The Big Reveal: Whose Face will You Look To?

 May 31 2026

Revelation 8:1-12

         I’ve never paid much attention to all of the recent alarms about the climate and the concerns about the ozone layer. But having gone through two years where drought conditions have devastated a lot of my landscaping, I may begin to listen in. Now anytime a friend of mine brings up this idea of climate change, he scoffs at the idea mostly because he because he has a hard time believing that people actually have the power to change something as immense as the climate of the world. And I have to agree with him that it does seem somewhat outrageous that we who inhabit this world have enough influence upon our world that we can alter the very climate we live in. Yet, what is making me believe that people actually affect this world far more than we realize is what we have just read in the book of Revelation written by John. As we consider what we just read from the eighth chapter of this book, we hear of how every part of God’s creation, the earth, the seas and the rivers, is found to be damaged and destroyed and the culprit behind this destruction is us, the very people God created to rule and reign over his creation. So, perhaps we do have far more influence over our world than we could ever imagine.

         This announcement of the destruction of creation is what is heard as we enter into this eighth chapter of Revelation. This sad state of affairs comes on the heels of the last seal of the scroll being opened. As we may recall, the scroll is the future that God has in store for humanity. This future is opened up to us through Jesus,  the Lamb of God, being slain for us. Through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus now has the authority over the future he offers to us. So he alone is able to remove all of the seven seals off of the scroll which contains our future. So here in the beginning of the eighth chapter, we hear of how the last of the seven seals is removed. The result is that there is silence in heaven. This is a rather peculiar finding because up until this point, the heavens have been overflowing with the sounds of great worship. But now we are told that there is silence, as if all of heaven holds its breath awaiting God to speak. You see, when the previous seals were opened it was revealed that even though Jesus has come forth as a conquering hero riding on a white horse, the world still remains plagued by evil. Even though Jesus has conquered death and the grave, there is now persecution instead of peace, the worship of wealth instead of the worship of God and death still unleashes hell upon the earth. The answer God gives to all of this evil are the faithful witnesses who are willing to love with the great love which they had first experienced from Jesus. These are the ones who have offered up their very lives to be the faithful witnesses to a life lived in obedience to the word of God, those who witness to the very goodness of God. These are the ones we see, in the ninth verse of the sixth chapter, who are covered over by the altar, which represents the sacrifice of Jesus who covers the faithful so they are forever safe and secure. These faithful witnesses cry out to God, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? This is the question which hangs in the air, as the other two seals are opened. The sixth seal reveals that a day of great wrath is coming for those who thumb their nose at God, yet the question remains just how soon will this cleansing of the world’s evil take place? So when the seventh seal is at last opened there is silence in heaven as those around the throne wait for God to speak. Just what will be the fate of those who those who seek to persecute the saints, of those who continue to worship worldly wealth and power, and those who serve the power of death? Well, those in heaven do not have to wait very long, not even a full hour, before the decision of God is heard. There appearing before God are seven angels who have seven trumpets. The trumpets would have been known as a method of warning for the people of Israel. So it appears that God is going to issue a final warning before he unleashes his wrath upon the earth. You see, as we hear in the third chapter of Second Peter, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but he is patient, not wishing that anyone might perish, but that all might come to repentance.” So, in this time before the wrath of God arrives, God is sounding the trumpet, warning all those who are caught up in evil to repent and turn to find eternal life with him.

         Yet, God is not just going to sound the trumpets for we also read that another angel stands at the golden altar with a golden plate upon which incense would be burned. The smoke from the incense is mixed with the prayers of the saints on the earth, and this sweet smelling offering rises up to God. Yet these prayers are not just lifted heavenward for we are told that after they rise up to God, they then are hurled down to the earth where their power is evident in symbols of judgment, peals of thunder, lightning and earthquakes. So the prayers of the saints will also make it abundantly clear to those who rebel against God that judgment is coming, and now is the time to return to God. 

         So as the first four of the seven trumpets sound the alarm, the sum total of the situation currently at hand is revealed to us. While it is difficult to figure out the intense imagery that John writes about, the bottom line is that creation is being destroyed in this conflict between the good of heaven and the evil of earth. The result is that one-third of creation has been affected, destroyed through the rebellion of humanity against the good rule God intended. This situation is aptly described by the prophet Jeremiah, who writes in the fourth chapter, “I looked upon the earth, and behold it was without form and empty.”. Here, Jeremiah is using the very words found at the beginning of Genesis, where in the beginning the world was without form and empty. So we are to understand that when we rebel against God the result is the very unraveling of creation. John seems to be echoing the words of Jeremiah who goes on to say that he looked to the heavens and they had no light, and he looked to the mountains and they were quaking, the hills were moving to and fro. Then Jeremiah says, “Behold there was no man, and all of the birds of the sky had fled. I looked and behold, the fruitful orchard had become a wilderness.” 

So we are left wondering, just what is the root cause of this devastation? I believe the clue that helps us understand these warnings, is the odd mention that one-third of the earth has been destroyed. Now, throughout scriptures, this fraction is extremely rare, and the one place where this fraction is heard of is when a father’s inheritance is divided between his two sons. You see, unlike our custom of dividing a father’s inheritance equally among his children, in Israel, the custom was that the firstborn son would receive a double portion of the inheritance. The reason for this is that the firstborn son was to take the father’s place in the family upon the father’s death. So in order for the firstborn son to receive a double portion when there were two sons, the inheritance would be divided into thirds. The eldest son would receive two-thirds, and the youngest son would receive one-third. Now when we consider this distribution of a father’s inheritance, the parable of the prodigal son should be on our minds. This is a story Jesus told that is recorded for us in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. The story goes that a father had two sons and one day the youngest son comes to his father and asks for his share of the inheritance, a full one-third of the father’s assets. When the audience listening to Jesus heard that the son had done such a thing they would have gasped, for by asking for his share of the inheritance, the younger son had implied that he wished his father were dead. The youngest son treasured the wealth of his father above the relationship he had with his father. The younger son, then, had dishonored his father. So the father would have been expected the to punish his son severely for not honoring him. Yet, as Jesus continues the story, the audience would have been surprised to hear that the father instead gave the inheritance to his younger son without any concern for his honor. Jesus then goes on to tell of how the younger son threw his inheritance away through his reckless living. Now here we must pause to consider just who is the father and what is the inheritance that he gave to his younger son? Well, if we turn to the fifth chapter of Matthew, we read of how God promises those who are willing to learn from him as his child, these are the ones who will inherit the earth. So, the younger son represents those who want nothing to do with their Heavenly Father as they are only interested in the riches of the world which is their inheritance. The picture given to us in the first four trumpet sounds are the ways that this inheritance of the world is squandered through the reckless living of those who live apart from their Heavenly Father. The result is that all of creation suffers as the inheritance of our world is squandered in reckless living. 

  Now it is important for us to remember that the root cause of the destruction of creation is that much of humanity refuses to honor God. This gives us a clue to figuring out the strange scene that John records when the fifth trumpet is heard. A star is seen falling from the sky to the earth. This echoes what Jesus tells us in the tenth chapter of Luke where he says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” This agrees with what we are told in John’s vision for he tells us that it is indeed Satan who is the one who has opened up the shaft of the abyss, the place of final destruction. Out of this horrible pit he sees a great a great swarm of locusts coming forth who were given the power of scorpions. Here we have to pause to consider just what does this vision represent? We are told that this angel of the abyss, Satan, he is the king over these locusts, and he is to be known as the Destroyer. Well, what we also know is that the Greek root word for, “Destroyer”, is found in the core teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 7, the thirteenth verse, we are told by Jesus that,“…wide is the gate and easy is the way that leads to destruction, or better, destroying, and many are those who enter through it.” If we consider what this great swarm of people living a life which destroys might look like it is not difficult to imagine them being much like a great swarm of locusts, who are ever on the move, destroying everything in their path. Now what those who enter through this wide gate do not realize is that the beginning of the wide highway that they are on has its beginnings with the one called the Destroyer, Satan, who dwells in the great abyss of destruction.

