Ten Years Gone: Revelation 22

Ten years ago, I began these daily reflections on Scripture. The goal was to get through the entire Bible in ten years. It normally took between a third and a quarter of a chapter a day, in order to read it evenly and complete it today.

But there were gaps in my commitment to it. After 911, I stopped for a period of time, maybe several months.

When I went through divorce and started grad school, in 2005, I got behind by more than half a year. But I got caught up eventually.

I wanted to find nuggets that would normally be missed, as in "The Prayer of Jabez." I think that to some degree I accomplished this, with God's help. You have to be willing to part with things you assume to be true. Of course it helps that a good part of it was journaled privately, by me. Until about three years ago, it was in the form of a Word document, and not a blog. Only I saw these thoughts. I might be kicked out of church if others read my conclusions!

It is tempting to do a lengthy summary of the decade. But instead, (as I posted recently) the goal of Bible study is to see it as a never-ending story, and eternal narrative. When you complete the Revelation to John, you are supposed to start right in on Genesis. The Bible keeps building on itself.

I mean, right here in this chapter, God is clear about the behaviors He hates; the sins that keep us away from him: lying, witchcraft (having other gods), sexual immorality, murderers. He places murder in the same category as sexual immorality. It is all about accepting ourselves as God made us (not as we THINK He made us!), and behaving as noble, godly people.

So I will cycle back tomorrow, and continue on. Perhaps more people will read it this time, and comment.

I will close with one piercing memory from the past decade.

On the Sunday following September 11, 2001, I went in to Church. The turnout was massive, on that day. The pastor, Bill Donahue, used to put the microphone out to the congregation and let people add their own prayers. I did a short one, one which I concluded with words from Revelation 22:

Come, Lord Jesus.

These words from God's word produced no response from the congregation of over two hundred people. No "Amens!" were pronounced. No stirring. Not even a sense that I had made people uncomfortable. Nothing.

The community had become unwatchful. They had learned not to watch for the Return of Christ. It had no meaning for them! This was one of the most disappointing and discouraging things I experienced in ten years. It was even more troublesome to me, than my own divorce.

But it speaks to me as a call from God Himself. I always planned to begin full-time ministry once I turned 50. That happened this year. Out of my decade of Bible study, I may add a clearly-defined purpose to God's call on me.

Recreation: Revelation 21

The City of New Jerusalem has specific dimensions, and there is a temple. I am not clear on why we ever had all these specifics on the temple, how it was to be built, etc. But it might have something to do with enabling us to visualize what New Jerusalem will be like. God knows that we like our dwellings, and our creations. We have living rooms, and He enjoys them as much as we do. There is a temple for us in eternity.

This is God's re-creation of everything. He will re-create the universe, but this time we are players in the drama. We will get to watch it!

Watch me make everything all over again.

God must be smiling as He says this: like a kindly grandfather taking you outside to show you a new play structure he has built for you.

But in commenting on all of the words spoken to John, throughout the Book of Revelation, God says: "They've already come true: I am Alpha and Omega . . . "

We miss this point. In our chronological reading of history, and prophecy, we see everything as straight-line, as cause-and-effect. But God has told us it is already done. How can this be?

Eternity is constant Present. A never-ending Now. Eternal beings, which is what we are promised, occupy a realm higher than ours. They are not subjects of Time. They are rulers over it! They look over us as we do an ant colony (rough analogy). The re-creation of the Universe is as good as done. In fact, it has been done.

We have got to start seeing ourselves as beings that have already made it. Thanks be to God, the eternal realm is here already (for it must be, if there is such a thing), and many of us are there ("there" is not a very helpful word!) True, in our present state, we must proceed forward in time. This is our reference point. But God has said that it's already done. It is as good as done. It is done.

It can be a little crazy-making. But let us not ponder the meta-physics of it. Let's just accept God's good word and His promise.

I Want to See This: Revelation 20

The Lake of Fire is presented. Anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life is thrown into it. Satan, and the Beast, and the False Prophet, are tossed into it. And Death and Hell are tossed into it.

The first thing I want to see, is the Lake of Fire itself. I can only imagine what this must look like!

Fire breaks down anything into its basic, elemental form. As I understand it, any life form from earth, when burned up, turns into carbon dust. A jar filled with the ashes of a cremated person has only dust, made of carbon, in it. If this blog was regularly read by even a half dozen people, I'm sure this question would be settled.

I have not addressed Satan, much, in my ten-year biblical journey. Yet to me Satan is a concept, the embodiment of opposition to God, in any form. Humans that oppose God are called "Satan." So if Satan is tossed into the fire, it simply means that the idea of evil, or of opposing God, is destroyed.

The Beast represented governments that sought supremacy over the earth, against the will of God. These are most often represented as individuals, whose identities change over time. The idea of worldly governments, opposed to God, is destroyed.

The False Prophet is any human setting himself up as God. Or it could refer to false religions that point people away from Christ. The idea that Christ is not the Way, or that there are other paths to eternal life, is destroyed.

The three basic sources of opposition to God - will be gone. So what does it mean to say they will be tortured for ever and ever? I think it just means the job will go one, until it's complete, even if it has to burn forever. How do you torture a concept? Well, there will be people in the Lake of Fire, and a lot of these figureheads of the concepts will certainly not receive any pleasure from the burning. It burns them up. It's effect is forever. But even if it did mean "through eternity, without literally ending," then, don't we all have a lot to learn about eternity? We really don't know what we're talking about!

Then Death and Hades were hurled into the Lake of Fire.

