Modern abridgements and adaptations of Pilgrim’s Progress for the stage or television omit most of the ninth stage. As this consists of a dialogue between Hopeful and Christian, with contributions from Ignorance, this is unsurprising. There is no dramatic action here, and the theological details are probably beyond those doing the abridging. This is a shame, because the whole point of the pilgrimage is that you can’t just turn up at Heaven’s Gate and say ‘I’ve done my best God, let me in.’ It is a common enough mistake. But those groups which gather themselves together and see themselves as ‘called out’, actually have firm reasons for doing so. Some of these are explored by Bunyan here.
Hopeful, like so many who have ‘reformed’, was conscious of two difficulties: his former sins still weighed on him; and even though he tried to be good, he still committed sinful acts and had sinful thoughts. Even when Faithful had told him to place his faith in the redeeming blood of Jesus and to turn to Him, Hopeful had not been able to find Christ. His prayers and supplications seemed not to have been answered. Then at his lowest point, Christ came and told him to turn to Him:
I gathered, that I must look for righteousness in his person, and for satisfaction for my sins by his blood: that what he did in obedience to his Father’s law, and in submitting to the penalty thereof, was not for himself, but for him that will accept it for his salvation, and be thankful. And now was my heart full of joy, mine eyes full of tears, and mine affections running over with love to the name, people, and ways of Jesus Christ.
By way of contrast, Ignorance is confident that his ‘good’ thoughts and good intentions will suffice; there is in him no consciousness of personal sin and repentance.
As they come to the river which divides them from the Celestial City, the Pilgrims learn that they have to cross it themselves – there is neither bridge nor boat; as he cannot swim, Christian was sore afraid. His own fears drag him down, and even though Hopeful helps him stay above the waters, Christian fears he will never get to shore – but calling on the name above all names bears him there at the last.
On the shore, two ‘Shining Ones’ lead them to the city, where all the promises made to the faithful will be fulfilled and where they will see God face to face and serve Him in eternal felicity.
Now I saw in my dream, that these two men went in at the gate; and lo, as they entered, they were transfigured; and they had raiment put on that shone like gold. There were also that met them with harps and crowns, and gave them to them; the harps to praise withal, and the crowns in token of honor. Then I heard in my dream, that all the bells in the city rang again for joy, and that it was said unto them, “enter ye into the joy of your lord.”
I also heard the men themselves, that they sang with a loud voice, saying,
“blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb, for ever and ever.”
Ignorance – who has come the easy way, is turned away at the last.
At that point, Bunyan wakes from his dream – and leaves us with a timeless classic.
The lessons he taught there are as valid then as they are now. If we would be saved, be must call on the Grace of God and the Name of the Lord Jesus – there is no other way to the Father save through the Son. The road is hard, the way is narrow. Not all shall enter, and who follows Christ must bear His cross. The Pilgrim must be as valiant now as then.
I’ve really enjoyed the series, and have been reading the book of an evening – so thank you on two counts
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Glad you enjoyed it – and thank you for the opportunity.
For me the way to the Son is through the Ark of the Covenant.
Each to their own David. I go straight to the Way, the Truth and the Life. The old notion that we somehow need an intercessor has never appealed to me. Seems a relic of hierarchical societies where you needed an intercessor. Christ says to come to Him all who are heavy-laden. I am, I do.
Even David consulted the Queen mother.
He did indeed, and I’ve the greatest respect for the Mother of my Saviour. Indeed, it seems odd to me that anyone who loves Jesus does not honour her. But when I want to talk to Jesus, well, I’m happier going straight there.
But, saying that, I saw the effect she had on people like my old friend JohnDC, and that commands my respect too.
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Anyone who needs advise can turn to their parents. We should honor them. they were here befor us. So, what does that tell us about salvation? Nothing. Like brother Geoff reminds us, jesus said come to him all ye who labor. He gives us rest, not penance or beads.
We should certainly honour our father and our mother, and we should honour the mother of Jesus, who was clearly a most wonderful woman. But when it comes to Christ, well, yes, we can come to Him by the prayers of others if we want, but for myself, I shall take up His invitation – though I fear to drink of that cup.
brother Geoff, how do we come to him by the prayers of others? I can pray for you to come to know the Lord, or to get a better job.Take my daughter for example. She was doing the worldly thing. i prayed all the time that Christ comes to her. But she has to ask for salvation, and want it also. She has to feel the need for Christ to save her. I reminded god that he gave me a promise to save my house. She is my house. She tells me she now is attending a gathering of believers. Not a religion. i can pray for you but not get saved for you. Yes Geoff, tell it like it is. There is no other intercessor. Jesus does not support this idea.
