A Vision of His Kingdom ...

Does Jesus lie?  Non-believers may not have a good basis to answer that question.  And even believers sometimes doubt its answer.  But to answer in the affirmative, it would help to have an explicit example of where Jesus did lie.  Otherwise given the vast history of things He predicted that came true, and the personal examples in your own encounters with Jesus, I believe you will find that Jesus does not lie.  So lets give it a stretch and look for an instance that proves this theory wrong.  You might begin with prophecy and its interpretation.  Does being wrong about how you interpret prophecy make Jesus the liar?  To believe that is to state, you are completely right, and if reality deviates with what you believe, it must be Jesus who lied about it.  Given how often you are wrong in life in general about a great many things.  It seems hardly plausible, that in matters of scriptural interpretation, you suddenly became all knowing – and Jesus must have lied, if reality does not work out the way you interpreted it would.

More likely, a second look, a deeper study, will find more meaning in the same texts you studied before.  More likely, the other meanings that may emerge offer you a different way to see things, perhaps a better way, perhaps a way closer to what Jesus originally intended, than what you gathered the first time you read it through.  To trust to the interpretation of the church leaders, and church tradition, is to walk the path of our Pharisee forefathers, and wind up in the same end result – kill Truth, rather than change our minds.  On the other hand, looking to so many of the Biblical prophecies that have been fulfilled, and so accurately, tends to give one confidence that Jesus knows what He is talking about.  His record is very very good.  This inspires confidence that again Jesus does not need to lie.  The Truth is always better for us to know, and always what He reveals to us, even if the revelation is slow – because that is the speed our minds need to receive it without blowing a gasket.

Just a few segments ago, Peter stated that Jesus was the Son of God, a revelation given to him by God the Father.  Jesus called him blessed to receive it.  And immediately Jesus asked His disciples not to tell anyone about it yet.  Instead He began revealing to them that He was to die at the hands of church leadership, be tortured no less, and crucified; but then to rise on the third day.  As for Peter’s revelation, Jesus asked His disciples to keep this from His otherwise would be followers – they were NOT ready to hear it yet.  While it was true, it was a Truth, not everyone was ready to hear.  Then the remainder of what Jesus told His disciples, they DID NOT LIKE hearing.  Peter even tried to rebuke Jesus, and tell Him this would never happen.  Yet again an unpleasant truth, but then a truth so glorious the history of the universe would soon be defined by it.  Even then His disciples could not get over the fact, their own interpretation of the role of the Messiah, like the church leadership of the time, was wrong.  Did it make Jesus a liar?  No.  Things unfurled exactly as Jesus had predicted, including the fantastic parts that could only happen after the horrible parts.

Outside of the miracles (and they were astonishing, perhaps terrifying, and yet so glorious), the disciples looked up to Jesus as one of their own.  Jesus was different to them, but more the same than different.  For the most part Jesus looked like any other man, since Adam, until then.  But to increase their faith yet again, this was about to change.  Matthew picks up the story in the last verse of chapter sixteen, that in context, continues the next thoughts right into the first verses of chapter seventeen.  Perhaps it would have been better if placed there, but no matter, we are capable of continuing a read as needed.  It begins in verse 28 saying … “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”  And so begins our intense analysis; did Jesus lie?

We interpret this text to mean … some of you disciples … not all, but a few … will not die … until you see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom (or in our minds, the second coming of Christ, which the whole world continues to wait for).  Since ALL the disciples died, we know this could not have been true.  In fact, ALL the disciples (short John but not for lack of trying) met martyr’s deaths, ugly, gruesome, torture of extreme bodily pain, which was only relieved by death itself.  That was how reality unfolded, which definitely does not jive with our traditional interpretation of this verse – so again I ask did Jesus lie?  Or perhaps, did Jesus have something else in mind, then what we traditionally think?  The answer is contained in chapter seventeen of Matthew’s gospel, in the very next texts as this story continues.

It picks up in verse 1 saying … “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,”  You will note this is a few of the disciples, or “some” of them.  In reality, these represent three key disciples who will serve in the new Christian church’s leadership.  James will head the new church in Jerusalem (its traditional headquarters, as the impact of the Messiah was first to be felt by the traditional bloodline of Abraham if they but accepted it).  Peter will be the first great evangelist, spreading the gospel far and wide across the then known world.  John would be the chief prophet to not only the Hebrew church, but to the Christian faith all the way from that time to the last remnant to walk the earth before His return.  These three disciples were taken apart from the rest, and up the mountain they hiked, likely to the place where Jesus went to pray at night.  Chances are, none of them thought anything strange about it at first.

Matthew continues in verse 2 saying … “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”  This is the true form of the Son of Man.  This is Jesus, NOT like one of them, burdened by our world of darkness, but how the Son of Man looks in His kingdom – just as He said only six days earlier at the end of chapter sixteen in the gospel of Matthew.  This is not baby Jesus in a manger.  This is not good-time Jesus at the Wedding in Cana.  This is not tortured Jesus upon a cross, dead.  This is Jesus alive as He was following the resurrection, the same way He will look past His ascension from this world forever more.  This is Jesus at home in His kingdom.  And true to form about the kingdom of Jesus, it was not meant to be alone in.

Matthew continues in verse 3 saying … “And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. [verse 4] Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”  The first thing that appears in the Kingdom of Jesus are the redeemed for which He is destined to die and return again triumphant.  These represent the first fruits of the Kingdom.  Elijah is there never having tasted death, translated while still alive (like Enoch before him).  Moses did die, but was resurrected by Jesus and taken to heaven early (partially because Satan was trying to mess with the body).  Both architypes are representations and reminders that Jesus will go through whatever comes to Him personally because His ability to visit with Elijah, and Moses, and Peter, James, and John depends on it.  His love will motivate Him to face whatever comes, because His Kingdom is not a Kingdom at all without His children in it.  It is not home without you, without me.  He so loves the countless millions He intends to fill His home up with, that association and fellowship have become the treasure He prizes above all else.  The streets of gold are for you to have fun with – your company, is what He is looking forward to with such a passion you can hardly comprehend it.

Peter offers the best his brain can think of.  He immediately assumes the place must be the important thing.  He offers to build three tabernacles, that is, three temples to worship in.  One for Elijah, one for Moses, and one for Jesus.  But Elijah wants no temple, nor does Moses.  The lives of men are not worthy of worship, even those of the great Biblical heroes we admire still today.  It is only Jesus that is worthy of worship.  The cleaned-up versions of Elijah and Moses, depend on Jesus following through with the sacrifice He is still to make.  There is no holiness in Elijah or Moses, that does not first originate in the transformative power of the love of Jesus, which they have fully agreed to accept, even though it will change them completely from who they were, unto who they are at this moment, and every moment going forward.  Peter is too much a baby in the faith to begin to contemplate this yet.  He has not even finished speaking when he is interrupted, by none other, than God the Father who is also present.