These, too, are concepts. Death is killed. And then Hell - the place of the dead - is destroyed. The last enemies to be destroyed are Death and Hell. No more Death. No more place for the Dead. Earth, or the ground, will never again be used for burial. How wonderful is that?

I can't imagine what this will look like. But I want to see it!

At War With the Lamb: Revelation 17

The chapter is full of symbols and high drama. Each word seems fraught with deep meaning. No one person, or generation, can understand the specific references in Revelation 17.

Let's try to simplify it a bit.

The nations will go to war against the Lamb.

When you declare war against another nation, you are saying, in effect, that you want something about that other nation to change. In a true, complete war, the victor carries out its own wishes over the vanquished. Unconditional surrender is the mark of a war that has been conclusively won.

The world always has, and still does, seek the total elimination of God's will upon the earth. Don't we all know this? Even atheists get it! The world resists the true God. It tolerates false religions, but hates the true one.

Jesus (the Lamb) came, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, adding value to every one with whom He came into contact. He raised the dead, and is the only way to eternal life. Yet the world hates Him.

It is hard to understand. But perhaps a look at defiant toddlers, whose first word is probably "no!", gives us a hint as to why this is.

I saw two brothers fighting. The younger, smaller, one, kept taunting the older, bigger one. I said to the smaller one: "Why would you do this? He's twice as big as you?" Why indeed? Why do we resist God? Why do we seek to overthrow our Creator? It makes no sense, yet it is so.

So the nations of the world, after throwing off the yoke of "the great whore" who tantalized and seduced them for ages (I will not go into her possible identities here!), are now intoxicated with the thrill of victory. Having defeated God's chief enemy (so they think), they now seek to take on the Lord Himself! It's the younger sibling, again, in the emotions of the moment, in the heat of battle, losing his senses and digging a deeper hole for himself!

The beast, however, still pushes all the buttons. The whore was just a religious agent of the beast, that led people astray.

They will go to war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them . . . 

Is there anger, or hate, directed at Christ, or His Church, today? Do we strive to throw off God's moral requirements of us? Do we seek our will (whatever feels good), rather than His? Do we go for what's culturally relevant, rather than what's eternally significant? Do we wish God would go away?

This is war with the Lamb.

Armageddon: Revelation 16

Armageddon is one of those those words, that everybody thinks they understand. People think it describes a final battle. While it is true that the chronological placement of it, in this case, is at the end of time, the word more accurately describes a place, the valley of Megiddo, which is outside Jerusalem.

Or how about the view that Armageddon would be a battle between the West and the East; Capitalism and Communism; Europe/America and the Middle East; Everybody against Israel? This suggests a political, and not a spiritual, component to the final conflict. Hollywood can produce movies called "Armageddon," that are based on an alien attack, or nuclear disaster, but they will miss the fact that Armageddon is, simply put, the last stand of God's enemies. They all come together, anyone that has resisted God, from Cain, to Esau, to Pharaoh, to Goliath, to Saul, to Ahab, to Jezebel, to Herod, to the Scribes and Pharisees, to Rome in its many forms.

God throws a bunch of plagues on the earth, as He did against Pharaoh. But incredibly, people grow even more defiant against God. Rather than repent, they curse Him even more. The sinner is determined to stay lost and dead.

During all this time, God's people are safe in His care.

God is still giving them space, and time, to repent. He could kill them outright. But the plagues demonstrate His power. As fierce as it gets, still they do not turn around.

. . . and the people cursed and swore at God for this plague, saying, "This is a terrible plague, indeed."

The world has seen many travesties in its history, more than could be listed. But this is as bad as it gets. God's clean-up operation gives people a chance to repent, but they don't. It is sufficient to destroy everything that has ever opposed God. It is like Nature itself, finally rebelling against humanity. We, and all of creation, were made with the ability to fight off disease and imperfection. The healing process brings forth an uncomfortable condition that we call "symptoms." This could be what is happening right now, in Revelation 16.

Seven: Revelation 15

All is in readiness for God's people to take their place in His Kingdom. Eternal life has not been formally bestowed yet (I don't think). For, there is still some final work to do, to eliminate all the bad, from the former age.

Seven angels appear, with seven plagues. Since this is the wrap-up of the Bible, and of Scripture, I automatically thought about other events in Scripture, that came in sevens. The best example is at the very beginning, where God made the Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh.

I wondered if the seven angels and plagues represent seven days worth of clean-up. Seven days to create it all, and seven to destroy all the wickedness, or to re-create the world, if you will.

And I saw another sign in the sky, huge and wondrous, seven angels bearing seven final plagues, because they were to be the culmination of God's fury.

Culmination. Completion. Resolution.

The final fury is done in plagues. But it is easy to see that, after all that has taken place on the earth: war, natural disasters, financial collapse - plagues would naturally follow. What is left of earth will waste away. So that, the events of Revelation are less an application of God's active involvement in things. When you think about it - all of these events are things that we will bring upon ourselves.

Just the other night, I saw something on TV, advocating funding and support for a new pill that prevents AIDS from being passed on from mother to unborn child. It said something like "We can wipe out infant AIDS by 2020 if we can get this pill to all that need it."

We can wipe out AIDS entirely, if we can get people to follow God's plan for sexuality and marriage.

But we don't care about that. We want our sex. So one wonders how terrible the next plague will be, since AIDS isn't bad enough.

We bring the seven plagues upon ourselves, as if we are sending engraved invitations to those seven angels.

The Harvest: Revelation 14

Christ commanded us to go work the fields of harvest. This agricultural image brings to mind such tasks as weeding, watering, planting, etc. These jobs are done all summer long. During the hottest part of the year, you must go out into the sun and work . . . outside . . . in the sun.