Well, Jesus goes on to tell us that there is a contrasting narrow gate. This doorway opens instead to a way of suffering, yet it is this narrow way that also leads to life, not destruction. Jesus goes on to tell us that very few find this gate and enter into life. So we are left wondering just what is the criteria that separates this narrow way from the wide road of destruction? Well, what we must remember is that what Jesus is teaching about here is the conclusion of a section of his core teaching which begins at the start of the sixth chapter of Matthew.There we hear Jesus tell us, ‘Take care not to perform your righteousness before the face of others in order that they might look upon what you have done. If you desire the honor of others then you will receive no reward from your Father in heaven.” You see, Jesus is speaking about the ones called Pharisees in the New Testament. These were the ones who were religiously devout, the ones who sought to bring the holiness found in the Temple out into every day life. So often we are told that the problem with the Pharisees was that they were legalistic, following the Law to a fault. Yet, this is not the issue with them according to Jesus. No, the problem was not that they followed the Law, for even Jesus warns against being lawless people. What the real issue with the Pharisees was that they performed the Law not to receive the honor of God. No, they were good law abiding citizens all so that they might receive the honor of others. You see, the Pharisees did not understand that the very reason why God is holy is that he alone is the one we should seek to please. To be holy people means that we desire the honor of our Heavenly Father above all else. 

         Now, the reason why the Pharisees sought the honor of others over seeking to be honored by God, is that when we seek only the honor of God we must be ready to find ourselves without honor in the eyes of those of the world. You see, to seek the honor of God means that we must demonstrate mercy and grace to all people. But what Jesus continually saw was that the Pharisees refused to offer mercy to those in need.Yes, even though they upheld all the commands of the Law they nonetheless, were those who refused to offer mercy and grace to those who needed it, and this was a great dishonor to their Heavenly Father.

         Well, when we understand the scandal that mercy and grace looks like to the world, we can begin to understand why the Pharisees wanted no part of it. To the world, mercy is a misery and grace is a disgrace. It seems so miserable to the world, to offer mercy to those who do not deserve it, to forgive those who stand condemned. What a disgrace to offer grace to all people equally when it so apparent that some people are obviously more worthy to receive it. Yet God in his mercy does what the world finds so dishonorable, setting aside his judgment in order to give us life. And God goes even further, for God not only offers us mercy and forgives us, but he also gives us the undeserved gift of the Holy Spirit, the unlimited presence of his love, a gift we have done nothing worthy of receiving such a gift. What a disgrace these seems to the world. 

Now the way we seek the honor of God is when we as his children, imitate the goodness of our Heavenly Father. We are to follow his lead and offer mercy and grace to others, even though it may be a misery and a disgrace to do so. When we act like our Heavenly Father we are known by him as being children who deserve our inheritance. If we refuse to do so then when we follow the way of the world, we end up destroying our inheritance as we see in this revelation of John.

         As followers of Jesus we must understand the crucial importance of seeking only the honor of God. You see, once we have experienced the mercy of the cross, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, the only right response is for us to bring honor to our Heavenly Father no matter what those who watch us might think of us. No more are we to ask the question, “Well, what will people think of me if I forgive those who have hurt me? I mean, what will others say when I take what is rightfully mine and give it to one who does not deserve it? No, now we must continually ask ourselves in every action, “Will God be honored by what I do? Or perhaps we might ask, “Will the way I treat people me put a smile on the face of God? The importance of asking such questions, is that seeking the honor of others can only lead to destruction for such a desire originates in Satan. In doing so, we will only end up squandering our very inheritance putting our very future with God in jeopardy. So let us live so that God is now and always honored. Let us turn from the eyes of the world and look full in the wonderful face of God as we go forth to give mercy and grace to all! Amen!

                   

The Big Reveal: The Word and Our Witness

 May 17 2026

Revelation 2: 8-11

         As I look back on my life I can see that God was teaching me some hard truths about being a follower of Jesus at a fairly early age. On of these lessons God gave to me had to do with my being confirmed when I was fourteen years old. You see, back in the day, churches expected those who had been baptized as a baby to take classes so that they might accept the faith they were baptized in for themselves. These classes were held over a two year period, so it was a really big deal back then. So finally, there I was, one Sunday in May, standing with thirteen other confirmands before the congregation of the First Dover United Methodist. As we stood there we nervously recited by heart the Ten Commandments and the Apostles Creed, hoping to get them right. Then we each individually professed our faith in JesusChrist publicly before the congregation. Now, for me, in that moment, I realized that what I had just done was a life changing moment for I had pledged my allegiance to Christ and his kingdom.Well, fast-forward four years, when I graduated from high school, and turned eighteen. One morning in early September I walked in to the Senior High/Post High class, and I find myself there alone with the teacher. And to this day, I still am not over the fact that in just four years, those I had gone through confirmation class for two years, and those who stood with me before the congregation and professed their faith in Jesus, not one of the rest of those confirmands were anywhere to be found. In that moment God spoke clearly to me and his lesson was that what people confess and profess to believe in can never really be a true measure of ones faithfulness to Jesus. Or to put it another way, if you talk the talk you have to walk the walk. And so I never stop wondering just why so many who went through confirmation simply walked away.

         Well, what caused me to remember this memory from fifty years ago, is that today in our study of the book of Revelation, we come to a section that is concerned with our calling to to be a faithful witness. Now as we probably know so well, being a faithful witness is fairly easy when life is going smoothly and all is well. But what happens when the clouds gather, the storms of life come, and you are called to remain faithful in the middle of pain and suffering not just in their absence? Well, what is an invaluable help for us in figuring out the key to remaining faithful to Jesus no matter the circumstances we face, is found in a little phrase we may have often said, yet one which we may not have understood what it truly means. This phrase is found at the end of the Lord’s Prayer, where we ask God to, “lead us not into temptation or hard trial”.  What is implied when we ask God to lead us is that God will do so through his word. This is what Jesus teaches us in the tenth chapter of the gospel of John, where Jesus our Good Shepherd says this about himself, “The sheep hears the Shepherd’s voice and he calls his sheep by name and he leads them out. When he has brought out all of his sheep, the shepherd goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” So when we know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, then when we pray for him to lead us not into a place of hard testing and temptation, this is perhaps more a profession of faith then it is a petition for guidance. We are to understand that the we can trust our Good Shepherd will lead us not to the place of failure but to a position of faith. Even though our circumstances may be bearing down upon us, nonetheless if we keep listening for the voice of Jesus then we can be assured that he will indeed lead us through our difficulties, otherwise he would not be a good Shepherd to us, would he?

         You see, we must be certain that our ability to remain faithful to Jesus totally depends upon knowing the voice of Jesus. We are to rely upon the fact that Jesus will always be faithful to be with us. Jesus alone can say that he will never abandon us. This important understanding is crucial for us to make sense of what we see revealed to us, here in the book of Revelation. John, the elder who is overseeing seven churches, is given a glimpse of the future God has in store for those who follow Jesus. As we follow John through the open door that enters into heaven, we are called to ask the question, “ Where do I see ourselves in this story?” Last week, Jesus told the church at Ephesus that they had abandoned the call of Jesus to love others as he had first loved us. Sure they hated evil, which is the fear of God, yet instead of being praised for their wisdom they were instead confronted by Jesus for using their hatred of evil as an excuse so that they could limit just who they might demonstrate their love to. You see, our hatred of evil is to spring from the fact that evil has all people trapped, making everyone unable to do the good that they might desire to do. So, even though we have a body of death because it has been imprisoned in evil, Jesus through his forgiveness, assures us that we are not condemned. So when the church at Ephesus placed themselves within what was revealed to John, the church at Ephesus was to witness to those who had never given up on their first love shown to them by Jesus. The church at Ephesus was to notice that these who were willing to love greatly were the very ones who are forever secure beneath the altar of heaven. So the church at Ephesus was to called to join these who had been faithful unto death. They were to once again hunger and thirst for righteousness, no longer withholding their love from those they thought to be evil. No, now they were to long to be one of those found to be clothed in white, those who at could at last rest from their labor.

         So the church at Ephesus was to know the importance of being those who remained a faithful witness to the word of God. You see, only those faithful who live according to the word of God are able to overcome the evil of our world. John further records in the sixth chapter of Revelations, that those under the altar were to rest until the full number of their fellow servants, those brothers and sisters who remain faithful, has at last been reached. These are the servants who are being described in the seventh chapter. John tells us that these are the ones who have a  seal placed upon their foreheads. Now, this seems to be a rather strange way to speak about these priests of God, yet if we look at what is written in the third chapter of John, we find that Jesus teaches us that those who have taken hold of his witness, the truth he has brought to us from heaven, these are the ones who God will seal in his truth. This seal, Jesus goes on to tell us is the Spirit of truth, for the Spirit speaks to us the very words of God. Now just like the seals that closed up the scroll pointed us to the one who has the authority to open the scroll, so too, when we have been given the seal of the Holy Spirit, we now have the authority to witness to the truth.  John also tells us that those in heaven who have been sealed by the promise of the Holy Spirit make up a great multitude that no one can number. And one more important fact about this multitude, is that these are the ones who have come out of the times of great testing and suffering. So here we appear to have proof of what we pray, that when we ask the Father to lead us not into temptation or hard testing. Through the Spirit speaking to us the truth of heaven we are able to come through terrible testing and suffering, to live in praise of God. 

