Right at the outset, The Christian Faith presents an astounding and exclusively unique claim, "Then he placed his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid, I am the first and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades'." ( Rev. 1:17-18)
Years ago, Anna Marie and I memorized what is known as the Apostle’s Creed. Over all these ensuing years, we have quoted that collection of words to each other in many different countries around the world. As an introduction to this “I Believe . . .” project, let’s review those words of the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into Hades.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
That is a whole lot of “I Believe . . .” in that tiny group of words.! I’m certainly glad that there are, likewise, a whole lot of additional words and plenty of explanations available to help us understand the necessary precepts needed to discover and embrace the creedal concepts.
For me, one of the most critical factors to consider, is the one mentioned in the very first paragraph, above: “Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades’.”
What difference would it make to me if the god I decided to pursue, and worship, and obey was as dead as a door knob? How would that affect my accountability to goodness? How would that affect my confidence level in concepts regarding truth? What effect would that have on my ideas of liberty, equality, and freedom?
It is, indeed, an awesome concept that the God we decide to love, honor, and serve, is a living, loving person who is the center of consciousness. He is one who confronts his family and followers in a living encounter, one who has purposes and designs for goodness. He speaks, acts, and gives us an opportunity to experience a Personal Reality with a Living, Loving God. He is not a dead god, but is the God who is alive and very interested in sharing his life with me today.
I had an unusual experience a few years back, that really reinforced, for me, the unique need of perusing and embracing a loving God who is presently alive and will continue to be alive forever and forever:
Of all my travels to more than 150 countries in this old world, my adventures in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) were, perhaps, some of the most mysterious and unforgettable. I realize now, just how exceptional those eight trips into the country turned out to be. I was told at the time that I was one of fewer than 200 Americans to have been invited to DPRK, and none of the rest had ever been allowed to travel outside the capital of Pyongyang.
I had been favored to meet and get acquainted with Great Leader Kim Il Sung, Supreme Leader of DPRK. For some reason, he had sent the signal out that I should be respected and honored. I was hosted on the national train and by automobile to many different places throughout the enigmatic and covert country. I made it known early on that I was a Christian – a follower of Jesus – and that any time I was in DPRK over a Sunday, I would like to attend the Pongsu Church in Pyongyang, (I had learned from my research that Kim IL Sung’s mother had been a devout Christian, and that Great Leader had built the Pongsu church in her memory, and that hidden within the Constitution of DPRK was a phrase stating “freedom of religion”).
Indeed, every trip to Pyongyang, that included a Sunday, I was accompanied by government interpreters to the church and allowed to worship with the handful of DPRK Christians. Great Leader Kim Il Sung was an intriguing person to watch and study. He was a most charismatic and “benevolent” leader – while at the same time being an absolute and unquestioned dictator. Everything he did, whether taking all the land and possessions from the people, to building great and grand monuments to himself, he consistently convinced them that he was only doing it for their good and to take care of them in his great kingdom.
It seemed to me that it was possible that Great Leader had taken the biblical principles and teachings from his childhood and had assumed the attributes of Jehovah God as his own. He had become their absolute protector. . . their absolute provider . . . he had successfully become their God. As the new generations came on, their only response was to worship him for all the good and miraculous things he had done for them. I had one woman tell me, “Why would I want to go to your heaven . . . as long as I have Great Leader Kim Il Sung, I have heaven now, here on earth.”
In 1995, I returned to DPRK with my son, Jay Winston Jackson, for another two weeks stay in North Korea. Great Leader, Kim Il Sung had just recently died. On Wednesday evening, we were notified that on Thursday morning, September 7, Jay and I were to wear our dark suits and white shirts and be ready to be picked up following breakfast.
When our government hosts arrived, they gave us back our passports and Mr. Rim informed us that we had been chosen to ride with them to a newly constructed trolly station on the other side of Pyongyang. When we pulled into the station, there were several hundred military officers in full dress uniforms standing around waiting for something. There were also a few civilians wearing black suits and white shirts mixed into the crowd. It had started to rain, so we stayed sitting in the car. I could feel at least a thousand eyes on us as we got out of the car and took our place in a single line. You have to remember that most of the military had never seen an American man except in training films where they were taught the best and fastest ways to kill us in hand-to-hand combat. They had no outside TV coverage, no outside newspapers, no contact with what was happening outside their borders. So, when they would encounter a real, live, American man within reach of where they were standing, it was no wonder they at least stared.
We eventually made it up to the front of the line and stepped under a couple of big blue umbrellas. There, our hosts showed the others their passports and explained who we were and showed our passports. The officials nodded and motioned us through. Jay and I still did not know where we were going. Now, we were queued up in front of a trolley station with a smaller group of high-ranking military personnel and a few civilians.