Matthew continues in verse 5 saying … “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. [verse 6] And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.”  God stops Peter in his tracks, there is no need for tabernacles that honor men, not even elaborate temples to honor Jesus, there is ONLY need to listen to what Jesus says.  God the Father appears clouded in a brilliant cloud, barely able to contain the majesty and glory of who He is.  He speaks saying … This is my beloved Son.  Any doubts about the identity of Jesus, or the fact, that this is what His kingdom is and will be are shattered into a million pieces.  God the Father proceeds to acknowledge the life of Jesus to this point, in saying that He is well pleased with His Son.  In case you thought Jesus was ever wrong, let it go.  In case you thought Jesus did not have all the facts, well, one of you might, but it is not Jesus.  God the Father wants you to listen to Jesus His Son.

And in this verse crumbles the entire Muslim faith.  An endorsement of Jesus as the Son of God, and the way by which entry to the Kingdom is attained.  The One God is in three parts, and the Father says, to listen to His Son.  Case closed.  Every other supposed claim to deity is shattered in this one verse.  One God who asks you to listen to His Only Son.  This right here is all you need for salvation.  This Jesus will be all you ever need.  And listening is free.  Just like the transformation Jesus longs to bring to your life, to end the pain and death you embrace, and offer you a life beyond imagination that starts in the here and now, not just after the grave.  And what happens when human men encounter the God of the ages.  They fall flat on their faces and become exceedingly afraid.  The fear in them, is a reflection of the sin in them.  Before Adam fell he looked forward to the walks with Jesus in the Garden of Eden.  But after he fell, he immediately feared allowing his sin to come in to contact with the perfect love of God.  And no matter how good you think you are – the mirror of the Father God – will reveal the truth of how much farther you have yet to go.

Matthew completes this vision of the Kingdom in verse 7 saying … “And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. [verse 8] And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. [verse 9] And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”  And here in this sequence of verses is the direct interpretation to the last verse of chapter sixteen.  Some of the disciples, still alive, saw Jesus in His Kingdom, with the saved, and with His Father.  A vision not the complete reality, because until the final days, we will remain unable to see God the Father until all our evil has finally been washed away.  But this version does not require a second coming, only a vision of what the end result of the second coming will one day look like.  Not only does it prevent Jesus from being a liar, you don’t have to bounce around scripture looking all over the place to find a convoluted meaning for what it means.  You literally only have to keep reading.  Just a few more verses in sequence.

And in case you thought prophecy had only one meaning … hang on to your hat … Matthew continues in verse 10 saying … “And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? [verse 11] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. [verse 12] But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. [verse 13] Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.”  Church leadership, and church tradition, and the common people of the church – all believed that the prophecy of the coming of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah was a literal one.  Jesus, here states, no, it was a figurative one.  It was the message of Elijah to restore all things, i.e. for the nation to repent, that was needed to prepare the way of the Lord.  For if we will not repent, we will not submit, we will not allow Jesus to change us, and so keep Jesus at arm’s length (our choice, not His).

In the very next sequence of texts, as if to reinforce the point that we do not always get it right.  Jesus reinterprets what scripture intended to say for the followers willing to listen directly to Jesus, instead of to tradition, or the church leadership to tell them what they should think.  Does Jesus lie?  Only you can answer that for yourself.  But for me, He never has, and I believe He never will.  He simply does not need to lie.  The Truth is who He is.  The Truth is the core of the gospel.  The gospel is not good news based on lies, it is good news founded in a power that can transform you no matter where you are, what you have done, or how you think today.  Submit yourself to Jesus and watch how much better your life gets.  Watch your priorities change.  Watch what you treasure turn to thinks that really matter, and how your treasure keeps growing based in a love you can barely describe.  Watch your interpretation of scripture begin to change, not towards heresy, but towards a fulfillment and proximity to God that only comes from being in harmony with God.  There is no end to the upside, and in all of it, no reason to lie ever again.  No wonder He is called the Truth.  And the Truth had more yet to say …

 

The Incessant Need to Know When [part 3 of 3] ...

In our prior studies we have been examining the answers of Christ to the questions of His disciples as to when the Temple would be destroyed at Jerusalem.  History gives us the answers in 70 AD.  But a more careful example of the parallels between the events and signs that occurred back then and the dangers we face in our modern world are striking.  The biggest warning of Jesus was the focus on avoiding deceptions, that is, avoiding the false Messiah’s, or those who would place themselves between us and God.  This warning still exists for us today, as we still place “self” in the line of responsibility for our own salvation instead of just upon Jesus.  This warning was important enough for Jesus to repeat it 2 times, so perhaps of all the issues that faced the disciples and face us, it may be the most important.  But Jesus wanted to focus the minds of His disciples beyond the immediate, and to the more important during this conversation.  His second coming, while not the main topic of conversation, would also be one He would include.

Peter continues his recollection to John Mark in his gospel in chapter thirteen, picking up in verse 24 saying … “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, [verse 25] And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.”  To set the context, in verse 19 Jesus predicts affliction such has not been since the world was created, nor shall ever be as great again.  When we apply a modern interpretation, and knowing our world seems to always get worse, we naturally assume that whatever this great affliction is, it must still be ahead of us.  But the introductory language Jesus uses in this text would seem to disagree.  Jesus begins by saying but in those days, and after that tribulation … it is only “then” that the sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, followed by the stars of heaven falling.  These signs in the sky have largely been shown by historians to have occurred before 1844, giving rise to the movement that believed this date would be the return of our Lord.

However, if “that tribulation” was set to be “never again” witnessed, then perhaps the great persecution this world witnessed has in fact been completed.  It was for nearly 1200 years that the faith, persecuted the faith, an age where dissent was not tolerated, and religion was about power over others, instead of service to others.  Perhaps given the words of Christ Himself, this is to what He referred.  Jesus then continues His thoughts leading to this conclusion in verse 26 saying … “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”  What Jesus refers to here, has nothing to do with the destruction of the Temple, but with His own triumphant return.  It was this event alone that is distinguished by the sun, moon, and stars behaving differently.  The creations of the Creator, showing deference to the divine that created them.  His return follows these events.  But again, the sequence is punctuated by a tribulation that is followed by these signs, not a tribulation that occurs hundreds of years after them.  The martyrs of the faith are enough.  What remains is His coming, as a thief in the night, or as we who wait, have become unprepared, and untransformed.