         With all of this in mind, let us imagine what would happen if the church at Smyrna would ask the question: “Where do we see ourselves in this story?” Well, right here at the beginning of what Jesus says to them we hear that Jesus knows of their testing  and their suffering. They find themselves in the midst of great affliction, having been stripped of all worldly wealth, and slandered by those they thought would have accepted them. We are told that those who were harassing the church at Smyrna are the very people of Israel, those referred to here as being a Jewish synagogue. Yet in spite of their supposedly being God’s people we are told that they are instead a synagogue of Satan. Now it is rather shocking to hear Jesus use such harsh language but if we are aware of the teachings of Jesus we should know that this is not the first time this has happened. If we turn to the eighth chapter of the gospel of John, we are find Jesus speaking to some Jews who had placed their faith in him. So they were followers of Jesus for as Jesus tells them, “If you abide in my word,  if you take and live through obedience to my word, this is when you are truly my disciples.” Jesus continues by telling us this,” If you indeed find life through the obedience to my word, then you will know the truth and this truth will set you free.” Now, when Jesus questioned the very idea of their freedom, insinuating that these disciples just might be be slaves, they were quite offended. What did Jesus mean by implying that they had been captured by one who seeks to use and abuse us? Well, as Jesus continues, he explains that if they were indeed children of their Heavenly Father and not slaves, they would love Jesus because he had come directly to them from the Father in heaven. So not only is Jesus telling them that they are not free, but he is so telling these disciples who believed in him that that did not truly love him, talk about confronting them about their sin. You see, the problem was that they could not accept the word that he spoke to them. So because the word that Jesus spoke to them was simply too difficult to obey they instead began to listen to another voice, the voice of the devil or Satan. No matter what he is called, the evil of the evil one is that he is another voice which challenges the validity of what Jesus speaks to us. So, because they were listening to the devil, Jesus told them that it is the devil and not God who is their true father. When they obeyed the word the devil spoke to them, then they were doing the will or desire of the devil so that the devil was indeed their father. So here in this gathering of Jews was a synagogue of Satan because they were obeying the word Satan speaks to them instead of obeying the word of their Heavenly Father, the word brought to them by his Son, Jesus. So we are left wondering just what is the difference between the word of Jesus and the word of Satan? The answer, Jesus tells us is that the devil is and always has been a murderer, a taker of life. Our God, in contrast, is always and only a giver of life. So when the followers of Jesus decided to join their Jewish brothers in the violent overthrow of Rome through their desire to kill those who afflicted them, they had nonetheless become enslaved to doing the desires of the devil. So, as Jesus pointed out, if they were not willing to obey the word God spoke to them through Jesus, then they could not consider themselves to be true children of Abraham because Abraham obeyed God, no matter what.

         So the synagogue of Satan thought of themselves as being the true people of God, but they nonetheless could not justify this claim because they refused to obey God choosing instead to listen to the voice of Satan. Of course when the church of Smyrna proclaimed themselves as being the true children of God, this brought this synagogue of Satan under judgment causing this synagogue to blaspheme them, saying the church at Smyrna was caught in a lie. Their situation was described by Jesus in the third chapter of the gospel of John, where he tells us that everyone who does evil works hates the light and they will not come to the light so that their works can be clearly seen for what they truly are. The silver lining surrounding their situation is that at least now the church at Smyrna knew that they were indeed children of the light. This is why Jesus could tell them that they had nothing to fear, even if they were to face the suffering that was in their future. This little church was told by Jesus that they were to be tested, having to endure much affliction as those who obeyed Satan thought nothing of throwing many of their congregation into prison. 

         Now all that Jesus has to add concerning this churches upcoming suffering is the admonition that they were to hold onto their faith in him, even unto death. This seems to be a very difficult expectation that Jesus has for this church, yet what must not be forgotten is that Jesus himself faced temptation and testing. In the fourth chapter of Hebrews, we hear that Jesus speaks from experience when he tells us to be faithful when we find our faith being tested. We can read of this testing of Jesus in the fourth chapter of Matthew and Luke’s gospel accounts. In Matthews account, we find that the first lesson we can learn from this testing of Jesus is a truth taught to the people of Israel as they wandered there in the wilderness after being rescued from slavery in Egypt. God spoke to Moses and told him that every morning God would supply the people of Israel with bread from heaven, something like white flakes that would be gathered up to eat. They were to only gather as much as they needed for one day, otherwise this heavenly bread would rot. Now the reason why God fed them in this way is found in the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy where we hear that the people were to know, that we as people do not live by bread alone but we live by every word which proceeds form the mouth of God. So listening and obeying God is found to be of utmost importance when we face hard testing. So when Jesus tells the church at Smyrna to be faithful, even if they face death, he follows this by further telling them that their ears should be tuned to hear every word the Spirit speaks to them. As Jesus teaches us in the sixteenth chapter of John, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but the words he hears, these he will speak to declare to you the things that are to come.” You see, only those who is willing to be lead by the speaking of the Spirit, only these will be known as being conquers, those who indeed have overcome the world.

         This church at Smyrna then would have resonated with what is revealed to John when the first seal of the scroll was removed. When the first seal was removed we hear that one has come forth riding on a white horse wearing a crown. This is the one who conquered and who continues to conquer. This conqueror is of course, Jesus, the very one who conquered death through his resurrection from the dead. But Jesus keeps on conquering when all those who listen and obey the Spirit who speaks the words of Jesus to them. This is why the church of Smyrna could say that they were those who had been sealed by the Holy Spirit because they were obedient to do all that Jesus the conqueror commands them to do. 

         This church in Smyrna, then, serves as a bridge between the first section of this revelation and the next. As the first section focused on how Jesus conquered over the evil of this world through his love and mercy, the second section will give us instructions on how to live in a world where there is not peace but persecution. And the very means by which we face this affliction that comes on account of our faith is prayer. The essence of this lesson on prayer is the truth that the church at Smyrna already knew so well, that our prayer must be all about hearing and and obeying what God speaks to us, for it is these words that will guide through every affliction until at last we are at home with God. To God be the glory! Amen!

         

         

         

The Big Reveal: The Light of Our Wisdom

 May 10 2026

Revelation 2:1-7

         Well, I have to admit that with the coming of all of gray hair I thought that I might have more wisdom to offer. I guess that this is a common assumption, you know, that after making a certain number of trips around the sun that we are supposed to be not just older but overflowing with learning and knowledge, a real master of wisdom. The person who comes to mind when I think about being just such a wise person is my late father-in-law, Ted. Even though Ted had grown up poor, and had graduated from the school of hard knocks, he nonetheless made something of himself. But Ted did not just keep what he had learned through the years to himself. No, one of his greatest joys was to have his family and friends gather around him so he could share his stories about the wisdom that life had given him. Sure those stories were slightly embellished but in those stories were always little nuggets of wisdom, something that he had learned or discovered along the way that he hoped would help someone else to make wise choices. 

         Well, when we think about what it means for us to make wise choices, we are faced with first having to define just what to we mean by this thing called wisdom. I guess the easiest way to consider wisdom is to know that the opposite of wisdom is foolishness. It is probably a universal longing to never look foolish before those we hold to be important to us. No one really likes to be embarrassed no matter how often it might happen.  So to be wise is to be certain that our life will be marked by good choices. And as it turns out, it is this search for wisdom, this is he unspoken problem plaguing the church at Ephesus. 

         You see, wisdom is all about living life in a right and good manner. We discover just such a life described for us in the book of the Bible called Proverbs. There in the eighth chapter, the thirteenth verse, we hear a well known saying: “The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil”. And then in the ninth chapter of Proverbs we find, “The fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom.” So when we learn that that church at Ephesus hated evil, not being able to put up with the evil of others, we might assume that Jesus will praise them for their wisdom. Yet, perhaps much to their surprise, this church at Ephesus is not given two thumbs up as being wise people; no, instead Jesus states that they have fallen from where they had first been. So rather than being complimented on their wisdom they are instead told that they are foolishly headed in the wrong direction. And Jesus goes further by telling them that their foolishness has caused them to walk away from the loving others with the greatest love which Jesus had first loved them. 

