Holy, Holy, Holy!

Revelation 4

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. – Vs 8 NIV

What does heaven really look like? That's a question we've all asked at one time or another. And in this chapter, John gets the opportunity to see it and describe it to us. Of course, he only gets to visit heaven in a vision, but there is no indication that what he saw was any less real. But in attempting to put what he saw into words that we could understand, John is stuck with similes, metaphors, and verbal analogies that paint a fantastic, but also somewhat confusing image for us. He describes God as "He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance" (Revelation 4:3 NASB). It's hard to get a clear visual representation in my mind of just exactly what that would look like. For whatever reason, what John is seeing is so incredible that he is unable to use normal descriptive terms to tell us what he is looking at. The scene is indescribable. It is more than words can express. Even the sounds he hears can only be expressed in the form of a comparison. He says, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder" (Revelation 4:5 NIV). His description of the four living creatures (Revelation 4:4-8) who surround the throne sounds like something out of Greek mythology.

Yet in the middle of all this fantastic imagery, John hears clearly the words the creatures are saying. He says that these creatures surround the throne of God and that day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." There is no question as to what he was hearing. He didn't have to describe their words as peals of thunder or like the roaring of a waterfall. No, he heard their words loud and clear. And he also heard the words of the 24 elders who respond to the cry of the creatures by bowing before the throne of God and crying out, "You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created" (Revelation 4:11 NLT). The scene John is witnessing is unbelievable and indescribable, yet the purpose behind it is quite clear: the worship and adoration of God. John may have had a hard time describing what he was seeing, but he was quite clear about what he was hearing. The point seems to be that while we may have a difficult time describing God, even if we got to see Him face to face, we should have no difficulty worshiping God. What the creatures and the 24 elders are doing in heaven, we should be doing right now – praising God as the only true God. We should be praising Him for His holiness, set-apartness, sinlessness, and perfect righteousness. We should be praising Him for His infinite power and eternal nature. We should be praising Him for His worthiness. We may not be able to describe Him, but we can praise Him.

What John heard was far more significant than what he saw. He heard the heavenly occupants who surround God's throne acknowledging the one-of-a-kind nature of God. He alone is God. He is the creator of all things. He is the sustainer of all things. He alone is worthy of our honor and praise. What these creatures and elders do ceaselessly, we should do willingly as well. Their cries are a reminder of who God is and why we should worship Him. He is the indescribable, unbelievable, indisputable, unapproachable, unforgettable, undeniable, immutable, unquestionable Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!

Father, You are worthy of our praise. I may not be able to see You, describe You, or even understand You, but I can praise You. Like these creatures and the 24 elders, may I never cease to say, day and night, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Amen

I Know Your Works.

Revelation 3

You brag, "I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone," oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. – Vs 17 MSG

Jesus confronts three different churches in this one chapter and He begins with a single phrase each time: "I know your works." He is speaking to churches, not individuals. He is addressing the community of professing believers at a specific geographic location. He's talking to a local body of believers. Not to me as a single, solitary Christian. Why is this important? Because we tend to take so many of these passages and make them personal, and when we do we miss the whole point. While there are applications we can glean from these verses that we can apply to ourselves as individuals, the real message is for the church. And He is telling these churches that He is watching them. As a result, He says He knows their works. He knows what they have produced. The Greek word means "any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind." These churches are not lazy. They have been busy. And their efforts have been producing fruit. The problem is, Christ is not pleased with their fruit. In each case, He has found something wrong. The church in Sardis is in a spiritual coma. They have a reputation for being alive, but in reality they are dead. They may have those around them fooled, but Christ knows the truth.

The church in Philadelphia is a slightly different story. They actually get a commendation from the Lord. He tells them, "Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world" (Vs 10 NLT). This church is under persecution, yet in spite of its difficult circumstances it has remained faithful to the Word of God and has not denied His name. He encourages them to hold fast and to remember that He is coming again soon.

