A Spiritual Lesson In Toon Language: Lesson 60

Topic: Heaven's Town Criers

Series: Looney Tunes

Episodes: Rabbit Hood and Robin Hood Daffy

Lesson PDF link: 60.pdf

What in your opinion is a Town Crier?

These special people historically are the ones that run the streets giving loud messages by mouth in an effort to spread the news across the land and especially the city(ies) where they do their crying.

The trick to being effective at this job is that the job is done previous or right at the time something happens that's big news; then people need to believe the crier and act accordingly with and to the news. If fake or incorrect, these kinds of announcements can be embarrassing and consequences grave.

My wife Bonnie has reminded me about a very famous Town Crier named Paul Revere and people call his "famous ride"; remember he told all of the colonial people of the day he could that the British were coming and kept repeating this message. Without this message of the coming invasion, the United States may not have been born. Thankfully, the message was true and people believed and got ready to fight for their colony.

We are going to study a couple of very famous Biblical Town Criers with the help of a couple of cartoons and some Bible passages.

Watch this cartoon called "Rabbit Hood."

What did you see in the cartoon?

In this cartoon, we see that Bugs is being chased by the Sheriff Of Nottingham for theft (he stole one of the King's carrots). As he is being chased, there is talk of Robin Hood coming by Little John. I am using Little John as a kind of Town Crier symbol and he is like Gabriel and John The Baptist. Look at these scriptures of what these two did through this lesson.

Luk 1:5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Luk 1:6 Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

Luk 1:7 They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting old.

Luk 1:8 When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God's presence,

Luk 1:9 he was chosen by lot to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, according to the custom of the priests.

Luk 1:10 And the entire congregation of people was praying outside at the time when the incense was burned.

Luk 1:11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

Luk 1:12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled, and fear overwhelmed him.

Luk 1:13 But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

Luk 1:14 You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth,

Luk 1:15 because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

Luk 1:16 He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.

Luk 1:17 He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord."

Luk 1:18 Then Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this, since I am an old man, and my wife is getting older?"

Luk 1:19 The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you.

Luk 1:20 But because you did not believe my announcement, which will be fulfilled at its proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens."

Luk 1:21 Meanwhile, the people kept waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed in the sanctuary so long.

Luk 1:22 But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them but remained unable to speak.

Luk 1:23 When the days of his service were over, he went home.

Luk 1:24 After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months. She said,

Luk 1:25 "This is what the Lord did for me when he looked favorably on me and took away my public disgrace."

Birth of Jesus Foretold

Luk 1:26 Now in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

Luk 1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

Luk 1:28 The angel came to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!"

Luk 1:29 Startled by his statement, she tried to figure out what his greeting meant.

Luk 1:30 Then the angel told her, "Stop being afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.

Luk 1:31 Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus.

Luk 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

Luk 1:33 He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end."

Luk 1:34 Mary asked the angel, "How can this happen, since I have not had relations with a man?"

Luk 1:35 The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

Luk 1:36 And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age, this woman who was told be barren is in her sixth month.

Luk 1:37 Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

Luk 1:38 Then Mary said, "Truly I am the Lord's servant. Let everything you have said happen to me." Then the angel left her.

Gabriel was the crier for both of these births of John The Baptist and then The Lord Jesus Christ. This made Gabriel Heaven's Town Crier and now everyone thinks of him as the chief messenger angel, but we don't really know for sure. We do know that Gabriel is gifted with giving prophecy as well. Daniel saw the end times in a vision because of Gabriel doing God's work of this type for the kingdom of Heaven.

There were several other Heavenly announcements to be given out in close proximity to each other. Most of the time, people think (the way I understand it) that Gabriel was responsible for delivering most if not all Heavenly decrees then and now; we don't know for sure, as I said.

In the cartoon, Little John keeps appearing even at the last of the cartoon and is disappointed in Bugs' unbelief (who still doesn't believe at the end that it's really Robin Hood).

Bugs is considered a false crier and gets the Sheriff into a world of trouble (the King won't be happy with the Sheriff's house on his royal property).

