What is a Christoscope?
In Faithberg's lexicon, a Christoscope is a precision instrument which is a repository of data from hallowed antiquity to timeless eternity. It incorporates the elements of optics (a spiral lens for fine-tuning), spirituality (Urim and Thummim) and scriptural big data (The holy bible). It is useful for discovery and predictive studies.
The book of Hebrews started with a very profound reality that is of high import to our faith. In there, we got a peep into the lives of the saints of old, as it relates to how God speaks to them in bits and pieces, leaving them to figure it all out like pieces of a puzzle. But what seemed like a puzzle to them has now been made plain to us. (Hebrews.1:1-2)
God was meticulous in revealing his will to humanity piece by piece, so that no one will miss out irrespective of whatever side of the covenant he or she falls, whether old or new. Hebrews 11:40 succinctly articulated this. It all started in the garden of Eden with the first couple on earth—Adam and Eve. The account in the book of Genesis 3 suggests that God did come to visit them in the garden at the cool of the day; this blissful fellowship would continue until iniquity was found in them, and eventually they got stripped of divine glory.
Finding themselves naked, they resorted to wearing aprons made from fig leaves. However, God, in his infinite mercy, clothed them with coats of skin, which is more durable—a shadow of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, where every believer is clothed with the righteousness of God as a result of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.
The lens of the christoscope is now focusing on a man called Abraham; he looks old, as evidenced by his grey hairs and beards, which had grown very long. He can be seen holding his staff; he also held a fire that was flickering as he went up the misty mountain. His son, Isaac, was bearing a pack of wood as he led the way, and surprisingly, Abraham held a philistine knife. The atmosphere was tense as the duo did not exchange any words during the ascent. Every chirp of the cricket, hoots of the owl, and screeches of the eagle was distinct in that isolated terrain.
Anyone in his right senses wouldn't have predicted that the knife was meant for the neck of the handsome Isaac, but boom! Here we are at resolution 229: Daddy Abraham was caught knife-handed in an attempt to slaughter the father of two nations like a festive ram! But Isaac was not going to die because an actual ram was already caught in a thicket by his horns, and now we have to make a quick switch of our lens to resolution 2213, and there was the helpless ram—a shadow of the substitutive sacrifice of Christ.
Then there is Joseph, whose Jesus-eque life trajectory is uncanny; hated by his own brethren, in a similar fashion where Jesus was also delivered to be crucified by his own kinsmen, sold to strangers in a similar manner to how Jesus was delivered to the Romans, imprisoned and suffered for his innocence; this again resonates with Jesus' suffering for a sin he didn't commit, and ultimately, his ascendancy to the highest throne in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh's, after a period of ordeal in the dungeon, could be likened to Jesus' resurrection, glorification, and ultimate sitting by the right hand of God after his passion. And just as Jesus' elevation sealed the redemption and reconciliation deal for mankind, Joseph's elevation saved his entire lineage from a destructive famine.
All through the levitical books, we saw various types and shadows of Christ. The Passover lamb and subsequent sacrifices of bulls, calves, and heifers, which were frequent in those times, were only a pointer to the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross. While the former had to be done repeatedly, hence the need for it to be discontinued, Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all; it was indeed the one-time sacrifice that afforded us an all-time access to the presence of God.
The lens of the christoscope also lands briefly on Joshua, the captain, leader, and legend. The man who, by God's courage, led the Israelites to the promised land—a place of rest. Although this rest was largely geographical and transient, it was a symbol of the actual rest that Jesus brings. Little wonder; he calls everyone who labours and is heavy laden, and when we respond, we are assured of a rest that lasts. What about Solomon, the shadow prince of peace, whose peaceful reign exemplified what Jesus' (the real prince of peace) reign would entail? This means any life that gives Jesus a chance will definitely experience untold peace and rest.
Our lens also picked up diverse imagery and allusions all through the book of Psalms, as well as in the prophetic books. Enter the celebrity prophet Isaiah with the world-famous prophecy of Jesus' birth. David, the king, poet, and prophet, also foretold events about him with the sharpest precision and an unassuming clarity. His mission statement is captured in Psalms 40:7; Psalms. 69:21 talks on him being given vinegar to quench his thirst; chapter 22:16–18 hints on his crucifixion, his dehumanisation, and lots being cast on his garment. Psalms 34:20 was about none of his bones getting broken, just as the Passover lamb (Numbers 9:12), Psalms 16:10 was about him not seeing corruption, and 68:18 talks about his ascension and subsequent empowerment of the believers with spiritual gifts.
Now, we are fine-tuning our christoscope at a very high resolution, and as we continued, we came across several types, but notable amongst them was John the Baptist, the popular voice of one crying in the wilderness. He looked very similar in quality to the expected image, but the Urim and Thummim of our christoscope failed to glow intensely, and so, our quest continued, as we zoomed in on John the Baptist by the river Jordan, we flipped through his many baptisms, but one in particular stood out, and it was that of the baptiser himself—Jesus Christ! We witnessed how the spirit descended on him and remained, hallelujah! We have found him!
Archimedes might have shouted Eureka! I have found it, but the heavenly hosts must have shouted hallelujah! We have found him! The conundrum, "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?" which has held the celestial realm spellbound for a while was now solved forever, as it was evidenced by John's unambiguous declaration, "Behold the lamb of God!" and now as it is in heaven, so it is with our christoscope adventure, we have found the Christ, who is our only hope of glory, and all we have to do now is to diligently behold and eventually become just like him in the process!
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