The Apocalypse and the Disciple
Revelation for Every Age
By Charlie Crowe
Table of Contents
Dedication
An Introduction Rome
105
Forward Jesus’
Prophecy Conference
Chapter 1 Revelation
1:1-8
Chapter 2 Revelation
1:9-20
Chapter 3 If
Jesus Google Rated Churches?
Chapter 4 Revelation
2:1-17
Chapter 5 Revelation
2:18-29
Chapter 6 Revelation
3
Chapter 7 Revelation
4
Chapter 8 Revelation
5
Chapter 9 Revelation
6
Chapter 10 Revelation
7
Chapter 11 Revelation
8
Chapter 12 Revelation 9
Chapter 13 Revelation
10
Chapter 14 Revelation
11
Chapter 15 Revelation
12
Chapter 16 Revelation
13
Chapter 17 Revelation
14
Chapter 18 Revelation
15
Chapter 19 Revelation
16
Chapter 20 Revelation
17
Chapter 21 Revelation
18
Chapter 22 Revelation
19
Chapter 23 Revelation
20
Chapter 23 Revelation
21
Chapter 24 Revelation
22
The Fourth Jesus
End Thoughts
Author’s Note
Dedication
This book is lovingly dedicated to
my beloved wife who has never failed to support, encourage and challenge me as
a disciple of Jesus. Without her, my
faith and life would be tragic shades of gray.
Thank you, Lorie.
Rome AD 105
It was the stench that was the worst.
The heat was awful; it was as if the air in this cell had not moved in
years, it only got more foul and hotter.
The prisoner leaned against the wall.
There was no place to sit except the floor and it was too filthy to sit
on the floor. The stones themselves
seemed to radiate heat. There was the
smell of urine and excrement. The corner
of the cell was a make shift toilet. But
more than a few of the former occupants of this cell had lost control of their
bowels where ever they stood so the entire floor was to some degree a
toilet. There was also the smell of blood
and decaying flesh mixed with the animal smells. He felt the bile rising up in his throat
again; he swallowed against the urge to vomit and wondered how much of the air
he breathed contained the remnants of vomit from other prisoners.
It was quieter than one might expect in the corridors of this
misery. There was an occasional moan,
the sound of frightened voices now and again.
There were animal sounds from a different part of the chambers. One might expect that a jail this large and
apparently full would be loud with protest, curses and pleadings. It was, at least in this underground section,
peacefully silent. The noise came from
above in the open air. There was a
general rumble that would occasionally crescendo into a scream and then turmoil
of cheering.
This was the Festival of Salus. She was the goddess of safety and well
being, of welfare, health and prosperity for individuals, but most of all for
the glory of Rome. It was said that all those who would swear allegiance to
Rome and to Salus would receive welfare, pardon and forgiveness of all the
crimes committed against the empire, that was almost certainly a cruel lie. The
Prisoner reasoned that it was because of this appeal to hope that the
Christians had been gathered in the stadium. They would face a terrible
choice. Would they place their hope in
this unseen, unknown character Jesus? Or would they place their hope in the
might and the power of Rome represented by the masses of crowds, by the Emperor
or by the great buildings?
It was hope that had attracted the Prisoner to the religion of Jesus.
Having accomplished much in his life there were very few things that he needed.
But somehow life seemed to be empty and pointless. The riches he had inherited
from his father, the glory he had earned as a soldier, the home he had in Rome
and the villa in the countryside, the slaves, the mistresses, the intrigues,
and the power all somehow left him empty.
So, when he saw a friend whose life was much like his own undergo a
dramatic change he wondered. As this friend demonstrated life and hope and joy
that had eluded the Prisoner, he asked and acquired and learned about the hope
and this one named Jesus.
It was only a year-and-a-half since he began following the strange new
religion but the change was immediate and glorious. Even as a persecuted
minority it was worth the cost of being a disciple of this one from Galilee. He
knew that one day he might have to make great sacrifices because he was a
follower. But because Jesus was his Lord and his King who sacrificed for him,
sacrifices were part of what he committed to do should they ever come.
They came two days ago. The demand of the sacrifices came in the form
of a soldier who arrested him. A slave
betrayed him; he, his wife and his two children were taken. Watching his
children die was the worst moment he ever experienced. But he wasn’t the only father to watch his
son die. Wondering what ever became of
his wife haunted him. And now he waited his turn in the Coliseum.
He would walk out onto the floor of the arena where the emperor would
grant him one chance to swear his loyalty to Rome and to Salus to be forgiven,
to have all that was his restored, to re-enter the life of a Roman nobleman.
Should he accept the offer of the goddess Salus he would return to his wealth,
his peace, and his prosperity. His wife might be dead, but the emperor would
give him a new one; he could have other children. He could return to the years
before Christ with wealth and mistresses and slaves and a life built entirely
around himself. Or he could refuse the offer and he would die having lost
everything and his own life would be forfeit.
Because he had served in the legions they might give him a sword and
make him a gladiator against younger, stronger men. They might give him a sword
and allow him to fight his way against hyenas or lions. Whatever was planned if
he refused the offer to sacrifice to Caesar and Salus, he would never leave the
stadium alive. His death might be quick, but more likely it would be slow
and painful.
How does one willingly and joyful give up everything and agree to die
miserably for the sake of a carpenter from Judea Palestine? It is because in
the last year the Prisoner had learned that all the attacks of Darkness and
Evil, all the power of wrong were nothing but an expression of the influences
of a war against God and God's people. They had read again and again The
Apocalypse of John from which they learned in every page and every paragraph
that suffering and hardship are inevitable. They are not unexpected and they
need not provoke fear.
As he heard and as he read the Revelation he could see the attacks on
his faith, on the church, on his morals and convictions from the powers of
Darkness portrayed throughout the entire letter. The realization that although
the enemy would win minor victories along the way, he would ultimately be
defeated and this gave the Prisoner the strength that he needed as he lived his
faith, said goodbye to his wife and children, as he stood in a stinking, filthy
cell. It would give him the resolve and the courage that he would stand before
Trajan and he would declare that Jesus Christ the Messiah is Lord. Ceasar is
not Lord. Christ is Lord and for that he would die and in that he would win.
This account of historical
fiction gives us some insight to understanding and applying the book of
Revelation. There are a great many
theories about the meaning of the book of Revelation, not all of them can be
correct. Any interpretation of the last
book of the Bible that would not have helped a prisoner understand and stand
firm in the face of persecution is an interpretation that needs to be viewed
with great suspicion. As disciples of
Christ in any age we need to be less concerned with chronology than with
holiness, less concerned with putting current affairs on a chart of prophecy
than the call to follow Christ in the face of hardship.
Perhaps it is because in
America we have not faced meaningful and painful persecution that we as
Christians have become so distracted by times and epochs. As we read Revelation we must do so with this
thought in mind, “How does this call me to faithfulness to Christ in the face
of persecution, torture and the threat of death?” It is very unlikely that a prisoner facing
the death in an arena would have found encouragement in a 20th century, distant
prophecy about a computer (what- ever that might be) that was going to read a
micro chip (whatever that might be) and thereby was going to connect the whole
world to the Internet (whatever that might be).
Revelation is for every age. If an interpretation would not have helped
believers in every age, that interpretation needs to be rethought. Rather, let’s read this wonderful book from
the perspective of a disciple who wants to follow Christ no matter the
cost.
Jesus’ great
prophecy conference would disappoint many Christians today.
Jesus is leaving the temple
for the last time as He does so He has what amounts to His own prophecy
conference. The audience was very
exclusive, His insights and explanation are being given to a very select
few. Jesus’ teachings are fascinating,
powerful and convicting. But they lack
one thing that most prophesy conferences have and indeed have in
abundance. He provides no information,
secret material about dates and times. In fact, in all the “prophecy
conferences” Jesus held He had one consistent theme: “You will never know
when.”
Let’s be honest if you were
to ask Jesus “when” He would return He would tell you, “Do not struggle to
establish when I will return”. All
exertions to figure out when He will return are wasted efforts. Setting dates and offering a lot of hype
about the latest international events may sell books and might even grow into a
radio/TV show or ministry. (One
televangelist who has made this his focus has a reported network of 2.5 million
dollars and lives in a home valued on the upside of $400,000. Not a bad gig if you can get it.) The problem is that date setters are always
wrong. But in the prophecy conference
business when you are wrong you can always write a new book, based on a newer
and better theory because a new innovative superior secret understanding that
explains how a new insight makes your next set of predictions right on target
and worth the money.
The following statements are
not based on scientific research and exhaustive data. They are not meant to be universally
applicable. They are, however, the
observation I have had in my ministry.
Observation #1 Prophecy
aficionados can’t focus on anything else.
Knowing when, or at least
knowing the latest prediction of the Eschatological Super Stars, is more
important than any other part of the Christian life. Minutiae are the name of the game, some vague
and little known fact is the secret key to great esoteric knowledge. Their lives as disciples may be a sham and a
shame but they could tell you how the inflation of the price of goats’ milk in
the Himalayas was a sign of the soon coming END.
Observation #2 Prophecy
aficionados are all but useless.
Asking a prophecy aficionado
to serve in the local church is like asking a wine snob to do manual labor in a
vineyard. Will prophecy aficionados
volunteer in the ministry of the church?
Rarely. Will they invite their
friends to come to church? They will only invite other prophecy aficionados and
only if you are hosting a prophecy conference.
Will they help with a service project or volunteer with summer youth
camp? No, they are using their vacation
time to attend a prophecy conference, which happens to be at a 4-star resort. Will they teach a Bible class? Yes, but only if they can teach Revelation
and prophecy, over and over again.
Observation #3 Prophecy
aficionados do more harm than good.
Can prophecy aficionados
make disciples of their friends? They don’t have friends. Their dogmatism and their dire warnings about
the rapture have alienated everyone in their lives except other prophecy
aficionados. Their shrill warnings about
end times may have a short-term, evangelistic intent, but when they are wrong
so often the new believer will lose confidence and see Christianity as a scam.
But rather than spend all of
my time cursing the darkness allow me to light a candle. Think of this volume as a paper prophecy
conference. But it will not cover the
issues that you might expect. In addition to saving a lot of money by not going
to a big name prophecy conference at a four star hotel you will actually get
something worth your while. This paper
prophecy conference has two main parts.
Part #1 Do not focus on the
signs of when the Lord Jesus will
come again. It is a waste of time
because neither you nor your writer is that smart.
Part #2 Focus on the signs
of how we can remain loyal to
Jesus. This prophecy conference focuses
on how He can come into our lives, circumstances and situations as Lord and
Savior. Then live under His Lordship as
if everyday is the day of His return.
When we live every moment as
if Jesus is coming in our conversations, lives, actions and thoughts we will
live out His intended purpose for prophecy.
Revelation
1:1-8
The greatest problem we face
when studying or reading Revelation is the a priori assumption of the purpose
of the book. Most of the teachers and
writers who deal with Revelation act as if the book is about future history. It
is treated as a cheat sheet for a timeline allowing Christians to know events
before they happen. If we begin with this presumption we fall into a morass of
confusion trying to match the descriptions in Revelation to events in history
and link them to current or near events. This has been a repeated failure of
the church and of sects for years.
