What is it Going to be like to Face Christ As the Judge?
Rev 6:15-17 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
The Wrath of the Lamb
How many of us have seen an angry lamb? We know that rams can get kind of feisty but lambs are usually fairly docile. But the Lord is looked at as a lamb. Isaiah says He was led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). John the Baptist calls him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But there are those who are going to experience the Wrath of the Lamb–the One who died as the meek and lowly Jesus.
I know that there is a difference of opinion as to the the timing of what happens in the Book of the Revelation. But let me assure you that what is promised will happen. Just as God promises eternal life to believers in John 3:36, He also promises that His wrath presently abides on the unbeliever (that is, the Christ rejecters). The picture of kings, great men, rich men, commanders, and mighty men hiding themselves from the Lord when He comes to judge is a sobering sight. Today, we have leaders all over the world who are posturing for war. They seem to think that they personally are invincible, but when they face the Lord, they are going to cower in fear. Then they will want to hide, but then it will be too late.
Using Religion as a Club
In Revelation 13 we are confronted by two men. One is described as a beast rising out of the sea (likely the Mediterranean Sea). His power will be the outgrowth of kingdoms that have dominated the world scene historically. This man wants to be worshipped as God. I doubt very much if he believes in God, but I suspect that he uses religion to get the worship of people who believe lies. There is another man who rises out of the land. He is likely a Jew. He gives his allegiance to the first man and convinces the nation of Israel to accept and worship the first beast. Both of these men are antiChrist. Both are doomed. They control the world for a while. They have power over commerce; you can’t buy or sell without the mark of the beast which means you aren’t going to eat unless you are marked as his. These men have political power and they have religious power. You would think that they were winners. But we read that they are captured by the Lord and imprisoned in a terrible place. Revelation 19:20 says, :"Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone." Now I don’t know if this is a literal lake or an allegorical lake. If it is literal it is bad. If it is allegorical, it is worse because God is using something we do understand to explain something we don’t understand.
Martyrs during this Period
Rev 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Those who were the losers in the eyes of those who think they are the winners actually are the winners. They live and reign with the Lord for a 1000 years. On them the second death has no power. They have it made.
When is all this Going to Happen?
Some think it is already happening but I don’t think so. I really do believe that the Lord has delivered saints of our day from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The things written in Chapters 6-19 of the book of Revelation occur after the catching away of present day saints to spare them from the judgments of the unbelievers on this earth. If the current hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, and mass shootings are not part of this period, what must the judgments of this "tribulation" period be like? I really believe our President is going to back off his nuclear posturing because nuclear war would destroy our planet and I see a Biblical future of over one thousand years for it.
However, when the Lord begins to judge, losers are going to be winners and winners (so-called) are going to be losers. I am a present day loser and I am glad to be one.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of October 15, 2017