Silence in Heaven

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.“
Revelation‬ ‭8:1-2‬ ‭NLT

We now come to the seventh seal in John’s vision. That number seven again, in this case denoting a complete set of judgements as written on the scroll. The seventh seal allows the final section of the scroll to be unrolled, and the last judgement read out. And silence followed. Two days ago we considered how noisy it will be in Heaven, with all the shouting and singing going on. But now there’s silence. Why?

Perhaps the writing on the scroll behind the seventh seal describes a judgement so severe that all of Heaven draws in breath, feeling tension in the air. And if we read on, we see that the seven trumpet judgements are about to be released. Or perhaps, the silence allows a time of reflection in Heaven, as the enormity of what is happening down on Planet Earth becomes known. But whatever the reason, there now follows the scene in John’s vision of seven angels collecting seven trumpets. 

This is the Time of the End, as far as the earth is concerned. The sin of mankind has finally come to the point where John was shown in his vision that it has to be judged and dealt with. This is a sobering time, even for blood-bought Christians. Jesus spoke much about judgement and hell when He was out and about in Palestine. He warned the people of His day what was to come. For example, we read what He said in John 12:47-48, “I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken“. One day there will be a day of reckoning.

What should we pilgrims do, knowing what we know? One thing for sure, we cannot just stand back and let our loved ones and neighbours face the terrible consequences of God’s judgement. Especially when God sent His Son Jesus to tell us what was to come and how we can be spared from such devastating consequences. Jesus also spoke much about hell, which he compared with a familiar place known to His people, the Jews. It was the valley of Hinnom, also referred to as Gehenna. It was here that the dead bodies, usually of criminals, and rubbish were continually burned on smouldering fires, that never went out. That was what He said hell would be like.

We cannot frighten people these days with a description of hell. I find that there can be a cynicism and flippancy permeating anything to do with Christianity amongst those who are not Christians. I can remember sharing about the judgement to come with a man who lives in my community. His response was that he would prefer to join, what he called, “the big party downstairs”, than to spend eternity with God. He has sadly heard about God’s love and grace and has rejected it. And unless he has a change of heart, he will find out what the “big party downstairs” will really be like. But we must still share all that God has done for us with those around us, in the prayerful hope that salvation will knock at the doors of their hearts.

Father God. We thank You that You sent Jesus to this world to save us. And in these difficult times I pray that You lead us to just the right people who You know are just waiting to be told about Your love and grace. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Singing in Heaven

Posted on by korgrocker

“And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.””
Revelation‬ ‭7:11-12‬ ‭NLT

If we had ever hoped to find a quiet and peaceful place in Heaven, when we get there, then we are going to be disappointed. Earlier in this chapter, we heard a “great roar” from a crowd too numerous to mention, making a shout of declaration about God’s salvation. And then in chapter five there was a new song being sung, the twenty four elders and the four living beings singing the verse, millions of angels singing the chorus, and then every living creature, on earth, under the earth and in the seas, making a tuneful contribution to the song for the bridge part. Well, here we are with another song being sung, and the lyrics are, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Once again it is the twenty four elders and the four living beings who are singing, prostrated before God’s throne in adoration and worship. Heaven will be full of song, full of shouting, full of praise and worship to God, and full of much God-focused life. Not a quiet place for the dead at all.

How does that make us pilgrims feel? Challenged perhaps? Worried about having to take part? Unable to get our minds around what a different life with God in Heaven will be like? Do we have unrealistic expectations?  Perhaps there are golfers amongst us who expect Heaven to be full of wonderful golf courses, with perfect greens. Or musicians who expect to find Heavenly orchestras, playing with skills out of this world. Or physicists who are looking forward to answers to their unsolved problems and unanswered questions. Or ministers expecting to preach even longer sermons. But none of these worldly views or expectations feature in John’s vision. All he could see was an environment of totally God-focused worship and praise. There will be no room for anything else.

We of course do not know what we will find in Heaven but we do know who lives there. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the mighty and merciful God. He sent His Son, Jesus, to show us the way and invite us to spend an eternity with Him. When we look around us and see how wonderfully He has made us and the earth in which we live, and realise that, through Adam’s sin, this is a world under a curse, populated by sinful people, and then we turn our eyes to what Heaven must be like, totally untainted and just as God designed it, I know it’s going to be a wonderful place to be. So let’s fix our eyes on our Heavenly home, just over the horizons of our consciousnesses, and start to flex our praise and worship muscles so we’re ready and raring to go when the time comes.

