Victorious Ost

[Glendora Spink]

Ihave been long troubled by the impact that popular eschatological teaching has had on the body of Christ over the last two generations. Fundamentalist preachers have been zealous to whip the troops into a frenzy for that last hectic push of evangelism before the trumpet sounds. Unfortunately, their focus on the last days has had the unintended result of fostering apathy, making the Church seem irrelevant and causing tens of thousands of people to disengage from and adopt a defensive stance towards society. For the last 60 to 100 years (depending on your accounting of events) large portions of the Church have effectively been circling of the wagons rather than taking their role as world changers.

A dear friend of mine recently sent me the book Victorious Eschatology: a Partial Preterist View by Harold R. Eberle and Martin Trench. I sincerely hope that this book gains a massive readership. I would like to champion it here because it offers a thorough, thoughtful eschatological view that is more consistent with other portions of scripture that challenge us to be world changers, to extend the Kingdom of God, engage with society, and Transform its institutions. Specifically here at the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship, our desire is to transform people and nations through business. We feel that the Lord has given us a mandate to promote Kingdom entrepreneurship and biblical principles of business and economics.

In their examination of the subject, the authors employ a careful exegetical verse by verse approach, but manage to remain very readable. Those that have been immersed in futurist teaching may be shocked, by the ideas presented. However, should they find themselves agreeing with Eberle and Trench, they can take comfort in knowing that they can do so without leaving the historical theological mainstream. They could even see themselves as abandoning a recent theological fad.

Giants in church history believed in a more victorious eschatology, including church fathers like Eusebius (263-339 AD), considered by many the Father of Church History, and Origen a prolific early theologian and writer (185-254 AD). Similarly, revivalist like Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon all held to views such as:

Most of the prophetic events in Matthew 24, Revelations 1-14, and the book of Daniel were fulfilled on or before 70 AD with the fall of Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God has been growing steadily since the first coming of Christ, and will crush and put to an end all other kingdoms. The Antichrist(s) were Gnostic teachers in the first century. The Beast was a Roman emperor, probably Nero. The great tribulation does not lie in our future and though the apostles and writers of the New Testament lived in the last days (of an era, covenant, etc) we do not. The Kingdom will grow in victory and influence, and darkness will lose ground but nonetheless remain until the 2nd return of Christ. Jesus will return for a victorious Church and separate the wheat from the tares.

The Pop Song Professor project is all about helping music lovers like you to better understand the deeper meanings of popular song lyrics so that you know what your artist is saying and can enjoy your music more.

And it's finally time for my last explanation of a Panic! at the Disco song from Death of a Bachelor. It's been a while in coming, but it's finally time to wrap up this album. Ironically, we'll be wrapping it up with the album's first song: "Victorious."

The Intro for "Victorious" starts out "Tonight we are victorious / Champagne pouring over us / All my friends--we're glorious / Tonight we are victorious." This same stanza is repeated throughout the song, and it embodies the main point of the song: to encourage and pump up.

In the Pre-Chorus, he explains, "My touch is black and poisonous / And nothing like my punch-drunk kiss." This all seems to be a reference to the surge of power he feels, due to an extreme boost of self-confidence. He encourages his audience to "Drink the water, drink the wine" and to join him.

The Chorus is easy enough to decipher and continues to develop the sense of mania this song creates so well: "Oh, we gotta turn up the crazy / Livin' like a washed up celebrity / Shooting fireworks like it's the Fourth of July / Until we feel alright." Washed-up celebrities are known for living lives of excess as they try to "regain their glory days" (or for whatever other reason--I don't know any washed up celebrities) and Urie wishes only to mimic them as he encourages his partiers to grow their self-confidences and to keep doing what they feel like doing.

The last unique stanza of the song (the Bridge is a hodge-podge of the intro and outro lyrics) is the Second Verse. In it, Urie sings, "I'm like a scarf trick. It's all up the sleeve / I taste like magic, waves that swallow quick and deep / Throw the bait, catch the shark, bleed the water red / Fifty words for murder, and I'm every one of them." After listening to how he sings these lines, notice that the lyrics largely mean nothing. This is another example of Urie sacrificing direct meaning for an overall feeling that combines with the music to send listeners all the confidence they can derive from "Victorious."

And that's what "Victorious" is about. It's about confidence--not necessarily confidence in anything--but confidence in general. It's about the desire to go for something more and the knowledge that one can't be stopped.

Hi! I'm a university writing center director who teaches literature classes and loves helping others to understand the deeper meanings of their favorite songs. I'm married to my beautiful wife April and love Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons, Kishi Bashi, and so many others!

Then he did something I had never seen before: He covered his left eye with his left hand and began rimming the hole. Ball after ball rimmed the hole. And I realized he was teaching himself what it felt like when he missed. It was like a basketball player shooting off the rim, a pitcher throwing just outside the strike zone, or a soccer player training himself to hit the post. By teaching himself the difference between the feeling of missing and the feeling of putting the ball in the hole, he knew which one to avoid. That kind of dedication set Woods apart then, and it is setting him apart once again.

Perhaps the most accomplished golfer in the history of the sport, Woods was stricken with an anterior cruciate ligament tear and lumbar sacral problems. He went through unsuccessful conservative treatments, surgery, rehabilitation, divorce, more challenges with his golf stroke, and drug abuse. Now once again, he is competing at the highest levels, from the Masters to much of the PGA Tour.

I have seen the same victorious spirit in Tim Daggett, the gymnast who broke his leg, and Charlie Davies, a rising star of American soccer, both of whom overcame disastrous obstacles that would have ended the careers of most athletes. They succeeded because of their ambition, perseverance, and hard work, in addition to their God-given talent.

My favorite example of how adversity can lead to new success is Cliff Meidl, a young man who was hit with 30,000 volts of electricity during a construction accident; that voltage is 20 times the charge typically used in an electric chair. Meidl needed 14 operations. After his recovery, he still could not walk well, but he could paddle, and in 1996, he qualified for the US Olympic Kayak team. He was not an athlete, but he became an athlete, and in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he not only made the team but was elected by his teammates to carry the flag into the opening ceremonies. He focused himself. It took that adversity to learn that he had this special athlete inside him.

I believe that adversity can be an engine for unimagined opportunity. The greatest physical adversities Woods has faced are the injuries to his knee and his back. The back is the nemesis of the golfer. The power of the gluteus maximus coming through the kinetic chain requires great torsion in the lumbar spine, and the golfer's core must be sufficient to control this force and drive the ball 300 yards. Woods' latest surgery, which fused two discs, required him to relearn the movements on which he relied throughout his career.[2]

As sports doctors can attest, it is tough to get an athlete back in the game even at age 22, let alone 42. The older athlete cannot train with the same vigor. In his 20s, Woods out-trained everyone and intimidated them. At 42, the athlete does not have the same training capabilities; range of motion and speed of recovery are more limited. It is not surprising that Woods tied for 32nd place at the Masters. That he could finish even that high, and come in second at the Valspar Championship, is remarkable.

1. Nutrition and exercise. Woods is legendary for his workouts, running and lifting weights at a time when most professional golfers thought big muscles would be a liability. As a result, he has the fastest club-head speed in the PGA Tour. Woods espouses a disciplined diet. "I stick to lean meats and seafood, lots of fruits and vegetables, and no junk food. My typical breakfast is an egg-white omelette with vegetables. Lunch and dinner is usually grilled chicken or fish with salad and vegetables. Protein ranks high in my diet because it helps build muscle tissue. I also take daily supplements for bone protection and nutritional support."[3]

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