So our job today is to keep the garden free of weeds:

• Distractions from serving God
• Sin (yes, this means we need specific definitions of sin!)
• Cares of the world

We must do this work in all kinds of conditions:

• Poor health
• Slander and hate tossed at us
• Economic downturns

But at the end, the field is ready for harvest. Notice that the crops are withered and dry at harvest time. Like in late September - you have picked everything you can from the plants. You have kept it free from weeds and pests. You have taken everything you can from the garden. 

This is a different impression of harvest, than I have been taught. When you take in fruit that is ready to be picked, this is not the same as harvest, for you can do this throughout the summer, starting as early as June (if you have berries in your garden). This refers to a time in the mid to late autumn, when all you have is the dry, useless stuff. The only way to make this dry and withered vegetation useful, is to clear it out, burn it up, and use it for compost. 

So today we are to make the fields ready for harvest. The Great Harvest of the ages comes after the church has done everything it can do: all that could be saved are saved; all the sin that could be removed has been removed; all of God's opponents have been vanquished. Christ will have built His Kingdom up, and defeated all of His enemies - now all that is left is to burn up the refuse of the ages.

Put your sickle to work and harvest, because the harvest time has come, the crops of the earth are withered and dry.

The bad news to most people is that the clearest image of opposition to God, of following the Beast and rejecting Christ, has mostly to do with our sexual behavior. So it is that when you see a culture that has become oversexed - that seems obsessed with sex in all of its forms - consider whether or not it is evidence of a battle being waged right here on earth, between the followers of Christ and His enemies.

This is one clear thing that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

The Beast: Revelation 13

The Beast has been one of the most analyzed prophetic figures in Church history. Everybody thinks they know his identity. In my life alone, everyone from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, from Saddam Hussein to the Pope, have been suggested as Beasts.

God's greatest enemies in biblical history, have been humans, (yes, notwithstanding the Serpent, and the dubious "Lucifer" and tempter of Christ). Pharaoh, Saul, Judas, the Scribes and Pharisees, Goliath, etc. They all have been formidable figures that stood in the way of God's Kingdom.

So the Beast, here in Revelation 13, is definitely a man, (or woman?). But this beast is the culmination of the ages. The forces of evil combine together in this one person, for the final assault on God's Kingdom.

The idea that you cannot conduct any commerce without the mark of the Beast is a tantalizing point. Could this be Social Security? Credit Cards? Nationalized health care? It is true that in the world today you cannot do much with official government papers and forms of identification. While the initial purpose for such things was noteworthy and necessary, still it is easy to see how such a thing could be corrupted into an instrument of evil, (since evil is always wrapped up in some human's desire to control other humans!)

Who would dare attempt to live today, without a credit rating, or social security number? It's simply impossible! And the serpent has been subtle from the beginning. He always makes his purposes seem benign. He does not come out and admit "This is for evil purposes." He doesn't even believe that he himself is evil!

So look for the Beast in trustworthy places. Let the Beast be a national or world figure that masses of people seem to trust, or admire. Let him be someone that even we (those reading these words) hold high as an example and leader for us! For we have one Master, which is Christ the Lord!

And the whole world followed the beast around in amazement and adored the dragon for giving its power to the beast, and they adored the beast, saying, "Who is the equal of the beast? Is anyone strong enough to take it on?"

Is anyone that strong, indeed!

Before it Can Get Any Better . . . Revelation 12

We now see the final fury of God's enemies, here led by one called "The Dragon." The dragon would represent sin and opposition to God. It is a much more vicious and frightening version of the serpent found at Creation. A serpent is subtle, quiet, unassuming. But now we see the serpent (sin) as he really is: a giant dragon that can wipe away entire populations with the swipe of his tail.

Of course, the images here depict more literal battles upon the earth: military campaigns against God's people. Even today, you can see the world itself preparing itself for opposition against the Church of God and maybe Israel (is Israel Christ's "mother"?). Forces that would never combine will do so, in order to wipe the Church off the face of the earth. The closer we get to the end, the worse it will get.

For the devil is down there with you now, full of tremendous anger, knowing that he has only a little time.

So watch now, how really the focal point of hate and opposition in the world today, is collected upon the Church of Christ.

Secret Weapon: Revelation 11

Now there is fierce war-making on the earth. The temple of God is revealed, providing sanctuary for some, from all the terrors taking place. There is mention of the one-thousand, two hundred sixty days. But we will not get into that here.

The appearance of the Temple seems to drive God's enemies into a frenzy. What appears to be the last bastion of hope for God's people is there right before them. It is that same Temple that has been held forth since the formation of Israel. It is the home of God's people. They are safe there. They worship freely. They draw close to God, and become holy.

The wicked rulers of the earth see it now. They believe that if they can just take it and destroy it, and remove all of God's worshippers from earth, that He will leave them alone! You see - it's not that they don't believe in God. They just want to be free to live their lives unencumbered by His holiness! They want "freedom" to sin! That's all!

There is the old adage - a God without worshipers ceases to exist. This has always been why God's enemies hate His people so much!

But . . .


And the temple of God swung open in the sky revealing the Ark of the Covenant there in His temple, and there was lightning and voices and thunder and earthquakes and great storms of hail.

If the Ark is at least as powerful as it is portrayed in Indiana Jones, then we have a scene here that strikes fear into the hearts of God's enemies. Their frenzy turns to panic. Their cause is now hopeless, and they know it.

I want to see it, to be there at the moment when the Ark is unveiled, from millenia of hiding.