In this passage there are
two references to time in verses 1 and 4 totaling about 10 words. There is in
this passage depictions and descriptions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, of angels and the church in every verse. This book is just barely about
time at all. It is almost entirely about
the forces of righteousness and its ultimate victory over the powers of evil.
This is a panoramic vision of the defeat of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil
at a cosmic level. It is especially important because in life it often feels
like evil is winning.
Verses 4 through 8 are
almost a summary of the whole book and all of history in every age. It is also
a beautiful hymn of praise. This expression of praise begins with the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit (v. 4 and 5) and ends with the Alpha and Omega, the
Eternal One the Almighty God (v. 8). In the middle is the story of our
Redemption and our sharing in His victory (v 5 – 7). The grandeur of God and the salvation He
provides and our sharing in that salvation makes the obsessions with dates and
charts pale into insignificance.
Our fixation on charts, time lines and graphs about dates, chronology,
currency, and marks, ends up seeming just a little shallow and silly.
This book was written into a
world of incredible suffering and persecution for God's people. They lived in a
world where it seemed that evil was the stronger and would ultimately prevail.
Into this dark world there comes this message: The whole universe, time,
history, and everything else is under God's control and He with His people
shall prevail. To understand this book don't look at history or time; but
rather, look to God and His victory and glory.
Questions to ponder.
Of what value would a book
about the last few years before Christ’s return be to a first century believer
who is suffering for their faith?
Why would a book about the
conflict between God and His enemies, that is being played out in the world, be
useful in every age?
What apparent evidence that
the powers of darkness are winning in the world today do you see? Could harshly persecuted Disciples feel that
maybe they were mistaken and that they chose the wrong side?
Why would God choose not to tell
us about the ‘when’ of Jesus’ return?
Why do you think there are
so many resources about times of Christ return?
What does that tell us about our churches and ourselves?
Revelation
1:9-20
It is important to note
where this passage and this whole book begin.
John begins with suffering having been exiled to Patmos and sharing in
the tribulations, but still persevering.
There is one article, “the”, which is applied to three nouns. In doing so John links the three into a
single unit or reality. They are three
expressions of the same thing. These
three nouns are suffering, kingdom, and perseverance. Faithfulness or perseverance in the midst of
the certainty of suffering is part and parcel of being part of the
Kingdom. It is not that suffering is an
unexpected aberration and perseverance or endurance is something we have to
do. Rather suffering is to the kingdom
life what labor is to pregnancy, or muscle strain is to a work out. It is an absolute and necessary part of and
the fulfillment of the experience.
Through out most of history being a part of the Kingdom of God meant
suffering through which the disciple persevered.
Why didn’t John simply “name
and claim” his way out of the suffering?
One possibility is that John was ignorant of his authority to name and
claim personal peace and prosperity into his life. Another possibility is that John lacked
adequate faith. A third possibility is
that suffering, perseverance and the kingdom are so linked together that God
works in and through these, rather than extracts us out of them.
John hears a loud voice and
when he turns to see the voice he is so terrified that he falls like a dead
man. Maybe he fainted and maybe he
simply lost all strength because of being overwhelmed. The power and glory and symbolism cause John
to collapse. John was no young novice;
he has seen and experienced plenty. John
has seen the worst you could find on earth, but is terrified by the best of
Heaven. Completely overcome by what he
saw he falls into a heap. What revives
him is the touch of the right hand of what terrified him. We mustn’t miss this point: what devastates
us by its grandeur and glory will lift us up with its gentleness.
Perhaps the reason we are
lacking in the personal touch of the Savior is that we have lost or have never
known the fear of the Almighty. Having
reduced Jesus to a personal domestic or wingman, having tried to turn God into
a vending machine that dispenses goodies, we have lost the fear and awe of
God. Having lost any fear of God, we are
incapable of the comfort of God. WE do
not have His comfort because all we want are trinkets. As suffering and endurance are part of the
Kingdom, so fear is a critical part of comfort.
Questions to ponder.
When do you find Jesus most
terrifying? Why?
One old prayer reads: “Imprint on our hearts such a dread of Thy
judgments, and such a grateful sense of Thy goodness to us as may make us both
afraid and ashamed to offend Thee.”
Why if, in view of the fact
that God has appointed Christ to be our Judge, do we not fear His judgments
enough to avoid behaviors that we know will offend Him?
Does the fact that Christ
loved us with such passion that He gave himself for us in His death cause us to
be ashamed of even thinking about doing those things that add to the burden of
His Cross?
Do we see Jesus as being
great enough to be King and Master of this world, or do we see Him absent and
disengaged from life, or only involved in His little part of reality? How does our opinion affect the way we live?
Getting ready to look at the
Seven Church of Revelation:
If Jesus Google rated
churches
What if Jesus rated churches
today? Forgive me if I am playing anachronistic with the church, but I was
wondering if Jesus wrote a Google review of the seven churches how would they
do on a scale of one to five? My guess is that a couple would do
fairly well, but most of the churches wouldn’t. That caused me to wonder
how would our churches do? Which caused me to chase down another
rabbit trail.
I looked up on Google
“Churches in (city name withheld)” and looked at their reviews. I
reviewed the first 20 churches to populate the list and to my surprise they all
rated pretty high, the lowest score being a 4.4. The churches in
this city rated on average 4.76 which struck me as a bit odd, I seemed to be
missing something. This community has a crime problem, a drug and
alcohol addiction problem, there are rumors of corruption in the local
government, wide spread educational problems, not to mention a not very
well-hidden problem with hatred in the guise of racism. How is it
that in a community that is suffused with the symptoms of sin every church is
extremely good? One would think that with every church being great
that the powers of darkness would be receding if not vanquished. How
can this be? I have a few ideas of what may be
happening. I do not mean to ridicule or degrade the church, but I am
bothered by what I see in the church.
When Jesus looked at the
churches listed in Revelation only the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia did
not receive stinging rebukes and those churches don’t look much like our
churches. In fact, these two churches that were given positive
divine reviews didn’t have the things that typically get a church good reviews
on Google. In contrast the churches that
appear to have the things we would value most, wealth, tolerance, reputation,
lots of activity, were the ones most soundly criticized.
Why is it that the Lord’s
opinion of these seven churches is for the most part negative while our opinion
of our churches is so positive? There
are several possibilities for this. But
not all of them are equally valid.
The first possibility is
that Jesus is just too demanding. He may
have been an un-please able fuss-budget that no matter how good the church was
He was going to find some little thing to complain about. But when we look at His indictments of the
church we see those He rebuked had hideous problems. We also see that His agenda was not criticism
but to rescue the churches. We must
reject this explanation.
A second possibility is that
the churches of today have grown and evolved into genuinely great
churches. It may be that our churches
really are as good as we seem to think they are. But if that is the case why are most churches
in America in decline or flat-lined? Why
is the current church so fractured and divided both within and without? Why is there regression in all the
disciplines by which we can measure the life and walk of the individual
Christian? No one who seriously considered
the question would ever imagine that the condition of the American church is
anything other than grave. This second
possibility we must also reject.
There is a third
possibility. The reason that we rate our
churches so highly is because we like them for entirely selfish reasons. We have turned religion into a consumer
commodity. As individuals we have made a
priority of our likes, dislikes, appetites and requirements the means by which
we evaluate a church. We have made our
wants the idol to which we expect a church to sacrifice itself. If we attend a church and we do not like
something, indeed anything about the church, we will leave and go find a church
that suits us. Having done this a few
times we have migrated into churches we like and thus we rate them highly. This is the only possible explanation of how
every church can be so highly rated and yet the church is so utterly carnal,
divided, ineffective and self-satisfied.
We must not, however, place
all the blame on the membership of the church.
The church is a mess in America and church leadership is part of the
problem. In order to grow churches
numerically, to keep members from drifting to other congregations, to keep
offerings coming in and to keep the people happy church leaders have, with
good-intentioned motives, pandered to the whims of the religious consumers in
their churches and community. Telling
them what they want to hear and programming to their demands.
It is a small wonder that
the churches are so highly rated by their members and consumers. But that still begs the question, “What if
Jesus rated churches today?”
Questions to Ponder
On a scale of 1 to 5 how
would you rate your church? Using the
same scale how would Jesus rate your church?
Why the difference?
What criteria do you believe
the Lord uses to give a church a positive review?
Revelation
2:1-17
Typically, we attempt to
look at the seven churches of Revelation and endeavor to find there some
insight regarding the end times. A better application and understanding of
these messages to the churches is, “What does it mean to be a disciple? What
can we learn about how to live for Christ from each of these churches?”
Ephesus was a great church.
She was hard working with many good deeds. She was determined and faithful and
in both her works and her commitment to moral purity and doctrine. But into
this great church had slipped a problem. They were doing the right stuff as
they had always done, but the motivation had changed. Perhaps inertia or
tradition or reputation had slipped in and become their motivation. For whatever reason, they had left their
first love. It was so subtle that they likely never noticed the change. Where once they did great works for the love
of Jesus now they left love out of their motivation. They made a choice to
leave, they left their first love but their first love did not leave them. They were not victims but perpetrators, it
didn't happen to them, rather they did it to themselves. As disciples if the
love of Christ is not the motivation our works, no matter how grand, will
ultimately and finally come to nothing.
In our “mega” world, where
bigger is assumed to be better and more is the goal, the disciple must be
content with being a misfit. Our
objective is never to be the greatest and biggest. The most positive message from our Lord to
these churches is to a church that would not garner a lot of attention in our
world. This church was in the midst of trouble and it was poor. And it was about to suffer more with prison
and testing that were just ahead. But this is, from our Lord's perspective, the
best of the churches. As a disciple we must remember that those things so
highly valued by our culture in a church may be contemptible to our Lord and
those things our world wants to avoid may indicate loyalty to the One outside
of the world.
Being in the world is the
reality for the church and disciple. Being of the world is the ruin of any
church or disciple. Apparently, at one time Pergamum was a great church. During
a time of persecution she has remained faithful. But now, and perhaps because
of persecution, the church had let down her guard. The reference to Balaam and
Balak is related to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans were a
group that taught the relaxation of the high moral standards that marked the
Christian community. Perhaps out of misguided compassion, the desire for
growth, wanting the acceptance of the community at large or even the lure of
recreational sin the church had allowed immoral people to be a part of the
church without repentance. Jesus promises a war if they did not repent. Don't
miss this; unrepentant immorality will cause Jesus to make war against us. As a
disciple we must remember no matter how compassionate, effective or appealing
something may sound the compromise of morals is a short path to ruin.
In this passage we see one
very good church, one bad church and one church some where in the middle. As
disciples and as members of the church we are always in the process of
decision, we are always at a sort of crossroads for the future. The next step we take will move us toward the
point of taking the next step, either for good or bad.
