Grasping God’s Purpose: “Suit Up!” – Exodus 28

Uniforms… they seem like they are all around us! They identify our favorite sports team, our neighborhood policeman, and even our local plumber! The uniform, in most cases, was carefully designed to aid in the work of that particular craft, as well as identify the man or woman as part of the company or team. God’s team of intercessors was no different. God showed us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the furniture, fabric and fragrances of the Tabernacle – but he also showed it in the foremen and their fashion! These important individuals were called by God and chosen for their task – and their uniform helps us understand their Divine purpose. God chose the priests, and then carefully specified the uniforms they were to have. The care and planning of each portion was obvious, but it reflected the purposes of God in the work the men were called to accomplish.

Key Principle: The uniform gives away the identity. The care in creating it reveals the importance of the work prescribed.

What do the garments tell us about the purposes and priorities of the servants of God?

Before we explore the topic, keep this in mind: A believer has both their identity in Christ and their position in Christ.

  • Recognizing our identity is the key to walking in confidence when the enemy attacks to condemn us. We are a son or daughter of the Great King – and therefore we have our Father’s affection. Our failures will not pluck us from His hand, and our lack of confidence in some stages of life is not an indication of our Father’s love – just our own frailty. Standing in our identity will give us courage to face failure and continue to grow.
  • Recognizing our position of responsibility is the other end of the spectrum. Jesus His followers were called to bear fruit. We are called to be priests – intercessors for a wayward world to God.  1 Peter reminds: (2:9): “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” Careful reminders abound in Scripture of our priestly duties. Reminding ourselves of these duties will give us encouragement to get busy.

In this lesson we identify the choosing and dressing of God’s priests – on the way to recognizing their work. We peer through the cloth of the uniform into the heart of the priest, in order to be encouraged to walk in our position. Take note: we are BOTH princes and priests – both sons and servants. It is both our greatest goal and our deepest privilege as a child of our Father in Heaven. None of us feels like we have mastered our role – but we must grow in understanding of it!

Truths That Enlist God’s Servant Team

#1: God picks the servant team – not the leaders, nor the mob (28:1).

28:1 “Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

God chose who He wanted. Moses didn’t pick Aaron, and we don’t pick our ministry team – we acknowledge them. We recognize God’s call in their lives and do what we can to grow them into the role God has indicated through their giftedness. They may or may not be our first choice – but they are God’s choice, and that is all that matters! That doesn’t mean that the people voted themselves in either…there was a process. Even now, there is a way God indicates His hand is upon a life – and those who choose to look carefully will see it.

Pastor James May wrote (my paraphrase): God is still “Looking for a Few Good Men” – not in the sense of men “deserving of his grace”. Not one of us will ever be worthy. God is looking for “good men” in the sense that He seeks a man whose heart will both allow God to dwell within, and will surrender his will to God’s will. He seeks one who will desire to become as much like God’s Son as a human being can become. (sermoncentral.com).

We should not be deceived into thinking either that we have earned our position through some special mark of character – which leads to pride, nor that we are a random act of God – which opens the door to discouragement. We are chosen. How that works may  not be at all clear to us. Why God did this may also not be at all clear. Yet, the evidence and clear Word of the Scripture is this: God called His servants. He knew what He was getting. He is not facing buyer’s remorse – He is fighting to get us to be productive. He is calling us to take up our Cross, follow Him, bear fruit – and not make excuses. We have been called into a time of war – and it is time that we take up our posts on behalf of a country that is falling away, on behalf of other believers that are weakening at the walls, on behalf of the Great King – whose service is far more important than our personal exaltation and pleasure.

#2: There is ordained intent in the adornments – the uniform has a purpose (28:2).

28:2 “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

Look at the way God commanded Moses in this verse. I was particularly struck by the relationship between Aaron and Moses. Look at the way God told Moses to get the garment for Aaron made – He said it is for YOUR BROTHER. Aaron would need to be respected, even though he was so familiar. This had to be a hard reality, if Moses and Aaron were anything like my brothers. It is easy to disregard those who are close at hand. Jesus said in Mark 6 that “a prophet is without honor in his own country.” Familiarity breeds contempt – and contempt is the opposite of respect.

We are living in a time when respect is not getting its due. The casual nature of everyday life in the twenty-first century has made respectful people stand out. Believers need to pay special attention to the respect due to leaders – and to those who have charge over souls. We need to be especially vigilant not to overlook the unbelievable gifts that God has given us. I am overjoyed and humbled to be a part of the lives of young people as they train to follow God. It would be easy for us to disrespect and discard the incredible gift of our youth. We may easily become guilty of “despising their youth” and not take their potential seriously. We wouldn’t be the first:

One author wrote: “I see no hope for the future for people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today. For certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wild and impatient.” (Greek poet Hesiod c.700 BCE).

A little closer to our day, another well know speaker said: “Youth today love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, no respect for older people, and talk nonsense when they should work. Young people do not stand up any longer when adults enter a room. They contradict their parents, talk too much in company, guzzle their food, lay their legs on the table, and tyrannize their elders.” (Socrates – 420 BCE).

Keep marching through time, and another wrote: “The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents of old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they know everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward and immodest and unwomanly in speech, behavior, and dress.” (Peter the Hermit 1274 CE).

My point is that it is easy for people to become familiar, and not have both great expectations and great humility to be in the presence of God’s unique gifts placed all around them. As I stand before the congregation in which I serve, I do so knowing that the team around includes some of the best people I may ever have the joy of serving beside. I have known godly men and women, and I work with some that tower above their generation. Yet, it is common to see people act like they are nothing special. I am here to testify to the truth – they ARE SPECIAL. This work is God’s – and it is special. May respect be a common character mark of the people of Grace.

It isn’t enough to be recognized – we need to be dressed. There is a look to match a heart. God gave the uniform as much for the wearer as for the crowd. The care involved in dressing for the work would have made the man pause and recognize the realities of the office. God intended the leader to deliberately and intentionally adorn the priests with glory (kawvod) and beauty (tif-aw-raw’)! The word beauty was used of the HONOR due God’s Temple. The idea was that Aaron was supposed to adorn himself with the honor of the office he held. He was not as important as the office itself – and that is something leaders should consider in ministry, even today. Do we LOOK the part of God’s servants?

#3: The adornment must not be haphazard – nor should the work be sloppily done (28:3).

28:3 “You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me.

The process of adorning must be done by skilled and faithful workers that will set apart the adorned one. The echo of Paul’s words to Timothy about his desire for those who desire to lead rings in our ears: 1 Timothy 3:2 “…An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable…” Dress up a man whose heart is God’s – and you will draw your eyes to character. Dress up an ungodly man and put him in leader’s clothing – and you might as well be putting lipstick on a pig. The damage done by leaders unworthy of their vestments is legendary – and we must take all our offices of service seriously. That is true of ever usher, Sunday School teacher, ABF leader, Deacon, Elder or Pastor, It is true of children’s workers. Our people are a SACRED TRUST placed upon our shoulders by God’s election and empowering. Each duty is sacred – because people matter to God!

#4: The adornment was chosen by God and specified in His Word (28:4,5).

28:44 “These are the garments which they shall make: a breast piece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me. 5 “They shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen.

Not only is the priest chosen by God, but what adorns a priest is also specified by God. It isn’t enough for us to give them what we want them to have – we have to provide for them based on God’s specs! What do people need to know to be ready to lead others to Jesus? The Word specified it.

I would argue that too much time and money is invested in teaching people things that are not the essentials expressed in the systematic study of God’s Word. It is as though people are choosing their own colors, fabrics and trim – in the form of seminars, songs and sermons. God gave us what we need to know, and we need not wonder about the curriculum – He made it plain. He has given us more helps than any generation before us – and we seem to learn less. Puritans barely had but a Bible – but they learned it.

Let me ask you: How well do you know the Word? Are you making measurable gains in your understanding of it? Do you invest time in learning both what it says and how the internal principles apply to your decision making on a daily basis? If asked, right now, can you tell what each book in the library of God is about? Will you be able to do that in another year, two or three at the rate of your study? Do you know where to open its pages to rescue a man or woman with a broken heart, a failing marriage, or a wayward child?

Why are so many places of worship measured more by the worship band than the clarity of the Word? We must do our best to build a worshipful atmosphere, but that is not our main goal. We must be clear: what changes men and women from brutish and selfish fallen beings to godly servants is but one thing – the renewing of our minds by the work of the Spirit through the Word of God. I want deliberately to encourage you to get into its pages. In the swirl of modern life, God’s Word remains unchangedbut sadly unopened by many a believer. Do not expect God to design a special uniform to your specification. He has chosen what you need – now it is your turn to gather around you skillful workers and assemble the garments that will mark your life.

The next three segments of the text relate the WORK of a priest, as seen through the uniform functions:

#5: The uniform reminded the servant of the weight involved in intercession (28:6-14). The first work specified was PRAYER for people.

28:6 “They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 “It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined. 8 “The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 9 “You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. 11 “As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in filigree settings of gold. 12 “You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial. 13 “You shall make filigree settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cordage work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

If you look closely at the verses, you will notice that much of the description is about the “chevrons” – that is the “shoulder pieces”. The “weight” of the intercession before God fell to the servants chosen for that purpose – they were to carry the needs of the people with them and remember them constantly before the throne of God. They pressed on the servant, and they also constricted his reach.

We need to spend a few moments here, because we are again losing sight of this vital quality. Servants of God need to be able to pray, desiring to pray, careful to pray, hungry to pray, joyful in prayer. The fuel of the movement of God’s church is prayer. We cannot excuse our laziness nor accept our passivity… God is worthy of more. Even among believers, prayer is often tacked on to an event – as if the work we do is more important than the seeking of God’s empowering and blessing. We almost treat prayer as a “last resort”, like in the little story I read recently:

I heard a story of a ship that was sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and said, “Does anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward and said, “Yes sir, I know how to pray.” The captain said, “Wonderful, you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets–we’re one short.” (Author unknown. Taken from pastorlife.com).

We treat prayer like it keeps our food from giving us illness, and keeps the boogeyman away while we sleep. It is NOT intended to do anything to your food, nor is it a good luck talisman for our night watches. Prayer is the seeking of God’s audience – the emptying of self-will and the resetting of expectations. Prayer IS the work. A handful of men and women that can pray can stop an army, change a nation, and pull lives back from the brink.

I mention this because many believers are in danger of seeing announcements as equal to prayer in their church services. In a great many church gatherings in our nation, we have become “Club Jesus” with a cross where the Moose is in other meetings. I am not being glib – I am being pointed. Call a meeting to discuss money and you will get many more people than calling a meeting to pray for a known and serious issue. The church will slog on anemic until its forces are engaged on their knees. Men and women of God, servants of the King, must be people who pray. God doesn’t need it – we do. He isn’t lonely, grasping at ways to become meaningful in our lives – He is HOLY and COMPLETE. It is the church that is starving for God’s direction and empowerment – not God that is going hungry. A primary work of the servant of God is carrying the needs of the flock, and praying for them. Intercession isn’t an add-on – it is the heart of the work.

#6: The work of discernment is a chief concern for the leader (28:15-30). The second work specified was DISCERNMENT.

28:15 “You shall make a breast piece of judgment, the work of a skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16 “It shall be square and folded double, a span in length and a span in width. 17 “You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21 “The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. … 30 “You shall put in the breast piece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.

Judging direction was a major feature of priestly work, but it was not entrusted to just any priest. The high priest carried a special responsibility before God and the people to seek the Lord on their behalf, and to call direction for them. The issues involved in people’s sin and offenses against one another have NEVER been a simple matter. God offered to the High Priest a specific way of understanding His desires – and God makes that same offer today. God’s will can be discerned, but it takes work. It takes the careful application of His timeless Word after serious and considered study.

I am amazed at the haphazard nature of decision making among God’s people. What a joy to serve with men of God that will study for themselves and will match Scriptural thinking to a problem! We seem unwilling to admit that God’s Word isn’t as simple as the persuasive article we read last week on a passage. Don’t misunderstand me here- I want to encourage study of the Word… let there be no doubt. At the same time, real decision making must be made with God’s directives in a way that is neither rushed nor haphazard. Too much is decided in haste. The consequences of expedient decision making can be hazardous to the life of the servants of God. Take your time! Learn the principles systematically. Don’t think that an article makes you an expert, but DIG into God’s Word. People’s lives are at stake in the poor handling of God’s Word.

I live in a generation of ministers that will answer to God for their casual handling of eternal truth.

  • We will face God for the way we have allowed so called “liberation theology” to take the place of God’s salvation message to Central and South America.
  • We will be called into account for the way we have allowed psychology and counseling to replace propositional truths clearly and un-apologetically espoused from pulpits that were on fire with God’s presence and holiness.

The state of ministry in America is not good, but it is not finished. There is much we can do to lift high God’s truth. It begins with prayer, and it is nourished by the Word. Preaching needs to once again be lifted to a place where it stirs the heart and moves the mind.

#7: The work of seeking God is as holy as sharing God – and must be carefully prepared (28:31-35). The third work was SEEKING GOD.

28:31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 “There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33 “You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35 “It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the LORD, so that he will not die.

Entering the presence of the Lord is a sacred thing – and it dare not be taken lightly. We are all aware of the need to witness, but far fewer recognize the need to SEEK GOD in our lives. We must intentionally seek the Father. For the priest of old, there was a way of showing intent – it was by putting on the right robe before entering.

Francis Chan: “We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by, and excessive. Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost unheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him. It may seem a hopeless endeavor, to gaze at the invisible God. But Romans 1:20 tells us that through creation, we see “His invisible qualities and divine nature.” (When we look into the vastness of God Heavens, what is our reaction?) Are we Speechless? Amazed? Humbled? When I first saw those images, I had to worship. I didn’t want to speak to or share it with anyone. I just wanted to sit quietly and admire the Creator. It’s wild to think that most of these galaxies have been discovered only in the past few years, thanks to the Hubble telescope. It means they have been in the universe for thousands of years without humans even knowing about them. Why would God create more than 350,000,000,000 galaxies (and this is a conservative estimate) that generations of people never saw or even knew existed? Do you think maybe it was to make us say, “Wow, God is unfathomably big”? Or perhaps God wanted us to see these pictures so that our response would be, “Who do I think I am?”  R. C. Sproul writes, “Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.”

The last two portions of the text relate to ADMONITIONS to the Priest:

#8: The uniform reminded the servant of God’s distinct call of his life (28:36-38). Admonition: Pay attention to walk as a priest.

28:36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘Holy to the LORD.’ 37 “You shall fasten it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. 38 “It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

One of the purposes of the priestly adornment is consecration – he needed a constant reminder that he was not his own. Who cannot hear the words of 1 Corinthians 6:19 to believers that were walking in amnesia. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” Stuck right on the front of his head was a simple sign – you belong to MY PURPOSES, MY CALL, MY ENDS.

How we have compromised on this in the lives of so many a servant of God! In the simple realm of purity, we have heard the story many, many times. We need the old sign: Holy to the Lord!” We need it on our TV sets, hung above our computers, Stuck beside our magazine racks.

Annie Dillard, in her book The Writing Life, tells of an experiment that was done with butterflies. The experiment involved placing a male butterfly with a female butterfly of his own species. Then they placed a painted cardboard butterfly alongside them. The cardboard butterfly was bigger than the female — bigger than any female could ever be. The male ignored the living female butterfly next to him and went to the painted cardboard butterfly over and over again. Dillard adds, “Nearby, the real, living female opens and closes her wings in vain.” It is a picture of the world in which countless males are trapped today. Staring at painted cardboard butterflies they are squandering their own resources and defrauding the real, living, breathing females in their homes. But then you don’t have to establish a relationship with cardboard butterflies. You don’t have to put up with their failures — nor do they have to live with you and discover yours. There are no expectations from you. You don’t have to communicate with them. An inviting smile is painted on their faces and they don’t even know you. Perhaps it is better that way. (sermon central illustrations).

It is the work of the high priest to keep the distinctiveness of God before him at all times. Remember, it was NOT the HAT that was holy – it was to be the MAN of God. The hat just kept the sign to remind him that his choices needed to match his big hat.

#9: The uniform kept focus on God – and not on the distraction of His servants (28:39-43). Admonition: Stay out of God’s way when it comes to glory!

28:39 “You shall weave the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a weaver. 40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make caps for them, for glory and for beauty. 41 “You shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve Me as priests. 42 “You shall make for them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins even to the thighs. 43 “They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

God made a dress code for modesty and holy care among those who served Him. He wanted them to work well and offer no distraction to the flock. The same was said in the early church. The issue of distraction for men and women was addressed – men with ego seem in argument and women with ego seen in immodesty. Both wanted to attract self attention…

1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. 11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

We need to be very careful not to rob God by trying to make ourselves the main attraction. We are here to serve our Holy Father – and not to have faith directed primarily at us. Paul urged (1 Cor. 11:1) that believers at Corinth: “Follow me as I follow Christ!” The call of the priest is to lead them to God’s glory, for God’s glory – not to become a superstar or a distraction

You see, the uniform gives away the identity. The care in creating it reveals the importance of the work prescribed. We have a great call, and a holy commission. The line of those who served before us is vast. The line behind us watches and waits. Will we take up the call?

The End of the World: “The Belt” – Revelation 16

Ah, the sounds of summer! I remember the sounds of “kick the can” in my old neighborhood – a child with closed eyes counting loudly down from 100 to 0. We had what seemed like a massive number of kids growing up together on Billings Avenue, a prolific Italian Catholic neighborhood in South Jersey. Summer meant FUN! Yet, one of my most profound memories was not of the sunny days, but rather the stifling heat as the sun set outside the bedroom I shared with my older brother growing up. On those hot and muggy summer nights, life seemed long and uncomfortable. Central air conditioning was not yet popular, and certainly not yet affordable for the Smith family. Long and sometimes loud times of talking, laughing, joking and getting into trouble between bedtime and midnight were standard fare for the Smith boys. If you two don’t knock it off, I am coming up there with the belt! That was the familiar sound of my dad, who was sounded certain that we were going to need more than talk to get us in line. Why did he delay? Because he wanted us to listen, change our behavior, and receive grace in spite of our earlier bad behavior. Why did he eventually come up with the belt? Because it was the only way we would ever learn. This was the scenario for early discipline in my life. Dad says that I recall it as being more harsh than it actually was – but no matter. Our relationship has not only survived, but thrived in adulthood.

Now, let me change the story from a memory to a hypothetical – this time an entirely different scenario. In this scene, my brother Russ and I are still in our bunk beds on that hot, summer evening – but we are not alone. Seeing the open window, an evil man climbed up the low back roof to our old home, and got into the upstairs of the house. How should my dad respond? Should dad deal graciously with him, as he would to instruct a wayward son – or should he come forcefully and stand in strength of right – to remove him from the house by whatever means necessary? Most of us have no problem understanding defense of home and family – standing up for what is right. My father’s impulse to discipline his children is not the same as his deliberate and forceful stand to secure what is right – nor should it be. Most of us would do it, but many of us seem to be less clear when our Heavenly Father reveals that He plans to do exactly that.

Let me explain. The Bible says that God made the world, and God made man. Man rebelled against God, and decided that he would be the master of his own life. In doing so, man abandoned the place of blessing as a son and took up a rebel position against God – actively abandoning His rightful rule and helping God’s enemy. The Bible describes lost man as being “at enmity with God”. Lest someone be deceived – no one is ambivalent to God. Either you are surrendered to His leading, or you are resisting it. Either you want to know and follow God, or you want to run your own life. Even passive resistance is a choice to be un-surrendered. Our forgetfulness of God and His longing to walk daily with us, is a type of passive rebellion.

Remember, in the Bible, there are two kinds of people – those who know God and those who need to know Him. The first group is called in the Bible “God’s children” – the second group is called “lost”. The process of adoption – going from “lost” to a “child of God” is an open door, but costs our deliberate intent to surrender of our will to our Loving Master for entrance. He paid the price to settle our sin debts, but insists that we surrender our future to Him. Let me be clear: There is no Biblical plan that assures Heaven to the self-willed and self-led man or woman. Grace is no blanket for arrogance and self-reliance, despite the number of voices that try to theologically justify life-long disobedience as an option of permanent carnality among the children of God.

