Monthly Archives: May 2014

The Three – Wrath Poured Out

29 Thursday May 2014

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In the last letter of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God sends a last message of warning to a dying planet – Revelation 14:6-12. This message is given by three angels to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a serious message – the consequences are life and death – but it’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.

Revelation 14:10 states, “they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.”

Have you ever asked who are “they” and when does this happen? These are the people John calls “those who dwell on the earth.” These are the people who hate God and hate those that love. They are the ones who worship (put their whole life into) the beast and receive his mark (become like the beast).

When is this happening? While “those who dwell on the earth” have existed throughout time, here we see that in response to the Beast’s final assertion of power, there are those who completely commit to their position against God such that their character has been transformed to match The Beast. By their own free choice, the image of God within them has been replaced by the enemy of life’s character: think rabid dogs or the popular depiction of zombies. What’s key is that as we follow the narrative, this is event is taking place at the time just before the last day of this earth as we know it and the re-establishment of God’s kingdom; this act is part of God’s plan of redemption.

What this means is, as we attempt to understand God’s wrath, we need to be clear that is experienced only by those who have set their course so completely in opposition to God and to those who love God that there is absolutely nothing more God can do for them.

If you had to deal with a dangerous, deadly, animal bent on destroying anything in it’s path, what would you do?

Don’t Lose Hope

27 Tuesday May 2014

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This is possibly one of the most powerful statements I have ever read:

“Some people know that God has pardoned their sins, and they really want to be His children. But they know that their characters are not perfect and their lives have many faults. Because of this they doubt that the Holy Spirit has made their hearts new.

To such people I would say, “Do not be discouraged and lose hope. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because we make mistakes and are not perfect. Yet we are not to give up. God does not turn away from us even if we are overcome by the enemy. He does not leave us alone.” – {Steps to Jesus 62}”

I’ve been there, have you? We need to remember this every day.

The Three – Wrath of God

20 Tuesday May 2014

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In the last letter of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God sends a last message of warning to a dying planet – Revelation 14:6-12. This message is given by three angels to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a serious message – the consequences are life and death – but it’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.

In Revelation 14:10, we can read that there are those who shall “drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.” In my last post, I noted that all of us understand what “wrath of God” means through our worldview and our worldview is tainted by an enemy that wants us to distrust, even hate, God. What’s the solution?

In that post, shared something one of my favourite authors had to say on the subject and here’s the rest of her observation:

“Jesus came to teach men of the Father, to correctly represent him before the fallen children of earth. Angels could not fully portray the character of God, but Christ, who was a living impersonation of God, could not fail to accomplish the work. The only way in which he could set and keep men right was to make himself visible and familiar to their eyes.” (White, God Made Manifest in Christ)

We are invited to swap out our lenses for a different pair of worldview glasses: To see everything through the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.

What does that mean on a practical level? It means coming to rest or trust that everything God does, including whatever his wrath is, comes from the bottomless well of his love, grace, and compassion. At the end of the day, we have to come to the point where we can say, “I don’t always understand who you are but God but I will trust you because I know that you always do the most loving thing that can be done.”

Can you do that?

The Three – Wrath

13 Tuesday May 2014

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In the last letter of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God sends a last message of warning to a dying planet – Revelation 14:6-12. This message is given by three angels to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a serious message – the consequences are life and death – but it’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.

Consider Revelation 14:10 where the Bible says:
“…he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

As soon as you read the word “wrath” a number of pictures probably came to your mind. You may have already determined what wrath means and looks like and we haven’t even dug into it.

It’s important to note that when we read the Bible, ideally we would be utterly surrendered to the Word and Will of God; we would hear only his voice, we would set aside who we are and where we’ve been and just read the word and let it speak to us. That rarely happens because we are product of our upbringing, culture, and experiences. To that, add in the this perspective shared by one of my favourite authors:

“Satan sought to intercept every ray of light from the throne of God. He sought to cast his shadow across the earth, that men might lose the true views of God’s character, and that the knowledge of God might become extinct in the earth. He had caused truth of vital importance to be so mingled with error that it had lost its significance. The law of Jehovah was burdened with needless exactions and traditions, and God was represented as severe, exacting, revengeful, and arbitrary. He was pictured as one who could take pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures. The very attributes that belonged to the character of Satan, the evil one represented as belonging to the character of God.” (White, God Made Manifest in Christ)

Everything we are and everything the enemy of life has done to break our trust in God all impact what we think when we read, “wrath of God.” We will need to tread carefully as we consider this next part of the message of the three.

The Three – Marked by Sacredness

06 Tuesday May 2014

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In the last letter of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God sends a last message of warning to a dying planet – Revelation 14:6-12. This message is given by three angels to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a serious message – the consequences are life and death – but it’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.

What happens when we worship something? We become who we worship. If we choose to worship the beast, we will become like the beast, we will manifest his character; we will receive his mark.

Some are very adamant that the mark of the beast has to do with what day you worship on. Specifically some say that worshipping on Sunday, instead of on God’s Sabbath, will lead to being marked by the beast. Is that true?

Remember how we receive the mark – it’s about who we worship. Worshipping God leads to sealing. Worshipping the beast leads to marking; a false sealing. Words that end in “ship” are talking about a way of life. Worship is an everyday event. If you only worship one day a week for a hour or so – be it Sabbath or Sunday – your spiritual life is  will be empty and lack the power of God.

On the other hand, “Sunday sacredness” is distinctly different than “worship on Sunday” and it’s a problem. Sabbath was established on the seventh day by God. God made it special time and it is overflowing with meaning. It points back to creation and God as creator. It points back to freedom from slavery and God as the bondage breaker. It points back to the cross and God as our righteous redeemer. It points forward to our complete restoration and reunion with God once the war is over.

Sunday sacredness is the replacement of Sabbath and it’s meaning.
It was not established by God but by men.
Sunday sacredness is not found anywhere in scripture.
It’s not a memorial for anything; there is nothing that it points back to.
Sunday sacredness was never set apart as special time.
It’s not commanded as a rest day by God; it’s commanded to be a work day like the other five days of the week.

Sunday sacredness ignores God as creator, undermines his word and his commandments, and ultimately is grounded in man’s desire to save himself rather than let God be his savior. For all these reasons, Sunday sacredness separates a person from God and makes it easier for the the beast to manifest his character – his mark – in the heart.

Sabbath worship won’t protect you from the mark of the beast, his name, or ensure you are sealed with God’s name. There are those who worship on Sabbath who are very beast-like. However, honouring Sabbath sacredness will protect against the mark of the beast because true Sabbath experience brings one closer to God, helps us discover the riches of his grace. Embracing Sabbath drives home our need for God; it teaches us that we cannot save ourselves; that everything we are, is found in Christ.

Would you be willing to try experiencing Sabbath sacredness?