Questions to Ponder
Have you ever had someone
you love grow cold or indifferent toward you?
What were the emotions that evoked?
In your ministry for the church are you loving the Lord and expressing
that delighted service?
If you are part of a smaller
congregation do you feel pressure to be larger?
From what emotions or convictions does that pressure come? Have you seen
or have you ever compromised things you shouldn’t in order to have more people
at church services?
In our pluralistic culture
there is great emphasis on being non-judgmental. How can that be positive for the church? How can that be dangerous for the church? In
what ways is the church expected to be judgmental and yet still loving?
Revelation 2:18-29
There are some people that the more you
know them the more impressed by them you become. And there are some people the
more you know them the less impressed by them you become. That is the way with
the church at Thyatira. If all we knew of Thyatira was what is recorded in
verse 19 we might conclude that she was a pretty amazing Church. But the
introduction of Christ in verse 18 is very intimidating and as we read verse 19
we are expecting the other shoe to fall and when it does it is not a pretty
picture.
The address begins, “I know your
deeds.” These deeds are defined in four categories: love, faith, service, and
perseverance. It is noted that the church is growing in these four categories.
So, what could be the problem? Simply this, all these are or can be externals;
they can be faked. The church had a huge problem, which the Lord defines as
“tolerance”. Don’t miss this point! The
overarching and supreme problem in this church was tolerance. This tolerance
was toward an influential woman who was teaching wrong ideas. It is important
to note that she was not teaching immorality or participation in meals
conducted in association with idol sacrifice. She was teaching and leading
people astray and the natural, inevitable result was that the people would, on
their own choice, engage in immoral behavior.
As a disciple we must be extremely
discriminating in the teachers we listen to. A great many teachers have
propagated and distorted the faith. They do not overtly teach evil, but they
lay a philosophical foundation for evil practices. These acts of immorality may
be, but are not limited to, sexual behaviors. Just because a teacher has a
platform or a program is no certainty they are teaching the truth. In fact,
popularity in a sinful world needs to be a warning sign. Every disciple needs
to be a student and scholar of scripture before being a devotee of a
teacher.
The consequences are serious in the
extreme. The Lord’s response is fierce. “I will kill….” all those who buy into
this doctrine. The fierce Lord with flaming eyes and burning feet is ready to
kill. Because a teacher or teaching appeals to us is no measure of the
validity; in fact, because of our fallen nature this appeal may in reality
spell our doom. By our very fallen nature we want to believe those things
that appeal to us, that make us feel good about ourselves and our lives. That is a tendency the enemy will exploit and
use to deceive us. We must be aware of
how we feel about things, but care not to trust our feelings.
But escape is possible. To those who
are misguided the Lord offers the word of repentance. To those who have
resisted the siren song the Lord offers the challenge to hold fast. In the
promise there is an important undertone. The false teachers are popular and the
faithful are not, but in the life to come the faithful are elevated to rule
with and in the company of our Lord. As disciples we choose our future. That choice is to be made with the greatest
care testing every teacher by the Word of God, not how we feel about his or her
message.
Questions to ponder
What is an occasion in which you became
more impressed with a person the more you knew about them? Can you give an opposite example?
Jesus said, “Woe to you when
all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the
false prophets.” What motivates the
world to speak well of false teachers?
What motivates false teachers to try to garner the praise of the
world?
Just because a church is doing a lot of
good highly visible things as described in v 19 doesn’t mean that they are
faithful. As disciples how can we
develop the discernment to see beyond any façade?
Revelation
3:1-13
Ours is a society that
accepts the ideal that “image is everything”.
That mind set was apparently part of the church at Sardis. The description of that church could apply to
many churches and individual Christians today, “You have a name that you are
alive, but you are dead.” We will go to
great lengths to appear to have it all together. The problem is that the facade will only last
so long. Many a church and individual
Christian have worked hard to appear to be spiritually healthy, while not
addressing more fundamental and spiritual issues. Sooner or later the truth always comes
out. A church or believer with
significant problems can only be restored by directly and honestly addressing
those issues. The nature of the problem in the church at Sardis was not the
issue we typically get worked up about.
They were not having a problem of worship or music or style, personality
or leadership, budgets or spending. It
was a problem of deeds or works. Our
works do not save us, but when we neglect works we end up neglecting the
relationship that ought to prompt or motivate our works. It is vitally important that we notice the
metaphor of the thief coming. We often
associate this metaphor with the lost being left out or left behind. This warning is not for non-Christians, but
for the church. It is the Christian, the
church that needs to be concerned with being caught unaware at Christ’s
return. It is the church whose works are
incomplete that is being warned in this passage.
Related to the letter to the
church at Sardis is the warning to the church in Philadelphia. This church is on the other side of the coin;
it is sort of an opposite, mirror image.
They have not missed their opportunity to complete their deeds as Sardis
had; they were facing their opportunity.
If the door was closing on Sardis it was just beginning to open for
Philadelphia. The opportunity for
Philadelphia was disproportionate to the strength. It was because they had
little strength that they were given such wonderful opportunities. In addition to their little power they had
two other qualifications for great opportunity. First, they have kept the word of the Lord
and their lives reflected His command and authority over them. Second, they have not denied Him when the
pressure was on; they remained loyal to Him.
Here is good news for every disciple-all three of these qualifications
are easily within our grasp. We need not
wait until we have achieved some level of capacity in order to take advantage
of God given opportunity. Never say “no”
to an opportunity because you lack some credential. If it is the good work the Lord has prepared
for us, our loyalty to His word and person is all the credential He thinks we
need. This does not mean an absence of
hardship. Hardships are promised, but in
those hardships He will keep us. There
is nothing wrong with degrees or training, but what makes a disciple is
loyalty.
Questions to ponder:
It is well known that
behavior predicates emotion. We tend to
do what we do and do it more often. With
that being known why would is it important for us to engage in the acts of
service associated with being a disciple?
What disciplines of being a disciple are the most difficult for you to
practice? Could it be that these are the
ones we most need to engage in or start?
Why or why not?
If you can accomplish all
that you want to do, when it is done who will get the glory you or God? We often pray, “God, show me what You want me
to do?” If that is our prayer who is the
one doing the work? Who will get the
credit for the work done? A better
prayer may be, “God, what do you want to do through me?” Think about and discuss how is this prayer is
different.
Revelation
3:14-22
It is as if the Lord saved
the worst for last. The church at
Laodicea is the only church of the seven to receive no word of commendation
from the Lord. It was a church without
approval. The church is apathetic about
its spiritual condition. They do not
seem to be self deceived, thinking they are spiritually healthy or dynamic when
they are not. This church appears to
lack any concern about their condition, even if they are aware that something
is desperately wrong. They are rather concerned about their financial
well-being. “Who needs to get fanatical
about religion when you have money?” is their attitude. Their wealth had made them numb to their
actual condition. How descriptive of
many of our churches today! We build
lavish homes for our congregations and are concerned with our personal peace
and affluence and we approach Christ as a consumer approaches a market. We will take a little of this and some of
that but only at our choosing.
Some where along the way
there was a failure of leadership. The
church did not end up in this pathetic shape by itself. There were leaders who either actively lead
this church towards this selfish life or did not correct it as it was drifting
that way. The church in the West is very
much in this situation. If the average
church member were given the choice of losing their faith or their wealth most
would, if they had to make a choice, surrender their faith. But in our religious context that choice is
never so obvious. You can easily find a
church that will tell you exactly what you want to hear about wealth, no matter
how selfish it might be. This is the
result of generations that have tried to make Christianity about us and not
Him. The seeker driven church has been
stunned to find that what the seeker wants is to be selfish with just enough
religion to alleviate the conscience.
They’re deplorable, and
they’re condition is not in spite of the circumstances, but because of it.
Their focus on personal peace and affluence has blinded them to their true
condition. They have five markers of how
bad off they really are. They are
“wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Thankfully, the Lord can provide
the cure for their five aliments. They
must, however, become passionate about the Lord and express genuine change of
heart, AKA, repentance. The Lord stands
at the door making noise trying to alert the church. If they will open to Him, He will come in,
however, he will not knock forever.
Questions to ponder
Despite all the wealth and
prestige of our churches which of the five descriptions of the church at
Laodicea best describes the church today?
If the church is numbed to its condition by its apparent wealth what
might be needed to break through that numbness?
Must we wait for the Lord to intervene or can we move toward repentance
ourselves?
Revelation 4
This fourth chapter of Revelation
has one primary purpose, one main message to communicate to us. We are tempted
to fathom the meaning of every symbol and image, but before we do that we must
not miss the main picture. This chapter is a picture of the entire universe
seen not from a physical perspective, but from the perspective of its order.
The first question we need to ask is not, “What does this or that symbol mean?”
The first question is, “Who is at the center of the universe? Who is it all
about?”
When Adam and Eve sinned they
were attempting to place themselves at the center of the universe as the ones
who determined right and wrong and law. The rebellion of Satan was an attempt
to place himself at the center of the universe, to usurp God's authority. When
we sin we are doing the same thing. By a sin of commission we are actually
trying to take God's place at the center and place ourselves as the one who
rules. In a sin of omission we are ignoring the one who is on the throne. We
have been entirely too casual in our thinking about sin. We think of sin as a
single act or a simple broken rule. It is much worse than that; it is an
attempt to throw God from His throne and to take that place for ourselves.
Every attempt to do so is inevitably going to fail and we are ruined in the
process.
Look at the One on the
throne and we will see we are insignificant, tiny, living dust that could be
blown to the four corners of the world in a moment. In contrast to our
smallness we see the one who is on the throne. In verse 8, we see three descriptions
of Him, none of which would apply to us. He is Holy, Almighty, and Eternal. In
verse 11, we see why He is worthy of worship.
It is because all that exists apart from Him was created by, and has
their ongoing existence in Him and because of His will. This incomprehensibly
large universe in which we live is insignificant compared to God. It is as if
in making it He says, “Here is a tiny picture of my power.” The beginning point
of understanding Revelation and of being a disciple is to understand it is
about God and not me. That is why as a disciple our first call, our first order
of life is to die to self.
Questions to ponder
If God created the whole
universe out of nothing and without effort what does that say about the efforts
of any to depose Him from His throne?
Why is it that we try and try again to reorder the universe to suit us?
In a tiny apparently black
spot in the sky, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed 10,000 galaxies. The number of stars is beyond count, but God
calls each by name. In moments of
suffering what does it mean for persecuted Christians to know such a mighty God
is on the throne of the Universe?
Revelation 5
If chapter 4 shows us the
universe from its truth perspective, that it is centered on God, this chapter
does the same with God's plan. It seems at times that the world is becoming
completely unglued. We look about us and all we can see is the apparent triumph
of evil. If we are pessimistic by personality the world offers us plenty of
evidence to support our opinions. If we are trying to be realistic the
preponderance of the evidence seems to trend toward bad news. It seems that to
be an optimistic we must somehow detach from reality and have a Pollyanna
disregard for evil around us. The answer is not to be realistic, optimistic, or
pessimistic, but rather to have faith in God and His plan.
