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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Rev. 4-5
I have a hard time picturing this scene before God’s throne. I can’t say that I have ever been so overwhelmed with awe that I couldn’t even stand. Yet this is the God I serve – holy, worthy, honored and blessed. I know those words in my head, and believe them in my heart. But I have never really felt their true weight. It’s strange, because the presence of this same holy God dwells in me. Yet somehow, that isn’t the same as physically standing before Him. As Paul said, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” (I Cor. 13:12). Until that day I want to remember to respect God’s holiness while being grateful that He protects me in His presence.
Rev. 6-7
I have always thought of the Great Tribulation as something yet to come. This typical viewpoint carries with it the great debate over when, with respect to that Tribulation, the rapture will occur. But what if the Great Tribulation isn’t what I have always been taught that it is? What if we are in it even now? What if the Great Tribulation is the entire period of time since the fall of man until God’s judgment day, and is what we are here to endure, with faith, until our Savior returns?
It’s an interesting thought, and actually makes some sense if we aren’t looking at the book of Revelation as some timeline for future events, which I no longer think it is. When I read these things in Revelation, I can’t help but think that they give a pretty good description of humanity as it is and always has been since the fall. I see violence, destruction, death, and the absence of peace. I see people killed for speaking God’s truth. All of this leads up to a day of God’s wrath coming for the whole world, “And who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:17b). And then I see the answer. Multitudes from both Israel and every other nation, sealed and sheltered from God’s wrath by remaining true to the Lamb.
Yes indeed, I see the same message in Revelation that I see in the rest of the Bible. The human condition is dark and desperate; deserving of God’s all-consuming wrath. But God has given us a sure promise of salvation in the sacrifice of His Son. Those of us who hold fast to the promise until the end will escape that coming wrath and know life as God intended it to be.