The message to the church in Laodicea is the most striking one to me. And it is probably the most familiar one. He tells them, "You're not cold, you're not hot--far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit" (Vs 15 MSG). This church was spiritually flat-lined. They were addicted to the status quo. It was business-as-usual all the time for these people. They were indifferent and complacent. They were stuck in the middle. They weren't cold. This probably has nothing to do with spiritual coldness or carnality. Being Christ says, "I will spit you out of my mouth" (NASB), He is probably making a reference to water. Cold water refreshes and quenches thirst. Hot water warms the body when cold. Both are positive attributes, not negative. Yet this church is neither. They are tepid when it comes to their spirituality. And they literally make Christ sick.

Their problem? They are self-sufficient, overly confident, and spiritually prideful. Listen to Christ's description: "You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless" (Vs 18 MSG). They were blind to their true spiritual condition. They looked at themselves and saw success. They were oblivious to their true spiritual condition. They had come to a point as a church where they didn't really need Christ any more. They could accomplish everything they needed to do in their own strength. But Christ reminds them that they were really pitiful. From His perspective they were like a blind beggar, a homeless person totally dependent on the goodwill of others to survive. So Christ calls them to return to Him as the source of all their needs. But first they have to admit and confess their condition. That's where it always begins. Then He says that He will meet their needs. He will restore their spiritual vitality and usefulness. He will restore the fellowship and intimacy with Him that is missing in their church. That is why He pleads, "Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends" (Vs 20 NLT). This is one of the most misquoted passages in the Bible. It has little to do with salvation, but has everything to do with the kind of relationship Christ wants to have with His church. He wants to dine with us. He wants to spend time with us. He wants to have intimate, close fellowship with us. But He is standing outside a closed door waiting to be let into our midst. It is as if Christ is saying to the church today, "Please let Me be a part of what You are doing! Let Me in. I want to contribute!" Do we hear Him? Do we need Him? Or like the church at Laodicea, have we become so self-sufficient that we don't need Him anymore?

Father, we need Your Son more than ever. The church needs to open the door and let in the One who can help us survive and make a difference in this world. We can not be the salt and light You have called us to be apart from the influence of Your Son. Forgive us for thinking we are need of nothing. Open our eyes and let us see our true condition if we attempt to do Your work without Your Son. Amen

I Have This Against You!

Revelation 2

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. – Vs 4 NASB

The first church addressed by our Lord in this vision to John was the church in Ephesus. Christ reveals that He knows their deeds. He praises their zeal, perseverance, and determination to protect the gospel from falsehood. But in the midst of all that, He indicts them for having left their first love. The New Living Translation paraphrases His comment this way: "But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!" In his commentary on the book of Revelation, Matthew Henry explains the real issue:

"The sin Christ charged this church with, is, not the having left and forsaken the object of love, but having lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Christ is displeased with his people, when he sees them grow remiss and cold toward him. Surely this mention in Scripture, of Christians forsaking their first love, reproves those who speak of it with carelessness, and thus try to excuse indifference and sloth in themselves and others; our Saviour considers this indifference as sinful. They must repent: they must be grieved and ashamed for their sinful declining, and humbly confess it in the sight of God. They must endeavour to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as when they first set out in the ways of God." – Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

These people were busy doing spiritual things and patiently enduring hardship for the cause of Christ, but at the same time, their lives exhibited a loss of love for Christ Himself. Their efforts had replaced the affection. Their obsession with performance had replaced their passion for the Savior. If you go back to Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, you read where he commended them. "That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the Christians, I couldn't stop thanking God for you – every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks" (Ephesians 1:15-15 MSG). Their faith and love for Christ had resulted in love for one another. But now Christ was accusing them of having left or abandoned their first love.

