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Read: Revelation 5
"Weep not; lo, the Lion of the Tribe of
Judah, the Root of David has conquered,
so that He can open the scroll and its
seven seals."
Current worldwide upheavals have not hit us very hard
in a material way -- yet.
- We're still able to buy gas for our cars.
- We still have some heat.
- The streets are no more dangerous than they
were a year ago.
And it's possible that as time passes the atmosphere of
terrorism, war, earthquake, and the shifting sands of
world leadership will settle down, and many of us will
go back to sleep.
But, at the moment, there is enough disruption and danger
going on around us to rouse us, at least somewhat,
from our slumber.
It's as if we're living at the bottom of a mountain where,
long ago, it was prophesied there would be a landslide
that would engulf our village. For centuries the prophecy
was ignored. But now, we're beginning to see movement in
the very places where it was prophesied the landslide
would begin.
- A few rocks have been seen tumbling down
from that crack in the cliff near the summit.
- A tree falling here, three trees crashing
down over there.
Is this the beginning of the end? Could it be that the
fanatics, who have been warning us, were right after all?
As we look up at the mountain, and hear strange noises,
and feel ominous vibrations under our feet, we get that
sick feeling known as helplessness.
When things go wrong and you can do something about it,
that's not so bad. But, when things go wrong and there
is absolutely nothing you can do but watch and wait,
that can be frightening----especially frightening for
Christians who, all their lives, have never taken any risks,
always played it safe, never exposed themselves
to anything more dangerous than a drive down the freeway
or a flight to Miami.
Christians who, even in their prayers, manage
to stay far enough away from the true and
living God that their lives won't be disrupted.
Who intentionally avoid any encounter with God,
any message of truth, even any thought of God
that might make them tremble,
or weep,
or cover their faces with shame,
or confess their sins,
or destroy their idols,
or change their ways.
Christians who instinctively gravitate to those
doctrines that make them feel comfortable and
who avoid any dealings with people who make them
feel uncomfortable.
Now, all of a sudden, the mountain begins to tremble,
the rocks begin to fall, and we remember the prophecy
of the landslide. And there is no way out of this valley.
All we can do is sit here and wait.
The question we need to ask ourselves, while it's still
only an occasional rock crashing down, is:
Is the Christ we say we believe in Lord
over that mountain up there as well as
over ourselves?
Do we really believe that when the land
slide comes (and we know it will) it will
be His landslide?
What kind of Jesus have we been worshiping all along?
For most of us its been a Jesus who's about as big as
our thumb.
- Small enough to put in your pocket.
- Small enough to carry Him where you want to,
to take of His teachings what we like, and
leave the rest.
No wonder when the mountain begins to shake we feel
helpless.
But the Jesus who died on that cross outside Jerusalem
two millennia ago, and rose from the dead,
and appeared to His disciples,
and who has guided His true followers
down through all these generations, is Lord - not over
our little clubs for nice people, and ecclesiastical
kingdoms, but over the whole earth. He is worthy to
break the seals on that scroll that announces God's
judgment on the earth. And when He breaks the seals
on the scroll, those judgments are no longer just things
written down, they become events - they happen. The
Four Horsemen begin to move.
In other words, the Lamb of God, who by His death has
taken away the sins of the world, is also the Lion of
the Tribe of Judah.
Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven
seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures
say, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" And I
saw and behold, a white horse, and its rider had
a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went
out conquering and to conquer.
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second
living creature say, "Come!" And out came another
horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take
peace from the earth, so that men should slay one
another; and he was given a great sword.
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold
a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his
hand; and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the
midst of the four living creatures saying, "A
quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts
of barley for a denarius; but do not harm the oil and
wine !"
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice
of the fourth living creature say, "Come!!" And I
saw, and behold a pale horse, and its rider's name
was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were
given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill
with sword and with famine and with pestilence and
by wild beasts of the earth.
What does all this mean for us, especially in the light
of the fact that the face of our mountain is beginning
to tremble? It means several things.
