Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer once remarked: “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” 1 John 2:22 reminds us: “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”
An artifact is defined as an object made by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest. They are often considered items of rarity found in archaeology that may or may not tell their own true story. Genuine artifacts can offer insights of the past through their materials, construction, and the context of their discovery, revealing salient information about the people who created and used them. However, there is a notable proverb of warning that constantly reverberates through those of discernment: “All that glitters is not gold.” This is regarded as the caution of life, as not everything in it, is as it may appear.
Artifacts can be beautiful and of great value, or they can be derelict, broken and sometimes of little worth. They may also be deceptive, not only in appearance but also in truth. These may be items that have been intentionally faked or distorted. They could be considered to constitute the wanton lies of life. They may be constructed of false materials with the sole intention of profit, greed or misrepresentation, which unfortunately remains a pertinent factor of society and attempts to represent something its not. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 confirms: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
Deception, like fake artifacts, is also a common feature in the Bible. It attempts to reveal and highlight the consequences of lying and the importance of truth. Genesis 27:1-23 reminds us: “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves.
And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”
So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.”
Just as Isaac was deceived through trickery and lies, artifacts in medical terminology may also be considered in a similar perspective. They relate to common distortions or errors in medical images that may impact the truth or quality of diagnostic imaging, thus potentially leading to an incorrect prognosis through obscurity.
Obscurity can hide the veracity of life, it camouflages both falsehood and genuineness by creating barriers that prevent clarity and induce opaqueness causing the real truth to remain hidden. Heaven is believed by many to be the next immediate home after death, but for some, it is not the enduring residence where God abides. It is considered a temporal existence until God leads us to a new and permanent home. C. S. Lewis, a British writer and literary scholar, once remarked: “It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to 'see through' [everything]. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see.” Ephesians 4:14-15 reminds us: “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”
For some skeptics, heaven could be considered homogeneous to a dubious artifact, in so much that it may not be a real place. Varied beliefs exist across the spectrum including the possibility that it may only be a personal state of mind. Hiding the truth leads to frequent misunderstandings and can damage trust. If this trust is damaged to any significant degree, it may be difficult to repair and continue on as normal without consistent damaging elements of confusion arising. If artifacts become damaged or broken they may lose worth. Perhaps not all is lost by breakage, but its overall beauty or significance will certainly be diminished. Deceit can lead to the loss of spiritual life, which opposes eternity or sempiternity unless redemption is granted. No physical artifact can ever be considered eternal, even though it may be extremely old, as over time it will gradually lose its strength and begin the natural process of decay. However, heaven is considered by many Christians to be as timeless as God, and as such, should retain its presence and value forever.
Heaven, like gold, can symbolize purity itself. Whether it be appraised as eternal or sempiternal is the subject of belief and debate. However, the common factor for both is that it will always reject evil, deceit, temptation and sin. Time itself can constitute both sin and virtue. Without time, perpetuity can prevail. Revelation 21:1-4 reminds us: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Amen.
