Revelation Part 2: Judgement

1 Peter 4:17-18 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,  "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? We see the truth of this passage clearly unfold in Revelation. The book begins with the Judgment of the Church. Many today might be tempted to believe that God is more concerned with the sins of un-believers than of his own redeemed, but scripture would not agree. From Genesis to Revelation God was and is continuously warning his people not to sin, and calling for un-believers to repent. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." (Heb. 1:1-2 We have heard to many T.V. sermons about confronting the evil in our nation's secular society, but we need more fear and trembling coming from this nation's pulpits and congregations. We have nothing to be arrogant about. With a church on every corner in America, we should not be in the spiritual and moral condition we currently find ourselves in! In Hebrews chapter 2, verses 1-4 the author argues from the lesser to the greater concerning the severity of Judgment, "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. " Notice in it's context that if all were held accountible to a message from angels, how much more are we to obey the Gospel spoken by God himself, and his apostles. In Revelation 3:19 Christ explains the reason for his stern judgments on his churches,"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Chapter 3 continues with a beautiful invitation of Christ to his Church to open the door of their hearts and to commune with the Savior. Revelation is calling for faith and obediance from all of the earth, and especially to those who are his church.

Revelation Part 1: The Blessing

Revelation Chapter 1 verse 3 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." This is the first promise in Revelation. Lets take full advantage of this promise and begin to see what God is communicating to his Church. We are not blessed because we hear and read the prophecy, but we are blessed because we read, hear, and heed the words in the prophecy! This promise is not only found in chapter one, but in two and three as well. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches". Christ makes this admonishment each time he addresses one of the seven churches. Within each context their is a promise of judgment or blessing for disobedience or obedience. If the prophetic relevance of Christ revelation can only be "uncoded" by a generation 2000 years removed from it's declaration, does this mean Christ has deprived the church of blessing for two millennia? Christ made a similar declaration in the Gospel of Mathew, chpt. 11:15. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." The storms were brewing at this time in the ancient world. John explains to his readers that he is their "companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus", and that he is on the Island of Patmos because of the gospel. The blessing that is being promised in this chapter is overcoming the current persecution the Church was experiencing, and escaping the judgement that was about to come on the whole world. The current application for this promise is self evident. No matter what storms are beating upon our lives if we are established on the words of Christ we will prevail! In my next post on this topic, I would like to discuss judgment because that is exactly what is happening throughout Revelation.