25 Aug Reflections on Revelation #252
Day 252
“and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, and sea and springs of waters.”Rev 14:7 (NASB)
Have you seen the anticipation and preparation that goes into the arrival of a baby? Marriage itself and the wedding day are nothing in comparison to this. There are two different perspectives and two very different roles for the father and the mother, but both are headed for the same destination: they are preparing for the arrival of a divinely appointed gift! Then it comes, the preparation is forgotten and lost in the reality of the child’s birthday. Everything that had been invested in preparation was forgotten because the focus was now on the event itself.
As pointed out earlier, V:7 is a quote from the fourth commandment (Ex 20:11)
The Sabbath comes after a day that Scripture identifies as the preparation day (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54). For me, Friday is a day to get ready for worship, a day to prepare the mind, body, and environment for this weekly date that should never be forgotten, it is a date with GOD spent with family! The right kind of preparation enables us to set everything aside so that we can concentrate our attention on God.
The One who made “heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters” is worthy of our worship. His day is worthy of the kind of preparation and anticipation that young couples exert when anticipating their little gift from God!
It was God’s wedding gift to the first couple in Eden, when He blessed, sanctified and made holy the Sabbath Day (Gen 2:3,) and then enshrined its memorial in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11.)
Put your gospel glasses on for a moment and see, via the prism of the cross, the amazing picture you get of Jesus, our creator, and redeemer regarding the cross. Hanging on the cross, He was Himself the gospel. When Jesus cried out “It is finished” He echoed creation’s completion when after 6 days it says “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day, God finished the work that he had done…” Gen 2:1-3NRSV. The word “finished” occurs in all literal translations twice, however, some translate the first occurrence as “completed.” The account goes on to tell how God rested and memorialized the day. On the cross, when Jesus had completed our work of re-creation (2Cor5:17) He made the same utterance, “It is finished.” He was talking about our salvation; it was finished and complete. There was nothing we can add to it to make it any better. He then rested in the tomb over the1st New Covenant Sabbath and rose on the 1st day of the week (resurrection Sunday). The day now had a double meaning! It had memorialized God’s creative act millennia before, but now also becomes a memorial of our recreation. We rest in a finished work; we cannot add anything more to it! We can get off the treadmill of works because we start our Christian walk from the standpoint of a finished work in which we rest.
A similar word phrase is uttered at the end of the 7 last plagues, ginomai – “It is done.” Is it any wonder then, that the seven last plagues are running the days of creation backward (de-creation) and that all the plagues are the plagues of the cross; Calvary’s darkness, Calvary’s thirst treated like a leper (outside the gate), the earthquake (CF Sinai), the spiritual struggle of Gethsemane. What does it all mean? Accept the fact that Jesus took the wrath of God on your behalf or experience it for yourself!
The word ‘rest’ also occurs at all three junctions. God Rested, Jesus rested, John says for those who receive the plagues, there is “no rest.” God’s people are resting in a finished work, outwardly demonstrated in their devotion to the day of rest. We cease our labours (for salvation) and rest in His finished work. After rest comes work.
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