Jesus continues describing His second coming in verse 27 saying … “And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”  This verse has more significance to us perhaps, than it did to Peter, James, John, and Andrew.  Consider multiple meanings it may contain.  First, the many who have died and await the Lord, will have done so from the four winds, or the four corners of the earth.  Many, from many different tribes and nations will arise to meet the Lord whose name they did not know in this day.  We who have been blessed to read about and know the name and story of Jesus, have seeded the uttermost part of the earth, and now are extending ourselves even to the space around us.  When Christ returns, his elect will be gathered whether alive or raised from the dead, no matter where they are.

Consider the second meaning.  It may imply that the gospel, or good news, has been spread as well, to the uttermost parts of the earth, and of heaven.  Perhaps the gospel as well, will be common knowledge for anyone wishing to know it, when Jesus returns.  This was a feat that the disciples could not have imagined, not knowing just how large the world was, or that it was round, or that it was inhabited by many peoples unaware of the goings on in Jerusalem.  Jesus seems to speak of a day when the gospel would be known in those far off places in the world.  Our communications methods of the day, can now carry that good news, even if by satellite wave, than by human explorer.

Lastly, consider the third meaning or implication.  Jesus states specifically it is His angels who are commissioned to gather together His elect from these places.  He does not look for a forgiven people, or a people who are aware of Him, or a people who claim to follow Him.  His angels seek for an “elect” people, a people who stand upright before the Lord, in action and in motive.  How can such an elect people exist in our world?  How can I be rid of the sin I am chained to?  It is not by strength of will, but by submission to Christ, to be remade from the creature I am, to the creation He intends me to be.  In short, I am to be transformed from the man who craves self-love, to the servant who craves to love others alone.  This transformation will affect my thinking, and how I love.  It will make me someone different than I am today.  And it will work its work within me, before I am considered one of the elect.  I will be a person of deep and passionate love for others, before I am one of the elect.  I will be a child, a toddler, in the Kingdom of God, trusting Jesus with my salvation, and my transformation, before I can be one of the elect.  Jesus does not return for those with only a tacit knowledge of who He is.  He returns for those with an experiential knowledge of how He can save us, from us.

It is then, that Jesus seems to jump around a bit, in His timeline of future events.  He continues with admonitions fit for both the destruction of the Temple, and for the second coming.  Jesus picks up in verse 28 saying … “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: [verse 29] So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.”  The destruction of the Temple would be a catastrophic event that occurred swiftly when it occurred.  Jesus wanted His disciples, and His followers in that day to know this, and move quickly to be ready.  The parable of the fig tree was meant to illustrate it.  In our day, Jesus would have us prepared and ready for His soon return.  Not because we delay to engage in our sins as long as we think time remains, playing a cat and mouse game with impending death.  But because allowing Jesus to transform who we are in the here and now, makes our lives so much better, and gives us a life worth living as one of the elect as long as possible before His quick return.

Jesus continues in verse 30 saying … “Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. [verse 31] Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”  This verse acts as a promise for the disciples and for us.  The disciples could live long enough to witness the destruction of the Temple.  We know John did.  Christian tradition varies on how many others would surpass the 70 AD date, perhaps Andrew, perhaps Jude.  But obviously not all of them would live to witness either the destruction of Jerusalem, Judas would commit suicide, and James would be stoned long before it.  Nor would any of the disciples witness the second coming, as all of us are awaiting that event.  So what was it that Christ was so certain and so steadfast that His generation would see come to pass?

Could it be, He was certain that the power of the Gospel, what He refers to in the next verse as “His words” would not pass away.  Could it be He was certain that our transformation, beginning with the Disciples and their generation and lasting to the end of days, to the end of heaven and earth would be seen and NOT pass away.  This was the concrete promise of our Lord, that should we decide to submit to Him, to enter His Kingdom of God as a little child, trusting Jesus with our salvation, we would not be disappointed or see Him fail.  Following the words of Jesus, to love one another, to love our enemies, to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul; would become part of who we are, as we are transformed by Jesus alone, into this new creation.  This is what Jesus promised that you and I can take absolute faith in.  Jesus will save anyone who asks, anyone who seeks to be something different than who they are today. 

This process would begin in the age of the disciples, beginning the transformations at Pentecost.  It would continue with Saul on the road to persecute, becoming Paul the staunchest advocate and prolific writer of His day.  It would continue with countless martyrs for the faith; normal people who loved life as much as you or I, but could not bow down and worship something false, even if it meant keeping them out of the pits of hell on this earth.  They died singing hymns to Jesus, while evil unleashed a torrent of torture upon them.   These are not the acts of those with only a fake knowledge of Jesus.  These are the acts of those who have truly been transformed and could live no other way.  And His transformations continue from that day until ours.  But to experience them, we must seek them, we must put aside the distractions of this world, and look for the Lord who can remake what has been broken in us.

Jesus continues in verse 32 saying … “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. [verse 33] Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”  As if to try to eliminate the pain Christians would feel, the bitter disappointment of the 1844 movement Jesus blatantly states, that not even He knows when the time for His return will be appointed.  Since no one knows when it will occur, not even Jesus, we are meant to focus on our salvation through Jesus.  This could occur whenever we seek Him and submit.  Responding to that great love will be its beginning.  And seeing what Jesus does within us, will be its end.  This is what is important to do, not the specific days and dates of His return.

Jesus continues in verse 34 saying … “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. [verse 35] Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [verse 36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. [verse 37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”  Jesus ends His sermon of admonitions and predictions, with the most important direction to us all.  He bids us watch.  He does not tell us the exact moment of our demise, nor does He tell us the exact moment of His return.  Perhaps this is by intent.  The goal is not to tell us when we should die, and when He would return.  If our move to Jesus was one, delayed by the knowledge we had time remaining, we might never come to Him.  He does not wish to blackmail us with threats of death, He wishes to lure us with the promise of Love unending.

We need to think differently.  The transformed mind and heart do not need to know when and why, or even how … they only need to know what.  What does Jesus want me to do now?  What can I do to serve you, to meet your needs now?  What can I do to point you to Jesus, who can change your life like He has done to me?  These are the questions that obsess the transformed mind and heart, for they are the only ones that truly matter.  Serving God, serving others, loving everyone … this is the focus of the elect.  The elect have no time for doctrine, and scriptural interpretation, for to them the answers are easy.  Love God with everything, give Him everything you are, and become what He makes you into.  The rest He will give you as you have need.  You cannot study your way into transformation, you cannot intellectualize your way into it.  You can only submit yourself, your will, your desires, your dreams to Jesus and let Him remake it.

