"I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;" (Revelation 7:9)
This truth gives such a great hope and confidence in the Lord! The fact that real people are really saved in the end just like God promised is a great hope to us and a proof of God's faithfulness. Not only that, but it gives us courage to share our faith and tell others about the saving power of Jesus Christ. Why? Because God is building one holy nation of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue - the Israel of God.
How do we know Revelation is a record of what God has already done? Because he let John witness the real events unfold before his eyes and then sent him back to tell us about what he saw. He saw it happen and he is telling us, "Fear not, God wins in the end! Have courage and walk the Christian life with faith, love, and hope."
John's Revelation is both dramatically breathtaking and yet intoxicating hopeful. Most people would classify this book of the Bible as a prophecy or vision, but I would call it time travel! Now, I am not talking about time travel in the sense of a gallifreyan time lord traveling through time and space in a TARDIS. I mean real time travel.
Why would I make such a claim about this book? Well, for a couple reasons. First, Revelation is a book about what God has done, not what he will do. It is the victory, the end. It demonstrates that God is successful in everything he has ever promised. It's not just a simple prediction of what might happen or a bunch of symbols describing events that may take place. It's about real people in real places. How do I know this? Because God transported John to where God was so that he could witness with his own eyes how the victory of God would unfold. They jumped to the end of time and John saw all the horror and beauty of the end days with his own eyes.
Secondly, recall Revelation 7:9. John saw with his own eyes "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" standing before the throne of God. He saw real people, not the similitude of people. He saw Koreans, Chinese, Canadians, Laotians, Russians, Filipinos, Japanese, Americans, British, Germans, North Koreans, Europeans, Asians, Arabs, Westerners, Easterners, Southerners, Northerners, South-west-northerners, West-north-southerners, and the list goes on and on and on. He saw people collected together from every language that has ever been spoken on Earth. But who were these people and where did they come from?
"These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (v. 14)
He saw the faces of real people. People who are dead, now living, and yet to have been born. People with real lives, real love, real interest. All these people had one thing in common: They were redeemed by Jesus Christ our Savior.
This truth gives such a great hope and confidence in the Lord! The fact that real people are really saved in the end just like God promised is a great hope to us and a proof of God's faithfulness. Not only that, but it gives us courage to share our faith and tell others about the saving power of Jesus Christ. Why? Because God is building one holy nation of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue - the Israel of God.
How do we know Revelation is a record of what God has already done? Because he let John witness the real events unfold before his eyes and then sent him back to tell us about what he saw. He saw it happen and he is telling us, "Fear not, God wins in the end! Have courage and walk the Christian life with faith, love, and hope."
Christus Victor!
Jay Silvas
No comments:
Post a Comment