The destruction of the world and the end of civilization as we know it is an unsettling thought to most people. But to those in whom the Lord abides, Judgment Day is welcomed, even something longed for and eagerly anticipated with great hope and expectation; for believers are not the subject of God’s wrath. Believers understand that Judgment Day is that time in which God executes perfect justice on an evil world. The Spirit shall destroy and purge by fire, but for those in Christ, the Spirit shall be as Living Waters of eternal life.
Scripture portrays the Holy Spirit in seven distinct emblems. It is depicted as any of the elements of “fire” (Mat 3:11; Acts 2:3), “water” (Ezek 36:25l John 3:5; John 7:38, 39), or “air/wind” (Ezek 37:1-10; John 20:22). The Holy Spirit is also represented as “oil” (Isa 61:1; Heb 1:9), a “seal” (Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30), or a “guarantee/down payment/earnest” of our salvation (Eph 1:14). Finally, the Holy Spirit is also portrayed as a “dove” (Mat 3:16). In Fork in the Road on the Way to Judgment Day, the Holy Spirit is represented as fire and water.
The Holy Spirit is represented as water for believers on Judgment Day because we hunger and thirst after God: “I shall give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” (Rev 21:6). The artwork depicts a giant tidal wave, building in strength, ready to come crashing forth upon the observer. Similarly, believers have been given a foretaste of the spiritual life through the Holy Spirit on earth, but we will not realize spirituality in its fullness until Christ comes and we receive our resurrection bodies. Until then, the heart of the believer is but a small oasis unto others: “He who believes in me... out of his heart shall flow living waters” (John 7:38). The text in the upper right corner reads, “Living Waters” and “share your thirst,” thus reinforcing this Holy-Spirit-as-water theme.
The Holy Spirit is represented as fire for believers on Judgment Day because that is how our works shall be tested: “…each one’s work will become clear, for the Day will declare it; it will be revealed by fire… If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so through fire” (1 Cor 3:14-15). All self-willed “good deeds” shall be burned. Only works performed in the Spirit shall receive reward. Fire is a picture of judgment. Believers are baptized “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” but unbelievers receive a fire that is “unquenchable and consuming” (Mat 3:11-12).
In this artwork I sought to portray that perfect balance between water and fire, between the Holy Spirit washing and purging. The Kremlin, Statue of Liberty, Eifel Tower, and Golden Gate Bridge appear across the middle. These monuments draw from a variety of locations and cultures so as to symbolically portray the world and humanity as a whole. They are angled in a V-like formation, suggesting they are being folded up and put away behind Christ. The city behind the bridge burns at right, while the other monuments at left appear washed away in a great deluge. A giant toothbrush appears to be “scrubbing away” their very existence: “…when the Lord shall have washed away the filth… by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning” (Isa 4:4).
(After the Genesis flood, God promised He would never destroy the earth with water again (Gen 9:11). Thus, the cataclysm by water should be viewed figuratively while the cataclysm by fire may be viewed in a more literal way).
Christ is depicted upon a fork at center. The fork appears at the end of the road to Judgment Day. Christ levitates with open arms, as if to invite the traveler on the road of life into a covenant relationship. The fork represents choice—we all must individually decide whether to accept of reject Christ.
The natural inclination is to reject Christ: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).
People naturally reject God. This is portrayed in the angry protests and overt hostility displayed by those individuals in the boats at the shoreline. They are uninterested in the Living Waters, unwilling to be immersed in the Holy Spirit. They are juxtaposed against pawns, a reference to their spiritual rank.
Accepting Christ runs contrary to our instinct toward self-preservation. It carries with it the implication of death to self and letting go of the world. The signs on the road to Judgment Day read, “I’m not done yet.” This refers to the difficulty of self-denial and separation from the world. For the natural man, the end of the world brings sorrow. It is only through God re-creating a new spiritual identity in the heart that we are able to accept the end of the world with joy. This spiritual regeneration is portrayed by the King and Queen. When we accept Christ, we are elevated from pawn status to the royal rank of King or Queen. We are re-created as children of God, a new spiritual species on earth (John 1:12; 2 Cor 5:17).
The Fork has three prongs, an allusion to the trinity. At top, a woman’s eyes are shut, representing the choice to reject Christ. However, the fork stabs the one eye in the middle of the woman’s forehead, which is open. The opening of the “third eye” in the forehead is a symbol of wisdom and of the sealing of the Holy Spirit. This represents the choice to accept Christ: “And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev 22:4); “…if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Mat 6:22 KJV).
The opening of the third eye, or mind’s eye, enables individual believers to understand spiritual matters. But with great wisdom also comes grief and sorrow (Ecc 1:18). By accepting Christ we receive not only His glory and blessings but also His sufferings: “…it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil 1:29). The fork stabs the third eye, extracting a tear. This pictures the pain, sorrow, and suffering believers must endure “for His sake” (Phil 1:29).
Finally, Judgment Day boils down to the choices made during one’s life. It shall come as a thief in the night to those who say, “I’m not done yet.” These people have not surrendered their own lives to God. They are like the wind-up doll depicted at right, enslaved to the world, the flesh, and the devil. For the unbelievers, the choice is about accepting Christ to avoid the unquenchable fire. For the believers, fire merely purges unclean works, but they themselves are saved. Believers look forward to Judgment day because we long to see the appearance of the Lord. We look forward to Judgment Day because we know that, on that day, the tidal wave of Living Waters—God’s Spirit—shall be opened in its fullness.
Larry Word
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