Thinking to Change Times and Laws–Part One
Time is difficult to define and to measure. This is what we have learned by trying to understand the laws that govern our universe, the starting point by which people begin to chart their human existence and to contemplate the purpose of life. Leaving us to only mark the passage of time, often memorializing events and individuals on our calendars, which can reflect the defining and binding cultural attributes, religious beliefs and political directions of peoples and nations. The difficulty in explaining our universe and our time spent living in this universe lies in the fact that humankind was not around at the beginning of the universe, which has limited people’s awareness of their existence to only a few thousand years of human experience. Scientists and astronomers alike have informed us that the universe is very old and it is moving away from us in all directions, which is an observation seemingly not overlooked in Scripture because Isaiah described a similar idea when he wrote: “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isa. 40:22). This indicates to us that the Bible addresses the fact that there had to be an observable beginning to the universe and a beginning for time, but a conclusion has not been reached by either the scientist or theologian as to what exactly took place at “the beginning” of the universe (Rom. 1:20). Leaving the Apostle Paul to tell us that “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Heb. 11:3). Nevertheless, when people began to chart their existence and measure their time on earth, they were compelled to do it based on the physical universe that came into existence prior to human arrival. People have done this by various means, but basically people have numbered their days according to the seasons, and the sun, moon and stars. By these celestial bodies, people have charted their time on earth, often in the form of calendars, to mark their place in the passage of time. This seems to give people a sense of belonging and realism in their lives. It also gives people a sense of purpose, so their lives don’t seem meaningless and aimless, because a calendar can mark important events—both past and future—and give place to our memorials. “So teach us to number our days,” King David said. And that is what we do. On the individual level and on a national scale. But not without some confusion and distortions in how we chart our times on the earth, because there are different interpretations of events and experiences and sometimes these are changed as the result of circumstances, and the result is sometimes a change in the direction of people’s lives. (David’s statement implies a reflection on our personal life as a temporary existence and that such time should be used wisely in living God’s way of life.) Sometimes this has a good outcome, and at other times it has led to troubles. Now, it seems that many peoples, nations and empires have seen themselves as the center of the universe, or at least their own universe, and it is from this frame of mind that people sometimes record their life experiences, remembering the past, and planning the future direction of their lives. Consequently, an accepted calendar by any group of people can be influential in this context, and it can have a guiding nature for different cultures, and so it is easy to understand how a change in the way we chart the times affects our understanding of the past and the future. Likewise, we can also understand how a departure from one calendar, to the acceptance of another calendar, can reflect what people choose to believe and how they choose to remember their past and see their future. More importantly, however, is that any change in how people see their memorials in regard to their beliefs—political or religious—can spark conflict without resolution, and invite intervention by greater authorities and powers, and it is particularly so with peoples and nations who hold collective beliefs, some perhaps memorialized on calendars, who feel that their religious and political existence is in jeopardy by the changing of seasons and laws. An example we can draw on from the Bible is found in a statement made in a prophecy recorded in the book of Daniel where it speaks of an authority who intends—within the scope of the authority—to “change times and laws,” which is to say “seasonal” memorials and laws that would affect both political and religious practice, which would naturally be reflected in how people mark the important and guiding events of their past and future. Prompting us to explore this issue further, and in doing so we will examine the significance of this intent to change “times and laws” from the perspective of the calendar. The Mayas, for example, had a belief that the universe would continue to be created and destroyed many times over. They understood their world in terms of beginnings and endings, and each time the world would last about 5,000 years. Their universe began, according to a modern understanding of their calendar, on the day equivalent to September 6, 3114 BCE on the Julian Calendar, and it would be destroyed sometime after AD 2000. (We can say as of this writing that it hasn’t happened as yet.) We can take another example of how people chart their time and relate it to their culture and religion from a discovery that occurred some decades ago. An amazing discovery was made in a peat bog of the English Midlands of England. A peat cutter came upon the remains of a man, fairly well preserved, who was thought to be about 2,000 years old.