We see God on His throne
holding a book. It is His plan, His
will, and it is all He wants done and accomplished. The plan is sealed
perfectly with seven seals. It is God's perfect plan that perfectly makes all
the confusing parts of the universe fit together. This plan is locked up until
someone good enough can open it and set things in motion. This wonderful,
beautiful, and glorious plan seems thwarted and the loss is so profound that
John starts to cry. This is no little cry, rather the wail of great loss that
hurts to the core of his very being. It is as if it would have been better if
the whole universe had not existed then this moment to have come about. The
hopeless despair we feel as we look about us is multiplied by every pain and
care in every place and time and John breaks down under the sorrow.
Then comes the word that is
possibly the greatest word in Scripture, “Stop weeping; Behold the Lion of the
tribe of Judah.” It is Jesus that will accomplish or has accomplished all that
God desires. This description is not
about chronology but the character of the Hero of the story. The plan will work because the Lamb that was
slain is worthy. The cascading voices of the saints, the leaders, holy
creatures that are beyond description and imagination join together to sing the
praises of this Lamb that was slain.
When we are given to
discouragement and despair by the world around us we need to recall this
command, “Stop crying.” The bad news is
not the real news. Yes, things can be bad, but when we look at Jesus and what
He has and will accomplish we realize the answer is not our optimism or
pessimism or perception, but God's plan fulfilled in Christ.
Questions to ponder
Do you tend more toward
optimism or pessimism? What does this
scene say for your perception of life?
If you were to stand before
Caesar in a Coliseum and were told that you should renounce your hope in Jesus
and replace if with hope in Caesar and Rome what might you see as you stood
there? Please be as detailed as
possible. How does that compare with
what John sees as the Lamb takes the scroll?
Revelation 6
What is our reaction to the
dramatic events of our world? There seems to be a growing trend toward the
histrionic and panic. Every time there is an opportunity for a panic there is
someone who will attempt to capitalize on it. From the passive media (it can
hardly be called the news media) to politicians to special interest groups to
business to individuals wanting to see that everyone is informed, every event
is exploited. But to do that there must be generated fear, sensationalism, and
crisis. Events large and small are presented as harbingers of doom. A grown man
playing a boy’s game takes a knee during the national anthem and it spells the
end of Liberty. Providing plastic straws with a fast food meal means the ruin
of the environment. Nothing is so trivial as to not be useful for exploitation
in one way or the other.
We see a different picture
in Revelation 6. In this chapter we see history, or should we say historical
events, unfolding but we do not see panic or fear. We see God's plan in the
scroll opened up by the Lamb who is worthy to accomplish God's plan. Note the
phrase “it was granted”. Within God's plan there is permission given for the
dramatic events of history. It is important to know that while men may act and
nature may convulse it does so not apart from the power of God and the Lamb,
but by their permission.
We need to also note the two
reactions of people. First is that of the martyrs. They have suffered the worst
in this world for the Lamb. Faced with tumult they turn to and draw close to
God. They do not see even their own
death as something out of control or beyond God’s power and provision. The
second reaction is from kings and rich men, slaves and freedmen. Without faith
these people, who represent all of humanity face the apparent chaos of the
world with a desire to be hidden from God. The world, the flesh and the powers of
darkness are delighted for us to be filled with fear and panic because from
there it is a short trip to wanting to hide from God. Instead, we must live
understanding all events are in His control. He is worthy to open the seals.
The saint who is about to
give his life for the Name of Christ doesn’t see history running amok. They see all of history working out according
the plan God has prepared and which the Lamb is bringing about.
Questions to ponder
Can you recall a prediction
of gloom that turned out to be nothing after all? What was it?
What was your reaction before, during and after the foretold doom?
No doubt there are events
that rock our lives and our little world, but do we believe these events catch
God by surprise? If we are under His
care do we really need to be disturbed by the events of history?
Revelation 7
Being a disciple is a lot
like the history of the Exodus. In the Exodus God’s people were assembled, led
and cared for by God through a difficult and what from a human perspective
seemed to be a helpless scenario or journey. The Exodus is a useful metaphor
for being a disciple. In Revelation 6 we see the world through which we travel
as disciples, which can also seem to be a hapless journey. But in Revelation 7
we see the rest of the metaphor. We see the complete number of God's people
sealed and protected. We see that numerically they can't be counted. We see
these people are the worshipping community who has been made righteous because
of the cross of Christ. We see them protected in God's presence. We see them
free from hunger, thirst, and the sun's misery and heat because of the Lamb’s
care. We see the Lamb as the Shepherd taking them to water and setting them
free from anything that would cause a tear.
When we look at this passage
with the lenses of the Exodus it becomes simply beautiful. As disciples we are
traveling through our own Exodus and wilderness wanderings. Living as a
disciple is not easy. We are not blind to nor immune from the hardships of life
just as Israel was not immune from the hardships of the desert. But as Israel
was cared for in the Exodus so we are cared for in our life as a disciple.
It has been said that it
took God 10 plagues to get Israel out of Egypt, but it took Him 40 years to get
Egypt out of Israel. Why is it that we do not experience a total life of bliss
as soon as we become a follower of Christ? Why do we face so many struggles as
we follow? The answer is in the symbol of the Exodus; in the process God is
changing us. Sometimes in the process we become discouraged. When that happens
we turn to Revelation 7 and we see that we will make it. Cared for, protected
and comforted by the Lamb, we are not alone on this journey.
It is interesting to note
that in this chapter of the tribes Dan and Ephraim are not mentioned. We can't
say specifically why, but we can say viewing this chapter through the lenses of
the Exodus when it came time for Dan and Ephraim to receive their inheritance
they rejected God's provision for them. By not including the tribes of
Dan and Ephraim in this list we see a fantastic symbol that even though God can
and will lead us through our Exodus there are some that will not remain
faithful and will miss out.
Questions to ponder
How would you feel if
you had a caregiver that was very careful to meet all of your provisional
needs? What if that caregiver was able to make universes by the power of His
will? How comforting would that be?
There is no doubt that the
life of a disciple and the church through history has been filled with
tribulations just as Israel they struggled during the Exodus. What lesson from
Israel's Exodus makes the most sense for you as you walk as a disciple?
Revelation 8
If you looked at the world
when the Revelation was being disseminated and asked who or what are the
influences of history you might expect it would be the powerful men of
politics. You might think it would be the generals and the armies. You might
even believe it is the people of wealth and riches. If we ask the same
questions today we would likely draw similar conclusions. We might add to that
list the powers of media, entertainment, or the Internet. But the picture we
see in Revelation 8 and 9 offers a very different answer.
Beginning in verse 6 angels
are about to blow their trumpets. Trumpets were the early warning system of the
day. They were used to call attention and to warn people of impending danger.
The events described after each angels’ trumpet blast are warnings to an
unrepentant world. The events are world-shaking and reshaping moments. It is
important to pay attention to the context in which these events are described.
The context begins with
silence, a lost art today, that will give emphasis to the sound of the trumpet.
But that silence is not empty. Between the breaking of the seventh seal and the
first trumpet sound what do you see? We see the prayers of the Saints. While it may appear that the powerful forces
of history and life are the great political, economic, cultural or military
leaders it is not so. We see that the
prayers of the Saints go up to God and then things happen. When faced with the
events that occur after the trumpets sound the world's elites are weak and
powerless.
Prayer is the hardest
discipline that a Christian can develop. It is so easy to get distracted, to
parrot without thought the same old words, to slip into freestyle prayer that
requires no heart and no soul. The enemy, our own flesh, the whole world
systems will tell you to do something else, something important, to get busy,
to be active and not just sit and pray and do nothing. One of the messages of
this passage is that we are doing the most when we are praying.
Questions to ponder
It has been said that prayer
is the most difficult discipline to develop in the Christian life. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
We have heard the cliché
that Prayer Changes Things. Do we really believe that? Our prayer life
reflects our conviction about the power and effectiveness of prayer. So what
does your prayer life say about your conviction that prayer is profoundly
powerful?
Revelation 9
Sometimes it's easy to feel
like we are powerless and are caught in catastrophic events. We feel like a
leaf caught in a tornado or a cork in a raging flood. In chapter 9 we see two
descriptions of cataclysmic moments. We look at them and feel overwhelmed. That
is the wrong lesson. The two events are different but there is one common
denominator, they are under God's control and are in unexpected ways working
out his plan.
The fifth angel sounded his
trumpet and the end result, a horde of demonic forces is turned loose. When a
person or nation dabbles with the demonic they ought not be surprised when
demons show up. The demonic is limited in what they are allowed to do. But when
a person invites the demonic into their lives God honors that person's free
will and choice and removes His protection from the person allowing the demonic
certain control. The horrifying picture we see in the first half of chapter 9
is a reality of what happens when we are playing with the forces of darkness.
When people engage in evil
and invite the demonic they don't always turn into raving maniacs we see
depicted in movies. But they do grow
more and more evil. In a world filled with darkness God tries again to call sinful
man back to Himself. He sends another
warning, the sixth angel’s trumpet blast. The last half of this chapter is an
attempt by God to call wicked men to repentance. Some men are so given over to
evil that they are beyond repentance and these men are destroyed and serve as a
warning to others. The chapter closes with a description of wicked men ignoring
the warning and opportunity to repent that God has offered.
There are three lessons for
us here. First, God is in control and he
sets the time (vs. 15). As chaotic and
out of control as the world seems God has it all well in hand. Second, God goes
to extreme measures to call men to repentance. What seems as harsh to us is
ultimately gracious and loving because God is attempting a rescue. Third, some
men will never repent. Even God's most extreme efforts will not draw some men
away from their cravings for the demonic.
Questions to ponder
How amazing is God's love
that even those men who are in deep Darkness are called to repentance by the
self-inflicted misery of the darkness they have chosen? Where do you see
examples of self-inflicted Darkness making people miserable but they are still
unwilling to repent?
When we dabble with the
demonic and the powers of Darkness God honors our choice. Where do you see our
society dabbling with the powers of Darkness? Where is the church dabbling with
the powers of the flesh? Is there any place where you are as an individual
flirting with the power of evil?
Revelation 10
As a disciple there are two
striking features in this chapter that we need to apply to our lives. The first
is a lesson about boundaries. John hears voices of seven peals of thunder.
These voices say something dramatic and important and powerful and as John is
about to record them he is told, “Do not write them.” I suppose there is no end
concerning guesses about what the voices said, news wonderful, news terrible,
dates, times, judgments, etc. But that is not the point. One of the lessons
that we can take from this is some things are none of our business. In the great
mystery of Revelation and of eschatology we learn that some stuff is none of
our concern. In an age where we often feel we should have an opinion on every
subject and express that opinion on every social media platform we need to
learn there are some things that are beyond the bounds of our expertise and
learn to be content with that. That's enough for us to live in faith trusting
to God what is sealed away from us.
