But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. —Revelation 12:16 The earth rises up to protect. At this point in John of Patmos’s inspiring and yet undoubtedly macabre vision-scape, a dragon—that ancient monster of evil incarnate—has attempted a coup in heaven and failed. It has been cast down to earth along with rebellious angels.
It really is good to be able to see things in a new way. I’m reminded that Christianity is about the raising the dead and seeing anew.
I am hoping you do not mind me quoting from a self-published book by Dr Patrick Oliver’” How True this is!: A soul approach to savouring the Scriptures” , which I feel fits in with what you are saying….
“You may recall that in the Garden of Eden, God searches for Adam and Eve after they’ve hidden themselves: ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3: 9). God asks the same question of Cain here in this story: ‘Where is your brother Abel’ (4:9) Ratherthan hearing this as a question from a stern deity who grows more livid by the minute, we can discern it as a question that comes from the divine heart which feels the pain of disconnection….
God asks the question as to Abel’s whereabouts because the inter-connecting web of communion has been damaged. Distancing and isolation have taken the place of real presence. Something’s missing….
When we’re in the grip of our shadow fears, we become defensive. Cain is no exception, for when God asks “Where’s your brother?’ he tersely retorts with the now-famous line, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (Genesis 4: 9). God now has become Cain’s latest adversary! Denial and crushing of our shadow side doesn’t rid us of this troublesome shadow. We become haunted by it, for it continues to manifest in this person and that person, in this situation and that group. Try as we might, we can’t be rid of what we’ve disowned of ourselves, for it pleads to be reincorporated into our awareness and to be given a rightful home. The Abel-like quality ties which Cain has spurned in himself will, in God’s words, ‘cry out to him to remind of the broken web of connection between him, Abel and God.
Is this a punishment from God? In no way! When we’ve broken the interconnecting web of relationships and communion, then we experience the flow-on of what this entails. Perhaps a way of putting this might be that we are punished by the effects of our sin, not because of our sin. We know this from our own experience when we’ve gone against our true natures: we feel alienated from others, and alienated from ourselves. Existentially we’re no longer ‘at home’.
Cain, though, again projects his own feelings of self-rejection. This time though, the projection is onto God rather than onto Abel. Again he feels crushed by his sense of worthlessness, and it becomes more than he can bear. Self-rejection causes us to look through eyes of trepidation upon whatever seems to threaten. So in projecting his fear of being rejectable onto God, he fully expects God will reject him. He cries, ‘Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth…’ (Genesis 4: 14). It seems that God has become a canvas for Cain to paint his worst fears about himself.
When we break this web of connectedness, we suddenly become homeless. We are refugees with nowhere to belong, and we lose connection with our inner joy, freedom and innocence. We become, like Cain, wanderers in the land of Nod where nothing grows and nothing blooms. We are strangers to ourselves. Cain is a ‘marginal’ person - yet the scriptures are rich in the references to God being on the side of those who are marginalised. So too it is true for ourselves.
The Good Shepherd, who himself is marginalised and rejected, never forgets the one lost sheep ; in fact he ‘lays down his life for them’ (John 10: 11). ‘The mark of Cain’ (Genesis 4: 15) is revealed as a wonderful blessing. The signature of God will remain indelibly upon him. Cain will never be forgotten, for he’s forever carved upon God’s palm (ref. Isaiah 42: 16).
The surprises of God! Cain now has a choice as he goes into his future: to remain fixated upon his shame, or to remember the divine Companionship that out-loves any disruption we can cause to the web of love. The prophet Baruch echoes this later in the scriptures when he encourages us to ‘rejoice that you yourself are remembered by God’ (Baruch 5: 5). This remembrance is the ‘Big Memory’ that can receive, hold, heal and transfigure all of our smaller and pettier memories.
We’re not sure what this ‘mark of Cain’ actually is. It’s purpose though is to deter anyone from killing him (Genesis 4: 15). Hear this verse of a soul-level: when we know we live deep in God’s heart, then nothing can kills us. Nothing can eradicate our bond with the eternal.
The vice of God in the scriptures can often be confused with our own inner violence, our own anger, and our own wish to punish. Remember what we;re like when we’ve lost connection with the Tree of Life, of the Tree of Communion? We become a potpourri of anxiety, resentment, recrimination and self-0recrimination, and we look for someone to punish and vanquish - even it it’s merely by a word or a glare. “ p. 21-22
A brilliant perspective on the literary integrity of Revelation as a powerful text pointing us toward our interconnectedness with the earth 🌍 This is a co-creation story that is still being written.
It really is good to be able to see things in a new way. I’m reminded that Christianity is about the raising the dead and seeing anew.
