Revelation 22

This is it! Tomorrow, He comes! And Chapter 22 leaves us with a number of concluding thoughts, serving as a summary of the entire book.

The New Digs!: Wow…a raging river, pouring from the throne where the Lamb sits, a huge tree with roots extending into both sides of the river (!), and worshipers everywhere. No curses, no darkness. And, we will dispense judgment with this marvelous Lamb forever! I can’t wait.

The Gospel: “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” One might think Revelation is about destruction and death, but truly, at its center, Revelation is about redemption, healing and new life. In the same way that the same sunshine brings two different results to ice cream (melting) and clay (hardening), so too does the activity of the one God bring different results to the proud (judgment) and the humble (healing). I praise God that I heard the invitation of v. 17, and came to Him to quench my thirst. He has given me eyes to see and ears to hear the healing gospel, proclaimed to save all nations, so that the images of this chapter will be my experience!

Christmas is a time for family: The angel said to John,  “I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” No matter what your earthly family is like (you know, the ones heading over right now to celebrate the holiday with you), I can promise you this: Your spiritual family is awesome! This angel is John’s fellow servant with John…and the prophets…and all who embrace this book – that’s us! The fellowship of heaven will be amazing!

Shelf Life: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book.” In a week or so, you’ll pack up your Christmas trappings in bin, and store them in the garage. But these Revelation truths cannot and should not be a Christmas season blip. They need to be championed week in and week out, “because the time is near.” Many say this time of year, “Why can’t we have Christmas all year ’round?” I’ll expand that to include Advent. Why can’t we be intentionally hopeful and expectant every day?

Final Challenge: “Let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy…Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life…I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book…if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city.”

This is the lasting challenge from Revelation for me. The stakes are high. Evil is, truly, running rampant through our world. Everything is at stake. This is not a drill! The unfathomable power of God can be brought to bear in our lives, and evil can be defeated – today, and ultimately, in the end, in heaven. Do I live like Revelation is descriptive of reality, or like it is just a fanciful hope for the future? To do the latter is to take words away from the prophecy…God forbid! Living boldly for God includes embracing these truths, and living accordingly: doing justice, pursuing holiness, and experiencing the Spirit’s cleansing power in our lives. Wow…to do this, we really need…

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Lord, without Your grace to empower us, we will crumble under the heavy weights of life in our time. With Your grace, all things are possible. Redeem us, heal us, enliven us, and embolden us to be a healing Word to the nations. Make us exactly what You want us to be for Your return, and may it come quickly. Maranatha! Amen.”

Two more days…are you ready?

The last two chapters of Revelation are a) historically controversial, and b) absolutely glorious! It contains the final chapters of our Lord’s ultimate victory over sin, death, the world, the flesh and the devil.

And how does God redeem things? What is His M.O. in salvation? He is a replacer, not a tinkerer. God will not do a bondo-job on our broken planet, patching it up here and there to get a few more miles on it. No, He is a God who makes things brand new: a new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem…

…and a new you. The Word tells us that we have to be born again in order to even see the Kingdom of God, much less enter it (John 3:3,5). Isn’t it great that, in our brokenness, God doesn’t just toss us band-aids and casts, but instead replaces our sin-stained lives with new life in Christ!

With this in mind, I want to hi-jack today’s blog from the book or Revelation over to the book of Colossians – chapter 3, to be exact. It is another quintessential Advent passage: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

This is our ultimate longing, our ultimate hope! Not that we will get our acts together, but that God will appear soon, brining with Him…us! The new us! That’s why we spend these weeks in Advent re-focusing our minds on heaven, and His coming. Too often we can be like the unwise man who spent huge amounts of time and energy remodeling a rental, rather than investing in something that will last.

So…when we set our minds on His coming, what happens? “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature… you must rid yourselves of all such things as these…[you] have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive…put on love… Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Though our new life is coming, there is much to do in preparation for that great and terrible day.

Hopefully, this season has been a Colossians 3 experience for all of us. More than that, I hope these weeks have lodged a spirit of Colossians 3 into your souls that will last all year round.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!…It is done!…To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Wonderful!

Lord, thank You for the new me that awaits me at Your coming. But thank You that, even now, as I wait in hope for the consummation of all things, that I can put on part of that new self through the renewing of my mind. When you come, I pray that You will find me dressed for the occasion, and full of the spiritual activity that affirms that You are my God, and I am Your son. Amen.

Only three days until He comes! It’s time for our last-minute preparations for Christmas. Today’s passage leads me to two simple thoughts – how about you?