Among God’s children, there are two kinds of people – those who are surrendered and those who need to stop walking as disobedient children. It is possible to be a child and be disobedient – but doing so removes our sense of security concerning our salvation. We forget that we have been saved from our sins, and walk about unsure of the relationship – a God induced state to draw us back to Him (2 Peter 1). Thus, as God’s children we are disciplined – the process of pain that is designed in order to mature us to be yielded. At the same time, the Bible clearly and graphically says the lost are not disciplined – but in the end they are punished. They are like the man who broke in to my house – set for evil and repulsed by force. The sin and rebellion of their lives, and the failure to ask the Redeemer to pay the penalty for them, makes punishment inevitable. God’s purpose in that punishment is not redemption, but a graphic demonstration of both His Supreme power and ultimate justice. (In the Bible, hell is NOT a prison for re-training, but unending separation and destruction).

In the Biblical story, we are coming to the end of the lost – the wrath and punishment – and that is our story as we open to Revelation 16-19 in the next few lessons. It is a heavy passage, and careful preparation is essential. We must be sure we understand what God revealed He will do – adding nothing and subtracting nothing. Pastor Sid Litke offered some excellent words concerning the final disposition of men and women. He noted the Bible teaches three truths concerning life after death:

(1)   Everyone will exist eternally either in heaven or hell.

The prophet Daniel heard about the afterlife from an angel: Daniel 12:2 “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. 3“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Jesus spoke to Jerusalem aristocracy about the afterlife in real terms: John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

Revelation 20:14 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

(2)   Everyone has only one life in which to determine their destiny.

The writer to the Hebrews reminded of Christ’s second coming in 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

(3)   Heaven or hell is determined by whether a person puts their trust in Christ alone to save them.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”…and later in verse 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

With that in mind, let’s examine the final story of wrath in the next several lessons. In Revelation 16, some key truths are unfolded… These truths are not speculations, for they are gleaned from His Word. At the same time, these truths are under steady and heavy attack – both in the world and now increasingly within the church!

Key Principle: God told us the story of final judgment against the rebellious earthly system of men because He wanted us to know and face important truths.

First, a brief walk through the details of the story…

The End Begins:

Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

Angels don’t hunger to pour out punishment, but they don’t hesitate, either. They have to be COMMANDED loudly, and that command comes from the very holy place of God’s Heavenly Temple. The call to judgment is the call from the Creator. The power behind the judgment is the pent up sense that wrong must be righted.

Seven Bowls Spilled Out:

The text released in rapid succession each of the first six judgments, and then offered a pause – just as it did in the case of the seals in chapter 6 and the trumpets in chapters 8 and 9. The first two had no commentary added, just the judgment angel and his effect:

  • Revelation 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

It appears that those who took the physical mark of the beast and the number of the name of the man and system were stricken with a terrible malady, manifesting itself in sores. It was directed against them specifically, and may have been a byproduct of the taking of the mark itself – some kind of severe infection or reaction to the process of the marking. There simply is little detail about what will be obvious in that time.

  • Revelation 16:3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.

On the heels of the pouring out of the sores came a second calamity – the fouling of the sea. It is impossible to know if the sea referred to is only the Mediterranean – called “Mare Nostrum” or “our sea” by the Romans of John’s day. It may refer to all seas, but it surely, at least, referred to that one, so familiar to any first century Roman.

By the third “wrath pourer” – we have a bit of commentary from Heaven and earth about the judgments. From here, the formula appears to be “judgment delivered” followed by comments either from other beings, or by the author himself, about the weight, significance and justice involved in the judgment.

  • Revelation 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

The third wrath bearer was sent to foul fresh water rivers and springs – making the polluted and of no use. The commentary suggests that this was in response to the bloodshed of martyrdom in the final age. The angel reaffirmed the righteousness of God in the judgment – a point we will return to later – because even the church today finds it hard to do. We emphasize God’s love and grace, and hesitate to annunciate the equal eternal truths of God’s power and justice. The God of the modern church often sounds more a passive paternal Santa Claus – not an absolute Sovereign and Righteous judge.

  • Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. 9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

The fourth angel was directed toward daylight with its intensive sunshine. The searing heat pressed upon man – and his response was to hurl insults to God, as though He had no Divine right to inflict them. Lost man, at his core, believes God (if He exists) – certainly possesses no special right over him, for he has been educated past both Creation and a Creator – and feels no responsibility to recognize rights of God. Further, in his political ideals of democracy and inherent disdain for slavery, he has been “enlightened” to the point that he can no longer be called upon to please an owner. Modern man has liberated himself from God – the only trouble of such a state of self-made position is this: It is not true to reality. Believers need to be careful not to adopt these attitudes… God has rights. Through most ages of western history, this case would not have had to be reminded.

  • Revelation 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

Yet another angel was directed to pour out wrath- this time against the place of the evil one that caused the mark on man. The response of people was to “gnaw on their tongues” because of the pain. The term for PAIN (ponos) is the word for distress. The darkness was not painful, it was disconcerting and distressing. The bit upon their tongues; but did not do so long enough to cease wagging them in front of God. They did not change. They would not change. They felt wronged when the Master of Creation insisted that they were not His equal, nor His judge. They argued like the sound of the violator when caught by the policeman. In guilt, there is often a good reason – or so the perpetrator argues.

  • Revelation 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

The sixth angel folded back the waters of the rivers that had defined civilization since the end of the Neolithic age – Mesopotamia. The basins of the two rivers – Tigris and Euphrates – yielded the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Babylonians and Persians. Some of man’s greatest early achievements were founded in them. The base sixty system found on the face of our modern watch has its foundation in Babylon. The angel caused the river system to stall, offering passage from the east to the Holy Land without land obstacle. From this, the author offers three observations:

The first observation was the enemy’s response to the removal of the obstacle – to incite war against God and His people. The enemy drew man’s national forces together. They were not one world government – but rather separate nation states that were drawn by one authority to fight. Some demonic arm twisting was offered to persuade men around the globe that the fight was in their own self-interest.

Revelation 16:13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

The second observation was an added remark that seems to have been the collaborating Savior’s quote. He was one of the writers noted in Revelation 1, and He interjected this: Get ready, because the time is very short. I suggest this was directed to any who are alive in that moment – that they should see the days as nearly over.

Revelation 16:15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)

Finally, there was a marker to reveal the nature of the final struggle and its locale – a war in the Near East. Let me be clear: the end of all rebellion will be fought on Near Eastern soil. For this, many of my Muslim friends and I agree. The end is in fire, and the place of the war is in that part of the world.

Revelation 16:16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

  • Revelation 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

The seventh angel is called upon to do his work – the great finishing sound that appears to yield the quake that devastates the earth. So much can be said of this event, but there is an expansion of it when we look carefully at Revelation 19, so “stay tuned”.

Step back for a moment, because the final pummeling of the earth in the wrath of God is a horrid scene for lost humanity. We cannot simply dispassionately offer a report like a newsman at the scene of a horrendous natural disaster. God has reasons for revealing the wrath end of man.

Five Truths from the Final Judgment

Let me suggest there are at least five lessons that I see in this reckoning of wrath. Each is significant, but for time economy, we will touch them lightly:

Truth #1: Wrath is not God’s desire, but it is His responsibility – so we should be understanding.

A father must both discipline and protect. A government must aid provision as well as defend right. God is BOTH a King and a Father. He has no desire to harm man, but rebellion cannot be rewarded nor overlooked. For this reason, wrath is inevitable and Hell is both eternal and irreversible to those who will not yield to His authority. The Bible is not silent on this:

  • Revelation 14:11 “…the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day and night”
  • Revelation 20:14 “This is the second death, the lake of fire” 15 “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”

Truth #2: Evil has an end – so we should be encouraged.

We must take heart that wrong will be righted, that injustice will be remembered. Every victim can rest assured that this life may let “the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing” – but there is coming a day when all the wrongs will be paid for entirely. I do not seek to evoke a hunger for revenge in us, but simply to acknowledge on behalf of anyone who has ever cried out to God: “It is not fair! Don’t you see that?” He did. He saw it. He will make it right. Count on it and take courage – God misses nothing.

Truth #3: Effect has a cause – and we should not be deceived.

The revelation of wrath closes a Biblical loop between cause and effect that is part of God’s Holy Plan. We have to admit to a problem. People don’t connect punishment with anything positive in modern life, but there is a benefit to knowing the punishment before the crime is committed. The knowledge of punishment is both a DETERRENT and an EDUCATION to reality – everything has consequences. Heaven’s story is incomplete without the revelation of God’s wrath. Why? Because disconnecting the penalty of judgment from the mutiny of man removes the real sense of the heinousness of sin.

  • When we disconnected sex from pregnancy, people took it as a way to make wrong behavior more convenient. Birth control was not, in my view, immoral in and of itself – but it did seem to quickly have the net effect of promoting promiscuous behaviors. When pregnancy was a more likely result, more care to maintain purity seems to have been inferred – because cause and effect were connected. Now health care professionals, faced with a deluge of sexually transmitted diseases, seek to move on to eliminating other symptoms of our wrong choices. One day, perhaps, they will wake up to the fact that there are psychological and spiritual effects that cannot be passed over with a simple pill.
  • When we disconnected educating our children from parents to outsourcing, many people divested themselves of the responsibility to pass on values. Again, public education is not immoral in itself, but it has contributed to the sense of the responsibility of raising a child being shifted to the state and common society – and not back onto the shoulders of nuclear families.
  • When we disconnect our marriage commitment from our parental duty, we quantifiably diminished natural child bonding and balanced child rearing. People now make a proud statement that “I didn’t want to stay together just for the children.” I keep asking, “Why not?” When did our personal pleasure become more important than taking responsibility for the decision to bring children into the world and raise them in a stable home environment, providing both a father and mother – God’s obvious biological plan for the home? Why is selfishness and lack of self-control in learning to get along with your chosen spouse now a celebrated value among adults that are trying to train children not to exhibit the very same trait of selfishness? We need to admit that our children KNOW that love is a choice. If we choose to stop loving our spouse, we can choose to stop loving our children – and they already know that. Their security, in part, IS drawn from our commitment to marriage.
  • When we systematically disconnect work from sustainability – that is, pay people for not working, we can easily slip from aiding the downtrodden to de-linking cause and effect. In the end, people can end up seeing greater benefit from the freedoms they feel in NOT working. The net effect is not a more energized and creative work force, but a lazier and less motivated one – that possesses even higher expectations from their society to provide for their needs. We need to reassert that WORK IS GOOD, and as Paul reminded Timothy – the “hardworking farmer is the one who benefits first and most from his labor.” (2 Tim. 2).

Truth #4: Second chances are not guaranteed – so we should be warned.

This week thousands of Americans will file for extensions for taxes. A system that was designed as a failsafe has become a regular part of American expectation – there should always be a way for me to get another chance, because my circumstances are not the same as everyone else. I am not arguing against the measure of grace afforded by the US government, nor am I suggesting an extension is a sin – only that we can slowly begin to adopt an attitude from it.

God’s absolute right as Creator to insist that all things belong solely to Him must not be diminished in the grace message of salvation through Christ alone. God is not my buddy – He is my King. He is not just my friend – He is Righteous altogether. The Bible defines what God considers His responsible duty – to stamp out all effects and power of sin and rebellion. John wasn’t embarrassed to report that is exactly what He will do. He knew and wrote of God’s absolute right to judge and crush all rebellion.

Truth #5: Warning is a blessing – so we should be changed.

Without cause and effect, Grace is indistinguishable. We can only understand the sacrifice of Jesus and our undeserved salvation BECAUSE we know what SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED to sinners like us. We rebelled and continue to live in varying shades of rebellion – and we know it. Our nature is to grow downward into the mud of self. When God acts in wrath, He openly repays rebellion. When God writes about it ahead of time – He offers GRACE and invites CHANGE!

John thought this sign was something “great and marvelous” because it ended the war introduced in the Garden of Eden. Seven angels dumped out saucers of wrath. As they were emptied – all of man’s insurrection was crushed, and God’s holy right over His wayward Creation was publicly and permanently restored. All legal requirements were satisfied. All opposition was stopped… that day is coming soon. You don’t have to face God’s wrath – He has warned you today.

Paul reminded the first century believers at Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

God told us the story of final judgment against the rebellious earthly system of men because He wanted us to know and face important truths.

Perhaps you’ve seen the famous French sculpture’s work called “The Thinker.” The first cast of the statue (originally referred to as “the Poet”) from 1902 was part of Auguste Rodin’s larger work ‘The Gates of Hell” – an ornamental door for a proposed Palace of Decorative Arts. Critics believe they know what the thinker was thinking about. The nude man (probably a nude Dante), stripped of all his adornments as the day he was born – contemplated in mute amazement the end of lost man. He sat before the gates of hell –contemplating the wrath of God and an un-yielding man’s fate. Perhaps we should sit beside him for a moment, and ponder it as well.

The Easter Story: "The Column" – John 20:1-17

One of the many incredible and undeserved joys of my life is that of travel. I have traveled to many of the world’s finest places, and in the process I have had my breath taken away by some undeniably beautiful pieces of art and architecture, vistas of gorgeous landscape and some lofty tones of musical joy. I have to admit that “awestruck” is not a word I use often – but on occasion it is the only one that truly conveys a feeling. I was standing in an imposing and ornate Cathedral in Europe a few years ago. The baroque ornamentation was spun in every direction, and the sheer artistry took my breath away. Yet, though the art was impressive, it wasn’t until the guide stood our small group beside a vast column that towered several stories above us that I was truly struck by a powerful scene. She simply said: “The entire roof above you was placed there more than eight hundred years ago and weighs many tons – but it is all held up by this single column. Remove this – or even badly damage it – and everything above you will crash to the ground.” We all stood there and looked up. It took three hand holding tourists just to reach our arms around the vast column, and though it was not decorated with the ornamentation of the rest of the cathedral, it was the single feature of the architecture that left us awestruck.

Christianity has such a column – a story that that holds all the rest of our message in place. If there were a single picture of it – a “Nike swoosh” type logo – it would a single hand hewn and rounded stone. That simple stone has evoked awe for more than two thousand years! It held no great cathedral with its might – but it held together a movement of men, women and children spread throughout the earth. That stone was barely two feet tall. It was a small covering door – a stone that sealed in the body of a dead man. This simple cover once held a great Teacher inside – but it was miraculously and powerfully rolled open on a day that is now celebrated by followers of Jesus around the world. God moved a stone and created a breach in the seamless hold of death. God authored hope by moving a rock. From Heaven, He commanded a lifeless body to be restored to life – and the Resurrection displayed His undeniable approval of the payment Jesus made for sin. The sacrifice was accepted. The door of that tomb was the opening to the world beyond our world. When God rolled that stone back- His power broke through a veil that man could never before breach. Death was done! Sin, and its ultimate effect of death was conquered. Eternal life was now available to all who believe …

Men have tried to deny it, to say it was a mere fabricated story – but an empty tomb has shouted them down! Even more, the changed lives of sin sick men and women wouldn’t let the transforming power of God be drowned out in the world’s attempts to harness a relationship with Christ into a mere religion. Christianity was never meant to become a simple ethical system. It wasn’t meant to become a list of do and don’ts that keep people feeling small and outside. It’s chief symbol was a door – because it was a deliberate invasion into the former darkness of separation and death.

Christianity is not a religion. It is the transformation that comes from a relationship with Jesus. It is the act of choosing to believe in, know, love and follow the Person of Jesus. But that only happens when we truly grasp Who Jesus is and why we needed His sacrifice. That only happens when we trust Him, so that His Resurrection power can change us. The truth is, without the Resurrection – it might be hard for any of us to really believe Jesus. Maybe an illustration will help:

We stood at the cave and I admit I was really afraid. There were bats that lined the top crevices of the cave, and guano that lined the bottom. The entry was lit for a few feet, but then there was utter darkness. Crawling back into the close and tight quarters of the cave, we had no idea if there was a huge hole – a drop within. I was afraid and the whole venture of the cave seemed foolish and perilous. What changed my mind? When my dear and trusted friend explained that he had been all the way in there before me. Because he went in and came out – I could rest in the experience. So it is with death. I have a trusted friend that has already been there, and come back – and He said that if I trust Him – I will be fine.

In other words, we can’t be a Christian without encountering, trusting and then following Jesus. We don’t just learn from His example – we leave the docks of the world and get in the boat with Him at the helm. That’s Christianity –Jesus steering my life because I trust Him to do it. Remember the column of that cathedral? The story of Jesus is our column. His life, His death, and His Resurrection are the key events to God being openly revealed to us.

Key Principle: The story of Jesus – His life, His death and His resurrection- is the single column that holds up the whole structure of the message of the Gospel. Every part of the story is essential, and in its totality the Gospel stands.

The great news is found in His story. What is it? Death is not a victor, nor a mystery… the door to the tomb stands open. For that reason an open tomb door has become our best SYMBOL. His sacrifice on the Cross saved us, but the announcement of His Resurrection is what evokes awe in us – because God showed acceptance of the work to save us. God is on board with opening the once sealed door of death, and the sting of eternal separation in death is gone.

I recall being at the funeral of an unsaved man. His wife asked my Pastor to come, and he brought me along to watch and see how it was done. The woman loved her husband. She was inconsolable. She cried out over and over.. “He’s gone! He’s gone! How can I go on?” I will remember that scene of despair all of my days.

With that kind of pain at stake, we need to be certain about what we are saying. Is our understanding truly the Gospel taught by the Apostles? I mean, how can anyone look at death and think its power to sting has been undone? Doesn’t that seem like escapism – an unrealistic look at life? I can see how one could arrive at such a conclusion. After all, it seems that even now we cannot do anything to escape the shadow of death. Many people try to ignore it. It is the “elephant in the room” of many sick and aging people. This week one of my friends went into his living room, sat back in his lounge chair, and drifted out of this life. How do I KNOW he is not gone forever? One of our other friends got a call that his sister left this life – she was found in her home. While I was preparing this message, yet another call came in with another sister that slipped into death up in Ocala.

Chuck Swindoll wasn’t wrong when he said: “Death doesn’t seem defeated. Every major paper still has obituaries. The idea of death haunts us, even when we don’t want to think of it. Death seems like the card that trumps all other life cards. It still seems inevitable, inescapable and undeniable. What the philosopher Euripides said still seems to ring true: “Death is the debt we all must pay.” An Old Persian proverb said it this way:  “Death is the camel that lies at every door.

Even when we look in the Bible, we must admit the Biblical writers recognized the power of death in our lives. They weren’t silent on the subject. The salt in the wound caused by sin was evident in the poetry of Gen 3:19: “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

Can you hear the echo of the Bible that promised death?

  • Rom 5:12 ”Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…”
  • Heb 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…”

It is easy to see why someone would believe that death was a door shut for all times. According to what we read from God’s Word, the future of every man and woman is, well, dust – from the original curse. Can we not hear it is the trembling tone in the voice of Job, when he sat in an ash pile covered with boils all over his body? He lamented in the shadow of the grave stones of his children. He sat beside his three hope draining friends, and his discouraging wife. While Job’s eyes were yet swollen from visiting the ten fresh graves of his children, he sat in brokenness and offered this painful insight in Job 14:1: “Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.”

Who could argue with him when he compared life to a flower that quickly withers and inevitably heads to death in 14:2? Who can dispute that the number of days was fixed by God above, as Job argued in 14:5? Who could argue that life doesn’t feel like that temporary worker that we pass by once or twice on the job – and then they are GONE (14:6). We feel it. What Job says seems to painfully resonate with us. We can hear his logic when he saw more hope for a tree when it was cut down than a man– at least the tree would live again in the new shoots (14:7). In the sheer weight of the pain of loss, he struggled to see such hopefulness for men. He said this: Job 14:10 “But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he?” A few verses later, he asks the PENTRATING question that every thinking person must one day confront (Job 14:14): “If a man dies, will he live again?“ You could conclude that the Bible promises death at the end of life – but that wouldn’t be an account of ALL OF THE BIBLE.

You see, there is a problem: the story of Jesus didn’t end in death. Something happened – and that is the central feature of the GOOD NEWS. The tomb was left open and the grave was left empty. The stench of death was replaced with the fresh smell of a new spring day. Job’s question was answered by an invasion of God’s power. Can the dead live again? Well, in fact, Jesus taught that He had the power over death – and He could open the grave. He was having a conversation with a friend after her brother had died during His absence from them. John 11:21: Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. … 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

What a great question. Let me ask you: Do YOU believe this? Do you believe that you will never die? Was Jesus serious? Does such a promise really exist, and if it does, what must I do to gain assurance that I shall have life beyond life?

Turn for a moment in your Bible to John 20 and watch Jesus DO what He talked about. Talking about defeating death is one thing – dying and then living again is another! Watch God deliver on the promise of power over death through the open door on Jesus’ tomb. If you look very closely at the story of Jesus – you will see many truths about the Resurrection:

Truth: New life doesn’t come until you meet Jesus.