There's a second lesson
desperately needed in Christianity today from this passage. John takes the
book, eats it and then finds it is sweet to the taste and then bitter or
upsetting to his stomach. This book is, like the scroll in chapter 5, God's
plan or will. When we follow or submit to God’s will there's a delight,
sweetness, and a profound joy. But part of following is the inescapable
suffering of discipleship. This picture reminded this early suffering disciple
and us as well that bitterness was an inevitable part of following Christ. In many parts of the world today to follow
Christ is a matter of life and death in the most immediate and physical
terms. On average a follower of Christ
dies for their Lord every 6 minutes, and that is to say nothing of the beating,
privations, kidnappings and efforts of the enemy to silence the Gospel message. When Jesus calls us to follow Him he doesn’t
deceive us about the cost of being a disciple.
When He calls us He calls us to come and die. The cost of following can be high, it can be
bitter.
We have lost that message in
American Christianity. Many of us have never heard that there is a cost to
being a disciple. We were never told that to come to the cross of Christ means
we must also take up a cross. We have too often been told we can have the life
we want with the Gospel as icing on our cake. We can’t name and claim our way
around the message of the little book that following Christ is sweet, but it
will cost us bitterly.
We need to take these two
lessons together. First there are things
we do not know. Second, suffering and
hardship are part of being a disciple.
These two are not placed together randomly. As a disciple we must learn to anticipate the
unknown future which may include bitter suffering with the faith that God is
the author of history and He is in control.
Questions to ponder
How comfortable are you with
knowing there are some things about your life, future, and world you are never
meant to know? We say we can accept them
in faith, but how do you feel knowing that unknown experiences of bitter
suffering maybe part of God’s plan for you?
How would the full
disclosure of the cost of being a follower of Christ before we became a
Christian make us better more fully committed disciples? Do you believe that the promise of a better
life now results in followers of Christ lacking commitment to Him when times
are tough? Why or why not?
Revelation 11
It is easy in the meditation
on Revelation to fail to see the forest for the trees. This is especially true in this chapter. We are prone to want to discern every detail
that we fail to gain the message as a whole.
That message is conflict between the world and the people of God. We who
have lived our lives in a culture and society that is, on the surface, tolerant
of our faith might be enticed into thinking that there is a peaceful
coexistence between the world and the church. In reality the powers of darkness
are always attacking the church. This chapter displays overt persecution and in
other places the attacks on the church are shown as subtle and seductive.
In the conflict we see the
two witnesses who faithfully proclaim God's message to a hostile world. There
is no end to the guesses as to who these two witnesses are. One suggestion is
they represent the Word of God and the Church of God. They are hated and
persecuted but they are also powerful. They are killed or removed from society
and that is cause for celebration on the part of the hostile world. Think
of political/national philosophies or specific groups of people who want to
remove the church and Scriptures. But God doesn't forget His faithful servants;
rather He rescues and resuscitates them. We see at the end of the chapter a
snapshot of the Judgment to come. (vss.
15 – 19)
Rather than focus on the
trees, the individual types and symbols, what is the forest, the big picture
here? Expect opposition and persecution from the powers of darkness at work in
every culture and society when we faithfully bear witness to the truth. In
fact, worldly people believe they would be better off without the Word and the
Church. When opposed in our ministry and
efforts to proclaim the good news we need to always remember there are some who
would rather see us dead than spreading the gospel. But even in the midst of
these attacks God notices, cares and is planning our vindication. So, speak on.
Tell the truth come what may. Remaining faithful in our witness, that is the
path to victory.
Questions to ponder
No culture is static they
are all in change. Do you believe that
our culture is become more hostile or more accepting toward the Word of God and
the Church?
With prison and death a
prospect that we as American Christians will not likely face soon, what forms
of persecution are we most likely to face?
What is the best way to
respond to that attacks of our society on the Church and the Word of God?
What practical steps can you
take now to prepare for growing persecution?
Revelation 12
In this short chapter we see
a highly symbolic picture of the many long wars of Satan. At different moments we see the war against
God, against Christ, against Israel, and against the Church. We see perhaps the
most detailed and definitive picture of Satan in Scripture. We see his persistence, character and
agenda. We see a woman in labor, in a
moment where she is defenseless and weak, and we see the newborn baby also weak
and small. At this moment the monster is
ready to kill and eat the child. We see a cosmic rebellion that leads one third
of cosmic powers to attempt a coup. We
see a cold, vicious, cancerous Evil that would be ruler. This Evil is relentless. Every effort of this
Evil is thwarted, but it continues to attempt in new ways to accomplish its
goals. Motivated by its frustration and
hate and evil the monster sets off to make war on the disciples of Christ.
Culture has worked hard to
de-vilify Satan. Under his tutelage and
influence and by his leading in popular culture his appearance has been
modified. He has been made over and made more appealing. He is presented as the agent of naughty fun,
a comic character of horns and tail. He
is the dapper and elegant, sophisticated, open-minded man about town. He is
presented as wanting to set us free from the oppression of old fashioned ways
and passé inhibitions. He has presented
his tools and temptations as harmless amusements and the opportunities for
enlightened living. He is only
interested in providing positive experiences. His PR department, with offices
in Hollywood, government, the media, higher education and misguided churches,
to name a few places, has deceived us.
John seems to stretch the
limits of language to describe Satan as a monster. The term monster is most adequate to describe
the depth of his evil. He is as warm and
charming and wholesome as a tank of raw sewage ladled over rotten meat for
supper. He is friendly and as conversational as a rattlesnake. As
delightful to have in our lives as stage 4, pancreatic cancer. He is less
desirable than summertime road kill writhing with maggots and oozing stench.
Every temptation is not, in the end, an invitation to something better, but the
first step toward death with this filth dominating our lives.
This is the place in our
lives where hate becomes a virtue, it is the place where obstinate stubbornness
is a grace in the face of compromise, where death is a sweet treat compared to
denial.
Questions to ponder
What kind of monster is most
terrifying to you?
While promising much and
delivering little the enemy of our souls offers a smorgasbord of sin. Where
have you seen the greatest contrast between the promises made by Satan and sin
and the actual results?
Why do you believe Satan has
such a powerful enemy in our own hearts when all that he offers is painful and
death dealing?
Revelation 13
In popular culture about 99%
of apocalyptic attention is focused on the last verse of this chapter. The
numeric mark of the beast as 666 seems at times to have become an obsession.
The mark of the beast has been predicted as everything from Social Security, to
Popes, to a computer chip and beyond.
Most people would be
surprised to find that this chapter is really about two beasts. Both are agents
of Satan; they are empowered by Satan to accomplish his agenda on Earth.
Perhaps we will be better served to use the term monsters. Of the two, the
first monster appears more terrifying. It is very aggressive, it is
intimidating, it is politically powerful with crowns, it is international with
seven heads, and it's a combination of predators: leopard, bear, and lion. The
second beast is, relatively speaking, almost warm and cuddly. It looks like a
lamb. But when it talks it sounds like a dragon. We may be misled by folklore
about what the sound is like. Rather than a roar let’s think of Satan talking
to Eve in the garden, the voice of the serpent sweet and seductive. The first blasphemes God and the second
whispers seductions. The first is the bad cop killing and sending into
captivity; the second beast is more subtle with the incremental pressure of
economic hardships. The first beast is seen in governmental powers and state
sponsored persecution as in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, or China where believers
die for their faith. The second beast is seen in places like academia or
corporations where being a Christian presents employment, tenure, or promotion
problems. One is brutal, one is subtle; one crushes one seduces. One is easy to identify as a monster the
other sounds like it would be a friend or even a pet. Never doubt Satan uses both overt and
seductive pressure to get Christians to compromise their commitment to Christ.
For a Christian in the first
century hearing about symbols of a 21st century supercomputer that determines
via a computer chip in our hand participation in the economy probably would not
make any sense. In fact, if this chapter is about a literal, physical mark or chip
or government agency then it helps no one in Christian history except those
living in the last moment before the end.
But if we understand persecution as coming from satanic authority that
operated as both political authority and as false religion and philosophy this
chapter makes perfect sense for every generation of believers. It would help
both early Christians and those persecuted today to understand as believers to
expect persecution from both government and religious quarters. It teaches being prepared because some will
die and some will go into captivity. Faithfulness in this misery is our goal.
“Here is the preservation of the Saints.”
Questions to ponder
Where are the places in the
world and in history that we see the aggressive monster at work?
Who are some of the agents
of the seducing monster in our world?
Do you think the aggressive
and seducing monsters might work in concert to attack the disciples of
Christ? How might that happen?
Revelation 14
The first hearers of this
book would have understood persecution personally and individually. There were
few Christians who had not lost someone close to them to the enemy’s attacks.
They would understand the dragon’s attack on the woman and her child. They
would have felt the overt pressure of the first monster and the seductive
appeal of the second monster. At some point even the most faithful would have
asked the question, “Is it worth it?” To answer that question there are three
key messages in this chapter.
The first message is, “Others
have remained faithful and you can too”. The disciple who feels isolated and
alone is soon defeated. This chapter opens with a picture of all the faithful
being with the Lord, not one is missing.
This is reminiscent of the worship we saw back in chapter 4. The center of the Universe is God and His
people all of them are in that company.
Those who are facing persecution have this grand future in store. The message to this is, “They have done it
and you are part of this group. You belong to this group you are an insider of
a very elite circle." The first Angel who shares the gospel sums up the
first message.
The second message is a
literary foreshadowing. It alludes to what will be more fully explained later.
The sensual, self-serving life is extremely alluring. The life of a disciple is
made up of suffering and pressure and self-denial. A life of pleasure, ease,
and the satisfaction of any urge we may have is personified in Babylon. But in
one verse (8) the world's system of sensual gratification is described as a
fallen system. The world and its values,
promises, and invitations are in a state of collapse. That collapse may not be visible but it has
begun. Why invest or trust in something
that is already beginning to fall.
The third message is that
one day all accounts will be settled. Yes, there is immense pressure on
disciples. Yes, the world’s system of pleasure and satisfaction is very
appealing at times. But one day we will all give a strict account to a judge.
This judge will not be deceived by appearances. The righteous will have their
works follow them. The unrighteous will experience the horror of realizing
their doom was self-created when they conformed to the world's pressure or gave
in to the world’s seduction.
In our lives of relative
ease, comfort and freedom we have a hard time understanding the pressure that
is on the persecuted Church. But for early Christians that pressure was a daily
and indeed a moment-by-moment reality.
The disciple standing before the Emperor could, because of the
Revelation, see what the Emperor could not.
They would both be judged and the Judge was the Savior of the one the
Emperor was trying to destroy. The
pressure on the persecuted Christian was intense. But even in that pressure there remains this
truth, “Others have been faithful and you can be too.” Besides, it beats the alternative.
Questions to ponder
Of the three messages by the
three angels which do you think would strengthen you most in times of
persecution?
Can you identify places
where the world’s system of self, pleasure and rebellion is failing and
self-defeating?
Do you belong to any elite
group or organization?
How does it feel to be part
of a select few to which others cannot gain admittance?