Justice: Do you ever get frustrated with the way things go down in this world? So many things seem unjust. The abortion of babies, terrorism, rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, health care many can’t afford, education systems denying God, to name a few.

Well, the early church of John’s day suffered from extraordinary injustices of their own. Primarily, they were persecuted, even killed, if they did not bend the knee to Caesar; they were slandered falsely; they were victims of prejudice in the community and marketplace. And all this took place on the watch of a notoriously corrupt government.

Then and now, all people, believers and unbelievers alike, know that things are crooked. We long for some politician to come in on a “white horse” and execute government fairly and effectively. It just never happens, because the prince of this world has woven his lies so thoroughly into the fabric of human existence that they cannot and will not be fixed until Jesus Himself comes to establish His reign.

And that’s just what we see. One of the things we have to hope for in our future is that Jesus will take His throne, and appoint judges who will govern justly. Beheaded martyrs, the victims of the most violent injustices, will be key members of His cabinet. Judgment will be right, full of grace and truth.

Imagine for a moment that this reign is coming on Thursday. Maranatha!

Salvation:When the judgment of Jesus is executed, it will be as simple as this (vs. 11-15). All are judged. Unless your name is in the “book of life”, you will be judged according to your deeds. And, it is clear that 100% being judged by this criteria will end up in the lake of fire, along with Satan and the beasts. Period. There is no salvation outside of the book of life.

Over the holidays, we will see family and friends, both saved and unsaved. Perhaps we get too used to the way things are, and stop sensing the urgency of their need to have their name written by Christ in His book of life. But, we can’t long for His coming without longing for their salvation. Hopefully, this picture in Revelation 20 will not only cause you to rejoice at the righteous climax of all things that we can expect … but will also cause you to engage with people around you in a manner commensurate with the gravity of our eternal destinies…which are truly right around the corner.

Lord, I clearly don’t deserve to have my name written in Your book of life. But, there it is, and I couldn’t be more thankful for your grace and mercy. Behold, what manner of love is this? Could you, would you, pour out your saving Spirit on those we love? For we do long for ultimate justice, but we know mercy is man’s only hope, so we long for that, too. Thank you that, in Your ultimate goodness, You are wholly and eternally trustworthy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today’s reading reiterates yesterday’s warning about the dangers of Babylon, alias Rome, alias “civilized man apart from God, man in organized but godless community.”

Today is the Saturday before Christmas…perhaps the most vigorous, inane shopping day of the entire year. Like lemmings to the sea, shoppers head to Wal-Mart, Target and malls, coughing up their cash to buy gifts – convinced that, if they don’t, they will lose face with their families and friends. There is no way out: the cultural expectation is clear. You can either be a free-wheeling spender, or some combination of Scrooge, Miss Shields, the Grinch, and Herod the Great. No one can afford to be in that company. So, we get out the credit cards, and mortgage our souls for the materialistic expectations of others.

Warning 1: When culture in essence forces you to act in a manner contrary to both common sense and Biblical wisdom, you had best take a stand against it!

We are also in the midst of an economic slide unlike any other in my lifetime. In light of our current situation, I find the words of Revelation 18:11-16 (from The Message) are unusually applicable: “The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives. ‘Everything you’ve lived for, gone! All delicate and delectable luxury, lost! Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!’ The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more: ‘Doom, doom, the great city doomed! Dressed in the latest fashions, adorned with the finest jewels, in one hour such wealth wiped out!” Eerie, isn’t it. It reads like today’s Arizona Republic. If these things are “everthing you’ve lived for”, these are terrifying days indeed.

Warning 2: God sees the greed and manipulation of a self-centered capitalistic economy as grotesque and damnable. We dare not be a part of it, lest we share in its consequences.

God’s counter-culture view of things spurs us on to the unlikely service of worship and praise in verses 20-24. “O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets!” And why the celebration? Because God has silenced the arts, has halted production, has blacked out electricity, and has turned the city into a place that is anything but family friendly. As Peterson paraphrases, “A ghost town for demons is all that’s left!”

Advent – a season of internal preparation. ‘Tis a season to ask ourselves: When are we going to see the world as he does, instead of how we are told to see it by our culture? As it says in 1 Peter 1:13, “Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When our minds are properly prepared, sober and set, we are thinking more like God Himself. And God sees the Babylon all around us for what it is. Will we?