John 20:1 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

  • First, His Resurrection was set at a time of new beginnings: it was the “first day” of the new week (20:1a).
  • Second, the scene of the Resurrection began in darkness (20:1b). The term comes from a root word for indiscernible.
  • Third, the first encounter with the Resurrection was not seeing Jesus – but seeing the symbol – the stone rolled back (20:1b).

It is very possible that you are encountering this Resurrection story today in the same way. You have seen the SYMBOLS of Jesus – the Cross on many a church, the dove or fish on someone’s car. You know SOME PEOPLE have been impacted by an encounter with Jesus – but YOU haven’t really had such an encounter. You are still in the dark, and your new day hasn’t begun…stay TUNED – there is more to the story!

Truth: Meeting One who died seems really unlikely.

John 20:2 “So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

  • Confronted by the seemingly impossible, we look for someone who can help make sense of it all! She looked within her life experiences and concluded – SOMEONE MOVED HIM. Of course He didn’t move Himself – He is DEAD!

I admit it. The Resurrection is so CONFOUNDING! It requires you to believe that there truly IS a GOD in Heaven, and that He truly IS engaged in our world. Is that really so hard to believe? When you look at the vast heavens in their splendor and organization – do you really see only chance and chaos? When you examine the film of cells knit together in the womb of a mother, do you really not see the hand of a skilled designer? Maybe you have encountered some evidence of God’s power – and you have come running to someone you believe may be able to help you find the truth. If that is the case, I can only thank you for coming to us to hear about Jesus.

Truth: Religion won’t get you what you are really looking for.

John 20:3 “So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. 4“The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there…”

  • Peter and John took off running because they had some teaching, but hadn’t yet encountered the transforming power of Jesus yet.

People like Peter and John are all over our world. They know something of what Jesus said. They may know some things He did. They were warmed in their heart by the profound stories of sheep, fish and trees. They were moved by the selfless example at the Cross. The truth is, however, they haven’t yet encountered the transforming power of the Risen Christ. They are full of religion and eager to find truth – but they haven’t touched the power of the Resurrected One.

It is simply not enough to know about Jesus – you must meet Him and recognize Him for Who He is – the Lord above all. If your encounter with Jesus leaves you fully in charge of your life – then you know nothing of Jesus as He truly is. You have met a “Hallmark Card” Jesus – not the One in the Gospel account. Jesus demands ownership so that He can remake you and I to be His very own. In becoming His, we die to self and live to and for Him!

Truth: God has been holding a spot for you for ages.

John 20:7 ”…and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

  • The cloth was rolled up and set aside.

Ask yourself why John was struck by that. This was not the scene of a hasty stealing away of a broken body. Someone took the time to unwrap Him. Someone took the time to roll up the wrapping that had been on His head, and placed it neatly on the burial preparation bench. This was the evidence of a plan at work.

If you took the time to look carefully at the feasts of Israel – only one was always to be on the Sunday following Passover – it was the feast of FIRSTFRUITS. God planned as far back as Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 to have Jesus raised on the Sunday after Passover – and He became the first fruits of the Resurrection pictured there. Paul made that point carefully in 1 Corinthians 15. It is worth recalling – this wasn’t a haphazard event. This wasn’t God catching up to what the enemy did at the Cross of Jesus. Oswald Chambers reminded long ago: “The Cross didn’t happen to Jesus – this was the reason He came.” God planned the death, and God planned the Resurrection.

God took thousands of years to work out salvation’s plan – and He wasn’t in a hurry. He knew from the moment right after sin that a Son of Man would get a bite on His heel from the enemy – but in doing so He would CRUSH THE ENEMIE’S HEAD. He promised that in Genesis 3. The plan took time – was organized – and was never haphazard. God had the napkin folded and set aside.

Truth: You will need a map to get there.

John 20:8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. 9 “For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”

  • The evidence of the empty tomb was enough to get the men to believe that SOMETHING had happened – but only the Scripture could really make sense of it all.

Maybe you are encountering this message today and they believe that PERHAPS something unusual happened to Jesus. You may even believe He was an incredible teacher. Still, you haven’t truly encountered His personal touch. Here is the truth: Knowing about Jesus may make you historically informed. Knowing what He taught may make you morally ethical. Neither of those is KNOWING HIM. Maybe you would ask: “How can I know Him?” Keep reading, the answer is on its way…

The basis of the whole event is God performing according to the promises He made in His Holy Word. The Bible set the whole story in its meaning. John ended this very chapter with the words “these are written that you might have life.” The Scriptures hold the plan, and the plan reveals the Person. Jesus will transform the person that takes His Word as truth. If the Bible is a paperweight on your desk or a doorstop in your apartment – it will not yield the antidote for your sin sickness – For it is like an unfilled prescription left on your coffee table while the deadly poison ravages your body.

Truth: You will have to really want to meet Him.

John 20:10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

  • A casual look toward Jesus and return to your home will produce no lasting change.

Jesus is not a curiosity – He is a Savior. Yet, sadly, many will come for a brief and casual glance in His direction today – and then head straight back to their busy lives. By this afternoon, they will be heavily dosed in ham and sweet potatoes – and cutting into the cakes and pies. The holiday will be much more about home and food than Heaven and surrender.

Truth: When you ask Him, He will show you the truth.

John 20:12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. John 20:13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” John 20:14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

  • A close and earnest look gave Mary a chance to see that Heaven really was ready to encounter her!

Salvation is about God’s acceptance of those who shook their fist in His face. It is about being embraced by the One that we ran out on. It is about finding forgiveness that opens our heart to surrender to One who will take us back. It is never given to the proud. It is never open to the self-sufficient. It can only be found by peering beyond this world through the veil of the physical and into the world of the spiritual. If you and I strip off our arrogance and admit our rebellion – Heaven will show itself. When Heaven opens – you will find God has been planning for your return and has a place ready for you!

Truth: When you hear Jesus call your name, you will know His voice.

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

  • When you open your heart to Jesus, and you ask Him to meet you – He will meet you. He will know you, and you will know Him.

You were made to worship your Creator. You were made to bring Him pleasure – and He knows what you need. Every joy you have ever experienced was created in His mind. Every beauty you have ever known was whipped into being by Him. He is not aloof, He is patient. He is not angry, He is knocking. We shook our fist at Him, and He laid down His hands and let us drive nails in them – because His Father wanted us back home.

The truth of the Resurrection is that DEATH HAS LOST ITS STING!

Kevin was always extremely allergic to bees and their sting. The doctor warned Tom and Alice that if he were ever stung, it would be seconds before they saw his life begin to slip away. They were always aware of the danger, and they tried to teach Kevin how to be aware without being paranoid. On a fishing trip near the mountain cottage, Kevin panicked in the boat next to Tom. A bee was buzzing around the center of the tiny rowboat. Tom reached out and cupped his hand over the bee. A moment later, Tom let the little yellow insect go free. “Dad, what are you doing?” Tom quietly stilled Kevin: “Don’t worry son. He can’t hurt you – He stung me and now he cannot sting you.” What Tom did for Kevin, Jesus did for me.

What about the promise that we shall not die?

  • Philippians 3:20-21: (NIV) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior …who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
  • 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you…”
  • Paul, writing to believers in Jesus promised them: 1 Cor. 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, … 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death… 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”

Jesus is Alive. He has conquered death.

  • Armies have marched against this message – but the truth of the Resurrection is a stubborn foe.
  • Forgiveness for sin is available – but my stubborn insistence on self-determination can hold me back from surrender.
  • Jesus overcame the external enemies and opened the tomb door – but I must open the door of my heart. I must be willing to let Him inside. I must cede control and let Him be King of ME.

The story of Jesus – His life, His death and His resurrection- is the single column that holds up the whole structure of the message of the Gospel. Every part of the story is essential, and in its totality the Gospel stands. Why not wrap your arms around that column today, and feel its strength. He has long been ready to meet with you. Are YOU ready to meet with Him?

The End of the World: “The Moment”- Revelation 15

The red light never went on before – except during the drills and tests. This time the buzzer sounded, and the red light blared in the control room. Men scrambled to stations as they looked anxiously at dials and fiddled nervously with switches and dials. The pressure valves were stuck shut, and the water behind the massive dam was now piling up. There was no relief for the pressure, and the back pressure on the wall was already well into exceeding tolerances. Transfixed, each man, on his own station – the control room quiet was shattered by the loud crackle of the Motorola handset. “Engineer six, what is your status?” the com signal echoed. “Holding, five. Pressure building. No surface fissures…. Wait…cancel that. I am seeing the beginning of cracks…Yes, five, she is losing integrity. Repeat… she is losing integrity…” The men knew it was a matter of moments from the largest disaster anyone in that room had ever seen.

There is a moment – just after the bullet is fired, but before it strikes the target. There is a moment – just after the beautiful crystal glass has slipped from your fingers – and before it shatters on the ceramic tile floor… the story of this chapter of Revelation IS that moment. This is the story of judgment and wrath hanging in the air above the physical universe. This is a glimpse into the throne room before the final rush of God’s complete and total victory over mutinous humanity. It is the moment before the dam broke above the on the feeble defenses of the arrogant. It isn’t the story of the destruction – that will come. It is the story of the moment before – the moment just before the deluge.

The glimpse into this moment is very revealing. It reveals the feeling in the room as judgment is set to fall. It reveals the swift nature of the end of rebellion and sin. It reveals something about how God feels about sin and rebellion. Most of all, it is given to the church because it uncovers a strange encouragement – God knows how hard the mutiny has been on all of us.

Key Principle: Opening Heaven’s window and pulling back the curtain on this moment before judgment is unleashed should help us understand two essential truths: First, we must accelerate sharing the message of God’s escape from wrath. The Gospel offers the way of escape. Second, seeing Heaven frozen in that moment should encourage us – God knows the effects of sin have been hard for us to navigate.

This Polaroid of Heaven exposes a moment that shows God’s judgment as holy and as necessary as the revelation of His coming rewards. Heaven’s story is incomplete without the revelation of God’s wrath. Why? Because disconnecting the penalty of judgment from the mutiny of man removes the real sense of the heinousness of sin – and diminishes God’s absolute right as Creator to insist that all things belong solely to Him. Strangely, the Bible writer doesn’t so squeamish about God’s rights and man’s mutiny. The Bible defines what God considers His responsible duty – to stamp out all effects and power of sin and rebellion. John wasn’t embarrassed to report that is exactly what He will do. He knew and wrote of God’s absolute right to judge and crush all rebellion.

Read with me the few verses that show the picture of this moment before destruction:

Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.” 5 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

John thought this sign was something “great and marvelous” because it ended the war introduced in the Garden of Eden. Seven angels were paraded out with saucers of wrath. It wasn’t the size of the saucer, but the fact that when they were emptied – all of man’s insurrection would be crushed, and God’s holy right over His wayward Creation will be publicly and permanently restored. All legal requirements will be satisfied. All opposition will be stopped.

Don’t rush through the passage. Take a moment and think about the picture we see. We must be careful to recall three important principles in the background – the “wall setting” of the picture we want to gaze upon:

  1. The small size of the chapter is not an indication of the importance of the principle exposed in the writing – because it is by far the shortest chapter selection from this book. It is important to remember that good writing expresses the author’s thought process wellgreat writing does it with an economy of words and stark clarity of imagery. The Gettysburg address wasn’t long, but it was powerful enough to shape an army.
  1. The chapter represents a moment in time when the pressure that was pent up over thousands of years on earth was relieved by an explosion. This is a frozen frame of the moment before the break. There was a crack in the surface of the great dam of human history. The conditions were all fulfilled, and the stage was completely set for the small fissure to explode, ending in a massive flood of destruction. The just demands of God’s Holiness pushed down for all the generations since Adam will be completely satisfied in a public display. God will get to sign the end of His story by crushing evil and replacing it with His holiness.
  1. Finally, this moment was recorded for seven churches, and later for believers throughout the ages. It isn’t the revelation of a theoretical time – it is the exposure of the coming day. In the next chapters we will see the undoing of every rebellious human institution: religion, economy and philanthropy. Man will fold in on himself as the wall of wrath tears through all that he built in the village below the dam of God’s pent up wrath. Why would God tell this story? Doesn’t He realize that a vengeful God will not be nearly as popular as a, “ALL TOLERANT ONE”?  He does, but He has a bigger plan… more on that later in the teaching.

Look again at Revelation 15. We are staring at the snapshot of those who have been victorious over the beast standing together in celebration of God’s character. They are singing the “Anthem of the Rescued” in the presence of God. Just as the saints stand before the temple of God, the bowls of wrath are poured out on pagan and rebellious humanity – those who follow the beast. The massive day of battle destroys the military might of man. The fall of Babylon  – the economic, political and spiritual systems are also pummeled and destroyed in an hour. Satan’s centers of control are unraveled – and this is the moment that unleashed it all. Is that not part of what the Tribulation is about? Remember the Tribulation has several purposes in the Bible:

  • First, it is to get the stubborn nation of Israel to bow in trust to her estranged husband – the Father in Heaven that selected her as His own special love.
  • Second, it is God’s final evangelistic run at mutinous mankind – with a team of 144,000 witnesses that will gather the last of the great harvest among the nations.
  • Third, it is to dislodge and destroy the godless, pagan system at its peak – in the hands of the Antichrist and his false prophet on the way to exposing and castigating the Dragon that empowers their work.

God back to the verses, one by one. Look carefully at the words of this chapter’s opening:

Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

John wrote that he saw “another sign”, connecting it with the sign of the war between the dragon and the woman in Revelation 12 – the attempts by Satan to destroy Jesus, and then the Jewish people in human history. The word for sign is “SEMION” a distinguishing marker or event. This word occurs seven times in the book of Revelation – all beginning in 12:1 and ending at the end of the Tribulation in 19.. (12:1,3; 13:13,14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20). As one commentator put it: “This is verbal art”.

Revelation 15:2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

When John wrote that he saw something like a “sea of glass”, he referred to an image building on the transparent crystal platform or pavement God’s heavenly throne sits upon, referred to in Revelation 4:6. He saw God’s magnificent throne – lest anyone would mistake where all judgments of the Tribulation initiate. God is in command of the end, and He was at the beginning.

Surrounding the throne in this snapshot are those who had victory over the beast. They fought his mark, the number of his name, and they gave all for the Kingdom of God – surrendering even their lives. It may be hard to be a believer today in a culture that is turning its back on the face of Jesus – but it will be MCUH HARDER then. They will know suffering and death. They will give all for the cause, because they love the Savior more than they love anything here on earth. Don’t forget that the WORD VICTORY is that which described those who were KILLED. Faith was the victory and death was not a failure – it was their graduation and HOPE.

Can we say that Jesus is more important than our life? Is Jesus more significant to you than fortune, fame, power and pleasure? Is the delight of Jesus bigger in your heart than the delight of your children, your spouse – your SELF? They lived that truth! The end of the verse says that the singers held harps before God. Their lives supplied the sheet music of praise in the Heavens!

15:3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

The song of Moses is a rescue anthem – a song of thankfulness for God’s miraculous guidance, skillful and timely protection and wondrous provision for His people. Moses saw it. The Lamb knew it.

  • Great and marvelous are Your works (megala kai thaumasta): huge and awe inspiring are your accomplishments – remember No one stands over the Grand Canyon to boost their self-image!
  • Righteous and true are Your ways (dikaiai): totally just are your plans or paths.

There is no debate about what comes next. The pressure was about to break from Heaven, and the choir was well contented that it was neither hasty nor reactionary – the priestly dressed angels knew their jobs and the clock was now counting down.

15:4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”

The purpose of the judgment was clearly stated – to get people to RECOGNIZE GOD AS GOD. Man should revere the name of their Creator. Whether in the university classroom or the science laboratory – the mystery of life should be tied up in HIM. He alone is distinct from all others. No man can hold that place in another man’s heart. No man can hold the throne of his own heart for himself and not be judged.

  • God alone is to be honored as highest.
  • God alone is to be worshiped.
  • God alone will be seen in the final acts of judgment.
  • Men’s strength will collapse.
  • Their armies will evaporate.
  • Their economic strategies will dissipate into the air.
  • Their lofty arrogance and pagan slurs will vanish in the heat of God’s presence.
  • The Creator will once again be the One and Only God – and that was cause for the choir to sing aloud!

15:5 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes.

John saw angels coming from the Most Holy Place of Heaven’s Tabernacle (the heavenly reality modeled in history by an earthly Temple and the Tabernacle before it). The seven angelic reapers of judgment stepped out of their Temple service – dressed as priests. The work of judgment is HOLY WORK. It is the work of rescue and restoration. It is the work of reconciling the universe to its Creator.

15:7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

The bowls of judgment are a specific type – the phiales – or flat lipped bowls. These are shallow saucers that were familiar items associated with various functions of the temple worship, such as wine and blood sacrifice. The picture was of a wide plate with a rim – something that could be quickly emptied. It is the swiftness of the judgment that will shock men on earth. In one hour, Babylon will fall flat before God.

The word wrath (thumos) used here is a boiling or flaming anger. Instead of the common word orge (anger from a settled disposition). Thumos is used only 11 times, and 10 of the 11 are in Revelation. It is God’s overflowing anger towards sin contained in the bowls.

15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

John described a moment right after the angels came out of the Temple, saying that great smoke from the power and presence of God filled Heaven’s Temple so that neither angels nor human beings could go back into worship until the completion of the judgment. No created being, for that stretch of time, will have access to the presence of God on His throne until the end of the Tribulation judgment – for God will not be dealing with people in mercy but in judgment.

When the Tabernacle (Ex. 40) and First Temple (1 Kings 6-8) were dedicated, God’s glory and presence was seen in the smoke that filled them. Now it was different. This was no mere display. Commentator William MacDonald offers: “The fact that no one can enter the temple until these seven plagues are completed may mean that no priestly intercession can now delay God’s wrath.

That’s the story. A choir singing, a parade marching, smoke billowing…Heaven on the edge.

Earlier I asked why this moment was frozen in time and recorded for seven churches, and later for believers throughout the ages. Why show the believers of the ages the eventual overthrow of every rebellious human institution? Should we feel relieved that God finally got even? No, I don’t think that is the purpose at all.

I think we don’t understand how God feels about the destructiveness of sin, and how He longs to see the conditions that we have come to accept as NORMAL stomped out completely. He looks at us through the eyes of that child services worker that interviews the repeatedly raped child who acts like it is perfectly normal. He is enraged by our pain, and longs for the end – but He must elect to wait until the whole story unfolds showing who He is to all creation. To intrude early would undo all the work that went in to making the story clear.

God hates sin the way a child of an alcoholic hates that bottle. It destroyed everything. It took the fun out of life and the joy out of the relationship. God hates sin, and cannot wait to crush it!

He hates sin because it KILLED the joy He had walking with US, and eventually it KILLED HIS SON to supply the blood that transfused us with new life. All that keeps us hopeful is that He is ready and able to crush it. Keep your eyes on the sky – He is growing restless to pull us free from its grasp.

It seems we have not only become dulled to God’s feelings about sin in our modern world, but we have also lost our distaste for HELL. The UN has had much to say about a population explosion – but there is one place where the explosion of population should deeply concern and sicken us – the population of HELL. It was said that D.L. Moody reduced hell’s potential population by as many as two million. Billy Graham may have also done that. Yet, hell is still getting too many, and God offers this warning that wrath will come, to remind believers of the need to get busy with the Gospel. Hell is real. Wrath is coming. Judgment is not a fairy tale.

There is yet a third reason that the wrath of God is so carefully choreographed for the believer in this book –zand it is this thought that I want to finish on… It also relates to sins devastation. It is not about those who are going to hell, but for the benefit of those who have already been living in it here on earth. It is to answer the tears of God’s people that have walked through the fires of fallen humanity. It is to encourage you.

That’s right! God told the story of the moment before judgment so that you would be encouraged when things are working against you in this life:

  • When you are honest and the boss fires you but keeps the liars – the fall flexes its muscle.
  • When you are betrayed though you have been faithful and right – demons dance.
  • When you eat right, exercise, drink proper amounts of fluids, and then get news of a disease that is beyond your control and beyond the doctor’s expertise – the weeds of the garden are taking root in your life.

Many people have tried to decide why bad things happen to good people. All of them have noticed that it is hard to face trouble when you don’t know where it is HEADING. An old Roman sailor’s proverb says, “When the pilot does not know for what port he is headed, no wind is the right wind.” In times of trouble, I can open God’s Word and see the end of the tunnel. It is a long tunnel – and many lives hang in the balance – but it is an encouragement that GOD KNOWS THE END of the story, because sin will be crushed from His holy Temple – and delivered by His holy corps of angels.