Revelation 15
There comes a point at which
even God's patience has run out. He has called and even pleaded for men to
repent, but they have refused. He has gone after the lost sheep, but the lost
sheep when found runs away. There comes a point at which even God says,
“Enough.” In this chapter that point has come. In this chapter we will see a
convergent moment. God’s people who have suffered and have been oppressed by
the powers of darkness witness vengeance. “Vengeance is mine,” says the
Lord. His people have left it to Him to
repay and they are about to witness His just retribution on their enemies. The
treatment of God's people has not been fair.
Now justice will be served. The picture here is reminiscent of Exodus 14
through 15. During the 10 plagues God warned and called Egypt to repentance,
but they refused. At the crossing of the Red Sea Israel is brought safely
through and her enemies are destroyed. That tiny expression of justice is now
expressed universally.
Seven angels are given seven
bowls. When you pour something from a bottle or a jug it takes a moment. The
narrow neck slows the pouring. When you pour something from a bowl it is
instantaneous and complete. God's wrath is about to be poured out in total,
like from a bowl. Earlier in Revelation 7 trumpets warned the people; they were
dire warnings, but not God’s complete wrath. God's patience is now exhausted
and the time of warning has passed. This is about God's revenge. There are
times when it is best to leave an angry person alone. In verse 8, it is time to
leave God to His anger, to leave him alone. Do not approach him to plead for
the world. Do not ask Him for mercy for the wicked. This is the time simply to
watch.
For those of us who have
never experienced persecution, who have never had our families torn apart by
martyrdom, who have never been a refugee because we lost all to the enemy, it
is hard to comprehend this passage. The love of God, the mercy of the
cross, and the kind ministry of the saints has been flatly rejected. Some
things are just not right; they are a monstrous,
universal evil. God says to the world, “You have rejected my grace all that is
left is wrath.” The church God's people marvel at perfect justice and awesome
might coming together in this universal, convergent moment.
Questions to ponder
Do we ever get tired of
waiting for justice to be served on remarkably evil people?
What would you want to do to
a person who molested and murdered your child?
If God is complete and perfect in power what would it be like if that
power were poured out in perfect fury on those who molest and murder His
children?
Churches today rarely talk
about God’s wrath being poured out on wicked humanity. Why do you think that is the case?
Revelation 16
Seven trumpets warned the
people about their sin and God's coming wrath. These warnings have been ignored
and the people did not repent. Now only wrath is left. As a bowl can be emptied
quickly and completely God's wrath is poured out completely and suddenly.
The angels are sent out on
their mission of judgment. It is worth noting that the angels do their work in
silence with only one exception. There is a certain silent relentlessness about
their work so that when one of the angels speaks there is an emphasis on
what is said. We do not hear of the gross immorality of the world; rather,
we see only illusions to false religions and only a brief mention of the
symbols of selfish greed. The only vocalization from any of the angels concerns
the death of the martyrs in verses 5-6. The only thing worth talking about as
far as this passage is concerned is the retributive justice of God’s wrath on
those who persecute the church. When the lamb broke the fifth seal in Rev 6:10,
the Saints who were killed for their faith asked, “How long till justice is
done?” In this chapter we see that justice for which they cried out. There is
more to this chapter than just the suffering of the persecuted Church, but for
a people nearing the breaking point there is this message, “Your suffering has
been noticed and is going to be avenged.”
Perhaps the saddest line of
this chapter for any life is found in verse 11 "and they did not repent of
their deeds". God’s wrath is nothing more than the interaction of Holiness
with the unrepentant. When men choose to hold on to their sin rather than turn
away they are actively choosing wrath. When there is wrath from God it is only
the response to their hard hearts. Lest we think God's wrath is too harsh, or
too great we see a picture of men railing against God, accusing, and
blaspheming Him even in the midst of their suffering. There is a point at which
the atheist no longer denies, the agnostic no longer doubts, the sinner sees
clearly the evil to which he clings, but even in that moment of “knowing” they
refuse to repent. God’s wrath is just, true and righteous.
Questions to ponder
God’s wrath is nothing more
than the interaction of Holiness and the unrepentant. Would you agree or disagree with that
statement? Why?
We tend not to think there
is a limit to God’s patience, so what would cause a person to cross the line
beyond which there is no return?
If there is no punishment
can there be justice? Why do you believe
that to be the case?
What effect would this
picture have/had on Christians under intense persecution?
Revelation 17
By all the measurables the
Christian community could not last long against Rome. Rome destroyed and assimilated all her
enemies. The Christian faith with its
high ideals, morals, and ethics could not last long against Rome. Rome, for her part, was everywhere and offered
everything a person could want. There
was almost no vice, experience, pleasure or indulgence that could not be had in
the Roman Empire. All that was demanded
was loyalty to Rome and tolerance of the vices of others. Rome was mighty, with kings and peoples to
do her bidding. She boasted of her
courts, transportation, education, philosophy, Pax Romania, power, regal pomp
and her own eternal greatness. What did
the church have to offer compared to that?
As disciples it is easy to
feel the same way today. How can we
stand up to the wealth, opulence, pleasure, and might of our culture? What can a Sunday worship service do when
compared with a day at Universal Studios or Disney? Our gatherings seem so insignificant when
compared to sporting events, concerts, or national political conventions. How does reading of Scripture and saying of
prayers match up to the news and entertainment media? All the while we are opposed in every way
from being marginalized to outright persecution. It is easy to feel the church, the community
of disciples, is of no consequence in comparison to the power of this
world. Maybe we should pursue the path
of power, the way of wealth, the influence of excitement. These are all seductive.
In Revelation 17 we see the
façade pulled off, the curtain pulled back and the true nature of Rome and the
powers that oppose the church shown for what they are. We see a harlot, a whore. Please let’s not use polite euphemisms for
something this disgusting. This is no
young seductress. Jewels do not keep us
from seeing the ugliness. She is drunk
and if not for her ill-gotten wealth she would be sprawled out in a gutter, but
she is rich with power, influence and money.
She hates the church the way a bitter, old, skanky slut hates a young,
beautiful, virgin bride. Her patron’s
will soon turn on this nasty, sick, drunk whore. Do not envy the world’s wealth and power and
pleasure anymore than you would envy an old whore just before her ruin.
Questions to ponder
Why do you think the Holy
Spirit inspired such dramatic and graphic language to describe the world?
It has been reported that
red lights were used in houses of ill repute to make it more difficult to see
the lesions and sores on the prostitutes’ bodies. What means does the world use to hide its
sinful and revolting true nature?
In what ways is the world’s
system like a whore? In our sexually charged society we have down played the
evil of prostitution. How might that
impact our understanding of this passage?
Scripture often uses the
metaphor of prostitution for the infidelity on the part of God’s people. What picture does that give us of God’s
emotions when we sin?
Revelation 18
The draw of the world is
great. The promises of riches, personal comfort and pleasure tempt every
disciple. When contrasted to the life of sacrifice of bearing the cross, of
persecution the invitation of the world can be a very strong allurement. But
like every temptation when we see it in the long term, when examined from the
end we see that it is purely wretched. Jesus said, “What is the profit for a
man if he should gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul.” That is precisely the temptation Jesus faced
in the desert. Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Babylon the
Great offers to disciples all the world has to offer.
As disciples we can't answer
the call of the world's systems and live lives of selfish pursuit. The world
offers wealth and sensuality an earthly life of luxurious and splendid things.
The world offers an economic, social, and cultural system built entirely around
our wants, wishes, and desires. All we must do is to want and to love, and to
pursue selfishness. We have in many cases attempted to blend together wealth
and selfishness with a distorted version of Christianity. Have you noticed we
almost never hear a sermon or teaching about the dangers of wealth, about
selling all in order to care for the poor and following Christ, about the
idolatry of greed or the eternal war between mammon and God? The sin of mammon
is the unmentionable sin. We may hear sermons about all sorts of lurid things,
but Heaven help the one who preaches against the accumulation of wealth. Such a
sermon is unacceptable unless one manages to put in an escape clause, to put a
spin on it that we are not wealthy or the Bible doesn’t really mean all it says
about being selfish. In the American
church we have become very comfortable with living in the sin of selfish
mammon; in fact, we have made it a virtue.
We see in this chapter the
ruin of the one we give ourselves to when we live in greed. The world’s system
of greed and selfishness is completely self-destructive. It is hostile to God
and to his people. The chapter ends with the link between the world of riches
and the blood of the Saints. Let's look at an example. Suppose a nation or
corporation has the choice of fabulous profit in dealing with the regime that
oppresses Christianity or ending that relationship and missing out on that
income. What do you suppose that nation
or corporation would do? In our heart of hearts, we know the answer. We know
because as a nation, in corporations and in our own lives we have often sold
our soul with just a little bit more.
Questions to ponder
When was the last time you
heard a sermon about the pure wickedness of mammon?
When is the last time you
were called to reduce your lifestyle in order to accomplish Kingdom
objectives?
What reaction do you think
your church would have if the people were asked to suspend all non-essential
spending for the rest of their lives to feed poor Christians around the
world?
On a scale of 1 to 10 how
addicted to wealth is American Christianity?
Your Congregation? You?
Revelation 19
Generally, a person can live
up to 40 days without food. Depending on circumstances you can survive four
days without water. With some variance we can live 4 minutes without air. But
we cannot last four seconds if we are completely without hope. The Book of
Revelation is about hope for God's people under persecution.
It is not intended to be a
future chronology that describes a timeline of far-off future events. If the
1st century believer cannot connect and understand the Revelation and find in
it hope what was its point or value? The first readers and hearers of this book
put everything on the line for Christ. They had been brutalized by the powers
of darkness at work in the government, in false religion and philosophy, and by
the economic systems. Many died and those who were left must find the answer to
the question, “Was it worth it?” That question is answered three ways in this
chapter.
This is a story far beyond
anything that a movie could portray. It
works on us with the emotion of a grand epic fairytale. For years a vile and wicked whore/madam with
her cohorts hates and abuses a beautiful, young, virgin girl. The old woman tries to pull the girl into her
brothel offering her wealth and pleasure, failing that she uses intimation and
threats. The girl refuses, she is bound
to be faithful to her fiancée. One day
much to the surprise of the whore the beautiful young girl appears in wedding
grab and is met by her beloved, a might (Almighty) Warrior King. Now the abuse the bride has suffered at the
hands of the desolate, wasted whore is going to be avenged. This chapter begins by looking back at the
persecution of the Saints, and at the blood spilled by the monstrous whore.
Then we see in three ways the vindication of the disciples’ commitment to
Christ.
First, there is a revelation
of the bride, the church. She is no small, huddled mass of defeated, desperate,
irrelevant believers. Her voice rolls like thunder and she is beautifully
dressed by her good works. We are never saved by our good deeds, but they
should mark our lives. Never under value the importance of the acts of
righteousness done now for they have eternal consequences.
Second, there is a
manifestation of Jesus as the warrior, king and judge. This moment is unlike
the manifestation at the Incarnation. The humble carpenter from backwoods
Nazareth has returned, but now He is an avenging, warrior king. The time for
choosing sides is over. Now is the time for the consequences of the choice that
has been made.