Soon a trolley, nicer than any other I had ever seen in Pyongyang and nicely painted a green color, pulled into the platform and military women directed us on board. I asked Jay if he had figured out where in the world we were going. About 3 miles away our trolley pulled into another platform and we exited and began a walk for about another mile. In the meantime, the men had asked for our passports back.
The pedestrian road led us to a huge new marble complex. We later found out it was called the "Kumsusan Memorial Palace." I doubt that a couple hundred million dollars would have covered the new construction . . . and it was still being built. Soon we guessed it. We had been chosen to be some of the first ever to personally view the body of Great Leader Kim Il Sung lying in state. But we were not through with the ceremony yet.
As we approached the new white marble walkway (literally acres of white marble patio) we walked over an area that washed our shoes . . . too bad if your sox got wet. After waiting in single file line for a long while we were eventually led inside through a very big set of hand-carved wooden, double doors, twenty feet tall . . . through the entry rooms and eventually, into a very large marble room where at one end was a pure white alabaster statue in a standing position about 30 feet tall of Great Leader Kim Il Sung. Three-by-three the military marched up within fifteen feet of the statue, saluted, turned and marched out. The experience made me shiver. Here was a pure white statue with back lighting of blended red, pink, blues to white graduating from bottom up in an all-marble room in an all-marble building.
When it was our time to approach the statue, we were lined up side by side about seven in a straight line. We all walked up together, paused, turned right and exited through another set of tall hand carved doors. From there the single file line headed up three flights of marble stairs cordoned off by bright gold ropes. Coming down the other corresponding stairway was another single file line . . . mostly military officers. All the women officers were crying. As I approached the top of the third landing there was a sound of huge air blowers. Before we were allowed entrance into the next room we had to pass through a short hallway where there were high powered air jets blowing from both sides. Little did they care if it nearly blew the hair off your head . . . there was no loose dust on us when we entered the room.
Jay and I had been afforded a great honor that day. We had been placed near the front of the line to view the body of Great Leader Kim Il Sung. We had been put in a conspicuously visible place of privilege in front of many of the military generals and heads of the North Korean government. We were the only Americans to be there and be so honored.
At the top of the stairs was another extensive room constructed of black and gray marble that was very highly polished. In the very center was a glass-covered marble display shelf and table with Kim Il Sung lying in state. Soft organ music was playing some of the Korean patriotic songs which I recognized from the Friendship Music Festival. The lighting techniques were extremely effective and there were four stations around the glass coffin where we were to stop and pause in respect.
After making a full circle of the body we exited out the rear and back down the long marble stairways. Jay and I were overwhelmed with the unspeakable privilege and honor that had just been afforded us. I really was glad that Jay had a chance to be part of such an unusual occasion of world history.
When we were finally back in our car with our official hosts, Mr. Rim and Mr. Chun, the silence was broken by a very interesting comment by Mr. Chun, “Dr. Jackson, you see how our people love and worship our Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. Now, you can see, he is our God. Dr. Jackson we are assigned to go with you and interpret for you every time you are in Pyongyang on Sunday. You go to the Pongsu church that believes Christianity. When we are there with you, the people talk about Jesus Christ, and they say that he is God. Why don’t you believe that our Great Leader, Kim Il Sung is God?”
I took a deep breath. “The Christians at the Pongsu church have had a personal experience with the God of the whole universe. That God wanted us to know that he loved us so much that he sent part of himself – his only son – to live with us and give us that message. But many of the people on earth hated him and decided to kill him and bury him. But you can’t kill the God of the universe, and Jesus Christ, his only son, came up out of that grave and was alive. He spent time with his friends and followers and told them that they too could love him and join him and live with him forever and forever in heaven. Although, Jesus Christ ascended back up into heaven, yet, he is still alive on this earth and lives inside all the people who believe in him as eternal God.”
I quietly went on, “You now ask me very directly, why I believe like the Christians at the Pongsu church . . . I will answer you honestly and directly – I want to accept, and honor, and worship a God who is alive. When I began believing that He is God and that he came to live inside of me, everything in my life changed and I have never been the same since. Mr. Chun, we just finished paying respect to Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. He always treated me very well, and I have been greatly honored by him. But we just walked around all four sides of the glass and marble case where he lies. He will not emerge alive, and soon you will be expected to transfer your love, and respect, and expectations to Dear Leader Kim Jong Il. When he dies, you will be expected to look to another. I really want to worship a God who is right now, and forever will be, loving and alive.”
Things were very quiet in the car for a while. Then Mr. Chun spoke again, “Dr. Jackson, you have said many strong words. It will be necessary for us to think on them seriously. Thank you for being honest with us.”
“Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades’.” (Rev. 1:17-18)