The when question does not matter, as now is the best answer.  When should I stop sinning: now.  When should I let go of the pain that comes with sin: now.  When should I begin to enjoy what Jesus has in store for me and my life: now.  The second of coming of Christ is not meant to begin your conversion experience, it is meant to punctuate a journey you are already on.  The second coming of Christ is not meant to introduce you to a God you can finally trust; it is meant to reveal the face of the God you have already been trusting with your entire life.  He bids us watch.  Not to watch only for His coming, but to watch what happens to a life given over to Him.  Watch what happens to your sin, as He takes it from you.  Watch what happens to your love for others, as He quietly puts it in you, until it overflows.  He bids you watch, those who know Him, should watch.  There is so much to see.  There is so much He wants to give you.  Do not wait for it.  Take it, and watch.

 

The Incessant Need to Know When [part two] ...

In our previous study, four of the disciples (Peter, James, John, and Andrew) had taken Jesus aside on the Mount of Olives.  Perhaps inspired by the view of the Temple, they were interested in knowing “when” the Temple would be destroyed.  It was this question that Jesus was answering.  Yet many of us modern Christians have examined this answer by Jesus, and applied it to our days as well.  We have extrapolated the answers of Christ into our own day, and applied them to signs of His second coming as well.  And while there may be parallels between the warnings and admonitions of Christ in His day and our own, it is important to remember, the words of Jesus must FIRST apply to the question He was asked, NOT to the one we apply His answers to.  Similarities may exist, but the context and timing of His answers should be examined in light of the generation of those disciples as a first priority.  For it is not fair to expect a word for word, deed for deed, exact replication to signs in our days for the event we wait for now.  The parallels we should study, and the reasons behind them will perhaps warrant a second look.

Jesus had completed the first part of his answer to the disciples.  He was now to continue with His answer, an answer that still echoes to our day.  Peter giving account to John Mark in his gospel in chapter thirteen, he picks up in verse 14 saying … “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:”  To begin, lets us examine this answer, for what it could not be.  Many Hollywood movies would have us believe that Romans desecrating the Temple with idols, and images of the Emperor would constitute the abomination of desolation.  There are at least two problems with this idea: 1.) Jesus had already been crucified, arisen, and ascended.  Therefore the true Temple was no longer in a building located in Jerusalem, He had gone home to be at the right hand of His Father.  It would be hard to desecrate a building that had been nullified in the real worship of God.  The Temple at Jerusalem was no longer sacred, blessed by God, or attended by God.  It was merely just another building, its best feature having historical relevance, but nothing truly spiritual.  Putting idols in or on it, would be of no more import than doing so at any other place of public gathering.

2.) The history of events bears examination.  In 64 AD, Zealots in Israel begin a full-fledged revolt against the Roman empire.  The Zealots succeed at driving out local Roman garrisons from Jerusalem, Masada, and other surrounding regions.  This would mean that no Roman authority would have been left in Jerusalem to place idols or images in the Temple, to create the perception of an abomination of desolation in the first place.  However, in 66 AD, Linus would be elected the First Bishop (or pope) of Rome.  In 68 AD the Romans would destroy the Essene monastery at the Dead Sea on their way back to Jerusalem.  And then in 70 AD the Romans would retake Jerusalem completely destroying the Temple.  Finally, in 74 AD the remaining Zealots would commit mass suicide at Masada, ending the rebellion, ending the uprising, and causing all the Jews to be removed from Palestine as their official home until after WW2.  In ten years everything would change for the Jewish people.

But it was then the Jews, who had full control over the Temple in the years that preceded its destruction.  No Roman, or outside entity, could have placed something within it to cause this abomination to exist.  Now adding that news itself did not travel by CNN in these days, it took much longer with horses, sea faring ships, and then word of mouth – any significant action might not have reached the ears of its audience for quite a while.  What did take place however preceding the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, was the less publicized event of Linus being elected as the “First Bishop of Rome”.  Here Peter, who has never referred to himself as any kind of Bishop, makes reference to a little known event.  Why?  What difference could that have made?

To answer we must first examine what kind of “abomination” could ever lead to “desolation” in the first place.  One might argue it was the killing of Christ, but that event was already near, during the conversation with Jesus at the time, and He did not make reference to it.  Christ must die in fact, in order that our salvation be offered, and our punishment be taken on by Him in our place.  So the killing of Jesus was not actually an abomination but instead part of the plan of our salvation.  What then?  Jesus had already alluded to it earlier when He first said, “be not deceived”.  He would state it again soon in the coming texts.  Any sort of replacement for the true Jesus, any sort of diversion of our focus away from Jesus for our salvation, would become the abomination of desolation, for our transformation is impossible without Jesus Christ.

The election of Linus was dangerous because the people of this day, were already looking to the Bishop of Rome to handle spiritual matters for them, instead of looking directly to Jesus Christ themselves.  The people had already turned away from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and were looking at their Bishop as being the authority to seek out on matters of salvation.  What is worse, the leadership of the Christian faith, had assumed rights, authority, and control over the believers; instead of being in service to the people.  The Bishops had advertised as having authority even over Jesus Christ, and as being the source the people should feel comfortable coming to, instead of directly to Christ.  This intercessory role was never intended for humans to offer to other humans.  It was intended only for Jesus to offer to us.  Any reliance on anyone other than Jesus creates an abomination resulting in the desolation of our souls, of our actions, of our hearts.  For one human cannot transform the mind and heart of another.  Only Jesus can truly do this.  Only Jesus can truly save us from us.

And before we get too sanctimonious in looking down on the simpletons of our history.  We should examine our lives today.  While we may not rely upon a human pope to offer us salvation.  We have replaced the pope of history, with the papal power in our mirrors.  We do not look at a Catholic pope to save and transform us, but instead we still hold on to “self” to do the same thing.  We believe “we” are in control over our sins.  We simply need to choose to stop sinning and we will stop sinning.  But while we control our actions, our hearts are still steeped in the love of sin.  Our motives have not changed, even though our strong will is able to keep us from defying the letter of the law.  We too have engaged in the abomination of desolation, because we too, have allowed Jesus to take a back seat role in our salvation, in our perfection processes.  But it has ever been the same.  Only Jesus can save us from ourselves.  No other human can do it, not pope, and not self.  The danger is the same, even if separated by 2,000 years of history.

Then Jesus transitions from the Jews and Christians who were to flea into the mountains when they heard the news of these events.  He would now focus on those who still remained closer to Jerusalem as the Romans were invading.  The dangers for them would be more immediate.  Jesus continues in verse 15 saying … “ And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: [verse 16] And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.”  When the Roman scouts are seen on the horizon, when Roman banners are close enough to dot the horizon, there is no time to pack.  There is no time to return for clothing or precious belongings.  If life is to be preserved, one must flea immediately. 