Father God. You are worthy of our praise and worship, unrestrained from every part of our beings. Please bring a touch of Heaven to this sin-laden world, and increase our knowledge of who You are. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Vast Crowd

Posted on by korgrocker

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!””
“Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white””.
Revelation‬ ‭7:9-10,13-14‬ ‭NLT

Again the scene changes before John in his vision. He now becomes aware of a “vast crowd, too great to count”. They were wearing white robes and held palm branches, and their focus was on God, sitting on His throne, and on His Son Jesus. A “great roar” rose from them, as they shouted out the phrase, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Immediately, our thoughts take us back to the last time a crowd shouted out praises to Jesus. Do we remember when Jesus was riding a donkey into Jerusalem and the people were crying out “Hallelujah”? We read in John 12:13, the people “took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” 

But back to John’s vision. Who were this “vast crowd”? One of the twenty four elders must have had the same thought because he asked John the question, “Who are these who are clothed in white?” John was unable to comment and instead respectfully referred the question back to the elder, who then supplied the answer. The “vast crowd”, too numerous to count, consisted of all the Christians who had died in this time of Tribulation. And in the vision, John recorded, “They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white”. What can this be otherwise than a graphic description about how each of the Christians had gained righteousness and holiness through their acceptance of Jesus’ death on Calvary, crucified on a cross so that His righteousness would be traded for their sin. What a wonderful Saviour!

A thought occurred to me this morning. Are we pilgrims prepared to shout out the declaration John heard in Heaven? Or would we become all embarrassed and instead whisper it under our breath. Do we belt out the songs of praise in our churches and fellowships, or do we mutter under our breaths, afraid that someone might hear us? Are we a people who are openly and honestly prepared to state our faith before all men or do we hide our lights under a bushel, as the phrase goes? Do our workmates, neighbours or families know that we belong to God? Or would they have doubts? Hmmm…

One day, we hope to be numbered with the inhabitants of Heaven, shouting out our praises to our wonderful Heavenly Father and to His Son, Jesus. We need to get into practice here on earth – there will be no passengers in that mighty crowd, or any other gathering of God’s children in Heaven. We will find ourselves in an atmosphere of uninhibited praise and worship, straining every part of our new bodies and souls to give God all the glory.

Dear God. We thank You for all that You have done for us. How can we not praise and worship You? Please help us to cast aside our inhibitions and instead grant You all the praises, all the honour, all that You deserve. Amen.

The Four Winds

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.” And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:”
Revelation‬ ‭7:1-4 NLT

The scene in John’s vision changes. He now sees four angels, each standing at the four corners of the earth. Their task was to hold back the four winds, with the implication that wind-damage was waiting to happen. But before they could get to work, a fifth angel emerged from the East (with the dawn?) carrying “God’s seal”. And he called out to the four angels to wait. He had a job to do first. The vision continued and John discovered that the job of the angel carrying God’s seal was to place a mark on 144,000 people from the tribes of Israel. A mark that would clearly identify them as being servants of God. The number, 144,000, was derived from 12,000 people from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And if we read on in chapter seven we find that each of the 12 tribes of Israel were listed by their family names derived from being sons and grandsons of Jacob.

We don’t know what the mark of the seal was. In this age of QR and bar codes, I suppose we could speculate about the seal being a digital mark. In John’s day, a seal would have been a blob of hard wax, pressed with an imprint from a ring. At first thought, a tattoo might be the mark, but then for the Jews that was prohibited, as we read in Leviticus 19:28, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord“. But whatever the mark was, it would have been distinctive. And the four angels holding back the winds had to wait before they could unleash them to do harm over the land and sea. 

It is interesting to note that at this point in John’s vision, the mark of God was applied to Jews and not Christians. We may be guilty of thinking that the Jewish nation was sidelined and overlooked by God, perhaps encouraged in this thought by what Jesus, speaking to the Jewish leaders, said in Matthew 21:43, “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.” But it was quite clear in John’s vision that the 144,000 were Jews and not Christians of Gentile origins (I suppose they may have been Jewish Christians). It is also clear that those with a mark were not, as some sects have claimed, exclusively made up of their leaders and those members who are worthy of joining them. 

So why were the Jews marked? In John’s vision it was obviously important enough for the four winds to be held back. And they were being marked with God’s seal. It would seem reasonable to think that these Jews became Christians and proceeded to evangelise their fellow Jews, and the Gentile nations, in these difficult times in the Tribulation period.

