It is funny what happens to us when we let our minds become too focused on the present. We look at a world where so much is wrong, and it can be easy to want to hide. Politics is ugly. Social standards are not godly. Many churches seem to be focused on all sorts of things other than the word of God and his worship.
It is, I believe, for seasons like this that God gave us a book like Revelation. This glorious book is so much less about giving us a firm timeline for the future and so much more about showing us the victorious Savior. Revelation shows us that, in a hard world that hates its Creator, the Lord Jesus is gloriously victorious.
Consider how this scene of prophecy might change how we think about our circumstances.
Revelation 6:12-17 – 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
With the opening of the sixth seal in Revelation 6, we see a scene of stunning power. Jesus is changing the world. Without getting into what the signs in the heavens may tell us, just look at the very end. When this day comes, the mightiest in the world will tremble. When the Savior returns, the greatest will not stand arrogantly or defiantly against the Lord. Instead, these will cry out to the mountains. They would prefer to be crushed than to be seen by the Lord who is coming.
Right now, in our world, there is a great deal of bluster. Many people mock the things of God. Many rebel purposefully against the standards of the Lord. And it appears that there are no consequences. But the Book of Revelation reminds us that a day will come when the Lord returns. A day will come when the Savior is seen by all. A day will come when the biggest and brashest of braggarts will realize that they no longer have a place to stand. A day will come when all will realize that Jesus is God in the flesh, that Jesus is Lord, and that Jesus will judge. A day will come when those who oppose Jesus would rather be under an avalanche than under his holy gaze.
I’m not here taking delight in the death of the wicked. But I am taking delight in the fact that, no matter how backward the world looks today, Jesus will set it right. And this gives me confidence today. If I know that Christ is coming, if I know that his judgment is inevitable, if I know that his grace is mine through faith, then I can live with that hope. I need not let this world discourage me. Jesus has promised to return. Jesus has promised victory. And I am counted in Christ with a secure hope.
Pastor Travis Peterson 