Here is the perseverance of the saints. God wins. God ends the pain of sin. God crushes its power and finally removes its pain. Separation from loved ones – gone.  Persecution from angry men – finished. Reason rallies spewing hatred toward God and His followers – silenced.

  • Go to the religions of the east, and learn of an endless cycle of reincarnation – punishment and reward as we climb the ladder through thousands of lifetimes – how exhausting and entirely impersonal. It is a scenario of living life trying not offend the thousands of gods and demi-gods on my way to the next rung of the ladder. The end for us is not attaining perfection; it is falling into the arms of the Perfect One.
  • My Muslim friends may answer the question of “bad things” by saying, “Allah has willed it, and you must learn to accept his will.”
  • My Jewish friends may echo Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book entitled, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? It became a NYT best-seller. His answer was that “God is limited in His power, and therefore He is not a participant in our lives. Instead, He is a spectator watching us with interest.” He says, “God wants to see good things happen to His people, but He is not always able to arrange it.

How very sad! His conclusion is a less than able God in need of our forgiveness of Him for His shortcomings. The Rabbi says that it is our turn now to forgive God for His failures.

Our story ends differently. It ends with a powerful God that makes no apology for His Sovereignty. His choir sang the anthem of His Supremacy. His love for His fallen drove Him to action.

In Max Lucado’s book, The Applause of Heaven, the author tells about a young man, Robert Reed, who has cerebral palsy. He writes: “He can’t brush his teeth or comb his hair or bathe himself. He can’t dress himself, or button his shirt. He has to depend upon other people to do that for him. He can’t take a walk. He can’t go from one place to another by his own power. But his handicaps did not rob him of graduating from high school, & finally earning a degree from Abilene Christian College.” The writer says that Robert Reed decided that he would study to be a missionary. He taught a couple of years in a Junior College in St. Louis. and took five trips to different mission fields. Finally he settled in Lisbon, Portugal. Robert Reed found a hotel owner who would rent him a ground-floor room. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after hours each day. He found a tutor who would teach him the language. And every day he wheeled out to the city park & passed out Christian literature to people who walked by. He spoke to them in his voice that sounded like a record player whose batteries are about to run down. He told them about the love of God through Jesus Christ. In 6 years Robert Reed won more than seventy people to Jesus. One of them was a young girl by the name of Rosa, who later became his wife. Lucado recalls, “I sat in an audience of thousands & watched as strong men grabbed his wheelchair, with him sitting in it, & lifted him to the platform so that he could speak to this vast audience of people….I watched him as he took his stiff fingers & tried to turn the pages of his Bible. And along with thousands of others, I wiped away tears of admiration. Here is one who could have complained, one who could have been bitter, one who could have asked `Why me?’ One who could have asked, `Why do bad things happen to God’s people?’” “But instead,” he said, “Robert Reed read in his drawn out way the Words of God & gave his testimony. And when he came to the end of it, he lifted up his bent hand & arm & said, `I have everything I need.’” Lucado adds, “His shirts are held together with velcro. But his life is held together with the joy of God.”

Lift up your head and see the power of God. Sin will be defeated. Death’s separation will be erased. Cancer will be a word long forgotten. Divorce will be a word from the ancient past. Rape, incest, murder, pornography, theft, cheating, lying –all will be erased from our existence – a distant memory of a war fought on far away fields long before. God hasn’t forgotten to rescue us – the pressure is building and Heaven’s dam is about to burst.

Opening Heaven’s window and pulling back the curtain on this moment just before judgment is unleashed should help us remember – God knows the effects of sin have been hard for us to navigate… and He hates sin. Don’t despair – sin is on short time as Heaven’s death row is emptied.

Grasping God's Purpose: "Fighting the Rescue"- Luke 19

Suzie and Janie loved the beach. The shells that decorated their dorm room should have been the first clue that they were a bit unbalanced in this regard. Still, there was something about the crashing sound of the surf, the smell of salty air, and the warm feel of the sun on their sun-screened skin that made them feel the relaxation that others feel in a resort spa. They felt pampered by nature. Troubles seemed to slip away into the water with the receding tide.

They took their tubes and lay in a foot of water. The waves were particularly small that afternoon, so the rise and fall of their little tubes seemed to be more relaxed than normal. They were talking about life – assignments that were coming up, professors that were far too boring to keep their eyes open, and a book that Suzie found interesting for her Psych class. Then is happened… neither one knew exactly how. Their eyes were closed and they were silent for what seemed like only a moment. When they opened their eyes, the scenery was not familiar. They had slowly drifted out to sea. They were now far from land. Suzie rolled over on the tube, and out it slipped. She began to slap the water violently, panicking and saying something that made Janie think Jaws had just surfaced and was eating her friend. That wasn’t the case. Suzie simply panicked.

Back on the beach, an old man was collecting shells. He had noticed the two drift out to sea and became quite concerned – so he called the life station, and the guards were already informed of the problem. By the time Suzie began her epic panic, the lifeboat was already en route to saving both of the young students. As the life boat rowed more closely, the lifeguard could see that Suzie had slipped into the water was thrashing. He recognized the panic, and dove in with all his training streaming through his mind. He knew this was a dangerous rescue – because the person in distress was already fighting to live. That fight would become his fight to save her. She would resist her own rescue… and that was such a ingrained response of her panic, there was no stopping it. She would have to be overcome to rescue her – or she would slip into the sea and die because she rejected her rescuer.

Many people this Easter season will find themselves in the exact same position. Not in a sea of water, but in the sea of life. Not drowning, but dying and fighting their rescuer. This isn’t just a physical response of panic… it is the spiritual response of rebellious mankind. We want to save ourselves, and we can’t. We want to control the terms of our lives, and we can’t. We want to guard ourselves from pain and harm, but we can’t We don’t want a rescuer – we want to do it ourselves – but we can’t. Here is the truth:

Key Principle: Deep within the heart is rooted a resistance to rescue. Only those who overcome the impulse to try and save themselves will make it through to life – the others will perish.

There is a text buried in the account of Jesus’ earth ministry found in Luke 19, that tells the story of a rescuer and the fight to stop Him from saving the dying. The text offers three stories to the modern reader:

Story #1: Zaccheus’ banquet where the rescue announcement is made clear (19:1-10).

Story #2: A parable of delayed rescue that Jesus told the listeners at the banquet (19:11-27). This is actually part of the first story – but so long that it seems like an account by itself.

Story #3: The story of Jesus’ Palm Sunday journey into the Temple (19:28-48).

The account is layered in three small stories that all blend together:

  • Jesus reasoning with leaders about His rescue.
  • Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.
  • Jesus cleaning up the Temple’s corruption.

Luke positioned the stories in the order that the interviews he made in building his Gospel account indicated – because he was trying to set the story in the actual order of the events (Luke 1:1-4). The three stories are connected by a simple thought:

Jesus came to offer a drowning people rescue – but some fought the rescuer and tried to stop Him from completing His task.

The truth is they DIDN’T WANT His rescue – they had a plan to do it themselves. They were like many people we work with and see every day. They want to control their own lives. They want to do it on their own – even if that keeps taking them from disaster to disaster. The point of this chapter is that there IS ANOTHER WAY to respond to the rescue of the Savior – and the response has EVERYTHING to do with whether or not you will LIVE or DIE.

The Rescue Announced (Luke 19:1-10):

Luke 19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying,  “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. ”

Jesus came into Jericho with a plan to rescue a drowning man. Zaccheus was up to his neck in a sea of problems:

  • He was marginalized by people who wouldn’t respect him enough to part and let him have a glimpse of Jesus (19:3).
  • He felt inadequate, and knew he wasn’t able to do what others were – so he looked for help (19:4).
  • He was despised by the people among whom he lived – and they were immediately jealous and upset when Jesus chose to be with him (19:5-6).
  • He was surprised, delighted and even shocked that Jesus wanted to be in his life (19:7).
  • He already knew why others felt about him the way they did – he knew he cheated people and sinned against them (19:8).
  • He surrendered his sinful practices to Jesus without resistance – and he was rescued (19:8b-9).

Jesus used this man to announce His whole intention on invading the life of the drowning man or woman – He came to RESCUE THEM. That was His mission – and that was the mission God gave those that follow Him. We are called to a “ministry of reconciliation” – connecting God to people.

  • Not GOOD people, but drowning people.
  • Not HAPPY people, but those who feel inadequate.
  • Not EASY people, but the marginalized, the unloved, the difficult.

Many will resist us, because they will want to do it themselves. They will believe they are already adequate – or they have found a way on their own. They will not understand us –because they did not understand Him. Those around us will scratch their heads when they watch us invest such time and trouble in such LOSERS. They won’t recognize what we are doing as valuable, because it won’t be as flashy as what the world seeks to do in changing itself.

  • Ours is a quiet and subtle revolution. It is found in the faithful love of a husband and wife desperately praying over their children that they may raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in the midst of a rebellious generation.
  • It is found in the careful instruction of the holy Words of God, quietly taught in a class of small boys and girls that cannot yet be trusted with sharp scissors and paste.
  • It will be found on the lips of old grey haired men and women, who no longer capture the heart of Hollywood or Vogue magazine – but their quiet testimony offers enduring wisdom and truth yielded from a life given in surrender to the Savior.
  • When fear and anger prevail in our streets, our message of rescue will SEEM weak. It will not be violent and it will not be swift. It will require love and patience, hope and endurance. It will require the application of God’s dramatic display of love in our Savior, shined through cracked clay pots from the lives of flawed men and women. That profound message of God’s love will transform, because it is powerful, not because WE are. The Gospel will not be silenced, nor will it be defeated.

The message that transformed the heart of a drowning, short, inadequate tax collection cheater two thousand years ago will transform the heart of a Muslim that does not find peace in a world view that competes for domination by aggression – but cannot be trusted to offer the truth. The message that filled the empty heart of an outcast in Jericho will still powerfully lift the discarded and worthless feeling divorced woman that has been left cast aside for a younger and more energetic woman. They are all around us and they are drowning… Oh that we could just look in the tree and see them!

The Resistance Explained (Luke 19:11-27):

Jesus told a story. It was directed at a crowd that didn’t like what He was doing – but I guess God is used to that. Most of the things He says to the drowning aren’t popular. We like to think we are MORE CAPABLE, or at least not as stupid as the other drowning guy down the beach. Here is what He said:

Luke 19:11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

The purpose of the story preceded the telling of it. Luke made it clear that Jesus was saying what He said because there was about to be a SEVERE DELAY in the National Rescue plan to His people. Israel wasn’t ready. Disciples weren’t ready. God promised a New Covenant. He promised to bring the people back from the captors and after a while change their hearts. He promised that the Jewish people would one day experience a complete surrender… but it wasn’t going to happen that Passover. In fact, the delay was going to be significant – but purposeful. His delay of ascending David’s throne offers me salvation today. I was not part of His people then – but the Gospel made it possible that I am of HIS PEOPLE today.

The Disciples thought the Kingdom would come that week, because they didn’t see past themselves.

They didn’t see the lost around them. Whole earthly kingdoms and nation states had no relation to God. Was God to ignore the 14 million Chinese of the Han Dynasty for the sake of the immediate accession of Jesus to the throne of fewer than a million Jews? God’s math, and God’s view were different than theirs – and I am very glad – glad beyond words – that God saw it differently.

Luke 19:12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 “And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ 14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 “When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. 16 “The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 “The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 “And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 “Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 ‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 “And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 “I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

Parables are sometimes hard to grasp. You have to be especially careful to keep the details out of the main idea, so that only the details that are relevant to the story define the message of the story. They take work, but, like a really good novel, they are worth it. The beauty and richness is lost on a fast food generation – but if you slowly savor it – you will feel the power in the story. Let’s take it apart.

There are two layers to the story.

The first layer is a story about an absentee district ruler that left on a journey to a far country that was under his possession and eventually returned (19:12). The people he was to claim rule over rejected his claim to rule, and sent a request the Senate after his visit to have another ruler over them (19:14) – so he was feeling the weight of rejection that was apparently based on his interaction with them. He felt pressured by enemies, and in the end – when it was determined that his rule would not be withdrawn by those above him – he ordered that his enemies be dragged in and killed right in front of his face (19:27).

His point in the first layer is clear: Reject the ruler and appeal his right to rule –  and you will find yourself without recourse.

Set into that story was the second layer that began with his preparations for the journey, and ended with his return to his household.

In this second layer, the ruler prepared for a journey by handing part of his wealth over to three slaves – each with a significant part of his wealth – and instructed them to conduct his business with them (19:13). (A mina was a measure of gold – a word that entered Greek and Latin from its Akkadian origin for a “weight”. In the first century, a mina was a unit of currency that amounted to about a fourth of the wages earned annually by an agricultural worker. Ten minas would have been worth two and one half years pay for a farm worker – a significant amount to invest in that time.) With ten minas at each servant’s disposal, the man left on his journey. On return, he asked for an accounting of the money invested (19:15).

The first servant invested the ten and gained ten more – a 100% investment increase. The second invested and got a 50% investment increase – adding five more to his original ten. The third came in with only the ten he was originally given. The focus of this layer was primarily on HIM – because he didn’t trust the ruler (19:19). Look at the interaction between the ruler and the servant to see the servant’s position:

  • He recognized the ten minas were his masters (19:20).
  • He understood the task that was assigned to him (19:21).
  • He feared the ruler, and knew the ruler to be a man that would keep track of the money (19:21).
  • He didn’t trust the character of the ruler – and felt he gained in ways that were not to his liking (19:21).

The ruler was perturbed with the servant. He said: “Why didn’t you do it another way then? Why not put it in the bank and gain interest?” He stripped him of the minas and gave them to the one that did the most with them. The others in the room seemed to think this was foolish – after all the one with the ten had already ten more. The proverb offered to explain the scene was this:

Luke 19:26 “I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”

Don’t bypass these words – they are the point of the lesson. Jesus said this: A ruler offered every servant the same opportunity, but some didn’t trust his character and decided to do things that ignored his instruction. The one who used what was loaned to him in a way that became productive got rewarded. The one who decided to withhold his obedience and do things his own way, was stripped of what he was offered in the beginning.

His point in the second layer was this: Use what the ruler loans you obediently or what you have been given will be removed.

Now set the two message points back into the context of the problem…Jewish followers were already dividing up their new land grants in their hearts, as Jesus came to Jerusalem. Peter was carrying a sword under his cloak, waiting for the Master to give the order. The Kingdom of God was about to be established by the Messiah – and no one could stop Him! That is, until the King offered two important warnings:

The leadership of God’s people weren’t ready to accept the rule of their King. That rejection would be costly, but God would honor their desire and postpone His establishment of rule at that time. They had been entrusted with something extraordinarily valuable – the written word and now the Living Word –and rejection of them would bring peril to those leaders. Another generation would get the blessing of the King – but it would come in tears when they looked on Him they had earlier pierced (Zechariah 12:10-14). Jewish leadership would blow their chance – and that would leave their children open to deep pain – but the promise would still come.

When the builders rejected the beautiful Cornerstone, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). Yet, for those who read that in such a way as to strip the Jewish people in favor of the church – let me be clear here – that is not what He said.

It is easy to read Matthew 21 as though Jesus were handing off the “everlasting and irrevocable possession” of Israel to someone else – but that is not so. Jesus was referring to offering the choice to a future generation of Jewish leaders, not the one that was standing there at the time. Evidence? First, a massive number of Jews were not in the land at the time of Jesus’ visitation. If God meant to overturn His Word concerning them, He did so with a minority presence. That alone isn’t enough, but it should give us pause. Is the majority of “the church” today walking in obedience such that we should feel secure about God using the term “everlasting” in such a manner? For greater evidence which is textual, let me add: Ask the men who were listening to Jesus in Matthew 21 if they thought Jesus was moving the blessing to non-Jews and replacing it with the church or any other entity? I suspect their question to Jesus later in Acts 1:6 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Did they misunderstand Jesus’ pronouncement of removal, or did they appear to understand that He was pushing it off to a future time but maintaining it for the Jewish people? The answer seems clear enough to one who takes the Bible literally.

The Rescuer Fought (Luke 19:28-48)

The end of the passage is the living example of the parable. Two short stories illustrate the rejection of the leadership.

Rejection in the Parade (19:28-40)

The first was the reaction of the Pharisees in the crowd of Palm Sunday. The text reveals that they complained about the overt acceptance of the crowd of their King. When they saw their King coming on a donkey, their minds raced to Zechariah 9:9 and they saw Him openly taking the position of the Servant-king.

Luke 19:28 After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!

The Pharisees rejected Jesus’ overt claim, and the crowd’s adulation of Him. They wanted it stopped! They wanted CONTROL. Jesus cautioned them that Roman control would be exerted if a riot broke out, because of the hurling of the stones! They weren’t in CONTROL, and that wasn’t HIS doing – that was Rome’s doing. They knew it, and it made them seethe inside. The rescuer was there to save them – and they were effectively fighting Him off from completing His task. He stopped and cried because of it:

19:41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

You see, the Hebrew prophet in exile, Daniel, took the Word of God seriously as he read Jeremiah – according to Daniel 9:1-2. He knew that the return of the Jewish people was supposed to be in seventy years after they were brought into Babylon, because God’s Word said so. He prayed, because he was so distressed that the time was coming and the Jewish people were not preparing to leave. God answered his prayer of faith, and told him that NOT ONLY would the people be going back to the land, but that Messiah would come to them. He would come 483 years of 360 days (a Biblical calendar year) from the time Jerusalem was commanded to rebuild its wall and moat… or 173,880 days from the restoration of the moat, gate and wall system around the city. Later, the Hebrew Bible includes the story of Nehemiah 1, where the restoration was begun, starting the clock. By the time of Jesus’ arrival, the announcement of timing of His coming was already nearly five hundred years old – but the leadership that studied these things ever so closely was not willing to open their hearts. WHY? Because they were living under the illusion of control – and Jesus shattered that illusion with a single sentence.

We hate to admit that we don’t have control of things. We push off our rescuer because we don’t want to be embarrassed – as if DEAD would be better. We live under one illusion after another:

Young women stand in front of a mirror and dress to attract a man of substance and character by getting him to look at her exterior:

  • As if that would attract the right kind of man.
  • As if she can keep him by keeping her exterior looking like that.
  • She paints it, brushes it, cares and maintains it.

The truth is that a man of character is interested in a woman of character – and she needs to give much time to developing that in order to attract the right man. She cannot get the right man solely on the exterior, and even more to the point SHE CANNOT KEEP THE EXTERIOR LOOKING LIKE THAT because she doesn’t control it.

The man of business operates with a solid sense of control – but market forces pull his business as the sea pulls on a tiny fishing boat. The young athlete sculpts his body as if he can, through sheer force of will, stop the years from changing his ability to endure. The man walks into his doctor’s office to get a diagnosis on the pain or problem, somehow believing there is a surgery or a pill that can control anything that his body may throw at him.

CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION. Fighting the rescuer to keep control of your life is a futile and perilous response that will only be shattered when the illusion of control has been stripped away.

Rejection in the Worship Place (19:45-48)

The final story of the passage places Jesus in the south porch of the Temple complex, overturning the money changers and corban (sacrificial items) salesman. This was a provocative action, but it was also revealing:

19:45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,’ but you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.” 47 And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, 48 and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.

Did you see it? Some people rejected the rescuer, because they had an ECONOMIC MOTIVE. Surrender to Jesus would mean RESCUE – but it would also pull the cloak off of their GREED and SELFISH lifestyle that was so nurtured by them.

Others were quietly looking pious but seeking a way to STOP the Rescuer, because His FAME would rob them of THEIR FAME. They liked a world centered on THEM.

Deep within the heart is rooted a resistance to rescue.

Some reject rescue because they want CONTROL – but they don’t have it – because it is an illusion. Some reject rescue because they want POWER, MONEY or FAME – they don’t want to share the stage of their lives with a rescuer.

Only those who overcome the impulse to try and save themselves will make it through to life – the others will perish.

Isn’t it time you stop pushing away the RESCUER and let Him rescue you?

Grasping God's Purpose: "Smelling Like Worship" – Exodus 30

Did you ever feel like you were praying to the ceiling? Did you ever honestly feel like you were seeking God, but He was tied up doing something else and your issues were not on His heart? I am not suggesting this was true, but I am asking if you FELT that way. Do you know what I mean? Today, the Word beckons us back to the study of worship and intimacy with God. That study presupposes something about you… that you WANT to have a thriving walk with your Creator. It presupposes that you have a gnawing in your life that cannot be satisfied by food and drink, fun and recreation. That hole inside your innermost being is God shaped – and it has been with man since our mutiny of the Holy One in the Garden of Eden. We thought we could face life alone. We thought God was holding out on us something really good in that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After all, innocence, we thought, was for BABIES – and we were grown-ups. We thought it would set us free to shake our fist at God and sing the anthem: “I did it MY WAY!