As an aside, the Bible is clear that the Jews are God’s chosen people. As far back as the time of Abraham, God made a promise that He would make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the sands on the sea shore. We read in Genesis 22:17-18, “I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” God also made it clear that He would retain a remnant of His people throughout the generations, regardless of how they behaved (1 Kings 19:18, Romans 11:4). So we shouldn’t be surprised that God had a mission for His people, the Jews, in these end times. God told Abraham that through his descendants, the Jews, all the nations on earth would be blessed – perhaps this was one of the times when they would be called upon. And with a mark on them that distinguished them as belonging to God, the world’s remaining population would have been aware of who they were.

What sort of mark do we pilgrims carry? Are those around us aware of our faith and belief in God? Is it a positive or negative experience for them? Sadly, in our society here in Scotland, Christianity is considered to be a bit of an irrelevance. Church attendances are dwindling. And some churches and denominations are compromising or ignoring key teaching in the Bible, in a vain attempt to win new members. If our churches become accepting of worldly and unGodly beliefs why should a person, who is not a Christian, want to go there? But for us as individuals, we nevertheless have a mission. And that is to reach those people with our messages of hope, maintaining the purity of the Gospel and our faith. We look out for those who will otherwise be heading for a lost eternity. 

Father God. We too have a mission to our communities and families. Please lead us to the right people. And we pray for the strength and boldness to make our faith shine like a beacon, illuminating the dark corners in our worlds. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Fifth Seal

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6:9-11‬ ‭NLT

The fifth seal was broken and John saw an altar in Heaven. It’s not clear what it looked like in detail, but one thing for sure – it was nothing like the altars we find in our churches and other religious buildings. This one had a special place underneath, and here we find the souls of the Christian martyrs. Men and women killed for nothing more than believing in the Word of God and being faithful, holding onto their beliefs and testimony in spite of threats and mistreatment. Quite rightly, they wanted to see justice, and they called out to God for Him to intervene and punish the people who had abused them. In response, they were each supplied with a white robe, but why was that? Note that this happened before the second coming of Jesus, so at this point the martyrs would not yet have received their new bodies. The martyrs would have been disembodied spirits, but because of their mortal sacrifice, they were fast tracked into Heaven. And the robes were supplied to give them substance and parity with the other Heavenly beings. They were encouraged to rest and be patient, because there were more martyrs to come. Notice that in Heaven, they straight away worshipped God, with “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true”. Their focus was on God, as it had been in their lives on earth.

Christians have been martyred almost continuously to the present day, starting with Stephen. We can read the account of his martyrdom in Acts 6 and 7. Today, with better global communications, we can discover where Christians are being killed for their faith. Open Doors, a UK-based organisation founded by Brother Andrew in 1955, regularly reports on Christian persecution, and on-line videos can be found that detail up to date topics for prayer. They reported that in 2021, 5,898 Christians were murdered because of their faith. And that’s the people they know about. 

A passage of Scripture that I find most encouraging is in Acts 4, where the early church prayed for boldness in the face of persecution. We read in verse 29, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word…”. This was the early church’s response to persecution, and the boldness they displayed in the face of persecution led to Christianity quickly spreading all over the civilised world at that time.

We pilgrims today must pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters. And together we must stand firm with them, also being a living testimony to our faith. Perhaps one day we will get the opportunity to talk to some of the Heavenly martyrs, finding our more about their sacrifices, but in the meantime we are encouraged by the fact that in our witnessing they are cheering us on, as we know from Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne“. 

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray together for our brothers and sisters who are facing persecution in countries like Afghanistan and North Korea, where even having a Bible in their possession can lead to incarceration and murder. Please strengthen their faith, and be with them in their times of trial. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. 

The Fourth Seal

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a horse whose colour was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6:7-8‬ ‭NLT

Now the fourth living being gets involved, with another shout of “Come!” And in John’s vision a fourth horse appears. This one was a pale green in colour, perhaps an appropriate shade, as his rider would be introducing sickness and disease into the world. This rider had a name, “Death”. And he had a friend with him called “Grave”. And his mission was to create havoc in a quarter of the world’s population by stirring up war and fighting, introducing food shortages and diseases and, almost as though for good measure, unleashing wild animals to attack and kill people. What a dire and dismal prognosis. 

We are just emerging from a global attack of disease in the form of Covid. Millions have died in spite of extraordinary attempts and spectacular successes to mitigate and reduce the impact of this rampant virus. But in previous centuries we have seen similar plagues such as Spanish flu, Black Death, and so on. Has this horseman already been active in our world? Surely we would have known and people everywhere would be aware that God is judging the world in response to its evil and sin?

Jesus gave us a few clues about the end times in Matthew 24. And one thing he did say was that in spite of the signs, people would effectively ignore them. In Matthew 24:37-39 we read, “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realise what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes”. Sadly, in spite of extensive evangelising and spreading of the Good News, most people don’t want to change their ways. And one day, all of a sudden, it will be too late for them to respond.

