Tuesday, November 20,
2012, 7:38 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Broken and Contrite” playing through my mind. Speak, Lord, for
your servant is listening. I read Revelation
6-7 (quoting 6:9-11; 7:9-17 NIV 1984):
When he opened the
fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because
of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a
loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the
inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a
white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of
their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was
completed…
After this I looked
and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of
the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their
hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to
our God,
who sits on the
throne,
and to the Lamb.”
All the angels were
standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks
and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever
and ever.
Amen!”
Then one of the elders
asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
I answered, “Sir, you
know.”
And he said, “These
are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
“they are before the
throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the
throne will spread his tent over them.
Never again will they
hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat
upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the
center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living
water.
And God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.”
The
Tribulation
From what I understand of the “last days,”
they began with Jesus life and ministry on this earth, and they will be
culminated when he returns to judge and to rule the earth. Yet, there will be a
short period of time at the very end of time before Jesus returns, which is
known as the time of tribulation to come on the earth. This is a time of God’s
judgment on the earth and on its inhabitants, yet it is not to be confused with
the final judgment at which time we will receive our rewards for what we did
with Jesus in this life. To those who acknowledged him before men as their Lord
and Savior, repented of their sins, and turned to walk in obedience and
surrender to Jesus Christ, by God’s grace alone and through faith in Christ,
will be given eternal life with God in glory. To those who refused to turn from
their sins, and who refused to obey Jesus Christ and to believe in him, and to
make him their Lord (boss) and Savior, will be given eternal punishment in the
lake of fire.
There are many varied interpretations of the
events surrounding this time of tribulation. Some believe the bride of Christ
will be raptured prior to this time, others believe the church will be raptured
(taken to be with Jesus forever) about halfway through this time, just before
the time called “The Great Tribulation,” which is the most severe time of all,
and others are of the belief that the saints of God will remain during the time
of tribulation, and that we will not be caught up in the air to be with Jesus
Christ until this time of tribulation is complete and Jesus comes to set up his
kingdom on the earth. No matter what you believe, though, Jesus is most
certainly coming again, he will judge the earth, and at some point in time we
will be with him forever. Amen! The most important thing is to make sure we are
watching and waiting for him by how we live our lives each day, expectant and
hopeful!
The
Beast
In Revelation 13 we read about the beast, the
false prophet and the dragon (the unholy trinity) ruling (and/or contributing
to that rule of) the world during this time of tribulation. Again, there are
many varied interpretations concerning these events and who each of these three
figures represent. One of the most popular beliefs is that the beast represents
a global government, the false prophet represents the global ecumenical
(blending of religions) institutional church, and the dragon is a figure for
Satan. The Lord Jesus has been teaching me much about how all this is forming
(coming together) in our present day. I believe we are already under a global
rule, just many of us don’t realize it yet. The institutional church of today,
overall, has compromised with and has so gone the way of the world, has turned
into big business and is marketed in much the same way; has diluted the gospel of
Jesus Christ to make it more palatable and non-offensive to its listeners, and
has become tolerant of sin and of blended religion.
God will give the beast this authority,
because God is sovereign and is in absolute control over all things, and Satan
has no power but what God permits, and God sets the limits. Yet, God said he
would not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (in his strength
within us), but will with that temptation make a way out from under it, so we
can stand up under it. Amen! So, no matter what Satan throws at us, God can
handle it, because he is God! So, he will allow this time to take place, and he
will give the beast this power to rule over the inhabitants over the earth. Not
only that, it says here that he will be given power to make war against the
saints of God and to conquer them. We will be taken into captivity, we will be
severely persecuted for our testimony for Christ, and many of us will be killed
because of the word of God and the testimony we have
maintained for the gospel of Jesus.
A
Great Multitude
This great multitude that John saw, thus,
consisted of people from all over the globe who had washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. They are the saints of God, the ones who
have turned from their sins (repented), who have made Jesus Lord (boss) and
Savior of their lives, and who have turned to walk in obedience and surrender
to God’s will for their lives; who have held to the truths of God’s holy word
and the testimony of the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and who have chosen not
to sully their spiritual garments with the ways of this world. They have been,
are now, and will be persecuted for their testimony for Jesus Christ, will be
imprisoned (or institutionalized), and many will be put to death because they
refused to compromise, and chose to walk with Jesus only.
These are the ones who, in this life and in
the life to come, give God glory, honor and praise for all that he has done and
will do on the behalf of his chosen ones. They do not give lip service only,
though, but they offer sacrifices of praise to God by how they live to please
him each and every day of their lives (see Ro. 12:1-2; Ps. 51:17).
Before
the Throne
I envision two different dimensions here. In
one sense, these saints of God have, are now, and/or will yet, in this life, be
ones who daily go before the throne of God in prayer, and who serve him day and
night in his temple (in the body of Christ; and in the Holy of Holies dwelling
within the hearts of true followers of Jesus Christ). The other dimension I see
is that of martyred saints who have died and who have gone to be with God
forever standing before his throne in heaven (face to face), giving him glory,
honor and praise, and serving him day and night in his heavenly temple. In both
dimensions God has, will, and is spreading his tent of protection over those
who are his servants and witnesses. We are no longer among those lacking
spiritual sustenance, for he has already satisfied us with his word, his truth,
his Holy Spirit, and with new life in his Spirit, free from slavery to sin.
The Lamb is at the center of his throne, as
he is Lord (master; boss) of our lives in this dimension, and he is our
shepherd, who laid his life down for his sheep. His sheep know him, they listen
to him and they follow (obey) him wherever he leads them. Amen! He guides us,
leads us, counsels, directs, comforts, encourages and corrects us when needed.
He daily leads us to springs of living water – walking in the truth and in His
Spirit. And, daily he wipes the tears from our eyes as we cry out to him in our
suffering, in persecutions, and in our heartaches, as he offers us his loving
comfort and encouragement to keep going, to keep persevering and to remain
faithful to him in all things despite all that is going on in our lives. Yet,
one day he will come again and receive us to himself, we will no longer be in
these flesh bodies, and our crying will be no more. I look forward to that day!
Broken
and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012
I
come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With
humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I
bow before You, I implore You,
Heal
my broken heart, I pray.
Love
You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You
are the King of my heart.
Lord,
purify my heart within me;
Sanctify
me, whole within.
I
come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With
humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I
bow before You, I implore You,
Heal
my broken heart, I pray.
Oh,
Lord, I long to obey fully
The
words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I
pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength
and wisdom to obey.
Father
God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t
You set my heart on fire?
Lord,
cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My
walk with You, now I pray.
Oh,
Lord, I long to obey fully
The
words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I
pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength
and wisdom to obey.
Oh,
Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My
heart cries out for understanding.
I
want to follow You in all ways,
Never
straying from Your truth.
Holy
Spirit, come in power,
Fill
me with Your love today.
Lord,
mold and make me;
Your
hands formed me;
Live
Your life through me, I pray.
Oh,
Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My
heart cries out for understanding.
I
want to follow You in all ways,
Never
straying from Your truth.
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