Lord, forgive me for feeling a sense of panic when I hear that our economic markets are bottoming out. It just shows that I, too, am overly enamored by nice things. When the final crash comes, will I be counted amongst those crying “doom, doom!”, or will I be one of the rejoicing multitude, glad that such a greed-based system is finally destroyed? May my thoughts be more like Your thoughts, Lord. Amen.

This is a tremendous passage for Advent, specifically in light of what the holiday celebrations have become in this country.

Our picture here is of a great prostitute. This woman is identified with ancient Babylon the great, and with the empire of Rome. As Leon Morris says, “She stands for civilized man apart from God, man in organized but godless community.” So, our temptation is to pass this prophecy off as either a now-irrelevant historical reference, or to some sort of empire yet to come.

I submit to you that what is described here is exactly what we experience in our contemporary capitalist world. Civilization, culture, whatever you want to call it … the alluring trappings of our contemporary world have become internationally ubiquitous, like “the prostitute who sits on many waters.” Skewed modern values are everywhere, with every nation falling under the inebriation of their influence.

What we fail to see is just how God sees it, and how evil this godlessness has truly become. To us, it’s just the gaudiness of fashion, wealth, and other epicurean delights. But to God, her cup is filled with abominable filth and violence.

It has become vogue in the church to be as much like the culture as we can, without crossing the line. The problem is…nobody really knows where that line is. I hear people talking about the sensual lusts of the flesh (what we see, hear, smell, taste and feel) as morally neutral, and that the church should try to communicate the gospel to the world by these means.

In my estimation, contemporary church leaders are just as drunk on the wine of the prostitute as is the rest of the world. They need a dose of Romans 12:2, which charges thus: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Our Advent challenge, then, is to consecrate our minds to godly, Biblical thinking, so we can see through the cultural lies and make proper judgments about the sin which so easily entangles us. As Peterson paraphrases in Rev. 17:9, “Don’t drop your guard. Use your head!”

Lord, I confess that I am easily seduced by the attractions of modern life. As I do my part of making my life a sacrifice to You, please take my life, renew my mind through Word and Spirit, and grant me to capacity to see through the lies of Babylon, and cling all the more to your good, pleasing and perfect will. May we shine out as lights in a dark, materialistic world this holiday season. For Your names, sake, Amen.

Revelation 15 and 16

Once again, our reading today juxtaposes two realities that most of us are inclined to see as opposites – exuberant worship, and harsh judgment.

Does it seem odd to you that, at the sight of seven angels, carrying seven “bowls” of wrath to be administered to the unbelieving world, the people of God would break out into song? And specifically, a song about how great, marvelous, true, holy and righteous God is? It seems more appropriate to sing joyful songs when circumstances are happy, and to be resigned at best, more likely deeply saddened, when sores, dead fish, skin cancer, solar blackouts, droughts, earthquakes, killer hail storms and world wars are taking place. But, the truth is that everything God does is great, marvelous, true, holy and righteous…even when He judges sin.

I am yet to talk about the theme of “sevens” found throughout Revelation. To the ancients, especially the Israelites (and therefore the early church) the theme of seven was far more pronounced than it is for us. A sola gratia protestants, we have all but ignored the Biblical call for us to be a Sabbath people. None of my immediate friends truly practice the Sabbath, whether it be on a Saturday, Sunday, or any day of the week. It just seems so impractical nowadays, what with so much to be done, with commerce insisting on business being open 24/7, with our academic, civic, and even ecclesiastical institutions scheduling things every day of the week.

There is something greater in the principle of Sabbath, though, than the idea of taking a day “off”. God rested on the seventh day. He wasn’t taxed by His work; He didn’t need refreshment; He didn’t have to regroup. No, He simply stated “It is very good”, and took a day to enjoy His craftsmanship. After all, isn’t that why He created, for His good pleasure? Stopping to take pleasure in that which is truly good – that’s a key to the Sabbath. It is the “it is finished” of the Old Testament, a moment of praise, thankfulness, and “stopping to smell the roses” of God’s character and actions.

With each set of seven throughout the book of Revelation – the bowls, the trumpets, the plagues – the heart of the ancient reader would hearken back to Genesis 2. The completeness of God’s summation of all things continues to unfold throughout the book, and the understood nod of approval that would come from Biblical insiders is, like the voices of praise uttered in 15:3-4 and 16:5-7, an affirmation that “this is very good.”

Is your heart the Lord’s? Then his actions are good, and praiseworthy. Are you an unbelieving rebel? Then your response will be like others coming under His judgment, who “cursed God on account of the plague…because the plague was so terrible” (16:21).

