choir robes

Good evening friends,

We've been reading together about Satan's forces including the power of empire and the false prophets that support it. Tonight we see what forces God uses to oppose evil. As we might expect, it is not a mighty, well armed military force, but a diverse group of faithful believers. How can we be ready to struggle against evil with all our non-violent force?

God bless,

Sam

Revelation 14:1-7

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, ³and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. ⁴It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

one kingdom under the Lamb

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This Sunday we celebrate World Communion Sunday, which reminds us that the church is one body throughout the world. Related to that, our passage for today shows us the Apostle John's vision of God's throne room. Surrounding God's throne are four living creatures with four faces, several wings and eyes. There are also 24 elders surrounding the throne. John has just wept because an angel presented a sealed scroll that John knew was important, but no one was worthy to open. We'll see in the passage that Jesus, the Lamb of God is worthy. In him people from every nation and language become one body.

May it be so for us too,
Sam

Revelation 5:6-14

⁶Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.

⁸When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; ¹⁰you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” ¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” ¹⁴And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

the souls of the martyrs

Good afternoon friends,
Friday we read about Jesus, the lamb of God who was slaughter, being worthy to open the seal on a scroll God was holding. As it turns out, there are seven seals (seven is a number that for Biblical writers represented completion, so several things happen in sevens). When each seal is opened something dramatic happens. In today's reading one of the seals reveals the souls of Christian martyrs waiting for Christ's return and victory over evil. Throughout Revelation we are reminded over and over again about the importance of giving testimony to Christ's lordship and love.

Revelation was written to a persecuted church, a church that didn't have any power in the typical sense of the word. The main point of the Revelation is to remind the church that they are on God's side. Even though it seems like other powers (Rome, evil, pagan rulers, etc) appear stronger, God is actually in charge and God will be victorious one day. The way God conquers is through Jesus' death (the lamb that was slaughtered), and the way Christians play their part is by testifying. This is a different way of thinking about power, but it is how God calls us to think. That's a good reminder for the church today that is worried about loosing financial, social or political power. Like our Lord, we are strong when we are weak, and faithful when we testify.

God bless,
Sam

Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-17

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; ¹⁰they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” ¹¹They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

⁹After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. ¹⁶They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

the Lion has conquered

Good evening friends,
Yesterday we started the Book of Revelation with Jesus appearing to John to tell him about what will happen soon. After a short message to each of seven churches in modern day Turkey, John is taken in the Spirit to heaven where he sees God sitting on a throne. Surrounding the throne are four "living creatures" who have several heads, wings and eyes all over. God is also surrounded by 24 elders (think 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles) sitting on thrones worshiping God around a sea like glass (remind you of a hymn?) The vision continues with today's reading where God ("the one seated on the throne") has a scroll that John knows must be important. Pay attention to how Revelation talks about conquering and what that might say to Christians about how we think about power.

God bless,
Sam
 

Revelation 5:1-10

Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; ²and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁴And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. ⁸When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; ¹⁰you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.”