The Pale Horse

I am busy re-reading Agatha Christie's "The Pale Horse"  - which is such an assured and entertaining thriller.  As I have read it many times, I know who did it and why but still can't remember all the details (looks like a perfect alibi to me). But it is so entertaining and it might inspire me to try again to write an Agatha.

And of course it takes its title from one of the riders in the Book of Revelation.  The pub  and villain's lair (spoiler alert, though not really) is called "The Pale Horse".  And I did call the pub in my (advert alert) Disraeli Hall" "The Coat" - full name "The Coat of Many Colours".  Maybe I was partly inspired by this Christie, but it may have been more because I had named the road after Benjamin Disraeli, so a Jewish theme suggested itself.

Obviously I have been thinking about Christmas - the season of peace on earth and goodwill to all men...?  A question:  If Jehovah wanted us to celebrate Jesus' birthday, wouldn't he have had made the date clear to us?   The Seventy Weeks prophecy in the Book of Daniel told the Jews the exact year the Messiah would arrive, but specifies neither month nor day.  And Jesus asked us to commemorate his sacrificial death, not his birth.

I also wonder if the concentration on Jesus as a helpless baby in a crib helps to distract us from thinking about what Jesus is actually doing now, as a powerful king - the King of Jehovah's Kingdom.  If so, then could it be a lethal distraction, as that is what we urgently need to be thinking about?

I found out last Thursday that I have a part in this Thursday's School, though I am a householder, not the one who has to write the script.  We are going to get together in Zoom to sort it out on Wednesday night.

Its the Summary Review, as follows (and my partner will be working on the point "Making it understandable"):

SUMMARY

The Bible gives us hope and helps us to cope with challenges by promising a future filled with happiness.

Review

• Why do people need hope?

• What does the Bible say about the future?

• How can having a hope for the future help you now.

And how much we need a hope for the future.   Isn't it why we need to understand what Jesus is doing now, as the King of God's Kingdom, and work alongside him in the Kingdom preaching work?