The Clock: A Timekeeping Tool for the Church of Tomorrow

By C. S. Wimmer

Gods voice whispers through the words of the prophet, Isaiah, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

Isaiah 46:10 NIV

When warning his disciples about heaven and earth passing away, Jesus said, No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:32-33 NIV

Are we to believe that God makes known the end from the beginning? Or, should we believe that the day and the hour are unknowable?

In truth, these seemingly contradictory verses in Scripture are equally believable when time is viewed on two different clocks. To date, however, humankind has relied solely on the 24-hour clock that secured residence within the human mind more than 8,000 years ago. Humanitys one-clock perspective of time is entirely useless in determining spiritual beginnings and endings. Yet, a different perspective emerges from the text of Genesis 1 which does, in fact, make known the end from the beginning.

The Clock, revealed within the pages of this book, will help the human spirit develop a healthy theology of timeand not a moment too soon! Through the lens of light, color, and image, The Clocks colorful face revisits the past, identifies the present, and makes known the future while orienting the human mind on its journey through time.

If Jews and Christians desire additional insight into our shared spiritual beginnings, we must discover The Clock in Genesis 1 and embrace a two-clock perspective of time. Once aware of a second timekeeping option, the mystery surrounding many end-times scenarios will be removedenabling us to travel together with confidence into our projected future.

Its time to understand the times!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490876061

C. S. Wimmer

After twenty-two years of church ministry, as a director of music, art and theater, Ms. Wimmer sensed a call to remove herself from church leadership. In 1995, she resigned from the music ministry and waited for direction. Shortly thereafter, from 1996 to 2000, Ms. Wimmer experienced an intense time of spiritual instruction. The inspired insights opened the door to fresh theological perspectives in three areas of human concern: Time, Language, and the Organization of God’s people. Believing that personal insight must be grounded in credible evidence, Ms. Wimmer entered the field of biblical research. From 2004 to 2009, she presented several academic papers at different regional and national meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature. Ms. Wimmer believes that the kernels of wisdom, poured into her vessel many years ago, are intended to reorient the focus of the church of tomorrow. Therefore, she writes from a visionary and futuristic perspective. She shares her inspired perceptions in an effort to contribute something meaningful to the current dialogue regarding the present shift occurring within the church universal. Ms. Wimmer lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband of forty-six years. In their free time, she and her husband enjoy gardening, carpentry, interior design, and renovating old or neglected houses. Together, they have two adult children and three grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2015 C. S. Wimmer.

Author Credits: The poem, When I say I am a Christian, copyright 1988

The Net – An Organizational Vision for the Church of Tomorrow. Westbow Press, copyright 2014

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7607-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7606-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905671

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/18/2015

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

Prologue: The Changing Times

PART I—Discovering The Clock

1.   Let There Be Insight

2.   Traveling Through the Light

3.   The Sixth Day

4.   The Seventh Day

5.   The Eighth Day

PART II—Developing The Clock

6.   The Two-Clock Perspective

7.   Coverings, Soils, and a Fig Tree

8.   Seven Churches, Seven Times

9.   Midnight Hour Messages

10.   Time, Times, and Half a Time

Epilogue—Tolling into the Church of Tomorrow

Bibliography

Scriptural Index

About the Author

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

—Isaiah 46:10 (NIV)

Preface

In many ways, the seeds for this book were planted in my childhood garden. As a young child, I felt called to do something for God, yet the perception was vague and undefined. As a young adult, I served in the ministry of music and theatre for 22 years. I enjoyed my work, but the undefined something always nagged at my spirit. By 1993, I perceived an inner tug to leave church leadership, however, I ignored the awareness and plowed forward. Shortly thereafter, it became clear that forging ahead would not be possible. By 1995, I resigned from leadership and waited for direction.

From 1996 to 2000, I experienced an unparalleled time of spiritual instruction in the three subjects of time, language, and organization. By the end of the four-year period, I had an awareness of three tools for the church of tomorrow—The Clock, The Key, and The Net—all absorbed through the lens of light, color, and the images of Creation. At last, the undefined something that nagged at my spirit since childhood was now clearly defined!

The unusual teachings transported me to a new territory of spiritual awareness from which there would be no return. Moreover, the additional insights challenged my thinking. Some revelations came as quiet ah-ha moments that privately enhanced my journey of faith. Other insights were obviously meant to be shared.