         Now, we are left wondering, just what are we to make of such a statement? I mean is it not true that wisdom is found by hating evil? Of course, this must be true. So yes, we should hate evil but the real question is this: just what are we to do with our hatred of evil?  You see, we can use our hatred of evil to either be the cause of division or we can use our hatred of evil as being that which unites us with others. For the church at Ephesus, their hatred of evil was seen as being the reason why they had separated themselves from all those who did such evil. The church at Ephesus had taken their knowledge of evil as used this as an excuse to limit their love of others. Their knowledge of evil caused them to consider themselves superior to those who did not fear the Lord. So when they understood their fear of the Lord in this way, then they had no trouble finding some not just worth the effort it takes to love others with the love Jesus had first gave them when he offered his life upon the cross. 

         You see, our hatred of evil is to never be used as an excuse for withholding love from anyone, far from it. No, the hatred we have for evil is to make us aware that evil is a trap that all people are unable to be free of under their own power. This is the tragic conclusion discovered by the people of Israel, who even though they could state that the wisest choice was to fear the Lord by hating evil, they nonetheless, ended up being so evil that they had to be thrown out of the land promised to them by God. The law God had given to them clearly outlined what was forbidden yet the people of God seemed powerless to do the good that was set before them. This is what Paul explains at the end of the seventh chapter of Romans, where he says, ‘For we know the Law is spiritual, but I am under the power of the desires of my flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. I do not do what I want to do, but instead I do the very thing I hate.” Here Paul appears to be giving a nod to wisdom, because the very thing that he hates is evil, yet even the fear of God is unable to move him to obedience. What Paul concludes is this, “I know that nothing good dwells in me through doing what my flesh desires. I may have the desire to do what is right but I do not have the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good that I want to do, and the evil I do not want to do, the evil that I hate, this is the very thing that I keep on doing.” When we listen to Paul lay out the dilemma that all of us face, we all can cry out with Paul, “Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” This is where our hatred of evil is to bring us, to this point where we do hate evil yet knowing that we stand in need of someone who will set us free from the terrible hold which evil has on us. This is why we hate evil because it is a force that has imprisoned us, all of us. And it is this evil which is what ruins any hope we might have of a future with God.

         To this rather somber account of our situation, Paul then exclaims this wonderful declaration as found at the beginning of the eighth chapter of Romans,  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Jesus does not hate us for the evil we have done but instead, out of his great love for us, Jesus offers us forgiveness. Now it follows that if Jesus does not condemn anyone then neither can someone condemn or judge anyone else as being unworthy of the forgiveness of God. To judge another person as being worthy of condemnation and then  justify our action because of our hatred of evil will only cause us to place ourselves under the judgment of God. This is why Jesus sternly warns us in the sixth chapter of Matthew that we are not to judge others for the measure of judgment we use on others will be the measure of judgment that will be used upon us. 

         You see, when the church at Ephesus received this letter from John, they were supposed to ask the question, “Where do we see ourselves in this revelation that John has shared with us?’  Well, it is rather obvious that when they heard of the Lamb who is slain, they would have remembered the great love that Jesus had for those he considered his friends. This love compelled Jesus to offer up his life as a shield to cover our life with his very own.  So how could the church at Ephesus forget this love which they had experienced from God when they had first begun their relationship? This was the love they had abandoned and clearly in this heavenly scene, Jesus is inviting this church to return to this love they experienced when they first encountered him. They were to remember that before Jesus, the future held securely within the scroll was not open to them. As they listened to what was revealed to John they were to know that what has forever opened up this future is this great love Jesus has for all people.  Jesus alone is worthy to create for us future, for he is the one who offered his life for us, becoming for us the Lamb who is slain. Only the life blood of Jesus, poured out for all of us, only this could pay the price necessary to redeem us from our slavery to sin and death. Thus it is only Jesus who is able to take those caught up in the slavery of evil, and transform them into being kings and priests to God. This is the power of the love of Jesus, his agape love, the love of God that is without limits, reaching to all people, in all places, at all times. Jesus, in the fifteenth chapter of John, tells us this, “The greatest love is this, that one would offer up his life for his friends. And you are my friends if you do what I command you, and you go and love with this same great love, offering up your life for your friends.”  This love of Jesus is a love which moves him to take his life and place it over our life, covering us from harm so that we might experience a security like no other. So as the church at Ephesus found themselves in this story they would have been confronted by the fact that when they had abandoned this love of Jesus then they had walked away from the life that Jesus had secured for them through this very love.

         As the church at Ephesus refused to love others as Jesus had first loved them, they forgot the very source of this life God offers us. In doing so, the very basis for our worship of God, that God is the giver of life, this has been lost when the church at Ephesus walked away from their first love. All they were left with was just a knowledge of evil without any hope of a future beyond this evil. Gone was the praise to God for his great love that thought nothing of giving his only Son so that we might not perish, but instead have a life eternal. So when the church at Ephesus abandoned this love they had first had received from God they no longer could worship as they do in heaven, finding God worthy to receive the sum total of their life. And this then affected how they served God through their love of others for they no longer loved others as God had first loved them. No longer did the church at Ephesus witness with their lives that there is a source of love which can transform us into people who can love with a love that has no limits, loving all people in all places and all times. No, they instead they decided to place limits on their love, withholding love from all those they judged as being controlled by the evil they thought they knew so well. In that decision, the church at Ephesus forgot that they too had once been people who had been controlled by evil, in that time before they had experienced the unlimited love of Jesus. 

Now just as this church at Ephesus were called to find themselves in this story, I believe that all who read this revelation of John are to do the same. We must consider just what does this story say to us as the church in America?  We too must remember the love of Jesus who became the Lamb of God slain for us. We must allow this love to confront us and cause us to consider if we, like the church at Ephesus, have perhaps walked away from loving others with this greatest love? I believe that if we are honest, there are signs that do indicate that we have much in common with this church at Ephesus. I say this because it appears that the lost in America seem to know way more about all the behaviors that the church hates and they are so unaware of just how unlimited is this love with which the church is given to love others. How tragic it is that all some people know about the church is that it seems that the church hates people who aren’t like them, looking down on all those who don’t follow our ways of doing things. Somehow the church never seems to get around to just loving others without judgment as Jesus first has done for us. The problem is that there are simply too many who claim to be followers of Jesus who keep looking for ways to limit their love of others believing that all that is necessary is for us to just love the people who look like us and act like us. Yet if Jesus had used this same standard with us then none of us would have made the grade for none of us can claim to be without sin, as he is.

Now why it is so crucial for us as a church to return to loving others without limits is that unless we do so, Jesus warns us that we will be removed from the lamp stand. The reason why Jesus would do such a drastic measure is simply that the church at Ephesus, and all the churches who are like them, have stopped being what Jesus expects that they should be. When we think about the church being a light in a lamp stand , how can we not hear the words of Jesus found in the middle of the fifth chapter of Matthew, “ You, the church, are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and then hide that light under a basket. No, they take and place that light in a lamp stand so that it gives light to the whole house. In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see what is good and give glory to God.” You see, as we live in an evil world it is not enough for us to merely stand and curse the darkness, which is all that we do when we point out all the ways people no longer fear God. No, God expects that our life will witness to his goodness, this is how we demonstrate that he alone is worthy to receive all the glory, honor and praise. If we have experienced the goodness of God, if we have known of his great love for all of us, and we refuse to demonstrate this goodness to others then Jesus warns us that we will be like salt which has lost its flavor, no longer good for anything but to be thrown out into the street to be walked on. This is the dire future for all churches who follow in the footsteps of the church at Ephesus.