Lord, I must admit…I wish the plagues of these chapters didn’t have to happen. But they are all a part of Your master will and plan for us who live on earth. Through Your Word and Spirit, school my heart and mind to be conformed to Your way of thinking. And let me be found in the company of that victorious, fire-like band of worshipers who sing, “Great and marvelous are your deeds!” Amen.

It seems a relief to turn our attention back to the good and the holy. On Mount Zion, life is characterized by a fellowship of the faithful, direct communion with heaven itself, a din or worship music and sounds…and, most of all, the presence of the Lamb.

When we gather for worship on Sundays, we do what we can to emulate this heavenly scene. But, even with our best efforts, we don’t come close to this! A combination of the pounding of Niagra Falls and the thunder of a monsoon storm, but beautiful and delicate, like harp music. This is the accompaniment to an exclusive, stadium-sized choir, singing a brand new song, making its universe-premier.

Singing. We find it all over the scriptures. Clearly, God has created us to be musical beings…and what we do with our musicality is of enormous importance to God. We all have a song in our heart – but, is it the “new song”, the song of the newly born, springing from the the gospel of Jesus? This is a song that can’t be known, learned or sung unless you are chosen by the Lord – purchased by Him, and for Him. Shame on us if we, redeemed by the Lord, opt out of our God-ordained role of praise-maker, and adopt instead the counterfeit melodies offered by the world, for the world.

What grace there is in 14:6. The gospel continues to be proclaimed. The long-suffering of God for all the nations is amazing…particularly on the heels of all of these attention-demanding actions leading up to these final acts of wrath.

Finally, a brief look at the harvest of vs. 14-20. This is the passage from which the lyrics of The Battle Hymn of the Republic are taken. They’re worth a look – especially for this generation that has given neither this hymn nor the others in the book much attention(I have emboldened a few lyrics I find particularly interesting):

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps, They have built Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps: His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel: “As ye deal with my condemners, so with you my grace shall deal; Let the Hero, born of woman [Jesus], crush the serpent with his heel, Since God is marching on.”

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat: Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave, He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave, so the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave, Our God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

This is spiritual, sung by soldiers of the American Civil War around their campfires. Today, it is often sung at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. We know it as a patriotic song, and it has, for years, bolstered the idea that the U.S.A. is an integral part of God’s plan to vanquish evil, and usher in the reign of Christ (a bold interpretation of Revelation 14, to say the least).

Still, the beautiful texts of this Advent Hymn are many. Let’s let them be the substance of our prayer today.

Lord, your truth, your day, will come like the glory of a sunrise on the beach! You come to ultimately and finally transfigure me, to make me holy, to make me completely free. Be swift, my soul, to answer You today. Let me, with jubilant feet, leap for joy, and cross the mountains with the truth of Your eternal gospel. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Amen.

Today we encounter the famous beasts, and the mysterious mark of 666. Just so you know, I offer no contemporary interpretations of who or what these beasts might be. What we can know from the text is…

The first beast is powerful and authoritative. He shows great military prowess. He ushers in a comprehensive economic system. He has the benefit of being a celebrity victim for sympathy, and the recipient of miraculous healing for world-wide astonishment. He has no equals.

This attractive package is linked to a slanderous tongue that boasts of his exploits, and rips God, the heavenly host, heaven itself, and any who would believe in any of it. His anger is only kindled by the fact that the believers in Christ are the only ones not giving Him the beast worship.

The second beast serves as sidekick to the first, sort of a press secretary. Don’t let his kindly appearance fool you — through crafty words he manipulates the masses to keep their worship misdirected toward the resurrected beast. He also does miraculous signs, showy ones that play to the crowd, which don’t benefit the people, but do help reinforce the strength of his cabinet role. One of his primary roles is to enforce the top-down system of commerce in such a way that the believers are visibly separated from the patriotic faithful.

Happy holidays, eh?

Tucked in between these two beasts is a brief passage of hope from the Lord. “He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” In other words…hear this if you can. Things are really, really bad. If that’s what God has for you, there is no escaping it. The answer is…prayer for deliverance? Undertake political action to oust the beasts? Claim blessing, because God would never let this happen, and will surely keep you from all pain if you just pray?

No. The call is for patient (because it’s going to last for awhile) endurance (because it’s going to be really hard to take) and faithfulness (because you may be tempted to doubt the goodness of God).