First, Jesus Christ is not only earth's Saviour,
but its Judge.
When the Lamb begins to break the seals, the Age of
Grace is ended and the Day of Judgment has begun.
- just as faithfully as He held to the road of
self-emptying and humiliation to lay down His
life on the cross in order that not one soul
should be barred from the Kingdom by sin,
- just as faithfully as the resurrected Jesus
brings life to those who open their hearts to
Him now and offers them salvation through His
blood,
so faithfully, when the hour comes, will this same Lamb
judge this earth and purge it of every lie,
every deception,
every injustice,
every murder,
every evil thing,
every kind of idolatry.
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed
or hidden that will not be made known. Whatever
you have said in the dark shall be heard in the
light, and what you have whispered in private
rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Every sin that is not buried under His blood will come
out. Everything that cannot stand exposure to the blazing
light of His glory will feel the fire of His judgment.
Second, when we look around us, and when we read Reve-
lation 5 and 6 with any fear of God in our hearts, we
have to conclude that the hour of judgment is near.
The fact that the scroll in the right hand of the One
on the Throne is sealed, indicates that God has restrained
the things written on the scroll from happening.
- The astonishing thing is not that the shadow
of war is cast over the earth right now, and
that authorities and governments are cracking
and crumbling,
- the astonishing thing is that chaos
didn't break loose long ago!
The real question is:
- How come He hasn't allowed much more?
- How come He hasn't simply given up the
human race totally to its own devices?
- How come God has allowed this nation to
survive so long without lowering the boom?
In sheer mercy, unspeakable patience, the living and
righteous God keeps the scroll sealed. But there
approaches a moment when those seals will be broken.
And they will be broken by the same hands that were
wounded for this world's transgressions.
And when that moment comes, nobody will be able to com-
plain, "But you didn't give us a chance! You didn't
give us any warning! If only we had known!" For the
warning is going forth to all the earth even now.
Thirdly, if we are walking with Jesus Christ, in the
power of His death and resurrection, we have
nothing to fear no matter what happens.
"For thou wast slain, and by thy blood didst
ransom men for God. From every tribe and
tongue and people and nation, And hast made
them a kingdom and priests to our God.
And they shall reign on earth."
He doesn't say we won't have tribulation, or that we
won't be killed. But He does say that not a hair on
our head will perish. He will sustain us with His
presence no matter what we have to go through.
The little disruptions some of us are going through these
days, these skirmishes with the kingdom of the enemy some
of us are experiencing, are tame indeed compared with
what lies ahead. Yet, even through these minor troubles,
which seem to upset us no end, we have to learn to walk
without panic and without getting discouraged.
We have to remember that our Lord is even Lord over the
crazy things that are going on.
Finally, seeing the mountain tremble, and heeding the
warning of things to come, we need to get on with the
job of proclaiming the gospel of the Cross before the
Night of Judgment fal1s.
We are not here to build churches.
We are not here to start movements.
We are not here to establish kingdoms.
We are not here to make a name for ourselves.
- We are here to shout from the housetops that
the One who is soon going to judge the earth
is now its Saviour.
- We are here to call men from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation. To draw near
and receive His forgiveness.
- Arabs and Jews.
- Rich and poor.
- High and low.
- East and west.
"Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
And he who has no money, come buy and eat!
Come buy wine and milk, without money and without price."
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has not yet taken the scroll
from the hand of Him who sits on the Throne. When He
does, we'll know it.
- It won't be just another bloody outbreak
in the Middle East.
- It will be the start of Armageddon.
- It won't be an occasional government official resigning in
disgrace.
- It will be presidents and prime
ministers and kings all over the
earth falling from their heights.
Meanwhile, against the background of the warnings we
now see, comes the call of the Spirit to the Church of
the Redeemed to rise from slumber,
shake ourselves from the dust,
loose the chains of unbelief from our
selves, and harvest the earth, beginning right where we are,
among the people where God has placed us.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And lo, I am with you always, to the close
of the age."
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