So we pilgrims keep picking away, sharing our messages of hope, not just by our words, but also with our deeds. Sharing our love of God with those around us. Being kind and caring to one another. So that when Jesus returns He will find us doing what He has asked us to do.

Dear Father God. Thank You for giving us such a tremendous message of hope for the wicked and sinful world within which we live. Please increase our opportunities to share what we have. And we pray that You continue to resource us for the tasks You want us to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

The Third Seal

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”“
Revelation‬ ‭6:5-6‬ ‭NLT

This time the third living being shouts out “Come!” And a black horse with a rider carrying a pair of scales appears. And he heads off into the world to introduce famine wherever he goes. His message is stark – people will have to work all day and will only be able to buy a small amount of food with their pay. 

Here in the affluent West, famine is almost unheard of, though I know we have people struggling to make ends meet, as inflationary pressures reduce spending power and introduce difficult decisions that need to be made in low income households. And we are currently hearing doomsday messages of famine, particularly in third world countries, because of shortages of grain caused by the war in Ukraine. But the third horseman has a message of food shortages unheard of up until now. So this period of tribulation may be yet to come.

Pilgrims on earth today are God’s representatives. We carry on regardless doing what God has asked us to do, without deviating from our mission. We look out for those around us, but also for ourselves and our loved ones. We must tailor our approach to those in need, bearing in mind what James said in his epistle, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (‭‭James‬ ‭2:14-17‬). Here in the UK we have “food banks”, where needy people are referred to when they have no money to buy food. And local authorities and charities are available to help those in need. But there are other ways in which we can help the less fortunate members of our societies. 

One way is through our local churches and fellowships, where we can offer practical help to others, and particularly the widows and orphans there that James wrote about (James 1:27). We spent time with others, listening and counselling, using our faith-filled gifts and talents to help how and when we can. My parents were part of the “make do and mend” generation that employed their practical skills to help themselves and others extend the life of everyday items. My mother was a genius as needlework and I can remember she spent long hours darning socks or knitting squares, using recovered or recycled wool, to make blankets. We need to “think outside the box” for ways in which we can practically help those around us. And in that way we are extending the Gospel into people’s lives, people who would otherwise be resistant to words on their own.

The famine introduced by the third horseman of the Apocalypse may not yet have been unleashed, but it will be one day. We hope we won’t be around at such a time but who knows? Regardless, though, we need to leave a legacy so that subsequent generations will be able to carry the Gospel torch, ready to hand it on in the generational relay race, the finishing tape of which is eternity.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your presence in our lives. Without You we would be a sad and lost people. Instead we have a spiritually rich and loving family, of which You are the Head. We’re so grateful. Amen.

The Second Seal

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.”
Revelation 6:3-4 NLT

We don’t know the time difference between opening the first and second seals. But whenever it took place, there is another thunderous “Come!”, this time from the second of the living beings. A red horse appeared, and its rider gallops off into the sunset, waving a mighty sword. And in his vision, John was told that the rider on the red horse was able to take away world peace, unleashing wars and loss of life everywhere. 

With the opening of the second seal, introducing the next step in this time of tribulation, things are looking grim. Those of us fortunate enough to be living in a peaceful place will have no idea what such mayhem looks and feels like, apart from the news reports. Here in the UK it has been many years since we experienced a war on our soil. But in other parts of the world, conflict is constant and never very far away. As I write, the war in Ukraine continues, with tragic stories emerging from the ruins, of “slaughter everywhere”. 

Again we wonder if we are in the period of time called the Tribulation. Jesus foretold what would happen, and His words are recorded in Matthew 24. Verses 5-8 read, “for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” Personally, I believe we are in the period referred to by Jesus as “birth pains”, but we’ve been in this period for hundreds of years. Wars, famines and earthquakes have been with us since time as we know it began. However, we don’t know whether this coincides with the breaking of the first seals in John’s vision. We also don’t know the time period over which these early times of tribulation took place. The horses and riders released following the breaking of the first four seals have been referred to as “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. Are we in Apocalyptic times? Hmmm…

As pilgrims, we must not be distracted in our mission in life. Jesus gave us a job to do, and we must faithfully carry it out. We mustn’t adopt a fatalistic attitude, fearing what is coming and sitting in our pews in the meantime, waiting for the end of our lives and hoping we don’t get too much hassle in the process. So we continue to read the Word, we pray, we worship and praise our wonderful Heavenly Father, and we share our messages of hope with those around us. We must not use the account of John’s vision to alarm us. Instead we must allow it to energise us, acting as a springboard projecting us into the sad and lost world around us.