Advent. We long for the coming of the Messiah…but the promise is that the “great and terrible” day will bring with it hardship that will truly test the mettle of our faith. I truly hope I am ready for these end times.

Lord…if I had to write up the end times, or any times for that matter, I would not include the distasteful characters of chapter 13. Clearly, though, these beasts have no power that isn’t ordained by You. They are there for a reason, so I embrace their ministry of manipulation and destruction as part of Your righteous judgment. Please…let my patience, faithfulness, and capacity to endure be found able to stand whatever besets us, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s text features the colossal story of the heavenly woman giving birth, the great red dragon’s attempt to devour the child, God’s protection of the mother and child, Michael and his angels battling Satan and his armies, the Devil being cast to earth, and the ensuing attack against the followers of Jesus. As I sit this morning reading and re-reading this chapter, I’m listening to the words of this traditional carol:

God rest you merry, gentlemen! Let nothing you dismay, for Jesus Christ our Saviour was born upon this day to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray: O tidings of comfort and joy!

When the offspring (Jesus) of the celestial woman (Israel) was about to be devoured by the red dragon (Satan), he was whisked off to heaven (the ascension). Our salvation was saved from Satan’s power, even though we had long since gone astray. What merry rest, comfort and joy!

However, after this salvation, a battle rages between the heavenly host and the followers of the dragon. Michael and his armies defeat the forces of evil, and there is great rejoicing in heaven. Merry rest, comfort and joy!

Wait, there’s more. The dragon, now banished, is furiously angry, and will attempt to take his anger out on mother (Israel). God gives her eagles’ wings, a wilderness sanctuary, and rescue from a Satan-induced flood. Saved again! What merry rest, comfort and joy!

But the Devil is relentless. Now, he turns his attention to “her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” That would be us. And, boy, is Satan angry! Thwarted time and again, on earth and in heaven, with his time increasingly short, and we are his last object of attack. As one commentator says, “Opposition to the church on the part of the powers of evil is persistent. No sooner is it defeated in one place than it breaks out elsewhere.” From the persecutions in far-off countries to the ubiquitous, mesmerizing forces of pop media, it’s a dangerous world out there…more dangerous than ever.

But, our God is Jesus, Yeshua, “God saves.” Merry, joyful, undismayed rest! Satan’s power is extraordinary, but we have been (history), are (answered prayer today), and will be (our Advent hope!) saved!

Lord, forgive me for taking the cosmic struggle too lightly. Salvation for your chosen people has cost You dearly. You have gone to great lengths to equip us for the struggle today, and will exert untold power to save on that “great and terrible day” of Your coming. Let me prepare for Your coming by meditating more pensively on the realities of our battle, and by arming myself with the truth of the Word of God, righteousness, faith, prayer and the gospel.

Today, I’m particularly moved by the worship interlude at the sounding of the 7th trumpet…but, first, the saga of the two witnesses.

Back in the mid-70s, when I became a Christian, end-times issues were all the rage. I read and re-read my copy of “There’s a New World Coming” by Hal Lindsay, and actually prayed that maybe, just maybe, God would let me be one of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11!

I’m not quite sure what I was thinking.

Once again, we see the sovereign plan of God unfolding, laced with what we would describe as hardship, sorrow, and the flexing of the evil one. The holy city trampled for 42 months; prophets in sackcloth; fire devouring enemies; droughts; bloody water; plagues; attacks; corpses in the street; earthquakes; collapsing cities; terror. All of this is contained in the God-given, God-announced “woe.”

As I type this, I just came from the Chapel at East Valley Bible Church, where the congregation was singing, “Joy to the World! The Lord is come!” The last verse of this popular carol states that “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love.” This is certainly true of Revelation 11. Through these hard times of judgment, God is causing the peoples of this world to, whether they want to or not, be a statement of God’s righteousness (and, conversely, their unrighteousness).

Then come the wonders of His love. A heavenly contingent belts out this truth: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever…”We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

When the Lord comes to reign, he won’t be taking any prisoners. The dividing line between the followers of Christ and kingdom of this world will be starkly clear.

If Revelation 11 doesn’t exhort you to take your preparation for His coming seriously, I don’t know what will. Back to the carol: “Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room!”

Savior Jesus, your ways are not our ways. They are unsearchable, beyond finding out. These Revelation glimpses show us just how weighty are the issues under Your sovereign control. Please, Lord…let me, let us do our part to prepare ourselves for this coming, and be found amongst the saints who reverance your name, and receive your rewards. Amen.