Look at Matthew 24: 15-28

Mat 24:15 "So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),

Mat 24:16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Mat 24:17 Anyone who's on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house,

Mat 24:18 and anyone who's in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

Mat 24:19 "How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

Mat 24:20 Pray that it may not be in winter or on a Sabbath when you flee,

Mat 24:21 because at that time there will be great suffering, the kind that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and certainly will never happen again.

Mat 24:22 If those days had not been limited, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be limited.

Mat 24:23 "At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!', don't believe it,

Mat 24:24 because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and display great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mat 24:25 Remember, I have told you this beforehand.

Mat 24:26 So if they say to you, 'Look! He's in the wilderness,' don't go out looking for him. And if they say, 'Look! He's in the storeroom,' don't believe it,

Mat 24:27 because just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Mat 24:28 Wherever there's a corpse, there the vultures will gather.

Now, Heaven had another Town Crier (even though earthly) that spread the news much like Gabriel on Earth too. His name was John The Baptist and was given the same prophecy of the birth of The Lord Jesus Christ. He testified to the Light greatly and made the crying easier for Gabriel (if it needed to be). This is huge though, because there was a regular human that was given the same message that an angel like Gabriel would give. I think this is amazing that God would allow His people to give such big messages. The scriptures record that this happened numerous times, but this doesn't get any less amazing. In this case though, it is one of the biggest cries given to date.

Let's look at the scripture passages we are speaking of in Luke 3: 1-22 and John 1: 19-34

Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Luk 3:2 and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

Luk 3:3 John went throughout the entire Jordan region, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

Luk 3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!

Luk 3:5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight, and the rough roads will be made smooth.

Luk 3:6 Everyone will see the salvation that God has provided.'"

Luk 3:7 John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Luk 3:8 Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, 'We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!

Luk 3:9 The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

Luk 3:10 The crowds kept asking him, "What, then, should we do?"

Luk 3:11 He answered them, "The person who has two coats must share with the one who doesn't have any, and the person who has food must do the same."

Luk 3:12 Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

Luk 3:13 He told them, "Stop collecting more money than the amount you are told to collect."

Luk 3:14 Even some soldiers were asking him, "And what should we do?" He told them, "Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay."

Luk 3:15 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah.

Luk 3:16 John replied to all of them, "I am baptizing you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Luk 3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He will gather the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."

Luk 3:18 With many other exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

Luk 3:19 Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done.

Luk 3:20 Added to all this, Herod locked John up in prison

Luk 3:21 When all the people had been baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened,

Luk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him, appearing in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!"

Joh 1:19 This was John's testimony when the Jews sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

Joh 1:20 He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself, admitted, "I am not the Messiah."

Joh 1:21 So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

Joh 1:22 "Who are you?" they asked him. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

Joh 1:23 He replied, "I am '...a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the Lord's highway,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

Joh 1:24 Now those men had been sent from the Pharisees.

Joh 1:25 They asked him, "Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?"

Joh 1:26 John answered them, "I am baptizing with water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know,

Joh 1:27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie."

Joh 1:28 This happened in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

Joh 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Joh 1:30 This is the one about whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.'

Joh 1:31 I didn't recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel."

Joh 1:32 John also testified, "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.

Joh 1:33 I didn't recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

Joh 1:34 I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God."

Unfortunately, there were still bad guys in those days that tried to kill our Lord before His redeeming work even really began. We are talking about people like King Herod. Specifically, Herod is one of our subjects of this study and is symbolized by Daffy from Robin Hood Daffy.

Let's watch "Robin Hood Daffy."

In this cartoon, Daffy is convinced that he is Robin Hood, but can't do anything right as far as his credentials and proving his claims.

Look at Matthew 24: 24-25

Mat 24:24 because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and display great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mat 24:25 Remember, I have told you this beforehand.

Porky plays Friar Tuck. A Friar is usually one of several kinds of Roman Catholic and is similar to a monk. in this cartoon and ends up getting Daffy to understand he is not Robin Hood. In the end times, this is usually not going to happen for people thinking they are the Messiah that aren't, we will always have to watch out for false Christs.

In this cartoon, Daffy tried to kill the rich traveler before he made it to the castle safely. There is a parallel here because King Herod tried to kill every male child under the age of two when he found out that the Wise Men didn't show up for a scheduled report about the Christ child's whereabouts--the announcement to not go back to King Herod was yet another Heavenly cry from an angel; we don't know if it was Gabriel, but it would make sense if it was.