You see when we realize that God expects our lives to radiate with a holy difference called goodness, then what we see revealed in heaven begins to make sense. If we return to the opening of the seals which open up to us our certain future, when we come to the fifth of those seven seals being opened we see an unusual sight. John tells us that he sees that there under the altar are the souls of those who had offered up their life on account of the word of God and because of their witness before the world. Now clearly, the altar represents Jesus, the Lamb who gave himself as a once-for-all offering for us. When Jesus describes this act of love he says this greater love is a love which moves someone to set their life over another, covering another person’s life with their own life. This is what we see when the followers of Jesus are seen to be under the altar, an image of being covered by the very love of Jesus. These who are sheltered by the very presence of Jesus respond to this act of love by doing two things. The first is that they obey the word of God. I believe that in this instance that this refers to the word of judgment that Jesus teaches us when he says that we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness and that we are to be merciful to others as God is merciful to us. The righteousness we are to long for is a world where all people are found to be equally deserving of life. This speaks to the unlimited nature of the love of God. This love then, is seen living in us as we offer mercy. To those considered to be the least of these in an evil world, we are to offer them the life the world has no problem taking from them. And to those who oppose our efforts to offer life, those who refuse to have anything to do with loving others without limits, this mercy is offered to them by the forgiveness of their trespass against us. The reason why we choose to obey this teaching is solely because of  the mercy God has first shown to us. When we love like God just as he first loved us, then we witness to the goodness of God in a world held captive by evil, becoming a light the world so desperately needs. This is what Jesus expects from the church at Ephesus, and all churches like them. True wisdom is for the church to be a light for our dark world. Only as we shine can we be part of the future that is dawning before us.So as our Lamb has conquered, let us follow him. Amen! 

The Big Reveal: A Future Worth It All

 May 3 2026

Revelation 4:9-11, 5:10,

         One of the interesting aspects of getting older is that the value you place on things changes over time. I now value the simple joys of life over just filling my life with stuff. Jennifer has helped me to understand that what should be worth most to us are the little things do on a daily basis. So while it might seem odd to spend the money to remodel our bathroom to have a walk in shower, but it is worth it just to have a safe and comfortable experience every day. The same goes for why we decided to purchase a decent car in our later years. When you get to a certain age you no longer want to drive a car that’s twenty years old hoping that it won’t die before you get where you want to be. At our age, we would rather have something safe and reliable. So what determines just what something is worth to us depends on how much that this purchase will such give us what we value, things such as comfort and reliability.

         In much the same way, we must decide just what value or worth do we place on our relationship with God. This is a crucial point that confronts us as we tag along with John as he enters through the door to heaven. You see, that doorway  enters directly into the heavenly Temple where a great time of worship is witnessed by John. Yet before we get our bearings in this sanctuary we  are told, right here at the beginning of the fourth chapter, that our time of worship will be joined by some strange beings that John merely calls living creatures. These four beings recall the vision of Ezekiel as recorded in the first chapter of his book. There is a lot of speculation as to who or what these four beings are so for now we will have to allow them to be to us just an unsolved mystery. What we do know about these creatures is that they worship God continually crying out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is and who is to come!’ As these creatures worship God, we are told that there are also twenty four elders who surround the throne of God in great worship of God. These elders go so far as to take the golden crowns, their heavenly reward, and they offer this to God, crying that he alone worthy to receive their treasures. Now it might come as a surprise to learn that this term, “worthy”, comes from the same root where we get the word, “axle”. You see, in ancient times the worth of something was done on a balance scales. This was is a simple arm that pivots upon an axle, looking much like a teeter-totter in a school yard. When weights are placed on either end of the beam, they are said to be equal when the arm is horizontal. So, when the worshippers cry out that God is worthy, they are implying that if God is on one end of the beam of the scales then for the scales to balance out we must place all of our glory and honor that we long to  receive from others, all of the power and influence that we believe we possess, on the other end of that beam. This is simply the worth or value that God is to be for us. So we might say that the value we place on God, what he is worth to us, ought to be the sum total of who we are. This is what we mean when we say that we, “Worship”, God.  What God is worth, the worth-ship of God, is that he alone is worth the glory we live for, and his is the only honor that we should seek, and he alone deserves to receive all we bring forth through our power and might. 

         Now, when we define worship as they do when they exalt God in heaven as we see here in the fourth chapter of Revelations, we naturally want to know the reason just why is God found to be of such a great worth? Why is it that we should be willing to give up all that this world seems to hold so dear, like fame, honor and wealth, and come and lay those worldly desires at the feet of God? Well, the reason we why God is to be worth everything to us is simply that we know that it is God who has created us. But this is not the entire reason because we are to also know that the very reason why we exist is that God desires us to live, and not just have life but to have a life with him.  This longing of God is the essence of his love for each person. You see, none of us are some kind of cosmic mistake that should not be here; no, the life of each person can be traced back to the heart of God where he had a desire for each person to experience life. And knowing that our life has sprung forth from of the love of God, it seems right that we would respond in love and then offer God our only possession which is the life he has given to us. 

         So, here in the fourth chapter, we remember the God who was there in the beginning, that God from the start is always to be found worthy of receiving glory, honor and power solely because created us and gave us life. This means that from that morning when Adam first had breath, the good and right response of all of humans is that we would find God worthy to receive the offering of ourselves.  So as God was indeed worthy of receiving all glory and honor from our life there in the beginning, so too he is worthy to receive these here in the present and unto all eternity.

Our worship of God then flows from the fact that God has given this gift of life to us and this is important for us to hold fast to this truth when we come to the fifth chapter of Revelations. As we enter this chapter we discover that there is a crisis that has developed in heaven because there has been found a scroll written on both sides, and this scroll is found to be unable to be opened because of seven seals or locks. So if we think about a roll of paper, we can understand that if there is writing on both sides of the paper then only what has been written on the outside layer of paper can be read. In order for the message on the inner layer of paper to be read requires that the roll of paper be unrolled and the paper be stretched out. In this way  the message hidden within the scroll can be read. So here in the heavenly court, the scroll, our roll of paper, is unable to be unrolled because there is, as it were, seven drops of glue along the edge of the paper. In order for the inside message to be read, then, we need to find a way to dissolve the glue. Now instead of glue preventing the scroll from being unwound, we are told that there are seven seals. These seals in ancient times were drops of wax on which a ring was pressed onto. This ring was property of the king and when he would send a message he would seal it with a wax seal that was imprinted with his distinctive image. Only those who were authorized by the king were allowed to open the message and read its contents. So this scroll is in fact a message sent by the king but alas there is no one, it seems, who is authorized to break those seals and open the scroll. What we are told is that the one who has the authority to break the seals is the one who is found to be worthy of this task. So here again, we hear the language of worship, the asking of who is worthy, only this time the reason we place value upon this one is that they alone are authorized to open the scroll and read the message. So we are left wondering, just who is this one who is able to open the scroll, and why has he been given the authority to do so? The answer is found in the fifth verse, where we hear about one called the Lion, who comes from the tribe of Judah, the very king who has sprung up from the dead stump of David’s legacy, this is the one has won the victory. This victory has given this one the authority to break the seals of the scroll. Once again, we are left wondering, just what victory has this king won that he now has been granted all authority? Well, as we continue to read, we find that between the Throne of the king and the four living creatures, there appears a lamb that has been slaughtered. This Lamb is found to have seven horns, which speaks to complete power, and it also had seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that go into all the earth. So the Lamb that has been slain is now to be known as being all seeing and all powerful. So we are to make the connection that because of the willingness of this Lamb to offer his life to do what his Father desired, the Father is now justified in declaring that this Lamb is indeed the king over all.

         Now when we witness this Lamb take hold of this scroll, we notice a subtle change in the worship of the elders and the four living creatures. There around the throne is heard the singing of a new song because obviously there is something new to sing about. You see, in addition to finding God worthy to receive all of our glory and honor that occurs through the power he has given to us, now we too can cry, “Worthy”, before the Lamb for he is the one who offered his life to do the desire of God. This is why he alone is able to break the seals and open the scroll. The Lamb has authority because he has won the victory, and the victory is that he was slain, his blood poured out, his life offered up for us.  Through the price of his own precious blood, now people from every tribe, tongue and nation are ransomed from their slavery to sin. And this Lamb has not only secured freedom for all people but he also has taken these former slaves and through his power he has made them be his kings and his priests. These are the ones who will reign with him on the earth forever. 

So what the Lamb has done through his opening up the scroll is that he has opened up our future. You see, before Jesus offered up his life upon the cross in this great act of love, focusing on the future only caused doubt and despair to spring up in a person’s heart. There simply was nothing certain on which one could anchor their hope. Yes, throughout the Old Testament there are glimmers of a life in eternity yet much of what is written is only speculation. The future remained on the other side of the scroll, tightly sealed until Jesus came and offered his life in order that we all might have a life safely anchored in eternity. This is why Jesus, the Lamb who is slain, is worthy of all that we are because he is why we now have life, a life which death cannot defeat.

