Reflections on Revelation #187

Day 187

“18 And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18 NASB

At no other age in history have we had the ability to destroy the earth as we have today. The saints here mentioned are all believers in Jesus. 

Those who face grief or hardship anywhere in the world can appreciate the message of the seventh trumpet. The world belongs to God and He will take full charge of it at the appropriate time (Rev 11:15). When He does, He will right all the wrongs of history, shattering all opposition to His rule (11:18). This text reminds us that when the Day of Judgment comes God will be no respecter of persons. He will reward both small and great (11:18) just as He will punish both great and small (6:15). 

The black church tradition of North America was moulded by the hardships of the past. Those who were oppressed in everyday life looked forward to church, where janitors could be deacons and street sweepers could be preachers. The black church tradition follows the NT pattern where slaves often rose to the office of bishop. There are no limits when God is on your side. 

In my year 8 English class, we study the speech of Martin Luther King (I have a dream.) and the story of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat for a white person. She was arrested. The subsequent 381-day boycott fueled the civil rights movement in Alabama. 

“When I declined to give up my seat, it was not that day or bus in particular,” Parks said later, “I just wanted to be free, like everybody else.” 

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We don’t need to wait until the kingdom comes to treat other people the way heaven does. 

The 7th trumpet has sounded and the scene will now change! Back in Rev 10:7 the sounding of the 7th trumpet would bring an end to “the mystery of God.” Christ is victorious, and is now ready to set up His kingdom. Judgement on both the saved (righteous) and the unsaved (wicked) will take place, giving God’s people (the saints), both small and great, their reward. Those who have not followed Christ and fill the earth with violence will be destroyed. Sin will be no more!

The temple opens in heaven and the ark of the covenant is seen. This is a reminder to believers that God is faithful to His promise – that He will be our God, and we shall be His people.

The last half of Revelation is about the struggle between the forces of evil and those who walk the way of righteousness in the closing days of Earth’s history.

No Comments

Post A Comment