We must be careful Bosco. There’s plenty of sign that we should pray for each other – Paul is very keen on this. It is an act of love to our fellow Christians – but that said, I will go to my Lord as He told me.
After 30 years of study, I have no problem seeing Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant. The old Covenant contained the broken plates of the law given to Moses and the people of God, and the food that came from heaven to feed them in the wilderness plus the staff of Aaron. Mary contained the New Law which will be written in the hearts of men and the true bread that comes from heaven, which Jesus commanded us to eat four times, and Jesus is the new staff raised up. I have no problem saying as the Angel of the Lord ‘Blessed art thou’ She had a part in her redemption, she had free will, as we do, either to accept or reject. I have a part in my redemption I have free will, Christ does not do all the work, we have work of our own to do. I see once saved always saved as slavery. I have no problem with the words given by Elizabeth ‘Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb’ Mary was just a human as I am, but she was the first given the Holy Spirit before the other Apostles. She was faithful. Those who touched the first ark with unworthy hands died, those who touch Mary the New Ark with words that harm I do not believe is wise either. I have a problem with people who pick a verse here and a verse there and build a new bible. It is a complete story of 72 books and must be understood as a complete story. The new story of the rapture is an example. 1848 or so, In the Book ‘The Left Behind’ the authors did not know what to do with Mary, so they had a temporal heaven not the heaven of I AM, not a heaven of the creator of space and time but God, a servant, a slave, of time and space. They resurrected Mary last at the massive throne of Jesus and gave her three crowns and then she just disappeared into the crowd. They could not insult her because she maybe important to the Lord, but? Mary keeps Jesus human, he is not the massive God on the Golden throne, He is Mary’s son, my brother. Of course she is an intercessor, we are one body, we are one family and as one family we help each other. Mary is who I can be, ‘Be it unto me according to thy word’.
No problem with most of that Tom. We owe her a huge debt – and respect and admiration. Not sure on that last one about her keeping Christ human. That seems, as much Mariolotry does to me, to go beyond what we know from Scripture or tradition.
I have come to understand protestantism as Christ alone. Christ in that theory does not need anyone, he does not need Mary, his mother, he does not need the Apostles, he does not need the bible, nor the church he can do all. But he does not, the Apostles and their acts are intercessors in our path to salvation, the 4 gospels are intercessors to our path to salvation, but what is the message; it is love each other, as I have loved you. How do you preach the gospel to a blind and deaf man, you wash him, feed him, cloth him, love him as Christ would have loved him. We and Christ are one body. When Mary saw Christ beaten and falling in the street, she is His mother, she and Him were one, bone of bone, flesh of flesh, she shared His pain because it was her pain, she was His mother. If you read the bible you will see that everything that Christ did, to the smallest thing was planned from the opening of Genesis in the greatest detail, one of those details was the woman Mary, Peter was a coward, Thomas was a doubter, Judas was a traitor, nothing was an accident. As for as keeping Christ human that is the most valuable thing that keeps me from the error of protestantism. Is or does the Holy Spirit exist, the empirical evidence is either No, what you read out of the bible is only what you think, or yes, but the Holy Spirit is a liar or the best case confused, or he does not speak to everyone, well for me I have not heard him, I am the Ethiopian in the chariot waiting for the apostle who the Holy Spirit talks through, to please speak to me. The passage in Acts ‘It seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us’. I will not believe a protestant of any stripe on the subject of the Holy Spirit unless I see the physical effects of a spiritual event, I have never seen it and it has not occurred in my life. It is recorded that the Holy Spirit talked to the Apostles, not to me, so I should listen to them, not to those who show no empirical evidence today that the Holy Spirit spoke.
The Bible for me is a mirror that reflects the future, which is a reflection of the past, and who is to tell me what these images mean? Guess who, because I do not have the Holy Spirit, I must be told.
I don’t disagree Tom. We come to Jesus as we come to Him, and if intercessors help some folk, well that’s the way it is meant to be. And yes, we all need teaching, and we all find being taught more difficult than teaching – it was ever thus.
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