         So our worship of God is grounded in the fact that God alone is our source of life. We exist solely because God created us and gave us life, and therefore God alone is worthy of all that our life produces. Yet this is not all, for God goes further and through Jesus, his Son, God has ransomed us from our slavery to death and the fear of death, giving us a life eternal through his mercy, therefore God alone is worthy of the offering of our life. Jesus who is human just like us, witnessed there upon the cross that when we offer our life through acts of mercy we  witness that eternal life lives within us. Jesus, as the sinless, innocent Lamb, united himself forever with those whose lives have been damaged and destroyed by the evil generation of this world. Through this act, Jesus proved that God is indeed found there among the broken and crushed of this world, seeking them out in order to give them life. Yet the same love that caused Jesus to be united with all the poor and powerless is, in the same breath, the love which cries, “Father, forgive them”, to all those who seek to take the life of the least of these. In either case, the love of God is seen offering life. Yet this should not be something new or unusual for as Jesus teaches us at the end of the fifth chapter of Matthew, our Heavenly Father makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, just as he sends the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. Through this steadfast, faithful love of God, which gives us life, our fear is cast out, faith rushes in to take its place, a faith that empowers us to overcome the world. This is why God alone is worthy of everything, for he alone gives us a life which is victorious.

         So at last the scroll is opened here in the sixth chapter of the book of Revelation. Now in each of the three divisions of this book we find that there are seven objects that are the focus of what is happening. In each of these seven, the first four of these seven describe the whole of the situation being addressed. Then in the fifth, sixth and seventh parts, God addresses how he will deal with all that is revealed in the first four statements. So when the first four seals are opened we first hear of one who comes riding on a white horse, the one who is crowned as king who goes forth conquering and to conquer. This is obviously a depiction of Jesus, the risen one who has conquered death. Now just because Jesus has conquered what we find is that the world has not automatically become a paradise, far from it. No, when the second seal is opened we hear that a rider has come forth on a red horse and this one is taking all of the peace from the earth. Well, we may at first be alarmed but then we should remember that Jesus himself teaches us in the tenth chapter of Matthew, that he did not come to bring peace but instead a sword. As Jesus say in the third chapter of John, he has brought light into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does wickedness hates the light, and this is the very source of much of the unrest in our world today.

         Well, when the third seal is broken we hear of yet another rider who is on a black horse this time. This rider represents the buying and selling of trade, the endless pursuit of worldly riches. And again, this is no surprise because in the seventeenth chapter of Luke, Jesus tells us that just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, and drinking, they were buying and selling, they were planting and building, but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, fire and suffer rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Jesus continues, “ This is how it will be when the Son of Man is revealed”. So even though Jesus is proven to be the Son of Man nonetheless this means nothing to those caught up in the trappings of this world.

         The fourth seal is then opened and this horse is often called the Pale rider but the original wording the horse is green. Talk about a horse of a different color! Well, the rider upon this horse is Death and wherever he rides, hell follows him. So we do see people dying by the sword, famine, disease, and wild beasts. This is just an apt description of what we witness on any given day. So as we pause to consider just what the situation is that is described in these four acts, we conclude that yes, Jesus has conquered death and the grave, and he continues to conquer the death of those who believe in him. Yet the world seems to go on as if nothing has happened. The light has dawned and the only reaction by the world is hatred because the light exposes the truth of the evil we live in. The world continues to buy and sell as if they have no clue the day of judgment gets closer every day. And death still at work turning the paradise of creation into yet another hellscape. So we are left wondering, just what is God’s answer to us as we live in these in between times? The answer we are given is found when the fifth seal is broken. We are told that under the altar are found the souls of those who had been slain on account of the word of God and for the witness they possessed. These are the ones who desperately want to know, just how long will it be until God acts and judgment comes? The only answer they are given is that they are clothed in garments of white and are told to rest until the full number of witness at last is reached.  God’s answer for our times, is that we be one of those who find him worthy of their witness. We are to everyday find God worthy of our life, by offering mercy, which is giving life to the least of these, and forgiveness to those oppose such efforts. This is how we live under the altar, by carrying our cross day by day,  to the glory God! Amen!

         

The Big Reveal: Heaven in 3-D

 April 26 2026

Revelation 4:1, 7:13-17, 11:15-18, 21:1-7

         Have you ever thought of how much your life changes any time you walk through a door? I mean, think about how much the course of your life was altered on that first day of school, when someone held the door open for you, and your teacher welcomed you into the beginning of a life-long journey of learning. Or perhaps it was the first day you remember entering the door of the building that people in your life called a church.From that first moment, your life was being transformed by the love you found there. Or perhaps you may remember how your  life took on a new set of priorities that day you walked through the doorway of your first home. So it is a rather profound truth that something so simple as the doors we enter through, these can indeed be the very means by which enter into a whole new way of life.

         You see, when we consider just how much our lives our transformed simply by going through all of the doors that are ever before us here on earth, we can only imagine how our life might be altered if we could enter the doorway that opens into the wonders of heaven. This is the thrilling moment that we read about here at the beginning of the fourth chapter of the book of his revelation. As John worshiped there on the Lord’s Day, in the fullness of the Lord’s power and presence, we read that John looked, and behold, there before him was a door that opened into heaven, of all places! When we read such a statement how can we not want to walk with John through that door to just get even a small glimpse of our eternal home.Yet many people are hesitant to go further and really read about what John witnesses while he visits the very place we hope will one day be our future. Perhaps the problem is that so many get caught up in this idea that this writing of John is about knowing when Jesus shall return that they fail to see that what matters to John is that the followers of Jesus remain holy all our days here on earth. Another reason why people never venture very far in the book of Revelation is that before they read too much of the story, things begin to get a little weird. The text is somewhat confusing and there are images and pictures along the way that make us scratch our heads. Yes, it is true that the book of Revelation is one of the strangest books in the Bible but still, it remains important to us because this book calls to remember that we do indeed have a future with God. While the rest of the world may be holding on to their memories of the past, we who follow Jesus are to, instead, hold on to the promise of our future because we know that the best is yet to come.

         To help us through some of the stranger parts of this letter of John, I believe that it is best to begin with a broad overview of how this writing is structured. When you step back and look at the whole of this writing you begin to notice that it is divided into three distinct sections. This becomes evident because the book of Revelation is a story that has not one but three happy-ever-after endings. The first is at the end of the seventh chapter where we read that those who came through the times of trial will be those who are continually before the throne of God, serving him day and night in the temple. They will no longer hunger or thirst, nor shall the sun scorch them, for the Lamb seated on the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Now, this by itself would be a wonderful ending for us, wouldn’t it? I mean, here in this ending we hear echoes of the twenty-third Psalm, where our good Shepherd leads us to rest beside still waters. We also hear whispers of the wonderful prophecy found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, where God promises that one day he would set before his people a great feast. On that day, death at last will be swallowed up forever, and God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes. So here at the end of the seventh chapter of Revelation we see that what was once promised in the Psalms and the prophets has now become a reality for the faithful to enjoy.

         As wonderful as this image is for us, this leading of Jesus that brings us to rest beside living waters, this is not all John has to say about what lies ahead.  No, as we find at the end of the eleventh chapter, John has more to say about our glorious future. There we hear this, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and his Messiah, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Then the elders worship God saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty who is, and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged but your wrath came for now is the time to be judged and for the rewarding of your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, yes, now is the time for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Here again, we hear the good news of the glorious future God has for us, only this time the emphasis is not on our own personal comfort but instead the focus is on the comfort of knowing that God is indeed going to at last deal with the evil of our world. No more will there be any opposition to the kingdom of God for those who raged against God and the future he is bringing forth have at last been dealt with forever. And not only that, but the promised reward for our obedience to the Lamb at last will be given to those who find this world not worthy of their time or effort.

