God save us everyone, will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns?
For the sins of our hands, for the sins of our tongue,
For the sins of our hands, for the sins of our tongue,
for the sins of our fathers, for the sins of our young?
NO!
Musically at this point the music portrays a stirring and rising effect. As it should, for this verse describes a desire for change. Suddenly this speaker is in fact crying out to God. In the "burning" part, he even understands what the wage of his sin will bring. All people deep down inside know that society itself is crumbling and that something is wrong. We can sense it. This person seems to understand why and even sees the end result. He even knows why! The word "for" is another word for "because". So burning "inside the fires of a thousand suns" is because of the sins we committed, both past, present and future. We do sin with both our hands and our tongue. Words can cut deep into people, and all of us have said the wrong things.
In using "fathers" and "young", it shows that sin is generational. It is a hereditary trait. It doesn't even just have to do with the past, but how we live in the future. It impacts our children in such a negative way. A lot of the bad habits we have, our children tend to have as well.
However, like what was said, this speaker is crying out to God for salvation. He wants an end to this! He wonders if we will burn or if God will send help to grant us a way out to freedom. He doesn't know what else to do except cry out for mercy. He doesn't present any special offerings, because he understands that they will never amount to anything. He sees that nothing will save him from "burning in the fires of a thousand suns", but that "chant" ends with one word: "NO!" No, I WILL not burn, I will not bear this wrath. Some would say, "He's making his own truth and being his own God," but may I suggest that this speaker is repenting. He is making an active choice of walking away from this sin, darkness and death and into life.
The song lastly transitions into a finale, with the words said repeatedly, "Lift me up, let me go." The tone of them is of increasing desperation and fervency. They see that the only way out is not done by the work of their hands. They are trapped in the "sins of their hands, tongue, fathers and young." This ordeal "cannot be outfought, cannot be outdone, cannot be outmatched, cannot be outrun." The speaker sees that the only way out is through reaching out to someone or something outside of himself. He sees himself having bad karma, and cannot work to be saved from the mess he found himself in. The debt he has is too high for him to pay. He needs to be freed from the society around him and even more importantly, HIMSELF!
According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a catalyst is "an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action." Pretty much every testimony by a Christian that I know of has to do with reaching a point of hitting "rock bottom", like described in this song. The person realizes that they have been consumed by the evil of the world around them, and at the same time have contributed to that evil. This person sees their filth and realizes that they need to make a change not in just some parts of their life, but their entire life.
Oftentimes when we humans have reached our most bitter and broken circumstances, an automatic reflex is to lift our hands up to the heavens, crying for help, mercy and deliverance! At one point in the music video for this song, we see the lead singer Chester Bennington doing just that. I sincerely hope and pray that one day all the members of this band do this, if they haven't already. Maybe this song is a bit of prophecy?
Jesus Christ answers the cry of the broken, oppressed and sinful. He did this by dying a brutal death on a cross, facing not only physical, but spiritual anguish. Three days later, He did the impossible: rising from the dead, which was the exclamation point on the victory He offers to all of humanity openly and freely. Upon trusting in Him, the only "fire" we will experience is not the "burning fire of a thousand suns" composed of judgement and eternal condemnation, but the all consuming "fire" of cleansing, restoration, life and power.
NO!
Musically at this point the music portrays a stirring and rising effect. As it should, for this verse describes a desire for change. Suddenly this speaker is in fact crying out to God. In the "burning" part, he even understands what the wage of his sin will bring. All people deep down inside know that society itself is crumbling and that something is wrong. We can sense it. This person seems to understand why and even sees the end result. He even knows why! The word "for" is another word for "because". So burning "inside the fires of a thousand suns" is because of the sins we committed, both past, present and future. We do sin with both our hands and our tongue. Words can cut deep into people, and all of us have said the wrong things.
In using "fathers" and "young", it shows that sin is generational. It is a hereditary trait. It doesn't even just have to do with the past, but how we live in the future. It impacts our children in such a negative way. A lot of the bad habits we have, our children tend to have as well.
However, like what was said, this speaker is crying out to God for salvation. He wants an end to this! He wonders if we will burn or if God will send help to grant us a way out to freedom. He doesn't know what else to do except cry out for mercy. He doesn't present any special offerings, because he understands that they will never amount to anything. He sees that nothing will save him from "burning in the fires of a thousand suns", but that "chant" ends with one word: "NO!" No, I WILL not burn, I will not bear this wrath. Some would say, "He's making his own truth and being his own God," but may I suggest that this speaker is repenting. He is making an active choice of walking away from this sin, darkness and death and into life.
The song lastly transitions into a finale, with the words said repeatedly, "Lift me up, let me go." The tone of them is of increasing desperation and fervency. They see that the only way out is not done by the work of their hands. They are trapped in the "sins of their hands, tongue, fathers and young." This ordeal "cannot be outfought, cannot be outdone, cannot be outmatched, cannot be outrun." The speaker sees that the only way out is through reaching out to someone or something outside of himself. He sees himself having bad karma, and cannot work to be saved from the mess he found himself in. The debt he has is too high for him to pay. He needs to be freed from the society around him and even more importantly, HIMSELF!
According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a catalyst is "an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action." Pretty much every testimony by a Christian that I know of has to do with reaching a point of hitting "rock bottom", like described in this song. The person realizes that they have been consumed by the evil of the world around them, and at the same time have contributed to that evil. This person sees their filth and realizes that they need to make a change not in just some parts of their life, but their entire life.
Oftentimes when we humans have reached our most bitter and broken circumstances, an automatic reflex is to lift our hands up to the heavens, crying for help, mercy and deliverance! At one point in the music video for this song, we see the lead singer Chester Bennington doing just that. I sincerely hope and pray that one day all the members of this band do this, if they haven't already. Maybe this song is a bit of prophecy?
Jesus Christ answers the cry of the broken, oppressed and sinful. He did this by dying a brutal death on a cross, facing not only physical, but spiritual anguish. Three days later, He did the impossible: rising from the dead, which was the exclamation point on the victory He offers to all of humanity openly and freely. Upon trusting in Him, the only "fire" we will experience is not the "burning fire of a thousand suns" composed of judgement and eternal condemnation, but the all consuming "fire" of cleansing, restoration, life and power.
"The Catalyst" is written by Linkin Park, copyright 2010 Universal Music.
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