We are on a ten day journey together through part of the book of Revelation. Many Bible readers avoid this book, finding it impenetrable, even scary. It is mysterious, but it is also beautiful and, above all, utterly relevant for Christian living. So, don’t be afraid. We will, I trust, discover some amazing truths together!
Read More worship, throne, rainbowToday we are still in heaven. The One sitting on the throne is holding a scroll. It has writing on both sides and is firmly sealed. The seals alarm John because the scroll represents God’s plan to redeem his world and if it cannot be opened then those purposes remain unfulfilled.
Read More celebration, scroll, Lamb of God, prayersNow it starts to get nasty, as we are plunged back to earth and see four coloured horses, a blackened sun, a blood red moon, falling stars and much more. Are you up for this?
First we have to face the fact that it is the Lamb in heaven who breaks the seals and releases evil on earth.
Read More victory, horses, seals, evil, judgmentReading Revelation is a challenge, but in the end the message is very simple: heaven is for real. Not a remote destination beyond death, but a present reality always promising to break into our earthly life. Heaven, God’s space as it were, is so very close.
Today the roller-coaster shoots us back to the throne room.
Read More safety, security, destinyThere’s no denying that Revelation is bit strange. Back in chapter 6 we watched as six seals were broken and evil flooded the world, but the seventh seal never materialized. Have you been wondering about it?
Now at last it’s opened, but instead of the expected destruction, all we have is the sound of silence.
Read More prayer, light, destruction, sealsI’m afraid it’s getting darker by the day. As the fifth trumpet sounds we move from natural disasters to direct satanic attack. John sees a vast bottomless pit belching out smoke and fire which darkens the sun. Then, emerging from the black hole, he sees locusts who morph into horses with human faces.
Read More forgiveness, satanic attack, dark forces, threats, idolatry, fearWe tend to have a rather domesticated view of angels. Gentle, floaty creatures with delicate wings, or chubby cherubs sitting astride gravestones. The angel we meet now is of a different order. He is a colossus of a creature with a lion’s roar, threatening to release another wave of evil on the earth.
Read More repentance, witness, perseverance, angels. scrollSo God proposes to redeem his world through the witness of his Church. I know – it’s breath-taking. As we are faithful, God will work. That’s the contract. Now in today’s passage, we read the small print.
There are encouraging things in it.
Read More suffering, celebration, witness of the churchSo far we have seen what is happening to the world and the Church throughout history. Now we begin to see why it is happening: enter Satan. How do you see him? A principle of evil, a scary character with a pitchfork? John pictures him as a great red dragon with seven crowned heads and seven horns, and a tail that can dislodge a third of the stars.
Read More defeat, dragon, evil, SatanI wish we could end our journey together on a happy note, but it is not to be. We left Satan yesterday defeated and all washed up on the beach (12.18) But he is nothing if not persistent. And now he gathers reinforcements, his partners in crime.
First, the beast from the sea.
Read More evil, victory, beast, sea, earth