Revelation 14:1-5

The True Judge

When looking up synonyms for the word revelation, I found the following;

Exposure

Disclosure

Admission

Surprise

Shock

When the world as we know it comes to an end, will I be one of the 144,000 who will be redeemed from the earth? Will my family and friends be included? Will the Grace of God include a sinner such as me who has repented on a regular basis because of my humanness?

How can anyone on this earth be “pure” and “blameless” as to be offered as first fruits to God except innocent babies and children who have not yet been exposed to worldly corruption?

Revelation has always raised more questions than answers for me.

The thought of exposure and disclosure can be frightening, especially for those of us who hide behind a veil of goodness and make assumptions of our brothers and sisters based on their behavior. The fact is the Lord knows our hearts no matter how we perceive or are perceived by others.

Our judgment of the behaviors of those in our lives is not biblical, as we are told to leave judgment to our God many places within the Word. This passage in Romans is one example of warning for the day of Revelation:

Romans 14:10-12 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 

Heaven forbid the Lord judge us as we judge others.

Read/Listen to Revelation 14:1-5

Soar Like an Eagle

It is hard to fly with eagles during the day if you hang out with turkeys all night.

 

You have probably heard that saying some time in your life. There is some truth in it. If you want to do well, you should be focused on your goals.

There is another lesson in this saying as well. Like it or not, you influence the people you are around, and they influence you. At times we have to gobble with the turkeys.  However, it is better to spend time with eagles so their behaviors rub off.

 

Today’s reading is Hebrews 5:11-6:12. The author is scolding Christian Jews because their spiritual growth has been stunted. As infants require milk for life, these converts only understand the very basic points of Christianity. They are at risk of losing their faith.

 

But who could blame them? They lived in the Roman Empire, and were influenced by its norms, mostly formulated from Greek culture. Greek culture thought homosexuality and multiple wives were acceptable. Unwanted newborn babies were placed on the garbage heap to die of exposure. The Roman Emperors wanted the people to worship them as gods; the local city-state officials desired that the people be loyal to them.

 

It was hard being Christian 2000 years ago. The world was a less than friendly pace for Christians. The recipients of Hebrews were apparently doing little to counter this negative cultural influence. They were spending too much time with turkeys.

 

Things really are not much different today. Our culture accepts homosexuality and intimate relationships outside of marriage. We don’t put newborns in the garbage heap – but we do put pre-borns in the garbage heap over a million times a year. We also live under a government that wants more power and is placing more and more restrictions on churches.

 

Perhaps we do have the same problems as the recipients of Hebrews.

 

There are times we have to hang out with turkeys. But we can also soar with eagles. We need to hang out with Eagles,  and this can include fellowship with other Christians, Communing with the Lord and reading the Word on a regular basis.

 

What are you doing to soar like an eagle?