Deep into the Word: Revelation 10

In our first wave of the Christian experience, all is wonderful, magical, and pure. We feed on spiritual milk of forgiveness and redemption. We are healed from our hurts and sins. We begin to look forward to the promise of eternal life.

The elements of communion remind us of Christ's death on the Cross. We are to reflect on the Cross as the one single thing that binds us together, that gives us community - communion and unity. The bread and wine taste good. In fact, I have always noticed myself thinking "that's good - I wish we could have more." But any more than the samples we get, becomes more like a meal. And it is only for remembrance, not for filling.

But when we reflect on the Cross, and ingest it, if you will; when we take Christ Himself, His Body and Blood, His Word, and consume it, it becomes part of us. We find communion with Him. We share in His sufferings. The Communion starts out sweet. But our reflection of it should cause us some trouble, some sorrow. It should sour our stomachs a little. It is good that we only take a small sample of it! A little is all it takes. Our reflections are bitter. The more we take the Cross into us - the more we take Christ and His Word into us - a very good thing! - the more we should understand the price He paid.

John is told to feed on the Word of God right here. He is taking a little communion during his prophecy session. The Word is Christ, and John is instructed to eat the Book that has been given him. This represents getting deep into the Word, by taking it into our stomachs, by digesting it so that it becomes part of our cellular structure. But the deeper we get into it, the deeper it gets into us. We can't handle all of it as newborn babes in Christ. When you have been through all John has, in his life and at this moment, you are able to take the hard stuff, and that is what he is given right now.

Take it and eat it up, and it will sour your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.

The word of God is sweet to us. It tastes good. In our stomachs it begins to work its wonderful and necessary process. But deep within us, as we mature, there are times when it does not digest so well (like some essential foods and nutrients!) John is about to get hammered with the hard stuff.

Terror: Revelation 9

Here is where the prognosticators go a little crazy. Everybody is so certain they've got it all figured out. We have got to give other humans a little credit for being intelligent. People don't want to get this wrong. They don't deliberately put out something that they believe is open to scrutiny or second-guessing. It would be good, though, if we could all have a little humility and maybe learn something from each other.

We see a glimpse of real terror. When you are reading this, it looks as if each event follows the other in rapid succession. But it need not be so. It could take centuries to accomplish all of it (and maybe has!)

Here we get a third of humanity wiped out each time. Where the prior disasters may have been natural, now we get what seems to be chemical or biological agents, delivered via some futuristic military craft yet to be invented.

But the main point of the passage is not the devastation. It is the hardheartedness of humanity. Indeed, this has been the common theme from the very dawn of creation. Look:

And the rest of humankind that wasn't killed by those disasters would not turn back from their evil handiwork and stop bowing before demons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood that cannot see or hear or move; nor would they turn back from being murderers, witches, whores, and thieves.

Now, you would think that if there was one verse in the entire Bible that we would want to get right, this would be it. We could take many different approaches: Why won't people change? (Some did, after 911, for a little while). To what degree to we do such things? Do we worship idols? (Put anything ahead of God). Do we participate in killing others (is our employer a killer?). Do we practice witchcraft (other religions, follow horoscopes, etc.)? Are we sexually impure? (Come on, now!) Do we take from others (in our borrowing and lending, in our tax policy, in our charitable giving)?

A church or family would do well to spend a long time reflecting on this one verse.

It Begins: Revelation 8

So far, the Book of Revelation reads first like an apostolic letter to churches, and then as a New Testament version of the Psalms. We know, however, that it is taken as a book of prophecy, or future things. In Chapter 8, this begins in earnest.

The cataclysms that mark the beginning of the end, are all in the form of natural disasters, (except for the possible atomic bomb or two!). Fire raining down as hail, a flame as big as a mountain, a possible asteroid strike, the waterways of the earth poisoned, and an environmental disaster brought on by a cloud that blocks sun and moonlight . . .

A third of the earth is vanquished in this first found of disasters.

Science and Scripture come to agreement! Even the most atheistic scientist or ecologist knows that we are in grave danger of a natural, or man-made environmental catastrophe that could take millions of lives. It is perhaps the most popular theme of movies, in our time!

God, the greatest Ecologist and Social Scientist of all time, Who knows us perfectly (because He made us!), knew that this would happen, eventually. He does not have to make these things happen. Revelation may be viewed as a prediction based on observable trends. He also knew the odds of us being pelted by interplanetary bodies: He could forecast that one would hit earth at about the time we became sophisticated enough to destroy the planet all by ourselves!

The first wave of disaster is not caused by God at all! We will either bring it upon ourselves, or it will be caused by random forces of the universe!

But this is only the beginning.

Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth for the remaining trumpet-blasts of the three angels who still have not trumpeted.

A "Little Flock"? Really? Revelation 7

Christian denominational groups that are proud of how smart, or special they are, like to refer to Christ's depiction of His "little flock." The flock is little. There can't be too many people saved. So our little group must be the little flock!

With a vast universe to fill, I think we cut God way short when we assume that His salvation is only for a few. Eternity is a concept we simply do not fully understand.

These four angels came along with the four winds of the earth, to wipe everything clean. But before they were allowed to do so, another angel came forward and stopped them. First, the 144,000 from among the children of Israel, were spared. But then . . .

Next I looked and saw a great crowd, beyond anyone's power to count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb . . .

In 2010, we have become quite sophisticated in counting people. We do this via the census, and today ultra-powerful computers are used to accomplish the task. Imagine a number of people so great, that no one can count!

God has great things in store for us. We had better start treating all other humans as our brethren. For this is exactly what they are!