Look at this scripture passage in Matthew 2: 1-18

Mat 2:1 After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem

Mat 2:2 and asked, "Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

Mat 2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.

Mat 2:4 He called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

Mat 2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet:

Mat 2:6 'O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Mat 2:7 Then Herod secretly called together the wise men, found out from them the time the star had appeared,

Mat 2:8 and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them, "As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him."

Mat 2:9 After listening to the king, they set out, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy.

Mat 2:11 After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Mat 2:12 Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they left for their own country by a different road.

Mat 2:13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt," he said. "Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him."

Mat 2:14 So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left at night for Egypt.

Mat 2:15 He stayed there until Herod's death in order to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said, "Out of Egypt I called my Son."

Herod Kills the Children

Mat 2:16 Herod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men.

Mat 2:17 Then what was declared by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled when he said,

Mat 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah: wailing and great mourning. Rachel was crying for her children. She refused to be comforted, because they no longer existed."

The rich traveler is similar to Jesus in regards to being the victim of attempted murder. Just like Daffy's traps, King Herod's didn't either. When God really wants something done, there is no stopping what He is up to.

Jesus was sent to travel to earth and was on a mission, the rich traveler was doing something too and needed to stay in the castle with permission of the King and this could mean renting a room; this is of course on the surface, until the thought hit me that this traveler could be the King himself in disguise, in this case, we would have a whole new ballgame so to speak.

Jesus came in the form of a human infant, so He didn't appear very Kingly. He was brought into very humble circumstances (unlike most kings).

Unlike Daffy (who did a version of repentance with his conversion to Friar), King Herod did not repent of murdering babies to stop Jesus from doing any damage to his kingdom. We all know that Jesus wasn't after King Herod's throne (he didn't know though). Although, this shows how power hungry Caesar Agustus, Caesar Tiberius and King Herod were.

In the end of Rabbit Hood, we see that Bugs didn't believe Robin Hood was there right in front of him (as said before). We hear Bugs say Nah, couldn't be him. The people of this world are quite similar to Bugs in their unbelief as Jesus came and wasn't recognized by a lot of people at all on average. Look at this scripture passage in John 1: 1-18.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2 He existed in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3 Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made.

Joh 1:4 In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity.

Joh 1:5 And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

Joh 1:7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him.

Joh 1:8 John was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

Joh 1:9 This was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him.

Joh 1:11 He came to his own creation, yet his own people did not receive him.

Joh 1:12 However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God's children,

Joh 1:13 who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man's desire, but from the will of God.

Joh 1:14 The Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, who is full of grace and truth.

Joh 1:15 John told the truth about him when he cried out, "This is the person about whom I said, 'The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.'"

Joh 1:16 We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance,

Joh 1:17 because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.

Joh 1:18 No one has ever seen God. The unique God, who is close to the Father's side, has revealed him.

Notice that John 1: 6-8 talks about John The Baptist's testimony and the rest is about Jesus.

The end times will be similar to those times and even now. On average, people don't recognize Jesus even now, because most don't have that very personal relationship with The Lord and it will just get worse in that respect as the end draws nearer. We can't be like Bugs and still not believe even if The Lord is right in front of us (like he and Robin Hood). Daffy was conceited in this cartoon and was humiliated before the Friar Tuck character played by Porky.

Robin Hood takes from the rich and gives to the poor. There is a parallel here too.

Look at Luke 18: 9-14

Luk 18:9 Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else:

Luk 18:10 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, 'O God, I thank you that I'm not like other people--thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.

Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.'

Luk 18:13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, 'O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!'

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted."

Remember that Jesus is the ultimate in Town Criers as well. He repeatedly prophesied about Heavenly things and sent many messages to His people and even enemies while here on His earthly ministry.

God will give everything to those who are humble and not arrogant or prideful. We need to remember the humility of Christ's birth and obedience to God's plan even though Jesus is God Himself, He emptied himself of that divine right for a little while in order to save us and we need to be humble as well before God and willing to obey our callings and then blessings will flow in our lives. We need to also pay attention to our blessings and make sure we don't take them for granted or we could become complacent or worse conceited.

May God bless us and keep us in his grace.