[e-mail]

[Jeff Gerke]

Good stuff, Scintor. Thank you for your excellent contributions.

Jeff

[torainfor]

Our church is doing the "Read the Bible in a Year" deal. As I go through the OT, I'm struck by how desperate people are for someone to lead them. A "holy man" passes through town, and people fight over him. Even Gideon, fresh off a victory from God, rushes to make a gold statue and worship it. Of course, the biggie is when Israel rejected God's leadership and installed a king. Many didn't even care who it was.

How would that tendency play out in a society like this?

(Sorry about spelling errors. I'm at a friend's house on Explorer, not the wonderful self-editing Firefox.)

[scintor]

People in such areas (I hesitate to call them societies) are often driven by two competing (and often competing desires: saftey and greed.

A strong leader will draw people to them to provide these things for them. A strong can fight off bandits and raiders, providing saftey to those under his protection. They will also act as judge so that there is some possibility of fair resolution of disputes.

The flip side of this is many such leaders are the ones who form raiding parties to steal from those who are not as strong as he and his followers. The typical reward for joining such a raiding band is a share of the plunder, including food, goods, slaves, livestock, etc. People will often try to get in with the leader to get him to get him to rule in their favor when they take advantage of others.

A king in these circumstances is a man who is strong enough to get many other other strongmen to acknowledge him as their leader.

Most kings and leaders in these circumstances do not last long. They either meet someone who is stronger, are killed in a raid, or make enough internal enemies due to unjust judgements that they are thrown out or are killed.

Without the law of God to guide their decisions, they are usually short sighted and full of corruption, which eventually destroys any success that they might have achieved.

Scincerely,

[e-mail]

[Jeff Gerke]

Sounds like various African governments and Iraqi Muslim factions.

Jeff