The Lamb Revisited: Revelation 6

From a Lamb that was slaughtered, and lives again, clothed in light and majesty, we turn now to a comical notion: a Lamb that conquers and strikes fear into the hearts of His enemies!

And the kings of the earth and the biggest names, and the military brass and the wealthy and the strong, and everyone, slave or free, all hid in caves and inside the crevices of mountains, and they say to the peaks and crags, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the occupant of the throne and from the fury of the Lamb!"

Add to the ludicrous scene, the even more ridiculous plea of the powerful leaders of earth, to hide from this being that came out of nowhere, and seems to be everywhere! The earth is shaking, dead are rising, cataclysm is everywhere, and our "leaders" (go ahead, picture some of them in your mind, as you read this!) think they can get away!

It reminds me the typical movie plot, where the evil guy is full of bravado, until his own life is in danger, at which point he turns into a simpering fool, begging for mercy. They could say "You win, Lord - please take me with you." But instead, on cue, they display their cowardice and prove themselves unworthy ("worthy" is a good Revelation word).

How about we take this one idea from this passage:

Why would we want to seek for worldly power and prestige in this life? In Revelation, the book that wraps it all up, we find the lowest of humanity being the ones that win. We know this. We talk about it. We teach our young about it.

But we don't do it.

The Lamb - Do We Really Get This? Revelation 5

Here is an entire chapter about the Lamb that has been slaughtered, and how only this Lamb, of all creatures that ever lived, is worthy to open some mysterious Book of all Books. Presumably, this is the Book of Life.

Only one Person in history is able to read the names written in the Book of Life. Only One can pronounce the final destiny of all people, and of the World.

Just as only One could pay the price for our sins, so could this same One Person be the only one to execute the judgment of the World, to make things right and whole, to provide eternal life to those that have claimed His sacrifice as their own, and made themselves worthy. The One found worthy, makes us worthy.

There is an image of this Lamb of God, standing with His throat slit. There he is before us, bearing the scars of our sins. We know about the holes in his hands, and in his side. Now to this picture is added a gruesome slash across His throat. Do we think about this, or just quickly read through it, and on to the passage which we hope is less graphic and more pleasant?

I regret to say that I have viewed images of this very thing, of humans as well as slaughtered animals. The word "slaughter" is most accurately used in the context of slitting a throat of an animal intended for dinner. When applied to humans, it is particularly revolting. The concept takes on a disturbing and dark aspect. Our Lord was slaughtered, in a most terrifying way. We cannot bear the thought.

It is fitting that the Lamb that was slaughtered should be given the power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

But it is the way it needed to be. Death itself is terrible, and throughout God's Scripture we are reminded of this, again, and again. This is why death is portrayed as so awful. It is why sin is so brutally treated. God never wanted us to sugar-coat death. In the end it doesn't matter how we die. The outcome is the same.

So that the one found worthy of opening the Book, was the one the least deserving of death, but who suffered death in the cruelest and most humiliating way.

His scars. His wounds. His bruises. These became features that we can now look upon without fear or grief. Like badges of honor, they are what make him worthy to be the One to grant us life.

A Glimpse of Eternity: Revelation 4

The Apostle John was the last surviving of the Original Twelve Apostles. He lived out his life and died a natural death on the Island of Patmos. Apparently, it takes old men appropriately to receive the most profound prophetic messages from God. Daniel, as I understand it, was quite old when he received prophecies in the Old Testament. In fact, Daniel, is the John of the Old Testament. The two served the same function during both periods. It will be interesting to see them when they first meet, at Christ's return.

John words, I think, were insufficient to describe what he was seeing: a door in the sky, rainbows, thrones, crowns of gold, shining white garments  . . .

I think that he used the best words he could to describe these visions. An eagle, a lion, a calf, a human face. I do not necessarily believe that he was seeing these things, literally. But he used the best words he could find, to describe them.

Now, to these 24 elders: I like to think they are the twelve patriarchs of Israel (Jacobs sons), and the Twelve Apostles. John had entered into eternity. While these 24 men had not been resurrected in our timeline, yet in the eternal realm, they live, for eternity has no chronology. It is a single place and point in time, an ever-present Now.

John might have scanned the group of men, and seen himself sitting among them. We have tantalizing questions:

* Was Judas in the group? Or did Matthias make this august assemblage? Perhaps Paul was among them?

* They are represented as kings that throw their crowns at the foot of the Almighty. When will they be crowned? Are they made kings at their resurrection, at Christ's return? Is there some big ceremony where we can witness this?

* Or maybe I am completely off here. Perhaps we can identify 24 major national groups in world history, that may be represented by these 24 elders. But since the term "elder" is used, I am more prone to ascribe the term to Hebrew and Church leaders.

They sing this hymn, so often used as a proof text for the Trinity:

Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God, ruler of all,
The Was, and the Is and the Shall Be.

In this case, why can't we just stay with the context? If the context of the passage provides a sufficient explanation, there is no need to harmonize with cryptic scriptural connections found in other parts of the Bible. So that . . .

Holy is the Was
Holy is the Is, and,
Holy is the Shall Be.

God is Holy thrice over, because He occupies the past, present, and future, all at the same time.

If we can so glimpse eternity through the eyes of John, and understand that it is with us already (as is Christ's Kingdom, which we are building), then what are we worried about?

Hot or Cold! Revelation 3

For today's comments, I choose to discuss the most famous statement from Revelation Chapter 3.

I know what you do, that you're neither hot nor cold. You should be either hot or cold!