The problem is that broken relationships that produce freedom in our schedule also leave a hole in our heart. Ask anyone that came out of a marriage. They had the familiar ring of the sixties singer as she sang: “one less man to pick up after” but they learned the song of lament: “I know I should be happy, but all I do is cry.” The backside of freedom is stark loneliness, and a deep hole that once had a relationship. That is man’s state apart from a new birth in their relationship with God today.

We have been attempting to do something great. We have desired to construct a beautiful picture of worship by looking at the Tabernacle – God’s planned construction effort based on His own plan. If you work through the whole of this study, there is a beautiful benefit – at the end you will see the complete masterpiece God designed to describe in visual terms the path of restoration for lost intimacy. Our work on this picture reminds me of another stunning progressive work made long ago… When Michelangelo painted God and man touching in the Sistine Chapel in the four years between 1508 and 1512, he could not paint the whole fresco at one time. In the “buon fresco” method, the fresh plaster had to be applied over a rough underlay, only in amounts that could be completed in one day. This area is called the giornata (“a day’s work”), and on very close inspection you can observe up close the different day stages in small seams that separate one giornata from the next. In the same way, we have been constructing a picture of worship and intimacy, but not in one sermon – one giornata. It has taken a few lessons, but only when you step back can you see the whole picture… and it is a beautiful one!

We started in Exodus 25 forging the pattern of worship. We saw that God offered a building program to model and even richer idea – how to KNOW Him again.

Key Principle: God left us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the Tabernacle, with each part showing something about both Him and us – leading us into His arms. The place and the experience should change us!

In God’s record, the description began on the inside of the central and most holy meeting place, at the Ark of the Covenant. It is as though God’s record began with the central issue: this is a meeting place that God wanted to manifest His character in some specific ways.

Furniture:

There were four of the furnishings in the order they were presented in Exodus 25 that told us of God’s plan for worship:

  • First, we focused on the Ark (Aw-rone), where we saw that true worship has the Word of God at its heart. (Exodus 25: 10-16)

The transportable container that contained the Word of the Living God was at the very center of the worship was to be God’s own Word. The center was not an emotional expression of powerful music, smoke machines, subtle lighting or ecstatic utterances. In fact, the box for the Word reminded us of three important details, that can in the form of commands: Carefully make a vessel for the Word, Keep it with you, Make it for God’s self revealed testimony.

  • Second, we followed the ark instructions to the fashioned lid, called the “Mercy Seat” (Kapporeth), where we noted that true worship is meeting God at the only place we can today – at the place covered in His mercy (Exodus 25: 17-22).

Just as angels prepare to stand in His Holy presence, I can do no less. He is the author or my life and my universe. Time with Him and a life walked together is life on the highest plane. Again, the Word revealed three important details: The place of mercy is the Interface with God, two angels stood watch and observed God’s mercy, and the place was where God summoned people – God drew them to His forgiveness.

  • Third, we stopped to note the table of the “Bread of His Presence” (Lechem Panim), where we were reminded that true worship takes constant renewed effort (Exodus 25:23-30).

God wanted a table of bread, made by human hands, so that people would recall that HE IS PRESENT WITH THEM.  Another three details were offered: Protect the bread from slipping with a rim – for the symbol represents something very precious; Keep the symbol of bread always renewed, and it will take work to make, maintain and protect.

  • Finally, we gazed at the fashioned Lampstand (Menorah), and were reminded that true worship dispels lies and highlights truth (Exodus 25:31-40)

The seven branches were hammered and fashioned out of gold with three stated details: The seven showed completion, the almond blossom (shaqad) showed God’s watch care (shoqed), and the light emphasized the truth.

The furnishings left us with a picture like this: the heart of worship is trusting in the Word of God and the Testimony of what He has done, seen through His mercy. The application of that mercy is found in the shed blood that is poured out for a sacrifice. We are to keep that record with us, as well as constantly working to keep in front of us the evidence of God’s good provisions. In all of this, we are to remember that whether we “see” Him or not, He is watching over us – and His truth lights our way.

Fabric:

Next, there were four coverings over the Holy Place and Holy of Holies that were related in Exodus 26:

  • First, the linen ceiling was described (26:1-6) as it was placed directly over the framework of wood (26:15-30). The fabric comprised the actual ceiling of the Sanctuary that could be seen on the inside when a priest entered the Holy Place. The fabric was assembled to two pieces from the ten panels (five and five connected by fashioned golden loops). They were colored in red, blue and purple on white panels, with images of cherubim on each panel. Three items stick out in the description: the count, color and characters:

On the Count we saw little reason to look for meaning beyond the practical. In the Colors: of the cloth with the specific six part WEAVE PATTERN – we saw that most often White denoted cleanliness –the “righteousness of the Saints” (Revelation 19:8), the garb of the armies of Heaven (Revelation 19:14). Obviously, the poetic use of the color was CLEAN (as in “whiter than snow” in Psalm 51:7). If the color is symbolic, it must relate to this idea. In the Blue, Purple and Scarlet: ROYAL SPLENDOR and MAJESTY of God in the Heavens, and this was His place of meeting.

  • Second, there were the Curtains Of Goats’ Hair (26:7-13) referred to as the “tent” was placed over the Curtains of Fine Linen.

The details of this curtain include the RAW MATERIAL, the SIZE of the woven material, and the ARRANGEMENT of the pieces. The color was brown – and the material was the INTELLIGENT weave of the GOAT HAIR that is used by Bedouin today in the desert. The hair was sheared from the GOAT – the animal of the primary SIN OFFERING (Chata’ah – cp. 4:24,5:6, 9:3) of Leviticus. Particularly on the Day of Atonement, two goats were presented to the Lord – one was killed as a sin offering, the other preserved alive as the SCAPEGOAT (Leviticus 16:7-10). Keep reading, because the third covering and the waterproof fourth suggest God was going somewhere with the pattern…

  • Third was the Rams’ Skin Dyed Red referred to as the Covering and was probably only on the top.
  • Finally, the whole structure was covered by a waterproof Covering of the “Tahash” Skins. This final covering was the only thing visible above the wall from the outside of the Tabernacle. (26:14).

Goats and Rams were a part of the sin payment system God set up in the sacrifices long ago. Add to that the other curtains above it, and I think the picture isn’t stretched – God wanted the people to connect to His ROYALTY but be covered by the sacrifice. As a Pastor today, it is EXACTLY that which I want for my flock. I want people to stand beneath the Cross, but stop allowing the shame that Jesus paid for to shadow over your sense of CALL, COMMISSION and PURPOSE.

God left us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the Tabernacle, with each part showing something about both Him and us – leading us into His arms. When we meet Him, we contact His splendor and majesty, and that can be a painful experience – because we LOSE our right to be a victim, and take on the identity of one called by the King… that is a painful moment to the lazy follower.

If you continue reading about the Tabernacle, after the Furniture and Fabric, there is quite a bit of information about the Fragrance – the aromas of the worship place.

Fragrances:

There were two aromas that show help us understand the Tabernacle – the anointing oil on the priests and furnishings, and the aroma of the incense burned on an altar that permeated the whole area.

The Smell that goes OUT: The Perfume of a God’s Holy Ones (30:22-33)

Exodus 30:22 Moreover, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, 24 and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 “With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. 29 “You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. 30 “You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. 31 “You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 ‘It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 ‘Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people.’”

The priests of God were to carry with them a distinct aroma. They smelled like where they worked! The place of worship was to have a specific fragrance. The things of God exuded the bouquet of God. What did it smell like? Well, first, we have to admit we really don’t know. It wasn’t imitated because of the prohibition in Exodus 30:32-33. Like the unspoken name of YHWH, we have fewer people who encountered the method of mixing the oils – so there are few sources. The Bible offers this about the ingredients:

  • 2 parts myrrh (Mor- darror: “free flowing or pure myrrh) – if shekel is understood (200 oz. by weight).
  • 1 part cinnamon (kinamone: from erect; a bark) – if shekel is understood (100 oz. by weight).
  • 1 part fragrant cane (kaneh-bosem) – if shekel is understood (100 oz. by weight).
  • 2 parts cassia (kiddaw: from kawdad – to bow down or split) – if shekel is understood (200 oz. by weight).

All of these were crushed and blended into a little less than a gallon of virgin olive oil. That would yield more than a five gallon bucket of liquid when bound.

The Uses of Oil

Oil was not an unusual substance to the Biblical person. They used it, as did the Egyptians they were leaving, for many purposes:

  • Cleaning: People anointed themselves with oil, as a means of “cleaning”, refreshing or invigorating their bodies (Deuteronomy 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam 14:2; Micah 6:15; Psalms 104:15, Proverbs 27:9).
  • Etiquette: Anointing was an act of hospitality (Luke 7:38,46); in royal situations a preparation for physical contact with the King or Prince (Esther 2:12).
  • Gifts or Displays of Wealth: The wealthy were perfumed (Song of Songs 4:10; John 12:3-5).
  • Medicine: Oil was applied to the fevered, and also to wounds and skin abrasions (Psalms 109:18; Isaiah 1:6; Mark 6:13; James 5:14). Sometimes it was a comfort to those who were in pain, and a reminder they were not alone. It often also carried an antiseptic quality.
  • War: The expression, “oil the shields” (Isaiah 21:5), refers to the custom of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple in final preparations for battle.
  • Preparation for disintegration: The bodies of the dead were often anointed (Mark 14:8; Luke 23:56;John 12:3)
  • Consecration of the Holy: Be they priests Exodus 29:29; Leviticus 4:3) or the sacred vessels (Exodus 30:26) – perfumed oil was used. Both the high priest and the king were called “the anointed” (Leviticus 4:3,5,16; 6:20; Psalms 132:10).
  • Messiah: The Promised One was called the “Anointed” or Messiah (Psalms 2:2; Daniel 9:25,26; John 1:41; Acts 9:22; 17:2,3; 18:5,28), the Messiah of the Old Testament.

We cannot be certain of the plants, and we have “holes” in our knowledge of the exact measures, but we can say several things about the aroma of the priests:

First, it was associated with the essential CLEAN smell of the time. It was the smell of WELCOME HOSPITALITY and the smell of SAFE and WELL CARED FOR people. I don’t want to over-stretch the purpose of the narrative, but there are a few things I think we can safely say about God’s intent:

  • God wanted His priests to look, act and smell clean: they were to keep themselves unspotted by the world’s dirt. This didn’t mean they didn’t get both dirty and bloody to intercede and help the repentant sinner – that came with the job. What it meant was they didn’t choose to get dirty for any other reason. They prepared and maintained their cleanliness SO THAT THEY WERE PREPARED to be used of God. Does God expect less from His people today? Peter pointed out to the Gentiles he wrote to: 1 Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.    

  • God wanted neighboring people to NOTICE the place and people of worship: He wanted the world about them to know that He was their God – He provided for them well. From the day in Genesis 22 that Abraham exclaimed the name of the place of sacrifice “The Lord will See (Provide) – Jehovah Jireh”, it was clear that God wanted to be known by His holy provision. When King David exclaimed (Psalm 37:25): “I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.” – his heart was to show God as GIVING, LOVING and NOT STINGY. I openly wonder if we praise God for the incredible extravagance He pours out on us regularly? Do unbelievers hear how we feel about GOD or how we complain about GOVERNMENT more?

It is time for God’s people to pick up the PRAISE put down the PROTEST. We need to draw in people with a winsomeness and JOY about how GOOD GOD is to us!

  • God wanted His own people to notice that He that was an inviting God – a God that beckoned them to come to Him. He offered great invitations to them, as He does to us. Jesus beckoned: Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” I wonder if our children associate a life lived for Jesus as a HEAVY LIFE? I wonder if they see church as a hassle and the Bible as a rule book. Isn’t it time we showed them something better?

Let me say it plainly: We need to smell different than the lost world around us. We need to smell like a place that is inviting, hospitable, happy and safe. If we smell harsh – they will not come to meet our Savior. If we smell fake – they will feel we are suckering them in for the sake of their wallets, or something of that sort. It is time for a cleaning in many lives in the church – so that the place will SMELL BETTER.

The Smell that Goes UP: The Incense that God smelled (Exodus 30:34-38)

The other smell in the Tabernacle was not to change the atmosphere for the neighbors nor for the worshippers – it was a smell for GOD HIMSELF. That God loved the smell of the sacrifice is well documented (see Leviticus 3:16, 6:21). Yet, God also awaited to SMELL the prayers that were so well embraced by the aroma of a sweet incense.  The time of prayer was the time of the incense burning, because the two were mixed together into the nostrils of God. Luke opened with the story of the time of incense burning:  Luke 1:8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

This was a special moment before God –a time when God perceived in a special way the needs and presentation of His people. It was a pleasing aroma to Him:

Exodus 30:34 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. 35 “With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 “You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 “The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the LORD. 38 “Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people.”

Look closely at the ingredients. We don’t know if God intended us to see anything in them, but the rabbis of old certainly did – all in relation to PRAYER:

  • Stacte – is Nataf in Hebrew. which was a bitter gum resin that naturally oozes to the surface. Some rabbis noted in sermons long ago that it appeared on the face of the tree forced out of the inner heart of the tree by some stress or pressure, causing it to be abundant on the outside of the tree. Still others noted that God made the tree with so much sap that it always had much to “give away”. What is clear is that it was a resin that oozed out of the tree – as some of our prayers do from our heart because of stress and pressures that we need to pour out willingly to God, or our abundance from which it flows.
  • Onycha – is shekh-ay’-leth in Hebrew, (an unused root in association with a lion’s roar). The word likely refers to the operculum (closing flap of gill in fish, but a special gland in some shell fish). This comes from below the surface of the Red Sea and may be representative of prayers from the “depths”… Some prayer comes from the depths of our lives that need to be carefully rooted out of the encased shells of our lives, and shared with the God who loves us. It is the only way deep issues can be healed!
  • Galbanum – (Chelbanum from cheleb or fat – drawn out) – is a word used for a number of differing processes – as in being tapped from the commiphora tree like Maple Syrup. A tap is burrowed from the outside into the tree, piercing the exterior and “wounding the tree” to get the bitterness inside out. Some prayer, the rabbis taught, was to empty our souls of the bitterness trapped within us before God, who alone could handle it. The word is now more commonly associated with the extraction from “Ferula gummosa” –  a low shrub of Persian slopes. Galbanum of this type is used in the making of modern perfume – the ingredient which gives the distinctive smell to the fragrances “Must” by Cartier, and “Chanel No. 19”.
  • Frankencense – is tapped from Boswellia trees and is milky white in color.  Frankencense is “levonah” in Hebrew, (lavan=white). It is not only white in color, it makes a thick whitened smoke when it burns. Many Old City shops carry it and Catholic Churches use it in the incensers to this day. The point is that it’s addition to the incense was that, like the prayers of God’s people, it made an impact or a change that was evident to all. Prayer changes people and the spiritual atmosphere with a noticeable fragrance and color.

By the time of Paul’s journeys in the first century, incense had a whole different connotation to a Roman. He didn’t think PRAYER – he thought PARADE!

This was as natural as the mind link between July 4th and fireworks in the American mind. Let me explain.  As Rome spread her control over the Mediterranean – eventually calling it “Mare Nostrum” or “Our Sea” – it became the custom from the time of the Emperors to welcome victorious generals and their troops to the Rome with a massive celebration – The Roman Triumph, or POMPA. In fact, the purpose of those ARCHES all over ancient Rome were to add a “Station” to the Pompa procession. State Pompa processions generally followed the Via Sacra through the Forum and (after Domition) ended at the Coliseum.

In order to celebrate the Triumph some conditions had to be satisfied:

  • The general being honored must have been the field commander.
  • The campaign had to be completed, the region pacified, and the troops brought home.
  • Though the number is unclear, it seems that at least 5000 of the enemy must have died in battle.
  • The conquest must have contributed to Roman expansion – though this was sometimes strained.
  • It must have been against a foreign foe, not a civil war.

A typically procession would follow this order:

  • State officials and Roman Senators
  • Trumpeters.
  • Spoils of war (after 70 CE they brought the Menorah, the Table of the Bread of Presence and gold trumpets in Titus’ Triumph of the Jewish War.)
  • Pictures of the conquered land, models of ships destroyed and citadels captured.
  • A white bull to be sacrificed.
  • Captives in chains: Enemy princes, generals and leaders to be executed.
  • Lictors: Officials bearing fasces (bound rods) who cleared the way for the person(s) to be honored.
  • Musicians playing lyres.
  • Priests carrying censers of perfume. To the victors it was a perfume of joy, triumph and life. To the following captives it spoke of defeat and death.
  • The general in a chariot drawn by 4 (white?) horses. The general wore a purple tunic with gold palm leaves and over it a purple toga with gold stars.
  • The general’s family.
  • His army wearing their decorations and shouting “Lo triumphe!” (words from the original name of Bacchus).

Other priests were positioned along the line of march along with an honor guard of soldiers holding holding urns of burning incense. The aroma would be sweet to the victors, but the smell of death or permanent enslavement to those in chains. Days of celebration would follow during which many of the captives would be offered to Roman vanity and bloodletting in the arena. For the victors there were fame, fortune and honors. For the captives there was slavery or death.

Paul said the smell of our outreach is the very same thing to those we share Christ among:

2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

God left us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the Tabernacle, with each part showing something about both Him and us – leading us into His arms. The place and the experience should change us! It should make us SMELL LIKE WORSHIPPERS. It should draw people to a CHOICE – they will come in, or they will walk away to avoid the fragrance.

The End of the World: “The Truth Below the Surface” – Revelation 14

They were all having fun in the sun. As the small waves crashed in, they made a sound that was much bigger than was truly represented by their size. Some of the now reddened sunbathers were enjoying the lazy pursuits of sand castle making, while others were strewn out along the beach, lying out on towels like the resting seals on an island of the Galapagos. Just a few feet into the water there were literally dozens of tube-laden swimmers. Some were riding waves, but most were just bobbing up and down to the rhythm of the sea’s movements. Above them on the shore sat a lifeguard slumped back in his seat, scanning across the surface of the water. The smell of salt air mixed with coconut oil from the Coppertone sunscreen together with the light glistening on the water had a mesmerizing effect – even on the lifeguard. In fact, watching the dancing rays of the sun against the moving water threatened to hypnotize him. Suddenly, the light flashed as it caught a brief point of deflection that snapped the lifeguard from his stupor. It was a fin – and the lifeguard knew what was beneath the water where that fin was exposed – a shark. He stood up on the step that was joined to the front of his seat and looked through his binoculars. As he gauged the danger, he began to blow his whistle. When people were moving too slowly, he raised his hand to his mouth and called out the word that motivated all of them… “Shark! Shark!” People began to flee to the beach. The lifeguard knew an important truth…The power and danger of the shark lay beneath the surface.

It is a lesson worth remembering: It is often not what we SEE that shows the real power – it is only the tip of the power that is exposed. That is true for all that God’s enemy does – but it is also true of God Himself.

Key Principle: What earth sees is a mere shadow of reality. The real world is the SPIRITUAL WORLD that is beneath the surface of the physical universe’s mask. This world perishes – that one preceded it and will be there when this one is finished.

Paul knew this truth. He said: 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

As John introduced this critical truth that will help guide Tribulation believers through troubles in the way it had helped Paul through persecution – John, under Divine inspiration, opened the door to helping the believer see the powers of darkness beneath their extreme earthly troubles. Let me remind you of our story and the “dark team” that was exposed in the last few chapters of Revelation that we have been studying together. They were the “beneath the surface” evil team – an unholy trinity – that was revealed in Revelation 12 and 13:

  • The “father figure” was a dragon that was clearly identified as Satan – who was bested in Heaven and was tossed to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9), ending the whining and droning against the people of God in Heaven’s corridors
  • His fall to earth coincided with the appearance of the “son figure” of this unholy trinity – the Antichrist. Called the “man of sin” and various other names – he burst on the scene as a startling new political force after being mortally wounded and then miraculously raised. His initial legislation purposed to offer bold peace initiatives, all the while stockpiling weaponry and trading power around the earth. A rising confederation of earth’s powers formed an axis of evil at the Antichrist’s command. His confederation acted as ONE, but was swift, powerful and transformative.
  • Eventually, the dragon pulled in a second ally in the Tribulation – a “spirit figure” in the unholy trinity. This beast was described as LIKE THE FIRST and a HARLOT (Revelation 17) that attempted to spiritually satisfy men’s need for relationship outside the God given boundaries of intimacy with HIM. This was both a false religious beast, and a sign oriented magnet pull of popularity. It had a propaganda ability and pointed to the Antichrist. This one was all about spreading the Antichrist’s BRAND.