The education came in bits and pieces—like an interlocking puzzle delivered in a number of different, unlabeled boxes. Some of the pieces instantly snapped together. Other pieces didn’t appear to fit anywhere. Time after time, I tried to force something to fit where I thought it should be—but I couldn’t. In the end, it was my heart and mind that changed as I allowed God’s spirit to show me how to put the puzzle together without interjecting my own will.

The Gift of God’s Spirit

People of faith often make statements such as, God’s voice spoke to me or The Holy Spirit showed me. Such statements are often met with skepticism—and rightly so! When someone alleges to have heard God’s voice, it is our spiritual responsibility to test the evidence that supports the claim, and discern its validity.

Having said this, we know that the spirit of God can and does communicate with the human soul. Millions of people believe that the Bible exists because of this reality. Yet, many people question the ongoing truth of this phenomenon today. I can honestly say that—until our own soul is pierced by God, until our own ears hear the voice of God, or until our own eyes are opened by God—we cannot truly appreciate the potency of such communication.

I always knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is possible to hear God’s voice because I had the experience of such hearing at a young age. I also understood the motivation, stir, and call of God’s Spirit, because I had been so moved and called. Yet, in spite of this knowledge, the supernatural schooling that penetrated my world from 1996 to 2000 was strangely unfamiliar—largely due to its intensity and longevity.

In my case, the length of time caused me to feel captured in a spiritually helpless sort of way—as one would imagine being kidnapped. As God’s hostage, it was humanly impossible to say, No! or I’m too busy for this. I wasn’t able to close my eyes or ears because my attention was seized for the precise purpose of opening my eyes and ears. Thus, no escape was possible until I fully absorbed all that God’s spirit wished to convey.

The unique nature of the supernatural instruction caused me to appreciate that God elects a person to receive whatever God wants to impart. However, the elected person hasn’t chosen to be elected. The person submits to God’s will because he or she has no choice in the matter. The election is simply beyond human control.

In other words, I felt involuntarily hunted down like prey. Yet, rather than becoming dinner in my predator’s stomach, God’s spirit forced me to do the eating—one morsel of goodness at a time. During the four-year period of instruction, I digested more spiritual food than I ever knew existed. Moreover, the sweetness of the information was beyond description. As God’s dinner guest, the banqueting table was set with plates full of ancient words and newly revealed wisdom, all at the same time. Bible in one hand—dinner plate in the other.

A New Millennium

In addition to these personal experiences, the four year period of time leading up to the new millennium convinced me that the church was, and still is undergoing a major shift. I was not alone in my thinking. Many voices had begun to express similar thoughts throughout the 1990s. The changing times had begun to affect church attendance around the world. What had been a slow trickle of people leaving organized religion became a noticeable exodus.

I saw myself in that exodus—not because I wanted to leave, but because I had been called out of the church’s institutional model for the express purpose of learning something important. By the end of 1998, I had received The Net—an organizational model based on the pattern of the tabernacle and the Mosaic encampment. By the end of 1999, I had received The Key—a spiritual language based on light, color, and the images of Creation as recorded in Genesis 1.

All instruction centered on the opening texts of Genesis, the pattern of the tabernacle in Exodus, The key of David, and Ezekiel’s vision of wheels. The imparted teachings centered on humanity’s spiritual beginnings. However, near the end of 1999, the instruction shifted to the little scroll of seven thunders and the subject of end times as recorded in the book of Revelation.

As the twentieth century approached its final days, I listened to people express fear that the world might end at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 1999. When the world did not experience its predicted demise, I was not surprised. Nevertheless, as the new millennium dawned, a timekeeping puzzle lay before me that demanded my attention.

As the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place, The Clock became a knowable entity. Its colorful face revealed the fact that we are slowly approaching a conceptual midnight hour—a spiritual turning point that is far more important than the turn of a century on the Gregorian calendar. Realizing the implications associated with the impending midnight hour on The Clock, the present exodus away from organized religion began to make perfect sense. Beyond this reality, however, I had so much more to learn.

Is it Time?

By October, 2000 the puzzle pieces had come together. A sense of finality filled my spirit. With The Clock in hand, I wanted to shout to the whole world, It’s almost midnight!—but who would listen? Furthermore, who would understand?

It’s been 15 years since The Clock, The Key, and The Net became visible to my spiritual eyes. Between then and now, I completed the necessary research that would allow me to speak about these three tools. I joined the Society of Biblical Literature and presented academic papers on The Clock at four different regional meetings. In 2010, I placed a simplistic overview of The Clock in the Poster Session of the annual meeting of the SBL, which was seen by hundreds of bible scholars.