Third, we see the
destruction of the enemy. The tiny, persecuted, powerless, faith community in
the Roman Empire sees their hero come to their rescue. What seemed like an undefeatable power is
completely obliterated. In fact, all the powers of Darkness assembled are
destroyed without a real fight. They're sent to destruction by the weapon of
Truth. They are completely blown
away. This brings us back to the
original question, “Was it worth the cost to be a follower of Christ?” Yes,
absolutely yes!
Questions to Ponder
C. S. Lewis described
Christianity as a “True Myth”. He was
talking about the way that the Christian faith excites our hopes and emotions
and calls us to loyalty to Christ. As
you look at chapter 19 what true events described here do you see in fairy
tails or myths?
During Jesus’ life on earth
He didn’t appear heroic in the grand use of the term. As the returning Warrior, King, Judge and
Lover He is the ultimate hero. Which of
His roles do you find most inspiring?
Why? Which do you think would
have meant the most to the first readers of this Revelation?
Revelation 20
In this chapter we are told
about the 1000 years of Christ’s reign.
This is one of the most controversial points of the revelation. We can spend a lot of energy focusing on the
last phrase over verse 4. This is a good
place to be reminded that the point of prophecy is not future chronology but
ethics, not “what will happen and how soon” rather, “How do I sustain my faith
until I meet Jesus face to face?”
We see in this passage
another reference to the overarching theme of the martyrdom of the Saints. But
there is an interesting and subtle nuance here. In the first part of verse 4,
there is a specific reference to those “who have been beheaded”. Let’s not pass over that phrase too quickly.
The Romans were, like most expansionist powers, experts in dealing out death.
While crucifixion was their most famous and hideous form of execution it was by
no means the only torturous death they employed. The Romans developed
death into a form of entertainment. The gladiatorial games were core to the
Roman way of life. The list of torturous forms of death that were practiced are
too numerous to mention. But some examples were people covered in oil or pitch
and burned as torches to light garden parties, sometimes they were boiled
alive, occasionally they were forced to fight animals or trained combatants and
in numerous other ways put to death recreationally. Roman citizens, however,
were exempt from any form of execution except for the sword. A Roman citizen
convicted of a capital crime could not be tortured by death on the cross they
could only be beheaded-a relatively painless way to die. So, while Peter was
crucified Paul the Roman citizen was beheaded.
In this book of
encouragement for Christians under persecution we see that even Roman elites
and citizens have begun to turn to Christ. They have declared Jesus is Lord,
which means that Caesar is not Lord and denial of Caesar’s lordship was
considered sedition and treason. These Roman Christians have paid for this with
their lives. Caesar is losing his grip
and losing it to Christ. And even death, which was one of Caesar’s most
intimidating weapons, has lost its power over the disciples.
In view of the ultimate
powerlessness of death, we face a vital question. It is the same question our early brothers
and sisters faced, “How shall we live?” We have the answer in the double
judgment described in the last paragraph of this chapter. It is a double
judgment in that everyone is judged about where they will spend eternity based
on the Lamb's Book of Life. But there is a second judgment. A judgment based on
their deeds recorded in the books-notice the plural “books” in verse 12. So this
is how we live: boldly for Christ as our Savior knowing that we are forgiven
and we live generously knowing that our deeds are recorded and remembered. When even death has lost its power we have
literally nothing to lose.
Questions to ponder
Despots and tyrants use the
power of death to keep control of their people.
What happens when a people are set free from the power of the fear of
death?
By the time the Revelation
was written and circulated the Gospel had reached every level of society,
including Roman elites. Why was their
specific inclusion of verse 4 important to the church as a whole?
Rome’s power was dependent
on a deception if it were to endure.
What is the relationship between truth, the defeat of Satan, and the
overcoming of Rome as evidenced by Roman citizens becoming disciples?
Revelation 21
Consider all that humanity
has lost. Our first ancestors Adam and Eve lived in the garden of paradise. In
that place there was no want, suffering, illness or death. Contrast that to the
slums of the largest, poorest, metropolitan areas on Earth today. Sewage in the
streets, every ditch and gully filled with garbage and sickness. Diseases passed by insects and vermin. In every city there is a place where death
and rot are the order of the day.
Ancient cities had their
points of magnificence, but for oppressed Christians they were far from the
glory of these monuments. In this chapter, we see the incredible fusion of
Eden's perfection with the glory of a great City. Cities could be and in some
ways still are wonderful places, except that they always have the repulsive
underbelly. A place of filthy garbage, waste, wicked people and the sorrow and
misery you see there. This city, however, has the glory of a great city, glory
that surpasses words, but without evil.
It has the glory of a city beyond compare with the clean paradise of
Eden. In fact, God responds to the
sorrow and evil suffered when He wipes away every tear and vanquishes death,
crying, mourning, and pain.
In the ancient world there
was great civic pride and loyalty for an individual on behalf of their City.
But when Christians rejected the pagan rule of their day they lost much of
their identity as citizens of their city. They didn't belong anymore. They
became outsiders to their own community. Here these ostracized believers are
reminded that they have a home, a city that is theirs and it's greater, more
magnificent, and more beautiful than any city on Earth.
Ancient cities based much of
their civic pride and measured their greatness on how secure they were. Some of that security came from its walls,
water supply and a temple of the god who would protect them. Cities on Earth had
foundations of rock walls a few feet thick and high and perhaps a well. This
city has a foundation of precious stones, walls 216 feet thick and miles high
and wide and a spring of life giving water. Cities on Earth had temples to
their gods. In this city God is
personally present so there's no need for a temple because God is there. This is a city to die for; indeed, Christians
would die for it.
But the city is not for
everyone. In verses 8 and 27 there's a reminder that not everyone belongs in
this city. In fact, there is an alternative place for those who have rejected
Christ. It is sort of an anti-city.
Christians were tempted by civic pride, peer-pressure, patriotism, and the
sheer might and glory of the empire, on top of other temptations, to shrink
back from Christ as Lord. This picture of the city requires us to ask this
question, “Why would anyone choose Rome, or Washington for that matter, over
Heaven?”
Questions to ponder
Could it be that our loyalty
to our hometown sports team resonates a deeper aching to belong to something
bigger than ourselves?
If you are from a world
leading city of wealth, culture, education and influence will you be
intimidated by a Podunk little city that has only one stop light? If you are a citizen of the Heavenly city we
see described here will you be intimidated by any power on earth?
Can you be homesick for a
place you have never been?
Revelation 22
It always comes back to the
one question, “Is it worth it?” The link between worth and worship is inescapable.
Does God deserve our worship? Is He,
based on His person, character, behavior, and glory, deserving of our
adoration? Is He worthy? We answered that affirmatively by and in our worship.
Is a life of being a
disciple of Christ worth it? Is it worth the cost of following, of dying to
self, of taking up the cross? Is being a disciple worth the persecution many
Christians suffer? In many parts of the world and for much of the history of
the faith being a disciple is synonymous with prison, confiscation of property,
loss of family, physical abuse, and often death. In extreme suffering the
question pops up again and again, “Is it worth it?”
All one has to do is
renounce the faith and get back to living, get back to everything the world has
to offer. Once the faith has been renounced one can even indulge in the carnal
pleasures that we have forbidden ourselves. Remain loyal to Christ and
lose all the world has to offer plus you suffer. Is it really worth it?
This chapter concludes the
Revelation with a resounding answer to that question. The answer is a stunning,
powerful and dramatic, YES! Scripture never denies the high cost of being a
disciple. We are encouraged to carefully count the cost and make our decision
fully aware of what it means to follow Christ. But even if we encounter the
highest cost possible we conclude it most certainly is worth it.
Since the Garden of Eden
fiasco we have not had access to the tree of life. That access has been
re-granted. The tree of life is in a state of perpetual harvest. There is no
waiting for the fruit to ripen; it is ready to be enjoyed at all moments. The
leaves of that tree have the power to heal. The marks of our beating for the
faith are healed. The bones that were broken and bruises that were suffered by
the followers of Christ who were stoned for Him are healed. But there is more.
The soul that for a lifetime struggled with devastating depression, even that
heartsick wound, is now healed. The heart of the betrayed wife, that heart that
was torn in two is finally made whole. The man who fought and struggled with
bitterness from the pain of slavery and racism comes to the restoration and
healing. The nations are healed. The conflict that goes back to Ishmael and
Isaac is finally replaced with loving unity.
The very waters of that
place give life. On each side of the Nile there was lush growth, a ribbon of
life in the Egyptian desert. The Fertile Crescent a land between waters of two
rivers was the bounty of ancient kingdoms because of life-giving waters. Along the banks of the Jordan grew the dates
and the figs and grapes and grains that filled a banqueting table, all growing
out of the well-watered soil of the river valley. Here is a river of
life-giving water. It is not subject to drought or pollution or an upstream
enemy cutting off the supply. The river has its headwaters in the throne of
God. It is like His love and grace that flow endlessly and freely, giving
life-real life not just biological function-but real life to all it touches. It
waters the tree of life.
But there is something
absent from the city, several things actually. These are the kinds of things
you find even in the smallest town. But they are absent from this great city.
In the 15th verse there is a representative list of what will not be within the
great city. They are those people who have been overcome by the immorality they
held and ultimately held them. All the titles are distinctly human, even the
term dogs that is a euphemism for the most grotesque forms of sexual deviancy
and prostitution. Not only are the practitioners of evil removed, but the evil
in us is removed as well. All of us have had a struggle with our own evil
within us. We have known the itch of hate, or lust, or greed, or gluttony, or
drunkenness, or you can name your own vice. We have fought it sometimes
successfully and sometimes we failed. We
have felt the temptation so profoundly that it seems bigger than life. In this
paradise that itch is gone.
For some people their sin
has so consumed them that if it were removed from them there would be nothing
left. They have moved from being a person who tells a lie (all of us at some
point) to just being a liar. Not only are those people excluded, but the itch
of evil that is in us is excluded from us as well. In that great place we can't
want or in the least way have a desire for anything that is wrong.
There's one more delightful
thought in this passage. The person who
can never feel homesick is to be pitied. Homesickness is painful and can be
debilitating, but it can be a sweet melancholy as well. Homesickness depends on
what is your home. Where your heart was formed by love and relationship. But it
is also sensory. It can be the smell of the woods in Fall, the roar of the
breakers on the beach. It might be the vivid sunset from a high-rise balcony or
back porch looking over a pasture. It
could be the curve of the chair you were raised in holding you once more.
Homesickness is most of all the person. No matter how long you live you will
never forget the person, the voice, the site, the touch. We are just one
thought away from homesickness. The Prodigal Son may have come back with a
business proposition in mind, but somewhere from the pigsty to the father there
was homesickness. Homesickness satisfied is sweet-the laughter, the meal, the
walking, or the conversation. That moment when we say, “I was homesick, but now
I am home.” That is the heart of verse 4. Homesick for Heaven is hard to
quantify. But in all this longing and wanting there is a knowing that even if
all our nostalgia on Earth were fully satisfied it would not be enough.