In our day, when we discover our self-reliance, there is no time to delay.  We cannot flirt with the idea of self-salvation, or our lives will not be spared.  The dangers of self are immediate and bring a level of desolation we cannot imagine.  If we are to be spared, we must flee self, and self-reliance, and run as fast as we can to Jesus.  We cannot depend on our salvation being established by other humans.  Our parents cannot save us.  Our pastors and popes cannot save us.  The history of our church forefathers, and bloodlines we descend from cannot save us.  Only Jesus can save us, and only as we look to Him, and submit to Him to do it.  Any diversion away from Jesus Christ, any reliance on anything other than Him, takes us right back to the abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not, between us and our true Messiah.

Jesus continues in verse 17 saying … “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! [verse 18] And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.”  Pregnant mothers, and those with nursing children will have it particularly hard fleeing.  It is because those infants who depend upon them will still have needs even while they flee.  A flight in winter will be hard as food is more scarce, and conditions much harsher.  You can survive heat in the outdoors, much easier than you can survive cold.  Heat brings more life with it.  Cold tends to make life hide and be reclusive.  Mothers are the backbone of any society, in any age.  In our day, those who raise children, have an even more intense need to find Jesus, particularly when conditions are well suited around them.  When strong support systems are in place, mothers should use them, to find Jesus for themselves.  For a mother to find Jesus, when conditions are harsh, will have repercussions for their young.  And all of us are directly influenced by what our mothers believe, whether we like it or not.

Jesus continues in verse 19 saying … “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. [verse 20] And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.”  These two verses seem equally valid for the time of the destruction of the Temple, and for those we live in.  In the days of Jerusalem, strange signs began to appear in the skies over the city.  Chariots of fire in the clouds both in day and night began to appear.  The Christians saw these signs for what they were and fled the city.  Not a single Christian was lost in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem as a result.  But for those who remained, parents came to the point of eating their own children to survive the siege.  There is no horror greater than to be reduced to cannibalism in order to remain alive.  It wars against the body and soul.  It scars us in ways that will never quite heal.

In our day we have witnessed atrocities on a grander scale.  We see attempts at genocide from WW2 to the far east.  What one person is capable of inflicting upon another seems to have no limits in our day.  And we wonder if the world has ever been this bad.  It has.  It has been so since Satan gained control over the populous.  It is only Jesus that can free us from being either victim or perpetrator, and break the cycle once and for all.  And so the Father God, must shorten the days He is willing to tolerate evil, in an attempt to save all who might be saved.  He is forced to shorten His preferred date, because if He does not, we would take actions that would end ALL life in our world, and leave no one left alive.  But make no mistake, this is not what He preferred, but what our embrace of evil demands.  How few will see it coming.  How few will choose the life He would offer as its alternative, the freedom from pain He longs to provide us.

Jesus continues in verse 21 saying … “And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: [verse 22] For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. [verse 23] But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.”  Here again, Jesus returns to what weighs heavily upon His mind, the distractions and deceptions of following humans instead of following Himself.  Jesus repeats His warning again, stating that no matter how long it takes, there is always someone standing in the place of our savior, purporting to be the next Messiah.  These false Christs will also have the backing of Satan, showing signs and wonders, so many they might deceive even the very elect.  These words and this warning is terrifying.

We in our age, who know so little of the Holy Spirit on a personal basis.  We have no baseline to determine if the supernatural we witness is of the Holy Spirit, or of the competitor of our God.  We attempt to use the scriptures, or our interpretations of them to discern the difference.  But in all our studies, and all our doctrines, we have been left void of the supernatural in our own lives.  We walk in the desert, neither performing miracles, nor believing we could ever perform them.  And so the dry, are expected to judge whether the living have life blood from Jesus (who our own lives reflect so little of), or of Satan (who would love to deceive us with his power, encouraging us to use it on ourselves, and on our glory).  The elect should have experienced transformation.  But perhaps this is the biggest deception, that the dry, think themselves as the elect, having been deceived that doctrine is more important than love.  Then assuming that doctrine can discern, what only love could have.

But there was more to be said by Jesus, more prophecy designed to change the outcome of our own lives, given to us not just to witness, but to participate within …

 

A Preview of His Kingdom and Power ...

A preview is not the same thing as the main event.  In our world, we use “warm up” acts in live musical concerts, or stand-up comedian acts to get the audience in the mood for what will come next.  In boxing, there is such a thing as the “under-card” which is usually a series of fights that take place before the main event bout.  Obviously these previews are not what we paid to see or were most looking forward to, but there have been a fair number of musicians, comedians, and fighters who transitioned from being the warm-up act to being the main act because of the exposure they got during their entertainment previews.  And the previews themselves do serve to get the audience properly prepared for what comes next, in order to heighten the experience of the main event.  No one knows how far back this practice dates, but given that Jesus had one, we can say at least 2,000 years.

Peter records how it all started as he recited it to John Mark to transcribe beginning in the gospel of Mark chapter nine, and verse 1 saying … “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”  In these words, Jesus is talking to His disciples.  He has just given them a sort-of salvation tutorial in the previous verses.  That was a detailed explanation of what it means to be able to be like Christ is, to follow Jesus where He was going.  Now Jesus is taking that idea a bit further, He is telling them, that at least some of them will not die until they have seen Him as God, and His Kingdom coming here with power.  Of course our human minds, which live nearly 2,000 years since those words were spoken, immediately “wants” to interpret them as being a promise of a quick second return by Christ to take us all home.  But as 2,000 years has passed since then, we know that is not the case.  Further, since the laws of aging were not suspended for the disciples (allowing them to live until now without getting old), we can further conclude that the “main event” of His return was also NOT what He was talking about.

So what was Jesus referring to?  The answer can be found in the texts immediately following these remarks and continuing this story.  Mark continues writing in verse 2 saying … “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.”  Note this is the very next verse following the lead-in written above.  You don’t need to search through scriptures to find an event that may somehow fulfill the words of Christ, it is the very next thought.  What happens in only six days, is that Jesus takes Himself, Peter, James, and John up into a high mountain in order to be alone with them (out of the reach of the crowds).  He then “transfigures” Himself before them, or in other words, He reveals the “God” portion of who He is.  He takes the mask of humanity off for a few moments and reveals the God side, the infinite side, of who He really is.  Up to now, this has never happened.  Up to now, and since His birth, there have only been a few incidents where God the Father’s voice was heard acknowledging Jesus as His son.  Even when Jesus performs miracles for us, it is always with Jesus cloaked in humanity, never showing anyone what is under the veil.