Dear Father God. You know when all these things we read about in Revelation will take place. And we rest in You, secure in the knowledge that You are our loving Heavenly Father, who cares for us. We worship You today. Amen.

The First Seal

Posted on by korgrocker

“As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6:1-2‬ ‭NLT

After the tremendous worship experience in Heaven, John’s focus now returns to the scroll. It has seven seals and each was broken in turn, revealing the writing on the scroll. So the scroll seemed to be structured in seven sections, each sealed so that the previous seal had to be broken before the next section could be read. But what was written on this scroll? And why was each broken seal followed by an act of apparent judgement?

Revelation 6 sees the start of the time of what is called the Tribulation, where God’s judgements are carried out on a world of unbelieving, sinful and rebellious people. We have to bear in mind that our Heavenly Father is not just a God of love, but He is also a God of righteousness. One day the period of grace in which we are now living will come to an end. One day sin will have to be judged. So with the sound of the worship still reverberating through the universe, Jesus opens the first seal.

John was perhaps startled by one of the living beings thundering out the word “Come!”. And John saw a white horse with a rider who had a crown on his head and who carried a bow. And we’re told he went out and won many battles. We don’t know for sure who the rider was, or what he represented. The crown would imply someone of authority, the white horse would indicate peace; perhaps the rider was a devious person, promoting peace when carrying an instrument of war, in the shape of a bow. The false prophets Jeremiah wrote about in Jeremiah 8 come to mind, and we read in verse 11, “…They give assurances of peace when there is no peace“. Some have suggested the crowned rider was the Antichrist (see the prophecies in the book of Daniel), but whoever the rider was who rode out on the white horse, he created mayhem, fighting and winning battles on earth.

With the conflicts of the twentieth and now the twenty-first centuries, we could ask the question if the first seal has already been broken. Certainly, some evil leaders have emerged on the world stage, and to one or two, even divine qualities have been assigned. But when the first seal is broken, I don’t think we will have any doubts. We will know.

When the first seal is broken it will be a difficult time for the pilgrims still alive, but for us pilgrims today, still living in this time of grace, we can only look on with some trepidation, and pray. We pray for our families, for our communities and for ourselves. And we pray for mercy from our God of love and righteousness. Ever since Jesus ascended from this earth, there has been an expectation that He will return again “soon”, ushering in the end times. We don’t know when that will be, but we do know that it could be at any time. So we mustn’t waste the moment, and instead not miss an opportunity to extend God’s grace to a lost world around us with our messages of hope.

Dear Father God. We thank You for this period of grace in which we live. Please help us not to hold back when we have the opportunity to reach others with the Good News that Jesus saves. 

The Song Ends

Posted on by korgrocker

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honour and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5:13-14‬ ‭NLT

The song rings out through all creation. The verse, chorus and bridge reverberate through all creation, and then comes to an end. Just imagine the echoes dying away through the universe, before there is silence. And it is then broken by the four living beings saying the single word, “Amen”. This is a word we often use to end a prayer, or it may appear at the end of a hymn or song. It has the meaning, “so be it”, implying that what has been prayed or sung about, has finished. Finally, the twenty four elders fell down before Jesus and worshipped Him. 

Revelation 5:14 brings the fifth chapter to an end, almost as though it is introducing a pause in the events that were unfolding before John, the Apostle. Of, course, there was no pause, but certainly things were about to change, as we shall see in Chapter 6. 

What do we pilgrims think about introducing a pause into our lives, before we restart afresh on a new venture, or a new phase, perhaps, in our relationship with God? Are we in a place of wonder, touched by a move of God? Have we come through a time of great spiritual blessing? And are we now saying a big “Amen” before the echoes of our worship of God stop reverberating through our souls? In any time of blessing, the Sunday will come to an end, but there is always a Monday morning.

The God we worship is an amazing miracle Worker. The God we worship walks and talks with us. Perhaps, like the psalmist in Psalm 103:2-5, we can say, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” But the challenge we pilgrims have is how we carry our wonderful life of blessings into a transforming experience to those around us. There will always be people who don’t want to hear our message. There will always be the spiritually deaf and the blind, who are comfortable in that. But the Apostle Paul wrote the following in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves”. Folks, we have to share what we have no matter how ill-equipped we feel we are. We might very much relate to Paul’s fragile clay jars, not feeling strong enough to share our faith, but the clue behind it all is the “great power” of God. A power we have within us.

Father God. John experienced amazing Heavenly worship in his vision. And we too can join the Heavenly song of worship to Jesus. We pray for Your help in sharing that song with those around us; those in this lost and unhappy world. We worship You today. Amen.