That team that was built to wound believers and destroy the coming Kingdom was exposed to ENCOURAGE SUFFERING BELIEVERS. It was exposed to bring confidence to the flagging heart. By Revelation 14, it became important for John to make clear that God wasn’t sitting on the sidelines. The Creator had a team prepared also – and His team was accomplishing His desires in stark contrast to what it appeared on earth. Things looked BAD on earth, but they weren’t bad- they were following the long scripted plan of the Most High.

On first inspection you see that both Heaven and Earth are coordinated spiritually in the message and judgment delivered to the earth. God has a bigger team just “beneath the surface” of the physical world. He is not holding back because He cannot marshal His forces – patience alone delays His coming!  God inserted the information about what HE was doing in a PARENTHETICAL statement – the fifth of seven such parentheses in the book according to the old commentator Dake. This one begins: “AND I LOOKED…”

What John described were seven people or events that caught his attention:

  • The 144,000 witnesses that followed the Lamb (14:1-5)
  • Angel #1: The Gospel of the Tribulation Period (14:6-7)
  • Angel #2: The Indictment of Babylon (14:8)
  • Angel #3: Call to both the Marked and the Martyrs (14:9-14)
  • Angel #4: Call to Commence Judgment (14:15-16)
  • Angel #5: Judgment Reaping Begins (14:17)
  • Angel #6: Grapes of Wrath Harvest (14:18-20)

Even a quick glance at the list reveals that six of the seven beings that caught John’s eye were angels that related to judgment. In the Bible, angels have been ascribed the primary role in executing judgment. One such clear example is in the teaching of the seven step parable in Matthew 13, where Jesus clearly enunciated this role for angels:

Matthew 13:24 “…The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”…36 “… His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

In an important way, the record of Revelation 14 is the fulfillment of that incredible promise.

Essentially, the words of Jesus are the outline for Revelation 14: The Son of Man sends the angels to reap. The passage, therefore opens with position of the Lamb and His people, and then moves to the reaping call of the angels:

The Lamb and His 144,000 workers (14:1-5)

Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion

Some may wonder why we don’t begin with the Lamb and His movements – instead of the 144,000 – in light of the fact that the Lamb is clearly mentioned first in the passage. Let me say something that some will find hard to grasp, but if you keep reading and keep studying, it may offer more help than confusion. Taking the text literally doesn’t imply that we don’t understand that even literal speech has common metaphor. When we read that “all the world” went out to hear John the Baptizer – we don’t picture the Chinese of the Han Dynasty on the bank of the Jordan River. We understand there are common ways to say things. When Jesus spoke of the “two or three gathered together” in the context of judgment – He promised to be “in the midst of them”. This was to be a comfort as they judged difficult things… not an implication that He would materialize and “beam down” when they got together. Normal metaphor doesn’t collide with literal understanding, but we must be careful to judge where it appears and where it does not. I mention this because the passage we are in now has a “tricky” part to it – it is not clear where the players are in 14:1-5. It opens with the Lamb on “Mt. Zion”, and it looks to some like Jesus left Heaven and relocated to Jerusalem. Others move Mt. Zion to Heaven and see it as the “Heavenly Zion” (cp. Hebrews 12:22-13), a perfectly reasonable way to see the mentioning of a city in a metaphor (though I do not think that is what he is doing in Revelation 14).

Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

That Revelation 14 is set in Heaven is one of a series of possibilities, but not what I believe is going on in the passage. If you follow the rest of the description of the 144,000 in the coming verses, they appear to be ON THE EARTH, making decisions that would not be made in Heaven – like not defiling themselves sexually. Since they are WITH the Lamb, it seems more proper that the use is a metaphor. I believe John is trying to indicate that God’s witnesses were on earth, remaining undefiled and offering the truth – and that Jesus was their center – they followed Him. I believe he meant it the way I mean it at a wedding, when I tell a couple to FOLLOW JESUS and KEEP HIM IN THE CENTER OF YOUR HOME. I mean metaphorically – not strictly literally – and everyone in the room knows that.

Look at verse one again. It may look to you (as it does to me) that the opening description of the Lamb’s presence is mentioned to assure the reader the 144,000 are following the Messiah, and they are following the Law – since they are Jewish believers. There are many today who really do not understand Messianic believers. They ostracize them, or make them feel really strange. We should keep in mind that if Revelation 14 is to be understood literally, as I believe it should, MESSIANISM will carry the Gospel to the world in the Tribulation Period. They will have no better reputation in the world then they do now – but God will use them as His primary vehicle to reach the world! This doesn’t mean that everything they do is correct today, but it does mean they will carry a very significant role in the coming days.

The Dedication of the 144,000 (14:1)

They are believers that follow BOTH a dedication to the words of the Father (from the estranged Jewish bride of the Father) and follow the Lamb – they are Messianic Jews. Their placement on Zion is another clue to their identity. Zion is used in Scripture as both a Heavenly ideal – and the eternal city at the end of Revelation – and an earthly city of Promise with Messiah the King (Psalm 2, 48, Isaiah 2, 24, Joel 2:32, etc).

14:1b “…and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Before we go on with the description of these Tribulation believers, can I ask you a question? What MARKS your head? Are you embracing the world’s system in your thinking so fully that your life is patterned by the way they think. I am not going all fuzzy on the mark of the beast here – I am simply using the pattern of Scripture.  You see, long before, God told Jewish fathers to teach their children the Scriptures in Deuteronomy 6:7:  “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Orthodox Jews have taught their disciples to put a Mezuzah on their doorposts. They were instructed to bind phylacteries on their arms and forehead. We don’t do it in a PHYSICAL way as I was shown in my education in Jerusalem – we take it as a common metaphor, that God wanted fathers to BIND THE LAW on their children by making it relevant to them in everyday life – and illustrating how God worked daily in their home. It isn’t WRONG to buy a phylactery and bind the Law to a child, but a box with little written scrolls stuck to their head won’t draw their allegiance to God any more than sleeping on my Math textbook would naturally cause me to understand Mathematics. The binding must be about TEACHING VALUES or the box binding won’t help.

In the same way, I need to ask: What values are bound on your head? Is morality determined in your mind by what a majority of people SAY about things? Did you choose your life path by what would give you the best INCOME, or rather by seeking God for direction? Is right and wrong in your heart determined by People Magazine or God’s eternal truth? Listen to these prophetic words of Al Mohler:  In a day of rampant moral relativism and social experimentation, Americans have been engaged in a free-for-all exercise in cultural revolution. But when the experiment is directed at marriage, the fallout is sure to be uniquely tragic. The legalization and cultural acceptance of same-sex marriage will mean, ultimately, the destruction of marriage itself. Without a coherent vision of marriage, the entire society will eventually find itself completely unable to regulate sexual behavior or personal relationships. What happens when the next “sexual lifestyle” gains civil rights status? Those who charge that even raising such a question is scare-mongering, must face the simple fact that the question is unavoidable. Intellectual honesty demands that we recognize the fact that acceptance of same-sex marriage implies–to anyone who has even the slightest commitment to intellectual integrity–the acceptance of any adult consensual sexual lifestyle as legitimate and ultimately deserving of legalized status. (Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.) So I ask again, Who is setting the bar for the definitions of your heart, and your actions. Do we really believe that soon the church will not be standing alone in the message of sexual purity? If we do, are you prepared to put your life up as an example of it? Who is marking your decision making patterns – whose mark do you carry on your head?

The Direction of the 144,000 (14:2-3a)

Dropped into the middle of their description is a voice and choir from Heaven that gives them direction. They got the cues of their message from Heaven, and truths revealed to them that no one appears to have accessed. Revelation 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they (in Heaven) sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand

The Description of the 144,000 (14:3b-5)

Look at the description of these 144,000 witnesses and then ask this question: When the church is removed, how many people will think that sexual purity is even a concern. How many care about it even NOW? Watching what is happening in our country in our time, we must see the stark difference between these witnesses and the sweeping European and American remaking of moral codes: Revelation 14:3b “…who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

  • They were PURCHASED out of the earth – they are not like them.
  • They were not drawn into sensual practices – they worked at chastity and abstinence.
  • They followed the LAMB – when everyone else followed the DRAGON.
  • They told the TRUTH – when their world was so deceived it did not believe that TRUTH could even be known.

Sadly, this could be said of Christians in a local high school in many school districts. It could be said of college students that desired to have a testimony on their college campus. The dark standards of our world are permeating our times so very quickly that these description points can already be seen as a HIGH CONTRAST to the prevailing world view of our times!

Now, in a swift pass over the text, let’s see six angels swoop into the scene:

Angel #1: The Gospel of the Tribulation Period (14:6-7)

Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

The first angels brings a message of the eternal Gospel (that salvation in every age was always by grace through faith and in no other way). The angel pushed out the message to be sure that all men on earth had the opportunity to know God, though few thought it worth listening to. He also brought the additional part of the Gospel that we don’t preach in the technical giving of the message today: That the church is gone and the last days of judgment had come. The call to worship God is interesting formed around the CREATION MESSAGE that had probably been long removed from society by lab coated men and women of the sciences. Clinging to the message of Creation was part of the final stage of reaching out in response to the truth of God.

Angel #2: The Indictment of Babylon (14:8)

Revelation 14:8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

The second angel pointed out that the system of men was morally bankrupt, and that was a central truth of the message of the witnesses. It is quickly becoming the central truth to our ministries in these latter days as well.

Angel #3: Call to both the Marked and the Martyrs (14:9-14)

The third angel offered a message to two people groups of the earth. First, he warned people who were making the decision to follow the beast that it had dire consequences that were absolutely eternal. As churches move away from a message of hell, it is easy to hear how collared clergy will line up against such a message: Revelation  14: 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

That same angel seemed to signal that martyrdom was becoming the order of the day. In my view, the 144,000 get their protection removed at this point, and they begin to be culled from the earth by evil men, which brings a step up in the tempo of Heaven’s judgment against earth’s mutineers: Revelation 14:12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

Angel #4: Call to Commence Judgment (14:15-16)

The tempo of judgment continues with one judgment following another – for the time had come: Revelation  14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Angel #5: Judgment Reaping Begins (14:17)

Still another of God’s army lashed out in threshing the earth… Revelation  14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

Angel #6: Grapes of Wrath Harvest (14:18-20)

The final grape harvest – a wine of blood of men – was now on the horizon: Revelation  14:18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

Things looked VERY BAD on earth. It appeared that God was LOSING as the earth’s witnesses were being destroyed. In fact, God’s team was accomplishing His long-before scripted plan. I take great COMFORT in that truth. Why? Because it forces me to admit once again that I am not qualified to know when God is losing!

  • When the country ebbs into sin-sickness in our school system – I cry out to God and complain, “Why don’t you DO SOMETHING Lord?” – because I think I can tell who is winning by what is happening – but I cannot.
  • When the political frame of the country seems to be reeling and no candidate seems to be able to identify Biblical values wholly and model them – I wonder why God doesn’t raise up someone different – but I do not know His plan.
  • When the economic values of our homes are decreased and our currency loses its value around the globe I complain to the Lord that mission dollars to not go far anymore – but I must humble myself and recognize that God is working His plan.
  • When our historic foundations are eroded to the point that the influence of Christ and the Gospel in the formation of the country is out rightly denied while damaging beliefs and religious groups gain a more solid foothold of rights in our government than we have – I weep, but God is on His path to victory, and all things are happening as he would have them.
  • When this generation of unborn American children are slaughtered out of a perverse desire for selfish convenience I cry out to Him repeatedly – “God, where are You? Why don’t you stop this terrible nightmare.” He says, “Just do your part, for I know where I am taking your nation.”

When I cry God answers! He shows me the truth. I see only the fin of power. The real power is beneath the wave.

I am no ample judge of the Almighty’s plan. I do not see what the enemy is really doing – nor do I understand how God will take evil and overturn it into GOOD. I see the FIN, but not the FISH. I see the PROBLEMS but not the PLAN.

In the moments I become most angry, I show the most ungodly ego. When I complain about what God is allowing, I am masking the real complaint – what God is DOING. His patience with evil is a constant sore point to me – because I believe I understand the plan.

Israel weeps in darkness and blindness as God has focus His holy attention on the many of us from another nation, people, kindred and tongue. To US this is a marvelous plan… we love being the object of God’s affection. Consider the words of Paul to the Romans 9:22:

“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make know the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even US, whom He also called, not from among the Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”

Those words are set in a context that says that God turned His face away from Israel for a time to BLESS the other people of the world, like me – to allow the Gospel to go to the ends of the earth through the temporary, mutual rejection between Israel and God. From my standpoint that is GREAT – because God opened a door for my access. If I were looking from Israel’s standpoint – I would not be nearly so enthusiastic. The salvation of the world sounds great, but I wouldn’t want the darkness to fall on my own family. In the final analysis, if I were Israel, I would have to admit that this is the way God chose to tell His story – and His way is always best. Can we say less about our own times?

Can I not admit that when I am disgusted by the world’s sin sickness – it is BOTH a reminder of man’s mutiny and of God’s patience? That should quiet my heart. It MUST quiet my soul. The fact is that what the earth sees – and what I can see now apart from the discerning light of the Word of God – is a mere shadow of reality. Beneath the surface lurks the SPIRITUAL WORLD operating but masked by the physical universe. The real is hidden, the temporal is seen… and mature believers learn the difference between the two – and which to rely upon.

Grasping God's Purpose: "Reunion of the Royal Pains" – Exodus 26:1-14

If you have been on the planet long enough, you know what a humiliation a class reunion can be. What an event! You travel to some distant place and meet with people that intersected with your life for a time long gone by. Admittedly, you journeyed together for a time, but since those days you may not have been “in” each other’s daily lives. That produces some awkwardness to the whole thing. Perhaps you were a pimply and skinny little kid when they last saw you. Maybe you were several dress sizes below your current greatest possible hope when you donned the cap and gown in their presence. All in all, reunions are intimidating… especially if it has been a long time since you saw each other.

 I mention this, because in a strange way, our study of the Tabernacle, as we have been passing through the Exodus account, brings us to the place of a reunion. In the beginning, God walked with man in the Garden – but man’s mutiny made a continuation of that daily intimacy impossible without a sacrificial system. The idea of the creation of a special place of meeting was God’s answer to man’s need for a continued reunion. Worship and intimacy were woven together in God’s establishment of the moveable meeting place – the mishkan, or Tabernacle.

How important was this place and what it represents in worship and meeting to God Who revealed it to us through Moses? Consider what Pastor Jerry Shirley pointed out in his study on this passage years ago. He made the observation that when God created he Heavens with the myriad of stars, He recalled that stunning creation in all of FIVE WORDS: “He made the stars also…” (Gen. 1:26). That was it! It is as though God was not terribly impressed by the accomplishment…

Solar masses, hot coronas, stellar winds, fusion reactions, luminosity, red giants, white dwarfs, black dwarfs, supernovas, pulsars and neutron stars… all one quintillion of them got a five word mention in the Creation account.

Why do I mention this? Because God devoted fifty chapters to the Tabernacle! God seemed far more interested in Moses’ recording the reunion hall designed to gather both God and man than the placing of the starry heavens above us. Alas, it seems God was far more interested in intimacy with man than the beauty and majesty of the physical universe.

We were in Exodus 25, last time together – on a search of the pattern of worship. We saw that God offered a building program to model and even richer idea – how to worship Him.

Key Principle: God left us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the Tabernacle, with each part showing something about both Him and us – leading us into His arms. When we meet Him, we contact His splendor and majesty, and that can be a painful experience. It reminds us that we have been chosen to accomplish His purposes.

You may have noticed that in the reading through Exodus, God unfolded the story in a way that is different than many of us would have. The record of the worship center did not begin with the outer court and move us into the place of the Holy of Holies – the way you would have approached it after it was built. Rather, in God’s record, the description began on the inside of the central and most holy meeting place, at the Ark of the Covenant. It is as though God’s record began with the central issue: this is a meeting place that God wanted to manifest His character in some specific ways. We saw in our last lesson four of the furnishings in the order they were presented in Exodus 25. Before we move ahead, let’s review them – because we are in the midst of establishing a pattern.

First, we focused on the Ark (Aw-rone), where we saw that true worship has the Word of God at its heart. (Exodus 25: 10-16)

The transportable container that contained the Word of the Living God was at the very center of the worship was to be God’s own Word. The center was not an emotional expression of powerful music, smoke machines, subtle lighting or ecstatic utterances. In fact, the box for the Word reminded us of three important details, that can in the form of commands: Carefully make a vessel for the Word, Keep it with you, Make it for God’s self revealed testimony.

Second, we followed the ark instructions to the fashioned lid, called the “Mercy Seat” (Kapporeth), where we noted that true worship is meeting God at the only place we can today – at the place covered in His mercy (Exodus 25: 17-22).

Just as angels prepare to stand in His Holy presence, I can do no less. He is the author or my life and my universe. Time with Him and a life walked together is life on the highest plane. Again, the Word revealed three important details: The place of mercy is the Interface with God, two angels stood watch and observed God’s mercy, and the place was where God summoned people – God drew them to His forgiveness.

Third, we stopped to note the table of the “Bread of His Presence” (Lechem Panim), where we were reminded that true worship takes constant renewed effort (Exodus 25:23-30).

God wanted a table of bread, made by human hands, so that people would recall that HE IS PRESENT WITH THEM.  Another three details were offered: Protect the bread from slipping with a rim – for the symbol represents something very precious; Keep the symbol of bread always renewed, and it will take work to make, maintain and protect.

Finally, we gazed at the fashioned Lampstand (Menorah), and were reminded that true worship dispels lies and highlights truth (Exodus 25:31-40)

The seven branches were hammered and fashioned out of gold with three stated details: The seven showed completion, the almond blossom (shaqad) showed God’s watch care (shoqed), and the light emphasized the truth.

By the end of our study then, we determined that true worship is HONEST. True worship takes constant renewal. True worship is centered in God’s Word… and true worship is dependent upon God’s mercy expressed in the blood that covered us when Jesus gave of Himself. Every other kind of “worship” is just singing, talking…  just a show… and God isn’t interested in the productions we can put on in His name.

Chapter 26 skips other furnishings and moves rather to “The Four Coverings Over the Holy Place”

First, The ceiling linen is described (26:1-6) were placed directly over the Framework and comprised the actual roof or ceiling of the Sanctuary (26:1-6). They were in ten panels (five and five connected by fashioned golden loops), they were colored in red, blue and purple on white panels, the had images of cherubim on them.

Exodus 26:1 Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman . 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits , and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements. 3 Five curtains shall be joined to one another , and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another. 4 You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set , and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set . 5 You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain , and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set ; the loops shall be opposite each other . 6 You shall make fifty clasps of gold , and join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit .

When you observe the detail concerning the linen ceiling, three items stick out: the number, color and characters. There is a danger here, and we need to acknowledge it. Bible students cannot assume that everything has a symbolic meaning, and in fact, doing so can lead to all kinds of error. We need to be careful to stay inside the parameters of what God indicates in the revealed Word. Yet, there are some generalizations that we can make:

Of the number: there are those who look for how TEN is used everywhere in the Bible and find things like the CORE COMMANDS of the CIVIL CODE. That is interesting, but I suspect the matter was as simple as dividing the curtains to allow them to assemble the ceiling in two parts because of the weight in the placement – I see little reason to look for meaning in the number. Having built one in the Wilderness of Judea some years ago, I found that adding too much cloth was nearly impossible, as the structure was delicate enough to require real care in the assembly. I personally think that God was warning them about the dangers and making the assembly easier. If that is NOT the case, I am lost on why there is specification to assemble them five and five with hooks.

Of the colors: Though I am uncomfortable with some efforts by Bible commentators to identify meaning in the colors white, red, purple and blue, the narrative takes pains to identify that the cloth does have a WEAVE PATTERN: The mention of three colors on the LINEN (Shesh – as in a six part weave) suggests that the linen was three white strands to each three colored – a six part pattern. (Its actual look is a matter of conjecture).

