Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
The New Testament epistles advance a program of faith, loving relationships, and moral living. Then comes the Book of Revelation with visions of fire, flood, pandemic, war, and Armageddon. The real Christ and the anti-Christ battle for world domination, and Christians get caught in the crossfire.
I don’t try to put Revelation into charts and timelines. Nor do I think it tells tomorrow’s headlines today. Revelation doesn’t give enough information to put the rapture, the millennium, and God’s great judgment in chronological order.
But let’s start with John at the beginning. John the author, calls his book “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1). Which means, “Jesus is the author and holds the copyright on this material.”
John states his purpose for writing: “This is the revelation God gave to show his servants what must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1). Two thousand years ago, John predicted catastrophes and victories that would happen soon. We too believe they will happen soon. Perhaps in the next 2000 years of history.
Really? Who rules the earth? Aren’t Biden and Putin and Netanyahu and Xi Jinping the strong men who build their nations they want? No, says John, they are only second rate kings who report to King Jesus, the one Lord who rules them all. Hmmm. That’s not how the news anchor on my TV reports it.
Second, says John, Jesus is:
The one who loves us and freed us from our sins.
The one who makes us into a kingdom of priests who serve God (Rev 1:5-6).
Seems odd, doesn’t it? King Jesus who lets a delusional Putin invade Ukraine, and a vengeful Netanyahu bomb Palestine, and a power-hungry Jinping threaten Taiwan. This King Jesus doesn’t build a military-industrial complex to rule them all, but a kingdom of priests to serve God. How is that a solution to the realpolitik of a violent world?
Third, John says of Jesus:
He is the one who will come in the clouds
and rule the earth (Rev 1:7).
Ahh. That must be one of the things that will happen soon. King Jesus will appear and make his weak and invisible kingdom strong and real.
Let’s pray.
Jesus, we worship you because you are the king over the kings of earth. As the psalmist warned the presidents and dictators and party-leaders of the world:
Kiss the son lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way (Ps 2:12).
We worship you, Jesus, because you loved us and freed us from our sins. Free us from the kingdom of darkness. Free us from the powers of this world. Free us from sins that entangle us, from confused thinking that immobilizes us, from self-interest that hinders our service for you and others.
We worship you, Jesus, because you are building a new kingdom. Not based on guns and bombs, nor economic power and trade. But a kingdom of priests who serve God, and wait for his intervention.
We worship you, Jesus, because you will come in the clouds to rule earth. Today may we serve your kingdom with loving works and steadfast faith. And tomorrow, when you demonstrate your power, may we reign with you forever.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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