By Pastor Greg ...
If you’ll
recall, last week’s opening illustration sort of divided the church. Some loved it; some just shook their
heads. Let me conduct one more test just
to determine whether you enjoy a good joke.
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know,
walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses
on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail. And with
his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath.
This made him a super-calloused
fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
I always said there is nothing
like a good joke (and you’re thinking,
“Yeah, and that was nothing like a good joke”).
See! See how divided we are? Some enjoy this kind of humor while others do
not. Well, the same thing happens in the
book of Revelation. People either love it,
or they would rather avoid it.
Some avoid Revelation because it talks
about a period of tribulation; a time of intense
suffering and hardship for humanity.
There will be famines, diseases, death, wars, and earthquakes like the
world has never seen. Instead of life
getting better and better, God informs us that our existence will continue to
degrade; it will get worse and worse over time.
Global Warming will seem like a summer picnic compared to the
devastation to come. And because of
lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). However, some are drawn to these stories. It is the wild imagery, the global
destruction, and the judgment of God that catches their attention. These are the things they focus on when they
read the Book.
Christians are divided about the
book of Revelation. But see, that’s what
it intends to do. Initially, Revelation
divides people into two groups; Children of the Earth and Children of God. A Child of the Earth is still motivated by
their natural desires. They are
controlled by the “Lusts of the flesh” (compare 1 Peter 4:2). The Apostle Paul says that at one point, even
Christians used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world. “All of us used to live that way, following the passionate
desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just
like everyone else. But then Paul talks about the Children of
God. He says, 4 “God is so rich in mercy,
and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead
because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It
is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” [1]
(Ephesians 4:3-5).
Revelation is a story about
separation; a story about how God separates the Church (Christians) from the
world (non-Christians). Even in his
opening greeting, John reminds us that as Christians, we have become a separate
kingdom… a kingdom of priests.
4 John to the seven churches
that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who
is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and
from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the
ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who
loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—6 and He
has made us to be a kingdom, priests to
His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is
coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him;
and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha
and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty” [2]
(Revelation 1:4-8).
According to John, Jesus has
transformed the Church into a separate kingdom, and Christians are “priests to God the
Father,” meaning that these Christians were set apart from the rest
of the world. They were no longer
subject to God’s anger like the rest of the world (compare Ephesians
4:3). And in Philippians 3:20, the
Apostle Paul says Christians are no longer citizens of this world. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ
lives.” [3] It’s true!
God, “raised
us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly
realms because we are united with Christ Jesus” [4]
Ephesians 2:6). As a Christian, you
might be living on the earth, but your home is in Heaven. Spiritually, you dwell with God the Father
because you are united with Christ the Son.
Spiritually, God has already
withdrawn us from this earth; we are merely awaiting the day He removes us physically.
But see, this is something that
causes Christians to divide. We cannot agree when this physical withdrawing takes place (this event is called
the Rapture). Although, we really should
not be divided about this; Revelation is quite clear.
When you get past chapter three,
Revelation starts talking about some pretty nasty events. And since this book
was written to the Church – specifically seven churches in modern-day Turkey –
we can’t help but wonder why God revealed
these events to Christians. Was it
because they were going to endure these trials?
Was God going to unleash His wrath upon those who tried so very hard to
be faithful? Will Christians face the
tribulations mentioned in Revelation 6-19?
No. Absolutely not. Jesus makes this quite clear.
In Revelation 3:10, Jesus explicitly promises that He will, “keep you from the
hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test
those who dwell on the earth” [5]
(Revelation 3:10). Jesus says He will keep
the Church from the time of testing,
not preserve it through the
trials. Nor did He promise to remove the
Church from among the
tribulation. Jesus clearly stated that
the Church will be kept from
experiencing these things. And this
makes complete sense, especially considering Christians have already
demonstrated their faith. I mean,
because of our faith in Christ, we have already become a child of God. As a Christian, we are already part of His
kingdom, and God knows this. We don’t
have to prove anything.
I know it seems I am jumping ahead
in this study. But to fully understand
Revelation, we need to know up front which parts of the book speak to the
Church and which parts speak to the world – how it is divided. John reminds us that a person is released from sin by the blood of
Jesus. A person becomes part of this
separate kingdom when they trust that the blood of Jesus paid the penalty for
their sin. My friend, it is not our
ability to endure trials that determine our worthiness. We are saved not because we can survive them but because of our faith in the
only begotten Son of God.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eph 2:4–5). Carol Stream,
IL.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Re 1:4–8). La
Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Php 3:20). Carol
Stream, IL.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eph 2:6). Carol Stream,
IL.
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Re 3:10). La
Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
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