  • White: We could quickly show white in the post judged individuals of Revelation, and even see that the white linen was the “righteousness of the Saints” (Revelation 19:8), the garb of the armies of Heaven (Revelation 19:14), a garb of honor in Esther 8:15 and the garb of priests and Levites and even SINGERS on occasion in the Temple (2 Chronicles 5:12). There is no need to identify a symbolic meaning to color – but it is interesting that white is so common when it has to do with righteousness, judgment and the service of God in the priestly office. Obviously, the poetic use of the color was CLEAN (as in “whiter than snow” in Psalm 51:7). If the color is symbolic, it must relate to this idea.
  • Blue, Purple and Scarlet: Though these are very distinct colors in the modern world of fast dyes and exacting color blends, the technology of dye making was somewhat more elemental during the time of Moses. The three colors were not all predictably made, and all were made by extracting from the murex snail glands the dye base. The extreme expense of shucking 10,000 snails to get a thimble full of dye base made the color something extravagant and expensive. Red, blue and purple cloth was expensive cloth. We get the term “ROYAL BLUE” from the remembrance that only royalty could afford such fast dyes in the ancient world.

Blue: (Hebrew: Tekhayleth) Used more than 49 times in Priestly garb and curtains, this color was a marker for ROYALTY. The name “tekhayleth” comes from the word “shecheleth” for the shell creature.

Purple: (Hebrew: Argaman) With 38 references in the Hebrew scriptures, this was clearly used for the garments of KINGS and CHIEFS, as in the Midianite chieftains of Judges 8:26 –  this was a royal color.

Scarlet: (Hebrew: Shawnee) This color was mentioned some 42 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, most often in reference to SPLENDOR. Some make reference to Isaiah 1:18 and “though your sins be as scarlet” – but again it is not certain that this is the intent or that God had a specific picture in mind in the color.

What is the BIG DEAL with the ceiling linen? What seems very safe to conclude about the colors of the covering is that they denoted the ROYAL SPLENDOR and MAJESTY of God in the Heavens, and this was His place of meeting.

Israelites saw such colors surrounding the throne of the Egyptian Pharaoh. They knew the colors of POWER and SPLENDOR. The most shocking part of their new life in the wilderness was that Moses didn’t live in a majestic tent – just another place like theirs. He was ONE OF THEM, though he was the one that God designated as leader. God told the people to cover the place of MEETING WITH GOD in the colors of MAJESTY —  but why? There really is an importance to the detail. Let’s not skip past this footnote, let’s stop and ask a question here: What do you picture in your mind when you pray – Who captures the image of God in your thinking? Is He a sheriff, a father, a coach?

A.W Tozer wrote: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Our view of God patterns much of our thinking about everything else.

Do you think of God as “His Majesty”? Is He a RULER worthy of obedience and loyalty, or merely a friend and provider. In our efforts to pull our lives in line with the God revealed in Scripture, is it possible that we shaped Him and reduced His rank in our minds? In our democracy, is it possible we struggle now to recognize the right of Kings to require submission?

I love the phrase used in appointment ceremonies by those in the West Wing of the White House: “I serve by the order of and at the pleasure of the President.” Do we think that way about our God, or have we refashioned Him to be all about taking care of our desires, needs and wants?

If we were completely honest, some of us would admit the majesty of God and His transforming power are not what we truly want. I like the writer Tim Hansel, that reminded us in his book “When I Relax I feel Guilty” an insight of what most people want from God: “I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.”  Transformation, worship and submission are all really scary concepts to modern man. The days of the kings are long past, and not remembered well. Yet, God offered a gentle reminder to Israel as they traveled that He was not there to be there buddy, magic genie, or supply sergeant. He was there as their KING – and He is ours as well.

The beauty, color and splendor of the cloth helped the people to sense Who God is.

I find the same thing can happen even today: Recently I read a story told by a naval chaplain: “When I was stationed in Italy, the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Chaplains came for a visit. One of our Chaplains, Lt. Neil James, was in charge of arranging for a personal visit to some of the large Roman Catholic cathedral down town. While the Chief of Chaplains and Neil were in this beautiful cathedral, there were also a fairly large group of American tourists. These tourists were in reverence and admiration at the workmanship of the chancellor area. It was completely silent as they felt the wonderment of God in this building. They were engulfed in the splendor of the moment. The Chief of Chaplains had gotten separated from Neil but he saw him standing by the Confessional Booths talking to a friend, a priest that served this church. The Chief of Chaplains raised his voice and called out and said “Neil”. The entire tourist group dropped to their knees at the Chancellor Rail.” That made me smile – people so overtaken in the beauty of the place that they sensed some innate duty of obedience.

You see, when we DEMOTE God in our thinking, we also find a way to let ourselves off the hook. Kings don’t live in SLUMS and they don’t hang with COMMONERS. We demote God in some way to lesson our responsibility to act in accordance with the VALUE God ascribes to us!

I have adapted something that Pastor Rod Buchanan wrote: “I often hear some Christians say, “Well, I’m just a sinner like everybody else.” I understand what they are saying. They mean that they make mistakes like everybody else…The problem with thinking of ourselves as sinners is that it can become a convenient excuse to sin. But, most of all, it (labels) us with an identity that is so far below how God sees us. … It is like calling someone a moron. Call them that long enough and they act like a moron and believe they are a moron — even if they are actually quite brilliant. (When a child of God, born again by a surrender to the love of Jesus and His full payment on Calvary calls himself) a sinner and you will not rise above that. You will not believe you can do any better. But call yourself a child of God who shares his glory and see the difference it makes in your attitude about yourself. I’m not just trying to pump up your self-esteem, I’m trying to get you to see the reality of who you are. In fact, God did this… Rather than simply continuing to condemn us, God exalted His children in Scripture. We will be invited to reign with him, for Paul wrote to Timothy: “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Meeting with a KING and being chosen by a KING to walk together leaves us higher than we were before He came into our lives.

We live life on a higher plain. We have a job to perform  – an assigned and chose role to play in the Kingdom. I guess the clear question is this: “What is it that God is asking you to do?” The natural follow up question is this one: “Are you willing to accept the responsibility to accomplish it?

I am stopping here at these curtains because I believe there is a story here. God wanted people to know HIM and He wanted that knowledge to CHANGE THEIR VIEW OF THEMSELVES, their purpose, their value.. It was because HE MADE THEM – and they were long overdue for a reunion that would remind them of it.  I recently read an article by Jill Carattini where she told this story: “A nurse named Melanie was on her way to work when something in the trash bin caught her eye. She was immediately taken with the possibilities in the discarded treasure. It was a cello, slightly cracked in several places, but nonetheless a discard of character, a piece charming to the eye. Her boyfriend, who is a cabinetmaker, also saw the cello’s potential. Together they thought it could be turned into a beautifully distinctive CD holder. The discarded cello was indeed old and it had been abandoned, though authorities are not sure why or how it ended up in the trash that day. But a most shocking revelation to the nurse (and arguably to the thief as well) was the fact that it was not merely an old cello. It is one of only 60 like it in the world made by master craftsman Antonio Stradivari in 1684. The 320-year-old masterpiece, valued at 3.5 million dollars, was stolen from a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra just weeks before it sat rescued in Melanie’s apartment with dreams of becoming a CD holder. In the music world ‘Stradivarius’ is an untouchable description. Neither scientist nor musician understand the difference between the ‘voice’ of a Stradivarius versus the voice of modern violins and cellos, but the distinction is real — and costly. They are the most sought after musical instruments in the world, works of art in their own right, coveted by collectors and players alike. To be in the presence of a Stradivarius is to be in the presence of something great — whether it is recognized or not.”…The thief put it on the trash pile, and even Melanie did not see the splendor of what she was holding. That is the way your life is. It has enormous value. The spiritual thief and enemy of your soul wants to dump you on a trash pile. Perhaps you don’t see your value either, but your life is especially precious to the One who made you. (From Rodney Buchanan, Sermon Central illustrations).

Should we not admit to some fear that if we really see God as He is, and see ourselves as He has declared us in our relationship with Him as Savior, that we will give up our victim status and take on the responsibilities of those who have been chosen by the King? Can’t we feel both the empowering and the pain of the lame man at Bethesda, as Jesus commanded him to “Rise up! Take up your bed and walk!”?

There is some relief coming in the remaining verses of our study. They will help us to “take cover” in this sense of exposed responsibility – but they will not remove it. Keep reading…Three more covers are atop the white linen.

The Curtains Of Goats’ Hair (26:7-13) referred to as the “tent” was placed over the Curtains of Fine Linen.

Exodus 26:7 “Then you shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle ; you shall make eleven curtains in all. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits , and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same measurements . 9 You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves , and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent . 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the first set , and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set . 11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze , and you shall put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it will be a unit . 12 The overlapping part that is left over in the curtains of the tent , the half curtain that is left over , shall lap over the back of the tabernacle . 13 The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other , of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent , shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other, to cover it.

The details of this curtain include the RAW MATERIAL, the SIZE of the woven material, and the ARRANGEMENT of the pieces. The color was brown – and the material was the INTELLIGENT weave of the GOAT HAIR that is used by Beduoin today in the desert. We are VERY FAMILIAR with this course material, and my wife and I had “goat hair” sewing parties at my house when the Tabernacle was under construction. Goat hair “breathes” when dry, but shrinks when wet to cause water to run off. It is dark brown, and it requires constant attention to be kept in shape. Mold is the enemy that can destroy it.

The hair is sheared from the GOAT. If you looked at all the times a GOAT is mentioned in Leviticus as an animal of sacrifice, you would find most related to the SIN OFFERING (Chata’ah – cp. 4:24,5:6, 9:3). All the others relate to either the special ceremony held on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) or the cleansing of the Sanctuary and in conjunction with the ordination of priests (Lev. 10:16). At the Great Feasts (Dt. 16:16) that were ordered by God to be observed by all of the people – Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles – goats played a significant role. Particularly on the Day of Atonement, two goats were presented to the Lord – one was killed as a sin offering, the other preserved alive as the SCAPEGOAT (Leviticus 16:7-10). Keep reading, because the third covering and the waterproof fourth suggest God was going somewhere with the pattern…

The Rams’ Skin Dyed Red referred to as the Covering and was probably only on the top, and covered by a waterproof Covering of The Tahash – Perhaps Badgers’ (or Manatee, etc.) Skins was the final covering and it was this covering that was the only thing visible above the wall from the outside of the Tabernacle. (26:14). Exodus 26:14 You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins (tahash) above.

Goats and Rams were a part of the sin payment system God set up in the sacrifices long ago. Add to that the other curtains above it, and I think the picture isn’t stretched – God wanted the people to connect to His ROYALTY but be covered by the sacrifice. As a Pastor today, it is EXACTLY that which I want for my flock. I want people to stand beneath the Cross, but stop allowing the shame that Jesus paid for to shadow over your sense of CALL, COMMISSION and PURPOSE.

God left us a graphic picture of the pattern of worship in the Tabernacle, with each part showing something about both Him and us – leading us into His arms. When we meet Him, we contact His splendor and majesty, and that can be a painful experience – because we LOSE our right to be a victim, and take on the identity of one called by the King… that is a painful moment to the lazy follower.

Can we not rise up and see Who our God is today?

His name and His character are pronounced by the Heavens that He hurled into place (Ps. 19). His timepiece has no beginning and no end – for time itself is a creation of His own mind. He requires absolutely NOTHING to create something. His storehouses have inexhaustible bounty and unparalleled beauty. He is the very definition of POWER, MAJESTY, BEAUTY, INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM and LOVE. There is no way to measure Him – for He is limitless. There is no point to wrestling against Him – for His might is boundless. No struggle can overcome Him. No obstacle can retain Him. No foe can withstand Him. He is the King – and there is no one like Him. The prophet asked: “Who is like You, Oh Lord!” and then stood back in reverent silence as the universe beheld the truth – there is NO ONE like our God.

Because that is true… Can we not raise our eyes to see who we have been declared to be today by this wise and all knowing King? If our God is so great, and He has chosen us to be His people – can we not feel JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER about our own identity. Smile – the King chose you. Try to look at the bright side, like these dear folks:

At a nursing home in Florida, a resident group was discussing ailments: “My arms are so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee,” said one. “Yes, I know, my cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my coffee,” replied another. “I can’t put my head back to drink because of the arthritis in my neck,” said a third, at which several others nodded weakly. “My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy that if I drink the coffee, I will pass out,” another went on. “I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old,” winced an old man. There was general agreement and a short moment of silence ensued. “Well, it’s not that bad,” said one woman cheerfully. “Thank God we can all still drive!”

Men and women, will we not be changed by encountering His MAJESTY under the covering of HIS ENABLING SACRIFICE of One slain on our behalf?

The End of the World: “Team Builder” – Revelation 13

The year was 1945. The place was central Europe. The last days of power in the Third Reich (Drittes Reich) that began in 1933 were now becoming clear. Though the forces led by Adolph Hitler were clearly facing defeat from Allied powers, the army was ordered to continue destroying without long term rationale or real cause. Though soon to be defeated, these were some of the bloodiest days of the war. Two thirds of European Jewry was already destroyed. Cities across the continent lay in piles of ruins. Priceless artwork was reduced to ash, and architecture of generations was now a blackened cinder hull of its once former glory… Why go on? It seemed like madness – but threatened power is the least rational kind of power.

 One particularly disturbing trend that can be observed if one looks carefully at the waning years of the Reich was this: some people were still joining the war. New recruits had slowed, but the fact that there were ANY is quite disturbing. Why would they do this? The answer may be simple: Many believed the deception of the propaganda they were fed. They didn’t KNOW the end was near, though careful observation should have indicated a problem. The age of recruits was unbelievably low. The weapons handed to them were old and in disrepair.

How did the Reich pull off such a deception? It took three things that revived in a unique way the ancient Roman pallet – SPECTACLE, TEAM WORK and PLANNING. There was a popular process, a political process, and there was a propoganda process. There were sports teams, camps for the young and long standing traditions were co-opted for political and ethical reconstruction. In the end, the team that formed around deception became very proficient at the mass deception game. The description of the end times in Revelation 13 is just like that moment all over again…

Pause… because that should help us understand how such a thing could easily become a reality again, even in our modern world.

To mold a generations values into one (in this case a deception), the long standing differences seeded by religious and ethical thinking must be systematically eroded into accept few (or ideally no) specific underlying fixed truths. The masses must be lulled into political submission by expediency while having their emotional needs met by unifying and satisfying spectacles. Pairing religious deception with political power will produce zealous followers. Believers need to be attuned to the way deception is fed through both channels as the end approaches. Regardless of your political persuasion, is it not now painfully obvious that:

  • We can be persuaded that a nation has harmful weaponry by intelligence reports that may or may not be accurate. In response, we can be persuaded to bankrupt our coffers and borrow extraordinary amounts of money to fight a war that is costly in both human and fiscal terms.
  • We can be led into battle by pundits that assure us there is no other alternative – and we will follow. Our most reliable people can be carted out on TV and change the policy and personality of the nation. It is not hard to imagine.

Don’t miss my point. This isn’t a commentary about mistakes in our recent national past – because I don’t claim to KNOW what the right thing to do is – and I am a community leader. I don’t know the facts well enough to judge – that is my honest admission. The point is that we can be moved extremely quickly to get behind an idea based on political punditry. I believe if you look clearly at our current day, you will see that we are in a world that is utterly prepared for the unfolding of the end time. Add to that the fact that our national religious life has become a soup of contradictions that seem hard to grasp just a generation ago – and the pot is on the stove set for boil.

Key Principle: The stage seems very well set for the last hours to come quickly but that isn’t a BAD THING. It is a challenge to the believer of today to work with the sound of a ticking watch in the background. Time is running out and we must pay attention.

Believers are being convinced, more and more, that the literal view of the end is not real. The deception has already eroded our resistance to changes that will bring it all about – even within the community of believers. God’s Word told us it would happen… and those who study it should see its work clearly. Let’s take a look.

When we open this passage, we step into a story already in progress. In our last time together we introduced two essential prophetic texts that appeared to be like small streams coming together, growing into a larger river – one from Daniel 11 and another from Revelation 12. The confluence of events mentioned show both Heaven and earth, as the world barrels toward its end. I want to tell the story of these events, but will tell them in a past tense – as completed – to insert us in the story in proper sequence…

First, the great dragon, Satan, was bested in Heaven and was tossed to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9). His long droning against the people of God was halted, and his access key to Heaven’s corridors was revoked – showing him that his time to deceive and destroy was coming to a close. In human terms, his appearance was seen by his startling empowering of a new political force – a rising star from among men that captivated the world with his political abilities. This new hero quickly pulled such powers to himself as to become a despot (Daniel 11:36). He reversed the direction of his fathers in terms of their historic gods of worship and even boldly magnified himself with a brazenness that was unusual – even for a politician.

Next, that newly empowered ruler offered bold peace initiatives, all the while stockpiling weaponry – buying and trading power and positions as a child would trade baseball cards on a sand lot (Daniel 11:39-40). Once again on earth, a rising confederation of earth’s powers formed an axis of evil that was a mere mask for the demonic underworld’s blood lust. The new leader’s egregious behaviors took him into the heart of the Near East and into Israel – with every action he exalted himself.

From Heaven, it appeared as though God stood back and allowed His estranged bride to be led to the slaughter, but purposed to step in at intervals to keep the dragon from crushing her. Great struggles were eased by only small releases from Heaven. Satan was doing what he does best… He was called a murderer by Jesus, a destroyer by the Apostle John, and blinder by the Apostle Paul. He is the crouching lion according to the Apostle Peter. He appears as light –  Paul told the Corinthians, but is actually the “Lord of the Flies” from the mouth of the Savior. His work was nearing its end – and the Word revealed that he knew it (Revelation 12:12). God made a promise. He told His people that His enemy would face defeat with powerful words like God will soon CRUSH him under your feet (Romans 16:20) – and the time of that delay in fulfillment was waning.

As Heaven was relieved at the loss of the adversary’s voice, they looked on with horror at the impact of the enemy’s thrashing of earth. The great enemy turned his attention first to crush Israel – the estranged wife of the Father in Heaven – but the Creator created a way of escape at each point of destruction. The enemy poured out a river on the dry land to sweep the woman away (Revelation 12:15) but God summoned the land to open and swallow the water. Even the long fallen world responded to its Creator when he summoned action. Frustrated, the great enemy contented himself with destroying earth’s other believers – not a part of the people of Israel around the earth.

We open Revelation 13 with the dragon thrashing against the earth’s followers of their Creator. It is a simple two part story – He has an earthly political structure (13:1-10), and drew in a religious structure as his spokesman as well (13:11-18). Both of these are wrapped in political theater of spectacle – something that will soothe the emotions of those who pass through the events:

The Political Leadership of the Tribulation (Revelation 13:1-10)

Revelation 13:1 seems to suggest that the dragon used a political system that was made of ten nations and ten leaders – seven of which had some elevated status over the others.

  • This confederation of rulers was obviously pagan in orientation – a fellowship of fists raised against the power and plan of God in every way. The dragon came from the abyss, and slid his powers into that pagan system like a hand in a puppet. Look at the description:

Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

  • The confederation of nations appeared as ONE BEAST – there was a unity to these nations (Revelation 13:2a).

Revelation 13:2a “And the beast which I saw was…”

  • The confederation of nations was swift in moving people (a leopard) but its footprint in the lives of people was profound (a bear) and its ability to back up its judgments with fierce authority was unprecedented – all because of the empowering by Satan – the adversary of God.

Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

By now, you may be asking yourself an incredibly logical question… How could this guy get so powerful so quickly? How could someone rise from obscurity to become such a political force… can something like this really happen in the day of modern media? Keep looking at the description. Something FANTASTIC and beyond explanation unfolds that makes him a “household wonder!

  • The RULER of this new confederation of nations was apparently mortally wounded  and then “miraculously” raised up. I do not wish to challenge the enemy above my place, but I simply must offer this observation: I respectfully submit that the plagiarized spectacle of a resurrection was the best the enemy could come up with after more than two thousand years of planning! Further reading will indicate that the ANTICHRIST was the very one wounded, and that it came as the wound of a sword – perhaps in battle (Revelation 13:14).

Revelation 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”

Before you read this as HOCUS POCUS in a bizarre way, think of it this way: What if this rising star came from a medical background? What if he had unlocked something in the human genome in a lab that had never been seen before? What if his company controlled the proprietary information that could stop a plague, heal a world wide pandemic, or heal resuscitate a popular leader? What if he controlled both the release of a pandemic and the cure? Can you hear the end of verse 4, as people quietly said in Washington, Brussels, Beijing and Tokyo: “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”

Take it another way. What if this ruler was cornered and his power was absolutely destroyed. What if the wound was political – and he was utterly disgraced in some way? What if he “came back from the dead” politically to be uncontested and stronger than ever? Wouldn’t this evoke the same awe?

