I learned about that in Intro to Bible with Doctor Karen Heller. If you ever get a chance to meet her or take a class with her, do it. It should be on your "To Do" list for sure. Love her!
Apo I believe I remember correctly is veil. Kalypsis is to take away. Thus to take away the veil. The word may sound familiar, is sounds like apocalypse. Good job. It is really the word for Revelation though. So when thinking of Revelation, the book, the times, think less like connotations associated with the end of the world, and think more like the veil will be lifted and we will see life as it really is without God's help, and then another veil will be lifted when Christ arrives we will see life as it was supposed to be, in heaven with only God, with no more evil...finally and thankfully. But how do we for sure know that second veil will be lifted? If we know Him and love Him right?
I did a Beth Moore Bible Study and remember one word in Greek from it: agape. I used to think it was simply love, if love is simple? I guess I am saying that in my mind I didn't think deeply about it until tonight. Example: ask yourself, what is love? How do I know if I love someone? How do I know if someone loves me? And the toughest questions of all: does God think I love Him? And do I love Christ? I mean, do I, do I really? If I don't know what love is, if I can't define it, how do I know if I love Him the way He wants me to love Him?
At the end of John he writes a painful story about Peter being asked THREE TIMES IN ONE CONVERSATION IF PETER LOVES JESUS, and he was asked this question by Christ Himself! I mean, can you imagine Christ coming up to you and asking you face to face, "Do you love me?"
Peter was offended of course, saying, "Lord of course I love you." I would be offended of course, saying, "Yes, Lord, I do. You know I do." But if He already knows, then why would He ask?
And if Peter, who was there, hanging out with Christ, witnessing all of the miracles and getting to be with Him, getting to be with the proof that we don't have, and he was still asked this painful question, I for sure have to have Christ asking me this at the very least 70 times a day. I have to.
Donald Miller says perhaps "...the sum of our faith is a kind of constant dialogue with Jesus about whether or not we love Him" in Searching For God Knows What, page 52. And I read a quick little interview and article with the duo Shane and Shane and one of them said their new album had to do with him "being confronted with the Lord asking me if I love Him."
And all this, all this makes me tremble a bit inside. My heart is vibrating in fear. Here are some of the most obviously Christian men one could meet and they feel confronted by the Lord asking them if they love Him. What does this mean for me? Seriously, the answer, my truthful answer could be infinitely fatal. So what am I going to do about it? Do I love Him? Do I even know what love is? Can I love Him if I don't even think I could define love?
So I looked up love from Wikipedia. That was one of the most important things I could have done today--no it was the most important thing I did today--no one of the most important decisions of my life, including my eternal life. You need to Google love, go to Wikipedia and spend the rest of your days learning what love is to make sure you know what your answer to Christ is. Be 100% certain.
If you know what love is, you can know if you really love Him, right?. Makes some sort of sense. Because He is asking us this question at least 70 times a day. I don't know where the number 70 came from, but it sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Biblical almost. But feel free to use whatever number will scare some action into you.
Anyways, agape:
Agape (ἀγάπη agápē) means love in modern day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a "pure", ideal type of love rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as "love of the soul".
Eros (ἔρως érōs) is passionate love...
Agape - In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love seen as creating goodness in the world, it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.
More reading and answers and definitions:
- Mark 12:28-34
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
- 1 John 4:7-8
- John 14:21, 24
Anne Lamotte says the two most important prayers she knows are: "Help me, help me, help me" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." One of the most important prayers I now know, to add to these is:
Lord,
S'agapo. S'agapo. S'agapo.
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