By Pastor Greg...
During a visit to the retirement
home, curious young man asked the director, "How do you determine whether
or not a person should be institutionalized?" "Well," said the Director, "We
fill up a bathtub, and then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the
patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub." "Oh, I understand," said the young
man. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the
spoon or the teacup." "No,"
said the Director. "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed
near the window?"
Normal people do normal things,
right? Normal
people find shelter during a tornado; they do not stand at the back door and
watch the funnel cloud rip through the backyard. We read in Revelation chapter six that people
sort of do the same thing. People from all walks of life naturally try
to find shelter from the cosmic events that unfold when Christ opens the Sixth
Seal. But then they do something that
doesn’t make sense.
(Revelation 6:12-17) 12 I watched as the
Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as
dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. 13 Then
the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree
shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky
was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved
from their places.
15 Then everyone—the kings
of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every
slave and free person—all hid themselves
in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they
cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of
the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For
the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”[1]
This is for real. This is pretty wild stuff. Sun darkened.
Moon turns red. Stars fall from the sky. Mountains and islands moved out of their place. This is a scene straight out of
Hollywood. Movies like Independence Day
or Close Encounters depict this great
ominous cloud rolling across the sky.
The world is thrown into darkness, and people realize that this great power is descending to the earth
(Cloverfield, District 9, War of the Worlds, and Super 8 are other classic
examples). However, I don’t think John
wants us to focus on these events. Rather, he draws our attention to the way
people react to them.
Something more happens here; something more
than a dark sun and a red moon. There
must be because the people of the earth run and hide to escape the presence of
God and the wrath of the Lamb. And I find their reaction to these events interesting and, at the same time, a little odd. It’s interesting because somehow, in the
midst of these catastrophes, people will recognize God. They will realize that very soon, Jesus will
be passing judgment. How do they know
this? How will they know this is the
Almighty and His Son, the Alpha and
Omega? I don’t know the answer, but somehow,
deep in their heart, they will know God has come to earth, and His visit will
not be very pleasant.
I also find their reaction a
little odd. You see, people have constantly been complaining that God doesn’t
reveal Himself to the world. “Where is God,” wrote Michael Gerson in last year’s
Washington Post. “If God really exists, why doesn’t he show himself in some dramatic,
undeniable way?” he writes.[2] But when God does reveal Himself, rather than
rejoicing that at last, they have their proof, the people flee in terror. Isn’t that rather odd?
I suppose not because we see a
foretaste of this today. Even today,
people tend to run from God. It seems a
little odd. If they know they are
sinful, why not cry out for mercy instead of hiding? Why act like Adam and Eve? “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the
garden” [3]
(Genesis 3:8). But, this is what happens
when His holiness confronts our evil. It
makes us nervous. It makes us uncomfortable.
And yet, if people would just stop running and hiding, they might be
quite surprised at what they will find.
In Isaiah 40, the prophet reveals
the awesome power of our God. He says
that the “glory
of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” God reminds them that “people are like the grass. Their beauty fades
as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and
the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.” Yet rather than destroy these people by His
presence, the Almighty God “will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs
in his arms, holding them close to his heart” [4]
(Isaiah 40:5-11). This is what actually
happens when His holiness confronts our evil.
If people would just hang around long enough, they would learn about God’s
mercy and love found in Jesus the Messiah.
But they don’t. They scurry off
in fear of what they don’t know.
Yes, a day is coming when the Lord
God and the Messiah will pull back the Heavens and reveal themselves to this
world. That Day of Judgment will
come. The light will shine in the
darkness, and those with darkness in
their hearts will run and hide. But… that
day is not yet upon us. That day has not
arrived. Today is a day for Salvation (2
Corinthians 6:1-2).
Yes, today is the day of salvation. In Luke 12:58-59 Jesus teaches us that it is
better to settle things before we face the judge… meaning that while we have
the opportunity, we should find a way to deal with our sin before that Great Day of Judgment.
And this is what Jesus is offering to do. By accepting the offer of Jesus, He wraps us
in a robe of righteousness (as we discussed last week). In His mercy, God sent His Son ahead of time
so that you and I might have an opportunity to be spared that Day of Wrath; so
we would not run and hide from God.
This just seems to make
sense. Since we know that we are sinners and since we know God is going to judge
us for that sin, doesn’t it make sense that we would find a way to have our sin
forgiven? In His mercy, God has told us
how we might be saved from the Day of the Lord.
It seems to me that a normal person
would accept God’s offer found in Jesus Christ.
But people still chose to run and hide.
Isn’t that rather odd?
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Re 6:12–17). Carol Stream,
IL.
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/where-is-god/2016/12/23/495ebfca-c881-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?utm_term=.52262064ca51
[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ge 3:8). La
Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 40:11). Carol Stream,
IL.
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