Imagine the brilliant light that emerges from Jesus when Peter sees more God than man standing before him.  Imagine the purity of Christ’s love and brilliance of the Creator now shining through in this lonely place high on a remote mountain top.  I can imagine that even here, Jesus must hold back the fullness of who He is, or the disciples would perish at the sight.  But I can also imagine that for these 3 men, who will ever be only human, the plain sight of His divinity would have overwhelmed them.  They may well have prostrated themselves on the ground at His first revealing.  This was no small event, and it was not one that would be repeated often or with casual regard.  This was an epic event.  This was the true revelation of God underneath the human form.  The power that emanated from that purity was beyond our words to relate.  But yet here it was.  None of us could ever do this.  No other wanna-be Messiah could come close to doing such a thing.  This distinction between man and God was forevermore marked here.

Peter tries to describe what he saw to John Mark in verse 3 saying … “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”  Perhaps doing his best to look at Jesus once the God identity has been unveiled, Peter can only see his robe which up to now, has been a home spun garment, full of the dirt and sweat that comes from climbing a high mountain.  Up to now, the robe of Jesus was not especially different from Peter, or James, or John.  But look at it now.  It is a brilliant white, a white more white than anything Peter has ever seen.  It shines.  The robe now gives off a light Peter cannot explain.  This brilliance is not something mankind is possible of duplicating or making.  Peter takes special note to call out that no “fuller” (a profession of clothing cleaner) could ever make a robe as white as this one is.  Indeed the beginnings of the Kingdom of God are being revealed, for this is clearly a picture of God being revealed to His three disciples.

Then comes the fullness of a kingdom’s description as John Mark continues in verse 4 saying … “And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.”  And thus the remainder of the kingdom appeared: mankind with God.  That is what the Kingdom of God was all about, reconciling mankind with God.  Here were both groups of mankind represented in this first preview of the coming of Christ in His second return to earth.  Elias or Elijah had never died but was fully transformed in character before his earthly death and taken to heaven by angels pleased to carry out that job.  Moses had died, and was raised from the earth fully transformed in character, ready to greet his Lord in the air, carried to heaven by angels glad to have been assigned that task.  Mankind was here now, in the form of both of these saved groups, talking plainly with Jesus.  These were not ghosts, or disembodied spirits, they were men like you and I.  They were there right now, united with their Savior.  This was the first preview of the Kingdom of God, beheld in power as was promised by Christ only six days earlier.

As usual Peter is not quite sure what to do, or say, but as usual Peter has to say something.  That boisterous personality cannot just keep still at the sight of something that overwhelms the others.  So he recalls to John Mark his best efforts at the time picking up in verse 5 saying … “And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. [verse 6] For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.”  No human had ever experienced what was going on at this moment, nobody, ever.  There was no basis in scripture to have studied.  There were no stories handed down from father to son.  In the 4,000+ years of earth’s history, nothing like this had ever occurred.  So Peter tries to make conversation by offering to build 3 tabernacles on that ground one for Jesus, Moses, and Elias.  A normally flattering offer, but none of them are interested in the attempted flattery of Peter.  There are no ego’s here to stroke, only a continued united mission to redeem mankind from itself.  But there was still one thing missing from the definition of His Kingdom, a unity between God and man.

John Mark continues transcribing in verse 7 saying … “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. [verse 8] And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.”  God the Father had come, He masked Himself in a cloud, for even here in this preview event, He could not reveal His glory to those who were still marked by sin lest He destroy the object of His love.  But God the Father had a message for those three disciples, that Jesus was indeed His only Son, and that they should hear Him.  Almost as quickly as these events began, they were ended.  As the disciples looked around they saw only themselves, and Jesus as He had been before.  His robe was as dirty and sweaty as theirs.  No Moses, or Elias, just the four of them.  At this point, each disciple must have wondered if they were hallucinating.  But then how could all 3 of them have seen exactly the same thing at the same time in their respective hallucinations.  No, it had to have been real.  It was after all the preview event Jesus had promised that some of them would see.

In the aftermath of this event Jesus charges them with a familiar charge.  John Mark records in verse 9 saying … “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. [verse 10] And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”  Jesus again asks for secrecy, but this time only until He is risen from the dead.  This is a new condition, and the disciples have no idea what it means.  They still cling to a false idea of the role of the Messiah.  Having seen Him transfigure and get the support of Elijah and Moses, only deepens the false idea they cling to.  If Jesus has access to all this power in heaven, surely He will use it to accomplish creating His kingdom here on earth.  The preview they just got, must be a prelude to an anti-Roman paradise, what else could it be?  So they decide to change the subject slightly and see if they can get more information out of Him.  They ask a different question.

John Mark continues writing in verse 11 saying … “And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? [verse 12] And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. [verse 13] But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.”  The disciples ask why the Pharisee leadership and scribes think that Elijah must come before the Messiah fulfills His role.  Jesus answers that again they have a mistaken interpretation (how like us), but if you examine it … Elias just did come in the flesh, and in the message of John the Baptist.  Both in person and in truth has Elias come ahead of the fulfillment of the Messiah’s role, albeit, not the role the disciples wanted Jesus to fulfill. 

When we read scripture, we do what the disciples did.  We read it from a preconceived set of traditions, and personal hopes.  We read the scriptures that support our ideas, and ignore the texts that do not fit them well.  We, like the disciples, cling to our ideas and views of the role of Christ, despite what He directly tells us that we simply do not understand.  This is all because like our Pharisee forefathers, we do not seek Christ to lead us to truth, we instead attempt to tell Jesus what our truth is and expect Him to conform to it.  If we are even to read rightly, we must learn to submit ALL our ideas to Jesus first.  We must read through the lens of Jesus where loving others is the primary concern.  Only after full submission, and being led by Christ, can we begin to understand what was written, and what it means to each of us.  To distinguish between previews and main events, and to understand what Jesus asks of us, we must read through the lens of Jesus Christ and after submitting our will to His.  And there will be far more Peter has to say to us …

 

The Contrast of Finality [part two] ...

The scene in heaven is one of overwhelming joy at the impending return of Jesus Christ to our world.  Praises are exclaimed by the first fruits, by the 24 elders, by the four beasts, and by the sentient life across the universe.  But where joy is at its pinnacle, it has an equal contrast in the sin sick world below.  The contrast stands as dark as the light which is its opposite.  The finality of what is about to transpire will set a mark in the history of evil that cannot be undone.  Where heaven rejoices, the world below prepares for a war.  Where love seeks to bring life, renewal, and reconciliation for the redeemed; darkness seeks death, compulsion, and the conquering of any who dissent.  Those who follow Jesus Christ have long awaited His return to take us to our real home – wherever He is.  But for as much anticipation as true Christians hold within them, those who are not destined to be made free from self-love loathe the idea of an early end to their dark desires.  For them, the time to commit sin, to acquire more, to indulge themselves is nearly over.  It is as infinite a darkness they continue to descend into, as is the light we aspire to achieve.

