By Pastor Greg ...
A man is walking home alone late
one foggy night when behind him he hears:
Bump... Bump… Bump… Walking faster, he looks back, and through the fog he sees
a casket, standing upright, banging its way down the middle of the street. Bump… Bump… Bump… Terrified, he runs toward his house; the
casket keeps bouncing quickly behind him. Bump… Bump… Bump… Faster and faster the casket
came toward the man. He runs up to his
porch, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes inside, and locks the door
behind him. Suddenly, the casket crashes
through the door, the lid opening and closing before him. Bump… Bump… Bump…
Rushing upstairs, the man locks
himself in the bathroom; he is short of breath; his heart is pounding, his head
is reeling. With a loud CRASH, the
casket breaks down the door. The man
screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of
cough syrup! Desperate, he throws the
cough syrup at the casket.
And the coffin stops.
That’s
my favorite kind of story - one with a surprise twist at the ending. Many stories
surprise us at the end; some movies do as well, but does the Bible? Does its ending surprise us? Does it end in a way we never expected?
Oddly, some early Christians rejected
the book of Revelation. They claimed the
author was not John the Apostle. They
insisted it did not depict the end of the world but merely the end of John’s
world. They even petitioned to keep this
book out of the Bible; it was an unfitting ending to God’s story of redemption. People still make these same claims today.
In 2012, Elaine Pagels, Princeton University religious professor, wrote a
book titled Revelations: Visions,
Prophecy, & Politics. She sides
with the early skeptics claiming the book
is not a story about the end, but a
political documentary against Roman Emperor Nero. [1] We shouldn’t be surprised by her claims. She can’t even get the spelling right. “Revelations?” Sheesh!
God was always clear about a
coming Day of Judgment. He openly
announced this through King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Job, King Solomon,
Zechariah, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Luke, John, and many others. The Revelation
to John is simply the ending God had been
warning us about all along. And anyone
who has read their Bible should realize that one day, God will judge the
world. Jesus clearly states, 36 “I can guarantee that
on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they
say. 37 By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your
words you will be declared guilty”[2]
(Matthew 12:36-37). Seem pretty clear to
me!
I don’t want to waste my time
debating whether Revelation is truly the end or just some wild story. So, I am going to assume you agree that it is
God’s final warning to humanity; a day is coming when God will judge everyone. Instead,
I want to spend the next several weeks helping you understand the events
associated with the ending, and what God’s final judgment means for you, for Israel,
and for the rest of the world.
The Book of Revelation begins with
a reminder that Jesus is still the central figure in God’s story. As John begins, he writes, “This is a revelation
from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must
soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant
John, 2 who faithfully
reported everything he saw. This is his
report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 God blesses the one who
reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen
to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near” [3]
(Revelation 1:1-3).
The Revelation to John begins with
a warning that the events described in the book will happen quickly (the meaning
of the word soon in verse 1). In fact, chapters
4-19 cover only a 7-year period. When
that first seal is broken (Revelation
6:1), the events that follow will take place in rapid succession. Also, Revelation describes God’s final
judgment, and it is not pleasant. When “Seals” are
broken, and “Trumpets” are blown, it
seems like God shouts from Heaven saying, “I. Have. Had. Enough.” God’s revelation of Judgment Day might scare
us, but that’s not why He revealed it to John.
He disclosed the ending so we, the Church, might be blessed (verse 3).
Really? This horrible image of the End is a
blessing? Absolutely.
God gave us this final revelation
as a warning. A day is coming when the
earth, the sky, all the animals, and all humans will be judged. Those with uncovered sin will be punished, but those whose
sin has been forgiven will be spared.
I know the Book of Revelation can be a bit scary. However, it demonstrates just how loving and
merciful our God truly is; He has told us plainly that we will one day be
punished for all our sin. In love, He
has warned us ahead of time; in mercy, He
sent His Son.
I know, I know. Some Christians reject Revelation; liberal
thinkers change the ending because they cannot conceive of a God who would
punish. I don’t see it that way. I can hardly believe that God would love me
enough to provide a way to be forgiven for all my sin. There’s the surprise twist at the end. Who would have guessed that God would provide
a way to escape the punishment? Who knew
that He would sacrifice His own Son? I know I deserve to be punished; I know I have done wrong. However, in His mercy, God sent Jesus to lay
down His life so mine might be spared. He has, “rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment”[4]
(1 Thessalonians 1:10). To me, the
ending is the most beautiful part of the story.
In Revelation, I see the punishment I have been spared.
And it moves me to tears.
[1] http://www.npr.org/2012/03/07/148125942/the-book-of-revelation-visions-prophecy-politics
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Re 1:1–3). Carol Stream,
IL.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., 1 Th 1:10). Carol
Stream, IL.
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