         So, again, with these two wonderful portraits of the future that will one day be ours, we have plenty to ponder on when we consider our eternity. Yet we find that John is not done in providing us with images of the world we are hoping to one day live in. At the end of the twentieth chapter of Revelation we hear that at last Death and Hell have been destroyed so that now John could tell us that he saw, “…a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth and the first heaven passed away. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.And  I heard a loud voice from the throne stating, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with all of humanity. God will dwell with them, and they will be his people…death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away….And further John also records, “I saw no Holy of Holies in the city for its Holy of Holies is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the new Jerusalem will have no need for the sun  or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God shall be its light, and its source of light is the Lamb. By this light will the nations walk, and the kings of earth shall bring their glory into it, and the gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there. They will bring into the new Jerusalem the glory and honor of the nations.” What a breathtaking view of the glorious day that awaits all of us who place our faith in Jesus! You see, when we hold fast to these three happy endings we discover an amazing hope on which we can anchor our life.

         So it becomes rather obvious that this revelation given to John is divided into three separate parts which is a great help to keep us from being overwhelmed by all that is written here. Now if this letter had been heard by one of the people of Israel back when this letter was written, these divisions would have been quite obvious. You see, the door through which John entered opened into the very Temple of heaven. We have to understand that the Temple where the people of Israel worshipped had its very architecture shaped by the design found in heaven. You see, the Temple built in Jerusalem had an altar on which sacrifices were offered and the reason for this is that in heaven there is an altar. We hear of this heavenly altar in the sixth chapter of Revelation, the ninth verse, that there under the heavenly altar is the secure home for all of the souls who treasured the word of God and that they witnessed to the risen Jesus, and who gave their lives as offering to God.

In a similar way, just as the earthly Temple had an enclosed space that housed a smaller altar where incense was burned, this too is copied from the original in heaven. At the beginning of the eighth chapter, we hear of an angel who is standing beside an altar with a gold censer and this angel is given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints. It is no surprise then, that just as there was a cubed shaped enclosed room called the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept there in the earthly Temple, that we also find at the end of this revelation given to John the original it was based upon. You see, the heavenly Holy of Holies is now the entire city of New Jerusalem. We are to understand this truth through the dimensions given to John, that the city’s length, width and height are all equal, just as we find in the earthly Holy of Holies. Instead of their being an ark in this holy place there is now the reality which the ark always pointed to, that God and humanity would at last be united forever. 

         So, knowing that the book of Revelation is moving through these spaces of the Temple helps us to keep our bearings, and they also provide us with the purpose that was associated with each part of the earthly Temple. Just as we know that the sacrificial altar dealt with the issue of sin, we can expect that sin will also be dealt with through the heavenly altar. And we also know that the incense altar is where the prayers of God’s people were thought to ascend to heaven from this space. So when we read of incense being offered in this revelation story we are to know that here is where prayers will be heard in heaven. We are to also remember that there within the Holy of Holies, once every year,  God restored unity with his people. So it is no surprise that when we come to the Holy of Holies found in heaven that here once again, the focus is how God intends to bring about unity between him and all people. 

         In knowing the role of the Temple here on earth then, we can begin to make sense out of just what is taking place behind this open door which leads us into heaven. Yet, this is not all we have to assist us in understanding this revelation given to John because there is yet another series of three which also worth considering. This set of three is found extensively in the first chapter of this book, where John continually address God as being the one who was, the one who is and the one who will be. This is the name God first gave to Moses when Moses desired to know the name of God. God told Moses that he is the, “I Am”. This meant that God is one who does not change, ever for he is always who he is. Who he was in the past is who God is here in the present and who he will be there in our future. So it makes sense that when we enter the realm of God that the revelation we are given will also be structured by what God has done in the past, what God is presently doing and then also what future God has planned. This is exactly how we find this story laid out, that it begins with creation in chapter four, and then continues until the coming of the new creation where God and humanity are at last united. Through all this long course of history we find that God and his desire to be united with us, his highest creation, never changes and this should prove to be a great hope to those who read what John has written.

         Now what is amazing is that all of these series of threes work together to bring the meaning of what has been revealed to John into focus for us so that we can better understand the message that is to be found here. To help us further grasp the meaning found within this revelation, I believe we consider that John had the core teachings of Jesus clearly in mind as he wrote everything down. It was there in the teaching Jesus gave us on prayer that we find that our eternal security depends on three key blessings that only God can provide. In the prayer Jesus taught, what we call the Lord’s Prayer, we find that the prayer closes with three petitions where we ask God to provide us all that is necessary for us to make his name holy, which is the overall focus of this prayer. So as we remember the prayer, it begins, “Our Father, hallowed be your name…”. This mean that our desire is that the reputation of our God is to be anything but common. Now in order for us make the name of God holy, we are to desire to see his kingdom come.  This means that we will want to do only what God desires of us, that his will be done. The result is that what once was seen only in heaven will now be witnessed here on earth. This means that we must be willing to offer ourselves to be a daily source of life, like bread, to those who need life. Then next in the prayer we hear of forgiveness. We pray to be forgiven of our trespasses just as God first, forgives us of our trespasses. So it is right here in the Lord’s Prayer that we admit our need for God to do three things for us. The first of these needs is that we need the mercy of God. We are merciful only because we have first received mercy from God, forgiving others because God first forgives us. Yet this is not the only thing we need from God because we next pray that God not bring us into temptation. This is an admission on our part that we need God in order to remain faithful to him in times of trial.  Finally, we pray that God deliver us from  evil for we know that we are unable to overcome evil without him. Now if we take these three concerns that only God can fulfill, that we stand in need of mercy and forgiveness, that we to need God to make us faithful in upholding his name as being holy, and that God alone must deliver us from evil, and we lay these over top of the three divisions that we find in the book of Revelation, something amazing happens. In the first section, where we find the altar we find God’s provision for forgiveness through his mercy displayed at the altar of the cross. Then having come to live in the mercy of God, we enter into a space of prayer where through our relying upon the strength of God alone we find that we remain steadfast in demonstrating the holy love of God to others. And then in the future, we discover that one day God will indeed deliver us out of this suffering world so that we might live with him forever. So this revelation given to John demonstrates to those who pray the Lord’s Prayer just how it is that God alone will answer this prayer and create us to be those saints who stand to possess his kingdom where one day we will reign as his kings and priests.  

         So all of these series of threes are given to us so that we enter through the door of heaven and not despair at being overwhelmed by the mystery that confronts us. No, we should instead praise God for the future that awaits us, and pray that through what we discover in what he has revealed we might become the church which faithfully witnesses to this eternal life lived forever in the kingdom of our risen king named Jesus. God be praised! Amen!

The Big Reveal: We’ve Got Mail

 April 19 2026

Revelation 2

         One of the things I find amusing that keeps popping up on social media is people who are selling T-shirts and other merchandise that say something to the effect that if Paul were still around then the Christians living in America, would most likely be getting a letter from him. I mean can you imagine what would be written there in Paul’s Letter to the Americans? I suppose we can all agree that if Paul were to send us a letter it probably wouldn’t be a good thing. Now Paul was not alone in being someone who could write letters to churches. If we look through the New Testament, we find that other leaders in the church, those like Peter, Jude and and James all left us letters that were written to the churches in their care . And last, but not least, on this list of letter writers, is John whose name is found here, on this very last book of the Bible, for he is to write down all the God reveals to him.

         You see, what most people often forget is that the book of Revelation is actually a series of letters which were written to churches. John was instructed by the living Jesus to write down all that was revealed to him about concerning the future of the seven churches in John’s care. What is revealed to John is grounded in the unchanging nature of God. We are to remember that what God had done in the past, and what God is doing right now in the present is all done with our best interest in mind.  Knowing this then we will not fear what God reveals to us that he is going to do somewhere out in the future because we know that this also will be for our benefit.

         So this big reveal God gives to John is a reality that is shared with seven churches. Now the names of the churches that John was writing to were the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum and to Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea. These were actual, historical churches and the sites where these churches used to worship can still be found in what is today modern Turkey. Yet, what the Spirit had John write down was not just a mere history lesson where we get to stand outside of their story and shake our heads and point our fingers at their mistakes. While, yes, these were letters were for actual churches they do still have something to say to all churches down through the ages. You see, if we rightly understood what we call the book of Revelation then we would know that John has already written a series of letters to the churches here in America, letters which speak to what we are dealing with at this time. This universal nature of these letters is further reinforced by their being seven churches because the number, “seven”, is a Biblical number that speaks to the idea of completeness. 