But if there is to be another war, forced by the dark depths of evil itself, then a warrior will they meet.  It is in triumph our Lord is to return to us.  His meek and humble demeanor was ever present to bring us to Himself.  But now, His enemies will see, that love forever rejected is not powerless, it is not weak, it is not so easily defeated on the field of battle.  John reveals the picture of Christ returning to our world as we continue in chapter 19 and verse 11 saying … “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”  If there are four horsemen who represent the decay of the church who bore His name, there is now a fifth horsemen who intends to reclaim it, both His name, and His people.  Jesus Christ is called Faithful and True.  He is faithful in that our salvation has been wrought in us, despite our lack of knowledge as to “how” this has occurred.  We cannot understand how our evil desires have been replaced by good ones, because we did not accomplish this transformation. HE did!  His word is made True within us, as all of the promises of redemption have resulted in a transformation of who we are, from slaves to self, to freedom to love others.

John points out, that evil is not to be allowed to run free and make all the decisions of what will happen next.  It is our God who judges.  It is the opinions and decisions of our God that are final.  What evil desires and wishes is to be made of no account.  If there is war to happen, our Lord will not shy away.  It is He who will bring war to evil, such as evil has not considered possible up to now.  Bathed in self-deception, evil has convinced itself, it can win based of the sheer force of will.  It is wrong.  John continues to describe the scene in verse 12 saying … “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”  Evil cannot stand in the presence of love, for love consumes it entirely.  The eyes of our Lord appear as a flame of fire, for to look into them is to see the infinite love of God.  Evil sees this love as a consuming fire from which it cannot escape.  It is why Moses was only allowed to see the back of God, not His face.  Had the Lord revealed Himself and His infinite love directly and unfiltered to Moses, it would have consumed Him for its magnitude.  Moses while still clinging to the sins he cherished could not have stared into those eyes without revealing the evil he still had within himself, and thus being consumed by love.

On the head of our Lord is not a single crown to imply an ordinary kingship, rather there are “many” crowns, to signify He is not just a King, but a King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  No matter how great any king in this world has risen to prominence, no matter how high we believe ourselves to have ascended, we are reminded here there is One who is FAR greater than any of us.  Neither David, nor Solomon, nor Nebuchnezzar, nor Alexander the Great, nor any since will be able to compare in the slightest to the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.  In the days of John, a king was a well understood concept.  His authority was absolute in the region in which he ruled.  There were no democracies, there was no place to appeal beyond the authority of the king.  So the imagery presented to John is something he fully understands and grasps, it is our Lord who is the real King, and the greatest King to have ever existed.

John also reminds us that He bears a name which no man knows except He Himself.  We do not really know the name of the Father God.  The closest name we ascribe to Him is YAHWEH, based on the systemic substitution of the letters YHWH wherever His true name existed in scripture.  This was a precaution taken by Jewish scribes to insure we never took His real name in vain.  Hard to do that when we do not truly know what it is.  But in this scene of His returning, Jesus bears the name of our God, which we have lost and do not know.  His identity, His name, will be revealed to us at that time, even John is not granted insight for his revelations to show it to us now.  We must wait to see it, to read it, to have Him tell it to us. 

John continues in verse 13 … “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”  The Lord’s method for saving us, was to take upon Himself, the punishment we deserved.  It is by His blood, that our own can be preserved.  Thus he returns in a vesture, whether this is his entire clothing, or perhaps a breastplate, or vest, it is dipped in the Blood He shed for our redemption.  John again refers to Jesus Christ as the “Word of God”.  Keep in mind this is how the gospel of John begins, that the Word was God.  He continues in verse 14 … “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”  The host of the redeemed first fruits, perhaps the angels who have supported their Lord before in battle, perhaps other sentient life who rally to the command of their Lord, all stand arrayed to witness the triumph of the power of love over evil, even evil which will not relent.  The garments of the redeemed first fruits are white and clean, this is only possible because the garment of our Lord is soaked in His own blood.  It is His blood that has made us righteous.

John continues in verse 15 … “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [verse 16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”  The words of our Lord cleave those they encounter.  For those who submit themselves to Him, we are cleaved of our sin, and left remade in His righteousness.  For those who refuse to submit, they too are cleaved and smited and overcome, their decision to refuse respected, but their lives of evil cut short as a result.  There is no disputing His word, there is only accepting it, or accepting the consequences of sin and death instead.  The rod of iron which He is to rule with, stands as the immutable principles of loving others, and not loving self.  This is a non-negotiable item for our God, and His government.  Satan’s attempts at balance, at bringing in the ideas of self-love even if only in small quantities are to be no more, they are defeated.  There will be only one kind of love in the kingdom of our Lord, a love of others, not self.

John reminds us again of the imagery of treading the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  Love does not enjoy the pain that selfishness brings.  Love for others hates what love of self brings.  The sympathy and frustration and patience of trying so hard to see pain and death redeemed now gives way to an anger with the suffering that love of self has caused.  Evil has made its choice.  That choice will be respected.  And now it will see how much the Lord hates pain, hates death, hates suffering that evil causes – the anger is to be poured out without mixture, without dilution, without shelter upon those who have embraced the course of evil.  Those who have chosen to love self above all else, and refused the redemption and transformation gifted by our Lord, are to now experience what that choice means.  They are to have their own suffering revealed to them, returned to them.  What they have wrought upon others in a quest to please self, is about to come home to themselves, they will now see what it means to suffer personally, not just to remain in apathy as their victims suffered.

John again makes it clear that the name on His thigh is a final declaration of His authority in all matters.  Our God is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  His authority will be unquestioned, undisputed, and the steeped in a finality that cannot be undone.  What is about to transpire is a final mark in the history of evil that will never be undone.  Evil wanted a battle, so a battle is coming.  Evil deceived itself into thinking a victory was possible, that self-deception is about to be undone, and truth revealed.  John continues in verse 17 saying … “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; [verse 18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”

The angel standing in the sun calls to the birds of the air to gather themselves together as they will be on clean-up-duty for the battle about to transpire.  There is not even a question about who will be losing this battle and who will be winning it.  It is not the humble, selfless, servants of God who will be consumed by the fowls of the air, it is the proud men of the earth.  Both those who think themselves as great, and those who know they are not.  It is those who seek to war against what is coming, rather than submit to a power that could have freed them.  The hold of the beast over those who bear his mark is complete.  They are fully self-deceived.  They fully believe the false prophet and imposter of all the known deities is indeed the only god they need serve.  Who else could come to disrupt what their god tells them?  Who else could bring disruption to the order their god demands?  The ideas of the Bible, the culmination of the return of our Lord, does not so much as enter their heads.  This must be some sort of alien invasion, like in the multitude of science fiction movies they have seen.  How could it be otherwise, if god is already here?