The rest of verses five through ten offer an over-arching retrospective on the leader’s rise and the creation of the confederation:

  • The leader was boisterous, arrogant and blasphemous – because he had appeared to overcome “death”: Revelation 13:5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies…
  • The system developed quickly around the time the church was removed from the scene as a resistance point, and the first half of the Tribulation was characterized by the rising power and confederation agreements: Revelation 13:5b “…and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
  • The ruler and his confederation were anti-God, and openly hostile to those who sought God – no matter what corner of the earth they were from. People seemed willing to submit to worship and veneration of the new power – except for the few that were reached with the Gospel and had God’s Word to guide them: Revelation 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

You cannot escape the religious overtone to the words of the political machine we have been reading about. It may come because of a great military victory (some scholars believe the defeat of Near Eastern opponents from the north of Israel described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 may be the catalyst). It may come from a simple propaganda machine backed up by the spectacular resuscitation of the fallen leader. One thing is certain, the other passages that refer to this “man of sin” and his system confirm over and over again that he speaks POMPOUS WORDS (Daniel 7:8) and that he uses them in a RELIGIOUS TONE (2 Thess. 2:4).

Were the people of God forgotten? No, not at all. They were first introduced to God in Messiah through the protected witnesses of Revelation 7 and they had His Word to explain His temporary inaction for their defense. They trusted Him to come through in the way He said He would. He said:  Revelation 13:9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

Herein is the real cruelty of those who would teach the Bible’s prophecy is not to be understood literally. If the story is metaphoric, what comfort can come from its pages in the midst of the trouble. It is no mystery that those who take the Bible literally see a future for the Jewish people. It is also no mystery that most of the Jewish believers today take the Bible’s promises literally. In the midst of the Tribulation – it is the one hope believers will have – that God will do EXACTLY what He said He would do! Consider this:

  • When God promised a Messiah to be a man, born of a woman – He delivered literally.
  • When God promised Messiah would be born of a Jewess in Bethlehem of Judea – He delivered literally.
  • When God said that Messiah would come 173,880 days after the command to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 BCE (Daniel 9:26ff) – He delivered literally.
  • When God said that Messiah would be “cut off” and then the city of Jerusalem would fall – He delivered literally.
  • When God said that Messiah would suffer as a servant of His people and be nailed to a tree – God delivered literally.

What justifies in our minds making an allegory out of God’s re-gathering of Israel, His restoration and total salvation so completely described by Paul in Romans 11 as a FUTURE EVENT to the church age? The church that turns the future prophetic teaching into uncertainty flies in the face of the past and its literal fulfillment.

The Religious Leadership of the Tribulation (Revelation 13:11-18)

The dragon pulled in a second ally in the Tribulation – in addition to political partners. There is no zealot like a religious convert – and the dragon is good at religion building. He has worked at the craft since the Fall in the Garden.

This second beast is LIKE THE FIRST (as indicated by the use of allos as “another” of the same kind). She is empowered by the enemy, and she lives to make a mockery of the MARRIAGE of both the Father to Israel and the Son to His Church. She is a HARLOT (Revelation 17) and satisfies man’s need for relationship outside the God given boundaries of intimacy with HIM. Look at her description:

  • The religious character, cloak and symbolism is undeniable – it is pictured as a sacrificial lamb. I suspect the picture shows the public persona to be peace-loving and gentle – while the reality is the very opposite: Revelation 13:11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.
  • His operation is within the confines of the power of the political beast, causing honor and veneration to fall upon the political leadership. Revelation 13:12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
  • His religious work is found in the performing of signs like that of Elijah – the control of lightning. With each passing year I marvel at how the church is setting up a generation of “sign crazed” people – who think you can tell what is right by what is popular and what appears powerful: Revelation 13:13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.
  • His work included the propaganda machine that gave BREATH to the message of the beast. Could this be a media giant? Revelation 13:15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
  • His work also includes BRANDING and positioning of the BRAND. This could be a citizen identification mark that allows people to operate within the financial system – that wouldn’t even be hard to imagine. The mark itself identifies one as BELONGING TO THE SYSTEM, just as the witnesses of Revelation 7 were sealed on their forehead or the believers of Revelation 14 have their Heavenly Father’s name on their heads. The great counterfeiter of the ages duplicates the identity mark to THE MAN who rules. People will take a side – belonging to HIM or following at great peril to themselves, the real King of the ages. Revelation 13:16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Pairing religious deception with political power will produce zealous followers. Believers need to be attuned to the way deception is fed through both channels as the end approaches. As an American, we see a change going on in front of our eyes, and it is much deeper than a simple political one… it is aimed at people of faith from all corners of our own government:

  • When in February of 2009 – the US government officially announced plans to revoke “conscience protection” for health workers who refused to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, (fully implemented later in the plan in February 2011) – and some Christians wondered aloud if this was directed at them – because of their open opposition to abortion.
  • Two months later, others were concerned to learn that the US administration officials in would only allow the President to speak at Georgetown University, if the monogram symbolizing Jesus’ name covered during his speech. When Christians cried out about historic foundations, “Reactionary!” cried the press about the Christians.
  • In April of 2010, the US Pentagon dis invited Rev. Franklin Graham from their National Day of Prayer event because of complaints from those who saw his overt evangelism as “offensive”.
  • Last year, the US government eliminated federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion, according to the Washington Post.
  • Later, in one month, the Air Force Academy both rescinded support for Operation Christmas Child, that sends holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity, and paid $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wicca. (source: David Barton and Wallbuilders).

This slide began long before the current administration, but I think we can make the case that many who are running our country are coming out of the closet and believe that Jesus and His church are no longer a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps they are right in the political realm – but they are DEAD WRONG in the spiritual realm. The clouds may be coming… but we aren’t DONE YET.

  • Today, I have the freedom to talk to my next door neighbor about how much Jesus loves them, and why He died for them – and today I won’t go to jail… but will I do it or hope some else takes the call more seriously?
  • Today, I have the right to open, study and learn God’s Word without any fear of retaliation from the authorities – but will I avail myself of the opportunity or find more pressing personal issues to attend to?
  • Today, I have the privilege of praying for those who are in authority over me without the fear of Daniel’s lion’s den – but will I bow my knees or hope that someone else will bring them before the Lord?
  • Today, I can engage my public officials, and question policies that appear to shift away from America’s historic foundations of faith – but will I engage them or hope that some organization will do it for me?
  • Today, I can teach a child about the faithfulness of the Lord, and tell them what He can do in and through them if they will live for Him – but will I work at it or will I hope that they get that from a Sunday school teacher or friend?
  • Today, I can show my community how a godly man or woman should respond when their values and their Savior are attacked – but will I offer any positive response, or just quietly hope it goes away.

Believers need to be attuned to the way deception is fed through both channels as the end approaches. The stage seems very well set for the last hours to come quickly but that isn’t a BAD THING. It is a challenge to the believer of today to work with the sound of a ticking watch in the background. Time is running out and we must pay attention!

The End of the World: "Woman Chaser"- Revelation 12

She was alone and she knew it. The sound of a man stepping on a small piece of glass in the dark parking garage caught her attention. Fear shot through her… The kind of quick stinging fear that feels like bumping a nerve. Just knowing someone else was in that place pushed her mind down a slope and panic set in. “Where is my car? Where are my keys?” She thumbed through her purse nervously. Just as she lay her hands on the keys, another startling sound erupted… The window on her car went down! Through the space of the window in complete darkness, she saw her smiling husband. A tear welled up in her eye, because she knew she was safe. He came to surprise her, but she knew the truth… He was her rescuing angel.

Key Principle: The enemy KEEPS aiming his sights on God estranged bride, but God won’t let her slip away into his hand. Attacks are NOT a surprise to the Creator. God knows how to protect His people – and He never neglects His duty!

Last time we looked into Revelation 12, we saw that a series of signs were flashed across Heaven to inform John of Satan’s war with God. We noted that these signs were actually a CAST OF CHARACTERS THAT WERE RECORDED to tell us of what is ahead. Though not a pretty picture for many, understanding the vision will help us navigate in the present, and have real implications for what we do in modern life. We saw that the signs tell the story – but we have to learn to look at them and understand both the blessing of their warning and the truth of their message!

The first part of the passage is about the CAST – Three Persons that form the story (Revelation 12:1-6)

Remember, the first part of the passage told us about three people, and how they showed the story of God and His great enemy. The three persons were:

1: There is a Woman at the center of the story.

Revelation 12:1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars…5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations ….6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

She was formed in Heaven, and not the creation of some political movement in the past of the present. She was neither a contrived ancient robber nation that disposed the Canaanites of old, nor some modern Zionist plot to dispossess modern Arabs of their land.

She was a woman beloved and wedded by God as Hosea 2:16 and Isaiah 54:5 call Israel. She had the description that aligned her with the nation and its people, that had become hostile to her former husband – the Living One of Heaven. God wrote Israel a certificate of divorce. As evidence to her continual hostility to her former husband, God wrote in Romans 11:28 and her enmity at the time before her eventual restoration: Romans 11:28 “From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Israel was depicted in the Epistles of the Christian Scriptures as the divorced wife of God that is awaiting her restoration to Him in a future time that will come about because of a terrible Tribulation. The fact is that she was put away only after they had a son together – and He constitutes the second sign.

2: The Child of the woman is set for great things.

Revelation 12:2 “and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth… 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

First, He was ruler appointed by God. (As God specific promises to David through Nathan the prophet in 2 Samuel 7). Second, He would come FROM Israel, but RULE ALL THE NATIONS one day. This seems in keeping with what we saw in Revelation 11:15 … “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” The rod of iron with which He would rule is identical in wording to Revelation 19:15 …and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and …on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Third, He would be caught up to God’s throne room. Did not the book begin with a vision of the Risen Christ in the throne room of God in chapter 1? Did not Acts 1 show Jesus being “taken up to Heaven”?

3: The dragon wants to kill both the woman and the Son.

12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

A third person comes into view. He is the great red dragon. Ha-satan occurs 13 times in the Masoretic Text, in two books of the Hebrew Bible, including Job 1–2 (10x) and in Zechariah 3:1–2 (3x). Biblically, he was behind the attempts at Israel’s destruction in Haman’s plot, and his fingerprints were on Herod’s killing spree of the babies of Bethlehem.

He took a third of the stars and threw them to the earth. When Satan rebelled, something changed about his characteristic lodging in heaven, because we read: “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12). Jesus made a glancing reference to it when He said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). It could even be that the STAR that fell to earth in Revelation 9:1 was that of Satan himself – though that is not certain. We are told that an “innumerable company of angels” was created by God (Hebrews 12:22), and here one third of them chose to rebel with him.

The dragon was not only spiritual, but seen in the political realm – one with seven heads and ten horns. If you follow the pattern of Daniel’s visions, like that of Daniel 7, a head was a national kingdom, and a horn was a ruler of that kingdom. Satan built a national coalition through human surrogates – but it is nevertheless HIM behind it all! Satan stood before the woman to devour the child. A good reference point could be simply Matthew 2:13, where God thwarted the attempt of Herod to kill the baby Jesus.

God has an ultimate plan for both the believers of the church age and the people of Israel. God’s future for Israel does not guarantee that all they do in their current unregenerate state is acceptable behavior, but we must wise up to the rise of an increasing wave of ANTI ISRAEL thinking that is putting even churches in opposition to any future for that people. Replacement theology – that the church is the new Israel – is reaching into churches and denominations and moving them to enmity with Israel and any future plan of God specifically for them.

Before I read another verse, let me be as clear as I am able to be in words:

  • The future of Israel is not in the hands of the Netanyahu government – for though they have elected him their Prime Minister – he cannot protect her from an attack that has been perpetrated upon her with Satan’s backing.
  • The future of Israel is not dependent upon her by the so-called “Quartet” government peace initiatives. Each of these governments has their own interests and agenda – and they cannot guarantee Israel’s safety.
  • The future of Israel is not in the hands of President Obama or our Congress. They can pledge to stand at her back, but we are borrowing just to stay afloat in our own economy, and with a rising number of American Muslims in our national scene – that dependable source of friendship has deep limitations.
  • The future of Israel is not in the hands of the UN. If one is to look past the veneer of the surface you will discover a deep and abiding disrespect (read: hatred) of Israel by many nations that have little to do with the Arab cause or any direct insult that Israel may have made to them.

The future of Israel is UP TO GOD. Let me show you by looking at the balance of Revelation 12, with what Paul Harvey would say is … the rest of the story.

The second part of the chapter is about the CLASH – Six Events that unfold between Satan and the Woman and Child (Revelation 12:7-9)

Event One: Satan is tossed from Heaven

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Long before this passage was written, Daniel prophesied the day was coming for the Heavenly wrestling match that would end in Satan’s tossing from Heaven.

Daniel 11 offers the description of some earthly events. A ruler will arise, according to 11:36, and he will be a despot. He will do whatever he pleases, even magnifying himself to be like a god in the eyes of other men. Daniel 11:37 says he won’t have regard for the god of his own father, but will be a stockpiler of weapons and will create a federation of states by buying off powerful people. Daniel 11:40 argues that some will be unhappy and attack him, finally coming into Israel and even gaining control of many Near Eastern countries. He will establish himself in Israel, but will eventually himself be taken out of power, with no friends to help him remain. At that time, Daniel 12:1 says: “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

Remember that the Tribulation on earth is about the Jewish people, for the Jewish people. It is to get the estranged wife of the Father to see the truth about the world and its empty gods and worthless promises. Satan’s arrival after the war in Heaven steps up an already virulent hatred against the Jewish people world wide.

The dragon is clearly called Satan in 12:9. In other places in Scripture he is called “The murderer from the beginning” by Jesus. He is called a “destroyer” in Revelation 9:11, and shown to have a deep connection to ruling people and blinding them to truth in this age in 2 Cor. 4:3-4:

2 Cor. 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

At the same time, the battle between Michael and Satan is not new. Jude 1:9 showed this battle went on in the past:

Jude 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

For a time, God allowed the enemy to keep up his attack and accusation against the brethren day and night. Heaven had to be tired of Satan’s constant harassing voice of the deciever. Now might be a good time to recall that SATAN IS A DEFEATED ENEMY!

Paul ended the treatise to the Romans with these encouraging words: Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

John knew it would happen as well: 1 John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

The whole defeat was a DONE DEAL when Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary: John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” 33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

Don’t go on… stop! Look at what we have just read! Jesus said that HIS DEATH would defeat the enemy. He said that what was given to us as His followers was stronger than what the enemy has to hold us back. He said He will soon CRUSH the enemy. The heel bruiser is about to get stomped on! What an exciting promise.

The great thief of the heavens is about to get jailed. The great murderer of thousands is about to get the electric chair. The rapist, the vile abuser, the kidnapper – he is about to be cut off from ever harming or maming again. His work – the destruction of men and women, the slow and painfulkilling of cells and planets is about to be reversed – and Jesus will bring it all about. We will not mourn his passing – for the Creator of all will crush him once and for all.

Event Two: Striking up Heaven’s Band

12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

The other night I sat in a Jerusalem restaurant with the fire alarm going off the whole time. It was a high pitched squeal, and it was clearly out of order. The whole meal was Aaron and I having a conversation with a screeching behind us…..I about went nuts.

I cannot help but think that some of the rejoicing in Heaven is nothing more than Heaven throwing a party over the fact that the slithering, whining, irksome voice of the enemy has been silenced. Like the voice of a foul mouth co-worker that just grinds on you – he is finally barred from the office – and Heaven breaks into praise. The screeching of the baby has ended. The screaming voice of the emo band has gone silent – suddenly a sign comes up from the choir of the Heavenly host!

NOW we are finally going to see an end to this harassing of Heaven. Now we are rescued from his mouth. Now the kingdom is set to move ahead. Now the authority of the Savior is becoming seen in all Heaven and earth. The problem is that what is good for HEAVEN is bad for EARTH….

Event Three: Earth Warriors Helps Heaven’s Angels

Heaven quieted down, but earth got that much more perilous. Satan’s entry permit to Heaven was cancelled. Heaven prevailed. The shocking part is that EARTH appeared to play a role in the victory. Look at the verses:

Revelaiton 12:11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.

We are so accustomed to the pagan notion that earth is subject to Heaven, that we forget that this is not the Bible’s position. Heaven is affected by earth as well. In 1 Corinthians, Paul argued that rebellion among women was a danger to the angels in Heaven.

1 Cor. 11:8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Here in Revelation, the work of the witness of the believers who had lives on earth that were able to be lost because of their testimony aided Heaven’s victory. The stone of Messiah crushed the work of the enemy as Daniel 2:44-45 showed in the vision. His reign is established in the hearts of believers on the way to being established in all the earth! The martyrs and witnesses helped overthrow the wicked one’s case from Heaven’s court when they finished the job the JOB began at the time of the Patriarchs long ago!

Look at the power a believer surrendered has to affect Heavenly things! They overcame the enemy by speaking the truth and living the truth. They gave the enemy a punishing blow when  they lived in integrity. They shamed him when there was no hidden areas in their lives he could use against them… they – and we – can defeat the devil because he doesn’t have anything to accuse us with. If all he can do is make things up – his power diminishes over us!

Recently I heard Dieter Zander, the pastor of the first GenX church in America speak at a conference about reaching people in the age of relativism. He cited a Barna study that asked people to use single words to describe Jesus. They responded, “wise, accepting, compassionate, gracious, humble.” Then he asked them to use single words to describe Christians, they said, “critical, exclusive, self righteous, narrow and repressive.””There is a difference between knowing the good news and being the good news, Zander said. “We are the evidence! How we live our lives are the evidence. Everything counts–all the time.” “With previous generations, a strong preacher could give a good message, even if the church was hypocritical and critical and people would still get saved,” Zander continued, “but not any more. I’m seeing a change in what seekers are looking for. Not something they can relate to. They are looking for a transcendent God. They don’t want to be entertained they want to be transformed.” (sermon central).

We have an enemy that is facing defeat, a Savior that has been proclaimed victor, and Spirit that empowers us and provides a way of escape. Why not start living like we actually ARE on victory’s side?

Event Four: Tribulation Persecutions Against Israel

Now on earth and seeing the end in sight, the enemy has but one ploy up his sleeve. He did not stop the King by death – for the King rose again. He did not corrupt the world by impregnanting the women (Genesis 5). What was left?

Revelation 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

Satan put a full court press into the persecution of Israel. What else was there? If you cannot kill the King, try to nuke the Kingdom. It would stop the future plan – and that is his end game. It has always been his end game… try to show he can defeat the Creator. Just as he tried, God provided a special and unpredicted wing of escape for the Jewish people.

Event Five: God’s Blockers Come Through

One need only be in the desert during a delue to know how dangerous water can be to a desert landscape. Satan poured our a river:

Revelation 12:15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.

It seems that God has more answers than Satan has questions. A problem seems to arise, and one of God’s many tools, seldom used in the past, is employed to aid His people. Not since the swalowing of men in the Genesis account was such a method used by God’s hand and recorded in Scripture.

When I was young, I recall reading about how Heaven helped the earth’s missionaries: I read of a Norwegian missionary, Marie Monsen, who served in China in the 1950s. She testified to the intervention of angels when Christians were in great danger. They had taken refuge in the mission compound only to be surrounded by looting soldiers and they were astonished to find that they were left in peace. A few days later the hostile men explained that they were ready to break down the flimsy wall when they noticed tall soldiers with shining faces on a high roof in the compound. Marie Monsen wrote, “The heathen saw them, it was a testimony to them, but they were invisible to us. (sermong central illustrations).

God isn’t limited to the size of the team we can see. His heavens will respond to His command. His earth will eat up the flood waters. He is able to wipe the place clean – but has decided to be patient with men.

Event Six: International Believers Get Pressed

Unsuccessful at annihilating Israel, the enemy moves to other believers around the world, to martyr them and torment them:

Revelation 12:17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

His rage is placed against them. The “offspring of Israel by faith” as Paul called the believers among the Gebtiles in Galatians 3:6-9, share the wrath of the enemy once reserved for the Jewish people. When the enemy can’t get what he wants, he goes after someone he doesn’t – just to wound, mame, destroy… it is his way.

The enemy KEEPS aiming his sights on God estranged bride, but God won’t let her slip away into his hand. Attacks are NOT a surprise to the Creator. God knows how to protect His people – and He never neglects His duty!

Oh, dear ones… we should see the day approaching. The clouds are gathering. It is not Iran we should fear. It is not an election that should raise our hackles. It is not the plethora of causes that should make us feel as though we are drowning… it is simply this.

We serve a risen Savior that desires us to lift high His holy name. We serve a Savior that longs for His own people to believe in His ability to conquer temptation, His power to completely clean the inner prison of self guilt, to conquer death’s sting and provide peace, power and purpose. We can follow Him, and the enemy’s ability to wound us firther will be blocked by His good hand. Can we not learn to trust Him?