I am hoping you do not mind me quoting from a self-published book by Dr Patrick Oliver’” How True this is!: A soul approach to savouring the Scriptures” , which I feel fits in with what you are saying….
“You may recall that in the Garden of Eden, God searches for Adam and Eve after they’ve hidden themselves: ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3: 9). God asks the same question of Cain here in this story: ‘Where is your brother Abel’ (4:9) Ratherthan hearing this as a question from a stern deity who grows more livid by the minute, we can discern it as a question that comes from the divine heart which feels the pain of disconnection….
God asks the question as to Abel’s whereabouts because the inter-connecting web of communion has been damaged. Distancing and isolation have taken the place of real presence. Something’s missing….
When we’re in the grip of our shadow fears, we become defensive. Cain is no exception, for when God asks “Where’s your brother?’ he tersely retorts with the now-famous line, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (Genesis 4: 9). God now has become Cain’s latest adversary! Denial and crushing of our shadow side doesn’t rid us of this troublesome shadow. We become haunted by it, for it continues to manifest in this person and that person, in this situation and that group. Try as we might, we can’t be rid of what we’ve disowned of ourselves, for it pleads to be reincorporated into our awareness and to be given a rightful home. The Abel-like quality ties which Cain has spurned in himself will, in God’s words, ‘cry out to him to remind of the broken web of connection between him, Abel and God.
Is this a punishment from God? In no way! When we’ve broken the interconnecting web of relationships and communion, then we experience the flow-on of what this entails. Perhaps a way of putting this might be that we are punished by the effects of our sin, not because of our sin. We know this from our own experience when we’ve gone against our true natures: we feel alienated from others, and alienated from ourselves. Existentially we’re no longer ‘at home’.
Cain, though, again projects his own feelings of self-rejection. This time though, the projection is onto God rather than onto Abel. Again he feels crushed by his sense of worthlessness, and it becomes more than he can bear. Self-rejection causes us to look through eyes of trepidation upon whatever seems to threaten. So in projecting his fear of being rejectable onto God, he fully expects God will reject him. He cries, ‘Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth…’ (Genesis 4: 14). It seems that God has become a canvas for Cain to paint his worst fears about himself.
When we break this web of connectedness, we suddenly become homeless. We are refugees with nowhere to belong, and we lose connection with our inner joy, freedom and innocence. We become, like Cain, wanderers in the land of Nod where nothing grows and nothing blooms. We are strangers to ourselves. Cain is a ‘marginal’ person - yet the scriptures are rich in the references to God being on the side of those who are marginalised. So too it is true for ourselves.
The Good Shepherd, who himself is marginalised and rejected, never forgets the one lost sheep ; in fact he ‘lays down his life for them’ (John 10: 11). ‘The mark of Cain’ (Genesis 4: 15) is revealed as a wonderful blessing. The signature of God will remain indelibly upon him. Cain will never be forgotten, for he’s forever carved upon God’s palm (ref. Isaiah 42: 16).
The surprises of God! Cain now has a choice as he goes into his future: to remain fixated upon his shame, or to remember the divine Companionship that out-loves any disruption we can cause to the web of love. The prophet Baruch echoes this later in the scriptures when he encourages us to ‘rejoice that you yourself are remembered by God’ (Baruch 5: 5). This remembrance is the ‘Big Memory’ that can receive, hold, heal and transfigure all of our smaller and pettier memories.
We’re not sure what this ‘mark of Cain’ actually is. It’s purpose though is to deter anyone from killing him (Genesis 4: 15). Hear this verse of a soul-level: when we know we live deep in God’s heart, then nothing can kills us. Nothing can eradicate our bond with the eternal.
The vice of God in the scriptures can often be confused with our own inner violence, our own anger, and our own wish to punish. Remember what we;re like when we’ve lost connection with the Tree of Life, of the Tree of Communion? We become a potpourri of anxiety, resentment, recrimination and self-0recrimination, and we look for someone to punish and vanquish - even it it’s merely by a word or a glare. “ p. 21-22
May your work continue to be a blessing ….
Good to hear from you, Anne-Marie, and thanks for the thoughtful interpretation of Cain (who refused to join the web of love).
Telling the stories of the stories told......this is wonderful, thank you.
Thanks for reading, Mary!
So powerful and so true!
Thank you, Mark! I want to share it with the whole world!
Thanks for reading, Judy!
Wow. This is beautifully expressed. Thanks
A brilliant perspective on the literary integrity of Revelation as a powerful text pointing us toward our interconnectedness with the earth 🌍 This is a co-creation story that is still being written.
Thanks, Bob and indeed! It's always wonderful to hear from you.