I know that I spent a good deal of my life going for the mediocre. Perhaps we all could say that. Taking a marriage that you know is going to be a project, is lukewarm. Making career choices that you know are not in your talents, is lukewarm.

Having a vision, but putting it on hold for years, because you are concerned about how others will receive it, is lukewarm.

We have got to do what's right, and to trust God to make the right outcome.

Look, we confuse worldly "hot" with godly "hot." I have seen a number of young men and women basically ruin their lives, for choosing as a spouse someone that's "hot." But then this "hot" match becomes to them a lifetime of spiritual mediocrity, when their partner doesn't support, even fights against, their Christian walk. The really hot spouse is the one that can turn you onto the godly life. One that sets you aflame with passion for the Lord.

How many of us thought that a "hot" career was one that brought in the big bucks? I wanted thirty years of success in business and government, during which I would accumulate great wealth that could be lavished upon God's work in the final third of my career. This is not hot. It is mediocre. The really hot careers are the ones where you are on the front lines, building the Kingdom. When that is your mission, the rewards take care of themselves. Salary doesn't matter, for that is not the point.

These decisions were not for "cold." They were mediocre, for they attempted to mix the World and the Lord. A cold decision is one that pursues worldy ends with no regard for the Lord.

I was lukewarm. And so are many of you.

First Things: Revelation 2

How fitting is it, that the final book of the Bible begins with a plea that we go back to where we started?

But I have one thing against you: you've lost the love you used to have.

Revelation is commonly thought of as a book about the future. But if we do this only, it is like giving ourselves a pass. "Don't get too worked up, unless you see these things happening. When and if you do, then you had better change!"

But John writes to the Ephesians, and to us today - to get back to where we started! I want to focus on it being a call for us not to stop our study of Scripture, once finished with Revelation! We might be tempted to take a break once we have finished this book. But perhaps the point is to look at Bible study as more of a cycle, than a straight-line activity. The One who is The First and The Last says for us to go back to the beginning. There is no ending point - not yet anyway.

The Book that follows Revelation, is Genesis. And indeed, God's view of eternity may be just that. To Him, our time-line is a single point. If you have been through all of Scripture (Which I have been doing, for ten years), then it is time to start all over again.

So go back - your study of the Bible was only a preparation to read it all over again.

And maybe therein lies the secret to us regaining the agape love we had lost along the way.

Don't Be Afraid: Revelation 1c

By the time John had his encounter with Christ, on the Isle of Patmos, he was an old man. The sole surviving Apostle from the Original Twelve, he also was the only one to die a natural death. The Lord had a special mission for him. He was the one whom "Jesus loved." He was the one entrusted to care for Mary, mother of our Lord, after Christ left this earth. Martyrdom was the fate of all of the Twelve, except for John. As the one that wrote so much about love, and light, John became the one most suited to receive these visions.

Jesus had seen, and done, it all. We do not know what happened during the silent years of his life, between boyhood when he was left behind at the temple, and his adulthood, when he began his ministry by turning water into wine. Perhaps he had been taken on a fantastic voyage of discovery, fellowshipping with the Father, being trained and prepared by Him.

At any rate, Christ's knowledge of eternity, and of the universe, was by then complete. He had even experienced death, and rebirth. One who has died and then come back to life has nothing more to learn. What more could there be?

And so he was able to say, with confidence:

Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last and the most alive.

Standing as he did, before John, and Heavenly splendor, struck fear into John's heart. Here he was, next to a man whose very presence channeled eternity into John's finite, time-based realm.

But Christ had full knowledge, total courage, and complete love. He was and is everything. And he spoke words to John, and across the centuries, to us. Follow someone like that. This is exactly the one thing that we need.

God Is: Revelation 1c

"God is."

I have worked with school-aged kids before, tutoring them on language arts skills. To say that the phrase "God is," is a complete sentence, would be tough for many of them to grasp. In fact, a lot of adults would argue the point. They would say "God is . . . what?"

But you have it right there. A subject: "God"; and a predicate "is." No object is needed for the verb "is." The sentence really just states "God exists." But the simple verb "is," while smaller and of a more basic apparent meaning, seems to say a whole lot more than that God simply exists.

"God is," is a complete sentence. It is also a very simple, basic, and small sentence. Yet it is packed with more meaning than we imagine. In fact, it is perhaps the most meaningful and relevant sentence possible, in the English language.

It is what God really was saying to John:

I am Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God, the Is, the Was, and the Will Be, the ruler of all.

We have written about the power of, and importance of Now, as a concept. Now is really all that matters. If we say that God is, and that Now is more important than "before" or "after", then we come to realize that God is fully present, fully here, fully relevant - and although we cannot see Him, He is more real than we are.

If we can imagine a place of eternal Now, (which is really what eternity would have to be, after all), then we are in a sense proving that there is an Eternity. To suggest that no beings are already in that place, a place that we can only imagine, is the peak of human arrogance.

When we contemplate the reality of Eternity, then we also have considered that there is a God Who resides there already (and Eternity, we should note, is by definition a realm of which we are only a subset. We may be there already - we just have not been transformed into creatures that can access it).

Our understanding of what is to come, in Revelation, must be tempered by the knowledge that only Now counts, really. God prefaces a prophecy of what is to come, by declaring that our focus must be kept on Him, the One Who, simply, is.

A Greeting From Christ: Revelation 1b

In Revelation, we have words from right off the Apostle John's pen. They are his words, but they have been inspired. He was commissioned an agent to record these prophecies that wrap up God's plan and get us all the way to the end of the Age. So that, the Bible takes us all the way from the very beginning, eons before any of us were born, all the way to the Last Day. It's all there, and what comes between the two covers, are the most important details of history.