Everything tells us we were made for Heaven. In the mean time, longings,
restlessness, struggles and love all tell us we were made for Heaven. We
"shall see his face"- homesickness finally and fully satisfied!
Is the cost of being a
disciple worth it? Without any doubt, whatever the cost, it is worth it! The
cost multiplied 10,000 times over and it is still the greatest bargain of all
eternity!
Questions to ponder
The desires for the things of
this world even when obtained never fully satisfy. They are too weak too insipid. We were made for the strong flavors and rich
fullness of Heaven. What desires or home
sicknesses do you have that may be a glimpse of Heaven?
What is your grand and noble
hope you know can never be fulfilled here on earth?
How might it be fulfilled in
Heaven?
Afterwards:
The Fourth Jesus
When it comes to Jesus we
tend to be very selective about the Jesus that we want. We want a safe and domesticated Jesus. We wanted Jesus we can have on our terms and
that will allow us to call the shots.
What we do is to select certain bits of the Jesus of the Bible and we
make a Jesus of our own design that we know we will like. There are a lot of Jesus models that people
have made over the years. But we tend to
avoid the fourth Jesus. Three of the
most popular Jesus models (and there are many) are presented here along with
the fourth Jesus.
The first Jesus, and this
one is especially popular once a year, is baby Jesus. In the terrible movie
“Talladega Nights” the main character is offering a prayer before meal and is
praying to baby Jesus. When challenged about praying to baby Jesus he says,
"I like the Christmas Jesus best and I'm saying grace." He goes on to
glow about the sweet little baby Jesus with his golden hair and little smile
and all the nice ambiance there in the little manger scene. What is there not to like about with
Christmas Jesus? We may not pray to baby Jesus but everybody loves the
scene. We have colored the panorama
with pastels and soft lights; the background is baby blue and the air around
Jesus glows golden. We romanticize it
and have the nostalgic myths of baby Jesus based on the legend we create and
love. “The little Lord Jesus no Crying
he makes.” It may have nothing to do
with the truth but everyone loves the Jesus baby.
The second Jesus, also a
very popular model, is Jesus the teacher. Everyone likes this cool, hippie,
guru Jesus. He seems to be on a perpetual camping trip, hanging out with his
disciples or should I say his posse. He wears sandals, has long hair and a cool
robe, which is probably made of only organic fibers. Speaking of organic that is all they eat,
organic barley and organic fish, gluten free most likely. As they travel around Jesus is dropping heavy
and profound bits of advice for them.
They walk here and there and they have really cool encounters. Sometimes it is like group counseling and
sometimes it is like Woodstock with big crowds but no music. They are gathering a company of cool misfits,
ex-hookers, blue-collar workers, bureaucrats, and some people who ditched their
middle class bourgeoisie home life to wander about with cool hippie Jesus. They are cultural rebels and always have a
cool time. To enjoy this second Jesus
it is important not to pay too close attention to what He actually
teaches. It is better to focus on the
image we create and not on what actually happened. This second Jesus could be just what you are
looking for as long as you ignore or distort what He says about discipleship,
the cross, and dying to self. Who
wouldn't want to go on a cool guy camping trip with hippie Jesus the really
good, moral teacher?
The third Jesus is sad and
beat up Jesus. This is Jesus on the cross. This is not a pretty picture so we
didn't want to get too close. He's so pathetic and hurting that we feel sorry
for him. He is the victim of cosmic
circumstances. This Jesus is best left
on jewelry as a crucifix where he can be sort of a good luck charm. This Jesus
is not one we want to be with but the third Jesus can be a very useful Jesus
when we want to have a Jesus to apply to our political agenda. If you are liberal you can use the third
Jesus as an expression of the need for social justice. He can be your poster child for liberation
theology. If you are a conservative you
can also use this Jesus as a warning of the evil and dangers of big
government. The third Jesus, Jesus the
victim on the cross, can be a useful martyr for either the left or the
right. But if you are not politically
inclined the third Jesus can be good for a sentimental, sensational, melancholy
moment. You can have a gut straining of
emotion that allows you to feel like you have had a religious experience. Then you, having gotten that out of the way,
get back to doing what you want to do with your life. We don't want to get too close to third
Jesus, but as long as we keep Him in His place He can be pretty useful.
The fourth Jesus is the one
that we do not like. He is not a baby we can cuddle and then place in a crib.
He's not a cool friend with whom we might go camping. He's not a sad, pitiable,
helpless victim on a cross. This Jesus is the Warrior King and Judge. He is the
One who defeats all opposition and enemies, the One who will demand from us an
accounting of the days we have lived. You will neither leave him in a manger,
decline or accept at your discretion his invitation to hang out nor will you
look the other way when the crucifixion gets too bothersome. This judge stands
opposite of us and we will face Him.
Gone forever is any false sense of superiority. We will not patronize Him, pigeon hole Him or
turn Him into a good luck charm or talisman.
He comes to destroy evil and to vindicate His oppressed people. He is the hero of the eternal story and when
He comes as the warrior King and Judge the story is at it end. There is but one question when He comes, a
simple “yes” or “no” answer is all we can give.
Are we those who have died to self and taken up our cross, who have
followed Him as His disciples, who have recognized that He is God in flesh and
have lived with Him incarnate in us by faith?
When He comes He will reject all patronization and all boxes into which
we wish to squeeze Him will be revealed as nothing.
There are not four Jesus’
there is only one. But in the fourth
Jesus we see that our parodies, which we built in the first three, are only our
attempts to avoid our complete surrender to Him.
Epilogue:
Why are our
churches ineffective at reaching the lost?
Could it be that we are not
growing because we have such poor eschatology?
I am not suggesting that we should begin to schedule prophecy
conferences. I am not a big fan of
prophecy conferences, some of which are little more than commercials to sell
books that sensationalize current affairs and take Scripture out of
context. Our poor eschatology is of a
more profound nature than the simple folly of setting dates for the second
coming. It tends to be selfishly
focused. It is about how you can have
some sort of advantage in the last days, inside knowledge, first in line in the
Rapture, or stock pile food for the Tribulation all depending on your
convictions or audience.
In the movie Twelve Strong the Afghani General Dostrium
(Dostum) is quoted as saying to the American Army officer:
“Your anger comes from your
fear. Because you live in a place where
life looks better than the after life.
That is not this place…. You will fail because you fear death. Taliban welcome it.”
In the west, and in the
American church in particular, our lives are so good we can’t fathom any
radical improvement to life. We would
all agree that our lives need some minor adjustments. A small alteration here, a little
modification there would make things a little better, but by and large, life is
pretty good. We have luxury unmatched in
human history, medical care that is accessible and effective, we have
entertainments and distractions and wealth and pleasure. We have begun to think of heaven as an
improvement on all that we have. We joke
that Heaven is where ice cream will not make us fat. It is a joke but it reflects a deeper and
more fundamental understanding, or misunderstanding, of the afterlife. We have begun to see Heaven as better rather
than different. Under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit the authors of scripture were stretched to find symbols and
metaphors for Heaven. These symbols and
metaphors were highly cultural and contextual so without that culture and
context it is easy for us to lack understanding of Heaven.
We all want a little
improvement in our lives, but we are incapable of imagining the fundamental
changes that heaven will bring. So the church has made the mistake of preaching
a gospel of improved life and self help rather that quantum change. “How to” sermons have replaced the “Kingdom
of God is at hand” as our theme. Our
appeal is having a better marriage, family, financial standing, community,
physical condition and the list can be endless.
Our failure in eschatology
is the same failure we face in our worship, evangelism, community service,
prayers, again the list could be endless.
So, how do we preach good eschatology (and everything else)? By focusing on Christ. In my role I have the privilege and sometimes
the distress of worshiping with a great many different churches. The pattern I see too often is that church
and all of our theologies have begun to orbit around us. From the description of the incarnation as, “It
is like God became a dude and hung out with us,” to, “What God wants is for you
to receive what you want.” Jesus is presented as someone whose role is to solve
our problems, answer our requests and make life here and now better for
us. We have mistaken God’s love for us
with a narcissistic expectation that God will spoil us.
As long as Jesus is
presented as a means to an end we cannot expect God’s blessings on our
ministry, His power at work in our lives or His Spirit calling fallen humanity
to repentance. In terms of therapy,
Jesus may not be the best option. In
terms of feeling good about myself, Jesus is not the first choice. In terms of better, economic performance,
family relationships, sex, political power and social stability Jesus is likely
never going to be the top ranked option.
As long as these among others are our teaching and preaching themes we
can expect the church to grow more and more inconsequential.
When we turn the
conversation to the greatness and glory of the second person of the Trinity and
the Biblical and apostolic preaching of the cross we will see people drawn to
Christ, not the temporary trinkets they think they want. When we want Jesus so much we do not care if
anyone else wants Him, then we will be compelled to tell the world what a great
Savior He is. Then if He wills, our
churches may grow!
Author’s note
Why write about
Revelation?
What if Revelation was
actually easy to understand? What if it
made sense to people who are not part of an esoteric elite with secret
knowledge? What if the point of the book
is not a forward-looking timeline, but rather, a picture book to explain what
is going on in the world at all times and how we can live faithfully as
disciples in every age? What if we,
rather than look around the world for harbingers of the end, we used this book
to look into our own hearts? What if
rather than events that only a few can understand, Revelation is about
understanding Who our Savior is?
When the last book of the
Bible is reduced to chronological perditions that are all but impossible to
understand we have missed the whole point of the book.
When I told a friend that I
was going to write about Revelation he looked at me as if I were crazy. Another
treatise on Revelation always seems to arouse suspicion. I think that is because Revelation has often
been reduced to a forward-facing timeline-if only we can figure out the secret
key to unlock the mystery. Everyone who knows me knows that I am neither smart
enough to have secret information nor holy enough to have special
revelation. Revelation should be for
every follower of Christ.
I am not writing this to
argue for my millennial position; that will become obvious. But you will not
find this a compelling apologetic for or against any millennial opinion. Some who read this will believe I am wrong on
this matter. Those people are entitled
to be wrong, just as I too am entitled to be wrong. This point of opinion is less important than
living like a disciple, which is what I most want to encourage.
Even if we disagree with the
meaning of the millennia, let’s at least rescue this wonderful book of
Revelation from the sensationalized, Hollywood-isk-religio-entertainment
complex and return it to its rightful place. That is calling Christians in
every age to love and serve our Savior, the Hero of all history and our story,
Jesus Christ.
Copyright note: The purpose of copyright law
is to promote the progress of useful arts and science by protecting the
exclusive right of authors and inventors to benefit from their works of
authorship.
The purpose of this work is
to help Christians live as disciples of the hero of this book, Jesus
Christ. Therefore, while I did work
hard on this book I grant free use to anyone, any group, or any congregation
that can grow closer to God by using, studying or discussing this book. If you wish to support the author you may do
so by using the PayPal button on the upper right corner of this blog.
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