         So before we even begin we first must realize that what we read about in the book of Revelation must be done with this question in mind: Where do we see ourselves in this story? To answer such a question requires us to be brutally honest about just how we are doing at the moment, and our certainty about where we are headed. You see, what is at stake for all followers of Jesus who form these communities called the church is their participation in this future Jesus is busy at work preparing for all of us. In our modern way of thinking the future, our life is a blank slate on which we are able to create our very own happy ending. Yet as we are all too painfully aware, our great plans often go astray and over time we can be  left disappointed and disillusioned. Perhaps from this we are to realize the uncertainty of our future so that we turn to God and discover the certainty of the future that he is bringing about, a future that is founded on the very faithfulness of God.

         John points us to this future when he writes that the resurrected Jesus who stands before him is one, “…like a son of man”, and he is seen to be walking among seven lamp stands. Now when we hear the phrase, “…one like a son of man”, we are to know that this phrase is pointing us to a prophecy of Daniel found in the seventh chapter of his book. Daniel, as we might recall, is one of the many Jewish people captured by the Babylonians, who were forced to be their slaves. These slaves marched thousands of miles from their home in Judaea to a strange land to live in exile. Yet, even though this exile had happened because God’s own people had failed to live up to the covenant they made with God nonetheless God is found to be still caring for them far from their homeland. God knew that his people were in desperate need of hope. The people of God knew that their very existence was linked to God’s plan to bring his blessing to every family on earth but now that they no longer were in the good graces of God, they had to wonder just what was going to happen to this future God promised to them? Was their failure going to be the undoing of this plan of God? In these questions we hear the longings for a resurrection hope, for the people of God felt very dead in their sins, unable to see a way forward. So God took one of these people, a man called Daniel, and God gives Daniel a profound vision of the future that God was most assuredly going to bring about. This prophecy is found in the seventh chapter of Daniel. One night, Daniel saw this: that there, “…with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and he was presented before him. And to this one alone was given, dominion, and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom is one which shall not be destroyed.” So here God is telling Daniel to have no fear of the future that God has in store. Everything is right on track and this future is more wonderful that Daniel could have imagined. Even so, we find that this vision made Daniel anxious and alarmed most likely because Daniel could not make sense of just how one who was most certainly human could nonetheless be found to stand brazenly before the Ancient of Days and remain alive. I mean, all the people of God knew the story of Moses, the most holy law giver and not even he was able to see the glory of God without perishing. We are left wondering, just how could this one like a son of man not only stand before God but further why has this man this been granted an eternal kingdom by the Ancient of Days?  The answers to these questions had to wait until the arrival of one who claimed to be this one, the Son of Man, this one we know as Jesus. 

         But this vision with one like a son of man was not all that Daniel saw that night. You see, his vision goes on to tell us that even though kingdoms will come and kingdoms will go, it is the saints, the holy ones of God, these are the ones who will be given the everlasting kingdom to possess forever . Imagine Daniel trying to make sense of all of this? Can you imagine seeing in the heavens this one like a son of man and hearing that it is this one who is then promised an eternal kingdom? Yet, this is not all because in the same breath we also hear that this same eternal kingdom is also promised to be given to those known as saints the holy ones of God. Perhaps what this says to us is that instead of putting all of our effort into trying and creating our own futures we instead should strive to be the holy people found in this vision. You see, if we are indeed saints then God promises us that we will have not just an eternal home but we will be those who possess a kingdom forever and ever.

         Now what stands between this future and the present we live in is what Daniel hears next because we are told that a kingdom of great power and strength will make war against the saints, and this kingdom will prevail over them. Yet, all is not lost, because in this moment where the saints appear to fail, this is when we are told that the Ancient of Days will come and he will judge the saints worthy of receiving the kingdom promised to them. So at last what will be found is that, “…the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole of heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; the kingdom of the saints shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.” You see, this is the prophecy which the Holy Spirit proclaims has now become a reality when Jesus stepped out of the grave. The one named Jesus who is found to be greater than death certainly cannot die when standing in the presence of the Ancient of Days. This Jesus is the one who has been given an everlasting kingdom which cannot be destroyed, one which cannot pass away. And this kingdom of Jesus, this is the kingdom God promises his saints that one day they too will most assuredly possess.

         The importance of knowing this prophecy of Daniel becomes rather obvious then, because if Jesus is indeed the one like a son of man, and if now the Ancient of Days has given the resurrected Jesus his kingdom, then what is at stake is our stake in the kingdom. If we know that this kingdom will only be given to those known to be the holy ones of God, then we should want to know just how we might become known as being a saint before God. And if we know that we will face opposition from the kingdoms of the world then we must then also know how we can endure and remain faithful to God under pressure in order that a life lived in an everlasting kingdom will be our experience.

         Now one more thing that John also realized is that not only is Jesus the one like a son of man who has received his kingdom, but this kingdom has already been given to the saints to live in right now here in the present. You see, I believe that John had witnessed this holy kingdom, as we find described in full detail, there at the end of the fourth chapter of Acts: “Now the entire number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him were their own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving  their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds and laid them at the apostles feet and the proceeds were distributed to each as any had need”. Here the truth spoken in the prophecy of Daniel, that the saints would be given a kingdom, is seen being lived out right here in real time. This is what the kingdom given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit looks like when the people of God join him in his holy work. So what once was a hope for our future is now found to be a living truth that is found right here in the present. No longer do we have to place our faith in a future that seems vague and uncertain because now in this community called the church this hoped for future can become a present experience. So this gives what we do as the church a great weight of importance because God expects that people can observe us and in our life together see a future that is both compelling and certain.

         So there is an ideal life that God expects each little community of believers to strive for. God expects that each assembly of believers be a transforming power in all of the places where churches might be found. So what John is writing to the churches in this letter is their performance review after their witness has been examined by the Holy Spirit. As I’ve already said though, we must not use what the Spirit says here as a mere history lesson that indeed the church doesn’t always get it right. No, we are to see ourselves within this story. This requires us as a church to be confronted by all the ways we fail at witnessing to the fact that the kingdom of God has indeed been given to saints like us. Now a few years ago, I wrote a series of messages on what is recorded in the second and third chapters of Revelation, covering only what was said concerning each of the seven churches. Yet, what I now realize, is that every situation faced by each church is found to be addressed somewhere within the revelation given to John.  A good example of this is the Spirit’s concern with what is happening within the church at Ephesus. As we find recorded in the fourth verse of the second chapter, the church at Ephesus has, “…abandoned its first love”. Now without knowing where this problem is addressed within the revelation of John, this phrase is difficult to figure out. I mean, just what is this first love that John speaks of here? Well, as it turns out, the translators may have also interpreted this phrase without considering the revelation given to John. You see, if they had stood back and looked at the big picture they too would have seen that a better translation is that the church at Ephesus had given up not on their first love but rather they had given up on loving others with the greatest love, which is the love that compels someone to lay down their life for the sake of others. Sure, it was good that the church at Ephesus hated what Jesus hated yet what was more important is that they loved others with the same great love that Jesus loved us all there upon the cross.. When the church at Ephesus refused to love others with the greater love of Jesus, then they called into question as to whether they were really under the authority of God.  In doing so they had clouded the witness they were to project out to a watching world. 

         All of these seven churches that John is writing to vary as to how well they witness to the kingdom of God. Two of these churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, are praised by Jesus for being those who have suffered at the hands of the kingdom of this world yet they have remained faithful to God. Therefore all that these churches needed is to be reminded that God is and always faithful to be there for them in their trials and suffering. The other five churches, like the church at Ephesus, have allowed the pollution of the world to find a home in their communities. Two of these churches, Pergamum and Thyatira, have issues concerning their faithfulness to the holiness code all churches have covenanted to follow. And the last two churches, Sardis and Laodicea, are those who are in the worst condition of all of those the Spirit has inspected. The church at Laodicea is perhaps the church which most people have heard about because this is the church which Jesus said was neither hot nor cold but was a putrid mix of both, a lukewarm mess that needed to be spit it out. What Jesus spoke of here is not the level of their spiritual fervor, but rather that this church was trying to hold fast to two opposing ways of life. You see, a church must know that to possess the kingdom of God means that the kingdom of the world must be soundly rejected.  Jesus wants nothing to do with any church that refuses to pledge their allegiance to his kingdom alone. So if we place ourselves in this story of Laodicea, we must ask ourselves, is our faith in the future Jesus alone commands? Or have we perhaps lost faith in Jesus and his future, so that we live with one foot in his kingdom all the while having one foot in the kingdom of this world? I pray that we find the faith to choose Jesus because Jesus has always faithfully chosen us!  To God be the glory!