John, speaking for the Father, and the Spirits around God's throne (are "the seven spirits" some reference to the Holy Spirit?), and Jesus Anointed brings us some great, some good . . . some wonderful news. We have a greeting from Jesus himself!

Grace to you and peace from . . . Jesus Anointed.

If you read the book of Revelation, you are automatically taken into the presence of Christ. The reader is greeted by Christ himself. Jesus wishes peace to you! He prays that you find grace!

Jesus says "hello", or "hi", or maybe even "hey!", when you begin to read Revelation.

The bearer of witness, the trusted one, first of the dead to be born again and ruler of the kings of the earth . . . has written a letter to you.

And he wishes the very best for you. Read on.

It's All About "Now": Revelation 1a

How is it that the words in Revelation describe events that must happen "soon," when the words were written thousands of years ago, and it does not seem to have happened yet?

The quick answer is that, maybe most of it has happened already! Maybe we should be more willing to accept historic, or post-millenial, or amillenial views, all of which measure the words of prophecy against events that have happened already!

Or maybe we should thank God for delaying the fulfillment of these words?

Perhaps the whole point is not to focus so much on the minutiae of this or that prophetic utterance. Instead, we should see everything as God's plan being worked out in every moment of our lives. What if we viewed everything that happened to us as fitting into God's scheme of things? "Be watchful, therefore . . . "

And in the end, there is really one event that counts; the only one that, when fulfilled, will leave no doubts as to whether or not it is prophetic fulfillment: the true, historic and final return of Christ.

The closer you get to eternity, either in years of experience or in executing a faithful walk with Christ, the more you become aware of the reality of now. That is, God exists in neverending present. With God, everything is always right here, right now. He is fully present, fully aware, totally focused on you, and me, and all of us.

I don't believe God spends His time planning things out for the future. He does not dwell on the past. He is here and now.

The closer my grandmother, who died last September at the age of 97, got to the end of her life, the more contented she seemed to get. The sleep of death, followed by eternity, was at her doorstep. Nothing more to plan for. No need to regret anything. She seemed right there with us, her thoughts not straying, the last few times I met with her.

So that, when God, or His messengers, say that future events are near, it's more like an exaggeration. I mean to say that, "soon" does not describe the events as near enough, (if that makes sense!)

A Revelation of Jesus Anointed, which was given him by God in order to show his slaves that which must happen very soon.

This is why prophecies are sometimes described as being in the future, while other times they are written in the present tense. And often, they are decidedly past-tense.

To God, when He says something, it is as good as done. He only lives in the present. But, to make a concept clear to us, (dwellers in chronological time), He has to use tense-based language for it to have meaning.

I can't believe I am already in the final book of my decade-long, reflective Bible study. What began in 2000 is now less than a year from completion. Amazing and powerful things happened to me during that time. Lots of change, and many highs and lows. Yet the time has flown.

I feel now as though I could have written, ten years ago, something about having already completed the ten years of study. At this moment, that's the way it seems.

God's plan, soon to be completed, is like that.

Appearances Matter: Second John-b thru Jude-a

Consider the person around you, living a lifestyle that you know is not right. Almost certainly, this person's choices reflect behaviors that once would be almost universally understood as immoral.

But I had rather not go there in detail! Any discussion of morality, in today's society, is muzzled by the pressure of political correctness. What once was thought of as immoral is considered admirable in today's society. And many virtues from former times, are now vices.

So let me not belabor those points.

But what if we challenged people - all kinds of people, living a variety of lifestyles - to observe others, and copy behaviors and lifestyles that were considered "good", while avoiding those that are "bad"?

Dear friend, don't imitate the evil you see, imitate the goodness you see, because someone who does good comes from God.

Okay, so now we've got something. If I urge you to find a good person - and imitate the good things that person does - then in one sweep I may have caused you to examine yourself.

You will not see a person smoking, and think to yourself "That's good. I'll do that." You might take up smoking, but you will know that you are willfully making a wrong choice.

If someone encourages you to shoplift, and you take the advice, you are not going to be thinking "I must lift some merchandise because it is a good and right thing to do!" In your heart you know that you have done wrong.

The same would hold true of any moral issue. We do not engage in any type of immoral behavior (please use a broad definition of what is moral) as a result of convincing ourselves that to do so is morally right.

But those giving advice always fall down, when attempting to correct the wayfaring ones. "Who are you to judge me?" Now I believe that the person making such a statement has already pronounced judgment on him or herself.

You do not criticize a person that is engaged in true, selfless acts of kindness toward others (unless you have some unchecked mean streak in your heart). And if I did criticize someone for doing good, that other person is extremely unlikely to say "Who gave you the right to judge me?"

Acts of kindness are not the same as willful disobedience to God. The person so engaged has no reason to become defensive.

So let's get away from comments that can be held as being judgmental. Do not give others the opportunity to indulge the flesh, first by choosing wrong, and later by striking back defensively against those that have questioned their choices.

Just urge them to copy goodness, and avoid badness. Deep down, they know the difference!

Belief is Everything: 1 John 3c thru 2 Johna

Everywhere in Scripture, the main thing always comes down to belief; simple, childlike belief, that what has been written in the Word is true.

Our belief is a testimony that God has gotten through to us. Absent the Spirit of God, we would not believe. Others have seen greater miracles than we. Pharaoh, and the Scribes and Pharisees, saw everything. They saw the Nile River turned to blood. They saw Lazarus walking again. And if seeing is believing, they must have believed something.