Are people ready to receive the information in this book? Time will tell. At the present time, no one is asking for a timekeeping tool that might help deepen the root system of the Christian faith. Likewise, no one is demanding a healthy theology of time. Unfortunately, the human spirit can’t ask for what it doesn’t know that it needs. Yet, it has often been said that God gives us what we need before we know that we need it. Hence, The Clock!

Carol Wimmer

Introduction

This book is about the gift of time and the curse of time. It’s about measured time as well as time before measured time. It addresses past times, present times, and future times, as well as the personification of time. This is a book of beginnings, middles, and endings. It speaks of conceptual hours, conceptual seasons, and time, times, and half-a-time.

The Clock—A Timekeeping Tool for the Church of Tomorrow begins with a general discussion about time and the reasons why a theology of time might be helpful. As the book advances, the literary structure and balance of Genesis 1 is examined. Once balance is determined, The Clock emerges. When the timekeeping tool is in full view, the distant past is discussed, followed by the knowable present, and the projected future, according to the words of Scripture. The book ends with a scriptural study of twelve biblical references to the midnight hour, as well as several perspectives of time, times, and half-a-time.

At its deepest level, the book explores the human journey through time, based on biblical beginnings in Genesis and endings Revelation. The book examines the subject of time through the lens of the priestly source in ancient Israel, the visions of John of Patmos in first century CE, as well as our present knowledge gained through the work of archeologists and anthropologists. The exploration of time focuses specifically on humanity’s physical and spiritual pilgrimage over the past 15,000 years of knowable time.

Additionally, this book is about the gift of light—divine and natural. The Clock, illuminated within these pages, comes to life with the infamous phrase, Let there be light, in Genesis 1:3. The timekeeping tool could not exist without our awareness of physical light, color, and the images of Creation. Therefore, The Clock is a gift of time, as well as a gift of light.

Because the timekeeping tool emerges from the text of Genesis 1, this book discusses the observable Creation from which our sense of time is perceived and experienced. It also reveals the way in which the words of Scripture merge with The Clock and vice versa. The Clock’s colorful image will undoubtedly encourage people to see Genesis 1 from a fresh perspective. Moreover, The Clock will facilitate human conversation regarding a much-needed theology of past, present, and future times.

The material is presented in a modest manner with user-friendly language. The subject of time is discussed from a broad spiritual perspective rather than a scientific understanding of time. The imparted information is written for spiritually-minded people who:

○ Hold teaching positions within churches, temples, or institutions of higher learning.

○ Desire a deeper understanding of Genesis 1 and Revelation.

○ Believe that the subject of time should be part of our theological conversations.

○ Are interested in developing a healthy theology of time.

A Theology of Time

In her book, Time and Eternity—The Question of Time in Church, Science and Theology, author Antje Jackelén states the following: Many problems of the modern age have been diagnosed and addressed as a ‘time sickness.’¹ Jackelén devotes her final chapter to the notion that it’s time to develop a theology of time. I agree! But what is a theology of time? How would such a theology prove helpful if it were developed?

I believe that a simple theology of time should support the knowable realm of human existence. It should be a perspective of time that easily snaps into place when we visit our museums of natural history throughout the world. Such a theology should complement the words of Scripture when we discuss biblical history. It should make sense when we imagine the future of a new heaven, a new earth, or a new day. In other words, a theology of time should be a logical, rational perspective of the spiritual and physical journey shared by the whole of humanity—past, present and future.

A healthy theology of time cannot be developed without considering the affect that timekeeping has on the human spirit. Even though we cannot see, taste, touch, hear, or smell time, we sense the passage of time due to the presence of light! The time and light phenomenon is inseparably paired within the human mind. Time moves as a spiritual entity within us. It lives within the human mind and converses with us throughout our day. Therefore, time is often personified as a living creature in the arts and literature.

Throughout the pages of this book, I draw attention to the personification of time in the Bible. The allegorical characters of the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, the dragon, and the beasts of Revelation are each alleged to be personifications of the curse of time. Humanity’s spiritual enemy is, therefore, defined as the lesser government that rules over the human spirit from the back side of the 24-hour clock.

The ancient serpent that brought deception into the Sabbath day garden is identified as the voice of temporal time—the voice that lured humanity toward the desire to eat forbidden fruit in the hope of gaining wisdom. By defining humanity’s lesser government as the voice of temporal time, a mask is ripped off of Satan’s face. The human clock is revealed as the devil’s hiding place for