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.