But they did not believe that Jesus was God's son. We are asked to believe it, without ever seeing it with our fleshly eyes. It would seem like a herculean task for us. Yet it is what me must do. And we would not believe, if there were no Spirit of God; if there were no truth in which to trust.

And if we did not believe; if we chose to turn from the belief . . . where would we go? People will still die - that we know quite empirically. The biblical record is adamant and inescapable on this point: we die. I will die and you will die. God's Word is validated.

So I ask you, where will you turn? Can you find something, or someone, that can reverse that which you have seen with your own eyes . . . the death of a loved one? Or will you really stretch your imagination and put your trust in some belief system that says that what you see with your own eyes, death, is not the truth.

Trust your senses! Death is real! And only one person in history has ever done anything to reverse it's horror! Only Jesus of Nazareth has ever claimed to have conquered death! If you can see death with your own eyes; test for no pulse, detect an absence of breathing . . . if you can testify that the dead rot after so many days - then why, dear friend, do you find it such a stretch to believe that the same process can be reversed?

Only one man in history has ever done anything to defeat, or to cheat, death! Why do you not make that your starting point in your journey to eternal truth?

Who is the conqueror of the world if not for the person who believes that Jesus is the son of God?

Of course there is a Creator, someone greater than us! Of course there is One Who knows it all (since we clearly do not!)

And if there is a Creator that has let us endure this long . . . does it not make sense that He would want to build us into people with whom He could fellowship? Is it really such a stretch to say that He would want us to live forever? And would there not be some plan that would make such human eternals worthy to live forever?

If you seek a solution to death, look to the one with the solution. If you have conquered death, you have conquered the world.

Believe.

Show, Don't Tell: First John 3b

Just last night, commentators on cable news were saying that President Obama can't just talk about fighting terrorism. He has to actually do something. It is a mark of immaturity to make grand statements that are not backed up with action. The pre-teen that says "I will clean up my room later today," truly means to do so. There is even a psychological concept I read about once, that explains the tendency of politicians to speak blatant, impudent lies. The theory, they say, is based upon a self-view we all have, that we cannot do wrong.

"I am honest," says the politician (or salesman, or attorney, or teacher, or minister), "therefore, if I say one thing but do another; or if I break a promise or agreement; then it is acceptable. I have found an exception that covers my own behavior, since I am basically an honest person. I have done no wrong."

Richard Nixon honestly believed there was nothing wrong with Watergate. Ted Kennedy certainly excepted himself in the Chappaquiddick affair. Bill Clinton has probably a volume of fine print that covers all of his behavior and actions, so that he remains basically a good man.

People do not do wrong because they consider themselves evil. Hitler did not go around (like evil people in novels) devising "wicked schemes" to visit upon mankind! Even he thought his actions prudent, wise, and even "good," as ghastly as that may sound!

So it is that President Obama can campaign for full transparency, and to have C-Span cover every negotiation and debate on health care reform; only to do everything in secrecy after becoming President. He has found an exception to the rule of basic integrity. Even his supporters will back him up. Believing themselves right to vote for him, they will allow an exception that covers their hero.

It all seems quite complicated when you get right down to it.

Dear children, we mustn't love with words or with our tongue, but in truth and action.

Our generation is not unique in its desire for authenticity, honesty, integrity, and loyalty! Humanity has yearned for such qualities since the very beginning.

The follower of Christ can shine his or her light quite effectively, by just being a little honest!

One of the objectives in teaching upper elementary-aged students to become better writers, is to have them "show, don't tell." If a person is a sloppy dresser, don't just write: "He was a sloppy dresser." This would be telling.

Show the sloppy dresser to the reader:

He entered the room with halting steps. When I looked up, the first thing I noticed was the shirt untucked and hanging out on his left side. One pant leg was pulled up a little higher than the other, which displayed a discolored and frayed fabric. His ball cap was stained along the brim that goes closest to his forehead. With his rolled-up sleeves, I couldn't help but observe his chewed and be-jammed nails. I could tell that he had not shaved yet, today, and wondered whether he could not afford some new clothes, or didn't care.

So it is with our Christian walk. We need to just do, and not go around telling people about it.

The "Doing" Part: John 2b thru 3a

So here we are - the final year of my decade-long personal Bible journal. The first several years are saved in a hard drive somewhere. In fact, I believe the hard drive that stores them, has been removed and is put away somewhere.

In September of 2001, I ended up missing several weeks of journaling. The 911 attack changed a lot of routines.

When I went through divorce, and entered grad school, I got behind, many times. But in the summer of 2006 I used my spare time to get caught up.

In today's passage, we read a lot about behaving as Christ followers. John says that if we claim to be Christians, we must act like it. If you have faith, it will show! And yet we are not saved by works! No, this is not talking about that!

A works-based religion deals in ritual, brick-and-mortar buildings, observing seasons, festivals, and holy days.

But if you love others as Christ does, you are not building your salvation on works! If you are in the light, you will show forth the light. You will love others! You will have the right attitude, and it will be evident to others!

Everyone born of God keeps from doing wrong.

Notice that John does not mention our thoughts! I believe that the Christian always struggles with temptation, evil thoughts, hateful musings . . .

But we master our minds by doing what's right, anyway! We train our thoughts, and hearts, by insisting that we love others, by practicing love and showing it forth; by being loving and being a light to the world, no matter how we feel about it!

So, the "doing" that John mentions; the avoiding wrong that is mandatory for Christians, has nothing to do with "works."

If you are in Christ, you will love others. And if you love others, it will totally be manifest in behaviors that are not wrong, at all!