The word translated "left" here is so much more powerful and impactful in the Greek language. It is a term that was used when referring to a man divorcing his wife. It carries the idea of abandonment. It paints a picture of unfaithfulness. It can literally be translated, "to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned." That is what Christ is indicting the church at Ephesus for and, by extension, the church of today. We too, can end up abandoning our first love, all the while appearing as if all is well in our relationship with Christ. It is much like a man or woman who emotionally walks out on their marriage partner, but remains in the same home, giving all appearances that their marriage is intact and in good health. But the reality is that the love has long gone. They are simply going through the motions.

Christ commended this church for their diligence in duty and for their patience in suffering. But He also points out what is missing. Or what has gone missing. They had abandoned their first love or that which was of first rank or importance. Our efforts for Christ must never replace our affection for Him. What we do for Him must be motivated by our love for Him. Christ tells the Ephesians to remember and repent. They must call to mind the way things began in their relationship with Him. They must consciously determine where they started and where they have ended up. Then their awareness must lead to confession and repentance. This doesn't come naturally. We can so easily become blind to our spiritual condition. We can convince ourselves that all is well because we do so much so well. But if we stop and take stock, we will see that we have really replaced our love for Christ with a love for something else. Like them, I can be busy serving Him, but fall in love with serving more than the Savior Himself. I can end up doing a lot for Christ, but not out of love for Him. I can replace affection with effort. But He wants my love, not my duty. 

Father, forgive me for falling in love with the trappings of spirituality and religion and losing my affection for Your Son. He must always remain my primary love. He must be where I focus my affection. Nothing and no one else can ever replace Him, even though I consistently try to find love and satisfaction elsewhere. Bring us back to our first love, as a church, and as the people of God. May Your church return to where we first began. So that the world may see Him in us and be drawn to the love He reveals for us and through us. Amen

Don't Be Afraid!

Revelation 1

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave." – Vs 17-18 NLT

Well, this is it. The last book of the New Testament – the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And it's going to be a wild ride. This book is full of fantastic visions, difficult-to-understand imagery, and prophetic pronouncements that may seem to have little application for daily life, but it was actually written to encourage the churches that existed during the day when John penned the book under the Holy Spirit's influence. So in the midst of all the unbelievable imagery, there is a message that we must look for and listen to. John says, "God blesses the one who reads this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to it and obey what it says. For the time is near when these things will happen" (Vs 3 NLT). There is a blessing in store for those who hear and obey the words of the Revelation. So it seems that it would make sense for us to listen carefully and obey fully.

John starts out this book with a clear indication of its author – Jesus Christ. These are the words of Christ for His church. He appears to John in a vision on the island of Patmos where John has been exiled for his preaching of the gospel. John describes Jesus, "'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" (Vs 13-16 NIV). Wow! What a sight. And John's immediate reaction was to fall down as if dead.

But Jesus reaches down and touches John, saying, "Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave" (Vs 17-18 NLT). Jesus assures John of who He is. He is the eternal one who came and died on behalf of men. He is the one who was resurrected and lives forevermore – having conquered death and the grave. Jesus tells John not to fear. He assures John that He is the same Jesus he came to know when He walked with John along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Yes, He looks a little different than John remembers. He appears in this vision clothed in glory, emanating power, and exuding strength. He is the same Jesus, but this time He appears in all His eternal majesty, glory, and divine power. The book of the Revelation is a book of hope and joy. It is a picture into the future. It is a glimpse into the unseen. But it is also a reminder to those of us who make up the church of Jesus Christ today that He is not done. This story is not over yet. He is ALIVE. He is in complete control and one day He is going to return and set all things right. But before all that happens, He has a few things He wants to say to us. He tells John to write down what He has to say the the seven churches – which represent His global church. So as we read this book, let us listen carefully and obey completely. If we do, we are assured a blessing.

Father, make this book come alive to me more than ever before. Open my ears to hear what You have to say to me and to all of us who make up the church today. Your Son has a message for us. And because of who He is, we should listen. Don't let me get bogged down in all the imagery and lose the message. May Your Holy Spirit assist me in understanding what it is You have to say through this book. Amen