Today, we have been given the gift of time. Yes, time to live, but also time get it right. God is being patient with us. He’s literally holding back what must happen next to warn us of the dangers of living this life without him.
After avoiding the book of Revelation for my 49 years of existence, I’ve started a deep dive into the very scriptures that once only confused and terrified me. Remember, the Greek word for revelation is apocalypse. Now of course, apocalypse has come to have a doom and gloom fear based meaning, but that world really meant “a revealing”. What is being revealed in the final book of our Bible is Jesus. Jesus wants us to know him and he wants us to know HE IS COMING.
We’ve spent the past 2 weeks studying the first 3 chapters of Revelation and we’ve come to see Jesus’ words to his church back then still apply to us today. We’re still his people and he’s still teaching us how to live this life. Now, here’s something radically interesting, the word “church” is mentioned 19 times in those first 3 chapters. Church means God’s people. Then suddenly, we’re not mentioned again AT ALL until chapter 22.
You know what happens in those chapters where we’re not mentioned … the most horrific of things you can imagine. The doom and gloom all happens there. And God’s people are NOT even mentioned. Do you know why? BECAUSE THAT SIMPLY ISN’T FOR US.
JESUS HAS SAVED US FROM ALL THIS WORLD MUST FACE!
I have the gift of faith. Blind faith. I don’t need to see it to believe it. I don’t need to understand it to be sure of it. Faith comes naturally and easily to me. Because of that, so does confusion. Since accepting Jesus at 15, I didn’t really know what I believed, I just knew I believed. The problem is, I couldn’t then lead anyone else into faith because I had no clue what God’s word really said about what is to come. And when you don’t know, then you don’t realize how big of a deal your salvation truly is.
I knew I was saved, but I really didn’t know what I was saved from. Jesus wants us to know. He wants to reveal himself and what he’s doing for you. That’s the entirety of the book of Revelation. THIS IS WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU. HE’S SAVED YOU.
It’s a work of the enemy to keep us fearful and confused so we dismiss ourselves from the life changing awareness of Jesus’ unmatched gift for us. You have to know what happens without a life covered by the seal of the lamb. You have to know what can happen to a life caught up in worldly pursuits without the blood of Jesus. That’s why you read Revelation. It’s not to be avoided.
Remember, back in the very beginning of the book in the opening chapter, John writes in verse 3, “God blesses the one who reads the words, who listens to these words and obeys what it says.” There are blessings waiting for you in studying what Jesus told John to write. And today we’re about to discover the biggest blessing Jesus is revealing.
Chapter 4, after John has written to each of the 7 Churches Jesus’ clear instructions about how they are to clean up their living and get it right, Jesus says to John, “Come up here, and I will show you what MUST HAPPEN AFTER THIS.”
Underline those words. MUST HAPPEN AFTER THIS. God has a plan and Heaven has an order. It’s important to understand the order so you know where you fit in and where you don’t. It’s important to know where YOU WILL BE, and that’s really the big question.
WHERE WILL YOU BE?
Jesus shows John the future where angels are gathered around the throne of God and day after day and night after night, they say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – the one who always was, who is,