John continues in verse 19 … “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”  Armageddon has arrived.  Despite the clarity, despite the finality, despite the contrast of an army dressed in white, led by a God who will surely be undefeatable, the war will go on.  They see Him coming as He promised, yet vow to fight on.  They know in the deep recesses of their minds, that He who is returning is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.  They know it is Jesus Christ who descends now with His angelic throng, yet despite the certainty of truth, there is nothing left to do, but to war on.  Even now, the stubbornness of evil is revealed.  Even now, there is no change of heart or mind, there is only a deepening in the course of sin they have embraced.  Instead of surrendering and pleading for mercy though the time for this has past, they will even now, refuse the mercy or love they might have otherwise already gained access to.  The decisions are final.  The contrasts of finality have been set, there is no going back, there is no vacillation, there is only to move forward into war.

John continues in verse 20 … “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”  There is a special fate reserved for those who have led this deception, and who have sought to lead the genocide of the followers of Jesus Christ alone.  The beast, the dragon, the second beast, and the third – Satan and all those who have led the quest to compel the conscience of others, the leaders of these ideas, from papal supremists, to Islamic facists, to atheistic proponents, to fundamentalist protestant militants – the leadership of this war against Christ are to be cast alive into a lake of fire.  This will consume the earthly participants, and push the supernatural ones into a state of punishment.  The leadership is dealt with in a special way at the outset of the battle evil has chosen to pursue.

John then continues in verse 21 saying … “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”  Those who remain of the evil in this world; the followers, the passive aggressives, the apathetic, the self-denialists, those who would still attempt to rationalize their way out of this dilemma - are to be slain by the word of God.  A simple command from the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, ends the lives of those who would have sought to end His once again.  The battle does not last, it does not involve casualties on both sides, but only on one.  It is not a battle that can be ended by retreat, to live to fight another day.  It is over.  It is ended, with the leadership consumed in a lake of fire, and the rabble evil hoard fallen by the words of Christ.  It is quick and decisive with zero survivors.  The saved have already been caught up in the clouds to greet Him in the air.  His foot has never even had to touch the ground to fight this war or to win it.  It was won while he yet approached.  The dead in Christ have already been awakened by the sound of the trumpet, they have already been called from their graves to meet Him in the air.  The scene John describes is about the contrast of the saved with those who are not.

The finality of this battle cannot be understated.  The contrast is stark and eternal.  Fates have been forever sealed when once the decision to compel the conscience of men was embraced.  Now the results of that decision are to be seen.  It is death that was chosen.  Like the Pharaoh of old who sought to kill the Israelites, and instead found his firstborn slain; so the wicked who sought to kill those who dissented from their majority view point now find it is them who are to be slain.  The choice to pursue blood, has been respected, but the result was to find it is their own blood that is spilled.  The outcome was not expected, but it was chosen.  If evil had its way, the righteous of the earth, the humble, gentle, followers of Jesus Christ who are guilty of nothing but loving others, would be completely dead and gone from the earth.  This was the plan of the enemy.  He sought to kill every living thing that follows Christ, and kill the God of our universe, once again.  His plan was foiled.  His choice altered by an outcome he did not wish.  There are slain to feed the birds as the angel predicted only moments ago.  But as predicted, the slain are those steeped in the evil of self-love.

The most longed for event in human history, is also the most destructive and hated event in human history.  The contrast of life and death has never been so apparent as now.  Those who love others experience an infinite joy, that overwhelms them entirely.  Those who love self, experience pain and an early demise, to be cut short of all their evil intentions, goals, and desires.  Those who love self, HATE what has come.  They hate His return.  They hate His followers.  They hate that gentle demeanor, that speaks and acts of nothing but love for others.  The contrasts of finality have long been set.  How this event in the history of our world is perceived is defined by the construct of the character you retain when it occurs.  Will you stand with the redeemed of Jesus Christ, who have allowed His transforming love to free you from your slavery to serving self?  Or will you take your place with the demonic hoard who look for no greater glory than to indulge self just one more time before it ends?

This battle is over before it begins.  It was always going to be so.  This revelation however has a much deeper significance.  Because this revelation is given to you today, BEFORE, these things occur, BEFORE your decisions are final.  You have the luxury of time in the here and now, to determine which side of this conflict you intend to be identified with.  These truths are sure and certain, but they also remain in the future as of today.  Our nation has not yet implemented the universal call to take on the mark of the third beast.  Our churches have not yet abandoned Christ and called for the killing of any who will dissent with the majority view.  We are on the road to these things, but they remain as yet, incomplete.   There is still time.  Time is the gift you are given today.  You can read this revelation in a time that is not yet advanced as far as the scriptures surely foretell.

That is the point of these revelations.  They are NOT a history book, offering no hope for the reader.  They are a prediction of what is to come.  In the day of John, nearly everything was set in a current or future tense.  In our own day, six of the series of seven things, have come to pass.  The seventh is still ahead of us.  While we do not look as did John, with a wealth of future time to see ourselves embrace the salvation of Jesus Christ; it is still not too late yet.  But the highway we travel towards these events will not be deterred or delayed much longer.  These revelations, like the remainder of the gospel, stand as a love letter from your true God.  They remain an invitation to start the process of transformation to perfection in the here and now.  They offer a surety that your salvation will be witnessed by you through the power of Jesus Christ alone.  This is NOT about fear tactics.  Only the wicked have reason to be afraid.  Those who would be free, have reason to rejoice, because freedom stands ready to be embraced.

The contrast of how you view these events, and these sure predictions, is an indication of where you stand with Christ today.  If what is written, strikes fear in your heart, then pray to submit yourself to Christ, and let His peace, replace your fear.  If what is written appears to you as a message of hope and love, then pray a prayer of thanksgiving that your salvation has already begun; pray that your submission can be full and complete and immediate, so that your joy can only grow in the here and now.  This battle, though still in the future, and marked by a contrast that cannot be undone, was not to be the final battle.  There was to be one more.  There was to be an epitaph of death itself still to be witnessed …